Chapter 45 31

One day two cars were parked on the Long Beach Mall, and one of them was a large car waiting to take Connie Corleone, her mother, her husband, and her two children to the airport.Carlo Rizzi's small family was going on vacation to Vegas and preparing for their future move there.Michael got everyone in Corleone.The Bazzini family all withdrew from the boulevard before the talks.He gave no explanation for this.To be honest, this meeting was kept absolutely confidential, and only a few leaders in the family organization knew about it beforehand. The other car was to take Kay and her children to New Hampshire to visit her parents.Michael himself was going to be on the avenue, and he couldn't get away from something urgent that had to be done right away.

The night before, Michael had sent word to Carlo Rizzi that Michael needed him to stay on the avenue for a few more days, and after that week he could be with his wife and children.When Connie found out, she was furious.She tried to talk to Michael on the phone, but she was told he was already downtown.So she searched the avenue for him with wide-eyed eyes.But he was talking with Tom Hagen in secret, and no one would be disturbed.When Carlo sent Connie to the car, she had to kiss him goodbye. "If you don't go in two days, I will come back to find you." In fact, he was forcing him to go early.

He looked at her, and there was a husband's smile on his face, the kind of smile that is the tacit understanding of sex life. "I'll be there sooner," he said. She poked her head out of the car window. "What do you think Michael wants you to stay for?" When she asked this question, she frowned and looked sad, looking very old and ugly. Carlo shrugged. "He's been promising me a good job. Maybe that's what he talked to me about, or at least he indicated." Carlo had no idea of ​​the negotiations with the Barzini family that night. Connie asked impatiently: "Really? Carlo!"

Carlo nodded confidently.The car moved out of the gate of the boulevard. After the first car drove out of the gate, Michael came out of the house to say goodbye to Jing and his two sons.Carlo also came to wish him a good journey and wish him a happy holiday. Finally, the second sedan also moved, out the gate. Michael turned to Carlo and said, "Carlo, I'm sorry, I have to keep you here, probably not more than two days." Carlo hurriedly said, "It doesn't matter if it takes longer. "That's fine," Michael said, "you stay by your home phone and I'll call you when I'm ready to find you. I need to get some information first, okay? ?”

"Of course, Mike, of course," Carlo said. After all, he returned to his home, immediately called his mistress who had been carefully arranged in Xibao Town, and made an appointment to go to her place that night.Then, having collected himself with a bottle of rye whiskey, he waited in peace, for a long time.Shortly after noon, cars started entering the gate.He saw Clemenza get out of one car, and then Tessio got out of another.Both of them got the bail to go into the building where Michael lived.After a few hours, Clemenza left.But Tessio never came out. Carlo came out for a breath of fresh air around the avenue.The time is only ten minutes.He was familiar with the sentry guards, and was even friendly with some of them.He thought it would be a good idea to have a chat and pass the time, but what made him feel baffled was that he didn't know anyone on duty today.They were all strangers to him.Even more inexplicably, it was Rocco Rabon who was guarding the gate.Carlo knew that Rocco's status in the Corleone family was very high, and unless something unusual happened, he would not condescend to perform such a task.

Rocco gave him a friendly smile and a greeting, and Carlo tensed up.Rocco said, "Hey, I thought you were on vacation with your wife. What the hell, you didn't?" Carlo listened and shrugged. "Mike wants me to wait here for a day or two, what he wants me to do." "Oh, that's right," said Rocco Rabon, "I was like you when he asked me to look at the door. That's all there is to it, he's the boss." The implication is that Michael is not like his father, which is actually tantamount to belittling Michael. Carlo ignored the implication of his words."Michael acted with deliberation," he said.

For such a rebuttal, Rocco silently accepted it.Carlo said "Goodbye" and went home.The mountain and the rain are about to come and the wind is all over the building, but Carlo doesn't know what's going on. Michael stood at the living room window, watching Carlo stroll around the avenue.Hagen brought him a glass of wine—a strong brandy, and Michael sipped it gratefully.Hagen standing behind him said: "Mike, you can start to act, the time is up." Michael sighed and said: "How I wish I could postpone it for a few days! How I wish the old man could sell it for a few more days!"

"It'll be all right," said Hagen. "If I don't understand the superiority of the plan, no one will. You've got a very good plan." Michael turned around and said: "A large part of this plan was made by the old man himself. I didn't know he had so many thoughts before. However, I think you know him very well. "He's like nothing else," said Hagen, "and the plan is as good as it gets, so you can't do it too badly." "Let's see what happens," said Hagen. ,” Michael said, “are Tessio and Clemenza both on the boulevard?”

