Empire of Shadows

”The Perez family is here.”

The deputy chief knocked on the door of the chief’s office, then pushed it open a crack and poked his head in.

It was already night, the sky was completely dark, probably around eight or nine o’clock. Several hours had passed since the incident.

The chief rubbed his eyes; he had just been dozing off.

This damn bad weather. As soon as the heating in the room was turned up, it made people want to sleep.

He took his legs off the desk, straightened his attire, and stood up. There were some things he had to say to the Perez family in person.

In fact, there was a lounge in the room. He just... hadn’t thought he would feel the urge to take a nap. If he had really wanted to sleep, he would have definitely lain down on the bed, and in his pajamas.

The police station at night was still full of night-shift officers, not much quieter than in the daytime.

Especially now that it was winter.

Many people might not understand why the police station would be busier at night in winter, because it was winter, and the temperature was very low.Some homeless people would be so cold that they couldn’t stand it and would try to ”enter a house.” Their entry was certainly not the kind that had obtained the homeowner’s consent, and it was impossible for a homeowner to agree to let some homeless people into their house for the night.

So once it was winter night, there would be many alarm points.

Either these people found that their garage had been pried open, or they found that someone had entered their house, or had smashed the window of their car parked on the roadside, and someone had climbed in.

Of course, besides these bad news, there was actually good news. For example, someone had found a person lying in a snowdrift on the side of the road, and there was a high probability that they had gone to see God or the like.

These all needed the police to deal with. They couldn’t just let those corpses be parked on the side of the road.

They needed to check the death of the corpse, and then decide whether to just burn the body, and scatter the ashes, or to file a case for investigation.

Most of the time, these bodies would be directly identified as ”frozen to death” and then directly cremated and their bones crushed to ashes. Whether it was the police or the mainstream society, they would not waste social resources for a homeless person, nor was it worth it for them to do so.

Those in the upper echelons of society, the gentlemen, were always telling people that life is priceless.

In fact, when they had come to this conclusion, they must have been looking in the mirror. The life of ”that person” in the mirror was indeed priceless.

As for those ordinary people on the roadside, their lives might just be a few dollars, a few dozen, a few hundred.

At most, it was no more than a few thousand dollars—the standard for federal pensions.

So the police station in winter was still very lively. The chief went down the stairs to the office in the interrogation area on the second floor.

Boni, who was talking to someone, immediately walked over with a smile on his face, and he shook hands with the chief.

Boni was only from the middle-aged and younger generation of the Perez family, but because of his social skills, and Fran’s trust in him, he was considered one of the important external liaison members of the Perez family.

They had dealt with each other before.

The Perez family’s people had also had illegal activities in New Golden City before, and had been arrested. It was Boni who was responsible for getting the people out, or for talking to them.

This time, it was no exception. The chief, before he had seen him, had actually already had his guesses.

”I’m very sorry to come and disturb you so late, but this matter is indeed very urgent,” Boni first apologized for coming to the police station so late and disturbing the police chief’s rest. He could see that the chief looked sleepy, and had clearly been woken up.

The chief shook his head, let go of his hand. He glanced at the people behind Boni. Boni immediately, understandingly, said, ”You all go out. I need to talk to the chief alone.”

Including the deputy chief, everyone had left the office. Here, only the two of them were left.

The chief walked to the side of a chair and sat down. He lit a cigarette. ”The Secretary of State called me in the evening. He told me that several ambassadors have been putting pressure on him. The nature of this incident is very bad. They attacked the embassy’s territory.”

Boni moved closer to him, and unobtrusively handed an envelope into his hand. ”So I can’t take them away?”

The police chief glanced at the envelope in his hand, and pushed it back twice, but in the end, he was not able to, and then he put it in his pocket.

A police officer who doesn’t take black money, cannot sit in this position of the police chief of New Golden City.

There are too many people above him who can decide his fate. He can have many advantages, for example, he loves small animals, loves flowers and plants, and likes sports.

But the only thing he cannot be is an upright person, a person who is fair, just, and has a sense of justice.

If you don’t take black money, it will make the gentlemen feel that you are, in your heart, having some big plan, or that you are not on the same side as them.

In this era where capital comes first, it’s not just the capitalists who are paving the way with money, but the politicians are also using this money to build their networks.

If you don’t take money, it means that you are not the same as these people, and you cannot be trusted, and be given important positions by them.

So the police chief would also take money, and would take it with a clear conscience.

Perhaps in consideration of this check, or perhaps it was because he really didn’t want to cause trouble for himself, he lowered his voice a little. ”The Secretary of State’s attitude is very tough. You certainly can’t take these people away. So the only thing you can do is to have them take the blame.”

”As long as they are willing to plead guilty, I can just brush off the matter that the Secretary of State has assigned, and the rest will not be my trouble.”

”Boni, listen, I don’t want to manage the conflict between you and the Lance Family.”

”You can tear down each other’s stage, smash each other’s place, or just go to the suburbs and have a firefight. Whatever, I don’t want to care. But don’t make trouble in the city.”

”Now is a special period. Once I am put in a passive position, I can only say sorry to you.”

