1RomanceEB Chapter 75 No-Contract Transactions
Chapter 75 No-Contract Transactions
Under Evelyn's still-shaken gaze, the 'old man' calmly took out the brown paper bag that Tino had just given him from his pocket, casually turned it upside down, and gave it a gentle shake.
slam-la-
A stack of photos slid onto the menu on the desktop.
"Madam, you don't need to ask my name or remember where I came from. I'm a simple person, I don't know anything about SAG or Oscars."
He spoke slowly, with a heavy New York accent.
"I've heard you're a smart woman. Smart women usually don't associate with people like us."
"So, let's do the math."
The old man picked up the photos and read them aloud one by one.
"Your address is 4812 Harleywood Street, across Sepulveda Avenue, Sherman Oaks."
"Your eldest daughter, Lucinda, is a student at Pasadena Community College. She works part-time at The Old Towne Pub every Wednesday night and leaves promptly at 11 p.m."
"Our second daughter, Constance, also known as Connie, walks home from her high school at four o'clock on weekday afternoons, following a fixed route. We know exactly where the traffic lights are and where there are few people and quiet spots along the way."
"Your son Lucius, nicknamed Buddy, works for a local magazine and lives with his girlfriend in apartment 3B at 187 Lowell Street in the Silver Lake district."
"And your 'partner,' JO D, a professional photographer, we know everything about him: his work address, his daily routine."
With each name and piece of information revealed, Evelyn's body trembled a little more.
Her face drained of color rapidly, and her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
"Stop talking..." Evelyn's voice trembled, completely abandoning all her strength and arrogance. "Please, stop talking, don't hurt my family."
The old man remained expressionless as he slowly and methodically gathered the scattered photos and documents one by one. His leisurely movements, the more composed he was, the more unsettling it became.
"Madam, I'm old, slow, and timid. I wouldn't dare to do it myself."
"If you're not satisfied and insist on calling the police and making a big fuss about it, I can't stop you."
"I'm just an ordinary old man, there's nothing I can do. But no one can guarantee that a person won't 'accidentally' trip and fall on the street, or get 'bumped' by a car."
"You can never predict accidents, right?"
He looked up, a smile hidden in his eyes, a sharp edge lurking beneath: "So, don't force me to show off my skills. I never leave a trace when I work, but the trouble I do leave behind will be enough to bother you for a lifetime."
"Of course, that's all hypothetical. I believe you're a reasonable person. You just want Judy to become famous, and Zeke is doing it for Judy's own good. You're aligned on the same goal, right?"
Throughout the entire process, Zik remained seated and silent.
He watched coldly as this woman, who thought she controlled the rules, was utterly defeated by the most primal rules.
Only after the "old man" finished speaking and the room fell silent again did Qi Ke slowly open his mouth.
"Evelyn, let's make a deal. You can continue to be Judy's agent, and you'll continue to receive your commissions as usual. You'll get every penny of what you're entitled to."
"But let's leave the matter of those photos behind."
"Also, don't bother us with that bullshit talk about guardianship, custody, or mental evaluation anymore. If you behave yourself, we'll pretend we never said anything... and we can all live in peace."
Evelyn's fingertips trembled violently, her face was ashen, and her gaze darted frantically between the unpredictable 'old man' and the calm and cold Zeke, without the slightest confidence to resist.
Her Adam's apple bobbed, and she managed to squeeze out a few words with difficulty: "I...I agreed...What about the contract?"
A slight smile played on Qi Ke's lips. "I think we don't need a contract between us, do we?"
An intangible deterrent is far more effective than a written contract.
Evelyn was completely speechless and dared not utter another word in rebuttal.
The tense standoff finally ended. The 'old man' chuckled, his menacing expression vanishing, and picked up the menu: "Great. Now that the deal is done, can we order? I've been traveling all this way and I'm starving."
He looked up at Evelyn, whose face was deathly pale, and teased with a smile, "Madam, you don't mind if you treat us, do you? Consider this meal a celebration of how perfectly things have been resolved between us."
"Of course... of course." Evelyn's voice was dry and hoarse, almost out of tune.
Zik knocked on the heavy carriage door again.
Tino, who had been waiting outside, pushed open the door and entered, looking relaxed and natural, as if the confrontation had never happened. He sat down with a perfectly gentle smile on his face.
"Evelyn, look, this is the best and most perfect outcome right now," Tino added calmly, completely calming her down. "Zick and Casablanca will help you and Judy cast in a big-budget production."
"You continue to collect your agent's commission, Judy collects her paycheck, and you remain the successful star mom agent that everyone in Hollywood envies, without becoming a crazy woman being held accountable by SAG and blacklisted by the industry. You know best what the pros and cons are."
