"Дон Пендлтон. California Hit ("Палач" #11) " - читать интересную книгу автора

"Franco, that's another worry you got. You make sure nobody gets assy
with me, you make sure the freeze sticks."
"It'll stick," the enforcer assured his Capo.
Ciprio and Vericci stared at their fingertips, their faces utter
blanks.
"And get Bolan. Bring his head to me."
"I'll gift wrap it."
"I don't care how it comes, just so it gets here. I want to kick it in
the bay myself. Understand? Myself."
"You will, I promise that."
"Okay." The old man got to his feet.
Vericci asked, "What about a wake for Joe and our other friends?"
"Forget that for now," the Capo said sadly. "We'll make it up to them
later."
The boss went out and the small man, Matty, followed quickly behind
him.
The others remained at the conference table, eyes downcast with unhappy
thoughts.
Presently Thomas Vericci sighed and remarked, "Well, this bastard is
hitting us right where it hurts. Now just how long do you suppose we've got
to play dead? I got a two million dollar import deal that's going to die
quick if I don't pick up on it."
"The old man panicked," Ciprio said. "He's just..."
"He's just following orders," the enforcer declared heavily. "The
Commissione has put out these guidelines, and this is the way they say to
play it. So if anyone here don't like it, just go pick up that red phone and
make your complaint to you-know-where."
"Do they know?" Ciprio asked quickly. "I mean, do they know that Bolan
hit us tonight?"
"Of course they know," Laurentis told him. That's the first thing the
old man did - was notify them."
"I guess we're going to have the Taliferi swarming all over us now," a
lieutenant said dismally, referring to the mob's national gestapo.
"I guess," Laurentis agreed. "If we don't get to Bolan quick"
"Not we... you," Vericci said. "Remember? You wouldn't stand for it any
other way."
Ciprio laughed and a couple of his lieutenants joined with him.
Coldly, Laurentis said, "You stupid shits. You stupid fucking shits."
"I don't see anything to laugh at, neither," Vericci commented. "The
fact is, all of us have got to worry about this Bolan. Right, Franco?"
"Right is right," the enforcer growled. "I was putting that on for the
old man's sake - that stiff upper Up stuff, I mean. We got a hell of a
serious thing on our hands here, and I guess we better all face up to that
right now. Look, anybody in their right minds stopped laughing at this Bolan
boy a hell of a long time ago."
Vericci was nodding his head in agreement. "I saw what he did down in
Palm Springs," he declared quietly.
"Right, he tore through there like a hurricane - and when he left, all
anybody could say was, "What the hell happened? That is, anybody who was
left alive. Now we got the bastard here. And you all heard Matty. He's