The Frenchman's Revenge (28 page)

“I’m telling you, Rory, our men who saw it go up in flames said you could hear th
ose poor fuckers screamin
’
their lungs out for
over an hour.
And Christ
,
th
ose Chinks d
idn’t crawl up anyone’s ass
. T
hey m
arched in as bold as you please and set the whole damn place on fire – Tony and all of his men included.
And that Chink bastard
--
the one they call
t
he Frenchman
--
stood on a hill smokin
’
a cigarette
,
watchin
’
the
entire
thing play out while his men loaded up six carts full of
whores
and drove off
like it was somethin’ they did every day.
You would of thought they was pickin’ up a load of vegetables instead of fifty of Aldo’s prime puss
ie
s
. H
ell
,
Tony’s guys
were
rakin’ in the dough from
those Chink
cunts
– passin
g
them off as virgins
--
a
nd
t
he Frenchman waltzed off with every damn one of
‘
em. Come to think of it
, they might of been virgins.
Colin said the oldest ones were maybe thirteen or fourteen.
”

Rory shook his head in admiration
,
his eyes dancing with glee.

“Jesus Mary
Joseph, what I wouldn’t give to ‘ave seen Aldo’s face when they brought him the news.
Hell,
he wouldn’t give a fuck about his men being killed
,
but to have someone steal his merchandi
s
e? And
,
g
oddamn,
I
wouldn’t want
to
be the poor
son of a bitch
who
had to tell
‘
im what happened
. T
hat bastard would be lucky to
be
shot
,
but knowing Aldo
,
he
chopped
‘
im
in
pieces first.
”

Rory shook his head in wonder.

“I gotta tell you, it sure as shit makes me think twice about investing in Chink cunts.
Now
,
I have nothing against Chinks, cunts or otherwise
. B
ut I’ve always preferred those sweet little Irish lasses
,
especially
the convent rejects, you know
,
the ones
with mischief in those dancing eyes?
But
h
ell, yes
,
I applaud the use of virgins.
Damn, I’ve been worshipping one of
‘
em every Sunday of my life
. W
e all have, right men?
Who the hell do you think is sittin
’
on top of
that shrine everyone of
our mama’s
has – if it isn’t the virgin of all
virgins?
”

Screams of laughter filled the
tavern
as Patty s
lid
four more bottles down the length of the bar and
Rory
shouted, “Here’s to virgins
,
Holy or not!
May they ever be available
and as
eager
to spread their legs as we are to deflower them!”

Rory was a big man, Irish
to the core
. His russet hair and beard and
flashing
sky blue eyes charmed every woman
and man he met
,
all of whom basked
in his good humor and
rich Irish brogue.
But no one, friend or foe, was fooled by the easy grin or Irish banter.
Beneath that a
ffable
surface was a man as hard as steel
,
tempered in the tough streets of
New York
,
as quick with a knife as he was with his fists
.

The nuns gave up long ago trying to tame him with book learning.
He was street smart and
didn’t need the kind of knowledge they had to impart
.
By the time he was ten years old
,
he knew how to pick a lock or a pocket and which
bookies
could be trusted and which
snitches could be blackmailed
. He learned early that a grin and a wink were weapons worth having
,
but only when backed by a willingness to shove
in
a blade
and twist it deep
. He racked up victims the way he did women. Whether killing or fucking
,
he never lost his smile
. E
ven those he extorted, manipulated
,
or bamboozled enjoyed his company.
He was as loyal to his men as they were to him
. T
here wasn’t a gang
--
Irish or Sicilian
--
that didn’t think twice before messing with Rory Calhoun.

Hours and many bottles of whiskey later, Rory sat
with Liam
,
Ian
,
and Mike
,
talking through their next steps.

“This
ain’t
the first
mind-blowing
thing we
’ve
heard about
t
he Frenchman.
Hell,
Pat
says he is
the
scariest, smartest son of a bitch you ever want to meet
. I
n addition to being a master with a knife
and
a gun
,
he is some kind of
Chink
hand to hand fighter
. T
hey call him a grandmaster.
I don’t have the foggiest
notion
what that means
,
but if he is anything like Chung Lee, th
at prick
in Chinatown
who
kills
men
twice his size
,
kickin
’ em
to death
,
then this Frenchie
guy
is worth
gettin’ to know
.
F
rom what I hear, the only thing bigger than his balls is his bank account.
Pat
says
there
ain’t
a
money pot
,
legal or not
,
that he don’t have his
dick stuck in
.
”

He thought for a moment
then
mused
, “What’s that saying?
The enemy of my enemy is my friend?
Or some
shit
like that
?
I dunno, I think it might be worth a trip out to San Francisco.
I
need
to check up on our men, see first hand what’
s
goin
’
on.
What do you say?
Maybe it’s time
I
learn a little French.
I doubt we want to be his friend, but we sure as hell can pretend we do...
t
hat is
,
if
that
crazy son of a bitch
Aldo don’t kill him first.”

Chapter 1
3

Bai looked
up
from his desk when he heard the knock on his door and smiled when the door opened and Elena walked in. As always
,
he was struck by her
breathtaking beauty
and nonplussed by his
body’s
reaction to her
.
Christ, he wondered
, would she ever walk in the room and his prick stay down instead of rising up to greet her? He doubted it. It was as though his
dick
could scent her – across a room – and set out to claim her.
She took his breath away
and
he
was rewarded by a look in her eyes that reflected the
passion
he felt for her
.

“May I come in
?
” she asked redundantly
,
as she
walked
over and perched on the corner of
his desk.

“Ah,
cherie,
as if you have to ask
,
” he said with a grin. “Without question, you are the most welcome interruption I have had all day.”

“Lei and I have been at the infirmary talking with the girls, Bai. Have you been there yet?”

He felt the rage tighten his chest
.
He
shook his head
. “Not yet,
mon amour
.
I will go in the morning.”

Elena nodded
.
“I understand, darling.
It is the most
crushing
sight I have ever seen.
You warned me
,
but even so
,
I was unprepared for how young they are.
Bai, how could someone be so evil? To do what they did to those children?”

“It is unfathomable, Elena. As
depraved as
the animals
are
who perpetrated the crimes
,
the men
that
I met with today
are also responsible
.
Every one of them
,
including Jim Thompson and Peter Young
,
had to know what was going on in the brothel and did nothing about it.
It sickens me.
My only
consolation
is that I have the wherewithal and the courage to avenge the evil that was done to those girls.”

He grimaced and added, “I know you understand
the mob will retaliate
, Elena.”

“I do understand, darling
,
”
Elena
agreed
with a grim nod
.

“
Bai, Lei and I met a young woman today who might be able to help.
Her name is Jeng Ming.
She is older than the others,
closer to
my age,
nineteen or twenty. S
he
was only
at Madam Torrent
o
’s
for a
couple of days
and
has an a
stonishing
story to tell.
Lei
said that she was held captive
by Tony’s boss, that evil man in New York.
Somehow
,
Jeng Ming escaped and has been running
ever
since.
She was captured by Tony’s men and brought to San Francisco.
Lei thinks
Jeng Ming
knows a lot about the New York gang and may be able to help you.”

Bai lit a cigarette
,
then
went to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of brandy.
He raised
a q
uestion
ing eyebrow
,
and when
Elena
nodded
,
he
poured her a glass and brought it to her.

“That’s important, Elena.
I know
the
girl you are talking about.
I spoke to her at the brothel. She
is
older and the little girls seemed to
t
rust her.
Wyatt,
N
ianzu
,
and I will meet with her in the morning.
She could have information
about Marcello that we can use
against him.”