Chapter 7 03

Including the driver, there were four people in the car holding Hagen.Hagen was pushed on the back seat between the two men who had stood behind him that day.Sollozzo sat up front.The man to Hagen's right pulled Hagen's hat down over his eyes so he couldn't see. "Not even the little finger," said the man. The drive hadn't been long, less than twenty minutes; when they got out, Hagen couldn't even make out where they were because night had fallen.They took him into a basement and made him sit on a straight-backed dining-room chair.Sollozzo sat across the table, his jet-black face looking fierce like a marauding vulture.

"Don't be afraid," he said. "I know you're not the backbone of the family. I want you to help the Corleones, and I want you to help me." Hagen put a cigarette in his mouth. His hands were shaking as he put it in.One brought a bottle of rye whiskey and I poured him a swig into his coffee mug.Hagen drank the strong drink heartily.After drinking this glass of wine, my hands didn't shake anymore, and my feet didn't go limp anymore. "Your boss is dead," Sollozzo said.He stopped to look at Hagen, and to his surprise tears welled up in Hagen's eyes.He went on, "We finished him right outside his office building, on the street. As soon as I got the report, I brought you in. You must be a peacemaker between me and Sonny."

Hagen was silent.He was also surprised by his own grief.A feeling of desolation and fear of death were mingled in him.Sollozzo went on: "Sonny's annoyed at me doing it, isn't it? You know it's a smart one. Narcotics are a lot of money. There's a lot of money in this business; in a year or two, everybody's going to be rich, old man It's an "old man". His ways are outdated, but he doesn't know it yet. Now that he's dead, nothing can bring his soul back. I'm about to make a new deal, and I want your convincing Sonny can cooperate." Hagen said, "You have no hope of success here. Sonny will fight you with all the power he has."

Sollozzo impatiently said to him: "His first reaction must be like that. You have to reason with him and make him wise. The Tattaglia family and their family and military generals are my backing. Others in New York In order to prevent a full-scale war between us, several big families will make peace with each other. Because a war between us will endanger themselves and their business. If Sonny is willing to push the boat along and agree to the deal I propose, all major families in the country, even The old man's old friends will think it has no conflict of interest with them."

Hagen stared down at his hands, silent.Sollozzo goes on to exhort: "The old man is out of date. In the past, I would never touch him. But now the other big families don't trust him, because he mentioned you as an adviser, and you are not even an Italian, let alone a Sicilian. If you come If there is an all-out war, the Corleone family will be crushed, and everyone will suffer, including myself. I need the Corleone family's back door in the political world, and this need is even greater than my need for the money. So talk to Sonny, and talk to the regiment commanders. You'll do good, and prevent a bloodbath."

Hagen picked up the big china cup and asked for more whiskey. "I'll try," he said, "but Sonny is stubborn, and even if Sonny changes his mind, he won't let Luke go. Be careful, Luke. If I go with your deal, I deserve it Xinlujia." Sollozzo said calmly, "Luke, I'm in charge. You're just in charge of Sonny and the other two boys. Listen, you might as well tell them that Freddie was going to try the bullet with his old man today, but my man It was strictly ordered. I wanted to prevent any unnecessary antagonism, and you might as well tell them plainly that Freddie is still alive because of my role."

At last Hagen's mind was moving, not so dull.Only now did he really believe that Sollozzo was not trying to kill him, nor was he taking him hostage.A sudden sense of relief that eliminated the fear welled up in his heart and spread throughout his body, making him blush with shame.Sollozzo watched him knowingly, smiling.Hagen weighed right and wrong in his heart, and weighed the right and wrong.If he did not agree to intercede for Sollozzo, he was likely to be killed.But on the other hand, he also understands that what Sollozzo expects from him is to reflect the situation, and this is also his duty-bound task as a responsible staff officer.And now, he also found that Sollozzo had a point.An all-out war between the two great families, the Tattaglia and the Corleone, must be prevented at all costs.The Corleones must bury the dead, forget the grudge, and broker a deal.Then when the time is right, they can still manage to deal with Sollozzo.

But looking up, he saw that Sollozzo had read his mind with precision.The "Turk" was all smiles.Hagen was taken aback by a sudden thought.How is Luke Brasi?Why was Sollozzo so indifferent to him?Dare Luke have made a deal with them?He remembered that on the night that Don Corleone had rejected Sollozzo, Luke had been called into the office for a private conversation with the Don.But this was not the time to worry about such trifles. The immediate priority was to get back to the comforts of the Corleone family fortress in Long Beach. "I'll do my best," he told Sollozzo. "I believe your aftermath arrangement is right, and even the old man himself would have us do it."

Sollozzo nodded gravely. "Well," he said, "I don't like bloodbaths. I'm a businessman, and bloodbaths cost too much money." Just then the phone rang and one of the men sitting behind Hagen got up to answer it.The man listened for a while, then said curtly, "Okay, I'll pass it on to him." He hung up the phone, walked to Sollozzo, leaned close to the ear of the "Turk", and murmured something in a low voice.Hagen noticed that Sollozzo's face "swiped" and became pale all of a sudden, and his eyes gleamed with anger.Hagen shuddered at the sight.Sollozzo looked at him as if to read his heart; Hagen had an instant premonition that he could not be released.It is probable that there has been a sudden change in his life.Sollozzo said:

"The old man's still alive. Five bullets in his Sicilian cowhide, and he's still alive." He looked a little helpless and shrugged. "Unlucky," he said to Hagen, "unlucky me, and unlucky you."