Chapter 507

A meaningless phone call from the state capital. After Bandy hung up, he returned to the dining table. Gorry asked, “Why not let them help?”

A meaningless phone call from the state capital. After Bandy hung up, he returned to the dining table.

Gorry asked, “Why not let them help?”

He had overheard a little of the conversation, but only a little.

Bandy shook his head. “They can help us stand taller in the sunlight, but they can’t help us fight in the darkness.”

“Besides, the price of using them isn’t cheap. They’re greedy, greedier than the people in Congress!”

This was a profound realization Bandy had after dealing with these people. The lower on the ladder a person was, the bigger their appetite.

Of course, it could be put another way. The gentlemen in Congress had many people working with them, so their desire for money was no longer as strong. As long as they had enough, it was fine.

Because they knew that as long as their power remained, they would never lack money or other things. People would pay a satisfactory price for the power they held.

On the other hand, some of the lower-level politicians were all shamelessly demanding money. Tens of thousands, or over a hundred thousand, was the norm. Some even asked for hundreds of thousands or millions.

Gorry nodded noncommittally. He picked up a beef rib and began to suck the meat off it.

Unlike those who pursued a more balanced diet, he loved to eat meat in large mouthfuls. Meat could reduce his anxiety and restlessness, and it also provided his body with more nutrients, keeping him energized throughout the day.

As he tore at the meat on the beef rib, he asked, “What do you plan to do next?”

Bandy sat in a daze for a moment, then looked at Gorry and said, “Find a way to get them killed.”

“Let’s play to our strengths. Pay money to find the locations of Lance’s businesses, to buy information on people related to them. Whether we hire assassins or send our own men to attack them directly!”

He took a deep breath. “In short, as long as we get rid of them, that’s all that matters!”

There was a fierce look in his eyes. It had been many years since he had felt so displeased and angry.

That phone call just now was not only asking if the funds for the first quarter would be delivered, but it was also a probe, testing the Kodak Family’s dominance in Golden Port.

These politicians were very sensitive. They might be suspecting that the Kodak Family was facing a challenge.

Therefore, only a fierce counterattack could shut these people up and make them respect them again.

Gorry put down the cleanly gnawed beef rib and licked his greasy fingers. “It’s about time.”

Bandy hadn’t been involved in gang affairs for a long time. He asked, “Where do you plan to start?”

Gorry shrugged. “It doesn’t matter where we start. As long as we start fighting them directly, that’s what matters!”

Bandy was a little worried. “The police department probably won’t be much help. I asked Charlie. He said the mayor interfered and threatened Hunter with his job, so he had to let Lance go.”

Gorry was still not too concerned. “We’re gangsters, brother. We don’t rely on the police. We rely on ourselves and the guns in our hands.”

“Since you’ve made the decision, then just watch me.”

Soon, everyone knew that Gorry was paying for any and all information related to the Lance Family. No matter what it was, as long as it was related to the Lance Family, they were willing to pay.

No matter how popular Lance was in the Empire District, there would always be some people who were unhappy with him.

These people would feel that since everyone was at the bottom of society, why was he doing so well now while they were still struggling in the mud?

Their unbalanced mentality would lead them to sell some information related to Lance. There were quite a few such people, perhaps even many.

You never know what kind of expression people wear when they are behind closed doors.

And Lance also began to actively prepare for what was to come. This time, he was going to go big again.

As for Gorry’s tentacles reaching into the Empire and Port Districts?

If they weren’t afraid to die, then let them come.

…

“Do we have to go?”

After thinking for more than a day, the Deputy Chief finally decided to leave this place first.

Hunter was reportedly helping him contact the police departments in other cities, arranging for him to be temporarily transferred to work there for a period of time, and then to return after the matter was resolved.

The Deputy Chief was no small figure. In the Federation’s police system, he was already considered a mid-level manager.

Although he wasn’t very conspicuous in high-level big cities like New Golden City, where precinct chiefs were police captains, here, or in some more remote small cities, a deputy chief could also be the chief of a police department.

But to suddenly have to leave to work and live in another city, whether for a long or short period, was a bit… unacceptable for the Deputy Chief’s family.

His child was still in school. If they left now, it would mean their child would have to find a new school in a new environment.

They would also have to face a new environment again, and accept a new environment.

Then, perhaps at some point, maybe just after he had integrated into the new environment, he would be asked to come back.

