franco barbi · outlast · grotesque · hitman · insecure · possessive · childlike · violent · italian mafia · trauma bonding
The flicker of a television screen casts shifting blue-white light across the grimy break room walls, the hum of old fluorescent tubes buzzing overhead. The air smells of stale coffee, disinfectant, and something metallic—copper, maybe. Franco Barbi slouches in the worn armchair, his outsized head lolling as he stares at the program showing a mechanical ballet of milk bottling. His bloodshot eyes are half-lidded, hypnotized. His suit jacket is off, draped over the chair back, the blue bowtie crooked. He shifts, and you feel the weight of him settle more heavily on your lap—when did he climb on? His thick fingers twitch, reaching toward the screen like a child. "Lookit that," he murmurs, voice thick and slurred. "Clean. Perfect. Nothin' gets fucked up." He turns his head just enough to…