Shadow Empire

Chapter 653: Extra [666+10]
Mr. Charles was sitting behind the table, his elbow on the table supporting his balance with the hand holding the phone, a cigarette in the other hand and a cup of coffee with whiskey in front of him.

The slightly open collar, which was not in line with his status, made him look a little... haggard.

What happened in the past few days made him feel stressed.

An interest group is like a big tree. No matter how big its crown is, as long as the lumberjack finds its main trunk, it can easily bring it down.

So for the interest groups, what they need to do is to let the layers of tree crowns form a barrier, protecting their main trunk in the middle, so that the lumberjacks cannot find them, let alone get close.

Now, Mayor Williams is frantically cutting down their branches and tree crowns.

Several small businessmen have chosen to compromise due to the pressure. More importantly, Mayor Williams has changed his attitude again. He said that if you are willing to sign, he can continue to provide replacement compensation.

Originally he said that he would no longer provide these after the ultimatum, which was equivalent to pushing those who held on onto a tightrope, with no way back.

Therefore, even if those people have no choice, they can only hold on and try to compensate for their losses from the expected profits brought by maintaining land prices.

But now Mayor Williams suddenly decided to give them another chance, and many people who could no longer stand on the tightrope immediately chose to retreat.

Once these people leave, their persistence will be meaningless, and the authority of the Bay Area interest groups will plummet.

People will recognize a reality.

This time, they are no match for the mayor!
So now is the time where it's not just about hitting Lance to intimidate Mayor Williams, they need to be more aggressive.

His words, asking Mr. Hof whether only a very few people knew about the existence of those people, made Mr. Hof feel something was wrong.

He tore his collar and whispered, "We need a heavyweight bargaining chip to make Williams sit down and talk to us, let him take the initiative to talk to us, instead of us begging him to talk!"

Mr. Hof said stubbornly, "Wouldn't it be a heavyweight bargaining chip to kill Lance?"

Mr. Charles took a drag on his cigarette. “He’s the mayor, my brother.”

Just a few "light" words put Mr. Hof in a situation where he couldn't respond.

Yes, he is the mayor, and he can appoint the heads of almost all government agencies in the city, the police chief, the director of the Department of Business Services, anything within his power.

"If it had been a few days ago and he hadn't offered to reintroduce the subsidy, I wouldn't have thought so."

"It's actually a good thing that he won't give in. It's like when you go to see your old lover and your wife doesn't want you to go out, you'll yell at her and slam the door and leave."

"The problem is not too serious."

"But if you start cheating on your wife, then that's a much bigger problem than slamming doors!"

"He is able to break his promises in order to undermine us. Do you understand what I mean?"

"When you start to lose your principles for something, that's when you will never give in!"

"Lance's death will not stop him. It will only escalate the situation and make him more determined to deal with us."

"We need heavier chips!"

After listening to this, Mr. Hof had to admit that what Mr. Charles said was right. He had a headache now and didn't want to think about the purpose of his doing this anymore.

"What exactly do you want them to do?"

The next second, the name that Mr. Hof least wanted to hear, but had already heard, came from the receiver: "Arthur."

"Fuck!" He cursed directly, "You're breaking the rules by doing this, and he's still in office!"

Mr. Charles took a drag on his cigarette and threw the remaining part directly into the ashtray. "It has nothing to do with me. I just know that if we don't deal with them, we will be dealt with."

"Once they stop trusting us, the Bay Area will soon be divided, and those betrayers and speculators will stand on their side and try to put us on the table."

“Just like we used to do!”

"you consider it."

Mr. Hof was silent for a moment, then cursed and hung up the phone. The kidnapping of Arthur made him feel that Mr. Charles was really crazy!
Everyone knows that Mayor Williams’ favorite is his youngest son. Although his youngest son will not become the successor to his political legacy, the visible preference is a fact!

Only by touching Arthur could there be no room for reconciliation between them, but if he didn't...

Since when did these things in the city become so troublesome?
Perhaps it started when Mayor Sidney wanted to make one last attempt. Although he failed, he also overturned the delicate balance of the city!
Later in the evening, Mr. Hof finally compromised. He also inquired about what had happened during his absence in Jingang City, and even heard that the shareholders of the dock seemed to be colluding to do something weird.

