Chapter 22 Section 16

Carlo Rizzi is full of complaints about the world.He had married into the Corleone family, but had been neglected, dismissed as a small gambling dealer on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and had hoped to live in a house on Greenway in Long Beach.He knew that the old man could ask the retainers and tenants to move out at any time.He had always thought that such a thing would happen, and then he would know the details of everything.However, the old man didn't think highly of him, what a "great old man", he said contemptuously in his heart, an old man who was shot by an assassin on the street like an unknown hooligan.He hoped the old bastard died soon.Sonny had been his good friend for a time, and if Sonny became the head of the family, maybe he could get a special promotion and squeeze in.

He watched his wife pour him coffee: Christ, look what a mess she has become.We've only been married for five months, and not only do we lose our temper, but we've also gained weight.These Italian women in the east are all sluts. He reached out to touch Connie's big limp ass.She smiled at him, but he said contemptuously, "You are fatter than a pig." He was very happy to see the pained expression on her face and tears welling up in her eyes.Though she was the great old man's daughter, she was already his wife, his private property, and he could treat her as he pleased.With the Corleones being trampled and kicked by him, he felt great.

His first steps in dealing with her were well taken.She desperately wanted to keep the big wallet stuffed with gift money alone, but he punched her eyes black, and snatched the big wallet away as soon as he reached out.Afterwards, I didn't tell her how to deal with the big wallet.It could have caused trouble, and even now he felt a little guilty.Christ, he'd squandered fifteen thousand dollars on horse-races and song-and-dance hookers. He felt Connie watching his back, and he twisted and twisted deliberately as he reached for the sugar roll across the table, showing that he had a lot of strength.He cleaned up the ham and eggs.He's a big guy and he eats a lot in the morning.He still remembers a photo he had originally sent to his wife.He was very satisfied with this picture, not the usual greasy and tacky husband, but a handsome blond man with a crew cut, thick forearms covered with fine golden hair, broad shoulders, The waist is very thin.He knew that physically, he was much stronger than the so-called tough guys who served the Corleone family, such as Clemenza, Tessio, Rocco Rabon, and who was that? Knocked out little Paulie.He thought of Sonny again, and thought he could beat Sonny one on one, though Sonny was a little bigger and stronger, but Sonny's reputation made him shudder, though what he saw Sonny was just a laughing, eating, drinking, and merry-go-round.Sonny had been his sidekick, and maybe with the old man's death a new order would come.

He picked up the coffee, wanted to drink but didn't want to.He hated the house because that day, the baseball game had already started, the basketball game was about to end, and the people who went out for a walk in the evening were about to leave.It became more and more obvious to him that Connie was busy behind his back, and he turned to see what she was doing. She was changing, and she had put on the authentic New York City glamour, which he hated: a silk floral gown with a belt around the waist, eye-catching bracelets and earrings, ruffles on the sleeves.She looked twenty years older than her actual age.

"Where are you going?" he asked. She replied coldly: "I'm going to visit my father in the suburb of Long Beach Town. He can't get out of bed yet and needs someone to accompany him." Carlo wanted to know something. "Is Sonny still in charge?" Connie gave him an indifferent look, "What's the matter?" He suddenly flew into a rage: "You mean little bitch, don't talk to me like that, or I'll beat that cub out of your belly." She showed panic, which made him even more angry, and he jumped up from his chair and slapped her, immediately swelling up with red marks on his face.Then, he slapped her three times quickly and accurately on the face.He stopped when he saw that her upper lip was cracked, bleeding, and swollen.He ran into the bedroom, slammed the door shut, laughed, and went back to drink his coffee.

He smoked continuously until it was time to change his clothes.He knocked on the door and said, "Open the door, hurry up, or I'll kick the door open." Still no response inside. "Be sensible, I need to change clothes." He roared loudly. He heard her getting out of bed, came over, and put the key in the lock to open the door.He went in, and she turned her back to him, went to the bed, and lay down again with her face against the wall. He changed quickly, noticing that she was wearing a long blouse with suspenders.He asked her to visit her father, hoping she would bring back some news.

