I Will Fight No More Forever

by E B Corbin

  The taxi pulled up to the entrance to their hotel, and Henry glanced at his watch. “It’s almost five thirty. I have to get cleaned up to make my meeting. Do you know where the Worthington Club is?”

  White Cloud nodded. “It is not far from here. Two blocks over. You can walk there from the hotel.”

  “Good. At least I won’t be in some deserted area.”

  “It might be difficult for us to pick up the transmission with all the traffic and other interference,” said Sam.

  “We’ll just have to trust your FBI friends know what they’re doing as far as electronics, then.” Henry squeezed Sam’s hand. “It’ll be fine. I trust their devices.”

  “I will return in an hour to follow you. Sam and I should get there first. It may be difficult to find a parking space on the street.” White Cloud put the taxi in Park and turned to face them. “If you need me sooner, call.”

  “An hour should be good,” Sam said. “I’ll be ready.”

  White Cloud nodded as Sam gathered her bandages and slipped out. She did not

  see the look of relief that Henry gave White Cloud.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  The Worthington Club, built in 1909, was originally a social club for bankers and other wealthy businessmen of Portland. Over the years it remained private and discriminating to new members. In a red brick building, it looked like a large townhouse rather than the fancy den of thieves Sam considered it to be.

  There was a parking spot in front of the building across the street, but she deemed it too close. They needed to be as inconspicuous as possible.

  “There!” Sam pointed to the next block where a black Mercedes was pulling out.

  White Cloud surged forward and managed to beat a Ford F-150 to the space. He maneuvered to the curb just as Henry turned the corner. They watched him walk up the front steps and push a massive brass button at the side of the double oak doors. Within a minute, the door swung open and Henry stepped inside.

  Sam turned the volume up on their receiver. At first, she heard nothing and feared something went wrong with Henry’s pin. Then she heard some shuffling and a stiff voice saying, “May I take your jacket, sir?”

  “No thanks. I prefer to keep it on.”

  Sam was relieved when whoever greeted Henry did not insist. They’d need to find a better spot for that flag pin. He couldn’t always insist on wearing his jacket. They should have thought of that and pinned it to his collar. Yet when those pins first came out, they were always on the lapels of suits. It would look stupid on a collar.

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and a distant conversation, which stopped at Henry’s approach. Two men were in the room big enough to hold at least a dozen.

  Henry recognized Senator Buckley from photos he found on Google. The man looked out of place in the club’s elegant room with velvet drapes, brocade couches, and carpet so soft and thick Henry felt as if he were walking on feathers. A certain sleaziness clung to the senator, who wore a pinstripe gray suit that did little to hide his gut. His double chin wobbled as he turned to greet his guest. His hair—what there was of it—was thin on the sides with nothing on top but a few strands he combed straight back. “Please, come in. Join us. We were just discussing what to do with you.”

  Outside, those words alarmed Sam. She sucked in a breath and started pondering ways to breach the club. She saw only the wide front door. The building was smack up against its neighbors. No alley or access to the back and no entrance at ground level. But they had to get deliveries. There had to be a service entrance. Sam cursed herself for not checking out the specs of the building before they arrived. “Damn. There could be trouble.”

  “Let us see what happens.” White Cloud showed little concern. “It would be difficult for them to harm Henry in such a public place.”

  “It’s not public—it’s private. That’s what concerns me.”

  “Maybe so, but I cannot think that the other members would look away while a man was murdered in their space.”

  “We don’t know who these other members are. They might be sympathetic to Buckley’s cause.”

  “I do not think so. His supporters are not intelligent men of means. They are all brainless bullies. The members in this place are much too high-class to become involved in such a perfidious plan.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Hoping his camera was picking up everything in the room, Henry turned slightly as he perused the area. “Senator Buckley. I’m surprised to see you here.”

  “Some things are too important to be left to others.” Buckley dismissed Patterson as if he were a lapdog. “I’ve had people research you and your background. You are what you told Ben: an ex-Navy SEAL with a dishonorable discharge. My people discovered the circumstances behind it, and I can understand how you would be disillusioned with the operations of our current military.”

  Henry said nothing, only grunted.

  Buckley moved to a side table where bottles of high-end whiskey, Scotch, and vodka were lined up in neat rows. “Can I offer you a drink?”

  “No, thank you. I’d rather know why you wanted to meet with me.”

  “We’ll get to that.” Buckley glanced over at Henry, his gaze falling on the flag pin. “Are you a patriot, Mr. Samuels?”

  Henry shrugged. “Not necessarily.”

  “Yet you wear that pin that so many politicians have adopted as a sign of their loyalty to our country.”

  In the taxi, Sam tensed and wrapped her fingers around the door handle, ready to jump out. “He needs help. Now!”

  White Cloud turned in her direction. “Wait.”

  “I’m not going to sit here and listen to him get shot, abducted, or beat up. I’m going in.”

  “We do not know what is going to happen yet. I do not hear any fear in Henry’s voice. He believes he can handle it.”

  “That’s the problem. He doesn’t know when to be afraid.”

