Davey wasn't surprised by Martelli's refusal. Expecting someone to betray Bronte's with just a few words would have been far too naïve.
What Martelli said was actually quite telling. He claimed he couldn't betray Bronte's—not out of loyalty, but because of the Mafia's rules.
The Mafia might appear loose on the surface, with each family running its own affairs, but they had an eleven-member Commission that stood above all family bosses, enforcing a complete and strict internal system. When it came to traitors, their retaliation was merciless. No matter the cost, they would wipe a betrayer out completely.
"Mr. Martelli, how can you call this betrayal?" Davey said calmly. "I'm not asking you to do anything that would wrong Bronte's, am I?"
"It's just that when the time is right, and mutual interests align, we'll naturally cooperate."
"That's all I need—to feel that sincerity, Mr. Martelli."
"For now, you can rest here for a few days and wait for Bronte's reply. Let's see how many dollars he's willing to pay me for you and your men."
Hearing this, Martelli finally relaxed.
Since it was a ransom situation, everything could be negotiated. He firmly believed that Mr. Bronte would come through and save him.
After the discussion, Davey had someone escort Martelli out to make arrangements. Of course, his personal freedom was still restricted. Davey had no illusions—if Martelli got the chance, he certainly wouldn't stay put and behave himself.
Arthur, who had been listening the entire time, finally spoke up.
"Davey, this guy isn't as honest as he looks. Why work with him? Cooperating with an enemy's subordinate doesn't seem like a good idea."
Davey laughed softly. "It's precisely because he isn't honest that I want to work with him, Arthur."
"I don't need him to betray Bronte's. But if Bronte's disappears, Martelli becomes the boss of the Saint Denis Mafia. I don't want to stay at odds with the Mafia forever—it would just create endless trouble. Compared to that, dealing with Bronte's alone is much simpler."
Arthur frowned. "So you're planning to take Bronte's out? That big shot in Saint Denis. I don't even know how powerful he really is."
"He's already sent people to attack me," Davey replied evenly. "Why shouldn't I take him out? I'm not the type to swallow an insult and pretend nothing happened."
"Only an enemy buried in the ground is a good enemy. Of course, not right now. We still need the right timing—and the right plan."
Arthur had no way of knowing that the "timing" and "plan" Davey mentioned were actually referring to Dutch.
In the previous game storyline, Dutch only made contact with Bronte's because Little Jackie had been kidnapped. Now, Little Jackie was living comfortably under Davey's care—there was no chance of that happening.
But judging by Dutch's temperament and Bronte's arrogance, it was perfectly natural for the leaders of the two gangs to cross paths in Saint Denis sooner or later.
The Clemens Point camp had already been reported to Pinkerton by the Gray family. Once Pinkerton showed up, Dutch would have no choice but to move his people to Shady Belle.
If the absence of Little Jackie meant the two sides wouldn't connect, Davey was more than happy to lend a hand.
Use Dutch's plan to eliminate Bronte's, then cooperate with Martelli.
Damn—it was a perfect plan.
...
Clemens Point Camp.
Arthur hadn't shown up for several days, and an unexplainable sense of unease had settled over Dutch.
Normally, Arthur disappearing for a week or two—or even a month—was nothing unusual. But this time felt different. They had agreed to meet at the crossroads, yet Arthur had vanished completely.
"Charles, Bill—come here," Dutch called out after some thought.
Hosea, who had just returned from maintaining relations with the Braithwaite family, also walked over when he heard Dutch calling.
"Dutch, what is it?" Bill asked loudly. "Something wrong?"
Charles looked at Dutch as well, clearly puzzled.
Dutch felt a headache coming on at Bill's booming voice. If he'd known, he wouldn't have called him over. But there weren't many people available. Lenny and Javier still needed to stay behind to guard the camp.
Dutch glanced at Hosea, then said, "Charles, Bill, I need you two to help look for Arthur."
"After the last meeting with Colm, Micah, Arthur, and I agreed to meet at a crossroads in central New Hanover. Arthur never showed up, and he still hasn't come back."
"I'm worried something may have happened to him. Go ask around, gather information. If possible, try to find Arthur himself—assuming he's alright."
Bill and Charles nodded. This kind of task didn't surprise them. They mounted their horses and rode out of camp to investigate.
After watching them leave, Hosea walked up to Dutch, his expression dark.
"This happened days ago, Dutch," Hosea said sharply. "Why didn't you go looking for Arthur sooner? Did you really need to wait until something went wrong?"
There was clear anger in Hosea's voice. To both him and Dutch, Arthur was no different from their own son.
Yet after Arthur disappeared, Dutch hadn't immediately sent people to search for him. Instead, he'd waited three whole days.
"I…" Dutch hesitated. "Alright, Hosea. You know Arthur—he's strong. I thought… I thought he'd be fine."
Now, Dutch couldn't help but regret listening to Micah and not going to look for Arthur right away.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser