Chapter 134
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Federal laws were too complex, so complex that many lawyers would never practice in other states in their lifetime.
This was because it wasn’t just complex; it was constantly changing!
The Federal Congress proposed amendments, deletions, and additions to the Constitution and Federal laws every year, often dozens of times, changing constantly.
If it were just that, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
But local laws were the same; they also underwent many changes every year.
For example, the state that prohibited peeing while standing at night revised the “no peeing while standing at night” regulation many times.
Initially, it only prohibited peeing after eleven at night, but they felt this was too inhumane, so they changed it to not making too much noise with splashing water when peeing.
But later they found this was still difficult to achieve, so they required that the faucet could not leave the water surface by more than a certain distance when peeing, meaning no peeing while standing.
Following that was a change in timing, as some people believed they went to bed earlier than average, so it became irregular.
As long as it was dark and someone was heard peeing too loudly, and the person who heard it called the police, the person peeing would be in trouble.
Federal law seemed like a joke, absurd and impractical, so lawyers found it difficult to cover the laws of every state.
Moreover, even within one region, they couldn’t be all-purpose lawyers; many could only handle a specific area.
Professional lawsuits required professional lawyers. Earlier, Alberto had given Lance a business card with the name “Robben” and a landline number on it.
He dialed the number, and it was quickly answered. “This is Robben Law Firm, how may I help you?”
It was a woman who answered, and by her voice, she didn’t sound old. “I have a case I’d like to consult with Mr. Robben about. Is he available now?”
“Please wait…” After about ten seconds, “Attorney Robben is available now. Before that, may I ask who referred you?”
“Mr. Alberto Coti introduced me.”
“Alright, I understand. Would you like to schedule for another time, or come over now?”
“Now.”
“Okay, I’ll give you the address…”
Lance told Morris to go to the police station with Ennio. He instructed Ennio not to admit anything, no matter what anyone said.
Even if they beat him severely, he shouldn’t admit to any accusations; everything should wait until the lawyer arrived.
He went directly to Robben’s office. This case was highly likely to go to court, as serious injury was already a criminal offense.
The only good news was that no one died, and the matter wasn’t complicated. Ennio staying at the scene should count as a self-surrender, and now Lance just needed to minimize the cost for him.
Robben Law Firm was in the Bay Area, which showed how much money these lawyers made. They were probably the legal profession with both the highest upper and lower limits for income in the Federation, without exception.
Especially some divorce litigation lawyers and financial litigation lawyers, their fees were charged as a percentage of the case value.
After the car was parked, Lance quickly saw the young lady at the front desk. She directly led Lance to Attorney Robben’s office, and brought him good coffee.
“My consultation fee here is forty dollars an hour, less than an hour is calculated as one hour. If you need me to represent a case, different agency fees will be charged depending on the complexity of the case.”
“Two hundred dollars to start, with no upper limit.”
“You are Mr. Coti’s referral, so you should know what type of lawyer I am. So, are you ready to begin?”
Lance sat down and nodded. “Let’s begin.”
Robben pressed the timer on the desk, and it started. “I don’t know what to call you yet.”
“Lance, Lance White.”
“Mr. White, tell me what problem you want me to solve.”
Lance briefly explained the situation, including his handling of the scene after arriving. Robben was a bit surprised. “You did very well. The court often adopts the initial on-site records and descriptions. This case is not complicated.”
“And your friend staying at the scene waiting for the police to arrive, although he didn’t call the police himself, this still counts as a surrender.”
“Immigrant, surrender, provoked…” Robben bit his thumbnail for a moment. “The injured person must have used very harsh words to curse your friend.”
“For example, ‘Imperial bastard’ or something similar. No offense intended, I’m just recreating what happened at the crime scene.”
“Verbal threats, discrimination, intimidation, just as you said, your friend was nervous, and then something happened that none of us wanted to see.”
“Now, the first thing is to gain the victim’s forgiveness, preferably to get him to agree to a settlement, so you can resolve this with the least amount of money.”
“A few hundred, or even one or two thousand, two or three thousand, as long as it can be resolved with money, I don’t see it as a problem.”
Gaining a victim’s forgiveness was always a very difficult thing; some victims would rather be beaten again than agree to a settlement.
“If he’s unwilling to forgive…”
“Mr. White, don’t forget what you do. This shouldn’t need me to teach you.”
Lance was silent for a while. “If he had run away then…”
Robben scratched his head. “But he didn’t leave, did he?”
“Talking about that now is meaningless. Of course, as my personal advice, if you can run away, it’s best to run away.”
“You know, Golden Port’s police force is limited, and…” He gestured to Lance’s good clothes. “…a gentleman like you must have resources. Sometimes we don’t refuse to take responsibility, but sometimes, there’s no need to be impulsive.”
