Chapter 11: A New Home
In Josh Kane's impression, Turkey was most famous for its kebabs and ice cream. However, after looking at the menu, he realized that there were actually quite a variety of dishes, though the primary cooking method was still grilling.
But there was no sign of the globally popular rotating kebab. Although that dish is called Turkish kebab, it was actually invented by a German in 1971.
For the main course, he ordered a skewer of swordfish, a skewer of beef, and a serving of grilled eggplant. That was all he ordered since Turkish portions were quite generous.
Margot kept it simple, opting for a rack of lamb and a salad.
Once the food arrived, Josh could hardly wait to dig in. His breakfast had only been a hotdog bought from a street vendor on his way out, and he was starving by now.
While Josh was leisurely enjoying his meal with the beautiful Margot, a group of people in the southern part of Chicago was stirred up because of him.
It was the same old warehouse, but instead of being deserted, it was now crowded with more than a dozen people.
Among them was a middle-aged Italian man with a gloomy expression, holding a cup of coffee, sitting grandly behind a desk.
He was Eddie Scapa, a high-ranking member of the Chicago Mafia and the third most important figure in the Moretti Family, one of the Mafia's three major families.
The original owner of the warehouse, Mike, a black-market car dealer, was kneeling in front of the desk, next to the car thief Joe. From their bruised and swollen faces, it was clear they had received some "attentive care" from Eddie’s men.
The atmosphere in the warehouse was heavy. As a high-ranking member of the Mafia, Eddie Scapa was undoubtedly an anti-social figure. Back during the Prohibition era in the 1920s, he had followed the current head of the Moretti Family, Carlo Falcone.
At that time, the two of them were about the same age as Josh.
After nearly twenty years of hard work, they had risen from small-time street bootleggers to top Mafia bosses in Chicago, with countless lives taken under their hands.
Faced with such a ruthless man, both Mike and Joe were terrified.
Mike especially regretted ever getting involved in this business.
As the two waited nervously, another one of Eddie’s men walked into the warehouse.
“Boss, we’ve got news. Someone saw the car leave the city from the west and hasn’t come back,” the man whispered into Eddie’s ear.
Eddie nodded and then stood up, walking over to Mike and Joe.
“My men have found out. It seems you weren’t lying. The other party isn’t local and has already left Chicago. Finding the car again is going to be difficult,” Eddie said slowly.
“Boss Eddie, since everything’s been cleared up, can I go now?” Joe asked with a forced smile, trying to please him.
But Mike looked at him like he was an idiot.
Did he really think Eddie would let them go just because things were cleared up? How naive.
If the Mafia were reasonable, they wouldn’t be the Mafia.
“Heh, go? Sure, that car is worth eight thousand dollars. Mike will cover half, and you’ll cover the other half. Hand over the money, and you can go,” Eddie sneered, laying out the conditions.
“Huh?” Joe was dumbfounded. Four thousand dollars? He was just a small-time car thief, where would he get that kind of money?
“Huh, what? That’s right, I can’t find the car thief, but the car disappeared while in your hands. You failed to protect it, so you’re responsible,” Eddie continued.
“Don’t say I’m unreasonable. I’ll give you a week. I don’t care if you steal or rob, get me the money. Of course, if you can find the same model of car, that works too.”
“If I don’t see the money in a week, I’ll use you two to fill the lake!”
“And don’t think about running. I’ll have people watching you and your families. If you try to escape, I promise, you won’t be the only ones to die. Joe, I know you don’t have family, but you do have friends. You wouldn’t want to drag them into this because of your problems, right?”
Eddie patted Joe’s face menacingly before turning and walking out of the warehouse, followed by his men.
Only Mike and Joe, their faces pale, were left behind.
That was eight thousand dollars.
For Mafia bosses, that amount was nothing more than pocket change.
But for Mike and Joe, it was different. They weren’t even official members of the Mafia, just fringe players feeding off its scraps.
For people like them, saving up that kind of money would take years, even if they didn’t eat or drink.
And they only had one week…
“What are we going to do?” Joe asked Mike, his voice trembling.
In his view, he was the most innocent party. He had just been fencing a stolen second-hand car and hadn’t made much money. Now he was caught up in this mess.
“I don’t know. Figure it out yourself!” Mike avoided Joe’s pleading gaze, his eyes dodging.
Unlike Joe, Mike was also on the fringes of the Mafia, but as a black-market car dealer, he had some savings. He couldn’t come up with eight thousand dollars, but he could manage four thousand if he sold everything he had.
For him, the fact that Joe was sharing half the burden was a stroke of luck. If Josh had only robbed him, Mike would have been the one with a headache.
Now, he might be hurt financially, but at least he wouldn’t have to die.
As for Joe, Mike didn’t care about him at all.
Of course, if Mike had known that it was Joe’s car theft that had attracted Josh’s attention, he might not have felt so lucky.
Seeing Mike avoid his gaze, Joe knew he couldn’t expect any help from the old fox. He could only drag his bruised and battered body, still aching from the beating, and walk out of the warehouse, dejected.
Watching Joe leave, Mike sighed. To come up with four thousand dollars in such a short time, robbing a bank might be the only option. Of course, there were other ways, like stealing, robbing, or smuggling, but those usually took time to turn into cash. A week simply wasn’t enough.
Josh, meanwhile, was completely unaware of what had transpired in the warehouse. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.
After all, the whole thing had started because Joe stole his car. Actions have consequences, and in the adult world, that’s just how things work.
At that moment, Josh was touring his new home, led by Margot.
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