Empire of Shadows

Hunter was an old detective. He knew how a person would react when the secrets of their heart were exposed. He often encountered this situation.

When he discovered the things that those suspects desperately wanted to hide, and then revealed them in front of them, the expressions of those suspects were exactly the same as Nate's just now.

Fuck!

Son of a bitch!

A few more smiles appeared on Hunter's face. He patted Nate on the shoulder, then put his arm around him, "But I didn't believe what that person said. You know, he's a criminal. We've worked together for more than ten years."

"Do you think I'm stupid enough to believe a criminal I've only known for two days, rather than our friendship of more than ten years?"

Feeling Nate seemingly breathe a heavy sigh of relief, the anger in the depths of Hunter's eyes became even stronger.

He just couldn't understand how Lance could win over so many people. Was it just because he was rich?

At the same time, he also became wary of Nate. This man was hiding too deeply. He was almost fooled by him. If that person in the room hadn't defected, he might have really let Nate get that evidence.

Perhaps at that time, this important evidence that could indict Lance would have been destroyed by Nate.

Nate's heart was pounding at this moment. His face was a little flushed. This was a manifestation of increased blood pressure when frightened. Although his adrenaline hadn't secreted too much, his blood had already risen in advance to respond to his body's instincts, which could erupt at any time.

But instinct would never know that this was no longer the age of the primeval forest. The eruption of individual power under the iron fist of modern civilization had long lost any meaning.

Struggling will only make people die a little more painfully!

"Don't listen to him! I've worked for the police force for decades. I've never thought of doing that. This is a slander and humiliation to me!"

The more angry he seemed, the more Hunter wanted to strangle him!

But now was not the time. After dealing with Lance, he would purge the entire police station.

No matter who planted the nails, they would be pulled out!

"I believe you!" he affirmed his position. "Help me get two cups of coffee. I want to have a good chat with him."

He gave Nate a way out, and Nate immediately took it. "Okay, I'll go get it right away."

Watching Nate leave, he returned to the room.

The young man's cigarette was already finished. He looked back at Hunter, with a mocking smile on his face, "Are you sure?"

He used an interrogative sentence, but expressed a definite tone, as if he had already confirmed that Hunter had verified his statement. He didn't lie, at least on this matter!

Hunter wanted to curse a few swear words, but he held back. He sat in Nate's chair, looked at the young man, and wanted to dig out some more information from him.

"Besides Nate, who else is Lance's man?"

The young man sneered, "I don't know."

He really didn't know. If Nate hadn't jumped out himself, he wouldn't have known that Nate was actually Lance's man.

Hunter thought that he didn't know. He might just want to use this as a bargaining chip to exchange conditions with himself. At the same time, he also thought that perhaps after he got the ledger, they would continue to exchange conditions.

After all, the first stage of "sincerity" was in place before they would start the second stage of negotiations.

Just as Hunter was about to leave, he subconsciously glanced at the two photo frames on Nate's desk.

The first photo frame was a photo of Nate's family of four, a very harmonious and warm family. He had met Nate's family and children.

The second photo frame…

He picked up the photo frame and looked at it carefully. It said "Golden Port Police Academy 995 Graduation Photo". He quickly found Nate, and then next to Nate, he saw a familiar face—Brewster.

"Shit!"

"That son of a bitch!"

They were actually classmates from the same graduating class, and the two of them were also arm in arm. Fuck!

He put the photo frame back. His chest was bulging. He was actually being played by this man, by Lance. He was furious!

He now knew why Nate was Lance's man, because of Brewster.

Brewster was a staunch supporter of Lance, so that made sense.

There were also some familiar faces in this photo. So what about these people?

Could they be Lance's people?

Did Brewster play some unsavory role in this?

He thought of the fact that Duke, the deputy director, was also introduced to Lance by Brewster. So would he introduce other people to Lance as well?

He mentioned before that the police team's party was sponsored by Lance. Many police officers agreed, but he and Charlie didn't nod, so this matter didn't happen.

From that time on, did Lance's forces begin to fully invade the police force?

The more he thought about it, the more suffocated he felt, as if everyone around him might be Lance's man, and he didn't even know it!

The people in this photo had almost all become middle-level management groups in the police force. Their influence and destructive power was too great!

A knock on the door pulled Hunter's attention back from his divergent thoughts. "Come in."

Nate came in with two cups of coffee. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"

Hunter was in a very bad mood now. He didn't want to see this bastard, and he didn't even want to touch the coffee he brought. Who knew if there was anything else in it?

"We're done talking. Take him into custody. Don't let anyone else continue to interrogate him."

He walked around the table and stood in front of Nate. "Remember, before I agree, no one is allowed to interrogate him!"

