Chapter 654

In the room stood seven or eight young men, all about Arthur’s age. Lance’s gaze swept over their faces one by one, and then he turned to look at Mayor Williams. “You and your family might need to step aside for a moment.”

“Sometimes people lose some of their memories from a certain period. We need to help them remember, and this process might be a little bit…”

He flicked his wrist, a look of regret on his face as if those people might not be willing to cooperate. The moment the word “painful” escaped his lips, some rejoiced, while others feared.

Mayor Williams shook his head. He sat there, pointing to his chin, and lit a cigarette. “No need. I want to know why it was him.”

Lance did not object to Mayor Williams’s decision, and then he looked at James.

James also shook his head. “Although I sometimes think Arthur is a bit immature, a bit stupid, he is my brother, my family, after all. I have to know the truth!”

Whether these words were his true thoughts or just a performance, in any case, they were indeed very meaningful.

Mayor Williams looked at him with a very gentle expression, and even his wife’s expression towards James became a little moved.

Lance finally looked at Arthur’s mother. His mother was one of the few very beautiful women Lance had ever seen—

If she hadn’t been beautiful enough, even when she was very young, it would have been very difficult to make Mayor Williams so infatuated with her that he would even marry her before she came of age.

The laws of the Federation did not require one to be fully of age to get married, and they could also have children.

Sometimes, in college or even high school, seeing a student mother who already had a child was not such a shocking thing.

A beautiful woman, coupled with the sad expression she was showing at this time, gave her even more privileges.

“That’s my son!” she said through gritted teeth. Lance nodded.

The room was very large. He sat on the sofa, took off his gloves, and also took off his coat. “I need a few rooms, and also some tarps.”

He looked at the butler. “I’m afraid of getting the carpet here dirty.”

Just as James was about to say, “Don’t worry about getting the carpet dirty,” he was stopped by Mayor Williams. “Don’t you speak.”

He looked at Lance. “You can use all the rooms. I just want to know the result.”

He could see that the “interrogation” had, in fact, already begun from this moment.

This was just the first step of the interrogation, applying psychological pressure.

The butler quickly had someone bring a large piece of tarpaulin. The manor also needed these.

Sometimes some walls or roofs might be damaged and need temporary rain protection.

Or places like their swimming pool needed to be protected from rain and fallen leaves, and also needed tarpaulins.

When Lance had them spread out the tarpaulins, the legs of several of the young men had already begun to tremble.

“My men will ask you some questions. They are all very simple, questions that you must know the answers to.”

Lance stared into their eyes, observing their expressions. “Think clearly before you answer. Calm yourselves down. If you are not that person, then you have nothing to fear.”

“If you talk nonsense, you will be punished!”

“I know, it’s impossible for all of you to be involved, but among you, there must be someone who is.”

“Help us find him. You’re not just helping us, you’re also helping yourselves, helping your families!”

After Lance had said these words, he took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one for himself, and then placed the matches and cigarettes on the table.

Lance looked at Elvin. “Take them away separately for questioning. You arrange it.”

After the people had been taken away separately, Lance looked at Mayor Williams. “I’ve already had people go out to look for Arthur. They will definitely leave some traces in the city. As long as there are traces, we will definitely be able to find him.”

Mayor Williams’s mood had stabilized a lot. Lance’s appearance had started to push things forward, instead of standing still. His emotions also had an outlet.

“It must have been them.”

The “they” he was talking about, of course, referred to the people in the Bay Area. Then he became angry. “These sons of bitches have broken the rules!”

He looked at Lance, his eyes incomparably firm. “I want them dead!”

Lance nodded. “No problem.”

“I don’t think we need to be so worried. Before they achieve their goal, Arthur will be fine.”

“So now, we just need to find him and then bring him back.”

Mayor Williams nodded. He also lit a cigarette and quietly waited for news.

About ten minutes later, Elvin came back with a few statements. During this time, Chief Bruce and Deputy Chief Duke had also arrived, along with their respective trusted men.

The mayor’s younger son had been kidnapped. The moment the two of them learned of this, a cold sweat broke out all over their bodies.

But fortunately, Lance was already here, which made them breathe a sigh of relief.

At this time, they were standing in a corner. In the eyes of ordinary people, they were absolutely big shots, but in this room, they were no different from the people outside.

Lance glanced at the document in his hand, compared it for a while, and then handed them all to Mayor Williams. Then he had Elvin bring one of them out.

It was a tall, thin man, a university classmate of Arthur’s. Originally, he was from a middle-class family background.

But since he had been following Arthur as his lackey these past few years, he had already completed an astonishing class promotion and had become a small capitalist.

