Chapter 95 - Isn't This Going Too Fast?
Keep the damage to a minimum.
Once I finally picked the right spot, I set off an explosion with drastically reduced power.
Thud.
It was such a small blast that even Ida, down in the lingerie shop on the first floor, just tilted her head in confusion.
A few shards stuck in the surroundings, and the floor was singed.
It stung a little, but this much, I could handle.
"Think we can open for business today?"
Anthony, who'd witnessed the whole performance, had frozen with his harmonica halfway to his lips, not moving a muscle.
His mouth just opened and closed silently.
"Well, if we clean up fast, maybe. Still, I used to think I was the only crazy one around, but it's a big world, isn't it," Anthony mumbled under his breath.
I snorted and nudged a member next to me who was still in shock.
I gave instructions to Lanza, the pickpocket from Macy's Department Store who now handled odd jobs for us at the dance hall.
"Go report this to the police."
We shouldn't touch a thing here until the police arrive and see the scene for themselves.
The reason I'd singled out Rose and Palm Garden among all the rival suppliers was because they had gangs backing them.
In other words, this fight was also a territorial battle. If you tried to expand your dance hall territory too much, it could quickly turn into an all-out war with the gangs.
The staged bombing was just to dodge police suspicion, not to hide my actions from the enemies. In fact, I planned to use this as an opportunity to expose the gangs—under the name Union.
Bombings struck three dance halls.
Since it all happened in a single day, journalists began relentlessly digging into every detail of the incidents.
With all the interviews that followed, escalating tensions between the dance hall suppliers in recent days became a headline story.
With their establishments blasted apart by the latest bombings, Rose and Palm Garden Dance Halls pointed to Pumpkin as the mastermind behind it all—going so far as to make public a threatening letter they'd received recently.
But hadn't Pumpkin been bombed, too?
Their accusations didn't hold up, and instead, the police and the press began suspecting the three dance halls that had escaped the bombings—a strange twist.
Golden Flame, The Moonlight, Silver Swing.
The owners of those dance halls gathered in the secret room on the second floor of Bowery Street. They'd all just come from being questioned at the police station.
***
"Damn it, a bombing out of nowhere," said the Golden Flame Boss.
"We could be the next targets. This isn't something we can just ignore," another owner responded.
"I heard from the police—it wasn't the work of an amateur," added a third.
The culprit had made bombs using corned beef cans.
As ridiculous as that might sound, experts said whoever did it had calculated the blast radius and power, and even modified the fuse to control the timing.
"To be honest, I'm suspicious of Pumpkin. They claim they were attacked too, but their damage was minimal and they even remained open for business that day."
"It does seem fishy. Maybe it was a setup to dodge suspicion. But, assuming Pumpkin did it, why would they go after Rose and Palm Garden?"
The Golden Flame Boss answered as if it were obvious.
"Why else? They must've figured Rose and Palm Garden were behind the recent attacks on their bands. That's why they retaliated."
"So, they know more than they're letting on, huh."
The bosses fell silent for a moment.
Even if they knew things, some information was too dangerous to speak aloud—especially anything involving Rose and Palm Garden.
Those two dance halls were deeply tied to gangs, fundamentally different from the rest of the owners.
The Golden Flame Boss lowered his voice.
"If you ask me, it's clear Pumpkin has gangs backing them too.
"They might even be connected to those guys expanding their territory into Ludlow and Essex recently."
"I think the same. If we get mixed up in this for no reason, we'll be destroyed too. Low-powered operators like us have to follow whoever's on top."
The owners, too, paid off the gangs every week to receive their protection.
Their only way to survive the current crisis was to stay quiet and watch, waiting to see who would come out on top.
As a gloomy mood settled over the room, an employee knocked on the door.
"Sorry to interrupt your meeting, but… the Pumpkin Boss is here."
"Pumpkin?"
Three men were coming up the stairs to the second floor.
Leading them was Patrick, who addressed the gathered owners.
"Given how tough things are right now, why don't you let us join you."
"How did you find out about this place?"
"I told you, LES is smaller than you think."
Leaving his two companions standing, Patrick walked straight into the private room without asking permission.
He plopped himself down next to the Silver Swing Boss as if he owned the place.
