Chapter 181 Slightly Tipsy

4 PM. Seattle West Precinct Building.

Lyon pushed open the glass door on the first floor of the precinct, bringing in a gust of cold wind from outside.

He was going to find Sterling. Since the Blood Gang had been making big moves recently in their struggle for power and territory, he needed to prepare in advance.

As soon as he entered the door, he subconsciously slowed his pace.

Something's not right here.

At this time of day, the first-floor common office area usually looks like a large nursing home.

Those local, seasoned patrol officers in uniform would often gather in groups of three or five by their desks, sipping their unpalatable free coffee, loudly boasting about which rugby game they watched the night before, or complaining to each other about prostate and herniated disc problems.

But today, the entire hall is empty.

There wasn't a single person in uniform to be seen in front of the dozens of desks.

Only a few office workers sat behind computer screens, their fingers flying across the keyboards, answering the phone the moment it rang halfway.

"Why is the police station so quiet today?"

Leon tugged at the collar of his jacket, feeling something was off.

Was this place planted with a bomb, and was an evacuation organized in advance?

He walked through the corridor and had just reached the door of the patrol team's briefing room when a deafening roar suddenly erupted from inside.

"Morpheus! You get the hell out there and look out the window!"

That was Sergeant Danfoss's roar, so powerful it made the blinds tremble:

"That fat squadron in Williams next door, who usually struggles even to get out of their cars, has already issued over seventy parking tickets on 12th Avenue since noon today!"

"They even went up the tree and rescued two really stupid cats!"

"Other areas suddenly went wild, running around the streets like they were on steroids! And you! You actually had the nerve to hide in the break room eating donuts?!"

"Where do you expect me to put my face?!"

"Get back in your patrol car right now! If you don't catch three bastards spitting in the street today, I'll shove you in a trash can!"

Lyon listened to Morpheus's aggrieved explanation from inside and shook his head speechlessly.

He ignored the farce and walked straight to the corridor leading to the detention area, intending to take the elevator that went directly to Sterling's office on the top floor.

Just as I passed the first iron fence of the temporary detention area, a burst of impotent and furious shouts and curses from a Black man came from behind.

"Fuck! Let me out! I need to see my lawyer!"

"You bunch of good-for-nothings! The money I give you every month could buy your whole family's lives! And now you're arresting me?!"

Lyon stopped and turned around in the direction of the sound.

In the innermost single cell of the detention center.

Tyrone, nicknamed "Bulldog," the toughest henchman in the Blood Gang's West District branch, was gripping the iron bars tightly with both hands. His face, full of fury, was contorted with anger and confusion as he roared furiously at the outside.

But outside the railing.

A veteran patrolman, who usually fraternized with gangsters and was pot-bellied, was now sitting upright.

"Shut up, criminal."

The old patrolman didn't even look up, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he loudly and righteously rebuked:

"This is blatant bribery of a public official, a serious provocation against American law!"

"Furthermore, since you just discarded a partially extinguished cigarette butt into a public sewer drain when you were arrested, I am now formally adding a charge of 'malicious damage to public sanitation and potential arson' to your case file."

The veteran patrol officer pulled out a traffic violation record that was over ten pages long and slammed it heavily on the table: "Save your words for the judge in court!"

Tyrone stared wide-eyed in the detention cell, speechless for a long time, overwhelmed by the righteous and awe-inspiring words.

Lyon stood in the shadows of the corridor, watching this scene, his face twitching involuntarily.

He immediately realized what was going on.

After obtaining the bribery recording from the nightclub raid, Chief Sterling remained inactive. Those corrupt cops had probably been holding back and observing for a while in a state of fear and trepidation. But today, for some reason, they were completely terrified and couldn't hold back any longer.

In order to keep their jobs and avoid going to jail, these guys are now targeting their former "good brothers" and frantically trying to meet their KPIs to stay alive.

Leon glanced at Tyrone's devastated expression, then turned and entered the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor.

We arrived at the door of the branch director's office.

(Latest update: You American cop, what are you thinking about going back to the East for?)

"Knock knock".

