America 1919

Isaiah's mood had been good since he returned to his villa.

In his view, although AJ was formidable in the West District, he was still inferior to Donnie Block. If Donnie wanted to deal with AJ, it would be an extremely simple matter.

But as time passed day by day, and AJ didn't encounter any problems, Isaiah's good mood began to turn anxious.

"That's not right, could it be that Donnie is afraid of AJ?"

This possibility lingered in Isaiah's mind for only a second before he dismissed it. No matter how he analyzed it from a strength perspective, Donnie could not possibly be afraid of AJ.

"Did Donnie see through my intentions?"

When Isaiah thought of this possibility, his face turned somewhat pale. Just as Robert had analyzed, Isaiah indeed wanted to use Donnie to eliminate AJ.

Although he hadn't been in the gambling business for long, Isaiah had already seen the immense potential within the industry.

If managed properly, he could even mobilize at least half of the young and strong in the West District to engage in this business. If he could pull together such a force, his status in the West District would be like LeBron James's in the North District.

If that were the case, he would be qualified to speak directly with Nucky and become one of the big shots of Atlantic City.

But all this required time and courage, and AJ was the first hurdle standing in his way.

Isaiah had the idea but not the courage, so he wanted to incite Donnie to remove AJ for him.

But now, there had been no action from Donnie's side, which made Isaiah worried.

Just when Isaiah was thinking about whether he could go to Donnie that night to probe his intentions, the doors of the tavern were pushed open.

AJ walked in with his cronies.

Upon seeing AJ, Isaiah immediately put on a sycophantic smile, bent over, and walked up, about to shower AJ with flattery.

Smack!

Without saying a word, AJ stepped forward and slapped Isaiah, leaving him dazed.

Before Isaiah could even ask why all this was happening, AJ gave an order.

"Trash this place, and take him away!"

AJ's cronies, like tigers among sheep, picked up anything they could in the tavern and started to smash and destroy.

Just as Isaiah tried to speak, one of AJ's cronies came forward and struck the back of Isaiah's head.

Isaiah's world went dark, and he knew nothing more!

"Boss, what do we do now?"

AJ's crony, after finishing the rampage, asked him.

"Let's go back!"

AJ, with an air of triumph, gestured grandly and left the tavern with his entourage and the unconscious Isaiah. The tavern's customers had already fled when AJ had hit Isaiah.

Only two of Isaiah's beaten cronies were left lying on the ground.

Isaiah's two cronies, lying on the ground, exchanged looks, "What do we do now?"

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Unconscious Isaiah was awakened by a bucket of cold water. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a dilapidated garage, with AJ sitting on a sofa smoking a cigar, flanked by his henchmen.

"Kid, hand over that list of gamblers you've got, and I might spare you out of consideration that we all live in the West District," AJ said with arrogance.

He had already met David Jabbar, and after a couple of days of persuasion by the colonel, David Jabbar had finally decided to switch allegiance to the colonel.

According to David Jabbar's request, AJ was supposed to approach Isaiah with courtesy first and then force, but AJ, upon hearing about the money Isaiah had made recently through his business of recruiting gamblers for Donnie Block, decided to take matters into his own hands and change his strategy.

Used to being a bully, AJ believed that by simply capturing Isaiah and giving him a good thrashing, he could take Isaiah's place directly.

That way, AJ wouldn't have to share his earnings with Isaiah, would he?

AJ thought this, and he did this!

Isaiah understood AJ. He knew even if he handed over the list now, he wouldn't end up well.

"Boss AJ, I am Donnie Block's man. If you capture me like this and demand the list, you're taking business away from Donnie Block. He won't let you off when he finds out!"

At this moment, the only thing Isaiah could rely on was Donnie Block!

"Haha!" AJ chuckled coldly, "Two days ago, I would have been wary of Donnie Block. Now? I can have him come and lick my toes, and he would obediently do it!"

As one of the West District gang leaders, AJ naturally had a rough understanding of Donnie's influence.

But now, AJ believed he had the backing of David Jabbar, and behind David Jabbar stood Eli Johnson.

Donnie was no longer someone AJ bothered to care about at this time.

In order to save his own life, Isaiah was still resisting, and on the other side, Donnie had also learned about the situation.

"Now, AJ has not only taken Isaiah away but also captured several of his underlings who worked for us."