"So, what were you discussing?"
"In times like this, what else would we talk about besides that bombing? I just got back from the police station because of it."
The Golden Flame Boss, who looked to be in his fifties, replied gruffly. Patrick asked with a sly grin,
"So, who do you think will be next?"
The bosses kept their mouths tightly shut, looking uncomfortable instead of answering.
Patrick didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.
"Rose and Palm Garden are connected to the gangs. We believe all the recent trouble is linked to them."
"Are you admitting that you just bombed Rose and Palm Garden?"
The Golden Flame Boss latched onto Patrick's words.
When Patrick neither confirmed nor denied it, his expression darkened.
"So that means the bomb that went off in Pumpkin was staged by you as well, am I right?"
"To be precise, it wasn't us, but the group we hired who did it."
"The group you hired? Who did you hire?"
"Union."
The bosses blinked in surprise at the sudden mention of what sounded like a labor union.
"It's a gang that recently established itself in the LES. For small operators like us with no real power, they're someone we can rely on."
"So you're saying Pumpkin isn't directly involved with any gang?"
"People think we're a gang too, but that's not the case at all. If any of you are interested, you're more than welcome to do business with Union."
A gang that takes jobs and even carries out bombings—how could that not be terrifying and scary?
Patrick continued,
"The reason I came here today is also related to the Union gang. They made a proposal to you all."
"A proposal?"
"If you cooperate with and support Union, they've promised to cut the protection fees in half from now on."
"That's insane…"
Patrick shot a sharp look at the Golden Flame Boss and lowered his voice.
"If Union had heard what you just said, the entire Golden Flame store might have been blown sky-high."
"..."
"In any case, Pumpkin has decided to cooperate with Union. If you want to run your establishments in peace and order, you'll have to make up your minds soon."
As Patrick rose from his seat, the Golden Flame Boss hurriedly asked,
"So who's the boss of Union, anyway?"
"I don't know, either."
"Then what makes you think they can take over this place, and how can we trust they'll protect us from retaliation?"
"That's exactly why your cooperation is needed. For the record, if Union expands its territory to Bowery, by then it'll already be too late."
"Timing is everything in business deals."
After Patrick left, the atmosphere in the secret room grew somber. The sudden emergence of Union weighed heavily on their minds.
Among them, the youngest boss in his thirties, the Silver Swing Boss, cautiously spoke up.
"When they say cooperate, what exactly do they mean?"
"Money and information, probably. Things like which gang we pay tribute to, where their main base is, and how many men they have."
"Sounds like they really plan to take over LES. What about you two? What are you thinking? Honestly, if we just ignore this, a bomb might…"
No matter how much they calculated, all they could think about was the bomb. They couldn't help but feel anxious, not knowing when the dance hall might be blown up.
"What if we report this to the police?"
"You're too naïve. You still trust the police? Besides, why do you think they told us outright? It's because they're that confident."
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense. This is really…"
"Anyway, why are you so quiet today?"
"If you arranged the meeting, you should at least share your thoughts."
The Golden Flame Boss directed the question at the Moonlight Boss. He wasn't usually a quiet person, but today he kept his mouth tightly shut, choosing his words carefully.
It was hardly the attitude of someone who had called everyone together.
"My mind is just troubled, that's all."
"Well, given the situation, I get it. Still, this is exactly when we need to keep our wits about us."
Normally, when Rose and the Palm Garden Boss were present, the two of them led the discussion. But with both of them absent now, the Golden Flame Boss seemed to take center stage and drew his own conclusions.
"We should at least show some good faith to those lunatics. Honestly, I don't think it's such a bad idea to leak some information to Union. Even if they get their hands on it, I doubt they'll survive."
"You mean, they'll collapse on their own?"
"Even if my judgment is wrong, it doesn't matter. We just need to side with the winners. So maybe leaking information to both sides could work for us."
"You mean, whoever wins, we're with them?"
When the Silver Swing Boss chimed in, a sly smile spread across the Golden Flame Boss's lips.
"Let's see who makes the first move."
At that moment, the usually silent Moonlight Boss shook his head.
"That's a dangerous idea. If we're not careful, we could end up attacked by both sides. Do you trust me?"
