Leo became interested, sat up straight, and motioned for Old Tom to continue.
"Mr. Erwin, I actually mentioned this place to you a while ago. It is the home of the Black Boxing Gang. That place was originally a six-story shopping mall, which will definitely meet your requirements."
"Didn't you say at the time that the Black Boxing Gang's home base was an underground boxing ring a few blocks to the north? Why did it suddenly become a shopping mall?"
Leo especially emphasized the word "underground" and expressed his confusion about the inconsistency in Old Tom's words.
"Boss Erwin, the underground boxing ring means an irregular boxing ring. It does not mean that the boxing ring must be underground..."
Leo was stunned after hearing this. He originally thought that the underground boxing ring was really underground.
"Uh... Then why did it take you five days to remember this place?"
Leo felt a little embarrassed and found a reason to question Old Tom.
"Actually... I originally thought it was a basement, but today I found out that it is actually a six-story shopping mall. I used to work for the Black Bear Gang, so how dare I wander around in the Black Fist Gang's territory."
"Then why did you suddenly find out today?"
"I..., in fact, in addition to the underground boxing ring, the Black Boxing Gang is also engaged in gambling business. I have no money recently, so I sneaked in quietly, hoping to win some money..."
"Did you win?"
"Lost completely!"
Old Tom spread his hands, looking helpless.
Leo thought for a while and asked again:
"I'm more curious, how did the Black Fist Gang get its current headquarters? How can they have a space as big as a six-story shopping mall? In other words, who would be crazy and build a shopping mall in Hell's Kitchen?
If you grow something, isn’t it guaranteed that you will lose money but not make a profit?”
Leo was looking for a place to open a company, and now he heard that the Black Fist Gang's lair met his requirements, so he wanted to find out the ins and outs of this lair to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future.
"I actually found out this."
Old Tom said enthusiastically,
"This matter goes back to five years ago. At that time, a nouveau riche came from abroad and seemed to have made a lot of money in real estate in his country. He came to New York and wanted to speculate in real estate in New York.
He had just arrived and was unfamiliar with the place, so he was tricked into investing money to build a large shopping mall on the northernmost street of Hell's Kitchen. As you can imagine, not only were the shops in his shopping mall unable to be rented out, but there were also dozens of people selling them every night.
Unclear gangsters go to steal chickens and dogs.
It was useless for him to call the police, and no security guards were willing to work in his mall, and even his life safety was threatened. In the end, he had no choice but to admit that he was unlucky and ran away in despair."
"Then how did the mall end up in the hands of gangsters? No one in the New York City government wants such a big mall?!"
"Since the wealthy businessman ran away, the house has become ownerless. Logically speaking, the building should indeed belong to the New York City Government.
But the house was in Hell's Kitchen, so no New York City official wanted to interfere with the matter, lest it cause a scandal.
In the end, the mall was left without an owner and was snatched over by gangs from Hell's Kitchen. It changed hands several times and now belongs to the Black Fist Gang, who have occupied it for more than two years."
After listening to Old Tom's words, Leo felt relieved. Listening to Old Tom's description, the Black Box Gang's lair was indeed suitable for Leo to use to start a company.
The place was first robbed by the Black Fist Gang, and Leo borrowed it for his own use without any worries.
Secondly, the place is ownerless. Once Leo gets it, I believe he can find someone to trust him with and spend some money to get the title deed of the place. In this way, Leo is not only in name but also in law.
The owner of the place.
Thinking of this, Leo couldn't wait to borrow the home of the Black Boxing Gang. However, all matters regarding the gang are now handled by Bucky. So, Leo said:
"Old Tom, this has nothing to do with you. Go out and call Bucky over. Tell him that I have something to discuss with him."
But Old Tom did not leave, but looked at Leo with a flattering expression and said:
"Mr. Erwin, as you said last time, if I find a house that satisfies you, you will give me a bonus of two thousand dollars."
"I said obviously two hundred, right?"
"Please take pity on me! I lost all my money today, and I don't even have a cigarette to smoke. The Black Bear Gang is gone again, and now I don't know what to do in the future..."
"Are you still blaming me for losing money? Now that you have helped us get the identity certificate, I have no reason to keep you. You are free."
"Mr. Erwin, Boss Erwin, you can't burn bridges! The Black Bear Gang is gone now, and I am homeless. I have also helped you and Boss Bucky do a lot of things in the past few days.
.
Why don't you leave me as an errand boy? I'm familiar with Hell's Kitchen, and many things will be much easier if there's a local here. I don't need any money, as long as food and accommodation are included..."
As a native of Hell's Kitchen, Old Tom certainly has many enemies. He used to have the support of the Black Bear Gang, but now that the Black Bear Gang is gone, he lives alone in Hell's Kitchen, and his life is probably not going to be easy.
Moreover, he also discovered that although Leo and Bucky were usually very cruel to him, they had no real intention to kill him, and would even give him a small amount of money from time to time.
How could Old Tom let go of such a good thigh so easily? Of course he had to hold it tightly.
Leo really couldn't stand Old Tom's teasing, so he finally gave him five hundred dollars as a reward and agreed to let him follow him and Bucky temporarily before sending him away.
After Old Tom left, Leo fell into thinking. Old Tom had already helped Leo find a place to open a company, but Leo needed to come up with a suitable idea to get this shopping mall.
It won't work like we did when we eliminated the Black Bear Gang last time. If there is too much noise, that mall will not be suitable for opening a company, and it will be targeted by the police and interested people.
In a short period of time, several ideas flashed through Leo's mind, but he rejected them one by one.
At this time, Bucky opened Leo's door and walked in, asking:
"Old Tom said you have something to do with me, what's the matter?"
Bucky lived opposite Leo, and he usually stayed in the house to rest during the day. As soon as Old Tom left, he went back to the house and called Bucky, and Bucky came over.
Leo hasn't come up with any good ideas yet to quietly take over the six-story shopping mall from the Black Fist Gang.
So, Leo told Bucky about his plan to open a company and the headquarters of the Black Fist Gang, and prepared to ask Bucky if there was any solution.
"No nonsense, just do it! In the evening, the two of us will go to their lair and kill the Black Boxers in one fell swoop. This way the mall will be ours."
This is the idea given by Bucky, which is in line with Bucky's style, simple, rough, and straightforward.
Leo was speechless for a moment. After a while, Leo reorganized his words, raised his head and said to Bucky:
“But, Bucky, do you think that if the two of us directly take over the Black Boxers’ lair, then we can open a company in their lair?
If you think carefully about the scene where we killed the black bear, we almost destroyed the entire second floor of Innocence Bar, and we even used grenades. How much noise did it cause?
If we forcefully destroy other people's nests, eventually everyone will know the right and wrong. And immediately, we set up a company in that shopping mall. Do you think our company can continue to open? Someone will come to talk to us.
Cooperate and discuss business?"
Bucky thought for a while, felt that what Leo said was reasonable, and asked:
"Then what do you want to do?"
"I think it would be great if we could take down that mall quietly. For example, the Black Boxers would obediently give up their lair, and we wouldn't need to fight with them. This would be perfect.
Condition."
"How can there be such a good thing... They are not your puppets. They obey your words and are at your mercy..."
After hearing Leo's thoughts, Bucky felt that he was wishful thinking and was a little unable to complain.
However, the word "puppet" that Bucky just said made Leo's eyes light up instantly. Leo suddenly smiled and nodded, and said to Bucky:
"Bucky, thank you for reminding me. I have an idea now. Do you still remember that when you were in Hydra, you were brainwashed again every time before you were frozen into hibernation?