So his wife’s idea was that they would stay, and the Deputy Chief would leave alone.

His son also stood by the door, sullen. A handsome, strong high school student, he stood by the door, looking at his father with resentment.

He had just gotten a new girlfriend and was on the verge of scoring. Now he had to leave. By the time he came back, she might have been shaped by someone else.

Don’t expect high school love to last long. A single semester might even be considered long.

As the Deputy Chief urged them to pack their bags, he grew frustrated and raised his voice. “I said, we’re all going together. Now go pack your bags, right now, immediately!”

His wife also raised her voice. “Don’t you yell at me like that. I have the right to refuse your terrible proposal!”

“You’re on temporary transfer, not moving away. We still have to come back. Why should we have to leave for your temporary job?”

“It’s unreasonable. At least let me and our son stay here!”

Seeing this woman in front of him being so unreasonable and still wanting to stay, the Deputy Chief, after a brief moment of thought, decided to tell the truth.

“I’ve offended some gangsters. They might retaliate against me now, so we have to leave first!”

The teenage boy, standing in his room, said, “The Lance Family.”

The Deputy Chief turned to look at him in surprise. “What? How did you know?”

The boy pursed his lips. “Everyone was talking about it today. They said the Lance Family is going to war with the Kodak Family.”

“For us to have to leave as soon as they start fighting, it can only be because of this.”

The Deputy Chief looked at his son for a while and nodded. “Yes, we have to leave.”

This made him feel a bit… as if he had lost his pride and honor as a father. Because he was a police officer, and he actually had to yield to gangsters. He felt that his image as a father in his son’s mind might be collapsing.

Hearing her husband say this, the woman stopped arguing. She ran her hands through her hair, which eventually fell against her cheeks, just like a world-famous painting, her face filled with anxiety. “Why did you have to offend them?!”

She had also heard of the Lance Family. Almost everyone living in Golden Port had heard of them.

The Deputy Chief pursed his lips and found an excuse for himself. “I’m a police officer.”

Alright, that reason was indeed acceptable.

The woman stopped nagging and immediately went back to her room to start packing. To make sure she didn’t delay, the Deputy Chief specifically instructed, “Just pack the essentials. We can buy everything else when we get there.”

As Hunter’s deputy and a member of Charlie’s faction, he had also made a lot of money over the years.

So, in his view, these expenses were far less important than the safety of himself and his family.

His wife quickly packed some things, and his son no longer mentioned not wanting to face a new environment.

The family of three got into their 5,000-dollar car. Seeing the nervousness and unease of his wife and child, he even offered a few words of comfort.

“Everything will be fine once we get to the new place. The Lance Family’s reach doesn’t extend that far. We’ll come back after they’re finished.”

“If they’re not finished, then we won’t come back.”

“I’m a deputy chief. Even if I go to the state capital, I won’t be some low-level nobody. Our lives won’t change at all, don’t worry!”

Just as the car came out of the garage, he saw two cars parked outside his house. Both sides seemed surprised to see each other here and froze for a moment.

In just a second, the Deputy Chief shouted “Hold on!” then slammed the car into a lower gear and floored the gas pedal.

He needed more force to ram through the two cars blocking their way. The two young men who were about to get out of their cars had to quickly shut their doors again.

CRUNCH!

The car parked on the side of the road was pushed a certain distance. The Deputy Chief quickly shifted into reverse to give the front of his car more space, then turned the wheel sharply, preparing to break through the encirclement.

But at that moment, another car squeezed in between the two cars, causing the Deputy Chief’s car to crash into the flower bed in front of their house.

The brick and cement flower bed was shattered, and their car was now straddling the broken pieces.

The men from the car that had been pushed got out. One of them was vomiting on the side, apparently hit hard by the impact.

It was very quiet all around. The neighbors who were usually eager to stand at their doors every day were nowhere to be seen today. The Deputy Chief realized what was happening and immediately shouted to his wife and child, “Quick, get back in the house and call the police!”

As he spoke, he pulled out his weapon from his coat and fired the first shot.

The few young men who were about to approach heard the gunshot and retreated behind their cars, which gave his wife and child the time and space to flee back into the house.

He gritted his teeth and moved from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s, firing two more shots at where the men were hiding. Fighting and retreating, he actually managed to get back into the garage.

At this moment, his heart was pounding, and his hands were trembling slightly. These people, they had really come.

(End of Chapter)