Chapter 15: The Imminent War

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[You commissioned Leon to eliminate a notorious drug dealer, restoring peace to the community.]
[Skill points gained +5]
[Skill fragment gained +1]

At home, Luca put down his phone and smiled as he asked Matilda, "The Chinese food tonight isn’t spicy, right? How do you like the taste?"

Matilda licked the corner of her mouth. "It’s wonderful! I didn’t realize Chinese cuisine could be mild, especially the sweet and sour pork! The tangy and sweet flavor is delicious!"

Not long after, as they were enjoying their meal, another call came through—it was Jimmy.

“Luca! Henry’s dead!”

“What?!” Luca’s voice was filled with shock. “How did he die?”

Jimmy hesitated before speaking. “He… got caught selling drugs by the police. I heard he was beaten to death by them. I don’t know the exact details; his wife told me.”

“I warned him! Told him to quit dealing drugs!”

“...”

“Jimmy, were you involved?”

“No, I swear. You told me to stay away, and I did! Sorry, I tried to persuade Henry, but he didn’t listen.”

“It’s not your fault. He got what he deserved. Jimmy, you’ve always had good luck—unlike Henry, the police never caught you.”

Luca’s lips curled into a silent smirk.

After leaving the bar that night, he had called Leon to keep an eye on Henry: to find out if Henry was still dealing drugs and be ready to silence him if necessary.

He had warned Henry to quit the drug business, but Henry had feigned compliance and stayed true to his old ways. There was no other choice.

Henry couldn’t be arrested—he had no filter. That shameless man would betray his own brothers in the family just to save himself.

Luca definitely didn’t want the story to go that way. He didn’t even give Henry the chance to enter witness protection.

As for Jimmy… he’d been imprisoned multiple times but never betrayed the family. Luca planned to keep observing him.

In the Mafia, getting caught for crimes isn’t the end. The family bails you out, and if the sentence is heavy, they take care of your family so no one has to worry.

The key is to stay silent, never betray.

Otherwise, execution awaits; dying in prison is even quicker.

…

The next morning, at the New York Police Department.

William Somerset and David Mills unexpectedly received a new case report—another sniper assassination.

The previous two victims had been an artist and a stockbroker, but this time it was a drug dealer.

“Somerset, do you think this is connected to the earlier shootings?”

David studied Henry’s file for a long time and found no link between Henry and the previous two victims.

Henry was a peripheral member of the Lucchese family, unrelated to the past cases.

Also, the earlier victims shared a common feature—they were both on the phone when killed.

Henry was not.

William shook his head. “Last night’s sniper case isn’t our jurisdiction. Don’t meddle.”

He was nearing retirement and didn’t want any extra trouble—just finish the two cases he had.

…

Three days passed in a flash.

On a bright morning, Luca attended Henry’s funeral, accompanied by Marigio, Jimmy, and many official Mafia members and associates.

Such funerals were routine for the Mafia; members died frequently.

Luca once set a record for attending 15 funerals in one month—ironically, some were of people he had killed himself.

At Henry’s funeral, Luca saw Pauly Cicero, a local boss.

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As Henry’s superior, Pauly showed no sadness upon seeing Henry’s grave, as if he had long foreseen this outcome.

Perhaps Henry’s death was the best choice for him and for the family.

Pauly placed a bouquet of flowers, offered a few words of condolence, then left.

Luca wanted to speak with Pauly to strengthen ties but, seeing his gloomy expression, decided it was best not to invite trouble.

Marigio watched Pauly leave and complained to Luca:

“The lead cop that night was Roberts. Luca, you know how sharp his nose is. Henry the fool was bound to get caught under Roberts’ watch… I think Pauly predicted this and sent a hitman to take Henry out.”

It was indeed a hit—Luca nodded in agreement.

“Exactly! Pauly had motive. Everyone knows he hates people around him dealing drugs.”

Luca felt relieved that the boss was willingly taking the blame.

Well, let Pauly carry that burden.

Better to carry this blame than be betrayed by Henry and rot in prison.

Now that Henry, the shameless traitor, was dead, Luca had fewer worries and could focus his energy elsewhere.

Like opening a club, or keeping an eye on Richie Roberts—the cop.

Luca had known Richie for a long time; he was a local New York officer.

