Jordan walked out of the club, glanced at the cars across the street, and raised his middle finger from afar.
"Fuck the FBI! Get the hell out of here! Go home and screw your old hag! I want the prettiest models licking my balls with caviar!"
Denham, who was smoking in his car, remained calm and unfazed by Jordan's arrogant demeanor. He turned to his colleague and asked, "When did Belfort get involved with Luca the Dove?"
"Who knows when they met?" his colleague muttered. "Maybe Belfort wants to launder money through the Mafia? Or buy drugs from them?"
Denham was in a real bind. Belfort was already a problem, and now another Mafia figure had emerged, backed by the Lucchese family. The Bronx was full of Lucchese family members, and Luca had a strong reputation there, making it extremely difficult for the FBI to cause any trouble.
It was like Belfort entering the SSR club; they couldn't follow him inside to monitor him, and they had no idea what he was talking about in there. There were many similar places in the Bronx guarded and controlled by gangs. Once Jordan hid inside, it would be very difficult to monitor him.
Denham rubbed his temples. "I remember the FBI had an undercover agent in the Mafia, right? Can we ask him about it?"
"That undercover agent is in the Bonanno family, not Lucchese."
The Bonanno family is one of the Five Families of New York. Although the families are closely connected through the Commission, often sharing intelligence and business, they are ultimately separate organizations, and there is still distance between them.
As for undercover agents… the federal government has been fighting the Mafia for many years, and so far only one undercover agent has successfully infiltrated the organization. And even he was only an associate.
Want to get inside without killing anyone or proving loyalty? Want to join the Mafia? Unless you're the son of a high-ranking member and get sponsored in.
At that moment, Luca and Jimmy walked out of the club and drove away together.
Denham whispered, "Follow them."
His colleague said, "They spotted us a long time ago."
Denham replied, "Then we'll just follow them openly. Isn't he a so-called peace ambassador? Can't I come to the Bronx to clear my head?"
"…"
Investigating the Mafia wasn't Denham's mission, but Luca was currently in contact with Belfort and might have clues about him. Whether they found anything or not, they could at least try to make contact with this "peace ambassador."
Denham himself was also curious about what kind of person this so-called peace ambassador really was.
The FBI had Luca's file for years, from his old nickname "The Butcher" to his current moniker "The Dove." They had plenty of information—but only surface-level details. They had never been able to dig deeper.
Denham thought to himself, Maybe there's a chance to plant a mole inside Dove's organization? It didn't seem too difficult to infiltrate such a large club as an undercover employee.
The two followed Luca for a long time, watching him go about half a day of being a so-called peace ambassador.
First, on the street, Denham saw Luca stop a man who was robbing someone. Luca angrily taught him a lesson, took back the stolen money, and returned it to the victim. His violent and ferocious demeanor terrified the robber so badly that he dropped to his knees and begged for mercy.
Jimmy, standing nearby, was stunned. Why is Dove so irritable today? he thought.
_________________________________________________________________________
Ding! You taught the robber a lesson, helped the victim recover their money, and upheld peace in the neighborhood.
[Gain Skill Points +3]
__________________________________________________________________________
Luca glanced at the reward notification. His fierce expression vanished instantly, replaced by a gentle smile. He patted the robber on the shoulder and laughed.
"Get the hell out of here. If you rob someone again, I'll cut off your hand and feed it to the lions."
The robber looked horrified; these Mafia guys really did keep exotic animals in the city.
After the man fled in panic, Jimmy cautiously asked, "Luca, have you been dealing with something lately? You looked pretty scary just now!"
I was just testing the skill effects.
Luca found that the Berserker skill effects were impressive. The combat bonus applied across the board—strength, speed, reaction time—comprehensively boosting his overall fighting ability.
But controlling anger was also a skill. Excessive anger could impair judgment.
Luca sighed. "As long as New York City remains unsettled, my troubles will never disappear."
Jimmy: "…"
Next, Denham saw Luca stop at a Asian supermarket, buy a large number of supplies, and head straight to a community nursing home to distribute them to elderly residents living alone.
Later that evening, a fire broke out in an apartment building. Luca arrived before the police and rushed inside.
Denham, seeing the fire, abandoned his surveillance and ran in to rescue people. But Luca was faster.
Like an acrobat, Luca carried an elderly woman out through a window and climbed down a drainpipe.
The residents cheered and shouted for the Dove.
Denham, witnessing all this, was stunned. He could see the gratitude was genuine. Judging by how familiar the residents were with Luca, this clearly wasn't the first time he had helped them.
What a picture of "peace and prosperity."
What the hell? These Mafia members were more proactive than the police.
His colleague was equally shocked. "Luca the Dove. That's not just a nickname—he really is maintaining peace in the community."
"Maybe he's putting on a show for us because we're following him."
"But the residents' reactions didn't look staged. This clearly isn't the first time."
"…"
Denham found himself unable to understand it.
This Mafia member wasn't cold. He was too enthusiastic.
"Agent Denham!"
Luca, his face blackened with soot, walked over. Seeing Denham equally covered in smoke, he joked, "What brings you to work as a firefighter today? Is the FBI paying you too little?"
Shouldn't I be the one asking that?
Suppressing a grumble, Denham replied coolly, "You know me?"
"You come to the Bronx almost every day to shop. Even the coffee shop owners know you like lattes. Are you satisfied with the environment here? Don't you find the people friendlier than in other neighborhoods? Maybe you should move here."
He continued casually, "Here, I can guarantee no street racers will wake you up in the middle of the night. Wherever I walk, drug dealers don't dare come out."
