blogombal Chapter 54 Invites Lawyers Matt and Foggy
Chapter 54 Invites Lawyers Matt and Foggy
Chapter 54 Inviting Lawyers Matt and Foggy (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The neon sign of Jiaoxi Bar flickered in the night, its pink light shining on the wet sidewalk.
Li En pushed open the gleaming wooden door, and the copper bell on the door frame jingled a few times.
The bar was the same as always. Several tattooed men were gathered around the pool table against the wall on the left, while a few couples were sitting in the booths on the right, talking in hushed tones.
Directly opposite is the bar counter, its wooden surface polished to a shine.
Foggy and Matt sat on the left side of the bar.
There was a half-empty beer in front of Virginia, and a beer in front of Matt, but the foam on the glass was still clinging to it, and it hadn't been touched much.
Li En walked over and sat down next to Matt, gently patting the bar counter with his palm.
"A glass of milk, please."
"Oh, isn't this Officer Lee Eun, the Light of Hell's Kitchen!"
Fergie put his beer glass on the bar, turned around, and pointed with one finger at the old-fashioned television set hanging in the corner.
The screen was showing the evening news, with footage of the daytime memorial service in Central Park.
Tony Stark had one hand on Lee's shoulder and the other waving at the reporters, the flashes of the cameras turning their faces white.
The scrolling text at the bottom of the screen reads:
The CEO of Stark Industries praised Manhattan Precinct officers as "guarantees of peace in New York."
Li En looked up at the TV and saw the moment Tony pulled her into the shot.
The smile on his face remained perfectly still, the corners of his mouth maintained their curve, and his eyes were not looking at Tony, but rather at the camera.
Tony Stark's mouth was frozen on the words "excellent police officer".
This guy definitely did it on purpose.
"Your milk." Jiao hope placed a glass in front of Li En, the bottom of the glass making a soft clattering sound as it hit the wooden table.
The milk was ice-cold, and a thin layer of condensation had already begun to form on the outside of the glass.
"Thank you." Li En picked up the milk and raised the glass towards Fuji and Matt.
Virginia reached out and gently patted Matt's arm.
Lee Eun-jae raises a glass.
Matt lifted his hand off the bar, ran his fingers along the edge of the counter a few centimeters forward until they touched the bottom of the glass, and then lifted the glass up.
Three glasses collided in mid-air, the glass clinking together with a crisp "ding".
Li En took a sip of milk and watched Matt bring the beer glass to his lips, take a sip, and then put the glass back on the table slightly off-center from where he had picked it up.
This guy's disguise has permeated even his most everyday actions.
Fergie, his partner who spent every day with him, had no idea that the blind man was doing parkour on the roof of Hell's Kitchen every night.
"Li En, I think our relationship is close enough that we can call each other by our first names."
Virginia stood up from the bar stool, holding a beer glass in one hand and patting his not-so-broad chest with the other, a genuine smile on his face.
"Please call me Foggy."
"Of course, Virginia." Lee nodded with a smile.
Fergie lowered his body, rested his elbows on the bar, and lowered his voice as well.
"Li En, please take care of me if there are any cases."
"Aren't you working at a big law firm in New York? How could you possibly be short of cases?"
Li En was somewhat surprised; New York had plenty of things, but plenty of cases.
From street theft to transnational money laundering, from gang fights to white-collar fraud, lawyers in this city make a living from cases, just like dockworkers in Hell's Kitchen make a living from cargo ships.
Landman Zach is one of the top law firms in New York.
Young people like Virginia and Matt, who can get in right after graduating from law school, should have no shortage of cases, even if they are the least experienced.
Virginia spread her hands, and the salesman's smile on her face now held a layer of something that was hard to define—a mixture of pride and helplessness.
"There's nothing we can do. We're unwilling to litigate for bastards. If we keep taking on cases that don't make money, the company's performance won't meet its targets."
As he spoke, he glanced at Matt beside him twice, his gaze revealing a complex mix of emotions.
"Fergie, we've talked about this."