Lance nodded after hearing this. Ennio was not, after all, a “bad person”; he was just impulsive.
He could have simply left, but realizing that what he did was indeed a bit excessive, he decided to take responsibility, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
There was a good side, and there was a bad side, but Lance felt that if he believed doing so would bring him peace, then he would support him.
This might be a lesson and growth for him and for others, enabling them to become better.
“Attorney Robben, I am very confident in your professional abilities. If I want you to defend my brother.”
“How much will I need to pay you for this?”
“That depends on how far you want me to go.” Robben put his hand down. “Mr. White, how much are you willing to spend for your friend?”
Lance asked, “Is there a difference?”
“Of course there is. If you don’t want to waste too much money, give me five hundred dollars for this case, and I can guarantee his sentence will be within eighteen months.”
“If you want him out earlier, two thousand dollars, I guarantee he’ll be out in a year.”
“But if you think that’s still too long, then five thousand dollars, and he’ll be standing in front of you in six months.”
Lance was a bit curious. “Can it be even shorter?”
Attorney Robben looked at Lance with a strange expression. “Your relationship must be unusual.”
He might have misunderstood something. Recently, “gay disease” was very popular, and many people were getting sick. They called this disease “God’s punishment for mistakes,” and people hadn’t realized the severity yet.
At the same time, many traditional people believed that this disease only spread among gay people, and they even used the presence of thrush as a standard for judging whether someone was gay based on the symptoms of these diseases.
Soon, the Federation, and even the world, would be shocked by this disease, but now it was just seen by people as God’s punishment for wrong choices, not anything else.
Lance explained, “Every brother is my family.”
Robben’s face showed a meaningful smile. “But many people don’t think so…” He paused, then re-examined Lance’s attire.
Very beautiful clothing, form-fitting, well-tailored, exquisite, and very snug, it must have been custom-made.
The fabric also looked good, and there was a silk ribbon on the hat; these were all synonyms for “expensive.”
“Eight thousand dollars, and he can get medical parole in three months.”
“Don’t ask me how I’ll do it; that’s my business.”
“Also, don’t ask me what happens if I can’t do it, because if I can’t, I won’t say it.”
Lance was satisfied after hearing this. “Should I pay you now?”
Robben nodded and said, “Give me six thousand dollars first; this part isn’t for me, you understand what I mean.”
“The rest is mine; give it to me after the lawsuit is over.”
“Cash?”
“Preferably.”
Lance had plenty of cash and other things. He borrowed a phone outside and had Mello arrange for someone to send six thousand dollars. Meanwhile, he went back and signed the contract with Robben.
While signing the contract, Robben didn’t forget to promote other services. “If you’re worried about your brother suffering inside, I also have some value-added services here.”
“For example… a private room. If he doesn’t like the food inside, I can arrange a steak for him every day.”
“Is he interested in women?”
“I can arrange that for him too. Aside from not being able to come out directly, I accept all custom services here, as long as you have money.”
Lance looked at Robben, who was promoting services like a salesman, and suddenly realized why he specialized in gang business.
This was a skill beyond professional ability, but it had to be said that people truly needed it.
“My brother’s arm is still recovering from injury, and I want him to have a private room. Also, arrange some nutritious food for him daily, preferably no work…”
Robben noted some of Lance’s requests and finally came up with a figure: “Four hundred and fifty dollars a month, no bargaining…”
After paying a large sum of money, Robben also showed his very professional side; he immediately took his briefcase and went with Lance to the Empire District sub-bureau.
At the sub-bureau, Ennio was not treated maliciously. When he saw Lance approach, he and the others stood up, causing the police officer facing him to also nervously stand up.
After all, Lance’s imposing manner didn’t seem like that of an ordinary person.
“This is Attorney Robben; he will represent your case.”
Ennio forced a smile, shook Robben’s hand, thanked him for his help, and then walked to a corner with Lance.
Robben, standing nearby, looked at Lance’s back with a mix of surprise and unsurprise.
According to regulations, at this time, no one other than a lawyer could have private contact with Ennio, but they not only contacted him but also spoke in a corner.
“I talked to Robben; you’ll be out in three months.”
Ennio was a little nervous. “Am I going to jail?”
Lance grabbed the back of his neck. “You should have expected the outcome when you stayed put. I won’t say you did anything wrong. You faced this, and whatever the result, we accept it.”
“Later, Attorney Robben will tell you how to deal with police questioning and what to do after the trial. Leave the rest to us.”
“It’s only three months, and I’ve even chosen the luxury single package for you.”
Ennio’s attention was drawn to this suddenly appearing term. “What’s that?”
