A Bumpy Road to Power

Chapter 522 - 522

Irving Pace asked, "Let me ask you, in Koryn City, which faction is currently the strongest?"

Dirk Carter was taken aback and said, "There's no such faction, aren't they all disbanded?"

Irving Pace shook his head and said, "Wrong, it's your faction, Dirk Carter, that's the strongest!"

Dirk Carter was just about to refute that he hadn't formed alliances, when Irving interrupted him, saying, "I know you have no intention of forming alliances, but the leaders don't think so, with Mayor Josias Rayburn, Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary Carly Lambert, and me, the Public Security Director often visiting you, it's hard for anyone not to suspect that Koryn City has formed a faction led by you."

Dirk Carter was speechless.

Irving Pace continued, "You've had dealings with Rexton City Mayor Yves Giles, not to mention your relationship with Municipal Party Secretary Fabian Vincent, who personally appointed you, but don't forget, the head of Rexton City is Herman Bates. Although Koryn City's economy has been the weakest in the past, it might not be the same in the future. Do you think Herman Bates will let others control Koryn City?"

"I really don't have that intention."

Dirk Carter said self-deprecatingly.

Irving Pace smiled slightly and said, "You understand the principle of 'a gentleman is innocent, but he is guilty if he holds a valuable jade.' For Herman Bates, he's inclined towards a tripartite balance in Koryn City because, in that situation, he can always maintain control. Once one party dominates, he loses that control. Simply put, power must be balanced, and only when power is balanced will no one fear it."

"So, Michael Hall having conflicts with me makes him the best choice?"

Dirk Carter asked.

Irving Pace nodded.

He said, "You unwittingly wronged him, also giving him the chance to hold a dominant position. In some way, he should thank you."

"That might be true, but it's unlikely he'll thank me; rather, he'll suppress me. The more he suppresses me, the easier it is for him to report to the higher-ups, right?"

Hearing Dirk Carter say this.

Irving Pace laughed heartily and said, "Secretary Carter, seems like you've adapted to the political environment of Koryn City."

Dirk Carter waved his hand.

He said, "Alright, let's talk about Michael Hall later; let's discuss the important matters first. Last night, I went through the data you gave me thoroughly and found two issues: the first is about those IOUs, whose are they, as it's not explained in the case files. Has this clue not been investigated?"

"It has been, but nothing was found."

Irving Pace continued, "The IOUs, worth over four hundred thousand, all the creditors go by the name Angus Ross. We later checked this name against resident records and eliminated all possible matches, so we never found this person."

"This doesn't make sense. If the creditors weren't found, then those IOUs might be forged."

"Indeed, I suspected that too initially. However, another possibility is high-interest loans."

Irving Pace said.

Dirk Carter was taken aback, asking, "High-interest loans?"

Irving Pace nodded and said, "In our area, gambling is quite prevalent, which has led to the formation of various loan shark groups. They're afraid of being caught, so the names on the IOUs are often randomly fabricated."

"How can one demand money with fabricated names?"

"Do you think loan sharks rely on IOUs to demand money? That's just a formality. After Enzo Sawyer's incident, those loan sharks were scared to show up, which makes sense since Enzo Sawyer's armed robbery was indeed a fact."

Irving Pace's words made Dirk Carter feel they were reasonable.

The authenticity of these IOUs wasn't that important since the robbery was undeniable.

"The second point, according to the withdrawal person's testimony, just after they withdrew the cash, Enzo Sawyer burst in with a gun to rob, implying he had been watching this person for a while, knowing their withdrawal time and place, and attacked just right."

"You missed one thing; Enzo Sawyer was a prosecutor and had worked on criminal cases. In some sense, he should know that bank robbery is quite risky. If he prepared, he could have chosen any other place for the robbery instead of a bank, right?"

After saying this.

Irving Pace was taken aback.

Immediately frowning, he said, "Yeah, nobody thought of this back then."

He pondered for a while.

Murmured, "If that's the case, this robbery is indeed somewhat illogical."

"Who was the person robbed?"

Dirk Carter asked.

Irving Pace exclaimed and said, "His name is Franco Carter, the general manager of Innovatech Materials Co., Ltd."

"Innovatech Materials? Why does that sound so familiar?"

Dirk Carter murmured.

Irving Pace said, "Oh, it's a subsidiary of Apex Group, specializing in new material R&D and applications."

Apex Group?

Upon hearing these words.

Dirk Carter was taken aback.

Stood up.

Walked around the office with his hands clasped behind his back.

Said, "After Michael Hall's welcome ceremony, accompany me to the prosecutor's office. I seem to smell something unusual in this case."

"Alright."

Irving Pace nodded and said.

At nine-thirty in the morning.

At the entrance of the Municipal Committee Building.

A Coaster bus appeared punctually, slowly driving toward the crowd.

Seeing this.

Mayor Josias Rayburn was the first to approach.

After the car door opened, the first person to step down was the Municipal Organization Minister, Jackson Perry.

"Minister Perry, you've worked hard."

Josias Rayburn said respectfully.

Jackson Perry was quite amiable, shaking hands with Josias Rayburn; Michael Hall also got off the bus.

Then came the tedious handshaking scenes.

Jackson Perry leading, Michael Hall following.

Josias Rayburn acted as the introducer, leading them to the leaders of the four collective teams.

Michael Hall was quite friendly to most people.

Especially when shaking hands with Executive Deputy Mayor Cletus Lane, he even specifically reminded Cletus Lane to take care of his health.

Then.

It was Dirk Carter's turn, ranked fifth in the municipal party committee.

"Oh, Minister Carter... oh, right, now I should address you as Secretary Carter."

Michael Hall said with a smile.

Dirk Carter smiled slightly, reached out his hand, and said, "Hello, Secretary Hall."

Michael Hall did not take his offered hand but instead sneered, "Secretary Carter is indeed not an ordinary person. After arriving in our Koryn City, some are dead, and some are disbanded. It seems like Secretary Carter should find time to visit a temple to ward off the bad luck."

Upon hearing this.

Some people with ill intentions laughed loudly.

Especially Wade Quincy, who laughed heartily.

The meaning behind the words was clear, implying that Dirk Carter was a jinx and that the recent chaos in Koryn City was related to him.

Seeing Dirk Carter being put in an awkward position.

Michael Hall felt proud.

Just as he was about to move on to the next person.

Dirk Carter said, "Secretary Hall, I think you'd fit well as a leader in our Serenity State."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Michael Hall asked curiously.