Manhattan Reborn 1978

new York.

It's approaching midnight~

Kennedy International Airport.

The private plane flying from London landed at the airport smoothly.

David and others took several cars to different destinations according to the plan they had discussed on the plane.

Maggie, the little secretary, followed Lawrence, the head of the DA security company, brought Jackal and a very stable-looking plainclothes soldier, and drove to LaGuardia Airport in a car.

There is a direct red-eye flight to Maggie's hometown, Virginia, which is about to take off~

Mike Bai and Giovanni drove Lilith to the Blue Crystal Hotel.

There, little girl Laura was still waiting for her. .

Lavis is responsible for sending Cui Yingying home first, and telling Susan on behalf of David that he will go back later~

Black Mike drove David, Zina, Elena and the gardener through Queens to the Gold Coin Hotel where Otis Parker was staying.

. . .

Gold Coin Hotel, fourth floor.

Otis Parker very enthusiastically invited a few people to sit down, looked at Elena Mesa's face, paused for a few seconds, and smiled.

"It's past midnight and it's Christmas!"

"Would you like some supper prepared by the chef?"

"No~thank you!"

"We all ate on the plane..."

David smiled and waved his hands, looking at the bar next to the wall of this spacious living room, where there was a wine cabinet with a lot of good wine.

He walked to the wine cabinet and found a cocktail shaker and the drinks he wanted. While trying to make some cocktails for a few people, he told Odis Parker about Cohen and Rambo and their various experiences in Italy.

Otis listened to David's story, glanced at Elena Mesa who kept her head down and remained silent, stood up and walked to David's side, sat on a high bar stool, waited until David finished speaking, and smiled.

"When I was in Paris, I heard the name of David Romano~"

"Some people say that he is the underground emperor of Naples. He is cruel and ruthless, but he is surprisingly organized and never kills people casually."

"Hehe~"

"That sounds contradictory, right?"

"But that's exactly what David Romano left on people."

Otis saw David's hand mixing the drinks, paused slightly, and continued with a smile.

"When you cooperate with him, business matters will basically not produce the results you don't want to see~"

"but!"

"Judging from your tone just now, I'm probably guessing~"

"Why did the Sidrich family send representatives to Naples, but the words came from the mouth of David Romano...?"

David shook the cocktail shaker in his hand, glanced at Mr. Gardener sitting in the corner, and said, "Can you help me see Elena off and go back to rest first?"

The gardener stood up after hearing this and nodded without any expression.

Elena didn't look at anyone. She stood up with her head lowered and strode to the door. When she held the door handle, she looked back at the ground and said to David.

"These days... I won't go anywhere!"

"Oh well!"

"..."

Otis Parker and Xina watched Elena Mesa leave~

There were only three of them left in the whole room.

Zina stood up and took off her coat, walked to Odis Parker, sat on another high stool, and quietly watched David's fancy bartending performance.

"Well~"

"Please taste!"

David found three wine glasses, one large, two small, and poured two small glasses of cocktails for Odis and Zina, leaving a large glass for himself, and said with a smile.

Zina took the wine glass, looked at David and smiled: "Merry Christmas!?"

"Hahaha ~ Merry Christmas!"

"Ding ~"

The wine glasses of the three people collided in the air, making a crisp sound.

David looked at the large wine glass and took a sip to taste it. .

Then he drank a whole glass of cocktail up to his neck~

Otis put down his wine glass, looked at David who was taking a slow and deep breath, the smile on his lips subsided, and whispered.

"On the day of the engagement ceremony...you have been restraining yourself!"

"Lilith, Laura and Tilda were all drunk, but you only drank two low-alcohol cocktails..."

“It’s stressful, right?!”

"Hush~huh~"

David felt as if a fire was burning in his stomach after being quickly washed by high alcohol.

He lowered his head slightly, took a few deep breaths, and said.

"Yes~"

"Hehe~"

Odis tilted his head and glanced at Xina, raised his glass and drank the cocktail, smiling.

"If you want to drink, we'll accompany you!"

"...Huh~ No need!"

