American variety show: The Godfather, the Peace Ambassador, what the heck?

Chapter 212 No one can leave this place
Las Vegas, inside the private hospital where Spallanzan is located.

Buddy has been moved to an isolation ward, lying next to Spallanzan. The father and son, who look nothing alike, are now on the verge of death.

The doctor is making final preparations before the surgery—Buddy's body, which has been ravaged by alcohol and sex and injected with sedatives, needs to undergo a series of examinations and "maintenance" to ensure that his heart is stable before he can be sent to the operating table.

The boss was standing in the hospital corridor, communicating with the surgeon about Spallanzan's condition, completely unaware that a menacing young man was rushing towards him from not far away.

Only when Brian approached and his superior sensed the intense anger did he turn around and give Brian a surprised look. "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to go back to New York?"

"I need an explanation."

"Explanation? I told you I'd tell you when we get back! Please don't disturb my work now!"

"I want to hear it now."

Brian's expression grew increasingly calm, which only made his superior feel more and more uneasy. The young man in front of him was restraining his anger, but his superior had no idea why this brat was so angry.
Because several colleagues who weren't very familiar with died?
Or is it because he concealed the truth? The mission to capture Buddy is already completed, what more truth does Brian need?

“Brian, I think you really think you’re Mafia. Didn’t you learn any rules in the Mafia family? You have to obey the boss’s orders unconditionally. Whatever Pigeon tells you to do, you have to do. You can’t have any dissenting voices.”

He orders you to kill someone, even if you have something extremely important to do, or your family is lying in the hospital needing your care, you have to immediately abandon your family and carry out Pigeon's orders. That's the Mafia—cruel and ruthless!

The boss said coldly, "You can abide by the rules of the Mafia, but now you don't care about the rules of the FBI?"

“Pigeon has never made me kill anyone. He’s different from other Mafia members, and he’s different from you. He doesn’t force his subordinates to do difficult things.”

"Heh, it's just that you don't need to lift a finger. Do you really think Pigeon is some kind of kind person? Countless people have died because of him. Even Satan would have to close his eyes when he sees him."

The boss sneered, but his expression became even more curious. "The fact that Pigeon didn't ask you to kill anyone is the thing I can't understand the most. In the Mafia, killing is the quickest way to gain trust. Every official member must kill someone to pass the test and participate in the Blood Oath."

Brian, I'm really curious, how exactly did you gain Luca the Pigeon's trust?

The boss asked with great interest, "According to our research, Pigeon is a rather sensitive and suspicious person, like a wolf. At the slightest disturbance, he will prick up his ears and be alert to the situation around him."

Of all the Mafia bosses in New York, Pigeon had the largest power, but the fewest core subordinates. He preferred to let his subordinates control other people, even letting them control the gang territory of a city, while he himself hid in the deepest shadows, and almost no one could truly get close to him.

But you did it, Brian. You didn't kill a single person, and according to you, you hardly participated in any criminal activities, yet you still managed to get close to Pigeon. There aren't many people in this world qualified to drive for Pigeon.

Hearing these words, Brian looked at his superior with a strange expression. He took a step back and shook his head. "Do you remember what you said when I first came to New York? You said you wanted me to go undercover, not to actually become a bloodthirsty mafia member. You said you wouldn't let me lose my principles, that I was more important than anything else. But what are you doing now?"

The boss was silent for a moment.

Three years is enough time for a lot of things to change.

Is Denham's current success in the department due to his incorruptibility?

Obviously not.

Having seen too many disgusting things, if you don't want to be disgusted by them, you have to learn to get used to it. But if you can change your mindset and treat it as something to enjoy, then you're not far from success.

“I did say that.” The boss nodded. “I will keep my promises. Now I’m just helping you to stop in time, aren’t I? Brian, you’re too deeply involved now. I’m helping you get out of this mess.”

"Don't I know how deeply I'm involved?" Brian leaned closer, his chest pressing against the other's. "Do I need you to remind me of this? I can tell you clearly that I've never lost my principles while I'm with Pigeon!"

"But you've lost the rules."

The superior shook his head. "You've forgotten what an undercover agent is supposed to do. The intelligence I need, you've never given me. You're such an idealist, only concerned with your own thoughts and completely disregarding the FBI's responsibilities. Brian, don't deny it, you know very well whether you've protected Pigeon or not."

Brian cannot deny this; he is a person who is easily swayed by emotions, and the bonds of friendship and loyalty between friends and brothers are more important than any so-called FBI responsibility.

If Old Pigeon were to be captured, and the Lucchese family asked him to hijack the prison van, Brian thought he should be willing to do it.

I'm a very good driver and I don't want to see Lao Ge get into an accident.

"You can leave now." Seeing Brian's silence, the superior waved him away, but then there was a click, and a gun was already pressed against his back—the sound of the safety being released.

The superior, with a stern face and an authoritative air, said, "What are you doing, Agent Brian?!"

