The Five Families Meeting…
No, to be precise, it was a Four Families Meeting. This time, the few people at the table no longer dared to underestimate the high school student, Francisco.
The deaths of Vittorio and Zaccaro did indeed cause some turmoil within the Pasoretto family, but this turmoil was quickly suppressed.
When Alberto discussed these matters internally, he was very simple and direct.
The position of family head originally belonged to Francisco. He was Paul’s son, the legal heir.
All those who coveted this position, who coveted power, were the “thieves” who should be targeted by the people. They should not be hostile to Francisco.
He had done nothing wrong; he was merely defending his rights and had gotten rid of those who tried to usurp him.
No one could blame him for this. If anyone thought that Vittorio and Zaccaro should not have died, then that person could only be said to be on their side.
For the first time, people looked at this young man, who did not seem to leave a deep impression, in a new light, and they tacitly accepted the deaths of Vittorio and Zaccaro.
They had died in vain.
When one side’s power is very strong and the other’s is very weak, one can disregard reason, because power is the most core reason.
But if both sides are on a roughly equal level, with comparable strength, then reason becomes very meaningful again.
Just like now, people were beginning to talk reason, so the deaths of Vittorio and Zaccaro were something they had brought upon themselves.
People attributed their deaths to the mistakes they had made. Suddenly, this result was not so difficult for people to accept. On the contrary, it gave people a feeling of “it was their fault in the first place, they deserved to die.”
Perhaps there would still be some people who were not convinced, for example, those who had a good relationship with Vittorio, and those who had a good relationship with Zaccaro. They might still have some complaints.
But as Francisco’s prestige grew higher and higher, their complaints would eventually only be hidden in their stomachs and would not be voiced to the outside world.
So at this moment, even Bandy gave Francisco a few extra glances.
“I hear you’re planning to stop attending classes this semester?” he asked casually.
Francisco nodded. “That’s right. School is a rather complicated place. I’m not sure if someone will ambush me in that kind of setting.”
No one is immortal. Paul could die, and so could he, if someone shot him.
“And… Mr. Bandy, do you think I still need to go to school?”
Bandy smiled. “Yes, you have long since had no need to go to school.”
He paused, then looked at Sarif’s younger brother. “I was very shocked when I learned about what happened to him and his son. Please be sure to notify me about the funeral.”
The person now presiding over the Tita family was Sarif’s cousin. His face was very grim. Two core members of the family, two family heads, had died at once.
The Tita family’s prestige in the underworld had been severely damaged. Some people would even make jokes about them, which would have been absolutely impossible in the past.
Figal sat on the other side without speaking, just sitting quietly.
At this time, besides the four of them in the room, there were some other people, all from their families.
Bandy coughed. “Since everyone is here, then I’ll speak.”
“I have always felt that our Five Families should always stand together, closely united. Only in this way can we deal with various problems.”
“But it’s clear that someone didn’t do that, which is why so many things have happened.”
The gazes of Alberto and Sarif’s cousin towards Bandy seemed not so ordinary. Bandy was also a traitor.
The biggest difference between him and Rick was that Rick had pointed his gun at his former friends, while he had done nothing at the critical moment, ignoring the troubles others had encountered.
In fact, the one who was least qualified to say these words here was him, but right now, the Kodak family was the strongest. Although they did not agree in their hearts, they would not say it out loud.
Bandy also knew that these people must be a little unconvinced by what he had done. Besides cursing the mayor as a waste in his heart, he could only pretend not to be embarrassed.
“I have tried to mediate the conflict between us. After all, over so many years, although we have had conflicts, most of the time we have been maintaining a kind of stability, an order.”
“I thought we could accept such a result, but now it seems that I thought of this matter too simply.”
“I want to apologize to you for my wrong judgment before. So I’ve called you here this time to discuss how to handle this matter.”
He paused. After speaking so much, he was a little thirsty.
He picked up his coffee and took a small sip to moisten his throat.
In a conference room, no one would drink water in large gulps, because if you drink too much, you might need to pee.
Man is a social animal. When a person is alone, or when two people are face to face, the problem is still relatively simple.
Once the number of people exceeds two and reaches three, the problem will gradually become troublesome.
There is a little joke that says the Angel Lake forest police were short a chief, so the chiefs of the eleven sub-bureaus in Golden Port had a meeting to discuss who would go to the forest police station to be the chief.
The forest police station was located further northwest, on the opposite side of Angel Lake. The forest there was connected to the forest outside Creek Valley City.
Going there basically meant your life was over. No water, no electricity, and the phone often had problems.
The most important thing was that the forest police station had no “oil and water.” No oil and water meant there was no way to get money to transfer yourself back, so no one wanted to go.
The city police chief didn’t want to offend anyone, so he let everyone display a democratic spirit, either applying on their own initiative or having everyone elect.
To elect yourself was to be a fool. To elect others was to offend people. So no one spoke, they all just beat around the bush.
