Below is an excerpt from chapter one of my book, Honor & Duty: Honor Bound

Tony Percante gazed at his watch. It was three in the afternoon. He stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep them warm as he strolled down Tristan Street. It was the middle of April and it still felt like December. He hated the cold. But he had to go where the money was and where his boss Maurice Perozoni told him to go. This was his opportunity, he told himself before saying yes to the man that had given him everything. And he was determined to make it work.

Growing up, Percante had been the school bully. He earned his talent from his older brother who would work out schemes with the neighborhood kids to get money from their classmates. He had been his brother’s first victim. He swore he’d lever let it happen again. To say he had the ability to get people to give over the prized possessions, would be understatement—he didn’t ask, he took. He was the muscle. He made people pay up.

So when Mister Perozoni, as he called him, said to collect a debt from an old business associate, he packed his bags and headed north to Munich, Germany.

He hated the Germans. They didn’t know how to squeeze people. They had no class, no tack in dealing with the common street thug. The Italians had finesse and love. The Germans would shoot you then collect. Only the Germans would try to collect from dead men, he told himself. But as much as he hated the Germans, he hated German cops more.

Munich cops had no issue in stopping someone on the street and asking to see I.D. He knew better than to lower his head or shy away when he passed them on the street. So when he spotted two walking down the street, he kept his head up and eyes forward. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He had to play it cool.

Percante breathed a sigh of relief when they passed him by.

He stopped at the corner and pulled out a piece of paper. He looked at the address and then stuffed it back in his coat pocket. He looked across the street and saw the sporting goods store.

Filed under: Book Excerpts, Chapter 1, Honor Bound