[The Mafia Game]
“W-what is it? Why are you looking at me?”
Gale and Hurd, who had been listening to the conversation in silence, found the mafia’s gaze incredibly burdensome. Why on earth was Charlie staring at him? However, Charlie didn’t answer Gale and Hurd; he turned his gaze back to Yoon-gi.
“Let’s call it a day. The next time we meet, we won’t be able to have a conversation on such equal footing.”
Charlie, who hadn’t lost his fishy smile until the very end, walked out. Gale and Hurd looked at Yoon-gi with a look of sheer terror. But Yoon-gi simply offered a gentle smile toward the trembling man. It was a kind smile that somehow managed to calm the nerves. In truth, Yoon-gi had already guessed the kind of methods Charlie would employ.
Charlie began to act according to his warning. So, what exactly was that action? It was a move that was quintessentially mafia—or, to be more precise, the behavior of a “violent organization.”
“Hello, Andy?”
A white man in his early 30s with a very kind-looking face greeted the 8-year-old boy who had just finished school with a bright expression.
“……?”
The boy called Andy looked slightly puzzled. Seeing this, the man scratched the back of his head with an “oops” expression.
“Oh, you don’t know me? I’m a subordinate at your father’s workplace. Your father’s name is Theodore, right?”
When his father’s name was mentioned, the boy’s guard lowered significantly. This was the limitation of children. No matter how much they were taught at home, “Don’t follow strangers,” if the other person had a kind face and knew a bit of information about their home, it was quite easy to override that caution. And if such education was somewhat lacking to begin with? A situation like the current one with Andy was inevitable.
“Your father asked me to bring you to his office today. That’s why I came.”
His tone was incredibly kind and gentle. Because of that, Andy’s wariness gradually evaporated.
“Oh, and he said to buy you some ice cream. What kind of ice cream do you like?”
This was the critical hit. Honestly, how much high-level thinking could a child, especially an 8-year-old, possibly do? A kind face, knowing his father’s name, and even offering to buy ice cream. In fact, the reason kidnapping cases had decreased in Korea was simply due to the prevalence of CCTV and dashcams, not because children had become more vigilant. As such, the man finally succeeded in breaking down Andy’s defenses.
“Can I have a double-scoop ice cream?”
“Of course! Should this uncle secretly buy you a triple-scoop?”
Andy’s expression brightened. Finally, Andy climbed into the man’s car. It wasn’t heavily tinted, and it looked like an ordinary vehicle to anyone. Therefore, no one passing by suspected the man’s actions. Furthermore, since Andy didn’t take the school bus, there was even less reason for anyone to suspect the situation.
“Alright, shall we go?”
“Yes!”
Looking at them from outside the car, the man and Andy looked like a father and son. And so, the man headed toward his destination with Andy.
Andy’s father was a director. He was a director who had just caught his big break, and it was a break he had secured thanks to Yoon-gi. After all, despite it being his first project, he had received a significant investment from Yoon-gi. That was why, when Charlie’s gang demanded the termination of his contract with Yoon-gi, Theodore had cautiously refused. Since the other party was the mafia, he had been very careful.
But now, seeing the man appear before him holding his son’s hand, Theodore was absolutely terrified.
“A-Andy!”
Theodore snatched Andy from the man’s hand and hugged him tightly. Andy, having no idea what kind of situation he was in, was simply licking his triple-scoop chocolate ice cream with an innocent expression.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
The man grinned and left Theodore’s studio without another word.
‘This… this crazy…’
The man’s identity was, of course, Charlie’s subordinate. He was the very person who had demanded that Theodore terminate his contract with Yoon-gi. He was a man who looked too kind to be a mafia member. However, it was precisely because of his kind appearance that he was deployed for such tasks. If every mafia member looked rugged and menacing, the range of work they could do would be far too limited. He had the appearance of a man who was incredibly kind and good-natured. But because Theodore knew the man’s true identity, his teeth couldn’t stop chattering.
‘W-what do I do…? What am I supposed to do?’
It was a very classic method, yet one that worked all too well. The tactic Charlie’s gang was using now was one that had been highly effective throughout history, regardless of time or place.
“Andy! From now on, you must never follow that man! Do you understand?”
All Theodore could do now was scold his son. But Andy was too young to understand the gravity of the situation.
“Why? That uncle is a nice person.”
Andy smiled brightly, chocolate ice cream smeared all over his mouth. In the end, Theodore had no choice but to decide that he would personally manage his son’s school commute. But the problem was that there were plenty of other ways for the mafia to pressure Theodore.
In the end, Theodore threw in the towel. At first, he thought he only needed to manage his son’s commute. After that, his son would be home. But that wasn’t enough.
That was the terrifying thing Theodore heard from Andy when he returned from work. Even though there was a babysitter at home, the man—no, Brooks—had succeeded in meeting his son. At first, he tried to grill the babysitter. Since Theodore was a single father, he had hired a college student to look after his son from the afternoon until the evening. But he couldn’t get in touch with the babysitter. When he finally visited her home, the only thing he heard was, “I’m scared.” It was a single phrase that made it easy to guess what kind of behavior Brooks, who maintained a kind demeanor in front of Andy, had shown the babysitter.
