The golden liquor flowed into the glass, and the ice cubes made a crisp collision sound with the glass wall. Frank Reagan was not old enough to have trembling hands, but just now, he almost spilled the bottle of Middleton whiskey worth thousands of dollars on the table.
"I didn't,"
the Commissioner said, choosing his words carefully, but was interrupted by Dana Moger, who suddenly stood up from the sofa. "No, you can. No one is more qualified to lead this city than you. It's settled."
"Dana, you can't do this. We discussed this a long time ago. I said I would never be a qualified politician."
"So you're just going to watch the city you've spent your life protecting become a prey for corrupt politicians?"
"Wait a minute," Jack said, interrupting the argument. "Can someone explain to me what a special election is? Aren't the polls closing in a few days? Why does Commissioner Reagan still have a chance to become the new mayor?"
"According to Section 30 of the New York City Charter, if a candidate for mayor is unable to take office after winning the election, the incumbent mayor may call a special election," Taylor explained quietly.
The New York City mayoral election process consists of a primary and a general election. The primary election is where each party nominates its candidates. Ranked-choice voting is used, and registered voters can vote for up to five candidates in order of preference to determine the party's nominee.
The general election selects the mayoral candidate from among the nominees of each political party and independent candidates.
In other words, although the election is now drawing to a close, Quinn Alonzo's plan appears to have succeeded, as the two finalists, Griffin and Walker, are in reality puppets controlled by him.
However, according to Taylor, regardless of who wins, if he is unable to successfully perform his duties, the City will be forced to hold a new special election. If Frank Reagan were willing to run as an independent candidate, he would have a strong chance of winning. After all, the Reagan
family's title as the guardians of New York City is not self-proclaimed. With three generations of police officers and a son who died in the line of duty, their family history is impeccable in every way.
Especially since Frank Reagan was appointed Police Commissioner by the current mayor two years ago, he has appeared on TV much more frequently and has a very positive public image.
At this thought, Jack's eyes suddenly lit up. This sort of thing would be a piece of cake for him; all he needed was a sniper rifle.
"As long as we can find evidence that Quinn Alonzo manipulated the election and that Griffin and Walker accepted funding from the Mafia and HR, the FBI can charge them with federal felonies."
Dana Moger glared at Jack. Although she had no idea what her subordinate was planning, the darting look in his eyes told her he was up to no good.
"Yes, that's right. After the election results come in, we'll just send them to jail." Jack rubbed his nose, trying to hide his guilty expression.
"This is an important decision. I need to discuss it with my family." Frank Reagan glanced at Jack. "Tomorrow's the weekend. I hope you can come to the Reagan family's weekend dinner."
"I knew you, an old man, wouldn't be willing to retire so early." Dana Moger stood up, satisfied, and picked up the bottle from the table and poured some into everyone's glasses.
"Wait a minute." Jack suddenly felt a headache. Had the bosses decided just yet? But who told him how to send Quinn Alonzo and the two mayoral candidates to jail?
He did have some evidence: the account book that Fusco had previously revealed to Simmons, a senior contact at "HR."
In it, Laia had recorded numerous names of individuals who had received illicit payments from him, including, besides Simmons, Landon Walker, a mayoral candidate. The District Attorney could even be considered a member of "HR."
However, Quinn Alonzo and Ed Griffin, another mayoral candidate, were not on the list. The latter's campaign finances were technically violations, not enough to land him in jail.
The only thing linking Alonzo to "HR" was the secret account, but it had been emptied. The evidence Jack had, based solely on confessions, wasn't enough to even obtain a search warrant for wiretapping.
Furthermore, although Jack had previously promised Reese that he wouldn't interfere with the "POI" mission, now that he knew it was "Gen Mei"'s scheme, he had to maintain a watchful eye.
While the "robot" baby would undoubtedly stare at its father, given its current semi-autonomous, lying-flat state, where it struggled to even speak, Jack could only say that like fathers create like children.
The female boss glanced at Taylor, who sat next to Jack, then returned her gaze to Jack. Though she didn't say anything, her meaning was clear.
Rubbing his brow with a headache, Jack sighed, "Taylor is Hannah's childhood best friend, one of us."
Dana Moger raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly suspecting there was more to their relationship. But since Jack had said so, there was no need for her to delve into it. After all, the relationships between young people these days were far more complicated than that.
"Let me put it this way, Jack. You may use whatever means you deem necessary. My only requirement is that Quinn Alonzo and the future mayor be imprisoned through proper and legal procedures."
She emphasized, "We must ensure procedural fairness. If we're accused of interfering in local elections, it will not only damage the FBI's reputation for impartiality, but will also cause problems for Frank's future elections."
In his past, the FBI had even dared to meddle in presidential races, even collaborating with some idiotic special prosecutor to secretly investigate the sitting president.
Jack, while secretly scornful, understood the stakes. If his opponents spun rumors that Frank Reagan was colluding with the federal government and undermining the independence of local governments,
he'd have no chance of running for mayor, and he'd probably even lose his current position as police commissioner, forcing him into early retirement.
"I'll have to think about it." Jack truly thought it would be easier to just shoot him.
Just like back in Paris, find a good vantage point more than two kilometers away and pull the trigger. From there, he'll investigate himself, completely unconcerned about being caught. At most, he'll break Detective Jack Taverer's flawless record.
If he follows his female boss's wishes, Jack can only resort to the old trick of using Laia's account book.
The account book is in his possession now, and few know what's written on it. As long as he can silence Laia, this account book might be a good bait.
(End of Chapter)