As the time entered June, the traces of cold wind and rain gradually disappeared into the air of New York, and the sun began to slowly radiate its warmth.

For the affluent class living on Long Island, the time to enjoy the sunshine and holidays is just around the corner. In previous years, NBA players such as Ewing, Mason, and Oakley have begun their summer fishing days, sitting at the TV watching Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls snatch a championship.

This year, things have changed a bit, and the Eastern Conference Finals are in full swing. The Knicks faced the Indiana Pacers, who finished fifth in the regular season, and they made it all the way up to the finals by beating the Atlanta Hawks, the first place in the East, in the semifinals to reach the division finals. This is a team with a lot of potential, they are tenacious, and when everyone is optimistic about the Knicks, they actually defeated the Knicks in the battle of Tianwang Mountain and got the series point.

In Game 6, the Knicks defeated the Pacers in Indiana under tremendous pressure and successfully dragged the series into a tiebreaker. Another round of tie-breaks, the Knicks are back in the Big Apple, and they're just one step away from the Finals.

June 5th, the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Near Oyster Bay in Nassau County, Long Island, Arthur is busy helping Dorothy clean up and decorate the villa.

Brush away stains on the pink façade, remove fallen leaves and mud from the pool, and wash away dust and fallen leaves from the cobblestone pavement with water. The deer head in the living room was removed and replaced with a Rothko forgery, and the carpets, curtains, and sheets were washed and dried.

Flo was called in to help, she had a hand in housekeeping, and Arthur was the main one to do the hard work.

The villa is not big, but it is not small, and it took three days to basically clean up. Arthur finally took a long-handled brush to the roof of the villa, wore a gel coat and shoe cover, and brushed off all the mud that had accumulated on the waterproof layer. He worked from the afternoon to sunset, sweating two or three layers of sweat before he finally cleaned the roof.

I don't know if it's the habit left over from his previous life, or if this kind of cleaning work can bring him obsessive-compulsive pleasure, or if it's simply that the labor cost in the United States is too expensive, in short, Arthur, who is sweating, feels very satisfied. He stood on the roof with a brush in his hand, blowing the wind, watching the red sunset fall, and it would be even better if he smoked a cigarette or drank a bottle of beer.

"Mr. Arthur?" Flo poked her head out of the staircase, and the cold beer she brought to Arthur was just in time.

Arthur took a bottle of beer, bit it open with his teeth, sat on the ground, leaned his back against the water tank on the roof, and drank it to the sun.

"It's really happy~" Arthur sighed, at this moment Li Liang also felt free, he didn't have to worry about anything, he just tasted the simple pleasure of being alive.

The fun didn't last long, when a horn sounded downstairs, and Arthur looked down to see that it was Russell's black Camry, and Russell and Anna had arrived. Arthur hurriedly said to Flo, "You can go back and don't tell anyone about your visit." I sometimes visit your family, are the mother and the child okay? ”

Flo nodded repeatedly, "I see, thank you for your concern, they're all fine." ”

"Carlos is okay too, is he serious about his work?"

"Thanks to you, he's done a good job, and he's finally able to fend for himself...... I'm leaving. ”

After answering Arthur's question, Flo hurried downstairs, and she always followed Arthur's orders. But downstairs, she met Anna, who hugged Flo tightly and didn't let her leave, Flo comforted her repeatedly, but Anna just wouldn't give it. She didn't cry or make a fuss, she just hugged Flo's leg and didn't let go.

Arthur saw that there was no way on the roof, so he had to say loudly: "Stay Flo!" Go to the kitchen and help Dorothy and take care of Anna by the way! ”

Flo nodded in obedience, and Anna let Flo go, looking up at Arthur standing on the roof.

For Anna, Arthur is fearful, this "old-timer" born in the 30s, who has never said a word until now, but has the most terrifying power of all. What's even more terrifying is that he can't control this force, and the link established by the two is weak and pitiful, with only one sentence. Fortunately, she is a little girl, and it is good to be fostered in Russell's house.

It was getting dark, and the Luciano villa was lit up again. In the living room, Dorothy and Flo have prepared a sumptuous dinner party to entertain their guests tonight. Following Russell and Anna to the villa was Abramo, who came alone, driving a brown Ford sedan, and when he entered the door, Arthur asked him if he was being followed, and Abramo said that he had changed cars with people on the road, and even if there were agents who were following him, he must have lost them. The last to arrive was Matthew, who arrived at about seven o'clock, and it was already dark, and he parked his Mazda 929 in the bushes near the villa.

"My mission tonight is to come here to spy on you, Jackie's orders." Matthew said this to Arthur, and the two hugged at the door of the villa, and the two had not seen each other since the last time they parted.

In the living room, Arthur closed all the curtains on all four sides, turned on the TV and tuned to CBS, and Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals was about to begin.

