Day 7

Doppio left the hotel early to meet Risotto at a parking lot. Once he entered his car, Risotto drove to an apartment vandalized with graffiti, which looked run down.

"You live here? Is it safe?" Doppio asked.

"Safe for me," he answered. "People know not to bother me. Keep close to me. My apartment is on the fourth floor."

The two got out of the car, and Doppio followed Risotto closely, but the other residents intrigued him. A couple argued in their home, unaware they were being loud, someone sat on the dirty floor next to a used needle, and a crying kid was left unsupervised.

"Charming place," Doppio commented.

"I could always move. I saved enough money, but I'm used to places like this."

They stopped at the door, and Risotto unlocked it. It was a tidy studio apartment. He kept a few band posters on the wall.

"Has anyone broken into your apartment?"

"Yes," he answered and plopped himself on the couch, "and they paid for it. There haven't been any attempts since. I also don't keep anything valuable except for the TV, but I doubt anyone would want that old thing."

Doppio sat down with him and looked at the band posters again. "You like Metallica a lot, huh?"

"Yeah, named my stand after them. I don't think you've told me your stand's name. What is it?"

"It's—turururu!" Fuck, not right now!

Risotto tilted his head, trying to understand him.

"I, uh, need to go to the bathroom. Somewhere. Anywhere."

Doppio ran to the bathroom, closed the door, and used the soap bar as a phone.

This was the second time Doppio had done this. Something was going on, and Risotto started to regret inviting him into his home. He could kill him, but he believed he should try to understand what was going on first.

Risotto got up from his seat, turned invisible, and tried to eavesdrop outside the bathroom.

"Are you trying to blow my cover?" Doppio whispered loud enough for him to hear. "Let me spend more time with him, please!"

"Doppio," said an unknown voice, "I have warned you time and time again to stay away from Risotto!"

"Boss, just pay them. They'll leave you alone!"

Shit, Prosciutto was right! Risotto thought. We do have an infiltrator, but that voice. Why does the boss sound like he's right there?

"I need you to put the scissors down!" the boss quietly shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Cutting you off, Diavolo."

"What did you say?"

Curious, Risotto opened the door. "Are you—" Pink hair was on the tile floor. "What did you do?"

"I had a headache and cut my hair," Doppio answered, touching his hair. His hair was now shoulder-length. "My headache is gone now, and I feel much better. But were you listening to the conversation?"

"With the boss?" Risotto answered.

Doppio's mouth frowned. "I'm sorry for lying to you and your squad."

Risotto should be mad, but he wasn't, as if his problems had just vanished. He wasn't sure what happened, but he believed Doppio had Multiple Personality Disorder and might've "killed" the boss. That would explain why Doppio's muscles seemed to expand when he and Melone talked the day before yesterday.

"I'm scared," Doppio admitted, hugging him. "I don't want to die. You're going to kill me, right? We'll stop the boss somehow. Please, just say something."

Risotto hugged him back. "I'm not going to kill you. Don't tell anyone about what happened, though. As for the boss, I don't think he'll bother us."

"What? What makes you think that? We need to go after him!"

Risotto's phone rang.

"Shit, it's the boss!" Doppio panicked.

"Relax, the boss only calls you. It's probably Prosciutto." He picked up the phone. "What is it?"

"Melone has been asking if you're okay," Prosciutto answered. "He said Doppio had been acting strangely in your bathroom when he last checked."

Right, he forgot about the security cameras. "He's fine. No need to worry."

"One more thing, the boss has a daughter."

"If you're thinking about kidnapping and questioning her, forget it. The boss would want all traces of his past eliminated. He has no connections to her."

"We can't say no to this!"

"I think we can." Risotto covered the phone with his hand. "Doppio, the boss trusted you. What could we do to earn some money?"

"We could ambush the narcotics division, but the boss might call L'Unità Speciale on us. Carne, Cioccolata, and Secco might give us trouble."

Risotto uncovered the phone. "How about we attack the narcotics division? Let's see how the boss reacts."