America: Starting with the Last Liberty

Chapter 124, Chapters 122-123: Identity Trading (4K)

Old Martin ultimately didn't live to see the Bonanno family's downfall, because his condition deteriorated rapidly after Rosen and Sofia had a conversation in the ICU that day.

A few days later, old Martin passed away.

Before the Bonanno family members could recover from the grief of Martin's passing, an even greater disaster was about to strike.

"Rosen, you got the ledger? Really?"

"Yes, Neil. I can bring you the ledgers anytime; you just need to bring your computer."

"I'm coming right away! Wait, I need to bring someone with me, is that alright?"

"Won't this expose my identity?"

Once the ledgers are handed over to the FBI, the Bonanno family will be finished. These mafia members will definitely want to take revenge on the people who put them in jail.

Rosen didn't want to be targeted by these stray dogs.

"Of course not! He's an FBI agent too!"

"Alright, name a place, but don't pick rooftops anymore, those meeting spots are absolutely stupid!"

Although the rooftop meeting place in the movie "Infernal Affairs" has a special symbolic meaning, meeting on the rooftop is really foolish.

The rooftop offers virtually no cover, making it an easy target for snipers.

Moreover, once discovered, escaping would become extremely difficult, something Rosen had already realized last time.

"Of course! This time it definitely won't be on the rooftop!"

After saying that, Neil hung up the phone and immediately took his laptop to find Chief Gordon Cole.

Despite his lack of expertise in solving cases, Neil does possess some office wisdom.

Neil's credit for dealing with the Bonanno family is definitely enough for a promotion, and even more. So it's necessary to win over his superiors and share some of the credit.

No matter which country you're in, people who hoard food will always be resented.

Half an hour later, after confirming that no one was following him, Rosen got into a Chevrolet Suburban.

This time, Neil met with Rosen directly in the car, and after Rosen got in, they started driving at a steady speed through downtown Los Angeles.

"Hello, Mr. Rosen."

There was another person in the car who reached out his hand to Rosen.

The man was probably in his fifties, and he looked quite imposing, with a special air of mystery about him.

"Who are you----"

"Gordon Cole, Neil works for me."

Isn't this my boss who works online?

Moreover, this old man clearly wasn't an ordinary person; Rosen suspected that this guy might be a high-ranking official in the Los Angeles FBI.

"Hello, Mr. Cole."

Rosen calmly extended his hand to shake hands with Cole.

"I've always been curious about where Neil got his information from, but I never expected it to be from such a young and handsome person."

Cole's way of speaking made Rosen feel comfortable, but he did not let his guard down.

Many people say one thing to your face and do another thing behind your back.

Rosen certainly wouldn't let his guard down for a second until he had a clear picture of Gordon Cole's character.

"I am very honored by your praise."

Cole smiled and didn't engage in any further polite small talk.

"Where's the ledger you mentioned?"

Rosen got into the car empty-handed, which puzzled Cole.

"May I ask for my identification file before handing over the ledgers?"

"sure."

Cole picked up his laptop, opened the FBI's internal network in front of Rosen, and showed him Rosen's identity information.

"In fact, I had already entered your identity into the FBI's internal network before you even left. Once verified, you will be an FBI trainee agent."

Rosen looked at Cole in surprise; the other man's status was probably higher than he had imagined.

After all, there are probably no more than one person in the entire Los Angeles area who can directly enter the information of FBI agents, even if they are just trainee agents.

Having seen the reward he wanted, Rosen deftly pulled out a USB drive and handed it to Cole.

"Wow! A flash drive? That's a new gadget. Luckily, this laptop is the latest model."

Lawson is used to USB flash drives because he comes from the future.

USB flash drives were already ubiquitous back then.

Actually, in 2000, USB flash drives were still a novelty.

This thing was only invented in 1998. Because many people claimed to be the inventor, there was a long patent lawsuit.

USB flash drives only began to be commercialized in the early 2000s, which is only about six months ago now.

However, as an FBI agent, one must certainly have some understanding of such high-tech things.

