Darkstone Code
Chapter 52: No matter what kind of choice it is or how many options there are, you always have to pick one and bear the consequences.

Chapter 52: No matter what kind of choice it is or how many options there are, you always have to pick one and bear the consequences.

The director of the Federal Tax Bureau in Sabin City has a rather unremarkable name: Johnson.

Johnson doesn’t have a distinguished background. In a time when people still believed that ideals could be realized through hard work, all it took was a fierce determination, courage, and a bit of luck to stand out from the crowd.

But nowadays, if there isn’t any additional support, the position of a tax bureau director in a second-tier city is pretty much the pinnacle for Johnson.

What he has to consider now is how to secure his highest possible retirement pension and make his final years less painful.

Many people think that the director of the Federal Tax Bureau, even if he is only a director in a small city, should be one of those secretive millionaires with vast deposits and real estate—this is hardly the case.

The lifestyle of most mid-level Federation officials is much more frugal than people imagine... They are, in fact, poorer than expected, while the incomes of frontline workers are somewhat more complex.

How can a grassroots administrative officer, who spends all day in the office and is scrutinized by the Inspectorate, procure illicit income?

Nevertheless, various donations and social welfare are available—they are legit income sources.

The high salary and top-tier social insurance provided by the Federation Government aim to minimize the negative impacts they may face at work, preventing them from becoming pawns of certain individuals.

Of course, this doesn’t completely mean Johnson is a poor person; sometimes poverty isn’t just about wealth, but also about power.

Overall, he’s someone who is neither too rich nor too poor, and if he can secure his pension, all the better.

Currently, he is very troubled. The combined operation by the FBI and the Federal Tax Bureau has failed, which means he cannot quickly calm the current situation. Once the higher-ups truly become angry, his upcoming days won’t be easy.

He’s somewhat regretting allowing Michael too much latitude—it was precisely because he’s nearing retirement and doesn’t want any more conflicts, he’s slowly indulged in his subordinates’ flaws.

While he was scratching his head, the phone rang. He frowned; the signal light showed that it’s an external call, and since it got through the secretary, it must be necessary to answer.

He took several deep breaths, calmed his inner turmoil, and picked up the phone...

A bit later, Director Johnson informed the elderly woman at home that he’d be out for dinner due to a social engagement.

He lives with his children in a community adjacent to Michael’s. In terms of environment, it’s somewhat inferior to Michael’s community, mainly in terms of greenery and overall amenities, but the advantage is that the houses are larger and can accommodate more people.

Thinking about these nagging issues, he drove to the Warehouse District far from the city center, parking by the roadside not far away.

About ten meters away, there’s a barbecue shop. The shop only offers three things: patties made from minced beef, whole wheat buns, and fresh vegetables.

There’s no original cut steak here; people in the Warehouse District can’t afford it. Instead, these are meat patties made from minced beef like Lynch used to eat when living with Catherine.

The patties contain some other ingredients, such as whole barley kernels, pieces of nearly expired nuts, and some inexpensive items.

Just past dinner time, the barbecue shop is still crowded; a substantial patty for ninety-eight cents with some vegetables, and the buns are free, offered in unlimited quantities, meeting the nutritional needs of the Blue Straps after heavy labor.

Almost the entire Warehouse District eats dinner here, making this unbranded barbecue shop quite famous in the area.

Johnson feels somewhat uncomfortable with this environment, filled with the sour smell of sweat and other indescribable odors, as the weather gets increasingly hot and the laborers certainly don’t smell pleasant after a day’s toil.

He looked around; the Blue Straps deliberately kept a distance from him. They could tell from his clothes that they weren’t cheap and didn’t want to risk losing ten days, half a month, or even longer worth of salary due to any mishap.

Soon, he spotted Lynch, who waved at him and asked the owner for another patty and bun.

"Is this what you call dinner?" Director Johnson’s face wasn’t looking too good as he sat down. Lynch phoned him to discuss recent events, and he vaguely sensed something.

In essence, he didn’t really want any compromise with Lynch at all. Michael was embarrassed, reflecting poorly on the Tax Bureau. But now the pressure is enormous; he has to choose the option he least wishes to—perhaps this is what maturity looks like.

Although he chose to be mature, he could still retain his attitude towards Lynch; the two didn’t necessarily conflict.

Lynch shrugged, carelessly tore apart the bread roll in his hand, used it to wipe some meat sauce from the plate, then stuffed it into his mouth, chewed a few times before swallowing.

He rubbed his fingers, letting some breadcrumbs fall onto the table, picked up the knife and fork, and ate a piece of minced meat pie, laughing and saying, "It’s not as unbearable as you imagined, you could try it."

Just at this moment, the proprietress—a woman in her forties—rudely tossed a plate onto the table, along with a small basket of bread rolls.

