Empire of Shadows

Director Roland straightened his appearance before entering Mr. Potter’s office. Just like the offices of other great figures he had seen, it was solemn and dignified. Every furnishing and layout was just right.

This was the effect of those famous designers—they could make every piece of furniture appear appropriately in every position it was needed.

This was also where the value of high-end designers lay. Otherwise, why could they get tens of thousands of dollars or more in design fees from the wealthy just by writing and drawing?

Was it because rich people were stupider?

The upper class was too distant for ordinary people. But for someone like Director Roland , who was on the rise and could glimpse fragments of it, it held a fatal attraction.

At this moment, an idea formed in Director Roland’s mind: when the FBI moved to its new headquarters, he would also find a high-end, famous designer to decorate his own office.

This thought was born the moment he saw Mr. Potter sitting behind that huge desk, but he quickly reined it in.

He walked to the opposite side of the desk but did not sit, because Mr. Potter had not yet asked him to.

In terms of position, Director Roland was currently a Federal government employee, the head of a law enforcement department. Mr. Potter , however, was nothing; he was just a ”free man.”

According to Federal law, anyone running for president must first end their previous job. This was to ensure the fairness of the election and was one of the many conditions and requirements for running.It was unknown if the people who made these strategies and rules would laugh when they recalled this one. Fairness had nothing to do with what they were doing now. Perhaps only children would believe this was fair.

Although he held no official position, no one could look down on him, including Director Roland .

Mr. Potter had no intention of letting Director Roland sit down. The things he had handled recently were indeed too terrible. Continuous failures had left him very disappointed.

Everyone now thought that the FBI’s Director Roland was his man. And for his own man to have botched so many things, as the ”master,” it was impossible for him to be happy.

So he hadn’t even thought about letting Director Roland sit, even though he was a Director!

“So?”

“You came here just to stand in front of me?”

Director Roland immediately got into character. “I was considering how to articulate today’s events more clearly.”

“Actually, the reason I rushed over was that we’ve had a breakthrough in some cases. Although Bob is dead, we found someone related to this matter, and this person finally confessed to Lance’s involvement.”

Mr. Potter showed some interest. “Speak in detail.”

Director Roland then recounted the entire incident in great detail, including how he suspected the guard might have betrayed the FBI, relieved him of his duties, and had him secretly investigated.

As it turned out, he didn’t know until he checked, and the check was shocking. They quickly found an account belonging to his son, into which fifty thousand dollars had been transferred after Bob’s death.

“Who could imagine he would use his own son’s account to receive this money?”

“Of course, I also considered that there might be some misunderstanding. Every year, people transfer money to the wrong account, and many lawsuits are filed over it…”

Mr. Potter nodded. He lit a cigarette, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his legs, as if listening to a story. “Yes, I’ve heard of that too.”

He began to join in this ”process,” which meant he was getting invested. This let Director Roland sigh in relief.

He was currently playing the role of a ”dancer.” He had to dance gracefully, but the most important person in front of him couldn’t be blind. Dancing for a blind man was meaningless, no matter how well one danced.

Fortunately, Mr. Potter was not ”blind.” He could provide feedback.

“So I didn’t immediately do anything to Lance . Instead, I interrogated this traitor, and used some methods.”

“His mouth was very tight, and he had received professional training in interrogation and counter-interrogation. So I took some time.”

“But in the end, I conquered him. He told the truth, proactively confessing that the entire matter was related to Lance , that Lance was directing it all from behind the scenes.”

Mr. Potter nodded. He seemed very satisfied now. He pointed to the chair beside Director Roland . “Why don’t you sit down and talk?”

Director Roland walked smilingly to the chair and sat down. “I was just too eager to tell you this news!”

“You are a smart man,” Mr. Potter commented. “I believe we are all smart men. How much of what you just said do you think is true, and how much is false?”

This sentence caught Director Roland completely off guard. He froze. He didn’t know if he had exposed a flaw. Why was Mr. Potter reacting this way?

But his reaction was fast. “Regardless of whether what he confessed is true... everything did actually happen.”

“Or perhaps what he said was false, something he fabricated to escape culpability.”

“Mr. President, we are the Federation’s highest law enforcement agency. We have an obligation to find out if what he said is true or false. To make a judgment rashly without investigating would indeed be a bit negligent.”

He seemed to say this almost without stuttering, but in reality, his brain was already burning at forty degrees!

He had to drain all his brain’s performance to think of these words in such a short time.

