America: Starting with the Last Liberty

Chapter 105 PUA and Empty Promises 4K

Billy limped out of Bonanno Estate, immediately called his accomplices, and then got into a car and left Malibu without incident.

In the car, Billy dialed Frank's number.

"Mr. Castro, something unexpected has happened tonight!"

"An accident? How could there be an accident? Doesn't Bonanno Manor only have a few weak guards?"

Antonio had already revealed the information about Bonanno Estate to Frank, but Billy investigated it again out of caution.

As it turned out, most of Antonio's intelligence was accurate; it was the inaccurate parts that caused the problem.

Billy recounted the events to Frank in detail, followed by a long silence on the other end of the phone.

"It seems that Sofia Bonanno has hired a professional."

Billy found this statement somewhat strange.

"Mr. Castro, what does 'professional' mean?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just focus on recovering. Stay home and avoid trouble for the next few days. I'll call you when I get back."

"Yes, Mr. Castro."

After hanging up the phone, Frank immediately began to vent his anger wildly, sweeping everything on the table onto the floor.

Clearly, this older man is also an excellent desktop cleaning master.

The sound of breaking glass startled Eva from her sleep. She walked over, still wearing her transparent white nightgown, and saw Frank sitting in a chair, panting heavily.

"Mr. Castro, what has happened?"

Frank glared angrily at Eva.

"Who let you in? Get out!"

Eva was startled by Frank's attitude and had no choice but to leave the study feeling wronged.

But out of Frank's sight, Eva's expression instantly changed from aggrieved to gloomy.

After thinking for a moment, Eva returned to her bedroom, picked up her phone, edited a text message, sent it out, and then quickly deleted the message.

Frank clutched his chest in the study. At his age, his body parts were already worn out, and extreme emotions could easily lead to physical discomfort.

After catching his breath, Frank immediately picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, this is Frank."

"Frank? I hope you're calling with good news for me."

"Fuck! Antonio, all my men were wiped out at Bonanno Manor! Only one person escaped!"

"What did you say? So Francis Ritchie and Alberto Bruno are dead?"

"Only six guards and Alberto died; everyone else survived."

Antonio on the other end of the phone immediately became anxious.

"Watfuck? Frank, didn't you always say your people were extremely professional? How could such a huge blunder occur?"

Frank, who also had a short temper, immediately retorted with a curse.

"Fuck you! I had the same question for you! Why are there so many agents at Bonanno Manor?"

I lost fifteen of my men!

Those sent to carry out such murders must be trusted veterans under Frank's command.

Losing fifteen veterans at once is a devastating blow to any organization.

Well, unlike in Hong Kong where gangs like to flaunt their numbers, gangs in Europe and America are usually more streamlined.

(The practice of "showing off horses" refers to the act of gathering troops to display military strength and intimidate the enemy. In Hong Kong during the 1980s and 90s, there were even instances of people gathering thousands of troops to "show off horses.")

Even a powerful family like the Bonanno family in the Los Angeles underworld only has five or six hundred official members, and with peripheral members, it's only a little over a thousand.

This number of people is certainly not enough in Hong Kong, but it is more than enough to control the Bonanno family's territory.

Many official members didn't even have the chance to rise to a higher position and had to switch to legitimate businesses.

There are even fewer official members of the Castro gang, since Frank's business is far more dangerous than that of the Bonanno family, which is why Frank is so angry.

Antonio knew Frank was angry, so he didn't say anything more to provoke him.

"So where is Francis Ritchie now?"

"I don't know, it probably fell into the hands of the Los Angeles Police Department."

"Fuck! We absolutely cannot let Francis Richie live; he knows too many secrets!"

It was because Francis knew so many secrets that Frank changed his mind and let Billy bring the man back alive, but his plan obviously failed.

But when the Los Angeles Police Department was mentioned, Frank suddenly had a new idea, though he didn't say it out loud.

"Antonio, you must make up for my loss!"

"Losses? Are you kidding me? It wasn't me who caused you to lose 15 men!"

