Carmine Falcone

"One shot each will do. Which of you gentlemen wants to go first?"

Oswald stared blankly at the revolver before him. Flickering candlelight reflected off its engraved silver frame. It was a beautiful gun.

But beautiful things were often deadly. Three bullets had been loaded into its six-round cylinder, putting the odds of blowing his brains out at fifty percent.

His mind in turmoil, he raised his head and looked pleadingly at Falcone, begging him to call off this pointless game.

Unfortunately, Falcone was still occupied with his plate of beef and showed no intention of acknowledging him.

The rare beef still bore bright streaks of blood. The old lion leisurely sliced off a small piece, forked it into his mouth, and chewed slowly, letting the faint taste of blood spread across his tongue.

The crushing pressure brought Oswald close to breaking. In his daze, he imagined himself as the steak on the plate. A giant fork pierced his body while a sharp, serrated knife sawed him apart.

Why did you have to push me this far!

Oswald snatched up the gun in a panic, his unfocused eyes betraying the collapse and madness within.

He pressed the revolver to his forehead and let out a few snickers. Then, as though he had suddenly figured something out, he slowly turned the muzzle toward Falcone.

You want me dead? Then you're going down with me!

At the critical moment, Qin Wei pushed the muzzle down.

"Calm down."

"Will, I should've listened to you from the start..." Oswald's bloodless lips trembled as he turned to look at Qin Wei.

"It's not too late to listen now. Give me the gun. I'll get you out of here."

Qin Wei smiled, resolve shining in his eyes. With his psychological defenses shattered, Oswald was a ticking time bomb. Calming him down was the immediate priority.

"But..."

"No buts. Trust me."

Oswald let go, and Qin Wei smoothly took the gun from him.

His expression seemed calm, but the terror inside him was even greater than Oswald's. If that shot had gone off just now, they would both have been finished.

"You want to go first? Please make it quick." Falcone cast him a lazy glance.

The old lion's relaxed expression only strengthened Qin Wei's suspicion. Without further hesitation, he pressed the muzzle to his temple and pulled the trigger.

Click.

The gun did not fire.

Oswald let out a long breath and slumped over the table like a puddle of mud. Qin Wei had pulled the trigger without any warning, scaring him half to death.

Falcone finally raised his head and picked up the towel beside him to wipe his hands.

"You survived. Now it's time for..."

Before he could finish, Qin Wei pulled the trigger a second time.

Click.

Another empty chamber.

Strangely, even after two shots, Qin Wei still showed no intention of putting the gun down.

Falcone raised an eyebrow, as though he had found a jar of hot spices to liven up this otherwise bland evening. They regarded each other in silence for a moment before he raised a hand in an inviting gesture.

Go on. Show me how brave you are.

Click!

Click!

Click!

Click!

All four successive shots landed on empty chambers. Qin Wei set the gun back on the table.

A suffocating silence filled the room.

"Mr. Falcone, I didn't mean to undermine you. I only wanted to show you that I'm a smart man. A smart man who might be useful to you." After a long while, Qin Wei spoke first.

"When did you figure it out?"

Falcone smiled. Shadows from the candlelight fell across his face, twisting his features.

"I wouldn't say I figured it out. It was just a guess. I guessed that the Roman emperor wouldn't do anything so reckless as hand a loaded gun to two suspicious characters."

Falcone pushed away from the table and slowly rose.

He walked toward Qin Wei, picking up the bloodied steak knife from the table along the way.

"Yes, it really is that obvious. Plenty of people could guess it, but not everyone has the guts to gamble on it. Especially not six times in a row without hesitation."

His hoarse, muddy voice rolled in his throat. It was exceptionally unpleasant to hear, like coarse sandpaper scraping across the membrane covering a bone.

Falcone circled behind him, suddenly grabbed Qin Wei by the hair, and slammed his head into the tabletop.

Bang!

As the impact left his head spinning, a steak knife came to rest against his throat.

Goosebumps rose on the skin pressed against the cold metal.

The lion was old, but his strength was astonishing.

"I like smart men, and I like brave men. But I don't like men who are both smart and brave. They weren't born to be restrained, and they can never stay beneath someone else forever."

Feeling the chill of the steak knife, Qin Wei's neck prickled with goosebumps. A flood of adrenaline flushed his face and quickened his breathing.

It sounded like a statement, but Falcone had posed a question: Why should I trust you?

This was the final question, and both their lives hinged on the answer.

But Falcone could have simply asked him outright. Why take such a roundabout approach?

Qin Wei tried to peel back the layers of Falcone's mind and uncover his true intentions. His brain raced, and a flash of insight struck him.

No! I'm not the smart, brave man Falcone is talking about. What I just did wasn't enough to earn that kind of praise from him.

He's talking about... him!

With that conclusion, everything became clear.

Having sorted out his thoughts, he cleared his throat, which had gone dry with nerves.

"You're right. That's why I'll help you get rid of him. Get rid of Maroni."

At those words, Oswald clenched his hands so hard he nearly crushed his own bones. He did not understand. Their plan to drive a wedge between the two men had already failed, so why was Qin Wei repeating himself? Wasn't that just asking for trouble?

But a second later, he saw Falcone put away the steak knife.

"Bring these two gentlemen a steak each as well. Medium." The old lion ambled back to the table, picked up the phone beside him, and made a call.

"My dear Maroni, it's been a while..." After exchanging a few pleasantries with a false smile, Falcone brought the conversation back to the point. "Your men are here with me. Yes! They got your money back, but those 'owlets' kept them from delivering it, so they had no choice but to come to me..."

Falcone hung up. Before long, a waiter set the beef before the two men.

Oswald was still worrying about whether the food had been poisoned, but Qin Wei had already begun wolfing it down without a thought for table manners.

He had not eaten for days, and the surge of adrenaline had sent his blood sugar plummeting further and further. If he did not eat something soon, he could pass out at any moment.

"For certain reasons, I can't move against Maroni directly..."

Falcone glanced at Oswald, his contemptuous gaze seeming to mock the foolish notion that five million dollars could bring Maroni down.

"The best approach is to send him to prison. I want you to gather evidence of his crimes." His knuckles tapped lightly against the table. He seemed to be thinking, yet also watching Qin Wei's expression.

"Harvey Dent will be coming to Gotham in a few days. He was a troublemaker even in New York, so his arrival will likely stir up another storm. Maroni has been far too brazen these past few years. There's a very good chance Harvey Dent will go after him first. You can use that."

"If you find any evidence, you can also hand it over to Gordon or Bullock."

Having said what needed to be said, Falcone's gaze grew more complicated. He opened his mouth as though he wanted to add something, but ultimately waved a hand instead.

"Head back once you've finished eating. Maroni might grow wary, but he certainly won't give you any trouble."

As though granted a pardon, Oswald grabbed Qin Wei and tried to leave.

"Wait! I want to know what the reward is. This is a dangerous assignment, after all."

Qin Wei stopped him and raised his head to stare at Falcone.

"You're already thinking about the benefits before the job is done? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

"You're a businessman. You should understand that profit does more to drive a deal forward than threats."

Falcone nodded, accepting Qin Wei's reasoning.

"All of Maroni's money and position. If you succeed, I promise to make you the Roman Empire's second-in-command. Is that enough?"

It was enough. This was exactly what Qin Wei wanted.