Manhattan Reborn 1978

new York.

Early morning~

On East 33rd Street in Manhattan, a very ordinary Ford sedan was parked on the sidewalk between two old apartment buildings.

In the shadow beside the building, a figure who had been waiting there for a long time waved to the person sitting in the driver's seat of the car, then turned and entered the apartment building.

On the third floor, in an apartment.

Alto Sidrich of the Sidrich family made a gesture of invitation to the "rare guest" who followed behind him.

New York Mayor Frant Hardeman, wearing an ordinary dark coat, walked into the apartment with a frown, looked around and asked.

"If there is anything important, please tell me quickly."

"I'll have more later..."

"Don't be impatient, Mr. Mayor!" Alto interrupted Mayor Hardman directly, closed the door without any hesitation, and said with a smile.

"Take a look at the list on the table first."

"..." Hardman clenched his fists in his coat pockets.

He tilted his head and stared at Alto for a few seconds, then slowly walked to the table in the middle of the living room of the apartment and picked up the so-called list that was withheld.

"Is this... all true?"

"Of course!" Alto walked to the sofa next to him, sat down, crossed his legs, took out a box of cigarettes, and said slowly.

"So far, you are the fifth person to have seen this list."

"This is a list that I could have given directly to Governor Lynch Colson."

"Because three of them are big donors who support his candidacy for governor."

"But!"

"He's in your hands now."

"You will give us a satisfactory reward, right?"

"...Okay!" Hardman folded the list in his hand and put it in his pocket, then walked over to sit down diagonally opposite Alto and said after thinking for a moment.

"There is a plan to build a residential complex near Flushing in Queens this year. Are you interested?"

"Yes~"

"But it's not enough!"

"..." Hardman narrowed his eyes, looked at Alto, thought quickly for a while, and said.

"The city government is preparing to issue another batch of bonds this year to replace the standard equipment that must be eliminated by each police station."

"Police equipment?"

"If we are interested in this, we can go directly to Chief Matthews DeNipero."

"You need to show more sincerity, Mr. Hardman."

"I am... just a mayor, my power is limited..."

"Wait a minute!" When Alto heard Hardman was about to beat around the bush, he immediately interrupted him, took out a few pieces of paper from his pocket and read to himself.

"According to the New York City Charter, the main government power in New York City has been controlled by the Board of Review for decades, not the so-called City Council."

"The Board of Review consists of eight elected officials, namely the mayor, the auditor, the chairman of the city council, and the mayors of the five boroughs who are elected by the residents of the five boroughs."

"The most important government decisions in New York are made and implemented through committees, such as government budgets, land planning, government procurement contracts, etc."

"Whether a new policy can be passed depends entirely on the votes of these eight people."

“The voting structure for the commission is that the mayor, comptroller, and council president each have two votes, and borough presidents each have one vote.”

"The various problems that have frequently occurred in the New York City government in recent years are actually caused by the one-person-one-vote system of the borough mayor."

"Because the committee's voting method seems to give balanced power to the five administrative regions, it actually has the opposite effect."

"Brooklyn, the largest borough in New York, has 200 million residents, while Staten Island, the smallest borough, has just over 30 people, but the elected mayors of these two boroughs have the same power in the commission."

"What this means in practice is that Staten Islanders have six times more influence on citywide policy than Brooklynites."

"The City Council, which is often talked about by many people, should be the highest legislative body in New York City. Its members (councillors) are elected by voters in each constituency one vote at a time and are the political role that best represents public opinion."

"But now it can only be reduced to a scapegoat that can be pulled out at any time."

"Enough!" Hardman shouted in a low voice with a frown on his face.

Alto curled his lips, shrugged with some regret and said with a smile: "You can sit in the position of New York Police Commissioner because of the help of the previous speaker behind the scenes..."

"Now, he has retired."

"Which big shot have you found to back you up?"

"..." Hardman stared at Alto with a gloomy face and said nothing.

Alto raised his hands and rubbed his cheeks vigorously a few times, trying to put on a very sincere smile, and continued.

"I have a good suggestion, would you like to hear it?"

"..."

"ok~"

"According to all the laws and regulations available in the country, the mayor of New York can apply for loan funds from banks or non-bank institutions in his own name for personal investment."

"It just so happens that our Manhattan International Bank is about to launch a personal loan business to help customers who are in urgent need of cash flow to relieve their financial pressure."

"Mr. Hardman!"

"Your personal credit rating is the highest with our bank!"

“So you can always get a personal loan of more than one million dollars from our bank to invest or improve your current living situation.”

"..."