Hagen nodded.Michael drained the brandy from his glass and said, "Tell Clemenza to come to me and I'll give him the instructions myself. I don't want to see Tessio at all right now. Tell him I'm Be ready to go with him in half an hour and talk to Bazzini. Then the men from Clemenza will have to keep him under surveillance." Hagen asked in an ambiguous tone: "Is there no way to get him out?" "No way," Michael replied. In Buffalo in western New York State, there is a small flame bakery on a back street. The customers are crowded and the business is booming.At this time, the time for lunch was past, and the number of customers was decreasing. The clerk took the few remaining pies in the round tin tray from the window and put them on the shelf on the big brick stove.He peeped into the oven to see if the pies inside were ready.The cheese on top has not yet risen.When he returned to the counter to greet the customers who came to bet from the street, a young man who looked not to be messed with was standing opposite him.The young man said:

"Bring me a pie. The clerk took a wooden spatula, scooped up a cold pie, and baked it in the oven.Instead of waiting outside, the customer came in through the door and waited for the pie to be brought to him.There were no other customers in the shop at the moment.The clerk turned on the stove, took out the hot pie, and served it on a paper plate.The customer didn't pay right away, though, but glared at the clerk. "I heard you have a big tattoo on your chest," said the customer. "I can see a little bit of the top half of the tattoo from the neckline of your shirt. Show me the rest, okay?"

