Angelo

"Even should my master die, I will still tear out the throats of my prey."

- Angelo

Angelo (アンジェロ, Anjero) is a Spanish-born professional assassin and bodyguard. When the Mask Makers murder the head of the cartel he works for in 2002, he seeks revenge by boarding the cruise yacht Entrance in August.

In the aftermath of the seajacking incident, Angelo joins the Martillo Family as a bodyguard by way of Firo Prochainezo's recommendation.

Appearance
Angelo appears to be around thirty years old, with tanned skin, stubble lining his jaw, and sleepy eyes. Firo describes him as possessing "dark skin and defined features that make him look like the type who would be popular with women."

On the Entrance, he wears a black jacket over a white shirt, black trousers, and his trademark blue sunglasses. From his looks alone, one may easily deduce that he is not a person who makes an honest living.

Personality
Angelo is highly reminiscent of the gunslinger archetype from old westerns - rough, intense, and stubborn to a fault. When his boss is murdered, he seeks revenge against those responsible with a cold, unrelenting fury; when he realizes that he has been betrayed, he is deeply bitter.

He is not an indifferent man, and his remorse when unrelated bystanders are caught up in 'his' business speaks to a strong sense of personal responsibility. That he never once betrays his policy to never injure or kill women or children – even when doing so would endanger his life – is at the very least a testament to the strength of his convictions.

2002: (A Side) Bullet Garden
Angelo is born in a village in Spain sometime around 1972. A street urchin, he lives in a corner of an alley for most of his childhood until the villagers – upset about the homeless "harming the town's aesthetics" – hire several officers to "clean up" the streets. The officers' solution is to fire machine guns at into the alleyways, indiscriminately killing men, women and children in cold blood until they run out of ammunition before they reach Angelo's corner. It is during that incident that Angelo obtains his first gun, finding it in one of the alleys the officers had neglected to 'cleanse'.

The entire male population of the village is eradicated twenty years later. Many of them were thieves and murders, or so Angelo later claims, and it is implied that he was the one who murdered them ("I forcibly put an end to this cycle of revenge").

At some point he marries, but is absent when his wife gives birth to a boy named Carlos sometime in the latter half of 1999. Much to his wife's chagrin, he later leaves for South America (having worked there before) in search of an income, soon finding work as a bodyguard for one of the local drug cartels. That the cartel boss respects Angelo's rule not to kill women and children and gives him a place to be earns him Angelo's loyalty, but everything changes in August 2002 when the boss is killed during a shootout against another organization. That he was shot in the back after Angelo defeated all of their opponents suggests that his killer must be a spy.

With the Businessmen though to be connected to the boss' death, Angelo and the Demolisher (a wayward colleague) seek revenge by jointly attacking them while they are dining at a restaurant. After sniping Death dead, Angelo enters the restaurant and shoots dead four of the Businessmen (ignoring Death's colleague Illness, despite her training her gun on him). With seconds to spare, he leaps out of the window just in time for the Demolisher to demolish the restaurant.

In the aftermath, he receives a call from Carnea Kaufman, his deceased boss's twelve year old daughter and the new head of the drug cartel. While his boss' pre-mortem order that Angelo "take care of his daughter" is somewhat of an annoyance, Angelo remains loyal to him and in his debt and will not abandon Carnea to the new dangers she now faces. He eventually decides that he will personally chase the Mask Makers (the 'Businessmen') and asks the Demolisher to dig up whatever information he can on the organization.

The Demolisher discovers that the Mask Makers plan to take a cruise liner called Entrance to Japan, and Angelo travels all the way to the west coast of North America intending to infiltrate the ship before it leaves. Arriving well before the departure date, and having obtained one of the more moderately priced tickets, he informs the Demolisher over the telephone that his main goal is to confront the leader and employer of the Mask Maker organization. After ending the call, Angelo contemplates the fearsome size and capabilities of the Mask Makers and the "one in a million chance...that he would die" (a probability which in reality is closer to 50-50) and his thoughts turn to his soon to be three year old son Carlos, whom he has never met in person. Remaining confident in his survival, he decides he will claim one of the masks as a souvenir and vacation with his wife and son in Venice post-mission.

Once upon the yacht ship Entrance, Angelo is walking down a hallway when Czeslaw Meyer bumps into him. Noticing Czes' fear, Angelo smiles faintly and apologizes for not looking where he was going. Czes apologizes in turn but Angelo tells him not to worry about it and continues on his way towards the lower decks, where the cheaper suites are located (and presumably his own). Later, Angelo makes his way to the casino on deck after leaving the door to his cabin ajar per The Demolisher's instructions. Observing Firo Prochainezo's impressive gambling skills, Angelo takes a seat beside him at a card table and challenges him to a one-on-one match. Firo agrees to the match, and Angelo shuffles the deck, slipping a card up his sleeve. He places the stolen card on the top of the deck after he finishes shuffling, a move that Firo interprets as deliberately done so Firo would notice. When Firo shuffles the deck he drops a card on the floor, which Angelo picks up and slips into his sleeve.

