Jordan's party went on from morning until night. Luca stayed until evening before leaving with the money, and Jordan, who was already somewhat delirious, personally came to see him off.
"Dove, want a bigger slice of Wall Street?" Jordan said with a sly smile. "Come work for our company, and I'll teach you how to be a qualified stockbroker."
"Oh? Now you're trying to recruit me?" Luca replied lightly. "Then tell me—what makes someone qualified?"
"The first lesson on Wall Street," Jordan said, a man who had fooled countless people and now spoke from experience, "is that the truth of the market doesn't matter. What matters is what you make retail investors believe. If you can grasp the essence of that sentence, you're not far from success."
In short: sell the story.
"Forget it, I don't have that kind of talent." Luca wasn't particularly interested in stock trading. He wasn't good at it and preferred to leave it to professionals.
"You guys have to call countless customers to earn that $25 million," Luca added calmly, "but I only need to call you."
Jordan: "…"
It sounded ridiculous. Yet he couldn't refute it.
Who was the real wolf here?
"For the sake of the remaining $3 million," Luca continued, "let me tell you one more thing so you don't get blindsided again."
"Tell me—which bastard is dumping stocks this time?"
"No, no. It's your Swiss banker friend. Jean-Jacques Sorel. He has extensive evidence of your money laundering, right? If the FBI catches him, he'll most likely turn on you to save himself. I suggest transferring that $200 million out of the country ahead of time and cutting ties with him."
"How is that possible? He's in Switzerland, not the U.S. How could the FBI catch him?"
"Can't he come to America for a visit?"
Luca pulled a photograph from his pocket. "Sorel doesn't just launder money for you. Many Americans are his clients—some of them drug dealers."
Jordan looked at the photo. It showed Sorel meeting others in New York.
Damn it. This idiot actually came to America?
And he didn't even tell me?
Jordan's head cleared instantly, replaced by a cold sense of crisis.
Under no circumstances could the FBI discover his laundering operations.
According to the original storyline, Jordan was eventually arrested largely because Sorel betrayed him, making the FBI's job effortless. Luca had given him advance warning. What happened next would depend on Jordan's own judgment. If he severed ties quickly and cleanly, the FBI wouldn't have an immediate opening.
After the yacht docked, a distracted Jordan escorted Luca down, casually asking when the club would open so he could join and show his support.
"It should be another month or two of renovations," Luca replied. "I'll let you know."
"Ha! No problem. I'll bring the whole company over for a team-building party!"
Luca: "…"
Wait. What kind of team-building party?
After waving goodbye, Luca left. He opened the system panel.
[Bond: Friends]
The relationship had been established in one step—at least on the surface.
A new skill unlocked.
[Nerve Paralysis]
[Remaining Skill Fragments: 73]
Since following Jordan, there had been no major incidents, but small gains accumulated daily. He had gathered 73 fragments so far—enough to exchange for a skill.
__________________________________________________________________________
[Would you like to spend 50 skill fragments to exchange for "Nerve Paralysis"?]
[Yes/No]
"Yes"
[Redeem successful, skill added]
[Nerve Paralysis: Immunity to toxins +30%]
[Remaining Skill Fragments: 23]
__________________________________________________________________________
Luca appreciated passive poison resistance. In this world, certain assassins specialized in toxins.
---
The following day, Luca handed the money from Jordan to Jimmy to launder and continue renovating the club.
In this round alone, Luca made around $4.5 million from Jordan and Steve's company. Aside from the $2.5 million Jordan had given him—which required careful handling—the profits from shorting were legitimate gains.
It wasn't a major problem. Jimmy was skilled at laundering money—using family real estate companies to purchase and resell properties as a means of legitimization.
Time flew. It was early June.
Luca occasionally accompanied Léon delivering fish, enjoying quiet moments with Mathilda. He also stopped by the supermarket to urge Uncle Bill to hurry up and get married. Mathilda had taken a summer job at Uncle Bill's supermarket; she found vacation unbearably boring. Only when she was with Luca did she feel entertained. When Luca was busy, she drifted into boredom.
Little Italy, however, was different. Talented people everywhere, lively conversation, and everyone knew Luca was her brother. No one dared bully her.
Luca was glad—but he believed children should stay far away from Mafia affairs.
The rest of his time was spent gathering intelligence across New York.
First, Jordan Belfort: he had already begun transferring assets to Switzerland, planning to replace Sorel with a more reliable banker. So far, everything was proceeding smoothly. Luca had nothing to worry about for the moment.
Denham kept his word and stopped openly harassing Jordan. But the investigation quietly continued. No one knew what he was pursuing behind the scenes.
Occasionally, Denham visited the bar in Little Italy for a drink with Luca. Luca welcomed it. Building a genuine connection with a principled, incorruptible FBI agent like Denham was not easy. Even reaching the "close friend" stage required time. And Denham clearly wouldn't fully open up to the Mafia anytime soon.
Compared to the strategic standoff between Jordan and Denham, Richie Roberts' drug investigation was a far more consequential event—one that could reshape New York's power structure.
The war on drugs had begun.
If Luca did nothing, according to the original storyline, it would devolve into a prolonged war of attrition.
The key issue: law enforcement never realized that Frank Lucas's heroin shipments were transported via U.S. military aircraft. Without exposing that secret, Frank could never be taken down.
Luca only knew the general truth—that military planes were involved. The specific airport, aircraft, and unit remained unknown.
He could leverage foresight against businessmen like Jordan.
He could not march onto a U.S. military base.
That would be suicide.
The Mafia was no match for the U.S. military—the largest gang in the world.
After careful thought, Luca concluded federal authority had to be used against Frank. At least Richie Roberts could legally request search warrants for military aircraft.
In early June, on the very day Luca collected 50 skill fragments, a tire shop opened in the Bronx.
The owner: Frank's brother.
Publicly legitimate. Privately a distribution hub—and Frank's nominal income source.
On opening day, Dominic—the underboss of the Lucchese crime family—visited.
This wasn't confrontation. It was cooperation.
"Dominic met Frank in Harlem recently and secured Blue Magic supply," Marigio complained inside the bar. "That nouveau riche Frank—no idea where he sources such high-purity product. No one in New York can compete. We've become his distributors."
Before Frank's rise, the Bonanno crime family had dominated New York's drug trade, nearly monopolizing import and export.
When the Mafia Commission was first established decades ago, it explicitly forbade narcotics. Drug trafficking provoked public outrage and federal crackdowns, increasing budgets and pressure on all families.
But greed overcame principle.
Once the Bonannos broke the rule, others followed.
"If we don't cooperate," Marigio said, "there's no business left. Frank drove prices so low no one else can survive."
Luca held his wine glass in silence.
Dominic was stepping onto a sinking ship.
Once you board Frank's vessel, you risk going down with him.
And when the underboss falls—
A vacancy appears.
Perhaps… an opportunity.
================================================================================
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