Arthur expected Artest to call, but he didn't expect it to be so soon.

As a veteran basketball fan, Arthur knew that Artest grew up in a typical black New York ghetto, surrounded by violence, drugs, and crime. His temper tantrum is due to genetic causes, as well as the influence of his surroundings. His grandmother was 87 years old and was involved in a bank robbery, becoming one of the oldest robbers; His father was a boxer and later a gangster bodyguard, often beating and scolding Artest.

Artest once witnessed the killing of players on the basketball court in 1991, when Lloyd Newton clashed with his opponent during a basketball game organized by the YMCA (YMCA), and was pierced through the heart by an unloaded table leg and fell directly on the court.

For someone like Atay, basketball is a pure land of life, but life is much more than basketball, and it is only a matter of time before he gets into trouble. There is a group of fox friends around Atai, and making friends will bring convenience and trouble.

Arthur walked up to the telephone, took the receiver from the hostess, and said, "Luciano, what do you need?" ”

On the other end of the phone, Atai's voice was a little heckled, "Oh... I... Be... Is it Arthur? I'm Ron Artest. ...... in the gymnasium at Carlo High School that day"

"Ron, I know it's you, I know. I left a phone number for you, I always remember you, I'm glad you remember me, call me. ”

"Thank you, I... I think I'm having a little trouble, no, it's my friend who is having a little trouble and I don't know what to do about it, maybe need some advice from you. ”

Arthur thought to himself, I'm afraid you won't be in trouble or won't come to me if you are in trouble. After all, Atai is only in high school, and high school students have limited experience and ways to deal with problem-solving, and will seek help once they encounter some difficult problems. Arthur's shot at the gymnasium that day made a deep impression on Artey, and his teammates kept talking about it on the way back, saying that this man looked like Italy's Mafia.

They also kept asking Artest what the guy had written for him. Artest hid the scoreboard with his name and number in his bag, and it became a secret for him, and he didn't even say anything when the coach asked him. The coach reminded him, "It will be dangerous to associate with such people, you think clearly".

The coach is an adult, socially experienced, and knows that dealing with someone like Arthur is risky. And Artest is about the same as Gina, who was shocked by Arthur's chic and handsome temperament at a young age, just like a domestic middle and high school student watched "Crazy Boy", admired Cheng Haonan and then wanted to be a gangster.

There is a price to pay for a deal with the devil, and Artest doesn't understand this truth well enough.

And the devil, before making a deal with you, will surely speak sweetly, and threaten to relieve your sorrows, seek pleasure, and obtain all your needs; When you are satisfied, you will gradually become a servant of the devil, just as Faust sold his soul to Mephitos.

"Calm down first," Arthur heard a hint of anxiety in Artest's tone, and he reassured Artai first, "I have time to meet with you in the afternoon, it's not very convenient on the phone." You give me an address and I'll go over and everything will be fine, trust me. ”

Arthur didn't know what was going on, but he comforted him first, stabilized his emotions, and talked about any problems and conditions later. At first, he pretended to be a friend, gradually entered his life, and then grabbed his benefits...... Arthur suddenly felt a little evil, but inexplicably had a sense of pleasure. He told himself in his heart that he didn't want to harm Artest, but instead wanted to help him achieve higher things.

So, Artest gave Arthur an address to Queen's District, which Arthur wrote down in the hospitality's notebook, tore it off and put it in his pocket. Then he hung up the phone, immediately went out and stepped on the motorcycle, started, turned the throttle, and sped away towards Brooklyn.

Before meeting Atay, he had more important things to do.

……

At St. James's Cathedral on Brooklyn's Upper East Side, hundreds of devout Catholics gathered early to prepare for the Good Friday "Way of the Cross" procession.

Inside the church, the white marble floor tiles are spotless, and the walls and ceilings of the entire church are clean milky white. Three large stained glass windows let in sunlight, and under the cross of Christ's crucifixion, a canopy with a golden roof and green pillars shines brightly, which can be said to be resplendent in gold.

