Banno was a total badass—a stocky Italian Vietnam vet who had served in the 101st during the Tet Offensive. When he came home a Chinese man he called “The Prince” hired him to collect debts in the states. One day I was at his place speaking to him about a black dealer he had tracked to a shack at the end of a gravel road in the Southwest [either Arizona or New Mexico.]

He was telling me the tale of him and his partner with his two 3.57 magnums, one blued one chromed [which he pulled out and showed me] rousting this fellow out of a bed he happened to be sharing with a white woman, for which these two gentlemen decided to punish him.

Using his underwear to tie one of the pistols to his face—the barrel in his mouth, his hands tied behind—Banno and whoever his less cultivated partner were, walked the barefoot man down the road kicking at his heels and reminding him not to trip because the hammer was pulled back on the iron popsicle he was sucking on—then he grunted, looked up at the screen at the picture of this cartoon babe crawling through a log, and that was it, the man was in love and out of touch.

I never did find out what happened to the brother as Banno was soon behind bars and when he got out he was pissed off at me for teaching his sons how to box...