"What's going on? Did a few slaps paralyze you?" She was a lazy, slovenly woman. "I don't want to go," she said tearfully. He couldn't help reaching out to grab her, turning her over to face him.So he saw the reason why she didn't go, and at the same time thought it was better for her not to go. It must have hit her hard, much harder than he estimated.The left side of her cheek was swollen, and the broken lip was swollen like a balloon, and under the nose, it was grotesquely distended. "All right," he said, "but I won't be home until very late. I'm very busy on Sundays."

He leaves the apartment and finds a parking ticket for his car, a fifteen-dollar green ticket.He put the ticket, along with a stack of other tickets, in the small storage box behind the dashboard of the car.He was in a good mood, slapping that pampered bitch in the face and calling her submissive gave him a lot of pleasure each time, which stagnated him from the terrible treatment he had received in the Corleone family The stuffiness has lifted a little bit. After he beat her red and blue for the first time, he was still a little worried.She immediately ran to Long Beach Town to complain to her parents, and showed them the black eye, and he really broke out in a cold sweat.But when she came back from her natal home, she became unexpectedly good-natured, able to bear with everything, and finally became a very diligent little Italian daughter-in-law.He was determined to be a good husband for a few weeks, to treat her better in every way, to be more affectionate, to be more considerate, and to pick her up and throw her down a few times every morning and evening.Finally, when she thought he would never have a relapse, she told him about her coming home.

She found that her parents were very cold and unsympathetic to her complaints.She was surprised, but also amused.Originally, the mother was still a little sympathetic, and even asked her father to tell Carlo Ruize, but her father refused. "She is my daughter," he said, "but now belongs to her husband. He understands his duty, and even the king of Italy did not interfere in the affairs of husband and wife. Go home quickly. Learn how to be a wife , he won't hit you." Connie asked her father aggressively: "Have you ever hit your wife?" She was his pet, and could talk so rudely.

He replied: "What she did gave me no reason to hit her." Her mother nodded and smiled. She told her parents how her husband had robbed her of her wedding gift money without telling her how it was spent.Her father shrugged, and said: "If my own wife were as wild as you, I would be like him, too," So, when she came back from her natal home, she was puzzled and a little terrified.She had always been her father's favorite, and she couldn't understand why he was so ruthless now. In fact, the old man was not as indifferent as he pretended on the surface. He asked and found out what Carlo Ruiz had done with the money.He had already installed some people to monitor Carlo Rizzi's betting registration work, and these people reported everything Carlo Rizzi did to Hagen in detail.But the old man can't intervene. If a man is afraid of his wife's natal family, how can he be expected to perform his duties as a husband?It was an impasse that could not be resolved, and he dared not intervene.When Connie became pregnant, he was sure he had made the right decision.Although Connie complained to her mother that she had been beaten a few more times, and although the mother finally relented and brought it up to the old man, the old man still found it impossible to intervene.Connie even said obliquely: she may have to file for divorce.It was the first time she met the old man losing his temper with her.

