Empire of Shadows

Chapter 664: A Clever Solution [666+15]

How do you ask kidnappers to prove that the person you've kidnapped is the one I'm looking for?

The answer isn't actually that complicated.

As Arthur's screams echoed from afar into the receiver, Mayor Williams clenched his fist tightly, even able to hear the grating sound of skin rubbing!

James nodded grimly, anger on his face. It was Arthur's voice.

Mayor Williams could also confirm this. After all, he had watched the boy grow up by his side. He could recognize even the sound of that good-for-nothing son's farts, let alone his screams!

"Can you confirm it now?"

"Your Excellency, the Mayor?"

The frivolous and mocking tone in the voice made Mayor Williams breathe a heavy sigh of relief, and he relaxed his clenched fist.

He had experienced many things in his life, and this wasn't the worst.

"What do you want?"

The guy on the other end of the phone laughed twice. Just from that laughter, he keenly sensed that these people must be gang members.

Their laughter had the arrogance of gang members, that 'we don't give a damn about anyone' attitude.

"I don't want anything, just want to make friends with Your Excellency, the Mayor."

"It's… 3:15 PM now. Be at this location before 3:40 PM."

Mayor Williams was waiting for him to continue, for example… some more outrageous, impossible demands.

He knew very well that Arthur's kidnapping wasn't just some ordinary kidnappers trying to extort money from him. It must be those people in the Bay Area who were causing trouble behind the scenes. They wouldn't let Arthur go back so easily; they must have deeper motives.

But after waiting for a while, the other side didn't say anything. Although he felt some confusion in his heart, his tone didn't change at all. "That's it?"

"Yes, that's it. You have twenty-four minutes."

"If you're not at this location by 3:40 PM, you'll get a piece of Arthur!"

Then, amid his arrogant laughter, he hung up the phone. Listening to the dial tone, Mayor Williams stopped listening.

And quickly picked up the phone, dialed Lance's number, "I need your help, they want me to go to… this location, otherwise, they might take a piece of Arthur."

"I need some help."

Lance didn't think too much and agreed directly.

At this stage, Mayor Williams was one of his most important partners. Only if Mayor Williams remained in office would the position of police chief not be replaced.

If a new mayor came to power and Chief Blue was replaced, even if he controlled the extra income of every policeman every month, there would still be some changes and uncontrollable situations.

Greed is always the primary driving force. What if the new mayor not only planned to send him to prison but also directly replace him?

Find a puppet to continue to control the city's liquor market, and the other party can also make the police force wholeheartedly follow him.

So, before he had fully grown, Lance still needed to take care of them.

After hanging up the phone, Mayor Williams got up immediately. Although he was mentally prepared to "lose" Arthur, as long as there was a chance, he would not give up.

Federal people may not be able to summarize such concise and straightforward language as "little son, great grandson," but this good-for-nothing little son definitely had an extraordinary position in his heart!

"I'll go with you."

James also stood up, but Mayor Williams stopped him.

"They want me to leave City Hall. Something must have happened that may require me to handle. Only when I'm not here can they succeed."

He put on his coat while looking at James, "When I'm not here, you have full authority to handle anything for me!"

"Trust your own judgment, trust your ability!"

He paused, "You're the best!"

After he finished speaking, he pulled the door and left without looking back. The other party didn't make any demands, just asked him to leave City Hall, and he had already guessed the reason for this.

This was not an era with mobile communication. Once he left City Hall, he basically lost connection with "power information."

If there were any sudden situations during this period, and he couldn't receive the phone call, and the people at City Hall couldn't find him, and it happened to be very important matters that he had to make decisions on himself, then something would definitely happen!

Arthur…

He pursed his lips. When he came back, he would teach this good-for-nothing a good lesson!

He got into the car and patted the back of the driver's seat, "Drive."

The vehicle quickly left City Hall. A guy diagonally across the road was leaning against a telephone pole, looking like he was reading a newspaper, but he had been reading this newspaper for a long time.

In fact, he was observing the changes at City Hall. When he saw the mayor's car coming out and saw Mayor Williams sitting in the back seat, he threw the newspaper into the roadside trash can, then walked into the phone booth and dialed the number he knew by heart.

