It was approaching midnight, and the cold in the streets of Milan was bone-chilling. In the corner of a slum, there was an old café called "La Bella Notte," though its nights were never pleasant.
Inside, Franco Batu was sitting at a worn-out table, sipping his bitter coffee as if it carried all his sorrows with it. In front of him was an old newspaper, but he wasn't really reading it. He was just staring at it to look busy, because in truth, he had nothing else to do in his miserable life.
"When are you going to pay your debts, Franco?"
Franco slowly raised his eyes, and saw the café owner, Giovanni, an old bald man with a thick mustache that made him look like a retired mafia boss.
"Giovanni, why are you spoiling my quiet moment?" Franco said with a sigh.
"Because your quiet moments always come at the expense of my free coffee!" Giovanni responded with feigned anger.
"Trust me, if I had money, I'd be in a fancy restaurant right now, eating pasta with a beautiful friend, instead of drinking your coffee that tastes like port trash."
"Port trash?!" Giovanni shouted, "This recipe is 50 years old!"
"Exactly, that's why it tastes terrible."
Before Giovanni could utter any more curses, the door to the café swung open, and a large man in a black leather coat entered, his eyes darting around as if he was searching for someone.
Franco didn't need to think much to know that this man had come for him.
"Franco Pato?" the man asked in a deep voice, while everyone else looked at Franco like he was a wanted criminal.
"Who's asking?" Franco replied coldly, trying to sound confident, even though he felt like this might be his last night alive.
The man pulled out a small black card and placed it in front of Franco. The card had a symbol engraved in silver: a wolf's head.
"There's someone who wants to see you. Tomorrow, at ten o'clock at night, at this address."
Franco looked at the card, then at the man, then at Giovanni, who was staring at him as if he expected a murder to happen right in front of him.
"Can I ask who wants to see me?" Franco said cautiously.
"No."
"Well, can I at least finish my coffee before the threats start?"
The man looked at the coffee cup and then said seriously:
"Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn't drink this coffee even if I was on my way to death."
Everyone in the cafe laughed, while Giovanni looked at the man as if he wanted to kill him.
Franco got up from his seat, grabbed the card, and said:
"Okay, I'll be there, but if there's no free food, I'll be very angry."
The man looked at him without answering, then turned and walked out of the cafe.
Franco sighed, took the last sip of his coffee and said,
"By the way, Giovanni... your coffee is really terrible."
He then walked out before the old man could hit him with an empty cup.