Franklin County, New Jersey.
A fleet of luxury cars glided into what had once been a quiet country town from down the road.
Rolling down his window, Gatsby offered a beaming smile to a passerby on the roadside. "Excuse me, could you tell me where I might find Howard Bondurant?"
Hearing that name out of nowhere, cold sweat instantly broke out across the man's forehead. He pointed toward a spot not far off. "Just keep heading down this road, and you'll reach the Bondurant place!"
"All right, thank you!"
With a polite nod, Gatsby was about to drive on when something suddenly occurred to him. He pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his wallet and handed it out the window. "Thanks for pointing the way!"
Watching the luxury car pull away, the man stared at the cash in his hand. "Sweet Jesus, this guy is loaded!"
Once they were down the road, however, Gatsby frowned. "Not a bit of change in my wallet. Truly frustrating!"
A smile tugged at the corner of the chauffeur's mouth, though he kept quiet.
After all, Gatsby never had to worry about money. His wealth depended entirely on how many people in New York were drinking!
An hour later, as night fell, the car pulled up before a roadside tavern.
Stepping out of the vehicle, Gatsby eyed his surroundings with growing skepticism. "Fuck, did we take a wrong turn?"
"Boss, if I'm not mistaken, we probably did!" The driver nodded vigorously in explanation.
Gatsby shot him a suspicious, bewildered look. "If you knew, why didn't you say something?"
"You didn't ask!" Spreading his hands, the driver looked back at him with an awkward grin.
Just as Gatsby stood there baffled, he spotted a grim, burly man emerge from the tavern. Scowling fiercely, the man walked over to a car with its hood propped open.
Yet the moment he reached out to inspect the engine, a figure suddenly lunged from the shadows, grabbing him in an iron grip. A second man emerged behind him, pressing a sharp dagger toward his throat, clearly intending to slit it!
"Whoa, the locals sure are savage!" Gatsby clicked his tongue in distaste. Who handled business like this? Wouldn't it leave a gruesome mess all over the ground?
An instant later, the driver gasped in astonishment. "Boss, that looks like Forrest—the one who came with Mr. Howard's brother to deliver liquor last time!"
"What? That's Forrest?"
Staring into the distance in shock, Gatsby roared at the top of his lungs, "Fuck! Freeze your hands! One more inch, and I'll blow your heads off!"
At the sudden shout, the two men intent on murdering Forrest froze.
*Clack-clack!*
Men in black trench coats swiftly produced Thompson submachine guns from the cars, raising their barrels with menacing precision.
"No, no, no! We don't know you!"
Caught completely off guard by the show of force, the two hitmen were dumbfounded. They had never seen firepower like this in their lives.
"Bastards!"
Slamming a vicious backhand fist into the face of the man behind him, Forrest snatched up the dropped dagger and plunged it straight into the man's neck, twisting the blade with brutal force.
"Fuck, that's just savage!" Gatsby winced, feeling a wave of discomfort. Why make such a gory mess? Wouldn't it be far cleaner to seal them in a gasoline barrel? Who knows—in a few decades, they might even pass for famous stone sculptures!
Seeing Forrest's ruthlessness, the other attacker turned to run, but Forrest tackled him to the ground and repeatedly plunged the dagger into his chest.
"*Huff... huff...*"
Panting heavily as he climbed back to his feet, Forrest finally looked toward Gatsby and blinked in surprise. "Gatsby, it's you!"
"Fuck, Forrest, what the hell did you do? Did you steal somebody's wife for them to track you down like this?" Gatsby demanded in bewilderment.
"Fuck, I'd never do that!"
Tossing the blood-drenched dagger aside, Forrest stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Gatsby in a tight hug. "Thanks, brother. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead!"
Utter lawlessness!
Gatsby's mouth twitched with vexation as he glared at Forrest. "Dammit, Forrest! This is Louis Vuitton!"
Hearing Gatsby's complaint, Forrest chuckled and let go, leaving two vivid bloody handprints across the custom-tailored suit—an unmistakable mark of their reunion.
Just then, Maggie hurried out of the tavern. At the sight of the bodies on the ground and Forrest drenched in blood, she slapped a hand over her mouth in terror.
Standing before her was a squad of armed men who looked every bit like dangerous Mafia mobsters!
"Whoa, is that your girlfriend?" Gatsby raised an eyebrow, his tone dripping with teasing curiosity.
He had never expected this wooden-headed Forrest to go searching for the love of his life.
Yet as Gatsby felt a pang of melancholy, a phrase of Liu Ren's suddenly crossed his mind: *Never give up your redemption for the sake of love! Countless souls are waiting for our 'care'!*
"That's Maggie," Forrest introduced, a rare smile gracing his usually cold, stony face.
Half an hour later, at the Bondurant home.
The moment Howard saw Gatsby, he threw his arms open and strode forward. "Hahaha, Gatsby! What brought you all the way out here? Did things get too hot for you in New York, buddy?"
Gatsby chuckled in response. "You guessed wrong, pal. I'm living the high life these days!"
Pausing, Gatsby glanced over at Jack, who was standing nearby looking somewhat shy. "Who's that?"
"That's our little brother!" Clapping Jack on the shoulder, Howard introduced them. "Jack, this is a comrade who served in the war with me and your brother. Though nowadays, he's New York's most notorious Mafia figure!"
Howard chuckled heartily, his voice full of teasing banter.
Hearing the joke, Gatsby punched Howard playfully in the shoulder. "Fuck you, what do you mean notorious? I'm practically a saint compared to the rest of them!"
Staring at Gatsby in shock, Jack had never imagined that his two older brothers were acquainted with such a big shot.
Yet looking at Gatsby's gentle smile and impeccably refined demeanor, Jack couldn't fathom how this man could run the Mafia. He looked entirely like a gentleman!
Sitting around the rough wooden table and chatting, Howard brought over glasses of liquor. But when the talk turned to Forrest's narrow escape earlier that evening, Howard's face darkened with fury. "Fuck, that bastard is pushing his luck too far!"
"What happened?" Gatsby asked, eyeing Howard with suspicion.
After listening to how the Bondurant brothers had been provoked by a corrupt prosecutor who had even dispatched hitmen to murder them, Gatsby stared in disbelief. Shouldn't they have just killed the bastard from the very beginning?
If Gatsby hadn't shown up tonight, Forrest would have been in grave danger, and Maggie likely would have suffered a terrible fate as well.
Gatsby fell silent, staring at Howard in contemplation. "Why haven't you taken him out? Is it really that complicated?"
Howard looked back at Gatsby in utter astonishment. This was a prosecutor, for Christ's sake, not a brown bear wandering out of the woods!
Sensing Howard's hesitation, Gatsby shrugged. "Fine, I'll take care of it. But when it's done, you'll need to set aside a few more barrels of that moonshine you delivered last time. My boss loved it. Fair deal, right?"
Offering Howard a bright smile, Gatsby didn't consider Charlie Rakes any real trouble at all.
After all, even back in New York, no one dared lay a finger on their interests.
Liu Ren: *Dare to cut into my profits, and I'll send your whole family for a swim in the Hudson River!*
Chapter 54