Brasi's number and kept the receiver to his ear as it rang and rang.

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

1 Peter Clemenza slept badly that night. In the morning he got up early and made his

own breakfast of a glass of grappa, a thick slice of Genoa salami (slice – ломтик) with a

chunk of fresh Italian bread (chunk – толстый кусок /хлеба, сыра, мяса/) that was still

delivered to his door (to deliver – доставлять, разносить) as in the old days. Then he

drank a great, plain china mug filled with hot coffee that had been lashed with anisette

(с добавкой анисового ликера; to lash – хлестать; подхлестывать, возбуждать;

связывать). But as he padded about the house (расхаживал, мягко ступая; pad –

прокладка; подушечка /на кончиках пальцев/) in his old bathrobe and red felt slippers

he pondered on the day's work that lay ahead of him. Last night Sonny Corleone had

made it very clear that Paulie Gatto was to be taken care of immediately. It had to be

today.

2 Clemenza was troubled. Not because Gatto had been his protйgй and had turned

traitor. This did not reflect on the caporegime 's judgment. After all, Paulie's background

had been perfect. He came from a Sicilian family, he had grown up in the same

neighborhood as the Corleone children, had indeed even gone to school with one of the

 

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sons. He had been brought up through each level (уровень) in the proper manner. He

had been tested and not found wanting (нуждающийся; недостаточный,

неполноценный). And then after he had "made his bones" he had received a good

living from the Family, a percentage of an East Side "book" and a union payroll slot

(щель; место в расписании, надлежащее место; размеченное место для парковки

автомобиля). Clemenza had not been unaware that Paulie Gatto supplemented his

income with free-lance stickups (дополнял свой доход независимыми грабежами; to

supplement [‘sΛplım∂nt]; free-lance – «свободное копье»: ландскнехт /наемный

солдат в Средние века/; независимый, свободный; внештатный; to stick up –

останавливать с целью ограбления /сленг/), strictly against the Family rules, but even

this was a sign of the man's worth. The breaking of such regulations was considered a

sign of high-spiritedness (мужественность, удальство), like that shown by a fine racing

horse fighting the reins (поводья, вожжи).

3 And Paulie had never caused trouble with his stickups. They had always been

meticulously planned (meticulous [mı’tıkjul∂s] – мелочный, дотошный, тщательный)

and carried out with the minimum of fuss and trouble, with no one ever getting hurt: a

three-thousand-dollar Manhattan garment (одежда) center payroll (наличность), a

small chinaware factory (фабрика фарфоровых изделий) payroll in the slums

(трущобы) of Brooklyn. After all, a young man could always use some extra pocket

money. It was all in the pattern (в норме; pattern – образец, модель). Who could ever

foretell (предсказать) that Paulie Gatto would turn traitor?

4 What was troubling Peter Clemenza this morning was an administrative problem.

The actual execution of Gatto was a cut-and-dried chore (рутинное дело; cut-and-dried

– рутинный; chore [t∫o:] – рутинная работа, ежедневные обязанности). The problem

was, who should the caporegime bring up from the ranks to replace Gatto in the Family?

It was an important promotion (продвижение, повышение), that to "button" man

(боевик: «солдат» /сленг/), one not to be handed out lightly. The man had to be tough

and he had to be smart. He had to be safe, not a person who would talk to the police if

he got in trouble, one well saturated (to saturate [‘sжt∫∂reıt] – насыщать, пропитывать)

in the Sicilians' law of omerta, the law of silence. And then, what kind of a living would

he receive for his new duties? Clemenza had several times spoken to the Don about

better rewards for the all-important button man who was first in the front line when

trouble arose, but the Don had put him off. If Paulie had been making more money, he

might have been able to resist the blandishments (сопротивляться, противостоять

уговорам, обольщениям) of the wily Turk, Sollozzo.

 

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5 Clemenza finally narrowed down the list of candidates to three men. The first was an

enforcer (лицо, принудительно осуществляющий право в судебном порядке; член

гангстерской банды, функцией которого является принуждение к выполнению ее

требований) who worked with the colored policy bankers in Harlem, a big brawny brute

of a man of great physical strength, a man with a great deal of personal charm who

could get along with people and yet when necessary make them go in fear of him. But

Clemenza scratched him off the list (вычеркнул; scratch – царапать; to scratch –

вычеркивать) after considering his name for a half hour. This man got along too well

with the black people, which hinted at some flaw of character (flaw – трещина, порок).

Also he would be too hard to replace in the position he now held.

