by Tony Bertot
As Theo stared out at the crowd, he was surprised to see Nick across the street. Nick nodded to him, waved and pointed to the roof. He then crossed over to Theo’s side of the street, between one float and a marching group of boy scouts and went into the building and up the stairs.
“Honey, I’ll be back in a second,” Theo told Sylvia.
She smiled at him and nodded.
A few minutes later, he was up on the roof where he was greeted by his old friend.
“Hi, Theo. It’s good to see you,” Nick said.
Theo nodded as he walked over to the edge of the building and looked down at the spectators and turned to face Nick.
“Those men were not your enemy. They were mine,” he told Nick.
“You’re welcome,” Nick replied smiling.
Theo stared at him.
“Why did you risk your life for me?” Theo asked him.
“Those men worked for the men who were responsible for my father’s death as well. So I did us both a favor,” Nick replied.
“Now what?” Theo asked.
“Well, I got to get out of town. I failed to take out the heads of the Giovanna family so it will be a matter of time before they come after me,” Nick said.
“What about the Randazzo’s?” Theo asked.
“They are safe, now. It will be a while before the Giovanna and Sabrisio families can get out the hole they’re currently in, especially with the police and FBI breathing down their necks,” Nick responded.
“In a couple of days I leave for the Army. Come with me,” Theo said.
“Who, me? Join the military. I don’t think so,” Nick responded.
“They wouldn’t be able to find you there,” Theo said.
“That’s probably true. But, I don’t know if I can hack it,” Nick replied.
Theo stared at him and smiled.
“We Italians can take anything,” Theo replied.
“I leave at 6:00am on Tuesday morning. Hope we can go together,” Theo said.
Nick walked up to him and put out his hand.
Theo stared at it and then up at Nick. He took his hand, gave him a firm shake, nodded and walked away.
Nick stared after Theo as he left the roof.
“You are a strange guy, Theo,” Nick thought to himself.
The next day Theo and Sylvia sat in front of their apartment building taking in the warm weather and just chatting. Sylvia, now eight months pregnant, looked radiant in a white blouse and cut jeans. They were soon joined by Benito and Calito.
“Going to be another warm day tomorrow,” Benito said.
“Yep,” confirmed Calito.
“I hope you two will join us for an early dinner tonight,” Benito told Theo and Sylvia.
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Sylvia.
Theo simply smiled and nodded.
That night Theo, Sylvia and her mother joined Benito and his family for a special going away dinner for Theo’s benefit. Theo enjoyed the company immensely and the stories of him as the camera kid were amusing and brought a smile to his face. At one point, as they were digesting dinner, Carmine came over to Theo and once again apologized. It was obvious he had a little too much to drink. Theo smiled at him and nodded.
“Carmine, you are going through your whole life apologizing. Stop it, my friend, there is no reason for it,” Theo told him.
Benito made several toasts wishing Theo good luck. Calito made a toast wishing the Army good luck bringing loud laughter from everyone. Theo did not get it.
Before parting ways, Theo helped Sylvia’s mother downstairs to her apartment and then returned to bid everyone a good night.
Benito hugged Theo.
“Good luck, my son,” Benito told Theo with watery eyes.
Theo bent down to Ana who hugged him for a whole minute. She too had tears in her eyes.
“God bless you, Theo. You will be in our prayers, always,” she told him.
“Thank you,” Theo responded as he looked into her eyes and smiled.
Calito put his hand out, pulled Theo to him, and gave him a big hug.
“Take care little brother. Give them hell,” he commented.
Maria and Sonia gave him a hug and wished him well.
Sonia told Theo not to worry about Sylvia, that she will keep her in line. They all laughed when Sylvia in response asked who is going to keep Sonia in line.
That night Sylvia held Theo tight as they slept wondering what would become of them. Wondering if she would ever see the man she loves again.
“Are you asleep?” she whispered to him.
“Yes,” he replied.
She smiled. It was not like him to joke.
“I’m going to miss you,” she told him.
“Time will go by fast and I’ll return before you know it,” he told her.
“Maybe for you, but not for me,” she answered.
Theo held her close and said,
“Perhaps, but between your mother and the baby , you will be kept busy,” Theo said.
“Maybe,” Sylvia replied.
They hugged each other and slept soundly the rest of the night.
At around 5:00am the next morning Theo was up and packing some of his things into a duffle bag. He gave his camera to Sylvia along with over a hundred pictures he took when he was a child.
“Please keep these safe,” he told Sylvia.
“Of course I will,” she responded.
He gave her a kiss and hugged her tightly, looked into her eyes and smiled.
“You take care of yourself and if you ever need me send an urgent telegram and I’ll return,” he told her.
Sylvia nodded and hugged him as a tear escaped her eye.
In a few seconds, he was out the door. Before exiting the building, he found Benito Randazzo sitting on the bottom step waiting for him.
“Don’t you worry about her; I will look after her until you return. This I promise you,” Benito told Theo.
Theo stared at this man and once again, they shook hands and hugged.
