Chapter 1006: Initiative

"People from the Perez family are here."

The Deputy Chief knocked on the Chief's office door, then pushed it open a crack and poked his head in.

It was already night, the sky completely dark, probably around eight or nine o'clock; several hours had passed since the incident occurred.

The Chief rubbed his eye sockets; he had just been dozing off for a moment.

This damn bad weather—once the heating in the room was turned up, it made one unable to help but want to sleep.

He took his legs off the desk, straightened his attire, and stood up; there were some things he had to say to the Perez family people personally.

Actually, there was a lounge in the room; he just... hadn't thought he would be unable to help but want to doze off. If he really wanted to sleep, he certainly would have lain on the bed and worn pajamas.

There were still many night-shift police officers in the police station at night; it wasn't much less busy than during the day.

Especially since it was winter now.

Many people might not quite understand why a police station at night in winter would be busier; it was because it was winter, and the temperature was very low.

Some homeless people would be unable to bear the freezing and try to "break in." Their breaking in certainly wasn't the kind that obtained the homeowner's consent, and homeowners couldn't possibly agree to let some homeless people enter their houses to spend the night.

So, once it was a winter night, there would be many police reports.

Either these people discovered their garages had been pried open, or they discovered someone had entered their houses, or perhaps the windows of their cars parked on the roadside had been smashed and someone had crawled inside.

Of course, besides these bad news, there was actually some not-so-bad news, for example, someone discovering a person lying in a snowdrift by the roadside—it was highly probable they had gone to see God or something similar.

All these required the police to handle; one couldn't just let those corpses lie scattered by the roadside like that.

They needed to check the circumstances of the corpses' deaths, then decide whether to directly burn the corpses and scatter the ashes, or open a case for investigation.

Most of the time, these corpses would be directly determined as "frozen to death" and then directly cremated and the ashes scattered. Whether it was the police or mainstream society, they wouldn't waste social resources on a homeless person, nor was it worth them doing so.

Those people in high society, the masters, were always telling people that life was priceless.

In reality, when they reached this conclusion, they must have been looking in a mirror; the life of "that person" in the mirror was indeed priceless.

As for those ordinary people by the roadside, their lives might only be worth a few dollars, a few dozen dollars, a few hundred dollars.

At most, it was no more than a few thousand dollars—the standard for federal pensions.

Therefore, the police station in winter was still very busy. The Chief followed the stairs up to the office in the interrogation area on the second floor.

Boni, who was talking to someone, immediately walked over with a face full of smiles and shook hands with the Chief.

Although Boni was only of the middle-young generation of the Perez family, because of his social skills and Fran's trust in him, he counted as one of the Perez family's important outreach members.

They had dealt with each other before.

People from the Perez family had previously had illegal activities in New Jincheng and were caught, and it was Boni who was responsible for getting them out or negotiating with them.

This time was no exception; the Chief actually already had a guess before seeing him.

"I'm very sorry to disturb you so late, but this matter is indeed very urgent." Boni first apologized for disturbing the police station Chief's rest so late at night; he could see that the Chief's sleepy-eyed appearance was clearly from being woken up.

The Chief shook his head and let go of his hand. He glanced at the people behind Boni, and Boni immediately understood and said, "You all go out; I need to talk to the Chief alone."

Including the Deputy Chief, everyone left the office; only the two of them remained here.

The Chief walked to a chair on the side and sat down; he lit a cigarette. "The Secretary of State called me at night and told me that several ambassadors were putting pressure on him. The nature of this incident is very vile; they attacked the embassy's consular district."

Boni leaned close to him and, without changing his expression, handed an envelope into his hand. "So I can't take them away?"

The police station Chief glanced at the envelope in his hand, pushed it away twice, but ultimately couldn't push it away, only then putting it into his pocket.

A police officer who didn't take dirty money couldn't sit in the position of New Jincheng police station Chief.

There were too many people above who could decide his fate; he could have many merits, for example, loving small animals, loving flowers and plants, and liking sports.

But the only thing he couldn't be was an upright person, couldn't be someone fair, just, and with a sense of justice.

If you don't take dirty money, it will make the masters feel like you have some big plan in mind, or that you are not one of them.

In this era where capital comes first, it's not just capitalists using money to pave the way; politicians are also using this money to build networks.

If you don't take money, it means you are not the same kind of goods as these people, and you cannot be trusted or heavily used by them.

Therefore, the police station Chief would also take money, and take it with a clear conscience.

Perhaps out of consideration for this check, or perhaps because he really didn't want to cause himself trouble, he lowered his voice a little. "The attitude from the Secretary of State's side is very tough; you definitely can't take these people away, so the only thing you can do is let them take the blame."

"As long as they are willing to plead guilty, I can muddle through the things the Secretary of State entrusted; the rest won't be any trouble for me."