6 The second name Clemenza considered and almost settled on was a hard-working

chap (парень) who served faithfully and well in the organization. This man was the

collector of delinquent accounts (cборщик процентов по счетам у тех, кто уклоняется

от платежей; delinquent [dı'lıŋkw∂nt] – нарушающий закон, правонарушитель) for

Family-licensed shylocks (ростовщики; Shylock – беспощадный и мстительный

ростовщик в пьесе Шекспира «Венецианский купец») in Manhattan. He had started

off as a bookmaker's runner. But he was not quite yet ready for such an important

promotion.

7 Finally he settled on Rocco Lampone. Lampone had served a short but impressive

apprenticeship (ученичество, срок обучения; apprentice – подмастерье) in the Family.

During the war he had been wounded in Africa and been discharged in 1943. Because

of the shortage of young men, Clemenza had taken him on even though Lampone was

partially incapacitated (был частично сделан непригодным, выведен из строя;

capacity [k∂’pжsıtı] – способность) by his injuries (injury [‘ındG∂rı] – повреждение;

рана) and walked with a pronounced limp (с явным, хорошо заметным

прихрамыванием). Clemenza had used him as a black-market contact in the garment

center and with government employees controlling OPA food stamps. From that,

Lampone had graduated to trouble-shooter (аварийный монтер; специальный

уполномоченный по улаживанию конфликтов; посредник) for the whole operation.

What Clemenza liked about him was his good judgment. He knew that there was no

percentage in being tough about something that would only cost a heavy fine (штраф)

or six months in jail, small prices to pay for the enormous profits earned. He had the

good sense to know that it was not an area for heavy threats but light ones. He kept the

whole operation in a minor key, which was exactly what was needed.

 

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8 Clemenza felt the relief of a conscientious administrator who has solved a knotty

personnel problem. Yes, it would be Rocco Lampone who would assist. For Clemenza

planned to handle this job himself, not only to help a new, inexperienced man "make his

bones," but to settle a personal score with Paulie Gatto. Paulie had been his protйgй,

he had advanced Paulie over the heads of more deserving and more loyal people, he

had helped Paulie "make his bones" and furthered his career in every way (to further –

продвигать, поддерживать, содействовать). Paulie had not only betrayed the Family,

he had betrayed his padrone, Peter Clemenza. This lack of respect had to be repaid.

9 Everything else was arranged. Paulie Gatto had been instructed to pick him up at

three in the afternoon, and to pick him up with his own car, nothing hot (только что

украденный /сленг/). Now Clemenza took up the telephone and dialed Rocco

Lampone's number. He did not identify himself. He simply said, "Come to my house, I

have an errand for you." He was pleased to note that despite the early hour, Lampone's

voice was not surprised or dazed with sleep (to daze – изумить, ошеломить, застать

врасплох) and he simply said, "OK." Good man. Clemenza added, "No rush, have your

breakfast and lunch first before you come see me. But not later than two in the

afternoon."

10 There was another laconic OK on the other end and Clemenza hung up the phone.

He had already alerted his people about replacing caporegime Tessio's people in the

Corleone mall so that was done. He had capable subordinates and never interfered in a

mechanical operation of that kind.

11 He decided to wash his Cadillac. He loved the car. It gave him such a quiet

peaceful ride, and its upholstery (обивка) was so rich that he sometimes sat in it for an

hour when the weather was good because it was more pleasant than sitting in the

house. And it always helped him think when he was grooming the car (to groom –

чистить; холить, наводить лоск; groom – конюх). He remembered his father in Italy

doing the same thing with donkeys (ослы).

12 Clemenza worked inside the heated garage, he hated cold. He ran over his plans

(еще раз перебрал в голове). You had to be careful with Paulie, the man was like a rat,

he could smell danger. And now of course despite being so tough he must be shitting in

his pants because the old man was still alive. He'd be as skittish (норовистый,

пугливый) as a donkey with ants (муравьи) up his ass. But Clemenza was accustomed

to these circumstances (привык к этим обстоятельствам; to accustom [∂‘kΛst∂m] –

приучать; circumstance ['s∂:k∂mst∂ns]), usual in his work. First, he had to have a good

excuse for Rocco to accompany them. Second, he had to have a plausible

 

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(правдоподобный, внешне убедительный ['plo:z∂bl]) mission for the three of them to

go on.

13 Of course, strictly speaking, this was not necessary. Paulie Gatto could be killed

without any of these frills (и без этих ухищрений, прикрас; frill – оборка, жабо;

вычурность, манерность). He was locked in, he could not run away. But Clemenza felt

strongly that it was important to keep good working habits and never give away a

fraction (дробь, доля) of a percentage point. You never could tell what might happen

and these matters were, after all, questions of life and death.

