America: Starting with the Last Liberty

Chapter 106 Why are you all staring at me? (4K)

The murder of Martin Luther King Jr. has indeed become the hottest case in Los Angeles right now because of the video that Megan Kelly released on Fox News.

Both the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI were eager to solve the case, so it was perfectly reasonable for Courtney, as the deputy chief, to show interest in the case.

"I did capture Francis Richie. He had quite a few injuries, so I sent him to Mercy Hospital for examination and treatment."

Courtney was very satisfied with Neil's answer and smiled approvingly.

"Senior Agent Neil, you've done a fantastic job. Solve this case quickly and give the FBI some media exposure!"

"Yes, Deputy Director!"

Courtney's words put Neil in a great mood; he could almost see himself getting a promotion and a raise.

Courtney then patted Neil on the shoulder and left.

In the corridor, Courtney's expression gradually changed, from a smile to a gloomy one, frightening the passing agents who dared not greet her.

Upon returning to her office, Courtney immediately took out her phone and dialed a number.

The early bird catches the worm.

"The fish that wake up late get caught."

"Frank, it's confirmed. Francis Rich has indeed been captured and is now being treated at Mercy Hospital."

"Wow! That's great news! It'll save me a lot of trouble!"

The difficulty of killing someone in the FBI building is definitely different from the difficulty of killing someone in Mercy Hospital.

Courtney understood what Frank meant and immediately warned him.

"You better watch yourself! Francis Rich has a lot of people watching him, don't make a scene!"

Frank wasn't angry at all at being called a kid.

Only someone of Courtney's status and position would have the right to address Frank in that way.

"Don't be nervous, Jonathan. I'm always a very sensible person, aren't I? We've worked together so many times, don't you trust me?"

"Fuck! But you've been going too far lately! What are you trying to do? I'm about to retire, I just want to live a peaceful life and don't want any accidents to happen!"

Courtney launched into a tirade, which displeased Frank on the other end of the phone.

Frank's tone then became agitated.

"Hey! I'm retiring soon too! Jonathan, you'll have the federal government paying your pension after you retire, but I don't have that benefit! Shouldn't I try to make as much money as possible for retirement before I do?"

Upon hearing this, Courtney became even angrier.

"Don't you make enough? Ninety-nine percent of Americas aren't as rich as you! You're too greedy, Frank!"

"That still doesn't compare to you and Mr. Walsh. Most of the money I've made over the years has gone into your pockets, and the rest has to be used to maintain the Castro gang, so there's not much left. Listen, Jonathan Courtney, just these two years, just these two years! After I've made enough money in these two years, I'll leave America and retire in Southeast Asia!"

Give me some face, it's better for everyone!

By the end, Frank's words had taken on a subtle threat.

This forced Courtney to change his attitude, since Frank was barefoot while he was wearing shoes.

"I understand. I will try my best to make things convenient for you before I retire, but don't go too far!"

'

"Hehe! Jonathan, you know me, I always do things with a lot of discretion."

Frank repeated what he had just said, but this time Courtney had a completely different feeling after hearing it.

After hanging up the phone, Courtney leaned back in her comfortable boss's chair and rubbed her face.

Courtney was awakened by a knock on the door after staring at the ceiling for a long time.

"Come in!"

"Deputy Director, Chief Gordon Cole has an urgent meeting that requires your attendance in ten minutes."

"An impromptu meeting? Where will it be held?"

"The third conference room."

"I understand, I'll be there in a bit."

After the door closed again and he heard no more noise outside, Courtney took out her phone with a gloomy face and dialed a number.

"Hello, Mr. Walsh, this is Jonathan."

"Jonathan, what's up?"

"Frank Castro seems to be getting a bit out of control lately, should we—"

"Hehe, Castro has indeed been having some minor issues lately, perhaps he's going through menopause. But the situation is still under my control, and Castro won't cause any trouble, so you can rest assured."

"Well, maybe it's because I'm getting close to retirement, I'm a little nervous."

