Watchers

you with those eyes and take you the way a snake would take a mesmerized mouse; he would choke you down whole and digest you.
    Vince admired Tetragna. He knew this was a great man, and he wished he could tell the don that he, too, was a man of destiny. But he had learned never to speak of his immortality, for in the past such talk had earned him ridicule from a man he’d thought would understand.
    Now, Don Tetragna opened his reptilian eyes and said, “Let me be certain I understand. You are looking for a man. This is not Family business. It is a private grudge.”
    “Yes, sir,” Vince said.
    “You believe this man may have bought counterfeit papers and may be living under a new name. He would know how to obtain such papers, even though he is not a member of any Family, not of the fratellanza?”
    “Yes, sir. His background is such that . . . he would know.”
    “And you believe he would have obtained these papers in either Los Angeles or here,” Don Tetragna said, gesturing toward the window and the city of San Francisco with one soft, pink hand.
    Vince said, “On August twenty-fifth he went on the run, starting from Santa Barbara by car because for various reasons he couldn’t take a plane anywhere. I believe he would’ve wanted a new identity as quickly as he could get it. At first, I assumed he’d go south and seek out counterfeit ID in Los
    Angeles because that was closest. But I’ve spent the better part of two months talking with all the right people in L.A., Orange County, and even San Diego, all the people to whom this man could’ve gone for high-quality false ID, and I’ve had a few leads, but none panned out. So if he didn’t go south from Santa Barbara, he came north, and the only place in the north where he could get the kind of quality papers he would want—”
    “Is in our fair city,” Don Tetragna said, gesturing again toward the window and smiling at the populous slopes below.
    Vince supposed that the don was smiling fondly at his beloved San Francisco. But the smile didn’t look fond. It looked avaricious.
    “And,” Don Tetragna said, “you would like for me to give you the names of the people who have my authorization to deal in papers such as this man needed.”
    “If you can see it in your heart to grant me this favor, I would be most grateful.”
    “They won’t have kept records.”
    “Yes, sir, but they might remember something.”
    “They’re in the business of not remembering.”
    “But the human mind never forgets, Don Tetragna. No matter how hard it tries, it never really forgets.”
    “How true. And you swear that the man you seek is not a member of any Family?”
    “I swear it.”
    “This execution must not in any way be traced to my Family.”
    “I swear it.”
    Don Tetragna closed his eyes again, but not for as long as he had closed them before. When he opened them, he smiled broadly but, as always, it was a humorless smile. He was the least jolly fat man Vince had ever seen. “When your father married a Swedish girl rather than one of his own people, his family despaired and expected the worst. But your mother was a good wife, unquestioning and obedient. And they produced you—a most handsome son. But you’re more than handsome. You’re a good soldier, Vincent. You have done fine, clean work for the Families in New York and New Jersey, for those in Chicago, and also for us on this coast. Not very long ago, you did me the great service of crushing the cockroach Pantangela.”
    “For which you paid me most generously, Don Tetragna,”
    The Screwdriver waved one hand dismissively. “We’re all paid for our labors. But we’re not talking money here. Your years of loyalty and good service are worth more than money. Therefore, you are owed at least this One favor.”
    “Thank you, Don Tetragna.”
    “You’ll be given the names of those who provide such papers in this City, and I’ll see that they are all forewarned of your visit. They’ll cooperate fully.”
    “If you say they will,” Vince said, rising and bowing with only his head and shoulders, “I know that it is true.”
    The don motioned him to Sit down. “But before you attend to this private affair, I’d like you to take another contract. There’s a man in Oakland who is giving me much grief. He thinks I can’t touch him because he’s politically well connected and well guarded. His name is Ramon Velazquez. This will be a difficult job, Vincent.”
    Vince carefully concealed his