More and more unfavorable news made him anxious. After painful thinking, he thought that Arthur might be a poison, but when this poison could prolong their lives, it would be a miracle drug!
After dinner, Mr. Hoff found both Richie and David in their rooms.

As soon as they sat down, Richie asked, "Are we going to do anything to Lance?"

Mr. Hof shook his head. "I've already asked someone to meet Lance. I'll let you know when I have news."

"Now I want to talk to you about another matter. I need you to kidnap someone for me, for Mr. Charles." Richie glanced at David, who also glanced at his boss. Both of them had a solemn look on their faces.

Richie said as if jokingly, "Who else does a big shot like you need to kidnap?"

"Why don't you just give him a call and ask him to come over directly?"

Mr. Hoff stared at Richie for a while, until the latter looked away with some discomfort, and then he said, "The situation has changed a bit now. It will not meet our and your requirements to deal with only Lance. We must deal with one more person."

"Mayor Williams."

David was somewhat curious at first, but when he heard the name, he curled up and lowered his head, as if he didn't exist.

Richie looked as if he was laughing at a joke, "You want us to kidnap the mayor?"

"Wang Defa...how can I describe how crazy and stupid you are?"

Mr. Hoff quickly waved his hands and said, "No, it's not Mayor Williams who is being kidnapped. It's his young son, Arthur."

He briefly introduced the relationship between the Williams family and Lance, as well as the current situation.

"You are outsiders. Without our support, it will be difficult for you to gain a foothold in the local area. You just need to know this."

"We need a chance to sit down and negotiate with Williams. I'm not asking you to hurt Arthur. You just need to put him away and find a place to put him."

"Release him in a few days and it will be over!"

"After this is over, we will fully support you in ruling the entire underground world of Jingang City."

Richie didn't express his opinion immediately after listening to this. He realized that this matter was not something he could decide. "I'm going to call Joshua."

Mr. Hof stood up and walked to the door of the room. "Please, let me know if you have any news. I will be in the living room."

After the door closed, Richie picked up the phone and dialed the number of Joshua's church.

He explained the situation here, and Joshua held his forehead and closed his eyes to think.

Federalists are reluctant to take action against politicians in office because there are too many consequences!
They have accomplices, relatives, friends, and party guises. Touching them casually is like poking a hook into a hornet's nest. The feeling is definitely not a joke!
"Don't do anything yet. Let me talk to Charles and the others first."

Joshua had suffered losses before, so he did not agree immediately.

Soon he was on the phone with Mr. Joshua. What he didn't know was that Mr. Joshua cursed Mr. Hof a hundred times in his heart!

He didn't want to be on the front line, but now that the call came, he knew he had been exposed. Although exposure was certain, it was too early now.

Even if he is exposed, he still has to face this matter.

“We can’t just do whatever we want to politicians who are in office. Besides, the Williams family has a certain influence in Likalai State. I also heard that he has connections with Congress.”

"I don't want to see the day when the military surrounds my home and my family just because we're doing something we shouldn't be doing."

Joshua was still very gentle when he said these words. Most of the time, as long as he didn't fall into paranoia and become hysterical, he was a gentle and charming person.

Mr. Charles coughed twice, "I have a plan..."

More than 20 minutes later, Richie received a call from Joshua, "Do as Mr. Hof instructed."

Then he hung up the phone without any explanation.

Richie glanced at the receiver in his hand. Knowing Joshua, this must be guaranteed.

He glanced at David and said, "You do this."

David's eyes widened and he pointed at his nose, "Me?"

"I'm going to kidnap that Arthur?"

"Can I do it?"

His tone was full of distrust in himself, and he felt that he was not capable of shouldering this responsibility.

Richie didn't indulge him, "Do you want me to do it?"

The two looked at each other for a moment and David was a little annoyed. "Okay, okay, you win, you are the Boss, Shit!"

Soon they left the room and appeared in the living room. When Mr. Hof saw them come out, he put the cigarette he had just lit and taken two puffs of into the ashtray, then stood up and looked at them.

David rolled his eyes and said, "Tell me about Arthur..."

(End of this chapter)