Chương 124: Find a Way Out for Yourself

He jumped up from his chair and started yelling at Danny.

"You liar! You mad dog, you're committing perjury! How much dirty money did you take from your political enemies to slander me?!"

Samuel slammed his gavel down repeatedly and shouted, "Walker, keep absolutely silent. If you dare to interrupt the witness's testimony again, I will have the guards drag you out of this hall immediately."

Walker was breathing heavily, his chest heaving. He stood there, hands on the table, staring at Danny with a look that seemed to want to devour him alive.

Ignoring Walker's lapse in composure, Samuel continued, "Mr. Costello, please explain to the committee in detail the specific process by which Walker instructed you to commit the crime. Do not omit any details."

Danny took a deep breath and said into the microphone, "The night before the fire, Mayor Walker secretly summoned me to an abandoned warehouse in the Red Hook District. It was after the meeting at the Federation Building, and he told me he had to shut down the newspaper's machines completely."

"He demanded that I do it cleanly, leaving absolutely no trace."

Samuel pressed further, "What about the municipal engineering detonators left at the site?"

Danny confessed honestly: "The timed detonator used for ignition was something I took from the Metropolitan Construction Company's warehouse without permission. It was explosives that the Municipal Engineering Department had allocated to me. Mayor Walker was well aware that our company had withheld these supplies."

A low murmur arose in the gallery. Some were whispering, while others were scribbling furiously in their notebooks.

Samuel produced the envelope bearing the city hall's seal.

Samuel asked, "Who gave you this envelope full of money?"

Danny didn't hesitate at all: "The newspapers ran about detonators last night. Walker was terrified; he knew things were going to be exposed when he saw the paper. He urgently summoned me through his secretary and gave me this envelope."

"He was furious. He said if Kennedy didn't die, we were all doomed. He said it himself, we were all doomed. He ordered me to kill him that very night, without delay."

"He told me to go to Chicago immediately after I got the money. There was a train ticket in the envelope, and the train was leaving at six o'clock this morning. He said to hide for a few months and come back when things calm down."

All sophistry and all lies were utterly crushed in the face of direct eyewitness testimony and detailed accounts.

The "garbage cleanup" excuse Walker just made up now sounds like a terrible joke.

The reporters in the gallery were frantically scribbling in their notebooks. Their hands moved quickly, recording line after line of text.

The camera flashes went off like lightning, capturing every trace of his terrified expression and freezing it forever on film.

Walker was still making a final, futile struggle.

He stood up again, put his hands on the table, and shouted into the microphone.

"I didn't! It's all a lie! He's a convicted gangster, a despicable arsonist, and his testimony has no legal credibility whatsoever!"

"Did you hear what he said? He admitted to setting the fire, admitted to taking the detonators. Can you believe what a man says? This is a conspiracy you conspired together! A conspiracy conspired by Kennedy and Sibyl!"

But no one believed him anymore.

Roosevelt coldly watched Walker, who was furious and powerless, standing below the stage.

He picked up a thick document in front of him.

It was a historic document that would determine the fate of New York. The cover bore the coat of arms of New York State, below which was a line of gold lettering. Roosevelt opened the document, checked its contents, and then stood up.

He placed his hands on the table, leaning slightly forward. His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried clearly throughout the hall.

Roosevelt proclaimed in a commanding voice, "Mr. Jimmy Walker. By the highest executive power granted to me by the laws of New York State."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire hall. Everyone fell silent, waiting for him to speak next.

"Based on the detailed physical evidence and direct witness testimonies presented by the committee, I believe you have seriously violated the law and completely betrayed the trust placed in you by the public in New York."

He held the document high in the air. The document unfolded under the light, making the words on it visible to everyone.

The wording on it was very formal, but the meaning was simple: this person is no longer fit to be mayor.

Roosevelt solemnly announced: "This is the draft special recall order I have prepared. I will formally sign this order this afternoon."

"Once the recall resolution takes effect, you will immediately lose all administrative immunity as mayor. I will request the Attorney General to directly file criminal charges against you for attempted murder and embezzlement."

The hall was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned by the governor's swift and decisive actions.

Roosevelt slammed his gavel down and said, "This hearing will be adjourned for two hours. Mr. Walker, you can use this precious time to carefully consider your desperate situation and which lawyer you should hire to save the rest of your life."

Walker slumped into his chair, dejected.

As the mallet fell, the people around him got up and dispersed.

Reporters rushed to the door with their notebooks, eager to publish their stories.

The councilors walked out in twos and threes, talking quietly. The citizens in the gallery stood up, straightened their clothes, and left one after another.

Those seats that were just packed were quickly mostly empty.

No one came up and said a word to Walker.

Even the politicians he usually promoted were now avoiding his gaze as if they were shunning a deadly plague.

Walker sat alone in that chair.

He watched their backs as they hurried away, and observed the few meters they walked past him.

Just minutes before, those people were bowing and scraping to him, calling him "Mr. Mayor," and waiting for his instructions. Now they wouldn't even dare to look at him.

He recalled the time a few years ago when he was first elected mayor. Back then, these same people surrounded him, vying to shake his hand and take photos with him. At that time, he felt that the city belonged to him, and these people were all his people.

Now he knows he was wrong.

Those lawmakers were better at reading the political winds than anyone else; they knew what it meant to side with Walker at this time.

They wouldn't risk their political future for him.

He will not only lose all power, but will also spend the rest of his life in a state prison with appalling conditions.

There were no nightclubs, no champagne, no women, only iron bars and guards. He would stay there for ten years, twenty years, or a lifetime.

He has to find a way.

He had to find a way to survive before the official dismissal order was issued, while he still had a sliver of value to him.