After Charlie emerged from City Hall, several plainclothes “candidate chiefs” in the parking lot immediately dropped their cigarettes and stood up straight.
Faced with these scorching gazes, Charlie savored the moment.
This was why he was willing to accept a clearly insulting nickname like “Hound” and fight his way to the top.
If you have never been trampled on by others, you will never understand the joy and satisfaction of trampling on them.
He nodded slightly. “Alright, I don’t know who the mayor will choose. As for which of you is chosen…”
He paused for a moment, then glanced around again. “Then we’ll do as we said.”
Replace all positions with their own people in the truest sense, and run the police force as their, or rather, Charlie’s, private paradise.
Someone opened the car door for Charlie. He got in, still holding his head high, and the car slowly drove out of the City Hall parking lot, blending into the traffic and disappearing.
The afternoon was an ordeal for these men. It wasn’t until a little after three o’clock that Director Bruce appeared at the police station.
Quite a few people recognized him. After all, he was a graduate of the police academy and a mid-level officer in the force.
The police academy cadets who came after him would all try to visit these old alumni to see if there was any opportunity to get a higher starting point.
Plus, he was the precinct chief of the Empire District and would attend the annual police force conference. It was absolutely impossible for anyone not to know him.
Even the new officers who had just joined the force knew him, because hadn’t he just become famous again recently?
The chief of the Forest Police Department. Apart from those who were directly hired, everyone who graduated from the police academy knew what the Forest Police Department did.
To be transferred to the Forest Police Department, one must have offended the top brass of the Golden Port police force to receive such treatment.
So they were very curious as to why this “exiled” Director Bruce had suddenly come to the police station.
Someone greeted him with a smile. “Hey, Chief Bruce, is there anything I can do for you?”
After all, he was a colleague in the police force, and a chief at that, certainly much higher than the lowest-ranking officers.
Director Bruce shook his head. He was dressed very formally today, but what everyone didn’t notice was that he was not wearing the Forest Police uniform today, but the Golden Port city police uniform.
“I’ll wait here for a while. Someone will be here shortly.”
The others went about their own business, but some also notified the chief candidates who were waiting for the appointment results in the conference room.
They and Director Bruce were old acquaintances. In the past, when Charlie was in power, everyone was good friends, but now they were clearly no longer good friends.
Several of them came out of the office and saw Director Bruce sitting in a corner of the hall. They approached him.
“Did the crocodiles go missing?”
“Or did a bear attack the police station?”
What seemed like a joking greeting was actually a condescending dialogue with a hidden insult. They saw Bruce, Duke, and those who had aligned with Lance as traitors to the police force.
These people had betrayed them, making the police force no longer a united entity in the eyes of others.
Director Bruce’s gaze at them had changed from the past, now carrying a sense of superiority, an attitude that was higher than theirs.
This gaze made them very unhappy. A chief of the Forest Police Department, did he really think of himself as a “chief”?
Director Bruce was also on their purge list. They would find a crime for him to take the blame for, and then send him and his deputy, Duke, to prison together.
This kind of thing was easy for the police. Fabricating evidence was what they were best at.
All they had to do was put a bag of contraband in Director Bruce’s car, then give a heads-up to the court, and everything would be taken care of.
Everyone knew what would happen to a police officer, and a former precinct chief at that, if he was locked up in a public prison.
They would absolutely not come out alive.
At this moment, because of Director Bruce’s gaze, the silent atmosphere had become somewhat solidified. The police officers working in the hall also noticed the abnormality here, and the noisy sounds seemed to have become a little quieter.
One of the chief candidates was a little impatient. “What are you here for?”
“Planning to resign, or wanting to ask for our forgiveness?”
Director Bruce looked at this old friend, old colleague. There was first some pity in his eyes, and then it was filled with disgust. “I’m here to wait for someone,” he said truthfully.
“Who are you waiting for?” his old colleague asked.
Just as Director Bruce was about to say something, the corner of his eye caught sight of the two City Hall staff members who had just walked into the hall. A smile appeared on his face, and he stood up. “The people I’m waiting for have arrived.”
The others also looked towards the door. They of course knew that those two were City Hall staff, but what they didn’t understand was, what did Director Bruce have to do with these two?
Shouldn’t they… be here to announce the appointment of the city police chief?
But regardless, the few of them, along with Director Bruce, came to greet them. The two of them seemed to know some of them as well.
One of them asked, “Who is Mr. Bruce?”
Under the astonished gazes of the others, Bruce stepped out of the crowd, walked up to the two, and shook their hands. “I am Bruce.”