"He's your child's father. If a child doesn't have a father, who does he depend on in this world?" he said to Connie. Knowing all this, Carlo Rizzi was so relieved, he had no scruples at all, and even boasted to his two bet registrars, Sari Lagos and Koch, that once his wife disliked him, he would Just how to kick and punch.He also found respect in them, admiration that he had the guts to stand up to the great Don Corleone. But if Rize had known that Sonny Corleone was furious when he heard that he beat his wife, and wanted to kill, it was only because the old man gave Sonny the most severe and tough absolute orders that even Sonny dared not disobey. Be restrained, and he won't feel carefree.That's why Sonny always avoids Ruize, because he is also afraid that he will not be able to control himself. So Carlo Rizzi, feeling reassured on this beautiful Sunday morning, drove across town straight east, not seeing Sonny's car coming just the opposite way to see Connie at his house. Sonny Corleone left the guarded avenue and went downtown to join Lucy.Mancini passed the night.At this moment, there are four bodyguards on the way home, two in front and two behind.He doesn't need a bodyguard beside him, because he can deal with the attack from one side by himself.The four bodyguards were in their own car, and they were in the rooms to the left and right of Lucy's room when they settled down.As long as it was not frequent, there was no danger for him to visit her once in a while.But now that he's in the city, he might as well bring his sister Connie to the suburban town of Long Beach.He knew Caro was busy with his bookies, and the scumbag wasn't going to buy her a car to drive around.Therefore, he wanted to take his sister out of town. He waited and let the two bodyguards in front enter the house before he followed.He saw two bodyguards behind him watching the street closely.The hostile faction knew that he would enter the city. Although there was only a one-in-a-million possibility, he was always vigilant.He had learned this from the war of the Thirties. He never used an elevator to go up and down: elevators are the pie of death.He climbed eight flights of stairs and walked quickly to Connie's house.He knocked on the door.He had seen Carlo's car drive by on the street, so he expected her to be alone.No one inside answered.He knocked on the door again, and heard his sister's voice, asking timidly as if startled: "Who is it?" The terrified tone of her voice surprised him.His sister had always been as vivacious, pungent, and stubborn as anyone in the family.What the hell is wrong with her?He replied: "I'm Sonny." The door opened, and Connie threw herself into his arms, whimpering and crying.He stood there dumbfounded.He pushed her away and saw her swollen face, and he understood what the hell was going on. He wanted to leave his sister behind and go after Carlo.But Connie, seeing his furious look, held him tightly, not letting him go, and advised him to come in and sit down.She was still crying, and it was from fear.She knew and was afraid of her brother's temper, so she never complained to Carlo in front of him.That's when she finally persuaded him to come into the house. "Actually, it's my fault," she said. "I started the fight with him. I beat him hard, so he hit me. He really didn't want to beat me so hard. I blamed myself." Sonny's bushy, Cupid-like face was under control and no longer twitched with anger. "You go to see my father today, okay?" She said nothing.He added: "I think you should go and see my father, so I want to take you along." She shook her head. "I don't want the old man to see me like this. I'm coming next week." "All right," Sonny said. He grabbed her home phone and dialed a number. "I want to find a doctor to see you and heal the injury. You should be more careful. You are going to have a baby in a few months?" "Two more months," said Connie. "Sonny, please don't meddle. Please don't meddle." Sonny laughed out loud.There was still a murderous look on his face."Don't worry! I won't orphan your child before it's born," he said, kissing her uninjured side of the face lightly and leaving the apartment. On East 112th Street, a long line of cars was parked side by side near the sidewalk in front of a candy store that was the headquarters of the wagering book business run by Carlo Rizzi.On the sidewalk in front of the candy store, some fathers were playing with children, throwing balls around.When the father's want to take the kids for a Sunday morning car ride while keeping the kids company while they place their bets.They stopped playing ball after they saw Carlo and Rizzi, bought some ice cream for their cubs to keep them quiet, and then began to study the newspaper with the list of baseball pitchers, thinking hard about the day. How many points would the likely winning baseball team win, and then decide how to bet on the winning team. Carlo went into the big back room of the candy store.His two bookies were a small, stocky lad named Sally Lagos, and a tall, stocky lad named Couch.They are all ready and just waiting to start.They had big lined pads out front, waiting to register bets.On a wooden stand