"Heroes are just tools in the face of power!" --Donnie Block!
In the late autumn of 1919, inside the dimly lit Korla Bar in Atlantic City, the chaotic bar was packed with people. Prohibition was about to start, and everyone believed that from then on, there would be no more alcohol in the United States, which led everyone to indulge in one last spree.
Tall and rugged, Donnie stood behind the bar, wiping a glass with a complex expression on his face.
"I'm curious, what exactly are you wiping there?"
Sitting on the outside of the bar, round and ball-like Herman Olman held his glass and ridiculed Donnie inside the bar.
"Regardless of what you're wiping, today is the day for payment! Didn't George Kurle tell you this?"
It was only then that Donnie realized he actually wasn't holding anything in his hand at all. As for the glass he was previously wiping, it had long since fallen to the ground.
Bending down to pick up the glass, Donnie said, "Kurle did tell me that his bar doesn't have to pay!"
Olman let out an easy smile, "Of course, that was because at that time Kurle was the owner of the bar, and we naturally didn't have the guts to take his money. But now things are different. The owner of Korla Bar now is you, Donnie Block. Do you also have a brigadier general for a father?"
Donnie spread his hands and said helplessly, "Clearly, my father is just a winemaker in Elwood Village!"
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"My God!" The teasing expression on Olman's face became even more apparent, "The whole world knows that in two months Prohibition is going to start, and there won't be any alcohol in the US. You took over Korle's bar at such a time, and your father is a winemaker. Perhaps, in two months, I might see you in the North District of Atlantic City!"
The North District of Atlantic City also had another fitting name, the slums of Atlantic City. 90% of the people living there were Black!
Seeing that Donnie didn't speak, Olman continued, "I'm really curious, what were you thinking at the time to agree to take over George Kurle's bar!"
A fierce look flashed in Donnie's eyes. What else could it have been for?
Of course, it was because his predecessor was a fool, a Donnie Block who had been brainwashed by American conscription ads to participate in World War I.
After training, Donnie Block joined George Kurle's squad. On the battlefields of France, George Kurle's poor command nearly wiped out the entire squad, and it was only thanks to Donnie Block's brave actions that they averted disaster.
Such an act could have earned Donnie Block a Commendation Star... known later as the Silver Star Medal, and a promotion in the army.
Instead, George Kurle found Donnie Block and, using the Korla Bar in their hometown of Atlantic City as a bargaining chip, bribed Donnie Block to take all the credit for himself.
The foolish Donnie Block at the time had no idea that Prohibition was about to be enforced.
After World War I was over and Donnie Block had been discharged, he returned to Atlantic City to take over the Korla Bar, only to learn that in two months, Prohibition would start.
That meant that in two months, the production, transportation, and sale of distilled beverages would be forbidden within the borders of the United States!
Upon hearing this news, Donnie Block felt like he had been struck by lightning, and after getting staggeringly drunk by himself in the Korla Bar, he woke up to find that the body was now his!
"Maybe it was a German shell that scrambled my brain at the time!"
Donnie didn't want to answer Olman's question, especially now that George Kurle had also returned to Atlantic City and had become the Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety... equivalent to a Deputy Director of a Public Security Bureau in later years!
Olman nodded indifferently, then stretched out his hand, laughing, "Alright, I've heard your story, can you now hand over the protection money for this month?"
After finishing, Olman took a revolver from his waistband and placed it on the table, his threat was clear as day!
Donnie watched Olman's actions, confident that he could grab the revolver before Olman and deal with him.
But that wouldn't truly solve the problem he was facing, after all, the current Olman was just a small fry and had not yet grown into one of Atlantic City's most influential figures of later years, meaning that there was a vast power behind Olman that the current Donnie could not contend with!
From the bar's drawer, Donnie took out 10 US Dollars in cash and handed it to Olman, "I thought we were friends!"
Olman smugly took the US Dollars, whistled, and laughed, "Please, we've only known each other for two days. Besides, even friends have to pay what they owe!"
Donnie certainly didn't think that he and Olman were really friends, but the current Donnie did indeed need to learn some things from Olman.
"Olman, if I temporarily close for two months, what about the fees for these two months?"
By this time, Olman had already put the 10 US Dollars into his coat pocket. When he heard Donnie's question, he widened his eyes in disbelief.
"What are you talking about? There are only two months left until Prohibition starts, and you're thinking of suspending business for two months?"