Chapter 8

Cadillac V16, released in 1930, ceased production in 1940.

One of the top luxury cars before World War II, it was the world's first mass-produced 16-cylinder engine car, available only by custom order, with a low production volume of just over 4,000 units over 11 years, at an average price of $8,000.

Yesterday, when Josie was buying a car, he also saw one at that used car dealership, which is one of the largest in Chicago.

At the time, the seller quoted $9,000, which was twice Josie's current net worth.

The terrifying price immediately made Josie retreat.

Indeed, while other used cars depreciate, this one appreciated.

Moreover, the one in the garage was a silver-gray convertible, full of artistic flair.

In comparison, Josie's own 1934 Ford 730 De Luxe was nothing more than industrial waste.

Josie fell in love with this powerful luxury car at first sight.

He never expected that an underground car dealer selling black-market cars could get such a car.

Custom orders meant that the owners of the Cadillac V16 were either wealthy or influential, as the high price of $8,000 was not something ordinary rich people could afford.

Therefore, theoretically, the people who owned such cars were beyond the reach of ordinary car theft gangs, and even car thieves wouldn't dare to steal them.

Thus, it was quite out of place for this car to appear here.

However, Josie didn't care. Since he saw it here, the car was his.

But Josie didn't go out immediately. Instead, he took off his overcoat, took a leather jacket from the system warehouse, and put it on, then put on a ski mask... who knows when he prepared it.

After all the preparations, Josie took out the Thompson submachine gun he had just bought from the warehouse and walked out.

"Who are you? Oh, oh, oh, sir, we can talk this out!" Hearing the commotion, the two men in the warehouse immediately became alert and shouted.

But upon seeing the Thompson in Josie's hand, the two men instantly raised their hands and their tone softened.

Josie was satisfied with their attitude. Look, these Italians are quite friendly, not as bad as in the movies.

"Don't worry, I just need a car. Where are the keys to this car?" Josie asked the Mediterranean-looking middle-aged man through his mask, his voice muffled.

"Oh no, sir, you can't take this car. It's for Mr. Scappa. If you take it, he won't let us off." The Mediterranean-looking man became anxious when he saw Josie asking for the keys to the Cadillac V16.

"Scappa? Who is he?" Josie couldn't help but be curious at the man's reaction.

"Mr. Scappa is a high-ranking member of the Moretti family, in charge of the entire red-light district in Chicago's East Side." The Mediterranean man replied, "This is his car, just temporarily stored here. Someone will come to pick it up in the afternoon. If you take it, none of us will survive."

"Moretti family? Who are they?" Josie asked.

"Sir, you must be new to Chicago, right?" The slightly overweight young man beside him spoke up.

"So what if I am? What if I'm not?" Josie countered, acknowledging that he had indeed just arrived in Chicago.

"The Moretti family is one of the largest mafia families in Chicago. If you've been around for a while, you wouldn't not know this name. Friend, I advise you, if you want to stay in Chicago, don't mess with them." The young man smiled sycophantically.

"Really? Sounds impressive. Tell me, what are the major forces in Chicago besides Al Capone?" Josie pondered.

"Hehe, Mr. Capone is certainly someone we admire, but that was over a decade ago. Now, Chicago is run by the Moretti family, the Clemente family, and the Venci family, and perhaps the Triad as well." The young man explained the power dynamics in Chicago to Josie.

Although Josie didn't plan to get involved in the underworld, he listened with great interest. The man's eloquence made Josie feel like he was listening to a storytelling session.

"Didn't expect a car thief to be so well-informed. What's your name?" Josie asked after the man finished.

"My name is Joe Barbaro, just call me Joe. He's Mike. Sir, since we've met, we're friends. I can't let you leave empty-handed. As long as you don't take this car, you can take anything you want from this warehouse. By the way, there should be a lot of money in Mike's safe as well." Joe's fat face smiled like a withered chrysanthemum.

"You're a reasonable man, but unfortunately, I want this car. I'll say it again, hand over the keys." Josie's tone changed, clearly not taking the man's warning seriously.

Josie's words made Joe and Mike's faces fall. It seemed that all their talk was for nothing.

"Sir..." Joe tried to speak.

"Shut up. Either give me the keys or die here. Don't think I'm easy to fool. Since this car is here, it means you're either part of the Moretti family or working for them. Even if I don't take the car, if I take something else, do you think they'll let it go?" Josie sneered, "So what if they're the mafia? I'm robbing the mafia."

Indeed, getting involved with the mafia was not a good thing, but since they had stolen his car, the grudge was already there. Not taking the Cadillac wouldn't make much of a difference.

Moreover, Josie wanted to get back at Joe, who had stolen his car. He even considered shooting them to avoid attracting the police.

So Josie didn't care about offending the mafia.

More importantly, since he had been covering his face with his overcoat since entering the Italian street and was now wearing a ski mask, with the tracking and investigation technology of this era, as long as he didn't show his face, no one would find him.

Under the threat of the gun, Mike, though unwilling, slowly took the keys out of his pocket.

"Also, the keys to that car and the safe, and the combination." Josie pointed to his old Ford.

"You'll regret this!" Mike could only comply under the gun, but he didn't forget to threaten.

"I don't know if I'll regret it, but if you say another word, I'll make sure you don't have the chance to regret it." Josie said disdainfully.

"Now, both of you get in the car!" With the keys in hand, Josie opened the door of the Ford.

After the two men obediently got in, Josie closed and locked the door.

The car locks of this era were similar to house locks, allowing locking from both inside and outside.

Without the keys, the people inside couldn't get out unless they broke the windows.

But if they dared to break the windows, Josie, though he had never killed anyone, wouldn't hesitate to shoot.

After locking them in, Josie, in a particularly mean move, poured a pot of coffee into the Ford's fuel tank under their watchful eyes.

After that, Josie began to search the warehouse.

His main targets were the desk and the safe.

The safe contained only a few hundred dollars, but there were quite a few ration coupons.

For gasoline, candy, alcohol, and coffee, all of which were rationed, the quantity wasn't much, but it was enough for four or five people.

During this special period, these items were more valuable than money.

Josie unceremoniously took the ration coupons.

He also searched the desk but found nothing of value, except for a M1911 pistol like the one he had bought.

Following the principle of taking everything he could, Josie took it as well.

Then, in a corner where the two men couldn't see, Josie took a significant number of tires from the warehouse into the system warehouse.

In this era, only two companies, Goodyear and Firestone, had significant production of synthetic rubber, and all tires in the U.S. were made of natural rubber.

With Southeast Asia, the main source of rubber, cut off by the Japanese, the U.S. now relied solely on South America for rubber, making tires a more strategic resource than gasoline during the war.

Finally, with the loot in hand, Josie, under the hateful gazes of the two Italians in the Ford, drove the Cadillac out of the warehouse.