Without waiting for his secretary to announce his arrival, Lyon knocked twice on the door with his fingers and then pushed it open and went inside.

The office was heated to a high level, even a bit stuffy, and the air was filled with the rich aroma of fine spirits.

Victoria Sterling was not wearing her signature fitted police uniform today.

She wore only a close-fitting white silk shirt, with the top two buttons undone, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin and a deep cleavage on her chest. Her waist-to-hip ratio appeared extremely aggressive under the outline of the pencil skirt.

Hearing the door open, Sterling turned around in his boss's chair.

She was clearly slightly tipsy.

Those captivating azure eyes held less of the usual shrewdness of a high-and-mighty politician, and were instead filled with a misty, watery quality.

For the first time ever, her long golden hair wasn't styled into a bun; instead, it was loosely draped over her shoulders.

"Leon, what brings you here?"

Sterling stood up abruptly and walked briskly around the huge mahogany desk.

Her mood today was visibly extremely good.

She walked to the shelf next to her, picked up a bottle of expensive Macallan 25 Year Old Single Malt Whisky, poured a small half glass, walked directly to Lyon, and shoved the glass into his hand.

A sophisticated perfume scent with a faint hint of alcohol wafted over, and Sterling no longer maintained his usual safe distance, his shoulder almost touching Leon's jacket.

"Try it, today's wine is worth a good drink."

Sterling leaned against the edge of the desk, his hands supporting him on the table behind him, his long legs crossed, and a rare smile appeared on his face.

"Do you know how lively the police station was today?"

She pointed to the street outside the window, her voice brimming with undisguised pride:

"The night before last, you and your ACU caused such a commotion in the unfinished building, thwarting the so-called terrorist attack."

"After I officially announced this matter, in order to quell the media, the mayor was forced by me to reluctantly allocate an exorbitant budget to the West District Police Station."

"But that's not the best."

Sterling's sexy red lips curled up slightly:

"From noon today until now, all the patrol officers in the entire precinct have suddenly displayed a remarkable level of enthusiasm for their work."

"Those bastards who usually can't even be bothered to answer the police have arrested more than eighty suspects for minor crimes and sealed off three underground parking garages in just half a day today."

"The crime rate in the West Side will soon reach a record low in nearly a decade."

At this point, Sterling picked up a glass, poured himself a drink, tilted his head back, took a sip, and his cheeks turned even redder.

"It's all because of you. You're simply the most perfect ace I've ever had since I took charge of the West District."

Lyon leaned against the side and took a sip of the strong liquor in his glass.

He knew perfectly well what was going on. He was the one who created this butterfly effect, but he had no intention of taking credit for it.

"But we're almost out of aces, Chief."

Lyon put down his glass, looked calmly at the excited Sterling, and cut straight to the point:

"Bulldozer and Jacob are in the hospital, and Carlos hasn't been discharged yet. The battle two days ago resulted in more than half of my team's deputy leader and below being killed or wounded."

"ACU is now practically an empty shell."

Upon hearing this, Sterling readily put down his wine glass, leaned forward slightly, and revealed a patch of snow-white skin at his collar:

"That's not a problem."

"I know ACU is suffering heavy casualties right now, they're all in the hospital, and you're short-staffed."

"If you need manpower, I'll provide it. If you need equipment, I'll approve it."

Sterling made a bold and ambitious promise:

"I currently possess the best safety data and public opinion polls in all of Seattle. I will leverage this to poach people from the South Side, the East Side, and even headquarters."

"Those skilled individuals who feel they have no room to grow in the SWAT team, those elites who feel they have no hope of promotion in the Major Crimes Unit, as long as you think they are good enough, I will transfer them all over to fill the gaps in the ACU's structure."

"Furthermore, next week I will use the 1033 Act to get another batch of the latest tactical equipment for you from the military."

Hearing this promise, Lyon nodded in satisfaction.

With Sterling's generous assurance, he felt more confident about what he was about to do.

Lyon looked up and met Sterling's gaze:

"Victoria, don't get too excited. Before ACU is fully replenished, I'm afraid there will be bloodshed on the streets of the West End."