14 As he washed his baby-blue Cadillac, Peter Clemenza pondered and rehearsed his

lines (повторял, репетировал «реплики, строки»; to rehearse [rı’h∂:s]), the

expressions of his face. He would be curt with Paulie, as if displeased with him. With a

man so sensitive and suspicious as Gatto this would throw him off the track or at least

leave him uncertain. Undue friendliness would make him wary (подозрительный,

настороженный [‘wε∂rı]). But of course the curtness must not be too angry. It had to be

rather an absentminded sort of irritation. And why Lampone? Paulie would find that

most alarming, especially since Lampone had to be in the rear seat. Paulie wouldn't like

being helpless at the wheel with Lampone behind his head. Clemenza rubbed and

polished the metal of his Cadillac furiously. It was going to be tricky. Very tricky. For a

moment he debated whether to recruit another man but decided against it. Here he

followed basic reasoning. In years to come a situation might arise where it might be

profitable for one of his partners to testify against him. If there were just one accomplice

(сообщник [∂'komplıs]) it was one's word against the other. But the word of a second

accomplice could swing the balance. No, they would stick to procedure

(придерживаться намеченного плана).

15 What annoyed (to annoy [∂‘noı] – докучать; раздражать) Clemenza was that the

execution had to be "public." That is, the body was to be found. He would have much

preferred having it disappear. (Usual burying grounds were the nearby ocean or the

swamplands (болота) of New Jersey on land owned by friends of the Family or by other

more complicated methods.) But it had to be public so that embryo traitors (предатели

«в зародыше») would be frightened and the enemy warned that the Corleone Family

had by no means gone stupid or soft (вовсе не поглупела и не ослабла, размякла).

Sollozzo would be made wary by this quick discovery of his spy (шпион). The Corleone

Family would win back some of its prestige (престиж [pres’ti:G]). It had been made to

look foolish by the shooting of the old man.

 

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16 Clemenza sighed. The Cadillac gleamed like a huge blue steel egg, and he was

nowhere near the solving of his problem. Then the solution hit him, logical and to the

point. It would explain Rocco Lampone, himself and Paulie being together and give

them a mission of sufficient secrecy and importance (sufficient – достаточный

[s∂’fı∫∂nt]).

17 He would tell Paulie that their job today was to find an apartment in case the Family

decided to "go to the mattresses (залечь в матрасы)."

18 Whenever a war between the Families became bitterly intense, the opponents

would set up headquarters (устраивать штаб-квартиры) in secret apartments where

the "soldiers" could sleep on mattresses scattered (разбросанные) through the rooms.

This was not so much (не столько для того /чтобы/) to keep their families out of

danger, their wives and little children, since any attack on noncombatants (на «мирных

жителей», на не участвующих в сражении) was undreamed of (немыслима). All

parties were too vulnerable (ранимы) to similar retaliation (для подобного ответного

удара; retaliation – возмездие). But it was always smarter to live in some secret place

where your everyday movements could not be charted (нанесены на карту =

прослежены) either by your opponents or by some police who might arbitrarily (без

достаточных оснований, своевольно) decide to meddle.

19 And so usually a trusted caporegime would be sent out to rent a secret apartment

and fill it with mattresses. That apartment would be used as a sally port (проход /в

укреплении/, используемый войсками для совершения вылазки; sally – вылазка)

into the city when an offensive was mounted (когда организуется, предпринимается

нападение; to mount – подниматься, восходить; предпринимать). It was natural for

Clemenza to be sent on such an errand. It was natural for him to take Gatto and

Lampone with him to arrange all the details, including the furnishing of the apartment

(меблировку помещения; to furnish – снабжать; обставлять, меблировать). Also,

Clemenza thought with a grin, Paulie Gatto had proved he was greedy and the first

thought that would pop into his head (неожиданно появится) was how much he could

get from Sollozzo for this valuable intelligence (за это ценное сведение).

20 Rocco Lampone arrived early and Clemenza explained what had to be done and

what their roles would be. Lampone's face lit up with surprised gratitude and he thanked

Clemenza respectfully for the promotion allowing him (позволяющее) to serve the

Family. Clemenza was sure he had done well. He clapped Lampone on the shoulder

and said, "You'll get something better for your living after today. We'll talk about that

later. You understand the Family now is occupied with more critical matters, more

 

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important things to do." Lampone made a gesture that said he would be patient,

knowing his reward was certain.

21 Clemenza went to his den's safe (den – берлога, нора; укрытие; каморка,

уединенная комната) and opened it. He took out a gun and gave it to Lampone. "Use

this one," he said. "They can never trace it. Leave it in the car with Paulie. When this job

is finished I want you to take your wife and children on a vacation to Florida. Use your

own money now and I'll pay you back later. Relax, get the sun. Use the Family hotel in

Miami Beach so I'll know where I can get you when I want."

