Paulie (Hell bent for Whiskey)

## Paulie

"You're freaking lying, we know it's you! We saw you leaving Costelli's bar tonight!"

## Physical description

### Gender

Male

*For the multiplayer GG&C character, see* Paulie (Guns, Gore & Cannoli series)

> «What, so now this is *my* fault? The guy lost his freaking **head**!». - Paulie after blowing Luigi's brains out
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**Paulie** is the deuteragonist and a main character of the short film *Hell bent for Whiskey*. He works for the alcohol-running businessman Belluccio and is the partner and sometimes right-hand man of Vinnie Cannoli.

## Biography

Virtually nothing is known about Paulie's life prior to the events of Hell bent for Whiskey, except that he, at some point along with Vinnie, was initiated into the Belluccio mob and engaged in numerous criminal activities with them, mainly in Chicago.

By October 1928, with the Prohibition in action, now full-time assigned allies, Paulie and Vinnie had become dedicated members of the mafia, now taking part in the countless alcohol distribution assignments for their front, Belluccio's Whiskey and Beer.

Since mid-summer, two of their three last stills were sabotaged by unknown assailants, leading the Belluccios to speculate that a traitor is hidden their ranks. Investigating many of the more dodgy members of the family, a small-fry goon named Frank, known for being a pathological liar and for snitching on many of his former colleagues, is made prime suspect for the deeds and monitored closely by Paulie and Vinnie. When they witness Frank exiting a local dive owned by the Costellis, the gang's sworn enemies, and then drive over to the last brewery, they waste no time getting into their car, starting a heated race with Frank as he tries to speed away from the scene.

## Hell bent for Whiskey

Vinnie and Paulie are having a car chase with fellow Belluccio family member Frankie, who they believe to be working for the Costelli gang, the Belluccios rivals. Frankie ends up losing control of his car on the slippery street and crashes down the road near the riverbank of the city river, where the duo confront him as he readies his handgun. Paulie brings up how they had spotted him at the Costelli's speakeasy, which Frankie denies, prompting Paulie to further inquire about what he had been doing at Belluccios' brewery at this time of night, with him claiming that he had simply been safety checking the operation. As Vinnie ominously warns him of the consequences him they find out that he was lying, the brewery is suddenly destroyed by an explosive blast. Vinnie silently glares at Frankie, who simply shrugs in response. Paulie and Vinnie gun him down and leave his body by the bridge.

The two return to Belluccio's Bar, the next day, where the Don is waiting for them. He silently shows today's newspaper, showing that 5 people had died in the explosion, presumably Belluccio members. Belluccio sardonically remarks that the Costellis "must not like the taste of their whiskey", before grimly telling the two that they had now lost their last brewery and that they were now depending on the smuggled Canadian liquor to arrive. Vinnie informs his boss that the Canadian shipment had been caught at the border, causing the now outraged Belluccio to demand to know how it happened. Paulie answers that a fellow gangster named Tony had forgotten to pay off the police. Belluccio gives orders to have him killed, but Paulie clarifies that he had already been whacked last month, with Vinnie adding that that was probably why he couldn't go after his duties. The pair share a laugh, before Belluccio cuts in, balefully asserting that the ruin of the Belluccio clan would also be theirs and tasks Vinnie and Paulie with breaking into the Costellis' depot and stealing their liquor, further stating that they were to put down any resistance of the present Costellis swiftly.

Vinnie and Paulie arrive at the brewery at dawn and immediately open fire as they kick open the front door, but are surprised to find no one guarding the place. Puzzled, Paulie questions why the warehouse isn't guarded, but Vinnie, disregarding the suspicious lack of security, simply says that they should seize the opportunity and begin to load the truck with barrels of alcohol. Unbeknownst to them the Costellis had killed each other in a back room after sharing a bottle of the booze.

The whiskey gets delivered to a bar, where a swinging party is organized in the next night. In the office at the back of the establishment, Paulie is introduced to the bar owner, Luigi. The two try to discuss the payment with their drunken business partner, who, like the rest of his patrons is enjoying a bottle of the stolen whiskey. After he pours himself another drink, Luigi begins to grotesquely transform into a zombie, in front of the very eyes of Paulie and Vinnie, who watch in horror, only snapping out when Luigi's eye pops out and hits Vinnie. Luigi goes berserk and pins Paulie to the wall. Paulie wheezingly cries for help from Vinnie, who opens the emergency fire axe case and hacks him in the back with the axe, but to no effect and is knocked against the opposite wall. With Luigi distracted, Paulie loads his sawed-off shotgun and shoots him in the head. The pair attempt to make light of the situation and try to figure out what made Luigi go crazy. Paulie brings up the possibility that the liquor may have had something to do with his behaviour but Vinnie brings up how the people had been drinking the same and were yet to turn feral. Paulie is quickly proven right as the bar patrons, now also transformed, start clawing at the office's window. Vinnie and Paulie grab their weapons and attempt to fight the horde as they break the glass, but are overwhelmed in seconds, leading the pair to flee the bar and escape in their truck. They inform Mr. Belluccio of the effects of the stolen batch, who orders them to destroy the Costellis brewery to prevent further spread, giving them explosives and a plunger.

At the brewery, Vinnie looks for a suitable place to plant the bomb, while Paulie props up the detonator outside the building. When Paulie encounters the horde from the bar outside, he drops the plunger and tells Vinnie that the monsters are heading for the brewery. They escape into the sewer as the zombies break in and begin to drink the booze. They eventually tip over a large vat of Whiskey, which floods the entire building and pours into the sewers, forcing the two gangsters to climb out into an empty street. At the same time, Belluccio is sitting on the toilet, reading the paper and smoking a cigar. His peace and quiet is then interrupted by his mother's shouting, who urges her son to come downstairs and help her with the whiskey that is coming out of the taps. He tells her not to bother him while he's using the bathroom and to solve the problem herself, but she reprimands him and tells him to stop dumping his cigars in the toilet. Irritated at his mother's response, Belluccio ignores her and drops his still-lit cigar into the toilet and ignites the whiskey in the sewer, blowing up the building and setting of a huge chain reaction creating an nuclear-like explosion. Vinnie and Paulie witness the blast and run for cover behind the wall of a building, miraculously surviving unharmed. A quick peek by Vinnie shows the aftermath, a ruined urban wasteland. A quick exchange between the two leads Paulie to conclude that they *did* destroy all the evidence and both agree to sign it off as a job done. They decide to head home and look for a bar, vowing to forget tonight's events, as Paulie ends the night by saying "I need a drink".

## Gallery

"Then what were you doing at Mr. Belluccio's brewery tonight?"Paulie and Vinnie kill FrankiePaulie and Vinnie with Mr Belluccio"Uh, Tony forgot to pay off the cops..."Paulie and Vinnie laughingPaulie and Vinnie glaring at each otherPaulie and Vinnie at the Costelli warehousePaulie and Vinnie discussing business with LuigiPaulie and Vinnie stare in horror"Vinnie!... \*gargle\* Do something!"Paulie and Vinnie screamingPaulie fighting off the zombiesVinnie and Paulie reloading their gunsPaulie with the detonatorPaulie and Vinnie in the sewerPaulie and Vinnie hiding from the explosionPaulie and Vinnie in the ruins"Yeah, but at least we get rid of the evidence"