Empire of Shadows

#675 - Something for everyone

Mayor Williams picked up the coffee in front of him and took a small sip.

The milk made it smoother, and a small sugar cube made it easier to drink.

The coffee itself wasn't of particularly good quality; he hadn't had such cheap coffee in a long time.

Whether it was because the raw materials were truly inferior, or because of psychological factors, he only took a small sip before putting the cup down.

He turned his head to look at the bustling street outside. It was a little after five in the afternoon, with people coming and going. During daylight saving time, the end of work hours would be moved forward by an hour or half an hour, but correspondingly, their work hours might be brought forward, or their break time compressed.

He could understand Lance's meaning.

Arthur was now in the hands of these people, and their only goal was to stall him, to prevent him from having time to respond.

It was a despicable tactic, but undeniably effective.

If he were the kind of person who could harden his heart and consider his political life more important than Arthur's life, then undoubtedly, they wouldn't be able to threaten him.

The death of one child could quell a riot. Perhaps some would disdain his ruthless actions, but he would also gain the support of more people.

Prioritizing the safety and stability of society over the safety and stability of his own family—what could be a better gimmick to please those low-level citizens who only earned forty dollars a month?

Although they only earned forty dollars a month, some of them were important voters.

But Mayor Williams wasn't that kind of person. Because of his love for his wife, he also cherished Arthur very much, so he was very clear about what he was facing now.

Those people had Arthur as their biggest bargaining chip. If he rashly attacked, would they... use Arthur as a bargaining chip?

Or, would they feel that they had no hope of escape and simply kill Arthur?

That was a possibility. When a person was forced into a dead end and saw no hope, they might resort to desperate measures.

The risk factor of the other option was much smaller than the first. What he could think of was that Lance would find a way to provoke them, and then force them to leave as soon as possible.

As soon as they showed their faces, they would be taken down, and Arthur would be rescued.

If they wanted to hide Arthur, they certainly couldn't let him show his face. In this situation, it would actually provide Arthur with a safe environment.

Even if he stuffed him into the trunk, he would be safe at that moment.

However, there was also a disadvantage to doing so, which was that if they didn't find the right kidnappers, Arthur would be taken away by them, and next time they would be more careful and more secretive.

"The first option is too risky, and the second option has a chance of failure," Mayor Williams sighed. "Life is always about making choices between dilemmas, no matter when."

He picked up the coffee again and took another small sip. This time it felt a little better, but only a little, just a tiny bit.

"Find them!"

"If something really happens to Arthur... I want all of them to be buried with Arthur."

"Including the Bay Area!" He picked up the coffee and took a big gulp. "The coffee is good."

Lance nodded slightly, then stood up. "Three dollars a pot, good coffee!"

"I already paid."

After saying that, he picked up his hat and left, under the gaze of the coffee shop owner who wanted to approach but didn't dare to.

Mayor Williams didn't leave; he would wait here.

Either he would wait for that idiot Arthur to come and tell him how miserable he had been these past few days.

Or, he would wait for terrible news that would terrify everyone.

He sipped the three-dollar-a-pot coffee, and it didn't seem that different from the coffee brewed from the hundred-dollar-a-pound coffee beans at his home.

At this time, the guy who came out of the deli was carrying two large packages of cooked food, mainly ham hocks and cooked beef.

The Federals didn't have the concept of "braising," but they had methods of cooking with the same purpose.

The beef was marinated thoroughly with spices, and then placed in an oven to simmer in the oven's heat.

The advantage of this non-open-flame simmering method was that after the beef was cooked thoroughly, it wouldn't have any charred spots like open-flame grilling, and the fat and meat would be fully integrated, causing the meat to become somewhat loose.

The beef made in this way wouldn't have too much fat rendered out, and it would also maintain a relatively complete appearance, but it would soften.

It would have a complete "outer layer," and after it was taken out, it would be wrapped in butcher paper and placed in the counter.

Because the continuation of the appearance could allow it to be stored for a longer time in a relatively low temperature state, and the taste wouldn't become too bad.

If someone needed cooked beef, the clerk would take it out of the counter, and then cut off a piece in front of the customer, re-slice it, or pack it directly.

The customer could simply heat it up after taking it back, or even eat it directly without heating it.

