In the relatively private reception room, Mr. Russell’s question was quite insightful: “Wayne, you must have just been to the Cathedral, right? Regarding what happened last night, what parts do you think I need to pay special attention to or be wary of?”
He didn’t ask “What do you know?” or “What can you say?”, but rather “What should I pay attention to?”
This directly addressed the key points relevant to himself, and in retrospect, it could also be used to assess Wayne’s “depth of understanding” of the matter and Wayne’s “sincerity” in cooperating with him.
For example, if there’s a pit ahead and I ask you about it, but you don’t warn me, then I can probably suspect that your “usefulness is limited” and you can’t provide professional warning and protection.
Or perhaps you “deliberately want to trick me,” which means that the trust between us is meaningless, and finding an opportunity to “stab you in the back” is the correct approach.
Wayne praised Mr. Russell’s shrewdness with a small-minded view, while pondering how to answer his sugar daddy’s question.
After a brief consideration, he decided to reveal two pieces of information that might not “leak secrets”:
“According to confirmation from informed sources, any news released by the Cathedral in the newspapers can be considered ‘fact.’ When making decisions, it’s best not to contradict it.
“Secondly, Father Tyrrell is very likely to be the next Bishop of Virginia, and his appointment should have been approved by Bishop Corleone.”
Mr. Russell’s expression tightened, “His Excellency the Bishop has passed away?! The newspaper said he was being rescued, and we were still guessing how he would handle this matter after he woke up.”
Hmm…
This was difficult to answer. Although Father Tyrrell and Tom Hagen had given Wayne their word, such significant news, when to officially announce it, was usually carefully considered.
You can guess, but I shouldn’t directly reveal it…
—Some news is like a college entrance exam question; after it’s made public, anyone can see it, but before it’s released, it’s a top-secret of immense value to certain people.
If it weren’t for the consideration that businessmen like Mr. Russell might need to take advantage of the news not yet being public to go and curry favor with Father Tyrrell in advance, Wayne wouldn’t have said this.
This favor, sugar daddy, you can slowly repay it later.
Seeing Wayne remain silent, Mr. Russell quickly reacted, his expression instantly becoming enthusiastic:
“This news is very valuable! While some people are worried about being angered by Bishop Corleone, it seems I’m going to make a fortune on a few deals. Since the successor is approved by him, and Father Tyrrell is a Southerner, it means the situation won’t escalate too severely. Some panic-sold stocks can also be bought up at this opportune moment…”
Hey, hey, hey, I didn’t mean for you to use this news like that.
As Mr. Russell spoke, he was already excitedly pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.
Looking at him, Wayne felt that if Olivia were to peek into Mr. Russell’s inner world at this moment, she might even hear the background sound effects of “abacus clicking” and “coins dropping.”
Fortunately, the big businessman’s mind reacted quickly, and not long after, Mr. Russell regained his composure.
Then he happily put his arm around Wayne’s shoulder and walked him out the door, looking like he had urgent matters to attend to:
“I will keep what you told me strictly confidential. Oh, by the way, Wayne, our company actually has several steam train lines, including the adjacent sections. How about we hand over the security for those to your Detective Agency as well? The price will be calculated according to the previous contract, based on mileage.”
Wayne liked this kind of character who immediately repaid favors, but the sections were too long, and it wasn’t easy to ensure security. “Our Detective Agency might not be able to recruit that many people in a short time…”
“That’s fine. The intention can be reached first, and the contract for this will be reserved for you. You can come and sign with me anytime in the future.”
“I was originally going to mention the fast-food restaurant renovation plan to you as well…”
“Oh, that’s a small business, mainly used to maintain relations with the Church. You can decide on your own. I trust your judgment.”
“Actually, I plan to open fast-food restaurants in the towns along the routes where our Detective Agency is responsible for security, but at that time, I might need to reserve a portion of the shares for the local people…”
“The fast-food restaurant is no longer company business; it’s my personal investment… Hmm… Let’s discuss this later. Those gentlemen just now are quite wealthy and might become clients of your Detective Agency. How about I introduce you to each other first? But don’t reveal the news from just now to them.”
