America 1919

"George Kurle must not be allowed to live!"

The dim light illuminated the hall of the Korla Bar, where the main entrance was tightly closed, and Donnie sat in the center with Robert, surrounded by swirling smoke.

After hearing about the aftermath of George Kurle's visit from Donnie, Robert pulled out his handgun.

"I can assure you that I can take out George Kurle without anyone noticing, no one will suspect a thing!"

Donnie also knew that George Kurle couldn't be spared, but even if they took him out now, they couldn't let the trail lead back to themselves.

"You can't do it, although not many people in Atlantic City know about you yet, but once you act, if others want to investigate, they will definitely find some clues, and then we will only be able to give up all our foundations in Atlantic City!

Moreover, since George Kurle came to us and then got taken out, the people behind him would definitely suspect us!"

At this moment, Robert had lost his usual joking demeanor and asked, "Even if we ask people from our own village to do it, there is still the possibility of being found out. If we hire a hitman, that poses a few problems. First, we don't have the connections, and second, we don't have that much cash!"

At this, Robert looked at Donnie helplessly. It seemed like he was in a dead-end, wanting to preserve their foothold in Atlantic City, they had to eliminate George Kurle, but whether they did it themselves or hired someone else, it would eventually lead back to them in the eyes of those behind George Kurle.

As far as those behind George Kurle were concerned, mere suspicion was enough for them; they didn't need evidence!

By now, Donnie already had some ideas and said to Robert, "Starting tomorrow, don't go next door anymore, follow George Kurle secretly..."

"I understand!" Not waiting for Donnie to finish, Robert thought he understood what Donnie meant: "Even if we have to give up our roots in Atlantic City, we must kill George Kurle."

"No one can stop our plans to make a fortune," Donnie said coldly. "George Kurle must die, and we don't have to leave Atlantic City."

Before Robert could fully grasp what Donnie meant, Donnie had already moved on to his subsequent plan.

"Today two people came with George Kurle, they must be his trusted aides in Atlantic City. What you need to do is use these next two days to follow them and find out everything about them!"

Even though Donnie explained it to Robert, Robert still didn't understand Donnie's intention.

Despite knowing they were the only two people there, Donnie still lowered his voice, sharing his plan with Robert in a volume only the two of them could hear.

Upon hearing the plan, a brilliant smile spread over Robert's face, and he excitedly said, "If it's like this, indeed, no one will guess it was us!"

However, Robert then asked somewhat worriedly, "Should we call John?"

Donnie shook his head, "No need, George Kurle already knows Atlantic City's response to Prohibition. I believe the big shots of Atlantic City have begun to lay out their plans; we must race against the clock."

Robert said, "All right."

.

It was the same night.

Nucky was in the casino on the second floor of the Ritz Hotel, with a short-haired woman who was smoking by his side. He casually threw out a $200 chip, then playfully lifted the chin of the woman in his arms, eliciting a giggle from her.

Nucky's expression was smug as he flirted with the woman, and then the dealer rolled the dice, taking away Nucky's chip without him giving it a second glance.

Just as Nucky was preparing to continue betting, Louis approached and whispered something to him. After listening, Nucky set down the woman and left the casino with Louis.

In Nucky's study on the ninth floor.

"After Donnie rejected Hori's offer, George Kurle went to Donnie's Korla Bar. Initially, Donnie didn't want to..."

Louis relayed everything that had happened at the Korla Bar that afternoon to Nucky in full detail.

After listening, Nucky frowned slightly and said, "Such a thing actually happened. This foolish George Kurle is simply ruining my plans!"

Louis then asked, "Boss, should we give Donnie a hand?"

Nucky looked up at Louis and asked, "Has Donnie come to me?"

Louis shook his head, "No."

Nucky raised an eyebrow slightly, "Keep an eye out these next couple of days, and if Donnie comes to see me, let me know immediately!"

Louis nodded first, then asked, "And if he doesn't come to you?"

Nucky's gaze became distant as he said, "If he doesn't come, then tell Joe to go to Donnie for the money in three days!"

Donnie's loan from Nucky was for three months, and it had been just about a month since Donnie borrowed the money with two more months to go before repayment was due, but Nucky could no longer wait.

He must get one of the two: the money or Donnie!

.

Two days flew by, and by this evening, Donnie and Robert began to report the information they had gathered through their surveillance.

"Bill Cody, married, with both parents alive and a seven-year-old son. Up until yesterday, he still returned home at three in the morning; he must make sure to return home regardless of how late he stays out with George Kurle."

