Empire of Shadows

With a "bang," the office door was pushed open forcefully. Chief Blue, behind his desk, stopped his work and looked up at Charlie, who strode in.

His secretary stood by the door, looking helpless and aggrieved. "I told him..."

Chief Blue waved his hand before she could finish. "Bring me a coffee and close the door on your way out."

The secretary gave a slight bow and closed the door. Chief Blue gestured for Charlie to sit down. "You should have called me first and come when I was free."

Charlie stared at the man behind the desk, flames of anger almost consuming him!

But only 'almost.' The flames of anger didn't quite succeed. Charlie stood there staring at him for five or six seconds before sitting down in the chair opposite Chief Blue.

They stared at each other, neither speaking first, neither looking away. After about a dozen seconds, Charlie said, "You're very different from how you used to be."

Chief Blue continued to stare at him. "Yes, a big difference. I feel it too."

"You know, I used to be, perhaps..." he pursed his lips, "...even in our group, something of an outsider."

He placed his hands on the desk, toying with a pen. "The Empire District precinct isn't a good place. No one likes it there."

"Chaotic, impoverished streets, never-ending troubles, and hardly any benefits."

A look of distaste for the Empire District precinct flashed in Chief Blue's eyes. Not hatred or loathing, just simple dislike.

After all, he had worked there for quite some time. Other than the dislike, everything else was actually okay.

He looked at Charlie. "I was a marginal figure. No one cared about me. You were always in the spotlight."

"Everyone revolved around you, Charlie."

When Charlie was the chief, he was the 'sky' of King's Harbor Police Department. Everything he said was a divine decree that the police had to obey.

Anyone who dared to defy his decisions would face terrible 'retribution'.

Being ostracized, marginalized, sent to remote outposts, or even the Forestry Police Department.

Once someone was kicked out of that circle in the police force, they were worse off than ordinary officers. Resignation was the only option.

At that time, Blue was indeed just a small fry.

"Now, I've come this far, sitting in this position. That's why you think I'm different from the past!" He put down the pen, leaned back in his chair, and tapped the armrest with one hand.

"Charlie, it's not me who's changed. I'm no different from the past. What makes you think I've changed is that we're talking in different offices, from different positions. That's all!"

"You can't talk to me in a commanding tone like you used to. You have to respect me and try to understand my thoughts."

"In the past, I was just a nobody on the fringes, who had to read your face just to say a few words to you."

"And now, if you want to see me, you have to barge into my office and then pretend to be calm and speak to me."

"That's the difference."

The secretary knocked on the door and walked in with a coffee. She placed the coffee on the desk and then took the initiative to leave.

Charlie looked at the steaming coffee cup in front of him, and suddenly a smile appeared on his face, a mocking smile. "I never knew you were so eloquent."

"Who did you learn from?"

"Or is it hereditary?"

Chief Blue shook his head. "That's not important."

"You see me as different from the past, but actually, I see you as different now too."

He put his right hand back on the desk and continued toying with the pen with both hands.

"The past me, looking at the past you, was like looking at a majestic mountain."

"Large, stretching to where I couldn't see the end, and still spreading outwards."

"To me at that time, you were a high mountain that I could only ever look up to."

"But now!" He reached out his hand towards Charlie. "Look, you're not so great after all!"

Charlie was irritated by his tone. He looked at Chief Blue, his face grim. "What kind of backing did Lance give you to dare speak to me like this?"

Chief Blue knew some of Lance's next moves. As long as Lance succeeded, he wouldn't have to care about Charlie's attitude at all.

But people have different experiences, different feelings, and different psychological changes at different times.

He looked at Charlie, his eyes filled with a sense of superiority, an indescribable arrogance.

"Mr. Lance didn't give me any backing. He just gave me a chance to talk to you on equal terms, that's all."

Charlie felt his blood pressure rising noticeably. He reached out and took hold of the edge of the coffee cup with his fingers, constantly adjusting and turning the rim of the cup. "So, that's what you're relying on?"

There were some things Chief Blue really wanted to say, a strong desire to confide, as if he had already seen Charlie's future, knew his end, and wanted to 'reveal' it.

But he held back. He knew now wasn't the time. He just smiled and shook his head without saying anything.

His attitude made Charlie very unhappy. He would find a way to make Chief Blue pay the price.

He would make this guy understand that even if he had Lance behind him, certain core interests of this city were not something they could touch at will.

"Enough about that, Charlie. What brings you here this time?" Chief Blue changed the subject.

