The Summit (Lampone- 1960)
Lampone enters the room.
"Michael, I wanted to talk to you.".
"You may refer to me as Don Corleone.".
Lampone grimaces.
"Didn't expect you to be here. Thought you'd be at the Pioneer Club. Instead, you 're here at the Flamingo. Anyways I wanted to ask you about the woman….".
"It's being handled Rocco. That's all you need to know".
Lampone continues.
"Michael, is Geary truly responsible? It's beginning to look differently. I wanted to ask you…"
Corleone raises an eyebrow. "Probably Roth's men. We're not sure about the Senator's role yet. But he'll be useful as a political ally all the same. You need not concern yourself Rocco.".
Tom cuts in. "That reminds me. We have an assignment for you Rocco".
Lampone holds up his hand. "Hold on Tom. I want to know about this. What happened? How did the woman die? What's with the whip by the bed? Did the police plant it? I went by the brothel after talking to Neri. Saw the crime scene with my own two eyes. Either the Senator's an animal or it's too convenient to be believed. Either way you shouldn't be working with him. You're either enabling him or exploiting him. And what about the comments he made? I was in the room when he made those comments 'I don't like your kind of people'- you want to work with that?".
Michael speaks cooly "You are very far out of your purview Rocco. Our family's political maneuvers are not your department. Stick to enforcement. You're better at it.".
Lampone raises his voice. "That's what I'm talking about- enforcement. Don't we want to know who's responsible? If it's not Geary I ought to be given a name.".
Tom cuts in again "Rocco, that assignment will be handled by someone else. Right now, we have something more critical for you. Roth is going to be landing at Miami, airport in a couple of weeks. He's attacked Michael's family in their home already. We need it handled. And if it was his men who set Geary up then it'll send the m a message that is required. Besides we're not sure how exactly the girl ended up dead yet anyways. The police suspect Geary but you're right maybe it was someone else. This mission is more important though and you know it. We want to go over the details with you tomorrow. Is that alright Rocco?".
Lampone glares angrily. "I had a friend who died in the same place Geary got set up in. He gets peeped on, pull up his pants when he finds out the truth, doesn't touch the peeper, doesn't knowingly expose shit to them, and doesn't do anything to the woman. All because that report he filed to an orphanage on behalf of the peeper made its way to the police. That's it. And the woman didn't even get arrested. But he died because people were afraid that police report might in-criminate you, even though it hadn't. I'm beginning to ask myself questions about this family Michael. ".
Corleone replies "Such questions can be hazardous to your health Rocco".
Lampone notes the threat but goes on. "When Clemenza inducted me Michael, same as he inducted you, he told me this family is 'a thing of honor'. Told me I was lucky my first assignment wasn't lethal but that they had something else in mind for me afterwards. And I got Bonasera's daughter justice. And I handled the Gatto matter too. And all I got there is he reached his hands back for my gun at the last second. That's all I got. A sliver more than Neri with Barzini. But not much. I shot a man I was friendly with in the back of the head when he grabbed for my gun (Which was good luck, that's all it was) for your father because I believed this thing of ours was about honor. Respect. Justice. Where's the justice here Michael? The woman's dead. And I saw her corpse. Dishonored too. I retched. I'll go to Miami because when I gave my word to this family that meant something to me. But I want answers Michael.".
Tom smoothly interjects "We're working on that Rocco. However, as I said the Miami mission is more important. Me and Michael we want to speak to you about the details tomorrow. Just Miami, itself. Nothing else.".
Lampone replies "Well fine. This better go more smoothly than Carson City. I barely survived. I'm still pissed about my friend you know".
Tom continues "He went to the police Rocco. Always a mistake.".
Lamone replies over his shoulder on his way out the door "Like I said he didn't. But fine. This is the best I get, I got it. I'll be back to talk about Miami. When I'm through that I want answers about here though. Real ones. That may be difficult for you but it's not impossible.".
Michael retorts "Remember Rocco- Don't ever betray this family".
Lampone's face turns to stone and he leaves.
Tom turns to this Michael. "This is bad. The last thing we need is Lampone disrupting our play with the Senator".
Michael lowers his voice. "Remain calm Tom. One problem will solve the other. Miami. The only place to catch Roth is at the gate, right? With the FBI immediately proximate? This isn't like me and the restaurant all those years ago. One problem will solve the other. All we need to do is get Lampone to Miami. Present it as a test of his capabilities. That will appeal to him.".
Tom replies "I hope you're right Michael. You always have been a bit bold for my taste".
Michael concludes "Fortune favors it, Tom. Besides, you remember what Machiavelli said. The ends justify the means. I made my wife a promise that within 10 years this family will be completely legitimate. And I mean to keep it.".