America 1919

The second thing, you trusted the wrong person. In their eyes, you are just a tool, to be discarded once used; in fact, it is like this even now. Think about it—if it weren't for little Rockefeller's tip-off, would I have known that you, Mr. Nucky, still had a role to play in this matter?

That was the first time Donnie laid his cards on the table with Nucky.

Such a Donnie obviously left Nucky unable to accept it right away.

"So you have come to me riding on the momentum of a big victory in New York, ready to declare war?"

Donnie gestured with his hand, showing a look of disappointment, and said, "Didn't you listen carefully to what I just said? I mentioned that we in Atlantic City need to be united. If not for you, Nucky, the highway from Atlantic City to Philadelphia would still not be possible, and I need this highway to bring a continuous stream of more guests to the Surf Hotel."

At this moment, Donnie very much wanted to finish Nucky, but he couldn't!

Nucky's political power was something Donnie needed, and if he finished Nucky now, it was very likely to bring retaliation from the City Hall and the State Government. Then, Donnie might end up losing control of the Surf Hotel under their joint operations.

Though the Surf Hotel holds the smallest share of Donnie's businesses, it is an important avenue for Donnie to build his network and launder the profits from his bootleg liquor. Losing the Surf Hotel would mean at least half of Donnie's influence would dissipate!

If that happened, Donnie would have no choice but to go to New York, and by then, he would have lost his foundation and become someone who could be easily manipulated by people like Morgan and Rockefeller.

So, until Donnie had secured his position in Atlantic City and New Jersey, Nucky could not fall.

At least, not until the next election!

But at the same time, Donnie also couldn't let Nucky continue as before. It wasn't easy for him to finish Nucky, and likewise, Nucky had no way to leave Donnie. Atlantic City had just entered a new phase, one that Donnie had planned.

Without Donnie, even Nucky would face a mess and might even be replaced by someone else.

"Nucky, I can forget what you did before, but from now on, you can't continue like this. You should understand, without Atlantic City, I can still go to New York, but without Atlantic City, you will have nothing!"
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After finishing his piece, Donnie stood up and left the whiskey Louis had poured for him on the table. "When you have the time, come over to my place, I'll prepare a finer drink for you!"

Watching Donnie's retreating figure, Nucky picked up the whiskey glass Donnie had left behind and hurled it onto the floor. The glass landed on the woolen carpet, bounced a couple of times, and ultimately lay there quietly.

"Boss, what do we do now..."

Louis bent down to pick up the glass and then looked at Nucky with concern.

After a deep sigh, Nucky said, "Now I can accurately answer that question I asked myself earlier. I deeply regret not killing Donnie when he was just starting out!"

"If you wish it, boss, it's still possible. Here in Atlantic City, our Atlantic City!" Louis said.

Nucky gestured with his hand, and with a look of helplessness, said, "To act now... do you believe if we struck now, we would have nowhere left to turn in all of America? Do you truly think that Donnie's bootlegging business is his alone?

This business now affects the interests of tens of thousands of people. If anything were to happen to Donnie, we would be met with a tsunami of repercussions.

And don't forget, Donnie also owns a logistics company. That's an armed force of over three thousand people. These are men who take money from Donnie's hand, and if Donnie were taken out, they would come rushing here with weapons the very same day!"

In truth, Nucky had long been aware of these matters, or rather, he had known what the outcome would be when Donnie was preparing for this. However, at that time, the profits outlined by Donnie had clouded Nucky's judgment.

On the bootlegging business alone, Nucky could make at least ten million US dollars annually. Faced with such a huge sum, anyone would fail to consider the potential consequences.

Now that the consequences were right in front of him, Nucky was truly examining his conscience!

"So boss, what do we do now?" Louis asked, worried about Nucky's state.

"What can we do? Since we can't abandon ship nor can we change the captain, we'll just continue to make money on this boat with Donnie!" Nucky responded.

At that, Nucky suddenly instructed Louis, "Contact the Mayor and the Governor immediately, as well as those members of Congress with whom we have good relations. Tell them I want to host a banquet and invite them to attend my party!"

By then, Nucky had also realized that his greatest advantage over Donnie lay in his power within the political circles of Atlantic City and New Jersey. This was the foundation that allowed him to continue conversing with Donnie on equal footing.

Louis nodded, "Got it!"

"Also, winter has arrived. Commence distribution of various supplies to North District in my name," Nucky continued his instructions.

To win over those political figures, two things were most important: first, providing more political donations for their campaigns, and second, securing more votes for their elections.