Afterwards, everyone ordered their own food, and the atmosphere completely relaxed.
Zik, Tino, and the "old man" were relaxed and ate with ease. Only Evelyn couldn't eat and remained silent and stiff throughout.
After the three of them finished their meal and the plates on the table were empty, Evelyn finally suppressed the turmoil in her heart and cautiously asked, "Zick... how did you get these things?"
"I have my own way of doing things." Zik blinked, offering no further explanation or answer.
"Go home, Evelyn. I'll have Judy call you, and you can see each other anytime she wants. I'm not a bad person, I won't restrict her freedom, and you don't need to worry about her safety at all."
"But remember, stop trying to control her life or hijack her will. This is my last concession."
After saying that, the three of them got up and left the private room.
Qi Ke carried the brown paper bag and walked to the exit of the carriage. The evening breeze blew in his face. He felt no ecstatic joy of a great victory, only a sense of relief and ease that the dust had settled.
He sighed silently in his heart.
Violence, intimidation, and underhanded tactics may seem like crude, low-level methods that are not respectable, but they are often the most direct, effective, and efficient solutions when reasoning fails and rules are exploited.
No wonder American gangs are so rampant. It's precisely because there are so many of these kinds of messy situations that can't be resolved through normal channels that many places become breeding grounds for the Mafia.
"Tino, give that private investigator a bonus later," Zeke instructed as he walked. "Although we didn't find Judy's father, these photos and information were indeed invaluable."
"Hey, what about my bonus?" The 'old man' immediately chimed in, grinning and boasting, completely devoid of his earlier ruthless aura. "If I hadn't been such a good actor and hadn't been so commanding, would things have been resolved so smoothly?"
"Ha~ You'll get your share." Zike chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. "You really played brilliantly today. I almost thought you were a real top assassin."
"Of course!" The old man raised his eyebrows proudly, "We Italians are all natural actors; we handle these kinds of situations with ease."
The three chatted and laughed as they walked up the train steps to the platform, creating a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
Just then, a crystal-clear apocalyptic image flashed through Zeke's mind without warning.
The view instantly shifts to an old, retro train station platform.
The sky was overcast, the light and shadows dim. A boy of about twelve or thirteen years old sat alone on the edge of the empty platform, watching the train slowly pull in.
The blue and white train sounded its whistle and slowly glided to a stop at the station.
As the car doors opened, several tall, imposing men stepped out one after another. They wore retro long coats or tough leather jackets, top hats, and carried briefcases, exuding an aura of unapproachability. Every movement they made was incredibly photogenic.
At the same time, a unique melody suddenly rang out, with a lazy and light rhythm, a decadent and eerie style, and a unique rebellious temperament, perfectly matching the gangster aura of the group, and quite like an outlaw.
A lighthearted song clearly entered my mind, like a reckless British gangster humming:
Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-
I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad
I got sunshine in a bag
I'm useless, but Not for long
The future is coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on
It's coming on...
The little boy on the platform was so frightened by the group of men with a mafia-like appearance that he froze on the spot, lowered his head and silently shed tears, his whole body filled with uncontrollable panic.
The men walked straight out of the train station without looking around, cautiously observing their surroundings before calmly getting into two cars and driving away discreetly.
Only after they had gone far away did the still-shaken little boy rush into a nearby public phone booth and tremblingly pick up the receiver.
The visuals and singing abruptly ended there.
"Zek? What are you daydreaming about? Let's go." Tino's voice came, pulling him back to reality.
"It's nothing, I just suddenly had a flash of inspiration." Zeke snapped out of his reverie. "Tino, you drive."
Sitting in the passenger seat of the Mercedes, Zik savored the apocalyptic scene he had just witnessed.
The short clip, just over a minute long, is of excellent quality, with a clarity that is far beyond what the film and television technology of the 1970s could achieve. It looks more like a clip from a later gangster movie.
Moreover, the director must be a die-hard Mafia fan, as he filmed these Italian men in a very stylish and oppressive way.
What's even more strange is that the figures, demeanor, and facial features of two of the men in the picture are inexplicably similar to Tino and the "old man".
This interlude has a unique melody, is very memorable, and has a great atmosphere. The only regret is that it is too short, only a little over a minute long.
But once it happens, it happens again. Zeke felt that the Apocalypse cheat would eventually give him the full version of the song and the movie.
He pondered, so far the Apocalypse has been triggered four times: Judy twice, the YMCA once, and today's... Tino? "The Old Man"? Or the Mafia? Zeke didn't know who to pinpoint.
Could it be Evelyn's?
Recalling the meeting just now, he couldn't help but chuckle.
Evelyn begged him not to get involved in the murky waters of Hollywood, but it seems he really will have to get involved sooner or later.