MTLNOVEL Chapter 275: Betray?
"I may have gone a little overboard…" Finn whispered to himself as he was now in the car, going to his next meeting.
"Overboard?" The driver asked.
"Yeah… but I think both of us went overboard."
"Do something between you and Jack?" The driver asked again.
"He questioned my loyalty toward James. Isn't that crazy? So I threatened him to not question me once again in his whole life." Finn said, though he knew very much he just created another problem, a big one, to be truthful.
Jack now, at this point, will look at him as a danger, a threat not just to himself but to the family too… and if Jack decides to go and talk with James about it, then he's going to present a picture to him that's not even true, just a big misunderstanding.
And if that happens, if Jack says that Finn and Hector betrayed James, then everything will be fucked on a whole different level.
"Was it about the business behind James' back? I mean, it sure seems a little bad, to be honest, boss. Like every betrayal starts this way, but not just that. I get Jack's point, he is worried about his position, and what if James will not like the whole business? Then you, Hector, and Jack are fucked too, along with everybody involved. He's just cautious, I would say."
Finn stayed silent for a bit as they took a right turn. "Huh, should I threaten you too, Dirsan?" He asked with a faint smile on his face, though Dirsan just laughed at it.
"I don't have a family, no parents, no kids, nothing, and to be honest, I am ready to die." He answered, glancing at the mirror. "I joined the family to make money and enjoy it, and I did. I was able to buy things I never dreamed of having, went on vacation, everything… death is the minimum I can do for the opportunity James gave me." He glanced once again at the mirror as they came to a stop at the light, but something was different about his face, the look of his eyes. "That is the thing you should be worried about, boss."
Finn felt the change and just got more fucking confused about it. Like this day was full of surprises and something he never expected happening with him.
"Why, out of nowhere, are my workers, soldiers, even my driver, raising his voice against me?" He shook his head. "I thought I am up in the hierarchy and people look at me with respect, but now even you are raising your voice and looking at me like you want to kill me, Dirsan."
Yeah, the surprise to him was that everybody today just seemed to talk back to him, even though in reality each one of them feared him… but still, with that fear in them, they did it.
"Exactly, because of what I have just said." Dirsan spoke again. "It was James who gave us the opportunity to be out of the shithole, to live a dream life, and we accepted what it comes with, what we need to do… the only person we are loyal to is him, and we only follow the leaders, and you too, because that's what James wants. And if a betrayal happens, then we would, without any second thought, kill those who want to take his place, let it be you, Hector, or anybody else, let it be a worker or a top dog."
Dirsan explained as he made a right turn, and well, Finn finally understood pretty much that people are really loyal to James, just like himself.
He had doubts, of course, about the people in the family… like there is no way everybody is that loyal to James, and Finn actually hunted people who he deemed a danger. But out of the hundreds of people, there were only four people who posed that danger and no more.
It was surprising that not even one person stole anything which was hard to believe. People working around all that cash, and not even one banknote was missing, not even a gram of drug.
People in the family are loyal, loyal to James, for the money, for the opportunity. They go for him, so loyal that one misstep can be interpreted as a betrayal, and if that happens, then it wouldn't be an internal affair, a war… but a one-sided massacre, an execution.
They are ready to die, to sacrifice themselves for everything they've got.
"But we don't—"
"I know it, boss." Dirsan interrupted him. "I know y'all are keeping it low because of all the situations that happened, but at the same time, to the people who know about the business you two started, it could seem like a step, like a preparation for betrayal. Just think about it, a hidden business from James that brings in a lot of money, money that he does not know about, money that could be used for betrayal, to split the family, or something like that. Though it's good that only a small circle knows about it and at the same time, it's also bad because that also looks like an alliance within the family." He explained as he tapped his finger on the wheel.
"Isn't that disrespectful, to think the underboss of the family would betray James? And even me? I thought trust ran deep in the family on all levels." Finn asked because he started to get frustrated, as everything Dirsan said made sense, though Finn himself had a point too.
It wasn't just disrespectful, but a great sin, to think that an underboss would betray James, and even more disrespectful because it was Hector himself, somebody who was passionate about his work about James… but maybe too passionate, which could raise red flags.
"Once again, for us, James is a treasure, and he has so much power that it is unbelievable." Dirsan spoke. "We trust him out of fear, respect, and loyalty to him, for the things he has done for us. In the end, he is all-powerful, and what you and Hector are is just people with ranks within the family. But if the tank is ripped off, you two are nothing, just names… but James will be Bellini forever. His name will be power, even after death." He glanced once again at the mirror, looking at Finn as he listened. "Lastly, who the fuck would trust a cannibal?" He laughed, and even Finn himself had to admit he had a good point, though at the same time he was thinking about all of it.
Hearing it from an outside perspective, it truly sounded fucking bad, exactly like he explained a prep, a layout for betrayal or overtaking the family. And as he thought more and more about it, he realized that if they didn't tell James fast about it, then he would look at them as unworthy, people he couldn't trust or believe in.
They had only wanted to wait until James was in a better place, but now everything felt overly complicated and misunderstood to Finn… though another thing caught his ear.