Omerta - Mario Puzo [63]
After she left, Mr. Pryor, correct in bowler hat and umbrella, took Astorre to the airport. “Don’t worry about her,” Mr. Pryor said. “We will take care of everything.”
“Let me know,” Astorre said.
“Of course. She is a marvelous girl, a Mafioso woman. You must forgive her little trespass.”
CHAPTER 8
DURING THOSE YEARS in Sicily, Astorre was trained to be a Qualified Man. He even led a squad of six of Bianco’s cosca men into Corleone itself to execute their premier bombardier, a man who had blown up an Italian Army general and two of the most able anti-Mafia magistrates in Sicily. It was a daring raid that established his reputation in the upper levels of the Palermo cosca led by Bianco.
Astorre also led an active social life and frequented the cafés and nightclubs of Palermo—mostly to meet beautiful women. Palermo was full of the young Mafia picciotti, or foot soldiers, of different coscas, all insistent on their manhood, all careful to cut a fine figure with their tailored suits, their manicured nails, and hair slicked back like skin. All looking to make their mark—to be feared and to be loved. The youngest of them were in their teens, sporting finely groomed mustaches, their lips red as coral. They never gave an inch to another male, and Astorre avoided them. They were reckless, killing even those of high rank in their world and thus ensuring their own almost immediate death. For the killing of a fellow Mafia member was like the seduction of his wife, punished by murder. To assuage their pride, Astorre always showed these picciotti an amiable deference. And he was popular with them. It helped that he fell half in love with a club dancer called Buji and so avoided their ill will in matters of the heart.
Astorre spent several years as Bianco’s right-hand man against the Corleonesi cosca. Periodically he received instructions from Don Aprile, who no longer made his annual visit to Sicily.
The great bone of contention between the Corleonesi and Bianco’s cosca was a matter of long-term strategy. The Corleonesi cosca had decided on a reign of terror against the authorities. They assassinated investigating magistrates and blew up generals sent to suppress the Mafia in Sicily. Bianco believed that this was harmful in the long run despite some immediate benefits. But his objections led to his own friends being killed. Bianco retaliated, and the carnage became so pervasive that both sides again sought a truce.
During his years in Sicily, Astorre made one close friend. Nello Sparra was five years older than Astorre and played with a band in a Palermo nightclub where the hostesses were very pretty and some did duty as high-class prostitutes.
Nello did not lack for money—he seemed to have various sources of income. He dressed beautifully in the Palermo Mafioso style. He was always high-spirited and ready for adventure, and the girls in the club loved him because he gave them small presents on their birthday and holidays. And also because they suspected he was one of the secret owners of the club, which was a nice safe place to work thanks to the strict protection of the Palermo cosca that controlled all the entertainment in the province. The girls were only too glad to accompany Nello and Astorre to private parties and excursions into the countryside.
Buji was a tall, striking, and voluptuous brunette who danced at Nello Sparra’s nightclub. She was famous for her temper and her independence in taking lovers. She never encouraged a picciotto: The men who courted her had to have money and power. She had a reputation for being mercenary in a frank and open way that was considered Mafioso. She required expensive gifts, but her beauty and ardor made the rich men of Palermo eager to satisfy her needs.
Over the years Buji and Astorre established a liaison on the hazardous brink of true love. Astorre was Buji’s favorite, though she did not hesitate to abandon him for an especially remunerative weekend with a rich Palermo businessman.