The second hand ticked and ticked, constantly running in circles. No matter how many laps it ran, or for how long, it could never escape its confines.
Day after day, year after year.
Whenever you looked up at it, it was moving. If you had to say who the most diligent person in this office was, it would have to be the second hands, big and small.
Although Nate knew this, knew that the second hand wouldn’t disappear just because he didn’t look at it for a while, he still couldn’t help but look up again.
Less than five minutes had passed since the last time he looked up.
He wasn’t really looking at the second hand, but at the time.
It was already eleven o’clock.
His gaze returned to the police station’s main gate outside the window. He had been standing here for some time.
This was the benefit of a promotion.
The lower-ranking officers and patrolmen still had to work, while he could freely allocate his own time.
He lit a cigarette and took a drag. There were already quite a few cigarette butts at his feet. He instinctively didn’t want to smoke, but every so often, he couldn’t help but take one out.
The cigarette was unconsciously finished. The physiological disgust and aversion let him know that he shouldn’t smoke anymore.
He crushed the cigarette butt with the tip of his shoe to make sure it was extinguished, then looked up at the clock again.
The second hand was still ticking away. Only a few minutes had passed. As if trapped in a cycle, he turned his head and looked at the police station’s main gate again. His hand subconsciously reached for the cigarette pack in his pocket.
But this time, he really didn’t smoke again, because it was empty.
Just as he was about to move to another spot, three cars drove in from outside. He was stunned for a moment, thinking it was Hunter’s car, but then he realized it wasn’t.
Who was it?
This question didn’t last long. After a few clearly elite bodyguards got out of the car, Charlie emerged from the vehicle.
He walked into the first-floor lobby with a serious expression. Nate had a vague feeling that something had happened.
He took a deep breath, carefully reviewed his side for any flaws, and after confirming there were none, he returned to his office.
About ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he said, sitting behind his desk, pretending to work, though his mind was actually racing.
The person from outside stuck his head in. “Nate, Charlie wants to see you.”
Nate nodded, put down the file he was holding, tidied it up, and placed it on the desk. He patted down his clothes and followed the person towards Hunter’s office.
Charlie had been the police chief of the Golden Port Police Department for nearly thirty years. Strictly speaking, all the officers here were his old subordinates, and Nate was no exception.
They were old colleagues.
Arriving outside Hunter’s office, the person leading him knocked on the door. “Nate is here, Councilman Charlie.”
“Please come in.”
Charlie’s voice came from inside. The door was pushed open, and Nate entered the office.
“Chief,” Nate addressed Charlie with his former title. Charlie was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and motioned for him to sit down.
“The chief now is Hunter, not me,” he paused. “We’ve all been busy lately. How’s work going? Smoothly?”
Nate nodded repeatedly. “It’s alright, not much different from before.”
The small talk ended there. “Do you know where Hunter went?”
Nate shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Charlie stared into his eyes. During his previous chat with Hunter, Hunter had mentioned this—he suspected Nate was one of Lance’s men and had used this as a reason for why he had to go personally.
The police station was full of Lance’s men, and he didn’t trust the others that much.
Who knew how deep Lance’s infiltration of the police force was? But whether it was Bruce or Duke, they had both graduated from the police academy and joined the force.
Guys who came in through the proper channels like this were now almost all middle-level managers in the force. They had “alumni” and “classmate” relationships with each other. In the Federation, alumni and classmate relationships were stronger than those between cousins.
Try asking your brother to help you get a job at the company where he works. He’ll tell you to stop fucking daydreaming.
But if you ask your classmates or alumni, they will tell you they will try.
Human relationships in the Federation were complex, but in a way, they were also very simple.
With two “nails” in place, maybe Lance could infiltrate even deeper. Who knew?
Hunter had said Nate was Lance’s man, and he could only tentatively believe it.
He saw no emotional changes in Nate’s eyes that would indicate he was lying. Either he was telling the truth, or his acting skills were very good.
But whichever it was, Charlie couldn’t be bothered to distinguish anymore.
It had been nearly four hours, and Hunter had not sent back any news. He had said he would call him as soon as possible, but so many hours had passed.
Even if he had gone to Gold Star City or other surrounding cities, he should have arrived long ago. Charlie had to think of the worst. Was he in trouble, or something else?
It seemed that he couldn’t get any useful clues from Nate now. He made his request. “I want to see the suspect you were interrogating.”
Nate hesitated. “Hunter said that no one could see him before he came back.”
Charlie tapped the desk twice with his hand. “Does that include me?”
His tone was slightly harsh. Charlie couldn’t reach Hunter himself, and Hunter hadn’t called him as promised. This made him feel that something was wrong.
If Hunter was really killed by Lance, then the current situation would be a huge problem.
