Shadow Empire

Chapter 548 Old Guys Alliance

Middleman, mediator, this special role often appears in gangs and plays an important role.

In fact, they are like brokers on the other side, just their names are different, but their jobs are the same.

Get some benefits and help people solve problems.

Often the middlemen and mediators are well-known people who "have a certain social status and influence", and they may not be gang members.

For example, Congressman Wade and Congressman Williams, as long as someone can invite them, they can also act as the middleman.

Letting Fergal act as a middleman to mediate the conflict between them and Lance was also a decision Bandy made after careful consideration.

First of all, as the head of one of the five major families, Fergal has enough fame and influence.

Secondly, once Lance angered him, combined with Bandy’s follow-up plan, he would have a high probability of winning Fergal over to his side.

Only by getting more people to stand against Lance would he have the confidence to agree to this war.

Yes, with fewer people, he really had no confidence.

Fortunately, Fergal agreed, so he didn't have to say much.

After Fergal hung up the phone, he sat down and lit a cigarette. He thought for a while, sorted out his thoughts, and then called Lance.

The call was connected after a while, and Lance's voice came from the other end, "This is Lance."

"Lance?" Fergal took a deep breath and smiled a little more, just a little, not much, "I'm Fergal."

"Hello, Mr. Fergal, so...what's going on?"

There was not much respect in Lance's words. With the demise of the Cassia family, the war between the Kodak family and Lance did not become a one-sided situation. Lance had completely lost his awe of the so-called five major families.

You will fear someone who can cause you pain, but you will not fear someone who cannot cause you pain.

Whether it is humans or animals, they all learn rules through pain. If there is no pain and no punishment, there will be no rules and no awe.

In fact, it's not just Lance. Some other gangs also lack sufficient respect for the current five major families.

Whether a person respects you or not, you can tell from just one or two sentences whether he is cautious or does not take you seriously.

Lance used very ordinary language, without even using honorifics, and his seemingly casual tone made Fergal's brows knitted slightly.

"I hope I didn't disturb you..." Although he felt that Lance was not very polite, as the patriarch of one of the five major families, he needed to maintain his status.

This is actually just a polite greeting, just like when two people meet on the street, someone has to say "It's a nice day today" first.

Lance's laughter came from the receiver, a very light laugh, just two or three times.

Actually, there is nothing wrong with this, but it also makes Fergal feel that Lance does not respect him very much.

He feels very uncomfortable!
But he adjusted himself quickly, "Bandy just called me..." He said, paused and didn't continue.

"Hmm?" Lance's reaction made him a little unsure.

He said tentatively, "He hopes that I can act as a middleman to mediate the conflict between you."

"Lance, we all make a living here in Jingang City, and there is no conflict that cannot be resolved."

"You sell your liquor, he runs his casino, and your territories are not even together. I think we can sit down and talk about our problems and conflicts."

"Blindly engaging in a fight now will only weaken both of our strengths. This is not a friendly society, nor is it a suitable time to start a war."

"We should temporarily put aside our hostility towards each other in spite of the internal and external contradictions and conflicts. Perhaps you will soon become friends again."

“Giving others a chance is also giving yourself a chance.”

"There's no need for us to fight to the death over trivial matters!"

"Well, I'll treat you. I know a restaurant that serves delicious lamb mutton. Let's sit down and talk. You, me, and Bandy, just the three of us."

"How is it?" He waited for Lance's answer with a little anticipation.

But Lance was going to disappoint him.

"I reject."

Fergal acted as if he hadn't heard clearly, "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I say, I reject your proposal, Mr. Fergal."

"Why?" Fergal's tone was a little unhappy. He felt that his kindness was betrayed and he didn't understand why Lance rejected the proposal.

Compared to his voice which clearly showed his emotions, Lance's voice was still so steady.

"Do you know why we're going to war?"

Although Fergal paid attention to this matter, he was not really sure why they were going to war, so he asked, "Why?"

The imagined answer did not come, only Lance's words with a slightly mocking tone, "Look, you don't even know why we are at war, and you're still thinking about mediation."

"Just like this, you can't really stand on a neutral position to judge whose fault it is in the conflict between me and the Kodak family!"

"You claim to be able to mediate, but in fact you are just an accomplice hired by Bandy, so I'm sorry, I have no interest in your proposal."

"Don't waste my time and yours. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

Fergal felt offended. Just as he was about to say something, Lance hung up the phone.

This was one of the few times that someone hung up on him. In Jingang City, he was the only one who hung up on others, and few people could hang up on him.

A person in a high position must have some self-cultivation, but that self-cultivation may not necessarily be good.

A gang leader who had proved himself through fighting and killing was very angry when someone hung up on him like that!
If the person who hung up on him was someone else of the same level, he might not be so angry.

Sometimes he had disagreements with the heads of other families and they would even curse at each other over the phone.

But this time, Lance on the other end of the phone was just a "small character". It has only been more than two years since he started his career. Why shouldn't he give himself face?
Why did you hang up your phone?
He hasn't encountered such a thing for a long time since he inherited the position of head of the family.

Before, the Bear Gang did not give him face. The two sides fought for half a year, and finally the Bear Gang had to get out of Jingang City.

Every step he takes is stained with blood, he deserves to be respected!
And Lance's words did "hurt" him to some extent. In his opinion, the so-called mediation was to speak for Bandy and make Lance and his Lance family give in.

He had never considered doing this matter fairly and justly from the beginning. After all, he and Bandy were from the five major families, so what were he and Lance?
At most, he is a competitor. Lance's business in the Empire District attracts some drunkards in the city center. Although it is not a lot, it does have an impact.

Like all whores, they don't have any psychological burden when doing it. The biggest psychological burden is the moment when others point out their identity.

He can sit down with his butt tilted, but you can't say anything, even if you see it.

Fergal cursed at Lance's reaction. He picked up the phone and called Bandy again. "I couldn't convince him, and he scolded me. Fuck, are all the young people nowadays so arrogant?"

Bandy laughed and said, "It doesn't matter if he doesn't want to mediate. I'm not really afraid of him!"

He laughed twice and seemed very relaxed. "We haven't seen each other for a long time. Let's have dinner together tonight?"

"I'll call Tita's family, the three of us, and talk to that guy."

Fergal hesitated for a moment. He understood that Bandy's purpose in doing this was to make him express his stance and make him take sides.

However, he was not very averse to this kind of standing in line. Lance did not give him face just now, and they had not seen each other for a long time, so he agreed.

He thought that maybe he could get a little understanding of what was going on here and why they suddenly started fighting at the dinner table.

After Fergal agreed, Bandy contacted the new leader of the Tita family. The Tita family had suffered heavy losses and had not yet fully recovered.

After the new head of the family came to power, he was also willing to maintain relations with the other two families among the five major families. Recently, some changes in Jingang City have become increasingly confusing.

If you don’t understand, you will feel scared and have a sense of crisis.

Sitting down and chatting with everyone and building closer relationships can actually make people feel safer.

Let’s choose another time, maybe today, and they agreed to meet in the evening.

As for why they didn't look for Francisco, they all knew it.

The Pasretto family has fallen into decline. At night, in a quiet restaurant in the Starlight District, there was only one table in the center of the restaurant. Bandy came early in the morning and was chatting with the new head of the Tita family.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Fergal finally arrived.

"Sorry, some things delayed me a bit before I left." He took off his hat and coat, handed them to the people around him, then strode to the table and sat down.

Just as they were about to leave, someone in the family said that someone might be from the Lance family and entered the city center.

He had a somewhat unpleasant argument with Lance on the phone in the afternoon, and he met Lance's people in the city center in the evening. He didn't think it was a coincidence.

He asked someone to watch the man for a while and confirmed that the man had just driven around the city center twice before leaving, so he didn't bother with it anymore.

But even if he didn't think about it, some thoughts would inexplicably come to his mind, making him a little irritated.

When had he ever been treated like this?

There was a hidden smile in Bandy's eyes. It was very simple to pretend to be a member of the Lance family. All he had to do was add a red armband on his left sleeve.

This is the simplest feature that can identify their identity, and it is not difficult at all.

He sent those people over to escalate the unpleasantness between them and eventually turn it into friction.

Bandy smiled and stood up, walked over and hugged him, "It's okay, we came early."

The people from the Tita family also hugged him, and after the three of them greeted each other, they sat down.

The chef in the restaurant had already prepared the ingredients, and after a simple cooking when everyone arrived, the food was served.

Relaxing and soothing music was playing in the restaurant. Everyone left, leaving only the three of them.

After Bendy picked up his glass and clinked glasses with the other two, everyone took a sip of wine.

When he put down his wine glass, he sighed with some disappointment, and the other two looked at him.

Fergal asked, "Are you still worried about Lance?"

He thought Bendy sighed because he hadn't handled the mediation, and he became even more dissatisfied with Lance.

