IS-ST-2 Cut Open

No one told me about this!

Me neither.

Did she act on her own?

Don't worry about it.

I chose to let her do it.

Don Alberto! But why?

A gold coin can mean very different things in different circumstances.

The Bellones will not have their way.

What's a little smirch on our reputation, if it means we cut another piece of flesh off Bernardo?

Understood.

What should we do now?

Prepare my car. I'm going to see my daughter.

Yes, Don Alberto.

By the way, where is Danbrown now?

Danbrown? I think he's working at a carwash.

Give me the address.

Are you calling him back?

I never permitted him to leave the famiglia.

Understood.

And prepare a banquet.

For...?

A feast for the heir to Famiglia Bellone.

Let me go!

We caught the assassins, thanks to Lappland's tip-off.

They've been identified as having taken part in Leontuzzo's assassination.

Do you two know her?

Hey.

Nothing good ever comes of dealing with you, Lappland.

Look on the bright side. It's not every day that you get to sit in a Siracusan cell.

......

Lock them up.

Yes, Your Honor.

You were the one who waylaid Cellinia, and ordered the bombing of Carracci...

Is that still your story?

You sure are persistent, aren't you?

Don't you and Bellone want to get this case closed as quickly as you can?

Does it matter if it was me or Texas who did it?

......

You really should hang me, Your Honor.

I'm just a pawn my famiglia cast aside. Surely, you can do it.

Imagine the positive impact that my death will have on justice in Siracusa.

Isn't it worth a try?

I don't know what you're planning.

But I'll do exactly that, if you really are the culprit, Lappland Saluzzo.

First, there's someone I have to see.

Welcome back, Don Bernardo.

Take a break. You've been working hard.

Yes, Don Bernardo.

......

Not happy?

How could I be?

Come with me.

There are some things that you have to know.

Why did you bring me here?

My lord.

Bernardo. Are you asking me to tame your unruly cub now?

He just needs to understand something.

What are you—

I am il Signore dei Lupi, cub.

Signore dei Lupi, the hunt, Fangs...

Could it be...?

Your father has been an excellent Fang.

Rubio, Don Alberto is holding a banquet for Famiglia Bellone.

We'll need the best food.

Could it really be Saluzzo?

Rubio?

Oh, it's nothing.

Let me think... ordinary hospitality won't do when the Bellones are involved.

Please inform Don Alberto that it would be my honor to prepare the banquet, personally.

I eagerly await his response.

I'm sorry.

No need to apologize to me.

You can leave after some paperwork, if you want.

Procedurally, you're no longer a suspect.

I'm not worried. It's quieter here in jail.

Haven't you given up yet?

Do you really think your old friend did it?

......

It's her style, but I don't see the motive.

Then it's not time to give up.

Signorina Lavinia, Famiglia Rossati sends word that Signor Wallach would like to speak with Signorina Cellinia.

Well... no rest for the wicked, then.

Signor, if you have to sleep, can you at least put your legs down?

...Hmm?

Are you talking to me?

Who else? How could you sleep in the theater?

And to put your feet up like that! How rude!

I'm not blocking you, am I?

No, but it's really off-putting to have someone so rude beside me!

Alright, I'll put my legs down.

Hey, why do you have food with you?

We don't sell food here.

Yeah, I bought it at the corner store, since you don't sell popcorn here.

Is it your first time here?

A friend suggested I come here to relax.

What do you think of the performance?

I don't really understand what's going on.

Why are they doing that?

......

Escort this gentleman out.

He's not welcome here.

Hey, I bought a ticket!

Give him a refund.

Right away.

Come with us, signor.

And get the hell out.

Say, I saw him when the show started.

I thought he was some rich boy out to experience society.

Turns out it was a poor cazzo who knows nothing about opera.

Did you like what they were doing on stage?

Of course. The actors looked nice.

And the songs were beautiful.

Is that what they call 'art'?

Stick to the bars, pleb.

Oh yeah, here's your ticket money.

Don't you dare say we took it.

What's that? You wanna do this the hard way?

Hey, this guy's strong.

I need some help here!

......

Something's not right with his eyes.

A-Aaaahh! My arm! It's gonna break!

......

H-Hold it right there!

Just let it go, don't waste your time with a cazzo like that.

C'mon, let's get you bandaged up.

Sorry, Signorina Lavinia...

Doesn't look like this is something for me.

Guess I should find a bar to get myself drunk, then spend the night at the porno theater.

Want a drink?

...?

I want an explanation, Lappland.

Isn't this what you wanted?

Help the Bellones when they're at their weakest, control them, and dominate them, rather than destroy them.

I thought I taught you.

I taught you what to do in times like this.

Oh, I forgot. It's been years since I left, you know.

I can have you ignoring the business I give you, or you going against me.

You're my daughter, after all.

I'm a forgiving man, but I can't let you go over my head to make decisions for the famiglia.

Even if you did actually guess what I wanted to do.

I am don of our famiglia.

Seven years ago, I kicked you out for this. Seven years later, you came back and did it again.

You knew it would infuriate me. You knew it was the only thing that could infuriate me.

Why did you do it, figlia mia?

Because nothing else brings me joy, padre mio.

I wanted to know if it's really your position that matters most.

I've always wanted to know.

Time's up, boss.

That'll be all for today.

That's all?

You defied me.

But you're still my daughter.

You know what I want, better than anyone.

