I Will Fight No More Forever

by E B Corbin

  When they stepped off the elevator at their floor, the door to their suite stood open. Henry pushed Sam behind him as he reached for his gun even though the buzzing remained low.

  Perhaps there really was something physically wrong with him. He didn’t know whether he could count on the buzz to warn him of danger anymore; that woman dashing to the cab didn’t even amplify it.

  Was it because she was no threat or could he have been fooling himself all these years? Could the doctors have been wrong and he really had a tumor or something growing in his brain?

  White Cloud had him accepting his “curse” as a blessing, but what did the taxi driver know? Henry never quite believed in the spirit guides that White Cloud seemed so certain about. He wished he had never mentioned his affliction to him.

  “Stay here until I check it out.” Henry shook his head to clear it and proceeded down the hall holding his gun at his side.

  Sam let him do his thing, but put her back to the closest wall so as not to be surprised from behind. If that guy from yesterday tried for her again, he’d be the one surprised. She then opened her jacket to have better access to her weapon. She had no intention of being caught off guard over and over like some dumb broad in a B movie.

  The elevator dinged as the doors opened on their floor. Her heartbeat kicked up; blood rushed to her head; she forced herself to breathe.

  She swiveled, her right hand tightening around the .44, ready to pull it out, when a young couple stepped out, looked around, then stopped.

  Sam’s gaze lasered in on them. None of the other suites on the floor had been occupied as far as Sam knew. No one should be getting off here.

  “Whoops, wrong floor,” the young woman said with a giggle as she leaned into her companion. They seemed very much enamored with each other and paid little attention to Sam standing at alert in the hall. For a second, Sam envied them, but she pushed it out of her mind, keeping alert for any threat.

  The couple stepped back into the elevator, grinning at each other, and the young man pushed a button. Sam didn’t relax until the doors closed and the light bar showed it was descending.

  When she turned away from the elevator, her heart skipped a beat. Henry had disappeared. She pulled the little .44 from her waist holster and held it straight down at her side just as Henry had done.

  Keeping her shoulder against the wall, she sucked in a breath and eased her way toward their suite. It seemed to take forever—she swung around every few steps to make sure no one was creeping up on her.

  She didn’t want to call out in case someone had overpowered her bodyguard. Though there was a slim chance of that happening, she would stay alert.

  As she reached the open door, Henry stepped out almost bumping into her. They both jumped back.

  “Jesus! You scared me to death.” Sam slumped against the wall.

  “It’s the maid,” he said as he tucked the gun back into its holster.

  Sam’s hand relaxed at her side. “Did you order maid service today?”

  “No, did you?”

  “No. I guess somebody didn’t get the message that we would call when we wanted the room cleaned.”

  The day after they checked in, they’d told the front desk clerk to cancel daily maid service. They didn’t want some stranger entering the room when they weren’t around. That seemed to be working up till now.

  A small Hispanic woman shuffled out, pushing her cart in front of her. A few folded towels sat on a top shelf while below a large canvas bag bulged with used towels and sheets. The woman kept her coffee-colored eyes cast down at the floor. “So sorry, señor, señora. I did not know.”

  Sam looked at Henry and shrugged.

  Henry handed the woman a five-dollar bill. “For your trouble.”

  “Oh, no, señor. I cannot take it.” The maid tried to push it back. “I did not have a chance to vacuum. Your friend just left a few minutes ago.”

  Sam looked at Henry with alarm. “Our friend? What did he look like?”

  “She looked like a nice lady.” The maid took a step back.

  “A woman?”

  “Yes, señora, she said she was supposed to meet with you, and she waited in the living room for you to return.”

  “Damn. That’s a new one.” Henry rubbed his chin.

  The maid frowned. “You were not expecting your friend?”

  “Was she a Native American?” Sam asked, although she doubted Nina knew where they were staying.

  “Oh, no, señora. I do not think so.”

  “Did she have black hair?”

