Hardy was not surprised when he heard that Bruno, the son of Philip, the patriarch of the Tattaglia family, had been killed.
Philip, the patriarch of the Tattaglia family, has always supported Sollozzo, and they can be said to be one of the masterminds behind the assassination of the old godfather.
To put it bluntly, it's all for profit.
During the Prohibition period, the Mafia made huge profits by bootlegging liquor, and quickly grew into the largest mafia force in the United States. However, after the Prohibition was lifted, their profit points quickly disappeared, and the profits from their subsequent business operations were far less than during the Prohibition period.
Then drugs appeared. Drugs were an emerging industry with such high profit margins that everyone was tempted.
Several other big families in New York, or almost all American gangs, wanted to get into the drug business because it was indeed a very profitable business and was too attractive to them. However, the old Godfather always guarded his bottom line and was unwilling to touch it, so he became a stumbling block for them.
Hardy had met Bruno before. Bruno also went to the Flamingo Casino when it opened last time, and had a small conflict with Hardy. Unexpectedly, this time he became the first victim of the conflict among the five major families.
Hardy got the news much earlier than Mike.
Henry and his team's surveillance and monitoring have begun to take effect. When Sonny sent people to kill Buno, Hardy's people discovered the situation in advance and quickly reported it to Henry. Henry then reported it to Hardy and asked whether he wanted to intervene.
Hardy thought for 0.1 seconds and decided to just watch the show.
That night Bruno stayed at the home of a young singer, who was a new star that Bruno had been promoting recently. This girl was pretty and had a nice singing voice, and Bruno took her into his company as a plaything. He never expected that someone from the Corrion family would dare to kill him.
Two assassins rushed into the room and shot Bruno 12 times with revolvers. When the old Godfather was killed, the gunmen also shot him 12 times.
However, this Bruno was not as lucky as the old Godfather. None of his 12 shots missed the target. Bruno died on the spot. The little singer sitting next to him could only scream. When the police arrived, she was already scared silly.
The next day.
Major newspapers in New York reported the assassination that took place last night. Combined with the time when the old Godfather was killed and the recent changes in several major families in New York, the newspapers speculated that there might be a possibility of an all-out war among the major Mafia families.
After getting up and reading the newspaper, Mike considered whether to go back to Corrion's house first or go find Hardy first. Finally, he decided to go find Hardy and ask for his opinion.
Today is a cold and cloudy day.
It started to rain and snow in the morning.
Mike went out wearing a coat and a hat and drove to the hotel. Hardy was having breakfast. When he saw Mike, he smiled and invited him to eat with him.
Mike saw the newspaper next to Hardy and asked, "Hadi, do you think the Corrion family will go to war with other families?"
Hardy thought for a moment and said, "Mike, the war has actually already started, but it has not yet reached the most intense charging stage. Now it is equivalent to the testing stage before the war."
Mike frowned when he heard this, as if it was indeed the case.
"Do you think the Corrion family has a chance of winning?" Mike asked.
Hardy thought about the question carefully and said:
"The Corrion family is indeed the strongest among the five major mafia families in New York, but if it faces the other four families alone, I think the Corrion family has no chance of winning and will most likely be swallowed up by the other families."
Mike's heart shuddered when he heard this.
"Why do you say that?"
Hadi chuckled.
"Let me analyze it for you. I think you have the answer in your mind. The Corrion Family has several forces. The Tessio Legion and the Clementza Legion are the two main pillars of the Corrion Family. There are more than 300 people in total."
"Your brother Sonny also has some people, about 60 people. 400 people are the entire strength of the Corrion family."
"But what about the other families? Each of them has 200 to 300 people. One family may not be a match for Corion, but if several families join forces, the Corion family will definitely not be able to resist them."
"Economically, the Corrion family can contribute a lot of money, and the other families also have a lot of money."
"The reason why the Corrion Family became the leader of the five major families is not because of its large number of people or wealth, but because of Mr. Vito Corrion. His connections are the Corrion Family's greatest asset."
"Other families can actually do drug business on their own. Why do they have to involve Mr. Corrion? The biggest reason is that they value his political capital and his connections with politicians and the legal community."
