Home Goes The Warrior (8 page)

There were several bars in sight around the casino floor. Uncle Anty led them to an enclosed bar with a piano player lazily playing big band tunes. It was the kind of place where one could talk without fear of eavesdroppers. Lee noticed that the service was immediate and extremely courteous. The waiter addressed Tony as “Mr. Bruno” even though he said that he hadn’t tried this particular bar before this. He was obviously a celebrity in this town.

The conversation moved to Lee’s return to Philadelphia. Tony wanted to know all about it, so Lee obliged. “I’m going to be there in about two weeks. I’ll be working in the Navy Yard. I’m not entirely sure what my assignment there will be. That’ll be up to the shipyard commander.”

Tony nodded and asked, “Where will you be living? Are you moving back to your old home?”

“No. I don’t think I can ever live there again. Too many memories. Besides, it’s rented out. My Uncle Mike handles the rental for me. I’ll probably just live on base at the BOQ. Hadn’t really given it much thought.”

The old mobster smiled thoughtfully and replied, “I knew Mike was handling your place. I’ve called him a few times to see how you were doing. You gave us all a real scare when you let those Viet Cong put a hit on you. But it looks like you pulled through all right.”

“Yeah. Geez, Tony, I had no idea that any of you knew about that. Yes, I survived - mainly because of the lady sitting with us. Maggie was the nurse that worked on me in DaNang until I was well enough to handle the ride back to the States.”

That set the burly man off again, talking non-stop, this time to Maggie. “Little miss, what I have is yours. I have a lot of respect for our military and I’ve heard stories about the courage that you nurses showed over there. We all owe you for serving in a place like that. You didn’t have to go there. Not only that, but you saved my godson. I owe you. I will always owe you. If you ever have a problem and need help, you just have to ask for Anthony Bruno.”

Lee’s mouth had literally dropped open during this little speech. When the mob boss paused, he interrupted. “Uncle Anty. Your godson? What the hell do you mean? I didn’t know I had a godfather. I thought you were just one of my father’s clients.” At this, the old mobster settled in his chair, somehow looking older and smaller than he was. He took a drink, then answered.

“Yeah, Lee. When you were born, I was very close with your parents. Your middle name is Anthony for a reason. We were the best of friends. Before your birth, I agreed to be the godfather of their baby, and we went through the ceremonies. But a couple of years later, your parents decided to try to separate themselves from their South Philly roots. They moved to the suburbs and opened a legit law office. They pretty much quit going to church, so I guess the godson thing was less important to them. I still did a lot of business with your father, but over time we lost the closeness that we once had. I would stop over to see you often, but it just wasn’t the same. After while, I got the impression that your parents were ashamed to have me in their home, so I didn’t come over as often. That’s where we were when they died.”

He paused. Lee was silent, trying to absorb all of this. Tony caught his breath and went on, “Then you disappeared. I got worried and put some
people on your tail. Traced you to a little town in Montana, but by then you were in the Navy. So I dropped it and just followed you through your uncle.”

Maggie was the first to react to all of this. She started laughing aloud. With absolute merriment in her face, she turned to Tony and said, “My God! I can’t believe it! You really
are
a godfather. The movies finally got something right!” Big Tony obviously didn’t like the comparison, even though everyone else at the table started laughing along with Maggie.

“That movie was crap!” But when Lee and Maggie kept laughing, even he had to grin.

The big man named Joe spoke up then. “Boss, we have to get going. Meeting is in fifteen minutes, and you know how Carlo is about being on time.”

“Yeah, Okay” Anthony glanced at his watch, looking thoughtful. “Lee, I’ll call you tomorrow morning, and we can set something up for dinner. I’m leaving the next morning, so it has to be tomorrow, if you can make it?” The last was almost an afterthought.

Lee answered, “We planned to be here two or three days. Dinner sounds good to me.”

With that, the three big men left the table, leaving Lee and Maggie staring at one another over their drinks. “Wow!” That was all that Lee could think of to say.

Maggie wasn’t as speechless. “Mr. Raines, exactly who in the fuck are you? One of the biggest mafia people in the world is your godfather? Who in the fuck are you and why haven’t you told me about this?” Lee’ mouth dropped open for the second time. Maggie never used that language. He tried to think of an answer, but Maggie was faster than he was. “I want the whole story and I want it now.”

Lee pulled himself together enough to reply, “Whoa, Maggie. I don’t have a lot of answers. This whole godfather thing was news to me.” He stopped for a moment, then went on, “I knew that my father did some work for Tony. Legal work - Dad was a lawyer. My mother was always on Dad’s case about Tony and his buddies. I remember her saying that she wanted those guys out of her life, but Dad would always talk about how they couldn’t just ignore the kids they were raised with.
It was something they fought about all the time. As a kid, it didn’t seem like a big deal to me. Just a normal part of life.” He stopped and took a drink. Maggie was studying his face as if she had never seen it before. Nervously, he continued.

