Empire of Shadows

"Sit."

The chief of the Goldport City Police Department gestured for Officer Lucar to sit down.

The latter walked to the desk, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

The police chief's office had no sofa, no bar, just a simple office.

He looked to be about sixty years old and had been in this position for over a decade.

Starting as a patrolman, he worked his way up to the chief of the city police department, making him a legend in Goldport City's police force.

The old chief was named Charlie, a very common name for a federal person.

He looked clean, without the common untidiness of old people.

"The Presidential Palace has decided to form the Tobacco, Alcohol, and Hazardous Materials Administration, did you know?"

A simple opening, but it gave Officer Lucar a signal.

He already had some premonitions, "I've heard of it, but what does it have to do with me?"

Charlie spoke at a slow pace and in a gentle voice, which seemed inconsistent with his decades of police "background."

Many people who had heard of him thought he should be a strong old man, whose voice would be as hard as two I-beams rubbing together.

But in fact, he spoke very gently and slowly, allowing people to calm down.

"The Department of Justice, the Treasury Department, the IRS, and it is said that the FBI also intends to get involved, but in any case, in order to make the prohibition of alcohol more than just a success on paper, they must form this new agency."

"This agency has great power, what we have, it also has."

"What we don't have, it has even more!"

"Old friends in the state told me that there will be a dedicated Justice Department office, on duty 24 hours a day, just to facilitate its access to various legal documents."

"It's too powerful, Lucar, I'm not opposed to more law enforcement agencies appearing in our lives."

"The FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, I'm not against them, their appearance will make our lives better."

"But this time is an exception!"

Chief Charlie took out his pipe, took out his tobacco pouch, and took out some moist tobacco and stuffed it into the pipe.

Officer Lucar smelled a strong smell of alcohol, the tobacco may have been sprayed or soaked in strong liquor.

After Chief Charlie stuffed it, he pressed the tobacco firmly with a silver gadget, and then picked up a long-handled match - it was about ten centimeters long and very thick, and each one could burn for a long time.

As the flame was constantly sucked into the pipe, the moist tobacco was also ignited.

Not the kind of burning, but it was indeed ignited.

He puffed on it twice, then looked at Officer Lucar, "Its power is too great, I actually agree with many people that Prohibition is a piece of dog shit policy."

"We've been drinking alcohol all our lives, and suddenly they tell me that drinking alcohol is a crime, the people who peddled this idea in Congress should be sent to the electric chair!"

Officer Lucar couldn't help but laugh twice, "Yes, he should be electrocuted!"

Chief Charlie said thank you, "It's really nice that you can understand my feelings."

"Because these people are eager to prove that their proposal is correct through Prohibition, the next period of time may be very bad."

"Goldport City is not the kind of remote small place, it is a metropolis, it is connected to the world."

"Downtown gangs, the Five Families, I don't want those people to mess it up on their first day here!"

"Lucar, I want to give you a new job, to go to this Administration."

He took another puff of his pipe, the tobacco in this kind of pipe is raw tobacco, and then some other things are added to make its taste more complex.

Some people even add chili powder and peppercorns!

Everyone enjoys their tobacco differently, the smoke emitted by Chief Charlie's pipe doesn't smell so pungent, which may be because he is older.

"A powerful new law enforcement department promoted to the entire Federation must rely on local forces to quickly build up."

"I have received some news that the first batch of mid-level law enforcement officers will be recommended by local authorities."

"I will recommend you."

"Detective Chief, or Senior Agent, or even Special Agent, in short, it depends on how they arrange it, I can guarantee that you will lead a working group alone."

"In addition to your formal work, there is one more thing you need to do."

He said a few words, held the pipe to his mouth and took another puff.

Chief Charlie stared into his eyes, and the moment he opened his mouth to speak, the smoke he had just inhaled came out of his mouth with his voice, "Don't let them mess around in this city!"

Officer Lucar did not agree immediately, but thought for a while and then asked, "Why me?"

Chief Charlie seemed to know that he would ask this, and praised him in a slightly admiring tone, "Because you have principles, and others..."

He squeezed out a very fake smile, and both of them understood what he meant.

In fact, he had already agreed, he had agreed in his heart, but there was also something he was a little reluctant to give up, "I still have some cases in my hands that have not been dealt with."

"About crime or gangs?"

"Both."

"Then you don't have to worry about it, Lucar, you should be very clear that for those criminal groups, the more strictly we prohibit, the higher their profits will be."

"These wild dogs who smell the bloody smell and rush over will not give up this high-return illegal business, they will definitely participate in it."

"You can still investigate them, and you can still have greater power!"

Officer Lucar was silent for a long time before agreeing, "I have no problem."

The old chief smiled very satisfied, he knew it would be like this, "Then I will write a report later, you have to be mentally prepared, the transfer may be very fast."