Matt's voice was very low, and his chin was slightly lowered.
"That kind of person should be sent to prison."
"But that man is our client, Matt."
Virginia turned to face Matt, his tone shifting from the enthusiasm of a salesman to the seriousness of a lawyer.
"As lawyers, our clients should be our top priority."
"Fergie, that guy never tells the truth."
Matt slowly circled his finger along the rim of the glass, and then his lips curled down slightly.
Fergie looked at him for two seconds, his lips moved, but in the end he didn't finish his sentence.
He turned around to face Li En again, shrugged, and switched his tone back to that half-joking one.
"So—the company hasn't been giving us any cases lately; we can only do some basic documentation work."
"If this continues, it won't be long before we both have to leave."
Li En understood.
The law firm has clients who are real criminals who want to use lawyers to escape legal punishment.
Matt pleaded guilty for his client and got him arrested.
For the law firm, this is reputational suicide.
In New York, the most stable client base for large law firms consists of all sorts of criminals.
If you can't classify a serious crime as a misdemeanor, or a long-term offense as a short-term offense, or a short-term offense as community service, or a community service offense as not guilty.
Why would a client pay so much money to hire you?
Matt ruined a case he could have won and sent his client to jail.
Randman Zack would never work on a case like that again.
"Perfect timing, I have something I'd like to consult a lawyer about."
Lee placed the milk glass on the bar and turned to Foggy.
"Oh? Then you can pay for the next drink, please tell me."
Virginia put on that salesman's smile again, raised her beer glass and clinked it against Lee's milk glass.
Matt also turned around, facing Lee En, and his ear behind his sunglasses twitched slightly.
Lee Eun finished the last sip of milk in the glass, placed the glass on the bar, and lightly tapped the rim of the glass with her finger.
"There are vacancies at the port right now, and I want to set up a company to take over the port's operating rights."
"But I've never run a company before, so I have no idea what the specific procedures are."
The smile on Fergie's face vanished.
He placed his beer glass on the bar and remained silent for two seconds before speaking.
The salesman's tone was gone.
"Li En, you should know what the situation is like at the port, right?"
He was reminding Lee that the port had always been territory controlled by gangsters.
The Razor Gang was destroyed, the Amick Group withdrew from New York, and the Irish Gang was severely weakened.
But that doesn't mean that the port suddenly became a place where anyone could reach out.
The vacated territory will eventually be filled by the remaining gangs.
For a lowly police officer from a local precinct to try and seize control of the port at this time is like drawing a bullseye on himself.
"I plan to do trade, importing some low-priced goods to sell, such as rice."
Lee Eun responded calmly, stating the plan she had already devised.
Virginia stared at Lee for several seconds.
He broke down the answer in his mind, rearranged it, and then a flash of inspiration struck him.
Lee En did not answer the port gang's questions, nor did he say not to worry that he could handle it, nor did he say that the police would support him.
He immediately began discussing the company's specific business, specifically the rice trade.
Just like the gangsters in the port, they were not even within his consideration.
This level of confidence cannot arise out of thin air.
He has a powerful figure behind him—a high-ranking police officer, a city government official, or some other powerful force.
Otherwise, a police officer from a precinct would not talk about the port in this tone.
He put the salesman's smile back on his face.
"Registering a company is very simple; you just need to have the funds and follow a set procedure."
"But the port needs to get a government contract—which is impossible through normal procedures."
He spoke very bluntly, and then slowed down his speech.
"And even if you do manage to set up a company and take over the port, you'll still face plenty of trouble later on."
Why are the operating rights of the ports all in the hands of major gangs? Haven't any government officials ever thought of getting involved?
Of course it has happened.
Every few years, a newly appointed official will try to take back the port, and without exception, the result is the same.
Port workers went on strike, shipping lines were cut off, and envelopes containing explicit photos were stuffed into offices.
Gangs have more methods for dealing with officials than they do with their own colleagues.
Of course, the officials also received substantial benefits.
This is why ports have been rotting away in private hands for so long.
