Chapter 55: For Family!

This sudden task made Luca feel quite annoyed.

Putting the skill aside for the moment, the drug war itself still required Richie to keep fighting.

Things had already reached this critical juncture, and victory was almost within reach; how could he possibly kill Richie?

Luca would protect him if anything.

"Roberts, so it's him."

Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Luca asked curiously, "Has this guy offended our family?"

"He's blocking our way to make money."

Maligio trusted Luca deeply and saw no reason to hide the underlying cause from him: "This time the Commission issued an execution order, pushed by Dominic and a few other families..."

Maligio, the older brother figure who had taken care of Luca since he was ten years old, was one of the only two capos in the family brave enough to run the drug trade.

The other was White Tiger.

He tapped a finger on the photograph:

"Roberts has been cracking down on drugs on the streets of New York for years. Last time he caught Henry, and this time he has his eyes on Frank. He has already taken down quite a few distributors, and just a few days ago he even busted the Japanese...

We sent people to find him, offered him money, women, cars, vacation villas—as long as he stopped. We tried every peaceful method possible, but he rejected all conditions."

At this, a hint of admiration crept into Maligio's tone: "This guy's spine is too rigid. To be honest, I actually admire him. The New York Police Department and the DEA, almost everyone takes gang money, but not him. Fuck, he picked up a million dollars and actually turned it in?!

I've never seen such an upright cop!

Is he crazy? That's a million dollars! In the end, wouldn't that money just be split among those greedy cops at the precinct?"

Luca shook his head inwardly. Why else would those federal big shots come looking for him? They had chosen Richie precisely for his admirable quality of integrity.

"If he won't listen to us, surely he'll listen to you?" Maligio pushed the photo forward. "Luca, you are the ambassador of peace, and right now I need peace. Go and solve this trouble for me."

What kind of nonsense is this... Luca picked up the photo, sighing internally. This deviation from the original plot was way too extreme, wasn't it?

Could it be that his own behind-the-scenes instigation had been too aggressive, triggering the butterfly effect?

With a calm and indifferent expression, he nodded and raised a question:

"Maligio, this isn't a problem that can be solved just by killing one Roberts. The federal government is playing for keeps this time, determined to thoroughly crack down on drug crime in New York. Even if you kill one Roberts, countless more will pop up until the drug trade in New York is no longer rampant!"

The cancer of drugs had never truly vanished from America, from the past to the present, and even into the future. From the neighboring countries of Mexico and Cuba, down to South America, a steady stream of supply would always flow.

Some terminally ill chemistry teacher would also make a small contribution, creating crystal meth of exceptionally high purity.

Yet right now, the drug trade in New York was simply too rampant and chaotic, with even the DEA and the police department openly dealing drugs, resulting in total lawlessness.

Rather than saying the federal government was cracking down on drug dealers, it was more accurate to say they were purging their own ranks.

When the sewer clogs and the filth overflows the mountains, someone has to clear the blockage.

This was the trend of the times.

Maligio paused for a moment. "This isn't the first time the federal government has cracked down on drug crime. When have they ever succeeded? It's just that there's never been a hardhead like Roberts before."

"You should trust me," Luca said patiently. "I rarely argue with you, but whenever we disagreed in the past, it always turned out in the end that I was right..."

"Luca, I know you don't like touching this business, so I've never forced you to participate... Fine, how much money do you want?"

Maligio wore the helpless smile of an old father pulling out pocket money for a naughty son, assuming Luca was once again angling for perks:

"I'm the only one in the family who is this generous to you, still giving you money every time you go kill someone. Look at the other hitters in the family; when they kill someone, do they ever dare to whine and ask for money? This isn't the Continental Hotel, this is service and loyalty to the family!"

"I know you're good to me, and I remember it all, but this really isn't about the money."

"It is for me."

Maligio said helplessly, "I'm not like the other cash cows in the family. This is the only money-making business I have in my hands. If this business gets cut off... surely you don't expect me to rely on running a bar for income? I wouldn't even be able to guarantee my standing within the family."

Only when facing Luca, who was practically a nephew to him, would Maligio speak his mind. "Back when you followed me, I was just an ordinary soldier. Why I was able to become a capo today, you should know better than anyone else."

Because he latched onto the underboss's coattails.

Of course Luca knew this. Many of the "sending fish to sleep" assignments he took on in the past had been ordered by Dominic and relayed to him through Maligio—such as the execution targeting Stan.

Yet the assignment Dominic handed down this time disrupted all of Luca's arrangements.

The butterfly effect was severe, and it had landed squarely on Luca's head.

Taking out Richie Roberts completely contradicted Luca's prior plans, nor did it align with his long-term goals and interests.

Stop the drug war?

And just stand by and watch Dominic expand the drug trade further, leading the family down a predictable dead end?

Besides, would eliminating Richie Roberts really stop the drug war? Would it make the federal government abandon its resolve to clean up New York?

Damn it, wouldn't it be better if the underboss just peacefully went to prison with Frank instead of jumping out to stir up trouble?!

This was a major version update of New York; it couldn't be ended just by killing one single Richie.

At this thought, a flash of coldness crossed Luca's eyes.

Richie could not die!

Help him win the drug war! Neither the system rewards nor the character bond skills could be given up!

With an operation of such magnitude, the reward for defending peace upon its conclusion would undoubtedly be extremely generous.

Moreover, it would deal a heavy blow to the underboss's drug empire and perhaps even send the underboss away for good.