"Boni, listen, I don't want to manage the conflict between you and the Lansi family."

"Whether you tear each other down, smash each other's venues, or simply go to the suburbs for a gunfight, whatever, I don't want to manage it, but don't cause trouble in the city."

"Now is a special period; once I am put in a passive position, I can only say sorry to you."

Boni listened very carefully; while nodding, he echoed, "I have already scolded those who made the decision, and Fran also scolded them. These pig brains didn't come up with any good ideas at all."

"This matter ends here. They will plead guilty, and then as the city's crime-fighting heroes, you send them to court!"

He patted the police station Chief's arm. "I still have to thank you for this matter; after a while, when things are all over, I'll treat you."

The police station Chief didn't take this sentence seriously either; a gang member inviting the police station Chief to an appointment—isn't this clearly a joke?

He smiled and nodded. "If there's time, definitely!" This meant there definitely wouldn't be time.

"I still have other work to do, so I won't accompany you all. You all handle it as quickly as possible; after you handle it, I have to go through the process. The Secretary of State's side is watching very closely."

Boni said two more words of thanks, then watched the police station Chief leave.

The police station Chief returned to his office; he let out a sigh of relief. With Boni and Fran's attitude, this case should be closed very soon.

An isolated incident; they might be running a bar and, seeing the bar business on the embassy side was good, so they had the idea of grabbing business or something similar.

This was the reason the police station Chief himself thought might have happened; as for whether it was, it still depended on how they arranged it themselves.

He took out the envelope; inside was a check for five thousand dollars.

Not much to say, not little to say; it could only be said... it was okay.

He put the check into his wallet and threw the envelope into the shredder. The money for the new set of golf clubs he had his eye on was there.

Thinking of this, his face also had more smiles. Subsequently, he changed into pajamas and came to the lounge; he could have a good sleep.

Just as he lay on the comfortable spring bed, enjoying the rapid sleep experience brought by the close fit of the mattress and skin, on the second floor, Boni also brought a lawyer and two family cadres to the interrogation room.

According to regulations, they couldn't have so many people go to see the suspect being detained together, but the existence of rules wasn't meant for everyone to follow.

The meaning of the existence of rules is to tell people where the bottom line is.

The first person they saw was the combat captain responsible for this operation, that young man.

When seeing him, Boni walked over and threw a punch at his chest—a very light punch, more like a greeting; his face also carried a smile. "Well done, my brother."

"Now there are already people outside starting to discuss you and what you did; they acknowledge that we gave Lansi an embarrassment; you won more face for the family!"

Letting someone take the blame, one couldn't just tell him with a cold face, "You damn well must take this blame." This wasn't a correct attitude, although there were indeed people in the family who looked down on these "outsider members" who didn't have the Perez surname.

In the entire Perez family, people without the Perez surname found it very difficult to be promoted to the ranks of high-level family cadres; there were only a few.

This was also the biggest problem encountered by gang organizations that took bloodline as the core; compared to trusting outsiders, they clearly trusted their own people more.

This formed a very special atmosphere; those "outsiders" didn't get their trust so easily, and naturally, it was also very difficult to be promoted.

After Boni said a few nice words, the captain in front of him should have shown a proud smile, then expressed that all this was for the glory of the family.

But this guy didn't do that. Boni's expression was slightly off; he took two steps back and stared into this captain's eyes.

He discovered that when he looked at him, this captain would actively shift his gaze, which made him look very guilty. "What are you afraid of?" Boni asked.

"You are in the police station now; it's safer here than on the street. Come on, tell me, what are you afraid of?"

He walked over and hooked the captain's neck with his palm, and also patted it hard twice. "Tell me!"

The captain squeezed out a trace of an ugly smile. "I'm just a little nervous, a little nervous."

Boni didn't quite believe what he said. "You've already nervously repeated it again, damn it; are you really nervous?" He was somewhat distrustful, but the captain said he was just nervous.

He wasn't the captain; he didn't know what was wrong with the captain at this moment, so he could only choose to believe it—maybe he was really nervous?

"Good, regardless of whether you are really nervous, remember what I say next."

"This matter had a little problem; we have no way to get you out of here, so the family needs you to plead guilty."

"Just say you saw their business was too good, were jealous, so you smashed their bar and accidentally injured some guests."

"You are willing to actively compensate for all expenses, and admit and repent."

"This case isn't complicated; under the circumstances of active compensation and obtaining the victim's forgiveness, you will at most only go in for two years."

"After one year, I will think of a way to get you out; at that time, I will apply to Fran to increase your work content a little and let you be a cadre."

Above the Perez family cadres, there was still a high-level cadre; cadres were the end point for the vast majority of outsiders, while high-level cadres were the end point for Perez family members.

Being able to become a cadre meant being able to possess one's own business, and also meant being able to obtain more illegal income.