When the clerk heard this, he broke out in a cold sweat.He was paralyzed. "Open the front of your shirt," said the customer. The clerk shook his head. "I don't have any tattoos on me," he said in English with a strong accent. "The one with the tattoos is on duty at night." The customer laughed, which sounded unpleasant, harsh, forced. "Come on, unbutton your shirt and let me see." After hearing this, the clerk immediately retreated into the shop, trying to go around to the big stove.However, customers have already raised their hands above the counter.He held the gun in his hand and fired, the bullet caught the clerk in the chest; the clerk swayed and leaned against the stove.The customer aimed another shot at his body, and the clerk fell to the ground.Customers walked around the shelves, bent down, and unbuttoned the clerk's shirt. The chest was covered with blood, but the tattoo pattern could still be clearly seen: a pair of lovers hugging tightly, a long knife cut two All pierced.The clerk raised one arm feebly, as if in self-defense.said the assassin with the gun. "Fabrigio, Michael Corleone wants me to greet you." With that said, he stretched out the gun again.With the muzzle inches from the clerk's skull, he pulled the trigger and walked out of the pie shop.A car with its doors open was waiting for him near the edge of the sidewalk.As soon as he jumped into the car, the car sped away. The telephone on the iron stake of the gate rang, and Rocco Rabon answered it, and he heard the other party say: "Your package is ready—" The caller hung up the phone with a howl, and Rocco immediately got into his car and drove off the boulevard.He crossed the Jones Beach Causeway (the causeway where Sonny Corleone had been murdered) until he reached the Wang Tower station.He parked the car there, and there were two men in the other car, and they drove ten minutes down Sunrise Highway to a motel.They drove the car into the large courtyard of the hotel, and Rocco Rabone left his two assistants in the car, got out of the car by himself, walked towards the row of small bungalows for tourists to take a vacation, and walked to the door of a small house stop.With a swift kick, the door flew away from its hinges and Rocco jumped into the room. Felipe Tattaglia, in his late twenties, naked and naked like a newborn baby, was standing on the bed, with a young girl lying at his feet, his body soft and plump. , just like a bird.Rocco "bang bang" shot him four times, every bullet in his stomach, and then, as soon as he turned around, he ran up to the car, and the people in the car sent him to " Wangta" railway station, where he changed into his own car and drove straight to the boulevard.He went in to report to Michael Corleone, and came out a moment later to resume his duty at the gate. Coming back to Albert Neri, he got his uniform right.He put on his uniform without haste: Trousers, shirt, tie, then jacket, holster, and belt.He had hidden his pistol since he was dismissed, and the authorities did not ask him to hand it over because of an administrative oversight.Clemenza provided him with a new 38cm "special police pistol" which was impossible to identify the owner of.Neri took the pistol apart, oiled it, tried the firing pin, assembled it, pulled the trigger a few times, loaded the chamber and was ready to go. He put the police officer's cap into a heavy paper bag, and put on an ordinary overcoat worn by ordinary people, covering the police uniform.He checked his watch, and there was a car downstairs to pick him up in fifteen minutes.He spent the fifteen minutes looking in the mirror: he carefully checked his clothes.There was no doubt that he looked like a real cop. The car came, and in the front seat were two of Rocco Labone's men.Neri got in and sat in the back seat as the car headed toward the inner city business district.When the car left his apartment complex, he shook off the overcoat with a shrug; he tore open the paper bag, took out the officer's cap, and put it on his head. The car pulled up to the intersection of Fifty-fifth Street and Fifth Avenue and parked near the sidewalk.Neri got out of the car and walked south on Fifth Avenue.He was in a police uniform, patrolling the avenues as before, and there was something strange about him.There are crowds of pedestrians on the street.He walked toward the business district until he walked in front of the Rockefeller Center building, across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral.He stood on the other side of Fifth Avenue and saw the car he was looking for.The sedan stood glaringly in the middle of a long row of red signs reading "No Parking" and "No Standing."Neri slowed down.He came too early, so he stopped his chest step.He wrote something in the summons book, then walked on, from the back to the car.He stopped and knocked the car's fender several times with the short stick.The driver looked up in surprise.Neri pointed to the "No Stopping" and "No Standing" signs with a short stick, and waved the driver to move the car away.The driver turned his head away, as if accepting and ignoring. Neri went around, to the side of the road seat, and the window next to the driver's seat was open.The driver seemed like a rambunctious villain, the kind of man he liked to subdue.Neri said in a deliberately insulting tone: "Hey boy, be smart, do you want me to put a citation on your ass, or are you going to move." The driver said calmly, "You'd better go to the police station in your district and check it out. Just give me the summons, if giving me a summons will make you happy." "Fuck off," Neri yelled, "or I'll yank you out of the car and smack your ass." As if by magic, the driver showed a ten-dollar bill, folded it into a small cube with only one hand, and tried to slip it into Neri's jacket.Neri stepped back to the sidewalk again and hooked a finger at the driver a few times, and the driver got out of the car. "Show me your license and registration card," Neri said. He had tried to lure the driver around the block, but now it seemed hopeless, for out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of thirty squat men coming out of the "Market" building and descending the steps towards the street.This is Bacziny and his two bodyguards, going to meet Michael Corleone.No sooner had Neri seen the scene than he noticed that one of the bodyguards had rushed forward to find out what had happened to Bazzini's car. The bodyguard asked the driver, "What's wrong?" The driver said bluntly, "I've been fined and I'm receiving a summons. It's nothing serious. This must be a new police officer in this district." At