Nate led Charlie to the room. The young man saw a strange old man appear here, and he vaguely knew what had happened.
Hunter was probably dead.
He tilted his head slightly and looked at the old man nonchalantly, without speaking.
Charlie glanced at Nate, signaling him to leave.
Besides Charlie, there were also his two bodyguards and confidants in the room.
Charlie was also an old cop. Although he had been doing administrative management for the past twenty-odd years, in the earlier period, he had indeed worked seriously.
If he didn’t have outstanding abilities, he wouldn’t have been noticed by the gentlemen of the Bay Area.
There were too many people in this city willing to suck up to the gentlemen of the Bay Area. They wouldn’t take just anyone. Only those with sufficient ability and intelligence could catch their eye, for example, Charlie.
“I don’t know what Lance promised you. Maybe he told you that you would have a single room inside, that someone would take care of you, that being in prison would be like traveling and staying in a hotel.”
“But I have to tell you, I have many ways to make you disappear in there.”
“Now, use your brain and think carefully. Then tell me, where did Hunter go?”
“You have the time it takes to smoke one cigarette!”
Charlie took out a cigarette and put it in the young man’s mouth, then took out a lighter.
With a click, the flint was scraped by the spinning wheel, creating sparks in the air.
Some sparks landed on the wick soaked in kerosene, and a flame instantly ignited.
Ennio closed the lighter and walked to the phone booth outside the motel.
They were on their way back, and it was estimated that they wouldn’t be back in Golden Port until tonight. Last night, they had hurried out of the state capital, not stopping for long, and got directly onto the interstate highway.
Both sides of the interstate highway were wilderness, with no phone booths or anything.
It wasn’t until almost noon that they found a motel on the side of the road. Not only did it have hotel services, five-dollar blowjobs and ten-dollar full service, but also food, water, and a phone booth.
The cost of having fun at a motel was higher because this place was quite remote, and rarity makes things precious.
If you don’t care whether the person giving you oral sex is male or female, then you might be able to get a free skill. But if you do care, then you have to pay a higher price than in the city.
The others were eating. Ennio took a break to make a call and explain the situation.
The phone rang several times before it was answered, and then Lance’s voice came through. “What’s up?”
“It’s me, Ennio. I found them.”
Ennio took a drag on his cigarette and turned to look at the side of the road. There was another car there. The mother and son were tied up and locked in the car, with someone else watching them.
Not taking them to the motel was to prevent them from shouting for help and causing unnecessary trouble.
The state highway patrol was a real headache. Once they were on your tail, it was hard to shake them off.
Ennio didn’t want to cause trouble, so he preferred to trouble himself a little first, rather than getting into any big trouble.
“They’re with us now. We’re about at… this location. We should be able to get back to the city around ten o’clock tonight.”
Lance praised him and their efforts. “Was the road smooth?”
“It was okay. We moved quickly and didn’t make a big scene. No police cars have chased us so far, so it should be safe.”
“We keep switching drivers to save some time. Maybe we can get to Golden Port earlier.”
Hearing this, Lance said, “You don’t have to be in such a hurry. Hunter has already gone to see God. They’re useless now. Get rid of them.”
“You guys be careful. I’ll treat you to barbecue when you get back.”
Ennio was a little surprised. “He’s already gone to see God?”
“When did that happen?”
Lance glanced at his watch. “Two hours ago.”
Ennio didn’t complain, but was pleasantly surprised that Hunter had been dealt with so smoothly. “He fell for it?”
“Yes, he fell for it, and then he was blown into several pieces. I hope God can recognize who he is when he sees him!”
“Haha…”
After a few more words, Ennio hung up the phone. He bit on his cigarette holder and walked out of the phone booth.
The weather had warmed up a lot. The big sun shining on people was also warm, just a bit dazzling.
This stretch of road was all sunny and bright. The light reflected from the wilderness made people have to squint. He returned to the restaurant and sat down at his seat.
Lunch was hamburgers, chips, and steak. They were all from poor backgrounds and weren’t picky. Filling their stomachs was the most important thing.
A few people quickly finished their food. Another person ordered three portions to go, but Ennio stopped him. “One is enough.”
The other few people looked at him but didn’t say anything more.
The food was very expensive, almost double the price in the city. But you couldn’t complain about the price. This was a motel restaurant. They would rip off whoever they could.
Of course, it was also possible that it had something to do with the fact that they were driving small cars. If they were driving big trucks, the price would be much cheaper.
After paying, Ennio, with a toothpick in his mouth, led his men back to the car. The car started up again and drove for about four or five kilometers before stopping again.
Ennio pushed open the car door and walked to the side of the road. He took out a cigarette and lit one.
He stood by the front of the car for a while, then looked back at the mother and son in the car, and reached up to adjust his hat.
