Chapter 98 Good News and Bad News
After Selina left, Thomas locked the door himself. He turned around and said, “Luke, you’re very smart. You must’ve guessed that Tony Stark is behind the offer.”
He paused for a moment, before he continued, “On the other hand, I have some bad news. Somebody on the Wolfkyle case noticed something, and has started to investigate you. It’ll be very easy for them to set you up. After all, they have a lot of local connections.”
Luke thought for a moment and immediately knew what this was about.
Thomas had told him something about Charlie Diaz, the host of the game, before. Above all else, he was without doubt someone who was very rich.
It really was possible to do anything in America if you had enough money — as long as you didn’t piss off someone else with even more money.
If Luke and Selina stayed here, the families of the players would come looking for trouble sooner or later.
Thomas was being rather tactful. Actually, it wouldn’t be unusual if they hired a bunch of assassins to eliminate Luke and Selina.
So, the deeper reason was that Thomas was shouldering a lot of pressure for them.
What if the pressure became too much for him someday?
Looking at Luke’s face, Thomas knew that he understood. He continued, “You’re Robert’s child, so I’ll be honest with you. Tony Stark promised to establish a charity fund for the disabled and deceased officers of our department as long as you and Selina go to Los Angeles.”
Luke immediately got it.
This was a tempting offer for Thomas, who was trying to get promoted to director of the department.
Every officer in the department would thank him for this charity fund.
More importantly, Thomas would be the sole person responsible for helping to get the fund, so all the officers had to thank him alone.
The job transfer was beneficial for both Luke and Thomas.
Luke pondered for a moment and said, “I have to discuss it with Selina.”
Looking at Luke’s face, Thomas raised the ante. “I can put a special request through for you in the job transfer. The Los Angeles Police Department will have to give you equal treatment, and I’m planning to promote you and Selina again.”
Luke shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. I’m only nineteen, and Selina isn’t twenty-five yet. We would draw too much attention.”
It was a fact.
Most police officers needed to work long enough before they could be promoted. Generally speaking, becoming a third rank detective at twenty-eight wasn’t half bad.
Most departments required their police officers to have worked for a certain number of years before they could be promoted, and there were few exceptions.
If Luke reported to the Los Angeles Police Department as a third rank detective, every police officer would assume that he had a dad so amazing that even the director of the police department had to please him; that was the only possible explanation for a young officer to have such a high rank.
Stark, whom the director of the Los Angeles Police Department really needed to please, wasn’t really backing Luke. So, Luke would rather avoid the other officers’ suspicions.
For a moment, Thomas was stunned. He hadn’t expected Luke to refuse the promotion.
Luke continued, “Also, we’re young and inexperienced. We might make mistakes with more power.”
Thomas said, “…Really?” He wasn’t really convinced.
Few people in the entire world would ever refuse a promotion.
However, with an awkward and perturbed look on his face, Luke added, “Chief, you should know that I spent all my savings on a car, but it was wasted on the trip to Wolfkyle. Selina is also from a regular family and has to support three siblings. I don’t think we can afford to live in Los Angeles. So, is there something you can do to help us?”
Thomas was lost for words.
What could he do? Department funding was always monitored.
Thomas was now looking to be promoted, so he certainly wouldn’t make any sort of mistake at this point in time.
If Luke accepted the promotion, he would get a pay rise, and Thomas would be justified in rewarding him for his distinguished performance.
However, Luke had refused the promotion, which meant that Thomas couldn’t give Luke any money, even after the charity fund was established.
Otherwise, someone might accuse Thomas of giving away the compensation meant for disabled officers or families of the deceased to Luke, and there would be severe consequences.
Thomas couldn’t give Luke any money himself, nor could he ask the police department to… Wait!
The Westside Houston Police Department couldn’t give them money, but the Los Angeles Police Department could!
LAPD certainly wasn’t inviting Luke to join out of the goodness of their hearts.
What promise had Tony Stark made them, and if Luke and Selina didn’t go, would he still fulfill it?
Thomas couldn’t be the only one who was feeling anxious at the moment; the Los Angeles Police Department had to be feeling the same.
Thinking this, Thomas nodded and said, “I’ll see what I can do. You can talk to your partner first. Both of you must make the same decision, understand?”
Luke nodded. “Thank you very much, chief. I’ll be on my way.”
Thomas nodded and said, “Off you go.”
Luke suddenly turned around and said, “Right, chief, Brock congratulated us earlier.”
Stunned for a moment, Thomas then said mockingly, “Hehe, if you’re still here in a couple of days, you can ‘congratulate’ him too.”
Luke asked suspiciously, “Huh?”
Thomas said, “Well, if you have connections in the FBI, you can visit him at his new address.”
Luke grinned and stood straight to salute him. “Thank you, chief.”
Thomas merely waved his hand, indicating that he should go.
After he left the office, Luke’s lip curled. Oh, yeah! I won’t stand in your way when you leave for a “brighter” future either, Officer Brock!
On his way back to the Major Crimes Division, Luke was deep in thought.
He was quite amenable to going to Los Angeles.
The situation in Los Angeles couldn’t be any worse than in Houston.
Who knew if the families of the players would come looking for revenge, so it would be best if he stayed away from Texas for now.
He also had to call Robert and warn him not to get carelessly ambushed.
Luke didn’t really have a choice.
If possible, he wished that he had never encountered the players of the hunting club; the game would never let him go now.
The fact that he survived meant that their differences were irreconcilable.
The current situation wasn’t the best, but it certainly wasn’t the worst.
As for Tony Stark’s motive for getting Luke transferred, he didn’t really care about that.
Tony Stark would only try to slap Luke’s face at most; he wouldn’t resort to violence or vent his anger on Luke’s family.