His parents and uncle had all opened companies, doing some supporting work for the industries controlled by Arthur.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that it seems to be just a matter of odds and ends. Every year, it could bring him and his family an income of at least two or three hundred thousand!

And as he cooperated better and better with the industries in Arthur’s hands, and his relationship with Arthur also got better and better, their income would also get higher and higher.

From the background investigation, it seemed that he had no reason to harm Arthur, but you can’t just look at the surface of anything.

“They all say it was you who proposed to have a get-together tonight.”

The hair on the head of the young man standing in the room was already wet with sweat. Although there was heating in the room, it was still winter.

He wiped the sweat from his face and said softly, “It was me…”

Mayor Williams clenched his fists tightly, his emotions a little agitated. Lance, on the other hand, appeared very calm. “Who asked you to do this?”

The young man immediately said, “It was…” he said the name of another person among them, a short guy. “He called me at noon and said we haven’t gathered for a while, and that we should get together.”

“He also said a lot about the past, like how we used to be with Arthur all the time.”

“I was thinking… if I proposed it, it might make Arthur have a better impression of me, so I proposed to have a get-together tonight.”

“Is he here too?”

“Yes, he is.”

Lance had Elvin bring the person out. When the two stood there, Lance could actually already see that there was a problem with the person behind.

When people face fear, they will show some underlying things: pure fear, or the unease, panic, and guilt that arise from having done something that causes fear.

Some things can be hidden with training, but this person, without professional training, found it very difficult to hide his inner thoughts.

Just by standing here, the uneasy emotions he showed already made him appear not quite right.

It is the police who need evidence.

Lance was not a policeman; he didn’t need evidence.

“Who asked you to invite Arthur out?” Lance asked directly.

The short man who had been brought out was still playing dumb. “I don’t know what you mean, Mr. Lance. It wasn’t me who called Arthur out…”

Lance glanced at Devon. The latter directly drew a dagger from his waist and, while the short man was trying to struggle but didn’t dare to, he cut off a section of his finger.

The intense pain and fear almost broke through his defense line without any hindrance. He immediately confessed a name. Mayor Williams’s expression immediately became much uglier.

“It’s a mutual friend of ours.” The “mutual friend” here was definitely not referring to Arthur and that person, but to him and the people in the Bay Area.

This “friend” also lived in the Bay Area. Their relationship could even be said to be okay, not bad.

Then Mayor Williams glanced at the short man, the hatred in his eyes undisguised.

He turned his head to look at Lance. Lance received his “signal” and nodded slightly. He turned his head to look at the short man. “Do you know who kidnapped Arthur?”

“Was it a gang member, or someone’s bodyguard, their friend or something?”

The short man hesitated and kept shaking his head, saying he didn’t know. “He just said he wanted to have a private chat with Arthur, a chat without disturbing others. I thought he would be back soon!”

In his confession, the reason why he had accepted this invitation was that the other party had a handle on him, and at the same time had promised to give him and his family a large order.

Under the dual threat and lure, and the fact that he did not think the other party would harm Arthur, he had facilitated this matter.

After they couldn’t get any new information from him through some other means, Lance had Elvin take these people away.

The wounds and the parts of limbs that had fallen on the floor made the three “big shots” in the room’s faces not look so good. Arthur’s mother’s face was terrifyingly pale, but she also had a look of satisfaction from having vented her anger!

James’s face was also a little pale, but a little better than Arthur’s mother’s. On the contrary, Mayor Williams’s expression was the most stable.

In his life, he should have seen many big scenes. Even if he hadn’t seen them in person, at least he was mentally prepared.

James lit a cigarette to calm the shock that the intense and impactful scene just now had brought him. He asked, “How much of what he said is true?”

Before Lance could answer, Mayor Williams answered for him, “There’s a high probability that it’s all true. He was scared out of his wits.”

Although he was just a lackey by Arthur’s side, he was ultimately also from the upper-middle class, and could be considered to be living a life of luxury and comfort.

How could such a person have seen such a scene? A sharp knife swish swish swish cutting off a part of the organization from his body. The pain, the fear, everything stimulated him to hope that everything could end as soon as possible.

And telling the truth was undoubtedly the only way to do this.

At the same time, he also had to consider the possible consequences if he was found to have lied, so Mayor Williams believed that what he said was basically all true.

James nodded. “Then what do we do next?”

Lance did not make his own decision. He looked at Mayor Williams. The latter was silent for a moment. “I’m going to make a phone call.”

He did not make the phone call in the living room, but went to his study. About seven or eight minutes later, he came back, much earlier than Lance had expected.

“No one answered. They should be planning something.”

Knowing his son’s whereabouts, and the pain of the short man had allowed his emotions to begin to calm down. Calmness and reason had returned to the high ground.