“Thank you, sir,” Theo said.
As Theo exited the building and started heading towards the bus stop on Roosevelt he heard the honking of a car across the street. It was Nick Costello.
“Hey, you plan to walk to boot camp?” Nick asked.
Theo was pleased to see him.
Theo ran across the street and jumped into the passenger side.
“Guess we’re going to be Army buddies,” said Nick.
“Where you get this car?” Theo asked.
“Stole it,” Nick replied.
Theo stared at him and they both laughed.
Fazio’s Revenge
Long Island/New York
Fazio studied the faces of the men sitting before him. Leo Russo, the oldest of the three men, was calm and collected while John De Luca and Erin Roman appeared nervous and fidgeted in their chairs. They were now looking for Fazio to provide them with direction and an action plan.
“Leo, who is taking care of Sal’s funeral services?” Fazio asked.
Caught by surprise, Leo responded no arrangements had been made.
“Take care of it right away,” Fazio ordered.
“Sure boss,” replied Leo.
“Should we also take care of Miss Gates’?” Leo went on to ask.
“Yes, but I’ll take care of the flowers,” Fazio told them.
“Boss, Sal was well known. The bosses of the other families would want to pay their respects,’ Leo said.
“Who are you talking about?” Fazio asked.
“Um… Well the San Francisco families as well as the Giovanna Family,” Leo answered.
“The Giovanna Family is responsible for killing Tam… my friend Miss Gates,” Fazio said angrily.
“No. It was Bolnaldo’s men. The Giovanna Family stayed out of it. Miss Gates was not part of the family. She was an outsider and they screwed up when they shot her. No family will come to the aid of Bolnaldo now. I wouldn’t be surprised if a
contract is put out on him,” Leo told Fazio.
“I don’t understand,” Fazio said.
“It’s an unwritten rule that we don’t hit any innocents. You know outsiders. Hits on one another is part of doing business, you know nothing personal,” Erin Romano said.
Fazio stared at these men as he realized what they were saying sunk in.
“Ethics between killers, what a joke,” thought Fazio to himself.
“You are telling me that Bolnaldo screwed up when he killed my friend?” Fazio asked.
“Yes. No other Family will come to his aid,” Leo said.
Staring at them Fazio’s mind began to formulate a plan, a plan to eliminate Bolnaldo Costellino.
Bolnaldo was screaming at the top of his lungs when he heard the account of what happened at the restaurant. Bolnaldo knew killing an innocent would cost him dearly. He will be isolated and not receive respect or aid from any other crime families.
“You idiots, you damn idiots,” he ranted as he picked up a gun sitting on the table, aiming at one of the men before him and fired indiscriminately, killing him instantly. The other men stood there nervously anticipating Bolnaldo would shoot them next.
“Take this piece of shit and dump it into the nearest river,” Bolnaldo ordered.
Two men picked up the body and carried it out, happy to be out of Bolnaldo’s sight.
“Where is Fazio now?” Bolnaldo asked.
“He’s gone underground,” replied Clemente Marino.
“Pop, we can’t let him get away. We need to hit him again before he comes after us,” said Bolnaldo junior.
Until now, Bolnaldo Costellino managed to keep his sons, Tony and Bolnaldo junior, out of the family business. Realizing his life may be over in an instant, he now wanted his legacy to continue though them.
It was not the first time his sons had witnessed someone killed. They had gone along on a couple of hits orchestrated by his father. Now Bolnaldo decided he wanted them to be in every meeting so they can learn what it takes to run an organization. Bolnaldo saw this as his empire and the boys as the sole heirs.
“My son is right, we need to find Fazio and get rid of him before he gets the chance to regroup and come after us,” Bolnaldo chanted.
After three weeks of moving from place to place Fazio, Felicia and Fabio managed to elude Bolnaldo’s men.
The incident at the restaurant resulted in Felicia losing her job as a prosecutor for the state of New York.
In closed Judges chambers Felicia was asked to remove herself as a prosecutor since her involvement with her father may be deemed a conflict of interest.
Visibly angry, Felicia told the judge that he should dismiss himself. Surely his constant groping of his secretary’s ass might also be construed as a conflict of interest. An item that might also be of interest to his wife.
With that said, she gave him the finger and walked out of his office. Though the judge contemplated throwing her in jail, he thought it best for all parties not to indulge in irrational behavior causing career ending publicity.
Unlike Bolnaldo, Fazio had all of the family businesses closed and diverted his manpower to achieving one goal; finding Bolnaldo and his men.
His scheme paid off for within a week Bolnaldo and his men were located. After several days of planning they were ready to exact their revenge on Bolnaldo and his organization.
On Saturday, July 16th Bolnaldo was in his office with his men around him when he received the call.
Clemente Marino picked up the phone and with a mouth wide open he handed it to Bolnaldo.
“Who is it?” he asked irritated.
“It’s Fazio Giordano,” he answered.
Bolnaldo stared at Clemente and then at the phone as all of the men in the office stood and came closer to the desk.
