America's King of Poetry

Chapter 46 Matthew

Matthew hurriedly took a few photos behind the beech bushes, then removed the lens of the camera, wrapped it in his coat, and carefully left the bushes and returned to a nearby car.

He opened the trunk, stuffed the camera in, opened the door and returned to the car, took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, and took a puff to ease his nervousness.After a while, someone came and knocked on Matthew's car window, it was Wood.Matthew opened the car window, and Wood waved away the smoke from the car, and said to Matthew: "Hey, don't you want to go in and have a drink? A rare opportunity."

Matthew flicked the cigarette ash out of the car window, licked his teeth with his tongue, shrugged, and said, "No, I don't like places with many people. Besides, someone needs to watch outside."

Wood nodded, walked to the other side of the car and opened the door, sat in the passenger seat, asked Matthew for a cigarette and started smoking.Wood, who is in his 40s, is a potbellied man with blond hair combed back and his hairline pushed far back.He has a pair of small triangular eyes, and you can't see his eyes unless you look carefully, just as most people can't see that he is an important role in the Gandolfield family-the core personnel who control the drug trade in Lower Manhattan.

He's not the head of the family, as you can tell from the color of his hair, blond, not Italian.But he is the key person, the middleman in the distribution of goods, the middleman in dealing with the family's senior management and the street gangsters.He's the lube, the microphone, the power broker who squats in front of the boss, but the world will never work without someone like that.

He was very honored to be invited by Jackie to the party at home, but Wood was very clear-headed, and he knew that being close to power would give people the illusion that they also had power.A broker must clearly understand his own position, a person who can be replaced at any time, a person who dances on the edge of danger.At the party, he was very careful not to show his edge or steal the limelight, and he didn't even drink too much wine.

You don't know how many lives are carried on those plain-looking, even kindly Italian guys, and how many guns are stuck in their waists.In front of those people, Wood considers himself a small character, and that is not the world where he should stay for a long time.So he went outside, to the curbs around, and found Matthew, and it was only with Matthew that he felt he could really relax.

Matthew was introduced to the Gandolfield family by him five years ago. He started as a low-level thug and horse boy, and now he has become the family's inner bodyguard, responsible for the security around the mansion.Occasionally, the above will send some tasks to him to complete, in short, he can be regarded as a member of the Gandolfield family.The two met by coincidence. During an arrest by the FDA, Wood jumped out of the window to escape and met Matthew in an alley.Matthew, then 20, helped Wood get off the trail of the FDA, and Wood left a phone call to Matthew as a thank you.

Half a year later, Matthew found Wood by phone, hoping that Wood could find a job for him.Wood researched his background. He dropped out of school early, worked in a garage, and had Nebraska parents with a gambling habit.The education level is not high, the physical fitness is very good, the money is short, and there is not much concern, which is in line with the gang's employment standards.After passing a series of trials, Matthew became a member of the Gandolfield family's large but loose gang organization.

After five years of doing it, this thin young man is bold and cautious, and has surprisingly good luck.For people who are in gangs, sometimes luck is more important than anything else.He rose through the ranks quickly, breaking through the streets in three years.You know, some people can only hang out on the streets all their lives, never wear a suit, and don't know which day they will be shot to death.

Of course, if you put on a suit, you will also be shot to death.

The two smoked silently in the car, and the feasting and feasting at Gandolfiel's house seemed very far away from them, far away in the sky.

After smoking a cigarette, Wood turned on the car radio and tuned to the sports station, and the voices of Groom Albert and Marty Glickman came from the speakers:

"BJ-Armstrong was fouled by Harper. It was a fierce foul. BJ was obviously not happy with this action. But there is no way, this is the strategy of the Knicks tonight, fierce, rough, not allowing the opponent to have any easy scoring opportunities..."

"...BJ made the steal, he took the ball off Harper, got it to Pippen, Pippen's layup... oh, what a nice dribble escape, the last finger-roll..."

"...a strong charge from Charles Oakley, with 34 seconds left in the first half, the Chicago Bulls maintained their lead over the Knicks...52:42, the first half ended, the Bulls led by 10 points, the Knicks had some trouble..."

The radio is broadcasting tonight's game between the Bulls and the Knicks. At the end of the first half, the Bulls lead the Knicks away by 10 points.This is beyond many people's expectations. Without Jordan, the Bulls are still suppressing the Knicks. This makes New York fans can't help but worry. Will they still not be able to climb the mountain of Chicago this year?

During the halftime break, Wood turned off the radio, cursed, and said, "Shit, I thought Jordan would win this year without the Knicks. Looking at the ghost in the first half, he might not be able to beat the Chicagoans! TMD..." Wood cursed a few foul words. With the start of the playoffs, many people are gambling, and Wood is of course no exception.He bought the Knicks to win the Bulls by more than five points tonight, and he also bought the total points of the first half, and now he has not won.

Matthew is very calm. His long horse face is sunken inward, his eyes are drooping, and his curly and messy hair hangs on his head. From time to time, he has to smooth the hair on his forehead with his hands to avoid blocking his sight.He looks like a drug addict, but in fact he is indeed contaminated with drugs, which is very common in gangs, using gambling, drugs, and sex to control the people under his command.

"The Knicks will win tonight, it's just the first half. Pippen's performance is too good to be normal." Matthew responded to Wood in a flat tone, and he also gambled.In addition to basketball, football, rugby, and horse racing are all his betting objects.In Wood's eyes, he is an out-and-out drug bug and gambler. Such people are the most trustworthy, because they can't hold anything else in their minds except for these two things.

Wood didn't care about Matthew's words. Winning or losing a game didn't matter to him at all. He just played for fun and didn't live by gambling.After smoking two cigarettes, he opened the car door, walked through the beech bushes, and walked back to Gandolfiel's mansion on the lawn, continuing to plunge into the world of criminals.

