The matter of Charlie running for city councilman was indeed beyond Lance’s expectations, but upon careful thought, perhaps this was his way of regaining control of the Golden Port police system through another method.
If he were to control the entire police system as an ordinary old man, some people would always express their dissatisfaction.
But for a city councilman to intervene in the work of the police system, although it might not be that appropriate, it could at least be justified, and the law also supported him in doing so.
Hunter cooperated with Charlie from within the police department, and they could once again control the largest law enforcement agency in Golden Port.
“It seems the ‘Bay Area Hound’ will have to change his name. ‘Bay Area Fox’ might be more suitable for him!”
Lance commented, “What else besides this?”
Precinct Chief Bruce organized his thoughts, “There’s one more thing, the party I’m going to attend later. Charlie has stated before that he hopes we don’t interfere in this… game between us and the mayor.”
He had a clear pause in the last half of the sentence, obviously thinking about how to phrase it to better express his attitude.
Using “you” was too distant and would make Lance think he was not on Lance’s side.
So he used the word “we,” which could express his stance of still being on Lance’s side!
“Don’t move…” Lance frowned slightly. Although his and Councilman Williams’ original intention was also to make the matter bigger, and then force the higher-level forces to intervene and let everything stabilize again.
But the chaos they created, and the chaos of Charlie and Hunter letting the chaos intensify, were actually not the same thing!
To give the simplest example, it’s like someone begging on the street. In order to get some spare change from the passersby, the more pitiful the better.
But this doesn’t mean he has to stab himself a few times. That’s not being pitiful, that’s seeking death!
Charlie’s approach was like this. Lance could even imagine that when the entire city was in a state of turmoil and the police were most needed to maintain order, the police might also go on strike.
When everyone was in despair about public security, Charlie, the “resigned to take responsibility” chief who had the most influence on the Golden Port police system in the past twenty years, would take the initiative to stand up and take on the responsibility of appeasing the police, letting them return to work, and letting the city’s order return to the normal level it should be.
And he could use this incident to have a political show and become a political figure in one leap!
Lance had even thought of a campaign slogan for him, called “The person who can protect your safety besides your parents is Charlie.”
Just listening to it can make people feel his reliability!
Then a city councilman would definitely not be able to run away.
At Charlie’s age, he could still work for more than ten years. Although he was no longer the police chief, he could still continue to control this system for more than ten years. Perhaps this was his ambition, and also his political appeal!
After thinking about these things, Lance looked at Precinct Chief Bruce with some confusion. He couldn’t believe that they couldn’t see these things, “Is there no one among you who opposes him?”
Precinct Chief Bruce shook his head, “There are, but what’s the use?”
“He represents the interests of the Bay Area. We are all guessing whether this is at the behest of the Bay Area. Opposing him is equivalent to opposing the decisions of the masters in the Bay Area.”
“Now with the mayor pressing down, they might have to be a little more low-key, but the mayor will eventually leave.”
“Once he leaves here, the people from the Bay Area will retaliate. We are just police precinct chiefs, Lance. We have no ability to resist.”
“Including me, if he asks me to state my position, I will definitely stand up and tell everyone loudly that I support his decision, because I don’t want to be served on a platter by him after all this is over!”
Lance nodded slightly, “I know.”
From his face, Precinct Chief Bruce saw what he wanted. He had been a little emotional just now, and at this moment, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.
To show such a side in front of a young man, a young man who was not much older than his own son, was indeed a bit shameful.
He straightened his clothes and sat back down, “So I think I should tell you about this, so that things don’t happen too suddenly and catch you off guard.”
“Of course, the Empire District doesn’t really need us to maintain public security. Now everyone in the city knows that our precinct is the most relaxed!”
Many people envied him. The Empire District precinct had no pressure at all, and its security rate was still the best among all the precincts.
This was because the people of the Lance Family took the initiative to maintain order on the street. The way these people maintained order was not quite the same as how the police maintained order.
When the police maintain order, they need to act according to the rules and regulations. Some things they can manage, then the problem can be solved.
But some things they can’t manage, or it’s not easy to manage, then they can’t handle it.
On the contrary, the people of the Lance Family were different. Regardless of whether they could manage it or not, as long as they thought you were wrong and told you to stop, and you didn’t stop.
Then alright, a beating was unavoidable. If you still resisted and even made an attacking motion, it might be many beatings, or even being thrown into Angel Lake!
Who wouldn’t want this kind of life, getting paid without having to work in danger?
“I don’t care about the affairs of other districts, but in the Empire District, you guys do what you should do.”
“You verbally agree to all of Charlie’s requests. When he holds you accountable, you can push it to me and say that I am the actual controller of the precinct.”
