〖JJBA - EN〗- Last Judgement

Chapter 67: Last chance.

Naples, Italy. July 23rd, 1999.

(Y/N) was done crying. She had only one thing in mind: revenge. And if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that they were going to pay. But for the moment, she had above all to find a way to save her skin. To tell the truth, there were not an infinity of solutions if she wanted to survive. She was going to have to lie. Even if it meant abandoning la Squadra for the moment. They weren't answering her calls anyway.

So it was no surprise that she appeared in front of Polpo as soon as she had put a toe on Italian soil. Straight and proud, no one could tell that she had spent the last few days crying and cursing Passione. Seeing her bow to him, Polpo chuckled.

"(Y/N) Zeppeli. What a surprise! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

He knew very well what. She clenched her jaw. But she didn't flinch. Because giving in would mean admitting defeat, and that was out of the question.

"I have again come to swear loyalty to Passione. I feel like the Boss doubted my devotion.

- Oh, do you think so?"

Another cavernous chuckle escaped the huge man who bent down to grab an apple.

"I hope you have a good excuse, Zeppeli.

- I have no excuse for leaving the country without warning. Nevertheless, I intended to return to Italy as soon as possible, you simply did not give me time to justify myself. But I think I've been punished enough.

- Do you think so? Ha!"

He started laughing again.

"I recognize your audacity there, Zeppeli.

- You literally killed my mother. It is a fact, the punishment is quite severe."

Polpo was no longer laughing, but he smirked as he took a sip of wine. (Y/N) took the opportunity to continue.

"Therefore... You can't blame me for what happened with la Squadra while I was away. I completely clear myself of what has been decided and done. Their attitude no longer represents my beliefs about Passione. I remain indifferent to their hunt. They deserve to be punished for their betrayal."

She clenched her fists so hard that her fingernails dug into her skin. The sharp pain was allowing her to focus and keep a closed expression that wouldn't betray her true thoughts. Above all, she shouldn't show empathy for her boys. Not now. Not when Polpo had to be convinced of her loyalty.

"Zeppeli, Zeppeli, Zeppeli... How clever you are!"

(Y/N) pretended not to understand. She frowned slightly. But she answered absolutely nothing, to let him continue and not make a mistake. Her life depended on it. Polpo smacked his belly, chuckling.

"There's something I can't deny is that you've always been devoted to Passione, despite your few notable deviations. And you have always been very, very helpful to us, it would be a great loss to have to get rid of you."

The young woman slowly relaxed. Was she really convincing him? Victory seemed far too easy. And the little evil smile on Polpo's lips didn't announce anything good. The man gulped down another apple, letting a heavy silence settle, until he gave the Italian woman on the other side of his cell an amused look.

"Fine, you're going back to Passione.

- ... thank you so m-

- But under another team's orders, which I will choose myself. It's out of the question to give you power back. If you want to regain my trust and the Boss', you're going to have to work hard, and at the very bottom of the ladder.