50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 620 Russian Roulette

Rex Acosta and his group consisted of 16 people, with Rex holding 6% of the shares, Allen holding 5%, and the others holding between 1% and 3%.

Rex told Allen to call his men to bring Lincolns, saying one for each of them, which was an exaggeration; there weren't that many Lincolns in Pinkerton at the moment.

The Lincoln Continental, known as the car of choice for mob bosses, is not cheap. Although it was discontinued 5 years ago, each car cost more than $1 when it was purchased.

There are still 8 Lincolns left in the Pinkerton garage. Fortunately, many of the 16 people drove this type of car, so getting 16 Lincolns shouldn't be a problem.

The fact that many of them drive Lincolns tells you a lot about these 16 people; each of them has some connection to the local Chicago gangs.

Pinkerton has as many as eight of them. If Sun Zhiwei knew this, he probably wouldn't know what to say.

Rex Acosta is running Pinkerton Detective Agency like a gang; no wonder the agency has gone downhill since he took control.

Those rich people aren't stupid; who would hire gangsters for personal or business security?

Half an hour later, a long line of Lincoln Continentals drove up from a distance in front of the Four Seasons Hotel on the Magnificent Mile.

Upon arriving at the Four Seasons Hotel, all the Lincolns lined up in a row, and then a large group of people got out of the cars. Surrounded by them, Rex and the others filed into the hotel lobby.

The lobby manager rushed over, and although he frowned slightly when he saw the Lincoln parked at the entrance, he showed no concern whatsoever.

The Four Seasons Hotels were able to establish themselves in Chicago because they had powerful backers; they weren't particularly afraid of the local gangs.

Even gangsters aren't forbidden from coming to their hotel; as long as they don't cause trouble, the Four Seasons Hotel welcomes you and is happy to serve you.

However, if these people cause trouble in the hotel and disturb other guests, that won't do. As the lobby manager, he naturally has to protect the hotel's interests.

So the manager went up and blocked Rex and his group from advancing.

"Gentlemen, please wait. Our hotel has agreements with various organizations, and violence is not allowed here."

The manager's words stunned them all, and then one of the hot-tempered men yelled at the manager, "This bitch, she thinks we're a gang."

The others started to grumble, "Isn't this insulting?" But they didn't even consider what kind of car they had arrived in; wasn't it only natural that they were being mistaken for gangsters?

Rex waved to silence the others' commotion and said to the manager in a deep voice, "We are Pinkerton Company, not a gang."

The manager was stunned when he heard the name 'Pinkton', and he immediately glanced at everyone's chests.

Soon you can see the badge on Allen's chest, the exclusive badge of the Pinkerton detectives, which is also one of their identifications.

Of the sixteen shareholders, Chairman Rex certainly wouldn't be carrying a detective badge around his neck.

None of the others worked for the company, so naturally they didn't have one. Only Allen was the company's detective, and that's why he wore a detective badge on his chest.

Pinkerton is a long-established local company, but the manager was a little puzzled as to why they were dressed like this.

However, as long as it's not a gang causing trouble, it's not a problem.

"Sorry, I didn't recognize you all. Welcome! May I ask what brings you here today?"

“We’re having a shareholders’ meeting here today. Didn’t you get a notification?” Rex asked, displeased.

The manager had no idea what meeting was scheduled for this morning. Just as he was about to speak, a waiter rushed over and whispered a few words to him.

He certainly didn't know about the arrangements. Sun Zhiwei and his group had only arrived at the hotel half an hour earlier, and the meeting room had probably just been set up. The waiter had come to inform the manager about this matter.

After receiving confirmation, the manager smiled and replied, "I understand, everyone. Please follow me." Five minutes later, Rex and the others pushed open a conference room door and filed in.

Inside is a conference room that can seat 50 people, with a row of chairs around the perimeter and a long oval conference table in the center.

Sun Zhiwei was already seated at the head of the conference table, while lawyer Smith and other team members occupied half of the table.

Upon seeing them enter, Sun Zhiwei didn't greet them but instead gestured with one hand for them to sit down.

Once everyone was seated, and as Attorney Smith stood up to speak, Rex interrupted him.

“We know what you’re here for. If you want to take over Pinkerton, then you’ll have to show us what you’re capable of.”

Rex's words were clearly directed at him, and he was obviously not there to negotiate.

His words seemed to resonate with a group of minority shareholders, who began to clamor.

"Exactly, do you think this is New York?"

"If we're not satisfied, you won't get anything."

"Kid, this is Chicago. Be careful, or you might not be able to leave."

Sun Zhiwei found the way he spoke to him like a gangster negotiating, which made him both annoyed and amused.

He tapped the conference table impatiently and said, "What do you mean by ability or incompetence? I'm the major shareholder of the company. Having money is my ability."

He pointed to the sixteen minority shareholders before saying, "If I put a bounty on all of you in Chicago, I could spend a million dollars. Wouldn't that be considered impressive?"

Sun Zhiwei's arrogance silenced Rex and his team for a time.

Some were furious, some looked at each other blankly, and some remained silent, presenting Sun Zhiwei with a vivid picture of the diverse lives of people.

That's right, having money is also a skill, the power of money.

All of them combined did not have as much wealth as Sun Zhiwei, who sat at the head of the table.

Although the time was short, they still learned about Sun Zhiwei's identity through various channels. He was a person who made it onto the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America.

The money power demonstrated by this individual truly made them wary. They did have some influence locally, but not the greatest.

With so many gangs in Chicago, there are bound to be some who are willing to risk their lives for money. If a bounty were placed on their heads, they would most likely have no choice but to run away.

Just as the silence was falling, Sun Zhiwei started talking again.

“Look at yourselves. You’ve lost all the demeanor of Pinkerton detectives. You’re more like gangsters. You’ve disgraced your ancestors.”

“Since you consider yourselves gangsters, then I’ll talk to you like gangsters do.”

After saying this, Sun Zhiwei took out a revolver, emptied all the bullets from the revolver, loaded one more, turned the cylinder once, and then slammed the pistol on the table.

"I'm here to bet Russian roulette with you. The loser has to hand over all his shares. Anyone dare to bet against me?"

Everyone fell silent upon seeing the revolver on the table. Even Attorney Smith hadn't expected Sun Zhiwei to pull this stunt.

(End of this chapter)