Unlike Protestant churches, apart from the image of Christ on the cross, the church itself is often extravagant and magnificent, and this 1903 design and construction of St. James's Cathedral is one of the most spectacular churches in the New York area.

In a corner of the church, Abramo and his wife and children are praying.

Abramo went out to make a phone call last night and came back to tell his family that he had decided to go to St. James's Cathedral the next day to participate in the Good Friday Passion procession. His wife, Connie, was excited, and in her early years she had hoped that the whole family would participate in this devotion to Christ, but the family always refused for various reasons. Daughter Paula is afraid to get up early, and son Angelo thinks Brooklyn is too far away. Of course, the main thing is that the head of the family, Luca Abramo himself, is reluctant to come, and the reason is simple, he is not so religious.

But miracles struck this year, so Connie got up early in the morning to make an early morning, pulled the kids to wash and change, and drove by Abramo across Manhattan to the cathedral not far from the Brooklyn Bridge. Connie, a devout Catholic, led her son and daughter into church to pray, folded her hands in front of her chest, closed her eyes, and told God what was on her mind.

She is also of Italian descent but from Philadelphia, has beautiful chestnut hair and a small, cute face that makes her look young, but in fact she is almost forty years old. She married Abramo at the age of 20 and came to New Jersey, where her father and brother were well-known gang bosses in the Philadelphia area, and her husband became the horn of Jersey. She has never worked since she was born, and she only does household chores, takes care of children, and prays for her father, brother, and husband.

Pray that God will forgive their sins.

His wife was praying with her eyes closed, but Abramo was secretly looking around with her eyes open, looking for Arthur. Arthur finally sent a message to his pager last night, and Abraham immediately went to the public phone near his home to call Arthur back. Arthur was unusually cautious and told Abramo to go to a pay phone farther away, then hung up. Arthur himself immediately changed to a payphone and sent a pager message to Braramo, and the two used the new payphone to talk.

On the phone, Arthur and Abram agreed to meet at the Good Friday Passion the next day, and talk about things while walking to prevent surveillance.

Arthur knew that a bigwig like Abramo was likely to be monitored by the police, the FBI, or other gangs, and he didn't want to be monitored on phone messages or photographed by anyone of his interactions with Abramo. Meeting in a crowd is one of the safest strategies, and Arthur just wants to be a cook in peace.

Abramo was probing his brain when his daughter, Paula, next to her, suddenly opened her eyes, winked at her father, and grinned. Abramo smiled at his cherub as well. The daughter was still young and often impatient with the elaborate Catholic rites. She quietly approached and said to her father, "Dad, I saw a very handsome brother. ”

As she spoke, Paula pointed to the other side of the seat, and it was a little sad for Brammamo to think that her daughter had begun to pay attention to handsome guys at such a young age. And he looked in the direction of his daughter's finger, and saw that in the front row on the other side, a young man with black hair was sitting upright, his hands intertwined in prayer, he was wearing a brown leather coat, it was Arthur.

……

A few minutes earlier, Arthur had arrived at St. James's Cathedral on his motorbike, which he had visited several times while his mother was still alive and had participated in a Stations of the Cross. Arthur is not religious, but when he arrives at St. James's Church, he can appreciate the insignificance of ordinary people in the face of huge objects. It is no wonder that religious buildings are always so magnificent and magnificent, just to make people feel like they are kneeling on the ground.

Entering the church, the white floor tiles and interior walls give a sense of holiness, and Arthur sees the Abramo family at a glance. He did not come forward to disturb him, but sat down in a more prominent position and began to pray quietly. In the past, Arthur believed in God, but now Arthur is skeptical. But when he closed his eyes, he suddenly felt an indescribable irritability in his heart, and he felt that his surroundings were shaking, and the whole church seemed to be shaking.