"But this is indeed related to the incorrect information you provided!"

Antonio took a deep breath on the other end of the phone.

"Fine! I can make up for your losses, on the condition that you take out Francis Rich first!"

"Wait a moment."

Frank hung up the phone and dialed another number.

"Do you have time to go to the movies together?"

"I only watch war movies."

"Colin, is Francis Ritchie with the Los Angeles Police Department?"

"Mr. Castro, are you also looking for Francis Ritchie? That guy got robbed by the FBI!"

Colin's tone sounded very respectful towards Frank.

"You got snatched away? How did you get snatched away?"

Colin quickly recounted what had happened in the early hours of the morning, and Frank immediately made a judgment.

"It's clear that someone leaked information about Francis Ritchie to the FBI."

"You mean there's a mole within the organization?"

"Hmm, but I don't know which side it is."

Bonanno Estate is in complete chaos. The Bonanno family, the Castro gang, the LAPD—all could potentially have FBI moles among them.

Don't think it's strange that the FBI has spies in the LAPD. In fact, both the CIA and the FBI like to plant people in other teams so they can get first-hand information and easily steal credit.

Frank hung up the phone and fell into deep thought.

Now that things have come to this, and the damage has already been done, Frank can only try to minimize it.

So Frank called Antonio again.

"Antonio, I have good news and bad news for you. Which would you like to hear first?"

Antonio was speechless when he heard that Frank still had the mind to play such tricks.

"Bad news."

"The bad news is that Francis Ritchie is not in the hands of the LAPD, but in the hands of the FBI."

"What? How could this be? Didn't you say the LAPD was the one that arrived at the scene?"

"Yes, but the FBI hijacked the LAPD."

""

Antonio suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

"And what's the good news?"

"Even if Francis Rich is in the FBI, I still have ways to take him out!"

Frank's words restored hope to Antonio.

"Are you serious?"

"But it'll cost more, Antonio."

Rosen walked curiously down the corridor of the FBI building.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an organization that appears frequently in movies and games, is bound to pique the curiosity of outsiders.

However, it is not yet the official working hours for the FBI, and there are only a small number of FBI agents on duty or working overtime until dawn in the building.

Everyone looked listless, and some even had dark circles under their eyes, making Rosen feel that the FBI wasn't anything special.

Suddenly, two familiar faces walked over from the opposite side.

There was nothing wrong at first, but Neil suddenly spoke up and stopped the person who came.

"Hey Arthur, still working on the case all night?"

Sean had been investigating the case all night but hadn't made any progress, and was in a terrible mood. He glared at Neil.

"What are you trying to say?"

Neil grinned smugly as he looked at Francis Richie, who had been arrested.

"Some people work themselves to the bone investigating cases, but they can't even find the suspects. But for others, the suspects just come to them."

Sean followed Neil's gaze and saw Francis Ritchie; his expression immediately changed.

"How did he end up with you?"

"I don't know why he suddenly ended up in my hands. Arthur, it seems I've won this time!"

Neil laughed heartily and continued forward, leaving Sean to watch helplessly as he left.

At that moment, Jane Banner, who was standing nearby, suddenly noticed that someone in the line looked familiar.

"Fuck! How come this kid's been so lucky lately? First he took care of Saul Goodman, and then he caught Francis Richie!"

Sean punched the wall. Being ridiculed to his face by his rival was definitely not a pleasant thing, but there was nothing he could do.

"Looks like Martin's case is closing down, Jane. Let's go, Jane?"

(Jane Banner)

Turning around, Sean saw Jane staring blankly at Neil's departing team.

"Jane, what are you looking at?"

"Ah! It's nothing, I just saw someone who looked very familiar, like I'd seen him somewhere before."

"Oh? Which person are you talking about?"

"That's the young Asian guy from Neil's team."

"That Asian guy?"

Sean frowned. His attention had been focused on Neil and Francis, and he hadn't noticed any Asians at all.

Jane immediately described the Asian man's situation.

"He's very young and handsome, and he's wearing a suit. He's about 1.9 meters tall."