  “No, it was yellow, like yours.” The maid wrung her hands. “Did I do something wrong? She said she was a friend.”

  “No, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Sam craned her neck to look into their room to see if their surprise visitor had left a note. She couldn’t see much from her vantage point in the hall. “Did she say anything before she left?”

  The maid looked at her feet. “No, señora. I am sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” Henry moved out of the doorway to give the woman space to exit and pressed the five dollars into her hand. As he watched her scurry down the hall pushing her cart, the buzzing in his head dimmed further. She stepped into the elevator and pushed the button without looking back.

  He didn’t know what to make of it, but he double-checked the rooms before he signaled for Sam to enter.

  “That was strange.” Sam took one last glance down the hall.

  “Yeah, I think we’d better talk to the front desk again.” Henry shut the door and locked it, throwing the secondary bolt into place for added protection.

  Sam rushed into her bedroom and felt under the mattress to make sure her laptop was where she left it. Her shoulders slumped in relief when she felt the cool metal rectangle.

  Henry stood in the doorway to her room. “I checked the other rooms, nothing seems to be missing.”

  “Same here.” Sam picked up the house phone next to her bed. “I’ll call the front desk.”

  Henry’s phone rang while Sam was speaking to the desk clerk. White Cloud was back, and they could run to Walmart if Henry was ready. The taxi driver figured that was the best place for Henry to find the necessary clothes.

  When he hung up, he found Sam standing beside her bed with a quizzical look on her face. “What’s wrong?

  “The desk clerk says they didn’t send anyone to clean the room. He transferred me to the head housekeeper. She said the person in charge of maintenance knows about the standing order and assured me they sent no one up.”

  “Hmmm. That’s odd. White Cloud’s downstairs waiting for me. Should I cancel the shopping trip and tell him to come up?”

  “No, I’ll be fine. Go—do what you need to do. I’ll make sure the door is locked and won’t let anyone in while you’re gone.” Sam dug her computer out from its hiding place and waved Henry away. “I’ll be careful, honest.”

  A line creased Henry’s forehead as he stared at her without moving.

  “Go! I’ll be fine. Promise.” Sam used both hands to shoo him away.

  He remained motionless.

  “Henry, do what you need to do. I have work.” She held up her laptop. “I don’t need you watching over my shoulder while I do it. It’s easier for me to think when I’m alone. Now go!”

  Since he couldn’t detect the slightest hint of buzzing, he decided to lighten up. He nodded and his dimple appeared. “We’ll be back as soon as I find something tasteless to wear.”

  “Go. It will take me a while to check into Buckley’s finances.”

  But Henry still didn’t feel comfortable leaving her alone. “Maybe I can send White Cloud to pick up something for me.”

  “Do you trust his judgment? And how will he know if something will fit?”

  “What do I care what he brings back? Doesn’t matter if it fits or not. I’m not going to the prom. I’ll give him my sizes and hope for the best—or in this case, the worst.”

  “You don’t need to
do that. I’ll be wrapped up in hacking Buckley’s accounts and will get more done without you pacing behind me.”

  Henry took one last look throughout the suite. He almost hugged Sam before he caught himself. Where did that come from? He cleared his throat. “Lock this after I leave.”

  Sam nodded, already lost in thought.

  Henry waited until she placed her computer on the table and moved toward him before he opened the door. He scanned up and down the hall: nothing out of the ordinary. “We’ll be back soon. Try to stay out of trouble while we’re gone.”

  Sam smiled. “I always try. It just doesn’t always work out.”

  Henry settled for squeezing her hand before he walked out, Sam double locked the door, and returned to her laptop.

  She found nothing amiss in the senator’s first two accounts, but she kept searching and uncovered a corporation created in the Cayman Islands about two years ago. Just around the time Buckley was elected to the state senate for the fifth time.

  There were several large deposits in the first year and even bigger cash withdrawals in the past two months. This had to be what she was looking for but nothing showed where the deposits came from or where the withdrawals went. She dug deeper.