"And before that, you may have to go to a period of training."

"As for the cases in your hands, I can help you transfer them over, but I still say the same thing, don't let them mess around in this city, if you have any news, notify me in time!"

Officer Lucar agreed, and then left the office.

The old chief smiled and leaned on the chair, bathing in the sunlight.

Inadvertently, when he raised his hand to grab the pipe, a gleam of gold flashed in his cuff.

Having principles means that they can be used by principles.

For Chief Charlie, Officer Lucar may not be the best one, but he is the most suitable one.

Choose those corrupt cops to go to more powerful departments?

With the capital offensive of capitalists and the Five Families, he doesn't think those corrupt cops can last too long.

For example, the assistant director of the port branch nicknamed "Vulture", even Chief Charlie has heard that he ruthlessly scoured his patrol area before taking office as assistant director.

If this kind of person goes to the Tobacco, Alcohol, and Hazardous Materials Administration, he will only corrupt faster and lean towards those people, and forget him early on.

On the contrary, Officer Lucar, who has principles and has not yet succumbed to this society, will become his most suitable candidate at this time.

Officer Lucar doesn't take black money very much, and he is still wary of capitalists and the Five Families, as well as those criminal groups.

These excellent virtues and professional ethics make him have no reliable help in this city.

If you don't take money, how can capitalists rest assured to help you become stronger?

If you don't collude with the Five Families and criminal groups, these criminal groups will be uneasy, afraid that you will reach out and cause them losses!

If you don't stand with them, don't wear a hypocritical mask and socialize with them in the arena of fame and fortune, how can you become friends?

You are not even friends, why do you hope these people will help you?

Even in the case that you may want to investigate them.

So after Officer Lucar goes to the new Administration, the biggest help he can rely on is his old boss.

He doesn't know what the officials and law enforcement agencies in other regions think, in short, in his opinion, it's terrible!

A law enforcement agency that can challenge the old order is being born.

In the afternoon, Mr. Chobav's assistant's nephew had just left his uncle, and his uncle told him to go out and hide for a while.

He definitely can't go back to the Empire, he will be sent to the front line if he goes back.

Go to other countries...it seems like a good choice, this is also his uncle's idea, such as going to Sumuli Island for a vacation, or going to Ge Lai to see the so-called origin of the Federation.

In fact, continue south to countries near Yalan for a while, there are many beautiful women there, it is said that you only need to promise to take them away from their bad countries and come to the Federation.

Then those passionate and hot beauties can do anything for you, anywhere!

These are all good choices, but in the end, the assistant's nephew still chose to stay in the Federation.

Because he is not familiar with those countries at all, he has lived here since he can remember.

He never thinks that he is an immigrant or a second-generation immigrant, he thinks that he is a federal person, although the federal people do not admit this.

He is very familiar with this place, the familiar environment makes him have more security, even if he knows there are some dangers, but at least, he needs it.

It is simple to go to other countries, but in those strange countries, if he encounters trouble, he doesn't even know who to ask for help.

In addition to the language barrier, communication is inconvenient, if he really encounters trouble, he may really not be able to come back.

So he decided not to go anywhere, not even to leave this city.

He is very familiar with this place, he can definitely hide.

After returning home and simply packing up his things and saying goodbye to his family, he came to Xilin District, which is in the north of the city center, it is the oldest district in Goldport City and a district with a strong sense of life.

With the development of the city, its vitality has clearly failed to keep pace with the times, gradually becoming a relatively slow-paced place.

Some old Empire immigrants live here, but most are elderly, and young people go to more vibrant and youthful places to live.

Here, you can often see old people sitting on rattan chairs on both sides of the road, chatting together, reading newspapers, or dozing off in their chairs in the afternoon.

You don't even know if they are sleeping or suddenly died.

Old shops and goods that young people don't like, life here is so simple.

Mr. Chobaf's assistant bought two houses here, but has never lived in them, just leaving them empty.

He always felt that one day he would be able to use them, and now is the time to use them.

Before this, he had people clean all the houses, a routine thing, cleaning the rooms according to the schedule. It used to be like this, and no one would suspect anything.

Taking advantage of the night, the assistant's nephew came to one of the houses.

After arriving at this place, the house had already been cleaned. Although it was not as good as his villa, at least it was very safe here.

The house is not big, a two-story building by the road, with only about one hundred and fifty square meters up and down.

Such houses are common in the old district, all of which are very old buildings.

Although the house is not big, he likes it very much. When people are in danger, the smaller the environment, the more security it brings.

After he settled down, he picked up the phone and dialed his uncle's number.

"I've already moved in, everything is very safe, the quilts and sheets are new, and they smell of flowers."

The assistant was silent for a long time, "There is a statue of the Virgin in the attic. Move it away, and there will be a lion pattern on the base. Twist it, and a box will fall out from under the base."

