Making friends, in fact, is not simple at all.
If a beggar wants to befriend a prince, it is highly likely that the prince will feel that the beggar is insulting him and will order his guards to kill the beggar.
For people to become friends, they need an equal relationship.
This is not to say that both parties should ignore their background, status, or other things, but that their “value” should be roughly the same.
If a local gang leader came to give a solid gold baseball bat to the Attorney General in a different place today, then that person’s fate would most likely be the electric chair.
It’s not that the gift he gave was bad, but that he did something he shouldn’t have done, and absolutely could not do.
When a gentleman doesn’t accept your bribe, it’s absolutely not because he isn’t greedy, but because you are not worthy.
Ignoring Lance’s other assets, purely in terms of his identity and status, he was actually not worthy of being friends with a state’s attorney general.
But who made them both have the same “friend,” Senator Cleveland?
Senator Cleveland needs a large amount of interest transfer to consolidate and continue to enhance his position in Congress. Terry, this attorney general, must have a big shot to protect him if he wants to go further.
And Lance is another link in the entire machine. Although there is nothing for him and Terry to deal with each other, with the blessing of a special bridge, they have the qualification to be friends; they are equal.
Since they had become friends, then some things were very easy to talk about.
Terry very politely asked Lance to call him by his first name, but Lance would absolutely not be so reckless.
It was like Senator Cleveland asking Lance to call him by his first name, but would Lance do that?
Not only did he have to use a respectful title, but he also had to add his official position.
The big shots use this method to express a kind of closeness, not to really let you call them that.
“I heard from Tom that you came this time because you have some things you need my help with?” Terry stood up and walked to the dining room. “Whiskey?”
Lance nodded and at the same time said, “There are some problems with the Golden Port police force that have seriously affected the stability of society, but… you know, the situation in Golden Port is a bit complicated.”
“We are trying to get it back on track bit by bit, but our strength alone is not enough. We need a higher level of power.”
There are currently three departments that can investigate corruption in the federal police system, but only two can actually do it.
One is the police’s internal disciplinary department. Having the police’s internal disciplinary department investigate the police force is as ridiculous as “I’m investigating myself.”
Because of the system, the chief has almost all the authority. Even if an investigation is launched, as long as he feels something is wrong, he can immediately replace the people in the disciplinary department, and the investigation will naturally not be able to proceed.
There are two other departments. One is the Department of Justice, but the Department of Justice generally does not directly interfere with the integrity of the local police force.
Then there is only one department left, the Prosecutor’s Office and the prosecutor.
Having the Golden Port prosecutor investigate the corruption of the Golden Port police force, it’s not yet known who will be investigated.
The Bay Area has ruled Golden Port for so many years. From the prosecutor to the judge, they are basically more or less connected to them.
The easiest way to bring down Charlie is to link him to the corruption of the police force, and then use the relationship with the Department of Justice to directly suspend his status as a municipal councilman, then accept an investigation, and finally convict him and send him to prison.
As long as he doesn’t have the skin of a “politician,” then it’s easy to deal with him.
Politicians don’t have much sympathy for the losers of political purges, and dealing with these people is not as troublesome as dealing with those politicians who have not yet failed.
History has shown these things more than once—
Before a certain senator fell from power, his enemies could only try to bring him down by slinging mud, fabricating evidence, and political purges.
But no one ever said they would assassinate him or harm his family.
But since he fell, he himself died in an accident, his wife died in an accident, his children died in an accident, and his whole family was like cursed, almost wiped out!
This is the game rule and bottom line that federal politicians have always adhered to, and it is also the highest “high-voltage line” in the federal political arena.
Even if Charlie is just a low-level politician, before his “golden body” is destroyed, Lance will not directly move against him.
So, this requires someone to contribute!
Terry was not troubled after hearing Lance’s request. “The things you’re talking about are exactly what we plan to do.”
“Last year, the problem of police corruption in Golden Port had already attracted the attention of the state government, us, and the Department of Justice.”
“Since the beginning of the year, we have actually been investigating the problems of the Golden Port police force, but it has always been in a secret investigation stage, so you may not know yet.”
“Since you have such a request…” he pondered for a moment. “How about this, I’ll give you a phone number. It’s the number of the leader of this investigation team. You can provide him with any evidence you have.”
He didn’t ask Lance who he wanted to report, nor did he mention other things, because at his level, he was already very clear.
Since these things could be connected to him through Senator Cleveland, then this matter must involve a game at the congressional level. It was not suitable for him to ask too deeply.
Only by doing this beautifully would Senator Cleveland remember him. Many times, for people who want to work hard and move up, it is enough to get a familiar face in front of those who can decide their future!
