America's King of Poetry

Chapter 26 Barmond

After a while, Arthur finished the tortillas on his plate.

Tortilla is the most basic and characteristic food of Mexicans, just like Chinese steamed buns.Vegetables, roasted pork slices, and some fresh pickled cactus strips were rolled in the middle, which was very appetizing and delicious. Arthur licked his lips after eating. Now this body has a lot of food. The big guy consumes a lot every day and eats a lot.

Seeing Arthur so calm and composed, the frizzy Carlos calmed down, sitting on the sofa and biting his fingers.He and Arthur wanted to say something, but he hesitated to speak. Arthur only focused on telling the old lady how delicious this tortilla was.Although the old lady's English is not very good, she knew that Arthur was praising herself, and her face was full of smiles.

At this time, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door, and Carlos jumped up from the sofa in fright, and hurriedly hid in the room.Arthur asked the old lady to take the two children to the room, and there was no need to worry about him outside.

"Dong dong dong", there was a rough and rapid knock on the door, and Arthur motioned for Flo to open the door.

Flo opened the door cautiously, and three big men rushed in through the door, knocking Flo aside.Two of the three were wearing white and green T-shirts and were of strong build.Behind the two was a short middle-aged man with curly gray hair and wearing a khaki short-sleeved shirt. He was the leader of the Mexican gang in this area, Balmond.

Balmond looks ordinary, like a Mexican uncle on the street, but he is quite famous in Jackson Heights.He has a hand in all kinds of underworld business, and at the same time pays special attention to the protection of his Mexican compatriots, which is very similar to the Italians, which is one of the reasons why he can grow big.Once the merchants and protectors under his rule are violated, Balmond always solves the problem himself, which shows that he attaches great importance to protectors.

Of course, Balmond is not really that righteous, and he is often picky about the persimmons.After entering the door, he saw Arthur sitting on the sofa, tall and strong, with an Italian face.And hearing from the owner of the coffee shop that he had a gun, Balmond wondered if it might be someone from the Italian Mafia.If so, he really needs to be more careful. He cooperates with the Italian mafia in business, and the Italians have always stretched their hands very long.

"My friend, I heard that you beat someone up in the cafe. Can you tell me what happened? I'll comment on it." Balmond spoke to Arthur. He was known for being "reasonable" in Jackson Heights, and he was a cautious person.Mexican gangs have always been known for their viciousness, but Balmond is a different kind. He relies on his brains, talks about rules, and looks like a big boss.

Arthur got up from the sofa, and the two bodyguards immediately stood on guard. One of them put his hand behind his waist, and would draw his gun if Arthur made any changes.But Arthur was not afraid, he walked to the front slowly, two bodyguards stopped him, Balmond motioned them to get out of the way, he saw Arthur's appearance, and he felt a sense of familiarity in his heart.

After the two moved away, Arthur stepped forward, gave Balmond a hug, patted him on the back, and followed up with the etiquette of kissing on the cheek, which made Balmond look confused.After saluting, Arthur put his fingers together on his left hand, pointed to his chest, and said, "Uncle Balmond, do you still know me? I'm Arthur, Arthur Luciano."

Balmond frowned and looked Arthur up and down, and soon realized, with a smile on his face, he said, "Oh, it's you, you are Luther's son? Luther-Luciano's son!"

In fact, when Arthur heard the name "Balmond" mentioned by the boss at No. 55 coffee shop, he already remembered that a Mexican friend of his father was also named "Balmond".This Balmond had attended Luthor's funeral, and his dark skin stood out in a crowd of Italians.Later, both mother and son were also helped by Balmond, but it was almost ten years ago.

Arthur was betting that this Balmond who came to make trouble was his father's friend. When he just opened the door and came in, Arthur recognized him at a glance, and it was indeed that Balmond.He was fat, old, and gray-haired, but Arthur had a good memory, and many things were engraved in his mind from childhood to adulthood.Arthur was very strange when he first crossed over. This body is really like a camera, recording everything he experienced in his memory.

Balmond and Arthur hugged again, Flo's hanging heart was relieved, and Carlos in the room poked his head out, and found that Arthur knew Balmond and changed his plan to escape by jumping out of the window.

"You look so tall and handsome. I thought you looked familiar just now. You and your father look so much alike!"

Balmond received Luther's favor back then, and he smuggled to New York 20 years ago to work in a Mexican restaurant.In order to earn more money, he secretly engages in drug trafficking while working part-time, and acts as a pony for bottom-level sales.As a result, he was caught once and put in the police station, where he happened to be locked up with Luther.Luthor, who has a bold personality, became friends with him, and was released on bail with Balmond.Then Balmond followed Luther to eat some soup and became the drug distributor of the Luciano family in the Jackson Heights area.

