New Gods of North America.

Chapter 370 News
As soon as the news that "Wayne Constantine challenges Malcolm Baker to a public duel" appeared in the newspaper,
The entire city of Richmond was immediately in uproar.

Since the day the article was published was Friday, it was also the day when many people who lived on weekly wages received their paychecks and could relax a little.

So on that night, in many bars in Richmond, such inquiries were heard:

"Who are these two guys?"

Those who are a little more informed are more familiar with the first name. They know that Wayne Constantine is the founder of a detective agency and that newspapers have published stories about their detective agency fighting gangs.

If you were more informed, you would know that this person seemed to have been involved in a scandal in Georgeburg, not far from Richmond, and there were signs that he was developing into a "gang boss."

As for the latter name, ordinary people are really unfamiliar with it. The newspapers didn't even mention his identity, and he didn't seem to be a local politician or rich man. God knows where he came from.
Even some bartenders were very surprised by this and began to wonder if their channels for obtaining information were no longer up to date.

Fortunately, there is always a lack of "well-informed" people in the bar.

The more fortunate bartenders and customers in some of the bars soon heard the answers they wanted:

"You don't even know who Malcolm Baker is? You must have heard of Cohen Pharmaceuticals, right? Yes, that big company. Their advertisements should have been published in the newspapers before.

"There is a kind of painkiller in Cohen Pharmaceuticals' products that has been sold in some northern and western states. It is said that the effect is not very good, so it has never been able to enter the Virginia market. Malcolm Baker is Cohen Pharmaceuticals' full-powered agent in Virginia. It is said that he secretly added harmful ingredients to the pills in order to sell the product.

"That Wayne Constantine is a relatively honest private detective. After discovering the clues, he tried to expose him. As a result, the small detective agency was no match for the big company, so they were suppressed by the other party. I heard that Cohen Pharmaceuticals has launched several assassination attempts against him and tried to attack him through lawsuits and public opinion."

Some of the content here can correspond to the known information.
So some bartenders who were unwilling to be outdone quickly made supplementary remarks to avoid damaging their "well-informed" professional image.

For example, we can complete some stories about the Wayne Detective Agency and talk about the general situation of Cohen Pharmaceuticals.

By the way, he pretended to be like "You tell me first, let me see what else you know", trying to get more information from people who knew the inside story.

Although private duels were not uncommon in Virginia, not everyone had the opportunity to see or hear about a challenge published in a newspaper.
So the news quickly spread around and gradually overflowed from a few "suitably located" bars to the ears of more curious people.

……

In front of the study in the manor,

Mrs. Russell took the coffee cup from her maid, then opened the door and walked in, and saw her husband still frowning at the desk.

"It's getting late. I saw you were still busy, so I made coffee for you."

She walked over with a smile, a gentle and warm expression on her face, and her eyes secretly glanced at what Mr. Russell was holding in his hand, a little curious about what he was worried about today.

Strange, not the recent financial statistics or strange letters,

But it was the newspaper that her husband had read this morning.

Mr. Russell took the coffee cup with a smile, and took a sip symbolically, but his eyes could not help but quickly shifted to the newspaper that had been put down.

So Mrs. Russell soon saw something that interested her:

"Wayne Constantine? Isn't he the bishop's man? He is now in charge of the security of a section of the steam train line. Why would he challenge the people from Cohen Pharmaceuticals to a duel?"

“I’m thinking about this, too.”

Mr. Russell did not hide the truth from his wife. "Cohen Pharmaceuticals seems to have a good relationship with Bishop Corleone and the 'Southern Faction' who is likely to take over the position of bishop in the church. I don't understand why they would openly clash, and I don't understand why some things would be published in the newspapers."

Mrs. Russell tried to give her own advice:
"Does this mean that the candidate who will take over as bishop will change? There have always been people in the political world who are dissatisfied with the 'Virginia Dynasty' that has produced many presidents in succession. Will the bishop not want the position of bishop to fall into the hands of a southerner?"

Mr. Russell shook his head slightly. "Currently, all candidates who are qualified to take over the position of bishop are from the South. The church is different from the political world, and it is unlikely that such a big change will happen suddenly. It is not easy to guess what Bishop Corleone is thinking, but he will definitely have a big say in the specific successor..."

Mrs. Russell asked, placing her hand gently on Mr. Russell's shoulder, "Do we need to keep our distance from that Wayne, or from Mr. Baker?"

Mr. Russell seemed to be still hesitating:

"I'm inclined to keep it the same for now. I heard that Gladys was influenced by the Fallen and almost attacked the young lady of the Fisk family. It was Wayne who stopped her. If we act too deliberately now, it might cause Bishop Corleone's dissatisfaction."

After Mr. Russell finished speaking, he gently patted the back of Mrs. Russell's hand and said, "Don't worry, I will take care of these things."

Mrs. Russell did not doubt her husband's vision and judgment.

Then her thoughts shifted to another matter. "I haven't seen a public duel yet. Who do you think has a better chance of winning, Wayne or Mr. Baker?"

……

"Open duel?"

After reading the contents of the briefing, Bishop Corleone raised his eyes slightly and looked at Tom Hagen who was standing respectfully beside him.

Many messages in the diocese that would be considered "big news" by ordinary people are usually condensed into a sentence and then appear in the daily briefing submitted to the bishop as soon as possible.

Some things will not even appear in public view without the tacit approval of the cathedral.

However, these trivial matters have gradually been handed over to Tom Hagen.
Bishop Corleone now basically only listens to reports on important matters, and only when his mind is calm will he simply review and confirm the daily news.

Tom Hagen nodded and replied, "You said before that Wayne and Cohen Pharmaceuticals should handle the matter on their own, so I did not order to stop the spread of the news."

"Well, there's no need to get involved. Some people always think they can make friends with everyone, but in fact that means they have no friends at all."

As soon as Bishop Corleone finished speaking, he gritted his teeth slightly and put a fist to his forehead.

Tom Hagen took a half step forward at the right time and moved the cup on the table closer to the Bishop's hand:

"Baker sent the latest 'tranquility' pills, which are ten times stronger than the original version. It is said that if taken on time, it can make people feel no pain, which may be more helpful for treatment."

"Just like the previous ones," Bishop Corleone waved his hand, "throw them all into the warehouse."

"Yes."

Bishop Corleone's eyes turned from the briefing to the sailboats and coastline in the painting on the wall:
"I thought Wayne would be too scared to do anything. It looks like at least one of these seeds can sprout."

"You said that if a believer prays to the Holy Spirit devoutly but never gets a response, it means that the Holy Spirit believes that 'he can'. I think with Wayne's level, he should be able to figure these things out."

"The Holy Spirit always forgives, the public sometimes forgives, but the enemy never forgives."

Bishop Corleone shook his head slightly and pointed at the painting on the wall. "The ancestors were able to take root in the New World, was it just because they were pious enough?"

Tom Hagen hesitated to answer.

Bishop Corleone continued, "Because they dared to cut off the scalps of their competitors and make them into shoes.

"Only those who survive and take up the torch are the so-called 'descendants'."

(End of this chapter)