[Character Card: Richie Roberts (Unlocked)]
[Richie: A]
[Origin: American Gangster]
[Skills: Honest; Persuasion]
[Bond: Stranger]

Richie would later become one of the key figures in New York’s war on drugs. He led a special narcotics unit that captured Frank, a black drug lord, turned him informant, and then helped arrest three-quarters of the narcotics police, causing a major shake-up in DEA and NYPD.

In other words, even if Stan hadn’t died at Luca’s hands, Richie would have sent him to prison eventually.

But now, Richie was just a regular cop, seemingly not yet recruited by the DEA’s higher-ups.

—DEA handles major drug crimes, like cross-border trafficking and big drug lords; city police focus on urban and street-level drug busts.

Richie’s absence from the DEA meant there was still some buffer before the big crisis.

Luca didn’t mind helping Richie.

Such a big event might yield substantial system rewards.

Besides, Richie’s skills were valuable.

[Honest: Your character is recognized by the federal government; Federal Trust +10%. When you turn in illegally obtained funds to the government, Trust gains an additional 5% to 30% (depending on the amount and source). Meanwhile, corrupt cop trust decreases by 10% to 50% (based on amount turned in and their level of corruption).]
[Learning Requirements: Bond at close friend level or above; requires 80 skill fragments]

[Persuasion: You can more easily convince criminals; criminal trust +10%. If you are a government member, persuasion trust gains an additional 20%.]
[Learning Requirements: Bond at friend level or above; requires 50 skill fragments]

One skill gains official trust, the other gains criminal trust.

Both are excellent.

But Luca only cared about the first half of these skills for now—the latter parts weren’t useful to him.

How could the Mafia persuade criminals?

And how could Luca possibly turn in stolen money? That would be admitting to illegal income.

Still, the first halves of these skills were appealing.

For system rewards and skills, Luca was willing to help Richie win the drug war and put Frank behind bars.

As for Frank’s skills… one was Cross-Border Transport, the other Corruption Infiltration. The first reduced official search probability during cross-border drug transport; the second increased trust when bribing officials.

Luca had no interest in drugs anymore, so the first skill was a pass.

The second skill was okay, but in America, anything solvable with money wasn’t really a problem. Also, Corruption Infiltration required a close friend bond, and Luca didn’t see himself becoming best friends with a ruthless drug lord like Frank.

That guy would kill his own blood without hesitation.

So Luca had little interest in Frank; he was destined for prison sooner or later.

If it weren’t for needing Frank’s testimony to overturn the NY DEA and secure a bigger victory in the drug war—for more system rewards—Luca would have killed Frank outright for the rewards.

…

After the funeral,

At 3:30 p.m., Luca drove back to Manhattan to pick up the little brat from school.

“Luca!” Matilda excitedly hopped into the passenger seat. Seeing the seat hadn’t been adjusted and suited her short legs, her smile grew even wider.

“Today at school, I stood up to the girls who used to bully me. It felt so good!”

“Oh? How did you manage that?”

“I told them my brother is in the Mafia! They didn’t dare lay a finger on me and even called me Big Sister, asking me to take them to meet you.”

“...”

Alright, alright, so that’s how the Mafia name is put to use.

Thinking this, Luca opened his panel to check some unnoticed notifications.

[Matilda used your name… to defend peace on campus.]
[Skill points gained +2]
[Skill fragment gained +1]
[Remaining skill fragments: 64]

Hmm… looking at it this way, maybe it’s not so bad.

As long as the school doesn’t call parents, Luca didn’t want to hear the teachers nag.

Matilda exclaimed, “Luca! I’m really looking forward to the weekend. I want to experience Mafia life.”

Such a statement would send American “happy education” into a shudder, but Luca nodded contentedly.

“Alright, things you can’t learn at school, I’ll teach you.”

He was patient playing pretend with the kid.

But before he could do that, they encountered a group of cops “playing pretend” themselves.

On the way back, passing through Times Square, Manhattan, they saw the police had cordoned off the road. Many onlookers and reporters gathered outside the barriers, curious.

There were snipers on surrounding buildings.

Both Luca and Matilda had question marks appear above their heads.

What’s going on?

Although New York was rife with violence and crime, with sirens sounding nightly, such a large-scale operation in Times Square was rare.

Luca leaned out the window and looked ahead. Inside a phone booth stood a man, panic-stricken, holding the receiver, speaking rapidly.

[Discovered Character Card: Stu Shepard (Locked)]
[Stu: D]
[Origin: Phone Booth]
[Skills: None]
[Bond: Stranger]

Luca raised an eyebrow slightly—oh, it was this guy?

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