“A private room, steak, eggs, no work. Do you want a girl?”
Ennio ultimately didn’t have the nerve to ask for a girl, but it was clear that his emotions had somewhat calmed down.
After leaving the police station, Morris was very worried about Ennio’s situation inside, and Lance could only tell him that there would be no problems.
When they were together that night, everyone reacted differently after learning about it. Some thought he should have just left; those witnesses wouldn’t meddle, and as long as there was no direct evidence, no one could do anything to Ennio.
But others could understand Ennio’s actions, because impulse or a brief emotional outburst caused consequences, even if the other party said inappropriate things and made inappropriate gestures.
Everyone had their own opinion; perhaps this was some of the growth and maturity Ennio could bring to everyone.
On Wednesday, Lance drove to the place where he used to work, outside Johnny’s bakery.
There weren’t many people in the bakery; this time of the afternoon wasn’t its busiest.
Johnny’s lawsuit with the tax bureau was over; he paid the tax bureau three thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars.
The lawyer helped him gain the judge’s support. He wasn’t deliberately evading taxes but was unclear about tax regulations, and the shortcut he initially found hadn’t explained it clearly to him.
He was willing to actively pay back taxes and actively repented in court. The judge, considering his severe injuries, finally dismissed the tax bureau’s claim of over five thousand dollars, settling for a relatively lower figure.
It wouldn’t leave him feeling no pain, nor would it make him despair.
But no one knew that when he took out that money, he was already in despair.
During this time, Johnny seemed completely listless, spending all day in the bakery hall in a daze.
He probably still had about two thousand dollars in his hand.
He took three thousand dollars from Lance, had one thousand seven or eight hundred himself, plus the income from his business during this period.
But this money wouldn’t last long.
He was very anxious and uneasy now. He didn’t know when, but his seemingly good life suddenly became a mess.
From… when the apprentice came here, or when Lance came here?
He no longer knew, nor did he know how to think.
When the door was pushed open, the bell hanging on the doorframe jingled. Johnny looked up numbly at the person who entered, his pupils suddenly contracting.
“What are you doing here?” His tone wasn’t strong at all; it had a feeling of weakness.
Hearing the doorbell, the chubby daughter, who was resting inside, also came out. She had lost some weight recently and looked a little slimmer.
When she saw it was Lance, she paused, but still tried her best to force a smile at the man who had made her fantasize in the middle of the night. “Lance, are you here to buy bread?”
Lance shook his head. “Johnny borrowed money from me. I’m here to collect the installment payment.”
“Borrowed from you?” The chubby daughter was incredulous. She re-examined Lance’s attire: elegant, mysterious, noble. This made her subconsciously look at her own attire.
There was some flour mixed with sweat on her ordinary coarse cloth clothes; the flour hadn’t clumped.
It had just scattered and settled on her, dampened by sweat, firmly adhering to her clothes.
It couldn’t be brushed off; it had to be washed with water.
This terrible attire made her want to go back and change.
But she could also tell that Lance was different now, compared to the past.
Johnny stood up, his face looking terrible. “Don’t say that here; come to the back with me.”
The two walked past the counter. Lance noticed that the room that originally belonged to Johnny was now occupied by the chubby daughter’s boyfriend.
He was lying there in his shorts, seemingly oblivious to what was happening outside.
The two went to the back, to another room. This was where the apprentice used to sleep, but now, Johnny lived here.
“How much should I give you?”
“One thousand two hundred and forty-eight dollars,” Lance stated a number.
This figure made Johnny’s expression even more terrible, because he realized that the money he had now would last at most until next month, and he wouldn’t be able to pay back the money after the New Year.
He tried to negotiate, “Lance, can’t you…”
Before he could finish, Lance interrupted him, “No, Johnny.”
“Friendship is friendship, and business is business, and we might not even have much friendship between us.”
“When I got back the eighteen dollars, there was actually no friendship between us anymore.”
“Now, give me one thousand two hundred and forty-eight dollars, and I’ll leave with the money, and be prepared for the next payment by this time next month.”
“Otherwise, I won’t leave with the money, but I’ll sue you in court…”
Now, just hearing about a lawsuit gave Johnny a headache. “No, no, I have money.”
He didn’t know where he found a small jar, from which he counted out one thousand two hundred and forty-eight dollars, gripping it tightly in his hand.
He had also lost a lot of weight compared to before, looking less healthy than when he was full-figured, somewhat haggard.
“The bakery is my life’s work…”
Lance pulled the money from his hand. “You can try to find a few more employees who’ll give you fifteen dollars a month; maybe you can raise that money.”
He quickly counted the money, and after confirming it was correct, he put it away. “See you this time next month, Mr. Johnny…”
