Mercy Row Retribution

Title: Mercy Row Retribution

Author: Harry Hallman

Genre: Historical Crime Fiction

While serving as a pilot during the Vietnam War, Gerry Amota, the grandson of Jacob Byrne, the head of a powerful North Philadelphia Irish crime family, seizes an opportunity to create a lucrative marijuana smuggling operation. It's 1967 and under the secrecy of a classified military operation and with the assistance of a French Marseille Mob, who owns plantations in Cambodia, he is able to send tens of thousands of pounds of marijuana a month to Philadelphia. His grandfather's criminal enterprise distributes the drug to a population who has developed and insatiable appetite for the marijuana.
A rival French from Paris gang tries to force Amato to buy their product and this triggers war between the Byrne family and the Paris mob.  From the steamy jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia, to the streets of Saigon, Paris and Philadelphia the ruthless actions of the Paris mob threatens to destroy the Byrne family. Gerry Amato orchestrates merciless campaign of retribution against his foes in order to save himself and his family.
In part two of Mercy Row Retribution, the third book in the Byrne family saga, it is April 1975 and South Vietnam is about to fall to the North Vietnamese communist. Gerry Amato fears that the communists will take revenge on the population and especially children, many of whom are Amerasian, at an orphanage he supported and volunteered at during his time as a Pilot. He orchestrates a rescue mission to retrieve the children and bring them to the United States. This takes him and his team into harm's way in Thailand, across Cambodia and into worn torn Vietnam and back. The fate of 75 children and 30 adults rest squarely on Gerry's shoulders.
Bonus Section
Mercy Row Retribution includes a bonus section of short true stories of the author and his friends' experiences growing up in North Philly in the 1940s and 50s. This is a true reflection of what life was like for kids from working class families growing up on the streets Philadelphia.

Author Bio

Hallman was born in 1944 and raised in the Kensington section of North Philadelphia. Hallman's father was Harry Hallman, Sr., a champion pool player who also owned a poolroom called Circle Billiards, located at Allegheny Avenue and Lee Street in Philadelphia. The younger Hallman spent many hours after school at his father's poolroom and watching his father play in other poolrooms in Philadelphia and New Jersey. The people he met, some belonging to the real K&A Gang, influenced his writing of the Mercy Row series.

After a year of being an apprentice plumber he served four years in the U.S. Air Force, including two tours in South Vietnam as a photographer. His first tour was at Ton Son Nhat Airbase where he processed film shot by U2 Aircraft over North Vietnam and China.  He returned to the same place for his second tour, but processed film shot by U.S. fighter recon aircraft. He is married to Duoc Hallman, whom he met in Vietnam, and has two children, Bill and Nancy, and one grandchild, Ava.

Hallman is a serial entrepreneur who has created several marketing services and digital media companies and continues to work as a marketing consultant. 

Email Hallman at harry@mercyrow.com. Keep informed at www.mercyrow.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mercyrownovel.

Links

www.mercyrow.com

www.facebook.com/mercyrownovel

Audio Book on Audible.com http://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Mercy-Row-Retribution-Volume-3-Audiobook/B01CYL18KI/

Mercy Row Retribution on Amazon Print, eBook and Audio.  http://www.amazon.com/Mercy-Row-Retribution-Harry-Hallman/dp/1519290926/

Book Excerpt

"Gerry, go to the side entrance. If I signal you, kick it in and stop whoever tries to get out," Mike said.

            "Got it," Gerry replied.

            When Gerry was in place, Mike opened the store door and Jake walked in. Mike stayed by the door as a lookout. The door chimed, telling the proprietor someone had entered. 

            "Be right with you," Morris said from his office behind the store.

            As he walked through the door, he saw Jake and panicked. He turned and ran, trying to get to the back door before Jake could get around the counter.

            Jake yelled, "Joe where you going. We just want to talk."

            Mike signaled Gerry and Gerry kicked the door twice before it broke. He pushed the door open with force and it hit something and bounced back. He pushed again and ran into the office. Joe Morris's ample body was lying on the floor and he was holding his nose as the blood ran through his fingers. Mike ran in just behind Jake.

            "Mike, Gerry pick him up and put him in that chair," Jake said.

            "You pick him up. I got a bad back," Mike said.

            Jake motioned to Gerry and each took an arm and pulled Morris to a standing position. They plopped him in the office chair. "What the fuck is this all about," Morris asked in a muffled voice as he was still trying to stop the blood with his hands.

            Jake took a clean hanky from his back pocket and threw it at Morris. "Here, put your head back and hold this to you nose," Jake said and then grabbed Morris's little finger on his right hand and snapped it. Morris screamed and blood from his nose splattered onto Jake.

            "God damn it, Gerry. Did you have to break his nose? Now he ruined this suit," Jake said over Morris's screams.

            It took a few minutes for Morris to stop yelling and crying. When he did, Mike said calmly, "Joe, you know why we're here. Just tell me where the money is and Jake won't have to break the rest of your fingers."

            "I don't… I don't know what you are talking about," Morris yelled.

            Jake took Morris's left little finger and snapped it. Morris screamed again. "God damn it, Joe, you took money from Mercy. She uses that money to feed hungry families and get kids medical treatment. What the fuck's wrong with you?" Jake yelled.

            Morris was crying again. "Where is the money?" Mike asked.

            "By the cash register on the floor. Loose floor board," Morris said shuddering from pain.

            Mike looked at Gerry. Gerry walked into the store, pried open the loose board and whistled. "Holy shit," he said aloud. He grabbed a paper bag and filled it with the cash from Joe's hiding place.

            "I got it," Gerry said as he walked over to Mike.
            Mike looked into the bag, pulled some stacks of cash out and said, "Gotta be a hundred k in here." Then he punched Morris in his already broken nose. Morris fell off the chair, balled himself up on the floor. "Son of a bitch," Mike said and kicked Morris in the ass.

            "Take it easy, Mike," Jake said.

            "I'm cool," Mike said as he pulled his .45 and pointed at Morris's head.

            Gerry slowly pushed Mike's arm so the gun pointed to the ceiling and said, "You made a promise to my Mom."

            Mike looked at Gerry for a full minute and then holstered his gun.

            "Gerry, go get the tape and rope," Jake said. When Gerry returned he tied Morris's hands and was about to tie his feet when Mike said," Leave his feet. I'll be damned if I'm carrying him to the car. He can walk."