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Pact01
Readings
from "The Pact With Bruno"
This reading begins on
page 22 of the printed
novel.
This scene occurs
near the end of a police raid on The Neon Phoenix, a
Mafia night club in Los Angeles run by Bert Leone,
Bruno's childhood friend. Townsen is the FBI agent
who led the raid. Harris is the Los Angeles Police
Detective who engineered it. Enjoy reading
#1.
Harris pointed his
finger. "I’m taking that clown down to the precinct. He’s a
major player behind a lot of the local shit, so I want to
get a big piece of him." Detective Harris turned away from
Townsen.
"So get your butt
moving!"
The man’s eyes swelled
in surprise.
His fine tailored suit,
clean arrest record and life-long connections to Bruno were
of no value to him now. Two of Harris’ black-clad agents
grabbed his arms and escorted him roughly toward the main
door.
"Detective Harris, what
do you think you’re doing?" Townsen felt his temperature
rise.
"I’m taking this punk
in for a few more questions."
"That’s no street punk.
He’s just an administrative flunky for the club. Who you
trying to shit?"
"Back off, Mister! Did
you forget this is my show?"
"So why the sudden
change of plans?"
"That’s classified."
Harris barked.
"Shit. I should have
known you’d eventually get on to pulling something reckless
like this."
Townsen turned in
disgust and walked away.
Harris moved toward the
door where his men waited with Mr. Leone. As he approached
they began walking toward the transport
vehicle.
Harris reached into his
pocket.
The chrome-plated .38
special was wrapped in a handkerchief and for the moment
devoid of fingerprints. He stroked it with pleasure then
withdrew his hand.
One of the officers
stepped forward and unlocked the back door of Harris’
car.
The other one directed
Mr. Leone toward it.
"Hold it, Reynolds."
Harris ordered.
"Sir?"
"I want you to shoot
this scum-bag fucker. I want him dead and that’s an
order."
Reynolds drew his
holstered weapon, but hesitated. A confused look covered
his face. "Sir?"
"Now, god-damn
it!"
Two semiautomatic
pistol shots cracked in the night air. Reynolds turned away
from the unprovoked killing to hide the grimace on his
face.
Hearing footsteps in
the distance Harris moved forward quickly placing the
chrome pistol into Mr. Leone’s limp hand. He stood to
review the scene then leaned forward to adjust the man’s
arm.
Harris yelled toward
the crowd gathering nearby. "Can we get a photographer over
here!"
This reading begins
on page 49 of the printed
novel.
In this short
scene, Bruno spends the next day remembering his friend,
Bert Leone. This excerpt involves a part of Bruno's
grieving process. Enjoy reading
#2
By 1:30 Bruno had
finished his lunch.
Jay had departed
earlier in the afternoon to spend some time on the golf
course. Left with his thoughts, Bruno continued to recall
shared childhood antics with Bert. Occasionally tearful
moments arrived. After each one Bruno wiped his eyes, took
a sip of spring water with a slice of lemon and moved to
the next waiting memory.
Distracted by playful
sounds, Bruno rose to find the source of the laughter. Down
the hall from his sitting room was one of the children’s
playrooms.
It sounded like someone
had accidentally left the door ajar. As he approached, the
gaiety grew. He entered and saw Emily and Rebecca, his two
granddaughters, ages six and nearly four, playing across
the room.
"What’s this, two
beautiful pooh bears?" He asked.
The girls giggled with
delight. He approached them and knelt with massive arms
outstretched.
They ran into
them.
"Papa!" They each
exclaimed with glee.
"Are you two busy
gathering honey for dinner?"
"Of course not, Papa.
We did that earlier today." Emily explained. She often
spoke for her younger sister.
"Well, why are you both
so excited?"
They giggled
again.
Emily sought to control
herself and was finally able to speak through her remaining
laughter. "I was telling Beck the story of how baby birds
learn to fly."
Again they burst into
intense laughter. By now they each had an arm around their
grandfather’s neck.
Bruno joined their
laughter without feeling the same level of humor. "Maybe I
should hear that sometime."
He hugged and kissed
each girl, then stood.
"This has been a nice
visit, but I have to get back to my chores. I hope you two
have a fun afternoon."
The girls went back to
their play.
Bruno closed the door
behind him and returned to his easy chair. Now it was
quiet. He focused on his dear departed friend
again.
His grieving process
was taking its intended course.
This reading begins
on page 177 of the printed
novel.
Doug is on a late
night stakeout when his mind starts to drift. His
call sign is Night-light, and his friend Jerry is called
Charlie-one. Sammy is Doug's girlfriend, and we get a
brief glimpse of his inability to commit to her.
Enjoy reading #3
Doug sighed, leaned
back and stretched out his legs.
Now the waiting would
begin.
With little effort his
thoughts found Sammy’s beautiful face and the uniqueness of
that last sunset they had shared on the veranda in
Cabo.
After most others had
retired to the house, they remained near the chiseled stone
railing overlooking the cliff and the Pacific
Ocean.
The roar of the
breakers far below on the rocks framed the boundaries of
his memory. The touch of the stone rail still held some of
the day’s heat.
Breezes brushed their
sandaled toes.
Cherubs smiled at them
from a distance. Standing hand in hand their anticipating
fingers intermingled. Shared warmth shielded a furtive
night breeze.
Clouds in the northwest
proclaimed the heavy midnight rain to come in a few hours.
Due west its fringes danced and frolicked with the setting
rays of sunlight. Deep reds, oranges and yellows painted
the sky. Such extremes broadcast a breath-stopping natural
beauty.
Doug had appreciated
sensations like this many times and of course Sammy had
also seen them before, but now she stopped to be a part of
it all.
The conversation was
mostly whispers of praise for the final good-bye of the day
that God had so lovingly painted in the sky. Doug’s mind
sought the proper words for his heart to make a moonlight
proposal, but they failed to materialize in his
throat.
He jumped in surprise
when Jerry’s voice brought the CB to life. "Night-light,
status check."
Looking at his watch,
it was one minute until two, and then he responded.
"Charlie-one, no change."
"By the way, the entire
location is now confirmed to be pee eye." Jerry’s voice
boomed.
"Affirmative,
Charlie-one. See you in twenty."
Doug started the van
and drove slowly forward.
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