Mr. Consultant

Outside the Federal Hotel, Maldini's vehicles with white tape on them, and those Barone's vehicles with yellow tape on them, were loaded with soldiers with live ammunition, and they drove towards each other on the street outside the hotel.Neither side trusts the other, so they have to patrol in this cumbersome and extremely inefficient way.But fortunately, they have not had any conflicts so far.

The police in Chicago also joined in. They controlled the surrounding roads and set up a series of dense roadblocks and checkpoints, for fear that this negotiation would cause them more trouble.After all, there is no better opportunity than this to blow up the evil parties in this country to the sky together.

Giuseppe was in such an environment, wearing a matching wool plaid suit, slowly stepping down from the pure white Chrysler sedan.He still wears the scholarly gold-rimmed glasses, and wears a white shirt with a fancy silk tie under the collar.

It was the baby-faced assistant, Luca, who drove the car. He opened the car door for Giuseppe respectfully, and then stood upright and waited like a well-behaved pug who obeyed the order.And Xavier, because he couldn't introduce his identity, had to pretend to be Giuseppe's big bodyguard.The lazy young master was trying his best to put on a serious and vigilant look, and was very diligently carrying the leather bag for Giuseppe.

Gustavo did not ride with them in the same car. He came from the "Grand Garden", took two units of soldiers, and met Giuseppe in front of the brownstone building as agreed.Right now, his old-fashioned Ford car is following the pure white Chrysler, parked on the side of the road not far behind.And he himself, with a fast and strong pace, joined the negotiation queue not far away.Unfortunately, however, Gustavo's menacing eyes and suit-like muscles make him look more like a bodyguard than Xavier.

And Don Gilardino, a tall and fat man in his seventies, was waiting in the lobby of the hotel with his advisor.He was wearing a well-tailored black suit, and although his hair was thinning, he wore it back in the fashion of a young man.Under the suit, the round belly protrudes, making his appearance look a little funny, and it also makes the most powerful mafia leader in New York look a lot more kind.

Don Gilardino smiled gently, and Xavier noticed that he had the same smile as Giuseppe.Of course, some offense, he is not as young and handsome as the consultant.It's just that mask-like face and ocean-like eyes that make people wonder whether there is a "Mafia affinity training class" in this world, and the above two are excellent students of this training class.

It's a pity that Xavier's knowledge of the characters in the mafia world is quite limited, so when he saw Don Gilardino holding Giuseppe's hand politely, an inexplicable annoyance rose in his heart.He felt that this fat old thing was really not worthy of standing with Giuseppe, let alone be so warm and familiar.

And what annoyed him even more was that from the moment Giuseppe stepped into the Federal Hotel, he showed a face he didn't know at all.Although it is not appropriate to say this, Giuseppe at this time is like a real mafia, or like the mafia that Xavier knows.The mask of the gentle elite on Giuseppe's face has not faded, and the kind and gentle smile is still hanging on his lips.But what emanated from those gray-green eyes was an aura like a poisonous snake.This temperament makes him look cold and dangerous, cruel and sexy.

But in fact, Giuseppe also felt baffled.He and Don Girardi had only met once, when he was carrying Antonio's bag a few years ago.However, at this time, this big man in New York City seemed to have known him for a long time, and knew everything about him, and tried his best to express his kindness and friendship.This made Giuseppe somewhat flattered while being confused.But he politely exchanged a few words with the old man, introduced Gustavo to him, and praised his promotion of the peace talks as a kind of good deed.

Don Gilardino obviously took advantage of Giuseppe's compliments, and the deep smile lines on his face made him look like a kind and kind farmer.With a hoarse voice, he expressed the concern of elders to Giuseppe in Italian with a strong eastern accent.he asked him:

"how have you been?"

When Giuseppe heard this, the inexplicable feeling in his heart became more serious.This question is too big to ask, is it about business, or about work, or about personal life?But he didn't believe that Don Gilardino was an idiot with no skills, asking stupid questions with no skills.His intuition told him that there must be some deep meaning in this sentence worth thinking about.

Then Giuseppe thought calmly and quickly, and answered:

"Nothing bad, and even some unexpected surprises."

