A Bumpy Road to Power

Chapter 747 747

"Yes, yes, yes, County Mayor Shaw is right, this is all my fault."

Dallon Lewis didn't argue either.

He just nodded again and again.

Then he turned to that cop and said, "You're suspended for now, pending investigation. Go back and tell your station chief at Xu Bridge that he needs to report to my office this afternoon."

"Yes, Director Lewis."

The cop replied in a meek, subdued voice.

His attitude wasn't bad.

And the way they handled it was pretty decisive.

Dirk Carter naturally couldn't pick any faults with it.

He took the two cartons of cigarettes from Houston Marshall's hands.

And walked them over to the two auxiliary officers.

He asked the one who'd been chattering non-stop, "What's your name?"

"Re… report, leader, m… my name is Achilles Carter."

"Oh, you're a Carter too? Then I guess that makes us family. Take the cigarettes. Not for anything else, just for that lesson you gave me just now—I actually found it quite useful."

As soon as he said this.

Achilles Carter's face tensed up, and he stole a glance at Britt Ford, whose face was expressionless.

"Take them!"

Dirk barked.

Achilles Carter jumped in fright.

And obediently accepted the cigarettes.

After such a big farce.

Dirk's undercover inspection was basically ruined.

He gave Arlo Yarbrough a call, and only then did Arlo come rushing out of the restroom.

When he saw all the leaders were already in place.

He realized that in the twenty minutes he'd been in the bathroom, so much had actually happened.

Now that he'd shown his face, hiding again would be pointless.

The two of them got into their car, followed behind the motorcade, and drove into the Helios County County Committee compound.

The Helios County County Committee compound was located on Greengate Street in Helios County.

Although along the way you could see the urban construction wasn't much to look at, the County Committee compound itself was still quite imposing.

Two eight-story buildings.

The one on the left was the County Committee office building.

The one on the right was the county government building.

When everyone was getting out of their cars at the entrance of the County Committee building, quite a few people were rushing out of the building.

Clearly, on the way over, Houston Marshall had already notified all the leaders.

As soon as they stepped out of the car.

The welcoming crowd erupted into thunderous applause.

Each face beaming with smiles, enthusiasm overflowing.

Jabez Shaw led Dirk over first to a man who looked about fifty or sixty and said, "Secretary General Carter, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Darien Griffin, Chairman of the Helios County People's Congress."

Darien Griffin was short, short and chubby, giving off a harmless-to-humans-and-animals vibe.

The moment he saw him, Dirk immediately thought of the God of Laughter.

And to be fair, that bulging belly of his really could compete with the God of Laughter.

"Secretary General Carter, hello."

Darien Griffin greeted him with a broad, ingratiating smile.

"Hello, Chairman Griffin."

Dirk replied cheerfully.

"This is Comrade Claiborne Grant, our Helios County CPPCC Chairman."

Then.

Jabez went on to introduce the middle-aged man standing next to Darien Griffin.

Claiborne Grant and Darien Griffin made for a striking visual contrast.

This Claiborne Grant was tall and burly—Dirk was already tall, but Claiborne in front of him was at least one ninety.

Even though he was also over fifty.

You could tell at a glance he worked out regularly.

"Secretary General Carter, welcome, welcome."

Claiborne Grant said, gripping Dirk's hand.

Dirk gave a slight smile as well and greeted him, "Hello, Chairman Grant, I'll be relying on your guidance."

"Now that's not right—Secretary General Carter, you became county party secretary at such a young age, it's I, Claiborne, who should be learning from you."

Claiborne said modestly.

Once the two top leaders had been introduced.

Next came the key members of the four leading bodies.

Dirk shook hands with each one and got to know them.

Then, surrounded by the crowd, he entered the great hall.

After Jabez Shaw, on behalf of the municipal party committee, read out Dirk's appointment, Dirk gave a brief speech, which counted as meeting everyone.

Of course, that speech was all high-sounding official talk; as for what he'd encountered on the way to Helios County, Dirk didn't mention a word.

See one spot and you can guess the whole leopard.

In his heart, he already knew Helios County had serious problems.

But this was not yet the best time to tear the mask off.

After all, he was new here and knew no one.

If he wanted to light three big fires before his seat was even warm, he might not have the strength to pull it off.

Once the formalities were over.

It was already three in the afternoon.

"Secretary General Carter, this is your office. I won't go in. I've already had someone clean everything up, and all the office supplies are fully stocked. If you need anything else, just have your secretary give me a call."

At the door of the County Party Secretary's office.

Houston Marshall said, nodding and bowing.

Dirk gave a slight nod and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Director Marshall."

"Not hard at all, not hard at all. It's my duty to share the leader's burdens. You've had a long, tiring trip, Leader, you should go in and rest."

After Houston Marshall finished in his obsequious tone, he turned and left.

Dirk pushed open the office door.

What appeared before his eyes was a bright, spotless office.

And to be honest, this decor was better than any place he'd been to.

Not only was it big, the furniture all looked brand new.

"Dirk, that Houston Marshall is the County Committee Office Director after all, but the way he talks and acts is like some flunky. He bows and scrapes to everyone he sees."

Arlo Yarbrough closed the door and said to Dirk.

Dirk smiled slightly and said, "Looks like that 'All-Purpose Grease' nickname really does fit him."

After saying that.

He looked at Arlo and asked, "So, after this whole trip, what's your take?"

Arlo scratched his head and asked, "You mean on the situation or the people?"

"Talk about the situation first."

Dirk sat down in the office chair, asking with interest.

Arlo thought for a moment and said, "Ford Village putting up roadblocks to fleece people, Newfield Village pulling a straight-up honey trap on us… Looks like the water in Helios County runs deep."

"Do you get the feeling someone deliberately wanted us to see all this?"

Dirk asked.

Arlo froze.

And asked, "What do you mean?"

Dirk smiled faintly.

And said, "According to procedure, I'm not officially taking office until the day after tomorrow. Even if Helios County really has these shady deals going on, they should've halted them for these two days. After all, no one can guarantee I wouldn't show up early, right?"

Arlo thought it over.

And said, "Maybe people here are just that bold. For the sake of making money, they're not afraid of anything."

"That possibility isn't off the table either. So, what about the people?"

Arlo pinched his chin and mused, "The people, huh… I can't really read them. County Mayor Jabez Shaw handles things watertight. Deputy Secretary Britt Ford is quite pretty, but she kept a cold face the whole time, like someone owed her money. The most memorable one would have to be that County Committee Office Director, Houston Marshall—so fawning he's basically a dog."

After hearing Arlo's assessment.

Dirk just nodded.

He didn't really comment.

He murmured, "We haven't even really started our Helios County stint yet and we've already run into this many problems. Looks like we'll have to stay on full alert from here on out."

As soon as the words left his mouth.

His gaze fell beside the pen holder on the desk.

There lay a USB flash drive, looking very out of place.