Bandy returned from outside, reeking of alcohol. Gorry immediately put down what he was doing and went to greet him, proactively taking the clothes he had taken off, and asked nervously, “How did it go?”
Bandy leaned back on the sofa, his head tilted back, his eyes closed, and let out a heavy sigh.
Although he hadn’t said anything, Gorry already had the answer in his heart.
Charlie’s death had made them nervous. The key problem was that the Bay Area had lost control of the police system, which was the most fatal blow.
Although they had also suffered heavy casualties before, they had indeed caused a huge amount of trouble for Lance.
More than a hundred of his men were going to prison. It seemed as if these people going to prison only meant that he had fewer men, but in reality, the money he had to spend on these people was much more than imagined.
He needed to make the sentences for these people as light as possible, which would cost money.
More than a hundred people, even if one person cost 2,000, that would be 300,000.
Then, after these people were imprisoned, they would definitely need to pay another sum of money to make their lives more comfortable.
Whether it was a public prison or a private prison, spending money was essential. And then they had to find a way to get them out early.
Parole was another sum of money. At the same time, during the period when these people were in prison, he not only needed to pay their salaries, but also had to give them an extra reward after they came out.
This money was to reward them for not talking nonsense. Almost all gangs followed this tradition.
If you have made a contribution to your family or gang and then have to go to prison, after you have completed your sentence and come out of prison, there are two paths in front of you.
First, a promotion to captain. This is a conventional rule. All convicts who have made great contributions to the family, as long as they are willing to stay in the family after serving a few years in prison, will be immediately promoted to captain, will be in charge of some people, and will also have a high probability of having their own small territory.
This is to tell everyone, no matter who you are, as long as you have contributed to the family, the family will not forget it.
Honor, wealth, status, you will have all of these.
Only in this way will those gangsters be willing to fight for the gang, for the family!
Otherwise, who the fuck would be willing to do this?
Risking great danger just to make a living?
Of course, some people see through the nature of gangs while serving their sentences in prison, so there is a second choice.
After they are released from prison, they are no longer willing to be in a gang, so they choose to leave.
And those who choose to leave can often get a lump sum of money from the gang or family, which is considered compensation for his years, that is, a large sum of reward money.
The role of the reward money is also to encourage people to contribute to the family. You see, as long as you have contributed to the family, even if you later decide to quit, you will still not be short of your share!
It is essentially the same as the first choice, just with a different form of expression.
More than a hundred people are in prison. It is impossible to promote them all to captain. So whether they are willing to continue in the family or not, Lance must pay them a sum of money.
A few thousand, or tens of thousands. This is another few hundred thousand to a million.
These people had caused Lance to lose a large sum of money. Coupled with the seized bars and those goods, Lance had suffered a huge loss.
The reason why he had not immediately retaliated after suffering such a large loss was because Charlie was backing this matter.
If Lance’s men came out of his territory, then Charlie would have a way to make a move when they were fighting, arrest these people, and continue to send them to prison.
Public prisons, private prisons, they were all willing to take this cheap labor and would not complain about having too many people.
Lance’s power would be constantly weakened until he finally did not dare to come out.
This was the benefit of having the police on your side. But the problem now was that Charlie was finished, and Lance’s men were installed in the police department. It was their turn to be uncomfortable.
Bandy had attended two gatherings in the Bay Area this time, just to talk about this matter. He needed the help of the Bay Area.
Whether it was political help or having them find a way to restrain Lance, in short, he couldn’t just do nothing.
It just seemed that the effect was not very good.
“They think I’m… using the opportunity to extort them,” Bandy couldn’t help but laugh a little helplessly when he said this.
Gorry took a glass of honey lemon iced water from the bar and walked over. “How could they think that?”
Bandy took a sip of the sour and sweet iced lemon water and sighed again. “Our reputation is too great.”
“The reputation of the Five Families is too great!”
Gorry actually knew this was the answer. The reputation of the Five Families was so great that when Bandy needed others’ help to fight against the Lance Family, many people thought he was joking.
This feeling was very strange. It would make people feel that he was acting, that he had a purpose.
How could the Five Families not be able to defeat a downtown gang?
What a joke!
Someone even asked him, “Is Lance bulletproof or does he know magic or something? Why don’t you kill him?”
But he didn’t know how to answer this bullshit. That person’s idea was very simple. Just give Lance two shots, and wouldn’t it be solved?
But the problem was, how could he give Lance two shots?