  Some of the funds went to a Panamanian company then on to a Swiss account. It was difficult to crack the Swiss system, but she had done it before with her father and she knew she could do it again. It would just take time—more time than she wanted to spend.

  She jumped when she heard the electronic click of the door. Over an hour had passed while she was lost in cyberspace. She stretched her back and stood when the door hit the secondary bolt. Why didn’t Henry just knock?

  With a concerted effort to remain calm, she pulled her weapon and approached the door. She held the bolt in place as she placed her eye to the peephole. A bellhop she’d never seen before fidgeted in the hall.

  “What is it?” she called through the door.

  “Um, I have a letter for a Sam Turner.”

  “Where did it come from?”

  “I don’t know, ma’am. The front desk asked me to deliver it.”

  Remembering how she opened the door without taking any precautions in the last place they had stayed, she hesitated—they’d been waiting for a pizza delivery but instead she was hit over the head and abducted.

  “Slide it under the door.”

  “The carpet’s too thick. It won’t fit.”

  Sam tugged at her hair. “Then just drop it in front of the door. I’ll get it later.”

  “But someone else could pick it up.” The bellhop’s persistence made Sam uneasy.

  “There’s no one else on this floor. Either leave it or take it back, I don’t care. I’m busy right now.”

  With one eye plastered to the tiny hole, Sam watched the bellboy glance down at the letter in his hand. He raised it, then lowered it twice before he dropped it on the hall carpet. “All right, it’s on the floor. I can’t be responsible if it gets stolen.”

  Sam thought no one would want to steal a small white envelope, but then someone might think there’s money in it, although wouldn’t it be stupid to leave an envelope full of cash in the hotel’s hall? Unless someone thought it was dropped accidentally. But wouldn’t an honest person knock on the door or leave it at the front desk? Sam bit her lower lip. Maybe she could open the door, grab the letter, and slam the door shut.

  She shook her head. She didn’t care what was in it. No way was she opening that door. She watched the bellhop retreat. When the elevator dinged, she slumped against the door.

  What was in the envelope? Did she dare open the door to retrieve it? No, she decided to err on the side of caution. She could wait until Henry and White Cloud came back to find out.

  Still, why would someone send her a message that way? Could it be from Nina or Toby? Why not just call? Unless they were afraid their phones were tapped.

  Sam took several deep breaths as she forced herself to walk away from the door. She sat staring at her laptop, unable to concentrate.

  She wasn’t sure how long she sat there immobilized when she heard Henry.

  “Sam, it’s us. Open up.”

  She hurried to throw the bolt and started to hug him until she caught herself. Her arms froze halfway. She pushed her hair away from her face and looked at the empty floor.

  “Did you see an envelope lying here?”

  “You mean this one?” Henry held up the mysterious white rectangle.

  Sam grabbed for it. “Yes. I need to see what’s inside. It’s been driving me crazy.”

  Henry held it just out of her reach. “Where did it come from?”

  “A bellhop left it here a little while ago. I told him to leave it. I didn’t want to open the door.”

  “Good thinking.” Henry nodded as he signaled for White Cloud to follow him into the room. “Don’t you want to see what we bought?”

  “Oh, yeah, sure.” She wanted the envelope more, but she feigned interest in the Walmart bags the taxi driver carried. “But give me the envelope first.”

  Chapter fourteen

  Henry stuck the envelope in his jacket pocket and made sure the door was secure before he handed it to her. “Do you have any gloves?”

  “What for? The bellboy said he got it from the front desk. It could have a thousand fingerprints on it. Besides, we don’t know what’s in it. It might be an invitation for a free dinner or something.”

  Henry shook his head. “I doubt that. At least try not to touch what’s inside until we have a chance to inspect it.”

  Sam sighed but walked to the table in the sitting area and carefully slit the flap with the knife she kept strapped to her side, next to her gun holster. Both were her constant companions since her abduction.