"Yes, Jonathan, you're almost retired anyway, why are you so tense? Enjoying life is the real thing, and the FBI certainly won't make a fuss about a retiring old man."

This sounds rather sad, as not everyone is willing to accept the fact that they are getting old.

Court let out a breath.

"I understand, Mr. Walsh."

After hanging up the phone, Courtney lowered her head and pondered for a while before getting up and heading to the third conference room.

Returning to Bonanno Manor, the Los Angeles police took away the Castro gang members, and also took away the bodies from the manor.

Although the bodies were gone, the manor was still in a mess due to the fierce battle.

The bloodstains on the ground are manageable, but the bullet holes in the walls can't be fixed in a short time; it will definitely require a complete renovation.

The servants at Bonanno Manor are currently cleaning up the battlefield, taking care of the areas that can be cleaned and tidied up first; the bullet holes will have to wait until later.

Sofia, meanwhile, sat in the living room, still worried about Rosen's condition.

Eva, on the other hand, didn't seem worried at all and was enjoying the exquisite desserts made in the kitchen.

This made Sofia somewhat unhappy.

"Eva, aren't you worried about Rosen's situation?"

Eva looked at Sofia with some surprise.

"I have no relationship with him, so why should I worry about him? Besides, Rosen told you not to speak up for him, which clearly means he has something to rely on. What's there to worry about?"

Sofia was simply overly concerned, and only after Eva's explanation did she gradually calm down.

Then, the woman began to feel fear again.

"Those guys actually went and stormed the manor; that's absolutely insane!"

Eva glanced at Sofia.

"Competition in the underworld is far more brutal than in normal society. What happened in the early hours of the morning is actually relatively good; at least a direct assault would give you time to react. Assassination is the hardest to defend against—sniping, poisoning, bombs, car accidents—these are all more troublesome than a direct assault."

Upon hearing Eva's words, Sofia immediately became frightened.

"Would the mastermind behind this use such methods against me?"

"Probably not. This level of gang warfare shouldn't warrant the deployment of professional assassins."

Eva was an exception; she only helped because of Svefa's favor.

Sophia had just breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a servant come over to report.

"Madam, Luca Pastore has arrived!"

"Mr. Pastore is back?"

Sofia was very surprised.

Luca had been gone from Los Angeles for less than a month, but so much had happened in that time that Sofia felt as if he had been gone for a long time.

"Where are the others?"

"Mr. Pastore is right outside the door, and he has a girl with him."

"A girl? Let her in first."

Sofia was very puzzled, but she still had her servant invite Luca in.

Luca already knew something had happened at Bonanno Manor from the mess in the courtyard, so when he came in, he immediately asked about it.

"Madam, has the manor been attacked?"

Sofia nodded.

"Around 4 a.m., a group of people stormed into the manor and killed 6 guards. Fortunately, they have all been captured."

"Is it that serious? Do you even know who these people work for?"

"I don't know. The attacker has been taken away by the Los Angeles Police Department and the investigation is ongoing."

As Sofia answered Luca's question, she glanced at the young girl he had brought with her.

This is a beautiful girl with a classic charm, like a beauty who stepped out of a Hollywood Golden Age movie.

This is quite rare in the materialistic modern city of America, and even Sofia couldn't help but look on in amazement.

"Mr. Pastore, this lady is—"

"Audrey Horne, she is Mr. Bonanno's illegitimate daughter, and she is 18 years old."

(Audrey Horn, played by Sheryl Fenn)

These words struck Sophia like a bolt from the blue, leaving her completely bewildered.

Sophia was originally Martin's only heir, but Audrey's appearance changed this seemingly certain situation.

Audrey stepped forward and bowed politely to Sophia.

"Hello, Madam."

However, Sofia did not react for a long time, making the atmosphere very awkward.

It wasn't until Eva, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore and nudged Sofia that she came to her senses.

"Oh, hello, hello!"

However, this did not change the awkward atmosphere at the scene, and Eva couldn't help but want to dig out Braque Square with her toes.

(Brač Square is a landmark in the Czech capital, and Eva is Czech.)

