Empire of Shadows

Chapter 671: News and the New Carl

Arthur was listless the whole way.

In fact, when Mayor Williams was whipping him with a belt, it looked very scary, giving people the illusion that he was really going to be beaten to death, but Lance knew that it was just for show.

Because of Arthur’s own foolishness—

Mayor Williams had warned him not to run around, as things were chaotic recently. At the same time, he had dumped Corinda, and someone might come looking for trouble with him.

Young girls are never short of suitors. Corinda was in the Lance Family and had a very high status. There would definitely be many people pursuing her.

Perhaps some young man, in a fit of passion, would do something impulsive.

To put it lightly, he would be beaten up.

To put it more seriously, he might be stabbed a few times to vent some anger.

He had never believed that his son was an “honest man.” During their relationship, they had definitely been together more than once.

The so-called breakup was just that his sense of novelty had disappeared. Under the cognition that “it is absolutely impossible for the two to get married,” novelty was equivalent to “love.”Without novelty, love could not be maintained, and they could only break up.

Attracted by personality, tempted by the flesh, and finally breaking free from the temptation to reach the other shore—this was the beginning and end of a relationship.

He didn’t want anything to happen to Arthur, so he had always warned him not to fucking run around, but he had still run out when Mayor Williams and James were not at home, and had caused such a huge trouble.

Along the way, Arthur had gradually learned what had happened, so he was very dejected. On the one hand, he wanted to play the victim to avoid a beating when he got back. On the other hand, he really hadn’t slept well these past few days.

Glancing at this good-for-nothing son, Mayor Williams silently sighed.

They didn’t go to the scene of the incident. Those who should have been arrested had already been arrested, and those who should have been sent to the morgue had also been sent to the morgue.

They went directly to City Hall, and then faced the terrible situation that was to come.

The moment Mayor Williams entered City Hall, the fatigue, the helplessness, all disappeared the moment his foot stepped on the stairs.

His eyes became sharp again, and his slightly bent spine straightened again. The暮气 of an old man could no longer be seen on him, only the high spirits of a middle-aged man, walking with a swagger.

Some of the civil servants on the road, hearing the sound of footsteps, or seeing him, all took the initiative to make way. The Williams family still had a very high authority in this city.

The moment he pushed open the door and entered his office, the first thing he saw was James sitting in his seat.

James also saw Mayor Williams, and even more so, Arthur behind him. He quickly stood up, a smile appearing on his haggard face, and he let out a heavy sigh of relief. “You’re finally back!”

Mayor Williams just glanced at him, then walked straight to his seat and sat down. He glanced at some of the simple written documents on the desk.

He picked up the phone and pressed a speed dial button to give to his secretary. “Have Chief Bruce come over.”

As he spoke, he looked at James again. “Tell me what happened this afternoon, starting from the time I left.”

Arthur, on the other hand, stood in a corner very consciously. He had no right to sit down now, at least not now.

James recounted everything that had happened in detail. Mayor Williams listened very seriously until James had finished.

“Not bad. You could be a little more decisive.”

“When facing this kind of sudden group incident, the first thing you need to do is not to figure out who is right and who is wrong, and then treat them differently according to their mistakes and correctness.”

“The only thing you need to do is to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible.”

A look of annoyance appeared on James’s face. “But many people died, Father.”

“With so many people dead, will it affect your work and your term?”

Mayor Williams nodded. He did not deny it. “It certainly will. This is a trap. They’ve dug a pit and are watching us jump in. There certainly won’t be just soil and bait below. There must be hunting traps or spikes.”

He paused for a moment. “Gather the reporters. We…” he raised his wrist and glanced at the time, “will hold a press conference at 7:45.”

James immediately went to work. As a municipal councilman himself, he had more contact with these news media.

Although he was not sure what his father was going to do, he knew that the current situation was indeed tricky.

When he left the room, he also sized up Arthur. Besides the smell of feces emanating from him and his somewhat listless appearance, he didn’t seem to have any external injuries.

He squeezed out a smile at Arthur and then pulled the door and left.

During this period, Lance had already rushed to the police station. There were actually more than eighty bodies stored in the police station. He wanted to come and see these bodies in person.

It wasn’t that he had any special hobby, but that these bodies could be of great use.

On the way to the morgue, Chief Bruce had already told Lance everything that had happened in the afternoon in detail, including how he had gotten out of the car halfway and personally shot dead several rioters who were committing violence.

He was a little apprehensive. This time, his attitude towards those refugees was very tough. On the one hand, it was under the request and influence of James. On the other hand, he felt that on this issue, he should not and could not use a gentle attitude.

The medical examiner cleverly stayed far away from them. In the corridor, there were only the sounds of the three of them and the clattering of the leather shoes of the bodyguards by Lance’s side on the ground.

