American Tax Officer

"I understand, Chief."

Rohan immediately stood up and left.

Obadiah then turned to Donald and said, "Make a call to David and ask if he has any countermeasures."

Without wasting any words, Donald took out his cell phone and dialed David's number, asking, "David, is there any plan regarding Phipps on your end?"

"We are currently studying it."

Upon hearing this, Donald was somewhat at a loss for words, but then Obadiah gestured to pass the phone to him, and Donald had no choice but to hand it over.

Taking the phone, Obadiah said, "Regardless, Phipps is part of Congress and he represents its dignity. You can't 'act rashly' against him for now. Do you understand?"

"Understood."

"Good, leave it at that for now, and contact me if you have any ideas."

It wasn't a big problem that David didn't have a solution yet because he had already sent someone to talk to the Speaker of the House. As long as the Speaker was sensible, he would surely silence Phipps.

At the Western Suburb Branch, David, having hung up the phone, was deep in thought, resting his chin on his hand.
Explore more stories with empire

Even if the headquarters hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have blatantly moved against a Congressman.

Congress, after all, is the source of all power in America, and congressmen are its wielders. One thread could lead to a chain reaction, like dominos, and the resulting consequences would be too much, not just for him, but possibly even for the headquarters to bear.

But that didn't mean he wouldn't make his moves in the shadows!

Of course, he could tell that headquarters already had some solutions in mind for this issue. There was no rush; he could afford to observe for the time being.

During his musings, the door was pushed open, and Hakim walked in, saying, "I've just received news: Phipps has set off for Los Angeles and will be hosting a banquet tonight at 8 p.m. at the Georgia Hotel in Long Beach District. Notable figures from all over Los Angeles will be invited."

"Oh?"

David showed a bit of interest.

"As the largest city with the highest population in California, he must be coming this time to quickly harvest a surge of support by attacking the black tax legislation."

David nodded slightly, agreeing with Hakim's view, and after a moment's deliberation, he replied, "Get ready, we'll also attend this so-called banquet tonight."

His reason for going was firstly to scrutinize Phipps and figure out how to deal with him.

Secondly, he wanted to see who among the Los Angeles community supported Phipps and to issue a warning to those people!

...

Five o'clock in the afternoon.

On a highway from Sacramento to Los Angeles, a Cadillac was speeding along.

"I apologize, Madam, but I've already announced my political stance to the nation via Twitter. If I retract it now, my political career would be over... I regret I cannot comply..."

"..."

A few minutes later, after seeing Phipps hang up the phone, his confidant Peristedan immediately asked, "What did the Speaker of the House say?"

"The IRS is using fiscal policies to pressure Congress."

Peristedan's expression changed, but he quickly came to terms with it and replied, "After all, this touches the IRS's raw nerve. It's normal for them to have such a strong reaction."

"Haha, they think they can suppress me by using the Speaker of the House? Too naive!"

While the Speaker of the House nominally is the boss of the House of Congressman, in reality, there exist MZD and GOD, two major parties in the House, so actually, the Speaker can only have absolute influence over the members of his own party.

And Phipps, a member of GHD, belongs to a different party than the current Speaker.

During the last voting session on the black tax legislation, most of the GHD's members voted against it. It was only because the 'yes' votes exceeded 218 that the legislation passed at all.

Moreover, by attacking the black tax legislation this time, if he can garner the support of millions of lawbreakers across the state, he would very likely win the Senate race.

And becoming a Senator would mean directly entering the Senate, where the Speaker of the House would no longer have control over him.

That's precisely why he dares to ignore the Speaker, even if he personally calls to ask him to stop attacking the black tax legislation!

"Welcome, welcome..."

Lost in his thoughts, the clamorous sounds from ahead reached them, making Phipps and Peristedan involuntarily look up.

They were approaching the boundary of Los Angeles, and at the entrance, there were masses of people—more accurately, lawbreakers—holding banners and placards, loudly shouting their support and welcoming Phipps.

"Fuck, how many people are there..."

Seeing the throngs of supporters that stretched as far as the eye could see on both sides of the road, Phipps couldn't help but gasp, even though he was accustomed to large crowds.

"Since the black tax legislation was introduced, lawbreakers throughout Los Angeles—no, America—have suffered greatly. Now that Mr. Phipps, you've emerged to stand up for 'justice' on their behalf, can you blame them for their excitement?"

Phipps thought about it and gradually became more thrilled. To hell with whether they were criminals; as long as they voted for him, helping him become a Senator, they were good citizens, and his standing against the black tax legislation was undeniably the right choice!