May 28, '83, Brooklyn, New York City.

In a ten-square-meter room, a scumbag-faced Anthony Conte is lying in a decadent bed, his injured legs in a cast, and a pillow under his feet to prevent edema.

The space other than the bed was piled up with debris, giving off the rotting smell of some old things, but the smell was nothing until the smell of the urinal next to the bed. It is easy to see that this aspect was originally a utility room, but it has only recently been transformed into a place for patients to recuperate.

"He's right here......"

Outside the room, footsteps and talking mingled, wooden stairs rattled, and a big fat man was going upstairs, which made Anthony extremely uneasy, and there didn't seem to be such a fat person among his relatives.

My uncle probably won't betray me! Anthony wasn't sure to pay attention, his brain was always on strike at such critical moments, and it was as blank as his wallet was now.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and he was so frightened that he shivered for a moment, and only slowly relaxed after seeing the two people outside the door clearly.

"Bill, how are you? I thought it was from the Collobo family! ”

The eldest cousin who was lying down exhaled slowly, tilting his head to look at his cousin Bill, whom he hadn't seen for almost a year. The last time they saw each other was during Bill's summer vacation last year, when the family except Anthony went to Hawaii for a vacation around Christmas last year, and then Bill went straight back to school, so the brothers didn't see each other offline during winter break.

"What are you talking about?" Anthony's uncle, Bill's uncle was a little dissatisfied, "No matter how short of money I am, I won't exchange my family for money." When Bill heard your news, he rushed over a short time after he got home, let's have a good chat, we will eat together at home tonight, and I will go out and buy some meat and come back to cook. ”

It's past four o'clock in the afternoon, and it's almost time for dinner.

Uncle moved out of the way of the door, turned and went downstairs, and Bill walked into the cramped, dimly lit room.

"You know the consequences of gangs, you've only been in business for four or five years, and you'll either be arrested by the police or prosecutors, or killed by your peers in the future......"

The eldest cousin obviously didn't agree with this, "You know what, I just broke my leg, I recovered from my injuries, and I'm the most effective guy under the boss." In another year or two, you can run a business on your own......"

He's still daydreaming about his own mixed up.

Bill noticed the fine sweat on Anthony's head, and combined with what he had just said, the eldest cousin was even scared that someone was coming, and the gang was really a mess.

Here's what happened, after his sophomore year, he returned to Brooklyn, and when he got home, he drove to persuade his eldest cousin, who was recuperating at his uncle's house, to quit the gang and start a new life.

"I don't know about your buddy friendship, but I know that the gang members will have a hard time in the future. Rudy Giuliani is in place, and he's such a ruthless guy that even members of Congress dare to prosecute. Besides, after this experience, you still think about your buddies? They won't even bring you food. ”

Giuliani rose to deputy attorney general after Reagan took office, was the No. 3 man in the Department of Justice, and two years later was demoted to New York City, where he was assigned as a federal attorney for the Southern District of New York City, and is now taking out the gang members.

"Why didn't they bring me food? It's just a little more expensive. You don't understand, buddy friendship is here. ”

The eldest cousin pointed to his chest.

"It's a little more expensive, and it means that you bring fifty dollars for a meal." Bill told the brutal truth.

More than a week ago, Anthony, who was with Wren Marino in the Bronx, suddenly called home and asked them to pick him up and take him home to recuperate. When Uncle and they drove over, Anthony was already like this.

According to the eldest cousin's own account, when members of a rival gang chased him, he jumped from the third floor in a panic and broke his legs. According to the eldest and second uncles, Anthony's leg may have been broken. The reason for the broken leg is not important, the eldest cousin's lack of money is the reason why he asked his family for help.

"It's just that the food they bought for me is a bit expensive, and the wounded, if you eat better, you can recover." Speaking of this, Anthony's voice was much weaker.

"So what are you still nostalgic for? What kind of person is your buddy, can't you still see clearly? Those who can mix gangs, except for stupid people like you, the rest are bad people who are selfish to the bone. Take advantage of this time to quit the gang in time and live a good life after recovering from your injuries. ”

The eldest uncle, second uncle, Dorothy and other family members roughly sketched out what happened after his broken leg based on Anthony's own complaints and his current situation.

The big guy in Wren is still mixing well, his territory is naturally safe enough, and the eldest cousin should be recuperating near Wren's base camp. Naturally, the members of the core gang can enter and exit the vicinity of the base camp, and Anthony, who has limited mobility, has to let his "buddy" be responsible for his three meals a day, and the problem is here, colleagues have to pay a sum of money every time to buy medicine and food, and a few weeks of recuperation time has made the eldest cousin consume all the valuable things he bought before, such as his car, valuable clothes he bought, watches, etc.

