"You're the Governor, if you can't manage this, who can? You're the parent official of this city, you have the responsibility to protect the millions of citizens here. If anything happens to Uncle Mercer, it's your dereliction of duty. Besides, Sophia Mercer is your daughter's best friend, as an elder, you can't just ignore this. When Evelyn Hartwell finds out, how will your daughter see you?" Ethan Wraith tried his best to persuade, suppressing the anger in his heart.
Gorage Hartwell shook his head wearily. "Has Evelyn told you about me and John Bush?"
Evelyn had indeed mentioned it, but Ethan still shook his head. He didn't want to tell him about this. "No."
"I was parachuted in from out of town as the Governor, John Bush climbed up the ranks step by step to become the mayor. Although I'm a level higher than him in terms of rank, he's the real master of this city. In the standing committee meetings, many of my proposed reforms were vetoed by him. The entire city, whether it's the public security, procuratorate, or the court, or various civilian departments, are all staffed with his people. It's as difficult as climbing to the sky for me to do anything. Take uncle Mercer's case for example, he directly mobilized the Public Security Bureau, and I didn't get a whiff of it. I had to find out some information from my own confidants. Although I've also tried to weaken his efforts and reduce his influence in the past two years, the results haven't been good."
"And that's just his apparent power. He also has close ties and interests with multiple local gangs. During his 50th birthday celebration, both black and white figures drank at the same table, and almost all the upper-class people in this city attended."
"We've had many disputes, and it's only through my tolerance that we've maintained the current facade of peace while harboring animosity. I'm waiting for an opportunity to uproot them completely, and now this incident suddenly appears, it really puts me in a difficult position."
"Now is not the time for an outburst of conflict, the cards in my hand are not enough yet," Gorage Hartwell said dejectedly. His previous energy was greatly diminished. It seemed he was also troubled by this subordinate.
Hearing Gorage Hartwell's last sentence, Ethan Wraith's eyes suddenly lit up. "What cards do you want?"
Gorage Hartwell stared at Ethan for a while, obviously not having enough confidence in him. But he still wrote eight characters on the white paper in front of him with a flourish, the force penetrating the back of the paper.
"Okay. I'll get them for you." After reading, Ethan tore the note into shreds.
"You'll get them for me? Young man, I've already overestimated you enough, but I still don't understand how you can get them for me." Gorage Hartwell shook his head with a smile. "This kind of thing is very dangerous. Be careful not to get yourself caught up in it. At a certain level, killing someone doesn't require bloodshed."
"Then how about we make a deal? You help me save Uncle Mercer, and I'll find the trump cards for you." Ethan narrowed his eyes and looked at Gorage Hartwell.
"Haha, on the surface, it seems like I'm getting a great bargain, but what if you give me a bad check?" Gorage Hartwell shook his head.
"Uncle Gorage is really a cautious person. —How about this?" Ethan picked up a brush from the pen holder, flicked it casually, and the tip pierced straight into the wall. The loosened plaster fell down with a rustling sound.
Gorage Hartwell's eyes widened in shock. He stood up and walked over to the wall, touched the brush, looked Ethan up and down, then burst into laughter. "Alright, deal."