Until one guy had drunk too much water and couldn’t hold it in, and had to go to the toilet.
The moment he left the conference room, someone suddenly said, “He (the person who left) is pretty good…” and then listed many reasons. Everyone raised their hands to vote, and it passed unanimously.
When this sub-bureau chief returned from the toilet, the matter was already settled.
So most of the time, in important meetings, people won’t really drink water in large gulps. Even if they are really thirsty, they will only drink in small sips, just to moisten their throats.
Bandy’s gaze swept across the faces of the few people, guessing the emotional changes in their hearts.
He put down his cup, his five fingers resting on the rim, his gaze also fixed on the cup. “Since everyone has such strong opinions about them, for the sake of the city’s stability, let’s all work together and solve them.”
Figal said from the side, “It’s about time. You’ve finally made a correct decision, Bandy.”
This sounded like he was saying that his previous decisions were all foolish, but Alberto and Sarif’s cousin both gave Figal an extra look.
These two were fucking acting.
However, this decision was not bad for them, and neither of them objected.
Seeing that the two did not speak, Bandy also knew that they would not object, so he continued, “Golden Port has been chaotic for a long time. It’s time to put a stop to everything.”
“After Rick’s death, the Cassia family became out of control. They broke the rules!”
“We need to solve these problems quickly, so we all have to contribute.”
“The industries left behind by the Cassia family…” his gaze swept over the few people, “we don’t want them. You can divide them.”
“During this time, these matters have caused you heavy losses, and they were also caused by them. This is what you deserve.”
Naturally, everyone had no other opinion. Next was to negotiate how to solve the people of the Cassia family as soon as possible.
This time, Bandy didn’t just think about letting others do the work while he took advantage. He would have Gory take some men with them to attack the Cassia family’s personnel.
They divided the remaining few core members, each person getting two or three, and then after agreeing on a unified time, the meeting ended.
The landscape of the Five Families would be completely changed. Only four families left?
On the way back, Francisco asked with some curiosity, “Didn’t we say before we came that we were going to propose making Lance one of the new Five Families?”
Before they came, they had already discussed it. If Bandy chose to side with them and completely wipe out the Cassia family, then it would mean there was an extra position.
At that time, Francisco would propose that the Lance Family step up. This way, they would be natural allies among the Five Families. If they could then win over the Tita family, they would form a dominant alliance.
Alberto shook his head. “When Bandy said to divide up those assets, there was no need to bring up that idea.”
“He has no intention of maintaining the ‘Five Families,’ and he has already divided up this spot. If we propose that Lance become one of the new Five Families…”
“He might not have even truly achieved this, and he would first have a few people who are hostile to him. And those assets could not be given to him again.”
“He might become the most shabby of the Five Families in history, and Bandy would not allow this either. So we simply won’t bring it up.”
If Bandy had asked them to nominate, or even not taken the initiative to discuss these things, it would have been fine for Francisco to propose it.
Bandy’s decision on how to deal with the Cassia family actually cut off the possibility of anyone else joining them.
Francisco rubbed his head. “If there’s anything more difficult than math problems, it’s scheming with these adults.”
He looked at the street scene outside the window. “How should we tell Lance about this?”
“Tell him the truth!”
Alberto went directly to Lance’s place and told him his thoughts and the result.
Listening to Alberto’s words, Lance expressed his thanks and his understanding of the result.
“Now is not the time to go head-to-head with the Kodak family. We still have time.”
“It’s meaningful for the city to stabilize. We all need to develop.”
Francisco asked from the side, “Mr. Uncle Lance, we are developing, but aren’t the Kodak family and the others also developing?”
Lance nodded and said, “Yes, everyone is developing, but development and development are also different.”
“Our strength has developed from one to one hundred. This is a hundred-fold development. But in the same amount of time, perhaps the Kodak family can only develop from one thousand to one thousand and one. That’s a one-thousandth of a progress!”
“No one knows what will happen in the future. Maybe he is very strong today, but it won’t be long, and I won’t even need to do anything, and they will fall.”
“There is an invisible force in this world, pushing all of us forward constantly!”
In the next few days, the Five Families’ movements were huge. The remnants of the Cassia family also didn’t expect that the other four families would unite to deal with them.
Although they were still resisting, and resisting very fiercely, everyone could see that they were not far from their demise.
After entering October, the order in Golden Port seemed to have recovered a lot. The firefights and gunshots had also disappeared.
Some media and newspapers also reported that the public security in Golden Port had achieved great success, and Hunter also appeared frequently in the newspapers.
Many people believed that these changes were due to Hunter being formally appointed as the police chief. Many people, although they had not seen this Chief Hunter in person, already recognized him very much.
Swish!
Lance swung his club forcefully. A few flakes flew off the turf, and the golf ball had already flown out, heading straight for the green.
Councilman Charlie, wearing a golf cap, watched the golf ball land on the green. He didn’t hide his surprised expression. “A very good shot. Have you played before?”
