Tony sat back down at the table. Leon was seated across from him, slumped in his chair. The glass of milk sat in front of him, untouched. His eyes were unfocused, staring into nothing. Tony glanced to his right, to see the girl had fallen asleep in her chair. The plant was unwrapped, sitting on the table next to her. She looks terrible Tony thought.
"All right, Leon. What the hell happened?"
Leon started, as if waking up.
"The police. They came to the apartment. I had to clean them all."
"Jesus wept, Leon! All of them?!"
"Yes."
"Leon" Tony started. He stopped. "Leon, what have you been doing? I mean the thing with the Chinks, the police, you not bein' here for days, and above all, what's with the girl?"
"Her family was killed. I helped her. I had a job, and I took care of it." It was said in Leon's style, quiet and to the point. He didn't look up.
"So what? What now? You want to get out of the country? You might want too, considering. everything."
"No. I stay here, in America." He looked like he was trying to say something difficult. "Tony, I want."
"Yeah?"
A deep breath. "I want to stop."
"I don't follow you, Leon." He did, but Tony did not want to think about what Leon was saying.
"I want to stop cleaning." Still not meeting Tony's eyes, Leon took a measured sip of the milk.
Well shit. That's torn it Tony thought.
"You want to stop cleaning? Let me get this straight. You want to quit? Just stop. Aressto, just like that? Mary, madre del dio!" When Tony got upset, Leon knew, he lapsed back into Italian.
"Si."
"Well, that's just fucking great, Leon! You're gonna leave me here, with my ass in a sling, because you want out?"
"What do you mean..."
"The Chinks, Leon. You cleaned some important bosses, guys in the Triad. Serious shit, you know what I mean? They ain't just gonna let you go, after what you did. They are gonna be coming for you. And for me. Especially for me, because no one even fucking knows you exist! So if you leave, you let me die! It may not happen right away, but it will happen. Those Chinks can hold grudges forever. They can fuck up your life, your family, your karma, all that crazy shit. I got kids, for Christ's sake, you numb fuck!"
All during Tony's outburst, Leon had kept silent, kept his eyes down. Now, he looked up at Tony. In those eyes, Tony saw depths that hadn't been there before. He'd always known Leon was a little slow upstairs, but now, he was someone else. He was someone smart, someone with a future.
Leon didn't say anything, he just looked at Tony. Tony shook his head and threw back his drink.
"All right, I'm done. It's just... you're leaving me in a hell of a spot here, you know?"
"I know. I'm sorry. Is there anything..."
"Yeah, there is one thing. Do one last job."
Hurt flashed in Leon's eyes. His hands tightened on the milk glass.
"What?"
"You heard me. Do one last job. Get rid of the Triad boss here in Little Italy, and do it quick and quiet. You do that, I'll find a place for you. What is it you want to do anyway?"
Leon glanced over at the sleeping Mathilda, and the plant.
"I want to be a gardener."
"A gardener. Ok, I got a place for you. A rooftop conservatory. You know the kind, all glass, with plants everywhere?"
Leon nodded. In his eyes, Tony now saw hope.
"Just... do this last job for me. Please."
Leon stared back into his glass. With the motions of a man who had made up his mind, he downed the rest of the milk and nodded.
"I'll do it."
Tony let out a breath he hadn't known he had been holding.
"All right. Stay here, I'll go get the files." He got up to leave, leaving Leon to contemplate his empty glass.