"He just left City Hall…"

After speaking, he hung up the phone, then put his hands in his trouser pockets, raised his collar, shrugged his neck, and walked in the opposite direction.

The gradually gloomy sky began to snow again. It was snowing again.

In a situation where he was almost late, the mayor breathed a sigh of relief and stood at the agreed location, which was the roadside of a park. He stood there, and apart from three cars and Lance sitting in the car, he couldn't see anyone else.

Just as the time pointed to 3:40, the telephone in a phone booth not far away suddenly rang. Mayor Williams suddenly turned to look at the phone booth. He had a hunch that it was a call for him.

He glanced at Lance, and Lance nodded slightly. He strode over and answered the phone.

"Very, very good, Your Excellency, the Mayor. You are a punctual and time-conscious person."

"But I still have doubts about this. I hope you can get to this… this address before four o'clock."

Mayor Williams didn't say anything and hung up the phone directly. He came out of the phone booth, looked around again, and then got into his car.

Lance's convoy also started from a slightly farther place, following him, but at the same time, Lance also had several people watching nearby.

After Mayor Williams arrived, the phone rang. Maybe there were people nearby observing at close range.

He had some people stay behind. If they saw someone suddenly leave in a short period of time, then arrange for someone to follow them.

As for him, he continued to follow Mayor Williams, and at a traffic light, he had Mayor Williams get into his car.

"He's playing with me, wasting my time. Do you have any good ideas?"

"My mind is very confused right now!"

After all, it concerned his most beloved youngest son, and it was already not easy for him to calmly analyze some things.

Lance nodded, "Continue to play this game with him. This time, we'll arrive a little later. Of course, I'll arrange for someone to go over first."

"The next address, no matter what location he tells you, try to postpone the time as much as possible."

"Postpone it by about ten minutes, and say that it's almost the evening rush hour, there's some traffic on the road, and you may not be able to arrive at the agreed time."

Mayor Williams nodded and then looked at Lance. He didn't directly ask why, but used his eyes to inquire Lance.

If he could answer, Lance would tell him. If he couldn't answer, Lance could also choose not to see.

Sometimes this way of expression would be more euphemistic and wouldn't create tension.

"I will catch him, don't worry."

"I have already arranged for people to be scattered throughout the city. When the agreed time arrives, they will honk their horns."

"I need you to try to delay the call as much as possible, such as asking to talk to Arthur or something."

"But what you need to do is to listen carefully to whether there is the sound of horns in the background and what kind of sound it is."

Mayor Williams's eyes suddenly lit up. He looked at Lance in disbelief. He had never thought of using such a method to solve the problem!

"You are a genius, Lance!"

From the bottom of his heart, definitely not flattery!

Lance smiled, "I'm just better at discovering things."

At the next traffic light, Mayor Williams returned to his car again, and then gradually accelerated, keeping a distance from Lance's car.

This time, he was about seven or eight minutes late than the agreed time, but similarly, as soon as he arrived, the phone rang.

The guy on the other side of the phone was a little angry, "You're late!"

Mayor Williams repeated Lance's set of words, and although the guy on the other side of the phone accepted his explanation, he still expressed dissatisfaction.

"I can accept your reasons, but this time, you need to accept punishment!"

Immediately afterward, he heard Arthur's screams, but this time, he wasn't so "nervous" because he knew that he would meet these people soon.

"The next address, you need to arrive… here before 4:30. If you're late, Arthur will suffer more severe triggers!"

"Wait a minute!"

Before the other party hung up the phone, Mayor Williams said Lance's words.

"It's about to enter the evening rush hour, and it's snowing, and the roads are full of crowded vehicles. I can't guarantee that I can arrive at that location at the agreed time."

The guy on the other side of the phone didn't seem to compromise, "That's your problem!"

Mayor Williams didn't indulge him either, "You can kill him."

The guy froze for a moment, several seconds passing before he asked in an uncertain tone, "You… what did you say?"

"I said, you can kill him, and I, right now, will return to City Hall. I have no interest in playing this game I can't win with you."

Perhaps sensing the firmness in Mayor Williams' tone, the guy on the other end compromised, "Alright, four forty, no later."

"Forty-five!"

"…Fine!"