22 Clemenza's wife knocked on the door of the den to tell them that Paulie Gatto had

arrived. He was parked in the driveway. Clemenza led the way through the garage and

Lampone followed him. When Clemenza got into the front seat with Gatto he merely

grunted in greeting, an exasperated look on his face. He looked at his wrist watch as if

he expected to find that Gatto was late.

23 The ferret-faced button man was watching him intently, looking for a clue (клубок,

моток /ниток/; ключ /к разгадке/). He flinched (вздрогнул, передернулся) a little when

Lampone got into the rear seat behind him and said, "Rocco, sit on the other side. A big

guy like you blocks up my rear-view mirror." Lampone shifted dutifully (как положено =

послушно) so that he was sitting behind Clemenza, as if such a request (просьба) was

the most natural thing in the world.

24 Clemenza said sourly to Gatto, "Damn that Sonny, he's running scared (сильно

напуган). He's already thinking of going to the mattresses. We have to find a place on

the West Side. Paulie, you and Rocco gotta staff and supply it (набрать людей и всем

обеспечить) until the word comes down for the rest of the soldiers to use it. You know a

good location (помещение, место; размещение, дислокация)?"

25 As he had expected, Gatto's eyes became greedily interested. Paulie had

swallowed the bait (проглотил наживку, приманку) and because he was thinking how

much the information was worth to Sollozzo, he was forgetting to think about whether he

was in danger. Also, Lampone was acting his part perfectly, staring out the window in a

disinterested, relaxed way. Clemenza congratulated himself on his choice.

26 Gatto shrugged. "I'd have to think about it," he said.

27 Clemenza grunted. "Drive while you think, I want to get to New York today."

28 Paulie was an expert driver and traffic going into the city was light at this time in the

afternoon, so the early winter darkness was just beginning to fall when they arrived.

There was no small talk in the car. Clemenza directed Paulie to drive up to the

Washington Heights section. He checked a few apartment buildings and told him to park

 

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near Arthur Avenue and wait. He also left Rocco Lampone in the car. He went into the

Vera Mario Restaurant and had a light dinner of veal (телятина) and salad, nodding his

hello's to some acquaintances (знакомым; acquaintance [∂'kweınt∂ns] – знакомство;

знакомый). After an hour had gone by he walked the several blocks (несколько

кварталов) to where the car was parked and entered it. Gatto and Lampone were still

waiting. "Shit," Clemenza said, "they want us back in Long Beach. They got some other

job for us now. Sonny says we can let this one go until later. Rocco, you live in the city,

can we drop you off (подвезти: «сбросить»)?"

29 Rocco said quietly, "I have my car out at your place and my old lady needs it first

thing in the morning (прямо с самого утра)."

30 "That's right," Clemenza said. "Then you have to come back with us, after all."

31 Again on the ride back to Long Beach nothing was said. On the stretch of road (на

отрезке дороги; to stretch – тянуть/ся/, растягивать/ся/) that led into the city,

Clemenza said suddenly, "Paulie, pull over (останови машину: «отъезжай-ка к

обочине»), I gotta take a leak (мне надо спустить; leak – течь, утечка; to leak –

просачиваться)." From working together so long, Gatto knew the fat caporegime had a

weak bladder (мочевой пузырь). He had often made such a request (просьба,

требование, заявка [rı'kwest]). Gatto pulled the car off the highway onto the soft earth

that led to the swamp (вела к болоту). Clemenza climbed out of the car and took a few

steps into the bushes. He actually relieved himself (и в самом деле облегчился). Then

as he opened the door to get back into the car he took a quick look up and down the

highway. There were no lights, the road was completely dark. "Go ahead," Clemenza

said. A second later the interior of the car reverberated with the report of a gun (to

reverberate – отражаться, отдаваться /о звуке/; report – звенящее эхо /выстрела/).

Paulie Gatto seemed to jump forward, his body flinging against the steering wheel and

then slumping over to the seat (осев, резко упав). Clemenza had stepped back hastily

to avoid being hit with fragments of skull bone and blood.

32 Rocco Lampone scrambled out (выкарабкался, вылез) of the back seat. He still

held the gun and he threw it into the swamp. He and Clemenza walked hastily to a car

parked nearby and got in. Lampone reached underneath the seat and found the key

that had been left for them. He started the car and drove Clemenza to his home. Then

instead of going back by the same route, he took the Jones Beach Causeway right on

through to the town of Merrick and onto the Meadowbrook Parkway until he reached the

Northern State Parkway. He rode that to the Long Island Expressway and then

continued on to the Whitestone Bridge and through the Bronx to his home in Manhattan.

 

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