America's King of Poetry

Chapter 8 Artest

Russell was driving a black Toyota Camry on the road. After reaching the Washington Bridge, there were more cars and the road gradually became congested.Arthur puts the pistol in his pocket and chats with Russell about Tony Luciano.

"When did you start working for Tony?" Arthur asked. In his impression, Russell appeared one day suddenly, and then followed Tony all the time. Every time he saw Tony, he would see Russell's tall and stern figure.

"In 1985, 10 years after my death, I met Tony in San Francisco." If Russell's words were heard by others, they might say that he was talking crazy, but Arthur knew that Russell was not lying.He could feel that every word Russell said was true, and this feeling was reassuring.

"Later I followed him to New York and worked as his bodyguard, beating and killing people for him. I don't know why I followed him. I just wanted to find a job. I met Tony in a bar and helped him solve some troubles. Then he asked me if I had anything to do. I said no. I wanted to find a job. He asked me if I knew guns. I said I had fought in Vietnam. He said it was very good and he was willing to pay me a lot." Russell recalled the past in 1985. After he came to New York with Tony , It is true that he got a very high salary, but he didn't spend a penny to enjoy it. Even Tony didn't know where Russell spent the money.

He has no credit cards, no bank accounts, a fake driver's license, no wife and children, no property.He always only uses cash, lives in a small apartment in Manhattan, and no one knows what he does in his spare time except protect Tony and do things for him every day.He doesn't love women, doesn't take drugs, doesn't drink, always wears a black coat, and exudes the breath of death.

Tony is very satisfied with him, such a subordinate is really reassuring, and Russell is really skilled.Because of Russell's existence, Tony gained a firm foothold in the Luciano family. The price was that the Luciano family declined from the top five families in the past to the weakest one. Their internal friction was too severe.Russell killed quite a few people in the process, and he was absolutely loyal to Tony.

But Tony didn't know that Russell was not really loyal to him...

"Do you remember what happened before 1985?" Arthur asked, wanting to know more about Russell.

Russell shook his head and said, "I don't know. I feel like I had a dream. When I woke up, it was already 1985, on the beach in San Francisco. I can't remember many things. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even know I was dead."

"Then maybe I shouldn't be there."

"No, you should show up, I still have a lot to do."

"A lot, Mary?"

"I don't know, who is Mary?"

"That's what I want to ask you too...Okay, let's drive to Carlow High School."

The car passed the Washington Bridge slowly, then passed through the streets of Manhattan, and then went up to the Brooklyn Bridge.The bridge built in 1883 has been in use for more than 100 years. It is as large and strong as a steel fortress.Arthur opened the car window, the rain outside had dropped a lot, and the steel girders of the bridge deck were flying past in front of him.

Yu Peng is trying to sort out the memories left in Arthur's mind, hoping to find some clues to guide his next plan.Tony must be killed, but what should Abramo do?His nickname is Captain.Arthur took out the 6 of Clubs from his pocket, on the back was the poem "Captain".Arthur knows this poem because it is so famous. It was written by the American poet Whitman in memory of President Lincoln.

Could it be that he, like Russell, will communicate with himself after reading the poem?Arthur wasn't sure, but it was definitely worth a try.

The car crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and arrived in Brooklyn.Some people say that Brooklyn is a slum. In fact, Brooklyn is very large. There are many small agglomerations. There are good rich communities and violent and criminal slums. But overall, it is much better than Queens next door.

There are more than 250 million people in Brooklyn, and there are more than 800 schools, two-thirds of which are public schools and one-third are private.Most private schools have good conditions and abundant resources, and only accept children from families with a certain social status, because the tuition fees are very expensive.Some of the public schools are high-quality, with good teacher resources and strict selection of students.The rest are some so-called "inner city schools", distributed around the slums, specially recruiting children from the slums, free education, happy education, so that they have a place to squander their youth hormones, learn some basic cultural knowledge, the quality of education and the environment can be imagined.

Gina's Carlow High School is such an inner-city school. Since living with Arthur, she has to take the subway for more than an hour to go to school every day.After dancing club and cheerleading, take the subway back to Manhattan.It wasn't a safe ride, especially when Gina was growing and getting better and better, and it was dangerous for a pretty white girl to walk around a Brooklyn ghetto.

Gina had always wanted Arthur to pick him up after school, but Arthur kept citing work as an excuse for not wanting to come, which annoyed her.But last night Arthur seemed to have become a lot gentler, and when they woke up in the morning they were hugging and sleeping together.Gina didn't have the heart to wake Arthur up. After getting up, she made a bad breakfast, left a note, and went to school by herself.

After school at three o'clock, Gina stayed at school. There was a basketball game at school today.

LaSalle Preparatory School from Rhode Island is going to challenge Carlow High School. Gina is a member of the school's cheerleading team. She changed her clothes in the locker room early and went to the court to warm up.Cheerleading girls in short skirts and tights, holding flower bouquets.Gina is the most conspicuous one. At the age of 17, her body is very mature. When she puts on tights, she exudes hormonal charm almost all the time. Before the game starts, she firmly attracts the attention of the audience.