All you're missing is discipline.

It's my fault for not educating you properly.

But there's still time.

So all the Signori dei Lupi live amongst us?

No, he's the only one who involves himself in human society.

The rest of them stay out in the wildness.

Why?

He believes that the authority over man is a form of power.

And he wants to use it to triumph over the other Signori dei Lupi.

So he wants you to overthrow Signora Sicilia, become the de facto ruler of Siracusa, and help him win his fight with his kind?

You, me, the entire famiglia, we're all tools to him.

Did you think I was going to accept that?

How could you accept being a puppet your entire life?!

Figlio mio, there's one thing you've misunderstood.

He taught me how to win power, just as I taught you.

Using it to defeat the other Fangs is just a part.

Every decision that I made, including what I'm doing now, is my own.

......

(No, he's serious.)

(Look at him, the strength of his character, he's no puppet.)

We're each other's tools, instruments for our mutual victory. That's all.

Boss, the Saluzzos have sent their invitation.

Don Alberto would like Signor Leon to attend his banquet.

Sigh.

I've lost count of how many times you sighed today, Sora.

Can't be helped, considering what happened at the trial.

How about we raid the prison?

Ya lost yer darned mind?

At least we'd get to see her.

I wouldn't recommend it.

What are you doing here, Miss Caterina?

That's my line, Sora. Why are you out here? It's dangerous.

I live nearby.

You do? Did you get scammed?

It's fine, she's got me n' Exusiai.

Who's this, Sora?

Oh, I met Caterina a few days ago over at the theater.

Well... I guess it's fine, if you have friends you can count on.

What about you?

Oh, don't worry about me. A noisy place like this is conductive to my creative work.

Creative work... say, the playwright behind La Morte di Texas is named Caterina too. Could you be...?

Uh-huh.

Wow! No wonder you knew so much about the Texas Family!

I read that one! Even I could tell it's one humdinger of a script!

Can I get yer autograph?

Sure. Not that it's worth anything right now.

Le Morty de Texas is gonna be a blockbuster! You'n bet on that!

Thanks.

Back to what you just said...

You look like you can take care of yourselves, and I wouldn't put it past you to actually get it done, if it was any other Siracusan prison.

But things aren't so easy here in Volsinii, with Lavinia around.

The eyes of all the famiglie are on that place. You don't know what trouble you might stir up, if you act rashly.

Heh, we were just kiddin' around.

You didn't look like you were.

May I ask a question?

Okay?

Do you know Cellinia well?

Sit.

......

There's an unwritten rule in art and writing.

You can base your work on the famiglia, but you can't mention a real famiglia by name.

I've heard that.

But somebody put 'La Morte di Texas' out there.

The first work to use the name of a real famiglia.

And?

That means the famiglie aren't trying to stay in the shadows anymore. They're out to take center stage.

All thanks to the Columbians.

A lot's changed since the Columbians got mixed up in the Siracusan art scene.

Unscrupulous artists—or rather, craftsmen—pumped out work that's starting to stink.

They're not making observations about life, they're making pale imitations of it. As long as audiences are willing to shell out money for it.

It's just a mosaic of pop culture. What was popular yesterday shows up in theaters tomorrow.

Real quality is buried under garbage, which becomes all you find when you look for art.

Isn't that terrible?

If it's what everybody likes, then what you call 'art' sounds like garbage.

Some think like that, but not everyone.

There are those who would like to keep good art from being buried, but they don't know how to fight the tide.

That old timey opera didn't appeal to me.

But you never escaped the past, did you?

Who are you?

Benthonexigios. You'll find my name in the reviews section of Volsinii Arts Weekly.

Ben...

Just call me Ben.

Ben...

I... I've got my thoughts about what Siracusa's become.

People up high say we oughta solve our problems in more civilized ways.

But when I try to do something all civilized, things turn out the same as they always did.

Why do we fool ourselves like that, when we don't actually have to?

The famiglie know how things are trending, but no one wants to give what they already had.

Want a drink?

That wine's not cheap.

It's not.

And this is a cheap pizzeria.

It is.

Why pair a wine like that with pizza like that?

Because the wine is worth the same as the pizza to me.

The wine is certainly finely made, but just as much care was put into growing the wheat that ended up in this pizza.

Is there really that much of a difference in value between them, if you take away the trappings of civilization?

Do you believe in these things?

The trappings of civilization?

Like the label on this wine. Slap it on something, and you're free to feed on the people whom you've fooled.

So Cellinia fled to Lungmen, and you are her friends...

Hard to believe, isn't it?

No, I believe it.

Really?

First, there's no need for you to lie. Second, I always thought there was a chance she was still alive.

Now I understand why she suddenly showed up.

I guess she made a deal with the Bellones, and now she's here to pay her debt.

Definitely sounds like her.

But what a coincidence it is that you found the Compagnia dell'alba... (whispers) or perhaps it's no coincidence...

What's special about that company?

Nothing. It's nothing.

The Compagnia dell'alba is a good place to start, if you want to get close to Famiglia Bellone.

But... well, come with me.

What's this place...?

It's my home.

Wow, books and papers everywhere.

Haha, sorry about that. I didn't have time to clean up.

Take this, Sora.

A key?

Yes. It can be dangerous outside. Come here, if you want to practice.

It's quieter, and I have plenty of scripts you can look at.

But...

Just think of it as making a new friend.

Alright!