Earlier that day:
"Are you sure you're willing to walk in there voluntarily?" Max asked, aware of what horrors Joey was capable of.
"I'm sure, I have to make things right," Paulo confirmed.
Max nodded in approval, not respect, but approval. In his opinion it was indeed Paulo's responsibility to make things right after his previous betrayal.
"Okay, so Paulo goes in, unarmed. The mention of my name should be enough to get you a meet with Joey if he's still as obsessed and unhinged as the last time we met," Max explained.
"And then what? I sell you out?"
"Precisely, just not for real this time," Max scolded. "You tell him that you know where I'm holed up, in a town a few miles south of the castle. Your scouts spotted me on a run today, recognised me from The Pit."
"You think that wi
