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

Chapter 217 The Black Pigeon

Looking at Vincent, who bore a striking resemblance to President Hoffa, Luca's mind wandered, especially to Vincent's skills, which made Luca sigh, "It's like what I said came true."

The deceased Montgomery once told Luca that emotional bonds are the most difficult thing to control in the mob. They are far less efficient than violence and less attractive than profit. Playing the emotional card is a high-stakes gamble comparable to Russian roulette, where you could lose everything at any time.

Director Rock asked Luca a question in the hospital: would he sacrifice his subordinates to protect himself one day?

In the original storyline of Fire, both the protagonists and antagonists faced similar choices.

The original plot was simple: a showdown between the police and the criminals, one arresting the other and the other escaping, and in the end, good triumphed over evil, and the criminals were killed by the police.

The entanglements were the bonds between people, which was the main reason the robbers were eventually caught.

The robbers were a small gang similar to the Toretto family, daring to rob anything and everything, from warehouses and banks to armored trucks, showcasing the allure of Los Santos.

If this group robbed the truck drivers' union
Luca wasn't sure yet. He had only met Officer Vincent and had no clues or evidence to prove that it was the same group of police and criminals. This officer had dealt with far too many criminals.

“Sir, this is Mr. Greco, the branch president of the truck drivers’ union.” An officer led Vincent Hannah to Luca.

As a detective in the Los Angeles Police Department's Major Crimes Unit, Vincent has been busy lately dealing with various truck robbery cases. The union has reported the incidents to the police multiple times, but the cases remain unsolved, forcing the drivers to purchase weapons for self-defense.

Vincent had dealt with the union many times and knew the local union president, but he had never met Luca and did not know him.

Too young, doesn't seem like the type to be president.

"Hello."

Vincent and Luca shook hands. "You're the newly appointed vice president of the local union?"

“I’m from New York, and I’m the president of the association in New Jersey,” Luca said truthfully, there was no need to hide his public identity.

"New York?"

"The labor unions in the two places have recently cooperated, and the stolen gasoline is part of our joint business."

"Looks like your business is very profitable. You've even expanded to the West Coast, and you've even attracted the attention of local robbers. They usually only rob valuable items."

Vincent was a workaholic. Although he was curious about Luca becoming the chairman at such a young age, he was more concerned about the case. He tentatively asked, "This isn't the first case of gasoline being stolen. Does your business have any competitors locally? Foreign businessmen often face some competition from local rivals."

Luca had considered this point, and the Delana family and the Russians had also investigated. There were no companies openly dealing with gasoline taxes here, so theoretically there were no competitors.

"Our rivals? The local petrol wholesalers and those established gas stations are all our rivals. But as far as I know, they've also had their goods stolen. And these robbers don't just steal petrol; all the valuable goods that truck drivers are transporting are on their robbery list."

Luca patted the union badge he was wearing on his chest. "As the president, I must stand up for the brothers in the union. Not just those bastards who stole gasoline, but all those robbers who prey on truck drivers and threaten the interests of the union must be punished!"

Make your stance clear: the Mafia is the Mafia, but Luca is now representing the union.

Vincent glanced at Luca in response to his eloquent speech, his expression not very enthusiastic. There are plenty of leaders who can talk a good game, but how many of them actually put their words into action?
“Officer Vincent, please feel free to contact me if you need any assistance,” Luca said with a smile. “I’d be happy to cooperate with the police in apprehending these robbers.”

Cooperate?

Vincent always felt that Luca had a special kind of affection for him.

This must be our first time meeting, right?

Los Angeles residents don't have a very good impression of cops.
Thank you, I'll contact you if I need anything.

Just then, Vincent's phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was his wife calling, asking why he had stood him up at the party again that night.

Vincent immediately covered his mouth and walked aside to explain to his wife that he had encountered an unexpected incident and was busy working.

But as the conflicts accumulated, Vincent's excuses became increasingly annoying to his wife.

The two started arguing on the phone.

Luca, who was standing nearby, could vaguely hear Vincent's loud, agitated voice. He thought to himself, "How many of these rare cards in the police station have happy family lives?"

Like McLean before him, this guy has a pretty bad marriage.

He's probably worse off than McLean. In the original story, Vincent had three marriages, and his third marriage even resulted in a stepdaughter. At least McLean had biological children, but Vincent didn't.

Luca wondered if he was going to have to mediate this guy's family disputes again.
Oh, right, McLean.
McLean used to hang out in Los Angeles for a while, so he should know Vincent, right?
"Vincent?"

When McLean heard the familiar name on the phone, he sighed, "This guy is one of my few friends in Los Angeles. Whenever we two argue with our wives, we get together for a drink. He's a workaholic and he's not willing to compromise at all."

Back then, McLean's wife worked in Los Angeles, and he came to Los Angeles to become a police officer in order to be with her; this was already a compromise.

And would Vincent give up his job to maintain his marriage?

Sorry, that's difficult to do.

The breakdown of all three marriages was due to the same reason.

