Chapter 62: 58, Don't let others see (looking for followers, seeking the first subscription~)
"You can't do this!"
When Isaiah left, leaving only John and Robert together, Robert spoke to John with composed seriousness.
"Why can't we? AJ is clearly not taking us seriously. If we don't take care of him, won't Donnie's plans to control the West District come to nothing?"
Atlantic City was crudely divided into four districts: east, south, west, and north. For now, Donnie still had a grip on LeBron James, which meant he effectively controlled the North District.
The reason Donnie sought out Isaiah was that Donnie wanted to use that as a springboard to take control of the West District, which in his mind was even better placed for control than the North District.
After all, the North District's black population was rebellious at heart, unpredictable in their loyalty.
As the area second only to the North District in poverty, if Donnie could win over the hearts of the people of the West District with the stacks checker job, his position within Atlantic City would rise to a new level.
"Donnie spoke of using Isaiah as a springboard to control the West District, but he never said he must use Isaiah the person,"
Robert had a deeper understanding of Donnie's plan.
"Moreover, didn't you notice? Isaiah actually wants to use us as his pawns. If we strike at AJ now, when we have no foothold in the West District, what do you think the people there will think of us? Despite its poverty, the community is united and very exclusionary, evident by the scarce number of women from the West District joining the WCTU.
I guarantee you, if we take action now, the entire West District will view us as enemies. Then, Isaiah will be able to use this to consolidate a following. If he amasses enough power before we take over The Fuli Tavern,
do you think Isaiah will still stand with us at that time?"
After listening to Robert's explanation, John rubbed his head, massaging his curly hair, "So what do we do?
The whole West District knows that Isaiah is our man. If we don't act, they'll look down on us just the same, and it'll be very troublesome either way."
Robert shook his head, "I don't know about that, I think we should tell Donnie and let him make the decision!"
"End of the day, we still have to find Donnie, so what was the point of all this talk?"
John gave Robert a disdainful glance, and Robert shook his head, resigned.
.
"Godfather, what do we do now?"
Vince appeared somewhat dejected within the General's villa.
He had thought himself a respectable law enforcement officer in Atlantic City, but to his dismay, he found that the pride he took in his identity meant nothing to Nucky, who had effortlessly thrown him in jail.
Had it not been for the General's intervention, he might still be locked up now!
"Washington has already called. They didn't say it outright, but their tone suggests they've tried their best. It looks like we can't count on support from Washington anymore!"
The General sat there, his expression calm as still water, and asked Vince, "How's the investigation by Diesel going?"
By now, probably only the General's side in Atlantic City was aware of Diesel Mallard and his team's arrival.
Vince spoke impatiently, "They're still hunkered down in the Ritz Hotel gathering information on Nucky. It's unlikely we'll be able to leverage their strength anytime soon!"
The Federal Investigators, or FBI, were well-known in later times.
But in fact, at this time, the FBI's power wasn't so expansive. It'd be only after Hoover took charge that the FBI's power would grow tremendously!
"They will be of some use. Find an opportunity to publicize their arrival in Atlantic City!"
The General instructed Vince.
Vince was taken aback, "If they're exposed, won't Nucky be ready for them?"
In Vince's opinion, only if these men remained undercover could they possibly find evidence of Nucky's crimes in Atlantic City.
"Naive!" the General said with slight dissatisfaction, "Do you think that if we don't speak up, Nucky won't find out? It's merely a matter of sooner or later!"
"But it's always better if it's later rather than sooner!"
The General responded, "I never expected these men to actually find any evidence against Nucky. Their presence is more about diverting Nucky's attention.
Only by doing this can Nucky prevent from focusing all his efforts on our side. Do you understand?"
It took a moment for Vince to grasp the General's point.
Seeing Vince's understanding, the General nodded, albeit with a sense of helplessness in his heart.
Upon his return to Atlantic City, he was so full of ambition, believing it would be effortless to reclaim the control over the land he once managed.