Of course, it could also be re-fried or re-baked; both were fine.

In short, this was a very commercialized cooking method. It might not be very delicious or palatable, but in terms of storage and sales convenience, it was undoubtedly better than other methods.

A large package of beef and a large package of ham hocks were enough for them to eat for quite a long time. There was also bread in the deli, and he bought some bread as well.

Coming out of the deli, the cold wind blew on him, and the biting chill made him shrink his neck. His attention was on the road.

He saw some strange cars. There were people sitting in these cars, but they neither got out of the cars nor started them to leave; they just stayed in place.

Adding to the two cars he encountered when he came out of the alley, he vaguely had a feeling that they had been discovered!

The more it was like this, the more he couldn't expose himself.

He thought his... disguise was very good, but in reality, he had already been targeted.

"He bought two large packages of meat. The people who live here can't afford such expensive food."

A young man sitting in the passenger seat looked at the guy carrying two large bags of cooked food and carrying a braided net bag walking into the distance, revealing a sharp look in his eyes.

They were all from poor backgrounds. If they weren't from poor backgrounds, if they had not a prominent background, just an ordinary background, with a stable life and future, they might not risk the great danger of joining a gang.

So they looked very young, and indeed lacked experience in many issues.

But in the matter of struggling to survive at the bottom, their experience was very rich!

Those foods added up to at least several dollars, plus the cigarettes, more than ten dollars.

Not to mention a week, there weren't many people in this area who could spend more than ten dollars on food in a month.

The guy who came out to buy things didn't realize that he had exposed himself because he bought too much food.

If he knew that a spy had been caught because he couldn't resist secretly eating a piece of meat, he might have become a little more vigilant, and not let his behavior be so out of place with the surroundings.

When he was almost to the place where they were hiding, he saw some guys wearing wool trench coats with red armbands on their left arms entering an apartment building.

When those people moved, he saw that they all had guns, even submachine guns.

This made him even more nervous, and his pace became faster.

After he thought he had returned very secretly to their current residence, the closed door isolated the inside and outside, and also let him breathe a sigh of relief.

"What's wrong?" Richie was playing cards with the others. He saw that his subordinate looked uneasy, and couldn't help but ask.

The guy who bought things came to the center of the room, "Many people from the Lance family have come outside. We may have been exposed."

The cigarette that Richie was holding in his mouth fell from his mouth, sparking some sparks, and it was these sparks that made him quickly put down the poker in his hand, while patting the remaining sparks on his body, and asked with some incomprehension, "How could we be exposed?"

"We haven't revealed any information, and we haven't let Arthur talk to them. We haven't even given them a chance to say the password. How did they find us?"

Richie didn't understand. He carefully recalled everything. He hadn't revealed any information at all. How did they find this place?

He didn't think that the honking of cars outside would become the reason for locking his position, even now.

He walked back and forth a few steps, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

The man shook his head, "They all have the Lance family's red armbands."

"F**k!" Richie cursed, immediately picked up the phone, and without caring about being hungry, directly dialed Mr. Charles's number.

The phone was quickly connected. Mr. Charles was in a good mood now, because the demolition site had completely erupted. Whether Mayor Williams knew about this matter at this time was no longer important.

This was like arson.

When the flame was still just a small spark, any disturbance could extinguish it, so the arsonist must protect this small spark.

But once the small spark began to burn fiercely, turned into a scourge, and evolved into a disaster, then you didn't need to care too much. Even if you let the firefighters put out the fire, they might not be able to put it out in a short time.

So he was in a good mood now, "You guys did a good job!"

Richie interrupted him directly, "Sir, the Lance family may have discovered us." He glanced at Arthur in the cage in the corner, "Do we still want to keep Arthur?"

Charles was stunned for a moment. A thing that was originally very happy suddenly had such a change, and the smile on his face also disappeared.

Because this was also a difficult choice for him!

Killing Arthur would drive Mayor Williams crazy, and he would fight to the death, and the final result might change.

Not killing Arthur would allow Mayor Williams to free up his hands to concentrate on dealing with the current situation. He wouldn't be so radical, but that didn't mean it would be easy to deal with.

Life is a choice. If you don't do it, he will!