Just an hour ago, Luca finished his own business and tracked down Sonny Black to handle the gold situation.
Inside a Long Beach port warehouse, Luca found Phil and Dennis tied to chairs, their faces beaten into bloody pulps.
"These the guys?"
"Yes, Mr. Pastore. These are the two. And they're actually made men in the Bonanno family!"
"Excuse me? They are 'our friends'?"
Inside the Mafia, made men are officially introduced as "our friends," while associates are introduced as "my friend."
That subtle difference in phrasing signifies a massive distinction.
An associate must be vouched for by a made man. By saying "my friend," the made man claims responsibility for the associate.
Saying "our friend" means the person is fully inducted into the Mafia—they are family.
"Yes. I checked the books and confirmed it with the other soldiers. These two attended sit-downs as made men a few years ago."
"Then why the fuck did they rob Mr. Bonanno's gold?"
"Fact is, they had absolutely no idea the gold belonged to Mr. Bonanno. Their primary target was Billy the Wild Dog's jewelry stashed in Pacific Standard Bank's vault. Mr. Bonanno's gold was a complete accident."
Luca was absolutely speechless. He knew Billy the Wild Dog—a black market jeweler who specialized in fencing stolen goods.
"So this was a massive fuck-up? Fuck! Why drag me into this? Sonny, handle it yourself. Just get the gold back!"
Saying that, Luca turned to leave.
"Mr. Pastore, most of the gold has already been recovered, but a small portion is still missing. They split that cut with a partner. I wanted to ask if we should keep hunting it down."
Luca frowned slightly.
"How much did you recover?"
"Around eighty percent."
"I see..."
Luca fell into deep thought. Given the Bonanno family's current crisis, escalating this wasn't smart. Drawing FBI heat right now would be a disaster.
"Sonny Black, let it go. We don't have the manpower to keep chasing this!"
Sonny Black nodded.
"What do we do with these two soldiers?"
Luca looked back at the two bloodied men. Although Phil and Dennis didn't intentionally rob Old Martin, the Mafia is a violent syndicate. It requires brutal, unforgiving rules to maintain absolute fear and loyalty among its members.
Especially during highly unstable times like this.
So, despite being known as the family peacemaker, Luca made a ruthless call.
"Chop off one hand each, then strip them of their buttons and kick them out of the family."
Hearing that, Phil and Dennis instantly thrashed against their restraints.
Losing a hand meant they could never work physical jobs again. Being stripped of their buttons meant losing the syndicate's protection and support.
Yeah, despite being a violent syndicate, the Mafia actually takes care of its own, especially its aging veterans.
After all, the Mafia was born from Sicilians banding together to rebel against oppressive laws.
Unfortunately, no amount of struggling would save Phil and Dennis. They were completely at Sonny Black's mercy.
Luca left. He was incredibly busy—he had to oversee Francis running the family business and constantly mediate the brewing conflict between Felice and Antonio.
Once the underboss left, Sonny Black prepared to deal with Phil and Dennis.
He started by pulling the gags out of their mouths.
"Hold on, boys. I'm going to call a doctor over to watch you. Make sure you don't bleed out."
Since Luca didn't order them killed, Sonny Black would make sure they survived.
"Mr. Sonny, I have something to report! Shorty Pietro was the one who told me Billy the Wild Dog's jewelry was at Pacific Standard Bank! He definitely set us up to hit the bank!"
The moment his mouth was free, Phil immediately dropped intel on Sonny Black.
"Shorty Pietro? Isn't he with Alberto's crew? Phil, if you dropped that info earlier, I might have dug deeper. But Mr. Pastore made it clear—this matter is closed."
Sonny Black looked genuinely disappointed. He actually had beef with Alberto. If he could cause Alberto some massive headaches, he absolutely wouldn't pass it up.
Unfortunately, with the family in turmoil, Luca absolutely wouldn't tolerate Sonny Black and Alberto starting an internal war. So, the trail had to end here.
Sonny Black loved playing the violent, impulsive brute, but he was actually incredibly smart. Otherwise, he never would have earned Old Martin's trust.
"Mr. Sonny, please let us go! We'll give you all our money!"
Dennis desperately tried begging, but to Sonny Black, their stash was basically pocket change.
"Save it! You better hold onto that cash, because making money is going to be incredibly hard for you from now on."
Just as Sonny Black pulled out his phone to call a mob doctor, it rang.
Checking the screen, he saw David Abbot's name.
"Weird. Why is this guy calling me now?"
Despite his confusion, Sonny Black answered the call.
"David Abbot? What do you want?"
"Mr. Sonny, I have intel on Clown!"
That instantly made Sonny's eyes light up.
"Oh? Seriously?"
"Absolutely! He's investigating his missing crew members. He suspected me, but I managed to completely bullshit him!"
On the other end, "David Abbot" deliberately lowered his voice, acting like he was terrified of being overheard.
"Interesting. He's at your place right now?"
"Yes! Mr. Sonny, can I trick him into going to your location?"
Sonny Black licked his lips. True, Luca ordered him to drop the investigation.
But if Clown delivered himself right to Sonny's doorstep, Sonny absolutely wasn't going to turn him away. After all, bagging him was still a massive win.
Sonny Black glanced around the warehouse at his five fiercely loyal soldiers, every single one packing an Uzi submachine gun.
With that kind of firepower, taking down one guy in a clown mask was a guaranteed lock.
No matter how you slice it, it was six against one. The advantage was entirely his!
"Send him. I'll be waiting for him at warehouse XXX on the Long Beach port! Mr. Abbot, you've done incredibly well this time!"
"Hehe, Mr. Sonny, I've always wanted to maintain a solid working relationship with the Bonanno family!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Abbot. I'll make sure Mr. Pastore hears exactly how helpful you were in this matter."
"Then I eagerly await your good news."