Empire of Shadows

The cadre sitting in the car had a very grim expression on his face.

But there was nothing he could do.

He was one of Figal’s trusted men. From his perspective, this mission was a fucking suicide run, but the mission had been assigned to him, and he had to come.

When he was leaving the office, Figal had told him that their job was to come over, fire a few shots, have a simple exchange of fire, and then leave immediately.

They were not to linger, and certainly not to foolishly get out of the car and really fight with Lance’s men.

What they had to do was to make a statement, that they had the courage to resist and the strength to counterattack.

This way, the people of Golden Port City would not think that they were afraid. Then, when they later consolidated their “defensive line,” it could also be seen as a strategic and tactical adjustment.

And this was also the reason why he was willing to come. He didn’t need to get out of the car, just shoot from inside.

Thinking of this, he relaxed a little, loosened his collar, and cursed a few times.

I hope nothing happens!The people in the other cars were also his men. He had clearly told these people what to do.

What made him feel a little at ease was that the convoy had not encountered any obstruction after entering the Empire District. This was different from what he had imagined, where they might not even be able to reach Lance’s company before being stopped.

Many people had heard of the Lance Family’s prowess in the Empire District—

As long as you entered the Empire District, as long as they discovered something was wrong, your whereabouts would be discovered by them.

Bolton and his Sky Eyes had also become one of the things people often talked about. Some gangs also wanted to learn to do it, but they really couldn’t.

On the one hand, their territory was too small, maybe only three or five blocks. By the time the people they hired discovered the “invaders” and reported the news, the invaders’ cars might have already stopped in front of them.

A territory that is too small has no depth or buffer for information to be transmitted, so it has no value for small gangs.

Secondly, for those big gangs, for example… the Kodak Family, it was impossible for them to hire those gentlemen in the Bay Area to help them keep an eye on the changes on the streets.

If they arranged for their own people, it would be too obvious. As long as it was obvious, there would definitely be a way to get around it.

So this method was only very suitable for the Lance Family. If other gangs wanted to use it, then first they needed to have a large enough territory, and secondly, the situation within the territory could not be too complicated.

Like the city center, it also did not have this set of methods. The streets were full of people and cars.

No one could figure out if the person sitting in a certain car was an invader or just an ordinary passerby.

There were many rumors about Lance’s defense system. For example, the Wolf Gang’s men only dared to go deep after they had severely injured Bolton.

Of course, this trick was not very useful now, because Bolton hardly showed his face on the streets anymore.

So they could only force their way in.

It’s just… were they being too arrogant?

Did they not block them even when they knew that someone was invading?

Or did they have some plan?

The cadre sitting in the car didn’t know why no one was blocking them. This didn’t make him relax, but instead made him uneasy.

He was fully focused on the changes around him. He didn’t know if it was because he had been in the city center for a long time, but he felt that there were really few people here.

Especially after turning a corner and entering the street where Lance’s company was located, there were almost no pedestrians on the side of the road, and even not many cars could be seen on the street.

The driver seemed not to have realized these obvious changes. “Driving here is a fucking enjoyment. I’ve had enough of the traffic jams in the city center.”

“A twenty-minute journey, if it’s during rush hour, I have to drive for forty minutes to reach my destination.”

As he complained, he began to accelerate. The vehicles behind him also followed suit and accelerated. Seeing the building of Lance’s office gradually appear, the breathing of the cadre sitting in the back also became rapid.

He wouldn’t shoot, but he would supervise the others, fire a volley of bullets, and then leave immediately.

He didn’t forget to remind the driver, “Do you remember what I told you before?”

The driver nodded vigorously, a look of excitement on his face. “I remember. After the first round of gunfire, honk the horn, then turn around and leave.”

The cadre nodded in approval. “That’s it. Don’t mess it up!”

After passing a traffic light, Lance’s company had already appeared on their right. The cadre had no guesses or thoughts about why this trip was so smooth.

The only thing he could do now was to complete the mission as soon as possible.

When the convoy stopped outside Lance’s company, many people stuck their weapons out of the car windows…

In the room, Lance was listening to a song with the sound quality of the era from a record player with his eyes slightly closed. He couldn’t quite understand those so-called avant-garde fashions, but he could still appreciate the talent of the cotton-picking experts.

The new office had a fresh smell. Lance patted the armrest of the chair. The heavy shadow looked very wide and solid.

Just a chair like this would cost a good few hundred dollars.

A wider desk meant that more things could be placed on it. The overall decoration was also more solemn and heavy.

At the same time, some small details in the decoration made this place not so serious.

“Not bad,” Lance nodded slightly. The bank had been renovated, and everyone was choosing their favorite office.

Although now was not a good time for immigrant descendants to “start a business,” as the matter in Golden Port City came to an end, Lance also had to gradually break away from that purely gangster style.

In other countries, this might be a very difficult thing, but in the Federation, as long as you have mastered the knack, it’s very easy.