This originally should have been a very happy thing, but the captain in front of him had a mournful face, which made the feeling of unease in Boni's heart become more and more intense. He suddenly raised his voice. "What exactly are you afraid of?"

The captain almost cried out; he suddenly knelt on the ground with a thud. "I... have already told Lansi."

Boni was stunned for a moment; he squatted down and grabbed the captain's collar to pull him up. "What the hell did you tell him?"

"Saying you were acting according to the family's requirements?"

"Or did you say something else?"

"Even if you said it, you shouldn't be afraid; what exactly are you afraid of?"

While saying this, he also gave the captain a punch, hitting the captain's lower abdomen, which made the captain curl up slightly.

When he raised his head again, tears and snot were flowing out. "I said it was... ordered to do so."

The person he mentioned was the cadre above him, and also a gang member who bore the Perez surname.

Hearing this, Boni hadn't fully believed it yet. "You said it, so you said it; this isn't the reason you are afraid. Damn it, tell me, what exactly are you afraid of?!"

He grabbed the captain's collar with both hands and pulled him up hard, then slammed him fiercely against the wall.

The police officer responsible for guarding outside the door looked back at the interrogation room door, but in the end, didn't meddle in the business and go in, instead continuing to guard the door.

The captain cried bitterly, having a deep sense of despair, and said, "They recorded a video."

Boni's pupils dilated for a moment, then rapidly contracted again; even his voice changed. "You damn well said, you said in front of the video camera that you were hired by us to do this?"

The captain nodded and cried even harder. "They killed... (that guy who was beaten to death), in front of all of us."

"He used that bloody table leg to point at my head and said, if I didn't say it, he would smash my head!"

"Fuck, I was scared to death; he really dared to kill, I don't want to die!"

Boni fiercely gave him several more punches, hitting the captain until he curled up on the ground holding his head; he still wasn't satisfied and went up to stomp on him fiercely several times, until he was pulled away by the lawyer.

"How could you do that, damn it?"

"Has the family not been good enough to you all these years?"

He looked at the captain in disbelief, as if this was something he couldn't understand.

The captain, while saying "I'm sorry," indicated that if he didn't do as told, Lansi would kill him.

He just didn't want to die.

Who wants to die?

No one wants to die!

Fuck!

Boni walked back and forth in the interrogation room with his hands on his hips; he took out a cigarette, bit the butt hard, then lit it, and then glared fiercely at the captain.

"Are you the only one who did this?"

The captain looked up at him and said, "Everyone."

When Boni heard this inexplicable answer, he laughed out loud, "Everyone?"

"You sons of bitches are truly fucking dead!"

He shook his head, "You better think carefully about how you're going to explain this to Mr. Fran when the time comes!"

As he said this, he pushed the door open and walked out of the interrogation room. He glanced at the officer nearby, pulled a roll of money from his pocket, counted out fifty dollars, stuffed it into the man's breast pocket, and gave it a thoughtful pat, "I'm going to make a call."

The officer glanced at his breast pocket, and a bit more of a smile appeared on his face, "That is your freedom, sir."

"There is a phone in the interrogation office, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind." Boni arrived at the interrogation office not far away, where three officers were working.

He walked over and used the same method to buy the three officers some time to go to the entrance for a smoke.

Afterward, he dialed the number for the family. Fran had been waiting for news to come back, so he answered the phone immediately.

"No good news, it's all bad news."

"They say Lans forced them to say in front of the camera that they were instigated by the family to attack the bar."

"What do we do now?"

Hearing this, Fran couldn't help but start cursing. The older he got, the worse his temper became. Anything that didn't go his way would make him fly into a rage; he lacked the indifference other old men had after seeing through the vanity of the world.

A few minutes later, he returned to the interrogation room and looked at the captain with an indifferent gaze, "Don't you fucking open your mouth again. If anyone asks, don't say anything. This was all your own decision."

After saying this, Boni left with the others.

In the car, the lawyer didn't say a word. The two family members who came with him couldn't help but ask, "We're just leaving like this?"

Boni was feeling a bit irritable now, "What else?"

"Lans has the recording in his hands. As long as he throws this thing out, the spearhead will point at us!"

Someone said, "We can say it's fake, or that our people were forced to say it."

Boni looked at him as if he were looking at an idiot, "Who the fuck cares if it's true or fake?"

"Who cares?"

He shook his head; this was the reason why some people were direct descendants, while others were just collateral branches.

Fools are not fit to enter the core of the family.

He patted the driver's seat back, "Drive, back to the manor."

For this matter, the core direction for a solution still lay with Lans. Fran and the others discussed it urgently and decided to find a middleman to negotiate with Lans again.

It was like this last time, and it's still like this now. They've fucking lost all their face!

Just as the car they were riding in drove out of the police station gate and before they had time to accelerate, a large truck drove straight toward them and crashed into them...