Empire of Shadows

Chapter 653: An Extra [666+10]

Mr. Charles sat behind the desk, his elbow of the hand holding the phone pressed against the tabletop to support his balance, the other hand holding a cigarette, and a cup of coffee with whiskey in front of him.

The collar, slightly more open than befitting his status, made him look a little... haggard.

The events of the past few days had made him feel the pressure.

[Writing this, I hope readers will remember our domain name: Taiwan Novel Network → 𝘁 𝘄 𝗸 𝗮 𝗻 . 𝗰 𝗼 𝗺]

A vested interest group is like a big tree. No matter how large its canopy is, as long as the lumberjack finds its main trunk, it can be easily felled.

Therefore, for vested interest groups, what they need to do is to create a barrier with layers of canopy, protecting their main trunk in the very center, preventing the lumberjacks from discovering it, and even more so, preventing them from getting close.

Now, Mayor Williams is frantically cutting down their branches and canopies.

Several small businessmen have been unable to withstand the pressure and have chosen to compromise. More crucially, Mayor Williams has changed some of his attitudes, stating that if they are willing to sign, then he can still continue to provide replacement compensation.

Originally, he said that he would no longer provide these after the ultimatum, which is equivalent to pushing this group of people who have persevered onto a tightrope, with no way to turn back.

So even if those people can't do it, they can only persevere, trying to compensate for their losses from the expected profits brought by maintaining land prices.

But now Mayor Williams has suddenly decided to give them another chance, and many people who were already unsteady on the tightrope immediately chose to retreat.

Once these people leave, their persistence will be meaningless, and at the same time, the authority of the Bay Area interest group will plummet.

People will recognize a reality.

This time, they are not the mayor's opponent!

So now, it is no longer enough to just strike Lance to deter Mayor Williams, they need to be more aggressive.

His words, asking Mr. Hoff if only a very few people knew of those people's existence, made Mr. Hoff feel uneasy.

He tugged at his collar and said softly, "We need a heavy-weight bargaining chip to get Williams to sit down and talk to us, to make him take the initiative to talk to us, instead of us begging him for a talk!"

Mr. Hoff said with a stiff head, "Isn't killing Lance a heavy-weight bargaining chip?"

Mr. Charles took a puff of his cigarette, "He is the mayor, my brother."

Just a "light" sentence left Mr. Hoff in a situation where he couldn't respond.

Yes, he is the mayor. He can appoint the heads of almost all government agencies in this city: the chief of police, the director of the commercial service bureau, anyone within his authority.

"If it were a few days ago, before he offered to provide subsidies again, I wouldn't think so."

"His not giving in is actually a good thing. It's like you're going to see your old lover, and your wife doesn't want you to go out. You'll scold her and slam the door and leave."

"The problem is not too serious yet."

"But if you start deceiving your wife, then the problem is much more serious than slamming the door!"

"He's already going back on his word in order to disintegrate us. Do you understand what I mean?"

"When you start to have no principles for something, that's when you absolutely won't back down!"

"Lance's death won't stop him, it will only escalate the situation and strengthen his resolve to deal with us."

"We need a heavier bargaining chip!"

After listening, Mr. Hoff had to admit that Mr. Charles was right. His head also hurt, and he didn't want to think about what his purpose was in doing this.

"What exactly do you want them to do?"

The next second, Mr. Hoff heard a name in the receiver that he didn't want to hear, but had already heard: "Arthur."

"F*ck!" he cursed directly, "You're going to break the rules like this, he's still in office!"

Mr. Charles took a puff of his cigarette and threw the rest directly into the ashtray, "I don't give a damn, I only know that if we don't take care of them, we'll be taken care of."

"Once they no longer trust us, the Bay Area will soon split, and those traitors and speculators will stand on their side and then try to put us on the dining table."

"Just like we used to do!"

"Think about it."

Mr. Hoff was silent for a moment, then cursed again and hung up the phone. Kidnapping Arthur made him feel like Mr. Charles had really gone mad!

Everyone knows that Mayor Williams' favorite is his youngest son. Although his youngest son will not become the heir to his political legacy, the visible favoritism is a fact!

Moving Arthur may really leave no room for reconciliation between them, but not moving...?

Since when have these things in the city become so troublesome?