After he finished speaking, he looked into the eyes of the old man through the glass lens as if waiting for some kind of evaluation.He saw a slight yet approving smile suddenly appeared in those deep eyes, so he immediately understood the message from that smile.Giuseppe lowered his head, and said to Don Gilardino in a kind, discussing tone:

"Sir, if you are as wise as you, forgive me for having a question... I don't understand. Was the surprise I got recently given by Christ or by a good man?"

"Oh, young man, Christ doesn't care about these things!"

After Don Gilardino finished speaking, he laughed loudly as if he was amused by himself, and made the consultant also show a rare happy smile.

Xavier was completely confused about the situation in front of him.So he had no choice but to look at the two figures laughing wantonly in the hotel lobby, and then suddenly understood a little bit of Giuseppe's usual headache and mood.He felt that the above two gentlemen must have come from some strange country, could speak some kind of strange language, and could figure out the meaning of ordinary sentences to make people laugh.

Although Don Gilardino's answer did sound like a good-natured joke, Xavier knew full well that this level of joke would never be enough to impress a hysterical workaholic like Giuseppe.However, the corners of the consultant's lips curled up because of this, and he gave him a sincere smile that was extremely stingy on weekdays.

Xavier suddenly wanted to see the structure of the fat old man's brain, and figure out which part made people feel ridiculous, after all, Giuseppe looked so damn good when he smiled.But it is a pity that he can only stay at the level of imagination, because Don Gilardino quickly brought them to the banquet hall on the third floor.

The hall has already been arranged, and there is a long carved wooden table in the middle of the room, covered with white velvet cloth, and the velvet cloth reflects the light of the dazzling crystal lamp.Maldini's second in command, Lorenzo Maldini, saw Don Gilardino and Giuseppe and went over to say hello to them.And behind him, there was Maldini's advisor and another unknown old man.

Lorenzo showed respect to Don Gilardino, but polite, even reluctant friendliness to Giuseppe.Giuseppe didn't care about this, and even greeted him with great respect, and reintroduced Gustavo to him.And Gustavo, the irascible second-in-command, apparently didn't have Giuseppe's patience.He just frowned and shook hands with Lorenzo, then quickly withdrew his palm, and wiped his suit in disgust when no one was paying attention.

Seeing this situation, Xavier suddenly felt a little glad that he was pretending to be Giuseppe's bodyguard. After all, the bodyguard didn't need to shake hands with Lorenzo, and after all, he didn't have enough confidence to control himself, so he didn't take care of himself when shaking hands. Take a shot at Lorenzo's beautiful forehead.

In short, he just looked at everything shining under the crystal lamp with some sarcasm.He still remembered how, not so long ago, Maldini had destroyed their business with a machine gun, seized their territory, and drove them around the streets like rats.It's not that Xavier can't bear this kind of insult, and to a large extent, the life and death of others has nothing to do with him.But Giuseppe's wound, the wound on his leg covered with glass shards, was still in his mind.And it made him want to make the instigator of this wound pay some real and painful price.

But right now, everything is not as he wished, and the two sides are sitting at the negotiating table, ready to shake hands and make peace.Don Gilardino began to read the content of the negotiation book, which Xavier remembered clearly because of Giuseppe's malicious joke last night.He could even follow Don Gilardino's speaking speed, and slowly recite those unfamiliar names and numbers.And Don Gilardino's language, it seems, is some kind of instant magic spell, it makes those closed bookkeeping offices open, makes those destroyed buildings repaired, all the soldiers who died have names, all the blood His career was marked with meritorious service.

A strange feeling suddenly surged in Xavier's heart. He didn't know that having authority could do such a thing, and being awe-inspiring could obtain such an ability.In his eyes, Don Gilardino was no longer a ridiculous fat man or an incompetent old man. He was the master of the world and a ruling of rules.This worship of power hit Xavier's chest like a hammer, causing his heart to beat faster and his blood to surge.

Xavier is not a man with great ambitions, at least before Don Barone picks him up from the slums, his life is just day-to-day sneaking and muddling along.He was used to ugliness and cruelty, and his heart became numb to it.He even rejects any good intentions from fate, and deeply fears those things that make him yearn for the future——

For example, the throne of the leader of Barone, such as the tireless education of Giuseppe.

