Chapter 189 Dinner with the Head of the Scarlet Syndicate
When Brody heard Vicente speak and saw him bow to him, he immediately took a liking to this rising young man who obviously knew how to behave in the presence of a superior.
"Young Cesar, you're so polite. Don't bother acting like that in front of me. Just treat me like an ordinary man." The red-haired, middle-aged-looking man said as he smiled at the masked man in front of him and motioned for him to sit down.
Vicente ignored the people around him, men guarding the appetizers and waitresses ready to serve food and drinks, and took a seat on the other side of the table where Brody was sitting.
It wasn't a large table, and the distance between Vicente and Brody was only three feet, close enough for the black-haired young man to feel slightly pressured.
Brody's words and manner were friendly, but his level 5 aura wasn't restrained, and Vicente naturally felt as if he were standing in front of a powerful predator, capable of killing him if it wanted to.
Ignoring the unusual yellow gem on this man's forehead, he asked, but without being impertinent or showing that he didn't want to be there. "Senior Wright, what do you want from me? I'm at your disposal to answer your questions."
Seeing Vicente pick up a glass of water and act relatively relaxed, Brody didn't take kindly to his haste in asking such a question.
"You're like me, straight to the point. Well, that's not bad. But let's talk while we eat." He said as he clapped his hands, and immediately, the well-dressed, smiling waitresses in the area began to bring their plates.
"But first, I must thank you for your recent actions. Without you, Defiant Tyranny would still be a problem." He said with a smile on his face as he poured wine for himself and Vicente.
"It wasn't planned. I just had to act and get lucky in the end. I almost died that day, Senior." Vicente said before thanking him for the wine and tasting it, manipulating his mask to show only his mouth.
"Good wine." He said after smelling and tasting some of the dark red liquid.
"Hmm, this is my winery's best production. I'm glad you like it." Brody commented, not bothered because Vice was keeping his identity a secret even from him.
As the waitresses placed the plates in front of him and Vice, they both paid attention to the meal being served, with lots of greens and carbohydrates but plenty of animal protein.
Meanwhile, they exchanged a few causal comments about their situation, about the food, nothing too relevant.
Then they both began to eat, and Brody said. "So, young Cesar, what do you want? Before I tell you what I want from you, I want to know more about you."
Vicente stopped tasting the delicious food this man was serving him and looked into Brody's eyes, remembering his dinner with the real Cesar Mazzanti on Earth.
'Today, I'm here to be tested. If I behave well and don't raise any red flags, I'll have the 'privilege' of continuing to serve this man... If not, I'll be killed.' He reasoned calmly.
An ordinary person would be nervous in such a situation. But having gone through something similar on Earth and having learned a lot from the real Cesar Mazzanti, Vicente was quite calm.
He then answered. "What I want is power, resources. I want to become stronger and be able to live the way I want. But I don't have a specific goal."
"Oh? Don't you want revenge? Why did you come to Millfall? You weren't from around here." Brody asked with interest, not knowing that Cesar was Vicente Fuller but that the Mazzanti family's leader was not from Millfall.
"I have no reason for revenge. I was raised without parents or family. In fact, my only companions are my comrades in the Mazzanti family. As for why Millfall, it's because there was space here." He replied, acting so calm and direct that Brody couldn't help but believe it.
Vicente was hiding the truth about his real purpose. After all, there was nothing more dangerous than a determined man!
Cesar Mazzanti had taught him never to get involved or even take a chance with someone who was willing to do anything to get something. People like that were hazardous, and if you couldn't avoid them, you had to eliminate them to avoid problems.
On the other hand, people with common goals of greatness, such as those searching for wealth or individual power, were easier to control...
Like the real Cesar Mazzanti, Brody Wright thought much the same and liked what he heard from the young Apprentice before him.
'This is good. If I show you the way to gold, you'll follow whatever I want, even if your interests contradict mine.' The red-haired man smiled in a way that hid his true intentions.
"Indeed, the city's eastern side was free for all to use. You were right to take advantage of the opportunity. Not every city like ours has room for newcomers like you." He complimented him and went back to eating.
"So I suppose you'll be expanding your operations now, right? With the end of the Defiant Tyranny, many shopkeepers are looking for support."
Vicente agreed as he ate. "Yes, but that's up to the faction command. I don't want to interfere where I shouldn't."
Brody said. "Don't worry. While I am indeed interested in some of the businesses left behind by Defiant Tyranny, I don't have the manpower to take over everything they left behind.
However, you and your group could be useful to me by providing the protection service they offered in their territory."
"Oh? Then I'll do it." Vicente said, following the man's lead even though he personally disliked this person and planned future actions against him.
As the little one there, Vice knew he had to swallow his pride and do bitter things for the sake of his future.
Since he could not go against this man, he could only act as a subordinate in order to have a chance to live and become stronger, just like a gangster would have to do on Earth.
"All right, since we understand each other, I'd like to make a new deal with you, young Cesar." Brody finally got to the point of this meeting.
'As expected...' Vicente thought to himself. 'He actually wants to renegotiate the agreements he had with my group.'
"To give you more room to maneuver and to protect you from the local nobles, I need a little more than you've been giving me. How about we keep the percentage of the profits that go to me, but you give me the blueprint for one of your firearms?" He smiled, showing what he wanted from Vicente.
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