stood a blackboard with the names of sixteen major league baseball teams written in chalk, lined up in pairs to show which team played which.Put a square next to the name of each pair of teams ready to record the score. Carlo asked Couch: "Is the phone line at the candy store up today, and is it possible to snoop?" Koch shook his head. "The snooping line hasn't been connected yet." Carlo went to the phone on the wall and dialed a number.He was transcribing "clues," the scores of all the baseball games that day.Sari Lagos and Couch watched him expressionlessly.He hung up the phone, went to the blackboard and chalked the scores of each game on the blackboard.Those two people were still staring at the ground. They had already got clues, but Carlo didn't know it. They were watching him, and they were actually monitoring his work.Caro was in the first week of the job when he transcribed the score on the blackboard with the wrong number.The result is a coveted opportunity for all gamblers, with no loss at either end.That is to say, on the one hand, he bets on him with the score difference he copied wrongly, and at the same time, he registers with another bet on the actual score difference of the baseball team and enters the bet. The only loser was Carlo's betting book.The mistake cost the betting book six thousand dollars that week and confirmed the old man's judgment of his son-in-law.He ordered that all Carlo's work must be checked in advance. Under normal circumstances, no senior member of the Corleone family would have been involved in such a small matter.There are at least five more layers of insulation beneath that top layer of theirs.But, as the book of wagers was to test the son-in-law, it remained under the direct supervision of Tom Hagen.A report was sent directly to him each day. Inside news is posted.Gamblers swarmed into the back rooms of candy stores, scrambling to copy the score difference next to the baseball game number and the name of the likely pitcher in the newspaper.Some held their children by the hand and looked up at the blackboard.There was a man who bet a lot, looked down at the little girl who was holding his hand, and asked amusedly: "Which team do you like, the Bees, the Giants, or the Buccaneers?" The little girl was fascinated by those weird team names, and she answered irrelevantly: "The Giants are stronger than the Pirates, right?" The father laughed out loud. In front of the two betting clerks, people began to line up.The registrar tore off one sheet when it was full, wrapped the received money in that sheet, and handed it to Carlo.Carlo turned his head and went out through the back door of the house.Go up a flight of stairs to a suite where the owner of the candy store lives.He telephoned his bets to his central call station and deposited the money in a wall-mounted safe that was covered by extra wide curtains.Next, he burned the betting slip and dumped the ashes into the toilet bowl. Because of the Puritan law, the sports competition on Sunday cannot start before two o'clock in the afternoon. Therefore, the first batch of bettors, those men with wives and children, had to withdraw their bets and rush home. He took his wife and children to the beach to play.And when those were gone, came the bachelor gamblers and the determined gamblers who had left their wives and children in stuffy inner-city apartments.The bachelor gamblers were the big gamblers, the bigger stakes, and it was the kind of gamblers who made Carlo's Sunday a busy day with overtime.But there are married men calling from the seashore, trying to get back the money they've lost. Around one thirty in the afternoon, the bettors slowly left.So Carlo and Sarri Lagos can come out for some fresh air.They were watching little kids play kids baseball.At this time, a police car drove past, and they didn't take it seriously.This betting registration station has a very hard background in this district, and the police in this district will not touch it.To attack this betting registration station, there must be an order from the highest level; even if the order is given from the highest level, the order has not been passed down, and someone has already communicated. Couch came out, too, and sat next to the two of them.The three of them chatted for a while about baseball and women.Carlo smiled and said, "I had to beat my wife again today, and taught her to know who is the head of the family." Cook said casually, "She's swollen from beating now, isn't she?" "Hahaha, I just slapped her in the face a few times," Carlo said, "and it didn't hurt her." He pondered for a while and then said: "She thinks she can ride on my head as Lao Tzu and manipulate me around as she pleases. I don't want to do that." There were also a few gamblers around, bragging and talking about baseball.Several other gamblers stood on the steps above the bookies and Carlo.Suddenly, the kids playing kid's baseball on the street dispersed, and a car screeched toward the block and stopped with a screech in front of the candy store.Before the car stopped, a person rushed out like an arrow.Everyone was paralyzed with fright, and it turned out that the man was Sonny Corleone. His