Ten minutes later.
Inside the large office of the Rexton City Urban Management Brigade in Silvercrest District.
Hector Hall and seven or eight other urban management officers were holding watermelons, devouring them enthusiastically.
While eating, they were praising the sweetness of today's melon.
At this moment, the office door swung open with a bang.
Startling everyone.
They looked up, staring.
They saw a middle-aged man, drenched in sweat, standing at the door.
It was none other than Caitlin Jacobson, the Brigade Leader of the Silvercrest District Urban Management.
"Mr. Grant, it's you. You scared me! Timing is everything—you've come just as a batch of melons arrived. Come sample them; they're very sweet."
Seeing this, Hector Hall stood up and greeted him.
Caitlin Jacobson let out a long breath and asked, "Did you bring someone back?"
"Yeah, an old man selling melons. Why? What's up?"
Caitlin Jacobson frowned and asked, "Are you sure it's an old man?"
Hector Hall was taken aback and replied, "There's also a meddling guy whom I locked up in the office. Damn it, today's been bad luck—almost drove me crazy."
"There's trouble, real trouble..."
Caitlin Jacobson said in horror. Without saying much more, he turned and left.
Hector Hall and the others also followed him inexplicably.
When the room where Dirk Carter was detained was pushed open.
A wave of heat surged out.
Caitlin Jacobson stared to see a young man sitting in the chair, completely soaked, with half a watermelon placed before him which hadn't been touched.
"Mr. Grant, this is the one who obstructed our enforcement. I didn't use force on him, so he's already getting off easy."
Hector Hall stood behind Caitlin Jacobson, pointing at Dirk Carter with righteous indignation.
"Slap!"
Just as he finished speaking.
A slap landed squarely on Hector Hall's face.
It sent Hector Hall stumbling backward.
He covered his face, staring blankly at Caitlin Jacobson, unable to understand what had happened for a moment.
"Secretary General Carter... this... I... It's my fault for not disciplining my subordinate properly..."
Stepping into the sweltering room.
Caitlin Jacobson nodded and bowed to Dirk Carter.
"Secretary General? Which Secretary General?"
Upon hearing this address, Hector Hall sensed something was terribly wrong and whispered to Caitlin Jacobson in a low voice.
Caitlin Jacobson turned and glared, reprimanding, "Are you blind? This is Dirk Carter, the newly appointed City Government Secretary of Rexton City."
Boom!
Loud as thunder from clear skies.
Hector Hall was suddenly dumbfounded.
Not just him.
Even the urban management team spectating outside were equally dumbfounded.
The City Government Secretary, considered the primary chief, is the central nerve of the entire Municipal Government.
Such a person, not only forcibly detained by urban management.
But also subjected to twenty minutes of misery under scorching air.
At that moment, Hector Hall felt as if the sky was falling. The urban management team outside felt chills, fearing their hard-won public service jobs were about to bid farewell to them.
"Director Goodman is here."
Someone shouted out.
Everyone turned.
They saw a middle-aged man with a large belly, darting through the yard.
Following behind him was Arlo Yarbrough.
The presence of this person.
Made cold sweat break out again among the crowd.
This person was none other than Bridget Goodman, Director of the Rexton City Urban Management Bureau and Party Committee Secretary.
Dirk Carter remained seated in the office without moving. Neither Caitlin Jacobson nor Hector Hall knew whether to welcome or not, felt stuck in place, unsure of what to do.
"Secretary General Carter, Secretary General Carter..."
Upon seeing the individual.
Bridget Goodman ran into the door.
Seeing Dirk Carter's "predicament," she became furious, turning around to scold, "Who did this? Step forward now!"
"Director Goodman, it was me!"
Hector Hall realized there was no avoiding it.
He bowed his head and said quietly.
At this moment.
The people Bridget Goodman had brought had already delivered water and towels.
The air conditioning was switched to cooling.
Yet Dirk Carter remained seated without moving, not saying a word.
Under such circumstances, the pressure felt by all was immense, with no one knowing what consequences awaited them ahead.
Bridget Goodman offered a few words of counsel.
Receiving no response from Dirk Carter, she was at a loss for what to do.
At this point, it was Goodman's secretary who had a lightbulb moment, whispering a few words to her.
Bridget Goodman turned around and announced to everyone, "I declare, temporarily suspending Hector Hall from his position as Deputy Brigade Leader of the Urban Management Brigade in Silvercrest District, as a warning."
After this announcement was made.
They had expected Dirk Carter might respond.
Unexpectedly, he still didn't budge.
Could it be the punishment was too lenient?
Bridget Goodman gritted her teeth and said, "Given the severity of this incident, I hereby decide to dismiss Hector Hall."
Dirk Carter remained unmoved.
Bridget Goodman exhaled and decided to go all-in, shouting, "As the leading authority of the Silvercrest District Urban Management Brigade, Brigade Leader Caitlin Jacobson receives an administrative disciplinary warning. Hector Hall is dismissed, and all illegal activities involved will be handed over to the Commission for Discipline Inspection for further investigation. Other urban management team members will be temporarily suspended and investigated."
After this announcement.
Hector Hall staggered, nearly collapsing to the ground.
Dirk Carter then slowly stood up.
Pointing at the watermelon before him, he asked, "Is the melon sweet?"
"Sweet, very sweet!"
Hector Hall seemingly seized a last lifeline and responded.
Bridget Goodman reprimanded, "Fool! The melon belongs to the farmer. How dare you eat them? Whoever ate these melons must compensate at the original price."
"The original price? Buying at the street stall is the original price."
Dirk Carter said coldly.
Bridget Goodman quickly nodded, "Then compensate at triple the price!"
"Does anyone have any objections to Director Goodman's decision?"
Dirk Carter asked.
No one dared look Dirk Carter directly in the eye.
But all nodded mechanically, murmuring, "No objections, no objections..."
At this moment.
Dirk Carter finally stood up.
And walked out of the office.
Since Caitlin Jacobson's arrival, Dirk Carter hadn't uttered a word, aiming to achieve a resolution he found most satisfactory. Such a major slam, if voiced by himself, would undoubtedly be exploited by his political adversaries, leading to significant fallout, potentially allowing these individuals to escape unscathed.
But, coming from Bridget Goodman, it was a different story entirely.
No matter how severe the punishment, it was considered internal to the Urban Management Bureau.
No one had the right to interfere.
The old man selling melons was also brought out of the little black room.
Dirk Carter went up to him immediately.
Seeing the yard filled with uniformed personnel.
The old man was so scared he could hardly walk.
Dirk Carter grasped his hand tightly, saying, "Sir, don't be afraid. They are not here to trouble you, but to apologize."
"Apologize?"
This term perplexed the old man.
He looked at Dirk Carter incredulously, eyes filled with suspicion.
Upon hearing this.
Bridget Goodman instantly stepped forward and told the old man, "Sir, I'm Bridget Goodman, Director of the Rexton City Urban Management Bureau. Today's actions were our bureau's negligence. On behalf of the Urban Management Bureau, I sincerely apologize and ask for your forgiveness."
Then she slightly bowed.
Although it wasn't a complete bow.
Her waist did bend a bit.
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