He hand-wrote a number for Lance, and a name, Dean, a prosecutor.
“Prosecutor Dean is a very excellent prosecutor. He has very professional abilities, has his own ideas in his work, and has a very good relationship with me.”
“I believe you will get along very well!” Terry hinted. He was not sure if Lance had felt his hint.
But fortunately, Lance felt it, and quickly gave positive feedback. “I believe I can become good friends with Prosecutor Dean.”
Terry smiled and nodded. “I think so too.”
Lance put away the note. The topic shifted from business to other aspects.
Attorney General Terry was a very talkative and enthusiastic person, which was very much in line with the perception of the grassroots people that “the higher the official’s level, the less airs they have.”
The two talked about a lot of things. At first, he was just thinking of it as a polite social interaction, but as what they talked about became deeper or more cutting-edge, Lance could actually keep up. His impression of Lance once again underwent some changes.
At least Lance was not that kind of uncultured, purely a tool. He still had some value.
After declining Attorney General Terry’s invitation to stay for dinner, Lance left. He did not plan to spend the night here.
After returning to the hotel and resting for a bit, he met with the leader of the local Empire immigrant gang. After a simple chat and selling another 250,000 worth of liquor, he got in the car and embarked on the journey back to Golden Port.
The weather in early April was getting warmer and warmer, but a certain atmosphere in Golden Port was getting colder and colder.
A lot had happened in the past two days.
First, the city police chief was killed, and it’s still unknown who did it.
Although there are many rumors in the public, all vaguely pointing to the Lance Family, without conclusive evidence, these claims can only be rumors.
For this, the police department also arrested some rumor-mongers.
Speaking of the police department, it must be said that after Chief Bruce took office, he did not immediately make large-scale personnel adjustments and changes to the police department, but continued to use the personnel arrangements of the Hunter era.
But even so, some police officers still protested to City Hall, believing that Chief Bruce was involved with gangs and was not qualified to lead the city police department.
After reviewing some of the complaint letters, the mayor also publicly stated that without any evidence, he would not consider the idea of replacing the police chief for the time being.
For a time, the focus of the city’s storm was actually on the position of the police chief, not on the confrontation between the Lance Family and the Kodak Family.
On such a morning, Lance’s convoy returned to Golden Port. After a day and a half of trekking, he was very uncomfortable.
The feeling of not being able to stretch out in the car made him very uncomfortable. As soon as he arrived at the parking lot behind the office, he couldn’t wait to get out of the car.
The moment he stood on the ground, his whole body stretched out. That feeling was like… a curled-up seedling suddenly stretching out under the nourishment of the sun and rain, growing strong!
“Has anything happened in the past two days?”
Lance sat in his chair, his legs crossed, and lit a cigarette. During his absence, Elvin was responsible for the operation of the gang and the daily work arrangements of the company, and also had to observe those “struggles.”
He brought coffee for Lance and said with a smile, “I hear that Charlie is trying to organize a police strike to get Bruce to step down.”
“You know, once the police go on strike, the city will definitely fall into chaos. At that time, regardless of whether Bruce is at fault or not, the only choice he has is to resign.”
Lance picked up the coffee and sniffed it. The rich, oily aroma of the coffee assailed his nostrils. He took a small sip. The taste was very “thick,” the kind he liked.
“It looks like he’s in big trouble.”
Elvin smiled. “But I believe that trouble will not be trouble. Aren’t you back?”
Lance laughed and put down his coffee cup. “When did you learn to flatter?”
Elvin put down the coffee pot and sat opposite him. “It’s not flattery. I have confidence in you. You’ve always been like this.”
Lance thought for a moment and nodded. “Not a big problem!”
As he spoke, he picked up the phone and dialed Chief Bruce’s number. After Chief Bruce took office, he was just like Hunter. He directly abandoned Hunter’s office and had the entire office demolished.
Then he bought a new batch of furniture and chose another room as his new chief’s office.
These past two days, Lance had been on the road, so he didn’t have much time to talk to Chief Bruce. Now this call made the somewhat焦头烂额 Chief Bruce breathe a sigh of relief.
“Thank God for hearing my prayers, you’re finally back!” Chief Bruce was very exaggerated, as if… he couldn’t handle these things without Lance!
And in fact, that was indeed the case. Because of Lance, he was pushed to a position he could never have climbed to. He was not the kind of person who could sit in this position through his own efforts.
In terms of ability, he was not even as good as Hunter!
If it was just the basic duties of a police officer and the basic duties of a chief, such as personnel arrangements and work arrangements, he could still handle it.
Now it already involved political struggle. His level was simply not enough to play these games. Even if he knew he couldn’t let those police officers go on strike, he didn’t have any good solutions.
