Can anyone envision a scenario in which Tom would be killed?
For example,let's say when Tom is offered the job in Vegas,he takes it. Would Mike see this as a betrayal or even as a possible liability in the event that Hagen got caught up in something,and was pressured to flip?
That is exactly what I envisioned if Tom had taken that job in Vegas.
Tom had a lot of incriminating information on Michael. He would have taken Tom's leaving as proof of disloyalty and dissatisfaction. The Law would have seen it that way, too. They would have pounced on Tom as soon as they found out he left Michael. Michael would never have risked it--Tom would have been a dead man.
And, as Oli points out, pithily, a man who'd have his own brother killed wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone else. Michael said as much to Tom in the boathouse: "If history proves anything, it's that you can kill anyone." He was talking about Roth and Pentangeli, but I don't doubt that the message was aimed at Tom, too.
