Chapter 552

Figal’s eyes were bloodshot.

Lance’s slap had shattered his dignity on the ground. In fact, he himself knew that now was not a good time to make a move.

Perhaps Lance’s men had already prepared for their attack, and were just waiting for them to walk into the trap, and then turn his men into sieves.

But he couldn’t not say it, he couldn’t not take a stand. Several cadres had died in the early morning. If he had no attitude at all, what would the other cadres think?

The Keane family was different from gangs like the Pasoretto family and the Kodak family. It was not a gang that connected individuals through blood ties.

The cadres in the Pasoretto family were basically relatives of the family head: cousins, sisters, and uncles.

The Kodak family was the same. The core figures in their family were all blood relatives.

When they encountered trouble, they would often stand together to think about the problem.

But for gangs like the Cassia family, the Tita family, and the Keane family, which were not connected by blood ties, there were some more problems.

For example, after encountering a setback, if the leader of the gang family did not stand up and take a stand, it would trigger some unpredictable consequences.

Blood-kin families did not have this problem. No matter what contradiction they faced, it would only make them united against the outside world.

But for non-blood-kin gangs, sometimes external problems would also evolve into internal problems.

If he didn’t take a stand, the cadres who had a good relationship with the deceased cadres would feel dissatisfied.

Damn it, the brothers have done so much for the family, and now they’ve been killed, and you (Figal) don’t say a fucking word.

Then the next time they were needed to charge, they would consider whether they should lead the charge.

It was even possible that when the family faced a crisis, they would not consider how to unite with everyone to overcome the difficulties, but how to preserve their own strength.

As long as their own strength was not reduced, the worst that could happen was to change to another gang in the future.

So Figal had to take a stand, just like at this moment when he slammed his palm on the map. Even if some people knew he was acting, they could only remain silent.

At this time, it often required another “sober person” to stand up and stop him from doing so.

And this person was also Figal’s trusted subordinate.

“I don’t think we can just rush in recklessly, Boss!”

Figal’s gaze moved to the speaker. The others were also looking at him.

It was just that some people’s gazes were so plain that you couldn’t see anything, while some people always maintained a playful expression on their faces.

This kind of drama, in fact, had been performed many times.

But if you were to say it was useless, it might not be.

Because even if you knew this was a performance, a discussion, but at least when Figal said he wanted to avenge these dead cadres immediately, the emotions in your heart would be stirred up by his words.

He had achieved the result he wanted—the Boss had not forgotten to avenge his dead brothers.

As for how he was stopped next, how he was persuaded, that was another matter.

The speaker said frankly, “First of all, we must determine that the people who did it were Lance’s people. If someone knows that there is friction between us, and then uses this method to create a conflict.”

“If we make a move now, we will fall into their trap and fall for their conspiracy.”

Figal frowned and looked at the speaker, seemingly with a look of dissatisfaction. Some of the others frowned, some nodded slightly. What he said was not wrong, they thought.

This upright guy who was not afraid of offending the Boss continued, “Second point, how can we be sure that this is not him luring us over?”

“Maybe Lance’s men have already set up an ambush, just waiting for us to run headlong into it, and then completely wipe out our men. We can’t give them such an opportunity.”

“Remember our battle with the Bear Gang?”

“We suffered a big loss right from the start!”

That was a past that people were unwilling to recall. Including Figal, he couldn’t help but frown when he heard it.

Although this was a script, a good script can also make people’s emotions resonate.

Their first large-scale firefight with the Bear Gang was like this. The Bear Gang had ambushed two of their businesses.

Figal didn’t treat them as an equal opponent and directly arranged for people to go and kill them. Then, almost no one who went could come back intact.

And from that time on, they and the Bear Gang fell into a tragic battle.

Now, bringing up this opponent who had been eliminated and the loss they had suffered, although it was a bit unpleasant, from another perspective, it was actually a suitable example.

Although they were beaten silly in the early stages, the Bear Gang had now disappeared from Golden Port City.

The others all nodded. Figal’s expression also softened. The script had worked.

He sat down, lit a cigarette, and asked, “Is there anything else?”

The speaker nodded and said, “Third point, whether it was done by the Lance Family or not, this is a serious provocation to us, to the Five Families. This is a bad signal.”

“This is no longer just our own problem, but also the problem of the Five Families.”

“This time they dare to provoke us, so what about next time?”

“Will they try to provoke other families, and will we eventually fall into an endless cycle of probing by these small gangs and be gradually worn down?”

The expressions of everyone changed a little. A word flashed through their minds at this moment: authority!

Yes, the authority of the Five Families was under an unprecedented threat. If they couldn’t handle this matter well, even if they solved this trouble, there would be more trouble in the future.

