You're a US police officer, what are you thinking about going back to the East for?

The mayor slumped into his chair in despair, covered his face with his hands, and let out a mournful wail from the depths of his soul:

"This is a complete dead end!"

"No matter what I do, if I don't completely and quietly suppress this matter, my political career is over!"

"These gangsters are insane... Why are they doing this to me? What did I do to offend them? I even let them sell those damn pills!"

"I can't live like this anymore... I really can't live like this anymore..."

Just as Mayor Reynolds was about to smash the expensive crystal globe on his desk, the screen on the huge LCD TV on the wall, which had been playing rolling news on silent, suddenly flickered.

The screen, which was originally filled with images of riots in the North District, resembling a scene from a Call of Duty game, was suddenly cut off.

Instead, a live broadcast shot was shown on a rainy night.

Although the background is still a scene of devastation, with bullet holes and wrecked vehicles everywhere, the center of the picture stands the West Precinct Chief, Victoria Sterling.

She wore a black trench coat, her hair was slightly damp, and faced countless flashing lights with a solemn expression and a determined look in her eyes.

The subtitles scrolled rapidly: [Breaking News: Western District Police thwart major terrorist smuggling operation; FBI suspected of violently interfering with law enforcement]

"Wait! Turn the volume up! What is that woman saying?!"

Mayor Reynolds, who was in a fit of anger, pointed at the huge LCD TV on the wall and roared.

"...As you can see, this is a tough battle."

On the television, Sterling's voice was strong and clear:

"At a critical moment when the North District was in chaos and the police force of the headquarters was exhausted, our West District Special Crime Unit (ACU) did not back down."

"Especially the new team leader of ACU."

"Despite being severely wounded, he remained calm and composed, leading this valiant team to successfully intercept a convoy attempting to transport weapons and drugs amidst the chaos, without any substantial federal support..."

"The West District?!"

Mayor Reynolds whirled around, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, grabbed the ashtray on the table, and smashed it again.

"What the hell is going on now?! The North District was blown up, and now the West District is joining in the fun?!"

"Can't you damn cops just give me a break? There's war in the north and counterterrorism in the west. Should I declare a state of war in Seattle?!"

"Has that woman Sterling gone mad?! Does she want me to die even faster?!"

"Wait! Mr. Mayor, wait! Listen carefully!"

Just as the mayor was about to have a stroke due to high blood pressure, the deputy police chief, who had been frantically scrolling through his tablet, suddenly jumped up as if he had been electrocuted.

"This isn't bad news, this is fucking fantastic news!"

The deputy director's voice cracked with excitement as he shoved the tablet right under the mayor's nose.

"Look at this! A firsthand briefing from the West District: there was indeed a firefight just now, but we won—a resounding victory!"

"They made a big splash, but not the kind where we're the ones being blamed!"

"That second-in-command of Sterling's, Sergeant Vance, along with his gang of rabid dogs from the ACU, intercepted a massive convoy in the industrial area!"

"More than a dozen drug dealers and mercenaries were killed on the spot, and the drugs and weapons seized were measured in tons!"

"and……"

The deputy director swallowed hard and pointed to a photo on the screen, showing the moment Hayes shoved Lyon.

"The FBI messed things up over there. They tried to steal the credit and even beat up the injured hero, Vance. Now public opinion is overwhelmingly against the federal government!"

"My God, is this guy named Leon Vance's first day at ACU?"

"What?"

Mayor Reynolds was stunned.

He snatched the tablet and stared intently at the briefing on it.

There were no civilian casualties (homeless people are not considered civilians in the United States and are not included in the statistics), multiple wanted felons were killed, a huge amount of contraband was seized, and there was a perfect, pitiful local hero police officer who was bullied by federal agents.

"Quick! Get the PR department to push this to the top!"

The mayor slammed his hand on the table, his face instantly turning fervent:

"Suppress the hype in the North District. Say it's...it's just internal gang conflict, and it's under control! Focus on promoting the West District, and promote Vance!"

"this……"

Seeing the mayor's impatient demeanor, the deputy director hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but pour cold water on his enthusiasm:

"Mayor, this matter... is a bit strange."

He pointed to Sterling's radiant face on the screen, even in the rainy night, and said in a low voice:

"Sterling is too ambitious. The ACU is basically her private army."

"And this Vance... he can cause such a big commotion on his first day as a team leader? There must be something fishy going on here."

"If we support them now, and it turns out later that they have done something wrong in the process, such as embezzling money or abusing their power... then we will be tied to her chariot."

"Isn't it a bit too hasty to start building momentum so quickly? Should we have the Internal Affairs Department investigate first...?"

"Investigate you my foot!!"

Mayor Reynolds jumped up, pointed at the deputy chief's nose, and roared:

"Are you quitting? Huh?!"

"What time is it now? The fire is already at our eyebrows, and you're talking to me about potential dangers? About procedural justice?"

"I don't care if they're private soldiers or what Vance did, as long as they didn't eat the drug dealer alive on camera tonight, they're Seattle's Batmen!"

"If things continue to escalate in the North District, I'll be out of a job tomorrow morning! You, and the police chief, neither of you will get away unscathed!"

"We all need to get unemployment benefits!"

"The key now is to shift the focus, understand?!"

"The public doesn't need the truth; they just need a story, a story that tells them the police are still doing their job and Seattle is still safe!"

"Even if the story is made up, even if Vance is a bastard, we still have to idolize him!"

"Suppress this mess of gang shootouts in the North District! Limit traffic, delete posts, and bring it down!"

"Let that Sterling do his thing, get all the headlines covered, tell the whole media that this is a lightning operation personally overseen by the mayor's office!"

"If we just shift our focus, we can survive. The rich will see that we're doing something, and doing it very well!"

"Tell that Vance to take good care of his injury. I'm going to the hospital in a couple of days to personally present him with the medal, even if I have to push him to the press conference in a wheelchair!"

"This is an angel sent by God to save me! Anyone who dares to investigate the West End's mess at this critical juncture, I'll kill them first!"