He shook his head. “No. Maria, my wife took care of that.” He stopped and his expression became pained. After an extended moment, he continued. “She always used to say that with hands like mine, I better stick to being a mechanic and leave the cooking to her.” He chuckled, and his eyes became distant. “She also used to say that with a mug like mine, she’d be the only one willing to cook for me, anyway.”

The corners of Nori’s lips twitched. “I bet she was never worried about you being unfaithful, then.”

“Ha!” Bulco slapped his thigh. “You’re right about that. I think you two would have hit it off. She was fearless, like you.”

“Can you tell us a little bit more on how you got to be a gang leader?” Nori asked. “You gave us the abbreviated version, but I’d like to hear the full story.”

The large man frowned. “It’ll take a while.”

“We have plenty of time to kill.”

“Well, alright.” He paused, staring at his half-eaten sandwich. “I guess I can start with my name. My real name is Benjamin Williams, and I’m originally from Atlanta. You already know I used to be a Marine. Once I was discharged, I used my savings to open a car shop, pimping up cars for pompous young kids. It was a tough job, in the bad part of the city, but it paid the bills. Maria and I kept to ourselves and managed to stay away from the local thugs.” He chuckled. “I guess my appearance had something to do with it. I kept everything kosher, but people still thought someone like me must be running a chop shop.