Nate also vaguely sensed that Hunter's saying that he "didn't believe Nate was Lance's mole" was all bullshit. He not only believed it, but he believed it very much!

But Hunter was the director, and he didn't have any way to deal with it. At the same time, it also gave rise to another kind of thought in him.

Hunter can't be kept.

Nate nodded and stepped aside a little. "You're the boss."

Hunter nodded and glanced at the young man again, then pushed the door and left.

He would tell others to come over and watch the young man together. He didn't trust Nate.

Nate also knew that he was being seriously suspected. He looked at the young man with some irritability. "What the hell did you tell him?"

The young man laughed. "Don't worry about what I said. Just see if it works!"

Nate didn't say anything. It was too damn useful, but… the effect was a little too strong!

After Hunter returned to his office, he called Charlie. He had to leave the police station temporarily, and no one else could contact him. If something happened, Charlie would handle it.

He had to communicate with Charlie first.

Soon the call was connected. Charlie was about to go to sleep.

"Is there anything urgent so late?" he asked, sounding a little tired.

Hunter stated his purpose. "I have to go out. It may take a few hours. If there's any problem, I'll have them call you, and you can handle it."

"Go out?" The rising tone contained disbelief and a hint of anger. "There may be a group of people staring at you outside. As soon as you go out, they will kill you. Now you say you want to go out?"

Hunter thought for a while. He actually had another option now, which was to let Charlie help him get the thing back.

But for some reason, some bad scenes suddenly flashed in his mind.

For example, he was already the director, but when Charlie came to the police station, he would sit in his chair, mess up his desk, and make him stand and talk.

He thought of how he had been following Charlie like a dog all these years, working for him, working for the big shots in the Bay Area. He was far inferior to Charlie in status.

No one is willing to be a dog from birth, and he is not willing either. Isn't he being forced by life?

At the same time, he was also a little worried, because before, on some issues, Charlie was more inclined to "negotiate" with Lance, rather than directly deal with Lance.

If Charlie got this ledger, with his greedy and cunning character, would he kill Lance with one hammer?

Or would he use this ledger to control Lance and make Lance work for him too?

Hunter didn't know. Charlie was a person he couldn't understand. Saying that Charlie was the director of the police station, he was actually more like an experienced and cunning politician!

Now there was such an opportunity that might allow him to make some changes. He hesitated for a while, "There is a key piece of evidence that has been hidden. Getting it will give us a great chance to bring Lance to justice."

"I don't trust anyone else to do it. I've already found Lance's people in the police station, and there are some I suspect, but I'm not sure. I don't dare to believe anyone now."

"So I plan to go get it myself."

Charlie frowned after listening. He got out of bed and walked to the window to look at the sky outside. "It's too late. It's too unsafe outside."

"Wait until the sky is a little brighter before you go. Nothing will happen in one night."

Charlie didn't ask what that thing was or where it was. Since Hunter didn't want to say, he was too lazy to ask.

"Also, my personal suggestion is to find a few people you think are reliable to help you do this."

"Now not only you, but even I am very dangerous. It's best that we don't leave a safe environment. This is my advice to you."

As for whether he listened or not, that was unknown. Charlie did what he could do.

Hunter considered it for a while and decided to adopt Charlie's suggestion. "Okay, then, I'll go get it tomorrow morning."

"If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow this case will be secure."

After hanging up the phone, Hunter sat in his chair, propped his head with both hands, vigorously rubbed his hair a few times, and then leaned heavily on the back of the chair, exhaling a large breath.

He lit a cigarette and took a sip of the half-cup of coffee that had gone cold. The mellow aroma after the bitterness, accompanied by the scent of tobacco, had a unique flavor.

At the same time, several young people had already appeared outside a detached house in the capital. They were all wearing police uniforms, so the community service company did not stop them from entering.

If someone from King's Harbor City, and familiar with the gangs of King's Harbor City, were here, they would definitely recognize that the person standing outside the door of this house was Ennio.

He had a relatively handsome appearance, dark brown hair, and a police uniform made him look more elegant.

He knocked on the door, and the lights in the house immediately turned on. Then, footsteps came from inside, "Who's there?"

It was a man's voice, but it was clear that there were other people in the house. The lights on the second floor were also on, and a woman's voice faintly came, "What happened?"

Then, Ennio felt someone standing behind the door. Soon after, the screen on the small window on the door was lifted, revealing the face of a vigilant man.

"Who are you?"

After he clearly saw that the people outside were wearing police uniforms, his serious expression eased slightly.

Ennio took out his King's Harbor City police badge and showed it, but quickly realized that the other person might not be able to see it clearly. "King's Harbor Police, Chief Hunter sent us here."

