The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
111
“Then you have to get Sollozzo right away,” Michael said. “We can’t wait. The guy is too 
dangerous. He’ll come up with some new idea. Remember, the key is still that he gets 
rid of the old man. He knows that. OK, he knows that now it’s very tough so he’s willing 
to take defeat for his life. But if he’s going to get killed anyway, he’ll have another crack 
at the Don. And with that polite captain helping him who knows what the hell might 
happen. We can’t take that chance. We have to get Sollozzo right away.” 
Sonny was scratching his chin thoughtfully. “You’re right, kid,” he said. “You got right to 
the old nuts. We can’t let Sollozzo get another crack at the old man.” 
Hagen said quietly, “What about Captain McCluskey?” 
Sonny turned to Michael with an odd little smile. “Yeah, kid, what about that tough police 
captain?” 
Michael said slowly, “OK, it’s an extreme. But there are times when the most extreme 
measures are justified. Let’s think now that we have to kill McCluskey. The way to do it 
would be to have him heavily implicated so that it’s not an honest police captain doing 
his duty but a crooked police official mixed up in the rackets who got what was coming 
to him, like any crook. We have newspaper people on our payroll we can give that story 
to with enough proof so that they can back it up. That should take some of the heat off. 
How does that sound?” Michael looked around deferentially to the others. Tessio and 
Clemenza had gloomy faces and refused to speak. Sonny said with the same odd smile, 
“Go on, kid, you’re doing great. Out of the mouths of infants, as the Don always used to 
say. Go ahead, Mike, tell us more.” 
Hagen was smiling too a little and averting his head. Michael flushed. “Well, they want 
me to go to a conference with Sollozzo. It will be me, Sollozzo and McCluskey all on our 
own. Set up the meeting for two days from now, then get our informers to find out where 
the meeting will be held. Insist that it has to be a public place, that I’m not going to let 
them take me into any apartments or houses. Let it be a restaurant or a bar at the height 
of the dinner hour, something like that, so that I’ll feel safe. They’ll feel safe too. Even 
Sollozzo won’t figure that we’ll dare to gun the captain. They’ll frisk me when I meet 
them so I’ll have to be clean then, but figure out a way you can get a weapon to me 
while I’m meeting them. Then I’ll take both of them.” 
All four heads turned and stared at him. Clemenza and Tessio were gravely astonished. 
Hagen looked a little sad but not surprised. He started to speak and thought better of it. 
But Sonny, his heavy Cupid’s face twitching with mirth, suddenly broke out in loud roars 

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