Chapter 950: Helplessness and Handling It Ourselves

After returning to the police station, the police chief didn't call anyone; he just sat behind his desk and started, for the first time, seriously and personally, to wipe his desk and tidy up the table.

He had worked here for a long time; he couldn't even remember it himself—it might have been ten years, or eleven, or twelve.

Until this moment, when he stood here and looked back, he realized he had walked a very, very long distance since he arrived.

Life is always like this; time slips away quietly from one's side inadvertently.

Only when people notice that a long time has passed do they lament the ruthlessness of time.

Time really passes too quickly.

He had such a feeling at this moment.

He used a rag to wipe the corners and crevices of the desk, wiping away the dust with his own hands.

Then he tidied up the cluttered desktop; everything looked pleasing to the eye.

His gaze landed on the photo frame, which contained a group photo of him and his family.

The police chief had a large family; he had two wives and seven children.

Sitting here at this moment, his mind seemed unable to find anything more related to his family or family members; they were all very... shallow memories.

The last thing in his memory with his son was still scolding his son not to associate with those cheap girls.

Cheap girls was a way of saying it—girls of the untouchables.

One had to admit this point: some untouchable girls were indeed very beautiful, but he, as well as his children and his family, were not of that class.

His son would marry a girl from a privileged family in the future and would be able to become a help to his career, rather than marrying a beautiful untouchable girl.

The last words he told his son were—

"You can like an untouchable girl, you can sleep with her, and even let her have your children."

"But you shouldn't fall in love with her, nor should you think about living with her."

"What you need to do is break up with her at the right time, and then throw yourself into a new relationship that can bring help to you and our family."

"Do you know those prostitutes?"

"If you don't know how to treat those untouchable girls, treat them the way you treat prostitutes."

"You think they really love you, but in reality, they only love your status, only the expensive clothes on you, and the right to live in the city center!"

These were the last words he said to his son; it seemed like a long time had passed.

How long had it been since he had spent a long time with his family?

He wasn't very clear; he couldn't remember—it might have been a few weeks, or it might have been a few months.

Suddenly, he had an intense desire, prompting him to pick up the phone and dial the number at home.

The one who answered the phone was his first wife, his first wife, who was now more like the big housekeeper of this family.

"I will come home for dinner tonight; let the children all come back, and prepare something sumptuous."

His wife was a bit surprised because, in the vast majority of cases, the police chief wouldn't eat dinner at home.

He had many social engagements to deal with: banquets between the privileged classes, banquets from his subordinates, the police chiefs, or banquets he took the initiative to host to curry favor with other relationships.

He rarely ate at home, and even when he did, he rarely made such a solemn request to prepare something sumptuous, and he rarely asked the children to all come back.

He didn't like his children very much; for his family members, this was what they felt.

He always felt that his children were a bit stupid, so when he talked to them, he would be a bit impatient.

Actually, it wasn't that he felt the children were stupid; it was just that these children hadn't experienced the beating of society; they had lived in a honey pot since they were born; they simply couldn't recognize what the reality behind the hypocritical surface of this society was like.

They didn't understand, so they would appear a bit stupid, not smart enough, but not really stupid; they just lacked some experience, some opportunities.

After giving these instructions, he sighed; a small half of the twenty-four hours had already passed, and there wasn't much time left until tomorrow morning.

He didn't know what Lanse White and these people were going to do after twenty-four hours, but he knew that in the end, the board from above would land on his butt.

Because he had messed all this up.

At this very moment, he suddenly thought of Gomez, the former chamber of commerce president who was once trusted by Diego; now it was said that the other party had also defected to the Federals.

For some reason, his mood had some changes; he didn't even realize this point himself, just feeling that some indescribable inspiration flashed by.

When he wanted to figure out what it was, he couldn't find it anymore.

He called all the police chiefs to his office, "I have already been to see Lanse; this person is very difficult to talk to; he directly denied that his people snatched those two young men."

The police chiefs immediately showed ugly expressions on their faces, and some even showed angry expressions.

"What should we do now?"

One of the police chiefs asked, "Can we use the mayor's relationship, or someone else's relationship, to find a way to search Lanse's manor and his several residences, as well as those factories?"

"Or can we go a step further, seal his factory, and force him to hand the people over to us?"

These words received support from some people, because they had done this before.

If someone resisted them, they would use the power in their hands to force these people to compromise.

