“…I’ll call you back.” After hanging up, Director Dale sat for a while before pressing a button on his desk and saying, “Come in.”
The door opened, and a senior agent from the Bureau of Hazardous Materials walked in, Dewent.
Before becoming a senior agent at the Bureau of Hazardous Materials, Dewent was a deputy sheriff in another city.
He had performed very well in his original position, and the local chief had recommended him to join this newly established department.
After training in Manteno, he was assigned here.
Not everyone was assigned to the place they came from. The congressional side had considered this, so when the State Prohibition Office was arranging personnel, besides needing a local to cooperate with the Bureau of Hazardous Materials to carry out work, the others basically all came from other cities, and none of them were from the same city.
This minimized the problem of corruption to the greatest extent.
Think about it, all your colleagues around you are from out of town, and you don’t know them at all. How would you dare to easily talk to them about the issue of power-money transactions?
The discipline within the Bureau of Hazardous Materials was also very strict, with corresponding office rules and regulations. This set of practices was indeed very useful, but only in the initial stage.
After they became familiar with each other, what was bound to come would still come.
“Director, I’d like to talk to you,” he said.
Director Dale did not object. He motioned for him to close the door and then had him sit opposite him. “What do you want to talk to me about?”
After closing the door, Dewent scratched his chin. His skin was a little itchy. In fact, this was a reaction of mental allergy, not that his chin was really itchy.
“I don’t know… if anyone has told you, have there been some changes in the city recently?”
His wording was very careful and cautious. Director Dale frowned. “I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
“Dewent, sorry, buddy, I’m very busy. You see, I have things to do all the time. If you don’t have anything important, I still have several phone calls to deal with here.”
He was contacting people from the State Prohibition Committee. Lance had given him a sum of money and wanted him to spend it.
At first, he was a little resistant in his heart, feeling that he was being threatened by Lance, but as he began to actually operate this matter, his mentality changed a little.
Spending someone else’s money to pave his own way, what was there for him to resist?
If possible, he just wanted to say to Lance, more!
Now those people from the State Prohibition Committee had smelled the scent of money from him and had also begun to proactively communicate with him.
The work on the State Prohibition Committee’s side was actually not complicated, and at the same time, the structure was also very simple.
An administrative department, and a small-scale action department.
The main job was to arrange the general direction of the work of the Bureau of Hazardous Materials in various regions. If the gentlemen of Congress had some ideas, they would have the action department go to the local areas to preside over a certain action.
Overall, it was a relaxed and prestigious job, and as long as he didn’t set his sights on the position of executive committee member, then they wouldn’t have much of an opinion.
The title of committee member, there were really as many as you wanted. These committee members were all nominal positions. Only the executive committee members were real positions.
He was busy dealing with this matter, rising to the State Prohibition Committee. It seemed like a reduction in power, but at least it was safe.
And in the future, there might not be a chance to cooperate with Lance. What if Lance wanted him to go one step further?
In addition, occupying this position would make Lance dissatisfied and create a danger for him, so after not-so-long thinking, he had made a decision.
He had been busy with this matter recently.
Dewent didn’t know about the things in here. He just felt that Director Dale’s mood might have changed a little differently during this period.
He didn’t dare to continue playing the “I say you guess” game now, and quickly explained, “An informant told me that the entire industry related to liquor in Golden Port City is about to undergo a huge change.”
“I think this is an important opportunity. If we can catch some big players, we will definitely be able to produce a beautiful report card.”
Director Dale frowned. He really hadn’t heard of this. “Tell me in detail.”
“It’s like this. I have an informant who said that the Lance Family has decided to change careers and no longer operate the bar business, but they have re-established the rules of the gangster game in this city.”
“They have stipulated how many bars there are in the cooperative city, and require all bars to obtain liquor and beverages from their side.”
“Director, think about it. For a gang to supply the entire city’s liquor business, there must be a huge alcohol factory behind it, or it could be a smuggling channel that we don’t know about.”
“The Lance Family must have a huge inventory of liquor. If we can find their warehouse and take it down in one fell swoop, this will definitely be a major case that can shock the entire country!”
A faint, excited flush appeared on Dewent’s face. This was no longer just a matter of fame. The massive amount of credit might allow him to be directly promoted to deputy director.
At the same time, according to the reward principle, this could be a reward of hundreds of thousands or even millions!
To be able to obtain a huge amount of wealth in a short period of time and it’s also legal, it seems that there is only this one way, and the opportunity is rare.
Director Dale was stunned for a moment after listening. He then frowned. “This informant of yours… can he be trusted?”
Dewent nodded. “He can be trusted.”
Director Dale did not take a stand immediately. “I need to consider it. Don’t tell anyone else about this for now. I’ll give you news in a couple of days.”