Faced with Luca's teasing smile, Denham felt a strange, subtle sensation in his chest. Subconsciously, he wanted to believe what Luca was saying.
Combined with what he had witnessed that day, he was surprised to realize he didn't have a negative impression of this Mafia member.
On the contrary, he thought the man seemed decent—at least better than Jordan.
Weird.
Yet because of his professional identity, Denham never forgot who Luca was—a ruthless Mafia member.
"Little Italy… it's definitely different from what I imagined." Denham shook his head. "I've been here before. It used to be a chaotic slum. Now it's much safer, and I'm glad about the change. But as long as you exist, this place will never truly be peaceful."
Denham scoffed. "Luca, don't think changing your nickname erases what you've done. Don't forget your old one."
"Oh, thanks for the reminder."
Luca turned and shouted to the neighbors, "Tell this officer what my old nickname was!"
"Butcher!" shouted a supermarket owner. "Luca is the best knife man I've ever seen! The sashimi he slices is thinner than the sexiest lingerie—it's practically a miracle!"
Denham: "…"
Damn sashimi.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Character Card : Patrick Denham – Rank B]
Source: The Wolf of Wall Street
[Upright and Honest:
– FBI Trust +10%;
As an FBI member, if you consistently maintain integrity and refuse all forms of bribery, FBI Trust +20% (This bonus is permanently lost if you accept a bribe).]
[Bond: Attention]
[Learning Requirements: Bond level must be Close Friend or higher; 80 skill fragments required.]
__________________________________________________________________________
Inside the bar, Luca—freshly showered and changed—held a glass of wine, an unconscious smile on his lips.
Another excellent skill.
Denham's skills were somewhat similar to Richie's, both focused on increasing official trust, but Denham's were more specialized—specifically targeting the FBI.
Luca would probably never trigger the latter half of the ability in his lifetime, but the first half was already extremely valuable.
Trust between people is the rarest thing in the world.
I, Luca, have already reserved this skill.
Upright and incorruptible? He wasn't bribing the FBI to do anything. Couldn't a kind-hearted citizen simply want to make a friend?
"Jimmy!" Luca called. "Find me a charity."
"Great! Are we pulling a heist? I'll find the richest one!"
Jimmy's eyes lit up. The Mafia robbed banks and airports—but never charities.
After all, the Mafia had no interest in robbing the poor.
Luca really is more ruthless than me!
"Stop right there," Luca said. "What are you robbing? I'm donating money."
Jimmy: "???"
Jimmy stared at him, confused. Dude, are you crazy? Donating to charity does nothing. You should donate to me. At least I'm actually helping homeless strippers.
---
FBI New York Field Office.
Denham, head of financial crime investigations, had arrested countless financial criminals on Wall Street over the years.
But facing Jordan Belfort this time felt different.
Belfort was exceptionally skilled at exploiting Wall Street's loopholes, leaving almost no evidence behind. If it weren't for the fact that he had gotten high last time and slipped up, giving Denham a small opening, there wouldn't even be a starting point.
They had thought things would move smoothly, but the Mafia's involvement complicated everything.
With a heavy heart, Denham spoke with a colleague from the organized crime division about intelligence from their Mafia informants.
"You mean Luca the Dove?"
His colleague shook his head. "He's a member of the Lucchese family. My informant hasn't had much contact with him, but I can tell you for certain that Luca really is maintaining peace in the Bronx—especially in Little Italy. He's extremely hands-on."
"But he's not nearly as gentle as he looks. Behind the scenes, his methods are ruthless. Word is he once wiped out an entire small gang by himself."
Denham was silent for a long time.
It sounded contradictory—but somehow consistent.
Combining it with his own observations, Luca really was maintaining peace. A thought crossed Denham's mind.
"Is Luca dealing drugs?"
Jordan was a drug addict. Wall Street might as well have been built on drugs. Those stockbrokers couldn't live without drugs and sex.
Did Jordan buy from Luca?
"Luca does not traffic drugs."
Denham felt deflated.
"Weren't you investigating Jordan Belfort? Why are you asking about Luca?"
"They're in contact."
"That's bad."
His colleague sighed, then lowered his voice. "I heard Belfort recommended some stocks to you?"
Denham remained silent.
It hadn't been a recommendation—it was a disguised bribe, offered the first time they met.
One trade could've netted over half a million dollars. Belfort had promised that himself.
Belfort also knew about his son's stalled student loan application. He knew his mother needed bypass surgery.
That fraud had investigated his entire life.
Denham felt the same suffocating silence as when Belfort made the offer—as if the air had turned thick, pressing against his lungs.
His colleague pressed further. "Hey, no one else is here. What stock did he recommend? His picks always make money. He's the Wolf of Wall Street. Damn it, maybe I chose the wrong department."
"I refused."
"Come on. I told you about Luca. We help each other."
"I really refused."
His colleague sighed. "That's a shame. Anyway, when we investigate the Mafia, we never profit from it. Our informants end up paying protection money."
He looked helpless. The Mafia's tradition of collecting protection money had drained their operational funds.
Denham looked up at the letters on the wall: F.B.I.—Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity.
It wasn't the real name, but it was the creed instilled in every agent.
He remembered it clearly.
But he also remembered his mother's groans in the hospital bed.
He remembered his son's frustration about college.
After giving so much to this country—would it truly take care of its own?
================================================================================
Thanks for Rocky Stagg for becoming my P Knight, i would buy my cats some fish in the market with it.
And for others, you could use $3 for 15 Advance Chapters and help my Cats got more fish to eat.
As Always on: P Site/OrbisTranslate