Mr. Potter nodded again, satisfied. “Very good. This is the sense of responsibility the head of a Federal law enforcement department should have. We cannot harm a good person, but we also cannot let a bad person remain at large.”

“How about this: take the evidence you have—the evidence that people can’t immediately find a rebuttal for—show it to Senator Cleveland, and then publicly investigate Lance .”

“No other requirements. Just seek truth from facts. Investigate as meticulously as possible. If Lance White didn’t do this, you must return his innocence.”

“Understood?”

Director Roland’s brain was operating at super-high speed. His gaze was vacant for two or three seconds before he finally captured Mr. Potter’s key point. “I understand. I will definitely conduct a very meticulous investigation.”

Seeing his idea understood, Mr. Potter seemed very pleased. This was not only an obedient dog, but one that could understand his words and was ambitious.

“Very good. As a law enforcement agency, your job is to investigate the truth of every case, send criminals to the dock, and return innocence to the innocent. Do your job well. If you encounter any resistance, I will help you!”

He then glanced at his watch. “I have an event later, so…”

Director Roland immediately stood up. “I’ve reported everything I needed to. I won’t disturb you any longer.”

Mr. Potter nodded and stood up. “I won’t see you out. Remember to notify me if there’s any further news.”

When Director Roland walked out of Mr. Potter’s office, his back was soaked in sweat. He was very nervous, even a trace of fear!

He had thought his plan was perfect, but in front of these politicians, they didn’t just see through the truth or falsehood at a glance; they viewed the entire matter from a higher level.

He now roughly understood something. So what if the things he fabricated were true? Bob was dead, dead under his management. What he and Bob said to each other, nobody fucking knew!

This was a fact. Regardless of what Lance did or didn’t do, this was an unchangeable fact.

Even the things Lance did would make many people who might have been implicated feel fortunate. Lucky that Bob died early, otherwise they might have been exposed, or perhaps they were already exposed.

So now, whether the evidence was real or not wasn’t important. What was important was that Mr. Potter’s election could not have any problems. He must win.

After winning, whether it was Congress, the President’s Office, or the entire Federation, it would usher in a new face. Power would be concentrated in Mr. Potter’s hands.

At that time, if he said these things were true, then they were true.

If he felt they were false, then even if they were true, they were false!

Different roles, different positions, the world operates differently.

Director Roland quickly took the ”evidence” to Senator Cleveland’s office and stated his purpose.

Then, in front of Senator Cleveland, he played the recorded footage.

Watching the guard being beaten into an inhuman shape, and finally confessing these things under torture... there was indeed no leading confession. Senator Cleveland didn’t watch any further.

Being tortured like this, his testimony had no legal value. But the matter still needed to be investigated, because he had confessed.

The Federation’s justice system was sometimes very interesting. It could split one matter into many independent incidents.

It could also assemble many independent incidents into one whole incident. It all depended on whose word counted.

Since they now had ”evidence,” Lance was in a passive position. If his side requested not to investigate, he might become part of Mr. Potter’s campaign speech tonight—

”A certain big shot with a lot of backing is obstructing the investigation of a murder case!”

This kind of content would be explosive in a campaign. On one hand, the lower class wants to hear inside stories and secrets of the upper class from the future president, and they will firmly believe these things are true.

Then Mr. Potter could use other methods to publicize that the ”big shot with backing” was Senator Cleveland. In the subsequent congressional seating adjustments, he might be marginalized.

So, the only thing he could do now was nothing.

He didn’t watch the whole thing. He had Director Roland stop it. He sat there, looked at Director Roland for a moment, and said with a smile, “Go investigate thoroughly. You’d better pray to God you can actually find something. Only then can we bring such criminals who destabilize society to justice.”

“I agree with Mr. Potter’s idea, and I support your investigation. But everything must be done according to procedure, according to the rules.”

“After all, you represent the Federation government’s highest law enforcement agency. You represent the face of the FBI. If even you don’t follow judicial procedures and the law, then you and Lance ... both of you are just a joke!”

It sounded like the Senator had abandoned Lance . However, Director Roland had already figured out the hidden meaning: must comply with Federal judicial procedure.

This damned procedure... isn’t it decided by the lifetime justices and Congress?

If they say your procedure is fine, it’s fine. Even if there’s a problem, it’s not a problem—in investigations against foreign capital, the Federal Attorney General’s office has repeatedly violated procedures, but nobody cares.

