Everypony wonders why Jack's Deli is so good, and what IS in the sandwich that makes it so good? Well a lone reporter will not stop till he finds out how it's made.
With the grand reopening of Jack's Deli taking place. Old rumors resurfacing and Curios reporters lurking around and wanting answers. Jack's old habits will come out again but more violently as he begins to crave the real meat that made his old Deli so good. How can he harvest without drawing attention? Iron will not stop till he can finally find out what happened 20 years ago and what Jack is actually up to. Can Iron find out before it's too late? Or will Jack beat him and stop him?
Chapter one: The Grand Re-opening of Jack's Deli Delights
Jack Hooves steadily raised his custom made scissors, lining the sharp jagged teeth up with the delicate ribbon as he felt the gaze of everypony watching him, studying and judging him. Their gaze began to make his palms sweat as he firmly adjusted his grip and pulled the two halves together, cutting the ribbon smoothly for a ridiculously large pair of jagged scissors.
"IT'S NOW OFFICIALLY RE-OPENED!" A couple of reporters yelled as they began to take pictures of the middle-aged Stallion in front of the shop. They watched as Jack turned to face them, his black boots tucked into his jeans and his black long sleeved shirt tucked into his pants, along with his black mane that was now graying along his temples and his cold blue eyes that seemed to pierce their very souls, sizing them up.
"We are now open for business!" Jack said loudly, his voice booming out over the crowd, causing a couple of them to shift nervously as people began to rush inside eagerly to try out the new deli diner. ************************************************************************************************************************ "He's obviously hiding something." A reporter mumbled to himself as decided to go inside and got into the long line for the diner. "Really now Iron? you really think that Jack is hiding something? The guy just reopened his deli after it being closed for twenty years." His friend and coworker said to him, giving him a look of disapproval as he ordered himself and Iron a sandwich platter to eat at one of the booths.
"The last time it was open the workers kept leaving or disappeared after a few weeks working here. When was the last time someone just turns into thin air without a trace?" Iron said, noting the waiter that brought them their food. "Hmmm....let's see, how about that time McPony's was actually using dog meat instead of the tofu like they said they were using." His coworker argued before biting into his sandwich, causing some red sauce to spill out of it and onto the platter.
"Okay.....can you name another time something like that happened?" Iron said stubbornly, not noticing Jack walking over to them or the fact that most ponies were now starring at them. "Calm down, please this is a place for ponies to come and hangout or spend time with family and friends." Jack said as stood in front of the table, eyeing the reporters as Iron nearly fainted when Jack popped up like that and made his coworker nearly choke on his sandwich.
"And if you have any questions or concerns about my previous deli then feel free to come after hours when I am free to answer questions." Jack said, smiling warmly as he picked up the checkbook that waiter had set for them under the platter. "Oh, and don't worry, your platter is on the house since I love a good reporter." He added before walking off to his office in the back.
"You see? Even he is trying to make the reporters happy. If you ask me, Good o' Jack is getting a good review from me, and I will come pay him a visit tonight after this places locks up." He said, trying to keep cool as everyone slowly began to return to their eating, and the fillies stopped starring at the two reporters.
"You do know that it's supposed to rain tonight right?" Iron said as he looked at his coworker who was busily stuffing his face with the sandwiches on the platter, and Iron just sat there eyeing the food suspiciously and his coworker who seemed to be enjoying it. "Meh, I'll just call a cab then." He said before taking another bite out of a sandwich, spilling more red sauce down the front of his shirt. "Okay then, well then mister Ace reporter, I am going to be going home." Iron said as he got up and walked to the exit, noticing the heavy black clouds slowly making their way towards ponyville.
Jack stood outside his deli, feeling and hearing the rain pour down as he waited patiently for the reporter to show up, grumbling to himself as he glanced at his watch and saw that it was a quarter after one o'clock. He walked over to the door of his deli and headed inside, deciding that now was a good time to lock up for the night.
Jack walked to his office in the back and turned the light off before he stopped the security footage for the night and made his way to the front of his building when he saw on the cameras that a car was beginning to pull up into the parking lot. He opened the door when he saw that it was the reporter who was holding a newspaper over his head as he ran over and ducked inside the open door and greeted Jack as he did so.
"Sorry about being late sir, traffic was fucking terrible." He said while he took his jacket off and hung it on the antique coat rack while Jack calmly and quietly turned the lights on so they could see what they were doing. The reporter then walked over and sat at the booth that him and his friend had used earlier before he pulled a tape recorder out of his pocket and set it on the table.
"I am sorry that your friend is not here with you tonight. It is a shame actually since he seemed so sure that I had something to hide, but I am sure that you interviewing me will set his mind at ease." Jack said as he smiled and took a seat at the booth and sat across from the reporter as he watched him. Watching him fumble around with his pudgy fingers as he attempted to start the recorder.
"So Jack, when you first opened your business twenty years ago. What happened to make you close it down?" The reporter asked as he adjusted himself so he could be more comfortable.
"Well you see.....When I opened my deli shop back then I was constantly struggling to make ends meet since the youth then preferred to work part time and quit. So in the long run I was stuck trying to handle most of the positions myself. That being said I began to get bad reviews for taking too long to serve the food. So people left." Jack said as he pulled out a half-crumpled pack of cigarettes and lit one before he took a long drag on it. "....would you like one?" Jack asked the reporter as he extended the pack.
"No thanks. I'm trying to quit." The reporter said as he pushed the pack away. "Back to the main topic at hand. After you closed down, what made you decide to re-open your deli after all these years?" He asked while looking at Jack as he rested his hands on the table, eyeing the dull red glow of Jacks cigarette as he took a drag on it again before resting it in a ashtray.
"Well I saw that teens are the majority of the population nowadays and saw that there was a spike in restaurant and fast-food income from them going there after school. So I am taking a gamble and had the whole building redone as well as hiring a full staff on day one." Jack said before grabbing his cigarette and grinding it out in the ashtray.
"Okay, so you took out a loan. Rebuilt the deli and hired a staff, but what about the issue that you were having with your old deli? Some people said that you would have workers work one day and then disappear after they turned in a note saying they left or they quit. Anything to say on that?" The reporter asked as he smiled, feeling that the interview was going well.
"Well there's not much to say on that. I would open us the deli each morning and find a note taped to the door with the employ's signature on it, saying that they had to move out east or go help a sick relative and the such. Every time I got a note like that I would keep them on the payroll for two weeks and after that I would put that they quit." Jack said while eyeing the reporter with a spike in interest.
"Okay, so for the final question now. What exactly is the meat in the sandwiches that make them so good?" The reporter asked jokingly as he saw Jack's smile begin to widen.
"I can't tell you, but I can show you if you end the recording and leave the recorder in here." Jack said as he got up from the booth and pulled the keys to the building out of his pocket and selected the smallest one.
The reporter got up after he shut the recorder off and left it on the table and began to follow Jack. Not knowing that Jack was now smiling a wicked grin as he approached the door to the cellar that had a metal vault door protecting whatever was stored down there. He watched as Jack put the key in and turned a combination before the door swung open.
"After you.......reporter." Jack said while keeping a straight face as he saw the pudgy pony begin to walk down the stairs. Watching as he silently began to become filled with joy as his prey was now walking down the stairs that would take him two stories below the deli and into his death as Jack closed the door behind him. Sealing the reporters fate.