The Last Don - Mario Puzo [103]
“I have never met a man like that,” the Don said.
Giorgio said, “They grow them only in America.”
“But then he is very dangerous to what we want to do,” the Don said. “From what you tell me, he is a man who will not listen to reason. So there is no choice.”
Cross said, “Wait. He means at least a half million dollars’ profit every year to the casino.”
Vincent said, “It’s a matter of principle. The Books pay us money to protect them.”
Cross said, “Let me talk to him. Maybe he’ll listen to me. The whole thing is small potatoes. He can’t fix the Super Bowl. It’s not worth our taking action.” But then he got a look from his father and he realized that in some way it was not proper for him to make such arguments.
The Don said with a terminal determination, “The man is dangerous. Don’t talk to him, nephew. He doesn’t know who you really are. Why give him the advantage? The man is dangerous because he is stupid, he is stupid as an animal is stupid, he wants to feed on everything. And then when he is caught he wants to wreak as much havoc as he can. He will implicate everyone whether true or not.” He paused for a moment and then looked at Dante. “Grandson,” he said, “I think you should do the job. But let Pippi do the planning on this one, he knows the territory.”
Dante nodded.
Pippi knew he was on dangerous ground. If anything happened to Dante, he would be held responsible. And another thing was clear to him. The Don and Giorgio were determined some day Dante would head the Clericuzio Family. But at present they did not trust his judgment.
In Vegas Dante registered in a suite at the Xanadu. The Rustler, Snedden, was not due in Vegas for a week, and during that time Cross and Pippi indoctrinated Dante.
“Rustler is a high roller,” Cross said. “But not high enough to rate a Villa. Not in the class of Arabs and Asians. His RFB is enormous, he wants everything free he can get. He puts friends on restaurant tabs, orders the best wines, he even tries to put the gift shop on his tab. We don’t give that even to the Villa guys. He’s a claim artist, so the dealers have to watch him. He’ll claim he made a bet just before the number hit on the crap table. He’ll try to make a bet in baccarat after the first card shows. At blackjack he’ll claim he wanted to hit an eighteen when the next card is three. He’s very late paying his markers. But he gives us a half million a year, even after we take off what he beats the sports book for. He’s cute. He even draws chips for his friends and puts them on his marker so we’ll think he gambles bigger than he actually does. All that chickenshit stuff like the garment center guys used to pull in the old days. But then he goes berserk when his luck goes bad. Last year he dropped two million and we made him a party and gave him a Cadillac. He bitched that it wasn’t a Mercedes.”
Dante was outraged. “He draws chips and money from the cage and doesn’t gamble it?”
“Sure,” Cross said. “A lot of guys do it. We don’t mind. We like to look stupid. It gives them more confidence at the tables. They outsmart us again.”
“Why do they call him the Rustler?” Dante asked.
“Because he takes things without paying for them,” Cross said. “When he has girls he bites them as if he wants to take a chunk of their flesh. And he gets away with it. He’s a great, great bullshit artist.”
Dante said dreamily, “I can’t wait to hear him.”
“He could never talk Gronevelt into giving him a Villa,” Cross said. “So I don’t.”
Dante looked at him sharply. “How come I didn’t get a Villa?”
“Because it could cost the Hotel a hundred grand to a million bucks a night,” Cross said.
Dante said, “But Giorgio gets a Villa.”
“OK,” Cross said, “I’ll clear it with Giorgio.” They both knew Giorgio would be outraged by Dante’s request.
“Fat chance,” Dante said.
“When you get married,” Cross said, “you’ll get a Villa for your honeymoon.”
Pippi said, “My operational plan depends on Big Tim’s character. Cross you have to cooperate just here in Vegas to set the guy up. You