Cairo slowly steps out the car and examines his surroundings. It seemed oddly ironic how the atmosphere was the same grey tint the last time he was here at Mimi’s. Extending his hand, he offers it to Sam just as she too was exiting the vehicle.

The air was abnormally warm this early in the morning as Sam ignores the gesture and walks right past Cairo.

Sighing, Cairo watches as Sam climbs the steps back into Mimi’s apartment. Cairo knew that he had no right to be angry, yet it still irritated him to no end how Sam was handling herself now that Ricky was behind bars.

“You know,” Lance begins just as Cairo sparks a cigarette. “Of all the faults Ricky had, Samantha was probably his worst one.”

“You mean the only one,” Cairo replies, offering Lance a drag from his smoke. “Ricky was a solid dude.”

“You say that in past tense.”

Cairo remains silent and focuses on his cigarette. As he stares at the smoke dancing in the breeze, he ponders what Sam said during her earlier outburst.

“Sam’s words bothering you?” Lance asks, sensing his friend’s predicament.

Cairo nods.

“I’m wondering if she’s right,” Cairo contemplates, “I mean, what if what I’m doing really is a waste of time?”

“Cairo.”

A familiar icy tone from Marcel cuts through the air.

‘What are you saying?” he hisses, “We all followed by example. If you give up now, what was the point of everything we went through?”

“I won’t say you’re a philanthropist,” Lance interrupts. Cairo scoffs at the thought. After all, what can the garbage of Metrocity hope to be than other than garbage?

“However,” Cairo recoils as Lance blow smokes into his face. “For better or worse, you are a role model.”

Cairo brushes the last trail of smoke lingering in front of his face. He accepts a piece of parchment that Lance hands to him.

“What’s this?” Cairo asks.

“There is a family that used to live next to me,” Lance solemnly answers, “There was a hard-working dad, a tender loving mother, and a bright, enthusiastic son. Do you know what happened to them?”

Cairo shakes his head. He opens the folded paper just as Lance answers.

“They were murdered.”

Cairo freezes as he looks at the handwriting of a once alive pre-adolescent boy.

"You are my hero. My teacher asked me who I wanted to be like when I grow up. I told her I wanted to be like you."

“His name was Thomas.” Lance mutters, “He wanted to be like you. He talked, acted, dressed, and just about copied everything about you.”

Lance stomps on his half-finished cigarette.

“We are West Garden District garbage. No matter what charity we do for the struggling, we are the embodiment of ‘crime pays well’.”

“But this kid saw something different. He would come to my house every day after school and ask to hang out with ‘us’.”

“It pisses me off,” he continues, “that such a talented young boy can be so naïve. And that someone would take advantage of that naivety. Why does Sam’s child get a life because of drug money, and Thomas had his life ended short because some addict robbed his house for drug money?”

Cairo looks at his friend, stunned. He was speechless. There was nothing he nor Marcel could say that would excuse the crime that Altoid had done to Lance’s friends. They knew that Lance had always struggled with the notion of a wholesome life, and how the tragedy concerning his neighbors utterly destroyed his fantasies.

“And here I thought gangsters had no heart.”

Cairo sees Marcel tenses up as a familiar voice calls out from the top of the stairs. Turning around, he sees Mimi leaning on the side rails.

“Cairo, can I see you for a moment?” she says.

Cairo shakes his head.

“You were just telling me yesterday to never come back,” he cautiously comments, “am I being set up?”

Mimi stares at him in frustration.

“Fine, stay down there. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“Go ahead.” Lance beckons with a nod, “I need to get back to Avery anyways. I’ll drop Marcel on the way back.”

“I’ll visit you at work before I pick her up,” Cairo says as he shakes his hand, “Marcel, make sure you get your ass to school tomorrow.”

Marcel scoffs as he hops into the car. Cairo throws his finished cigarette on the ground just as the car peels out into the distance.

Cairo stares off into the distance for a brief moment, before turning around and making his way into the building. Animosity aside, he was curious what Mimi could possibly want with him.