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A Reproba from Ursus with almost no social relations and whose past is virtually unknown... You do see my concern, right?

I-I promise, she has nothing to do with the mafia. And she's a great driver!

Her resume is like this because she's had some hard luck... she really, really needs a job right now!

I'm thinking, Judge Lavinia... the laws of Nuova Volsinii protect us from the mafia. When our citizens need help, perhaps...

Oh, I don't mean to pressure you! You should deal with it whatever way you see fit—

You're too wound up, Eirene.

I can see that you're trying to keep your distance from me.

I...

I, I really like you and Signor Bellone, Judge Lavinia, I really do!

Hehe, thanks.

Same for Sommer.

Sommer? The driver who came with you to Nuova Volsinii? The one always with a lighter in his hand...

You remember! He's my best friend.

We came to Nuova Volsinii a year ago. Back then, City Hall's notice about the Truckers' Union had been up for half a month, but no one dared to apply, fearing mafia reprisals.

Sommer and I read it a few times and were about to leave when you and Signor Bellone stopped us.

You stood before the notice longer than anyone else.

...We came because we couldn't stay in Sicilia.

I remember what you said to me... I, I don't mean to make this awkward, but my life would be very different without you.

I know you don't want the famiglie—I mean, 'companies' to interfere in Nuova Volsinii's logistics, and I know they haven't given up on it.

The result, however, is that the Truckers' Union has become the only legal transportation organization, and it is growing by the day...

All our drivers have something in their past that they're not proud of, before they came to Nuova Volsinii...

Anyway, we're all looking for a fresh start, a second chance.

That's why you don't want to be seen to be too close to City Hall or the courts.

...Yes.

I know, there are many things that will take time to get there.

But I promise you that the mafia will never get a foothold in the Truckers' Union.

And I voted for Signor Bellone when he ran for mayor! Everyone can see how well he’s done as Acting Mayor for the past year. I'm sure—*grumble*.

Oh...

Haven't had dinner yet?

I-I'm fine! I'm not hungry yet...

I still have some pizza here, if you don't mind that it's gotten a little cold.

I-I can't possibly...

Think of it as helping me out. It's too much for me to finish on my own, and we can't very well talk about work on an empty stomach, can we?

Besides, there is no greater crime in Siracusa than letting good, authentic pizza go to waste.

If you put it that way... I guess it would be rude to refuse.

Tell me more about the present state of the Truckers' Union, Eirene.

Oh, uh... okay!

Average pizza sauce last month is up five times from the previous months...

Oh, I mean, dispatches...

And this pizza sauce is really good.

Maybe we should finish our dinner first.

A friend once said something that really left an impression on me—

'Our power comes from the very lives we have created.'

Our power will protect all that we have built.

<p=2>November 5th, 1100 10:52 P.M.</>

That's the fifth slice of pizza and third glass of juice that you just eliminated. Are you that hungry?

Shut up and drink this espresso.

It's so damn sour!

If we screw up this mission because this swill makes me throw up, whose head am I gonna give the boss, yours?

Live with it. I just picked it up off the shelf.

Nobody uses this frontage road anyway. Besides, it's just transporting a bunch of 'tires', what could go wrong?

No need to get all worked up about an unimportant job like this.

I'm tired of listening to your complaints for the past two months, Gambino.

Haven't you figured out our new boss yet? Trying too hard to show off in front of him will only have the opposite effect.

Fresh meat like us, we gotta be patient and wait for our chance.

Well, ain't you the model employee, Capone.

I thought you would at least show a little bit of, I don't know, shame? There's hardly any place for a Sicilian in Siracusa these days.

I'm not Sicilian anymore. It's your shame, not mine.

I just want to get my Nuova Volsinii citizenship sooner rather than later. All the work I put in over the past six months, all the guarantee money I paid, and I'm only halfway to the required points—

Halfway?! You've got fifty more points than I do? Have you been doing—*gasp*—community service while I wasn't looking?

Shut your crap, Gambino. We're on our last chance and you know it.

Keep your eyes sharp on the street. It should be coming any time now—

You got any pizza left? Give me one.

Cazzo, it's cold, how do you even manage to eat this...

<p=2>November 5th, 1100 11:05 P.M.</>

Ach... I'm late.

You're late, Leon.

I'm sorry, it's been a really busy day.

Still working on your inaugural speech?

Well, that too... We're planning a birthday party for an entire city. It's not quite the same as planning a party at home, is it?

I'm surprised... you still remember.

Of course I do. Did you think I was going to forget how you bought ginger ale instead of beer for the banquet, and pocketed the difference to buy a car?

Well, I guess that DID happen.

You sound... distracted, Demetri.

Do I? It's nothing. I guess it's been too long since we last saw each other.

Take care on your way, Leon.

Might have taken that as a threat, if we weren't in Nuova Volsinii.

Enough joking and hurry up. I'm waiting at the seat by the window.

Leontuzzo hangs up.

He has not seen the man on the other end of the phone for a year now. He knows what he wants and how to decline his offer.

Leontuzzo shakes his head at the thought of the reunion, which promises to be a less-than-pleasant one.

A beam of light shines on his face.

What the—who drives like that?

Wait, that vehicle—

Hey, what's going on with my steering wheel—

Keep your distance! It's dangerous!

Out of the way! Make way for the stretcher!

Signore! Can you hear me?

Hang in there! The ambulance is almost here!

Where... am... I...

Stay still, signore! You've lost a lot of blood—

Who is... that...?

The last thing Leontuzzo remembers before he loses consciousness is a blurry yellow silhouette—

A taxi.

The Carnevale has brought countless visitors from Siracusa and beyond to Nuova Volsinii.

This taxi does not seem different from any other that carries visitors across the city.

Except for the great, strange shadow that it wears.

Not cast by the towering buildings, nor a trick of the neon lights. It is the shadow of a wolf.

The taxi slithers through the city like a ghost, carrying a wolf from the wilderness.

Slower, Lappland.