Alto saw that Hardman's face had eased a little, and he said with a more sincere smile: "I heard that you and your wife have completed the divorce procedures, and the marital property has been clearly divided."

"You are now a true golden bachelor, and you will definitely have all kinds of female friends around you."

"After you were successfully elected as the mayor of New York, your daily living expenses and frequent social events reduced your savings a lot."

"So I think you must be very eager to get a low-interest loan at this moment to ease your financial pressure and help you make money with your money!"

Alto took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Hardman, saying with a smile: "This person is a very professional futures trader."

“I believe he will help you make an amazing fortune in the futures market!”

Hardman took the business card silently, looked at it carefully for a few times, exhaled and said: "I will seriously consider it..."

"No, sir~"

"You seem to have misunderstood!"

Alto stood up from the sofa, walked to the bed, looked down, and said, "My suggestion will only benefit you, not harm you!"

“If you want to think about it, I can wait for you for ten minutes.”

"In ten minutes, your choice will determine... whether we can still be friends!"

"..." Hardman couldn't figure out why Alto was so aggressive today.

But he knew very well that the names and details of the cases recorded on this list could not have been made by Alto alone.

Behind him, there may be the Sidrich family, or...

"Two hundred thousand!"

"You have someone deliver the loan agreement to my office at four o'clock this afternoon."

"OK!" When Alto heard Hardman being so straightforward, he turned around and smiled at him.

"Don't worry ~ This loan was handled by a newly established credit intermediary company and has nothing to do with us."

Hardman said as he stood up and walked to the door of the apartment, holding the door handle.

"The director of the Planning Department has submitted the residential planning near Flushing to the review committee."

"The committee will vote on the plan next Tuesday."

"If it passes, the next step is for the government to open up the bidding..."

"There is no problem in this regard!"

"Our real estate company has the most comprehensive development qualifications, construction machinery and a large number of skilled workers in New York."

"As long as you can ensure fairness and impartiality in the public bidding, we will win the bid!"

"fair?"

"Haha~" Mayor Hardman laughed with some sarcasm and shook his head.

"At the cocktail party I attended last night, three people came to me to discuss this matter."

"Tomorrow night, I have to attend another cocktail party..."

"Oh?" Alto leaned on the bed with his arms folded, tilted his head and thought for a while, then said.

"What if I help you avoid the harassment from these people?"

"Help? How?"

"Don't worry about it. It has nothing to do with you anyway."

"..." Hardman was silent for a moment, opened the apartment door forcefully, and left.

Alto turned and looked out the window, watching Hardman walk downstairs, get into the car, and drive it away quickly around the corner in the distance.

At this time, the bedroom door next to the living room was opened from the inside.

A middle-aged man in a tattered coat walked into the living room, looked at Alto's back and said in a hoarse voice.

"Thank you!"

"Um.."

Alto turned to look at the middle-aged man, a hint of appreciation in his eyes, and said with a smile.

"Revenge, patience is the most important thing!"

"I really admire you for holding back the hatred in your heart and not running out to kill all these people."

"..." The middle-aged man glanced at Alto indifferently, walked to the sofa and sat down, and said in a low voice.

"I want to see them all go to hell with my own eyes!"

"Okay~"

“It’s actually not that difficult as long as you have patience.”

Alto felt relaxed as he walked to the door of the apartment and looked back at the middle-aged man: "Oh, right!"

"Octopus Wasim, that's your nickname, right?"

"I don't know your name yet..."

"forget."

"Um... okay." Alto shrugged indifferently, opened the door and left.

----

In front of the Wildfire Bar on 42nd Street in Manhattan.

Pamela Landy, a female agent from the New York branch of the CIA, followed closely behind the bar security guard Mengo and walked towards the unit door next to them.

After the two entered the corridor, she took out an exquisitely designed makeup box from the small bag she carried with her and carefully checked her facial makeup.

Fourth floor, David's doorstep.

Mengo the steel-toothed dog successfully knocked on the door and explained to the butler Ackleyd why Pamela Landy was there.

Ackley looked at Pamela with a little surprise, nodded slightly to her, turned around and closed the door.

When Mengo the Steel-Toothed Dog saw that his mission was accomplished, he smiled, turned around and went downstairs, leaving Pamela alone standing in the stairwell, waiting quietly.

About ten minutes later.

Butler Ackley reopened the door and invited Pamela Landy, who was waiting outside, into the living room, explaining with a smile.

"David didn't come back to rest last night."

"I have already called him to tell him why you are here."

"He said, if you're willing to wait half an hour, he'll come back and talk to you in person."

"Half an hour?"

"Yes."