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"Awe, fuck," I say, taking a long swig from my drink. "I was trying to just will it back into existence."
"Never gonna happen, Teddy," he says. "It's on your shoulders now."
I nod my head. "Yeah, yeah. So everyone's been telling me."
"Who else has been telling you?"
"Primo, Carmine," I roll my eyes.
Marco grimaces at the mention of Carmine. The two never really got along, but I never knew why.
"Yeah, well, they are right."
I sigh. I really want to just put my entire face into my second drink, but instead I try and act like an adult.
"Okay, Marco. Tell me what's going on."
"As you know there have been some threats to your family's position given both your father's arrest and questions surrounding your lineage."
I roll my eyes. "The arrest I sort of get. Sort of," I say pointing my finger at nothing in particular. "Because, it's not like our line of work is entirely on the right side of the law. But, the lineage? That's been addressed so many times. It's not like we've ever tried to hide our surname. It's not the most Italian sounding."
"Yes, but this time your father isn't around to snuff out the opposition. Your brothers have both stepped down. It's the perfect opportunity to launch questions into whether your family's explanations are really sufficient."
"Seems more like excuses," I scoff.
"Whatever you want to call it," Marco says.
"Our lineage has been traced back to before the 1500s, when our forefathers changed their surname during the unification of Italy to avoid persecution. Royalty wasn't exactly popular during the European revolutions."
"I don't need the history lesson," Marco says. "I know it as well as anyone. I'm just saying that your father's not around to silence any questioning voices. Voices that will use whatever leverage they can to dislodge your family's position.
"That and it didn't look too good to find out that your father was keeping in touch with other Maldonados in South America. Sort of looks like your family's explanation is a made up thing."
"I can't speak to that," I respond. "My father is the sort of man to exploit whatever opportunities are made available to him. If our surname gave him an advantage in other markets, I'm sure he would use it.
"But, again," I say to my friend. "I'm not really sure what I can do about any of this."
"I just think you should be aware of what's going on."
"I am," I reply. "As you know, I'm the person called in to clean most things up. It means that I pretty much know the comings and goings of what goes down on the streets."
"And you're not concerned about what you've seen recently?"
I shrug and finish the last of my second drink. "Not sure why I should be concerned. Seems like things are being handled."
"Okay," Marco says but I can hear the uncertainty in his voice.
I can feel the effects of the alcohol mixing with the exhaustion of the night. I put my hand up to his face and give him a few friendly smacks.
"Just relax a little," I say. "I'm sure everything's going to be okay."
He nods. "I think I'm going to head back. You want a ride back?"
"Nah," I say. "I think I'm going to have one more drink and then maybe I'll see if Frankie waited around for me."
Marco shakes his head and stands. "Alright. See you tomorrow."
He walks off but before I'm able to think about getting a third drink, Primo sits down in front of me.
