Hardy took the money and was about to go out. Henry and Matthew were watching TV in the living room downstairs.
The cartoon Tom and Jerry was playing on the TV, and these two guys watched it with gusto.
It is now 1945, the penetration rate of television is not high yet. It is only about 67% in the United States, and there are only a dozen TV stations.
The TV is an 11-2-inch black-and-white TV, but it is very attractive to people who have rarely been exposed to TV programs.
It would not be until the 1950s that television would become a common consumer product.
"Boss, you want to go out, do you need me to help you drive?" Henry stood up immediately after seeing Hardy getting down.
"No need."
Hardy was about to go out when he suddenly remembered something.
"Henry, is the guy you kidnapped still in the cellar?" Hardy asked.
"Yes, he had been detained for three days." Henry said.
"Find a reason to let him go, but don't let him know anything about us, and don't associate it with the robbery of the club." Hardy ordered.
"Also, tell Neil and the others to go out and inquire about the Spanish gang's reaction and see if there is any movement from them."
"Okay, boss!"
Hardy drove away. Henry scratched his head and looked at Matthew. "Matthew, what do you think we should do with that guy?"
"The easiest way is to kill him. It will definitely not be that much trouble."
"The boss asked us to find a reason to let him go, not to kill him." Henry said.
At this time, the TV program had changed from Tom and Jerry to a TV series. The plot was about a woman who was caught by her boss, who took nude photos and threatened her to become his lover.
Henry's eyes lit up.
"Matthew, I have an idea."
Kevin Madion has been locked in the cellar for three days. During these three days, he was in fear at every moment.
The robbers would probably contact his families to ask for ransom, right? How much? He also heard that many people who paid ransom would also be ripped off.
Will the robber kill himself? These questions lingered in his mind all the time, which also made him worried all the time.
"Bang~!"
The iron door of the cellar opened.
Two men wearing masks walked in, one of them had a gun in his hand, and Kevin shuddered, maybe they were going to kill him today.
"Please don't kill me. I'm willing to agree to all the conditions, and I'll take the money. Please don't kill me." Kevin begged.
"Stop talking nonsense; do everything according to our requirements now." Henry said it coldly.
"Okay, I will be obedient."
"Take off your clothes, all naked!"
Hmm~!
Kevin was stunned. What are ..... What are they going to do?
But now he had no choice. Kevin quickly took off his clothes, revealing his not so muscular body.
Matthew held up his camera.
"Don't cover it, let go of your hand."
"Put a pose; yes, be coquettish."
"Put a smile on your face, you know, don't have such a hard expression."
Kevin felt that being photographed naked in this situation, it's strange that his expression couldn't get any better how was he suppose to smile.
Finally, after all the photos were taken, Matthew finished the work successfully. Henry ordered Kevin to put on his clothes, tie his hands, put on a hood, and pull him out.
After driving around in Kevin's Lincoln for half an hour before stopping, Henry untied the rope from Kevin's hand and said sternly, "We are letting you go now, you can prepare $5,000 when you go home, we may contact you any time."
"Remember, if you dare to call the police, we have countless ways to deal with you, and your photos will appear in the mailboxes of major newspapers."
"I will never call the police."
"You can't remove the hood until you count to 100. Start counting now." Matthew said.
"Okay, 1, 2, 3, 4"
Henry and Matthew looked at each other and smiled, and they got out of the car. Kevin counted to 100 in the car, stopped and waited for a while, and then asked quietly, "Mr. Robber, can I open my hood?"
No reply, Kevin carefully opened a small opening.
There was no one else in the car.
"Woooooo~!"
Kevin cried.
Finally free and alive, after crying for a while, he shakily got into the driver's seat and drove back to his home, he opened the door and found his wife at home. The woman saw Kevin and asked with concern, "What have you been doing these days? Why didn't you say anything?"
"If you didn't show up today, I was going to call the police."
Seeing how concerned his wife was about him, Kevin stepped forward and hugged her. "Honey, I never want to be separated from you again."
...
After Fred learned that Hardy was responsible for the robbery, he hung up the phone and immediately called his Boss Siegel.
Ring, ring, ring!
The call was connected.
"Mr. Siegel, it's me, Fred. The incident at the Spanish Casino has been investigated clearly. It was Jon Hardy, a small boss in our gang."
"Jon Hardy, tell me about his situation." asked Siegel.
"Jon Hardy used to be a Marine. He was discharged after being injured. He was recommended by one of our small bosses, Bill. As for the people under him, they are all veteran comrades he recruited." Fred said.
"He just called me, and was about to hand over the gang share, and is coming to me now."
"How much is the share?" Siegel asked.
"63 000$ In order to encourage the people below to make money, I increased their share. He robbed a total of 210,000, and the gang got a share of 63,000$." Fred explained.
"63,000$?"
Siegel's heart moved when he heard this number.
During this time, he was short of money.
Hardy's money has not been recorded in the gang account yet, so he could just take it.
Some time ago, the Mafia Committee met and asked Los Angeles gangs to increase the revenue. It happened that a friend, William Wixon, who was also a gangster, proposed to build a luxury casino in Las Vegas.
After doing some research, Siegel was very interested in this project. The two were going to raise funds to build it. Their plan was very huge. Las Vegas was still just a desert and didn't hold much attraction to gamblers yet.
Siegel envisioned a massive casino plan, complete with palace style casinos, luxury hotels, nightclubs, bar lounges, restaurants, cafes, indoor shops, health clubs, and more.
There will also be private villas, swimming pools, and even a lake outside, as well as an arena, shooting range, and horse ranch.
In short, the goal is to build this casino into a leisure destination integrating gambling and entertainment.
Their plan is to receive about 3,000 people at a time, so the initial investment reached 6 million.
$6 million in 1945 was an absolute fortune, equivalent to $60 million in 2020.
Although Siegel is the boss of the Los Angeles Austrian Gang, the Austrian Gang exists in the form of a company and is a branch of the Mafia. A large part of the money earned needs to be handed over.
Siegel is trying to secretly embezzle part of the company's funds.
If the other Mafia Family knew about it, it would be a big trouble for Siegel.
William Wixon could only gather one million, With the remaining funds, Siegel plans to lobby other gang bosses to raise $4 million to complete his huge plan.
"Fred, bring that little guy named Hardy to my place, and remember to bring the money." Siegel said.
Fred realized something.
"Okay boss."
Driving Bill's old Ford, Hardy thought it was time to change to a better car.
Guns are men's favorites, But many times, Cars have to be queued in front, a beloved car is definitely closer than a wife.
Not long after, he arrived at the door of Fred Villa, this is a high end community surrounded by independent villas, each covering an area of several acres.
The car stopped at the door, and Hardy got out with the box.
Before reaching the door, the door opened automatically. Fred stood at the door and said to Hardy, "Hardy, come with me to meet someone."
"Meeting who?"
Hardy was slightly surprised.
You are more anxious to meet someone than to collect money. Who is that person?
Fred looked at Hardy and said,
"My boss, the real controller of the underground world in Los Angeles!"