bushy, Cupid-shaped face, with his thick, arched lips, was a terrifyingly angry look.In a blink of an eye, he was on the doorstep, grabbed Carlo Rizzi by the throat, and dragged him out of the crowd, trying to drag him into the street to beat him, but Carlo with his thick arms He hugged the iron railing on the stage and never let go.He drew his head back, hiding it between his raised shoulders.His shirt was torn and pieces were clutching in Sonny's hands. What happened next was also really disgusting.Sonny swore in his breathless hoarse voice as he punched the timid Carlo.As for Carlo, despite his size, he didn't dare to resist at all, and he didn't yell for mercy.Neither Koch nor Sarri dared to fight.They thought Sonny was going to beat her brother-in-law to death, and they didn't want to go to God with him.The kids who were playing baseball were cursing the driver who scared them away, and now they were watching the fun, feeling scared and funny.They were stubborn boys, but the sight of Sonny's murderous look scared them all into silence.Meanwhile, another car pulls up behind Sonny's car and two of his bodyguards jump out of it.Seeing this scene, the two of them didn't dare to fight.They stood alert; ready to fight in defense of their leader should any bystander be foolish enough to help Carlo. What makes this shot so disgusting is the pathetic look of Carol's utter surrender, but maybe that's what saved his life, his hands clinging to the iron railing so Sonny couldn't drag him out into the street go up.Although he was on par with Sonny in terms of physical strength, he still couldn't fight back when he was scolded or hit.He let Sonny's fists fall icily on his bare skull and neck until Sonny's anger died away.Sonny looked down at him and cursed: "You bastard, if you dare to hit my sister again, I will kill you next time." These words eased the tense atmosphere.Because if Sonny had really wanted to kill the man, he wouldn't have made such a threat.His helpless threat just shows that he will not do this.Carol couldn't look Sonny in the eye, still burying his head and hugging the railing, and he didn't move until Sonny got in the car and whizzed away." Say: "Well, Carol, you'd better go back to the candy store, and don't let people see our jokes again." Until this time, Carlo dared to free himself from his crouching position leaning on the stone steps, released his hands from the iron railing, and stood up.He could see the children looking at him with the look of stare and disgust on the faces of those who witness the hideous performance of a man who has no regard for his dignity.He was dizzy, more from fright than from the beating.A blood-curdling terror overwhelmed him involuntarily.Despite the hail of big fists, he wasn't badly hurt.He lets Couch lead him into the back room of the candy store and puts some ice on his face.Although his face was not injured or bleeding, it was covered with bruises and pimples.The fear subsided by now, and the humiliation he had suffered made his chest sick, so he couldn't help throwing up.Couch held his head, told him to throw up in the sink, he seemed to be passed out drunk, and helped him upstairs to a bedroom where he lay him down.Carlo hadn't noticed that Sarri Lagos had disappeared: Sarri Lagos walked to Third Road and reported to Rocco Rapun on the phone what happened here.Rocco listened to the news calmly, and then he called to report to his commanding officer, Peter Clemenza, who snorted like a pig and said, "Oh, damn Sonny, damn temper ’” But his fingers had already snapped down the hook switch of a telephone so that Rocco would never hear his complaints. Clemenza called the town of Long Beach and asked Tom Hagen to answer the phone.Hagen was silent for a while, then said: "Send some of your men in cars to patrol the road leading to Long Beach, in case Sonny gets caught up in traffic or gets into an accident. When he gets mad with rage, he passes out, don't know What the hell have I been doing. Maybe our friends over there will hear him go into town. But it's never sure." Clemenza said suspiciously: "By the time the men I send reach that road, Sonny may already be home. The men sent by the Tattaglia family will definitely miss it." "I know that, said Hagen patiently. "If something unusual happened and Sonny might get in the way, you'd better do what you can, Peter." Reluctantly, Clemenza called Rocco Rabon and asked him to organize some men and cars to keep watch on the road to Long Beach.He also went out himself, and selected three people from the guard platoon stationed at his house, and set off together, crossing the "Atlantic Beach Bridge" and heading straight for New York City. Among the gamblers swimming around in front of the candy store, one was a spy hired by the Tattaglia family. He immediately called his trafficman, but the Tattaglia family was not ready for war. , and the trafficman had to go through layer after layer of insulation before finally reaching the commander of the corps connected with Tattaglia.By the time the connection was made, Sonny Corleone was safely back in Long Beach, back on the mall, and was about to face his father's furious rage.