Many people had this idea. They all felt that even if one Kodak Family was not a match for the Lance Family, what about the five families joining forces?
Although some people also considered that there were indeed some problems, they might not be able to help much.
They couldn’t control the choice of the police chief. Although the mayor was like a waste now, he was the mayor after all.
Even if he was stepped on by the Bay Area and lost everything, he was still the mayor.
As long as he was not impeached for a day, this city had to follow his arrangements.
He made Bruce the chief, so Bruce was the chief.
As the interest group that ultimately won the struggle with the mayor, for them to persuade the mayor to change the police chief was worse than Bandy going to say it himself.
After attending two cocktail parties, he finally found that he couldn’t rely on these people in the Bay Area at all!
“What about Manteno (the capital of Likalai State/the state government)?”
Bandy shook his head. “I haven’t gone over yet. This kind of thing definitely can’t be explained clearly on the phone, and even if they are willing to step in, in the end, we still need the Bay Area to assist us.”
“After all, they can’t control things here.”
For people like them, the mayoral system has very obvious advantages. That is, when they have a good relationship with the mayor, the mayor can even fight against local laws to help them.
But the disadvantages are also equally obvious. If the mayor is not on their side, their days will be very difficult.
“I’m a little worried. If I leave here now, will it attract Lance’s prying eyes?”
“He’s a treacherous and cunning kid. He’ll pay attention to our intelligence.”
As for the relationship with Congress, Gorry did not ask. He was not a fool. He knew that even if he asked, there would be no result.
“It seems that the final solution is still on ourselves,” he frowned, a worried look on his face.
Who could have imagined that an inconspicuous Lance, who had once been beaten down by a second- or third-rate gang like the Camille Gang, would have developed in such a short period of time?
Lance did indeed have his extraordinary points. As long as he was given a little chance, he could immediately and quickly develop and strengthen his family!
“Let’s use the method we discussed last time. Let Figal be the middleman, and then have him ask Lance to talk to us,” Bandy said his thoughts.
Gorry frowned. “Will Lance come?”
“At this time, I think there’s a high probability that he won’t talk to us face to face.”
Bandy did not deny this inference. “If he is willing to come, then we will kill him at the dinner table.”
“If he is not willing to come, we will push Figal to also stand on the opposite side of him.”
“I have even considered having them have some friction. The Empire District is right next to the city center. A large area of their territory is adjacent.”
“If he rejects Figal, and then has some friction and conflict with him on his territory, what do you think will happen?”
After hearing this, Gorry thought seriously for a while and said, “Figal will definitely join us.”
“Bingo!”
“This way, we will unite the Keane family, then the Tita family and… let’s forget about Alberto and Francisco. They are on the same side as Lance.”
“With our three families, if we make a move on them at the same time, Lance won’t even have time to react before the battle is over.”
Bandy said his plan. Gorry had been thinking. He had to say that his idea was indeed very constructive. They might not be a match for them alone, but if they united more people, they might not be a match for them.
Gorry also said his thoughts. “I heard that there has been a major purge within the police force recently. Charlie’s and Hunter’s men are all facing the risk of being purged.”
“They can’t spare the hands to carry out a large-scale operation now, so we can totally make a move on Lance before their purge is over.”
“Lest after the purge is over, Lance and Bruce and the others open fire first, then we will be in a passive situation.”
Bandy agreed with his point of view. “I’ll call Figal now.”
Soon he dialed Figal’s number. After the “war,” the Keane family had been recuperating. They had recovered well.
In addition, the city center was full of elites, and their demand for liquor was also greater. Figal had been making a lot of money quietly.
The phone did not ring for long before it was answered, and Figal’s voice came from inside.
Because this was a private phone, the person who could call must be an old acquaintance. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Bandy.”
“Wow, Bandy!”
“You’re a busy man. How come you thought of calling me?” Hearing that it was Bandy, Figal’s tone changed slightly.
After all, no matter what, Bandy was the head of the Five Families.
“You should have heard about what happened recently. We’ve had a very unpleasant time with Lance.”
“This is actually a misunderstanding. For us, war is completely meaningless.”
“He suffered a loss, and we also suffered a loss. And we don’t want to continue.”
“Our bars don’t dare to open, and neither do theirs. Now is the time to make big money. We shouldn’t continue.”
“But we… you know, so I need a mediator to do us a favor.”
“Help me set up a meeting with Lance. We’ll sit down and talk. Peace is good for all of us!”
After considering for a while, Figal agreed readily. “No problem…”
(End of a Chapter)