Chapter 420

“Of the Five Families, three have already been arranged for. What about the remaining two?”

Councilman Williams looked at Lance with some anticipation.

The arrangements for these three families were very well-handled. Lance didn’t even need to make much of a move himself to get everything to the state he wanted.

So he was even more curious about what would be done with the remaining two families.

Lance also glanced at the pastries on the table. He also broke off a small piece and put it in his mouth.

The sweetness of the pastry and the bitterness of the coffee seemed to form a very interesting positive cycle. They were complementary, but it had to be just right.

A sip of coffee, a small bite of pastry. If there was too much pastry, it would be cloyingly sweet.

If there was too much coffee, the bitter taste would linger in the mouth.

“I will solve the Keane family’s problem during the mayor’s term. The Kodak family’s problem will have to be left until after you take office as mayor.”

He took out a pack of cigarettes and held it in his hand, but he didn’t take a cigarette out. He looked at Councilman Williams, asking if he could smoke.

“Oh, damn it, I forgot about that!”

“Of course, of course, Lance. We don’t mind. You can give me and James one too.”

He said with a chuckle. He had indeed forgotten about it. It should have been him who offered the cigarettes, but he was too engrossed in speaking and had forgotten.

Lance distributed the cigarettes to them. The gentlemen’s topic paused for a moment, and they each lit their cigarettes.

He took a deep drag and exhaled slowly. The sense of satisfaction was like a person lost in the desert for a long time who suddenly stumbles into an oasis. Not only did it solve the problem of thirst, but the vibrant environment also made him feel hope.

“How do you plan to deal with Figal?”

Lance appeared very relaxed and was not stumped by this question. “I will constantly cause him trouble, without interruption.”

“The breeding ground for gangs lies in the indulgence of the police and city managers. Only indulgence can provide a living ground for gangs and their crimes. Once the law enforcement departments no longer turn a blind eye to their criminal activities…”

“Then, the Keane family’s business will suffer a heavy blow. Or rather, almost all gangs follow this one rule.”

“The strength of the Five Families is built on their powerful forces. Pull out their teeth, break their bones, and they will never have a chance to stand up again.”

“As long as they no longer have their current status, the people who cling to them will soon disappear. We don’t even need to do anything. As long as we send out a signal that they are no longer protected by the rules…”

Lance’s wrist, holding the cigarette, flipped outwards. “Then someone will help us to bite them fiercely, until they have completely fallen.”

After listening, James had a very new experience. He had always thought that the Five Families were also the rule-makers of Golden Port, but from what Lance had just said, the Five Families were actually just followers within the rules of the game.

This made James’s gaze inevitably turn to Councilman Williams, who frowned slightly and showed a thoughtful expression.

The Five Families were never the rule-makers; they were just a privileged few.

This is very difficult to describe accurately. To put it simply, a higher-level force has established a rule to restrain the Five Families.

Within this rule, they have created some new, smaller rules.

It is like the relationship between superior and subordinate law.

Councilman Williams said softly, “If you plan to do this, you will face great resistance. Will Charlie help you?”

Lance said with a smile, “Charlie?”

“Charlie might be a municipal councilman, but I don’t know that a municipal councilman can still interfere in the affairs of the police department.”

“And, Councilman Williams, I believe that on this issue, we can reach a consensus.”

Councilman Williams sighed lightly. “You’ve given me a difficult problem.”

Lance shook his head and said, “I don’t think this is a difficult problem.”

James didn’t quite understand what they were talking about, but he had a vague intuition that they must be discussing something very important.

So he did his best to remember every word they said and then analyze it.

Gradually, he seemed to have sensed something, but he couldn’t believe that this was real, or rather, he couldn’t be sure that what he had analyzed was what these two were discussing.

The expression on his face when he looked at Lance was as if he had seen a ghost. Lance was so young, had no prominent background, and there was no “Councilman White” or the like to teach him to understand these things. How did he master these things?

Councilman Williams considered for a very long time this time, and his expression also became much more serious. “I have to admit, you are a persuasive person.”

Lance responded with a smile, “I just presented the facts. I didn’t persuade you. The one who persuaded you was yourself, Councilman Williams.”

Councilman Williams couldn’t help but burst out laughing when he heard these words. “You’re very good with words!”

He paused. “If this fails, we still have a way out, but you, you will have no way out. Have you thought it through?”

Lance took another drag of his cigarette. At this moment, the feeling he gave off was like a person with a strong self-confidence who could solve everything, and this self-confidence was still infecting Councilman Williams.

