But, on the other hand, Sollozzo would want Clemenza in his pocket more than any other man in the Corleone Family.
Michael thought about Paulie Gatto. Paulie as yet had not become rich. He was well thought of (о нем хорошо позаботились), his rise in the organization was certain but he would have to put in his time like everybody else. Also he would have wilder dreams of power, as the young always do. It had to be Paulie. And then Michael remembered that in the sixth grade (в шестом классе) he and Paulie had been in the same class in school and he didn't want it to be Paulie either.
He shook his head. "Neither one of them," he said. But he said it only because Sonny had said he had the answer. If it had been a vote (голосование), he would have voted Paulie guilty.
Sonny was smiling at him. "Don't worry," he said. "Clemenza is OK. It's Paulie."
Michael could see that Tessio was relieved. As a fellow caporegime his sympathy would be with Clemenza. Also the present situation was not so serious if treachery did not reach so high. Tessio said cautiously (cautious ['ko:∫∂s] – осторожный), "Then I can send my people home tomorrow?"
Sonny said, "The day after tomorrow. I don't want anybody to know about this until then. Listen, I want to talk some family business with my brother, personal. Wait out in the living room, eh? We can finish our list later. You and Clemenza will work together on it."
"Sure," Tessio said. He went out.
"How do you know for sure it's Paulie?" Michael asked.
Sonny said, "We have people in the telephone company and they tracked down (проследили, восстановили) all of Paulie's phone calls in and out Clemenza's too. On the three days Paulie was sick this month he got a call from a street booth across from the old man's building. Today too. They were checking to see if Paulie was coming down or somebody was being sent down to take his place. Or for some other reason. It doesn't matter." Sonny shrugged. "Thank God it was Paulie. We'll need Clemenza bad (он нам очень будет нужен)."
Michael asked hesitantly (hesitant [‘hezıt∂nt] – колеблющийся, нерешительный, сомневающийся), "Is it going to be an all-out war?"
Sonny's eyes were hard. "That's how I'm going to play it as soon as Tom checks in. Until the old man tells me different."
Michael asked, "So why don't you wait until the old man can tell you?"
Sonny looked at him curiously. "How the hell did you win those combat medals (боевые медали; combat [‘komb∂t] – бой, сражение)? We are under the gun, man, we gotta fight. I'm just afraid they won't let Tom go."
Michael was surprised at this. "Why not?"
Again Sonny's voice was patient "They snatched Tom because they figured the old man was finished and they could make a deal with me and Tom would be the sit-down guy in the preliminary stages (парень для переговоров на предварительных стадиях [prı'lımın∂rı]), carry the proposition. Now with the old man alive they know I can't make a deal so Tom's no good to them. They can turn him loose or dump him (прикончить /сленг/; dump – мусорная куча, отвал /земли, руды/; to dump – выгружать, сваливать), depending how Sollozzo feels. If they dump him, it would be just to show us they really mean business, trying to bulldoze us (запугать; to bulldoze [‘buld∂uz] – разбивать крупные куски /руды/; расчищать при помощи бульдозера; запугивать, шантажировать /сленг/)."
Michael said quietly, "What think he could get a deal with you?"
Sonny flushed and he didn't answer for a moment. Then he said, "We had a meeting a few months ago, Sollozzo came to us with a proposition on drugs. The old man turned him down (отклонил). But during the meeting I shot off my mouth a little (проболтался; to shot off – стрелять в воздух, пускать /фейерверк, ракету/), I showed I wanted the deal. Which is absolutely the wrong thing to do; if there's one thing the old man hammered into me (вбивал, вколачивал; hammer – молоток) it's never to do a thing like that, to let other people know there's a split of opinion (разделение мнений, расхождение во мнениях; to split – раскалывать, расщеплять) in the Family. So Sollozzo figures he gets rid of the old man (воображает, что если избавится), I have to go in with him on the drugs. With the old man gone, the Family power is cut at least in half. I would be fighting for my life anyway to keep all the businesses the old man got together. Drugs are the coming thing, we should get into it. And his knocking off the old man is purely business, nothing personal. As a matter of business I would go in with him. Of course he would never let me get too close, he'd make sure I'd never get a clean shot at him, just in case (на всякий случай). But he also knows that once I accepted the deal the other Families would never let me start a war a couple of years later just for revenge. Also, the Tattaglia Family is behind him."
"If they had gotten the old man, what would you have done?" Michael asked.
Sonny said very simply, "Sollozzo is dead meat. I don't care what it costs. I don't care if we have to fight all the five families in New York. The Tattaglia Family is going to be wiped out (будет истреблена; to wipe – стирать; уничтожать; убивать /сленг/). I don't care if we all go down together (если все, пусть даже мы все загнемся)."
Michael said softly, "That's not how Pop would have played it."
Sonny made a violent gesture (violent – неистовый, вспыльчивый). "I know I'm not the man he was. But I'll tell you this and he'll tell you too. When it comes to real action I can operate as good as anybody, short-range (в ближнем бою: «в малом радиусе действия»). Sollozzo knows that and so do Clemenza and Tessio, I 'made my bones' when I was nineteen, the last time the Family had a war, and I was a big help to the old man. So I'm not worried now. And our Family has all the horses in a deal like this. I just wish we could get contact with Luca."
Michael asked curiously, "Is Luca that tough (действительно настолько крутой), like they say? Is he that good?"
Sonny nodded. "He's in a class by himself. I’m going to send him after the three Tattaglias. I'll get Sollozzo myself."
Michael shifted uneasily in his chair (задвигался, заерзал беспокойно). He looked at his older brother. He remembered Sonny as being sometimes casually brutal (подчас жесток, груб) but essentially warmhearted (по сути, в основе своей добр). A nice guy. It seemed unnatural to hear him talking this way, it was chilling (жутко; to chill – замораживать, охлаждать) to see the list of names he had scribbled down (набросал; to scribble – писать неразборчивым почерком, небрежно), men to be executed (которые должны быть казнены), as if he were some newly crowned Roman Emperor. He was glad that he was not truly part of all this, that now his father lived he did not have to involve himself in vengeance (месть, мщение ['vendG∂ns]). He'd help out, answering the phone, running errands (бегая по поручениям) and messages. Sonny and the old man could take care of themselves, especially with Luca behind them.