The head of the Tita family is the brother of the previous head. He has participated in some similar gatherings with the previous head and is very familiar with the relationships among the five major families.

He seemed to understand something from Fergal's simple words.

He said nothing and put some vegetable salad into the bowl.

Bendy shook his head at this time, shaking his wine glass, "I'm not sighing because of Lance, but because of ourselves."

He sat back and said, "The Five Great Families, what a glorious title. We were once extremely glorious in this city."

"From the mayor, Councilman Wade, Councilman Williams, and those Bay Area politicians and celebrities, they all have to give us face."

“Maybe we can’t command them, but as long as we speak, they must respect us!”

During his simple description, the other two people at the table seemed to have returned to the heyday of the five major families.

They rule the world together with the Bay Area (Jingang City)!

The daytime belongs to them, and the nighttime belongs to the five major families.

Compared with the glorious past, it is now desolate.

Even the five major families became four major families.

Bandy took another sip of his wine. "Now a young man can embarrass us. Sometimes I really doubt whether we are old and our time has passed."

"Why has this city become so strange?"

His words resonated with the heads of the Fergal and Tita families. It was indeed different now than before. People respected them.

Those small gangs would take the initiative to curry favor with them and respect them. With just one phone call, the people they wanted to see would be sent to them.

They can decide the future of a gang while chatting and laughing, and can also decide the life and death of some big shots in the eyes of ordinary people.

Now, it's different.

The small gangs were no longer as respectful of them and sometimes even rebelled against them.

Their own business has also shrunk a lot, giving up some profits or space to those small gangs that they used to ignore.

As Bandy said, times have changed.

It became unfamiliar and less likable.

Fergal picked up the glass and drank the rest of the wine in it. The brandy with ice cubes would not be so spicy, and it would not give people the feeling of a high alcohol content after taking a sip.

He took the bottle and poured himself a little more. "These young people are becoming more and more unruly!"

Bendy showed a listening attitude at the right moment, and he couldn't help but start complaining.

The city center is definitely a very attractive area. There are huge profits here, and the environment is relatively stable, which will definitely attract the attention of some gangs.

"They're opening bars everywhere and destroying the prices of drinks. They learned this from Lance!"

"Lance lowered the prices at the bar in the Empire District to the point where there was almost no profit. He stole a lot of my customers."

"Those little gangs are f**king following his lead, forcing me to lower my prices."

"Other people can make 20 or 30 yuan from a bottle of wine, but I can only make 10 yuan from a bottle of wine!"

"Egg!"

He raised his glass again and took a sip, then exhaled heavily, as if he wanted to expel all the depression in his chest.

The head of the Tita family also agreed that behind the decline of the five major families was the wild growth of many small and medium-sized gangs.

It’s just that now there is less fighting, and most people are competing for time to make money, open bars, etc.

The fight has changed from a fight between people to a business fight.

If you lower the rate by five points, I will lower it by ten points. In the end, no one will make any money, but we have to lower the rate anyway.

Only the Starlight District and the Bay Area are slightly better, but the operating costs are too high and small gangs cannot squeeze in.

Bandy started the conversation and the two were quickly controlled by him. He sighed and said, "It would be better if we just went back to the old days. We will kill anyone who doesn't obey."

"Now..." He shook his head, "Everything is different from the past. We may withdraw from this big stage someday."

Fergal drank some more wine, and he drank it quickly, slapping the table so hard that the plates on it jumped. "We can't go down like this, brothers!"

"If we don't seek change, we will soon be overwhelmed by those small gangs, and people will forget about the five big families and forget about us."

"If Lance can yell at me today without giving me face, he can ride on my head tomorrow!"

"We have to teach them a lesson and let them know that in this area of ​​the mafia, it belongs to us!"

Bandy's eyes lit up, "But the Lance family is very powerful..."

"I don't believe it. The three of us combined are still no match for him!"

Fergal interrupted him, "And I'm not saying to start a gang war, I mean we make him realize that this is not his Golden Port City, and let him learn to respect us."

"Put some pressure on him, and other small gangs will be more restrained."

The head of the Tita family actually doesn't think this is a good plan, but now he has been kidnapped.

If he doesn't join, he will be ostracized by these two guys, and he won't be able to join the new generation of gangs.

If he really got into any trouble, these two guys would most likely not lend a helping hand.

So he had no choice but to agree with their views and emphasized, "We just let them know who has the final say in this city!"

Bendy glanced at him, smiled and nodded, but he was thinking in his heart that some things, once started, cannot be stopped just because you say so.

(End of this chapter)