To be honest, Luca was genuinely surprised by this. The police had really gone all in this time—they had actually arrested Whitey. Although it was only a detention with no court verdict yet, bail had been temporarily denied.
When Colin called, his tone was firm. "It's most likely the Frenchman who sold him out. The police and the Frenchman are working together."
"Are you sure?" Luca replied with a faint smile. "Don't forget, Dickman has a mole inside the alliance, and based on your earlier deduction, he probably has more than one. What if it was one of those moles who betrayed Whitey?"
Colin frowned, clearly troubled. The biggest headache was that Dickman had planted someone inside the gang, and he had no idea who it was or how deep they were embedded.
"Dove, will this affect your plans?"
Luca thought for a moment before answering calmly, "First, help me find out exactly what happened between Dickman and the Frenchman. I want to know who Dickman's mole is."
That was the only variable Luca couldn't pin down. He already knew Billy was undercover, but beyond that, there were too many unknowns. And unknowns had a nasty habit of ruining everything if you let them simmer too long.
On the night Whitey got arrested, William secretly came to Luca to discuss a way to "rescue" him. They met inside Luca's villa.
"My brother was betrayed," William said with absolute certainty. "The police are playing hardball. They're clearly dragging this out until after the election, just to block him from running for chairman."
An open conspiracy—blatant and shameless.
Luca leaned back slightly. "Does your brother know who betrayed him?"
"I don't know." William shook his head.
"Your people selling each other out to the cops… that's a big taboo, isn't it? The code of silence doesn't exactly forgive that kind of thing."
So there really were more moles besides Billy.
Luca narrowed his eyes slightly, but quickly let the thought go. Digging into every detail would just waste time. In the end, it all came down to one simple question: who benefits the most?
Luca wanted a puppet. The police wanted one too. The only uncertainty was whether they'd end up backing the same candidate.
"I'll see what I can do," Luca said, sounding mildly troubled. "But the police have a lot of evidence this time. Getting your brother out won't be easy."
William fell silent, his eyes dark with calculation. If Luca couldn't help, then he'd have to look elsewhere.
For example… the FBI.
He and his brother had a contact there—a friend who had long wanted to bring down the Anguilo family in the North. If things got desperate, William could push his brother into witness protection in exchange for flipping on the North Side Mafia.
It was a last resort—and something he absolutely couldn't tell Luca.
So instead, he shifted the topic.
"Dove, don't you have a problem with the Russians?" William said. "I've got something useful—there's a blackmail and prostitution scandal involving the Massachusetts Democratic leader. The Russians supplied him with several underage girls."
Luca glanced at him, expression unreadable.
You and your brother really are cut from the same cloth… you just don't pull the trigger as often.
If he remembered correctly, in the original timeline, that Democratic leader went down for extortion—not street-level stuff, but targeting major corporations. Strikes, legislation, pressure tactics… all to squeeze out benefits.
After he fell, William stepped right in and climbed the ladder in one clean move.
"Give me the intel," Luca said with a faint smile. "I'll handle the rest."
That night.
A coffee shop in the South District.
Robert sat at his usual spot, ordered a coffee, and opened a book. This time it wasn't The Old Man and the Sea, but Don Quixote. As he read, he occasionally glanced up, quietly observing the room.
Not long after, a beautiful young woman walked in. The two chatted like usual, talking about dreams and life.
Then, of course, reality showed up to ruin the mood.
A harsh car horn blared outside, and at the same time, the girl's phone lit up.
Slavi.
Her expression stiffened as she answered reluctantly.
"You've got a client," Slavi's voice came through, impatient.
"I don't want to go. Can't you send someone else?"
"He asked for you specifically. Move. Don't keep him waiting."
She sighed, hung up, fixed her makeup, and turned to leave.
Robert noticed her hesitation and said gently, "If you don't want to go, you don't have to."
She glanced at the cars outside, then at the book in his hands, and forced a pale smile.
"This isn't a world with knights… this is my world."
Robert opened his mouth, about to say something—
The door opened.
"Maybe there aren't knights," a calm voice said, "but there are still people willing to put on battered armor, pick up a spear dulled by the rain, and ride a rusted warhorse."
A man in black stepped inside, wearing a gentle smile.
Luca.
Tall, composed, and radiating an effortless presence.
The girl froze. She had never seen someone like him before—handsome, yes, but more than that… there was something else. Something steady.
She instinctively stepped back, and Luca casually walked in, closing the glass door behind him.
Her phone rang again.
Before she could answer, Luca reached out and took it.
"The client's getting impatient!"
"I'm Luca."
There was a pause on the other end.
Then Slavi's voice came, cold and annoyed. "Hey, Dove, what the hell are you doing? Got your eye on one of my girls?"
"She's not yours anymore."
Silence.
Then again: "She won't do. I'll send you someone else."
"I want her."
"…Fine. Tonight only," Slavi said, voice low. "I'm giving you some respect, Luca. Don't push it. She knows what she is. You can't keep her. I'll have someone pick her up tomorrow."
Click.
The call ended.
Luca handed the phone back to the girl. "You're free tonight."
A panel flashed briefly.
[Ding! You have temporarily protected a juvenile prostitute from being abused by a client.]
[Gain Skill Points x4]
[Gained 2 Skill Fragments]
[Remaining Skill Fragments: 244]
[Character Card Discovered: Alina (Unlocked)]
[Rank: D]
[Source: The Equalizer]
[Skill: None]
[Bond: Stranger]
Outside, the cars drove off.
Alina stood there, clutching her phone, staring into Luca's eyes.
"Thank you… do you know Slavi?"
"As you can see," Luca shrugged lightly, "we're not exactly friends."
He found a seat, gestured for her to sit, and started asking questions—simple ones on the surface, but precise. Which girls the politician had used, what habits he had, details others would overlook.
After getting what he needed, he stood to leave.
On the way out, he smiled at Robert. "Funny running into you again. You live around here?"
Robert nodded. "I come here sometimes. The coffee's good."
"Then I guess I'll be coming more often."
And just like that, he was gone.
Alina sat back down beside Robert, curiosity written all over her face.
"Do you know him?"
"We've met once," Robert said simply.
He hesitated, then asked, "What did he want?"
Alina thought for a moment before answering, "He helped me tonight… gave me one night of freedom."
She smiled faintly.
"I take back what I said earlier. Maybe there are knights in this world… they just don't stay long."
Robert fell silent, piecing things together.
One night of freedom?
"That's enough for me," Alina added softly. "Tonight, I can sit here, talk, listen to music… that's already more than enough."
Looking at the faint light in her eyes, Robert felt something stir.
Luca had stepped in—just for one night—and that alone had changed something.
What about him?
He had lived his whole life dealing in violence. Maybe… just maybe…
It was time to act.
The next night.
A bar in the North District.
Robert walked in, disguised, blending seamlessly into the crowd.
Not long after, the news reached Luca—through Leon.
Luca crossed out Slavi's name from his list.
"Those Russians are finished."
Next would be Pushkin.
And then, one by one, every Russian outfit in Boston.
The butterfly effect might have twisted the timeline beyond recognition… but some things didn't change.
Robert's sense of justice.
And the fate of men like Slavi.
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I'm back from vacation, and my body is absolutely thrashed. I just finished a 185-mile (300 km) bike tour through the mountains with my friends. Seventeen hours on the road—I'm exhausted!
Anyway, huge thanks to Zodiac for being my P Knight once again. If you're enjoying the story, please consider supporting me on P Site/OrbisTranslate.
As always: Every 100 Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters!