America's King of Poetry

Chapter 21

On March 1994, 3, this long day just passed.On the third day Arthur came to this time and space, he witnessed the deaths of four people, Vera, Casey, Tony, and Larry; he also found the people corresponding to the four cards, himself, Russell, Abramo and the little girl who was unwilling to speak.

It was a day of fantasy and confusion. When he was sitting in the passenger seat of the Russell Camry, driving on the highway at two o'clock in the morning, the darkness on both sides of the road seemed to be oppressing endlessly.This is a small road without street lights. The only lighting is the lights on Russell's car. The car lights cut through the darkness and keep moving forward, looking for a road with a long and endless future.

When you get to Brooklyn, Manhattan, everything lights up, and the lights around the Hudson River are brilliant. This is a city that never sleeps.The car drove to the vicinity of the Little Italy area, and several people parked separately.Parting, Arthur told Russell and Montolo not to do anything for the next two days, as if nothing happened.Wait for the people below to feel something is wrong, and then move slowly.At the same time, be careful of other families and other gangs in Manhattan, don't give others a chance to take advantage of it.

And the little girl, whom Arthur tried to communicate with all the way, but she said nothing, just nodded and shook her head.Montoro advocated handing her over to a social worker, of course Arthur wouldn't do that, it's my fucking jack of diamonds.He explained that the social workers would definitely ask where the little girl came from, and if they couldn't explain clearly, they would definitely call the police, which would be troublesome.

How can gang members bother the police?After thinking about it, Arthur decided to ask Abramo for help to identify the little girl.As for the life problems of the little girl, Arthur asked her to follow Russell, and he reassured himself more.Of course, Russell didn't seem very happy. He was a bachelor and gang killer with a little girl of unknown origin, which seemed strange no matter how he looked.But apart from him, there is no more suitable candidate. It is inconvenient for Arthur and Gina to live together, and taking care of Gina is enough for him to have a headache.

After everything was in order, Arthur went home alone, and after a day of adventures, he still felt energetic.No wonder being able to talk about the girlfriend of a rugby team is really talented and energetic.After opening the door and returning home, Gina was already asleep, and she didn't lock the door tonight.Because Arthur told her in advance that he has something to do today and will come back very late.

After taking off his coat, Arthur went to the bathroom, turned on the light with a snap, and looked in the mirror.He touched his rather handsome face, it was really a good skin.A part of the scab formed from the wound on the face that Russell scratched with the umbrella had fallen off, exposing the new pink flesh inside.The speed of this healing is really astonishing, has something changed in his body?

Arthur didn't know, didn't think too much, squeezed some toothpaste and started brushing his teeth, and had to go to work in the restaurant tomorrow morning.Arthur planned in his mind that after Montoro seized the power of the family, he would rely on Russell to manipulate the family's affairs internally, and Abramo's assistance externally to grab his due benefits.He wants to take stock of the family's assets and hand over the black part to Montolo to continue the business, after all, the people below have to eat.The white part should be stripped out as much as possible, and it should be separated from the black part, and only by doing a legitimate business can it truly become bigger and stronger.

As for how to become bigger and stronger... Arthur didn't think too much about it. Anyway, there must be a way before the car reaches the mountain. Of course, the more important thing is to find out the secret behind the playing cards...

Arthur brushed his teeth while thinking, the white toothpaste foamed hot, and Little Italy was quite quiet in the middle of the night, only the sound of brushing his teeth could be heard.After brushing his teeth and rinsing his mouth, Arthur washed his face, but just after he finished wiping his face, the sound of "rustling" came from his ears again.He has finished brushing his teeth.

In the quiet night, the "rustling" sound was particularly harsh. Arthur put down the towel in his hand and listened carefully. The sound came from the living room.

He slowly opened the door of the bathroom, and saw a faint light in the living room, the TV was turned on somehow, and the rustling sound came from the TV.

Arthur swallowed, and walked to the TV in the living room, black and white snowflakes shone on the screen, and the ear-piercing rustling sound filled the eardrums.Arthur thought that when he was watching the game that day, the commentator on the TV program suddenly talked to him. Is it real or a dream?He still hasn't figured it out.

Arthur was about to step forward and turn off the TV when the snowflakes on the screen disappeared suddenly, and it became the CBS TV studio, and it was Dick Stockton again.

"Good evening, audience friends. Welcome to tonight's NBA live broadcast. Tonight I will bring you the 1994 NBA regular season game. The Boston Celtics played against the Philadelphia 76ers. I am the host Dick Stockton..."

It seems to be a replay of tonight's game video, but Arthur doesn't think so. He looks at the screen and waits, waiting for the change to appear.

Dick Stockton was eloquently analyzing the situation of the two sides in this game. He stopped in the middle of the talk, looked up, looked at Arthur through the TV screen, licked his lips and said, "Good evening, Arthur."

It really wasn't a dream, the person on TV really talked to me.Arthur was convinced of this, but he was relieved.For a person who has experienced time travel, there is nothing he cannot accept.Moreover, it is better to take the initiative to have someone come to you to explain the situation than to guess slowly by yourself.Although this person is the person in the TV.

"Good evening, Dick." Arthur replied as calmly as possible, talking to someone on the TV for the first time.

The man on the TV smiled slightly, and his smile made Arthur look familiar.

"I'm not Dick, but that's all right, and you're not Arthur."

Arthur was startled, he actually knew that he was time-traveled?