But he is not so afraid now.The longing for authority made him give up his unexamined depravity, and gave him a little motivation to change.Giuseppe's bloody wound suddenly reappeared in his mind, and he asked him loudly over and over again:

"If you were stronger, if you were braver, wouldn't he never get hurt again?"

Xavier was moved. He didn't think too much about Giuseppe, but there were very few people he cared about.He thought of the consultant's devotion to him and his family, and he felt a little guilty, so he took it for granted that Giuseppe was the number one candidate he wanted to protect.Of course, what he didn't consider at this time was whether Giuseppe was so powerful that he didn't need his protection at all.

But in short, such a somewhat arrogant idea has fully occupied Xavier's mind since its inception.He wanted to be a head of the family, a famous person, to make people submit to him, trust in him, and look up to him.

Xavier's wanderings continued until the meeting was over, when Giuseppe and Gustavo said goodbye to Don Gilardino and walked out of the Federal Hotel.Since Gustavo still had some things to do in the "big garden", Giuseppe temporarily decided that the three of them would hold a short meeting under the street lamp outside the hotel.

Gustavo listened to his suggestion and immediately moved to the wall to block Xavier's face.And Giuseppe looked around to make sure that all the people involved had left, so he nodded his head lightly, signaling that the conversation could begin.

Xavier was brought back to his senses by the cold wind outside, and the sky was getting dark. This negotiation took more time than he imagined.But he immediately understood the situation before him, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and prepared to listen to the debate between Giuseppe and Gustavo like an outsider.But he didn't expect that when he stuffed the cigarette into his mouth, Giuseppe suddenly took out the lighter, and quickly came to him to light the cigarette for him.

Xavier saw something amazing sparkle in Giuseppe's eyes in that flash of orange-red flame.He froze for a moment, not knowing what insidious thoughts were hidden in the consultant's heart, so he could only thank him indifferently.

Giuseppe laughed, looked at Xavier with respectful and kind eyes, and said:

"Xavier, the contract has been signed, why don't you make the decision?"

"I..." Xavier almost bit his tongue, because he suddenly found that there was some evil in Giuseppe's eyes.Even though he could lose face in front of Giuseppe, and even has almost no shame in front of Giuseppe, Xavier still didn't want Gustavo to see the joke.He knew very well that no matter how much he tried to bring the matter to Giuseppe, Giuseppe would find a way to retaliate.So Xavier had to resign himself to his fate and said:

"It's too late now. Second in command, please take care of the soldiers after the new year, and we need some new men. Giuseppe remembers keeping an eye on the bookkeeping, especially those that are reopening, and I'm afraid they'll take advantage of it. "

After he finished speaking, he looked at Giuseppe, hoping to get some advice from him.But unfortunately, Giuseppe seems to be selectively blind at this time, just staring at him with that malicious smile.Xavier had no choice but to think about it again, and felt that there were still some external things to consider.

"We still don't know the reason why Maldini chose peace talks. This is terrible. Send more people to find out. But remember, it must be done cleverly and without any trace."

After listening, Giuseppe seemed satisfied, and said, "Okay, I see."

Gustavo calmed down when he heard Giuseppe's agreement, and nodded in agreement.

Xavier breathed a sigh of relief, and together with Giuseppe, said goodbye to the second-in-command, and then watched the black Ford sedan disappear into the night.He turned his head to look at Giuseppe, with the intention of invoking a teacher, and said:

"Giuseppe, my advisor, there has never been a mentor like you who made a surprise inspection!"

Unexpectedly, after hearing what he said, Giuseppe laughed maliciously again, appearing to be in a very good mood.He snatched the cigarette from Xavier's mouth, and strode away on his leather shoes, saying as he walked:

"Gustavo wants me to respect you, so I'll show him respect."

Xavier stared helplessly at his back, and then suddenly muttered:

"I want to be a Don."

Giuseppe slipped and almost fell over in front of all the famous people.

The author has something to say:

This is the end of the first volume. It mainly introduces a bunch of characters and backgrounds, and the writing is extremely painful.After that, I will enter a three-day rest, and after the rest, I will start to write a new volume and tell a story about the holiday (hehehe).Well, see you in three days!mwah!

Volume Two: Holiday Roses