It was a night of pure chaos.
Throughout the night, Hobbs and Luca exchanged large amounts of intelligence and background information.
From Luca, Hobbs learned the locations of most of the gold and secretly dispatched teams to track down the tanker trucks hiding across New York State and the broader East Coast.
The idea of hiding gold beneath crude oil in tanker trucks left Hobbs genuinely impressed—it was bold, clever, and ridiculously effective.
Luca, after all, owned garbage transport ships, served as president of the truck drivers' union, controlled numerous gas stations, had access to a vast fleet of trucks and tankers, and even held influence over the docks.
If the Mafia truly wanted to, they absolutely had the capability to smuggle that gold out of the United States. Given the perfect combination of timing, location, and manpower, Luca's final decision to betray Simon and give up the gold was something Hobbs, a man who prided himself on justice, found almost unbelievable.
His opinion of Luca did a complete 180, especially after his subordinates confirmed that the tankers located using Luca's intel really did contain gold.
Hobbs's feelings toward Luca became complicated—somewhere between suspicion and reluctant admiration. After all, not many people could stay unmoved in the face of hundreds of billions in gold.
---
Back in New York, Hobbs spread a large map across the table and pointed to more than a dozen marked locations.
"According to Luca's intelligence, we've confirmed the locations of roughly half the gold. These tanker trucks are operating independently in small groups—two or three men per vehicle."
He explained the situation in detail: the trucks had been found, but no arrests had been made yet. They had only verified the presence of gold in secret, ensuring that the suspects remained unaware they were being watched, which in turn confirmed that Luca's information was accurate.
"But the other half was sent elsewhere by Simon," Hobbs continued, his gaze sweeping across Denham, David, and John McClane. "Right now, Luca is acting as our informant. He's pretending to cooperate with Simon, staying close to him, and helping us gather information about the rest of the gold."
McClane waved a hand dismissively. "Why bother with the spy game? We know where Simon is. Let's just grab him and make him talk."
"Simon and Luca are together. I've already confirmed their location. Simon isn't going anywhere," Hobbs replied, shaking his head. "The people aren't the priority. The gold is. Arresting and interrogating him is a last resort. With someone as daring and meticulous as Simon, there's no guarantee you'll get the truth out of him. If Luca fails, we can arrest Simon then."
Denham nodded in agreement. "That's right. Our main objective is recovering the gold. If Dove can get the information directly, that's faster and cleaner."
Mills added, "Then we'll start with the tanker trucks and conduct a full inspection of every oil tanker in the country."
Hobbs nodded. "Let's move."
The short meeting ended, and everyone filed out of the conference room. Hobbs walked beside Mills and asked casually, "How long have you known Luca? This isn't the first time he's helped you close a case, is it?"
David started from the beginning—Times Square. He described how Luca had stepped up during a major incident that ended up turning Times Square into what felt like a long-running performance art piece. Then there were the religious cases, the drug cases… somehow, Luca always seemed to be involved.
Hobbs didn't object to this kind of cooperation between criminals and law enforcement. During his overseas operations, he'd often found himself outnumbered and forced to work with local criminals, sometimes even using official U.S. documents as leverage—help us, and we'll wipe your record clean or stop pursuing old charges. It was a tactic that worked surprisingly often; many criminals dreamed of legally returning to the United States and reuniting with their families.
The U.S. had always maintained a flexible bottom line when it came to crime and punishment. Everything was negotiable—except this. Simon's gold heist had threatened the financial interests of half the world. No one was going to save him from that.
Still, Hobbs couldn't fully understand Luca's motives. If Luca didn't want the gold, why involve himself at all? Had he realized the gold was simply too dangerous and decided to abandon any temptation?
Whatever the reason, the outcome benefited them.
"David," Hobbs asked suddenly, "who gave him the nickname 'Dove of Peace'?"
"No idea," David replied. "Probably the residents of Little Italy. The doves helped them a lot—the crime rate dropped because of him."
Hobbs fell silent.
Crime rates… dropping because of pigeons—no, doves. Ridiculous. And yet, somehow, the nickname still fit.
[Bond: Follow]
---
Newburgh sat between New York City and the state capital, Albany. After leaving Albany, Luca and Simon arrived there, planning to head to an oil refinery.
Checkpoints along the road had become increasingly strict, yet Luca drove his tanker through them with casual confidence.
Simon, on the other hand, was on edge the entire time, terrified that some overzealous cop might suddenly decide to check what was hidden beneath the oil. Only after the truck finally rolled into the refinery did he let out a long breath of relief.
He made a few calls to check on his scattered companions. Everyone was safe, which only deepened his admiration for Luca's method. Those police officers probably never imagined that the gold was hidden beneath thick, black crude.
At the same time, Luca received new information: the tanker trucks that had ignored his instructions had circled back and ended up in the outskirts of New York. He had secretly installed tracking devices on the tankers, meaning the locations of all the gold were still under his control.
Was the most dangerous place really the safest?
Luca wasn't sure who Simon had contacted for help until further intel came in—the trucks had all gathered at a warehouse complex in the suburbs. The warehouse was registered under an arms company's name.
Jimmy quickly provided the answer: Yuri Orlov.
Luca immediately called Mariggio for more details.
"Yuri is the biggest private arms dealer in New York," Mariggio explained. "Most of his business is overseas, so not many locals know his real identity. Our family's bought weapons from him a few times."
He paused, then asked curiously, "Why are you asking? Planning to buy guns?"
"Something like that," Luca replied vaguely before hanging up.
