Mr. Consultant

Giuseppe Rizzo, Barone's advisor, was standing in front of a lonely villa.The winter wind blowing on his face by the shore of Lake Michigan made the pupils under the scholar-like gold-rimmed glasses even colder.He turned his back to the gate of the villa, and his eyes lingered on the dark green emerald-like lake.Even though the Maldini family proposed peace talks, he still did not dare to take it lightly, and still felt a little jealous of the experience of being driven from the street to the alley half a month ago.

But the wound on his leg pierced by the glass has completely healed, leaving only a shallow scar on the skin.If Xavier hadn't used those ambiguous touches to remind him from time to time, I believe he would have forgotten the smell of Scotch whiskey and the aroma of Havana cigars.

And Giuseppe is too busy. Since the full-scale war with Maldini, he has hardly had a peaceful night's sleep.And shortly after ordering Albert's execution, he dragged his injured leg around all corners of Chicago.God knows how hard it took him to take a free day out of those dense schedules, escape the indiscriminate bombardment of phone ringing, and come to the shore of Lake Michigan, which can freeze to death.

But he felt he had to.

There are too many questions in my mind that need answers, and too many worries that need to be dispelled.Unfortunately, Don Barrone was no longer able to discuss anything with him, so Giuseppe had to turn to himself and his friends on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Fortunately, Dario Lombardi, a jovial and funny Italian, opened the door of the villa before the consultant turned into a workaholic.He was very old, with disheveled silver hair, thin and stooped figure, and looked a little ridiculous when standing in front of the Norwegian mixed-race Giuseppe.But he didn't shy away from these things. He walked out the door with vigorous steps, gave Giuseppe an exaggerated hug, and said in English with a strong accent at the top of his voice:

"Christ! That little bastard Xavier, what kind of trouble did you get into to make you look like this?"

Giuseppe agrees with his "little bastard" remark about Xavier, and even wants to join him in cursing at the top of his lungs.But in the end, out of the professional ethics of a family consultant, he pushed his glasses and said against his conscience:

"It's not Xavier, it's Maldini."

"Oh, Martini."

Dario pondered, took two steps back, invited Giuseppe into the house, poured him another glass of brandy, dug out a box of cigars, and sat in front of the fireplace with a blanket in his arms.

As an old friend of Don Barrone and a former consultant of the New York City Mafia, Dario, even though he has nothing to do, still cares about the troubles in Chicago.As for the war between Maldini and Barone, he knew no less than Giuseppe.

At this time, of course, he had guessed Giuseppe's thoughts all over the place.But he didn't speak rashly, and didn't even say a word.He just leaned on the chair leisurely, as if he had no other intentions except to listen.

Giuseppe was staring at the glass full of brandy in his hand. The orange-red fire in the fireplace danced in the glass, mixing with the amber-like liquor, exuding an intoxicating aroma.He shook the glass, and the ice cubes collided, shattering the reflection of the handsome face.

"A few days ago, Maldini's emissary brought news that they wanted a truce. I thought it was a trap, a big conspiracy. You know, our previous situation was very bad. Even if Albert was executed , defeat is only a matter of time. I don't believe that Maldini will give up the victory that is close at hand, and I don't believe that those sons of bitches will let it go. But..."

Giuseppe paused, raising his eyes to make sure Dario was still listening.The old guy was so quiet, one wondered if he had fallen asleep from the boring speech.

Fortunately, Dario's expression was still focused. He blinked and motioned Giuseppe to continue.

So Giuseppe took a sip of his wine and continued:

"But yesterday, my people found out that Lorenzo had gone to New York to get the committee, Don Gilardino, to vouch for the peace talks. It doesn't make sense."

Daario shook his small head, his round eyes twinkled, and he understood the problem.He believed that Lorenzo would not be so stupid as to labor those big men in New York for an inexplicable lie, there must be something strange behind it.

If Maldini sincerely hopes to negotiate, then what is the urgent reason that made them willing to give up all advantages, accept the situation of the division between the North and the South, and even eagerly demand an armistice?

And Giuseppe, he was too cautious.

Daario didn't know where his obsession with order and logic came from.But it seemed that from the time he'd known Giuseppe, that man had been a precision instrument, a hopeless perfectionist and a total control freak.But Daario rarely persuaded him to give up, because this kind of rigor is usually good for a family advisor.But at the moment, after all, it seems a bit out of date.

Dario found the most euphemistic way possible, and said to Giuseppe:

"Listen, boy, you sometimes have to accept these unexpected situations. They are like those stones on the road, which will appear under your feet if you don't pay attention. But Barone has no choice now, no matter what is behind it. story, and for our cause, you must, immediately, make peace with Maldini."

"I see."

Giuseppe used a helpless wry smile to conceal the deep disappointment in his heart.Since the death of his mentor and former advisor, Antonio, Dario has become the only one he can rely on when he is confused. He follows Dario's guidance like a Christian follows the Bible.But at this time, it is obvious that the old man cannot solve his problem, which makes Giuseppe feel extremely helpless.But he didn't want to show this helplessness, so as not to make himself look like a child who was not weaned.

But how could Dario not understand him?