Dewent nodded. “No problem,” he said and stood up to leave.
After watching him leave, Director Dale, in his hesitation, dialed Lance’s number. It just so happened that Lance was also by the phone.
“This is Dale.”
“Dale?”
“It’s really not an easy thing to wait for your call. What’s up? What wind has blown you to take the initiative to call me?”
Lance’s tone carried a hint of teasing. Director Dale didn’t feel annoyed or disgusted. He talked about what had just happened and then asked, “What on earth are you planning to do?”
He was a little confused. What kind of trick was Lance playing now, out of the blue?
Lance explained his thoughts. Director Dale had to admit that Lance was indeed like a seasoned veteran when doing certain things.
The deterrent power of a gang is never how many criminal businesses they have engaged in, but how many people they have, how many guns they have.
Ending the relatively intuitive criminal business of bars would not bring them much negative change, and at the same time, the profits obtained would be more guaranteed.
As long as the transportation was done secretly and the transporters were tight-lipped, the risks they faced were actually much smaller than running the bars themselves!
Even if the convoy and people they used to transport the liquor were caught, as long as he could hire a good lawyer—which was also inevitable, he had money, he could completely hire the best lawyer or law firm to defend him—the probability of him losing the case was very small.
He could say that the liquor was all his own, and the transportation was just to move the liquor to another place for storage.
From warehouse A, transported to warehouse B for storage, it was not for sale or public consumption.
This way, even if someone reported him and obtained enough evidence, they could only accuse them of the lightest crime, the crime of transporting alcoholic beverages.
As long as he could persuade the judge to believe this rhetoric, then at most it would be a fine of two or three thousand. Those people wouldn’t even need to go to jail!
As for why the liquor they had confessed in court that they planned to store in another place eventually appeared in a bar?
That was simple, it was stolen!
Someone had discovered the liquor in the warehouse, and then it was stolen. It was that simple.
As for whether the Lance Family would sue these thieves, that was a matter between him and the thieves, not with the court.
The Lance Family would avoid the biggest trouble, and at the same time, they could earn more money. He was really a genius!
There had been such cases in some places before. This was obviously exploiting a loophole in the judiciary, and the judiciary had to let him exploit it.
This was an unsolvable problem.
“Capital is pursuing firewalls and unified management. I think gangs should also keep up with the times. Between us and the judiciary, there also needs to be some firewalls. We also need to develop and progress along with the times.”
“Dale, those old-fashioned gangster rules can’t be played in this ever-progressing era. I don’t deny that there are still some gangs that are so old-fashioned and inflexible.”
“I also don’t deny that some of them are still very powerful and have a say.”
“But that is definitely not me, not the future of the Lance Family.”
“We are not the front wave, nor will we be the front wave. We will always be the wave in the middle. When our strength disappears, we will retreat back into the sea to re-accumulate strength, instead of dying on the beach.”
When Lance talked about these things, the pride in his tone was simply unstoppable.
If the person opposite him was someone else, Elvin, Ethan, or someone else, Lance would only speak simply.
Because they simply couldn’t understand the meaning and value of what Lance was doing. Just like Mello and the others still thought that the family should continue to expand, they were still thinking of having a scale of thousands or tens of thousands of people, to become the “largest and most numerous gang in the Federation.” This was no different from seeking death!
Their level of education, their understanding of this world, limited their correct understanding of this world.
But Dale would not. He had graduated from an elite university and was also a marginal minor character in the political circle of Golden State. His understanding of this world already stood among the forefront of that group.
So when Lance said these words, the small pride in his tone was completely undisguised.
He used a way of thinking that was beyond this era to run his “business,” and he also needed someone who could understand him, who could read him.
This was like… he put on a beautiful suit of clothes, and he needed someone who could appreciate this suit to appreciate it, whether it was a friend or an enemy.
Listening to Lance’s words, Director Dale’s scalp tingled slightly. A constantly progressing, evolving gang, just thinking about it made people feel fear.
More cunning, more treacherous, more vicious. All the places where the sun did not shine would eventually become their hunting grounds!
Director Dale was silent for a moment and then sighed. He was now more and more unwilling to be an enemy of Lance.
Being an opponent of a fool is no pressure, even if he is a thousand times, ten thousand times stronger than you!
You just need to watch him make a mistake today, make a mistake tomorrow, and bit by bit, wear down his own strength, and then be defeated by you.
But being an opponent of someone like Lance would be very scary.
While you are getting stronger and growing, he is growing at a faster rate than you, and his methods are more barbaric and crude, and the consequences he bears are also smaller.
If he wants to gain more power, he may need to do many things, and he has to defeat all his competitors under reasonable and legal rules.
But Lance, he only needs to kill his competitors.
Director Dale thought for a moment. “So I’ll pretend I don’t know about this?”
