After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia experienced major changes in its economic environment, with most resources in every aspect of society being controlled by gangs and oligarchs. Due to the hardships of life and the disruption of social order, a large number of Russian immigrants also came to the United States.

The largest concentration of Russian immigrants in the United States was in New York. Initially, to facilitate management, the U.S. Immigration Service made a decision they would regret for a long time. They ruled that, except for a fee required for immigrants to other places, those who chose New York did not need to pay, and a specific residential area was designated for them: Brighton Beach.

Starting from the time of the great immigration from the Soviet Union, the largest ethnic Russian enclave gradually formed. Besides law-abiding people, there were naturally also rogues, former corrupt officials, ex-soldiers, former KGB agents, ex-Gulag inmates, etc. After three to four decades of development, a complex and chaotic collection of gangs of all sizes had taken shape.

The complex composition of these immigrants, with a significant number possessing explosive combat capabilities including assassination, assault, bribery, and robbery, enabled them skillfully to suppress the previously formed Russian gangs and thus establish new ones.

The Russian gangs they formed were completely different from the local American gangs, like the Italian Mafia, which typically had strict hierarchical distinctions, resembling a pyramid structure with very clear subordinate relationships. This structure greatly enhanced their efficiency in carrying out monopolistic criminal activities.

On the other hand, Russian gangs did not have any real organizational structure—in fact, their networks were very loose. Small gangs might have only a dozen or twenty people, and even the largest gangs rarely exceeded a hundred. While this loose structure was less efficient in execution than the Italian Mafia, they had far greater numbers overall.

Reliant on the loose hierarchy that emerged among the smaller and larger gangs, Russian gangs were formidable in combat but difficult to eradicate from the top down like the Italian Mafia.

FBI files indicated that, after years of crackdowns, the Mafia had an estimated three to four thousand members, mainly across a few families, whereas the Russian gangs consisted of tens of thousands of people, with several thousand active members spread across hundreds of gangs of varying sizes. The FBI even found it impossible to trace a complete lineage of Russian gangs in their "Organized Crime Investigation Reports."

In light of such organizational circumstances, the FBI was extremely troubled by the Russian gangs, managing to deal only with those they had clear evidence against, one by one, but often that was not even as fast as the gangs could reorganize.

Looking at these reports, Jimmy couldn't help feeling that the world was too surreal. Back when he was county police in his small town, which gang would dare bare their teeth at the cops? When his house was burglarized, he went straight to the gang's stronghold, and they didn't even dare make a peep.

Now that he was working for the FBI in a globally-known city like New York, these gangs were practically carving out kingdoms for themselves.

The Trasov family's gang, similar to other Russian gangs, originated as a small gang pulled together by the Trasovs. Then, through a combination of circumstance and support from certain individuals, they began to swallow up smaller gangs and gradually rose to prominence within the Russian mob.

Led by Vigo Trasov, the gang solidified its top-tier position by deliberately taking out another gang. Then they began expanding outward, with their influence reaching across various districts of New York and into major cities within the United States. In terms of power, they were nearly on par with the original Italian Mafia.

It seems the FBI files were missing something. According to Ruiz, these gangs should have had a protective umbrella. The files, however, only covered the criminal activities of the gangs, seemingly avoiding mention of these protectors. A well-known gang without a protector would have been wiped out long ago.

But then again, that makes sense. The FBI is just one cog in the machinery of state violence; to be a protector implies a high rank, likely untouchable.

Jimmy idly flipped through the files, heading straight home after work.

While Jimmy was bored, Vigo Trasov was busy dealing with the mess created by the Crow Gang. Yes, it was mob business that needed handling, no involvement from the FBI needed; as long as it didn't cause them more trouble, it would be considered dealt with.

Russian mobs did indeed engage in small-scale warfare, but they generally eschewed going straight to the rival's headquarters to kill the boss, as that, while efficient, would leave the gang's members ripe to be split up by others, and they'd have to fight with other gangs for territory. This was nowhere near as smooth as negotiating after battle and simply merging the two gangs.

From a technical standpoint, this looked more like a vendetta, something beyond most people's capability. Complicating matters, since Abram had sent back word, Vigo had been trying to contact Crow's Nikola, to no avail. Even secret contact methods reserved between bosses went unanswered. It was highly possible that Nikola had already met his end.

The investigations carried out by the gangs were different from those of the FBI. The FBI typically analyzed evidence such as fingerprints and blood and then checked nearby cameras and monitors, whereas the gangs were more direct. Starting from the Crow's main headquarters, they branched out to nearby shops and residences to find if any strangers had come around.

Vigo was involved in the investigation because, strictly speaking, the Crows were now a subordinate gang to his own, and Ruiz did not simply call anyone. Being aware of territorial divisions, Ruiz directly notified Vigo, the boss. If he wanted to avoid FBI harassment, he needed to resolve the situation quickly, no matter whether it was a vendetta or something else. All they needed was a conclusion.

If it came to it, they could find someone willing to take the fall and go to jail. Although New York State hadn't fully abolished the death penalty, it had been many years since it was last carried out. Anyone willing to take the blame would be compensated with jail time, emerging to a higher position in the gang and cash rewards. It was still possible to find such people.

This was only because the incident had been recorded by the FBI. If it had only been an internal gang matter, it would have been much simpler. Hence, the one who reported it was the most hated; had the timing been better, perhaps they would have ended up at the bottom of a river.

The biggest problem now was Nikola's disappearance, with no indication of whether he had been kidnapped from his lair or something had happened to him outside before the lair itself was taken down.

The most pressing task was to track down Nikola's whereabouts and confirm whether he was dead. If his death could be confirmed, the issue would be easier to deal with. If he were alive, as a subordinate gang, Vigo was obliged to sort out Nikola's mess. Gangs operate by their own logic, and while it may not always be pleasant, rules are rules.

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