this moment, Bazzini arrived with another bodyguard.Czny growled, "Damn it! What the hell happened? After Neri finished writing the citation, he gave the license and registration card to the driver late.Then he put the summons in the hip pocket of his trousers and drew a special pistol. He fired three shots into the side of Bazzini's broad chest, and the other three were petrified, and before they could run away, Neri flew into the crowd, rounded the bend, and got into the waiting car.The car sped toward Ninth Road, and then turned to the downtown area.Neri threw away his police uniform, changed into a plain overcoat and, as he approached Chelsea Park, diverted to another waiting car.Both the gun and the police uniform are left in the original car and will find a way to dispose of them in the future.An hour later, he was safely back on the Boulevard in Long Beach Town, reporting to Michael Corleone on the status of the mission. Tessio was still waiting in the house where the late Don lived.He was sipping a cup of coffee when Tom Hagen came to see him. "Michael is ready to meet you," Hagen said. "You'd better call Barziney and tell him to leave and get to the meeting place on time." Tessio stood up and walked over to the phone on the wall.He dialed Barziny's number and said simply: "They've set out for Brooklyn." He hung up the phone and said to Hagen again, "I hope Mike can make us some money tonight." Hagen raised his face and said, "I'm sure he'll make a lot of money." After that, he accompanied Tessio into the kitchen and onto the avenue.They walked towards Michael's house, and at the door they were blocked by a bodyguard. "The boss said he was going to take another car. He also said that you two should leave early." Tessio frowned and looked back at Hagen. "Oh, he can't do it like this! This time, all my arrangements were disrupted." At this moment, three other bodyguards suddenly appeared around them, so Hagen said softly, "Tessio, I can't go with you either. The mouse-headed commander suddenly realized, but he had no choice but to resign himself to fate.At first, he felt weak all over, but after a few minutes, he calmed down.He said to Hagen, "Please tell Michael that it was all business, and I've always liked him. Hagen nodded and said, "Well, he understands." Tessio was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Can you help me unhook? Can you do me a favor for the sake of an old friend?" Hagen shook his head. "I can't," he said. He watched as Tessio was surrounded by bodyguards and put into a car.Tessio was originally the most outstanding soldier in the Corleone family organization.The late Don trusted him more than anyone but Luke Brasi.It is so sad that such an intelligent person makes such a serious mistake at such a late point in his life. Carlo Rizzi is still waiting to meet Michael.He watched the people coming and going in an endless stream, and he began to feel nervous.Clearly, everyone is engaged in some kind of major event.Apparently, he himself was excluded.He couldn’t help but call Michael.One of the indoor guards answered the phone and went to find Michael.The message to Carlo on the phone was that Michael asked him to be patient, and that Michael would come to him shortly. Carlo called his mistress again and told her he would promise to treat her to a late supper and spend the night together.Since Michael said that he would go to him soon, no matter how he arranged it, it would take an hour or two at most.Then, it only takes him forty minutes to get to Xibao Town by car, and meeting with sympathetic wives is achievable.He promised to see her, and sweetly advised her not to wait.After he hung up the phone, he packed up and dressed immediately, so as not to waste time changing clothes later.He had just put on his new shirt when he heard a knock on the door.He immediately deduced that Michael wanted to call him, but when he picked up the phone he kept getting a busy buzz, and sent a messenger to call him.Carlo went to open the door, and when he opened it, a chilling fear suddenly overwhelmed him, and he felt paralyzed all over.Standing in the doorway was none other than Michael Corleone himself, his face identical to the Grim Reaper Carlo Rizzi had seen in his dream. Standing behind Michael Corleone are Hagen and Rocco Rapen.They were all stern-faced, looking as if they had to report the bad news to a friend.They entered the door one by one, and Carlo Rizzi led them into the living room.He was just recovering from his initial panic and felt he was suffering from neurosis.Michael’s words scared him really sick and really wanted to vomit. "You have to answer for Sandino's death," Michael said. Carlo didn't say a word, pretending not to understand, Hagen and Rapunzel left Michael and Carlo and went to the other side of the house, and Michael and Carlo faced each other. "You've lured Sonny into the trap of the Barzneys," said Michael, his voice flat. "That little farce you played on my sister was hilarious. Did Barzney trick you into playing a Corleone?" Carlo Rizzi was terrified and spoke without regard for personal dignity or honor. "I swear I'm innocent, I swear on my child I'm innocent. Michael, don't accuse me of it! Please, Michael, don't accuse me of it! " Michael said unhurriedly: "Baccini is dead. Philip Tattaglia is dead, and I'm going to settle all the family accounts tonight. So don't tell me anything." You're innocent. You'd better be honest about what you've done." Hagen and Labone looked at Michael in amazement.Both of them believed that Michael hadn't learned how his father had done.Why bother to persuade the traitor to bow his head and confess his guilt?To the extent that such crimes can be verified, so has his crimes.The answer is crystal clear.Michael is still not so sure about the correctness of his judgment, and he is still deeply afraid that some details will not be implemented, and there will be an unjust case. Only Carlo Ruiz's confession can dispel all these concerns. Carlo remained silent.Michael was a little bitter. He said: "Don't be so frightened. Do you think I'll make my sister a widow? Do you think I'll make my nephew fatherless? Besides, I'm the godfather of one of your children. It's nothing, it's a big punishment for you, isn't it?" You are not allowed to work in the family organization. I am going to fly you to Vegas to join your wife and children. I still want you to stay there. I am going to send some grants to Connie. That's all, then And nothing else. But don't keep saying you're innocent, don't insult my judgment, don't make me lose my temper. It's Tattaglia who came