Many years ago, when Antonio died, Don Barone had invited him to take over as advisor.But Daario felt that he was too old and had too little ambition, and he could no longer bear the bloody storm like before, let alone order those desperadoes full of sins.So he thought of Giuseppe, the disciple whom Antonio so often bragged about, whom he recommended to the Don.

For this recommendation, everyone questioned his decision, and laughed at him for being too stupid to let a Norwegian kid take up such an important position as a family consultant, not to mention that the kid was a male whore who quit his job.

But Dario knew, and Don Barone knew better than he did, that there was in Giuseppe a coolness that was almost cruel and a loyalty that seemed stupid.In the world of the Mafia, cruelty can be practiced, stupidity is born, but calmness and loyalty are worth more than gold.

But now, this calm and loyal man was almost crushed by the burden on his shoulders and drove him crazy.When Dario thought of this, his heart, which had become kind due to old age, ached a little.The poor little old man had no children. Although he had only known Giuseppe for a few years, this child was like his relatives.

Dario lowered his tone and said in a soft voice that could almost be used to sing a lullaby:

"My child, listen to me, you should go to sleep and rest."

The words were short and sincere, but Giuseppe felt a burst of heartfelt gratitude. He nodded and decided to swallow the other thing he was thinking about.Dario has worried enough about him, he doesn't want to add unnecessary trouble to his private affairs.

"You're going to figure it out yourself, and you're the only one left to figure it out."

Thinking of this, Giuseppe drank the ice-melted wine in his hand.Alcohol burned his throat, a little bitter, but very satisfying.

Dario realized that his words had an effect, so he stretched out his hand and patted Giuseppe's shoulder, he laughed briskly,

"Son, don't think about those things! Hurry up and let this damn war end, and then train your young master to be a hero in his own right, a hero like Don, and you can drink brandy around the stove like me all day long. "

After hearing this, Giuseppe seemed to think of the leisurely future, and smiled in relief.Even though his face hardly showed any signs of age, Giuseppe was no longer young.But when he laughs, from the glass-like gray-green eyes and the fine smile lines at the corners of the eyes, people can still feel the throbbing and fiery heart in his chest.

"Thank you, old man."

"Son, that's as nasty as one of those Thanksgiving cards!"

The old man was a little embarrassed by his sudden confession, scratched his head in trouble, got up and muttered: "By the way, someone gave me goat cheese before, and I will cut it for you to eat."

Giuseppe looked at his hunched back in a flannelette jacket, and immediately gained a little more courage.Even for the old man's expectation, he must settle the peace talks properly.He took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and decided to reconsider Maldini's request from the beginning.

But at this moment, a crisp ringtone broke into his mind like a gust of wind, sweeping away all his thoughts, forcing Giuseppe to stand up from his chair.

Dario heard the bell too, but he couldn't move his hands, so he yelled for Giuseppe to listen.Giuseppe quickly picked up the receiver by the fireplace, as if the eardrum would be pierced by the chattering voice a second later.He did his best to form a polite greeting, trying to find out the identity of the intruder on the other end of the line.

But when Giuseppe heard the first sentence spoken by the opposite party, he felt that this kind of exploration seemed like an idiot:

Xavier can really challenge his nerves with anything inexplicable.

"How do you know the phone number here?" Giuseppe's tone was a little blunt, because he knew that in the face of that young master, all polite remarks would be regarded as an opportunity to make progress.Giuseppe seldom speculates on others so maliciously, but at the same time, he is almost sure that Xavier is deliberately against himself.

"I asked Luka." At this time, the culprit was still ignorant, and he said in a joking tone: "Mr. Consultant, the documents on your desk are going to pile up into a hill. When will you return?"

"Daario and I have something to talk about." Giuseppe looked at his watch, and replied impatiently but honestly: "About another hour, I'll be back in another hour. Just let those documents Pile it up, and I'll take care of it."

After hearing this, Xavier didn't object, but agreed absent-mindedly, which made Giuseppe very uneasy.

Dario, who had heard the last conversation, came by with a china plate full of cheese, and laughed at Giuseppe:

"Is he the daddy waiting for his daughter to come back after curfew?"

Giuseppe shook his head, picked up a piece of cheese and put it in his mouth, criticizing harshly:

"Wrong, he is the son who is waiting for his mother to come home and cook."

Dario was amused by him, and he patted the armrest of the chair desperately, with tears in his eyes.

"Giuseppe, my child, it would be great if you were so humorous! Otherwise, I wonder if all the pressure on you has accumulated on your hairline. If after a few years, you are as handsome as you, you will also become bald, old man It's really unfair!"

For some reason, amidst Dario's unbridled laughter, the matter that Giuseppe had swallowed earlier came back to his mind suddenly.

Giuseppe suppressed his smile in an instant, and hesitated.He instinctively felt that he shouldn't bring up an unimportant private matter to discuss with the respected Dario, but that matter haunted him like a nightmare, making him unable to vomit.

So he tried, faltering and faltering, as if confessing to a priest, and said:

"Master, there is something I want to tell you..."

Daario was taken aback by his solemn tone, sat up straight instinctively, frowned and observed the expression on Giuseppe's face in fear.

He saw Giuseppe frankly confessed:

"I slept with Xavier."

The author has something to say:

I love Uncle Giuseppe forever, and the next chapter (not too young) the young master will appear hot!