Though the game is a "neck and neck battle of wits," Angelo "absurdly" loses with a bust and congratulates Firo on his victory (which the narrative implies is a purposeful loss on Angelo's part). Angelo introduces himself as a man who works with "international exports" and offers to buy Firo a drink back at his cabin as an apology, since Firo's winnings are higher than the amount of chips that Angelo possesses (an invitation he intended to extend from before the match). Firo accepts and Angelo accompanies him back to his own cabin.

The Demolisher calls Angelo's cellphone as they reach the door, revealing that he watched Angelo and Firo at the casino and that he has left Angelo a present in his cabin – something he claims was accomplished only because Angelo followed his instructions. Angelo, aware that Firo can hear him, keeps his own replies innocuous and unrelated to the Demolisher's conversation; he also claims that the Demolisher is his uncle. After the call, Angelo and Firo enter the cabin and sit at a round table, where Angelo offers Firo a glass of liquor from a wooden box – the Demolisher's gift.

Angelo then asks Firo if his restaurant business (Firo had introduced himself as a restaurant manager) is known by the name "Mask Maker." Firo's brief silence supports Angelo's suspicions; drawing a silenced black handgun with red and gold decorations, he demands that Firo disclose all he knows about the Mask Makers and his 'boss' – the man who ordered the death of Angelo's own employer. Firo decides to try and force the barrel of the gun down, but Angelo shoots Firo in his shoulders and legs the second he tries to move.

Firo regenerates before Angelo can start interrogating him. Instead of panicking, Angelo simply asks what Firo is; he explains that he intended to hear Firo out from the start, and had only fired because Firo went for his gun. Once Angelo the handgun, Firo asks him for a favor before disclosing what he knows – the favor being that Angelo tell Ennis and Czeslaw Meyer that Firo was shot in a tough fight. Angelo answers that he understands and will trust him, and promises to tell his family that he was "a courageous and skilled warrior" as an apology for the bullets. He lets Firo return to his own cabin without further ado.

The next day, Angelo meets with Firo, Ennis, and Czes on the lowest floor of the on-deck shopping mall and apologizes to Ennis for the bullet holes in Firo's clothes last night. Firo has agreed to help Angelo with reconnaissance and nothing more, so they and Ennis retire to a nearby 'outdoor' café for coffee and collusion.

As Angelo and Firo are discussing their plan of action, Firo and Ennis spot Claudia Walken on the other side of the nearby fountain; as a fan of Claudia as an actress, Angelo admits he is a little envious they know her personally. It turns out that Claudia and her brother Charon Walken are scheduled to promote their upcoming movie on the event stage near the fountain. While Angelo scans the ares for any signs of Mask Makers, Claudia is joined by 'The Gear'. As Charon is the stuntman who plays 'The Gear', none of the others realize that the person in the Gear costume is actually Bobby Splot.

Two Mask Makers sit down at an adjacent café table; Angelo, recognizing them as participants in the South American attacks, surreptitiously points them out Firo and Ennis. When they later stand and prepare to head for the second floor, Angelo prepares to follow – and Illness, having wandered out of the café with hot chocolate, stops in her tracks to loudly identify him as "the awesome gunman from the other day."

Angelo and the two Mask Makers draw their guns, firing at each other near-simultaneously. Firo leaps to his feet and dashes for Angelo – who manages to shoot the shoulders of both men despite Firo partially obscuring his vision – just barely making it in time to act as Angelo's human shield. The low-caliber bullets intended for Angelo's forehead bury themselves in Firo's shoulder instead, and Ennis kicks the café table mid-air at the Mask Maker duo. As screaming passengers flee and Claudia's people are escorted out, several Mask Makers in the crowd head for the café instead.

Ennis and Firo take shelter inside the café, with Angelo not far behind them. The outside Mask Makers shoot at and shatter the café windows, while the two wounded Mask Makers inside the café verbally berate Illness until she leaves the establishment. They themselves do not linger in the area long; with the customers and employees fleeing due to the rest of the Mask Makers invading the shopping mall, Ennis, Firo and Angelo are soon the only ones left in the café.

Angelo, the only armed member of the trio, apologizes for dragging the Prochainezos into a shootout and asks after Firo's wounded shoulder; after apologizing again at Firo's self-deprecation, he leans around the café wall and fires multiple times at one of the Mask Makers. Firo asks if the man is dead, but Angelo says that he specifically aimed for the man's arm as opposed to shooting to kill – however, if left untreated, the blood loss could still prove fatal.

