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

Chapter 236 Time is running out
Inside the room, Milano continued to tell Luca about the French gangs.

This group wasn't necessarily powerful, but they had an extensive network of connections. They secretly photographed government officials and prostitutes to blackmail them. Some of the officials even had homosexual tendencies, which made their actions even more shameful.

Luca asked, "Do you know which high-ranking government officials the French have colluded with?"

Milano shook his head: "I'm not sure. This information is rather confidential, but they definitely have people in the police station and the prosecutor's office. They have definitely infiltrated these two institutions, but I don't know exactly who. Our family doesn't have any direct conflict of interest with them, and I haven't been too involved in these matters."

Luca does know some of it.

In the original storyline, the French, the police, and the prosecutor's office joined forces to unify the Los Angeles underworld.

That was something Luca hadn't really considered before; these guys even wanted to unify the Los Angeles mafia.

It's just that Los Angeles is too chaotic, with all sorts of races and gangs, making it difficult to unify them.

But now?
With the help of the police and prosecutor's offices, these people used official power to deal with those gangs.

They are like the mantis stalking the cicada; can they themselves be the oriole unaware of the mantis?

Luca's lips curled into a sinister smile.
It seems the plan has changed again.

The only good news is that Luca is certain that if his plan succeeds, he will definitely be able to complete the progress bar for title advancement.

After Milano left, Luca went to his desk and began to organize the available information.

Police stations and prosecutors' offices, major gangs, and motorcycle gangs
The level of collusion between officials and criminals in Los Angeles is comparable to, or even more egregious than, that in New York.
It is now confirmed that someone in Los Angeles' underworld harbors ambitions to unify the gangs.

"But the situation is still unclear."

Luca produced Ramon's photo. As long as this Mexican drug lord remains in power, the situation in Los Angeles will not change much. Ramon's drugs are supplied to various gangs, allowing them to maintain a relatively stable state for the time being.

Once Ramon falls, this stable situation will be disrupted, and the underworld in Los Angeles will undergo certain changes.

Luca slowly took out some photos, arranged them together on the table, and squinted slightly as he pondered the relationship between these rare cards.

Vincent, Jack, and the police officers from L.A. Confidential.
French gangs, the Mafia, Russians, biker gangs, and Mexican drug lords
In the dim light, Luca gently rubbed his temples, his face appearing indistinct and uncertain in the light. He quickly went through his plan in his mind, considering what he still needed to do to become the one whoops at the top and unify the Los Angeles gangs.
Who are his enemies, the allies he can rely on, and those fickle fence-sitters?
After thinking for a long time, Luca summoned Lyon and handed him a photo of Pierce Barcho. "Starting tomorrow, you will keep a close eye on these men."

Luca read out a list of names. "If you need more manpower, I'll transfer some from New York for you. Also, the two of them will assist you."

Lyon asked curiously, "Who?"

Luca looked toward the doorway, where El and Beatrice stood side by side.

Leon and El were quite familiar with each other, but he hadn't met Beatrice many times. After glancing at the woman with the same blonde hair, Leon turned back and nodded: "Okay."

Early September.

Luca went back to New York first, partly because Matilda was starting school, and partly to handle some business in New York and Boston.

Currently in Boston, with the cooperation of Billy and Colin, the Southern District Alliance has firmly established itself as the largest gang in Boston, controlling almost 70% of the business.

The Southern Conference could be called the Boston Conference.

Over there, the gasoline tax spread from Boston throughout the entire New England region in the northeast, further boosting Luca's income, and his several powerful families also made a fortune.

Now Luca doesn't need to be too proactive; people like Fatty Tony will take the initiative to expand their business to other regions, such as Chicago and Miami.

These are all good news.

The less-than-good news is that Gambino's health is deteriorating.

Once he falls, the loss of a top leader will cause turmoil in the major New York Mafia families and the National Mafia Commission.

Luca had a premonition that the great changes in New York were imminent. Both out of courtesy and consideration, Luca went to the Long Island villa to visit Mr. Gambino.

Gambino had two trees in his yard. He sat on a deck chair under one of the trees, a cigar in his hand. His death was imminent, but his face showed no panic, only a sense of world-weariness.

"The hospital has issued me a critical condition notice, saying that I won't live past next year at the latest."

Gambino took a puff of his cigar. "They tell me to smoke less cigars, that it's good for my health. What nonsense are they spouting? There are so many harmful things in this world, yet countless people still flock to them. Luca, do you know why these people risk their lives to do these things?"

This is a very broad issue. Smoking and drug use are both harmful to health, and countless people are addicted to them.

Gangs are fraught with danger, and gang leaders rarely escape unscathed, yet many still flock to join them.

Knowing full well that some things are illegal and have serious consequences, breaking the law is a basic practice for many Americans, and taking advantage of loopholes is a survival skill of gangs.

Luca shook his head: "I don't know, maybe some people just like adventure."

Gambino forced a smile onto his withered face. "For example, if I didn't have any cigars to smoke in the last part of my life, I would have regrets when I died. Or perhaps these people don't want to leave too many regrets in their lives, and before they die, they always want to experience things they haven't tried before?"

Luca smiled. He didn't think there was a fixed answer to this question. In short, his commitment to defending peace couldn't be explained by mere regret.

The old man and the young man then talked a lot about the Mafia, about the situation in New York, the national Mafia, and the official government's attitude towards the Mafia.

"What happened in Vegas is just the beginning," Gambino said. "The US government has been trying to find ways to attack us. They can turn the Spallanzan father and son against us, and they can also turn other Mafia members against us. The official actions will become more and more frequent and more targeted. Luca, do you have any good ideas?"

"You've already pulled off such big moves in Detroit and Boston, and now you're in Los Angeles. Are you trying to crack down on the local organized crime?"

Luca laughed and said, "I was just doing this for the gasoline business. Some foolish robbers stole my tanker truck. Of course, if there are more foolish guys in the area who want to mess with me, I don't mind taking them all down with me."

"For peace?"

"For peace."

"You're starting to look more and more like a arbiter."

Gambino said, "The High Table's adjudicators are all a group of people who follow the rules. In their eyes, the High Table's rules are above all else, including federal law. The High Table has some secret connections with the governments of various countries around the world. Together, they manipulate the political, war, and economic situations of various countries."

The High Table was also for the sake of world peace on the surface, but in reality...

Gambino shook his head. "Luca, once you reach this level, you will naturally understand all of this."

The peace you desire is still a long way off.

And now, I don't have much time left.

"Come here, I need to talk to you about something."

A week later, Luca returned to Los Angeles.

Brian and Torretto have received word that they need to help Ramon transport goods, and the delivery will take place tonight.

Ramon's sudden notification caught Brian and Toretto completely off guard. They didn't have time to gather more information, only knowing that they needed to meet at a certain location at a specified time, and then follow other arrangements.

Luca had less than half a day to prepare.

"Listen to my arrangements when the time comes."

Luca gave Brian instructions over the phone.

Gambino's time is running out, and so is his. This time, he must take down the Mexican drug cartel in one fell swoop.

(End of this chapter)