Donnie was the first to report his findings; lacking manpower on his side, he certainly had to partake in the surveillance as well.

"Ralph Rivers, single, the only one in his family, spending the past two nights in different places but always in boarding houses."

Robert also shared his discoveries with Donnie.

They had only been following the two men for two days, which was hardly enough to gather more valuable information, but what they had was enough.

Donnie glanced at the time in his hand—it was only eight o'clock in the evening—and said to Robert, "I need a car!"

Without any hesitation, Robert replied, "No problem, the car will appear in the alley behind the back door in an hour!"

Donnie shook his head, "No, the car can't show up on our side, park it near Bill Cody's house."

Robert nodded, "No problem!"

Donnie leaned back in the wooden chair and said, "Go ahead with your work, and we'll make our move after midnight!"

"Hmm!"

.

In the wee hours of the morning!

Having just had a fun time at the Shansu apartment, Bill Cody's fair-skinned face was flushed with the aftereffects of alcohol, and he staggered as he opened the door to his home.

Bill Cody was a family man, and although the outside world was fascinating, he still preferred to enjoy a quiet night at home.

As the door opened, the lights at home were already turned off. Without switching on the lights, Bill Cody, guided by the moonlight from the living room window, headed towards his son's room to catch a glimpse of his dear son, as he often did.

But he had scarcely taken two steps when a strong sense of crisis overcame him, causing the dense hair on his body to stand on end instantly.

Instinctively, he looked toward the living room sofa, where a figure sat.

"Who's there?"

Bill Cody tried to draw his pistol in a panic.

"You better not move!"

As the voice fell, the lamp beside the sofa lit up, and Bill Cody saw his wife with a gun held against her head by a man, leaving Bill, who had just barely pulled out his pistol, unsure of what to do next.

"Your parents and child have been hidden by me. Now, I need you to put the gun on the ground and kick it over to me, then we can go somewhere else to have a proper chat!"

Seeing his gagged wife nodding frantically, Bill Cody realized that the other party was telling the truth.

"Donnie, what on earth do you want to do?"

By then, Bill Cody had recognized that the man sitting on the sofa was none other than the pathetic, easy-to-bully Donnie Block George Kurle had talked about, the one he had previously visited at George's bar with.

"That's not the question you should be asking right now. Do as I tell you, or you know the consequences!"

While speaking, Donnie nudged Bill Cody's wife with the gun in his hand, which whitened her face with fear and made her tremble uncontrollably.

As Bill Cody bent to place the gun down, he said, "George Kurle is the one forcing you, it has nothing to do with me!"

Donnie used the pistol in his hand to nudge the gun at Bill Cody's feet, signaling him to kick it over, "Whether it has anything to do with you, I have the final say!"

Bill Cody had no choice but to follow Donnie's instructions and kicked his pistol over to Donnie.

Donnie stood up, dragged Bill Cody's wife, and then bent over to pick up the gun, smiling, "Alright, now you can come with me to a place where we can talk quietly!"

Under Donnie's coercion, Bill Cody walked out of the room helplessly, out of the building, and saw a car parked at the side of the street.

Reaching the car, Donnie knocked Bill Cody's wife unconscious with a blow from the butt of his gun.

Seeing Donnie's action, Bill Cody couldn't help but exclaim, "You...!"

"Come on, put your wife in the back seat, and then you can see your family!"

Bill Cody had no choice but to comply with Donnie's command. When he placed his wife in the back seat, he saw his parents and his son already passed out there!

"Now, get in the car. We're going somewhere we can talk quietly!"

Threatened by Donnie's gun, Bill Cody could only follow Donnie's orders.

The car started, Bill Cody drove, and Donnie sat in the passenger seat, carefully watching Bill Cody. Soon after, under Donnie's direction, they reached the cliff by the sea three kilometers outside of Atlantic City.

As Bill Cody got out of the car, he saw Ralph being held at gunpoint, kneeling at the edge of the cliff.

"Go and say hello to your associate!" Donnie indicated with his gun for Bill Cody to walk over.

Once Bill Cody joined Ralph Rivers in kneeling there, Donnie squatted in front of the two, the sea breeze carrying a faint salty scent.

"Now, let's talk about the plan to finish off George Kurle tomorrow morning."

ps: It was censored before, so I made some modifications without affecting the story's direction. Hopefully, this will pass the censorship... If it's censored right from the start, that's really something...~~