He Who Courts Death

Pow!

"Augh! Mother… fucker…" Boss Falcone groaned loudly, clutching his crotch with one hand and moving away from Lenny so as to not suffer a barrage of attacks in this weakened state.

Just then, with the increased perceptivity, Lenny heard someone behind him and quickly turned around. Lizard Liu's face was contorted with anger. 

Lenny chuckled and mockingly asked, "Lizzy, how many people know you about your 'condition'?" 

Lizard Liu's face reddened and he spat, "You bastard! I'll never forget what you did!"

Taking out a switchblade from his pocket and ejecting the blade, his lips curled into an evil grin. Pointing the blade at Lenny, he said, "I'll carve your face out, you bastard!"

'…Why hate me so much? I'm just trying not to have my organs harvested…' Lenny muttered and readied himself. 

Lizard charged and slashed twice at Lenny's face.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

With only a hair's breadth, Lenny dodged the two knife swings by moving backward, only a centimeter out of the area of effect.

'…He–He's almost as fast as me!' Lenny thought as a chill ran down his spine. His confidence came from his peak human agility and perception, but now this upper hand gradually paled in comparison to these experienced assailants. 

If not for his barbaric tactics, resourcefulness, and reflexive instincts compensating for his combat inexperience, he would have lost a long while ago.

Changing strike tactic only a second after slashing twice at Lenny, Lizard Liu stabbed forward at his abdomen, prompting the Lenny to deflect to the side, grab Lizard Liu's knife-wielding hand, and bite down on it like a ferocious animal.

Crunch!

"Aah! You fucker!" Lizard Liu screamed in pain as he let go of the switchblade and punched Lenny's face with his other hand repeatedly to get him off, not ready to say goodbye to part of his hand.

Just then, the goon who had his eyes poked rammed Lenny and pinned him on the ground.

Andre Jug, who had just regained consciousness from the head impact, ran in a flurry and joined in pinning Lenny down on the floor as the latter struggled.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

Lizard Liu, Andre Jug, and the goon who had his eyes poked punched Lenny at various places of his upper body as they kept him pinned down.

"Nn! Get off me!" Lenny screamed and turned his head to bite the nearest person, but Andre Jug forcefully grabbed his neck and pinned it against the floor, forcing him to stay put.

"Grab his arms!" the goon who had his eyes poked screamed, informing Lizard Liu as they tried their best to contain Lenny.

Lizard Liu was at Lenny's right, grabbing onto the right hand and using both his legs to wrap around the latter's right leg, while the eye-poked goon did the same thing on Lenny's left. Andre Jug had his knee on Lenny's chest and both hands on his neck.

Lenny was fully immobilized.

"Let me see the bastard!" Boss Falcone shouted from behind as he walked up to them, prompting Andre Jug to quickly move to the side.

At that moment, Lenny's eyes reflected a Colt Anaconda 8-inch Magnum, featuring a stainless steel finish, polished wooden grip, and a golden barrel, trigger, and hammer. 

Boss Falcone was pointing a revolver at Lenny's head!

Severely bruised and battered, Lenny smiled slightly with bloodied teeth, and said, "B-Boss, you don't need to do this…"

Boss Falcone stepped on Lenny's chest with his expensive brown leather shoes. With a deep-seething rage, he asked, "Where'd you get the balls, kiddo?"

Lenny's eyes briefly darted from the gun to the entrance of the apartment, then to the Boss, and to the goons that held him down. 

Struggling to breathe properly, he said, "They're… probably the ones… I took from Jug, you, and Lizzy…" he chuckled, "most especially… Lizzy."

Bam!

Lizard Liu at the side, punched Lenny in the mouth, causing the latter to groan in pain before chuckling once again.

The wrinkles on Boss Falcone's forehead deepened. 

"Where's Jug's gun?" he questioned.

Lenny sported a slight grin as he replied, "I'll… tell you if you… haaa… let me go."

Witnessing Lenny's smugness, Boss Falcone's annoyance and anger surged and he slowly brought down the hammer of the revolver. And with a click, it settled, and he asked coldly, "You think you're tough kiddo? You think I won't blow your brains out?" 

