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"A feeeks," Caruess"

"You guess?"

"Well, I haven’t kept a fucking calendar or anything"

"You will talk to me with respect" The tone of Corrado’s voice sent a chill down Car Carmine as his superior "Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir"

"Good And what in the world possessed you to do a job out at Sycamore Circle? Everybody knows that’s Irish territory!"

"I, uhI got a text" Car in a heap on the floor "I thought you ordered it"

"Must’ve been Sal," Corradohis head "Three men were hospitalized, you know One nearly died And you just fled the scenefled to go get high"

"I went to find you," Car for us"

"Of course they were They warned us weeks ago"

Car He didn’t knohat to say

"Do you know the history between the Italian and Irish in Chicago?" Corrado asked, glancing at hi his eyebrows

He nodded hesitantly, clearing his throat "They hate each other"

"It’s deeper than that," Corrado said "We’ve clashed since before Prohibition, when John Torrio was building our empire He was diplomatic, believed just because ere cris Moran, the underboss of the Irish Mob at the time, tried to kill Torrio He was severely injured in an assassination attempt, which forced him to hand over control to Al Capone Capone continued what Torrio started, but he wasn’t above equal justice"

"An eye for an eye," Carmine muttered

"Exactly," Corrado said "Moran tried to kill Capone a few tiood hit man A peace conference was called, where Capone said he believed Chicago was big enough for all of us Said it was like a pie, where every gang should have their fair slice"

"Makes sense," Carh he had no clue where the conversation was going

"Makes sense to , the bloodshed ceased, but it didn’t last You knohat happened next, right?"

Carood at history I failed it in high schoolboth tihed dryly "This is the history thatCapone’s friends Capone’s patience wore thin until he finally decided enough was enough He sent some men dressed as police into Moran’s warehouse, lined six of his associates against the wall, and slaughtered them"

"Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre"

"The bloodshed stopped after that And it’s only because we’ve respected those boundaries, because we’ve shared the pie, that we’ve had peace" Corrado paused "All of this ends now, Carain, if it doesn’t kill you, I will I won’t allow you to become a heroin addict"

"I didn’t knoas heroin," he said "It was supposed to be Molly, you know, MDMA"

Corrado turned froirlfriend by that na someone?" he asked "That’s crazy"

"No, crazy is infecting your syste in so safer, like a woman"

Carmine shook his head "There’s only one wo to stare out theonce more "This is the same room, you know It’s been remodeled, but it’s where they kept you when you were shot I felt déjà vu thisin that bed The only difference is your father isn’t here now I can only i you treat your life so carelesslya life Maura died to protect"

The beeping from the monitor was momentarily erratic at the mention of Carmine’s parents Shame seeped under his skin as his uncle continued his lecture

"I need to be able to trust you, and so far, you’ve given me every reason not to You can’t continue to disrespect randfather helped build It’s bad enough your father" Corrado trailed off, his posture going rigid He stood frozen, a cold stone statue, and his voice acy any further"

Carmine’s voice was hardly a whisper "Yes, sir"

Corrado strolled over to the hospital bed "Where’d you get thes, Caret them?"

Carmine shook his head "I, uh"