In the room, Lance sat opposite Bandy, the two of them looking at each other.
Of course, there was no sweet atmosphere here, but the air wasn’t explosive either.
The meeting between the two was much more peaceful than others had imagined.
Lance crossed his legs, nodded slightly, and answered the question Bandy had just asked, “Yes, it’s just as you said.”
“The Kodak Family and you have grown up with the most important thirty years of this city. You and a certain part of it are highly overlapping.”
“The good, the bad, the things in the sunlight, the things in the shadows, people will be afraid.”
“If it were me, I would also be afraid of someone knowing my secrets, especially when I don’t want anyone to know these secrets.”
“Will he expose my secrets and ruin my reputation?”
“Or does he plan to use this secret to blackmail me, to make me lose my status and self in front of him?”
“I don’t know what he will do, but I know one thing—”
Lance leaned forward a little, tilted his head, and lowered his voice, as if he were whispering, “As long as I kill him, no one will have those questions that make me uneasy.”
After he finished speaking, a smile appeared on his face. He sat back again, and the smile on his face quickly subsided, becoming indifferent again. “I was originally planning to wait a little longer, to see if there were more people who would be pushed over by you, to be drawn into this game, actively or passively.”
“But when you made such a choice while risking great danger, I knew it was no longer necessary. We are all ready.”
Bandy looked at Lance. Lance was even younger than Fleming, but when facing Lance, he didn’t feel like he was facing a young man.
He knew what Lance meant by “all ready.” He was already prepared to accept the result of failure.
The two looked at each other for a moment. Bandy didn’t really want to bow his head and admit defeat to a young man who was even younger than his own son. He deliberately said, “Maybe that’s just what you think?”
Lance spread his hands. “Some things don’t matter what ‘you think’ or ‘I think.’ They’ve already gone to find Fleming.”
The expression on Bandy’s face visibly tensed. He really wanted to pretend he didn’t care, wanted to show a smile and then laugh at Lance, “That’s useless on me,” but his smile had just been squeezed out when it disappeared.
He couldn’t maintain that smile that he didn’t acknowledge. He was afraid, worried. He couldn’t laugh.
His expression became a little panicked. “This was all my decision. They are innocent.”
Lance shook his head and said, “No one is innocent.”
This made the unease in his heart even stronger. “What do you want?” he could only take the initiative to propose the basic condition for this “reconciliation,” letting Lance name his price.
Lance seemed to have thought of something and said with a smile, “I made a price last time, but you refused.”
A very ordinary sentence, used to sting him, made Bandy really feel a pain like a sting of regret!
If he had agreed at that time, would there have been so many twists and turns?
Would they have been able to leave safely together?
“I…” he lowered his head and rubbed his cheeks with both hands. “I accept your offer now.”
Lance looked at him with a cheap pity in his eyes. “Now it’s a different price.”
Bandy had no right to refuse.
In the spare time while waiting for the lawyer and other relevant personnel, Bandy asked about Stone.
He was also very curious, curious why Stone would betray them, until Lance said that he had been killed twice.
Bandy, who had originally harbored some hatred for Stone no matter how he had defended him in his heart, suddenly no longer hated him so much, and could even understand him a little.
The fear of having died twice in a row was enough to make many people collapse. Now that he thought about it, none of this could be blamed on Stone.
He had let it go. For a moment, his whole person seemed to calm down.
Not long after, under the filming of several lawyers and a camera lens, Bandy first confirmed his mental state, that he had not been drinking, had not used any anesthetic or sedative drugs or injections, had not been subjected to any threats, and had full capacity to act and could also bear responsibility.
Then he signed a series of transfer agreements, transferring the remaining operating rights of the five casino licenses to Lance to operate.
The price was… one dollar.
During this period, some other documents were also signed, but these were not filmed. It belonged to another part.
After repeatedly confirming with the lawyer that these things had legal effect, Lance slowly stood up.
He extended his hand, waiting for Bandy to take the initiative to shake his hand. “You’ve made the right choice this time, Bandy.”
Bandy sighed. “I hope so too.”
He didn’t seem to trust Lance very much, but Lance didn’t care about such things at all. “Then there’s one last thing. Are you mentally prepared?”
Bandy nodded. “I’m always ready.”
Lance patted his arm, gave him an affirmative look, and then left the room.
Bandy’s lawyer was a little confused about the meaning of their conversation, but Bandy had no desire to explain either. He just told him that he could leave.
Soon the lawyer left with his team. At the same time, he told Bandy that Stone was unwilling to see him and could not come out.
He did not continue to insist. After he knew that Stone owed him and the family nothing, his whole person was very relaxed.
