American variety show: The Godfather, the Peace Ambassador, what the heck?

Chapter 86 Judges and Adjudicators

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Pauli's mind; he even wondered if Gaudi and Luca had conspired against him.

Of course, this kind of thing cannot be admitted.

"Pigeon, do you always frame your brothers for a crime every time you're about to kill them?"

Paul sneered, "If you want to kill me, you don't need an excuse. Kill me, and you and Marigio can smoothly take over, right? Anthony Cassel is no match for you."

Anthony, that lunatic Luca, sneered inwardly. That guy was a neurotic gangster, a brain-dead killer.

Luca, too lazy to explain, continued, "Gottie is notoriously ruthless and a mass murderer. Before he joined the Mafia, he had already made a name for himself in Queens. I heard that he once killed more than a dozen people in order to take over a flea market."

Later, he joined the Mafia, further expanding his influence. He can kill someone in 30 seconds! Who else in New York can do that?
But the Gambino family liked him because he could both make money and kill, the kind of person most sought after in the Mafia. If you asked Gotti to help you kill someone, as long as he didn't ask, no one would suspect you of instigating it.

Luca wanted to laugh, but held back because of the funeral. "Gaudi is indeed a very good partner. You see, even now, no one suspects that you were behind it. Everyone thinks that Gaudi had a good reason and the guts to kill White Tiger, because they are both drug dealers. It's normal for drug dealers to fight each other."

With each word he spoke, Poly's heart trembled a little more.

Because everything Luca said was correct.

Luca added, "Besides, you, Paul, don't deal drugs, and you hate drug dealers the most. Nobody would associate the two of you together."

Poly was completely thrown into turmoil.

Luca spoke with such certainty, as if he had witnessed it all, which filled him with an indescribable fear, as if an invisible hand was gripping his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.

Did this kid secretly spy on everything?

“You know Gaudi very well,” Pauli said, his expression still unreadable. He suppressed his inner panic and said, “but you don’t know me well enough, Pigeon. No matter how beautiful your story is, it won’t move the audience.”

Luca remained calm. "Perhaps I should go to Gaudi and tell him this story, and see if I can persuade him to cooperate with me. The Lucchese family needs the truth; the White Tiger cannot die without a clear explanation."

Pauli glanced at Luca. "He won't cooperate with you."

Luca: "I have Gaudi's execution order. If he can tell the world the truth and reveal the mastermind behind it all, perhaps the family will consider letting him go."

Poly: "."

Shit!! When was the execution order issued? Why didn't I know?

Pauli's last line of defense was completely breached, and his body swayed slightly. If Gaudi wanted to save himself from being killed by Luca, that guy would definitely choose to betray him.

The core issue is that Luca is convinced that Gaudi and his Pauli have a partnership. That damn fakell story, whether outsiders believe it or not, Gaudi certainly does.

Even if it's a fake story, Luca and Gaudi can make it real!
Whether the story is true or false is completely irrelevant!

Pauli immediately understood: Luca wanted to get rid of him so that he and Marigio could take over.

That damn brat!
I'll even treat him to grilled sausages!

At that moment, when Paul came to his senses, he realized that his back was soaked with cold sweat, and his steps were unsteady for some reason. Was it because he sensed that his death was imminent?

Luca will definitely not let him go. With the White Tiger dead, he will be the only obstacle to Marigio's rise to power.

“Pauli, it’s getting cold.” Luca suddenly took Pauli’s arm. “Wear thicker clothes, older people are prone to catching colds.”

Despair gradually consumed him, and Pauli sighed, "Luca, when was the execution order announced? They didn't even tell me."

Despite the execution order being directed at Gaudi, Pauli, in a daze, saw a vision of himself being executed.

"It doesn't matter anymore."

Luca said softly, "But if I could, I would still love to eat the sausages you make myself."

Poly paused slightly, "You?"

Luca finally smiled: "We can cooperate. I'll help you get rid of Gotti, and then no one will believe my ghost stories anymore."

After the funeral.

The family's senior management convened another internal meeting.

Compared to last time, there were far fewer people this time, but the big boss, Victor, attended.

The meeting began with the discussion of John Gottlieb's execution—after a week of wrangling, the committee had approved the execution.

Gotti's scandal caused a huge uproar in New York, and the guy was already notorious before, with several other families disliking him.

For Gaudi, death was the best relief and the most powerful response from the Lucchese family.

Then everyone talked about White Tiger's affairs after his death—who would take over the drug business.

Margio and Pauli don't touch it, and Anthony isn't a good businessman either; he can't do business in New York just by fighting and killing.

For now, this business will be overseen by the strategist Bartolo, and we'll see how to handle it when a suitable opportunity arises later.

Judging from the strategist's expression, he didn't seem particularly willing to touch this stuff himself. For the first time at the family meeting, everyone's attitude towards drugs became subtle.

First, drug kingpin Dominic was killed, then small drug kingpin White Tiger was killed, as if drugs were "poisonous" in the Lucchese family, and anyone who touched them would die!

The big boss joked that perhaps in the future, the family will stop dealing drugs and go into other profitable businesses.

"Besides drugs, other businesses can also make a lot of money, no less than drugs." The big boss glanced at Luca and Marigio with a veiled smile.

Apart from the two of them, no one else present took the big boss's joke seriously.

Bullshit, what else can they do besides drugs? Arms? The Italians can't outsell the Russians, because the Russians have their own arsenal of weapons after the collapse of the Union.

That evening, Poly returned home.

He lay in bed thinking for a long time, then took out his phone and called Gaudi.