  “We should wait.” White Cloud pointed to the small receiver. “We will act if necessary.”

  Henry glanced at the pin on his leather jacket. “This? It means something other than pseudo patriotism to me. I wear it to remind me of a good friend I lost on 9/11. I’m not particularly patriotic.”

  “I see.” Buckley refilled his glass with whiskey from a decanter. “It’s been several years since that unfortunate event, yet you still wear it.”

  “It was a close friend, and I vowed to never forget.”

  “Yes, a lot of people felt that way. Many still have a hard-on for the Muslims who perpetrated the attack.”

  Henry nodded. “One of the reasons I became interested in your group.”

  “I’m curious. How did you find out about us?”

  “A guy I met mentioned something about a group of people who wanted things to change.” Henry shrugged. “Since I wasn’t thrilled with the status quo, I asked him about it. He told me about the meeting I went to last night.”

  “And what do you think about our organization?”

  “Can’t say, one way or the other. Didn’t learn much at the meeting.” Henry turned to Patterson, who had been standing by a fireplace, giving Buckley the lead. “Your man there wasn’t too clear on what your goal is.”

  Buckley smiled. “As it should be. We must be cautious with what we say.”

  Henry twisted his mouth into a grimace. “Well, if you want to get new recruits, you have to be a little more specific.”

  “So far, we haven’t had a problem with recruits. We have had a problem trying to come up with recruits that are knowledgeable and useful. You may be the exception.” The senator swung his glass in Patterson’s direction. “Except Mr. Patterson feels that you may be trouble.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Once more, Sam sucked in her breath. “This is getting out of hand.”

  “Let us see how Henry reacts.” White Cloud focused on his hands resting on the steering wheel. “Henry was correct. You are impatient.”

  “Dammit,” Sam mu
ttered. “I’m worried about him. I know he can take care of himself but…”

  “That is true. We will wait and see, but we will not let any harm come to him.”

  “You don’t think we should try to get in there.”

  “Not yet. We do not know how many of Buckley’s followers may be around.”

  Sam let out a long sigh and sunk into the seat.

  Henry stared at Patterson a long time before turning his attention back to Buckley. “And what do you think?”

  “I have some reservations but think you could be very useful to us.”

  “If I decide to join you.” Henry stuck his hands in his jacket pockets. He didn’t bring his gun, but he had a knife strapped to his ankle, which gave him a modicum of security. He hoped he wouldn’t need it. “I don’t much care what Mr. Patterson thinks of me. But I’ll make up my own mind about whether or not to align with you.”

  “I hope you make the right decision. It could prove very, uh, shall we say, beneficial to you.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “We have money—lots of it—and only a few men I trust to keep an eye out for others who may be helpful. You are one of those who may prove invaluable to us, so I assigned two of my best men to watch over you.”

  “You have someone following me?”

  The senator nodded. “Since you left the meeting last night.”

  “I don’t much care for that.” Henry shook his head. “It’s not the best way to gain my cooperation.”

  “Maybe you would feel better about it if you knew that my men were ready and willing to jump in and help you subdue a certain man last night. They stayed out of the situation when they saw you had it well in hand.” Buckley took a sip of his whiskey. “They also mentioned the woman you were with was quite a looker.”

  “Who I was with is none of their business.” Henry barely controlled his anger at knowing he was watched by Buckley’s goons. “And I don’t appreciate being followed.”

  “You might be interested to know that my men are not the only ones following you.”

  Henry frowned. “Yeah, I was aware of that dude last night. I just didn’t expect him to try something in a public place.”

  “He’s not the only one. There is another.”

  “Aw, shit.” Henry dropped his gaze to his feet and slowly shook his head.

  In the taxi, Sam muttered the same words simultaneously. White Cloud remained silent.

  Henry then looked Buckley in the eye. “Well, whoever it is will meet the same fate as the guy last night.”

  “This one is a woman. She is very good. My men were lucky to notice her.”

  “A woman?” Henry remembered that a woman had bribed the maid to get into their hotel room. He never expected a female to try for the reward, but then again, why not? He grimaced. “I’ll deal with it.”

  “My men can remove her, but I’d like to know why so many people are following you.”

  “Yeah, I’d like to know, too.”

  “Then you or your female companion have nothing to hide?”

  “Nothing that concerns you.”

  “This woman you are living with at the hotel—she knows about us? About our organization?”

  “A little. I didn’t tell her much. Only that I was considering joining a group of people dissatisfied with the way things were.”

  “And she agrees with you?”

  “For the most part. She’s not much of a joiner. Would rather deal with things herself.”

  “Yes, we are aware of that. A background check turned up nothing on Stephanie Plum except as a fictional character. It is one of our concerns.” Buckley’s gaze drilled into Henry. “Can you explain that?”

  Sam gasped. “Shit. They picked up the name I used to register at the hotel.”

  “You used a fictional character?” White Cloud raised an eyebrow.

  “I didn’t expect anyone to be checking into my background. And, yes, I used Stephanie Plum. She’s a series character in popular fiction but I didn’t foresee some senator from Oregon recognizing it.”