after you Or Baczny?" Carlo, in the throes of survival, in the excitement of knowing he would not be executed, murmured, "Bazney." "Okay, okay," Michael said softly. Then, gesturing with his right hand, he said, "I'm leaving right now, and there's a car waiting to take you to the airport." Carlo went out first, followed by another thirty people.It was night, but, as usual, the avenue was brightly lit by floodlights.There was a car parked there that Carlo recognized as his car, but with a driver he didn't recognize, and someone was sitting in the back seat.Rabon opened the front door and beckoned Carlo into the car.Michael said: "I'll just call your wife and tell her you're leaving." Carlo got into the car, his silk shirt soaked with cold sweat. The car started and drove quickly towards the gate.Carlo looked back to see if he recognized the man sitting behind him.It was too late, but soon, Clemenza was as nimble and light as a little girl trying to tie a kitten with a ribbon, and quickly put the noose around Carlo Rizzi's neck.Clemenza jerked, and the slick string sliced ​​into Carlo's flesh.He was bouncing back and forth like a hooked fish struggling.But Clemenza held him tight, and the noose tightened until Carlo slumped.Suddenly, the car stinks, and Carlo's sphincter relaxes as he nears death.Shit came out.Just to be on the safe side, Clemenza waited a few more minutes with the noose tightly pulled, and then let go of the rope and put it away in his pocket.Carlo's body fell down with a "plop".After a few minutes, Clemenza lowered the window to let the stench out. The Corleone family was victorious.Within twenty-four hours, Clemenza and Rabon had freed their regiments to punish the infiltrators who had entered Corleone's territory, and Neri was now in command of the former Tessio regiment.Barziny's gambling registry was paralyzed and out of business, and two of Barziny's top marshals were accidentally killed while eating at an Italian restaurant on Mulberry Street.A notorious rogue who specialized in horse-racing gambling was also lost one night.Also, two of the largest moneylenders on the docks were missing, and their bodies were not found in New Jersey until many months later. After this savage attack, Michael Corleone became famous and restored the dominance of the Corleone family among the great families in New York.The reason why he is respected is not only because of his outstanding tactical talent, but also because several of the most important corps commanders in the two major families of Bazzini and Tattaglia also quickly defected to his sect. This victory, for Michael Corleone, would have been perfect, but the fly in the ointment was that his sister Connie had a hysterical fit. Connie flew back with her mother, and the baby stayed in Vegas.Connie had been holding back her grief until she had a fit when the car she was in drove into Lin Meng Road.As soon as the car stopped, before her mother could stop her, she ran across the cobbled road and headed straight for Michael Corleone's house.She rushed the door just in time to find both Michael and Kay in the living room.When Kai saw her coming in, he immediately walked over to her, wanting to comfort her, and hugged her like a sister.But Kay stopped because Connie yelled at his brother: "You bastard," she squeaked, "you killed my husband. You acted like a man. Father's dead, no one can stop you, you kill him. Sonny dies." Now, you blame him, you always blame him, everyone blames him. But you never think about me, you don't care about me at all. What will I do in the future? What will I do in the future? " She howled and cried.Two of Michael's bodyguards had long stood behind Connie, waiting for his order.But he, standing there expressionless, let her sister scold her enough. Kay said in a panicked voice, "Connie, you're so mad, don't say things like that. Connie recovered from the hysteria.Her voice still tinged with unequal hatred. "Why does he always treat me coldly, what do you think? Why does he let Carlo stay in Lin Mengdao, what do you think? He always wanted to kill my husband, but when my father was alive, he didn't Dare to do it. My father will stop him. He knows it. He waited for his chance. He was Godfather to our children just to confuse us and divert our attention. What a smiling bastard. You think you know you Husband? Do you know how many people he killed along with my husband? You only have to read the newspapers. Bazzini, Tattaglia, and many, many more. They all He was killed at the behest of my brother." As she spoke, she had a hysterical fit again.She tried desperately to spit in Michael's face, but she dried her mouth and couldn't spit. "Take her home and get her a doctor," Michael said. As soon as he finished speaking, the two bodyguards immediately grabbed Connie's arms and carried her out. Kai was still in shock, still terrified.She asked her husband: "Michael, how could she say those things? How could she believe that?" Michael shrugged. "She's hysterical." Kai stared into his eyes. "Michael, it's not true. Tell me, it's not true. Michael shook his head wearily. "Of course it's not true, trust me. I'll let you ask me about it, and I'll answer yours, but just this once, it's not true. His tone of voice was more convincing than ever.He looked directly into her eyes.He used the magic of mutual trust they had built up in their lives as a couple to move her to believe his words.She could no longer doubt it.She gave him a wry smile, threw herself into his arms, and let him kiss her. "We both need a drink," she said. After all, she went to the kitchen to get ice cream.While she was in the kitchen, she heard the front door open.She had just come out of the kitchen when she saw Clemenza, Neri, and Rocco Rabon come in, followed by a few bodyguards.From behind she could only see Michael's back, so she moved around and now she could see his profile.At this point, Clemenza greeted her husband, using a formal address. "Don Michael," Clemenza said gravely. Kay could see how Michael stood there accepting their allegiance.In that way he reminded her of the statues of ancient Roman emperors who, by the theory of divine right, held the power of life and death over their fellowmen: one hand on hip, his face profiled with a grim pride. Strength, his body adopts a casual and domineering "relax" posture, the center of gravity is placed on the slightly behind leg, and the commanders of the corps stand in front of him in a "attention" posture.At this time, Kai understood that the crimes that Connie accused Michael of committing were all true.She went back to the kitchen and wept.