Perhaps it started when Mayor Sidney wanted to make a last stand. Although he didn't succeed, he also overturned the city's delicate balance!

Later that evening, Mr. Hoff finally compromised. He also inquired about what had happened in Goldport City these days while he was away, and even heard that the wharf shareholders seemed to be colluding to do something.

More and more bad news made him also become anxious. After painful consideration, he believed that Arthur might be a poison, but when this poison can extend their lives first, it is a panacea!

After dinner, Mr. Hoff found Richie and David in his room.

As soon as he sat down, Richie asked, "Are we going to make a move on Lance?"

Mr. Hoff shook his head, "I've already had someone make an appointment with Lance. I'll tell you when I have news."

"What I want to talk to you about now is something else. I need you to kidnap someone for me, for Mr. Charles."

Richie glanced at David, who also looked at his boss, both with somewhat solemn expressions.

Richie said jokingly, "Who else does a big shot like you need to kidnap?"

"Can't you just make a phone call and have him come over directly?"

Mr. Hoff stared at Richie for a while, making the latter feel a little uncomfortable and look away, before saying, "The situation has changed a bit. Just dealing with Lance alone won't meet our and your requirements. We must also deal with one person."

"Mayor Williams."

David was still a little curious, but after hearing this name, he curled up and lowered his head, as if he didn't exist.

Richie had an expression like he was listening to a joke, "You want us to kidnap the mayor?"

"What the f*ck... how should I say how crazy and stupid you are?"

Mr. Hoff quickly waved his hand and said, "No, it's not kidnapping Mayor Williams, it's his youngest son, Arthur."

He briefly introduced the relationship between the Williams family and Lance, as well as the current situation.

"You are outsiders. Without our support, it will be difficult for you to gain a foothold locally. You just need to know this."

"We need an opportunity to sit down and negotiate with Williams. I didn't ask you to harm Arthur. You just need to lock him up and stuff him somewhere."

"Release him in a few days, and it's over!"

"After it's over, we will fully support you in ruling the entire underworld of Goldport City."

After listening, Richie didn't immediately express his position. He realized that he couldn't make the decision on this matter, "I need to make a call to Joshua."

Mr. Hoff got up and walked to the door of the room, "Please do so. Let me know when you have news. I'll be in the living room."

After the door closed, Richie picked up the phone and dialed the phone number of Joshua's church.

He told him about the situation here, and Joshua supported his forehead and closed his eyes to think.

Federal people are reluctant to move against politicians in office because there are too many sequelae!

They have accomplices, relatives and friends, and the cloak of political parties. Randomly touching them is like sticking your dick into a hornet's nest. That taste is definitely not a joke!

"Don't do anything yet, let me talk to Charles and them first."

Joshua had suffered losses before, so he didn't immediately agree.

Soon he was talking to Mr. Joshua, and what he didn't know was that Mr. Joshua scolded Mr. Hoff a hundred times in his heart!

He didn't want to stand on the front line, but now that the phone call came, he knew that he had been exposed. Although exposure was certain, it was too early now.

Even if he was exposed, he had to face this matter.

"We can't just move against politicians during their tenure, and the Williams family has a certain influence in the State of Licalai. I also heard that he has connections with Congress."

"I don't want to see the army surround my home and my family one day just because we did things we shouldn't do."

Joshua was still very gentle when he said these words. Most of the time, as long as he doesn't fall into paranoia and become hysterical, he is a gentle and charming person.

Mr. Charles coughed twice, "I have a plan..."

More than twenty minutes later, Richie received a call from Joshua, "Do as Mr. Hoff instructed."

Then he hung up the phone without any explanation.

Richie glanced at the receiver in his hand. With his understanding of Joshua, this must be guaranteed.

He glanced at David, "You do this."

David widened his eyes and pointed at his nose, "Me?"

"I'm going to kidnap that Arthur?"

"Can I do it?"

His tone was full of self-doubt, feeling he couldn't shoulder the responsibility.

Richie didn't humor him. "Unless you want me to do it?"

After a moment of staring at each other, David said, annoyed, "Fine, fine, you win. You're the Boss, shit!"

Soon, they left the room and appeared in the living room. When Mr. Hoff saw them come out, he stubbed out the cigarette he had just lit after only a couple of puffs into the ashtray, then stood up and looked at them.

David rolled his eyes. "Tell me about this Arthur guy..."