In genuine admiration of and disbelief over Angelo – not only regarding how he dared to aim for an arm with a handgun in such circumstances, but that he succeeded – Firo admits that he is tempted to hire Angelo as a bodyguard on the spot. Apologizing for a third time, Angelo reminds him that he has sworn loyalty to his current boss. While Firo concedes, he remains envious of Angelo's boss.

The shootout continues for several minutes, during which time Angelo injures or kills several more attackers. Whatever dent he makes in their numbers is negated by a continual arrival of Mask Maker reinforcements, but he continues to shoot them down regardless.

At a deafening noise from the outside, Firo peeks over a windowsill and spots a man with an assault rifle standing in front of a fourth floor luxury boutique. He asks Angelo if he knows who the man is; looking at the man's black combat suit, Angelo says that he remembers two people who were dressed like that in the South American restaurant. One of them was Illness, and the other he shot dead, so this person must be someone else entirely.

The Demolisher rings Angelo's cell phone and asks why "Mr. Casino" – Firo – is with him. Angelo asks in turn if the Demolisher can provide him with combat support, considering that the Demolisher is obviously watching him; upon inquiring if Angelo would like the figure on the fourth floor dealt with, the Demolisher affirms that he can take action since there are no "civvies" around.

Angelo is alarmed, but any protests he has are cut off once the Demolisher ends the call. Seconds later, a fierce explosion rocks the hull and collapses a portion of the fourth floor – including the boutique. The man in the combat suit is nowhere to be seen. Firo re-enters the casino and looks to Angelo for an explanation. Visibly upset, Angelo replies that the Demolisher has rigged similar explosives all over the ship.

Upon taking another look around the mall, Firo is horrified to see The Gear – whom he still assumes is Charon – running toward the animatronic shark beside the fountain. He sprints outside the café, heedless of Angelo and Ennis' protests; when he returns with The Gear in tow, he is carrying a young girl he had pulled from the maw of the shark.

Firo enters the café and lays the girl on the floor, Angelo and Ennis hot on his heels. Angelo looks like he has seen a ghost, which worries Firo, but he bites back his question when the girl stirs. With her senses recovered from the explosion, she leaps to her feet and gives Angelo a tight hug. Reeling from shock, Angelo blurts, "How... How did you get here, Boss?" – leaving Firo and Ennis stunned in turn.

2002: (B Side) Blood Sabbath
The beginning of Blood Sabbath establishes that Angelo has made several miscalculations concerning his plan to corner the Mask Makers on the ship. One was that the Mask Makers are not on vacation after all, given they have boarded the ship armed. The second miscalculation is the series of coincidences that had led to the mass shoutout. The third is that the Demolisher had installed explosives on the ship. And the final mistake was Carnea Kaufman.

In the café, Angelo informs Firo that there are only three official members surviving of the drug cartel he was working for. Letting out an "uncharacteristic, bitter laugh," he introduces Carnea as the Boss of his organization. Firo observes that Angelo, who is breaking out in a cold sweat, was "incomparably more shocked than when he had seen Firo's recovery" at this new development. Angelo implores Carnea to tell him how she got on the ship, and why. Carnea replies that she did not want to see him and others be hurt because of her, a sentiment Angelo labels as foolish.

As for the how, Carnea confesses to stowing away with the Demolisher's help: he had smuggled her into the States and onto the ship, promising her that Angelo would not dare cause a gunfight with her around. Angelo condemns his erstwhile collaborator as a bastard, and his cold fury is such that it not only overwhelms Carnea, Firo, and Ennis but elicits a soft scream from Bobby. Convinced more than ever that Charon is not inside the costume, Firo asks The Gear to identify himself. Bobby lies that he is Charon's stuntman.

The group retreat to Angelo's cabin and talk strategy. At sunset, Angelo returns to the shopping mall and looks around; upon spotting Illness hanging from the second floor, he withdraws his handgun and takes aim. Illness asks him how he knew she was here ("I had a feeling," he says) and quotes his policy not to kill women and children. Snickering, she fingers her submachine gun and posits that he will likely die if she shoots him now. Angelo merely grins and offers a one-off line as a response.

Illness wonders why Angelo has such a policy in the first place, and Angelo recalls the indiscriminate killing of the officers in his youth. However, he insists that his policy stems from his own stubbornness and pride as a gunman rather than any lingering sense of revenge. Dissatisfied, Illness demands to know if he wants to take revenge at all, to which Angelo replies that he already has. He then informs her of what had befallen the village twenty years later, implying that he murdered the male villagers while sparing the women and children.