"Everyone's here? Isn't Gina coming? Dorothy came up with a bowl of pepper sausages and asked Arthur.

"Oh, Gina is spending the night with her classmates tonight, she's about to go on summer vacation, I think the summer vacation can let her come and live here for a while."

"Of course, no problem."

Dorothy touched Arthur's head, the relationship between the sister and brother is very good now, and the family relationship is still thicker than water. Having a loved one in this plane also made Arthur's heart feel more fulfilling.

Flo brought the last clam soup, wiped her hands with her apron, and said, "I think it's time for me to leave... I'm done with my work. ”

She looked at Arthur, and Arthur looked at Anna, who shook her head, and this was one of the few exchanges between the two.

"Sit down and eat together, you take Anna upstairs after eating later, and we'll talk about things." Arthur pulled a stool for Flo, and Flo sat down to dine with them.

Arthur, Russell, Abramo, Dorothy, Matthew, Anna, six people, because of a mysterious force, came together and rallied around Arthur, forming the most loyal and intimate organization. The organization continued to grow in the future, and after establishing a link with Dorothy, Arthur realized that he had to bring everyone together to form a real physical organization.

With organization, there is direction, and with organization, there is strength.

Russell and Matthew are both people who don't talk much, and Anna simply doesn't speak, leaving Abramo and Arthur to talk about gambling.

In this Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers really surprised people. The identity of the team in the lower half of the region went all the way to the Eastern Conference finals, once forcing the Knicks into a desperate situation, leading 3:2. In the battle of the seventh, the Knicks did not dare to guarantee that they would be able to get out of the game.

On TV, the match between the two sides has begun. From the beginning, the Knicks launched a rapid attack, Starks had a good hand, scoring nine points in the first quarter, and Oakley also scored seven points under the basket with frontcourt rebounds and secondary offense, but the rest of the Knicks were slow to get into the groove. On the contrary, it was the Pacers, under the leadership of Miller, who withstood the Knicks' onslaught and played steadily, leading 51-47 at halftime.

The Knicks are a little precarious.

"Damn, I've already lost a lot of money in the Eastern Conference Finals...... Who would have thought that Indiana's hillbillies could fight so well! ”

Seeing the Knicks fall behind at halftime, Abramo didn't have the heart to eat.

"Didn't Jackie give you the inside scoop? Or you should go with Jackie's handicap. ”

"It's not always true, and when it comes to the Eastern Conference Finals, the risk of manipulation increases...... Jackie also lost some money. Gandolfeld is not the only gambling company running a gambling business, and Jackie is recently considering taking out several new lame black bars that are operating gambling. They have people betting on hedging with Jackie. ”

Jackie's gambling business is getting bigger and bigger, which will naturally cause a lot of trouble, even if he is the underground emperor of New York, there will still be people who disobey the emperor, so Jackie needs to free up his hands to clean up.

Arthur was happy with the situation, it wasn't time to settle accounts with Jackie, he needed time.

Swallowing the sausage in his mouth, Arthur drank a glass of red wine and pointed at Matthew, "Matthew, has someone taken over Wood's work?" “

Matthew coughed and said, "Yes, but the situation is not good, the markets in Manhattan and Queens are a bit chaotic, and many small gangs are taking the opportunity to encroach on them." Their profits are shrinking. “

The edifice is about to collapse, the empire is in chaos, and the Gandolfe family's plates are too big, and the slightest hole and leak appears, it looks crumbling. Of course, if Arthur, Abramo, Bamund and others hadn't been in the way, the empire would have maintained well and staggered forward.

Arthur nodded, saw that Flo had finished eating, and motioned for her to take Anna upstairs. In the living room downstairs, there were five people left. Arthur turned the TV up to maximum as it was halftime and Dick Stockton was analyzing the situation on the court, "The Knicks were decent in the first half and they need to play better offensive ...... in the second half."

Everyone put down their knives and forks and looked at Arthur, who was sitting at the head of the table. Arthur pulled out his 2 of hearts from his bosom, and the goat's horn on the hearts reappeared; and Abramo's 5 of clubs, which turned into swords; Russell's 3 of spades, in which the spades became a shield; Matthew's Plum Blossom 4, Plum Blossom Becomes Eye; Dorothy's 6 of hearts, hearts became red lips.

"Starting today, we will set up our own organization, and only the people who build the link will become the core members of the organization. Others are also eligible to join, but must have a recommendation from a core member. I have written down the organization's program, beliefs, and goals here......" Arthur took out a few leather notebooks from the cabinet and handed them to several people, "Please keep them safe, the content will be constantly supplemented and improved." ”

"What is the name of the organization?" Abramo rubbed the leather cover of his notebook as if he were rubbing the Bible.

"My first card was a 2 of hearts, I thought, let's call it Hearts."