"So it's Yuri…" Luca muttered, realization dawning. "If it's him, then maybe he really can move the gold."
Yuri was exceptionally skilled at transporting weapons. He didn't technically own a private air force, but he had access to an entire fleet of transport aircraft. More importantly, Yuri was practically a lapdog of the U.S. military.
Aside from his own private dealings, he also handled certain arms transactions that the U.S. government couldn't conduct openly, using those deals to stir up political and military conflicts around the globe.
Just as the Gambino family manipulated power struggles among New York's crime families, certain figures in the White House manipulated conflicts between nations. It was all about consolidating power and resources. Yuri was a mid-sized but extremely valuable piece on that global chessboard.
In another timeline, he had relied on those connections to repeatedly escape Interpol. There had even been a moment when he was finally arrested after more than a decade of investigation, only for a high-ranking military official to appear out of nowhere and shut the case down. The Interpol agent who had pursued him all those years had his entire moral compass shattered in that moment, realizing the biggest arms dealer in America was protected by the very government that paid his salary.
Luca didn't know how far Yuri's story had progressed in this world, but with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yuri's business should be thriving.
The fact that he was willing to cooperate with Simon and transport the gold meant he was confident he could get it out of the country.
"So they still managed to create new problems for me…" Luca said with a faint smile.
Compared to Yuri, though, Luca himself was the biggest wildcard in Simon's entire operation. Hundreds of billions in gold were now effectively under Luca's control—like a defenseless beauty stripped of all protection. Whoever wanted it just had to pull the trigger.
Simon's biggest mistake had been assuming Luca was after the gold. That assumption had been flawed from the start.
"We need to put some pressure on Simon."
---
At the same moment,
Yuri was resting in an office inside the warehouse, coordinating with his men and reviewing incoming intelligence. Suddenly, an urgent message came through—one of his subordinates had been caught red-handed by the police, and gold had been discovered beneath the oil. The man had tried to send a warning while fleeing, but he'd been captured shortly afterward.
Simon was stunned.
Losing a single truck wasn't a big deal—the real problem was that the police now knew there was gold hidden inside the tankers. That would make every step from here on out exponentially harder.
He immediately rushed to Luca.
"Dove! We have to move—now! There's no time to melt the gold. We need to get it out of here immediately. The police already found gold in one of the tankers!"
"Damn it!" Luca's face darkened. He slammed his fist onto the table, stood up, and jabbed a finger at Simon. "I warned you to follow my plan! Now your people have dragged me into this mess. If you'd listened, none of this would've happened. And now that your men screwed up, don't come crying to me—my share of the gold is still safe."
A wave of regret washed over Simon. He couldn't help imagining how things would've gone if he'd simply followed Luca's plan.
"Dove, we had a deal," Simon said in a low voice. "You promised to help me."
"I did," Luca sneered. "But did you ever actually trust me? No—you went behind my back and worked with someone else. So don't expect me to pay for your mistakes."
"We're in this together!" Simon snapped. "One of my men's been arrested, and he knows you're working with me. If he talks, you're going down with me. Nobody gets the gold—you'll either rot in prison or spend the rest of your life on the run like a sewer rat!"
Luca's sneer only grew colder. "So you're planning to burn bridges with me now? Is that how you treat your friends? I got you out of Albany, arranged a garbage ship to take you out of the country, and did everything I could. You're the one who ruined it."
Simon's expression darkened. Doubt gnawed at him. If he had just followed Luca's plan…
He took a deep breath. "Look, Dove, I don't want us to fall out. But I need your help now. The tankers can't move anymore. I need another way to transport the gold. Working together is still the best option for both of us."
At that moment, Luca's phone rang. As he listened, his expression turned increasingly grim—dark enough to look like it could drip water.
He hung up and glared at Simon.
"Look what you've done! The police are heading straight for the refinery. Simon, you're going to get me killed! We need to run—right now! I can't let them catch me here."
With that, Luca bolted out of the room. Simon hesitated for only a moment before chasing after him, regret clawing at his chest. Maybe he really had made the wrong choice.
He jumped into the passenger seat as Luca floored the gas.
"Dove, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I never meant to sabotage our partnership."
"Save it," Luca snapped, gripping the wheel. "Let's survive this first."
__________________________________________________________________________
"System, redeem [Motorcycle Phantom] skill"
[Skill Fragment -20]
[Ding! "Motorcycle Phantom" has been redeemed successfully.]
__________________________________________________________________________
They had barely cleared the refinery gates when multiple police cars boxed them in.
John McClane leaned out of a squad car window, shouting through a megaphone, "Pull over! Stop the vehicle! If you don't, we'll open fire and blow your head off!"
The moment Simon heard McClane's voice, rage surged through him. He pulled out his pistol, ready to fire—but the car suddenly swerved and drifted, throwing off his aim.
With practiced precision, Luca slammed into two police cars, forcing a gap and blasting straight through the blockade.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets chased after them, sparks flying from the rear of the car as rounds struck metal.
Inside one of the police vehicles, McClane glared at Hobbs. "You really shooting? What if you hit Dove?"
"I'm aiming at the rear," Hobbs replied calmly. "How else is Luca supposed to gain Simon's trust if he doesn't put himself in real danger? Enough talking—step on it. I'm going to fire a few more rounds. Even if I don't kill that bastard Simon, I'll at least blow out his knee."
After a brief pause, McClane pulled out his own pistol.
"Yeah? Then I'm shooting too. That asshole had me running all over New York defusing bombs like a clown. I'm not letting him off that easy."
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As usual, each 100 Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters