The Westward Expansion
After chasing away the Chinese friends who had stormed the Hop Sing Tong with the mystical Chicago-style Tommy Gun technique, I finished my conversation with the Tong leader.
“So, where were we? You mentioned there was some kind of condition.”
“…Originally, I intended to request support to pressure the Bing Kung Tong, but the leader said your help just now was more than sufficient.”
“Then, I suppose it’s time to discuss our conditions.”
The Hop Sing Tong, or the Chinese Merchants Association, has branches in almost every Chinatown across the United States, regardless of whether it’s in the East or the West. In Chicago, their presence was relatively small, so I hadn't had much business with them, but among Chinese gangs, they were a fairly large organization.
However, what I needed was something that could only be obtained in San Francisco.
“First of all, we would like to use the Pacific smuggling route that the Hop Sing Tong possesses.”
Connected to mainland China, the Hop Sing Tong holds smuggling routes that travel between China and the U.S. That is the very reason they can bring in opium—which isn't even grown in the States—and sell it in their Chinatown opium dens. The path to China was exactly what I wanted.
“…The leader says he will agree if you pay a certain fee.”
Somehow, the interpreter’s expression looks even worse than before. By the way, paying a fee is not ideal.
“That’s difficult. If I have to pay fees on top of everything else, it’s going to be hard to make a profit.”
“Then……”
“Instead, I’m thinking of giving the Hop Sing Tong some new work.”
I raised my hand to cut off the interpreter and continued.
“As it happens, I’m in a situation where I’ll need some manpower soon. I’d like the Hop Sing Tong to supply that labor. In my estimation, the profit from that alone will be more than enough to cover the transit fees.”
In truth, this was closer to the real point. It would be much cheaper to use Chinese people who had entered the country illegally than to hire Americans. Most of them would be supplied through the Hop Sing Tong’s smuggling routes, after all.
“…The leader requests a more detailed explanation.”
“Hmm, to put it simply.”
As the interpreter relayed my words, I stroked my chin and continued.
“I’m going to build a city in the desert. It’s a job that will require at least ten thousand, no, a hundred thousand people.”
“…….”
“I believe this is more than enough to cover the transit fees.”
After all, there are plenty of other places to take a cut besides us, right?
After finishing my conversation with the Tong leader, I left Chinatown with Lee Hyung and the rest of our party.
“Brother, that talk just now… what did you mean?”
“Yes?”
“That… building a city in the desert. Was that really serious, not a joke?”
“Would I joke about business during a negotiation?”
If I did that, I’d end up tasting the terror of Chinese martial arts. Well, McGann and Accardo would handle it, though.
“I sent you here, Brother, because of that very project.”
“W-was that it?”
“Chicago is too far from the West. In that sense, the work you’ve done here has been quite helpful to the organization.”
Well, that wasn't the only reason I sent him to the West, but still.
“And Brother.”
“Yeah?”
“If you have time, why don’t you go to LA with me for a bit?”
“LA? You mean Los Angeles?”
“Yes, not tomorrow, but in a few days. I have somewhere to visit briefly tomorrow.”
“If you ask me to go, of course I will. I’ll get ready, so just say the word.”
“Then, I’ll contact you again when the time comes.”
With those words, I parted ways with Lee Hyung and left Chinatown.
“Rizzo.”
“Yes, Consigliere.”
“You’ve made contact with the Lanza family, right?”
“I’ve arranged for a meeting tomorrow afternoon.”
As expected, it’s great that I don’t have to waste words with Rizzo.
“Good. Then let’s rest at the hotel today and visit them first thing tomorrow.”
The next day, we headed to a harbor located in the west of San Francisco. Specifically, to a seafood company located there.
“Yesterday it was spices, today it’s the stench of fish.”
“Quiet, McGann.”
Well done, Accardo. But I couldn't blame McGann for his complaints. The fishy smell wafting from the boxes of fish piled up right next to the company building was as intense as the stench we’d smelled in Chinatown the day before.
When we pushed through the smell and entered the office inside the building:
“You must be the guests from Chicago. It is an honor to meet you.”
A man smoking a cigar at the far end of the office stood up and walked toward me. I didn’t even need to ask who he was.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Lanza.”
Francesco “Frank” Lanza. He was the boss of the Italian gang that, along with the Hop Sing Tong, controlled the San Francisco harbor. Of course, compared to the Hop Sing Tong, which had spread across the entire U.S., his organization was as small as a speck of dust, but it was worth visiting since, like the Chicago Outfit, it was centered around Italians.
“So… what brings you to this humble place?”
“Humble, you say. I heard that all seafood in San Francisco must pass through you. I also heard that you control the harbor workers.”
“Well… that’s not entirely wrong, but that’s all there is to it. If you need fish in Chicago, I can sell it to you at a fair price, but I don’t think that’s why you came.”
“I need something bigger than fish.”
In the first place, I prefer beef over fish.
“For instance, your name or your face.”
“…That is quite an unexpected thing to say.”
“Chicago wants the West. And you possess the conditions to become our face.”
