MTLNOVEL Chapter 274: Joke or Not?
The moment he said it, all the color just drained from Jack's face, and it looked like his soul left his body. He just stared at Finn, blinking, and then again a loud bang from the barrels.
Then silence, as they were still just looking at each other without a single word… and another bang, but this time Jack drew his pistol, aiming and pulling the trigger while still looking at Finn's eyes, not even once glancing at the barrel he was shooting at… just pulling the trigger until the slide locked back.
But Finn himself looked at the barrel, seeing that from the bullet holes some blood was pouring out, and then looked back at Jack.
"You will hurt your hearing if you shoot—"
"Since Dennus… and James still doesn't know about Finn?!"
He sensed it, not just sensed, but it was clear, that he successfully and properly fucked up Jack.
"No, I spoke with Hector and agreed to keep it quiet, and he will be the one that tells him." He said, but Jack still had that look on his face.
"Huh… months passed, Finn!" He raised his voice now. "Months since I talked about my idea to you and Hector, to suggest it to James, and y'all did it without him knowing it?" He took a step closer to him, and just looked angrier.
"Yeah, we did, but because so many things happened, we couldn't just tell him, but we will." He explained to Jack, but he wasn't really listening to him. No… he calmly got out a mag from his waist, put it in the gun, and chambered a bullet.
"I know you outrank me… but even if you do…" Jack looked in Finn's eyes as he raised the gun, aiming straight between his eyes. "…one thing is sure, I will kill you and Hector if you two try to split the family, to backstab him, to betray him. I pledged loyalty to him, to James Bellini, and not for you or Hector." He put his finger on the trigger, putting a little pressure on it to see anything in Finn's eyes, to see his face, to see his reaction.
But nothing. And of course nothing… Finn is worse than Ferucci, but more cautious, more intelligent.
The only thing that restrains him is his… introverted behavior… and knowing that, Jack realized that aiming a gun at him maybe wasn't the best decision to make, because once you do something that offends him, even a little joke…. your voice, your face, your whole being will stick in his mind with one only thing… to kill.
"Betray? Backstab? You are the one aiming a gun at me, Jack." He answered but still had no emotions on his face. No anger, no frustration, no nothing.
"Yeah, I am, and I don't want to pull the trigger, not now, not ever." Jack said as he lowered the gun. "I trust you, Finn, but trust is something that can shatter within seconds, especially if you and the underboss are going to make business without James even knowing it… that's how betrayal starts."
Silence again between them for a moment, then Finn spoke.
"Huh, how poetic you are." He then started to walk toward Jack, and stopped exactly one step in front of him, looking deep into his green eyes, not even once looking to the side or anywhere else, just straight into his eyes. "You can talk to me this way, raise your voice, threaten me, because we are friends, we know each other." He put on a smile, a smile that Jack immediately knew meant somebody was going to die. The smile of Finn, the ear-to-ear one. "…but if you question my loyalty to James, to my role model, my idol, my hero, once again…" He now, for the first time, looked down, still with a smile, and tapped his finger on Jack's chest, moreover his heart, and looked back up. "…I will cut out your wife's and child's heart in front of you while they are alive… I will cook it and eat it with a good wine, I will enjoy it while you suffer." He stopped tapping. "Don't question my loyalty or me. I am a cannibal, I am insane… but I am loyal to James, and I would kill Hector the moment I just feel the intent to betray… okay?"
He held his ground well. Jack didn't fold, didn't look scared or intimidated. No… because he had all his thoughts, all his mind, focused on one single thing.
Can he draw the gun faster than Finn and shoot him?
Because he needed to do it, he needed to kill him, because he never threatened as a joke, as a warning, no… if he did, moreover, if he did it explaining how he will torture, what he will do, then you are fucked, and a hundred percent sure he will kill you in the way he mentioned it.
Finn the Cannibal… yeah, he is a cannibal, the only one in the family, but he's the type of cannibal that cooks it well like a chef and only eats the heart… yeah, a fucking cannibal who can't be called a cannibal.
Once somebody joked with him and gave him the nickname "Pig," like a pig that eats everything, because Finn was seen to eat from salad to meat to everything really, and of course human hearts, which was a surprise to everyone. Short story short, the guy who gave him the Pig nickname was short-lived. They found him at his home with his heart cut out, and when Finn was questioned, he did nothing.
Yeah, he killed a Bellini member and ate his heart because of a nickname, though his insanity came handy to Hector… a cannibal in a family is a good threat to others.
An introvert, insane cannibal, who kills if your joke targets him, if the joke's ass, if you in any way, shape, or form accidentally offend him… then he rips your heart out and eats it with a fine wine.
Just another member of the family… with a huge role… but that's why it works. Nobody says no, nobody says anything. They do what they need to do precisely and as well as they can, because if not… there is a chance their heart would be the next to be cut out and eaten.
And maybe right now it will be Jack's heart.
"I see death in your eyes, Jack… we are friends, and it was just a threat to know where your place is, to know that I am loyal to James."
"Threatening my family, huh, Finn?"
"You know I don't hurt children, Jack." His smile faded away as he shook his head and finally stepped back, making space between them.
"Oh, was it a joke?" Jack asked as he slowly reached toward his waist. He had one chambered and needed nothing more than time to flick it and pull the trigger.
"Well, I kill whoever poses danger to James, let it be a child or a fucking old man." His eyes changed again as he looked at Jack. "Don't do it. It's not a standoff, Jack. Don't try to be like we are in the midwest, and even if you do, you're fucked either way."
"Really?" He asked back as he had his hands now on the gun.
"Yeah, you dumb fuck." Finn chuckled up. "If I kill you, then I will go and tell the news to your family… to your wife, to your child… maybe have dinner with them, if you know what I mean." He again did that weird, scary and otherworldly smile. "But if you manage to kill me, then you will be hunted by the whole family, by Hector, by James, everybody and this is nothing to die over. I said earlier, we will tell James, and everything will be fine and clear."
Jack thought about it and, well, truth be told, he would be really fucked up. "It was just a joke." He said, putting up his hands and obviously fake laughing.
"Yeah, it was a joke… or was it?" Finn drew his pistol now from his waist, aiming it at Jack's head, but not even three seconds later, he started laughing and lowered the gun, putting it back in the holster. "I am just fucking with you, just wanted to see the fear of death in your eyes, Jack, the eye of the eternal suffering that you couldn't save your family." He laughed, but it was a deep one, his face literally turned to red. "Uhh, it was nice, you almost shit yourself, Jack."
It was true, what Jack felt at that moment was indescribable with words… he almost shit and pissed himself at the same time as Finn pointed that gun, with that fucking look on his face.
"I don't have time for these games, but I enjoyed it. Thank you. I haven't had this much fun in a long time." He walked past Jack, who was still frozen the fuck down. "Though tell your wife to buy some vitamins, I love healthy hearts… and your child too, some vitamin gummies, you know." He clicked his teeth together and then just left with a laugh again, leaving behind Jack with his thoughts.
Though those thoughts were nonexistent, he was just totally fucked up… thinking about whether it was truly a joke or not.