Ruiz continued, "The Holy Crown Alliance is a small gang from the south of Italy, of course, much smaller than the Mafia. They only have a thousand or two members, and their main business is smuggling goods, arms, and drugs from Eastern Europe to Western Europe."

This kind of local Italian gang originally had nothing to do with us, but over a year ago, one of their leaders brought a few people to New York. We didn't notice them at first; they just organized some street thugs into a small gang. However, later on, customs intercepted a smuggling ship, and it was through that lead that we finally found them."

Because they were having a hard time in Europe, the Holy Crown Alliance chose the United States to expand their market. By the time we noticed them, the Holy Crown Alliance had already become a small gang of dozens of members."

Ruiz paused, then added, "To correct the term, when broadly speaking of the Mafia, it includes what we normally call the Mafia as well as the Camorra, Honor Society, Holy Crown Alliance, and some other local Italian gangs. But in the United States, when we say 'Mafia,' we generally mean the Cosa Nostra, referring only to this group.

Have you seen the old '70s movie 'The Godfather'? They're Cosa Nostra, the group we call the Mafia. Other gangs are referred to by their own names."

Jimmy, "How complicated. They all come from Italy, and still they make such clear distinctions among themselves?"

Ruiz, "Yes, they are organized differently. Some exist in the form of families, some are alliances of small gangs, and their businesses are different from each other."

Jimmy, "Okay, there's a lot of insider stuff here, looks like I have to do more reading in the future. So, what do we do now?"

Ruiz, "We'll head over to the surveillance team to check on the progress. Just follow me for now, there's nothing you need to do yet."

Jimmy nodded, leaned back in his chair, and asked no further questions.

There was a problem with this temporary transfer. Jimmy thought that it was already time to raid the gang; they had transferred him over for that purpose. But now it seemed that wasn't the case, and they were still in the initial stages of the investigation. Then why bring him in?

Could it be that the higher-ups had decided to change his position? Transfer him out of Peter's team? He had thought it was to improve his case-handling abilities that he was assigned to Peter's team, but did the higher-ups change their minds?

Jimmy's mind was racing, unable to guess the intentions of the higher-ups; he could only take it one step at a time.

Looking at the direction Ruiz was driving, they were headed for the Bronx District. Jimmy had gathered from Jones before that there were plenty of small gangs here. According to Ruiz, the Holy Crown Alliance only came over a year ago, so they probably could only quickly find the right people in such a place. If they'd been in another district, they would have been crushed by the larger gangs by now.

Ruiz parked the car on the side of the road, took Jimmy to the back of the surveillance van, knocked on the door, and after the person inside opened the rear door, they both entered and closed the door again.

The surveillance van used by Ruiz and his team was different from the one Peter's team used. Jones operated a box van, while Ruiz's was a long-wheelbase large panel van, painted entirely in black with all the windows, except for the windshield, tinted in black. Moreover, a partition had been installed behind the driver's seat to prevent visibility into the van from the front.

Perhaps so as not to draw attention, the van had not been washed, covered with a layer of dust and mud; at a glance, it looked like it had been parked on the side of the road for a long time.

Ruiz, "How's it going? Any findings?"

Surveillance personnel, "We've recorded over a dozen people and are currently investigating them back at the precinct. We haven't received feedback on the results yet."

Ruiz, "What about Moro?"

Surveillance personnel, "He hasn't shown up again after coming back last night. He's likely still in the building unless there are secret passages we don't know about."

Ruiz, "Keep up the surveillance, and apply for backup if necessary. Be careful."

After that, Ruiz led Jimmy out of the van. The interior of the long van was limited in height. If one wasn't sitting down, they had to bend over, which was uncomfortable.

Once out of the van, the two stretched their bodies and got back into Ruiz's car. Ruiz then drove away from the surveillance van and parked in a nearby parking lot.

Ruiz, "Let's take a walk."

Ruiz and Jimmy left the parking lot and slowly walked down the adjacent street.

Ruiz, "Pay attention to the people around us; many here are gang members. And watch out for pickpockets, too."

Jimmy, "Do the tattoos these people have mean something?"

Ruiz glanced at Jimmy then back ahead, "Of course, different gangs have different tattoos, and some are placed visibly while others are in more covert spots. I will provide you with some materials on this later; you should look into them."

Ruiz stopped beside a trash can and pulled out a cigarette pack from his pocket.

"Try one of mine, Chinese cigarettes." Jimmy took out his own cigarette box and lighter. His cigarettes were the soft packs bought from Chinatown, the export type with disturbing images on the box as required in the U.S., which Jimmy had removed and placed in his own box.

Ruiz took a drag and coughed lightly, not used to the taste of toasted tobacco. Jimmy also lit one, and as they stood by the trash can smoking, they observed the people around them.

It was still morning, and at this time, there didn't seem to be many gangsters around—probably many hadn't woken up yet, being accustomed to staying up late.

Jimmy, "Ruiz, have we located the main person in charge of the Holy Crown Alliance in New York?"

Ruiz, "Yes, Moro Savastano. According to intelligence, he's not yet reached the level of a secret company, probably just a professional company level, oh, don't be too shocked by the term 'company.' It's really just a translation issue on their part, similar to the rank of a capo in the Mafia, a small leader in charge of a region."

Jimmy nodded, continuing, "What about the Dixie Family?"

Ruiz, "Still not confirmed. For now, we can only identify the people Moro meets to see if we can determine who is in contact with him.

Normally we don't pay much attention to such small gangs, but the Holy Crown Alliance is different. They mainly trade with Eastern European crime syndicates in the south of Italy, and their actions are extremely brutal. They also deal in severe crimes like human smuggling and drug trafficking. Such a gang cannot be allowed to grow unchecked; it would cause problems.

As I told you before, the main business of the Dixie Family is smuggling and drug trafficking. As for a city like New York, their targets are definitely not the goods and people smuggled from Mexico. The greatest likelihood is drug trafficking."

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