America: Starting with the Last Liberty

Just an hour earlier, Luca finished dealing with his own business and then went to Black Sonny to discuss the gold issue.

Inside a warehouse at the Long Beach docks, Luca found Phil and Dennis, who were tied to chairs and beaten until their heads were swollen.

"These are the two people?"

"Yes, Mr. Pastore, these are the two men. They are official soldiers of the Bonanno family!"

"What did you say? They're 'our friends'?"

Within the Mafia, regular soldiers are usually referred to as "our friends," while outsourced personnel are called "my friends."

The subtle difference between these two sentences illustrates the distinction between the two.

The outsourced personnel were guaranteed by a formal member of the Mafia, so they were referred to as "my friend" by that formal member, meaning that the formal member was responsible for the outsourced personnel.

"Our friend" indicates that this person has been completely accepted by the Mafia, and everyone is on their side.

"Yes, I found their names on the list and confirmed with other soldiers that these two men had participated in the rally as official members several years ago."

"Then why did they steal Mr. Bonanno's gold?"

"In fact, they had no idea that the gold belonged to Mr. Bonanno. Their primary target was the jewelry that Wild Dog Billy had placed in the Pacific Standard Bank vault. Mr. Bonanno's gold was an accident."

Luca was speechless. He knew Billy the Wild Dog, a black market jeweler who specialized in selling stolen goods for thieves.

"So this was all a misunderstanding? Fuck! Did you even need to come to me with this? Sonny, handle it yourself, just get the gold back!"

With that, Luca prepared to leave.

"Mr. Pastore, most of the gold has been recovered, but a small portion is still missing. That portion was divided between the two of them and given to a collaborator. I'd like to ask if we should continue the investigation?"

Luca frowned slightly.

"How much was recovered?"

"Around 80%."

"Is that so..."

Luca fell into deep thought. The current situation with the Bonanno family was indeed not suitable for escalating the matter further; it would be troublesome if it attracted the attention of the FBI.

"Black Sonny, this is the end of it. We don't have the energy to deal with this anymore!"

Black Sonny nodded.

"What should we do with these two soldiers?"

Luca turned to look at the two soldiers covered in blood. Although Phil and Dennis did not intend to steal Old Martin's gold, the Mafia, as a violent organization, had to use strict and cruel rules to keep its members in check.

This is especially true in such turbulent times.

So even though Luca was the nice guy in the Bonanno family, he still made a cruel decision.

"Chop off one of their hands, then expel them from the family."

Upon hearing this, Phil and Dennis immediately began to struggle violently.

Losing a hand means that the two men will never be able to do manual labor again, and being expelled from the Mafia means that they will lose the organization's support.

Yes, although the Mafia is a violent organization, there is mutual support within the organization, especially among the older veterans.

The Mafia originated from Sicilians banding together to rebel against the law.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Phil and Dennis struggled, it was no use; they were now fish on Black Sonny's chopping board.

Luca is gone, and now he has to oversee Francis's handling of the Bonanno family's affairs and balance the conflict between Felice and Antonio, so he is very busy.

After the family's second-in-command left, Black Sonny began to deal with Phil and Dennis.

Black Sonny first removed the gags from the two men's mouths.

"Please wait a moment, gentlemen. I will call a doctor to come and watch over you. I will make sure you do not die from excessive blood loss."

Since Luca didn't let Black Sonny kill Phil and Dennis, he would make sure the two of them didn't die.

"Mr. Sonny, I have something to report! It was Pietro the Shorty who told me that Billy the Wild Dog's jewelry was hidden in the Pacific Standard Bank! He must have deliberately sent me to rob the Pacific Standard Bank!"

As soon as his mouth was freed, Phil immediately told Black Sonny a piece of information.

"Pietro the Short? I think he's one of Alberto's men? Phil, if you had told me this earlier, I might have continued investigating. Unfortunately, Mr. Pastore has made it clear that this is the end of the matter."

Black Sonny looked regretful. He actually had a bit of a grudge against Alberto, and he would never refuse if he could cause Alberto some trouble.

Unfortunately, the family is currently in turmoil, and Luca will absolutely not allow Black Sonny and Alberto to fight amongst themselves at this time, so things have to end here.

Black Sonny likes to disguise himself with savage impulses, but he is actually very smart, otherwise he would not have gained Old Martin's trust.

"Mr. Sonny, please let me go! We can give you all our money!"

Dennis tried to beg for mercy, but unfortunately, the money meant nothing to Black Sonny.

"Save your money! You'd be better off keeping it, since it will be very difficult for you to earn money in the future."

As Black Sonny took out his phone to call a doctor he knew, his phone rang first.

I glanced at the phone screen; it displayed David Albert's number.

"That's strange, why is this guy calling me at this time?"

Although it was a bit strange, Black Sonny answered the phone.

"David Albert? What's up?"

"Mr. Sonny, I have news about that clown!"

These words made Sonny's eyes light up.

"Oh? Is that true?"

"Of course, he was investigating the disappearance of his companion, and he suspected me, but I successfully fooled him!"

The person on the phone, "David Albert," deliberately lowered his voice, as if he didn't want anyone to hear him.

"Interesting. Is he with you right now?"

"Yes, Mr. Sonny, may I lure someone to your place?"

Black Sonny licked his lips, even though Luca had already said that the matter should end here and there was no need to investigate further.

However, if the Joker comes to him willingly, Black Sonny won't refuse, since it would be a contribution in itself.

Black Sonny looked at his five loyal men in the warehouse, each carrying an Uzi submachine gun.

With that kind of firepower, taking down a clown would be a piece of cake.

No matter how you look at it, the troop strength in the battle is six to one, so the advantage is on our side!

"Let him come. I'll be waiting for him at the XXX warehouse at the Long Beach dock! Mr. Albert, you've done a very good job this time!"

"Hey, Mr. Sonny, I've always hoped to maintain a good working relationship with the Bonanno family!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Albert, I will report your contribution in this matter to Mr. Pastore truthfully."

"Then I'll wait for your good news."