He thought Lance had never played before. In the Empire, golf was far less famous than sports like polo. People, rather than playing this, preferred to wear riding attire, elegantly ride on those fine horses, and swing their mallets with style.
If you had to ask what was truly a noble sport, then undoubtedly, polo was the noble sport.
He had never heard that Lance could play golf. This time, he had arranged to talk with him at the golf course. In his heart, there might have been an intention to see him make a fool of himself.
Lance was a young man. He had ways to provoke him, and then watch him not play well, and then, in the capacity of an “experienced person,” teach him how to play.
At the same time, he could also use this method to implicitly talk about some other issues in the teaching.
But he really didn’t expect that Lance could actually play golf, and play it quite well.
How could he have known that a certain fool had once owed Lance a large sum of money and had ultimately mortgaged his golf course to Lance?
Lance’s gaze also returned from the ball. “I haven’t played much. Isn’t this a very simple sport?”
He looked at Councilman Charlie with a half-smile. Yes, Charlie, and then councilman. He had successfully been elected as a Bay Area councilman and had already begun to enter the working state.
During this period, Lance had even heard people say that he was thinking of running for mayor later on, of course, after Councilman Williams.
Seeing his stunned expression, Lance swung his club again. “Aim the ball at that hole and hit it hard. Is that difficult?”
Charlie smiled. “Yes, there’s nothing wrong with saying that. The ultimate goal of any ball sport is roughly the same.”
He walked to the tee. The caddy had already placed a new ball. While looking at the green, he said, “It’s either to make the opponent unable to catch your ball, or…”
His posture was very standard, obviously from long-term training and practice.
The little white ball disappeared with a thwack. The next time it could be seen, it was bouncing and landing on the green.
Councilman Charlie turned his head and looked at Lance with a smile. This was also a good shot. “…is to put it in the hole!”
The two handed their clubs to the caddy. The caddy, carrying the heavy golf bag and other equipment, ran towards the green.
It was a distance of about several dozen meters. Although it was already October, the weather was still a bit hot.
And the two gentlemen were strolling on the tender green lawn. Every square of the turf here cost more than a dollar.
The price of the turf on the green was even higher because its requirements were also higher.
This world is just so unfair. Someone works themselves to death for a month, but it’s not worth as much as a few pieces of turf.
However, this also reflected a truth from the side.
Renewable resources are always worthless, whether it’s a certain natural mineral that can be recycled in nature, or a person themselves.
“I heard you’ve set up some kind of profit-sharing model in the Empire District and the Port District. What are your thoughts on that?”
Lance looked at the birds flying up and down in the distant forest, carefree. His whole person was very relaxed.
After a while, he replied, “Life is too hard.”
“The capitalists want to exploit them, the federal government wants to exploit them, the gangs want to exploit them, and even the police who are supposed to protect their safety also want to exploit them.”
“The unions, various committees, everyone is exploiting them. Life is too hard.”
“I just want to do what I can to make their lives not so hard.”
Councilman Charlie had a look of disbelief, as if to say, “You think I fucking believe that?”
Lance laughed twice as he spoke. “Alright, there’s a partial reason. Doing this can encourage people to find a way to live on their own.”
“Now there are more and more small merchants and vendors in the Empire District and the Port District. The more prosperous it is, the more benefits I can get from it.”
“That’s all.”
Councilman Charlie couldn’t tell if he was telling the truth or lying. He could only say斟酌ingly, “But this makes it a bit difficult for other places.”
“Many of the small vendors who go to your side are from other districts. And how much extra money the police can get is our internal matter.”
“‘Our internal matter’?” Lance stopped and looked at him. “You are no longer the police chief, Councilman Charlie.”
Councilman Charlie also stopped after walking two steps. He looked directly at Lance. “I always hold myself to the standard of a police officer.”
“This is the second funniest joke I’ve heard this year.”
He continued to walk forward as he spoke. Councilman Charlie followed him again.
“You want to do this, fine, no problem. I can have Hunter discuss it with them, and the whole of Golden Port can do it this way.”
“But this money should not come from you and then go into the pockets of the police officers.”
“We will make the arrangements.”
Lance sneered. “I spend the money to make you guys look good?”
“You know why I’m doing this, and I know why you’re doing this.”
“Councilman Charlie, you can also find a way to do it this way. As long as you can stick with it, I don’t think there’s a problem.”
He finished speaking and strode to the edge of the green, took the putter from the caddy’s hand, stood over the ball, simply aimed in the direction of the hole, and gave it a light push.
The ball rolled towards the hole and went in steadily.
Lance pumped his fist and threw the club to the caddy. “A boring game. I have things to do this afternoon. I’m leaving first.”
Councilman Charlie stood there, watching Lance’s retreating back for a long while before coming back to his senses. He also changed to a putter, came to his own ball, aimed at the hole’s position, and gave it a light push.
After he had made his shot, he knew he had pushed it too lightly.
The ball finally stopped at the edge of the hole, not falling in.
(End of chapter)
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