The underground world could be said to be the place where the law of the jungle is most thoroughly manifested.
If it were a regular company, even with internal competition, two high-level executives wouldn't engage in such blatant face-slapping actions; it's too low-level. Even if they fought each other to death behind the scenes, they would still put on a facade in public, at the very least for the sake of appearances.
But for arms dealers, showing strength means being blatant about it.
So, Ferdinand found Jethro bothersome and wanted to call him over to embarrass him in front of everyone, to let everyone know that he was the one calling the shots here. Why hide anything? Was there really any need to?
Since it was a survival of the fittest world underground, it was essential that everyone knew who the strong ones were.