These features immediately reminded Sean of something.

"Fuck! I think I know why Neil's suddenly going so smoothly!"

Sean looked in the direction Neil had disappeared and had already made a certain judgment in his mind.

Jane looked at Sean curiously.

"Sir, what do you know?"

"It's not certain whether my judgment is correct; we need to investigate further."

Sean looked away and turned to look at Jane.

"Let's go home and rest today, and we'll investigate this matter later."

It's clear that Martin's case is beyond investigation; Francis is currently in Neil's hands.

Although two suspects were arrested in the Pacific Standard Bank case, there wasn't much information available from Phil and Dennis.

Sean has decided to first find out Neil's source of intelligence.

Rosen and two Bonanno family guards were each taken to an interrogation room, while Francis was sent to the hospital for examination after completing the registration.

Francis had been tortured by Black Sonny and had only received rudimentary treatment, so to prevent any accidents, Neil decided to send him for a check-up.

As for Rosen and his crew, they could only enjoy FBI coffee.

The FBI has ample funding, so the coffee naturally tastes quite good, and it's not the instant kind; it's clearly made on the spot from coffee beans.

However, the two guards from the Bonanno family certainly weren't in the mood to savor the delicious coffee.

"Lawson, how does it taste?"

"Very good, better than I expected."

Rosen had initially thought the coffee the FBI made for the suspect would taste terrible.

Neil looked at Rosen, his smile gradually fading.

"Rosen, I still remember the first time I met you. Back then, you were just an illegal immigrant who couldn't even speak English. I helped you get a green card!"

It seems that Neil is still very bothered by Rosen's concealment of Francis's location, and has started bringing up old grievances with Rosen.

"Neil, there's no need for these words. I don't owe you anything. I risked my life to obtain this intelligence. You think a green card is enough to make me work for you to the death? My life is too cheap!"

Neil was speechless after Rosen's retort. He really wanted to say that the lives of illegal immigrants were worthless, but if he said that, Rosen would definitely turn on him.

Neil has now realized that Rosen is indeed capable. He has recruited many illegal immigrants or people from the lower rungs of society as informants, but only Rosen has provided him with a large amount of useful intelligence in just a few months.

Yes, FBI agents have different methods of investigation. For example, Sean Arthur is a fundamentalist FBI agent who solves cases by conducting on-site investigations after they occur.

Neil, on the other hand, took a more sophisticated approach. He cast a wide net, recruiting marginalized figures as his informants and purchasing intelligence to orchestrate events before they occurred.

It's impossible to say which approach is better, but at least Neil is successful now.

"I think we should build a better relationship of trust with each other. If you had told me the information earlier, it wouldn't have been so dangerous."

Neil was still trying to manipulate Rosen, hoping to make him feel guilty.

Unfortunately, Rosen isn't stupid; if he were, he would have been devoured by America's society long ago.

Forrest Gump, the chosen one, only exists in movies.

"Neil, you're right! How about this, you get my FBI file sorted out quickly. That way, I'll have a clear understanding of the situation and will definitely cooperate with you more. What do you think?"

If you manipulate me, I'll just offer you empty promises of a bright future for everyone.

Neil was speechless. His purpose in using PUA tactics on Rosen was to renege on his debt, but Rosen just wouldn't let go of that point.

"The issue of identity —"

Before Neil could finish speaking, there was a knock on the interrogation room door.

Who is it?

An elderly man with a full head of white hair walked in. He had an ordinary appearance but an extraordinary demeanor, clearly not an ordinary person.

This can be seen from the change in Neil's expression after he saw the other person.

"Deputy Director Neil, what brings you here?"

Neil quickly stood up, adopting a very humble posture.

The old man glanced at Rosen but didn't pay him any attention, focusing mainly on Neil.

"I heard you captured Francis Richie?"

How did you know?

Neil found it strange; only a few hours had passed since he captured Francis, and the deputy director had already come knocking on his door.

"Little Martin's case is very important; the whole city is watching it. I happened to overhear people talking about it, so I came to check it out."