The sudden sound of gunshots made two deer resting in the shade of a tree jump up and run away. Some small animals also instantly hid themselves in places that were not easy to find. It wasn’t until a while later that they poked their heads out again.
They actually didn’t know what that sound was, but they had an instinctive fear of it, hidden in their bones.
Fear is an instinct, but there was no fear in the young man’s eyes. He tilted his head and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, looking at Charlie with a fierce expression on his face, the muscles on his cheekbones twitching.
This defiant, untamed look made Charlie very uncomfortable. He tilted his head slightly, and the bodyguard who had already rolled up his sleeves took a stance and punched the young man hard in the stomach.
His body, confined to the chair, contracted sharply in an instant, like a shrimp turned red in boiling water, and he let out a painful groan.
“You’re just a small fry.”
“Tell me, where is Hunter?”
The young man continued to look at him with a hostile gaze. He walked up to the young man, took out his fountain pen, and even twisted his nose hair, then stabbed it into his thigh.
Just stabbing it in was not enough. He also inserted his fingers along the wound and dug in forcefully. “Where is he?”
Hearing the screams in the room, Nate felt a wave of discomfort. It wasn’t because he felt much sympathy for the young man; he couldn’t do that yet.
He was just worried, worried if he would also encounter such torture one day.
If he encountered such torture, would he be able to hold on like the young man inside?
He didn’t know.
He picked up the phone and dialed Lance’s number. “Charlie is here. He’s interrogating those young men. His methods are a bit brutal.”
After saying this, he hung up the phone without waiting for a response. His heart was pounding.
In fact, he had another worry. What if that young man couldn’t hold on and confessed about him?
Although he had already sold himself out once.
A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door of the chief’s office. The screams inside also subsided a little because of the knock.
“What is it?”
A bodyguard came out from inside. His light blue shirt was spattered with blood, which made the police officer at the door’s eyes twitch.
Many people actually didn’t know how vicious Charlie was. They all thought he was a good chief.
Always smiling, easy to talk to. Even when he encountered an officer who had made a mistake, he would pretend not to see it and would even remind them not to make the same mistake again.
Only a few people knew that a hound has sharp teeth and a strong bite. They not only wag their tails, but they also tear apart their prey.
“There’s… an emergency call, saying they found a possible firefight scene, with our officers…”
Charlie wiped the blood off his fountain pen with a tissue, put the cap back on, and put it back in his pocket. “Go check it out. See what’s there.”
He glanced sideways at the weak-breathing young man, a cold smile on his lips.
He was now like Hunter, believing that there must be Lance’s men in the police station.
He had just started the torture not long ago, and a clue had come to him on its own.
These traitors would be found out by him sooner or later and cleaned up.
The wailing police cars quickly drove out of the parking lot. Charlie already had a bad feeling, but he still held on to a one in ten thousand chance of hope.
And this hope was shattered thirty minutes later.
More police cars arrived at the old abandoned station, and also two medical examiners—
The reason there were two medical examiners was because the officers who arrived at the scene had requested it. There were body parts everywhere. Not only did they need to be found, but they also needed to be pieced together. This was not a job for one person.
Charlie also came to the scene, but he sat in the car and did not get out.
The car he was in was bulletproof, a gift from the gentlemen of the Bay Area, to protect his safety.
As the Bay Area’s hound, he was also valuable to the gentlemen.
The bodies of several police officers had already been placed in body bags, lined up neatly.
And Hunter?
Several police officers and a medical examiner were holding bags and checking the grass around with tongs, occasionally picking up a piece and putting it inside.
When Charlie saw this scene, although he was mentally prepared, he still couldn’t help but punch the back of the passenger seat.
“Fuck!”
He cursed. He had warned Hunter not to leave the police station.
Lance was a young man whose courage was much greater than that of the local gangsters. He would definitely assassinate Hunter.
But Hunter… Charlie actually felt a little bit of self-blame, because Hunter was under too much pressure, so when he found an opportunity to solve the current predicament, he would attack without hesitation!
Charlie was also reflecting. He hadn’t been able to help Hunter reduce his pressure, which was what had led to these things happening.
He also had some responsibility.
But what now?
Hunter was dead. He wasn’t the chief now. Although the police station was full of his old subordinates, did these old subordinates really listen to him?
Thinking of Nate’s appearance, could it be that more people had actually sided with Lance?
Having lost Hunter as a bridge, could he still command the police station?
He didn’t know, and he was not qualified to command the work of the police station now. He was not the police chief.
The most urgent task now was to quickly put forward a new chief to take Hunter’s place and continue to firmly grasp the personnel power of the police station!
For a time, choosing a candidate became a problem. Others were not necessarily as useful as Hunter. For a short period of time, he couldn’t even find any suitable candidates!
(End of a Chapter)