Executioner 003 - Battle Mask by Pendleton Don

Author:Pendleton, Don
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sphere
Published: 2013-02-22T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

THIN BLOOD

"This guy is just a cheap hood, bambina," DiGeorge told his daughter. Though he despised the use of old-country phrases in general conversation, the bambina was an endearment he used whenever he wished to emphasize the intimate nature of a father-daughter relationship. Andrea understood this bit of family psychology and went along with it. The so-called generation gap was nowhere more evident than in the DiGeorge household. Mother and daughter had long ago lost all semblances of a common ground for unemotional conversation; indeed, Mama was rarely at home these days, preferring to spend most of her golden age on the Italian Riviera. Between father and daughter, bambina had become a sort of trace word, with a history reaching back to the aftermath of Andrea's first paddling at the age of three. So, bambina had become a place to bury the hatchet, or to gloss over ruffled sensitivities, or to smooth the way for an unpleasant bit of news, which DiGeorge obviously presumed that he was now delivering. "He don't even have any connections," the troubled father continued. "He's a free-lancer, a punk, a two-bit rodman and drifter who's for hire to the world at large. I hate to tell you this, but you got to be careful who you bring into the home, baby. A free-coaster like this could cause all sorts of trouble to your Poppa's business arrangements. Besides, a guy like this is just going to wind up with a bullet in the neck and a weeping widow, and he's liable to take someone with him. Now I'm not trying to say I should pick your friends, but . . . well . . . listen, bambina, you’re in the know now, and you know how careful your Poppa has got to be."

"Where did you get all this information?" Andrea asked in a surprisingly casual tone.

"Hey, it's my business to know things."

"Yes, I realize that, Poppa," Andrea said patiently, "but your sources are off the track this time. Frank is a . . . a . . . well, I don't know how he makes his living and I don't even care. He's first class in my book and that's all I care to know.” Her veils came down and she sank her hooks into the tenderest area of her father's psyche. "After all, where would I be now if Momma had asked you for a character reference 30 years ago?"

"Ah, ah, ah," DiGeorge groaned. He banged his elbow against the wall and worked his fingers into a series of fists. "You're not trying to be reasonable, bambina," he said. "You're just trying to make your Poppa feel like a heel. Okay, okay. I feel like one. But not because of anything I ever did to you or for you. So I've done some things I don't want to strut around and talk about – so any man can say the same. Times have changed now, the world has changed, and there ain't no room in it for two-bit rodmen anymore.

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