His words visibly affect her, but as he is avoiding looking at her, he continues talking: he says he is not "bragging about [his] misfortunes" and that it does not matter which of the two of them has had it worse. The only thing that matters, he concludes, is the fact that both of them are here and armed.

Illness decides to pull the trigger, but before she can, Czeslaw emerges from the shadows and implores Angelo not to shoot; like Illness, he cites Angelo's policy against killing children. When Illness addresses Czes by name, Angelo interrupts her to ask Czes if he is Firo's "little brother." Soon enough, he calls Firo to report that he has found Czes, and that Czes knows where Claudia is. At some point, Angelo separates from Czes and Claudia so that he can search for the Demolisher. Over thirty minutes later, presumably having made an agreement with Illness and the others, Angelo boards Exit and joins a group of surviving Mask Makers and the Mask Maker leader Luchino B. Campanella. The latter has handcuffed a Mask Maker known as Life to a chair, and announces that he simply wants Life to confirm something.

Life squirms upon seeing Angelo and asks what is going on, but his associates – Aging, Luchino, and the other survivors – say nothing. With a melancholic look in his eyes, Angelo removes Life's goggles and chastises him for acting like a stranger; the two of them know each other quite well. He accuses Life and the Demolisher of being one and the same; cackling, Life guesses that it must have been Charon who alerted Angelo's suspicions.

Such a response is a clear admission that Life/the Demolisher really is a double-agent. Angelo bows his head and asks if the Demolisher personally shot Carnea's father, to which the Demolisher quips, "What do you think?" Gritting his teeth, Angelo turns toward the Entrance with otherwise "surprising calm," leaving the Demolisher's fate up to the surviving Mask Makers. When asked if he is really all right with the situation, Angelo explains that his boss does not want him to continue killing people; then, with a "strangely satisfied look on his face" he cites his policy not to kill women and children (referring to the fact that Luchino is a minor).

After reaching American shores, Angelo eventually makes his way to New York and visits the Alveare upon Firo's suggestion; with the drug cartel having been effectively destroyed, and him unable to return to his hometown until the seajacking incidents are thoroughly investigated, he needs a place to hide. There, he turns to Maiza Avaro and explains that he is here on Firo's introduction. He then asks if they have any need for a bodyguard.

The alert atmosphere changes to one of good cheer and welcome, and Angelo is immediately bombarded with questions and opinions by the Martillos who realize he is the gunman Firo had told them about. Angelo is taken aback at such an atmosphere, which is different from the 'normal' criminal organizations he was used to. Angelo realizes that this was the sort of organization that "made Firo into what he is" and smiles "bittersweetly."

When Angelo finally speaks, he says that he is taking care of "an acquaintance's daughter" (Carnea) and is hoping the Martillos can help find him a safe place for her to stay.

Abilities
Angelo is an excellent shot, able to fire a gun with speed and accuracy so remarkable that the shots "almost appeared to be drawn to their targets." Angelo does not attribute his success to some special skill, however. He attributes his skill to pure experience, and that he "happened to have survived this far."

He is also highly adept at card games – and cheating at card games.

Quotes
"I have no intention of bragging about my misfortunes. I'm sure you have your own past to contend with. Whether or not you've been through worse than myself is a trivial matter. Some people in this world die of starvation before they even have a drink of water. Others live unfortunate lives even if they have food, shelter, and a family. Happiness and misfortune--neither are ever significantly important, and they aren't reason enough for people to survive through bloodbaths."  - Angelo to Illness, 2002 (B-Side).

"I am not a guard dog. I am a hound." - Angelo, 2002 (A-Side).

Trivia

 * Angelo has a wife and a son named Carlos ("turning three" in 2002), who lives back in Spain. He has yet to meet his son in person.
 * Angelo had originally turned down the woman who was to eventually become his wife out of the feeling that he "had no right to pursue happiness." However, she proved tenaciously formidable, and won him over (apparently her skills with a kitchen knife are lethal).
 * It is highly likely that Angelo's son is the same person as the young gunman Carlos, a Spanish-born sniper who lives on the artificial island in the Etsusa Bridge series.
 * It is implied that Angelo won his first shootout because his opponent tripped over a corpse.
 * When the Businessmen accuse him of acting like Chuck Norris in Hitman, Angelo replies that he thinks of himself as "more of a John Wayne."
 * To this, the Businessmen respond that he is more Antonio Banderas than John Wayne, which can probably be considered the most accurate of the three comparisons, since the narrative compares Angelo and Banderas throughout the novel.
 * On the topic of comparisons, the narrative and Angelo himself have compared him to a hound.
 * His impressive accuracy with a gun has led him to be compared with a shark: "He had become an object of fear, sometimes likened to a man-eating shark who could track the scent of blood."
 * Of all of Claudia's films, The Wild Dog is Angelo's favorite.