Luca sensed that something was off about the atmosphere, but he was unaware of the recent major changes in the Bonanno family. During his visits to Old Martin's illegitimate daughter, he kept his phone off the entire time.

Luca didn't turn on his phone until he got back to Los Angeles; there were a bunch of missed calls and messages he hadn't even had a chance to check.

"Madam, I have brought Audrey back as Mr. Bonanno instructed before he lost consciousness. She will now be in your care. I have just returned to Los Angeles and have many things to attend to, so I must take my leave now."

"

Sofia nodded blankly.

Luca put down Audrey's luggage and turned to leave, only to see Antonio and Felice walking in.

"Luca?" ×2

Antonio and Felice shared the same expression as Sofia; neither of them had expected Luca to return so suddenly.

"Why are you here?"

After his initial shock, Felice's expression quickly returned to normal.

"I heard about the attack on Bonanno Manor, so I came to check it out. But I don't know what Antonio is doing here; maybe he's just here to make sure Richie is dead."

This left Luca completely baffled.

"What's wrong with Francis?"

Felice then remembered that Luca knew nothing at all.

So Felice embellished the story of what had recently happened to the Bonanno family, adding his own speculations, mainly about the relationship between Antonio and Francis.

It was actually similar to what I said that night at St. Lucy's Church.

But today, Antonio appeared very calm, showing none of the impulsiveness he displayed that night at St. Lucy's Church.

"Felice, all that talk is useless. Where's the evidence? You need to produce evidence!"

"Hmph! Could it be that the people who attacked Bonanno Manor at dawn were hired by you? You must be trying to kill Richie to silence him!"

"Slander! This is slander! Luca, look at this guy, he's completely gone mad!"

"Enough! Quiet down!"

Luca rubbed his temples, feeling a sudden darkness before his eyes and his head about to explode.

After spending a few minutes sorting out what Felice had said, Luca looked up at Felice.

"So Francis killed Young Master Martin?"

Felice nodded.

"We all saw the video of the killing at the rally. You can see it now if you watch the Fox News recording. There's no mistake."

In those days, online video was just starting out, so many Americans would use a VCR to record programs they liked to watch again.

"Fuck! That damned bastard, he actually killed his own brother!"

Luca was furious because he had watched Martin grow up and the two had a very good relationship.

Since Luca has no children, Martin is essentially his child.

Moreover, Francis is Martin's godson, and his relationship with Martin Jr. is no different from that of brothers. Francis's behavior undoubtedly crossed Luca's bottom line.

Where is he now?

Felice and Antonio both looked at Sofia, and Luca gleaned some meaning from their actions.

Sofia stated a fact without any expression.

"Rich was taken away by the FBI."

Antonio showed no expression, as if he had known the outcome beforehand.

But Felice seemed quite surprised.

"FBI? Aren't they the Los Angeles Police Department?"

"The Los Angeles Police Department arrived first, but the FBI intercepted them."

Felice turned to look at Antonio, whose face remained unchanged.

Logically, Antonio should have reacted at least somewhat after Francis fell into the hands of the FBI, but the other party remained calm, which puzzled Felice greatly.

Felice directly voiced his doubts.

"Did you do this?"

Antonio glanced at Felice.

"Felice, are you kidding me? I don't have the power to order the FBI around. Do you think I'm the mayor?"

Felice pursed his lips. He knew that Antonio didn't have the ability to instruct the FBI, but the other party was too calm today, so calm that it was hard for him not to be suspicious.

"Who knows? Maybe you're an FBI undercover agent!"

"Felice, I've had enough of you! You always slander me with baseless accusations!"

Antonio was finally provoked by Felice, and just as the two were about to start arguing, Luca roared.

"Enough, you two! The family is facing its most critical moment, and you still have the nerve to argue!"

Unlike Antonio and Felice, who were scheming for their own purposes, Luca genuinely cared about the Bonanno family.

After the two calmed down, Luca asked a question.

Who is currently in charge of the family?

Felice and Antonio exchanged a glance, then looked at Sofia.

This completely stumped Sofia.

Why are you all staring at me like that?