  “You should use more generic names.” White Cloud shook his head.

  Sam clucked her tongue. “Oh, like ‘Jane Smith’ would not be a dead giveaway.”

  White Cloud gave her a sideways glance.

  “Besides, I don’t have much of a choice. I need to use a name that has backup. I have credit cards, a driver’s license, and a passport in that name. Next time, I’ll use one of my other names.”

  “You have others?” His eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. “You are a complicated person.”

  “You don’t know the half of it. I have five aliases in total.”

  “And this is legal?”

  “No, it’s not. If I get caught I could be in trouble.” Sam shushed him with a wave of her hand as raised voices came over the transmitter.

  “I don’t need this aggravation, from you or him.” She recognized Henry’s tone as one of barely controlled hostility. “If you can’t control your goons, I definitely don’t want to be involved in whatever it is you’re planning.”

  Buckley glared at Patterson. “Ben, perhaps you should leave us for a moment.”

  “But boss, I don’t trust this guy.”

  “Let me be the judge of that.”

  Sam heard soft footfalls, the click of a door opening and slamming shut.

  “You have to understand, I would very much like to believe you, but you’re not the easiest person to get to know.”

  “I like it like that.” Henry crossed his arms and stood with his feet spread. “I’m not here to become a blind follower. If I know what I’m getting into, I might be useful. If you won’t tell me, or keep sidestepping my questions, I’m not inclined to get involved.”

  Buckley smiled into his glass. “I hope you understand, I need a bit more information from you. Ben can sometimes be too reluctant to change his opinion, but he is often right. I’d hate to override his objection and be wrong.”

  “You wouldn’t be wrong,” Henry said. “Look, either you trust me or you don’t. If you don’t there’s nothing I can do about it and I’m out of here. I thought you could use someone with my training and background, but maybe not.”

  “No, no, don’t leave. We definitely could use you. Just give me the benefit of a few more questions.”

  Henry waited a moment before he slowly nodded.

  “Good.” Buckley put down his empty glass. “Now, perhaps you’d like to explain to me just what your association is with this woman and if it’s serious.”

  Henry pursed his lips. “My relationship is private. It has nothing to do with your organization.”

  “So you won’t tell me about it?”

  “No.”

  Buckley gave a brief nod. “Okay, maybe it’s none of our business. Can you explain to me how she was able to take a major role in humiliating five of our members this afternoon?”

  “I’d say it was more like beating the crap out of them.” Henry smiled.

  “Whatever. She, and you, proved quite capable of winning in a brawl.”

  “Did you set us up?”

  “No, of course not. It’s unfortunate but some of our newer members have little self-control.”

  “Little in the way of brains, too.”

  Buckley nodded. “We can’t be too choosy at this point. We’re almost ready to make our first move, and we find strength in numbers.”

  “And just what would that move be?”

  “That, my friend, you will learn in time. For now, I can tell you where you come in.”

  Henry waited in silence for the senator to continue.

  “I understand from learning about you that you have extensive weapons training.”

  Henry nodded.

  “And you know how to check to see whether or not something is operational.”

  “Depends on what you’re talking about.” Henry pulled out a chair and sat, crossing one leg over the other. “If you’re talking about conventional wea
pons, I might know a thing or two. If you’re talking nukes, or ICBMs, that’s above my pay grade.”

  “Let’s say, for instance…” The senator paused for effect. “…a handheld missile.”

  Henry subtly feigned surprise, as he wasn’t supposed to know about the Javelins. “One of the things that was drummed into our heads was to make sure any weapons we used would work. Never started on a mission without checking and double-checking our firearms.”

  “So, if we were to ask you to look at some, uh, weapons we managed to gather, you could tell us if they were operational and reliable.”

  “Maybe. If I knew what they were being used for. Some are more suitable for certain tasks than others.”

  “But you could tell us if they would work.”

  “Probably. Still need to know the target—how far away it might be and what kind of results you expected.”

  Before Buckley gave an answer, a tapping came at the door and it pushed open a bit. Ben Patterson stuck his head in. “Sir, he’s here.”

  The senator grunted. “Very well. Show him in.”

  Henry turned in his chair to watch the door. To his surprise, Toby Martin strolled in. “Toby! We were looking for you.”

  “I heard,” Toby said. “As you can see, I’m fine.”

  “Your mother is worried.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s gonna have to learn to give me some space. I’m sick of her watching every move I make.”

  Buckley cleared his throat. “So, Toby, you can vouch for this man?”

  Toby gave Henry a hard look. “Just met him the other day, so I can’t say for sure.”

  “You told me I might be interested in this group. Thought I’d check it out.” Henry held his breath, hoping that Toby didn’t give him away.

  “Toby has been very helpful in supplying us with info about Warm Springs Reservation.” Buckley smiled at Toby. “Since you claimed to be concerned about him, we thought it best for you to know he’s doing well. Even though he’s new and a half-breed, he fits our organization. I hope you do too.”