And he wouldn’t learn from Bandy. In order to whitewash, he had to give up the gangster business. This was as stupid as a guy who had risen up by robbing with a knife in his hand, had successfully attracted enough hatred, but because he had money and wanted to live a stable life, he casually threw away the knife!

The knife should never be thrown away. And people must know that the knife is still in your hand, in your pocket.

Only in this way will they respect you.

“Have our friends arrived yet?”

Lance asked.

Bolton nodded. “They have already started.”

Lance was very satisfied with the results of this plan. Everything was fucking playing out as if it had been discussed. “I hope they can like this surprise!”

The crackling of gunfire broke out. The glass windows of the entire building were shot to pieces and flew everywhere. The walls, the wooden doors, were all covered with marks left by bullets.

Even some of the wall plaster couldn’t withstand the impact of the bullets and fell off.

At first, the cadre was a little worried, worried that Lance’s men would suddenly rush out from the surroundings. But after he had opened fire and still hadn’t found the other party, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he was waiting for the first round of gunfire to end and was about to urge the driver to leave, a large number of police officers and police cars suddenly appeared on the empty streets around them.

“This is the Golden Port City police. You are surrounded. Put down your weapons immediately and get out of the car. Otherwise, we will open fire…”

“I repeat, this is…”

In an instant, the gunfire that was like a downpour suddenly stopped. They dared to kill police officers, but they didn’t dare to kill police officers in front of many people, let alone now in the encirclement of the police, killing police officers in front of them.

In that case, they could only be turned into sieves. Even if they escaped, they would end up on the wanted list, and for the rest of their lives, they could only hide in the sewers—

Anyone who didn’t like them, as long as they made a phone call and said they had found a wanted criminal, whether it was those hunters or the local police, would quickly come over.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became somewhat solidified. The cadre’s face kept changing, until it finally turned ashen.

They had fallen into a trap!

And this was no different from them being “wiped out.” Now the police department was controlled by Lance. These people themselves had many crimes on their hands.

Once someone couldn’t hold on and confessed, it could quickly trigger a huge chain reaction.

But to resist?

He glanced at the dense gun muzzles outside the window, at the constantly flashing police lights. He was still young, and he didn’t want to die yet.

He pushed open the car door. The police officers all became a little nervous and all hid behind various covers, but most of their weapons were aimed at the first car.

A leather shoe was the first to step out of the car, followed by another.

Then a pair of raised hands. The cadre slowly bent his waist and prepared to exert force, squatting down and standing up. He slowly raised his hands high and walked outside the car, then turned around and placed his hands on the roof of the car.

The driver also followed his example and got out of the car, raised his hands high, turned around, and stood with his hands on the roof of the car.

More people, like the cadre, slowly got out of the car. This process was actually very simple, but everyone was very careful.

Because as long as someone made a wrong move, these police officers would really open fire. And, everyone would definitely die!

Some people said that the members of the Lance Family were actually very similar to the police, because the police would also empty their magazines when they encountered a firefight.

It was just that they used defense revolvers, with only six bullets, so even if they emptied their magazines, it wouldn’t give people a very excessive feeling.

And Lance and his men used semi-automatic pistols, with magazines of more than a dozen rounds, or even submachine guns, so emptying them would bring people a more shocking effect.

But in the face of so many weapons, even if they were all revolvers, no one wanted to try and see how many bullets their body could hold.

Soon, everyone in the car was out. They were either holding their hands high or had turned around and placed their hands on the roof of the car. The police began to enter the scene.

Walking at the very front was Duke.

Duke was now the deputy chief. This was the first case he had personally handled since he took office. He and the cadre actually knew each other.

In the past, in the Golden Port City police force, there was also something like a “hero list.” From top to bottom were the portraits and names of some people. These people were beings that even the police could not provoke!

They represented an order, a rule. Although the cadre’s ranking was very low, he was also on the list.

Duke pulled his hand behind his back and put handcuffs on him. The cadre unwillingly opened his mouth. “Has anyone ever told you that you look like a dog he keeps?”

Deputy Chief Duke punched him directly in the waist. In an instant, the cadre couldn’t stand steadily, but Duke grabbed his other arm and brought it behind his back, then tightened the handcuffs, and forcefully pushed his head against the car door.

After a bang, the cadre’s face was a little deformed by the pressure from the car door and the back of his head. He could only close his eyes and gasp for breath.

The pain made it impossible for him to even breathe heavily!

“If I were you, what I would be doing now is shutting my mouth and then thinking about how to find a way to live.”

He was taken by Duke and stuffed into Duke’s own police car. “The times have changed, you know?”

“The Five Families are a thing of the past. The future here belongs to Lance.”

“If you don’t want to die, you’d better cooperate with us.”

The cadre’s face was ugly, and he didn’t speak.