"Don't worry, those gangs won't be a problem."
Li En's tone was exactly the same as when they were discussing rice earlier.
He pushed the empty milk glass further into the bar, looking into Fogg's eyes.
"Therefore, I would like to hire you as the company's legal counsel."
Li En's purpose in coming to Jiao hope Bar this time was to get Matt to join the company.
This person is very capable and has a strong sense of justice. You can trust someone like that, and he doesn't seem to be planning to do anything criminal.
Fergie paused for a moment, then his whole face broke into a smile.
"Wow! Li En, you have a great eye! We just happened to have a bunch of documents to process recently, and we're very familiar with company operations and contract review. We'd be perfect as your company's legal counsel."
He slid off the bar stool and walked directly to Li En's side, lowering his voice to a level where only the two of them could hear, his lips almost touching Li En's ear.
"However, friends are friends—salary and benefits need to be discussed in advance."
"If we kill all the gangsters, of course we won't have to worry about anyone causing trouble."
Matt's voice came coldly from the other side of the bar.
He didn't turn his head, facing the row of bottles in front of him, his lips pressed down behind his sunglasses.
"Hey, Matt!" Foggy immediately turned around, walked quickly back to Matt's side, and placed one hand on his shoulder, using considerable force with his five fingers.
"Stop messing around."
Matt ignored Foggie's hand.
He turned his face, his sunglasses pointing directly at where Lee Eun was sitting.
"I'm a cop, Matt," Li En said softly, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Aren't there masked men operating in the shadows at night?"
Matt's tone was unyielding, and he enunciated each word firmly.
"Matt!!" Foggy's hand slid down Matt's shoulder and grabbed the sleeve on his arm, pulling the fabric until it crumpled.
He knew what Matt was implying—Lee was the masked man who operated at night.
Virginia quickly turned her head, and the salesman's smile returned to her face, but this time it was a forced one.
"Li En, Matt had a couple more drinks today, don't mind him."
Li En looked at the sunglasses on Matt's nose, the lenses reflecting the warm yellow light from the bar chandelier.
He slowly withdrew the smile from his face.
"From today until the future, I will never wear a mask."
There was a moment of silence.
Foggy's smile froze on his face; he didn't know where to put it.
Matt's spirits lifted slightly.
His earlobe twitched slightly outwards as his extrasensory perception read Li En's heart rate, breathing rhythm, and vocal cord vibration amplitude.
All the data tells him the same thing: Lee En is not lying.
But he couldn't understand it.
If Lee En stops wearing a mask, how will he continue doing the things he's always been doing?
He opened his mouth, his eyebrows furrowed slightly behind his sunglasses, but he didn't ask any further questions.
Li En stood up from the bar stool, extended his right hand toward Matt and Foggy, and held it in mid-air.
"So, would you like to become my company's legal counsel?"
Virginia looked at the outstretched hand but didn't move.
His gaze swept between Li En's palm and Matt's face, then he brought his mouth close to Matt's ear and whispered.
"Matt, Lee is reaching out."
After a moment of silence, Matt lifted his right hand from his knee, spread his fingers, and stretched it forward.
The direction was off; the fingertip was pointing at the air next to Li En's shoulder.
Virginia quickly stretched out her hands.
With his left hand he grabbed Matt's wrist, and with his right hand he gripped Li En's palm, pressing their hands together forcefully.
"From now on, we're partners."
"I'll leave the company registration and all the paperwork to you tomorrow."
"No problem! Leave it to us!"
Foggy's smile is no longer that of a salesman.
He placed his other hand on top of their clasped hands and pressed down firmly.
Matt didn't speak, but his fingers slowly tightened in Li En's palm before relaxing.
His sunglasses were still pointed in Li En's direction. His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to ask something, but in the end he didn't speak.
After withdrawing his hand, Li En turned and walked towards the door, then, as if remembering something, said, "By the way, regarding your salaries, let's consider them as shares."
Virginia laughed and agreed, without continuing the discussion.
As long as the port can secure operations, it is impossible for it to incur losses.
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