Charlie pursed his lips, picked up the coffee, and took a small sip. "I heard you arrested some of your old friends?"

"Old friends?"

Chief Blue asked rhetorically, then chuckled softly. "Mr. Charlie, this is an internal matter for our police department, and you are not a member of the police department."

"You have no right to know the details of these matters, so I can't tell you."

Charlie was still unwilling to give up. Coupled with the unease and slight fear in his heart about this matter, he asked again, "Are you sure you want to tear up the agreement with me?"

Chief Blue shook his head. "This is none of your business, Mr. Charlie."

"If you're interested in where they went, then you should pay more attention to our bulletin board. Any new information will be posted on the bulletin board as soon as possible. The newspapers may also mention it."

The two stared at each other for a moment. Charlie suddenly stood up, pointing at Chief Blue, a clearly threatening gesture.

But Chief Blue just looked at him calmly, not showing any panic.

"Can I take that as..."

"...are you threatening me?"

Charlie chuckled. "No, no. I'm just saying goodbye to you, Chief Blue!"

He emphasized the title "Chief Blue", but anyone could tell that he had no respect for the title, let alone any reverence.

He turned, opened the door, and walked out. Soon, the secretary pushed the door open and entered. "Chief, I..."

Chief Blue shook his head. "Take the coffee away and pour it out. Next time Charlie comes, don't stop him."

"Anyway, you definitely can't stop him."

The secretary somewhat shamefully cleaned up the tea set on the table and quickly left with the cup and saucer.

Charlie's influence on the King's Harbor Police Department was still very strong. Even now, no one had taken the initiative to come and see if he, the chief, needed any help.

But then again, his thirty-plus years as chief had established a very unusual image in the minds of many lower and middle-ranking officers.

On the contrary, Chief Blue's image in their eyes was not so good—

Some said that he had obtained his current position because he had sided with Lance, which was seen by some officers as a betrayal of the police system.

Once this period stabilized, he would cleanse the entire police force.

Those who were loyal to Charlie would all be gone!

After Charlie left Chief Blue's office, the obvious, intense unease began to become even more pronounced and intense.

It was as if some invisible but potentially fatal threat to him was constantly trying to probe his hard shell, touching him hidden inside the shell.

He knew that the disappearance of these people must be related to Chief Blue, must be related to Lance.

He drove directly to the local prosecutor's office, but found nothing abnormal.

Under the pretext of reviewing files, he circled around the prosecutor's office but did not find those police officers.

He also asked a prosecutor he had a good relationship with, but he had not received any orders recently requesting an investigation of the police department.

Then he went to the Bureau of Justice. From the Bureau of Justice, he learned that the police department had not obtained any legal document approvals from the Bureau of Justice in the past few days.

In other words, there was a big problem with the disappearance of his men.

Where they went, and how Lance planned to deal with him, became the most urgent things Charlie wanted to know now.

He did not seek help from the big shots in the Bay Area. Over the years, he had spent a lot of time with these big shots and knew their style.

Once they thought Charlie was worthless, they would immediately abandon Charlie.

Charlie knew so many of their secrets and had handled so much dirty work for them. If they were to abandon Charlie, it would definitely be a dead Charlie, not a living Charlie!

All of this made him feel uneasy and suffocated, like he was drowning.

He slammed on the brakes, and the vehicle behind him swerved violently, knocking over a roadside trash can. The driver got out of his car, cursing angrily.

He walked up to Charlie's car, seemingly wanting to open the door and drag him out, but when he saw Charlie open the toolbox and reveal the weapons inside, he retreated and shut his mouth.

This scene on the street quickly attracted a crowd of onlookers. Charlie had already made a decision. He turned the steering wheel sharply and quickly chose another route; he was going home.

Charlie owned a villa in the Bay Area. With his job as the police chief, even if he worked for five hundred years, he wouldn't be able to afford such a luxurious villa here.

But he not only bought it, but also had five luxury cars in the garage, belonging to him and his family.

When he parked the car, he walked into the living room. The maid immediately greeted him, took his hat from his hand, and helped him take off his windbreaker.

"Is Madam at home?"

The maid dusted the lint off his pants while saying, "Yes, Madam is resting."

Charlie strode upstairs, while the maid put the hat and windbreaker in the cloakroom.

Charlie's wife was exercising. The more upper-class people in the Federation were, the stricter they were about managing their figures.

Of course, some people indulged in their body shape, but that was only a small portion of the population.

Most people had very standard figures.

