Danger. And now of course despite being so tough he must be shitting in his

pants because the old man was still alive. He'd be as skittish as a donkey with

Ants up his ass. But Clemenza was accustomed to these circumstances, usual in

His work. First, he had to have a good excuse for Rocco to accompany them.

Second, he had to have a plausible mission for the three of them to go on.

Of course, strictly speaking, this was not necessary. Paulie Gatto could be

Killed without any of these frills. He was locked in, he could not run away. But

Clemenza felt strongly that it was important to keep good working habits and

Never give away a fraction of a percentage point. You never could tell what might

Happen and these matters were, after all, questions of life and death.

As he washed his baby-blue Cadillac, Peter Clemenza pondered and

Rehearsed his lines, the expressions of his face. He would be curt with Paulie, as

If displeased with him. With a man so sensitive and suspicious as Gatto this

Would throw him off the track or at least leave him uncertain. Undue friendliness

Would make him wary. But of course the curtness must not be too angry. It had to

be rather an absentminded sort of irritation. And why Lampone? Paulie would

Find that most alarming, especially since Lampone had to be in the rear seat.

Paulie wouldn't like being helpless at the wheel with Lampone behind his head.