As expected, Gotti was bombarded with a barrage of questions, asking him if he had dealt with the Lucchese family's revenge.
Faced with Gotti's relentless artillery barrage, Pauli remained silent for a long time. The execution had already been decided; was there any room for negotiation?

"The bounty on the head at the Continental Hotel is public, but in the Mafia, execution orders are never communicated to the intended recipient; it's always a clandestine operation," Paul sighed. "Gautier, you should know what kind of people the Committee are. In their eyes, there's only their own life and interests. Those peace rules they establish are all just for protecting their own safety and property from harm."

Gotti: "I don't need you to remind me, all I want now is your answer!"

Paul: "Your biggest mistake was getting caught red-handed. Are you an idiot? Now the whole of New York knows about this. How can I possibly protect you? Even if I become the second-in-command, I can't do it. If I don't avenge my family brothers, no one will support me in taking over!"

Gaudi was distraught. He knew Pauly was telling the truth, but that shouldn't be the reason for his execution!

Pauli: "Don't forget, there's also the Butcher! He and Marigio have already sided with the White Tiger. You killed the White Tiger, destroying their biggest backer. Once the execution order is issued, he will definitely seek revenge on you!"

A flicker of fear crossed Gotti's eyes. If the butcher came to carry out the execution, could he withstand it?

Damn it! Anyone would want to kill me!
Paul: "The only one who can save you now is our family's big boss, but you need to give something to gain his understanding. Only he can shake the family's will, and he can also handle the committee. Gotti, you should understand what I mean. I can act as an intermediary and persuade him for you."

This time, it was Gaudi's turn to remain silent.

He knew exactly what it meant; it was simple: pay money to save his life.

"what do you want?"

"port."

The next night.

Gotti arrived at an unfinished building in Queens with his men and some materials.

There were twenty or thirty men, all of them assassins, armed with guns, so that Gotti would feel safe to make deals.

The subject of the transaction was the materials—evidence of corruption and crimes committed by the union and dock officials, enough to send these people to jail.

It was through these leverages that Gotti indirectly intervened in and controlled the port's business.

If he hands over these things, he will lose control of the docks. Perhaps he can still make a living at the docks with this face, but once the Lucchese family gets involved, Gaudi doesn't think the Lucchese family will let him do business at the docks.

It's a miracle if you can even survive in New York.

Upon arriving at the scene, the assassins dispersed, lurking in various locations within the unfinished building to act as lookouts, maintain vigilance, and observe. A dozen or so others followed to protect Gao Di.

After waiting for a long time, Gao Di finally met the belatedly arriving Paul.

The two met in a spacious concrete hall.

"Poly, you've ruined me!"

Gotti stepped forward, launching into a tirade of curses, "I should never have partnered with you to kill the White Tiger! Now I've gotten myself into this mess! Fuck! I could have been comfortably lounging in a club playing with women, but now I have to stand here with you in this godforsaken place!"

"If your men hadn't been caught by the police, would you have gotten into so much trouble?" Paul scoffed. "It's your own people who didn't handle things well. If your subordinates hadn't betrayed you and taken the blame themselves, you probably wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble."

"Those three traitorous bastards, I'll kill them sooner or later!"

Gotti cursed and asked, "Is it just you who came? Where is your big boss? I won't hand over the stuff until I see him. I want him to make a promise to me in person, and I want to see the referee! This matter must be witnessed by the referee! These are the conditions we agreed on beforehand!"

This judge is an internal referee of the Mafia Committee, not a High Table arbitrator, but there is a certain connection between the two.

There have been instances where Mafia committee judges have risen to become high table adjudicators.

The two are similar in nature, but their status is vastly different: the Mafia Commission Judges deal with matters within the major Mafia families; the High Table Judges deal with major criminal organizations and hotels around the world.

Gotti knew very well that the referee was a staunch advocate of the rules and the enforcer of the law. Only with the referee's testimony could he hand over the items without any worries.

"Where are your things?" Paul retorted. "With so many assassins with you, do you think our big boss will even show up to see you?"

Gao Di choked for a moment, "I didn't mean to kill your big boss, I was just protecting myself, okay?"

Poly: "I need to see the item first to confirm its authenticity before the boss and the referee will come forward."

Gaudi frowned, picked up a brown tote bag from the ground, and said, "It's all in there, take a look."

Poly opened the document and flipped through it. Inside were a lot of materials, including incriminating documents such as bills, photos, and recordings concerning the branch presidents, senior union officials, and official members of several dock unions.

The bag was full of smear material.

With these, we can control the docks.

Gotti snatched the bag, pointed the gun at Paul, and said, "I've shown you the stuff. Where are your boss and the referee?"

Paul shook his head. "There are no referees, but there is a peace ambassador. Would you like to meet him?"

Gotti: "???"

As soon as he finished speaking, Luca, dressed in black, stepped out from the shadows beside him.

"A pigeon?" Gotti looked shocked. "What are you doing here?"

Luca smiled slightly: "Of course, I'm here to mediate disputes and uphold peace."

Defend peace? Upon hearing this, Gotti was so angry he almost had a stroke:

"Pigeon! Don't think I don't know, it was your men who arrested my subordinate that night! Now my subordinate has betrayed me, the police and FBI are investigating me, and the whole city's media is reporting on me. You dare to say that none of this has anything to do with you?!"

"I did it all."

Luca looked at Gaudi as if he were looking at a corpse. "And tonight, your death will also be my doing."

Gotti was startled and instinctively raised his gun. Bang! But Luca's bullet flew over first and hit his wrist.

At the same time, figures appeared one after another from all directions.

John Wick, Leon, Al, and Oren Ishii—two men and two women—surrounded them from four directions.

Tonight, let's hunt to our hearts' content.

(End of this chapter)