Debrief

"I'll give them your regards," Cat said. "What about guys? Are there any of them you want to see again?"

"You bet. Remind me before you leave and I'll give you the names."

"Why don't you finish your story, Clarke?" Doug asked to change the subject. "I don't think we're at the end just yet."

"No, I guess not. Fine. I stayed with the Knightleys for a few weeks, but I didn't let them help me. They tried, just as Deeyah and my team had, but I wouldn't let them get through. Keira saw me drinking and tried to take away my bottle. I was almost drunk enough to hit a teenage girl and when I saw her dodge in preparation just like I showed her, I felt even more ashamed. I told Keira's father and he threw me out, told me to get myself sorted before I did something I'd regret forever. I was on the streets for a couple weeks and then I found the Boar's Head. The owner, Fat Neville Hamid, took pity on me and let me run a tab and sleep in a booth."

"Then Kurtz found you," said Doug.

"Actually, Igor Ilyich Ivanov came by first. He's this former Soviet Special Forces mercenary who works for Kurtz. Igor was shaking down Fat Neville for protection money and I didn't like it. I was going to beat the tar out of him, but I was so drunk I couldn't stand. He laughed at me and told me to lay off the sauce. I was surprised when I decided to pay attention. The next time Igor came back, I challenged him again and fought hard. He beat me, but he was also impressed. So the next time he visited the Boar's Head, Jim Kurtz came too. He had a job offer for me."

"So you became a prizefighter," said Cat.

"Yeah. It seemed like the thing to do. I needed to get strong again. I cut back on the drinking and bulked up winning and losing matches. For a while, I had trouble with my emotions. Kurtz told me the outcomes of my bouts and I let him be right. Igor was keeping me distracted — I had to prove I was tougher than he was.

"Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. I won a fight I was supposed to throw and then I left Kurtz behind. I left Igor behind too. He wanted me as a lover, but I never was attracted to him as anything other than an opponent. He hated that. Kurtz sent Igor after me, but I kicked the bastard's tail. I hid out with Fat Neville and the Knightleys. I hooked up with Shap again too, using the Internet. He gave me counseling, this time I listened, and my drinking scaled back to recreational. About three weeks afterwards, I met Doug."

"Clarke reconciled with Keira," Doug picked up the story, "and let her know he was healing. It turned out most of his old comrades were out of the military and in London looking for him, hoping for reconciliations of their own. The Friendship tries to keep well-linked people together when it can. I was a new society viceroy in London starting my business and Clarke needed a fresh line of work that would get him back some respect for himself. I gave him that."

"You did," Clarke agreed. "I will be forever grateful. You've got a streak of kindness a mile wide." He turned back to Cat. "I helped Doug take this building from Kurtz, and here we are today."

Cat smiled. "Where do we go next?"

"I'm really not sure. Somewhere good, hopefully."

"Do you think you'll ever see Deeyah again?"

"I want to. We've been trading e-mails of late. She's glad I'm okay and is continuing to put out her music and work for peace. The U.N.'s been looking after her as much as they can. The story of her kidnapping and rescue got buried in the world press, but it's still remembered well all over the Middle East and Europe. It has increased Deeyah's popularity. Her music sells great and most who listen get the words."

"That's wonderful, Clarke," Doug said. An idea to smooth over some recently developed problems had occurred to him. "Do you have a recording of hers somewhere?"

"Yep. I got her new single, 'Plan of My Own', right here in my Sony Walkman. It's terrific mood music."

"Why don't you put it on the stereo over there? Then, if you're not too tired out from all your talking, you can get undressed and come here and be with Cat and me. I won't touch you, but you feel free to touch her."

"I will touch whoever I want," Cat added with a grin. She tapped her fingers on Doug's rugged cheek, looking at Clarke all the while.

"I think my life has taken me to someplace very interesting," Clarke said, moving towards the stereo and unbuttoning his shirt. He was sure that he would revisit what followed with Doug and Cat many times at later dates.

***

The End.