“Okay.”
…
“Those Northerners just want us dead now!
“Corleone went too far this time. Does he really think that by connecting with a few people locally, they become the uncrowned kings of Virginia?!
“America is not the Old Continent; these thugs must learn to respect public opinion!”
At the same time, in a private residence in Richmond, over a dozen influential figures capable of affecting the state’s economy and stability were holding a temporary meeting.
Some of them were wealthy, owning large amounts of land and slaves; some were politicians, controlling votes and discourse; and some were officials in key positions, responsible for the specific enforcement of laws and rules.
Originally, there were others who also qualified to be present here. They possessed “faith,” responsible for guiding and sorting out the beliefs of followers, and could also provide unexpected help in certain matters.
However, at this moment, they were all “absent.” Except for one person excluded from the invitation, some of the remaining ones were considered “rebels” in the newspapers, while others were “innocently implicated”—the deaths of the latter two had all been confirmed.
The emotional “shouter” set the tone for the meeting, while the most influential figures among them remained calm.
One old gentleman looked at the man sitting beside him, who was clearly not in high spirits, “Besides Bazzini and them, you should be the one most familiar with the Church’s situation, Walter. How do you think we should seriously ‘respond’ to Corleone next?”
Mr. Walter opened his mouth, initially unable to speak:
“It’s meaningless to counter Corleone now. Unlike what some people speculated, he ‘returned to the embrace of the Holy Spirit’ this morning, rather than hiding to escape public condemnation. Even if we all know he was guilty, a person cannot die twice.
“Before his death, as Bishop, he accused the rebels of their crimes. Not to mention whether the Holy Spirit Church can tolerate others questioning the authority and piety of a deceased Bishop, he also named Tiriel as his successor…
“Gentlemen, attacking Corleone now, besides provoking the dissatisfaction of his original supporters, also amounts to denying the legitimacy of Tiriel’s succession. Tiriel will not sit idly by.”
Voices of opposition immediately rose, “Bazzini and the others were killed by Tiriel! Tiriel is no longer one of us.”
Mr. Walter glanced in that direction:
“Bazzini and the others are dead. If we continue to be hostile to Tiriel, I’m afraid we won’t have enough ‘our own people’ with influence in the local Church. I know some of you here won’t easily let him off, nor will you forgive those on Corleone’s side, but Tiriel is also an old friend of ours. I’m not sure if everyone will refuse to reconcile with him when he extends an olive branch.”
“What do you mean?! Did Bazzini and the others die for nothing?” Some voices already carried anger.
Mr. Walter turned to look directly at the speaker, “My losses last night were no less than some others’. But the reality is, you must be aware of how much dirt Tiriel knows about us, right? Just by having the Church strictly clean up those privately sheltered wild Extraordinary People, he could cause us heavy losses.”
“I hope he has the guts! We won’t just sit here and wait to die.” Someone in the room still retorted, followed by continuous whispers.
“Enough!”
The old gentleman slammed his hand on the table. After the scene quieted down, he turned to Mr. Walter, “Tell me what you think we should do?”
Everyone’s gaze converged. Mr. Walter pondered slightly: “First, Tiriel is certainly no longer trustworthy. After the new parish priests take office, we must quickly make contact and find people we can cooperate with—in fact, Tiriel’s choices are limited, and many of them should originally be our people.
“Secondly, to guard against Corleone and Tiriel having further moves, we must quickly hide those ‘unclean’ subordinates. Everyone knows how to handle certain matters. If you’re reluctant or don’t do it well, then don’t blame others if you suffer losses.
“Finally, openly opposing the Church is not a wise move, but if it’s merely targeting those who overreach, then all Southerners should support us from behind. If Tiriel truly dares to arrange for someone to act like Corleone again, then we naturally don’t need to be polite. Matters under the table will be handled under the table.
“Virginia is, after all, our Southerners’ territory. Northerners either stay honestly beyond the mountains, or they get out of Virginia. If they’re still not satisfied, then chop them up and bury them in the farm as fertilizer!”