  She dumped the contents on the table. A 3 by 5 photo fell out facedown with words written on the back:

  I’m watching you—we’ll meet soon.

  “What the hell?” She reached out to turn the photo over, but Henry stopped her hand.

  “Now would be a good time not to touch it,” he said. “If not gloves, do you have tweezers? We can flip it without touching it.”

  She turned to go to her bedroom to look for the tweezers and saw White Cloud standing near the door, still holding the bags. “Just throw those on the sofa and take a seat. This may take a while.”

  “If you do not need me, I can go,” the taxi driver said. “I will be a phone call away.”

  “No, no. I want you to stay. You need to know what’s going on.”

  “About that.” Henry looked down and shuffled his feet, avoiding Sam’s eyes. “We came across a woman—a girl, really—in Walmart. She had a baby with her and the same tattoo as we saw on those punks who were bothering Nina. So we followed her.”

  Sam opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. She looked at White Cloud, who gave her a slight confirming nod.

  “And…” She waved her hands for Henry to continue.

  “And she met up with two guys who looked similar to those goons who came into Nina’s work. I asked them if they knew where the next meeting would be—pretended I knew all about their organization. Said I was interested in joining up, but I lost the info some guy gave me.”

  “And they believed you?”

  “Well, they were skeptical at first. Wanted to know who told me about a meeting.”

  “Of course they were. Shows they had some brains,” Sam said, shaking her head.

  Henry held up his hands. “I made up a person describing a combination of those guys we saw in Starbucks—I put the tats of the fat one onto the skinny one. They couldn’t figure out who it was from the half-assed description, but I convinced them I couldn’t remember the guy’s name. Told them I was a patriot, unhappy with the way things were going in the US, and that got them started.”

  “Jesus, I don’t believe they fell for it.”

  “They were happy to find a fellow supporter. Told me there’s a general meeting tonight at an abandoned w
arehouse out by Blue Lake Park.”

  “And they just told you this, even though they don’t know you from Adam.” Sam tucked her knife back in its holder. “What makes you think they weren’t shining you on.”

  Henry tilted his head and shrugged. “Maybe they were. At any rate, White Cloud knows where it is, and I’m going tonight.”

  “What if it’s a setup?”

  “I don’t think so.” Henry couldn’t tell her he heard no buzzing when they told him about it. If they wanted to do him harm, he would be forewarned—at least he hoped so. “I’ll be careful, but I’m going to check it out.”

  Sam shook her head. “I don’t like it.”

  “If it works out, we’ll be able to move this along faster than we thought.”

  “Should we rent a car for you?” She knew Henry was determined to go through with it. “They could be suspicious if you show up in a taxi. I’m sure they don’t want their meeting place known to every Tom, Dick, and taxi driver. Especially to a Native American.”

  “That’s taken care of.” Henry nodded at White Cloud.

  “I have an old pickup he can use. It is not in the best shape, but the motor is good.” The Native American seemed unruffled by Henry’s plan.

  Sam realized she wasn’t going to deter them. “Okay, so what time do we need to leave?”

  “You’re not going.”

  “Oh, yes I am.” Sam gestured to White Cloud. “We’ll be near enough to pick up the transmission you’ll be recording. And to save your ass if need be.”

  Henry shook his head. “Not a good idea.”

  Sam walked into the bedroom where she grabbed the tweezers and called into the other room. “I’m going. It’s not an option.”

  When she returned, White Cloud was seated in front of her computer. Henry was on the hotel phone, and the photo was on the table where she’d left it.

  She waited for Henry to hang up the phone, clicking the tweezers with impatience. When he finished his conversation, his forehead wrinkled and he rubbed his jaw. “The desk clerk found the envelope lying on the counter. Didn’t see who dropped it off.”

  “You didn’t really expect whoever left it would show his face to a potential witness, did you?” She held up the tweezers and took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.”