So, Cole skillfully inserted the USB flash drive into the USB port and began browsing the information inside.

Unsurprisingly, the accounts on the USB drive shocked Cole.

"Mr. Rosen, I'm starting to wonder how you obtained these accounts."

"Mr. Cole, I think that's not the most important thing. What's important is that the FBI is about to achieve a major victory, isn't it?"

How could Lawson possibly reveal the origin of the USB drive?

Cole looked into Rosen's eyes and smiled.

"That's true, the FBI definitely needs a big win!"

"So, Mr. Cole, are you satisfied with the contents of the USB drive?"

"Of course I'm satisfied! The contents of this USB drive will allow me to uproot the Bonanno family. I've been waiting for this for a long time! Mr. Rosen, starting tomorrow, you can call me Director."

Rosen raised an eyebrow; he really hadn't expected that this mysterious old man in front of him would be the director of the FBI's Los Angeles office.

"That's wonderful!"

However, Cole's expression quickly returned to normal.

"Mr. Rosen, after becoming an FBI trainee agent, you should, in principle, undergo a period of closed training."

Considering your undercover status, I'm allowing you to attend the training later.

"Training? Is training mandatory?"

"Yes, training is mandatory. FBI trainee agents without training records cannot become full-fledged agents."

"Where should I go for training?"

"Of course it's in Quantico! Don't worry, Mr. Rosen, I think you should be able to pass the training with ease."

Rosen nodded. He was not worried about passing the training. After all, how difficult could the training be if even Neil could pass it?

Neil: Keep swearing!

The main issue is the training duration.

"Mr. Cole, how long does the training usually last?"

"It will take anywhere from three months to six months, mainly depending on the capabilities of Xi's agents."

If it's only three to six months, that's acceptable.

"Mr. Cole, I will take care of things in Los Angeles as soon as possible and then go to the training."

"Excellent, I look forward to the FBI in Los Angeles gaining an agent like you!"

Lawson was dropped off by a Chevrolet Suburban on an unfamiliar street.

"I didn't expect it to turn into the FBI like this, it feels a bit strange."

After a moment of reflection, Rosen quickly thought about the upcoming FBI training.

How am I going to explain to the women around me that I'll be away for several months?

The dramatic collapse of the Bonanno family became the biggest news in Los Angeles in June.

The extensive coverage of this incident by television stations and newspapers certainly gave the FBI a lot of exposure.

Presumably, there won't be any problems with the FBI's Los Angeles office bonus at the end of this year.

After spending a few days in the FBI building, Sofia successfully escaped from the Bonanno family.

After all, Sofia had not been directly involved in the Bonanno family's criminal network, had no criminal record, and was completely innocent.

But Luca Pastore is in a much worse situation. He has directly planned and participated in too many crimes, and he will definitely be spending his retirement in prison.

However, compared to Antonio, Luca's ending is already quite good.

Antonio has already been executed by the Bonanno family and will not even have the chance to retire in prison.

Felice, who was under house arrest, was also found by the FBI and will go to prison with Luca.

I wonder if these two old men will start fighting once they're in jail?

Felice must really hate Luca, and maybe he'll actually have a real showdown with him.

A large number of Bonanno family businesses were seized by the FBI and IRS, but this had little impact on Sofia and Audrey.

Indeed, the seizure caused a significant reduction in Old Martin's estate, but the guy had already started laundering his assets long ago.

Many of the assets, including Bonanno Estate, are actually clean, enough to ensure Sofia and Audrey can live comfortably for the rest of their lives.

As long as you don't make any reckless investments, it's fine.

There's a group of people on Wall Street who specialize in swindling nouveau riche out of their investments and profiting from it.

Many sports stars and Hollywood celebrities have fallen victim to this, resulting in numerous bankruptcies.

Most people are happy about the downfall of a mafia family.

Ordinary people enjoyed the novelty, while Los Angeles gangs began to devour the vacuum left by the disappearance of the Bonanno family.

In areas where the federal government has no control, other orders will certainly supplement it.

