California Fire And Life

107

Uncle Nguyen's head is throbbing.

He's just had to tell Tommy Do's distraught mother that her idiot son is probably not coming home for dinner.

Ever.

So there's a lot of wailing and sobbing and other irritating noise – this woman has a piercing shriek that goes through Uncle Nguyen's head. She completely drowns out the Angels game and won't settle down until Uncle Nguyen promises her vengeance.

He finally gets rid of her with that promise and goes down into the basement where he has Tony Ky hanging by his wrists, and just to improve his mood he gives Tony a couple of two-handers across the back with a bamboo rod, which elicits a satisfying grunt of pain, and then he says to Tony, "Tell me who these Russians were."

And Tony tells him – tall skinny Russian, tall fat Russian.

He doesn't know their names so Uncle Nguyen takes a Jim Edmonds swing at his back – like good for a three-bagger in any park in America – and asks him who they were working for.

"Tratchev," Tony says.

Uncle Nguyen has a tough time with this.

He's been doing business with Viktor Tratchev for years and it's always been a good and mutually profitable relationship. So he gets Tratchev on the phone and asks, "What is this shit all about?"

"What shit?"

"Two of your people hired two of my boys for an errand and the boys haven't come back."

"Which of my people?"

Uncle Nguyen describes them.

Tratchev is very happy to hear this description. The last thing in the world he needs right now is a beef with the Vietnamese. First thing he needs right now is an ally against Nicky Vale, so he says, "You're talking about Dani and Lev."

"You had better send Dani and Lev over for a chat."

"They're not mine."

"Whose are they?"

Tratchev tells him.

Uncle Nguyen asks, "Do you have a problem if I do what I need to do?"

Go figure, Tratchev doesn't have a problem.