“Very good, Mr. Bruce. On behalf of the mayor, I hereby appoint you to the position of Chief of the Golden Port City Police Department. This is the letter of appointment. You need to sign here.”
They took out a document and handed it to Bruce. Bruce immediately took out a fountain pen and, with a slightly trembling hand, signed his name on the line.
The City Hall staff member checked the signature, then smiled and shook his hand again. “Congratulations, Chief Bruce.”
“Thank you, thank you!” his voice was even trembling a little.
In the past, Lance had asked him if he wanted to be the chief. He had dreamed of it, but he knew it was impossible.
To be the chief of the main headquarters, what you needed was not personal ability, but connections, money, power, and background.
Coincidentally, he had none of them.
Only the Bay Area could decide who was the chief, not anything else.
But now, what Lance had said had actually come true. He was so excited that he was a little emotional, and his eyes were getting hot and red.
“Sorry…” he rubbed his eyes to make himself look better. “I’ll have them get some coffee.”
The two City Hall staff members seemed to have expected this. “No need to trouble yourself. We have other things to do. It’s enough to hand the letter of appointment to you.”
“We’ll see each other again in the future.”
“Then… goodbye, Chief Bruce!”
“Goodbye, thank you!”
After seeing the two of them off, he returned to the police station. At this moment, the entire first-floor lobby of the police station was very quiet. Only the ringing of the unanswered phones could be heard, still shrilly calling.
Director Bruce looked at the dumbfounded chief candidates with a playful and cold gaze. Then he moved his gaze away and frowned slightly. “What are you standing around for? Get back to your work!”
The first-floor lobby instantly became lively again, but their emotions at this moment were completely different from their emotions a minute ago.
Only one voice was echoing in everyone’s mind—
All hell has broken loose!
Director Bruce immediately transferred a group of police officers from the Empire District precinct. The chief of the city police department, that is, the chief of the city’s main headquarters, has absolute personnel appointment power over the police force and does not need anyone’s approval.
For his old subordinates, this was definitely a huge piece of good news. This meant that their status and power in the police force had become greater.
But for Charlie’s die-hard loyalists, this was devastatingly bad news!
While questioning this decision, they frantically contacted Charlie.
Charlie was in the Bay Area, talking with the gentlemen of the Bay Area about Hunter’s death and some subsequent changes.
The ownership of the police force was very important for maintaining the rights and interests of the Bay Area. Plus, they sometimes had to handle some dirty work and needed the police to help them cover it up, so the change of power in the police department was also very important to them.
As Charlie was talking about when he could restore Golden Port to its former state, there was a sudden knock on the door.
The gentlemen in the room stopped talking. This was a high-end club. If it wasn’t necessary, the club’s staff would not disturb them.
A character who looked like a secretary standing in the corner of the wall walked to the door, opened it, and went out. He soon came back. “Councilman Charlie, there’s a call from a gentleman named… for you. You need to take it.”
Charlie was stunned for a moment, and then a smile appeared on his face. He looked at the few big shots from the Bay Area in front of him, including Mr. Hoff. He said, “It must be the appointment from City Hall.”
“This… is an old subordinate of mine. He’s like Hunter, has always worked for me, for the Bay Area. It’s just that his reputation is not as great as Hunter’s.”
“I can assure you all that after he takes office, everything will be as usual, and there will be no changes!”
The gentlemen of the Bay Area all smiled. “Good, Charlie. You are our most trusted partner. We are at ease when you do things.”
“Go take the call. Your subordinate has some very joyous news to share with you. You should be with him, in his moment of joy!”
Charlie stood up and bowed slightly. “Then I will excuse myself for a moment.”
He turned and left with a smile on his face. He came to a room specially prepared for him and picked up the phone that was already placed next to the phone.
“It’s me, Charlie. Has the appointment come down?”
His tone was very relaxed, but then, the receiver slipped from his hand.
He quickly fumbled and awkwardly caught the receiver, unable to help but ask, “What did you just say?”
“Mr. Charlie, the appointment has come down. That traitor Bruce has become the new chief!”
Charlie was stunned for a moment. He slowly put down the receiver, letting the “hello, hello” from inside continue to ring.
His face slowly began to turn red, redder and redder. Finally, he suddenly raised the phone receiver in his hand and slammed it hard on the floor.
The ivory component instantly separated from the mahogany handle, shattering on the floor.
Just like Chief Charlie’s mood at this moment!
(End of a Chapter)