"Don't worry, I don't know who you are, and you don't need to know who I am, because it doesn't matter." Stockton seemed to guess Arthur's mind, and added.

"Then what is important?" Arthur didn't want to know who was on the TV. He wanted to know what he was going to do and what he could do when he came to this time and space, and who sent him to this time and space and his body.

"I can't tell you." Stockton shook his head and said to Arthur in a firm tone.

Arthur scolded Gan Liliang in his heart, can't you tell me that you came to scare me and talk to me in this way?Are you sick?Whether it is a human or a ghost, you can just say it. Even if you ask me to overthrow American imperialism and plant red flags all over the world, I can still try to do it. Whether it succeeds or not is another matter.

"When God created human beings," Stockton said in a serious tone, "he didn't create language, because God and human beings are connected. When language was created, the gap between God and human began to arise. Human language can only approach the truth, but never reach the truth. Therefore, I can't tell you, because I can't tell you."

Arthur didn't know what the hell this guy was talking about, and if he lived inside a television, he'd want to threaten him with pulling the plug to tell the truth.

"Then what can you tell me?" Arthur continued to ask without giving up.

"People today cannot think and communicate without language, but poetry is the closest language to God, and if you understand it, you will be close to God again." Stockton continued, "There is a saying in the East called 'Only what can be felt but not expressed', I think you will understand."

I understand your size, I don't understand at all, what can only be understood but not expressed in words, the more Arthur looked at it, the more he wondered if there was a bald monk behind Stockton.

"The only thing I can tell you is, do what you want, and when you find those who are like you, it will all be clear."

Arthur finally got a more affirmative sentence, and he wanted to ask more, but the TV turned off by itself with a "click".The living room returned to silence and darkness, only the static sound of the TV screen "sizzling".Arthur sat on the sofa and thought for a while, then made a decision: Never mind, go to sleep!After two days, I sold this TV at a low price.

……

After that, Arthur lived two days in peace.When Gina wakes up in the morning, there must be a sweet morning kiss. As usual, Arthur will ride a motorcycle to send Gina to school. Gina will get off the car proudly at the school gate, and give another parting kiss before leaving for class.Soon, the rumor that Gina "has an Italian gang boyfriend" was confirmed in school, and no rascal would dare to go up to tease her.

After dropping off Gina Arthur, he went back to work at Luciano's restaurant in Manhattan. Schmidt treated Arthur with respect and did not dare to neglect him. It didn't matter if he was late for more than ten, twenty, or ten minutes.After all, there is a fatal handle in his hands, and Schmidt doesn't know that Tony has been buried beside the creek in Oyster Bay.Regarding the property rights and management rights of the restaurant, it will be left to the lawyers of the Luciano family to deal with.

He would ride to pick up Gina after work, and he would usually go a little earlier to see if Gina was training in the cheerleading squad, or to see if there were any familiar talents on the street courts in Brooklyn.But this chance is quite small, and it is not safe for him to be an Italian in a black neighborhood in Brooklyn, so Arthur decided to wait for Artest's call.

There is also Abramo, who has not been contacted since the separation in East Rutherford.After the assassination incident, he needs time to calm down and find out the real culprit behind the assassination on the construction vehicle.This week the TV news has been reporting a shooting in East Rutherford, the police are involved, and the FBI must be involved.Arthur has seen enough of this kind of thing in movies and TV series.Arthur needs to find a safe way to communicate with him without being noticed by the police and FBI.

It's April, April 4st, which happens to be Friday, the first Friday before Easter, so it's Good Friday.Most Italians in Little Italy believe in Catholicism, so today they celebrate Good Friday.On this day, the stock market in New York will be closed. This is the only day of the year when the market is closed on a non-US federal holiday.

In the morning, Arthur came to work in the restaurant after sending Gina to school. As soon as he saw Schmidt, he said, "Shop Manager Schmidt, I want to ask you for leave. I have something to do today." The guy just arrived at the work unit, and the first thing he did was to ask for leave. When he was replaced by another employee, Schmidt told him to leave immediately.Today is Good Friday, and the Little Italy area will be very busy. Of course, the restaurant business will be very good, and it is the time when manpower is needed.

Schmidt is still thinking about doing business well today to increase revenue, so come here as soon as you come?Schmidt came out of the counter and sternly said to Arthur: "Arthur, if you want to ask for leave, just call and come here, and you have to run again, this is not delaying your work!" This is just and right, and Arthur can't refute it for a while. It is my fault that I came to ask for leave in person.

Arthur could only spread his hands, "I'll pay attention next time."

Schmidt put on a smile immediately, stepped forward to Arthur and whispered: "Arthur, what happened to Tony recently? He hasn't been here for a while, and he hasn't called. What happened to him?"

Arthur shook his head and said, "I don't know. You should ask Russell or Casey. I heard that he has gone to Argentina. Something seems to have happened in the gang. He is going to avoid the limelight."

Russell said that Tony used to travel to Argentina often, so he could use this as a temporary excuse.Schmidt nodded slightly. Anyway, he wanted to know Tony's movements, mainly because he was afraid that he would find out about his loan sharking with restaurant money. If he was not in New York, it would be better not to be.A lot of things are procrastinated, and in the end it just goes away.

After asking for leave, when Arthur was about to leave, the ordering phone in the restaurant rang. The waitress answered the phone, listened to it, and said to Arthur: "Arthur! Someone is looking for you!"

Someone looking for this phone?Arthur was overjoyed, the fish Artest took the bait.

(End of this chapter)