“I’m still young, I have a chance to make mistakes, and at the same time, I also believe that this time we will not lose.”

Councilman Williams nodded slightly. “Indeed, we have no reason to lose.”

He was silent for a moment. “I won’t ask you for the specifics of what you’re going to do. In short, when you need my help, tell me, and I will do my best to help you.”

“Do you want to stay for dinner tonight?”

This was a family dinner. Lance considered for a moment. “Can I bring my girlfriend and her family?”

Councilman Williams’s smile began to become very obvious, not the reserved, restrained kind. “Of course. As people get older, they like excitement. You can go and get ready, and we’ll get ready too.”

As he spoke, he picked up the remaining three-fifths of the pastry, placed his other hand under it, and took a large bite.

The crumbs of the food fell into the palm of his hand and were then flicked into his mouth.

“Although it’s a bit cloying, the taste of honey is always so good.”

Lance stood up to leave. Councilman Williams had James see him off. When James returned to the study after seeing Lance off, he looked at his father with some confusion.

“I can see the confusion all over your face. Speak, what is troubling you,” he saw through James’s bellyful of questions at a glance. At the same time, he also thought that this was a suitable “teaching” opportunity, so he did not appear impatient, or let him guess on his own.

Regarding this person, Lance, Councilman Williams’s evaluation was still constantly rising. He even had a slight suspicion that there might be some other problems with Lance’s identity and background.

Because he had directly seen through some of the joints of the Golden Port ruling structure, seen the hidden contradictions and conflicts here, deep contradictions, deep conflicts.

He wanted to use these contradictions and conflicts for his own profit, and at the same time, Councilman Williams could not refuse, because what Lance wanted to do would also bring him huge benefits.

He didn’t understand if someone had pointed this out to him, or if he had discovered it through his own observation.

If someone had pointed it out to him, he hoped to meet this person, have a chat, or hire this person to be his own staff.

If this was discovered by Lance himself, then he would have James maintain a good relationship with him. The purpose of this family dinner was here.

James was, after all, the heir he had always recognized. If it were Arthur, he would only have Arthur go out and play with the girls.

“Father, were you discussing… the problem of the Bay Area?”

Councilman Williams opened his lowered eyelids. He glanced at his son and showed a satisfied look. “It’s good that you can see this. Are there any other questions?”

James expressed his greatest doubt, “Shouldn’t we and the Bay Area be one body?”

Councilman Williams was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing. “James, James!”

“You see, this is where you are inferior to him.”

“I…” he suddenly got stuck. Mainly, he didn’t know how to explain these things.

A limited vocabulary system sometimes cannot accurately explain some meanings, but fortunately, he was old enough. He knew how to describe it.

“Look at this city, the rulers of this city, the capitalists, the gangs, and everything else. In the past, they were closely united in a way we thought was reasonable, and it has continued without conflict. This is the most unreasonable part.”

“It’s like between the gangs and the police. They are never on the same channel. The police catch thieves, that’s their job, and the thieves have to break the law, that’s their means of livelihood.”

“There is an irreconcilable conflict between them, but aren’t you surprised?”

“Why can they coexist peacefully?”

“Have you ever thought about this question?”

This question stumped James. He subconsciously wanted to say that this was the social rule of Golden Port and even the Federation, but he knew that this was not the correct answer.

He began to think seriously, to consider these things, but he could not find the balance point for this seemingly irreconcilable conflict to be reconciled.

In the end, he could only look at his father.

Being a teacher is always a very happy feeling and experience. Councilman Williams was experiencing this now, and this student was his son, so his sense of accomplishment and pleasure was even stronger.

“Actually, it’s very simple: because of interests.”

“Interests can explain everything that happens in this world. When the interests are sufficient, cats and mice can also live in the same nest.”

“The reason Golden Port can maintain such peace is because the interests of the Bay Area, the interests of the gangs, our interests, can reach a balance point.”

“When everything is in balance, like before, before anything happened, everything was peaceful, just as we expected.”

“But when the mayor decided to do something, he broke this balance, and this group, which was connected by interests, had a problem.”

His hands were held up in the air, moving up and down, as if something was being weighed in his hands.

“If I don’t become mayor, and another guy comes to be mayor, and doesn’t interfere with the city’s development and operation, then this peace can continue.”

“But I’m going to be mayor, James.”

“The scales are unbalanced!”

“In the past, we and the Bay Area fought against the mayor together, against some of the state government’s decisions. We were the closest comrades-in-arms.”

“But now, because I’m going to be mayor, the conflict, the contradictions hidden between us, are about to surface.”