And when this happened repeatedly, Theodore suffered a nervous breakdown. Every babysitter he hired ran away, and in the meantime, Brooks increased his intimacy with Andy. What was even more terrifying was that Brooks wasn’t making any direct demands of Theodore. It was a silent demand, as if saying, “Figure it out yourself.”
‘If it goes on like this, it’s no different from a ticking time bomb…’
There hadn’t been any problems yet. But if Theodore just kept maintaining the current situation? It wouldn’t be strange for Brooks to change his attitude at any moment. Therefore, Theodore finally decided to raise the white flag.
‘I have no choice… I feel sorry for breaking the contract, but family comes first…’
The Lorenzo family, surprisingly, didn’t push for an unfair contract. They just demanded that he come to them, offering the same conditions. That was why Theodore’s rationalization began to pick up speed. Honestly, when one’s family is in danger, how many people could truly keep their loyalty? It looks cool in movies, but in reality, keeping your loyalty only leads to being abandoned by your family. Besides, they were his only family.
Just as Theodore picked up the receiver to call Brooks, a knock sounded, and his secretary’s voice came from outside the office.
“Director, your sponsor is here.”
The sponsor was none other than Yoon-gi. Theodore put the receiver down for a moment.
‘Right, it’s only right to explain it to him first before calling Brooks.’
Sighing inwardly with guilt, Theodore welcomed Yoon-gi into his office and offered him the seat of honor. After hesitating for a moment, Theodore spoke with difficulty.
“I…”
But Yoon-gi’s words were a little faster.
“It’s been tough lately, hasn’t it?”
It was a warm word that almost brought tears to his eyes. Theodore shed a single tear without realizing it.
“Oh…?”
Surprised by why tears were falling from his eyes, Theodore hurriedly tried to take out a handkerchief, but Yoon-gi was already handing him one.
“I know everything. The Lorenzo family has been draining your blood lately. I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”
These words were the catalyst.
“*Sob, sob, sob*…”
Someone who hasn’t experienced it wouldn’t understand why Theodore was reacting this way. But lately, Theodore had been through so much. How could he not be afraid when his only young son was in a situation where he could be killed by the mafia at any moment? He couldn’t report it to the police, either. If he reported it, there was no illegal act in what Brooks had done. Every day felt like he had his neck in a guillotine, but Yoon-gi had come to him, saying he knew everything. And he had spoken in a warm voice. It was as if he were saying, “I’ll take care of everything.”
In fact, Yoon-gi had come with the intention of solving Theodore’s agony.
“It’s not just you, Director. Many people who signed contracts with me have gone through similar things. Some have actually terminated their contracts.”
“Ah… I think I’ve heard rumors, but I was so out of my mind that I… I didn’t really know…”
“Of course. With a knife to your throat, how could you pay attention to others? Still, thank you so much for holding on until now. From now on, I will guarantee your perfect safety.”
“I-is that possible?”
“Of course. I never abandon people who keep their promises.”
This time, Yoon-gi wore a fishy smile just like Charlie’s. Charlie wasn’t here, but Yoon-gi’s gaze was, perhaps by coincidence, directed toward the direction where Charlie was currently located.
“Please don’t worry. I will absolutely guarantee the confidentiality of the source of this information.”
Joshua, the director of the FBI. A man in his early 50s with a distinctive appearance, featuring a thin, neatly trimmed mustache along his mouth. However, that thin mustache created a wavy sensation as he wore a fishy smile.
“My information is reliable, isn’t it?”
“It is. I checked some of the information just in case, and I was honestly surprised… at how perfect it was.”
The information Yoon-gi had provided was none other than the locations of the Lorenzo family members. For the FBI, this was top-tier intelligence. It was information that confirmed the identities of the members and even provided their perfect movement patterns. Joshua was incredibly curious about how he had obtained it, and he could have been suspicious, but Joshua could easily ignore such things. Because Joshua had lost his younger brother to the Lorenzo family.
Joshua’s brother had been a sheriff in a small town, and he had been murdered by the Lorenzo family, who were dealing in the town where his brother worked. Since then, Joshua had managed to put the small-fry who killed his brother in prison, but he hadn’t been able to dismantle the Lorenzo family itself. They were such a solid family that even if there was circumstantial evidence, there was no physical evidence to link them. That was why Joshua felt like he wanted to shout for joy right now.
He had been introduced to Yoon-gi through Guster, and he had received information about the Lorenzo family from him. After verifying the reliability of the information over a short period, the reliability was 100 percent. However, there was one problem here.
[How will you deal with the Lorenzo group with this information?]
It was obvious, but the Lorenzo henchmen, including Brooks, had not committed any illegal acts in this matter. Furthermore, while Yoon-gi had provided the information and movement patterns of the members, he hadn’t provided physical evidence of a crime. But a fishy smile never left Joshua’s face.