“My life is ruined. Pigeon already knows I’m in Vegas, and there’s no place for me in the SSR Club anymore.” Brian chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to come to New York as an undercover agent in the first place. Undercover agents never end well.”

Brian pointed the gun at his superior and pushed him forward, continuing, "Before I leave, I need to know the whole truth! You have to tell me why my colleagues died so inexplicably, and why I was sent to Vegas for this mission?! I'm an undercover agent, and you're sending me on this kind of capture mission?"

"I can't talk to you about this right now."

"You have to talk!" Brian slammed the gun barrel shut.

"Brian, do you know what you're doing? You're pointing a gun at your boss, you're fucking done for!" The two entered the intensive care unit, where Brian saw Buddy lying in the isolation ward, as well as Spallanzan.

Why are these two people lying in the same room? Shouldn't Buddy have been taken to another safe place?
Brian stared blankly at the two people on the hospital bed through the glass. "Now tell me the whole truth."

The superior glanced at the gun in Brian's hand, hesitated for a moment, and then explained helplessly, "They're father and son."

Then, the whole story unfolded in Brian's mind.

Father and son, a failed undercover operation decades ago, and Spallanzan's true identity.
The undercover agent from back then didn't die? Instead, he had plastic surgery and impersonated a mafia boss?
This seemed like a huge joke, leaving Brian completely stunned.

And then there's that transplant surgery.
"You mean a heart transplant?" Brian asked incredulously. "You're going to kill Buddy to save Spallanzan?"

“It’s not that Buddy was killed, he’s already ‘dead,’ he died of heart failure caused by the hotel riots. The hospital couldn’t save him in the end, that’s the truth. When Buddy’s body is thrown into the incinerator, not many people will know where his heart went.”

The superior stepped forward and handed the documents to Brian. "Sparazan's undercover work began during World War II. You should know how valuable this information is after decades of accumulation. We can use it to strike at the heart of the matter, take down the Mafia Commission in one fell swoop, and destroy all the Mafia families in America from top to bottom!"

"So you changed your plans at the last minute and broke the agreement with Buddy?"

"Sparazan needs Buddy's heart."

"You're saving a ruthless mafia member!"

"No, I saved Heller." That was the real name of the undercover agent from back then, and now he lives inside Spallanzan's body.

Brian was unusually angry. "Then why didn't you tell us the truth sooner? You just watched so many agents go to their deaths!"

“We need to take advantage of the situation to complete the plan,” the boss said coldly.

"Fuck you!" Brian grabbed his boss by the collar and shoved him against the wall. "Keep dreaming! Do you think that even if you revive Spallanzan, he'll confess to all those crimes? You expect him to unravel the secrets of these past decades for you?"

"Maybe, at least we should try."

"Take our lives and test it? So many people have died, just to repair an old relic?"

Brian almost didn't recognize his boss anymore. His boss was ruthless and cunning, using his subordinates to their deaths to complete the plan. Even Old Pigeon wouldn't do such a thing, at least Old Pigeon wouldn't send his own people to their deaths.

Moreover, if Spallanzan betrays the Mafia once this plan is completed, then Old Pigeon will very likely also face enormous trouble.

Spallanzan's self-destruction was many times more powerful than Buddy's.

And the person involved in the plan will personally push the old pigeon into the abyss.

At this moment, Brian felt extremely lost and pained. In the end, his undercover plan had succeeded, and he had still hurt Old Pigeon.

Brian's boss patted him on the shoulder. "Think about it, this is a good thing for you. With Luca the pigeon gone, you're free, aren't you? You don't have to be an undercover agent anymore. You can go back to a normal life, like driving your car around Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles a couple of times?"

Brian turned his head and stared at everything in a daze.

If, as my superiors say, we can take down the entire American Mafia, it would undoubtedly be a great achievement, but I'm not as happy as I imagined.

It is only when people face major choices that they can truly see their own hearts.

It was only at this moment that Brian realized that, without realizing it, he had developed feelings and identification with the old pigeons and the club, and did not want them to "disappear".

But he still held a sliver of hope: "What if we fail? What if Spallanzan doesn't cooperate? What if he survives and continues his evil deeds?!"

"Someone has to be held responsible for this."

Brian's superior's voice was a bit far away. He turned around and realized that while he was distracted, the other party had retreated to the front door, accompanied by a number of agents.

“Brian,” his superior said jokingly, “I know you want to protect Pigeon, but you’d better pray that Spallanzan will cooperate. Otherwise, if Pigeon doesn’t die, you will be the one who does. The deaths of those agents and Spallanzan’s betrayal will all be blamed on you, the person involved on the front lines.”

Brian's face was filled with fear. Old Pigeon wasn't finished? He was the one who would be finished?
No, no, no, is there no other solution?
Seeing Brian on the verge of collapse, the boss shook his head and smiled. What a naive and impulsive young man. He took a step back, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, a pair of hands pressed against his back and forcefully pushed him back into the room.

The boss stiffly turned his neck and met Luca's deep eyes.

"No one is allowed to leave here today without my order!"

(End of this chapter)