Empire of Shadows

Chapter 536: Narrow [666+8]

The next morning, after Panda got up, the maid had already arrived and prepared breakfast.

Because of her pregnancy, Lisa often couldn't get up in the mornings. After Panda ate breakfast, he asked the maid to take extra care of Lisa and gave her an extra two dollars as a reward before quickly leaving home.

Becoming the bureau chief was very meaningful, even though he couldn't achieve it right now.

The wealthy people in the Bay Area couldn't possibly not drink alcohol. As long as he barged in while they were drinking, he would have a way to deal with these people.

He had been thinking about these things all night, and unknowingly, his car arrived at the parking lot inside the Dangerous Goods Administration.

As soon as he got out of the car, many colleagues greeted him enthusiastically. As one of the four senior special agents, his position here could be said to be second only to one person, equal to the other three, and above a thousand people.

If you ignore those at the same level, then it's second only to one person and above a thousand people.

Whether they knew him or not, they would all take the initiative to greet him with a smile.

In this environment, even if he had something on his mind, his mood improved.

He first dealt with the urgent documents on his desk, and then came to the outside of Bureau Chief Dale's office.

He knocked on the door, and Bureau Chief Dale told him to wait a moment.

The office door wasn't completely soundproof, and he seemed to vaguely hear some keywords, such as "death penalty" and "committee."

After about ten minutes, he was finally told by Bureau Chief Dale to come in.

As soon as he entered, he could tell that Bureau Chief Dale was in a good mood. He even took the initiative to have someone bring over a cup of coffee.

"There was a very important phone call just now, sorry for making you wait outside for so long," Bureau Chief Dale wasn't arrogant, which was why everyone didn't dislike him.

"It's okay, I just read the newspaper for a while," Panda found a reason to make Bureau Chief Dale less "guilty."

The relationship between superiors and subordinates is really interesting. Clearly, the "perpetrator" worries about the "victim's" guilt and unease, and actively finds reasons and excuses for his behavior.

Bureau Chief Dale naturally continued the topic, "It's a good habit to like reading the newspaper. There is a lot of important information hidden in it."

"When I was in New Gold City, I had to read many newspapers every day. Sometimes the truth has already been published, but many people can't find it!"

The secretary knocked on the door and walked in with the coffee.

Panda picked it up, took a sip, and praised it.

This wasn't a false compliment, it was a genuine compliment.

The coffee beans in the coffee machine in the Dangerous Goods Administration's pantry were all high-end goods costing more than ten dollars a pound. They weren't short of funds, so everyone from top to bottom was very "enjoyable."

The secretary closed the door when she left, and Bureau Chief Dale then shifted the topic to the matter of Panda's visit, "Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.

Panda nodded, "I have an informant who heard that the Coda family has a lot of alcohol in one of their casinos. I don't know... should we take action?"

Bureau Chief Dale frowned slightly, very slightly, almost imperceptible.

He hadn't yet settled things with the Lance family, and didn't really want to deal with the Coda family.

The Coda family also had connections in Congress, and seizing the Coda family's casino would affect their delivery of benefits to Congress.

When the people in Congress whose interests were damaged complained, the method he had painstakingly thought of to break the situation would unnecessarily create waves.

But he couldn't dampen the morale of his subordinates. After thinking for a moment, he had an idea, "Of course we have to manage it, but not now!"

"Our current focus is on getting these people to admit that they are in the same gang organization, and to explain their previous operating funds."

"Then see if there is any way to uproot them, as well as the higher-level gang organizations!"

Panda was stunned for a moment. No one had told him this before, "Are you saying... we're going to take action against Lance?"

Bureau Chief Dale nodded, "Yes, we all know they are members of the Lance family, and we also know that Lance is the mastermind behind all of this."

"Only by arresting Lance and sending him to court can this case be truly resolved!"

"Panda, you know Lucal."

"He is a very good person, capable and passionate about his work, but because of some things, he..."

"We didn't have a chance before, so we could temporarily ignore it, but now that we have a chance, whether it's for the cause of justice or to avenge our friend, we have a duty to arrest Lance!"

If Lance was really arrested, it wouldn't be a simple matter of violating the Prohibition Law. The prosecutor would also collect other evidence of his crimes and prosecute him together.

If that day really came, Lance would be dead!

Panda slightly held his breath, his heart felt like it was being gripped by some force, and almost stopped beating!

If Lance was really arrested, would he confess about himself?