“Why pretend you don’t know?” Lance immediately asked back. “A large-scale plan like this can’t be hidden from those with a mind for it. I know you have many informants in various gangs, collecting information for you everywhere.”
“Today there can be a what…”
Director Dale prompted, “Dewent.”
“Right, today there can be a Senior Agent Dewent who discovers this ‘secret.’ Tomorrow there can be another senior agent who discovers it. People will always find out.”
Director Dale suddenly had a headache. “Then what do you plan to do?”
“Find a scapegoat?”
This was Lance’s usual practice. Every once in a while, Ponda could fucking bust one of Lance’s bars, which always made it impossible for people to raise their guard against Lance.
No one would think that a gang that was often caught was a problem, and they also ignored the fact that they were growing at an astonishing rate.
Now Director Dale had seen it clearly, but it was too late.
He thought that Lance was going to use that old trick to numb the people here, but this time he was wrong.
“Do you know about the situation at the police station?” Lance asked a seemingly unrelated question.
Director Dale was a little puzzled. His mind was spinning at high speed. “What aspect are you referring to?”
Lance didn’t beat around the bush with him. “The matter of them having an extra subsidy every month, and also a foundation that serves the police force exclusively.”
Director Dale first laughed twice. “They are not so easily bought,” but he soon couldn’t laugh anymore, because Lance and his group were the biggest gang in Golden Port City.
“Send me the personal information of Senior Agent Dewent. Do you have my fax number?”
Director Dale was silent for a moment. “I do.”
More than ten minutes later, Lance glanced at the content that had been faxed over and casually placed it on the desk.
At a little after seven in the evening, Golden Port City began to enter its nightlife mode. The entire Starlight District became radiant.
It’s a bit incredible to say, but since the complete decline of the Five Families, the public security of the Starlight District, and even the entire Golden Port City, has improved a lot.
Some people say this is the credit of the police department, but some people know that this is entirely the credit of the Lance Family.
Lance does not like a chaotic city. This is a fact that every gang member here knows. He even sends his own men to maintain order on the streets.
If anyone breaks his rules, then the consequences will definitely not be good!
In order to not offend Lance and the Lance Family, in order not to become food for the sea, or a part of Angel Lake, people consciously reduce their criminal acts and impulses at night.
The city naturally became more stable.
At least in the Starlight District, even at ten, eleven, or twelve o’clock at night, there were very few serious cases.
Dewent had just finished meeting with an informant. He had obtained some new information from the informant. Lance’s men would set up about four hundred warehouses throughout Golden Port City.
These warehouses would all use special combination locks, and a password was also required to open the warehouses.
When a gang ordered liquor, this liquor would be sent to these warehouses, and then the Lance Family would give a password to the gang leader who had ordered the goods.
He only needed to find the corresponding warehouse with the combination lock and could take away the liquor inside.
The whole process would not have anyone in contact with them, and the password for each warehouse would be changed after each use.
Dewent was so shocked after knowing these things that he couldn’t close his mouth!
What an efficient criminal network this was!
He had even asked the informant at first, what if someone stole the liquor?
At that time, the informant had looked at him with the expression of looking at a retard, and then he had understood.
Anyone, as long as they stole the liquor inside, would have to face the pursuit and pursuit of the entire Golden Port City’s gangs. As long as he couldn’t fly, he would definitely be caught, and would definitely die!
Today they could steal a certain gang’s liquor, and tomorrow they could steal someone else’s. Whether it was the Lance Family or all the gangs, they would find him and then execute him with honor!
A terrifying opponent!
The problem of driving the vehicle, his mind was thinking about what if Director Dale supported him, how he would carry out his work, and the possible threat of passing out. At the same time, he drove the vehicle and slowly stopped on the side of the road.
He was home, one of the many middle-class communities in Priliccia. He had a detached house here, with a front and back yard, but no swimming pool or anything. This was not a villa. He couldn’t afford such a big house.
This was just an ordinary detached house. He and his family lived here.
After the car had stopped, he sat in the car and smoked a cigarette. Because his wife didn’t like the smell of smoke in the room, he tried not to smoke at home.
After finishing a cigarette and having no clue in his head, he pushed open the door, took out his key, and unlocked the door.
“Hey, dear, I’m home!”
Just as he finished speaking, his brow furrowed. There was a smell of smoke in the house, and he could vaguely hear the sound of someone talking. It was a man’s voice.
He had never worried that his wife would betray him or have an affair. He had a decent job and an income that was higher than that of ordinary people. His wife would not be stupid enough not to love him.
Had a relative come?
Or was there a visitor?
His hand rested on his holster, and he slowly walked to the edge of the living room.
Just as he was about to walk a few more steps to see what was happening in the living room, a cold object was pressed against the back of his head…
(End of a Chapter)