[The Mafia Game (3)]
Charlie, the second-in-command of the Lorenzo family, received a report that left him perplexed. "You say you can't reach Brooks?"
"Yes, sir. I have a bad feeling about this..."
Unlike his subordinate, who wore a troubled expression, Charlie narrowed his eyes but didn't frown. "It happens, doesn't it? He’s probably off somewhere having a wild time with women. He’s been doing his job well lately, so let him rest for a while. Everything else is going fine, isn't it?"
Surprisingly, Charlie didn't nitpick his subordinates over trivial matters. As long as they did their jobs well, he was a boss who coolly overlooked minor indiscretions. Of course, if a subordinate who couldn't do their job dared to pull such a stunt, putting a lead bullet in their skull was routine. In that regard, Brooks was a capable subordinate. Naturally, he had the right to enjoy a certain degree of freedom.
However, the subordinate's report continued. "Well... it wouldn't matter if it were just Brooks who was unreachable, but..."
"Are there others?"
The subordinate swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes. It's not just one or two... including Brooks, we haven't been able to reach 16 people."
"16 people...?"
Not one or two, but a staggering sixteen. It was by no means a small number. No matter how large the Lorenzo family was, having sixteen people of Brooks's caliber go off the grid? This was clearly not a normal situation.
"Are you saying the entire Brooks gang is unreachable?"
The subordinate shook his head. "No. It’s Brooks and others who hold similar positions to him who have vanished."
Finally, Charlie's brow furrowed completely.
THWACK!
The sound of a drum echoed thickly through the room. In an instant, the subordinate's cheek was swollen bright red.
"Ugh!"
Though he let out a scream and blood trickled from his mouth, the subordinate quickly regained his posture. "I have already ordered the organization members to search. Also, I am contacting each police station to investigate if any of our members were arrested overnight. So, if we give it some time, we will know the full story."
His pronunciation was slightly slurred, but thanks to the quick follow-up report, the subordinate was able to avoid further beatings.
"Stop everything else and put all your efforts into the investigation! If Brooks and his lot are just playing around without prior notice, tell them to get their asses in front of me immediately!"
The most ideal situation Charlie could think of right now was that Brooks had simply gathered his peers for a drinking party. However, this was only an ideal scenario, and Charlie didn't really expect that to be the case.
"Understood!"
With a booming voice, the subordinate dashed out, and as Charlie ordered, most of the personnel at the hideout went out to search. There were only eight people left in the hideout, including Charlie. And strictly speaking, this hideout was more of a 'safe house.' As the mafia lived in the underworld and their lives were constantly threatened, it was common to live in a safe house unless there was a special reason not to. Naturally, the location of such a safe house was absolutely secret, known only to the organization members. Moreover, in the case of the safe house Charlie was staying in, it was a given that even high-ranking members wouldn't know of its existence.
Yet, today, uninvited guests arrived.
Bang-!
A sound that should never be heard in the hideout. Or, to be precise, a sound that should only be made by himself. It wasn't very loud, but it was clearly a pistol shot. And it was definitely a pistol equipped with a silencer. In movies, the sound of a silenced pistol ends with a 'pfft,' but in reality, it is quite loud. Naturally, Charlie couldn't help but hear it. And as the second-in-command of the Lorenzo family, Charlie’s grasp of the situation was swift.
"Ugh!"
With a crashing sound, Charlie’s body shattered the opaque second-floor window and rolled outside the building. Although he sustained scratches from the broken glass, it was overwhelmingly better than losing his life. In fact, the moment the window shattered, Charlie heard someone inside the building shout, "He's outside!"
But Charlie’s actions were faster.
'Please! Please...!'
Running with every ounce of strength he had, Charlie managed to dive into a nearby donut shop just before he could be shot.
"Dwayne!"
Charlie, who knew the shift schedules of the police officers waiting at this donut shop perfectly, shouted. At the same time, a sturdy Black police officer in his late 30s approached Charlie in his uniform.
"Hurry!"
"Damn it, if only this had happened an hour earlier..."
This donut shop was a place where police officers who received bribes from the Lorenzo family waited. An hour ago, it had been the shift of Dixon, a white police officer. Even if they were taking bribes, it was natural that they didn't want to take risks. However, because of the money he had received, Dwayne took Charlie to another safe location in his police car.
"This should be enough, right?"
"Ah..."
Charlie got out of Dwayne's police car and headed to his secret hideout. It was very shabby, but it was a hideout that Charlie, Lorenzo, and a very small number of top executives used in case of emergencies. Naturally, it was shabby and dirty due to lack of maintenance, but there was no place safer than here right now.
And a moment later, Charlie called his boss, Lorenzo, through a secret line.
"Boss, my hideout has been attacked. I don't know who the opponent is, but they didn't look like police."
Then, Lorenzo's voice came through the receiver. [Yes... I also received a report regarding Brooks. And... I also received a report that our family is being attacked indiscriminately.]
"This... damn it..."
He had hoped it wasn't the case, but hearing the worst-case scenario, Charlie cursed without realizing it. "I, I am sorry, Boss."
[No, I understand your feelings. Damn it... our locations have been completely exposed. Charlie, hide yourself. We have succeeded in catching a few of the guys who attacked us, so we will know the identity of the opponent soon.]
"That is a misfortune in the midst of luck. However, I think I already know who it is."
[What?]
Lorenzo’s surprised voice came through the receiver.
"To be precise, I mean I know who instigated the guys who attacked us."
[...Who is it?]
"Chairman Choi Yoon-gi. It can only be him." Charlie was certain.
[But couldn't it be another organization aiming for us to think that way?]