Figal, as if he had been persuaded, took a deep breath. “Let everyone calm down first. Don’t act recklessly. I’ll contact the other families.”

These cadres naturally had no objections, including those who knew that this was Figal’s intention, but they had just put on a show. They didn’t have any major objections either.

On the other side, Bandy and Gorry, the two instigators, were also discussing Lance’s behavior.

“Too explosive,” Gorry shook his head. “He moves very fast. I’m a little worried.”

Bandy looked at him. They were brothers and knew each other well enough. Gorry pursed his lips. “I’m worried that Figal and the others won’t be able to hold out for that long.”

This sentence made Bandy look puzzled. “Figal’s side has indeed been affected a little before, but do you think Lance is that strong?”

Gorry rubbed his face. This feeling allowed him to feel a little bit of relaxation, just a little.

“Haven’t I been investigating the strength of the Lance Family recently?”

Bandy nodded. It was very important to understand your opponent before a full-scale war.

They had already put down their former arrogance and were beginning to try to understand this gang that was entrenched in the two poorest districts, was full of young people, and had no foundation.

But the more he learned, the more uneasy Gorry became.

“They have too many people.”

Bandy looked at him without expressing an opinion. A sentence, a piece of information, could not allow Bandy to make a correct response. He was still waiting.

Gorry lit a cigarette, then casually threw the lighter on the table. He leaned back on the sofa, his body sinking into it.

If some old people were here, they would think that Gorry was a typical bad boy with no “sitting posture.”

“The Empire District already has 250,000 Empire immigrants, not including illegal Empire immigrants.”

“He can pull out a large group of people who are loyal to him from these people at any time. And you know the situation in the Empire.”

Bandy was also getting a little addicted. He also lit a cigarette. “Yes, I heard their civil war is not over yet.”

The “International News” was still constantly smearing the image and ability of the Emperor of the Empire. Of course, it was not entirely nonsense, because there were still two or three rebel forces fighting against the royal family.

They had survived several encirclements and suppressions, and there was even a possibility of continuing to grow stronger. For a time, His Majesty the Emperor was “furious” again.

“So among those who have come in the past year, many have participated in the war.”

“If you say that these things just make me feel that it’s not easy to handle, then the increasing number of refugees in the New Port District makes things even more troublesome.”

“There are guys who are willing to sell their lives for a little money.”

Bandy’s face was indeed not so optimistic.

The war between gangs, in the final analysis, is about who has more people, more guns, and more money!

He thought for a long time before he could barely say, “Having more people… doesn’t necessarily mean you’re powerful.”

Gorry looked at Bandy with some astonishment. The two looked at each other for a while, and both couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright, what I said is not entirely right, but you can’t say that what I said is completely wrong!” Bandy finally lost in Gorry’s gaze.

He also knew he was quibbling.

If you have ten people under you, and he has a hundred, you are just not as powerful as him!

This is not the era of cold weapons from three or five hundred years ago. Perhaps there was still a possibility of a few well-trained heavy cavalry slaughtering a large number of enemy light infantry.

This is the era of hot weapons. Everyone has a gun. Ten people shooting and a hundred people shooting are two completely different changes.

“Can’t we make up for this gap?” he asked again.

Gorry’s expression was not relaxed. “We’ve already started the war. If we go to recruit people now, the price will be very high.”

“And we’re not sure if there will be sand in the people we recruit. A guy like Lance can do anything.”

Bandy did not deny this point. In his eyes, Lance had already become synonymous with evil.

“Although I’m not willing to admit it, Bandy, in terms of strength, we and he already have a certain gap.”

“Of course, I’m just talking about pure strength.”

“Another thing that gives me a headache is the police department. Before, the police department was controlled by Charlie. He was a running dog of the Bay Area.”

“The Bay Area will not easily intervene in our firefights. They even, to a certain extent, stand with us.”

“Even if the police don’t help us, they won’t deal with us.”

“But now, the police are on his side.”

Bandy’s brow furrowed even tighter. His fingers tapped rhythmically on the tabletop. “What you said makes a lot of sense. So what should we do now?”

Gorry pursed his lips. “We can’t let Figal fight him too hard. If Figal is wiped out, our chances of winning will be even smaller.”

“Also, I want to ask…”

The two brothers knew each other well enough. His manner made Bandy vaguely aware of something. “Just say it. I won’t mind.”

“Can we get some help from Congress or Manteno?”

“Even if it can’t directly harm Lance, at least it has to make the police part not completely on his side.”

Bandy fell into a long silence.

In the past, the thing Bandy liked to talk to him about the most was the big shots in Congress, and how much they relied on them.

He had gone to Manteno to attend a banquet held by a certain big shot, or had met and shaken hands with a certain big shot.

