The secret meeting between the heads of the five New York families and all the other important families in America took place in a large room above a bank. Everybody sat around a large table, each head with his Consigliori sitting close behind. Don Corleone, who had invited them all, was the first to stand up and speak.
'How did things get so far?' he said. 'It's so unnecessary.' He looked at the small man with dark, oily hair and shadows under his eyes who was sitting opposite him. 'Tattaglia, you've lost a son. I've lost a son too. Why can't we stop this foolish war now before more people die?'
A handsome man with silver hair who sat at one end of the table began to speak. This was Barzini. 'We all know Don Corleone is an honest man,' he said. 'We can trust him.'
'Yes, 'Tattaglia said to Barzini. 'He has many important friends. But he refused to share them with us.'