Empire of Shadows

Twenty seconds ago, directly below Director Dale's office, an agent held up a somewhat heavy box and asked loudly.

"If anyone ordered this double-layered pineapple pie, please speak up, or I'm going to open it soon!"

The young male agent looked at his colleagues around him, and everyone was shaking their heads, as if no one had ordered it.

A smile appeared on his face. He liked pineapple pie. His mother often made it for him when he was a child.

Compared to the strange taste of apple pie, the taste and flavor of pineapple pie were obviously more pleasing, at least that's what he thought.

He rubbed his hands together impatiently and then opened the box.

During this process, it didn't seem to open very easily, and he even used a little force.

When the lid was lifted, he clearly saw a line hanging down from the edge of the lid, and at the end of the line was a thin iron wire about four centimeters long.

There was no double-layered pineapple pie in the box, none of that orange-yellow pineapple pie filling that had been cooked with syrup and jam, only a bomb, and a lot of steel nails.

He said "Fuck," which Director Dale would also say three seconds later, and then looked up blankly.

The next second, the sudden explosion of light and shock waves directly knocked him away, and the scattered iron nails became deadly weapons, flying everywhere, including into the walls, on the ground, and into people's heads and bodies!

Because the body of this unfortunate agent blocked the front of those behind him, not many people directly behind him suffered fatal injuries.

But the shock wave and the huge noise also made them cover their ears in pain and fall to the ground, the whole world filled with buzzing sounds...

Soon, people from other offices rushed in. They looked in disbelief at the room, which looked like it had been through a war. The iron nails embedded in the walls, and the wall skin shattered by the nails, were everywhere.

Some agents were howling in pools of blood, while others were already silent.

Especially the agents sitting around the center of the explosion, each had at least seven or eight nails in their bodies, and all of them were in vital areas.

Some agents were convulsing on the floor, even though they had no obvious wounds on their bodies, they were still spitting out large mouthfuls of blood.

This tragic scene made people scream, and some immediately dialed the ambulance number, the fire department's number, and even... the police number!

The mayor called immediately to ask what had happened here, but the director's phone was busy. Now many people wanted to figure out what exactly had happened here.

A few minutes later, everyone in Goldenport City knew that the Tobacco, Alcohol, and Hazardous Materials Administration had been bombed again.

If the first explosion was just a "small scene," then this time, it was a big scene.

One hearse wasn't enough. They came with two hearses, one after the other, to transport the bodies away.

A total of six agents died, and nine were injured, two of whom were seriously injured.

Director Dale sat blankly in his chair, gazing at the floating clouds in the sky. His mind was in chaos.

If the first explosion wasn't good news for him, it also contained some opportunities.

As long as he seized these opportunities, he would definitely be noticed by Congress and quickly rise through the new department, directly to the central government.

In times of crisis, a leader not only withstands the pressure but also brilliantly turns the tables and consolidates the results of the alcohol ban and the fruits of victory.

He would have both substance and image, and the congressmen would be very satisfied with his performance. His future would be smooth sailing.

But the second explosion, that is, this explosion, made him lose all face, and his path to promotion was completely closed.

Explosions happening again and again, and this time so many people died, he couldn't explain it.

Even if he solved the case quickly, it would be useless.

People don't care how long it was between the two bombings, or whether he took any countermeasures. People only know that after the first bombing, he failed to catch the person who created the tragedy.

Allowing them to detonate the second bombing, and killing even more people, isn't that just being a complete idiot?

How could such a person be appreciated by the senators of Congress, and how could he directly enter the central government based on those merits?

This fall was too damn painful.

So painful that the phone rang for a long time, until the deputy director came in to tell him that the phone had been ringing, he finally reacted.

It was the mayor.

The mayor was very concerned about the situation here and wanted to understand some more detailed information, but he was absent-minded at this time. After answering vaguely a couple of times, the mayor told him to rest well and not to be too sad, and then hung up the phone.

Too sad?

It was indeed quite sad.

So sad that he wanted to laugh.

As soon as the phone was hung up, it rang again quickly. He thought it was still the mayor, with something unfinished, so he only used a questioning tone, "Sir?"

But this time, it wasn't the mayor on the other end.

"We should talk,"

The voice was very unfamiliar. Director Dale frowned and racked his brains, unable to find any memory related to this voice from his memories since arriving here.

He frowned tightly, lowered his head, and rubbed his forehead, "Who are you?"

"Haven't you been looking for me?"

The slightly frivolous and arrogant voice immediately told Director Dale who the person on the other end of the phone was!