A girl like Gina will of course be missed by many people.But Gina has always claimed that she has a boyfriend from an Italian gang, which makes many disciples fearful.But after a long time, no one has seen her so-called gang boyfriend, and the eagerness to move naturally came up again.

During the warm-up, someone kept whistling towards the field, trying to get Gina's attention.There was also a sullen little black man who got a camera from nowhere and secretly took pictures of Gina.But Gina has been dancing on the stage, and he still can't capture the shots he wants.

After finally finding a good angle, the cheerleaders exited and the game was about to begin.

In a place like Brooklyn, basketball, like hip-hop, is a tool for many poor people to survive and even change their destiny.This is a hot spot for basketball. Superstars such as Bernard King, Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Mullin were all born in New York. There are also the most legendary streetball masters here.Of course, there are still a small number of people who can really come out of this land. Many people are stuck on the threshold of talent, and it is difficult to take a step up.

The players at Carlow High School obviously don't have much talent, and everyone's limelight on the court is overshadowed by a 15-year-old boy from LaSalle Preparatory School-his name is printed on the back of his jersey, "Artest", Artest.

Artest was born in a poorer Queens area. Before entering high school, he once formed a team with his good friends Lamar Odom and Elton Brand to participate in the AAU summer league.As a result, the combination of the three of them achieved a record of 67 wins and 1 loss in the league, and all three of them received the attention of famous basketball schools.

As a result, Artest, who was born in the slums of the street, was able to wear the school uniform of LaSalle High School to represent the school in the competition. Ordinary black children in this school had no chance to go.

The 15-year-old Artest showed his talent, strong body, and omnipotent all-around performance in the game. Those senior players who are two years older than him are not his opponents at all.He tore through Carlow High's defense like a little beast.Because he performed so well, the Carlow High School players who played at home were very shameless, so their defensive actions became more and more serious.

Finally, Artest was brought down by his opponent during a layup. Artest immediately got up from the ground and rushed towards the defender. The two scuffled together.The conflict broke out, and the players on both sides came together and punched each other, and the referee's stern whistle couldn't stop it. Such scenes are all too common in Brooklyn basketball games.

The spectators on the sidelines began to throw objects on the field. These bastards who feared the world would be most happy to see such a scene. Some people started yelling and swearing at the people of Casal High School with obscenities.At this time, the cheerleading girls are the most innocent. They are standing on the sidelines, cheering for the players one second, and something has already hit their heads in the next second.

The girls screamed as the scuffling players rushed toward the cheerleaders, who were out of control and disoriented.This time, a girl next to Gina yelled, "Who touched me!" It seemed that someone was taking advantage of the chaos to play tricks.Gina quickly retreated to the corner of the court with the girls.

Chaos spread, and some spectators joined in the fight, but Artest was undeterred, fighting the Carlow High School men one-for-ten, one-for-one.He grew up on the street, and fighting was a common occurrence, and he was not afraid of it any number of times.

The scene became more and more chaotic. Gina just wanted to escape, but she didn't know where to go. She and a few girls could only huddle together to prevent being scattered and trampled.The school supervisor, teachers, and referees are powerlessly maintaining order, but they have no good way to deal with this carnival. They have already called the police, but it will take time for the police to arrive.

At this moment, Gina felt someone pulling her arm, she screamed in fright, and when she looked up, she saw Arthur.

"Arthur!"

"It's me, I'll pick you up from school." Arthur pulled Gina into his arms, wrapped his arms around her lightly, and led her out of the chaotic corner.

"How did you come?"

"You left a note asking me to pick you up."

"I thought you wouldn't come."

"Then you don't need me?"

"No, I need it." Gina was freed from the chaos, and when she saw Arthur coming to pick her up, her chest was filled and surrounded by a kind of warmth and sweetness, all the violence and noise suddenly became irrelevant to her, and she didn't have to be afraid anymore.

At this moment, Arthur saw a stunned black boy fighting with several people on the court. He was besieged, but he showed no fear.Arthur found his face familiar, then squinted at the name on his back, "Artest"...

"Damn, isn't this charity, the world, peace? Really peace."

Arthur finally met someone he knew in this time and space, a celebrity, a famous violent NBA star in the future, Ron Artest, who later changed his name to charity world peace.

So Arthur drew his revolver from his bosom.

"What are you going to do?" Gina asked in horror when she saw Arthur pull out a gun.

"Let everyone calm down."

Arthur then pulled Gina into his arms, put his arms over her ears, pointed the gun to his head, and pulled the trigger.

After a "bang" gunshot, the chaos on the field came to a standstill, followed by many people scurrying around, looking for places to lie down or hide.

Because shootings happen every day, the people of the US Empire have developed a conditioned reflex to automatically fall down when they hear the sound.

Artest was the only one on the field who didn't hide. He stood there like a manic bull, looking for the source of the gunshots, and then he saw Arthur with Gina in his arms.

Arthur was also looking at Artest, thinking, "This gunshot is too fucking loud! It's deafening my ears!"

(End of this chapter)