"And your father refused to do this business because he was worried that drugs would affect his relationship with politicians and judges. This is also the biggest point of conflict between the two parties."
"Mr. Vito is the pillar of the Corrion Family. As long as he falls, even if other families do not take action against the Corrion Family, the influence of the Corrion Family will be reduced by several levels, and it will definitely not be ranked first among the five major families."
"This is also the biggest reason why they killed Mr. Vito."
After listening to Hardy's analysis, Mike felt as if he had suddenly become enlightened, and all the fog in front of him was dispelled.
Mike looked up at Hardy.
He is about the same age as me, but he is much better at seeing problems than me.
"Since you see that the Corrion family is in so much danger, why do you still help me?" Mike asked Hardy.
Hadi laughed, patted Mike on the shoulder and said:
"I've said before, we are friends. Aren't true friends supposed to help each other in times of crisis? People who just eat, drink and pick up girls together on weekdays can't be called true friends."
Mike felt more grateful to Hardy and trusted him more.
"Hardy, what do you think the Corrion family should do next to get rid of the current crisis?" Mike asked.
"Kill Sollozzo!" Hardy said decisively.
"Why?" Mike asked curiously.
"Although Sollozzo is just a drug dealer, he has now become the link of the other four major families. The drug business they want is all because of this man. As long as they kill him, their temporary alliance will be temporarily disbanded. It's that simple." Hardy said.
"As for the rest, you can let the family spread the word that other matters can be discussed, but they have to wait until the old godfather recovers. This will give other families hope, and they will not fight to the death with the Corrion family."
Mike nodded continuously.
......
Mike returns home.
Found Sonny and Tom arguing again.
Sonny is determined to kill Sollozzo, while Tom continues to advocate peace talks.
"Sonny, you've already killed Bruno. Do you know what the other families are thinking now? They will think you will attack them too. They will unite. If that happens, the Corrion Family will not be able to survive."
"Sorzo called and said there's still room for negotiation, otherwise they'll take action soon."
Although Sonny was reckless, he knew that things might have gotten out of hand.
"So what do you say we should do?"
Tom shrugged. "Sorzo asked us to send a family member over there to get someone from the Corrion family."
"Then I'll go?" Sonny frowned.
"No, they said you were too impulsive and wouldn't let you go," said Tom.
Everyone turned to look at the godfather's second son, Fredo. Being stared at by so many people, Fredo's eyes were evasive, and it was obvious that he was very scared.
Everyone knows his timid character.
Mike pursed his lips and said, "I'll go, I'll go talk to them and see what they want to say."
"Tom, contact the other party and tell them that I am willing to talk to them, but it must be in a public place, such as a bar or restaurant, not a private place." Mike said.
"Okay, I'll contact them," said Tom.
Not long after, Tom came back from the call and said to Mike, "They said they would come pick you up and take you to a restaurant to talk over dinner, but they can't tell us the location right now. They said they are sincere and will give us a reason that we won't refuse."
There is no reason to refuse.
This is a phrase that the old godfather loves to say.
He had been the one telling others before, but now some people have started telling the Corrion family.
Mike nodded.
After the others left, Mike came to the old godfather's study. There was no one there. He sat in the seat where the old godfather usually sat, touched the armrest and thought for a while, then picked up the phone and called Hardy to tell him what happened here.
"Hardy, I plan to kill that Sollozzo. I think that guy will try to kill my father again because they will benefit the most from killing my father. The Corrion family's political protection will disappear and their strength will be greatly reduced." Mike said.
"What are you going to do?" Hardy asked.
"They will pick me up and take me to a restaurant, but they won't tell me which one. I hope you can help me and find a way to send a gun in," Mike said.
Hardy laughed when he heard this.
"Mike, I tell you, those who want to do great things should use their brains more and their hands less. Don't take risks lightly. If you kill someone in public, what will you do next? Run away? Who will be responsible for our business then?"
"And you called me all the way from Los Angeles just to help you get a gun in there?"
"Just go meet them according to the original plan, be perfunctory with them, don't agree but give them a little hope, then leave, and leave the rest to me," said Hardy.