After pressing the record button, he suddenly stood up, walked to the door, beckoned to the deputy director who was arranging work not far away, and then returned to his desk.

"Are you Polly?"

He watched the deputy director come in, held the receiver with his shoulder, and quickly wrote a line on the paper.

The voice in the receiver was indeed as rumored, "I like people to call me Big Polly, you can call me that too."

"How is it, are you satisfied with my gift?"

Director Dale's pessimistic mood seemed to be somewhat alleviated. This idiot actually called to provoke him, which suddenly made him feel less pessimistic.

"If you're talking about the explosion that just happened, then Polly, you deserve to die!"

Director Dale stated his position, "We will not give up arresting you because of your violence, but will only make us more eager to bring you to justice as soon as possible!"

"We are law enforcement agencies, representing justice and the law. We will not bow to evil, even if you threaten to harm me, harm my family, harm all of us, we will not compromise."

"Justice will prevail, Polly. We stand on the side of justice, and you are evil."

Polly looked at the microphone in his hand. What the hell are you talking about?

He coughed and interrupted the other party, "Listen, Dale."

"I'll arrange for someone to surrender. He will admit that he did the bombing, and this matter ends here."

"He will become a new achievement under your badge of justice, and then you continue to be your director, and I continue to do my thing. You don't come to find my trouble, and I won't find your trouble. We all go to do our own things, how about it?"

Director Dale's attitude was very firm, "Not good, you better go to the nearest branch to surrender now..."

"Can't you understand what I'm saying?"

Polly's temper flared up again, "Do you know what you're saying?"

Director Dale became very calm, and his emotions were greatly eased, "When I sit in this position, the interests of the country and the people outweigh everything."

"You can come again, twice, more times."

"But, Polly, you are not fighting against me, nor are you fighting against the Tobacco, Alcohol, and Hazardous Materials Administration, you are fighting against this country and justice."

"Either surrender and accept trial."

"Or I'll catch you and send you to the elec...tric chair."

When he said the word "electric chair", Polly hung up the phone with force, but at this time, a smile had already appeared on Director Dale's face.

Perhaps, this is a gift that even God didn't want to see him sink into, so he gave it to him?

This conversation, which he thought was perfect, should completely appear in all radio broadcasts and a small number of televisions. Newspapers and magazines should turn it into dialogue text and print it in every corner of the world!

Polly gave him a heavy blow, but also sent an opportunity. He was saved!

The smile on his face was completely from the heart, but he quickly restrained it and became sad again.

He also took a deep breath, stood up, and began to actively deal with some things after the explosion.

A large number of agents returned from outside. Director Dale looked at them, his face sad and serious, "This is the second time they have used a bomb attack to force us to give in."

"Not long after the explosion, the leader of the Brotherhood, Polly, called me and told me to give up the investigation."

"He tried to force me to accept his conditions by threatening that he would create more explosions, let him find someone to take the blame, and let him get away with it!"

"I refused!"

"He is very tough, but I feel the weakness behind his toughness. He is feeling scared, so he is so irrational and inhuman to retaliate against us."

"This shows that everything we have done since the establishment of this department to this day is correct!"

"The decision of Congress and the President's Office is correct!"

"I believe that the light will shine brighter and brighter, like the midday sun, and the shadows will become less and less, like melting ice and snow."

"Justice will surely prevail, and we will never compromise with evil..."

The reporters took pictures and recorded frantically. An image that may not be so glorious and great, but at least is a tough bone, has been stabilized.

After he concluded the brief press conference for reporters and the public, he immediately began assigning tasks.

"According to our previous plan, tell them that if anyone can help us find Polly, we can guarantee he won't go to jail and will be completely exonerated!"

"Also, put some pressure on the other gangs to get them involved in our operation. If we don't find Polly and send him to the electric chair, I'll make sure they can't do business for even a single day!"

Police cars with wailing sirens raced through the streets. That night, the mayor learned the whole story through someone else's account.

He pondered for a good while, then shook his head. Chief Dale was a typical politician, more of a politician than a law enforcer. Of course, this was the current state of the Federation.

Originally, his position was very passive, but Polly's phone call allowed Chief Dale to return from a passive position to an active one.

Moreover, he turned his incompetence into difficulties and obstacles in implementing the resolutions of Congress and the President's Office, incidentally praising the policies of the higher-ups and building up his own image.

With the image of a "tough chief" established, Chief Dale wouldn't easily fall in Goldenport City, even if he couldn't rise to the central government.

Politicians always look at problems differently than others. The mayor quickly shifted his attention from Chief Dale to Polly.

He thought for a moment, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.

"Did you see the news?" he asked.

