Advanced chapter until 500+ at patreon.com/caleredhair
“I hope you get well soon…”
Lance stood by the bedside in the hospital room, holding some gifts. He had come to visit Eric.
Eric lay on the bed, his face black and blue, with one leg and one arm in plaster casts, suspended in the air.
He looked like he wanted to… curse? Or make some other large movement after seeing Lance, but because his movement was too big, it made him feel a heart-rending pain.
He could only grimace and suck in a cold breath, constantly crying out “It hurts.”
In the end, Chief Charlie chose to dispatch the police. He called other precincts to ask them to respond, but either the chief wasn’t in or there weren’t enough officers. He knew someone was forcing him to pick a side.
Although he didn’t know why he had to be forced to pick a side. He was about to retire, with only two years left before he could enjoy his golden years in peace.
Why did they have to force him to pick a side in these last two years.
He had been a dog for a long time, and he didn’t want to stand up now!
He thought of the slave liberation movement back in the day. A portion of the slaves helped the slave owners suppress the resistors. As the resistors were about to be sent to the gallows, they asked these slaves who helped the slave owners hunt their own kind.
Why? Why did they help the slave owners persecute their own kind, didn’t they want freedom?
Some of the slaves told them, “Not everyone wants freedom.” This sentence plunged many into silence.
Especially since the side opposing the slave liberation movement used these people and events as examples in their propaganda.
Chief Charlie felt this could also be applied to himself. Not everyone wants to be a person; some are willing to be a dog forever, for example, him.
This time, he dispatched only one police car and two officers. He had to make his stance clear.
Either stand with the mayor—but that was absolutely impossible. His entire family lived in Golden Port. He didn’t dare take the risk, and he couldn’t take the risk.
So he could only stand with the local powers, using the minimum configuration to tell everyone that he was still their loyal “Bay Area Hound.”
The two police officers ultimately stopped the violence, and Eric was sent to the hospital immediately.
He had multiple fractures, and even more serious contusions. Simply put, he was beaten too severely.
Watching him howl on the hospital bed, Lance walked over to the doctor with some forbearance, “Give him a shot of special painkiller. Choose the best, fastest-acting one. I’ll cover the cost.”
The doctor sized Lance up, then looked at Eric.
Eric was only injured, his brain wasn’t damaged. He heard Lance’s words and also yelled, “Give me a shot, hurry, I need it.”
He had never suffered like this in his entire life!
If getting his head smashed open made him feel the terror of pain, then this time, the fractures and full-body contusions made him feel like he was about to die!
It was worse than death now, because death would be over in a flash, but he had to endure the pain that tortured him every single moment.
In this era, neither medical techniques nor drugs were very advanced. The pain that fractures of the tibia and ribs brought to a patient was unimaginable!
Ultimately, the doctor had the nurse fetch the special medicine, and then pushed a full dose in with one shot.
The power of the special medicine was that it could relieve pain instantly. The wounds were still there, the fractures were still there, but miraculously, the pain was gone!
Eric, whose whole body had been in pain, suddenly felt comfortable just twenty or thirty seconds later.
It didn’t hurt anymore.
He had never thought that simply “not being in pain” could be so comfortable, to the point that… the ceiling suddenly cracked open, and a beautiful snake woman emerged, flicking her tongue at him before quickly retracting.
What the hell was all that?
He blinked his eyes, and the whole world seemed to be gently swaying, but he didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. In fact, he felt even more comfortable.
He liked this feeling.
Hehe!
He let out a strange laugh. He himself didn’t know why he was laughing; it was probably because he felt comfortable.
The doctor and nurse paid no mind. Recently, many special painkillers had come onto the market, and some patients had experienced this situation. This didn’t mean there was a problem with the drug; on the contrary, it meant the drug was very effective.
The special medicine they had injected into Eric was the latest model, costing nine dollars and eighty cents a shot. Ordinary people couldn’t afford it.
They mostly used the ones that cost a little over a dollar per shot, or painkillers that cost fifty cents for several pills.
Although those painkillers or analgesic agents also worked, they were far from being as long-lasting, fast-acting, and effective as this one.
Lance took a wad of cash out of his pocket, counted out two hundred and fifty dollars, and handed it to the doctor. “Eric is my dearest friend. I can’t bear to see him in pain.”
“When he starts to feel uncomfortable again, give him another shot. There are over two hundred dollars here, give him at least twenty shots.”
“The rest is for your trouble.”
A tip of over fifty dollars. A smile appeared on the doctor’s face. “Your friendship is moving, sir.”
Lance smiled and sighed, “We are friends, after all.”
He walked to the bedside. Eric was no longer paying attention to him. From his unfocused eyes and the foolish grin on his face, it was clear he was very comfortable right now.
Lance walked out of the hospital room. It was crowded with people. Orson the lawyer was also here.
