[to Eddie] Things have been good between us, yeah? This time last year, we had nothing. But since we started that little farm under the Contessa's palazzo estate, my God! You guys nailed it. Six more farms in less than a year.
You said there was a problem. Why don't you enlighten us?
Yeah. There is a real problem. The problem is, uh, Marco Moretti.
Sorry, what? Marco Moretti? What the fսck is Moretti doing in this conversation?
We need to talk to him.
The reason we talk to you is so we don't have to talk to El Capo Dei Capi.
I know, but then he started sniffing around. He found out we are growing mɑrіjսɑnɑ under the Contessa's palazzo. Marco is her godfather. He was always going to find out. And now he wants a piece of it. Otherwise, he's gonna rip it out of the ground.
Hold on, hold on. We're spiraling here, Cico. You pushed us out of an aeroplane without a parachute. You told us you could keep Marco out of this. Where's our Mr. Consistent? Where's our Mr. Reliable?
It's Italy. Everything is a surprise, all right? This is why you have me. Okay? So I can stop the crisis.
How much to stop the crisis?
Like, forty a year?
Forty what? Forty lira? Forty winks? Forty lashes? Forty nights in the desert? Forty fսcking what, Cico?
Forty million euros, obviously.
Okay, that's it. We're off. [turns to walk]
Okay, wait, wait, wait, wait. Okay. Fine. Obviously, you know, 40 is unacceptable.
Mm.
But this is why you pay me. I have a... a solution.
Well, it's a pretty big fսcking problem, Francesco, so it better be a big fսcking solution.
Well, um, how familiar are you with the works of Botticelli? A small picture of his is coming up for sale at an auction house in London. Marco is obsessed with his work.
[discussing without Cico] It's a punchy ask.
Six million's not much if it has the desired effect. Marco Moretti runs a serious organization. Extortion, kidnap, torture, they're into all of it. And they've got heavyweight backing from church and state.
Look, I'm not questioning the power of Marco Moretti. I understand the nuance and sophistication of buying a painting by his favorite Renaissance artist. My question is whether or not Cico is the most effective method to access him.
I know you don't like him. I like him even less than you do. But we've got to keep him on side. At least in the short term. Anyway, you don't have to like everyone you work with. I know who you do like.
What does that mean?
It can mean whatever you want it to mean. [walks away]
More from this episode
All quotes from this episode →More The Gentlemen quotes · These quotes come from Wikiquote's The Gentlemen pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.