"Okay, as you say."
night.
Mike arrived at the place as agreed. Not long after, a car stopped beside him. Soraso rolled down the window and said, "Mike, get in."
Mike saw Sollozzo and the sheriff sitting in the back seat.
Mike got in the car, and the sheriff smiled at him, "Michael, does your jaw still hurt?"
"The doctor told me that my jaw was broken and I would need to recover for three or four months," Mike said.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you so hard. Maybe it was a little bit of a fluke. I'm so sorry."
The sheriff apologized, but to others it sounded like he was showing off.
Their car circled the streets of New York several times before finally stopping in front of an inconspicuous restaurant.
The three of them walked into the restaurant, and Mike found that there were already two tables of guests in the restaurant. When they walked in, the guests at both tables looked at them. These people had bulges on their waists, obviously hiding guns.
Mike knew these people were definitely Sollozzo's men.
When the food came, Mike had no interest in eating it, but Sollozzo ate it happily. He put the steak into his mouth and said while chewing, "Mike, do you know how huge this market is? It can reach tens of millions every year in New York alone, and hundreds of millions in the United States."
"As long as we cooperate, I can guarantee that the Corrion family will definitely earn more than $3 million in profits from this business every year."
"I will bring the goods in, and you will be in charge of the sales. It will be easy to make this money. Of course, sometimes we need to use the connections of the Corrion family. As long as the police are less strict, we can easily make a lot of money."
Mike listened absentmindedly.
"I understand what Mr. Sollozzo means. I will tell Sonny and the rest of the family when I get back. As for whether to cooperate, we all need to decide together." Mike said.
"Of course, we do need to discuss it, but the conditions I offer are already very generous, and the other families have already agreed. We are just waiting for the Corrion family's reply."
Sollozzo's words had a very obvious threatening tone.
Mike put down his fork and left. As soon as he walked out of the restaurant, the sheriff sneered, "He's still a kid who knows nothing. He must have been frightened by what happened today. Look at how distracted he is, haha."
"I heard that when Vito Corrion was shot, his second son was right next to him. He was so scared that he dropped his gun and just knelt on the ground crying. The eldest son is a reckless man, the second son is a coward, and the third son is the same. The Corrion family, haha, as long as that old guy dies, the Corrion family will not last long." The sheriff said in a mocking tone.
Sollozzo had a similar impression of Mike. In the Corrion family, Vito Corrion was indeed a figure, but as for his son, he was really not up to standard.
At this moment.
Two cars drove up and stopped in front of the restaurant. The windows were rolled down and several gun barrels were extended from the windows.
“Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick~~!”
Several machine guns opened fire fiercely, shattering the restaurant's glass and knocking people inside the restaurant to the ground.
A bullet went through the sheriff's head, half of his head was blown off, and his body fell to the ground. Sollozzo was terrified, but fortunately he reacted quickly and fell to the ground.
At this moment the machine gun fire stopped and Sollozzo thought he had escaped.
At this moment something was thrown in through the window, and Sollozzo was frightened out of his wits when he saw it.
dynamite.
And there is more than one.
Explosives were thrown in one after another, and one of them was thrown right where Sollasso was lying, and the explosives were sparking.
Sollasso instinctively wanted to escape, but it was too late.
"Boom boom boom~~Boom boom~~"
There was a violent explosion in the restaurant.
I believe that no one in this restaurant survived. At this moment, the car outside had already driven away.
in the car.
Hardy and Michael sat together.
Two people witnessed the explosion.
Hardy said to Mike, "The restaurant owner had been informed before the attack. They will be fine. The restaurant is full of Sollozzo's people. By the way, why did you use such a drastic method and have to blow them up?"
"I want to show the other big families how fierce the Corrion family's revenge is. This will help dispel their ambitions for expansion, and then it will be effective when we spread the word," Mike said in a deep voice.
Hardy looked at Mike.
I feel like Mike has slowly begun to have the qualities of a second-generation Godfather. If this were placed in a fantasy world, this would probably be considered the awakening of the Godfather's bloodline.
......