"It was an afternoon thirty years ago. I boarded the train to Santiago. I went there to discuss business with Mexicans. On the train, an Italian approached me. He said his name was Richie and he came from Sicily, we chatted for a while in the car..."
In the study room of Falcone Manor, the old godfather's voice sounded like a faded record. The sunlight filtered through the heavy curtains and became a little dim. Schiller did not sit across from him, but sat on the other side. on the sofa, cutting cigars with cigar cutters.
The smoke from the cigar is as rich as the layers of clouds on the sunset skyline. Amid the billows of smoke, some shapes that evoke endless reverie spread out, like the unique realistic oil paintings of the last era.
Accompanied by the sonorous sound of the train passing by the railway track, the whistle blew, and a man with dark brown hair was sitting in the train carriage reading a newspaper.
With a sound of "Kacha", the door of the compartment was opened. Another man in a long trench coat took off his hat and put it on his chest. He lowered his head to one side, greeted the people inside, and said in Italian: "Hello, French Mr. Arcone, my name is Richie and I’m from Sicily.”
The young Falcone took down the newspaper in his hand, looked at Ricci who walked into the compartment of the carriage, and said also in Italian: "Hello, Ricci, are you here to see me?"
Falcone's Italian accent is completely different from Ricci's. The ending of his tone always falls. That is the only thing he took away from his hometown of Rome, which makes his tone sound a little cold. .
Richie didn't care. He walked to sit across from Falcone and said, "I heard that you came from Gotham and wanted to go to California. I took this train just to find you." "
Richie has blond hair and brown eyes. His cheeks are somewhat sunken, and his face looks like a typical southern Italian. He lowered his head, showing a low posture, and said to Falcone in Italian: "Sir, I have come to ask for your asylum, the Rich family has nowhere to go."
Falcone looked at him silently, stroking the folded edge of the newspaper with his fingers. Richie put his hat on the table and said, "My family and I were involved in a dispute in Chicago. A British man from the West Coast deceived us using two mines that had been exploited to the point of exhaustion, and made us owe a large sum of money to Fidelio of Chicago."
Richie raised his eyes and looked at Falcone with his brown eyes, but he didn't see any emotion in the young gang leader's eyes, which made his next words even less confident.
"The Rich family is no longer able to repay this debt, but the responsibility does not lie with us. The cunning Englishman has left here, but we can't explain to Fidelio why we still haven't paid..."
"Under the Falco Cabinet, my family and I heard that you are well-known on the East Coast. We can only come to you to find a way out. Fidelio is just a dog of the Chicago Mafia leader..."
"I beg you, Your Excellency, to save us. The Rich family is willing to pay any price for this..."
The young Falcone put the newspaper in his hand next to his seat. He leaned back on the chair, looked out the window at the receding scenery, and said in Italian with a cold accent: "Fidelio is indeed not."
What the heck, he’s just a gangster from Ragusa. If it weren’t for his wife, he would still be at the dock, hanging out with those shabby people.”…
"But you, Rich...how are you going to prove that you are more valuable than Fidelio? Fidelio even has a father-in-law who is willing to support him, but what about you? Aren't your Rich family also come from dock smuggling?
?”
Falcone put an arm on the table, flexed his fingers, looked at Rich and said: "Most of the Sicilians who came to the east coast with you have their own businesses in the city.
Only you are still a stray dog on the East Coast..."
"We all know why you were deceived by the British, because you were eager to join Chicago and find yourself a doghouse in the city, and when you were kicked out, you came to me again and wanted to join Brother
Tan..."
There was a trace of embarrassment on Richie's face. Anyone exposed like this would feel embarrassed.
But what Falcone said was true. Several families who came to the East Coast at the same time as Richie are now prosperous in the city. Only they, after suffering a series of blows, do not even have a stable place to live.
, I can only stay in the hotel at the train station.
"Sir, I said, I am willing to pay any price for your acceptance. As long as you can save me and my family, I will be at your disposal..." Richie lowered his head and said.
Falcone took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He took one out and held it in his hand. Richie stood up and leaned over to light it for him. The flame of the cigarette lit up, like a swaying sound in the dim carriage.
of candlelight.
"Fidelio is a good dog, and I hope you are too, Richie."
Richie lowered his head, kissed the back of Falcone's hand that was not holding the cigarette, and said, "As you wish, Your Excellency."
The smoke of cigarettes is more like the incense threads raised by birds in the temple. After the initial rich milky white rises upward, the smoke will gradually disperse and drift into white gauze.
The window frame of the train window framed the silhouettes of the two men into an oil painting. With a click, the door of the carriage was closed. No one listened to the secret conversation inside. The old godfather did not want to repeat it anymore. He just commented like this
:
"Over the years, many people have come to me to beg me. Many of them are very unpleasant and come to me for business with a lot of money. But I am not a businessman, let alone a killer who takes money to do things."