In other words, I had come to find a front man. Rather than doing business in San Francisco under the name of the Chicago Outfit, using the Lanza family, which was already based in this city, would be less likely to catch the eyes of the city government or other organizations. Compared to the East, they were weak, so we could push them out with force if we wanted, but why waste extra money and time?
“We will grow you. And we will make you take the place of the McDonough brothers.”
The McDonough brothers. They were the ones who had their hands in everything from the San Francisco underworld to City Hall and the police; to use a metaphor, they were like the father-in-law of San Francisco.
“…Are you serious? They are the rulers of this city. They have the power to replace the mayor if they want to. They are incomparable to me….”
“Mr. Lanza.”
Goodness, why is someone who has rolled and rolled in this business so lacking in confidence?
“Do you really think we can’t do it?”
“That is….”
“That’s not for you to worry about. What you need to worry about right now is whether you will accept our proposal or not.”
“…And if I don’t accept?”
You still don’t seem to understand.
“I’ll make you accept.”
You can’t back down anyway.
Two days after securing Mr. Lanza, we headed to Los Angeles. There was only one reason we had come down to the city of pleasure, the number one city in California that even seduced angels.
“We are going to meet the LA family.”
To be precise, I was trying to meet Jack Dragna, the second-in-command of that family. There was a boss, but that gentleman would be taking a reincarnation car to another world within a year at most, so there was no need to meet him.
“I don’t know what you and the kid are planning, but I know why you brought me along.”
I looked at where Lee Hyung was pointing his finger. A massive ship made of concrete was gradually drawing closer. On the side of the ship, it was written in paint:
[MONTE CARLO]
Monte Carlo. One of the boat casinos in LA, located just outside the 3-mile limit of U.S. territorial waters. A casino shining alone on the dark sea was today’s destination.
“Brother, you just need to do what you do best here.”
“Is it a pretty important game?”
“Not necessarily, but since our organization’s reputation is at stake, it would be a bit troublesome if you lost too much.”
“Don’t worry about that, kid. I’ll make sure the name Lee Min-seok is carved into the heads of these LA bastards!”
While we were talking, the boat we were on arrived at the Monte Carlo. As soon as we boarded, the first things I saw were men and women holding long champagne flutes and people enjoying various forms of gambling among them. From slot machines to roulette and card games. It was a quite different scene from the one Lee Hyung had run in Chinatown, but it was no different in that most of them were people pickled in the dopamine provided by gambling.
“What is your name?”
To the guard blocking the entrance, I answered lightly.
“John Lee. These are my associates. I have an appointment with the manager here.”
“…You must be the guests from Chicago. I will guide you.”
With those words, the man in the black suit led us to the VIP room at the very back of the casino ship. Soon, I looked at a man sitting on a luxurious sofa surrounding a roulette and card table.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Lee. Coming all this way from Chicago, you must have had a long journey.”
“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Dragna.”
Jack Dragna. He was the one who oversaw the gambling business, the main source of income for the LA family, including this boat casino.
“How is your boss doing? I haven’t heard much news lately.”
“Of course. These days, he’s living for the joy of seeing his grandchildren.”
“Grandchildren at that age, huh. What an amazing man.”
Just as my father-in-law had said—that he’d had exchanges with the Outfit for several years—Dragna welcomed us with a quite friendly attitude.
“So, let’s hear why our Consigliere came all the way here. And why you called me here, too. Actually, I rarely come out in person.”
“Well, isn’t there only one reason to come to a casino?”
I pointed to the empty roulette and card table in the center. Dragna chuckled.
“My, I don’t have much interest in gambling.”
“That’s unexpected.”
“Instead, I can help you enjoy it.”
Clap, clap.
As Dragna finished speaking and clapped a few times, a man in a white suit with a fedora walked in.
“He’s the best card player among the dealers who came from our organization. He knows how to adjust his skills depending on the opponent, so the guests are always satisfied.”
*Shhh-shhh-shhh!*
Whether it was true or not, the way the man took out the deck and shuffled the cards looked quite plausible even to me, someone who only handled cards for fun.
Well, it wasn't like I was going to be the one playing cards, anyway.
“That’s perfect, because I also brought someone who is a master at cards.”
“Ho-ho, is that really so?”
In Chicago, Lee Hyung was the best, so it wasn't exactly a lie. And now, it was time for him to show his skills.
“It’s a coincidence that we met like this, so wouldn’t it be nice to watch the two of them play? It’d be boring just to watch, so let’s add a little wager.”
“Hmm, a wager, you say?”
“Let’s bet a bottle of liquor. And the winner gets to tell their story while the loser drinks a bottle.”
Of course, the loser would also have a bruised ego, but isn't that how wagers usually go? That’s why my father-in-law often uses various methods to ensure he never loses a bet. Just like the Chicago-style golf I saw him play in Florida.
And.
“You should know in advance that the liquor here is quite expensive.”
“Thanks to that, I’ll be able to enjoy some expensive liquor.”
Now, it was time to use the Chicago method I had learned from my father-in-law.