Boni had listened very carefully. He, while nodding, had echoed, ”I have already cursed the people who had made the decision. Fran has also cursed them. The idea that these pig-brains had come up with is not a good idea at all.”

”This matter, let’s just leave it at that. They will plead guilty, and then, as the city’s crime-buster, the city’s hero, you will send them to court!”

He patted the police chief’s arm. ”I also have to thank you for this. After a while, when things are over, it’s my treat.”

The police chief did not take this seriously. A gang member inviting the police chief to a dinner? Isn’t this clearly a joke?

He smiled and nodded. ”If I have time, I’ll definitely go!” This meant that he definitely wouldn’t have time.

”I still have other work to do, so I won’t be accompanying you. You all handle it as soon as possible. After it’s handled, I have to go through the procedures. The Secretary of State’s side is watching very closely.”

Boni said a few more words of thanks, and then watched as the police chief left.

The police chief returned to his own office. He breathed a sigh of relief. With Boni’s and Fran’s attitude, this case should be closed very soon.

An isolated incident. They may have been operating a bar, and had seen that the embassy’s side’s bar business was good, so they had the idea of snatching the business.

This was the possible reason that the police chief himself had thought of. As for whether it was, it still depended on how they themselves would arrange it.

He took out the envelope. Inside was a check, for 5,000.

Not too much, not too little. It could only be said to be... okay.

He put the check in his own wallet, and casually threw the envelope into the shredder. The money for the new set of golf clubs he had his eye on was now available.

Thinking of this, a few more smiles had appeared on his face. Then he changed into a set of pajamas, and came to the lounge. He could finally have a good sleep.

Just as he was lying on the comfortable spring bed, and was enjoying the quick-sleep experience brought by the close fit of the mattress and his skin, on the second floor, Boni had also, with a lawyer and two of the family’s cadres, arrived at the interrogation room.

According to the regulations, they could not, so many of them, go to see the suspect who was in custody, but this thing, the rules, its existence is not to let everyone abide by it.

The meaning of the existence of rules is to tell people where the bottom line is.

The first they had seen was the combat captain who was in charge of this operation, that young man.

When he saw him, Boni had walked over and had given him a punch in the chest, a very light punch, more like a greeting. He also had a smile on his face. ”Well done, my brother.”

”Now outside, people have begun to talk about you and what you have done. They have admitted that we have given Lance an embarrassment. You have gained more face for the family!”

To have someone take the blame, you can’t just, with a cold face, tell him ”you fucking have to take this blame.” This is not a correct attitude. Although in the family, there were indeed some who looked down on these ”outside members” who did not have the Perez surname.

In the entire Perez family, a person without the surname Perez, it is very difficult for them to be promoted to the ranks of a high-level cadre of the family. There are only a few.

This is also the biggest problem that a gang organization, with bloodline as its core, has encountered. They, compared to trusting outsiders, clearly trust their own people more.

This had formed a very special atmosphere. Those with ”other surnames” were not so easy to get their trust, and naturally, it was also very difficult to be promoted.

Boni had said a few good words, and the captain in front of him should have shown a smile of honor, and then had said that all this was for the glory of the family.

But this guy had not done so. Boni’s face had, slightly, become a little not right. He had taken two steps back, and had stared at this captain’s eyes.

He had found that when he was looking at him, this captain would take the initiative to look away, which had made him seem very guilty.

”What are you afraid of?” Boni asked.

”You are in the police station now. This place is safer than you are on the street. Come on, tell me, what are you afraid of?”

He walked over and hooked the captain’s back of the neck with his hand, and had even, with force, patted him twice. ”Tell me!”

The captain squeezed out an ugly smile. ”I’m just a little nervous, a little nervous.”

Boni didn’t quite believe what he had said. ”You are so nervous that you fucking repeated it. Are you really nervous?” he was a little distrustful, but the captain said that he was just nervous.

He was not the captain. He didn’t know what on earth was wrong with the captain at this time. He could only choose to believe. Maybe he was really nervous?

”Good. Whether you are really nervous or not, you remember what I am about to say.”

”There is a little problem with this. We have no way to get you out of here, so the family needs you to plead guilty.”

”You just say that you saw their business was too good, and you were envious, so you had smashed their bar, and had accidentally injured some of the customers.”

”You are willing to actively compensate for all the costs, and also to admit and to repent.”

”This case is not complicated. In the situation where you have actively compensated and have obtained the victim’s forgiveness, at most you will only go in for two years.”

”In a year, I will find a way to get you out. At that time, I will apply to Fran, to give you a little more work, and to let you be a cadre.”

Above a cadre in the Perez family, there was also a high-level cadre. A cadre was the end point for most of the ’other surnames’, while a high-level cadre was the end point for the members of the Perez family.

To be able to become a cadre, you would be able to have your own business, which also meant that he would be able to get more illegal income.

This should have been a very happy thing, but the captain in front of him had a sad face, which had made the uneasy feeling in Boni’s heart grow stronger and stronger. He suddenly raised his voice, ”What on earth are you afraid of?”

