Mama hires Burke to handle the transaction.
Pansy go to the Bronx for the exchange.
However, the trade is a sting and the other side pump bullets into Burke and Pansy with the final shot point blank into Burke's head. Pansy is dead while Burke slowly heals from the massive wounds that would have killed most people, but he has hatred to fuel his recovery. His memory is shot to hell, but he knows one thing for sure, he owes some people for this professional hit that required a lot of cash to pull off in such a sophisticated manner. Andrew Vachss is either a raving lunatic or an incredibly confident and talented author as he takes a very popular character and literally revamps him while keeping the anti-heroes' core values. The current tale, DEAD AND GONE, is taut as only Mr. Vachss can write it and exciting.