Like the Jesse Brothers, Henry wasn't worried that they, like stray dogs, could do anything to Linda and her family. They probably didn't even know why they came to New York this time.
Henry had emphasized to both the New York Sun and the Chicago Tribune not to report on Linda and her family.
However, professional intelligence agencies like the Black Market would likely know about Henry's relationship with Linda and her family.
This is what makes these gray forces so annoying, sickening, and dreaded: once you're involved, it's easy for them to be relentless and never give up.
Therefore, Henry absolutely could not allow such a heartbreaking and enemy-pleasing situation to occur.
The night passed without incident, and the train arrived punctually at New York Train Station at around 5:45 AM on the 25th, the following day.
As direct descendants of the Vanderbilt Family, the absolute major shareholders of this railway, Consuelo led everyone through a special passage out of New York Train Station immediately. They boarded eight luxurious carriages dispatched by the Vanderbilt Family, Astor Family, Senma Family, Livingston Family, and others, and returned to the Upper East Side wealthy residential area, escorted by over forty guards.
Normally, there wouldn't be such a grand display, but these gentlemen and ladies had just experienced a kidnapping, so all the major families had to act cautiously and conduct a thorough investigation.
New York in this era didn't yet have the skyscrapers of later times, and the main roads were still dirt, not much better than in Denver.
Transportation primarily relied on horseback and carriages, and the air was thick with strong odors and rolling dust.
It is said that in New York City alone, approximately 2.5 million pounds (about 2.26 million catties) of horse manure accumulated on the streets daily.
Currently, New York's main population is concentrated on Manhattan Island, an area of about 58 square kilometers, divided into the Upper District, Midtown, and Lower District.
The Upper District gradually developed after Central Park was completed in 1857, attracting many wealthy people to build mansions nearby, including the Steel King Carnegie.
Therefore, the Upper District is entirely a wealthy area, especially near Fifth Avenue, close to Central Park.
Manhattan's road division is very simple: north-south roads are called 'Avenues,' and east-west roads are called 'Streets.'
The Upper District is from 59th Street to 110th Street; Midtown is from 23rd Street to 59th Street; and the Lower District is below 23rd Street.
The Lower District is a slum—concentrating a large number of immigrants, primarily Irish immigrants in this era.
However, in recent years, Eastern European and Italian immigrants have also increased.
The infamous Five Points, a hub of gray forces, is the intersection of four roads in the Lower District.
Consuelo and the others' residences are all in the Upper East Side, not far from each other, while Linda's parents live in the Upper West Side.
The Astor Family and the Vanderbilt Family each dispatched a luxurious carriage to send Henry and his party. Cathy instructed her family's servant to stay behind and follow Henry's instructions, ensuring that Henry and the Pitts' accommodation was well arranged.
Behind these carriages, six groups of people were trailing and observing from a distance. After the convoy entered the Upper East Side mansion area, four groups stopped, while two groups of impeccably dressed people continued to follow on horseback.
Along the way, Henry bid farewell to each of these gentlemen and ladies, finally dropping off Linda and her family at her parents' residence.
Linda's father, Jacques, is a successful French-descended winemaker, and the elderly couple lives in a high-end apartment in the Upper West Side.
Henry did not get out of the carriage. After arranging to visit Linda the day after tomorrow, he had Peter and Mary escort Linda and her family into the apartment.
At this point, Becky was still groggily cradled in Linda's arms.
Peter and Mary had been instructed by Henry to return to the last Astor Family carriage soon after dropping off Linda and her family.
After the carriage had traveled for a few minutes, Henry had it stop on a heavily wooded path.
"Peter, I have some matters to attend to and might not return until the afternoon. Take my suitcase to the hotel, and you and Mary should try to stay at the hotel today and not go out."
After instructing Peter, Henry told the Astor Family's servant to lead Peter and his wife back to the Astute Mansion Hotel to book two rooms for them, and then let them continue to the hotel.
Once the carriage drove away, Henry hid behind the trees and observed his surroundings.
Only after two carriages and three people on horseback had passed him did Henry enter the small grove to change his clothes, put on a full beard and a handlebar mustache, and then release a Quarter Horse, riding it south towards the Lower District.
It was just past 7 AM, and as Henry rode, everything he saw resembled a trip to a rural farmhouse in later times.
Both sides of the road were vast grasslands and numerous triangular farms, with many wooden farmhouses on unflattened mounds.
However, he also saw many places being demolished and rebuilt, the entire area resembling a large construction site.
The further one went into the Lower District, the more four-to-six-story brick-and-wood factory-style buildings appeared. Most of these were factories related to industries such as sugar refining, publishing, and clothing.
At this time, the six groups of tailing individuals followed the Astor Family's carriage to the Astute Mansion Hotel, only seeing Peter and his wife disembark and enter the hotel led by a footman.
After another ten minutes or so, only the footman exited the hotel, riding a horse and following the carriage away.
Some of these tailing individuals stayed to continue observing, while others left to report back.
Meanwhile, Henry arrived at an intersection on Second Avenue at 24th Street.
He found an uninhabited spot to store his horse in his space, then headed towards a four-story, square-structured, factory-style brick-and-wood building a few hundred meters away.
This building was a club called the "Raven Brotherhood"—the Black Market Center of New York.
Ravens in Europe and America symbolize death, luck, and wisdom, possessing two notable characteristics: being good at speculation and ruthless exploitation.
Henry was now wearing a black newsboy cap, a blue coarse cloth shirt and a black vest on his upper body, black jeans on his lower body, and a pair of black work boots, dressed perfectly as a blue-collar worker.
The first floor of the club was completely enclosed by a stone wall over three meters high, with two wide, seven-to-eight-meter iron gates tightly shut, making it impossible to see inside the courtyard.
To the left of the main gate was a side entrance two to three meters wide, with four young white men wearing vests over their shoulder holsters standing at the door.
Henry knew that three three-to-four-story buildings, arranged in a triangular formation within dozens of meters of this building, all belonged to the Black Market.
The ground-floor storefronts of these buildings were all general stores, ready-to-wear clothing shops, hat shops, or shoe stores.
All three buildings also operated as hotels.
These three buildings housed over two hundred armed personnel and over two hundred logistical personnel.
Adding the over two hundred combat personnel and over two hundred other personnel permanently stationed in the club building, the Black Market Center had nearly five hundred armed personnel and over four hundred other personnel in this vicinity.
Of course, apart from the personnel in the club, the personnel in the other three buildings often went out on assignments, so usually only three or four tenths of the personnel would remain.
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