The captain was almost about to cry. He suddenly, with a ”plop,” had knelt on the ground. ”I... have already told Lance.”

Boni was stunned for a moment. He had squatted down and had grabbed the captain’s collar and had lifted him up. ”What the fuck did you tell him?”

”Did you say that you were following the family’s request to do it?”

”Or did you say something else?”

”Even if you did, you shouldn’t be afraid. What on earth are you afraid of?!”

As he spoke, he had also given the captain a punch, which had hit him in his lower abdomen. This had made the captain’s whole person curl up a little.

When he had raised his head again, tears and snot were streaming down. ”I said it was... who had ordered me to do so.”

The person he was talking about was his superior, and was also a gang member with the Perez surname.

Hearing this, Boni had still not completely believed. ”You’ve said it, and so you’ve said it. This is not a reason for you to be afraid. You fucking tell me, what on earth are you afraid of?!”

He had, with both hands, grabbed the captain’s collar and had forcefully lifted him up, and then had fiercely slammed him against the wall.

The police officer who was on duty outside the door had looked back at the door of the interrogation room. In the end, he had still not, meddlesomely, gone in, but had continued to stand guard at the door.

The captain was, in tears, with a deep despair, and had said, ”They... recorded it.”

Boni’s pupils had widened for an instant, and then had, drastically, contracted. His voice was even a little out of tune. ”You fucking said, that you, in front of a video camera, said that you were hired by us, to do this?”

The captain nodded, and cried even harder. ”They killed... (the guy who had been beaten to death), in front of all of us.”

”He had, with that bloody table leg, pointed at my head and had said, if I didn’t talk, he would smash my head!”

”Fuck, I was scared. He really dared to kill people. I don’t want to die!”

Boni had, with a start, given him a few more punches, hitting the captain so hard that he was holding his head and had curled up on the ground. He had, still not satisfied, gone up and had fiercely stomped on him a few times, until he was pulled away by the lawyer.

”How the fuck could you do that?”

”Hasn’t the family been good enough to you all these years?”

He looked at the captain in disbelief, as if this was something he couldn’t understand.

The captain, while saying ”I’m sorry,” had also said that if he hadn’t done as he was told, Lance would have killed him.

He just didn’t want to die.

Who would want to die?

No one wants to die!

Fuck!

Boni was, with his hands on his hips, pacing back and forth in the interrogation room. He had taken out a cigarette, had fiercely bitten the butt, and had then lit it. Then he had, with a fierce glare, looked at the captain.

”Are you the only one who has done this?”

The captain raised his head and glanced at him. ”Everyone.”

Boni, hearing this had directly laughed out loud. ”Everyone?”

”You sons of bitches, you really fucking deserve to die!”

He shook his head. ”You’d better think about how you’re going to explain this to Mr. Fran!”

He said as he had pushed the door open and had walked out of the interrogation room. He had glanced at the police officer on the side, had taken out a roll of money from his pocket, had counted out fifty, and had stuffed it into the other party’s shirt pocket, and had even, thoughtfully, patted it. ”I’m going to make a call.”

The police officer had glanced at his shirt pocket, and a few more smiles had appeared on his face. ”That’s your freedom, sir.”

”There’s a phone in the interrogation office. If you don’t mind.”

”I don’t,” Boni had come to an interrogation office not far away. There were three police officers who were working.

He had walked over and had, in the same way, had bought the three officers some time to go to the door and have a smoke.

Then he had dialed the family’s number. Fran had been waiting for the news, so he had, at the first opportunity, picked up the phone.

”There’s no good news, it’s all bad news.”

”They said that Lance had forced them, in front of a camera, to say that they had attacked the bar under the family’s instructions.”

”What now?”

Fran, hearing this, also couldn’t help but curse. The older he got, the worse his temper became. A single, unsatisfactory thing would make him fly into a rage, not at all like the calmness of other old men who had seen through the world’s impetuousness.

A few minutes later, he had returned to the interrogation room, and had, with a cold gaze, looked at the captain. ”Don’t fucking open your mouth again. If anyone asks, don’t say anything. This was all your own decision.”

After he had finished speaking, Boni had taken the others and had left.

In the car, the lawyer had not said anything. The two family members who had come with him couldn’t help but ask, ”Are we just leaving like this?”

Boni was also a little annoyed now. ”Then what else?”

”Lance has a video. As long as he throws this thing out, the spearhead will be pointed at us!”

Someone said, ”We can say that it’s fake, or that our men were forced to say so.”

Boni had looked at him as if he were looking at a fool. ”Who the fuck cares if it’s real or fake?”

”Who cares?”

He shook his head. This was why some were direct descendants, but some were just from a branch.

A fool is not worthy of entering the family’s core.

He patted the back of the driver’s seat. ”Drive, back to the manor.”

The key to resolving the issue still lay with Lance. After an emergency discussion, Fran and his group decided to find a middleman and open negotiations with him once again.

It was like this last time, and it’s still like this. They have fucking lost all their face!

Just as the car they were in had driven out of the police station’s main gate, and before they had had time to accelerate, a large truck had straight on crashed towards them...