act21side

Welcome to Teatro di Milano, signorine mie.

Wow, this place is breathtaking!

Siracusans love to kill time here to the accompaniment of music and performance. After all, when reality is monotonous and difficult to change, people naturally need a place to indulge their fantasies.

Or, to equate their bloodstained business dealings with the legendary exploits of the heroes on stage to obtain a sense of moral satisfaction.

Wow... you really don't pull any punches, huh?

Of course not. In this line of work, we must be clear-eyed about our own profession, no?

Your friends over there seem to have been on their guard from the very beginning.

I don't mean no disrespect, Mr. Director, but the way I heard it, you was callin' that play yer rehearsin'...

'La Morte di Texas.'

'The Death of Texas'? That might be the crappiest 'joke' I've ever heard.

Hm? You seem to be well-acquainted with that name. That's fairly unusual among foreigners.

Siracusans rarely bring it up in the first place, and the mafiosi here are even more secretive about it. But the story of Famiglia Texas... is one that every mafioso must always keep in their hearts.

It is a cautionary tale.

A warning...

Let's talk about the script itself first. There are countless works based on the deeds of Famiglia Texas, but not a single one dares to actually print the name.

Playwrights are more inclined to reimagine or adapt, with the help of allusion or parody. After all, it is against their interests to invite trouble.

However, times change, and today's audience finds true history far more salient than fairy tales with falsified names. Wouldn't you agree?

As such, a remarkable individual has brought this script before us.

It's a play in three acts.

The first act harkens back to the era when Columbia was first established, with many a Siracusan famiglia yearning for this undeveloped land.

Consequently, the famiglie each dispatched their own teams, one after another, joining the ranks of Columbia's first pioneers.

'In an era when chaos and opportunity came hand-in-hand, some were swallowed by the tides of the times, while others found in it their promised land.'

The cream of the crop among them was Salvadore Texas, a man who would later establish his very own era.

(I know he means the surname and not <i>her</i>, but still...)

So, Texas is one of Siracusa's families?

To be precise, they were a famiglia that originated in Siracusa, but took root in Columbia.

Such famiglie are hardly unusual over there.

From beginning to end, though, old Salvadore saw himself as a Siracusan, through-and-through.

And the Siracusans in turn rewarded him for his perseverance, always affording him a Siracusan's respect.

The Siracusans...

The second act chronicles some of the most praiseworthy episodes from his storied struggles in Columbia.

Siracusans can be found everywhere in the shadows of Columbia's history, and it is precisely amidst that tide that Salvadore gathered his famiglia.

In truth, the contents of this act are the best known of the three.

Even across various retellings, they're almost always the same.

Accounts of 'the Siracusan in Columbia' can be found in over a dozen versions in any local bookstore, mostly romance novels borrowing the phantom of his name, so to speak.

Perhaps, there may even be a few words of truth among them.

If you're interested in that, I can point you to some of the less-outrageous ones.

Ooh, I'd appreciate that!

Think nothing of it. Now, onto the third act - this is the one that can change most dramatically between versions.

Because... it deals with the fall of the Texas Family?

That's right.

Outsiders only know one thing for certain about the fall of Famiglia Texas, and that is that—

Salvadore was murdered by his own son, Giuseppe, who later declared that Famiglia Texas would break away from Siracusa's famiglia system.

This act angered Signora Sicilia, and incurred her retribution.

In a single night, the Texas name was wiped from existence.

The entire Texas family disappeared... in a single night?!

At least, that's what every Siracusan believes.

As far as what exactly happened during the liquidation of Famiglia Texas, nobody except the parties involved have any way of knowing.

Excuse me... How come there are only scripts for the first two acts here?

That is because the third act is not yet finished.

Each playwright will invariably imagine their own version of how this process unfolded, arriving at completely different developments and outcomes.

In that regard, our playwright seems to have reached an impasse.

That said, the contents of the first two acts are already exceptional on their own merits, so I purchased the work without hesitation.

Mr. Bernardo, is it possible that one of the heirs of the Texas Family survived the chaos?

Like, maybe she... managed to leave Columbia and escape to a different city?

For example... Lungmen?

Lungmen? If I recall, that's where you ladies hail from.

Apparently, Salvadore did not have a particularly amicable relationship with his son.

But he doted on his granddaughter, even sending her back to Siracusa, where she was fostered by Famiglia Saluzzo for several years.

Nobody has seen or heard from her since the liquidation, though.

In fact, nobody can conclusively say if she was even involved in this at all. Some say she's been seen in Columbia, or even along the border of Siracusa.

Therefore, different accounts of Famiglia Texas's story tend to have different endings when it comes to her.

She was said to possess their iconic black hair and orange eyes.

If—and I'm speaking hypothetically here! If the last descendant of the Texas Family is still alive, and has returned to Siracusan soil once again...

What would happen then?

Certainly a thought-provoking hypothetical, one with any number of possible developments. Playwrights tend to build their work around such logic.

Sadly, Signorina Sora, reality does not abide by logic.

Some say that she is the 'guest' of a family by the name of Bellone.

Some say that the Bellones are the most powerful family in the city.

Some say that she...

Some say that she left everything behind to go there, not even giving herself a chance to say goodbye.

I, no, <i>we</i> came all the way here to find her.

Your bravery is commendable.

Since you have been so frank with me, bringing secrets even I have never heard, allow me to be frank with you in turn.

Famiglia Bellone and their guests have indeed frequented this theater, graciously offering their patronage to our humble performances.

Really?!

Call it coincidence, or call it fate. Is that not how all stories unfold?

If that guest truly comes to pay us a visit, then our troupe will be sure to extend her an enthusiastic welcome.

Rumor has it that she is a woman of few words, whose twin swords speak for her.

Her name is... Cellinia Texas.

Stop shoving that plate of thistles in my face, Lavinia.

The seasoning here isn't as bad as you make it out to be. Give it a try.

I'm going to have to pass again.

Are you trying to save room in your stomach for a cold dinner with those smug mafiosi friends of yours back home, who reek of cigar butts?

After all, only the things that happen there have any real 'value.'

No... I just seriously can't stand artichokes.

Leon, I've already lost count of the number of violent incidents that have broken out in this city over the past month.

Just this morning, a citizen nearly died at this very restaurant.

You're a judge. You should know better than anyone else that Siracusa was built on violence.

Should there ever come a day when there aren't any unidentifiable corpses lying in the alleys, then <i>that</i> would be real news.

The victim was an employee of il Ministero dei Lavori Pubblici. <i>Your</i> ministero.

...Who did it?

It would appear that Leontuzzo, son of Don Bellone deigns to inquire about the life and death of a citizen only when it concerns his career.

Your Honor, Lavinia Falcone, I really do not have the energy to clap back at you right now.

We can all feel that this city has been on edge recently... waiting for something big to happen.

Something bigger than the Bellones' ultimate victory?

If we really are allowed to take the reins, I, for one, do not intend to continue tolerating the thugs that prowl in the cover of darkness.

Lavinia, you're familiar with the way I do things.

I sure hope so.

Over a hundred years ago, when Siracusa first turned from a plot of land into a country, its territory consisted of the twenty-two cities controlled by the Dodici Famiglie.