"The very fact that they could grasp our hideouts so perfectly makes it impossible for another organization. An entity with high-level personnel whose faces are unknown to us. Yet, a person who has turned against us. It can only be Chairman Choi Yoon-gi."
[Hmm...]
"Trust me. Looking at it, it is clear that the opponent leaked our information to other organizations. Even our hideout information. And they must have instigated the attack on us."
Charlie’s words continued. "Still, it is fortunate that information about the Boss's most important hideout doesn't seem to have leaked. However, if things go on like this, it is dangerous."
[So you intend to strike the head?]
"Yes. Do you have any intention of talking to the opponent?"
The most difficult path for a mafia to choose. The Lorenzo family had already suffered significant damage. Bowing to the opponent in this situation? It could lead to a rapid departure of organization members. Therefore, Lorenzo thought rationally that he should bow, but emotionally, he could never choose the option of bowing. He only swallowed his silence.
"I will do everything, and I will take responsibility. Everything is my own arbitrary action."
Lorenzo hung up the phone instead of answering. However, this was the way Lorenzo and Charlie had communicated for a long time. Charlie, having obtained Lorenzo's permission, ground his teeth.
'If I just strike the head, the opponent will be in disarray. In the meantime, we will crush the other organizations that were instigated. Then everything will be solved.'
Charlie’s guess was accurate. The method Joshua used was to release information to the Lorenzo family's rival organizations. Although the Lorenzo family was a powerful group, there were always other groups aiming for that position. Therefore, the rival organizations, having received near-perfect information from Joshua, were competing to attack the Lorenzo family. Since the mafia were killing each other anyway, it was a situation where Joshua, an FBI agent, had nothing to lose. In fact, the Lorenzo family's rival organizations were showing Joshua very satisfactory results.
Therefore, strictly speaking, Charlie was just swinging at thin air. Because even if he removed Yoon-gi, there was no reason for the rival organizations to stop their attacks on the Lorenzo family. However, Charlie was not a strategist, and it was never easy to imagine that the FBI, let alone its head, would release information to rival organizations.
"Damn ching-chong bastard. I’ll show you that violence is superior to capitalism."
The sound of grinding teeth echoed in the hideout. Charlie began to meticulously clean a gun he had hidden in the corner.
* * *
As he dealt with Hollywood, Yoon-gi's movements became very simple. Although more directors had left than he thought, many still remained. Therefore, to stabilize the hearts of those directors and to interact with them, he had to periodically visit their filming locations or studios. And today was the day he decided to visit Theodore's studio. Theodore would surely show a relatively bright face as soon as he saw Yoon-gi.
It was natural, as Brooks was no longer visible. Of course, since he couldn't be sure if this guaranteed 'complete safety,' the shadows wouldn't disappear entirely, but Yoon-gi was certain that it would be clearly brighter compared to last time.
With about 1 minute left by car to the studio, Choi Deok-bae suddenly spoke to Yoon-gi.
'Ah, was that guy waiting over here?'
'Well, it was already decided, wasn't it?'
Choi Deok-bae, the ultra-high-performance early warning system. Thanks to him, Yoon-gi was able to easily grasp the location of Charlie, who was targeting him, and at the same time, he contacted Joshua, the director of the FBI, via radio.
[Yes? There? How did you know that?]
"Does that matter?"
Yoon-gi had already convinced Joshua regarding the reliability of the information. Therefore, Joshua was a little curious about how Yoon-gi obtained this information, but he soon returned to his duty.
[I suppose so. I was thinking about something unnecessary.]
Soon, Yoon-gi stopped the car in front of Theodore's studio. However, he didn't get out of the car. Why would he get out when he was going to be sniped if he did? Of course, if he used Johnson, he could drastically lower Charlie's accuracy, but since an innocent person could get hurt, he didn't get out of the car at all.
'This is bulletproof glass.'
Yoon-gi, shrugging his shoulders inside the car, waited for the situation. Naturally, Charlie couldn't help but feel puzzled.
'What is it, why isn't he getting out?'
Honestly, Charlie never imagined that his location had been discovered. The distance between Yoon-gi and himself was a whopping 2 kilometers in a straight line. Could he ever imagine that the opponent was aware of him being at this distance in advance? Moreover, Charlie was a former special forces sniper. 2 kilometers was the longest sniping distance Charlie boasted of, but today, the opponent was just too bad.
Creak-
The sound of the rooftop iron door opening. At the same time, Charlie felt that something was wrong, but this time, there was nowhere to run. The rooftop of a high building. And the opponent wasn't a former specialist like Charlie, but a current specialist.
Pfft- Pfft- Pfft-
Tranquilizer darts were fired at Charlie.
"Damn... it..."
Charlie collapsed on the spot without even being able to pull the trigger once.
* * *
The arrest of the Lorenzo family's second-in-command! This was a huge achievement for the FBI. However, from Guster's perspective, it was a situation he couldn't understand at all.
"How on earth did you find out Charlie's location? No, do you even know how dangerous your situation is right now? Get out of the movie business immediately! There's nothing good about getting involved with those guys!"
When Guster introduced Joshua, he didn't know that Yoon-gi was confronting the mafia. He found out the whole story when he heard the news that the FBI had caught the Lorenzo family's second-in-command. Since the mafia were guys who didn't know what they would do for their own interests, Guster had come running in a panic. Let alone the fact that the situation where Charlie was caught was to assassinate Yoon-gi. Naturally, Guster revealed his uncomfortable feelings. However, Yoon-gi's eccentric behavior hadn't ended yet.
"To resolve that dangerous situation, I intend to provide Lorenzo's location to the FBI."