As he spoke, Lance opened a drawer, took out a few checks from it, and arranged them in order. They were all checks for $1,000.
Then he pushed the checks over with his hand, “Contact some of the precinct chiefs you have a good relationship with. You guys form a small circle first.”
“Don’t expose it for now. You will have more important things to do in the future.”
When Precinct Chief Bruce took these checks, a thoughtful look appeared on his face, but he didn’t think too deeply because now was not the right time.
However, he knew that his purpose of causing trouble for Charlie and his group had been achieved.
Originally, Lance had said that he might not have a chance to stabilize the position of police chief, but now that he had been disrupted by Charlie and Hunter, if he didn’t make some changes, that position would have nothing to do with him for the rest of his life.
He not only did not feel any guilt but instead felt an indescribable pleasure.
Charlie had been the police chief for so long, yet he still didn’t want to let go of the position. He was really too much!
“I know, I will contact them.”
Lance nodded slightly, “Okay, go. Be careful on the road.”
After watching Precinct Chief Bruce leave, Lance thought about some things.
Everyone is pursuing their own maximum benefit.
The mayor was like this. It seemed that he was at a bit of a disadvantage, letting Councilman Wade get the nomination for governor, while he himself could only get the nomination for speaker of the House of Representatives.
He had promised all kinds of benefits, to go out, but could not stay in this city for too long and would have to leave soon.
No matter how you looked at it, he was the one who had lost.
But in fact, he was the final big winner because even if he left, he was leaving with a full harvest.
He had traded the original interests of this city as a bargaining chip. It seemed that he had gotten nothing, but in fact, he had gotten intangible assets that were countless times more valuable than tangible assets!
Councilman Williams was also like this. In order to allow power to continue to be passed down, he would rather sacrifice the public security and stability of this city, even facing the possibility of the rise of the northern port, and was unwilling to have his authority suffer the slightest loss.
Precinct Chief Bruce was even more so. He thought Lance couldn’t see through it, but in fact, after he had finished saying what he wanted to express, Lance knew his thoughts.
His idea was nothing more than to want Lance to solve Charlie’s these means, so that he himself also had a chance to sit in that important position.
Everyone is trying to find a way, is seeking the greatest benefit, including himself.
Interest is the only eternal and unchanging truth in this world.
If someone says there is something else like this, then he must be lying!
He would not let Charlie succeed. Once Charlie, as a “politician,” controlled the entire police system, he would become a newly rising hill force.
In the future, Golden Port cannot, and will not be allowed to, have such an unreasonable force exist.
He can get rid of one police chief, and he can get rid of another!
A mocking sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth, but soon this sneer turned into a headache.
Because he was late.
“Sorry, I’m a little late,” he looked at Patricia. They had agreed to meet at 1:30, and now it was almost two o’clock.
But the girls of this era were not so unreasonable. Patricia still hugged Lance’s arm with a smile on her face and nestled beside him, “It’s okay, as long as you could come.”
“I asked the ticket seller. They said they can exchange our movie tickets for the next show, and it’s about to start.”
Lance kissed her on the head. Then the two bought some drinks and popcorn and walked into the screening hall.
They were watching the movie starring Gerald. Both were full of expectations.
Lance had fully invested in this movie. In this era, investing in movies was almost a surefire way to make money.
A large number of illiterates who “couldn’t understand” movies before no longer had to worry about not being able to understand the subtitles. The somewhat distorted voices, although they sounded a bit awkward, at least they could understand them.
In an era where half of the people were illiterate, this brought a huge boost to the box office.
Lance was still considering investing in a second, a third, and more.
The two talked in low voices, waiting for the cinema to go completely dark. Before long, the opening credits appeared on the screen. Lance frowned after watching.
This was not what Gerald had said when he called. Because the opening credits should be the logo of Wanli Productions, not this picture of a water bottle.
As the movie unfolded, he became even more convinced of this because the male and female leads were not people he had ever seen. Gerald had not even appeared. They must have made some mistake.
Lance found the movie ticket and looked at it in the dim light. The name was correct.
Patricia had never seen Gerald before. She thought the male lead in the movie was Gerald. Halfway through, she even told Lance that she didn’t think the male lead was as good-looking as Lance had described.
Lance just smiled, “This is not the movie I invested in, but the name is right. I’ll have to ask what’s going on later.”
“But this movie is also okay to watch. What do you think?”
He didn’t want to ruin the current atmosphere. The girl was quickly attracted by his words and nodded repeatedly, “Yes, it’s very interesting.”
From Lance’s perspective, what was so “very interesting” about it?