When he opened his eyes, the feeling disappeared again, and the canopy of the golden-roofed green pillar was shining brightly before his eyes, and the stained-glass glass depicted Christ's grace to all the people. A Catholic priest dressed in a gold-rimmed robe on a white background walked up to the pulpit next to the canopy, cleared his throat, and said, "A grain of wheat is still only a grain if it does not fall to the ground and die; and if it dies, it bears many grains. Today is the day of Christ's crucifixion, but it is also the beginning of his grace and gospel throughout the world. ”

Under the guidance of the pastor, the believers who participated in the Way of the Cross began to pray together:

"Lord Jesus Christ, we die and are buried with you through baptism; Because you have risen from the dead by the power of the Father; Enable us to live a new life........."

Arthur didn't say a word, he looked back, and his eyes happened to meet Abramo, and the two nodded in agreement.

Ten minutes later, the crowd left the church and embarked on the Way of the Cross, led by a priest with a cross in his hand. Start at St. James's Cathedral, past the Brooklyn Bridge, and end at St. Peter's Church on Barclays Street in Lower Manhattan. Abramo led his family in the middle of the group, while Arthur followed at the end of the group, waiting for an opportunity to make contact with Abramo.

On the road of worship, the people should kneel, pray, and meditate under the leadership of the pastor to feel the suffering of Christ in those days.

Along the way, everyone said nothing, followed the cross, and followed the priest's guidance. Abramo took the opportunity to slowly drag to the end of the line, alongside Arthur.

"Lord, Christ, we admire you and praise you!" The priest led and everyone got down on one knee.

Arthur also knelt down, reached into his jacket pocket, took out a photograph and secretly handed it to Abramo, who took it into his arms. Arthur whispered, "Russell said you have friends at the police station?" ”

"Yes."

"Ask someone to check the origin of this girl, it should be a missing person."

"No problem."

Arthur handed over a picture of the little girl, which Russell had recently taken. It is said that in order to take pictures of the little girl, Russell specially went to buy a camera, took many photos, picked one for Arthur, and put the rest away by the little girl herself. Arthur wants to know the identity of the little girl, but can't make a big splash, so he needs Abramo's informant inside the police.

"Don't give the picture to anyone, preferably not to anyone else, just describe it to your friends after you've seen it." Arthur emphasized.

Abramo nodded, and said, "We don't know self-love, and we often offend and violate you." Help us to know and love you and turn away from sin...... Have mercy on us! ”

After saying that, the two stood up and followed the team on.

They soon made their way to the Brooklyn Bridge, where the wind of the hunt was blowing from the Hudson River, and Arthur and Abramo tightened their clothes. The procession walked along the promenade of the bridge, and cars whizzed by.

"Lord, Christ, we admire you and praise you!" The pastor again led the crowd to kneel on one knee, "...... And when the soldiers had brought him into the governor's house, they gathered all the soldiers round him, and took off his garments, and put on a purple robe, and made a crown of thorns for him......"

After Abramo knelt down, he said to Arthur: "The person who wanted to assassinate me in East Rutherford has been found out, and it is from the Gandolfil family. ”

"Gandolfel?" Arthur was familiar with this name, and immediately thought that it was the Gandolfe family who instructed Tony to kill his father in the first place, and it is currently the largest gang family in the New York area. It turned out that they were the ones behind the instigation of the people below to fight. Abramo is just a pawn of theirs, and of course they will be killed when they run out, leading to a war between the three major families and Jersey, so that they can reap the benefits.

They are very skilled in this set of methods.

"One of Massino and Gigandi must have taken refuge in Gandolfel, otherwise the timing would not have been so coincidental."

Arthur knew that one of the three families had been a traitor. Because the three of them are relatively weak, they have always acted together and are an alliance. And the alliance has always been broken from within.

"What's next?" Abramo asked, his heart was also furious, and Gandolfil was treating him as toilet paper and throwing it away when he was finished. The thought of Vera, who had died innocently, made his heart ache.

"But we forget the pain of others, and we forget you who carry the burden by our side. Even if they knew, they never helped. Make us not self-centered and be considerate of others, just as you take care of us. ”

Arthur followed the crowd in reciting the prayer, the second place on the Way of the Cross, where Jesus carried the cross.

"Have mercy on us!" After reciting, Arthur got up from the ground, dusted his knees, and said to Abramo, "In that case, let's kill them all." ”