As the night gradually deepened, the cheers in Gandolfer's mansion gradually weakened. Most of the people were drunk, returned to the car with the help of their subordinates, and left in the car.There is always an end to the banquet, and the big party of the Italian gangs in New York came to an end. In silence, the underground world of New York seemed to usher in peace again.

Jackie showed extraordinary courtesy to Arthur. Usually, after the banquet, he would not see off the guests. He would go back to the upstairs room alone and close the door to enjoy the tranquility after the noise.Tonight, he took Arthur out of the house, sent him to the side of the road, and thanked him for cooking for the banquet tonight.Arthur pretended to be flattered, until now he didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Jackie's gourd.

Jackie saw Wood on the side, and snapped his fingers to greet him to come over, and Wood stepped forward to wait for orders.

"Send someone to send Arthur back, and he must be sent home to ensure that he arrives safely. If anything happens, I will blame it on you, Wood." Jackie pointed at Wood and said, making Wood sweat and nodded repeatedly.But Arthur felt that Jackie said this to himself, he just went home, what accident could happen?Unless, this is Jackie's warning to him.Jackie must know something inside the Luciano family.

It can be seen from the fact that Jackie mentioned the TV.

"I can follow Montoro's car..."

Arthur wanted to shirk, but how could he beat Jackie, Wood led Arthur to Matthew's car, opened the door and stuffed Arthur into the back seat.Wood sat in the passenger seat and turned to Arthur, "Hey boy, where do you live?"

"Little Italy."

"Little Italy, which family are you from?"

"Luciano."

"Oh... Luciano, your last name is Luciano?"

"Yes, but I don't work for the family, I'm just a cook."

Wood nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Wood was not interested in knowing why Jackie cared so much about a cook.There are so many unbelievable things about Jackie. If you want to figure out everything, you may need nine lives to consume.

There was silence in the car, and Matthew started the car and drove in the direction of the Washington Bridge.He turned on the radio in the car. The game between the Knicks and the Bulls went into the fourth quarter. The Knicks, trailing by 10 points in the first half, counterattacked with their meat grinder-like defense in the second half.

"A jumper from the free throw line by Starks... HIT! Foul by Paxson! Patrick Ewing draws the double-team and Stokes makes the big shot. John Paxson's hand touches Starks a little bit, just a little bit..."

As Starks hit a 2+1 success, New York's counterattack became more and more violent, and the Bulls felt a little overwhelmed.

The three of them listened intently to the radio commentary, and Matthew looked at the road from time to time. He had already driven near Lincoln Park, still some distance away from the Washington Bridge.Both sides of the road are lined with old zinc trees, most of which were planted before the 30s. After the Great Depression, no one planted this kind of tree anymore because it lost too many leaves.And one of the reasons they were transplanted from the South was that their wood was perfect for railroad ties, but Americans don't extend their railroads anymore.

The branches of the zinc tree were very scattered, and the moon hid behind the branches, revealing only a vague halo. A gust of wind blew by, and some clouds blocked the moon.There were street lights on both sides of the road, but after the moonlight was covered, the street lights seemed to disappear.Matthew felt strange in his heart, he had driven this road many times, why there was no street light, why did it become so dark?

The headlights became the only guide, and the two long light tubes resisted the darkness, as if pulling the vehicle to crawl in the dark mud.After driving for a while, Matthew felt that something was wrong. There should be a right turn ahead, why hasn't it arrived yet?The car suddenly bumped, as if it hit something, Wood's head hit the window glass, he covered his head and cursed.This guy isn't wearing a seat belt.

Matthew looked in the rearview mirror. It was dark and he couldn't see anything. What happened?

When he regained his senses and looked forward, he suddenly found that the headlights had shone on a few trees, and there was no road ahead!

Matthew hurriedly made an emergency brake, but the car still crashed into a tree. Wood, who was not wearing a seat belt, hit his head on the windshield. The glass was cracked, and the airbag pressed against his body, preventing him from further damage.Matthew also hit the airbag. He fastened his seat belt and felt that his body was about to fall apart, and his head was even more dizzy.

He unbuckled his seat belt and glanced back, the back seat was empty.

Where is Arthur?Where did Arthur go?

He quickly opened the car door and looked around, but it was all pitch black.There is no road in front of the car, no lights behind the car, and there is not even a moon in the sky.The darkness brought fear and enveloped Matthew. He ran out of the car and ran towards the back of the car. He wanted to see what he had crushed.He ran out of breath, just like the road he had walked for many years, every step was extremely difficult and painful.

But there is something in his heart that supports him, supports him to run down, walk down, and even climb down.

"Uh!"

Matthew screamed, tripped over something, and fell hard on the ground.He got up with difficulty and came to the thing, which was soft, as if it was a person.Matthew approached, and at this time there was light, like moonlight, and he saw clearly what tripped him up. It was a corpse, a female corpse, a female corpse that Matthew recognized.

"Martha, Martha..." Matthew burst into tears when he saw the corpse. This was his sister Martha, who was lured by drug dealers eight years ago and died accidentally after taking a lot of drugs.He stepped forward to pick up his sister's body and gently stroked her face. She was still so young. They had left poor and boring Nebraska together and came to New York. Matthew believed that they would have a beautiful future, but she was ruined by drugs like this.Even if she doesn't die, she will be controlled by drugs, have to sell her body, and eventually become a soulless body.

Matthew is a simple and stubborn young man. Since then, he has decided to eradicate the drug dealers in this city. Even if this goal can never be achieved, he is willing to spend his life fighting them.

The light shone on him, the pure white and flawless light, was it moonlight?

Matthew raised his head and looked towards the sky, but saw an extremely huge eye, also looking at him.

(End of this chapter)