Director Johnson looked speechlessly at the proprietress who had turned around directly, then looked at Lynch, finally gritting his teeth and tore a bread roll, imitating Lynch’s actions.

When he ate the bread roll dipped in the meat sauce and gravy, it wasn’t as hard to swallow as he had imagined, the flavors and the tough texture of the whole wheat bread endowed the food with another unexpected deliciousness.

He raised his eyebrows, picked up the knife and fork, cut a piece of the meat pie and put it in his mouth. It might not be as premium as those steaks costing nine or thirty-nine dollars per piece, but it was also quite tender and juicy, even with more flavor variations, and it wasn’t an unacceptable food.

As the two ate, they started talking. All around were noisy sounds; even if people passed by them, it was hard for others to hear clearly even if they spoke louder.

"I called you with sincerity. From the beginning, I was just a victim, if you understood the course of these events."

Lynch’s words made Director Johnson have to nod in agreement. He indeed understood that Michael, in pursuit of a significant political achievement, wanted to take down Fox as a stepping stone for promotion, thereby dragging Lynch into it. Regardless of whether Lynch had broken the law, at least up until now, he was innocent, while Michael continuously bothered him.

With one nod from him, the basis for continuing the conversation was established. Lynch kept talking while eating, "You know, I’m timid and afraid of trouble. A reporter suggested I sue you, but I gave up. Treating hatred with hatred is not the best choice; I chose tolerance..."

Johnson looked at this shameless guy waiting for his reaction and forced out a smile, "Yes, you are very generous."

Lynch showed a satisfied smile on his face, "Yes, I am a generous person. I was before, and I am now. I don’t want to dwell on the issues between us caused by Michael and actively want to resolve them. I have a proposal, not sure if you’re interested."

Director Johnson quickly ate up the meat pie, ending this terrible dinner. He looked at the napkin on the table, which already had some stains, and finally took out a handkerchief to wipe the corner of his mouth, "Go ahead..."

"To my knowledge, there are others in Sabin City involved in money laundering. These people’s methods might be...", Lynch’s face flashed with a smile of helplessness, "...a little clumsy, you might want to focus on them instead."

Director Johnson slightly frowned, "Even if I catch all of them, it still can’t calm the current situation."

Lynch also finished almost all of the dinner. He picked up the last bread roll, wiped it clean of the sauce and gravy on the plate, stuffed it into his mouth, and his experience of living in poverty made him grateful for every bit of food.

He spoke while puffing out his cheeks, "This is just a private feud between Michael and me and shouldn’t be elevated to a level of public concern. With outstanding results in your hands, the public will patiently listen to your explanations, and this has nothing to do with the Tax Bureau. Besides Michael Junior’s case, maybe Michael is just seeking personal vendetta...", he said this while chuckling, interlocking his fingers naturally, placing his thumbs on his chin, looking at Director Johnson, believing this old man understood what he was saying.

In the initial moments of a dozen seconds or so, Director Johnson still looked thoughtful with a hint of impatience, but soon his expression began to change as he understood Lynch’s implication.

He knew Michael’s son had been caught in an attempted burglary case and reportedly had confessed and started serving his sentence early. If the cause-and-effect and timing were reversed to view Michael’s actions against Lynch as efforts to cover up for Michael Junior facing jail time, then the whole situation would change.

Put simply, Michael Junior first committed burglary and stole Lynch’s ring. Lynch also reported it, and then Michael, knowing this, tried to smooth it over, which led to personal grievances and conflicts between him and Lynch. Subsequently, his actions of attacking Lynch combined with his status, have nothing to do with the enforcement power of the Tax Bureau or any other federal department; this is an isolated incident. Anyone can guess his purpose without explanation, for sure, he wants Lynch to withdraw the charge.

A government official breaking the law, just to cover his child’s crime by resorting to violent coercion, attempting to silence the complainant...

Seeing Director Johnson’s facial expression gradually change, Lynch knew that Director Johnson had figured it out. He softly reminded, "This is murder!"

In an instant, Director Johnson’s mind felt chaotic. Indeed, he now deeply hated Michael for embarrassing him, even threatening his life in retirement. But did it have to be so ruthless?

He knew everything was false, but sometimes the public doesn’t know, combined with the instigation of interested parties. As a victim, Lynch’s words would garner the most public support. Once he stood up, paired with the Federation Government’s efforts to quell public opinion, Michael would inevitably become the target of public criticism.

It’s just... Isn’t it too harsh, using one person or even a family’s future as a wager?

Looking at the hesitant Director Johnson, Lynch whispered, "You are a good man, sir, but you should also understand the seriousness of the situation: on one side, a family head with a notorious past causing headaches for you and Sabin City residents; on the other, the collective enforcement actions of federal departments and celebrating criminals. Sometimes we indeed struggle with making decisions, but we have to make them..."

"One, or all, it’s not difficult!"

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