Free Home Goes The Warrior by Jeff Noonan

didn’t see the humor.
    “Yeah. You’re absolutely right. The Navy wouldn’t appreciate this relationship, and that is a fact”.
    Maggie calmed the immediate tension with, “This room is great, Mr. Bruno. We can relax and talk without worrying about anything. Besides, this place is beautiful. I love it.”
    Tony replied, his slight accent betraying his Italian birthplace. “Not Mr. Bruno, dear. I’m just Tony to any friend of Lee’s. Come. Let’s sit and have a glass of wine.” With that, he led them to the dining table, where he sat at the head of the table after seating Lee and Maggie on either side of him. Without ceremony or fanfare, he poured wine from a bottle that Lee knew cost more than he made in a month. Their hostraised his glass and toasted them. “To old friends and new ones. I’m very happy to be here with you.”
    Maggie reflected on this turn of events as she sipped her wine and listened with half an ear to the two men as they talked of the old days and people they had both known. She was watching and learning. This Tony Bruno was a gentleman of the old school. He opened doors for ladies and always had a good thing to say about everything. He did have a slight accent, but it wasn’t overpowering. But there was a kind of velvety firmness about him that told her he should not be taken lightly.
    They finished a lobster appetizer and moved on to a dinner of filet mignon that was exquisite. Finally the men were pausing in their conversation, and Maggie decided that it was time for her to do some of the probing they had discussed last night. “Tony, what can you tell us about the base where Lee is going to be stationed?”
    Bruno thought for a moment and then opened with a physical description of the place. “It’s a huge piece of land at the foot of Broad Street, just past the stadiums. It’s actually only about a mile or so from where I live, but I haven’t been on the base for a few years. From all reports, it’s doing a lot of work on ships. The shipyard, where Lee will be working, occupies about half of the base’s land. The shipyard overhauls eight or ten ships at a time and it has both drydocks and piers for the ships. There’s a bunch of big industrial buildings there that you can see from a boat on the Delaware River, but I don’t know anything about them. I’ve heard that the yard employs about fifteen thousand civilians. There are a couple of dozen Navy people stationed in the shipyard itself and a lot more on the adjoining base. Plus, there are a lot of shipboard sailors. There’s some other organizations on the base, I understand. Mostly Navy engineering organizations, I think. They probably employ a couple of thousand more civilians. That base is Philly’s largest employer by far.”
    Tony thought for a moment, then continued, “I don’t really know much more than that. I stay clear of the military mostly.” That caused both Lee and Maggie to look at him.
    Lee took the lead with, “Why’s that Uncle Anty?”
    “I just do, Lee. There’s two things that my people all know about me. I don’t touch anything that has to do with drugs, and I love theUnited States of America. Those kids out there on those ships are there to protect me. I don’t screw with them. Neither do my boys. That is one of the most important of the Laws of Bruno.” He laughed at the description, but there was no mistaking his sincerity.
    Lee smiled at Anthony’s comment. “Yeah. I can’t imagine anyone trying anything on a Navy base. Besides, there probably wouldn’t be much to be gained from doing anything there anyway. Just a bunch of yard-birds, sailors, and engineers. Doesn’t sound like much of a gold mine.”
    At that, Anthony put his fork down for a moment and leaned back in his chair, looking directly at Lee. “I dunno about that,” he said. “I’ve been hearing rumors, and there’ve been some incidents lately that worry me a bit.” Both Lee and Maggie stopped eating and looked at