Hagen stared down at his hands, not answering. Sollozzo went on

persuasively. "The Don was slipping. In the old days I could never have gotten to

him. The other Families distrust him because he made you his Consigliori and

you're not even Italian, much less Sicilian. If it goes to all-out war the Corleone

Family will be smashed and everybody loses, me included. I need the Family

Political contacts more than I need the money even. So talk to Sonny, talk to the

caporegimes; you'll save a lot of bloodshed."

10 Hagen held out his china cup for more whiskey. "I'll try," he said. "But Sonny

is strong-headed. And even Sonny won't be able to call off Luca. You have to

worry about Luca. I'll have to worry about Luca if I go for your deal."

11 Sollozzo said quietly, "I'll take care of Luca. You take care of Sonny and the

Other two kids. Listen, you can tell them that Freddie would have gotten it today

with his old man but my people had strict orders not to gun him. I didn't want any

More hard feelings than necessary. You can tell them that, Freddie is alive

because of me."

12 Finally Hagen's mind was working. For the first time he really believed that

Sollozzo did not mean to kill him or hold him as a hostage. The sudden relief from

Fear that flooded his body made him flush with shame. Sollozzo watched him with