Английский язык с Крестным Отцом
Шрифт:
was the bullet-smashed face of Sonny Corleone. The left eye drowned in blood had a
star fracture (трещина, излом, разрыв) in its lens (линза; хрусталик глаза). The
bridge of his nose and left cheekbone were hammered into pulp.
For one fraction of a second the Don put out his hand to support himself against
Bonasera's body. "See how they have massacred my son," he said.
Chapter 19
Perhaps it was the stalemate that made Sonny Corleone embark on the bloody
course of attrition (трение,
ended in his own death. Perhaps it was his dark violent nature given full rein. In any
case, that spring and summer he mounted senseless raids on enemy auxiliaries
(auxiliary [o:g’ziljri] – вспомогательный; помощник). Tattaglia Family pimps (pimp –
сводник, сутенер) were shot to death in Harlem, dock goons (goon – головорез,
наемный бандит) were massacred. Union officials who owed allegiance to the Five
Families were warned to stay neutral, and when the Corleone bookmakers and shylocks
were still barred from the docks, Sonny sent Clemenza and his regime to wreak (давать
выход, волю чувству [ri:k], to wreak vengeance upon one’s enemy – отомстить врагу)
havoc (опустошение, разрушение ['hжvk]) upon the long shore.
This slaughter was senseless because it could not affect the outcome of the war.
Sonny was a brilliant tactician and won his brilliant victories. But what was needed was
the strategical genius of Don Corleone. The whole thing degenerated into such a deadly
guerrilla war that both sides found themselves losing a great deal of revenue and lives
Мультиязыковой проект Ильи Франка www.franklang.ru
to no purpose. The Corleone Family was finally forced to close down some of its most
94
profitable bookmaking stations, including the book given to son-in-law Carlo Rizzi for his
living. Carlo took to drink and running with chorus girls and giving his wife Connie a hard
time. Since his beating at the hands of Sonny he had not dared to hit his wife again but
he had not slept with her. Connie had thrown herself at his feet and he had spurned her,
as he thought, like a Roman, with exquisite patrician pleasure. He had sneered at her,
"Go call your brother and tell him I won't screw you, maybe he'll beat me up until I get a
hard on (эрекция)."
But he was in deadly fear of Sonny though they treated each other with cold
politeness. Carlo had the sense to realize that Sonny would kill him, that Sonny was a
man who could, with the naturalness of an animal, kill another man, while he himself
would have to call up all his courage, aIl his will, to commit murder. It never occurred to
Carlo that because of this he was a better man than Sonny Corleone, if such terms
could be used; he envied Sonny his awesome savagery, a savagery which was now
becoming a legend.
Tom Hagen, as the Consigliori, disapproved of Sonny's tactics and yet decided not to
protest to the Don simply because the tactics, to some extent, worked. The Five
Families seemed to be cowed (to cow –
went on, and their counterblows weakened and finally ceased altogether. Hagen at first
distrusted this seeming pacification of the enemy but Sonny was jubilant (ликующий,
торжествующий ['dGu:bilnt]). "I'll pour it on," he told Hagen, "and then those bastards
will come begging for a deal."
Sonny was worried about other things. His wife was giving him a hard time because
the rumors had gotten to her that Lucy Mancini had bewitched her husband. And though
she joked publicly about her Sonny's equipment and technique, he had stayed away
from her too long and she missed him in her bed, and she was making life miserable for
him with her nagging.
In addition to this Sonny was under the enormous strain of being a marked man. He
had to be extraordinarily careful in all his movements and he knew that his visits to Lucy
Mancini had been charted by the enemy. But here he took elaborate precautions since
this was the traditional vulnerable spot. He was safe there. Though Lucy had not the
slightest suspicion, she was watched twenty-four hours a day by men of the Santino
regime and when an apartment became vacant on her floor it was immediately rented
by one of the most reliable men of that regime.
Мультиязыковой проект Ильи Франка www.franklang.ru
The Don was recovering and would soon be able to resume command. At that time
the tide of battle must swing to the Corleone Family. This Sonny was sure of.
Meanwhile he would guard his Family's empire, earn the respect of his father, and,