Chapter 23 Paul, the Sensation of Pine City
Two hours later, inside the Superintendent's office.
Samuel slammed the table, his face twisted in anger as he yelled, "William, what were you thinking? What is the result of a coordinated capture? Look at the report. There were only a few criminals. Are your team members made of paper? Fully equipped, and you lost four men. How am I supposed to report this to the department?"
William kept his head down. "Mr. Charles, I am handling another case. Forgive me. I won't explain this further. I'll take responsibility for this major screw-up."
"Take responsibility? Then you shouldn't be the captain anymore. Let someone else step up," Samuel shouted sternly.
William suddenly looked up, staring at Samuel without a word.
Samuel paced around the room, still furious, and continued, "I read the report. Eric is not only useless, but he also has issues. Put him under surveillance immediately. He might have a deal with the criminals. Otherwise, why didn't he fire a single shot? We must investigate thoroughly."
William stood straight and responded without hesitation, "He's already under control. Alexander and Andrew are interrogating the detainees."
Samuel walked around the room with a stern face and then turned to William, saying, "In the current environment, everyone has their own agenda. Some want to make money, some want promotions, and some want to rely on others. The police department is full of such people, and I'm no exception. But your personal agenda should never infringe on others' interests, and you shouldn't use the police department or certain people as bargaining chips. If things blow up, no one will look good."
William was taken aback by this and immediately responded, "Mr. Charles, the rumors outside don't necessarily have anything to do with me. I think you might have misunderstood me."
"Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, you can't hide it. We'll see," Samuel said irritably as he walked to the window. "You draft the report for the police department, make it detailed. As for the aftermath, you'll handle it personally. Submit the required funds, and I'll consider signing off."
"Yes, sir!" William saluted.
In the early hours of the night, William hosted a dinner at Faith's restaurant. Around twenty to thirty influential people from the Black Street District and other areas attended.
In the second-floor hall, William smiled and toasted everyone three times before saying, "You all must have heard about tonight's capture on Sunset Boulevard. The criminals killed four of our brothers, and the leadership is furious. They almost made me resign. There's no outsider here, so I'll be blunt. These drug dealers must be eliminated. I need your help, and I will be grateful in the future. But if anyone tries to protect them or help them evade capture, you're going against me and the police department. For the next year, I won't do anything else but focus on this."
"William, we will help you."
"This is a small matter, just a few drug dealers. We'll find them for you quickly."
Everyone listened to William without getting upset and voiced their agreement.
William bowed and poured drinks, smiling as he said, "Thank you all for your help"
After a while, the business talk ended, and the dinner dispersed. A burly man got into his car and made a phone call.
"Hello! Benjamin?" he greeted.
"I need a favor. Help me get some people out of the district," Benjamin's voice came through.
The burly man chuckled. "I won't ask who they are, but I can't help with this."
"Are you short on money?" Benjamin asked.
"William from the police department is angry. He hosted us with machine guns, very intimidating," the burly man said quietly, "Benjamin, I'm not exactly afraid of him, but there's no need to offend an official. You understand, right?"
"Alright, pretend I never called," Benjamin added.
"Okay."
With that, they ended the call.
At 8:30 in the morning.
Paul's special wanted notice was issued from the police department to the six districts of Pine City. Each sub-department received the order and immediately deployed it to their subordinate security units for cooperation.
In no time, the previously unknown Paul became infamous in Pine City and gained a notorious reputation on the streets. Everyone knew that the police departmet had personally ordered his capture.
When Alexander first took over the case from William, he thought it was a minor issue. But things escalated unexpectedly, and Alexander felt as though he was being pushed along.
In the office of the team leader.
Alexander frowned and said to William, "I underestimated the capture."
"I know what the problem is." William waved his hand. "You have your responsibilities, but we also have limited resources. That lead drug dealer, if caught, faces death, so he fights desperately. But some of our officers think they get their paycheck whether they catch someone or not. Different starting points lead to different mindsets. I understand this."
Alexander remained silent.
"Whether you get punished depends on whether you can solve the case, to what extent, and if the leadership is satisfied," William said realistically, "It's not over yet. Focus on the case. I have high hopes for you, Alexander."
"Thank you." Alexander had been anxious since last night, thinking he would be severely punished for not handling the case well. However, William still supported the Third Team and Andrew. He specifically encouraged Alexander to focus on solving the case.
As they were talking, there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" William called out.
A young man in plain clothes entered, saluted, and said, "The confessions are out. The captured accomplices stated they had no insider and received no internal information."
William frowned and asked, "Are you sure?"
"The confessions of the two accomplices match, and they don't seem to be lying," the young man added.
"Then lift Eric's surveillance." William decided.
The young man hesitated and asked, "What about his punishment?"
"Clearly, he's not fit for frontline work. Transfer him to logistics for now. We'll notify him once the punishment is decided," William replied without hesitation.
"Yes, sir!" The young man saluted and left.
Alexander sighed internally and didn't speak up for Eric. Surviving in the frontline team was something that could have been improved.
A few minutes later.
Alexander left the office, about to grab breakfast before continuing to handle Richard's death when he heard Andrew and Eric arguing fiercely at the stairwell.
Meanwhile, downstairs.
Emily, wearing a wool coat and a cute pink scarf around her neck, her hair in disarray, shouted at the duty officer, "I want to report a crime."
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