The Golden Flame Boss flinched and shot back,
"What do you mean by that? It almost sounds like you're the one planning to leak information."
"I'm saying this because I don't want things to turn out that way. If word gets out that we played both gangs against each other, could we handle the fallout?"
"Hmph, so what are you suggesting? That we throw in our lot with Union?"
The Moonlight Boss nodded.
"These guys are crazy enough to set off bombs. For now, I think our best move is just to follow their lead. That's how we survive."
As soon as the meeting ended, the Golden Flame Boss was the first to slip out of the back room.
Before the Silver Swing Boss could leave, the Moonlight Boss grabbed his arm.
"You're not planning on taking any big risks, are you?"
"I always play it safe, you know that. And just like you said, Union looks particularly dangerous right now."
"That's a smart choice."
***
After everyone parted ways and headed back to their businesses, The Moonlight Boss took a note from his pocket—a memo Patrick had secretly slipped him, sitting right beside him.
"Damn."
The day the bombing happened, the assailants had come to him.
"If you don't want to get blown up with your dance hall, do as we say."
Back then, he hadn't even known they were with Union.
In any case, Union had forced him to arrange the meeting and then demanded he inform them of whatever came out of it.
It wasn't that Pumpkin Boss had found the meeting place because LES is a small world; it was because The Moonlight Boss had tipped him off.
Anyway, Union had threatened to pick and destroy suppliers depending on what they heard.
"I can't let that happen."
Everyone involved cared deeply about their dance halls. It would be such a waste for them to die just because they got caught up in some gang war.
Luckily, persuading the stubborn Golden Flame Boss had been a challenge, but the outcome of the meeting was decent.
***
A little later— In a dim, somewhat creepy spot, three assailants with scarves wrapped around their faces stood waiting for The Moonlight Boss.
"What was the result of the meeting?"
"Everyone… decided to follow Union."
"You're going to be held accountable for that statement."
The Moonlight Boss nodded and revealed a few critical pieces of information—Rose, the headquarters of the gang closely tied to Palm Garden, and the name of their boss all came out.
***
I spent the entire morning at my desk, scanning the newspapers.
No matter which article I looked at, the NYPD had failed to identify the bomber.
They were investigating a range of possibilities—from German spies and anarchists to disputes between gangs. In other words, they still hadn't managed to find the right direction.
That's exactly why someone like me had to steer things the right way.
Just then, Brian, who had just come back from meeting The Moonlight Boss, arrived at the office.
"They all agreed to cooperate with us."
If you ask about the future of dance halls that sell alcohol, just look back at the Prohibition era.
They'll turn themselves into speakeasies, sell the liquor I distribute, and bring in profit for me.
Of course, for now, their real value lay in the information I could extract from them.
"It looks like things are about to get a lot bigger. Our opponent is none other than…"
The Five Points Gang, which had ruled the LES for nearly twenty years.
To be precise, after the original boss Paul Kelly retired and became the ILA Vice President, the group split up like rival warlords.
Now, the boss is Joe Hickman, a Jewish immigrant.
On another note, he's also known as "Itsuki Joe," effectively the last boss of the Five Points Gang.
"Rose and the Palm Garden Boss are both his subordinates. Ludlow and Essex Street are under his influence too."
At the last meeting, when the five dance hall bosses gathered, that's exactly what they said.
"But Boss, isn't it too soon to go after the Five Points?"
"What do you mean, 'too soon'? We've already clashed with them multiple times."
I've met and talked face-to-face with Salvatore, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, Irving, Al Capone, and Joe Torrio.
Johnny Spanish, "Kid Dropper" Kaplan, too.
Herman Kalman—he was eliminated by my own hand.
Looking at all this, after Paul Kelly retired, the Five Points Gang lost its center and scattered like grass roots.
It got to the point where, if you asked a unit if they were in the Five Points Gang, you'd hear things like, "Oh, really? Me too," back and forth.
That just shows how poorly organized they've become, and the title of New York's strongest gang is starting to mean nothing.
"So what's there to be afraid of?"
Forget Ludlow and Essex Street for now—we're going after a new turf.
Itsuki Joe.
If the last boss of Five Points sinks his fangs into Bowery Street, he'll own the entire east side of the LES.
There's no reason not to go for it.