Angel Face by Stephen Solomita Page A

‘From what you say, it’s gotta be our guy who saved the whore’s ass. But about the reason I got no idea. None whatsoever. Me and our guy, we don’t socialize.’
    â€˜I hear ya.’ Bobby does hear Paulie, especially the part about our guy. Now he’ll have to beg when what he’d like to do is yank this fuckin’ gimp out of his wheelchair and put a knife to his eyeball. ‘What I need, Paulie, is a heads-up. I can’t give this guy the first move. I mean, he killed Ricky in Ricky’s own house, so now I gotta worry every time I come home about what’s on the other side of the door.’
    â€˜Or what’s comin’ through the door while you’re asleep.’ Paulie raises a hand, palm out. ‘But the thing is, my job, as a middleman, is to protect you and him both.’
    â€˜And that means you didn’t tell him, right? About me?’
    Paulie’s answer is prompt, since he’s already anticipated the question. Plus, Freddy’s waiting in the kitchen with a shotgun. ‘Most likely this is comin’ from the whore. Or maybe our guy did his homework. What’s certain is that he’s involved with the whore some kinda way. He was probably comin’ by for a quick hump when he ran into the Blade and Ruby.’
    â€˜Yeah, maybe.’ Bobby Ditto rubs his fingers over his chin. He’s a heavily bearded man, his five o’clock shadow commonly visible at ten in the morning. ‘Look, our guy, he’s good, right? Or else you wouldn’t use him.’
    â€˜He’s the best.’
    â€˜OK, he’s the best. But from what you said, he’s not connected to our thing.’
    â€˜Also true.’
    Bobby takes a thick envelope from the pocket of his sport jacket and drops it in Paulie Margarine’s lap. ‘I need some help here, Paulie. Otherwise, I’m not gonna see him comin’.’ He gestures toward the envelope. ‘There’s five grand in there.’
    â€˜You want me to sell out? That’s what you’re askin’?’
    â€˜It’s our thing, our cosa nostra , not his.’
    There’s an unspoken threat here, one that Paulie’s quick to recognize. Paulie was present at Bobby Ditto’s christening. Back in the day, he and Bobby’s father worked together on deals. So it’s not a hard choice for Paulie, since refusing a favor of this kind might easily result in a war.
    â€˜You know what’s gonna happen if our guy puts two and two together?’ Paulie answers his own question. ‘He’s gonna come after me and Freddy. That’s a lotta risk. Plus, I don’t really know all that much about him. In fact, I hardly know anything about him. So, be warned in advance. You might be puttin’ out your dough for nothin’.’
    â€˜Hey, you gotta have a way to get in touch with him.’
    â€˜Yeah, by email, which I send off to a website in Belarus.’
    â€˜Bela who?’
    â€˜It’s a little country near Russia.’
    â€˜And that’s where he lives?’
    â€˜No, Bobby, it’s not where he lives, which is the whole point I’m tryin’ to make.’ Paulie holds the envelope between bony fingers. ‘You want, I’ll put this in my pocket. You wanna take it back, no hard feelings.’
    â€˜Just tell me, Paulie. I got no choice here.’
    â€˜He’s an American who goes by the name of Carter, which could be his first or his last name. He was a mercenary at some point and he was involved with a British officer named Montgomery Thorpe. That’s it . . . no wait. You remember a couple years back when I lost a few soldiers?’
    â€˜Yeah, you had a problem with some kinda raghead gang, right?’
    â€˜Uh-uh. It had nothing to do with them. What happened to me was Carter, all by himself. So if I was in your shoes, Bobby, what I’d do is take a vacation.’

TEN
    C arter’s