Read Online Miami Massacre by Don Pendleton - Free Book Online

the kicks, all the-"
    "Pictures, where'd you get pictures?" Aggravante growled.
    "Sketches," Lavangetta amended. "We got one of those artists like the cops use. You know, these composite pictures." He saw a chance to make a point, and quickly seized it. "Remember, my boys were the first into Palm Springs after this guy left his mess there. Somebody had to pick up the pieces. We picked up also a trail, that's why so much action in Arizona here lately. We been right on this boy's tail all the way."
    "Yeah, you got some piece o' tail all right," Aggravante observed sourly. "Looks like it swung you all the way to Miami."
    Speaking between tight lips, Lavangetta said, "Look, I come to council, just like you. Now I don't wanta be disrespectful, Mr. Aggravante, but you got your ass showing a mile. You better tuck it back in, 'cause I'm not in any mood for-"
    Marinello hurried into the heated exchange with, "Ay ay,
fratelli, fratelli.
"He thoughtfully rubbed his chin and said, "Ciro's right, Georgie. You been diggin' him pretty good, and he's got enough on his mind without that. What happened in Arizona could have happened to any of us at a time like this. Now we came here to discuss our problems. This Bolan boy is one of 'em. I think we better start establishing priorities and I think maybe we should start right here, with Bolan."
    "The big mistake," Aggravante said pleasantly, as though no rebuke had been uttered, "is that we been sitting around waiting for someone else to fix the problem for us. Bolan, I mean. We hope the cops will get him. We hope some freelancer will cash in on that open contract. We hope, we hope, and we don't
do
anything."
    "Speak for yourself," Lavangetta muttered. "I gotta bury about a dozen boys when I get back home."
    "I'm speaking for all of us," the old man replied. "You're talking about priorities, Augie." He reached over and picked up the marksman's medal. "There's number one. Anyone thinks otherwise is
sciocco
— a fool. This Bolan is a fox that chases hounds, no?"
    "Look, you're crying about nothing!" Lavangetta declared emotionally. "I'm telling you I'm on top of it! You watch what happens to this fox when he gets to Miami, eh? You watch!"
    A man at the other side of the table spoke into the sudden silence. "Don't nobody forget where this Bolan got started," he said. "Anybody thinks Sergio was an old lady had better step outside and fight me right now. This Bolan is a one-man army, never mind about foxes and hounds. And if he's in Miami, I'm telling you right now we better move our convention somewheres else."
    The speaker was Frank Milano, successor to the late Sergio Frenchi, the first Mafia boss to bite The Executioner's dust. Noting, with some surprise, that he still held the floor, Milano added, "That is, if we expect to get any business done. I mean . . . ."
    "We know what you mean, Frank," Marinello said quietly. "And you're right. Sergio was a man among men, nobody won't ever say otherwise."
    Aggravante was staring at his hands. He said, "Tell Father Sergio, Frankie, that Ciro Lavangetta guards his grave."
    "Look, I wasn't meaning to cut anybody down," Lavangetta said, his tone clearly apologetic. "I just want everybody here to know that I'm on top of this Bolan thing. If he gets within 50 miles of this room, he's a dead man. I just want you all to know that. And we can get on with our business. We got important things to discuss. Right, Augie?"
    Marinello started to say something in reply but checked himself as the door cracked open and a roving eye caught his attention. He flashed a glance at Lavangetta and said, "I think one of your boys wants you, Ciro."
    Lavangetta quickly left his chair and went to the door for a whispered consultation. When he returned to the table his face was ashen and his hands shook as he lit a cigar. The other members were staring at him curiously, none speaking. When he'd gotten the cigar going, Marinello quietly asked, "Bad news, Ciro?"
    "Yeah, bad news,"