Of course, it was limited to the privileged class and some businessmen, foreign businessmen.

As long as they did this, there was nothing they couldn't succeed in.

These police chiefs thought that the situation they were facing this time was the same.

The police chief shook his head, "This is very difficult to do; Lanse is different from those ordinary foreigners; he isn't someone who can be threatened by us so easily."

"And doing so might cause the situation to constantly advance toward a worse situation, and in the end, a situation that none of us want to see might appear."

Although he hadn't tried it himself, he just had a premonition that if he really used this set of things to deal with Lanse, his end would definitely be very miserable.

The police chiefs were suddenly a bit discouraged, and someone asked, "Then is this matter just going to be forgotten?"

"... (the name of the dead police chief) just died like this?"

After a brief silence, the police chief said, "According to the double pension standard, send the pension... to his family's hands."

"This matter... let's just leave it like this for now!"

He sighed again; the number of times he sighed in one day today was more than the number of times he had sighed in the first half of this year combined.

After a while, he continued, "We are all unsure what will happen tomorrow, but I have a premonition, a bad premonition."

He paused, took a cigarette out of his pocket, and lit it, "It is highly likely that I will be removed from this position; when that time comes, you don't need to be too nervous."

"They want to manage this city well, so they can't do without the police, nor can they do without you."

"When that time comes, continue to carry out the work as it was when I was here; if the mayor or someone higher up arranges a new chief, don't resist either."

These words of his were full of pessimistic color; the people in the office were all silent, and the atmosphere became low.

The police chief stood up with a smile; he walked to these police chiefs, patted their arms, and still retained some smiles on his face.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you think I might... die?"

When he said this word, his expression also twitched slightly, but he soon adjusted his expression.

"No, don't worry so much; now this is a diplomatic incident; even if they really want me to die, I won't die immediately."

"We still have a chance to meet again; I believe in this point."

He gave some instructions about things after he left, including their extortion of some people, and some black money matters, all of which were perfectly explained.

Finally, he let the police chiefs leave, let them return to their posts, and prepare psychologically to welcome tomorrow. And he himself stood at the door, took one last look at the clean and tidy desktop and desk he had organized, as well as everything he had put back in place, slowly pulled the door handle, and closed the door of the police chief's office.

Standing outside the door, he was still a bit emotional, sighed again, and then turned and left.

He left from the back stairs and went directly to the parking lot; he didn't want to meet those police chiefs and officers anymore, as it would only make him feel more sad.

He returned home early; his two wives were preparing dinner for the evening.

As if thinking of something, he took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and joined the process of preparing dinner under the surprised gazes of his two wives.

A little past seven o'clock in the evening, the last family member returned from outside, and the smile on the police chief's face became much more frequent.

When the last child came to the dining table and sat down in a confused manner, he placed his hands on the edge of the table and made a movement similar to "pushing" the table, but not really pushing.

"I know, you must be very confused why I suddenly let you all come back."

"Actually, some things happened today."

"If you care about the news, you must know that a foreigner was killed today, and at the same time, we also lost a police chief."

His wives showed surprised and somewhat fearful expressions; how long had it been since a police officer sacrificed in this city?

His second wife, who was younger, couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

The police chief briefly explained what happened, "... they gave us an ultimatum; there are only twenty-four hours."

"That is to say, by tomorrow morning, close to noon, if we still can't catch those two criminals, the Federals might use some means."

His two wives hadn't realized anything yet, but his children, especially the two who had been to university, had already realized the seriousness of the matter.

His eldest son asked, "What will happen to you?"

The police chief answered seemingly very easily while eating a fine steak with a knife and fork, "It is highly likely that I will be removed from my position; as for whether they will do anything further to me, I don't know."

He looked very relaxed, but in fact, he wasn't relaxed at all.

As the police chief, he knew very well what he had done over the years, for himself and for those big shots.

They wouldn't let someone like him, who knew some secrets, or could even be said to be a scandal, continue to live after losing his value.

It was highly likely he would die; what he was most worried about now was that the things he had done over the years and the consequences they brought would implicate his family.

He hadn't cared much about his family before; perhaps at that time, he also knew very well that as long as he didn't lose his job, his family wouldn't be hurt.

But now, he felt threatened, and he also felt that his family members might be in danger.

"Early tomorrow morning, you find a way to hide first; it's best if you can leave Zhuolan, go to another place, or go to another country to hide."