He also presented a document, "He said that the Lance family has fallen into their final struggle, and the current situation is very dangerous. He is worried that something will happen here, so he arranged for us to come and strengthen the defense."

The person inside breathed a sigh of relief after hearing these explanations, and the expression on his face became gentler, "Let me see the people behind you."

Then, the other people wearing police uniforms appeared outside the door one by one. Seeing these people looking upright and righteous, the person inside, although not completely relieved, was not as wary as before.

He opened the door, but not completely, standing by the door, blocking the doorway, "I didn't look carefully at your police badge just now, can you let me take a closer look?"

Police badges generally have a lot of information, such as the serial number, the owner of the badge. These things have anti-counterfeiting marks, and ordinary people don't know how to identify them.

However, internal police personnel know how to identify whether a police badge is fake, or whether the police badge and the holder are matched.

"No problem.", Ennio took out the police badge and accidentally dropped it on the ground when he handed it over, "Oh, sorry…"

The other party was a good person. He said "It's okay" while bending down to pick up the police badge on the ground.

Just at the moment when he bent down and picked up the police badge, Ennio, who had pulled out a dagger from its sheath, stabbed the dagger in his hand fiercely into his throat!

He forcefully strangled the other party's head, exerted force with the wrist holding the dagger, and twisted the blade. After about twenty or thirty seconds, the struggle in his arms completely disappeared.

Ennio slowly put the person down, then opened the door lock, and the group went directly into the room.

At this time, Hunter's wife was upstairs with her son. The little boy hadn't rested well these days, and the unfamiliar environment made him very uncomfortable, and he often couldn't fall asleep until late at night.

Hunter's wife stayed with him, gently stroking his back. The little boy's hazy sleepiness made his eyes open but unable to open, ready to fall asleep at any time.

Just then, a "zhiya" sound came from the stairs. This house was not a new house, it was an old house.

I don't know who Hunter borrowed it from, or maybe it was Charlie's house. There was a step on the stairs where the wooden board underneath was probably damp or something, and it was loose.

Stepping on it would make some creaking sounds of the wood twisting.

Hunter's wife looked up at the door in surprise, and she called out the name of the man at the door.

That guy was also Hunter's confidant, but he didn't answer, because he couldn't answer.

This made Hunter's wife feel uneasy. She walked to the bedside table, opened the drawer, took out a pistol from it, and clenched it uneasily in her hand.

About ten seconds later, clearer footsteps came to the outside of the room, "Madam, are you there?"

Hunter's wife did not answer. The person outside seemed to have lost patience and directly turned the doorknob, and the door slowly opened.

Ennio, whose waist and abdomen were stained black with blood ①, walked in from outside the door. He glanced at the woman holding a gun at him, and the little boy lying on the bed, revealing his not-so-white teeth.

"You can only kill one of us, but you and your son will die. Do you want to try?"

The weapon in the woman's hand ultimately had no chance to fire, nor did it bring her any sense of security.

When she crossed the corpse of Hunter's confidant, holding the little boy in horror, she was completely numb.

This was Lance's backup plan. If they couldn't deceive Hunter, then his wife and children might be able to get him out of the police station.

If Hunter was a true overlord, if he felt that the death of his wife and children was unimportant compared to himself, then it didn't matter, Lance would arrange for someone to assassinate him in the police station.

Those terminally ill people couldn't wait to be loyal to Mr. Lance!

In the living room, while dealing with the blood stains on his body, Ennio held the receiver to his shoulder, "Boss, the person has been found, we can return to the city by tomorrow night at the latest."

"…Okay, I got it, hang up first."

He casually threw the blood-stained handkerchief on the floor. Anyway, it couldn't be cleaned.

The door was slowly closed, leaving only the man's body in the entire room.

If there were no accidents, people would have to wait a long time before they discovered him. Only after he stinks would someone come to check.

But it may take some time before the temperature is right for him to quickly stink. During this time, he may become dehydrated and eventually become a mummy.

If that's the case, only the owner of this house might discover this unlucky guy.

The two police cars at the door quickly left here. The cars were real police cars, the uniforms were real uniforms, and even the police badges were real police badges, only they weren't theirs.

The next morning, Hunter woke up at a little after seven o'clock. He couldn't sleep. People who can sleep under such great pressure have problems with their brains. Anyway, he couldn't sleep well.

He rubbed his cheeks, didn't even wash up, and took his spare weapons and magazines, and ordered a few confidants to go out with him to do something.

No one knew where they were going or what they were going to do, but everyone knew that Hunter had left the police station.

Nate also knew, he only hesitated for a second. The disgust and hatred Hunter showed him flashed in his mind, and that little bit of guilt and apology disappeared.

He dialed the number Lance left behind——

"The fish is hooked!"

= =

①: Blue-toned colors will appear black after being stained with blood.