When Anthony couldn't squeeze a little oil and water at all, his colleagues naturally didn't want to bring him food and buy medicine. Boss Wren didn't have time to go to his rental house to check on the situation, and if Anthony quit the gang because he was disabled, his colleagues would have a little room for promotion, and all these factors would make him have a long miserable life. So the eldest cousin, who was not stupid enough to get home, urgently asked for help from home, so that he could eat hot meals every day.

In order to prevent rival gangs from coming to the door to find trouble, Anthony also deliberately asked his family to hide him in his uncle's house, far away from his parents' house.

Bill, who knew about this from his family, realized that it was a good time to pull his eldest cousin out of the gang and ran to convince him.

Anthony's comment made Anthony very angry, lying flat, he raised his hands and waved them above his chest, "I'm not stupid, I'm the boss's most trusted person, and he lets me do the most important things......"

Seeing the chicken paw gesture, Bill knew it was the big cousin's true words.

"If you're smart, there's no way your boss will let you do these things."

The reason why the eldest cousin can enter Rennes's inner circle is that he is stupid and stunned, has no bad intentions, and is not very greedy for money. For a big man of Wren's level, there are some key things that can't be done by himself that are suitable for Anthony to do.

"You played for a few years and started scolding your brother......"

Bill ignored his stupid cousin's nonsense, just picked him up and walked downstairs to the table. There is no strong man in my uncle's family who carries Anthony, an adult man, up and down the stairs every day, and the eldest cousin eats, urinates, and urinates in this utility room.

When the uncle and his family made dinner, the four members of the uncle's family and the relatives of Bill and Anthony crowded around the table and began to eat, and the main topic of the banquet was naturally to persuade Anthony to quit the club in time, but the eldest cousin obviously did not listen.

The job at this end couldn't be done, so Bill decided to go to Wren and ask the big guy to "fire" Anthony directly. The eldest cousin had been with Rennes Marino and was still his close subordinate, and the rest of the Italian-American gang would not accept Johnny the "Bone Crusher".

"You can recuperate in peace, and I will come back to see you in two days."

Before leaving, Bill carried his eldest cousin upstairs again, and after some advice, went downstairs and stuffed his uncle with five hundred dollars before driving home.

"How effective is persuasion? Cousin agreed? ”

Neo, who is also on vacation, asks after opening the door to his brother.

"There is some progress, and in two days he will quit the gang."

My aunt greeted me and gave my nephew a hug and kiss on the cheek, "I knew you could do it, after Anthony didn't mix the gang, our whole family had a bright future." ”

Bill's long-standing reliability kept her from asking what the progress was.

The family was almost there, and Mr. Ferrari gathered the family around the couch to start his real thoughts.

"Otherwise, we'll move to California in June and take Anthony with us with our broken leg."

In Bill's previous vision, he planned to take his aunt and uncle to California. He prepares for the '83 season, has two elders watch every game, hugs and celebrates with his aunts and uncles every time he touchdowns, and with relevant press releases, he can quickly establish his image of being close to his family and fighting hard from adversity.

"Moving? Mom and Dad and the rest of the family are here, why are we moving? ”

"Brother, how much money do you have, buy a house and move every year!"

"I just got a little face among my classmates, and if I move again, won't my previous efforts be all wasted?"

It sounded like my aunt didn't agree with this, but my uncle didn't speak, and Dorothy and Neo were adamantly opposed.

Bill explained in detail the reasons for this.

“…… The most critical thing in my playing career is that this year, winning these awards, the draft camp can be directly upgraded to a notch, and the contract signed after that will make more money, according to the market, it can be 70,000 or 80,000 US dollars a year. ”

Beginning in '82, the NFL draft officially became a draft camp, and the contracts of rookie players were regulated. The draft camp stipulates that the first-year contract amount is tied to the draft pick, and the team and rookie players cannot be signed for more than four seasons.

In order to maximize profits, teams often sign rookie players to four-year contracts with limited salary increases for four years.

When it comes to playing, winning awards and career, my aunt no longer disagrees, and my nephew's awards are still more important than where they live. The stingy girl has nothing to say, it is better to make more money than anything.

Only Neo was still talking, but his voice was getting quieter and quieter.