Lance did not take a stand immediately, which also made Chief Bruce a little apprehensive now.

After entering the morgue, the two of them stopped talking about these things. The medical examiner pulled out the bodies one by one from the freezer.

The freezers on both walls were almost all pulled out. Dozens of bodies were piled together like goods, giving people an indescribable feeling.

Perhaps it was a lament for the fragility of life, or perhaps it was a greater willingness to enjoy life.

Chief Bruce explained to Lance, “We have done a preliminary screening. The ones who died from gunshots are all these rioters.”

“Those who did not die from gunshots are basically all from the demolition company.”

He lifted one white sheet after another, revealing the cold corpses underneath.

Some had already undergone an autopsy and looked a little cleaner and tidier. In order to find out the specific cause of their death, the medical examiner would dissect them, bleed them, and clean the surface of their bodies.

As long as their wounds were not on their heads, at this time they just looked like they were asleep with a bad complexion.

There were also some that looked no different from when they were brought in, mangled and bloody, with blood all over their bodies or faces. Their clothes hadn’t even had time to be removed before they were put into the freezer. These were the ones to be autopsied later.

An autopsy is not such an easy matter. You have to determine the cause of death, you have to let the blood out, and at the same time do some pre-treatment. Finally, you have to write the report.

It might take twenty or thirty minutes to handle one corpse. The entire city police department had five medical examiners. They simply couldn’t handle it.

Looking at these corpses, Lance raised his hand and casually drew a circle, “framing” them all.

“I need the photos of the non-refugee deceased, preferably without an autopsy, looking very bad.”

“And their matching personal files, preferably with, even if it’s only two or three, three or five.”

“Take pictures of all of them, and then quickly develop them. We need these.”

Chief Bruce nodded. “No problem…” he glanced at the medical examiner behind him. The medical examiner made an “okay” gesture.

Seeing that Lance seemed to have no other instructions, he looked at Lance with some hesitation. The two looked at each other. Lance walked towards the door, and he immediately followed.

The two came to the outside of the morgue. This was the most deserted and quiet place in the police station. Usually, only the medical examiner and the family members who came to claim the body would come over.

If there were no family members to claim the body, then no one would appear here all day.

Some people said there were ghosts here, and it was a disaster area. But the medical examiners who worked here and the police officers who occasionally came had never found any.

“I hear this matter may be a little difficult to handle!” Chief Bruce took the initiative to take out a cigarette and hand it to Lance, then took out a lighter and lit it for Lance.

The smell brought by the cigarette dispersed some of the smell of preservatives in the morgue.

Some criminal cases have very clean scenes, with no extra traces or clues. Solving a case often starts with finding the source of the body.

But in this era, there is no technology for machine comparison. If you have to compare the photos on those files one by one to find the source of the body, it might take several years to find it.

So they need to ensure that the body does not rot or deform for a long time, but it cannot be soaked in preservative fluid.

The medical examiners on the police department’s side will use a relatively simpler method to handle it, which is to inject the bodies with preservative fluid and then push them into the cold storage.

So even though this is a cold storage, there is still the smell of preservatives.

Lance smoked a cigarette and nodded noncommittally. “Who did you hear it from?”

Chief Bruce was a little embarrassed. “Some of the old police officers said so. I don’t know where it came from. Should we investigate?”

Lance shook his head. “What they said is not entirely right, but it is indeed a bit difficult to handle.”

“Later, there will be a press conference at City Hall. There is a high probability that you will be called over.”

“The mayor will ask you to speak to the media. Before you meet with the reporters, he will definitely tell you how to state the whole process to the reporters.”

“You have to remember one thing.”

“You only talk about what you know. You received an alarm and then went over there with your police officers. You saw many refugees indiscriminately attacking the people of the Federation, knocking them down, and then looting them for money.”

“You said someone looted a shop and injured the shop owner?”

Chief Bruce nodded. “Yes, I personally stopped them.”

“Very good. Find that shop owner and his family. If he’s not dead, he should be in the hospital now.”

“If he can move, take him to City Hall with you and let him tell the people what happened truthfully.”

“After you arrived at the scene, you saw that the refugees were still continuing their violence. They had burned the expensive equipment used for demolition and were killing federal citizens for fun.”

“You demanded that they put down their weapons and accept management, but they refused, and provoked and attacked you.”

“In order to protect the lives and property of the citizens of the Federation, and to protect yourselves, you were forced to open fire.”

“After opening fire, you immediately gave them medical treatment, but it is a pity that most of them died.”

“There will definitely be reporters who will find trouble with you, for example, asking you stupid things like ‘why did you shoot at their vital parts?’ You can answer what you can.”

“If you can’t answer, just answer them with ‘I was highly nervous at the time and didn’t have time to think too much’.”

“Or you can turn it around and question why they are asking this, why the reporters are turning a blind eye when it’s clearly those people who are harming the lives and property of the citizens of the Federation.”

Chief Bruce’s mind was spinning fast. He firmly remembered these things in his mind. He nodded repeatedly. “I’ve memorized it.”

“You don’t have to be too nervous. Most of the problems will be directed at Mayor Williams, not you. Just be yourself.”

Chief Bruce was still a little nervous. He asked in a low voice, “Will it be… very troublesome this time?”

Lance shook his head slightly. “A little troublesome, but not that troublesome. And you have to understand one thing.”

“No matter who becomes the mayor, even if it’s someone from the Bay Area, I’m the one who calls the shots here!”

He paused for a moment and patted Chief Bruce’s arm. “Alright, don’t be too nervous.”

As they were talking, a police officer ran over. “Chief, a call from City Hall…”

“Then I’ll go over first?” Chief Bruce’s mood had stabilized a little. He believed what Lance said.

After Lance nodded, he quickly left.

And Lance, after waiting for a moment, got the medical examiner’s film and also left.

When he returned to the company, Carl was already here. He was sitting on the bench outside Lance’s office, his legs crossed, chatting with the people around him. When he saw Lance walk over, he immediately stood up.

“Mr. Lance!”

Lance nodded. Mador pushed open the office door. He walked at the front and entered the office.

After returning here, even Lance would feel a sense of security. He walked to the side of the coat rack, took off his hat, and placed it on the coat rack. Carl stood behind him, waiting to help him take off his coat.

Lance was a little surprised, but he still cooperated and shook his shoulders. Carl immediately helped Lance take off his trench coat, patted it, and then hung it on the coat rack.

He smiled and patted Carl’s arm, sizing him up carefully.

At this time, Carl had already changed into a decent suit. His shiny hair and his leather shoes could both reflect light. He was also wearing a watch on his wrist. He looked completely like… a successful person.

If it weren’t for the fact that he was too thin now and couldn’t fill out this suit, perhaps the effect would be even better.

“You look much better than the last time I saw you.”

Lance praised him, then walked to the side of the sofa and sat down, pointing at the sofa opposite him and letting him sit there.

“How is it? Are you still adapting to your new job?”

Carl had a grateful smile on his face. “Thanks to you, Mr. Lance, I’ve never been better!”

He was not very well-off in his hometown and was also a poor person. The situation here was even worse.

But ever since he realized that he and Boni were not the same kind of person, and that he had been taking someone else’s ideal as his own dream, a cruel reality, he had found himself again and also found the life he really wanted.

Lance had just given him the job that had previously been given to Boni, and had also let him be in charge of the prostitution and streetwalking outside the naval base.

In just a little over half a month, he had already made a fortune.

Those naval soldiers had money and were willing to relax a little. Hundreds of girls were too busy to work every day.

Some of the young and beautiful ones had a queue outside. Their pricing was not expensive, two dollars at a time.

One of which was for the girls. Don’t think it’s low. This is the price now. There are still fifty-cent ones in the Port District. One dollar here is already a high price.

Then the one dollar was divided into three parts. About forty cents was Lance’s “kickback” to Admiral Miles.

Generally speaking, the military base did not allow soldiers to enter and exit at will, but if they were just coming out to vent a little, and did not go far, and did not drink, then it was not impossible.

Not impossible does not mean it is possible, but with this forty cents, this matter is possible.

Then there were another forty cents, which belonged to Lance. After all, this business was not so easy to do. Without him watching, without his connections, it might not be done well, or even at all.

The remaining twenty cents belonged to Carl and his group.

Don’t look at them as doing the most work, but only getting ten cents. It seems that they have put in the most effort but have gotten the least return, which is very unfair.

In fact, in this world, the more you work, the more work that has no technical content, the less valuable it is!

More than five hundred girls, an average of four to five thousand a day in income. He could get 5% of it, which was about two or three hundred.

His subordinates could also take away a few dozen from him every month. Although it had only been half a month, he already had more than 3,000 in his hands.

To get himself a new set of equipment, for his current income, it was still very easy.

His gratitude to Lance was sincere, from the bottom of his heart.

After all, even his father and mother couldn’t give him so much money every month!

In this world, father and mother are not as dear as money!

So with one phone call from Lance, he came running.

Lance nodded. “There’s something I need you to do. Do you know what happened this afternoon?”

Carl’s face immediately changed a little. His face was full of hatred, and he gritted his teeth. “I know. These people are too despicable!”

“Mr. Lance, you and the federal government have given us a place to stay. you have also given us food and winter supplies.”

“These people don’t know how to be grateful to you, and they even do such a terrible thing!”

“They are like untamable wolves. They should really be thrown into the wild and frozen to death!”

As he spoke, he paused. “I know the situation of some of them. Whatever you need, I’ll do it!”

(End of a Chapter)