North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws

"You seem quite interested in Niel?"

The handsome tall man beside the girl had a sly smile on his lips.

Dean snapped back to reality and didn't answer the man's question, changing the subject instead, "Hello, my name is Dean, from Los Angeles."

"I'm Dim, and as for Niel, you can forget about her; she's already taken!" the girl kindly warned, appearing to have a rather simple personality.

When the handsome man heard Dean's name, his eyes lit up, "Are you old Laine's grandson?"

"Yes," Dean glanced at the two siblings, recalling the information he had just reviewed and smiled, "You must be Dick Lucius, right?"

Dick's eyes widened slightly, "You've heard of me?"

He knew of Dean because Dean was one of the few of his kin who had managed to infiltrate a detective agency and, at only twenty-two years old, had become a captain.

So Dick had paid close attention to Dean's information. As for Dean following his father's surname? That wasn't an issue; it was no longer the last century. As long as Dean was valuable, even if he didn't have Lucchese family blood, he could still be considered part of the family, especially since he carried half of the Lucchese family bloodline!

The young girl beside Dick now looked at Dean with added curiosity.

Dean shrugged, "Yes, my grandfather mentioned that among the new generation of the New York Lucchese family, Dick is the most outstanding. He's as handsome and excellent as I am, and Dick also has a very beautiful sister. I figured, isn't that you guys?"

He spoke somewhat insincerely. But one thing I have to admit is that the Lucius siblings indeed have top-notch looks.

The best way to flatter someone is with a heartfelt truth sprinkled with a little falsity.

After hearing Dean's explanation, Dick and Dim couldn't help but smile more broadly, and their fondness for Dean shot up from single digits to quite a high number.

This guy was sweet-talking and good-looking; he was definitely someone they could get along with!

Dick's gaze toward Dean was much warmer and eager. "My grandfather and your grandfather used to be close cousins. It's a shame your grandfather left New York with his father back in the day."

"No wonder I felt like I was seeing family the moment I saw you; it's the call of bloodline," Dean took off his coat and draped it over Dick's sister, Dim. "It's a bit cold outside, let's go in."

Dim was somewhat shy about Dean's gesture.

Dick was initially a bit annoyed by Dean's overly friendly gesture, but after hearing what Dean had said, his irritation melted away, feeling that Dean was considerate. "You're right, Dean. It's your first time back with the family. I can introduce you to some of our younger clan members."

...

In fact, Dean was no stranger to the current state of the Lucchese family.

The New York Lucchese family wasn't very populous nowadays, with four members in the main household.

The patriarch was a man in his seventies who had retired. But after his son passed away unexpectedly, he reassumed the position of family head.

The new generation consisted of Dick, Dim, and an even older brother, Diss.

This family seemed to have a penchant for names starting with 'D.'

The rest of the family members were mostly Dick's uncles and male cousins, along with even more distant relatives like Dean's grandfather.

Altogether, they numbered fewer than a hundred people.

Among them, Dick's older brother Diss was recognized as the next leader of the New York Lucchese family.

The 'marriage alliance' plan was his idea.

He wanted to achieve some results and then smoothly take over the Lucchese family.

Originally, I had thought about striking a deal with Diss Lucchese, to cooperate: I'd be the boss, with Diss as my right-hand man, and together we'd make money and strengthen our power.

But... the current situation was making me uncomfortable.

The Lucius siblings said Niel was the focus of tonight's banquet. Considering the Lucchese family meeting tomorrow and Niel's listless demeanor earlier, everything seemed to have a reason now.

Although I didn't care much about some 'flings,' Niel clearly wasn't one of them.

To put it precisely, I sometimes even thought about settling down with Niel after I grew tired of playing around, fulfilling my promise to my good friend Mas in the process.

So... it was time to switch to another potential partner.

Someone like Dick would be great.

Dean's gaze turned toward Dick, who responded with a friendly smile.

But what Dick didn't realize was that this simple smile was about to bring a ground-shaking change to his fate...

...

The ball banquet was held in the mansion's inner hall.

From the setup of the inner hall, one could vaguely glimpse the Lucchese family's once-glorious past.

But inside the hall, apart from some youngsters, Dean did not see Niel, nor did he see any of the older men and women of the Lucchese family.

These people presumably had gone to a more private area to discuss matters.

Seeing this, I had no choice but to follow behind Dick to meet some of the younger members of the Lucchese family, to network and build connections.

Dick had quite a reputation among this group.

As he entered, everyone instinctively gathered around, warmly greeting him while also curiously sizing up Dean, the unfamiliar face.

The bloodline of the Lucchese family was indeed impressive.