He was always talking about these things, but Gorry didn’t like these things. At that time, he always felt that his own strength was the most important.

The other things were all fake.

But now, he seemed to have a little bit of an awakening. Political support was also very important.

If a big shot could speak up for them, maybe it could really mediate these contradictions.

Once the troops were stationed and stable, Lance would no longer have the opportunity to change the city’s structure.

They also knew that troops were going to be stationed. Bandy had also heard some news.

Once the troops were stationed, they would definitely not allow the city to be in such a mess. At that time, they would definitely intervene.

After two or three minutes, Bandy came back to his senses. “I’ll contact them.”

When he said this, Gorry vaguely sensed that something was wrong. He frowned and looked at Bandy. “Did something happen?”

Bandy didn’t know what to say. Someone had contacted him privately and told him to hold on and not compromise.

That person was an interest representative of a certain big shot in Congress. Bandy carefully asked if the other party had any help to give him, but that guy hung up the phone without saying anything.

Later he found out that the political circle he relied on was now being marginalized by Congress because of some of the president’s reasons.

This was actually quite normal. Politics is like this. It’s either this wave is high, or that wave is high, and it’s impossible for it to always be a certain wave high. It’s dynamic and constantly changing.

A few years ago, Senator Cleveland’s market was not good. He was also in a middle-of-the-road position in Congress. If it weren’t for his background and family background, he would have been kicked out of the Senate long ago.

These past two years, his market has improved, and naturally, other interest groups have begun to decline. This is very normal.

But for the “ants” under the influence of these political interest groups, that is definitely huge bad news!

They don’t have much risk resistance. Now that Congress can no longer help, there won’t be too many people in Manteno who are willing to intervene.

Because the interests of politics are all in the same line. They are all in the same circle.

Now that the top of the circle is not having a good time, then they, the middle and lower levels, will naturally not have a good time either.

Facing Gorry’s question, Bandy had nothing to say, and this was precisely the best dialogue.

“I see!” Gorry said after a moment of silence.

But he quickly cheered up again. “We didn’t establish ourselves in Golden Port by relying on them, so without help… we can also do well.”

“The first thing we need to do now is not to let Figal be beaten down by Lance’s quick fists.”

Bandy nodded. “You’re right. You arrange this. I’ll fully support you.”

As the two were discussing countermeasures, the phone suddenly rang. Bandy pressed his hand on the receiver and waited for it to ring again before picking it up.

“This is Bandy.”

After he finished speaking, his brows furrowed, and then he hung up the phone.

Facing Gorry’s puzzled eyes, he said, “Several of their bars were attacked. The losses are constantly expanding.”

Gorry’s eyes became a little strange. “Lance and his people… what on earth are they planning to do?”

“We have to contact Figal.”

Gorry nodded and said, “I was thinking the same thing.”

He hadn’t even picked up his phone when it rang again. After picking it up, it was a message from the spy they had arranged.

After listening for a while, he hung up the phone, his face a little grave. “Figal has sent people to retaliate.”

If the first time they could still find someone to stop it, to stop the revenge, then this time they couldn’t stop it.

After being slapped in the face several times in a row and not fighting back, perhaps they wouldn’t have to wait for Lance to come over, those high-level cadres might have other ideas.

Figal had to fight back, and at the same time, this was also a test.

Gorry sighed. “I hope the result this time won’t be too bad.”

The moment a large number of cars entered the Empire District, Lance already knew.

The old men in the streets and alleys, while drinking coffee, were paying attention to the direction of movement of those obviously strange convoys.

This information was quickly gathered in Bolton’s hands, and then Bolton told Lance.

Their target was not some bar, but Lance himself!

The route of these convoys was also towards Lance’s company, but Lance was not nervous at all. In fact, after knowing this news, he was even talking and laughing.

“Are your men all arranged?” Sitting opposite him was the newly appointed precinct chief of the Empire District, also one of Chief Bruce’s trusted subordinates with a good relationship, who used to work in the Empire District precinct.

Now that Chief Bruce had left, he had taken over the position of precinct chief and continued to shine and contribute to the Empire District and Lance.

This was a middle-aged man in his forties, slightly bald. His face was a bit large, oval-shaped.

When he smiled, his features would be squeezed together, looking a little ridiculous.

So he usually tried not to smile for the sake of his image, but at this moment, his face was smiling like a chrysanthemum that was about to bloom but hadn’t yet!

“Mr. Lance, don’t worry, the men are all arranged!”

Lance nodded slightly. “My safety is in your hands.”

The new precinct chief glanced at the people in the office who were carrying submachine guns and felt that Lance might be speaking in reverse.

But he still patted his chest and guaranteed, “No criminal will be able to come before you, Mr. Lance!”

(End of a Chapter)