Meeting was not as outlandish as it seemed.

15 "Sure, sure," he said. "I'll be back at four." He left the club and caught a cab

To his furnished room on Tenth Avenue. He boarded with an Italian family to

Which he was distantly related. His two rooms were separated from the rest of

Their railroad flat by a special door. He liked the arrangement because it gave him

Some family life and also protection against surprise where he was most

Vulnerable.

The sly Turkish fox was going to show his bushy tail, Luca thought. If things

Went far enough, if Sollozzo committed himself tonight, maybe the whole thing

Could be wound up as a Christmas present for the Don. In his room, Luca

Unlocked the trunk beneath the bed and took out a bulletproof vest. It was heavy.

He undressed and put it on over his woolen underwear, then put his shirt and

Jacket over it. He thought for a moment of calling the Don's house at Long Beach

To tell him of this new development but he knew the Don never talked over the

Phone, to anyone, and the Don had given him this assignment in secret and so

Did not want anyone, not even Hagen or his eldest son, to know about it.

Luca always carried a gun. He had a license to carry a gun, probably the most

Expensive gun license ever issued anyplace, anytime. It had cost a total of ten

Thousand dollars but it would keep him out of jail if he was frisked by the cops.

As a top executive operating official of the Family he rated the license. But

tonight, just in case he could finish off the job, he wanted a "safe" gun. One that

Could not possibly be traced. But then thinking the matter over, he decided that

He would just listen to the proposition tonight and report back to the Godfather,

Don Corleone.

 

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He made his way back to the club but he did not drink any more. Instead he

Wandered out to 48th Street, where he had a leisurely late supper at Patsy's, his

Favorite Italian restaurant. When it was time for his appointment he drifted uptown

To the club entrance. The doorman was no longer there when he went in. The

Hatcheck girl was gone. Only Bruno Tattaglia waited to greet him and lead him to

The deserted bar at the side of the room. Before him he could see the desert of

Small tables with the polished yellow wood dance floor gleaming like a small

Diamond in the middle of them. In the shadows was the empty bandstand, out of

It grew the skeleton metal stalk of a microphone.

Luca sat at the bar and Bruno Tattaglia went behind it. Luca refused the drink

Offered to him and lit a cigarette. It was possible that this would turn out to be

Something else, not the Turk. But then he saw Sollozzo emerge out of the

Shadows at the far end of the room.

Sollozzo shook his hand and sat at the bar next to him. Tattaglia put a glass

in front of the Turk, who nodded his thanks. "Do you know who I am?" asked

Sollozzo.

Luca nodded. He smiled grimly. The rats were being flushed out of their holes.

It would be his pleasure to take care of this renegade Sicilian.

22 "Do you know what I am going to ask of you?" Sollozzo asked.

Luca shook his head.

24 "There's big business to be made," Sollozzo said. "I mean millions for

Everybody at the top level. On the first shipment I can guarantee you fifty

thousand dollars. I'm talking about drugs. It's the coming thing."

25 Luca said, "Why come to me? You want me to talk to my Don?"

26 Sollozzo grimaced. "I've already talked to the Don. He wants no part of it. All

Right, I can do without him. But I need somebody strong to protect the operation

Physically. I understand you're not happy with your Family, you might make a

switch."

27 Luca shrugged. "If the offer is good enough."

Sollozzo had been watching him intently and seemed to have come to a

decision. "Think about my offer for a few days and then we'll talk again," he said.