“I remember seeing Tony at the house a lot when I was just a little boy, but not much after that. When my folks died, there was some talk about the mob and that stuff. I remember that there were some people at the funeral that my Uncle Mike didn’t want there. But I just left after that, and I never thought twice about them until I got these orders to go back to Philly. Now the past is back, and I don’t know what to make of it any more than you do. That’s pretty much the whole story, as far as I know. I didn’t tell you about it before because it didn’t mean anything to me. But now that I’m going back to Philly, I have to confess that I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to worry you.”

Maggie was honestly disturbed by what she had heard. She nodded her understanding, but still had nothing to say. Lee started with, “Maggie,”

But she stopped him. “Please Lee. I need to think for a minute.”

Lee nodded and held his comments. They both took drinks, and Lee signaled to the waiter for a second round. The waiter, still very respectful, brought them immediately, telling Lee, “The drinks are on the house today.” Lee thanked him and handed him a five-dollar tip. The waiter left, smiling.

Maggie didn’t say anything until the waiter was out of earshot. “Darn, there are some benefits to being the friends of a Mafia Don after all, eh?” She smiled at the thought. “But seriously, Lee, what happens if you have to cross swords with the mob in your new job? Have you thought about that?”

His answer was slow and thoughtful. “Yeah, but not enough to have made any kind of a plan. I can only take it one day at a time and see what unfolds. If worst comes to worst, I have the FBI and the whole Navy behind me. But somehow, I just don’t see it happening. I dunno why. I just don’t.”

It was Maggie’s turn to be thoughtful. After a long pause while she stared down into her drink, she looked up and made her position clear. “Lee
Raines, you’re an asshole for not telling me about this, but I guess I do understand. Now we need a plan. I don’t do this one-day-at-a-time crap.”

Lee was relieved at her remark. “OK, beautiful person. What do you think we should be planning?”

“Tomorrow, Lee. We should be planning tomorrow. We’re going to have dinner with the guy that could be your best friend or your worst enemy. Let’s figure out where he stands. We may not have another opportunity.”

Lee was astounded by this side of Maggie. She was making her position perfectly plain. If this was going to be a war, she was all in - and she was not planning on losing any battles. The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon talking about Big Tony and the Navy’s Philadelphia problems. By dinner time they had done away with several free drinks, put a plan in place, and were ready to continue their vacation and enjoy the tables.

After a quiet evening that found them spending more time watching the other players than they spent playing, they retired for the night. Lee soon discovered that the previous evening’s lovemaking had stirred something that wasn’t easily satisfied. But he didn’t complain.

The invitation was relayed by a harried desk clerk who found them having a late breakfast in a little restaurant close to where they’d talked with Tony the previous day. The clerk relayed that that they should meet for dinner in Mr. Bruno’s suite on one of the hotel’s top floors at 7 p.m.. They asked the desk clerk to reply that they would be there, assuming that they would meet at the suite for cocktails, then go out to one of the many fine restaurants in the area.

They spent the day wandering around the town, seeing the sights, playing slot machines, buying silly souvenirs, and just having fun with each other. Neither of them could remember the last time they were this relaxed. Maggie put their thoughts into words with, “It’s as if I was still a girl - as if Viet Nam never happened.” Lee had to agree.

They appeared on time at Tony’s suite, dressed in the best clothes they could dig out of their suitcases. Maggie had hoped for a more formal night somewhere on this vacation, so she was stunning in a dark blue gown that showed off the deep blue of her eyes as well as a generous amount of cleavage. Lee was wearing linen slacks and a nice
open-collared shirt. Together they turned heads as they made their way to the private elevator that took them to the upper suites.

Tony was waiting for them when they arrived. He was wearing another dark blue pin-striped suit, apparently his normal attire. He was effusive in his praise of Maggie, complimenting her until she blushed. Lee was told several times to “never let this beauty out of your sight.” Tony even offered to stand up with them if they decided to take advantage of the services of a Las Vegas wedding chapel. Lee laughingly declined, although not before darting a glance to Maggie to see how she received the thought.

Moving on into the room, they were greeted with another surprise. The suite was huge. They were standing in a large living room and there was a group of servers bustling around a dinner table in an adjoining dining room. The bedroom was nowhere in sight, apparently hidden behind one of the closed doors off the living room. It was a luxuriously appointed room, with crystal flower vases on the tables and carefully selected paintings on the walls.

Big Tony took control of the conversation in his rapid-fire manner. “I hope you don’t mind eating here? I thought we could talk more freely here than in one of the local restaurants. I’m afraid my competitors all like to hear what I am saying. Besides, if you are going to be living in Philadelphia and working with the Navy, it’s probably better that you don’t advertise that you’re my friend, if you know what I mean.” He chuckled at that, but Lee 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 host
raised 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 the
United 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.