The news that Lance and Bandy had talked for more than forty minutes in the interrogation room was spread by someone. It was said that Chief Bruce had even lost his temper over it, but he strangely did not pursue who had released this news.
However, some people, when spreading this news, would take the initiative to perfect it. This was also what many rumor-mongers liked to do most.
They would process the rumors they heard, make them look more reasonable, more in line with their own understanding of the matter, and only then would they take them out for re-transmission.
This also led to the fact that, in fact, many times the reason why rumors can spread quickly is because the people who make them up know what people really want, and can make those places that people think are unreasonable become reasonable.
This news once again made the Bay Area a little restless. This also made them hate Charlie again.
If it weren’t for Charlie losing the law enforcement department, would they be so passive now?
The law enforcement department, as the most basic force in the city, its role and importance are absolutely beyond people’s imagination.
They kept blaming Charlie, thinking that Charlie had messed everything up, but they ignored the core reason for Charlie’s downfall, which was on them.
But fortunately, over the years, they had more or less known some police officers. As the embodiment of capital’s “evil,” they always firmly believed that there was no one in this world who could not be bought.
Even Mr. President would be bought by the big capital and financial groups. What’s more, they just wanted to buy a small policeman.
In the evening, a police officer drove home, looking a little tired. His recent situation was very bad.
A family member was seriously ill and needed to see a doctor. The doctor’s appointment had been made. He had used a little trick.
As a police officer, he also had a little privilege, although these privileges did not seem like privileges in the eyes of others.
The doctor told him that his wife had a tumor on her body, and there might be more. Now it was getting worse.
The hospital’s suggestion was to surgically remove these tumors, and then use some new drugs to see if she could be saved from the hands of death.
But these things required money, a lot of money.
The Federation’s medical system had long been monopolized by the medical capital group. From doctors to hospitals to drugs, everyone in every link was seeking more profits!
The doctor gave him a discounted price of 50,000.
With the advancement of medical equipment, more and more doctors have begun to devote themselves to the study of cancer.
Of course, they would not realize that this kind of disease is not something that humans can solve, at least not for a hundred or even two hundred years.
However, they have also come up with some therapies, for example, the most common cutting and radiation, which all require a lot of money.
And the patient will also be in a lot of pain.
He loved his wife dearly and could only find a way to solve it. Even if he planned to sell his house, he was still a long way from that astonishing astronomical figure.
Thinking of his wife lying in bed with a look of pain on her face from time to time, thinking of her always telling him with tears in her eyes not to waste any more money on her, he felt an indescribable pain. He wanted to save his wife, no matter what the cost!
He had just parked the car and hadn’t had time to get out when someone opened the passenger door and got in.
He looked at the young man sitting in the passenger seat in a daze and reached for the handgun in the armrest box.
In this “paradise-like country” of the Federation, you have to be careful to deal with the problems that appear around you at any time. You have to be careful and use the most malicious thoughts to guess the purpose of others. This is the key to your survival.
It was just that his hand had already grasped the handgun, but in the end, he was not able to take it out.
Because the young man sitting in the passenger seat grabbed his wrist. He tried to use force, but to no avail.
The young man looked at him and said, “If I were you, before I get provoked by you, I wouldn’t do the stupid things you’re doing now.”
This sentence showed his purpose. He was not here to hurt anyone. The two looked at each other for a moment, and the police officer let go of his hand.
The young man grabbed his wrist and slowly lifted it up until his hand was out of the armrest box.
Then the young man closed the armrest box. “You see, it’s not that hard!”
The police officer withdrew his hand. He put both hands on the steering wheel, using this method to tell the young man in the passenger seat that he did not intend to do anything dangerous.
In this terrible environment of the Federation, it is very important to make others believe that you have no ill intentions!
They will empty their magazines because you just wanted to take out your ID, but they couldn’t see your hand.
They will also make you “stop” forever because they hope to keep a distance from you, but you took a few steps forward.
So his actions were very textbook-like, very correct.
“I don’t know you.”
The young man nodded and said, “Yes, I don’t know you either, but I know what you need.”
The police officer asked, “What do I need?”
“Money!” The young man said bluntly the word that he didn’t want to hear but craved in his heart, and even added an adjective, “A lot of money!”
The police officer did not speak, but just looked away. He had already begun to struggle.
The young man seemed to have sensed his struggling heart, and a victorious smile appeared on his face. “I can give you 50,000, and you can do something for me.”
The police officer turned his head sharply to look at him. “Cash?”
“Cash!” he affirmed.
The police officer took a deep breath. “Fifty thousand is not enough. I want a hundred thousand.”
The young man was a little taken aback by his proactive offer. It took him two seconds to say with a half-smile, “You’re very greedy!”
