Chapter 655: Spreading
The next day at noon, Wayne, who had rarely found time to sleep in, had just opened his eyes in bed,
when a rumor had already begun to spread rapidly in certain circles within Richmond.
Many gentlemen found the matter utterly inconceivable:
"Collecting usage fees from gangs for the Dock Area? And conducting tax audits on their illegal income?! This can't be true, can it?"
"Did the City Council pass such a city ordinance recently? What? The 'Dock Construction Ordinance' from back then?! Is that Tax Officer Quinn crazy? Why doesn't he go look up the 'Declaration of Independence'?"
"Is there a problem with City Hall's financial situation? They're not even letting gangs off the hook. Could this be a sign that Richmond is about to start another round of tax increases?"
Some gentlemen, however, did not find it surprising:
"I heard that a Monk from the Cathedral was attacked in the Dock Area by members of the Aierlan Gang. Tiriel hasn't been consecrated as Bishop for long, and now something like this has happened, so it's not strange for City Hall to take action."
"Those two Monks are not ordinary people; their families both have army backgrounds, and one of them is even the second son of the commander of the Federal First Cavalry Regiment. The Beaton Family still has some connections in the military, and the Mayor is their person, so they might be trying to curry favor with the military or seeking support."
"It seems that the target the Aierlan Gang truly wanted to attack was that Great Detective who runs a Detective Agency, and other gangs were also involved. Recently, the Detective Agency's personnel have been investigating the plague in the Dock Area and seem to have caused several big commotions, but the police have suppressed the news. Perhaps they had a conflict with the gang members, and this is to legitimize their counterattack."
There were also some gentlemen who seemed indifferent to the actual cause of the matter:
"It seems I'm not the only one dissatisfied with the current state of the Dock Area. Go investigate which gang is being targeted this time. If possible, we'll organize some people to take over a portion of it, so that our words don't carry any weight in the Dock Area."
"Mr. Pryor just said that he doesn't want to see O'Sullivan these days. If that fellow requests a visit, refuse him outright. To have caused such a big trouble on his own, let him deal with it himself. There are so many Ireland people in the Dock Area; there's more than one or two people willing to take O'Sullivan's place."
"This was suggested by that Wayne to Tax Officer Quinn? Interesting. Although His Grace the Bishop has already given instructions, Grant has not yet woken up, so at least those gang members should receive some punishment, otherwise the military might have an opinion. As for the plan for the Monasteries in the state to cooperate with their Detective Agency to produce cheese, don't rush to send people over for now. If that Wayne makes things difficult to resolve, some of the terms might need to be revised again."
And some others were a little restless.
In a private club, Banker Schwartz "coincidentally" met Senator Walter, who liked to enjoy lunch there. After their meal, the two walked together into the relatively private smoking room to enjoy cigars.
In those days, not many people were qualified to enjoy leisure during lunchtime. Lunch was usually not as lavish as dinner, mostly consisting of convenient cold dishes. Compared to the food, the more important aspect was actually relaxation and socializing after work.
"Mr. Walter, your information is more current than mine. What exactly is the situation now?"
"I've been busy with other state affairs recently and haven't paid much attention to the Dock Area and City Hall. Didn't Tiriel already give you his promise? Taxing the gangs in the Dock Area won't trace back to you."
"But that Wayne's reaction is clearly not right. Their Detective Agency started by investigating cases, and recently they've helped the prosecutor put many gang members in prison. I'm worried that if they don't know their limits, not only me, but perhaps many gentlemen's businesses could be affected."
"Then you still let the Sailor Gang attack him? Schwartz, the attack that night injured people from the Cathedral. It wasn't easy to convince Tiriel for you; I've done my best. If your people have indeed cleaned up the scene thoroughly enough, then Wayne is currently trying to target the Aierlan Gang, not your people. Instead of coming to me, you should go confirm whether they made any mistakes."
"Mr. Walter, that's what I'm worried about now. Gang members are often not meticulous enough, and that Wayne chose such a broad approach as taxation, clearly not just targeting the Aierlan Gang. I think he has at least started to suspect whether other gangs were involved. If he investigates the Sailor Gang and then makes it public, under pressure from the military and political circles, even the Cathedral might not remain silent."
He had originally thought Schwartz could make that Wayne suffer a bit, but the prosecutor had been slow to prosecute Wayne. Schwartz even instigated those gang members to secretly attack him.
If ordinary people want to attack an Extraordinary Person, they should at least choose to do so in public, which would at least make the opponent, out of fear of the Church's deterrence, not dare to openly expose their abilities. Now, it's even worse; they didn't even find the right person in the middle of the night, and instead, they dragged in the Cathedral and the military.
To keep the Cathedral silent, Tiriel had already gained something from Schwartz, but unfortunately, this miser now seemed unwilling to offer more chips, so he didn't need to get involved.
How about this,
Pryor has also become a bit Peng Zhang recently, even claiming to skip the positions of Lieutenant Governor and Governor, intending to run directly for US Senator in the next election.
The mutual fighting between two gangs in the Dock Area doesn't have a big impact, but if the outcome isn't good, it's enough to make many people question Pryor's actual control. And if Schwartz can't achieve this, then he has offended Pryor, which can also make his bank spit out a little more investment.
The federal funds approved each year are so limited, and there are so many unofficial members in the postal system.
He couldn't really pay out of his own pocket, could he?
"Schwartz, I can give you a suggestion. Unless this matter causes a bad public opinion among the citizens, otherwise, from what I know of Tiriel, he will not easily retract his promise. The person you should be more worried about now is actually Pryor, who stands behind the Aierlan Gang—only he has the ability and reason to truly blow this matter up. Since you don't plan to abandon that Sailor Gang, it's best to collect some leverage in advance, enough to make Pryor no longer pursue this matter."
"Bypassing the Aierlan Gang and directly confronting the Secretary of State... This doesn't seem like a rational approach."
"Politics is the art of compromise. You have to believe in Pryor's professional integrity as a politician. The Aierlan Gang has handled so much business for their family; he won't easily abandon them. This isn't something that can be solved with money. But conversely, as long as the Aierlan Gang is still around, he might not care who exactly is doing his bidding—you can push all the responsibility onto that O'Sullivan. I also happen to know who has some of Pryor's little secrets."
"How should we respond to City Hall's taxation?"
"Let's see how others react first. This is merely a reason to act; since it involves taxation, others may not necessarily interfere. You should focus on the people behind it, not the surface of the matter."
