章 27: Lupo
In the derelict warehouse, Richie's gaze fell upon the youthful man who had just introduced himself as "Lorenzo Lupo." A chill ran down his spine. His trousers were soaked with urine, a testament to his terror. "I- I'm Richie Booker," he stuttered, extending a trembling hand, "P-pleased to meet you, Mr. Lupo."
Lorenzo's lips curved into a smile, amused by Richie's fear. He shook the proffered hand, his grip firm and unforgiving. "Now that your previous... contact," he began, glancing at the charred remains of Kaplan, "has, regrettably, met with an unfortunate accident, I don't suppose he'll be able to continue with our sugar arrangement, hmm?"
Richie's head bobbed frantically. "Y-yes, y-yes, that's right."
Lorenzo's smile widened as he steered the conversation. "How about I take over Kaplan's role in your... dealings around the neighborhood? I'm quite intrigued by this sugar arrangement, what do you think?"
Richie hesitated, but his fear won out. "Of course, of course, Mr. Lupo. Just tell me what you have in mind."
Lorenzo pulled up a chair and sat down, his demeanor casual despite the tense situation. "I'll be frank with you, Mr. Richie, but my associates and I don't have the bag to pay for the sugar sacks right now."
Richie flinched, but forced a smile, his fear palpable.
Lorente continued, "What if we pay you after we've sold the sugar? It's not ideal, I know, but I assure you, we'll make good on the payment as soon as we've made some sales – say, within a week? What do you say?"
Richie glanced at the young men roughing up Norman, one of Kaplan's trusted men, and gulped.
Lorenzo's gaze bored into him. "Well?"
Richie swallowed his pride, fear still etched on his face. "O-okay, I'll let you... resell the sugar supplies, but... you'll give me my cut of the profits, right?"
Lorenzo's smile returned. "Of course, Richie. How about this? You get 40% of the profits, and we keep 60% for ourselves. Sound fair?"
Richie's men bristled with anger, but they knew better than to cross Lorenzo. Reluctantly, Richie nodded. "I-I agree..."
Lorenzo's smile broadened as he shook Richie's hand. "Pleasure doing business with you, Richie."
He then called out to Max and the others, "Max, see Mr. Richie out, and that's enough with the roughhousing."
Max and the others exchanged glances, but they didn't dare defy Lorenzo, not after what they'd just witnessed. They knew better than to cross the man who could so casually end a life.
Richie and his men reluctantly eyed the burlap sacks of sugar before being escorted out by Max and the others.
Lorenzo crouched down next to Kaplan's charred corpse, rifling through the man's pockets. "Now, where did you hide it?" he muttered to himself. Finally, his fingers closed around a pistol.
He examined the revolver, a Smith & Wesson Model 10, and checked the chamber. It was fully loaded. "Perfect."
As he tucked the gun away, a mechanical voice sounded in his ear, congratulating him for completing a hidden objective: eliminating Kaplan and his trusted men. A smile crept onto his face.
Lorenzo's system interface lit up, rewarding him with points to increase his attributes.
He holstered the gun and turned his attention to the burlap sacks. He hefting one, he estimated the total haul at around four hundred thirty kilograms of sugar, which is around about nine hundred forty pounds.
As Max and the others returned, Lorenzo grinned. "What do you think, Max? We hit the jackpot, huh?"
Max nodded, but shifted uncomfortably. "Y-yeah. But we should move it to our base, just in case the cops show up."
"Alright, let's move these sacks!"
Max, Patrick, and Philip rushed to help, but they couldn't help but stare as Lorenzo effortlessly hefted a sack of his own.
Lorenzo noticed a wooden cart nearby. "Well, well, look what we have here. It must be Kaplan's."
Patrick agreed, "Makes sense. They probably brought it to haul the sugar away."
Philip loaded the burlap sacks onto the cart, "Let's go."
Lorenzo and the others heaved the sacks onto the cart, drawing curious glances as they made their way through the streets.
They eventually reached a tenement building, where their base was located. Inside, Peggy's jaw dropped at the sight of the haul.
"Wow, what's all this?" she asked.
Max cut her off. "None of your business, woman." He turned to Lorenzo. "You've impressed me, Lorenzo. Joined us just recently and you already took out one of our rivals…"
Patrick and Philip nodded in agreement with Max, and Patrick spoke up, "You're… impressive, Lorenzo. And terrifying. I hope we can let bygones be bygones, huh?"
Philip chimed in, "Yeah, me too. No hard feelings, alright?"
Lorenzo smiled and patted them both on the back. "As long as you don't get in my way with Deborah."