At that moment, McLean and David were drinking in the bar of the SSR Club. Both men, whose families had returned to normal, expressed their sympathy for Vincent.

“Old Pigeon, although that guy’s family life is a mess, his hard work pays off. Vincent is very capable of solving cases. There’s almost no criminal in Los Angeles that he can’t catch. Don’t worry, leave this to him, and he’ll definitely catch those truck thieves for you.”

McLean assured Luca of his unwavering trust in Vincent's investigative abilities, recalling how the two of them had worked together seamlessly in Los Angeles—one analyzing cases, the other using force to apprehend criminals—making them virtually invincible in the city. After offering a few words of comfort to Old Pigeon, McLean hung up the phone and went on to drink with David.

"Without Old Pigeon, New York always feels like something is missing."

"Are you worried that without Lao Ge (Old Pigeon) around, your promotion will be slower?"

David complained, "Don't forget, the drug dealers in Chinatown haven't been dealt with yet. We can't rely on Old Pigeon for everything. Now that Old Pigeon isn't here, we have to handle it ourselves."

The thought of those drug dealers gave McLean a headache. Chinatown was a monolithic place; the Chinese were too united to easily infiltrate. It was like a country within a country, with the Triads as their kings.

The only good news during this period was that the drug dealers' drug trafficking routes in Boston had been cut off, because Boston's largest gang alliance was no longer involved in drugs and had instead actively engaged in other illicit businesses.

If people don't get involved in drugs and kill fewer people, the police will pay much less attention to these matters and won't have as much funding to keep an eye on other things.

Just as McLean was pondering how to deal with the Triads, another phone call came in.

Vincent?
"McLean, how have you been doing in New York lately?"

After a few pleasantries, Vincent got straight to the point, "President of the New Jersey Guild, do you have information on Luca Greco? He's from New York. Send me a copy."

"Not only do I have that, I know Old Pigeon very well," McLean asked. "Why do you need his information?"

“I sensed something was off about him. After his business expanded from New York to Los Angeles, the frequency of truck robberies here has increased significantly compared to before. I suspect someone is deliberately targeting his business. I want to start my investigation with him.”

"."

Without a doubt, Old Pigeon is a member of the Mafia, and someone must have targeted him in this situation.

After thinking it over, McLean did not hide his identity as the head of the Lucchese family. It was not difficult to find out. It was just that Vincent was in Los Angeles and was relatively out of touch with the news in New York. However, he would find out soon if he continued to investigate.

"He is the head of the Lucchese family."

After hearing McLean's detailed explanation, Vincent fell into a long silence. His suspicions were indeed correct. Why would an ordinary gasoline dealer be targeted like this? If it was the Mafia, then it would make sense.

Recalling Luca's previous magnanimous facade of defending the workers' interests, Vincent scoffed, "So he's a mafia boss, huh! He's good at talking nice things, but what a load of rubbish about caring for the workers. I bet he's just desperate because he's lost too much money."

“If Luca said that to you, then I think you need to consider his words. He’s not talking nonsense; he really intends to stand up for the workers.”

It's normal to have prejudices against the Mafia, because the Mafia is indeed not a good thing, it's rotten to the core, but McLean still wants to say a few words for Old Pigeon, "Dude, Luca is a Mafia boss with a warm heart, I hope you can see his warm side instead of just focusing on the other side. I don't want to see any unpleasant things happen between you two."

"The premise is that he won't commit a crime in Los Angeles, and if I catch him, I will never let him go."

Vincent said coldly, "You know what kind of person I am."

"A man who has been married three times."

"."

Vincent choked for a moment, "McLean, your mouth is as annoying as ever."

Why bring up something you don't want to talk about?

McLean: "I'm just reminding you that work and family can be balanced, and people can communicate with each other. You can't go down a dead end and deliberately upset your wife, and there's no need to be hostile towards Luca. Maybe he can help you in the end."

Vincent paused for a moment, then urged, "Alright, alright, you don't need to tell me what to do. Just send me Luca's information quickly, and I'll make my own judgment."

That evening, after Vincent received the information from McLean, he read it carefully and a look of strong doubt appeared on his face.

Peace Ambassador?

Defending peace?

The crime rate in the area has plummeted?

Am I seeing things? That guy is a crime boss with a criminal empire under his command. How could the crime rate possibly be decreasing?

How could the Mafia possibly defend peace?
But the data was not falsified, and McLean also emphasized that the data was all true.

Luca—known in the underworld as Pigeon Luca, and now in some places, such as Boston, people call him that.
Godfather of Peace.

Vincent felt like his worldview had been shattered.

"A pigeon. A black pigeon?"

[Bond: Follow]

Meanwhile, after leaving the crime scene, Luca returned to Beverly Hills—he had moved out of the hotel and bought a property there, knowing he would be coming to Los Angeles frequently in the future, so having a place to stay was a good thing.

Shortly after arriving home, Luca received another call from Brian.

"Old Pigeon, we're near the Confucius Institute, and our car has been vandalized by the Triads!"

(End of this chapter)