Everyone within sight was good-looking. Among them were even girls prettier than Dim, who was beside me; they were the kind that could become stars just by showing up in Hollywood as eye candy.

Even the only overweight guy in the crowd looked handsome with clear eyes and delicate features, not at all greasy.

This group was also very interested in the unfamiliar Dean.

Especially when Dick introduced him, "This is Dean, my distant cousin and also yours, a captain at the Los Angeles Police Department."

The only overweight guy, hearing this, lit up with excitement, "Wow, cousin Dean, you actually became a captain at the police department! I wanted to join the police too, but I couldn't even pass the preliminary screening. Now I can only work on car modifications."

Dean shrugged, "Because my father is also a detective."

Another girl with a pure appearance but covered in tattoos, the rebellious type, also asked curiously, "Cousin Dean, have you killed anyone?"

"It's an inevitable part of the job," Dean knew what this group of young peers admired, so he exaggerated, "Actually, I've only been on the job for a few months, but I've taken down more than twenty vicious criminals. That's why I was able to become a captain in such a short time!"

"You rock!" the crowd exclaimed.

That statement basically meant: "You're awesome, you're so cool!"

Even their elders, when bragging while drunk, wouldn't dare to claim they had killed over twenty people in just a few months!

Dean chuckled and seized the opportunity to mention some horrifying cases and the brutal methods of the criminals, causing this group of third-generation Mafia members to gasp in shock.

In the blink of an eye, Dean had gained a group of young male and female admirers.

In fact, I wanted to get to know some of the Lucchese family members who were already involved in their business.

Unfortunately, Dick, being quite junior himself despite being nineteen, mostly associated with peers of a similar age.

This was probably intentional on the part of Dick's grandfather. He likely wanted Dick's older brother Diss to become the family head and control the other family members, while Dick, the younger brother, would rally his peers to support Diss.

The Lucchese family was indeed worthy of being a Mafia family.

This new generation might not have killed anyone with their own hands, but they weren't afraid of the brutal cases I talked about. Instead, they were full of curiosity and excitement.

Some of the female cousins looked at me with a gaze so intense, they seemed ready to pounce and leave their mark, completely unconcerned that I was a bloody butcher who had killed people in double digits.

Perhaps in their view, someone like me was the most secure partner to have.

As for the matter of us being relatives... marriages between distant family members were common for them.

All in all, I felt quite good about these peers and relatives. With time and training, they could all become valuable subordinates, and somewhat more reliable than outsiders.

Amidst the commotion, Dick, who had previously slipped away quietly, reappeared in the inner hall.

He walked over to Dean, tugged at his sleeve, and whispered, "My grandfather and the others are coming out, but he seems to be in a bad mood. Try not to stand out too much later."

Dean looked at him intently and nodded nonchalantly, "What's up, has something happened to upset your grandfather?"

I knew Dick didn't want me to be too conspicuous, fearing his older brother would try to win me over.

A twenty-two-year-old captain. Anyone with half a brain could guess that such a promotion wasn't based on ability alone.

Dick, feeling somewhat guilty under Dean's gaze, pulled him aside and quickly explained, "They were originally discussing an arranged marriage, but when Niel arrived, some unpleasantness occurred."

A chill flashed in Dean's eyes as he kept up appearances, probing, "What, you were trying to persuade Niel into an arranged marriage, and she disagreed?"

Dick sighed, "Yes, that was my older brother Diss' idea, but Niel flat-out refused. They didn't dare to pressure her, so they're probably in a bad mood now."

It turned out that Niel's mother was Dick's father's first cousin.

After a failed marriage, Niel's mother fled to the Commonwealth and used the network of a detective agency to set up a luxury goods company for women, now worth a fortune.

Therefore, Niel was seen by Dick's family as the most suitable marriage prospect.

The Lucchese family had fallen from grace, while the Buiano family controlled almost half of New York's underground market.

The status between the two was not equal.

Typical women from the Lucchese family would probably not catch the eye of the Buiano family.

Niel was different. She was pretty, well-educated, had been exposed to upper-class society, and was considered a quality catch even among other elite families.

Hearing this, Dean cracked his neck, making a creaking sound.

I was pondering whether to kill Diss outright or to serve these old folks trying to arrange Niel's marriage with a 'pineapple bun,' so to speak, and send them all packing.

Dick, by his side, for some reason, suddenly sensed a chill and involuntarily shivered, feeling uneasy, "Dean, do you feel there's something off?"

Dean flashed a grin, "Yeah, I think I hear a death-omen bird. Under the cover of night, it's soaring above the manor, wailing..."