But after actually coming back to Atlantic City, he realized he had oversimplified everything.
Nucky's control over Atlantic City was unbreakable, and his old associates no longer had the youthful vigor they once did.
Now they've all become old slickers, assessing the situation and swaying from side to side.
When they believed I had some advantage, they were willing to stand by me, but as soon as Nucky truly showed his fangs, they all turned into cowards!
"Vince, we need an infusion of fresh blood!"
The Colonel said seriously to Vince.
Vince, puzzled, looked at the Colonel.
"Invite David Jabbar over to my place tonight on my behalf, and remember, this matter has to be kept a secret!"
Without waiting to see if Vince understood, the Colonel began to give orders directly!
"With the incident of your rescue, Nucky must be displeased with David Jabbar by now. If we can show some friendship at this time, I believe David Jabbar will definitely stand with us.
The most important thing is that David Jabbar and Eli Johnson are one and the same; if we can win over David Jabbar, we can reach Eli Johnson.
Without Eli Johnson's help, it would be akin to cutting off one of Nucky's arms."
"That's right, it's like that!" Vince, after a brief consideration, nodded excitedly, "When I was in charge of security, I often heard about Eli Johnson. He has always been very dissatisfied with how Nucky treats him. Perhaps we really can win him over!"
"Since you understand, go and do it!"
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"What's going on?"
After David Jabbar arrived at The Fuli Tavern tonight, his face showed a look of shock.
The business on the first and second floors of the tavern was as usual; songs were being sung, dances danced, and everyone was having a good time.
But on the third floor, it was different. Even during non-holidays, each gambling table here would have patrons.
But now....
Out of ten tables, only four or five were occupied by guests, and not many at that.
"Where are the people?"
David Jabbar looked grimly at his manager, Nate Sermont, a middle-aged man in a black suit.
Nate, with an embarrassed expression, explained, "Boss, a new joint recently opened in Atlantic City, attracting many of our customers over there!"
"Nonsense!" David Jabbar exclaimed angrily, "New places open every day in Atlantic City, but our clients' loyalty and their standards have always made us their first choice. How could they possibly all run off to a new joint now!"
Nate persisted, with a helpless explanation, "Strangely enough, that new place seems to be targeting our clientele specifically. I've asked some of our regulars about it...."
When David Jabbar heard Nate's explanation, he immediately understood someone was poaching his clients!
"Who's so bold? Don't they know the consequences of such actions?"
David Jabbar couldn't think of anyone in Atlantic City who would dare steal his customers so brazenly.
Nate replied, "We've investigated it; the person behind the new place is none other than Donnie Block from Block Tavern!"
"What?" Upon hearing that Donnie was behind the new place, David Jabbar's anger doubled, "Donnie Block again? Does that man truly think I have no way to deal with him?"
As Nate reminded, "You really have no way of dealing with Donnie Block right now... Boss, we must think of a solution now, or our clientele will surely diminish even more!"
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Although he had spoken quite harshly, David Jabbar also understood that now was indeed not the time when he could do anything about Donnie.
He had already learned from Eli Johnson that Nucky did not want to fall out with Donnie, which meant he couldn't use Eli's power to suppress Donnie Block directly.
Moreover, he still needed to buy liquor from Donnie, giving Donnie control over his supply chain.
"You just mentioned, the one helping Donnie is Isaiah from the West District?"
Nate nodded and said, "Yes, Isaiah previously only ran a small tavern in the West District with a couple of gambling tables, but somehow he got in touch with Donnie!"
"Go find AJ from the Panther Gang of the West District immediately; he owes me a favor. Tell him if he can get rid of Isaiah or sway him to our side, I will show him my gratitude!"
If it was currently impossible to deal with Donnie Block himself, then he would have to target his team!
Nate nodded and said, "Understood!"
Just then, David Jabbar's bodyguard came over and whispered something in his ear, and after listening, David Jabbar's expression turned complex.
"Have him come to my office, and don't let outsiders see him!"
"Yes!"
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