In the past, the police would sometimes find trouble with them, but as long as they had an explanation and let the police have an explanation for the citizens, the matter would be over.

It had never been like today, being arrested, being threatened.

But he knew that Duke was right. He had been arrested. If they wanted to kill him, they just had to send him to prison.

Then he would lose his life due to various accidents.

Now he was very melancholy, and also a little bit inexplicably helpless.

The ringing of the phone sounded on many phones at the same time. After Figal picked up the phone, he had already realized that the development of the situation might have exceeded his expectations.

But he had not expected that it had exceeded it by so much!

“You’re saying, they were all fucking arrested?”

“Fuck, how could the police appear there?”

“Why didn’t they run when they saw the police?”

He asked several questions in a row. It was also a matter of having no choice but to have his trusted men do this. After all, the core of the Keane family was not a blood tie.

If he had asked those cadres who were not his trusted men to go, they would definitely have some reservations, and they might not do it seriously.

He had thought that this matter was not difficult—

Drive over, fire a round of bullets, and then drive away. So many people staging a chase and gunfight in the Empire District was actually of no benefit to Lance.

He had thought of many possibilities and had also made corresponding responses.

For example, what to do if the other side was a trap.

What to do if Lance’s men intercepted them halfway.

He had thought of many possible situations, but he had never fucking thought that Lance would “call the police”!

The person on the other end of the line quickly explained what had happened at the scene. Figal could only curse in defeat, and then dialed his lawyer’s number.

When the lawyer finished listening to his description, he didn’t know how to answer for a moment. In the end, he could only say, “I can only help you get them a lighter sentence as much as possible. As for bail and early parole, I may not be able to do that.”

“In addition, you may need to prepare more money for this case. If the police are completely on the other side, the cost of solving this case will be several times or even more than other cases.”

“And this is also because we have cooperated for a long time. If it were someone else, I would have hung up the phone long ago…”

…

Bandy also learned the result at the first opportunity. His expression was almost exactly the same as Figal’s. He had also thought of many possibilities.

Including putting himself in Lance’s role, and after doing so many things, how to deal with this matter.

But he had never thought that Lance would actually let the police directly solve this problem.

Gorry at the side had a somewhat serious expression. “I’m not willing to admit it, but I have to admit that we can’t always keep up with Lance’s thinking.”

“Now Figal’s trouble is even bigger.”

Why not let the police go directly to the city center to arrest Figal’s men?

Everyone knows they are gangsters. Wouldn’t it be over if they were just arrested?

Because the Federation is a country of procedural justice. If the police want to arrest a group of who everyone knows are gangsters but lack evidence, it is absolutely impossible!

They must have evidence, then apply for an arrest warrant, and the justice department must approve their action before they can arrest.

First of all, it is impossible for them to get the criminal evidence of everyone, and it is also impossible for the justice department to approve so many arrest warrants at once.

Secondly, Lance had already taken down the police side, but the justice department also had people from the Bay Area. They would not easily let Chief Bruce get a large number of arrest warrants or search warrants or the like.

A small amount has no meaning for the promotion of the overall situation, and a large amount cannot be obtained. This is the limitation of the police part.

But there is an exception to everything.

If the police find criminals who are committing a crime at the scene of the crime, then they can directly arrest the criminals who are committing the crime without the approval of the justice department.

There is no doubt that today’s was a successful plan. They arrested a large number of gang members, and they didn’t even need an arrest warrant.

And next, the justice department also needs to cooperate with them, because these are all brought back from the scene of the crime. The justice department has no reason not to cooperate.

They successfully avoided the influence of the justice department and completed their own plan.

If some of these people confessed more criminal evidence about Figal, they didn’t even need to confess Figal’s, as long as they confessed other cadres’.

Then Lance could quickly peel off Figal’s protective shell layer by layer, until his defenseless interior was exposed!

“What do we do now?” Gorry asked.

Bandy shook his head. “We are too passive now. We have to find a way to become more active.”

“Lance is like a boxer with both strength and a brain. We can’t let him keep accumulating winning factors. We have to let him take a punch, a heavy one.”

“Otherwise, we can’t hold on at all.”

Bandy thought very clearly. If Figal fell, then they would be next.

They had dragged Figal into the water in order not to let Lance succeed. They had not expected this guy to be so useless and useless!

Of course, this also had something to do with the fact that a large number of elites had died in the war between the Keane family and the Bear Gang.

Then the news of Lance “moving house” also came out. He had already abandoned his previous office and moved to the original Jinda Bank.

This also made those who were dissatisfied with him even more desperate, because they all knew that the construction standard of Jinda Bank was built according to the bank standard.

That was a fucking huge turtle shell!

Before, if there was a possibility of victory in a direct assault on Lance, now a direct assault on a bank?

The only thing they could do was to go with enough people and then let Lance get tired to death from mopping the floor, not kill him in the bank!

(End of a Chapter)