He didn't know, and didn't want to know.

The unease in his heart didn't show on his face. He just pretended to agree with Bureau Chief Dale's idea, "Yes, you're right, we should solve the problems at hand first, and then consider others."

Bureau Chief Dale felt happy that this capable subordinate understood him, "I'm very glad you can think that way!"

"The Coda family's casino is right there. They are providing alcohol to their customers now, so they won't stop in the future, so we can take action against them at any time."

"There's no need to rush to arrest them right now."

"As long as the result meets our requirements, the time and process can actually be compromised to some extent!"

He paused, "Alright, do you have any other work to do?"

He meant that Panda could leave. Panda picked up the coffee, then stood up, "No, I'm going to work."

He pointed to the coffee cup he was holding. Bureau Chief Dale smiled and said, "Take it with you, just remember to have someone send it to the sink after you finish drinking!"

Panda's expression visibly worsened as he came out of the bureau chief's office. He now had two weaknesses.

Lisa and the child, and Lance.

He cursed inwardly a couple of times, then returned to the office and began to deal with the work at hand. A large number of documents needed to be reviewed and signed, but he was always thinking about Bureau Chief Dale's attitude.

The whole morning flashed by in various things that couldn't be said to be absolutely important, but still took up his time.

At eleven fifty-five, he put down the work in his hand, rubbed his wrist, and lit a cigarette.

When the time pointed to eleven fifty-nine and fifty-nine seconds, the phone rang suddenly, and at the same time, the hour, minute, and second hands all pointed to "0".

He immediately picked up the phone, "This is Panda."

"Are there any results?"

Lance's voice came from the receiver.

Panda didn't speak immediately. He needed to organize his words and also think about how to tell Lance about this matter.

He couldn't just say "He wants to kill you" right off the bat, could he?

Lance didn't urge him. Since he didn't speak, it meant that something unexpected might have happened.

After about a minute or two, Lance also lit a cigarette, and Panda finally spoke.

"First thing, the bureau chief didn't agree. He doesn't seem to plan to let me take action against the Coda family."

"I have to report this kind of action to him. If he doesn't agree, I can't take people out on my own, which would cause trouble."

"Second thing..."

Lance was originally planning to say "Forget it if it doesn't work", but there was still a "second thing", and he realized that something beyond his expectations had happened.

He remained silent, and only the occasional sound of him smoking and the slight crackling sound of the cigarette butt being burned came from the receiver.

"This morning when I went to the door of his office, I heard him talking to someone on the phone, mentioning something about 'death penalty' and something about 'committee'."

Lance added at this time, "Is it the 'Prohibition Committee'?"

Panda didn't admit it, "I didn't hear clearly, so I can't say for sure."

"Then when we were discussing your case, he mentioned continuing to trace the source..."

He paused when he said this, "...said that the ultimate goal is you, you are more valuable than others."

Lance was stunned for a moment, and then Lance's laughter came from the receiver, "Arrest me?"

He found it a little funny.

Panda didn't laugh, "Yes, he wants us to find a way to get confessions, to make them admit that they all belong to the Lance family and work for you."

"He wants to do a big case, a case that can shock the whole country."

At this time, Panda gradually understood this point. In fact, from the very beginning of the establishment of the Dangerous Goods Administration, Bureau Chief Dale had been trying to find ways to do big cases.

He even somewhat crazily asked people to falsely report the value of the case, the purpose of which was to cause a sensation and attract the attention of Congress.

His mind was not on the Prohibition Law at all, he just wanted to use the Dangerous Goods Administration as a stepping stone to return to Gold State.

After Lance laughed for a while, the laughter gradually turned cold until it finally stopped.

"What are you thinking, Panda?"

Panda didn't know what to say. He didn't want anything to happen to Lance, because if something happened to Lance, it meant that something would happen to him.

But he couldn't say that now, because it would be contrary to everything he had insisted on in the past, so he could only remain silent.

Lance didn't force him, "You inquire about it during this period. If Dale has an accident, where will the successor come from."

"Since he already sees me as an opponent, I won't show him any mercy either."

"I don't require you to stand on my side, but you can't stand on his either. Do you understand what I mean?"

"As for the Kodak family, since you can't do it, then forget about it. I'll think of another way."

Soon the phone hung up. Panda slowly placed the receiver back on the phone base, leaned back in his chair, and sighed.

Life, why are there so many worries?