David let out a long breath, floated his hands on the bar, looked directly into Zina's concerned eyes, and smiled.

"Sorry ~ I lost my temper!"

"..."

Zina flattened her mouth, made a look with high and low eyes, tilted her head and said to Otis.

"He cares about this...calling it a gaffe?!"

"Hahahaha~"

Otis laughed and spread his hands, making the same head-tilt and eyes-high expression, and replied: "You know, he just graduated from high school~"

“Occasionally I use the wrong words, but I think that’s understandable!”

"...Hahaha~" Zina laughed, raised her wine glass, and smiled at David with it.

"I kind of know... why is your nickname Dumb!"

"No matter what happens, you like to keep it in your heart and not say it out loud..."

"As time goes by, everyone will become stupid!"

Zina looked at David with a wry smile, raised her neck and drank the wine in the glass, then leaned forward to pick up a bottle of whiskey from David's hand, filled her own glass, and sighed.

"Unconscious or subconscious actions that the brain cannot control are called gaffes!"

"You clearly didn't want to control your emotions anymore and wanted to use alcohol to temporarily relieve the psychological pressure."

"Your understanding of the word "gaffe" is completely different from ours~"

David lowered his head with a more bitter smile, grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the bar, walked around to Zina, put his arm around her shoulders, and said to Otis.

"Let's... chat while drinking?"

"Okay!" Otis smiled and took a bottle of wine from the bar, making an invitation gesture to David and the other two.

. . .

living room

Otis held the wine bottle in his hand, relaxed and lay back on the single sofa, tilted his head and looked at David who took a sip of whiskey, and smiled.

"You drink like this...what else can we talk about?"

"..Haha~"

David casually handed the bottle to Zina beside him, and smiled as he watched her take a few big sips "boldly".

"It's okay~"

"I know my drinking capacity~"

"Whoo~"

"Actually, what you want to say...I can roughly guess what you want to say."

"It's precisely because I can guess something that I feel... extremely stressed!"

Zina wiped the corners of her mouth with her fingers, put the wine bottle into David's hand, and said with a smile: "You want to say... you know the truth, you don't need us to help you explain anything..."

"You just want to have a drink and relax and talk about what's on your mind, right?"

"..Yes!"

David tilted his head and raised his eyebrows at Zina, his eyes fell on a painting far behind Zina, and whispered.

"I don't remember...who said something~"

“Human beings’ desire to explore the universe is as strong as their desire to explore their own hearts!”

"But when people find that their exploration of the universe is a career that cannot be completed in a lifetime..."

"They will feel stupid. Very stupid!"

"Stupidity follows almost all of us throughout our lives~"

"No matter who you are, you will have done some stupid things in your short life, which will make you laugh or cry, sigh, gnash your teeth, and regret it extremely."

"Just like in the past few days, I often scold myself in my heart. I feel like I am almost crying because of my stupidity..."

"But there's nothing for me to worry about in the first place..."

"Because this is the normal state of life ~ I am so stupid!"

David took a deep breath, tilted his head back, looked at the ceiling with half-closed eyes, and murmured.

"Only when I realize my own stupidity can I be more motivated and bid farewell to stupidity!"

"Only when I realize my ignorance will I be in awe of the unpredictable nature of life!"

"Most of the things in our lives are not decisions we can make by ourselves~"

"Including our origin, our gender, personality, appearance, IQ, etc., they are all given from the moment we are born..."

"Also, most of the people we meet in life, the things we experience, the achievements we make, and the setbacks we suffer are beyond our control."

"It's like...everyone around me likes me very much~"

"But when I want to join the game and become one of their competitors, will they still like me?"

Odis Parker had a sarcastic smile on his lips, the scene of the engagement ceremony reception appeared in front of his eyes, and he whispered.

"Who can resist the temptation of interests and control their desires?"

"Yes, I have!"

David curled his lips and smiled, then continued: "Greater interests, more temptations!"

"They make people become more greedy and temporarily put aside immediate interests and temptations~"

"until.."