John met with Donnie at Block Tavern and told him everything he knew.

AJ's capture was not only of Isaiah; from David Jabbar, AJ had already learned that the ones now recruiting gamblers for Donnie Block were Isaiah's men.

Therefore, in order to take over Isaiah's business in the shortest time possible, AJ had also instructed his people to start searching the entire city for Isaiah's men.

Sitting there, Donnie tapped gently on the table and then said, "It seems that AJ has made contact with David Jabbar and the two have already started to cooperate!"

If AJ didn't have backing, he wouldn't have the courage to provoke me.

Robert's eyes lit up, and he said, "Does that mean we can start to fight back now?"

Donnie waved his hand and replied, "Don't rush it; everything should be done step by step. Right now, the most important thing is to deal with AJ!"

To go after David Jabbar, Donnie needed a legitimate reason; all of this was still just his speculation based on the current situation.

"John, take Robert, Wes, Randy, and a few others to AJ's right away—three things: take out AJ, take out Isaiah, and rescue the others!" Donnie ordered.

Wes Glenn and Randy Boz, two of Robert's former comrades in arms, arrived in Atlantic City a few days ago after receiving Robert's letter.

"Take out Isaiah?"

John was surprised when he heard Donnie's order.

Donnie said, "There's no time to explain. Isaiah is not a hard target if AJ's side gets hold of the gambler list, it will be a significant loss for us! Just listen to Robert for the specifics."

Even though John was leading the team, it would actually be Robert making the decisions during the operation.

"Got it!"

Seeing that Donnie was in a hurry, John did not ask any more questions.

The group grabbed their weapons from the second floor and drove straight to the West District.

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Although Robert had stopped John from acting rashly when Isaiah came to see him earlier, they still informed Donnie about the situation.

After learning of it, Donnie immediately analyzed that AJ would sooner or later become the key for taking control of the West District. Stay updated on m v l e mpyr

Now, Donnie's mansion had started affecting the business of David Jabbar's tavern, and David Jabbar surely would not just stand by idly; at that time, Donnie was uncertain who David Jabbar would ask to take care of the situation.

But a general range could still be deduced for who David Jabbar might seek out.

First of all, Eli Johnson couldn't openly get involved in this because his brother Nucky would not allow them to oppose me openly at this time.

Secondly, the likelihood of him approaching other district bosses was not great; David Jabbar surely recognized the importance of the stackers by now.

And Isaiah's side had also made some achievements.

Logically, the best approach would be to gain control over Isaiah.

With the above reasoning, it was fair to surmise that either David Jabbar had directly approached Isaiah or had reached out via a boss in the West District, and among them, AJ was the most likely.

Then Donnie instructed Dwight to secretly follow these West District bosses to find out their headquarters' locations, and their preferred hangouts!

Especially AJ!

"Why do we have to take out Isaiah?" Still puzzled, John asked Robert as they sat in the car.

"Because if Isaiah is alive, all those people like Gary Thomas will be Isaiah's boys. Only once Isaiah is dead can they truly come over to us," Robert simply explained to John.

"I see!" Having understood Donnie's intent, John laughed and said, "So you mean we're going to set up camp in the West District from now on!?"

Robert shook his head and replied, "Not we, just you. Right now, it seems that LeBron James from the North District, and the 3K Party and WCTU from the East and West District, all have a good relationship with Donnie, but Donnie isn't their only option—just the West District.

Donnie once told me that he would use the stacker job to consolidate the chaotic West District. It's impossible not to have someone from us in charge in such a district.

Now that Donnie has entrusted you with taking care of the gambling business, naturally, the West District will be your responsibility as well!"

"Me, run a whole district?" John was first shocked, then he burst into laughter with joy.

"Haha, I always said I was better than you. You only manage a tavern, while not only do I have to take care of the mansion, but I also get to manage the entire West District!"

As John laughed heartily, Robert was somewhat speechless, but he still cautioned John.

"John, be careful out there. Gang business isn't the same as commerce; it's full of gunfights, assassination—never be hasty in making decisions when you encounter any situation, you must think it through seriously."

"Like you need to tell me!" John clearly did not take Robert's words to heart, "How could someone as smart as me be used by others?"

Robert knew John's character well and was aware that nothing he said now would be of use, and just at that moment, they arrived at AJ's warehouse!