"When Richie came to beg me, he had nothing, but it didn't matter. I liked his attitude very much, so we went to San Diego together."
"I have forgotten whether the business deal between me and those Mexicans was concluded, but on the way back, Rich followed me back to Gotham..."
"At that time, there were no Twelve Families here yet, and I was just a leader in the North District of Gotham, with just a little bit of fame..."
"Later, I grew bigger and bigger, in the North District, East District, Central City, Financial Street... many people in Gotham began to pronounce my name, and more and more people followed me..."
"Professor Rodriguez, human psychology is really a wonderful thing. When Rich begged me in a low voice, he was willing to pay any price to save his life, even putting down his dignity and face."
"But when he followed me and ruled the entire Gotham, he forgot all this and felt that he was the founder of this cause. He felt that as the first few people who followed me, he should share all this glory and power with me.
…”…
"At first, he looked down on those latecomers. Even though they were much more useful than him, he still felt that he was an elder. He looked down on the Spencer family as coming from England, looked down on the Lawrence family as being in the salt and iron industry, and even looked down on the fact that there was only one family.
Daughter of the Greeks…”
"Then, he began to rank and order the twelve families, feeling that those who came first should have more rights than those who came last..."
"In the end, he even felt that as Yin Wensi's uncle, he had the power to interfere with his choices and guide him in his work..."
"Human beings always like to outdo each other." Schiller's voice and the light buzz of the lighter lit the cigar and slowly put it into his mouth.
"A person who has lost everything will be more eager to stand at the top of power and control everything. If he can't do it in reality, then he can achieve self-consistency by psychologically convincing himself that he has trampled many people under his feet."
"And from this, personalities with extreme controlling desires will develop. They will want to control everyone who is inferior to them, or people who they think are inferior to them, regardless of position, age or seniority, or even people.
Height, body shape, appearance..."
"They can get spiritual happiness from belittling and controlling others. When they get used to this way of doing things, everything will begin to deviate from the original trajectory. They will become particularly arrogant and bold, as long as they can satisfy their desire for control.
, they dare to do anything..."
"But he is not smart." The old godfather continued: "When I met him for the first time, I knew that he was not smart enough."
"But at that time, I didn't care, because all I needed was a dog. The louder he barked, the better. It would show the neighbors that I had chosen a good dog..."
"But so many years later, when he wanted to become the master, he chose to send his little daughter to Yin Wensi's bed. The girl was so stupid that he taught her that she wanted to win over the new godfather with her beauty and love.
…”
"The person he slept with should be Alberto, right?" Schiller asked. "Vince Yin doesn't like to hang out among women."
"Yes, Vince Yin is more like his mother, stubborn, dedicated, and self-sufficient, while Alberto...he is more like me, he doesn't care about these things."
Schiller shook his head and said: "In any case, Richie made a bad move. Even if his daughter is as beautiful as a fairy, she cannot sway Alberto. To be honest, even Vince Yin will not be fooled by this."
.”
"Indeed, but I'm tired of seeing him do stupid tricks again and again. Letting him die at the hands of a mysterious serial murderer is the most honorable way I can give a dog."
"I want to thank this serial murderer. Otherwise, I would have called everyone together, recited those old stories, made everyone suffer from his stupid headache, and then let the gunman kill him with one shot.
After killing him, I still have to listen to the cries of his family and those stupid girls, and I have to clean up the body and attend the funeral..."
The old godfather blew out a puff of smoke and said, "I don't have much time left, and I don't want to waste it mourning a dog."
"To be honest, the mercenary killer you introduced to me, although the price is very expensive, is quite efficient. In this day and age, killers with such professional ethics are rare..."
"Actually, I'm a little curious, Mr. Godfather, why don't you use gang killers, but must go outside to find mercenaries?"
"For those in gangs, it's okay to let them shoot, plant bombs, or poison people, but let them imitate serial killers and saw people open. They can't do such a bloody job, and they will definitely look like ostriches when they come back.
Go into the nest and say that I have some mental trauma, and I have to pay them an extra medical fee..."
Falcone showed a bored expression and said: "In the second half of my life, my reputation for kindness and tolerance spread so widely that it overshadowed my deeds in earlier years. This was originally a good thing.
Let me enjoy my old age in peace, but there are always some ignorant fools..."
Schiller relaxed his body and leaned back on the chair. He slowly exhaled a puff of smoke and said: "Yesterday, the mercenary called me and said that he had received the balance payment and asked me to praise you for your prompt payment. If
If you need it next time, call him."
Falcone pressed the almost finished cigar on the paper and said in a low voice: "Maybe soon, his business will be booming."