Could he run over to those officers who were planning to or had already joined the strike and say, “You fucking quit immediately, or I’ll make you pay”?
But fortunately, Lance was back at this time, and his emotions immediately stabilized.
Listening to some more detailed information from Chief Bruce, Lance thought for a moment and then gave him a solution. “Arrest these people first…”
He mentioned some names, all of which he had heard from Chief Bruce. These police officers were all die-hard loyalists of Charlie in the police management and were also old police officers.
The police force is a very special place. There is also something like “inheritance” here.
Behind an old police officer are often three to five or even a dozen or twenty police officers who have a very good relationship with him. To arrest so many people at once, Chief Bruce was a little nervous!
But he trusted Lance. Lance had really made him the chief. What could be more convincing than this?
“What reason should I use to arrest them?”
“After arresting them, should I just lock them up?”
Lance hissed and took a drag on his cigarette, then while speaking, he exhaled from his mouth along with the pronunciation of his speech. “After arresting them, send them to the Empire District precinct to be locked up. Arrange for your trusted good hands to use methods to get them to confess the interest relationship between them and Charlie.”
Chief Bruce was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reacted. “You want me to investigate their official crimes!”
“Not us, but the State Prosecutor’s Office. You just have to do as I say.”
Chief Bruce nodded and said, “I know what to do!” His tone became much more relaxed, but it was clear that he might not fully know.
Lance took the last drag on his cigarette, stubbed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, and while doing so said, “No matter if they have done it or not, whether they admit it or not, they have to write a confession.”
“Don’t they like to persuade our people to plead guilty for a reduced sentence?”
“Arrange for them to have one too…”
“You can go and do it now!”
After hanging up the phone, Elvin looked at Lance and asked curiously, “Will this trigger an overreaction from Charlie’s side?”
Lance shook his head. “No, it won’t. Not only will it not, but it will also make those people become indecisive.”
“People are intelligent animals. As long as they are intelligent animals, they are selfish!”
Chief Bruce moved very quickly. After hanging up the phone, he called all his trusted subordinates to his office.
The news of a strike against Chief Bruce had been spreading like wildfire within the police force for the past two days. They were also a little worried, worried that if there was really a major police strike, the chief’s throne that Chief Bruce had just warmed up for a few days would have to be given up.
Everyone’s face was filled with some worry, but the first to notice that something was wrong was Duke. He saw a trace of a smile on Chief Bruce’s face, which was very wrong.
After almost everyone had arrived, he said, “You go back to the Empire District precinct, take some men, and arrest everyone on this list and interrogate them strictly…”
He handed the list in his hand to Duke, who was closest to him. Duke glanced at it and then passed it on.
This list not only included the middle-level cadres and office chiefs of the city police department, but also a few precinct chiefs and office chiefs from other precincts.
When they saw this list, everyone’s heart skipped a beat, and some even looked at Chief Bruce in disbelief. The indescribable thing in their eyes was like asking, “Are you fucking crazy?”
“Why are you looking at me with that look?” he leaned back in his chair, lit a cigarette, and shook the match in his hand to extinguish the flame.
“After you’ve caught these people, have them tell you about the interest connections between them and Charlie, and also what dirty work they’ve done for Charlie.”
“If they can say it, then that’s for the best.”
“If they can’t…” Chief Bruce smiled. “Then have them make it up!”
“Try not to make too much noise when you’re arresting people. If anyone dares to obstruct, you can open fire first!”
His tone suddenly became severe. “Brothers, this is not a time for joking with you. This is a big matter of whether we will spend our future in prison or outside.”
“You wouldn’t be naive enough to think that if we are taken down by Charlie, we can still have a ‘good ending’, would you?”
“He will only try his best to kill us, and he might even send us to prison.”
“You know better than me what happens to police officers who are sent to prison.”
“So, gentlemen, whether it’s for our future or for our safety, between us and them, we must do this!”
“And!” he looked at these people. “Lance will back us up!”
What he said was very simple. Soon, people started to move. Although Charlie was trying to shake his position now, before he was dismissed or resigned in disgrace, he was still the police chief, and he held the moral high ground!
The wailing police cars soon ran all over the streets. One police officer after another was suddenly pressed to the ground by police officers who rushed out from the surroundings, and then taken away. For a time, more strange rumors began to spread in the city.
And at this time, Lance dialed the phone number that Attorney General Terry had given him.
“Hello?”
“Excuse me, is this Prosecutor Dean?”
“This is Lance!”
In a hotel room, Prosecutor Dean stood by the window. A lot of smiles appeared on his face. “Mr. Lance, hello. The Attorney General has already spoken with me. When can we meet?”
(End of a Chapter)