After Leo finished shouting, the hotel room fell into silence. After a long time, the hotel owner asked again:
"You were two people when you left, why did you become three people when you came back?"
It sounds like the hotel owner should have gone to see the surveillance video just now. So, Leo explained:
"The third person is a friend of mine. He sprained his ankle and it's getting late. He can't go back today, so he plans to spend the night with me."
"You ask him to stand at the door of the hotel and look up at the camera on the sign of Fengshou Hotel. I want to see what he looks like."
Leo had no choice but to tell Old Tom to do as he was told.
Old Tom was very afraid that the hotel owner would shoot him through the wooden door, but in comparison, he was more afraid that if he didn't obey, Leo would punch him to death.
So, Old Tom stood at the door of the hotel fearfully and looked up at the camera.
The hotel became quiet again, and the hotel owner didn't speak for a long time. The more silent the hotel owner was, the more frightened Old Tom became, and his body began to tremble.
Just when Leo couldn't help it anymore and wanted Bucky to smash open the hotel door, the lights suddenly turned on in the hotel. Then, the door was opened a crack, and the hotel owner whispered:
"I thought you two had died outside! Since you are still alive, let's all come in and move quickly."
Leo and three people filed in, and then the hotel owner closed the door again. The hotel owner locked the door and turned around and said:
"This new guy can't share a room with you. You have to get a new single room for $20."
Leo took out two 20-dollar bills, patted them into the hotel owner's hands and said:
"He doesn't have a driver's license either, and the price has doubled. I know that. It's late at night, so I'm really troubling you."
However, the boss took out one of the two bills in his hand and handed it back to Leo:
"His name is Old Tom, I know him. So, you don't have to double the price, just pay 20."
Old Tom looked at the innkeeper and asked in surprise:
"Why do you know me?"
"Ten years ago, when I first smuggled myself into New York, I asked you to apply for identification. I thought I could live a good life here, but I ended up living in Hell's Kitchen for 10 years."
The hotel owner said something faintly, then he didn't want to say any more and changed the topic,
"It's getting late, you should go to bed early. This is the key to 205, a single room, just opposite to 203."
After the hotel owner finished speaking, he was about to leave. Only then did Leo realize that he had almost forgotten what was going on. He immediately reacted and stopped the owner in time and said:
"Boss, our car parked at the door has been broken open by someone, and the things inside have been stolen. You happen to have a surveillance camera here. I want to check the surveillance video to find out who stole our things."
"What's the use of knowing who stole it? Do you dare to look for it in the middle of the night and not get it back? You're going to die?"
"These two big guys are not simple. Not to mention getting things back, it's not unusual for them to double the value of things."
Old Tom answered quickly. He thought he was flattering, but in fact he was crazy and seeking death without knowing it.
Leo pulled Old Tom's head and pushed him aside. Old Tom smiled awkwardly, but he neither dared to get angry nor speak.
The innkeeper saw Old Tom, who was well-known in Hell's Kitchen, respectful to Leo, and couldn't help but guess who these two unfamiliar tenants were.
Leo turned to the hotel owner again and said:
"Boss, you just need to let me see the surveillance screen. You don't have to worry about other things. I guarantee it won't cause you any trouble."
The hotel owner was silent and frowned, looking troubled.
Leo took out his wallet, took out a thick stack of banknotes and handed it to the hotel owner, saying in a cold voice:
"Boss, since you chose to open a hotel, you are considered a businessman, so I will use the money to buy information from you. This is a lot of money. It should be enough to buy a life in Hell's Kitchen, right?!"
The hotel owner heard Leo's threat and did not dare to refuse Leo anymore. Compared with ordinary gangsters, the hotel owner felt that the person in front of him who did not know whether he was good or evil was more terrifying.
The hotel owner didn't dare to take all the money. He carefully took a brand new hundred-dollar bill from the top of a pile of money and said angrily:
"This money is enough. My information is not so valuable and is not worth a human life."
Afterwards, he took Leo behind the counter and prepared to pull out the surveillance video from nearly a few hours that night.
…
On the electronic tube display, a black pickup truck appeared on the screen with snowflakes. Then, two sneaky men wearing black casual clothes got out of the car.
They circled Leo's car parked in front of the hotel several times. Then they took out tools from their pockets, pried open Leo's car, emptied everything in the car, and finally drove away.
go.
The time on the surveillance screen showed that the theft occurred half an hour before Leo came back, which was not too long.
After watching the surveillance footage, Leo noticed that Old Tom had a different look on his face and immediately asked:
"Old Tom, do you know these two people?"
"Uh... I know, I know. These two people, one is named Monkey and the other is Crow. They are... members of the Black Bear Gang."
"Oh?! So you should be familiar with them two?"
Old Tom quickly waved his hand and said:
"Not familiar... Not familiar. Just acquaintance. I have nothing to do with them."
"Then do you know where they usually go to sell their stolen goods?"
"The Black Bear Gang has very strict gang rules, so they don't dare to sell things privately. All stolen things will eventually be handed over to the Black Bear himself, and he will handle them exclusively..."
So, ten minutes later, Leo and Bucky returned to Mingde Street.
Old Tom was placed in the Harvest Hotel by Leo. Bucky had a friendly exchange with him before leaving. I believe Old Tom would not dare to run around at night.
Mingde Street is no longer the lively scene it was an hour ago. All the bars are now closed, and a full 10 police cars are lined up in the middle of the street.
Seeing that there were so many police officers, Leo and Bucky hid quietly in the alley, observing secretly, and did not act rashly.
The police seemed to have been here for a while. At this time, there were seven or eight body bags on the ground in front of Innocence Bar. Several policemen were working in pairs to move the bodies to the corpse truck.
There were already several corpses in the corpse truck. Leo counted them from a distance and conservatively estimated that at least twenty people died in this fire.
Suddenly, a large number of police officers poured out of the Dire Bar, suppressing more than thirty people whose hands were handcuffed behind them. These people were both men and women, and Leo didn't know whether they were from the Black Bear Gang or the Poisonous Wolf Gang.
people.
The prisoners were loaded into police cars one by one. The police removed the blockade and prepared to leave the scene.
Leo didn't want to cause any more trouble, so he and Bucky waited patiently until the police car disappeared along the street, and then they walked out of the alley.
The door of Innocence Bar was in a mess. The door was densely covered with bullet holes, and the blood in the room had not yet solidified, leaving a human-shaped blood stain.
Everyone in the bar seemed to have run out, and the entire first floor was deserted. It was quiet all around, and only the pale lights were on, highlighting the desolation and sadness here.
Bucky glanced at the lobby on the first floor and asked:
"Leo, what should we do now? It seems that everyone from the Black Bear Gang and the Lone Wolf Gang are gone!"
Leo was also a little irritable. Could it be that his trip tonight was in vain? After a night of delay, who knows where the Black Bear Gang would sell Leo and his things!
For a moment, Leo didn't know what to do next. Suddenly, there was movement on the second floor of the bar, and Leo faintly heard the sound of someone talking.