Dead Cat Bounce Read Online Free PDF Page B

smile was a hairless chin and a huge tie knot framed by a white collar, framed in its turn by a dark blue jacket with broad chalk stripes running down it. His neck was thick, his shoulders wide, his chest powerful.
    Jonah’s insignificant twelve-year-old hand reached out of its own accord and shook the man’s. As he pulled his hand back, he caught a glimpse of a skull-and-crossbones ring on the man’s little finger. A pirate’s ring! Jonah wanted to say as much, but before he knew it, he was introducing himself. “I’m Jonah. Lightbody. David’s son.”
    “Hello, Jonah. Lightbody. David’s son. I am the Baron,” said the man.
    “The Baron?” Jonah’s voice sounded like the squeak of a trapped mouse against the deep, mellifluous growl of this extraordinary being in front of him. His eyes traveled back up toward the gold teeth, the mustache, and the dark eyes.
    “It’s only a nickname,” interrupted David, his phone call now over. “What do you want, Baron?”
    The Baron’s eyes stayed on Jonah’s and momentarily darkened even further. Then they lightened, and he drew his hand upward to stroke his mustache, his fingers snapping as they sharpened it at the ends.
    He glanced at David. “That’s right, Biff. ‘Baron’ is a nickname, like
Biff
.” And again the “biff” was emphasized. “Only this one has been gained by action, not inaction.” He turned back to Jonah. “Comes from the Bloody Red Baron, sonny. The greatest flying ace in the First World War. More kills than any other pilot.”
    The man’s skull-and-crossbones ring was now fully visible in all its heavy, gold glory and his eyes twinkled as if to suggest that there was more to the story than what he was saying.
    “You didn’t kill anyone, did you?” Jonah asked breathlessly.
    The Baron gave a knowing grin. “Trading killings, sonny. That’s why the market calls me the Baron. More
trading killings
than anyone else in the market. Nothing violent. We don’t like violence here, do we
Biff
?” Only now did he turn and really look at David, the challenge obvious in his eyes.
    David opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything the Baron had continued.
    “But enough of this bantaaaaaar, Biff. You asked what I wanted. Well, I saw your lad sitting, doing nothing, and I thought,
Well,maybe he’d like to do stuff that’s a bit more interesting. Learn something about trading from the best.
” His eyes flicked back to Jonah and winked conspiratorially before returning to David. “My trading assistant’s got a dental appointment, and I need someone to do some inputting for me and the lads. Straightforward stuff.” He turned again to Jonah, and, sizing him up, he added, “Child’s play in fact, with all due respect.”
    Jonah smiled in encouragement.
    David snorted with derision. “You
are
joking, aren’t you? Let you and your bunch of reprobate financial terrorists loose on my son?”
    “No joking, Biff,” countered the Baron, shaking his head. “Only trying to help. Sounds like you’ve got your work cut out filling orders for some Russkie. And my reprobates—who, I might add, make more money for this firm than the rest of this floor combined—will treat him much better than these two Neanderthals have been.” He waved dismissively at the ugly traders on either side of David, and Jonah found himself willing his father to say yes.
    “Go on, Dad,” he pleaded, certain that doing anything with this Baron man would involve excitement and fun. Maybe it was even his Ferrari he’d seen earlier. “This way you can get your work done and maybe we can have lunch together later. And I promise I’ll go home after that.”
    David hesitated, his eyes searching Jonah’s to see if this was what he truly wanted. Jonah nodded. “All right then,” David finally responded, and looking up at the Baron he added, “But no funny business, eh? He’s only a kid.”
    “My word is my bond, Biff.” The Baron smiled and flicked his