"You only entered the ninth grade in September this year, and after changing high schools, how much can the circles you ran before overlap?" Bill decided to lure him in, "Well, after you pass, I'll buy you a computer, a big IBM one." ”

The IBM-PC, which was launched three years ago, is still the darling of the market, with annual sales still in the hundreds of thousands. Not counting the black and white monitors and graphics cards, the price is more than 1,500 US dollars.

"And there's a better football atmosphere in California, and it's more valuable to be the younger brother of a football star because there are a lot more people around San Francisco than in New York."

The family members who have a lot of power to speak agreed, and Neo can only accept, "Okay! ”

"Then we'll arrange it like this, and when I'm done with a few little things in New York State, we'll move over there. Dorothy was wronged for a few years first, and there will be more opportunities to meet in the future. ”

Bill also has to do a few image-related things here in New York, such as going to Fort Hamilton High School to teach the students about his experience, and having fan meetings with some fans. Of course, these things will be filmed and reported by reporters.

……

In the Bronx, inside a rustic cement building.

Guy Wren is still the image of a shrewd middle-aged man before, and Bill even feels that he hasn't changed in the past four years, and the brown suit on his body seems to be welded on, and it will remain the same throughout the year. His office has also maintained a single-trim style, in contrast to the rubbish-strewn pavement outside the building.

"That's not going to work, Anthony is my most important subordinate, and he knows all my secrets."

After listening to Bill Ferrari's request, Rennes Marino naturally refused.

What he said was naturally a lie, who would let a stunned boy grasp all the secrets?

"Mr. Marino, as far as I know, the most important thing for a person like you is the ledger, and my eldest cousin's IQ obviously can't read any accounts, so he can't talk about mastering all your secrets."

No matter what the main business of the gang members is, they will definitely be charged with tax evasion and money laundering after they are caught, and the prison sentence is mainly derived from the crime of money, so the ledger is the ultimate handle of every gang executive.

Bill knew that Wren could definitely understand why he wanted his eldest cousin to quit the club, and he had made some mental preparations before coming, but in order to reduce the loss, he still tried his best to reduce Anthony's importance in order to get a smaller price.

"You don't mean it, for me, your cousin is the most important subordinate."

Wren regretted very much why he didn't get Bill's brokerage contract four years ago, and judging from the news from various sources, the handsome guy in front of him was indeed as valuable as the fat scout said back then.

"But his leg has not fully recovered, and there is a certain probability that he will not be able to walk. Even if he can get back on his feet in the future, he is still a cripple, and he is qualitatively different from normal people. Bill lied a little, and he didn't quite know what his eldest cousin's injuries were.

This was a surprise to Rennes Marino, "Crippled? Didn't I give him money to take care of his injuries? This fool lost his money? ”

There was a rare surprise on the big guy's face.

It seems that Wren doesn't know the good things his subordinates have done, and Bill roughly tells him what happened before and after.

"These Bichi, just cleaned Johnny's money? I've given Johnny a lot in the past three and a half years, and he's wearing all brand goods. ”

The Johnny in his mouth is his big cousin Anthony.

"A cripple can't really help you, if he doesn't quit the club, you have to help arrange for him for the rest of his life!" Bill continues to seduce.

Guy Wren regained his usual look, he leaned back in his chair, "It seems that your proposal makes sense, but I know Johnny this person, he definitely won't take the initiative to quit, you and his parents asked for it, right?" ”

"The main reason is that the family doesn't want him to join the gang, and this leg injury has also aggravated the worries of my uncle and aunt about the future of this career. The second uncle has always opposed his cousin's career plan. ”

Bill's explanation made Wren think even more clearly, and he replied after thinking about it: "I'm not a bad person, it's not difficult to get him out, it's just that I have one less right-hand man." Well, you owe me a favor. If you agree with that, I'll just call him and tell him to get out of the way and stop doing things for me. ”

Unexpectedly, Rennes Marino was quite talkative, and Mr. Ferrari was just about to agree, but the big guy added: "This favor is not the kind of favor that gives a few hundred dollars at a banquet, you have to really do me a favor in the future." ”

"Our friendship will always be there."

Wren may not be able to withstand Rudy Giuliani's attack, and Beal naturally agreed.

Who knows what will happen next?

PS: It's really hard to write these chapters now, and some book friends have been asking to quickly finish the rugby-related plots, but some things during this period are directly related to the business territory of the protagonist, and if you are too abbreviated, you will go to an important business partner's house to eat longer than the length of the competition, I hope you can understand.

Ask for a recommended ticket and ask for a monthly pass.

(End of chapter)