It wasn’t convenient for the mayor to come personally, so Orson the lawyer, as his fully authorized representative, was involved in the whole matter.
He saw Lance and gestured for him to come over. “How is he?”
“He said he was in too much pain. I had the doctor give him a painkiller shot. He should be falling asleep soon.”
Orson the lawyer had some ability in law and political views, but when it came to medical issues, he didn’t know much.
He gave a noncommittal nod and pulled Lance into a corner.
“What role did you play in this matter?” Orson the lawyer went straight for the core as soon as he opened his mouth.
Lance shook his head, “I don’t quite understand what you mean, Mr. Orson. I just played the role I was supposed to play.”
“Young Master Eric wanted quick money. I provided him with some suggestions, and he chose one of them.”
Orson the lawyer’s gaze was very serious, and very unfriendly.
Originally, they had a plan to advance step by step, not… by leaps and bounds.
But the issue between Eric and the Kodak family directly ruined their plan. Now the conflict and strife were out in the open, which put the mayor’s side in a very passive position—
His rumored illegitimate son was beaten like this. If he didn’t make some kind of counter-move, everyone would look down on him!
And this contempt, or disappointment, would cause him to lose something important.
The Federation’s aesthetic had not yet been distorted or changed. For men, muscles, strength, and the courage to throw a punch were what people admired.
A sissy, a weak person, was not.
He had to fight back, but he didn’t want to make a move at this time. Someone had pushed him into a position he shouldn’t have been in, destroying all the plans!
After seriously thinking through the entire process, Orson the lawyer discovered that Lance may have played a “disgraceful” role.
If Eric, or rather the nightclub, didn’t run a casino, the Kodak family wouldn’t have a reason to directly attack their business.
Attacking Eric’s business without reason would definitely not be a smart move.
But Eric ran a casino, violating the city’s rules, so they had a reason.
Even so, it didn’t matter, as Lance had always been the one running the nightclub.
When the Kodak family came, the first one to be hit should have been Lance, but as it turned out, not only did Lance not go, he also leaked the news to Eric.
This put Eric on the front line.
Then, an unreasonable fight suddenly broke out. To this day, he had not heard any rumors from the Kodak family side about finding the first few people who made a move.
This series of coincidences could not be a coincidence.
His expression was very serious, “You’d better understand what you are doing.”
Lance shook his head, “I just did what I was supposed to do, Mr. Orson.”
“You were the ones who told me to listen to you.”
“I listened to you, and now you say I’m not listening.”
“This is very troubling for me.” Lance’s expression was a bit subtle, and the look he gave Orson the lawyer was no longer “disguised” as it was just now.
“Is it that to become a big shot, the first thing one must master is how to throw one’s responsibilities onto others?”
“Does that make one appear more brilliant?”
Orson the lawyer’s expression was very ugly. He was silent for a moment. “You no longer need to run the nightclub and those few bars. Take your men and withdraw from those places.”
This meant completely distrusting Lance. Lance didn’t care; he hadn’t wanted to do it for a while now. “No problem. Does this mean there are no longer any ties between us?”
Orson the lawyer was silent for a moment, “If you are willing to align with the mayor…”
“And he’s not even willing to give me five hundred a month?” Lance sneered and shrugged his shoulders. “This is fine, Mr. Orson. We both did our best!”
Orson the lawyer said nothing. He was thinking about the subsequent developments, while Lance said his goodbyes and left with a brisk pace.
The news of Eric being severely injured began to ferment rapidly, just as Lance had predicted. The mayor also knew very well that in the face of this situation, he had to give a powerful counter-attack!
As for the Kodak family saying they couldn’t find the people who started the fight, or even that those people weren’t theirs, it was no longer important.
The next afternoon, Chief Dale received a “tip-off call.” They quickly brought two armored cars and more than ten police cars to a villa in the Bay Area.
They directly and violently invaded the villa and found a group of people gathered there, drinking and gambling.
The professional gambling equipment and tables on site told people that this was a small, private casino, and it had not been registered.
Originally, this matter was not under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Hazardous Materials, but the large amount of alcoholic beverages found on the scene gave them the qualification to intervene.
These people were taken back for investigation. If they couldn’t clear themselves of the charges of “smuggling and selling alcoholic beverages” and “gathering to drink,” they could all face heavy sentences.
And this villa was an asset of the Kodak family.
At the same time, Chief Dale also made a public radio address, announcing that Golden Port would enter a period of strict alcohol prohibition starting today. Anyone or anything violating the prohibition order would be severely sentenced if caught.
Furthermore, they had obtained the state government’s approval to, when necessary, not try these criminals locally but instead take them to the state government and state court for trial.
The mayor used a powerful counter-attack to tell people that he was not a coward, and that the rules of this city could no longer bind him!