“Hello,” Bolnaldo said into the phone somewhat reluctant.
They all watched as Bolnaldo listened. His expression unchanging as if caught in a trance.
“Pop, what’s he saying?” asked Bolnaldo junior.
Bolnaldo did not respond or react to his son’s questioning.
For three minutes, Bolnaldo listened as the men around him were becoming anxious to know what Fazio was telling him. Finally, Bolnaldo reacted.
“Fuck you, you son-of-a-bitch! Come and try it! I’ll be waiting,” Bolnaldo yelled into the phone as he slammed it down.
“What did he say?” his son asked once again.
“That bastard said he was coming after me. That… That it was his people who went after Al Giovanna and the Sabrisio brothers and now they would be coming after me. He even had the balls to tell me it will be in the next three days,” Bolnaldo told them almost spitting it out.
You’re in the Army Now
Fort Benning/Georgia
General John Fulater stood staring out of his Washington office window as he mulled over the orders he had received earlier that day. It was clear events occurring on the other side of the world would result in a complete takeover by the communists unless they took immediate steps to prevent it. Also of concern were the reported atrocities being committed against people who did not support the communist regime. The orders were clear - do whatever it takes. He also knew for such a mission they would need men that can kill at a moment’s notice, men whose blood ran cold. Unbeknownst to the General, the name of one such man would be provided to him by the FBI.
“General there are two agents from the FBI waiting to see you,” the voice over the intercom said.
Taking his seat, he clicked on the intercom and asked they be let in.
Two men dressed in dark blue suits entered the General’s office with their hands extended.
“General, I’m agent Cummings and this is agent Harrison. We apologize for this interruption but we need your help in locating an individual we believe has joined the Army in order to avoid arrest,” the first man said.
“What is this man suspected of doing?” asked the General.
“We are not at liberty to divulge that information at this time,” responded the older of the two agents.
“Really, why not?” the General asked.
The agents could see this was not going to go the way they wanted.
“The man is suspected of killing two men in Chicago,” answered one of the agents.
“Why do you suspect him?” asked the General.
“The two men found dead may have been responsible for killing the suspect’s father some thirteen years before,” Agent Cummings said.
“You mean your suspect took out his own brand of justice that could not be achieved by local law enforcement?” asked the General.
“You might say that. But that doesn’t give him the right to take the law into his own hands,” Agent Harrison stated.
“He gagged the men, shot them each four times and left them bleeding to death. You want that type of man loose in your military?” Agent Harrison asked.
The General stared at the two agents, got up from his seat, turned and stared out the window before responding.
“Leave his name with my secretary and I will issue orders to locate this man. As soon as we find him we will notify you,” the General said with his back to the agents.
“We’ll give our cards to your secretary as well so you can get a hold of us,” Agent Harrison said.
With that, both agents got up, turned and walked out of the office.
Twenty minutes later, the General was on the phone to Fort Benning, Georgia.
Having completed their basic training they were a week away from going home on leave before their next assignment.
Master Sergeant J. Harrison was proud to have Theo Gresco assigned to one of his battalions. Before today, his team had never won a shooting competition. As of last count, they won six flags and all because of Gresco. So when he was called in before Sergeant Major Don Purveyor to testify on Private Gresco’s performance, it caught him completely off guard. He thought this was going to be his little secret.
&nb
sp; Within an hour of their conversation both Theo and Nick (since they joined under the buddy system) received orders to report to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, for additional training.
Before leaving for North Carolina, Theo shared his concern with Nick about Sylvia giving birth to a baby boy and not being able to see her.
“Well why don’t we fly up to Chicago, spend a couple of days and then go to North Carolina. That way you get to see her,” said Nick.
“Aren’t we supposed to go directly to North Carolina?” asked Theo.
“The orders say report to North Carolina. I think that meant we are to report as soon as possible. As long as we’re there within a couple of days we should be OK,” Nick said.
Theo looked at Nick and smiled knowing full well Nick was twisting the orders to his liking.
“Ok, let’s go back to Chicago for a few days before we report for duty,” Theo agreed.
Both Theo and Nick made it to Chicago and surprised everyone. Nick was given shelter in one of the available apartments until their departure. The first time Theo held his son, Tyler, in his arms Benito snapped a couple of pictures of the three. After explaining the situation, Sylvia reluctantly bid farewell to her husband. Benito cautioned both men the FBI had been around asking questions and were looking for them. As a precaution, they stayed indoors during their brief visit. Within three days, Nick and Theo were on a plane to North Carolina. Upon arrival, they were escorted to the brig on charges of being AWOL. After Nick explained that he honestly thought it was ok to go to Chicago and visit family before reporting for duty, they reluctantly released them to continue their training. Unknown to Theo or Nick was the fact their destiny had been decided by a General in Washington. The General, however, would never know the roll he played in the creation of an assassin.
Over the course of the next three months both men underwent extensive training in the use of weaponry, as well as in the ability to survive under extreme circumstances. Nick’s humor and Theo’s determination helped them make it through the rigorous program.