This was just a very ordinary product of the movies of this era: a bad script, bad actors, bad filming techniques. But because it was riding the wave of sound films, so even if all of this was very bad, ordinary moviegoers would still think it was okay, because of the novelty!
The movie finally ended in tragedy. Tragedy can sublimate the plot, which is also why there are many tragedies in opera.
In the past, those nobles who sat in golden and silver carriages liked to cry while watching the tragedies of the common people, but as soon as they turned their heads, they would only exploit and oppress the common people more harshly.
The power of tragedy is stronger than the power of comedy, and it can also be more memorable.
After all, happiness is easy to forget, but a scar may last a lifetime.
After the movie ended, Lance took Patricia for a few turns around the city center. It had been particularly quiet here these few days. In two or three hours, not a single gunshot was heard, which made Lance a little unaccustomed.
They ate some delicious food together, and Lance also bought a few sets of clothes for Patricia, and then drove her home.
The Lawrence couple had long expected Lance’s visit. After all, Patricia had been preparing since the morning. It was definitely not an ordinary date.
Emily asked casually, “Are you staying for the night?”
“After last time, I prepared a toothbrush and personal items for you. They are in Patricia’s room.”
This question made Lance also a little embarrassed. He glanced at Patricia. Patricia looked away, but it was obvious that she wanted Lance to stay.
“Yes, I’ll be staying here tonight…”
Emily said with a smile, “It’s not that hard, is it?”
She was referring to Lance saying frankly that he would be staying. Lance nodded in agreement.
Dinner was still a very sumptuous dinner. William had already gotten used to Lance’s appearance and his staying here for the night, although this was only the second time.
After dinner, the men would naturally sit on the sofa and chat about recent events, “The city has been abnormally quiet recently. Is something big about to happen?”
He had been busy with his campaign and had also noticed these changes, but compared to when he was working at City Hall and was exceptionally well-informed, he was now a little more closed off in terms of news.
Lance nodded, “The decisive battle between the locals and the outsiders may be about to begin. I hope it is a decisive battle. At least after this is over, we can all get a period of stable development opportunities.”
William couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath when he heard these words, “What on earth happened?”
Lance briefly explained the matter. William was a little silent after hearing it, “The public is innocent.”
He was waiting for Lance to follow up on his words, but Lance did not. This made him have to take the initiative to ask, “What do you think?”
“What do you want me to think?”
William shook his head and said, “Your real thoughts.”
“I think this is actually a good thing. At least it can make this city stable again for a period of time.”
“But after this period of time, the next chaos will come.”
“No matter if it’s Sidney, or Williams, or someone else sitting in that position, it will always be like this here.”
“If someone gains, someone will lose. The losers are unwilling to be losers, so they will challenge the gainers.”
“If they succeed, they become the gainers. The losers, after waiting for a period of time, will challenge them.”
“If they fail, then they will continue to accumulate strength…”
“William, there is no real fairness in this world. As long as real fairness does not exist, then this will always just be a cycle!”
“Unless there is one person who can end all of this!”
This was a very deep topic that required William to think about.
At eight-something, when the people of the Federation were resting, Lance naturally slept on Patricia’s bed, with her.
This time, it was obviously much more comfortable than last time. Although she was a little shy and reluctant, after all, the Lawrence couple were here, but she still couldn’t resist Lance’s request and her own thoughts.
Sometimes girls want this more than their partners.
The two tossed and turned several times in one night before falling asleep. The next morning, the girl was obviously a little embarrassed, but looking at the calm expressions of the Lawrence couple, she finally felt relieved.
Patricia didn’t sleep well last night, so today she planned to go nowhere, and Lance still had some things to do, so he quickly took his leave.
William took his car.
“I forgot to tell you yesterday. There’s something I might need your help with.”
In the car, the two lit a cigarette. They had not smoked at home. This was respect for the women, and of course, respect for the family.
A deep drag of the cigarette was inhaled, and the whole person seemed to be much more comfortable. For a while, neither of them spoke, immersed in the pleasure brought by the nicotine.
After the third or fourth puff, William finally said, “It’s still about Basil Investment Bank, isn’t it?”
“Barbara borrowed some money from outside and bought her company’s products. Now that Basil Investment Bank has run away with the money, the finance company that lent her the money is chasing the debt.”
“Her father said that the other party might have a gang background and is also asking them for high interest.”
“My brother is communicating with them. I don’t think the direction of this matter is necessarily what we want to see. At that time, I might still need your help.”
Lance nodded, “A small matter.”
Then he dropped William off at the campaign office in the city center. Lance went directly back to the company. Then he gave Gerald a call to ask about the movie.
“I went to the cinema last night to see your movie. The ticket I bought was for yours, but what was shown was not yours. What’s going on?”