A very steady voice came from the other end of the phone, "I saw it."

"Now your locals are starting to break the rules. What are you people planning to do about it?"

After a few seconds, the other party said, "We will clean him up..."

The mayor said in a slightly sarcastic tone, "I hope you can do it. If this matter affects my going to the State Assembly, I will stay here even longer!"

After speaking, he hung up the phone. He was telling the other party that if they didn't want him to stay and create ideological opposition with the "locals," they had better deal with this matter as soon as possible.

Sometimes, this kind of "hostile identity" is quite useful.

Lance also heard the breaking news on the radio, and he was worried about Polly's IQ.

He might have regarded Chief Dale as someone like Chief Charlie or other police branch chiefs, thinking that giving them some money, giving them a way to explain to the public, and adding some threats would be enough to suppress the matter.

This approach worked when dealing with the local grassroots law enforcement system, like Branch Chief Blue. Give him a thousand dollars and put some pressure on him, and he would roll down the stairs himself as long as he had a step to take.

But it was clear that Chief Dale, who was transferred from above, came with a mission. If he compromised so easily, it wouldn't be the people of Goldenport City who would deal with him, but Congress or even the President's Office.

He had no retreat, so he wouldn't accept threats. It couldn't be completely said that Polly was an idiot, after all, he hadn't received any higher education and hadn't seen a bigger stage.

He just regarded the wellhead he saw as the entire sky, that's all!

A little after one o'clock, about forty minutes after the bombing, a vehicle printed with "Hazardous Materials Administration" screeched to a halt outside the labor agency.

Senior Special Agent Lucar stepped out of the car. His deputy also intended to get out, but he refused.

He walked to the nearby coffee shop, ordered two cups of good coffee, and then carried the coffee over to the agency.

There were many people here, and he squeezed through the crowd to the back.

He knocked on the door of the manager's office, and after hearing a "Come in" from inside, he pushed the door open.

Lance looked at him with some surprise, while he had a smiling face, "Would you call this a surprise?"

He put the coffee on the table, took out a cup and placed it on Lance's side, and also took a cup for himself, "Please have a cup of coffee, now you owe me one."

Lance's face showed some smiles. He opened the lid and took a sip, "No problem."

Lucar took the opportunity to sit down. He looked at some of the decorations hanging on the surrounding walls, "Do you know where Polly is?"

Lance shook his head, "I'm not interested in where a mad dog runs to."

Polly had already disrupted the peace of the entire Goldenport City, which also meant that the business of many people would be affected.

Lucar was satisfied with Lance's comprehension ability, "Before he is found, we will constantly sweep your territory. As long as we find you selling alcoholic beverages, we will arrest you."

"Until Polly is caught."

That was what Chief Dale had ordered, whether it was in poor areas like the Imperial District and the Port District, or in wealthy areas full of rich people like the Bay Area and Starlight District.

Bars want to sell alcohol?

Okay, find Polly.

In the middle of the conversation, the telephone on the table in front of Lance suddenly rang. Lucar made a gesture of "Why not pick it up and listen?"

Lance answered the phone, "Lance, this is..., there are people from the Hazardous Materials Administration blocking the door."

He glanced at Lucar, who was sitting opposite him with his legs crossed and smiling.

The latter felt his gaze and extended his hand, with some small movements, "Do you like it?"

This bar was not his own bar, but a bar under Eric's name. In other words, they had begun indiscriminate attacks, just to show a determination and means to catch criminals at all costs.

Lance thought for a moment, "Let the guests leave first, then close the door and accept their inspection."

"If they want to find the operator of the bar, let them call Olsen Lawyer."

"As for you, don't worry."

"Because compared to them, we are also locals."

Lance's last sentence was actually addressed to Lucar. They were all locals, including those illegal immigrants.

Many of the people in the Administration were transferred from other cities or other states. If these outsiders in Goldenport City went too far, the five major families of Goldenport City and those large and small gangs would tell them how to survive in this city.

And let them see the unique scenery of Angel Lake.

"I don't like your way of threatening people, Lance," Lucar said, taking a sip from his coffee cup. "Implicitly, you want to threaten me not to attack your people. You can say it out loud!"

Lance didn't fall for it at all. He hung up the phone, "Did I say anything?"

Lucar casually flipped open the cigarette case Lance put on the table, took one from it, lit it with his lighter, and said while exhaling smoke, "Sometimes you're quite hypocritical. You should act like a bandit, not a politician."

"Just like the first time we met, you knew everything, but you still pretended to be innocent?"

Lance said with a smile, "There are too many bad people around. If we are not careful, we will be used by bad people, don't you think?"