Freddie was still under sedation (успокоительные) in his own room of his parents' house. Sonny and Michael had paid him a visit and had been astonished at his paleness (удивлен, поражен его бледностью; pale – бледный) , his obvious illness. "Christ," Sonny said to Michael when they left Freddie's room, "he looks like he got plugged worse than the old man (словно ему больше досталось, чем старику; plugg – пробка, затычка; to plugg – затыкать, закупоривать; нанести сильный удар кулаком /сленг/)."
Michael shrugged. He had seen soldiers in the same condition (в том же состоянии) on the battlefield. But he had never expected it to happen to Freddie. He remembered the middle brother as being physically the toughest one in the family when all of them were kids. But he had also been the most obedient son to his father (послушный [∂'bi:dj∂nt]). And yet everyone knew that the Don had given up on this middle son ever being important to the business (отказался от этой мысли, оставил эту идею). He wasn't quite smart enough, and failing that (кроме того: «за неимением этого»), not quite ruthless enough (ruthless ['ru:θlıs] – безжалостный, беспощадный). He was too retiring a person (застенчивый, скромный, здесь – робкий: «отступающий, уступающий»), did not have enough force.
Late in the afternoon, Michael got a call from Johnny Fontane in Hollywood. Sonny took the phone. "Nah, Johnny, no use coming back here to see the Old Man. He's too sick and it would give you a lot of bad publicity (гласность), and I know the old man wouldn't like that. Wait until he's better and we can move him home, then come see him. OK, I'll give him your regards (передам твое почтение)." Sonny hung up the phone. He turned to Michael and said. "That'll make Pop happy, that Johnny wanted to fly from California to see how he was."
Late that afternoon, Michael was called to the listed phone in the kitchen by one of Clemenza's men. It was Kay.
"Is your father all right?" she asked. Her voice was a little strained (напряжен; to strain – натягивать, напрягать), a little unnatural. Michael knew that she couldn't quite believe what had happened, that his father really was what the newspapers called a gangster.
"He'll be OK," Michael said.
"Can I come with you when you visit him in the hospital?" Kay asked.
Michael laughed. She had remembered him telling her how important it was to do such things if you wanted to get along with the old Italians. "This is a special case," he said. "If the newspaper guys get a hold of your name and background you'll be on page three of the Daily News. Girl from old Yankee family mixed up with son of big Mafia chief. How would your parents like that?"
Kay said dryly, "My parents never read the Daily News." Again there was an awkward pause and then she said, "You're OK, aren't you, Mike, you're not in any danger?"
Mike laughed again. "I'm known as the sissy of the Corleone family (неженка, маменькин сынок, баба /о мужчине/). No threat. So they don't have to bother coming after me (им совершенно незачем за мной охотится, я им неинтересен). No, it's all over, Kay, there won't be any more trouble. It was all sort of an accident anyway (несчастный случай ['æksıd∂nt]). I'll explain when I see you."
"When will that be?" she asked.
Michael pondered. "How about late tonight? We'll have a drink and supper in your hotel and then I'll go to the hospital and see my old man. I'm getting tired of hanging around here answering phones. OK? But don't tell anybody. I don't want newspaper photographers snapping pictures of us together. No kidding, Kay, it's damned embarrassing (ужасно неловко, неприятно; to embarrass [ım’bær∂s] – затруднять, стеснять, ставить в неловкое положение), especially for your parents."
"All right," Kay said. "I'll be waiting. Can I do any Christmas shopping for you? Or anything else?"
"No," Michael said. "Just be ready."
She gave a little excited laugh (to excite [ık’saıt] – возбуждать). "I'll be ready," she said. "Aren't I always?"
"Yes, you are," he said. "That's why you're my best girl."
"I love you," she said. "Can you say it?"
Michael looked at the four hoods sitting in the kitchen (hood = hoodlum [‘hudl∂m] – хулиган /сленг/, здесь – гангстер). "No," he said. "Tonight, OK?"
"OK," she said. He hung up.
Clemenza had finally come back from his day's work and was bustling around the kitchen (суетился; to bustle) cooking up a huge pot of tomato sauce. Michael nodded to him and went to the corner office where he found Hagen and Sonny waiting for him impatiently. "Is Clemenza out there?" Sonny asked.
Michael grinned. "He's cooking up spaghetti for the troops (для войск), just like the army."
Sonny said impatiently, "Tell him to cut out that crap (прекратить эту чепуху) and come on in here. I have more important things for him to do. Get Tessio in here with him."