Zina leaned against David with her eyes wandering, hugged his arm tightly, and continued: "Until they can't extricate themselves from it, they don't realize it~"

"Hehe~"

David raised his eyebrows at Zina approvingly and sighed: "A few months ago, I was just a bartender working in a bar!" "

"Now I'm dreaming of getting a piece of the super big gambling game..."

"I'm not stupid...what am I?"

"I just got carried away by greater benefits and more temptations... That's why I fantasize about success, right!?"

Zina raised her head slightly, staring at David's side face without blinking. An impulse suddenly surged in her heart, and she reached out to wrap her arms around his neck and kissed him. .

David was confused by Zina's "raid". .

His eyes widened, feeling the "grievance" on his lips and Zina's hot breath. He raised his hand and was about to push her away, but he subconsciously put his hand on her shoulder. .

Next to him, Odis Parker, who was suddenly being sprayed with "dog food", raised the bottle with a strange expression, took a big sip, and muttered.

"That's what you call... Lose your temper!"

"..."

The two people who were "kissing passionately" laughed after hearing his words.

David tilted his head back, looked at Zina who was close in front of him with a blushing face, and smiled: "Are you going to do something stupid?"

Zina licked her lips, rested her head on David's chest, and asked with a soft smile: "Are you going to be stupid?"

"Forehead.."

David chirped a few times, put his arms around Zina's shoulders, kissed her hair, and whispered: "Sorry!"

"..Um!"

"Phew~ I lost my temper!"

"Oh.."

"Next time you lose your temper, don't tell me!"

"..Why?"

"Because... I'm afraid I can't help it!"

Odis Parker, who had "dog food" sprinkled all over his face again, turned his head to the side, took a big gulp of wine, and couldn't help but complain: "I can't help it... Why do I have to endure it?"

"What's wrong with this...the more I think about it, the weirder it gets?"

"Uh..." David's face turned red and he was speechless.

"..Hahaha~"

Zina laughed and hit David's stomach with her hand, burying her face in his arms. She was laughing so hard that tears were about to come out~

. . .

After half an hour.

David, let’s go~

Odis Parker sat back in his old seat, looked at Xina calmly, and asked.

"you.."

"Do not ask!"

"...Okay~"

Odis shrugged his shoulders knowingly, picked up the bottle again, took a sip, and muttered to himself.

"When I was young, if I had half the intelligence, half the self-control, and half the sobriety of David... I wouldn't be like what I am now~"

Zina also picked up the wine bottle behind her, took a big sip, and sighed: "You drank too much!"

"...Yes~"

“There’s never any bullshit if..what if!”

"..."

Zina's eyes wandered towards the window, looking at the thick night outside, and she couldn't help but smile.

----

Bronx, Northwest.

Near the Hudson River, near an old abandoned apartment building.

Carew, who still had some bandages on his face, stood in the shadow of the dark alley, staring closely at a dark window in the apartment building in the distance.

10 minutes, two 10 minutes.

Half an hour, one hour~

When Karu felt that his whole body was about to be frozen, he was about to leave.

Suddenly, there was a burst of fierce gunfire from the apartment building in the distance.

"Bang, bang bang~"

"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"

The gunshots were very dense and short.

Karu stood there, staring at the window without blinking, leaning against the wall, gently moving his arms and legs.

5 minutes, 10 minutes.

A quarter of an hour, half an hour.

Karu decided not to wait any longer!

He tightened his collar with his hands, took out his pistol, and after checking it carefully, walked slowly towards the apartment building in the shadows.

. . .

The apartment building was quiet.

In the dark, Karu followed his own memory, slowly, gently, and groped his way to the door of a room on the third floor.

He hid his whole body against the wall and listened into the room for a while, then took a deep breath, took out the key he had prepared, slowly inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it.

"Squeak~"

The rusty hinges of this door made a harsh noise under Karu's push~

In the room, there was a sound of rapid breathing + light coughing + panicked footsteps, causing Karu to stop what he was doing.

He stood outside the door, took a big step back quickly, huddled his body at an angle in the room that was impossible to shoot at, raised his pistol, and asked in a low voice.

"Who's where!"

"...Me!" A weak man's voice came from the room.

