The Last Don - Mario Puzo [123]
“He won’t scare,” Pollard said. “In fact he scares me. He’s one of those genuinely tough guys who doesn’t care about consequences. His family has money and political power so he figures he can get away with anything. And he really enjoys trouble, you know, how some guys do. If you’re going to get into this you have to be serious.”
“I’m always serious,” Cross said. “You have Skannet under surveillance now?”
“I sure have,” Pollard said. “He is definitely capable of pulling bad shit.”
Cross said, “Pull off your surveillance. I don’t want anyone watching him. Understand?”
“OK, if you say so,” Pollard said. He paused for a moment, then said, “Watch out for Jim Losey, he’s keeping an eye out on Skannet. Do you know Losey?”
“I’ve met him,” Cross said. “I want you to do one other thing. Lend me your Pacific Ocean Security ID for a couple of hours. You’ll have it back in time to catch the midnight flight to L.A.”
Pollard was worried. “You know I’ll do anything for you Cross, but be careful; this is a very touchy case. I’ve built up a very good life out here and I don’t want it to go down the drain. I know I owe it all to the Clericuzio Family, I’m always grateful, I’m always paid back. But this is a very complicated business.”
Cross smiled at him reassuringly. “You’re too valuable to us. One other thing, if Skannet calls up to check on men from your office talking to him, you just verify it.”
At this, Pollard’s heart sank. This was going to be real trouble.
Cross said, “Now tell me anything else you can about him.” When Pollard hesitated, Cross added, “I’ll do something for you. Later on.”
Pollard thought for a moment. “Skannet claims he knows a big secret that Athena would do anything not to have anyone find out. That’s why she dropped the charges against him. A terrific secret, Skannet loves that secret. Cross, I don’t know how or why you’re involved, but maybe knowing that secret can solve your problem.”
For the first time Cross looked at him without affability and suddenly he knew why Cross had acquired his reputation. The look was cold, judging, a judging that could result in death.
Cross said, “You know why I’m interested. Bantz must have told you the story. He hired you to do a background on me. Now do you have any of this big secret or does the Studio?”
“No,” Pollard said. “Nobody knows. Cross, I’m doing my best for you, you know that.”
“I do know that,” Cross said, suddenly gentle. “Let me make it easier for you. The Studio is hot to know how I’m going to get Athena Aquitane back to work. I’ll tell you. I’m going to give her half the profits of the movie. And it’s okay by me for you to tell them. You can make points, they may even give you a bonus.” He reached into his desk and took out a round leather bag and put it in Pollard’s hand. “Five grand of black chips,” he said. “I always worry when I ask you up here on business that you’ll lose money in the casino.”
He need not have worried. Andrew Pollard always turned the chips into the casino cage for cash.
Leonard Sossa was just getting settled into a secured business suite at the Xanadu when Pollard’s ID was brought to him. With his own equipment he carefully forged four sets of Pacific Ocean Security IDs, complete with special flap-open billfolds. They would not have passed an inspection by Pollard, but that was not necessary, Pollard would never see these IDs. When Sossa finished the job several hours later, two men drove him to the Sierra Nevada Hunting Lodge, where he was installed in a bungalow deep in the woods.
On the porch of the bungalow that afternoon, he watched a deer and bear that wandered by. At night he cleaned his tools and waited. He didn’t know where he was or what he was going to do and he didn’t want to know. He got his hundred grand a year and lived the life of a free man in the open air. He killed time by sketching the bear and the deer he had seen on a hundred sheets of paper and then riffling them together to give the impression of the deer chasing the bear.
Lia Vazzi was greeted in an altogether different fashion. Cross embraced