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“This is fuckin’ bullshit,” he said. “I’m goin’ back to the – ”
“HEY, SAVINO!” Adriano roared.
The old guy – Savino, apparently – froze in his tracks.
Every man, young and old, went deathly quiet as they waited to see what happened next.
Adriano walked up to the old guy and got right in his face. “What does my father fuckin’ pay you for, Savino?”
“To guard him,” the old guy said sullenly.
“And?” Adriano snapped.
“To guard your uncle.”
“AND?”
“…to guard you and your brothers…”
“AND?!”
Savino looked afraid. He clearly didn’t know what Adriano was looking for.
“HE PAYS YOU TO FUCKING FOLLOW ORDERS! AND RIGHT NOW, YOUR ORDERS ARE TO DO WHATEVER THE FUCK THAT MAN TELLS YOU TO DO!” Adriano screamed as he pointed at me.
Savino whined, “He’s tryin’ to kill us with this runnin’ bullshit!”
“Yeah?” Adriano said, his voice suddenly low and menacing.
“…yeah…” the old guy muttered, clearly worried by the drop in Adriano’s voice.
“Well, here’s your choice, Savino: you can either do his running bullshit, and maybe you die… or I can beat the fuck out of you right here and now, and you can definitely die. What’s it gonna be?”
Savino lowered his head like a whipped dog. “…I’ll follow orders.”
“Good,” Adriano hissed, then turned back to me. “Alright, Army Man, let’s go.”
Niccolo tried to hide his grin behind his hand. I managed to keep a poker face, but it was difficult.
The best thing?
I didn’t hear one more complaint from the old-timers after that. Not a single one.
They might have looked like they were going to keel over from a heart attack…
But nobody said shit. They just kept on training.
One notable absence throughout the whole thing: Aurelio.
I was secretly glad he didn’t come – and was even happier when he never showed up in the future.
118
Little by little, the men began to get better. Better physical shape, certainly – but they were also getting better at handling their guns, clearing the building, and acting like a team.
As we worked, I took note of their individual strengths and weaknesses – including the brothers’.
Adriano was a born leader, fearless and clever – but he tended to rule with an iron fist, using fear rather than inspiration. However, he was willing to endure ten times as much pain as anyone else, and that usually meant others looked up to him and wanted to impress him. When they did put forth a big effort, Adriano would slap them on the back and give a nod – which was insanely high praise from him and something all the younger men craved.