Karu moved his fingers a few times, bent down and touched a piece of "object" from his feet, raised his head and asked the room.

"Shall I come in now?"

"...Okay~ Come on!"

"I... am almost dying!"

After Kalu heard this, he leaned against the wall, leaned back, walked up two steps with his feet deliberately one after the other, then quickly and silently retracted his feet, and threw the "miscellaneous things" in his hands at the door of the room. . .

"Bang bang bang bang, bang bang bang~"

A series of seven shots, the bullets were all scattered towards the place where Carew might appear. .

Karu took a deep breath of the cold air mixed with the strong smell of gunpowder. In the darkness, he slowly placed the pistol at the door, coughed twice deliberately and groaned vaguely.

"You＠#￥..."

"..."

In the room, no one responded.

Carew held the gun steadily in his right hand and pointed it at the dark room. He took out another pistol from his waist with his left hand. With the sound of his "struggle", he turned on the safety and let out two hoarse sounds of pain.

"Cough~haha~"

"..Haha~"

There was a chuckle in the room~

The man's voice was filled with mockery and ease as he said, "Send us away tomorrow night..."

"But he deliberately made it clear in front of us... To change the password of an overseas bank account, personal information must be verified by phone~"

"Then you hide in the darkness outside and wait for us to kill each other before you come back... right?!"

"Hahaha~"

"Karoo, Karoo!"

"Do you think we will believe your lies?"

"..." Karu tried hard to control his heartbeat, recalling the overall layout of the room in his mind, gently turning his hand a little, and patiently keeping quiet.

The man in the room seemed to be proud for a while, but did not get a response. He said to himself with a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

"I'll beat you to death like this... I'm really giving you an advantage!"

"After Xinni met you, he took his family and ran away in a hurry. So far, there is no news."

"He should be in hell already... waiting for you happily, right?"

"If it wasn't for the money... we should have tortured you to death!"

"You're such a deadbeat!"

"..." Karu's breathing gradually became steady. The hand holding the gun moved up a little bit, stopped at a height, and waited silently.

The man in the room was quiet for a long time. .Neither made any sound.

Until Karu decided to try firing a shot first and take a gamble, there was a rustling sound in the room.

Kalu closed his eyes slightly and listened carefully. After counting in his mind for a few seconds, he decisively adjusted the muzzle of his gun and fired several straight shots into the room in rapid succession. .

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"..fxxx!"

"..."

"Haah~haah~" The sound of a man falling to the ground and a weak gasp in pain were heard in the room. .

Kalu silently retracted his right hand, shrunk his body and slowly took two steps back, whispering.

"Wait for me in hell... don't worry!"

"I'll come to you!"

"...Hehe~hehe~"

A man's intermittent sneer came.

Carew took two more steps back, pointed his guns at the door of the room, hunched over, and shouted as he prepared to go downstairs.

"Merry Christmas, man!"

"...fxxxyou!"

"..."

Kalu silently and gently retreated to the first floor. In an open bedroom, he dug out an old box from the garbage in the corner.

It contained a full box of gasoline bottles and two military grenades. .

----

a new day.

The morning sun rises slowly in the east.

Today is Christmas!

Karu stood in front of the third-story window of another old apartment building, holding a telescope in his hand and staring closely at the street dozens of meters away diagonally across.

In front of an old abandoned apartment building.

Two firefighters, who kept spouting obscenities, strode up to several police officers with a body bag in their hands, threw it on the ground, and complained.

"These damn guys picked Christmas day specifically to go see God?"

"fxxx~"

"You are wrong!"

"They are going to hell to have a barbecue Christmas with the devil!"

"Haha~" the firefighter raised his hand, took off his hat, and gave a thumbs up to the police officer who was covering his nose.

"You are still the most professional..."

"...Hahahaha~"

A group of firefighters and police officers standing next to the body bags covered their noses and laughed.

In the meantime, some people were pointing at each other and joking. .Merry Christmas!

. . .

Karu pursed his lips, put down the telescope, turned his gaze to the rising sun in the east, tore off the bandage on his face with his hands, and whispered.

"Merry Christmas...Sinny!"