American Gossip King

Chapter 68 Greetings from the Crippled Gang

Today, as usual, Ian went to Gaskell's place.

Gaskell isn't home today; Ian went to see Lena.

After a long period of intimacy, seeing that time was running out, Ian said goodbye and went home.

Lena gave him a long, reluctant kiss: "You can stay here, Gaskell won't mind."

Ian smiled and hugged Lena: "No, Lena, I can't do that, even if he doesn't mind. I like you, but I also respect Gaskell."

Lena gave a soft "hmm" and said, "Then come over tomorrow at noon. He won't be home."

"Okay, baby." Ian kissed Lena's red, tender lips, put on his clothes, and left.

After leaving Gaskell's residence, Ian drove back.

As we were driving, we suddenly saw a large truck blocking our way.

At the same time, a car behind him blocked his rear, and two more cars appeared on either side, completely flanking him.

Ian realized something was wrong and hurriedly went to get the gun from the car.

Just as he opened the cover, several men jumped out of the car next to him, one of them pointing a gun at him: "You better not touch that thing, buddy! I know you can shoot, but we're not those street thugs."

Ian slowly withdrew his hand.

He raised his hands to indicate that he did not have a gun.

A burly man violently opened the car door, pulled Ian out of the car, and shoved him into the car next to him.

Once inside the car, Ian saw a bald black man sitting in front of him, dressed in a black suit and leaning on a cane. The man was looking at him coldly, and a bodyguard was sitting next to him, holding a gun and staring at him.

Ian remained calm: "Mr. Kreps? Are you here for Charlie Mills?"

Cripps, the leader of the Cripples Gang.

Kreps chuckled. "If I wanted to do something for that bastard, I would have contacted you four months ago."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the car slowly drove forward.

Ian remained expressionless, coldly observing the other party.

Kreps then took the laptop, opened it, and handed it to Ian. On it was a document about Ian killing four gunmen at the motel.

Why is he showing me this?

Ian looked at Kripps with surprise and confusion.

Kripps said, "You did it right, didn't you?"

Ian shrugged: "Everyone knows that, and it's not illegal."

Kripps laughed: "Who the hell cares about the law? That's not the point!"

As he spoke, he pointed to one of the photos, which showed the body of a gunman lying in the picture.

Kripps said, "This kid's name is Bill. He's not very capable, just a small-time hoodlum in Oakland. But he's lucky because he has a nice older sister, very pretty."

There are so many people named Bill.

Ian looked at Kreps without saying a word.

Kripps said, "Three days ago, his sister married Kemble. Do you know this man?"

Ian shook his head slightly.

Kripps said, "Auckland killed Bates' boss."

Kill Bates is a gang name. Don't ask why it's called that. American gangs, big and small, have all sorts of weird names.

Despite their unappealing name, the killers of Bates are no pushovers; they have close ties to the infamous Canadian Hells Angels.

So when I heard the name Bates, Ian understood: "That woman encouraged Kemble to get revenge on me, and then Kemble went after you?"

Kreps chuckled: "Although we make a lot of enemies in our line of work, we still have friends."

Ian laughed: "That's funny, the media is the same."

Kreps looked somewhat surprised: "Aren't you scared?"

Ian sighed, "I really want to pretend to be someone who's afraid, but that definitely won't work. After all, in the video, I single-handedly fought off four gunmen, and not long ago I even killed two robbers—I can't let my image crumble!"

Looking at Ian in surprise, Kripps suddenly burst into laughter: "Interesting. Did you hear that, Tyr? I like this kid. He's perfect for our line of work, a natural-born daredevil!"

The black bodyguard standing nearby chuckled, as if the gangsters had a brighter future than the newspaper owner.

Then Kripps' smile faded, and he looked at Ian, saying, "There's another reason I'm willing to help. I heard you have a reporter named Butterfly. He's very capable, right? He was there when Danny Koskerry was involved, which is why he knew about the five kilograms of flour being lost?"

Ian replied, "It's just from some rumors; after all, a lot of people know that."

"But he seems to be a very good at gathering information, and I'd like to meet him."

Ian was speechless: "For those drugs?"

Kripps replied, "No, I'm not going to look for cargo that's already on the police list. I just want to know what really happened that day. What the hell is MS13 up to?"

Ian shook his head: "I contacted Butterfly through a single channel. He didn't tell me his identity, and I don't know the specifics... Reporters will follow up on some information, but they won't follow up on everything, especially people like you. Our expectations of you are only the most superficial part."

The latest novel is first published here!

"But you have his phone number."

"If you're willing to let me go, I don't mind betraying him. The problem is, you're not going to let me go anyway!"

Kripps laughed. "No, whether you let me go or not is Kemble's business, not mine. His men are on their way, and I'll hand you over to them. I'm not worried you won't tell, because you'll soon discover that there are many things more terrifying than death!"

As they spoke, they arrived at Mischel Street.

The car stopped at Kripps' residence, and Tyr's bodyguards carried Ian into the house.

Several gunmen led Ian toward the basement.

Upon arriving at the basement, Ian was shocked to find it was a torture chamber.

In the dim light, the shelves were filled with various instruments of torture.

Tyr chuckled as he pulled out an iron hook and said to Ian, "I love hooks. They call me Iron Hook. You know why? Because when it cuts open your stomach, you don't die instantly. You watch your own entrails spill out. Your eyes will be filled with terror, and you'll scream out loud... It's a beautiful sound."

Ian watched the other person without showing any emotion.

There are now three people besides myself: two are in charge of carrying out the executions, and one is watching the door.

However, they made a serious mistake: they didn't tie themselves up.

But it's not surprising, because the vast majority of people in this situation have neither the will to resist nor the ability to resist.

Ian said, "You won't use this, because I'll still die that way. Your boss said he'd hand me over, so... let's use a different instrument of torture."

The other party became increasingly surprised: "Ha, this is getting interesting."

As he spoke, he picked up an iron skewer from the table beside him and said, "This won't kill you, but I guarantee it will hurt a lot."

Ian smiled: "How about I give you a suggestion?"

Tyr looked at him with a smile: "What?"

Ian said, "You killed your partner, let me go, and I'll give you a million! Isn't taking that money and leaving Los Angeles better than working for the mob?"

Tyler laughed: "That's not a good idea."

A few tears welled up in Ian's left eye: "I wasn't talking to you either."

Tyr was startled, suddenly sensing something. He turned around in astonishment and saw his companion behind him holding an iron skewer and plunging it into his throat, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me.

Ian felt a sense of regret for missing out on a great moment.

(End of this chapter)