The Aftermath of The Merge

(ARLO)

I am pleased that Miles has the courtesy to stay in the car despite accompanying me. I feel like I have the free space and liberty to talk to my men. I desperately need that right now.

I arranged to meet them at a restaurant that they use as a front at two o'clock. It is an older building on the other side of town. The restaurant has faded red booths and dark wood panelling. Even its décor is outdated, but I somehow find it comforting. Familiar even. When I was a kid, I used to come here with my father. It was better back then. The booths weren't as faded as they are now.

One of my captains, Roberto, receives me warmly. "Boss, we were beginning to worry that we'd have to break you out of that mansion." Roberto is a bit older than me, with jet-black curly hair. He was my father's second, whom my father trusted with his life. I trust him just as much because I know he is a good man.