"Inside there is a handgun, two magazines, and two boxes of bullets."

The nephew was a little surprised, "I don't need these now."

The assistant's voice was a little louder, "No, you need them."

"Remember, find it, carry it with you, until I call you again."

The nephew did not continue to resist, "Okay, I got it, uncle."

The assistant was silent for a while, "Protect yourself, and, I love you."

"I love you too."

After hanging up the phone, the nephew sat in a daze for a while, and then went to the attic according to his uncle's request, and found the statue of the Virgin.

She was so compassionate, as if she could not tolerate a trace of cruelty. After looking at the statue for a while, he apologized and moved the Virgin from the base.

Then he found the lion pattern his uncle mentioned, a lion's head spitting out its tongue, only about less than one centimeter high, with hidden lines next to it.

He didn't twist it at first, but after pressing down, he twisted it.

Then he heard a click, and the base fell off.

He saw the handgun, magazines, and bullets his uncle mentioned. Considering that he was indeed not that safe now, he carried the handgun with him.

It's very safe here, and there are enough food reserves. He can completely stay here for two or three weeks without going out.

What to do?

He thought, but there didn't seem to be much to do. Reading might be one of his few choices.

Fortunately, he brought a few books with him.

Opening the book "Experiencing Suffering", his emotions and thoughts began to rise and fall with the protagonist's bumpy experiences.

On the other end of the telephone line, the assistant hunched over, covering his cheeks with his hands, his voice a little choked.

Mr. Chobaf stood beside him, holding his shoulder, "I screwed them over. They could have gotten more money, but they refused."

"If this matter could be resolved with money, you know me, I wouldn't be stingy with that little bit of money."

"But they don't want money."

Mr. Chobaf asked Pete to talk to Polly, and the feedback he received was terrible. Polly told him that his assistant and his assistant's nephew must die, one of them!

Giving money is useless, this has nothing to do with money!

If every assassination attempt on him and his men failed and he just gave tens of thousands of dollars, then starting tomorrow, the people lining up to assassinate him could line up from the door of his company in the port area all the way to the outside of his villa in the bay area!

This is not a matter of giving or not giving Mr. Chobaf face, this is the bottom line, a principle, and someone must pay the price with their life.

Moreover, this is still considering the mayor and Mr. Pete's sake, otherwise it wouldn't be such a small person who died, but Mr. Chobaf himself.

In the end, he compromised. Between the assistant and the assistant's nephew, he chose that idiot.

Of course, he also felt some displeasure and anger in his heart. He could mess up such a simple thing, perhaps his death was his own fault.

But he wouldn't show it. He tried his best to save the young man's life, but unfortunately, he couldn't do it.

The assistant was still crying sadly. He had no son himself, so this nephew was like his son, receiving his love. Now, this relative who was like his son was about to leave this world, and the sadness could not be controlled.

Perhaps from the assistant's crying, he thought of his own destiny, and empathizing with him, Mr. Chobaf was also very sad.

But this is not the time for him to be sad. He patted the assistant's shoulder, "We will take revenge!"

The assistant wiped away his tears and looked at him, "Can we take revenge?"

Mr. Chobaf nodded affirmatively, "Definitely!"

A few minutes later, Polly hung up the phone and handed the note in front of him to Jimmy, "This is where that Empire bastard is hiding now, keep it quiet."

Jimmy looked at the note, put it in his pocket, then got up, "I'll take care of this."

Polly raised his hand to signal that he could leave, and Jimmy immediately called a few people to leave together in a car.

Although losing a sum of money was regrettable, it was good to be able to regain face and vent his anger fiercely.

As for who gave Polly this address, and how he determined that this person lived in this house, he didn't care, this was not what he had to do.

The car crossed the entire Empire District. He couldn't see the grief of Mr. Chobaf and the assistant on a certain building on a certain street. In his mind, there was only the revenge that followed, and the fear that the shot brought him.

It was past eight o'clock in the evening, and the nephew, who had already eaten, was lying on the bed and was already a little drowsy.

He has a habit of going to the toilet before going to bed, emptying his bladder, and then washing his face.

This way he can sleep well.

He came to the toilet, whistling, while watching the water in the toilet bowl ripple. He suddenly thought of an interesting news story he had seen before.

In a certain state, after dark, not only is it not allowed to pee standing up, but it is also not allowed to whistle in the toilet.

The federal people are really sick in the head!

He laughed twice, shook it, flushed the toilet, and then turned to look at himself in the mirror, a little haggard.

He put a lot of water in the basin, then lowered his head. He scooped up the water with his hands and splashed it on his face, splashing it several times before rubbing it hard a few times.

When he looked up again, his gaze was suddenly attracted by the person standing behind him in the mirror.

The not-so-bright light in the bathroom flickered...