Jason rose to his feet and shot back, “And how much has New York paid for those precious statistics of yours?”
“Illegal guns, weed, gambling, prostitution, they’re everywhere.”
“Every legitimate business in the city has to pay Kingpin protection money. Every business rival who gets in Kingpin’s way ends up at the bottom of New York Harbor feeding the fish.”
“There’s so much blood on Kingpin’s hands that he’ll never wash them clean. Want me to keep going?”
Wesley was left speechless.
Unable to come up with a proper rebuttal, he stubbornly argued, “At least ordinary people who would otherwise have died are still alive because of it.”
Jason gave him a contemptuous laugh.
“I’m impressed you can even say that with a straight face. Wake up, Wesley. We’re villains. Kingpin is just committing evil while waving the banner of reform. I can see that perfectly clearly. You’re the one who’s been brainwashed by all his bullshit.”
“Shut up!”
Wesley’s face flushed red as he suddenly grew agitated.
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. And I don’t have the answer you want. Get the hell out of my house.”
Jason dropped back onto the stool and shamelessly said, “Then I suggest you come up with an answer. Otherwise, I’m moving in. And you’re feeding me, too.”
Wesley didn’t know whether to laugh or curse.
“Jason, you know plenty of people. Why the hell are you so fixated on me?”
“Because you’re Kingpin’s favorite protégé, you help run his organization, and you’re the person most likely to have access to what’s really going on.”
“Besides, there’s a three million dollar bounty on my head now. Most of my old drinking buddies are probably praying I show up at their door so they can cash me in.”
“Jesus…” Wesley let out a long sigh and sat down on one of the stairs, looking utterly exhausted.
Jason had latched onto him.
Unless Wesley gave him an answer, he clearly wasn’t leaving.
A few minutes later, Wesley suddenly lifted his bowed head.
His expression had changed, as though something had just occurred to him.
“There is one thing.”
“Talk.”
“Ever since you turned against us, Kingpin ordered me to begin an internal purge.”
“All your territory was taken back.”
“Every one of your trusted lieutenants was executed. Even the men who used to answer to you were split up and reassigned to territories outside New York.”
Jason remained perfectly calm.
None of that surprised him.
“But… there was one exception.”
Jason’s brows knitted together.
“Who?”
“Paul.”
Wesley watched Jason’s expression before continuing.
“He was the subordinate you trusted most. By all rights, there’s no way he should’ve survived. But not only was he spared, he was given a sizable chunk of your old territory.”
The moment he heard the name, Jason looked stunned.
Then his expression twisted with fury.
“You’d better fucking make sure that’s true, or else—”
Wesley looked him straight in the eye.
Jason glared at him, searching his face for any sign of deception.
But Wesley’s gaze was steady.
He didn’t look like he was lying in the slightest.
“Shit!” Jason slammed his fist hard against the bar.
Paul.
How the hell could it be him?
Jason sat there in silence for a long time before finally standing to leave.
“Don’t change your number. I’ll be contacting you again.”
Wesley’s face immediately darkened.
“FUCK YOU, Jason! I swear to God, this is the last time I ever help you.”
“Is that so?” Jason pulled out his phone and showed him a video.
“I’ve got footage of your wife on here, footage of her lover with his hand smashed to pieces, and an audio recording of the conversation we just had. Unless you want the NYPD, or Kingpin making your life difficult, you know what to do.”
“FUCK!” Wesley exploded.
His eyes went bloodshot with rage.
He wanted nothing more than to draw his pistol right then and there and turn the bastard in front of him into Swiss cheese.
But he knew perfectly well that if he reached for his gun, the one getting turned into Swiss cheese would definitely be him.
“Three favors!”
Wesley glared furiously at him and held up three fingers.
“I’ll help you three times. After that, you delete every video and every recording. And no copies.”
Jason waved his phone in the air and gave him a mocking grin.
“Three? No chance. I’m milking this for the rest of your life.”
With that, he pushed open the door and left.
Wesley stared blankly at Jason’s retreating back.
Then his legs buckled, and he collapsed onto the floor.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
After leaving Wesley’s villa, Jason headed straight for an apartment building five blocks away.
Paul lived there.
The place certainly couldn’t compare to Jason’s luxury high-rise apartment in Manhattan, nor could it match Wesley’s suburban villa with its neatly trimmed lawn.
But to most Americans, it was still the kind of home they dreamed of owning and couldn’t afford.
Jason’s thoughts weighed heavily on him, and his pace was quick.
More than half an hour later, he arrived beneath an apartment building a little over a dozen stories tall.
Paul lived on the fifth floor.
Jason stood outside for a moment, staring up at the dark windows on the fifth floor, then strode inside.
Knock, knock, knock.
When he reached Paul’s apartment, Jason knocked on the door.
He knocked several times before an irritated voice finally came from inside.
“Who the fuck is it?”
Jason lowered his voice.
“Me.”
“Oh, shit!”
Creeeak—
A moment later, the door opened.
A young Black man in his early twenties, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, poked his head out.
“Boss.”
“Hey, Paul.”
The two men stared at each other in the hallway for several seconds.
Then Paul stepped aside and hurriedly urged, “Get in. Quick.”
Jason entered the apartment.
Paul leaned out into the hallway and looked around.
Once he was certain there was nothing suspicious, he immediately shut the door.
The apartment wasn’t particularly large, but everything had been kept spotless and neatly organized.
Clearly, this wasn’t the work of a bachelor living alone.
“Boss, what are you doing here?”
Paul walked over, looking slightly nervous.
Jason sighed and collapsed weakly onto the couch, his shoulders slumped.
“I had a falling-out with Kingpin. Now he’s got the whole city hunting me. Damn near got me killed. I’ve got nowhere else to go, so I had to come here and hide out for a while.”
At that, Paul visibly relaxed.
He thumped his chest and said, “Boss, stay here as long as you need. Kingpin will never think you’d hide at my place.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Jason looked up again.
“Lisa and the kids asleep?”
At the mention of his family, a warm smile spread across Paul’s face.
“They were, but the knocking woke them up. Lisa’s feeding them now. Once they’ve had some milk, they should go right back to sleep.”
Jason immediately apologized.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to disturb you guys.”
Paul waved it off, completely unconcerned.
“Don’t say that. If you hadn’t pulled me out of Hell’s Kitchen back then, I probably would’ve died there a long time ago.”
“You took me in. Taught me how to fight, taught me how to shoot, taught me how to survive in this world. Hell, you even helped me pay off the mortgage on this apartment. I owe you everything. That debt—”
“All right, all right. Enough with the sentimental crap. You know I hate that stuff.”
Paul smiled.
“Fine. What I mean is, if you want to, you can stay here for as long as you like.”
Jason nodded.
“We’ll worry about later when later comes. You got anything to eat? I’m starving.”
Paul grinned.
“There’s still a big slice of beef pizza in the kitchen. Give me a minute, Boss. I’ll heat it up for you.”
With that, Paul turned and headed into the kitchen.
He took the pizza out of the refrigerator and put it in the oven to warm.
Once that was done, he poked his head out and glanced toward the living room.
Then he pulled out his phone and rapidly typed a message.
“Jason’s at my place. Get here now!”