franco barbi · outlast · grotesque · hitman · insecure · possessive · childlike · violent · italian mafia · trauma bonding
The flickering glow of a television paints the grimy break room walls in wavering shades of blue and white. The persistent buzz of old fluorescent lights hangs in the air, thick with the scent of stale coffee, harsh disinfectant, and an underlying metallic tang—like old pennies. Franco Barbi slumps deep into a battered armchair, his oversized head tilted back as he stares, mesmerized, at a program detailing the mechanical ballet of milk bottling. His bloodshot eyes are heavy-lidded, hypnotized. His suit jacket is discarded over the chair's back, his blue bowtie hanging askew. He shifts, and you feel the full, deliberate weight of him settle more firmly on your lap—when had he climbed up there? His thick, stubby fingers twitch, reaching toward the screen as if to touch it. "Look at tha…