In a few minutes they were all gathered in the office. Sonny said curtly to Clemenza, "You take care of him?"
Clemenza nodded. "You won't see him anymore."
With a slight electric shock, Michael realized they were talking about Paulie Gatto and that little Paulie was dead, murdered by that jolly (веселым, жизнерадостным) wedding dancer, Clemenza.
Sonny asked Hagen, "You have any luck with Sollozzo?"
Hagen shook his head. "He seems to have cooled off on the negotiation idea (охладел). Anyway he doesn't seem to be too anxious. Or maybe he's just being very careful so that our button men won't nail him. Anyway I haven't been able to set up a top-notch go-between (действительно подходящего посредника; top-notch – отличный, первоклассный) he'll trust. But he must know he has to negotiate now. He missed his chance when he let the old man get away from him."
Sonny said, "He's a smart guy, the smartest our Family ever came up against. Maybe he figured we're just stalling (выжидаем; stall – стойло, конюшня; to stall – поставить в стойло; застрять; увиливать) until the old man gets better or we can get a line on him (to get a line – получить сведения /о ком-л./)."
Hagen shrugged. "Sure, he figures that (предполагает, воображает). But he still has to negotiate. He has no choice. I'll get it set up tomorrow. That's certain."
One of Clemenza's men knocked on the office door and then came in. He said to Clemenza, "It just came over the radio, the cops found Paulie Gatto. Dead in his car."
Clemenza nodded and said to the man, "Don't worry about it." The button man gave his caporegime an astonished look, which was followed by a look of comprehension, before he went back to the kitchen.
The conference went on as if there had been no interruption (прерывания). Sonny asked Hagen, "Any change in the Don's condition?"
Hagen shook his head. "He's OK but he won't be able to talk for another couple of days. He's all knocked out. Still recovering from the operation (приходит в себя: to recover – вновь обретать, возвращать; приходить в себя, оправляться). Your mother spends most of the day with him, Connie too. There's cops all over the hospital and Tessio's men hang around too, just in case. In a couple of days he'll be all right and then we can see what he wants us to do. Meanwhile we have to keep Sollozzo from doing anything rash. That's why I want to start you talking deals with him."
Sonny grunted. "Until he does, I've got Clemenza and Tessio looking for him. Maybe we'll get lucky and solve the whole business."
"You won't get lucky," Hagen said. "Sollozzo is too smart." Hagen paused. "He knows once he comes to the table he'll have to go our way mostly. That's why he's stalling. I'm guessing he's trying to line up support from the other New York Families so that we won't go after him when the old man gives us the word."
Sonny frowned. "Why the hell should they do that?" Hagen said patiently, "To avert a big war (предотвратить [∂'v∂:t]) which hurts everybody and brings the papers and government into the act. Also, Sollozzo will give them a piece of the action. And you know how much dough there is in drugs (dough [d∂u] – тесто; деньги /сленг/). The Corleone Family doesn't need it, we have the gambling, which is the best business to have. But the other Families are hungry. Sollozzo is a proven man (испытанный, проверенный), they know he can make the operation go on a big scale (широкомасштабную). Alive he's money in their pockets, dead he's trouble."
Sonny's face was as Michael had never seen it. The heavy Cupid mouth and bronzed skin seemed gray. "I don't give a fuck what they want. They better not mess in this fight (лучше бы им не вмешиваться в драку)."
Clemenza and Tessio shifted uneasily in their chairs, infantry leaders (командиры пехоты) who hear their general rave about storming an impregnable hill (кричит, что надо взять неприступную высоту; to rave – бредить, говорить возбужденно) no matter what the cost. Hagen said a little impatiently, "Come on, Sonny, your father wouldn't like you thinking that way. You know what he always says, 'That's a waste (растрата, расточительство /денег, сил/).' Sure, we're not going to let anybody stop us if the old man says we go after Sollozzo. But this is not a personal thing, this is business. If we go after the Turk and the Families interfere (вмешаются [ınt∂'fı∂]), we'll negotiate the issue (исход, выход [‘ı∫u:]). If the Families see that we're determined to have Sollozzo (твердо решили; determined [dı’t∂:mınd] – решительный, твердый, непреклонный), they'll let us. The Don will make concessions (уступки) in other areas to square things (уровнять). But don't go blood crazy on a thing like this. It's business. Even the shooting of your father was business, not personal. You should know that by now."
Sonny's eyes were still hard. "OK. I understand all that. Just so long as you understand that nobody stands in our way when we want Sollozzo."