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The Cadillac V16 was introduced in 1930 and discontinued in 1940.
It was one of the top luxury cars before the Second World War, and is known as the world's first mass-produced car with a 16-cylinder engine. It was a custom-made car with low production numbers, selling only about four thousand units over 11 years, with an average price of $8,000.
Yesterday, when Josh was shopping for a car, he also had a look at one at a used car dealership... the dealership is one of the largest in Chicago.
At that time, the seller quoted a price of $9,000, which was double Josh's entire net worth.
The high price made Josh back down.
In fact, although they were both used cars, the others were depreciating, whereas this particular car had actually increased in value.
Also, the one in the garage was a silver-grey convertible, full of artistic flair.
By comparison, Josh's own car, a 1934 Ford 730 De Luxe, was essentially industrial junk.
Josh immediately fell in love with this powerful luxury vehicle.
He had never expected a shady underground car dealer to get his hands on such a car.
The fact that it was custom built meant that the owner of the Cadillac V16 had to be either very rich or very powerful. After all, the hefty price tag of $8,000 is not something an ordinary wealthy person could afford.
So, in theory, someone who could own such a car is definitely not someone an ordinary car thief gang would dare to mess with.
So the appearance of this car in a place seemed rather out of place.
But Josh didn't care; since he saw it here, it was his.
But instead of going straight out, Josh first took off his coat and changed into a leather jacket from his system warehouse, then put on a hood... Only God knows when he had prepared that.
After getting ready, Josh pulled out the Thompson he had just bought and went out.
"Who are you? Oh, oh, oh, sir, we can talk this out!" Upon hearing the noise, the two men inside the warehouse immediately looked over with caution and shouted.
But when they saw the Thompson in Josh's hand, they immediately raised their hands and softened their tone.
Josh was pleased with their attitude. Look at that; these Italians aren't so bad, are they? It's nothing like the movies.
"Don't worry, I just need a car. Where are the keys?" Josh asked the middle-aged Mediterranean man through his mask. His voice deep.
"Oh no sir, you can't take this car, it belongs to Mr Scappa. If you take it, he won't spare us," the middle-aged man panicked when he saw that Josh wanted the keys to the Cadillac V16.
"Scappa? Who is that?" Josh couldn't help but be curious about the Mediterranean's attitude.
"Mr Scappa is a high-ranking member of the Moretti family who runs all the red-light district business in East Chicago," the Mediterranean replied. "This is his car; it's only parked here temporarily, and someone will come to pick it up in the afternoon. If you drive it away, none of us will survive."
"The Moretti family? Who are they?" Josh asked.
"Sir, you just arrived in Chicago, right?" the slightly chubby young man beside him spoke up.
"What about it? What's it to you?" Josh retorted, as he indeed had just arrived in Chicago.
"The Moretti family is one of the biggest crime families in Chicago. If you've been in Chicago for a while, you can't possibly not know that name. My friend, let me advise you: if you want to survive in Chicago, it's best not to offend them," the young man said with a smile.
"Oh? Sounds powerful. Why don't you tell me about the major forces in Chicago? Besides Al Capone, I really don't know anyone else," Josh replied thoughtfully.
"Ha ha, Mr Capone certainly deserves our respect, but that was over a decade ago. Now Chicago is run by the Moretti family, the Clementi family and the Vinci family. Oh, and maybe we should throw in the Triads," the young man explained to Josh about the power dynamics in Chicago.
Although Josh hadn't planned on getting involved in the underworld, he found it quite interesting. The young man's eloquence made Josh feel like he was listening to a fascinating story.
"I didn't expect you, a car thief, to be so well informed. What's your name?" Josh asked after the young man had finished.
"My name is Joe Barbaro; you can call me Joe, Sir. This is Mike. Sir, now that we've met, we're friends. Of course, we can't let you leave empty-handed. As long as you don't touch this car, you can take whatever you want from the stuff in this warehouse. Oh, and there should be quite a bit of money in Mike's safe; you can take that too. Joe's chubby face smiled like a wilting chrysanthemum in front of the Thompson.
"You're a perceptive guy, but unfortunately, I only want this car. I'll say it again: hand over the keys." Josh shifted his tone, clearly not taking the warning seriously.
Josh's words instantly made Joe and Mike's faces drop, realising that after all the talk, this guy didn't take them seriously at all.
"Sir..." Joe tried to say something.
"Shut up! Either give me the keys or die right here. Don't think I'm easy to fool. The fact that this car is here means that you either belong to the Moretti family or work for them. Even if I don't take the car and take something else, do you think you'll just let it go afterwards?" Josh scoffed. "So what if it's the Mafia? I'm robbing the mafia."
It's not a good idea to get involved with the mafia. But the conflict had already begun when they stole his car. Taking this Cadillac was more than just making it easier for these two to explain; it held no significant meaning otherwise.
Besides, Josh wanted to get back at this thief called Joe; how could he let him off so easily?
In fact, if he didn't want to attract the police, Josh almost considered taking them both out right then and there.
So Josh really didn't care about offending the Mafia.
More importantly, since entering the Italian district, he had half covered his face with a coat, and now he was wearing a hood. With the tracking and surveillance technology of the day, as long as he didn't show his face, no one would find him.
Faced with the threat of a gun, Mike, though extremely reluctant, slowly pulled the keys from his pocket.
"And get me the keys to that car and the safe, and tell me the code," Josh pointed to his old Ford.
"You'll regret this!" Facing the gun, Mike still complied, but he didn't forget to threaten.
"Whether I regret it or not, I don't know, but if you say one more word, I'll make sure you don't even get a chance to regret it," Josh sneered.
"Now, you two get in the car!" After getting the keys, Josh opened the door to the Ford.
Once the two had obediently got in, Josh closed and locked the door.
Car door locks in this era were basically the same as house locks; they could be locked from the inside or the outside.
If someone locked inside didn't have a key, they could only get out by breaking a window.
However, if they dared to break a window, even though Josh had never killed anyone, he wouldn't mind shooting them.
After locking them inside, Josh maliciously poured a jug of coffee into the Ford's fuel tank while they watched.
Having done all that, Josh began to search the warehouse.
His main targets were the desk and the safe.
When he opened the safe, there wasn't much money inside - just a few hundred dollars.
However, there were quite a few ration coupons.
There were coupons for petrol, sweets, alcohol and coffee, all regulated materials; the quantities weren't large, but there was enough for four or five people.
At this particular time, these items were far more valuable than money.
Josh tucked the ration coupons into his bag.
He then searched the desk and found nothing of value, but he did come across an M1911, the same model as the one he had bought earlier.
On the principle of making the most of every opportunity, Josh tucked it away.
Then Josh collected several tires stored in the warehouse that the two men couldn't see from inside the car and stored them in his system warehouse.
In this era, practical synthetic rubber was primarily produced by just two companies, while American tires were still made entirely from natural rubber.
Moreover, with the major rubber-producing regions of Southeast Asia blocked by the Japanese, the US had only South America as a source of rubber, making tires an even more critical strategic resource than petrol during the war.
Finally, after a thorough looting, Josh left the warehouse, driving the Cadillac away under the angry gaze of the two Italians in the Ford.
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