He said with a laugh, “I can’t be at the beck and call of the Bay Area after I become mayor, can I?”

“Do you think I can accept such a result?”

James finally understood the problem, or rather, for Councilman Williams, whether the superficial splendor was more important, or the power he actually held.

If he were to “rule the world together” with the Bay Area, and hand over a large part of the power in his hands to the Bay Area, then Lance’s plans would have no value.

But as long as he couldn’t do this, or the Bay Area became more greedy, then his plan would definitely be useful.

If he were willing to be a puppet, or if he didn’t have such a strong desire for interests, he wouldn’t have stood up to run for mayor.

The title of a municipal councilman was enough for him and the Williams family for a long time.

But he stood up, and Lance saw through this point. He would not compromise on interests with the Bay Area. He would not hand over the power. This could not be solved peacefully.

Since conflicts and contradictions would inevitably arise in the future, then preparing to deal with them now was clearly reasonable and logical.

Lance was the best person to solve this problem. He and the Lance Family would become a new interest group. The Lance Family and the James family would reach a consensus on the issue of seeking interests, and then a new order would be born.

When James heard this, the surprise on his face was already a bit irrepressible. “Will we… go to war with the Bay Area?”

“Go to war…” Councilman Williams shook his head. “I don’t like this word. It’s not necessarily a war, because politics is not so crude.”

“With our cooperation, we will dismantle the Bay Area and, in a sense, reunify this city.”

A light that James had never seen before flashed in Councilman Williams’s eyes, but he did not reveal his strong emotions and thoughts through language.

He planned to “sell out” Golden Port to the Likalai state government, and even the federal government.

Didn’t they say before that Golden Port’s factionalism was too strong?

Every mayor who came here was just a puppet. Most of the benefits were kept in the pockets of the locals. So now he could sell Golden Port to get a chance for his son to go up another level.

If he weren’t too old, he wouldn’t even want to give up this opportunity. Maybe this could allow the Williams family to produce a senator.

Once a senator appeared, then they would no longer be a local small family. They could be called a “political family,” and have a broader stage.

The way he looked at James changed a little, which made James nervous. He even felt a bit restless, because this look was a bit scary.

“After the municipal councilman election is over, you will be in charge of this work. Unless there are special circumstances, I will not give you too much guidance anymore.”

James knew that his father was training him, but he was still a little nervous. “I’m worried I won’t do a good job.”

Councilman Williams said, “Then work hard to do a good job. Don’t say such discouraging words. Whether the future of the family can go further depends on you.”

At this time, James still didn’t understand that Councilman Williams was already cultivating him as a senator. Although he was a bit older, it was just right.

He still had twenty years to prepare, to become a senator. He still had time to grow.

Lance went directly to William’s house. The Lawrence couple were at home, and Patricia was also there.

Such a big thing had happened today, and they hadn’t gone outside. This was the worst side of the Federation.

It always had some unexpected things happen, making people worry about their safety.

After greeting the Lawrence couple, and also kissing Patricia, Lance explained his reason for coming.

“Councilman Williams has invited me to have dinner together tonight. I think this is a very formal family dinner. It’s not appropriate for me to go alone, so I’ve invited you all as well.”

“William, you will become a councilman, and Councilman Williams will soon be upgraded to ‘mayor,’ so this is a good opportunity for you to get in touch. you can also have a chat.”

William was a bit incredulous when he heard these words. He glanced at Emily, who was getting excited, and was a little unable to understand.

“How… did you get to know him?”

Lance sat on the sofa, with his arm around Patricia. “We have a cooperative relationship, a very close one, and we will continue to cooperate.”

William still didn’t quite understand. A cooperative relationship, what kind of cooperative relationship? But it was definitely not just doing dirty work.

People who do dirty work are not qualified to sit at the same table with their master for dinner, so this must be a cooperative relationship in the true sense.

He suddenly thought of the firefight not long ago, his mouth slightly agape. “Don’t tell me, the afternoon’s events have something to do with you.”

Lance directly denied it. “No, it has nothing to do with me. We are cooperating on other projects.”

William looked at Lance with disbelief, but was soon pulled by Emily to go and change clothes.

“There’s not much time left until dinner. We can’t be impolite.”

Patricia also went to change her clothes. This was a very special occasion.

They had to show their respect for this family dinner, to be solemn, but also not too formal. That wouldn’t be appropriate.

They had to show a sense of closeness, not strangeness, not distance.

Lance sat on the sofa, casually flipping through a magazine, his mind full of subsequent handling methods…

(End of chapter)

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