The Stonecutters Strike.

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We visited a lemon farm to intimidate a delayed farmer and retrieve cash from his safe. Moving to a local quarry, we discovered a full-scale workers strike delaying payments. To protect the Don's business, Enzo drew his knife and fought the loudmouthed strike leader, Manuele.

During the ride to the next debt collection, Cesare suggested using an automobile instead of horses to save time. Luca then revealed their next destination was a lemon farm where the owner had fallen behind on his payments to the Don.

Upon arriving at the farm, Luca noted that the farmer was too proud to yield money easily in front of his young son. Luca handed Enzo an unloaded revolver, instructing him to display the weapon so the farmer would understand the severity of the situation.

Inside the farmhouse, Luca offered to keep the interaction civil, but the farmer refused to cooperate, claiming he no longer required the Don's protection services and offering crates of lemons as a token of respect instead.

To break the standoff, I raised the unloaded gun, frightening both the father and his son. The farmer agreed to pay but claimed he needed time to retrieve cash from the back room; however, Luca instructed Enzo to head into the back room and fetch it himself.

Entering the back room, I discovered a locked safe requiring a combination code. After searching the surrounding area, I located a note detailing the combination, opened the safe to collect the Don's payment, and left the farm property.

We traveled next to a local quarry whose owner had taken a loan to fund an expansion but had recently missed payments. Upon arrival, they discovered the entire workforce outside on strike, surrounding the grounds in protest.

The quarry foreman locked himself in his office from the crowd but unlocked it upon recognizing Luca. He explained that the strike halted operations and income, blaming the unrest on a imposing stonecutter and strike leader named Manuele.

Enzo and Luca stepped onto the quarry floor to confront Manuele, who was shouting to rally the striking workers. Luca explained that strikes hurt local business and could not be tolerated, but Manuele refused to stand down and prepared for a confrontation.

When diplomatic attempts failed, Enzo drew his knife to handle the ringleader directly, engaging Manuele in a tense melee fight in front of the gathered quarry workers.

As I struggled against the strike leader, Luca shouted warnings to the crowd that work would resume by force if necessary. Off to the side, Cesare casually leaned against a corner and smoked a cigarette, leaving me to handle the brawl alone.

To be continued.

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