After Luther's accidental death, Tony came to power, and the cooperation between the Balmond and Luciano families was cut off.In order to survive, Balmond had to switch to the Gandolfield family, and with the cooperation of the Gandolfield family, he gradually grew up and became one of the most powerful gangs in the Jackson Heights area.

The two sat down in the living room and talked about the past, because Arthur was still young when Luther passed away. Although Luther had supported Balmond, after all, it had been more than ten years, so there is no such thing as a deep friendship.But there is something about Arthur that Balmond is very interested in. Recently, there have been many rumors about the Luciano family on the road. In addition to the assassination of Abramo, the underworld in New York is raging.At such times, all parties will be cautious, hoping to preserve themselves in the chaotic situation, while destroying the enemy and strengthening their forces.

"I heard that there have been some changes in your family recently. Tony has disappeared? Montoro has become the new boss?" Balmond asked a question that he was very concerned about.Although the power of the Italian mafia is not as good as before, they still hold a decisive position in New York. They still have a lot of resources, especially some resources in the political and police circles, which are out of reach of some small gangs below.

Arthur shook his head. He first signaled Flo to go to the room to accompany the child, then leaned closer to Balmond, and said, "Tony is dead. According to the news, it was the Gandelfield family who did it. They have the intention of unifying New York, and they have already attacked several families, including Abramo in New Jersey."

After hearing what Arthur said, Balmond felt a little puzzled on his face. Although the five major families were fighting each other openly and covertly, they generally lived in peace and did their own business.Unless there is a conflict of interest, a "war" will break out, but they will not think about destroying a certain family.After all, the lips are dead and the teeth are cold. The five major families were established back then in order to coexist for a long time.

However, Balmond has cooperated with the Gandolfield family all the year round, and knows that the boss of the Gandolfield family, Jackie Gandolfield, is an ambitious and ruthless person.He has always hoped to revive the Italian gangs and return them to their golden age glory.It may be an exaggeration to say that New York is unified, but Jackie has been doing things to attack other families and share the interests of other families.

"Are you doing anything for the family now?" Balmond asked Arthur. Meeting Arthur this time made him think a little bit. The so-called three caves of the cunning rabbit, Balmond felt that he couldn't just hug one thigh of the Gandolfield family.

But Arthur shook his head and said, "I didn't do anything for the family. I'm just a chef. Because my blood is not pure, I can't join the club."

Although Arthur is Luther's son, if he wants to enter the inner circle of the Italian mafia and truly become a member of the family, his blood must be pure.Irishmen and Jews are not eligible to enter the inner circle, including Russell, who is only Tony's bodyguard, not a corner head.

Arthur is half of Chinese descent, and it is theoretically impossible to enter the inner circle. It can only be said that Luther and his mother were true love back then.

There was a little disappointment on Balmond's face. Arthur noticed it, and immediately added: "But Montolo was my father's good brother back then. He has always taken care of me, and I can talk to him. You also know Montolo, right?"

Balmond nodded, he remembered Montoro, that short and stocky guy, who bailed the two out of the police station, was Montoro.Seeing that Arthur was able to speak, Balmond did not hide it, and said, "I hope to have the opportunity to meet him. He was the one who bailed me out of the police station back then. I want to thank him."

Of course, this is just an excuse. Balmond wanted to see Montolo, mainly because he wanted to reconnect with the Luciano family and put more eggs in a few baskets.In the past few years, the "taxes" of the Gandolfield family in the drug trade have been getting higher and higher, which has greatly damaged Balmond's oil and water, and Balmond has already had a different heart.

"A few days ago, two of my subordinates were carrying a package of goods. When they passed the Queensbridge gas station, they were intercepted by the police. They threw the goods in the grass on the side of the road. They disappeared later, and some bastard picked them up... If he dared to sell the goods and I found out, he must let me taste the taste of the bullets, which caused me to lose a lot of money... Even if the goods are gone, Gandolfiel still has to draw a lot of money from here!"

What a coincidence, it turns out that Balmond's men lost the package that Trull picked up.

From Balmond's words, Arthur smelled a chance to give the Gandolfield family a chance to hit.

Arthur approached Balmond, held Balmond's hand, and said, "Uncle Balmond, if the Gandolfield family takes away too much, based on your friendship with the Luciano family, Montoro can give you a very, very favorable price."

Balmond just complained casually. Hearing what Arthur said, he was slightly moved.But he didn't think Arthur had the right to speak in the family, so he asked with an attitude of giving it a try: "How much discount can it be?"

"Maybe, not only will you not be charged, but you will be able to make up some money."

(End of this chapter)