He was a little annoyed. A hundred thousand!
Although this money was not for him to pay, but if he let the gentlemen know that he had personally come to negotiate, and the result was a hundred thousand, they would think he was a useless person.
Such a small thing actually used so much money!
It wasn’t that he thought a hundred thousand was too much, or that this guy was too greedy.
The police officer shook his head slightly and said, “I don’t know what you want me to do, but I know that 50,000 is enough to buy many people’s lives for you in the New Port District.”
“This shows that what you want me to do is worth this price.”
“There’s a high probability that I won’t be able to come back after I’ve done this. I need to prepare for my wife’s future life. Fifty thousand, for my life and hers, I don’t think it’s too much.”
After the young man finished listening, he was a little silent. He had to admit that this guy had a point.
As long as he did it, he would definitely be found out. This was absolute.
Suddenly, he felt that a hundred thousand was not that much.
He thought for a while and then agreed. “I need you to deliver a cup of coffee to Bandy.”
The police officer instinctively wanted to say that he couldn’t get close to Bandy, but before he could open his mouth, he thought of the hundred thousand.
The young man also continued, “I’ve asked around. He usually passes by your side. You just need to hand him a cup of coffee.”
“No one will notice these things. This is the only thing you have to do.”
“After you’ve done this, whether you turn yourself in or run away, that’s none of my business. I just want to see the result.”
The police officer nodded. “Okay.”
He paused for a moment. “When do I get the money?”
The young man stared at his expression and confirmed that he at least didn’t look like he was lying or cheating. “Anytime.”
For some reason, a relaxed smile appeared on his face. “Then as soon as possible. I can’t wait!”
His wife couldn’t wait either!
He got out of the car, returned to his room, and directly called their attending physician.
He said he had gotten the money and asked the doctor when the surgery could be done. The doctor told him, within a week.
There are many people studying cancer now, because cancer cells are very unique. People hope to be able to discover more amazing things from related research, for example, business opportunities.
Vaccines and specialized surgery are always one of the most profitable businesses of the medical group, followed by various chemically synthesized drugs with severe dependence.
Low cost, explosive profits.
So when such a case appears, there will be doctors who are willing to perform the surgery.
The police officer went to the bedroom. His wife was lying on the bed, her whole person withered by the torture of cancer. Her skin was already a sickly, withered white.
He walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently stroked his wife’s withered yellow hair. “There’s good news.”
His wife barely opened her eyes. “What is it?”
The police officer’s face was full of smiles. “You’re saved. The hospital said you are a very rare case. They are willing to treat you for free, and at the same time, they hope to be able to study your disease.”
A smile immediately appeared on his wife’s face, but it quickly turned to suspicion. “You didn’t… do something, and lie to me that the hospital is treating me for free, did you?”
She knew her husband too well.
And the police officer raised his hand. “My dear, what do you think I can do to raise 50,000 in such a short period of time?”
“Even if we sell our house, we can only get half!”
A desire to live also arose in his wife’s eyes. “So… all of this is true.”
“True!”
“They will come to pick you up soon. You know, I’m very busy during this time. I can’t be with you all the time.”
“But I promise, after your surgery is over, I will go and see you at the first opportunity!”
His wife propped up her thin body and sat up, hugging him. “Thank the merciful and almighty Lord, my illness is saved…”
That night, perhaps because this news was too good, in order to better and more actively cope with the surgery, she ate something and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
The police officer was at the door, taking a briefcase and a small box from the hands of the police officer.
“There’s medicine inside, two pills. You have one chance to fail.”
“The rest is your reward. I hope you understand one thing, and that is that our money is not to be taken casually.”
“We have ways to get it back in various ways. Do you understand what I mean?”
The police officer unhesitatingly opened the bag with the money, counted it, and then nodded. “The money is fine.”
He didn’t care at all what the young man said. The young man originally wanted to say something more, but in the end, he closed his mouth. “Waiting for your good news.”
The police officer nodded.
The next morning, an ambulance came here. They sent the police officer’s wife into the ambulance.
The couple were very reluctant to part, but they also made an agreement.
When the police officer’s work was over for this period of time, he would go to see her as soon as possible.
He took a day off, paid all the medical expenses first, and then divided the remaining money. Forty thousand was used to buy four different, relatively reputable investment funds.
They promised to give at least 5.5% of the investment as a return each year, which was about more than 2,000 in total.
Even if one or two of them did not achieve the expected profit, as long as the other two, or even one, were satisfied, his wife would not be unable to live because of this.
There was also 10,000, which was deposited in several anonymous accounts, as a fund in case of emergency.
After doing all this, he tidied himself up again, took the small box the young man had given him, and returned to the police station.
(End of a Chapter)