Page 45 of Teddy Sinatra: Go Your Own Way
“How did it go?” Marco asked them.
But Teddy was in no mood for discussions out there. “You and you,” he said, pointing at both young men, “come with me.”
Nikki fell in line behind both of them as they followed Teddy inside.
Marco was confused, but he didn’t say anything. One thing he knew for sure about his father was that he didn’t play. Something had happened. And that something involved his best friend, he was willing to bet on it. But what was it?
And the fact that Vivian didn’t put up any resistance nor asked any questions, concerned Marco, too, as they followed his father across the lawn to one of the guest houses in the far east corner of the property.
Inside the guest house waiting were the family heads: Mick and Big Daddy, and Reno, Sal, and Tommy. They were all standing in a line. Two chairs were in front of them. Teddy plopped Vivian down in the chair. Marco sat down beside him. Then Teddy and Nikki went and stood in front of the chairs too.
“What happened?” Marco asked them.
“When did you plan on telling us that you worked for the Bengino family too?” Mick asked Vivian.
Marco was floored. “Hewhat?” Then he looked at Vivian. “You worked for the Bengino crew?”
“I did a few jobs for Denny before I left Philly. That’s all.”
“What kind of jobs?”
“I ran product to South America. But that’s all I did. I don’t know nothing about no ambush or no explosions. I wasn’t involved in any of that shit.”
But Marco was suspicious now too. “Sure about that?”
“I’m positive. How would I know about how to explode a big cargo freighter? I can’t even swim, but yet I’m gonna plant a bomb beneath a boat? It’s not possible!”
Everybody looked at each other. Even Marco saw the problem.
“That’s the thing, Vivian,” Teddy said. “How would you know where that bomb was planted?”
Marco stared at his friend.
“It was never made public,” Nikki added.
“But somehow you knew about it,” said Reno. “How could that be, Vivian?”
Vivian suddenly had nothing to say. But Marco was livid. He angrily grabbed Vivian up by his shirt and ran with him until he slammed him against the wall. “You mean to tell me you were plotting against my family?”
“I didn’t do nothing though!” Vivian proclaimed. “They wanted me to, but I didn’t do nothing though!”
“Who wanted you to?” Mick asked him. “Who?”
“My brother roped me in.”
Teddy frowned. “Who’s your brother?”
Vivian didn’t want to snitch on his own blood, but he knew he had no choice. “Your dock supervisor. Renardo.”
As soon as Nikki heard the name, her heart dropped. “Renardo?”
“Renardo is your brother?” asked an astounded Teddy.
“Same father, different mothers. He’s the one that recruited me to do it.”
“To do what?” Marco asked him. Mick could tell he was still floored by the news too.
“He recruited me to help Denny Bengino take out three of your old man’s capos. He didn’t care which ones. Just as long as they were made-men and high up in the pecking order. We were instructed to make all three look like separate suicides.”
