Giovanni groaned and rolled over, pretending that he had imagined it. Put the pounding went on, followed by a voice screaming "iDespertarse! iDespertarse!" It was motherfucking Ricardo again.
"Ricardo! It's 3.00am! iVete a la mierda! Giovanni yelled back through the door.
"Eh, man please let me in, it's cold outside." Giovanni was thinking of ignoring his friend and co-worker and going back to sleep. But the banging went on.
He groaned and rubbed his got out of bed and stumbled to the door, wearing only his boxers and a white t-shirt. "The fuck do you want, gilipollas! Giovanni snarled, squinting as his eyes were not used to the light from the streetlamps outside.
"Eh, man. You don't gotta be so fuckin' rude amigo. Go get dressed we gotta go, man."
'Fucking asshole," Giovanni said under his breath as he turned around to go and put his pants and shoes on. Ricardo invited himself inside. "So what the fuck does the old man need us for? At this hour?" His thick Broker accent rolled off his tongue and echoed through the apartment.
"Shit, I dunno man. Boss said he tried callin' you but you was asleep. So he called me, say I gotta get yo ass and get you down to the depo, real quick."
"You think there's a problem?" Giovanni asked lacing up his shoes.
Ricardo shrugged. "I dunno man, he just said we gotta get down there."
Giovanni sighed impatiently. "Yeah fine, okay." He said combing his hair with his fingers and reaching for his coat on the stand by the door. The young men piled out of the apartment and into the street. "Shit, you weren't kidding it is cold." Giovanni's teeth chattering as he hoped into the passager seat of the taxi.
"It's warm at the office." Ricardo reminded turning the key and starting the engine. The heater blasted through, giving Giovanni some relief.
"Oh fuck yeah, I needed that," he said putting his hands up against the air vent. Ricardo chuckled.
Although it was not even the crack of dawn. Liberty City was still alive. Every street corner was lit and not one bar was empty. It was Friday morning in the city, late September and already you could feel the beginning of a snowy wonderland. Ricardo was usually talkative when he drove, he was one of THOSE cab drivers. When Giovanni drove, he put on the radio and tried not to engage with the customer. He supposed that this was an early start even fro Ricardo. Giovanni yawned and took his phone out of his pocket. He called the depo.
"I'm putting dad on the loud speaker," Giovanni grumbled. When his father picked up, Ricardo greeted his boss with much enthusiasm.
"Eh boss, how are you this morning."
"Eh, Ricardo! I am good, yes! Do you have my boy?"
"Yes sir, he is here. We are on our way."
"Fantastic! I'll see you in a bit."
Giovanni was American born, raised on prime time television and cluckin' bell. He was all-American. These too, his father and his loyal Mexican Ricardo were immigrants. Giovanni always wondered why they were always so happy and optimistic, was it really that shitty back home? Was America truly heaven on earth to these people. He didn't understand. Giovanni butted in before his father could hang up the phone.
"Papa, why are we driving all the way into the city at ten past three in the morning? can you explain that to me please because I'm lost."
Giovanni's father game a cheeky little grin, he could feel it through the phone. Well, son. I have had a wonderful idea!"
"Oh really, because you are full of good ideas aren't you. "Like that one time, you gambled ALL of our savings away because you were CERTAIN you were going to win. But that didn't work out did it, old man? No. And your Russian friends wouldn't lend you money because they KNEW you couldn't pay it back. So what happened next? Oh well, you were sucking cocks in gay-club bathrooms for ten bucks a piece just to pay the electricity bill. Does that sound familiar!"
"Holy shit, bro chill the fuck out!" Ricardo yelled, snatching Giovanni's phone off him. "I'm sorry you had to hear that Mr Bellic. You are a good man, your son is just tired and probably still drunk from last night." Giovanni smashed his head against the dashboard. Ricardo took a sharp left and pulled over. he hung up the phone and threw it on the back seat.
"Bruh! Stop!" He pleaded.
A mixture of blood and tears ran down Giovanni's face. "I haven't taken my meds, man. I'm freaking out dude."
"Do you need me to stop by the drug store, my dude?"
Giovanni breathed deeply. "No, I just want to get to the office and tell my dad I'm sorry for bringing that shit up again. I love him, I don't tell him enough. And I fucking hate myself."
Giovanni's mother had smoked a LOT of pot when she was pregnant. Which wouldn't necessarily have been a problem for a lot of women smoke pot to help with back pains and what not when they are pregnant but this was different. This wasn't just a puff here and there this was chain-smoking, twenty-four seven, heavy stuff. stuff laced with other stuff, crazy stuff. as a result, Giovanni had terrible anxieties, impulses and paranoia.
"It's G, dude. We almost there you just gotta chill out ."
"I always worry that something is wrong, I know his history Ricardo, I know OUR history. All that stuff with the Russian mafia back in 2008, and how they burnt down our home and shot up the wedding. And how, ever since that girl died my cousin has been brooding in his Algonquin apartment and refuses to come down. God, I wish I could save him."
"I know man, I know."
"I wish I could have done something."