He no longer thought about these things as a “father,” but with the mindset of a mayor, a politician.

“They want me to give in, to compromise, to use Arthur to threaten me.”

“I’ll need your help next, Lance,” he glanced at Chief Bruce and Deputy Chief Duke. “And of course, yours too.”

Some things are easy for a gang to do, but there are also some things that are easy for the police to do.

The two junior police officers did not dare to be arrogant and immediately nodded in agreement. “Whatever it is, Your Honor the Mayor, anytime, anywhere!”

Mayor Williams nodded, then rubbed the corner of his forehead. “I’ve taken up a lot of your time. I’m very sorry. I’ll contact you again if there’s any news.”

His wife looked at her husband in disbelief. She could hear that Mayor Williams’s meaning was that they could all go back now.

There was still no actual news about Arthur. How could he let these people go back?!

She looked at the angry expression on this man’s face as if she were questioning him, “Why are you giving up on Arthur,” but she didn’t say it. She knew that her wisdom was not as good as her husband’s. She was waiting, waiting for an explanation.

The two chiefs were the first to leave. After saying goodbye to everyone, they went directly to the police station. Before Arthur was found, they would not go home.

Lance left a little later. He needed to clean up some things. When he left, he took the short man with him.

Obviously, Mayor Williams had hinted to him that he wanted this person and his family to pay the price!

Then what awaited the short man and his family was only a heavy price!

“Why don’t you let Lance go and find Arthur?” After everyone had left, Arthur’s mother couldn’t help but say loudly.

The butler dismissed everyone and also left the room, standing outside the door. Only the three of them were in the room.

Mayor Williams rubbed his temples. “Where to find him?”

The woman raised her hands in a helpless gesture, but quickly put them down. “Just go and find him anywhere. He must still be in the city. We can look in those possible places. Maybe we’ll find him!”

Mayor Williams continued to stare at her and asked, “Which possible places?”

“List a few!”

The woman was silent again for a moment. “Fuck, how the hell should I know?!”

“This is your business. You have to do it, not me!”

Mayor Williams sighed. “We can’t find him. He must be hidden. Don’t worry, his value now is more important than his life. He is very safe.”

“If we go looking for him all over the streets now, it will only trigger some unknown changes. Those who are wavering may at this time turn neutral again, or even turn to them again!”

“This is a game. Whoever messes up first will lose this game, lose everything!”

Mayor Williams pursed his lips. “I love Arthur, no less than you do. I promise, I will definitely bring him back!”

The woman could only choose to trust her husband, just as twenty years ago, a sixteen-year-old girl had resolutely married Councilman Williams, who was older than her father.

“Don’t break my heart, okay?”

Councilman Williams nodded. He hugged her. “I swear!”

“You go and rest. I’ll talk to James again.”

After watching his wife leave, Mayor Williams leaned back on the sofa and let out a heavy sigh. “We’ve pushed them too far.”

James nodded. “So they can’t stand the pressure anymore.”

“This shows that our current strategy is correct!”

Mayor Williams nodded and said, “Let’s put ourselves in their position now. What should they do next?”

“Just an Arthur is not a guarantee. It’s not necessarily enough to force us to completely compromise. After all, everyone knows that besides him, I also have you.”

As a father, this sentence was obviously very cruel, because at this moment, Mayor Williams was thinking about the possible problems that might happen in the future, and was thinking about the countermeasures against these problems.

He had already included the factor of “Arthur has been killed.” He had included this possibility, which also meant that he might, when he needed to choose, choose this option!

But as a politician, this was undoubtedly qualified. He could not, because of some of his own emotional problems, also emotionally avoid some things that might happen.

The father and son both fell into thought. The next “attack,” when and where would it be?

After coming out of the Williams manor, in the car, Lance was also thinking.

Suddenly kidnapping Arthur was not a smart move. This would only completely enrage Mayor Williams.

Unless they had a whole set of plans. After completing these plans, Mayor Williams’s end would be worse than Sidney’s, so bad that he might not even be the mayor anymore!

They wanted to force Mayor Williams to resign!

The retreat on the road suddenly began to accelerate. In less than twenty minutes, he had returned to the company from the suburbs.

All the cadres were already here. Lance looked at Bolton. “Have your men move quickly. I need to know if there is anything different from usual in the city.”

“For example, some houses that no one lives in suddenly have people, and some strange cars are suddenly parked on some streets.”

“In short, you think, think about what characteristics these people have, and then go and do it.”

“Don’t be afraid of wasting time and resources. All suspicious targets, we will verify them, we will check them.”

“In addition, I need someone to keep an eye on those rich people in the Bay Area. When I need it, I can immediately know where they are, or who they have met.”

(End of a Chapter)

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