For a time, a disturbing and oppressive feeling permeated the whole of Golden Port. If anyone had paid attention to the changes in the Bureau of Commercial Services during this period, they would have found that a large number of companies had registered here in the past few days.
Most of them came from inland cities. The arrival of these people not only brought some fresh blood and momentum to the city, but also chaos!
“Our bar got raided…”
By the time Lance arrived at the bar entrance, the Bureau of Hazardous Materials had not only arranged for police cars to come, but also an armored car.
A police cordon was set up. On the street, more than thirty boxes of various alcoholic beverages were laid out on the ground, and a dozen young men stood behind the liquor with their hands cuffed.
Agents and reporters were taking their pictures. A large crowd had already gathered.
When someone saw Lance arrive, they all made way for him to walk to the very front.
Perhaps it was because of Lance’s arrival that the sound of people’s discussions became a little quieter. Perhaps this was the way not to offend Lance.
Senior Agent Lukar, who was in charge of the case on site, saw the distinctly dressed Lance in the crowd at a glance.
He walked over to a spot near Lance with a half-smile, holding a clipboard, and chatted with Lance as if with an acquaintance, “Hey, out for a walk tonight?”
Lance glanced at him and said nothing.
Lukar didn’t mind at all, “Guess how much this booze is worth?”
He seemed to have already guessed that Lance wouldn’t speak to him. He said to himself, “There are about four hundred-plus bottles of liquor here, with a market price of about twenty-four hundred dollars.”
“And over there…” he used the clipboard in his hand to “point” at the young men lined up behind the liquor, “The bail for these people is at least three hundred dollars each.”
“Let me count… there are eleven young men here. Their bail will be at least three thousand three hundred dollars. Plus this liquor, and the illicit funds we confiscated…”
Lukar whistled, “You’ve lost seven or eight thousand dollars, Lance.”
There was some smugness on his face. Lukar had also sensed Chief Dale’s change in attitude recently. He was demanding everyone to be more proactive in carrying out the tasks assigned to them by Congress.
The first person Lukar thought of was Lance. So after getting the detailed location of this bar from a young man, he came directly to make the arrest.
Undoubtedly, the intelligence was very accurate. He wanted to see some… negative emotions on Lance’s face, but unfortunately, Lance remained very calm.
“Just seven or eight thousand, Lukar. Have you never seen money before?”
“Or is seven or eight thousand dollars an astronomical figure you can’t even count?”
Lance took out an ivory cigarette case, took out a cigarette, and lit it. He blew a puff of smoke towards Lukar. Lukar turned his head to avoid it.
Perhaps he didn’t like seeing Lance’s calm and composed appearance, perhaps he wanted to provoke Lance, or perhaps he wanted to find that look of losing composure on his face.
He lowered his voice slightly, “Lance, you think everyone likes you, but actually you’re not as popular as you think.”
“Do you know who reported you?”
Lance glanced at him sideways, “Who?”
He didn’t expect Lukar to say, and indeed he didn’t, but it couldn’t be said that Lukar said nothing at all.
He said in a gloating tone, “Someone close to you.”
Lance raised his eyebrows and repeated, “Someone close to me?” He then sneered, “You don’t understand me and the people around me, Lukar.”
“We are all brothers who can entrust our lives to each other. They would not sell me out.”
“If they really did sell me out, then the problem must be with me, not them.”
“A person like you wouldn’t understand.”
He had clearly intended to watch Lance make a fool of himself, but for some reason… he looked around at the crowd. The expressions on the onlookers’ faces were all different, but the kind of expression he wanted to see was almost non-existent.
No one was mocking Lance, and no one was pitying him. Instead, many people were looking at him with disgust.
The smile on his face gradually faded. He took a step forward and poked Lance in the chest. “You’d better get the money ready for bail!”
With that, he turned and went back to the center.
Lance looked down at his chest, flicked off non-existent dust, nodded at the young men standing there with cuffed hands and indifferent expressions, and then disappeared into the crowd.
He sat back in the car. “Check who Lukar has been in contact with recently. Have someone keep an eye on him.”
Elvin looked somewhat incredulous, “Is there really a traitor among us?”
Lance shook his head, “Not necessarily someone close to us. He said that just to make us suspect each other. We can’t fall for his trap.”
“Tomorrow, have Roben the lawyer take the money to bail them out.”
Hiram, sitting in the passenger seat, asked, “So we’re just letting this go?”
Lance shook his head, “He said it himself, seven or eight thousand dollars. Such a large sum of money, how could we just let it go?”
“First, investigate and see how many locals are in this Bureau of Hazardous Materials. Make a list of their names.”
“He can buy informants to deal with us, so we can also buy informants to deal with him.”
“That idiot Polly just caused two bombings. Now is not a good time to be heavy-handed with them. First, have the bars take some precautions, make more escape routes.”
“If the liquor is gone, we can get more. I don’t want anyone to get hurt…”