"Although I don't like the Federation, the Federation is indeed a good choice."

"Wait until the wind of this period passes, and then consider whether to come back."

He said, taking out several deposit certificates from his pocket and handing them to his two wives, as well as his eldest son and eldest daughter.

"These are deposit certificates from the Federal Bank; there are instructions for the bank to withdraw money on them; there is the money I got over the years inside."

"Adding up to about four hundred thousand, enough for you to live well in the Federation."

"Of course, if you want to go to other places, for example, Jiede, it's all fine."

"But I personally suggest that it's best for you to go to the Federation; the Federals' actions will only get bigger and bigger."

His first wife held his hand, her eyes revealing a trace of worry and longing, "You can also leave with us; let our family be together!"

Perhaps love no longer existed between them, but the newly born family affection maintained their relationship and connection more firmly than love.

The police chief sighed heavily; he pursed his lips, got another piece of steak for himself, and while cutting it, said in a very relaxed tone, "If I leave with you, then none of us will be able to leave."

The dining table suddenly fell into silence, with only the sound of the police chief cutting steak and eating.

They naturally knew what this sentence meant, and it was precisely because they knew that they were silent.

Early the next morning, the police chief came to the police station; many people saw him.

He had to let those who were watching him know that he hadn't run away; only then would his family have a chance to leave.

Not long after he left, his family simply packed up the valuable things they could take away and hurriedly went to the port, and bought boat tickets to the Federation.

Time seemed to become slow and meaningless at this moment.

The police chief, just like yesterday, started to tidy up his office; perhaps he wanted to leave a very special impression on everyone after he left.

The moment the new police chief pushed open the door, he wouldn't find it messy here; he might feel that the previous police chief was a person who loved cleanliness.

He didn't know why he had such a thought, but he just wanted to do so.

Unknowingly, it was noon, and it was very quiet outside.

However, he knew that at this time, many people had already gathered outside the presidential palace; they were protesting, holding various placards, and the sounds they made might even make the President feel irritable.

This was the final result of their ultimatum.

At twelve o'clock, the phone on the desktop suddenly rang abruptly.

The harsh sound of "dilinglinglingling" even startled him, and he was even sweating slightly because of the shock.

"Those two people, have they been found?"

The call was from the presidential palace.

The police chief held the receiver with both hands, and he said carefully and softly, "Sorry, I didn't find those two people."

He didn't emphasize that Lanse intervened in this matter, nor did he emphasize that it wasn't his incompetence, but that Lanse and his group were too unreasonable.

He suddenly could understand the feelings of those who had been wronged and their families; at this very moment, he clearly felt that intense emotion that stung his heart.

After a few seconds of silence, the receiver hung up directly, not polite at all.

And at this time, President Diego was facing the Federal ambassador pointing at his nose and clamoring, but he had no way at all.

Could he not know that it was Lanse's people who snatched those two criminals?

He knew; he knew everything.

But politics is not a math problem; putting known elements together can yield an accurate, unique answer.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the person solving the problem knows how to solve it.

Politics is not like this; even if everyone knows what happened, these things have nothing to do with what they are going to do.

Not a single bit of relationship.

The Federal ambassador to Lapa had a very serious and angry expression at this time, as if he really didn't know where those two people were!

"Mr. President Diego, before coming, I had already talked to the Secretary of State on the phone; he felt shocked by what happened here."

"And he has already reported to Mr. Federal President, and the President has given instructions."

"If you cannot find those two people within twenty-four hours, then this matter will be done by us ourselves; your country must not interfere, must not block, must not influence."

"Otherwise, it will be regarded as an insult to the Federation; we do not guarantee that we will not take further measures, including but not limited to diplomatic means, military actions..."

The Federal ambassador said while looking at the watch on his wrist, "You still have fifteen minutes; fifteen minutes later, we will solve this problem in our own way."

This is what the Federals want, right?

Diego looked at the ambassador, thinking so in his heart, but he seemed to have no way at all.

He could only helplessly make a final attempt.

"I will feedback this matter to the Yalan Alliance, to the Jiede side; we will protest to the Federation; this is an act of interfering with the sovereignty of other countries!"

"You clearly said in the negotiations that you wouldn't do this!"

The ambassador said while smiling, "You also didn't mention in the negotiation table that you would kill Federal citizens!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 951 =====