Beads of sweat formed more on Lenny's forehead. He stammered, "C-Come on, Boss. I'm just desperate…. I don't… wanna die… Can't… Can't you just let me go? Please…?"

Boss Falcone's face expressed his perplexion, as though he couldn't comprehend Lenny's words. He retorted, "You hurt my men, insulted me to my face, dared to kick me in the balls, and spat on my face… twice! Would you let you go?"

Lenny sighed. "Okay, fair point."

He stared into Boss Falcone's grey eyes and added seriously, "At least if you're going to… shoot me, can you… can you take a few steps… back? You stink…"

Boss Falcone just calmly smiled, lowered the gun to Lenny's face, and placed the nuzzle in his mouth.

'…I-I'm going to die…' Lenny's eyes darted about, his anxiety increasing as he struggled to even breathe with Boss Falcone's weight on his chest.

"A-And cut!" A voice from behind called out.

Drawing everyone's attention, a brown-skinned fellow stood by the apartment door, holding a camera. It was Mike!

He turned around and raised the camera up to show his face, alongside Lenny, Boss Falcone, and the three goons. 

— @PissInHoofs: WHAAAAAT THE!!!

— @Michael_Lancaster: No way, I refuse to believe it was staged!!!!!!!!!

— @Hambruno: Someone, call the police!

With beads of sweat forming on his forehead, Mike maintained a smile as he stuttered, "Th-Thanks for watching the LIVE STREAM, guys."

Then, he turned to Lenny, Boss Falcone, and the goons, who were frozen in shock, and raised his thumbs, adding, "A-And great job, guys."

— @S1RE: It's definitely NOT staged. The fear in spydie's voice is real! Those punches were real!

— @BunBun_Lv0: Hahaha, Leni's comebacks are top-tier tho. Ain't no way this isn't scripted.

— @Hypnos_the1: Heh, I knew it was fake from the beginning. But what amazing choreography. Leni killed it the most (img=clap).

— @John_See_You: That can't be a real gun, is it????

— @Loyalilian: That bald man is bleeding from his head!!!

Instantly understanding the situation, Boss Falcone raised his palm up slightly, imitating a wave, and wearing an obvious fake smile.

Mike quickly ended the livestream and turned to the goons. Utterly frightened and afraid, he recited, "I-If anything happens to me or Lenny, the whole world would know it's you guys! A-And the police are on their way…"

Boss Falcone's jaws stiffened and his eyes squinted, however, he still wore the obvious fake smile that now masked the rage within. He calmly removed the gun from Lenny's mouth and said, facing Lenny, "You planned this, didn't you?"

Lenny, his anxiety still present, grinned. Still struggling to breathe properly, he said, "I'm not… that smart."

Boss Falcone removed his leg from Lenny's chest and placed his gun back into his inner suit holster.

"Today, your luck shines, kiddo. Don't have my money in two days and I'll be back."

"But Boss!" Lizard Liu yelled, unhappy with this development. He wanted to teach Lenny a lesson so dearly.

"Shut it," Boss Falcone ordered. Lizard Liu didn't understand that they had more to lose than Lenny at the moment.

At the retort, the goons let go of Lenny and stood up from the laminate floor.

Apprehensively scanning the three goons as the victim of their intense glares, most especially Lizard Liu, Lenny calmly responded to Boss Falcone, "I'll pay you at the end of the month."

Boss Falcone's smile reduced and the corner of his eyebrow twitched.

"What?"

Lenny weakly stood up from the floor too and moved to sit on his bed due to how tired and beaten he was. 

"You heard me right. I'll pay you at the end of the month, please. You know I can't make the needed amount in just two days. I'm not falling for that again. Or do you still want to sell my organs?" he mockingly asked.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, Lenny pointed at Mike, who stood apprehensively at the entrance of the apartment, ready to run at a second's notice.

He continued, "Mike's a fairly well-known social media influencer. That livestream was being watched by over five-hundred people and you know how the internet makes things serious. I'm sure you don't want to live in hiding all your life, Boss. So please, come collect your cash by the end of the month. I promise it'll be ready by then. I just don't want to die…"