Besides his wife, there was another female instructor in the exercise room, a little over thirty years old, but she looked like she was only twenty-five or six.

Charlie's wife was exercising under her guidance.

Seeing Charlie suddenly return, his wife was a little surprised, "Why are you back so suddenly?"

"Didn't you say you wouldn't be home for dinner tonight?"

Charlie shook his head slightly and looked at the instructor, "I need to talk to my wife alone."

The female instructor immediately stopped, her face full of smiles, without the slightest dissatisfaction at being interrupted.

Twenty dollars for a lesson, ninety minutes, she was selling not only content but also service.

"Of course, Mr. Charlie..."

The female instructor left the training room and thoughtfully closed the door.

Charlie's wife found a place to sit, "So, what happened?"

Charlie hesitated, but the unease in his heart urged him to make a final decision, "The situation is very bad. I don't know what method Lance intends to use to deal with me, but I believe that this time he is acting with full confidence."

His wife also realized the seriousness of the situation, stood up, walked to his side, and grabbed his hand, "Will you be in danger?"

Charlie didn't know what to say. He looked at his wife's face, which still faintly showed her youthful charm but was now covered in wrinkles, and remained silent for a while.

"Not only me, but you will also be in danger."

"That's Lance!"

He clenched his fist, "In short, you must leave here immediately and activate our plan, do you remember?"

His wife didn't answer him, but asked with great concern, "Is the situation that serious?"

Charlie was silent again for a while. He didn't want to answer this question, "Anyway, you take the children away first. Once you get there, immediately abandon your current identities."

"Do not contact anyone, use your new identities, including new accounts and new checks."

"Completely cut off everything from the past..."

Charlie had considered before whether he would one day become a sacrifice, or become an object that the Bay Area's wealthy wanted to eliminate.

He had done similar things for the wealthy in the Bay Area, eliminating and burying those gloves who knew too many of their secrets and had no more value.

He worried that one day he would face the same situation, so he used his position as the police chief to forge a real identity for himself.

He and his family, they had some real work records, real social security bills, tax bills, and family accounts.

The account contained about 500,000 yuan, not deposited all at once, but in the name of investment income, depositing a little bit every year, continuing until now.

Then this family moved from Jincheng City to other cities to live, and experienced some relocations, and almost all the clues from the past were cut off!

As long as they activate their new identities, then they are brand new people!

This was the way out Charlie had left for himself. He thought that after so many years, he wouldn't need it.

His wife looked reluctant, but she also knew that this was not the time to talk nonsense, "I will notify the children, when will we leave?"

"The sooner the better."

His wife sighed and hugged Charlie, "I'll go now."

His wife didn't chase after him to ask anything. She knew that the most important thing to do at this time was not to make him more irritable, but to let him have no worries.

After resolving a worrying situation, Charlie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He raised his sleeve and glanced at the gold watch on his wrist, but his thoughts stopped at this moment!

The gold watch was very luxurious and not at all low-key. He suddenly remembered that the state government had been talking about thoroughly investigating the corruption of the Jincheng City police force before the New Year, but there had been no follow-up.

He felt a little uneasy after the New Year, and now it was already April, and he hadn't heard of any investigation teams coming down, gradually implying that this matter was just talk.

After all, people like Mr. Hoff, even in the state government, in Manton, had a certain influence, and this matter should have been suppressed.

But at this time, he suddenly realized, could Lance have contacted the investigation team?

He quickly went to the study and dialed the phone number of an important figure in the Bay Area. After a brief conversation, he paced back and forth in the study.

If Lance really wanted to give him a punch in this way, he really couldn't withstand it!

Time ticked by, and the sweat on his face and head increased. After waiting for about twenty or thirty minutes, the telephone on the table suddenly rang shrilly.

He lunged over, grabbed the receiver, and put it to his ear, "This is Charlie."

"Charlie, I helped you ask, the State Attorney's Office did send someone on a business trip, but it cannot be determined whether they came to Jincheng City."

"Are you in any trouble?"

Charlie was stunned for a moment, and quickly replied, "No, no, thank you, I just wanted to ask."

"I heard they have a case in their hands, a gentleman wants to... you know."

The person on the receiver laughed twice, "Your business is really extensive!" He paused, "Okay, if there's nothing else, I have to go play golf."

Charlie hurriedly stopped bothering the other party, "Goodbye."

"Let's play golf together when we have time, see you later!"

He hung up the phone, supported the table, came to the chair, and sat down weakly. All the strength in his body was taken away at this moment!