Now that the Senator had said it, it meant someone would be watching. As long as his procedure was wrong, his process flawed, then whatever he investigated would become meaningless, even if it was evidence of a real crime.

This was a protective measure the big shots had for themselves and those around them. They always had ways to invalidate evidence, make witnesses disappear, and make charges fail!

Director Roland knew this was a grim challenge. He showed a slightly provocative smile, “I will abide by the Federal judicial order and procedures, Mr. Senator.”

Senator Cleveland stared at him for another two seconds, committing this annoying face to memory. “You may leave. I still have work to do.”

Director Roland immediately left with his things.

After he left, Senator Cleveland gave Lance a call. “You’ll never guess who was just here!”

“Roland ?”

Senator Cleveland’s eyes went wide. “How did you know?”

“Are you near my office too?”

“No, I remember this call is to the Old City . Don’t tell me you have people planted here too?”

Although it was a joke, it was a dangerous one.

Lance immediately explained, “You asked me to guess someone I couldn’t guess. This means this person hasn’t been to your office before, and at this specific time, it’s someone you were confident I wouldn’t guess, and who would definitely shock me. Realistically, there are only two options.”

“The first is Potter . From my current perspective, although you aren’t mortal enemies, you definitely wouldn’t get together.”

“But it can’t be Potter . If it were him, you would definitely be calling the Speaker of the House or the committee chairman, not me.”

“Then the second one is Director Roland , who just returned to New Golden City .”

Hearing Lance analyze these elements so meticulously in such a short time, even though Senator Cleveland already thought he was formidable, even a bit warped, he still felt his previous judgment of him was insufficient.

“Lance , do you know?”

“The Federation owes you a good birth. If you... had a prominent surname, I would fully support you running for president right now!”

Lance smiled. “There are no ’ifs’, Mr. Senator.”

Senator Cleveland felt a bit wistful. Of course, this was just an exaggerated expression of emotion. If Lance were really that kind of person, he might not act this way. After all, he also had his own interests and ideas, unless they could agree on many issues.

But once Lance really had that kind of status, background, and power, they most likely wouldn’t become friends. They would only become competitors, or even enemies.

“Roland just showed me a recording. In the video, that... FBI guard, after being tortured, confessed that you were organizing everything from behind the scenes.”

“Potter over there has already given him the chance to investigate you. He will probably be latched onto you tightly for the next period, trying to find some problems with you.”

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be related to Bob’s assassination. Anything else will do. You know, as long as they can prove you are a gang leader, you’ll be in trouble.”

This is like someone eating shit. When asked what they’re eating, they can say they’re eating chocolate.

Maybe people will find it strange, but they won’t say anything. It’s just eating chocolate.

But once someone really exposes that this person is eating shit, they will immediately suffer social death.

Senator Cleveland’s tone was somewhat grave, but Lance seemed very relaxed. “I’m afraid he won’t have the chance.”

“Actually, his life isn’t easy right now. I’ve already had people continue to spread the ’Roland Threat Theory,’ saying he possesses those damning files. And you will soon hear a new version of the rumor.”

“Besides, Roland’s own ass isn’t clean. I will find his problems before he finds mine.”

“In fact, Mr. Senator, during this time, you can appropriately praise Roland to the public. Say he’s a key member of Potter’s team, a ’crime buster’.”

Senator Cleveland was suddenly curious. “You want to lift him up high, then drop him hard. I know that, but how do you plan to drop him?”

Lance laughed loudly twice. “You will know soon enough.”

Lance had always been reassuring in his actions, and he had basically never messed up when he was this confident. Senator Cleveland trusted him 100%.

After this call ended, that evening, while attending a social event, the Senator commented on Roland a few times. He said he had become very formidable under Potter , that the FBI was doing a great job, and had curbed the rising trend of crime in many areas.

For a moment, people were a bit surprised. Could it be that Senator Cleveland and Mr. Potter had teamed up?

Logically speaking, that seems unlikely, right?

Then it must be pure appreciation for Director Roland ?

Even while he was barking madly at Lance’s heels... this could only mean that Director Roland was truly outstanding.

Soon, these rumors began to spread in New Golden City . Mr. Potter found out the very next day.

He was also very puzzled.

People like Senator Cleveland, who currently wielded enormous influence, always had more than one person secretly watching his every move. So he didn’t need to be like Tom and those other aides.

He didn’t need to specially arrange meetings to spread news. He just had to say something in a semi-public setting, and the entire Federal political mainstream would know by the next day!