If the underboss didn't fall from power, when would Luca, who refused to touch drugs, ever get a chance to rise to the top?

A drug-running family was not what Luca wanted.

......

This was the first time Maligio had ever seen Luca wearing such a silent expression, and he couldn't help feeling puzzled. In the past, Luca was always very decisive when it came to killing—it was just a matter of more or less money. Could this mission really be making things so difficult for him?

As Luca's elder and his boss, Maligio thought it over and reached out:

"You... never mind, give the photo back to me. I'll find an excuse for you, talk to Dominic, and swap in another hitman. He actually values your capability very much and specifically instructed me to hand it to you. Whatever you handle, we all feel at ease."

Maligio didn't want to push Luca into a corner; if he was truly unwilling, then forget it. Killing a cop was no big deal, there were plenty of hitmen around.

Take the Deadly Vipers organization, for instance—a hitman group affiliated with the Continental platform, whose members favored East Asian culture and were proficient in Chinese kung fu and Japanese swordsmanship.

Maligio had heard that the leader of this organization had recently brought people to New York because the founder of the Red Poppy restaurant had been arrested, causing some operational issues for the establishment.

Some troubles needed to be dealt with.

At this thought, Maligio asked curiously, "Were you at the scene when that Japanese guy was arrested a while back? I heard your men were the ones who stopped him."

"That Japanese guy lost a car to me," Luca explained very naturally. "He wanted to run, so naturally I wasn't going to let him go."

Maligio: "......"

The superficial truth was just like that, and Maligio even knew the GT-R was sitting right in Luca's garage; he just hadn't expected it to be so dramatic.

Out of years of affection, trust, and a vague intuition, he chose to believe Luca's words, but warned him: "Luca, we don't hold a grudge against cops, but don't get too close to cops who work against us. Disobedient people end up just like Roberts—the family won't let them off."

Luca laughed inwardly. I was actually planning to support Richie, win the drug war, and get rid of Dominic, but now you guys are trying to go against me...

Boss, you're forcing me to make an even more extreme choice!

Maligio raised his glass and consoled him: "You're not deeply involved in drugs, and you've already cut yourself clean... Opening a club is a good idea. From now on, just focus on running your club in peace, and stay away from anything related to drugs. I'll find someone else for this mission."

Luca raised his head and looked at Maligio, who was both a father figure and a friend to him—back when he was ten years old, had it not been for Maligio's help, Luca would have become a homeless orphan.

Furthermore, in the Mafia, refusing a mission was an extremely dangerous act. When superiors ordered something to be done, it had to be done without argument. Even if one's mother was lying in a hospital bed, one had to rush back immediately to serve the family.

Family always came first, higher than God, higher than the country...

Luca knew very well that Maligio had always been covering for his various picky and willful behaviors over the years—if Maligio had a character card, their bond level would have reached the status of partner or family member even before Luca broke through the mystery in the womb.

Luca slipped the photo into his pocket and smiled. "Uncle Maligio, it's been a long time since I called you that, hasn't it?"

"You little bastard! You still remember to call me uncle? When you were born, your father had me baptize you! I'm your godfather! For over a year now, you brat..."

"I'll take this mission."

"You... you agree?"

"You're my uncle; if I don't help you, who am I going to help?"

Luca shrugged. Let him stall for time first; ideally, he could drag it out until the drug war was over. Having the mission in his own hands was better than letting it fall to someone else.

Maligio laughed and scolded, "Hahaha, kid, I knew you'd help me out! Come on, let's you and I have a proper drink together!"

"I drove here!"

"Just one cup!"

The two of them raised their glasses, clinked them together, and drank freely under the moonlight.

"Oh, right."

Luca suddenly remembered, "Wasn't there another execution order? Who is that supposed to be taken out?"

It couldn't be that kid David, could it?

These two brothers certainly had high profiles, getting targeted by the Commission for direct execution.

This time, Maligio didn't pull out a photograph. He was silent for a moment before spitting out a name:

"Carmine Galante!"

Not David, but the Bonanno family—the Boss!

The Commission of the Mafia held such immense power that they could even execute a family boss!

Luca fell silent once more.

Yet this time, he wasn't surprised.

In the original plot, while Donnie was working undercover, Galante had been executed by a joint effort of the other families—not out of greed, but because he was too stingy and didn't know how to share.

It was precisely this incident that led to internal turmoil within the Bonanno family, prompting the underboss in prison to temporarily manage the family and promote Black Sonny to a capo.

Speaking of which, this matter had left old Sal quite depressed, almost driving him to self-isolation.

After waiting for decades, damn it, they promoted Black Sonny instead of promoting an old bone like him.

What old Sal didn't know was that Black Sonny had maintained a very good relationship with the underboss while in prison, which was the exact reason he received the promotion.

Luca quickly analyzed the pros and cons of this matter in his mind. He couldn't bear to get rid of Richie, but as for eliminating Galante... it all depended on how many benefits could be reaped from it.

Eliminating a family boss—who knew how many rewards the system would spit out.

Besides, with an execution order in place, there was no need to worry about drawing any trouble.

Luca said, "I'll take this mission as well."

Maligio raised an eyebrow. "You dragged your feet when I asked you to kill a cop, but the moment I ask you to kill Galante, you get all fired up?"

Luca held back for two seconds, brewing his emotions before spitting out the classic slogan:

"This is all for family!"