Max, Patrick, and Philip exchanged glances but nodded.
"Great. Friends, then." Lorenzo clapped their shoulders. "Now, it's late. I'm off to my apartment. See you lot around."
As Lorenzo left, Peggy gaped at Max and the others. "Unbelievable. You three hated him for stealing Noodles' girl, and now you're all buddy-buddy?"
Max scowled. "Shut it, woman."
Patrick and Philip nodded in agreement. "You don't know what Lorenzo's capable of…"
Even Philip, who had feelings for Peggy, added, "He's… different. He's earned our respect."
Peggy was flabbergasted, but her shock only grew when she saw the contents of the burlap sacks – valuable sugar.
---
Early the next morning, Lorenzo jogged through the streets of New York before arriving at the tenement where Max and his crew were based. Peggy answered the door, ushering him inside.
Lorenzo lounged on the couch as he asked, "Anyone made any sales yet?"
Max grinned. "Yeah, we went around last night. Made 48 bucks!"
"Nice." Lorenzo said, standing up. "Grab me ten pounds of sugar, I'll see if I can sell some at the factory."
Max gestured to Patrick, who was smoking. "Put it in his lunchbox."
Patrick nodded and scooped ten pounds of sugar into Lorenzo's lunchbox. "All set."
Lorenzo stood up. "Thanks. Now, about my cut…"
Max hesitated but reluctantly handed over the twenty dollars.
Lorenzo patted him on the shoulder and left the apartment.
Patrick and Philip didn't bat an eye as Lorenzo took his cut. Peggy, however, watched them with suspicion. It was bizarre to see her usually tough friends so meek around him. She couldn't shake the feeling that Lorenzo had somehow bewitched them…
---
At the arm factory where he worked as an assembly line worker, Lorenzo waited until break time to approach his coworkers. "Hey, fellas," he said, lowering his voice, "you lot in the market for some sugar?"
The young men and women perked up, their eyes shining with interest. Rationing had made the sweet commodity a rare treat. "You got extras?" one of them asked.
Lorenzo smirked. "Enough to go around."
Lorenzo managed to sell out the sugar he brought in his lunchbox, and his coworkers were shocked to see the young man had such a large supply.
One female coworker asked, "Where did you get so much sugar, Lorenzo?"
Lorenzo smiled as he replied, "Well, I have my ways. I can't reveal my source, but they don't want any trouble. So, I offered to sell it here for them."
The workers nodded in understanding.
Afterward, they returned to work, and Lorenzo thought to himself that he should have brought more sugar since it was so popular with his coworkers.
Finally, when the clock struck 3 PM, Lorenzo finished his shift and went back to his neighborhood using the train.
---
In the following days, Lorenzo's name spread like wildfire through the small gangs in Jewish neighborhood. Under his leadership, Max and his crew infiltrated rival gangs – one based in a gambling den, the other in a warehouse.
As for his personal life, Lorenzo's relationship with Deborah blossomed. According to the [Relationship Tab], they were at 67%. They often went dancing or simply talked about their interests, and he could feel her warming up to him both physically and emotionally.
Lorenzo and Deborah also visited Adam in the hospital from time to time. Adam couldn't help but notice the growing closeness between Deborah and Lorenzo. He was hurt, but he was also happy for his friend – especially since Lorenzo had been supporting him financially.
Finally, after a week, Adam was discharged. Lorenzo was waiting outside the hospital.
"Lorenzo!" Adam waved, and they shared a heartfelt hug. "I'm finally out of this place, bro."
Lorenzo clapped him on the shoulder. "Glad to have you back in the real world, buddy."
Adam nodded and muttered, "Yeah…" He glanced at the sky, then asked, "Lorenzo, you were in a gang in the neighborhood, right?"
Lorenzo nodded, "Yeah, what's it to you?"
Adam hesitated before saying, "Lorenzo… I want to be strong. I'm tired of being a pushover. I don't want to get beat up anymore."
Lorenzo considered this, a hint of pride in his eyes. "Adam, that's the spirit. Joining my gang will toughen you up, and we can even teach that Antonio and his goons a lesson. How about it? Want some payback?"
Adam's eyes welled up with gratitude, but he blinked them away as he looked at Lorenzo. "I… I can't thank you enough, my friend." He pulled him into a hug, his voice shaking with emotion.
Lorenzo smiled, noticing the friendship meter between them had reached 98% in the [Relationship Tab]. He knew in that moment that Adam was a true and loyal friend.
Meanwhile, Adam was unaware that his friend, Lorenzo, had already made a name for himself among the smaller gangs in the neighborhood. He was known by the nickname "Lupo."
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