Of course, minor frictions did occur, but most gangs maintained restraint because the Bonanno family's territory was large enough that other gangs would need some time to fully digest it.

However, there was one person who was very dissatisfied with the downfall of the Bonanno family, or more precisely, with the death of Antonio.

Long Beach, villa.

An enraged Frank once again transformed into a desktop cleaning master, sweeping everything off the table and onto the floor, a sight that frightened the core gang members in front of him.

Especially when Frank looked up, his bloodshot eyes were striking.

Only one man, about the same age as Frank, remained relatively calm. His name was France, nicknamed The Frenchman. He had been with Frank for decades and held a position similar to Luca Pastore of the Bonanno family. He was Frank's confidant.

"Mr. Castro, actually we didn't lose much, after all..."

Frank glared at the man, rudely interrupting him before he could say anything.

"Fuck! France, that's a different matter! No matter how much territory we take now, it won't make up for this loss! We'll never get this money back!"

Well, for someone as extremely greedy as Frank, making less money is a loss.

Seeing this, France fell silent. There was no point in saying anything now; he'd just let Frank vent.

After smashing things like a manic patient for a while, Frank finally calmed down.

It wasn't that this guy had already vented, but rather that he was getting old and his stamina couldn't keep up with the speed of his venting.

If Frank had been younger, he might have been able to vent for a little longer.

For now, this is all we can do.

Panting heavily, Frank looked toward France.

"France, do you know who executed Antonio?"

"It's Luca Pastore, but he's already been arrested by the FBI and will probably spend the rest of his life in prison."

"Fuck! He got off too easy!"

"However, I found out that the person who led to Antonio's arrest by the Bonanno family was an Asian youth."

"An Asian youth? Not Italian?"

"He is indeed a formal member of the Bonanno family, but he is not Italian."

"Damn bastard! Don't let me run into this kid, or I'll skin him alive!"

Frank sat down; he truly no longer had the energy to be angry.

After calming down, Frank suddenly thought of something else.

What are your thoughts on the Bonanno family's situation?

The sudden downfall of the Bonanno family brought joy to other gangs, but also chilled the hearts of some gang leaders.

This Mafia family had been entrenched in Los Angeles for over thirty years, yet they just disappeared like that. Anyone would have some doubts.

The core members looked at each other but didn't answer.

France cautiously inquired of Frank.

"Mr. Castro, what is it that you wish to ask?"

"Of course it's because of the Bonanno family's downfall! Damn it, there must have been a mole within the Bonanno family's upper echelons, otherwise the FBI wouldn't have been able to obtain enough evidence to wipe them out!"

Frank already had the answer in his mind; he just asked to hear what his subordinates thought.

However, these subordinates did not have Frank's keen sense of smell and failed to see any clues in the news reports.

After muttering to himself nervously for a while, Frank looked up at France.

"France, starting today, we'll be investigating undercover agents within the gang. Everyone will be screened. You should understand what I mean!"

France nodded.

"Mr. Castro, I will do as you instruct."

One person in the crowd had a drastic change in expression; that was the injured Billy.

A month ago, Billy was injured in the leg by Eva when he led a group to invade Bonanno Manor. Although he can now move around, his injury has not fully healed.

In fact, Billy's thigh and arm are currently bandaged; the thigh is from a gunshot wound, and the arm was twisted in an accident while climbing over a wall.

Fortunately, Frank hasn't suspected Billy yet, probably because nothing has happened to his Castro gang.

"Alright, you can all leave now."

After Frank ordered them to leave, Billy breathed a sigh of relief and left the study with the others. He had been really worried that Frank would search them.

Because there was a listening device hidden in the bandages on Billy's body at that moment.

If discovered, Billy's fate will be no different from Antonio's.

Fortunately, Billy escaped unscathed today, and he decided to keep a low profile for the time being and avoid making any unnecessary moves.

After leaving the study, Billy saw a sexy woman leaning against the living room doorway, watching them.

The woman had a pair of mesmerizing green eyes that left a deep impression on Billy.

But Billy quickly looked away, because he knew the other woman was Frank's woman.

(Eva)