I Will Love You Forever Pt. 2 Ch. 11

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kalamazoo707
kalamazoo707
1,662 Followers

After Andrew left, his mother looked at Harlan.

"He's fine." Harlan assured her.

However, she wasn't convinced.

********

Patricia was quiet as Kenji got ready for school. She had tried to keep him in bed with her, but it hadn't worked. He held her, kissed her and got out of bed.

"I will be fine." He assured her.

Patricia steeled her nerves just as she had done when Kenji boarded the bus to go to the camp. While Kenji showered, she went downstairs to start breakfast only to find that Penny had beaten her to it. They looked at each other and smiled nervously. It was going to be a long day for both them.

Joel and Kenji walked into the kitchen at the same time. Each man went to his woman and hugged her without speaking. They both knew that there was no point in trying to ease their minds. They had tried and failed. The only way both women would relax was when at the end of the day, they were home safe.

Breakfast was quiet except for the happy chatter of Marie who seemed unaware of the anxiety that hung in the air. When it was time to leave, Kenji picked Marie up, hugged and then kissed her cheek.

"I love you pretty one, be good for your mama."

Next, he took Ralph aside and hugged him.

"Take care of your mother and sister. I will be home this afternoon. I know that you are frightened, and I understand, but try not to be."

"Papa, are you scared?"

"A little." Kenji confessed. "There is no shame in being afraid. The shame comes when you allow fear to keep you from doing what you know to be right. Later, we will talk about it, but now I need to go. You are a good son and I love you."

Ralph watched Kenji leave and wiped away a tear. He was proud of his family, especially of his father. Unconsciously, in the back of his mind, he had already decided what kind of man that he wanted to be. He went back to the kitchen just as Kenji and Joel left through the kitchen. Quietly, he walked over to Patricia and took her much larger hand in his small one. They stood together for several minutes before the sound of Marie crying prompted them to move.

Patricia whispered a silent prayer for Kenji and Joel's safety as she went to see what the ruckus was about. She found Penny trying to soothe the little girl, but Penny was crying almost as hard as Marie was.

Patricia walked over to them, sat on the floor and hugged both of them. In a way, it was a blessing. Patricia was able to forget her own fear and concentrate on caring for Penny, Marie and Ralph. Later, when Ralph and Marie were playing; the two women had a chance to talk.

"How did you do it?" Penny asked. "How did you deal with the fear when Kenji was at the camp?"

"It wasn't easy." Patricia replied. "There were plenty of nights when I cried myself to sleep."

"Patricia, I'm scared." Penny said.

"So am I." Patricia confessed, "What we need to do is to keep busy. What's Joel's favorite cookie?"

*******

Kenji and Joel arrived at school twenty minutes before class. Peter and the other agent, Trevor Edison was already in place. Both agents nodded at them, but didn't speak. Joel and Kenji sat in their usual seats and prepared for class. When Andrew and his friends came in, they didn't react.

Kenji heard Andrew talking to Peter, but couldn't hear what was being said. He heard Peter say that he would be glad to meet up with him later. Kenji frowned, that wasn't a part of the plan. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to talk to Peter until later.

He turned his attention to the front of the room and partially blocked Andrew out. He took meticulous notes planning to put them away for Patricia to use when she was ready. Thinking about her made his heart hurt. He knew that she had been more frightened than she let on, but he also knew that she wouldn't let the fear control her. She would find some way of coping with it as she always did. He imagined that at that very moment, she was comforting Penny who had never experienced real fear before.

He looked at the clock and wondered if he had enough time to call home between classes. It would be close, but then Ralph and Marie would want to talk to him and Penny would want to talk to Joel. Lunch time was a better option he decided.

Finally, the two hour class was over. As he and Joel gathered their books, the nape of Kenji's neck prickled. He paused, slowly turned around and looked directly into the cold blue eyes of Andrew Kelly. He didn't flinch as he stared back and then nodded. He stared until Andrew looked away under the pretense of answering a question. Kenji stared after Andrew long after he turned away. He tried to think of what Andrew reminded him of. Finally, it came to him. A snake and a chameleon. Andrew would be whatever he needed to be until he deemed the time to be right. And then he would strike.

********

Andrew paused when he saw Kenji and Joel sitting at their desks. He was beginning to think that they weren't coming back, but there they sat; just as self-assured as ever. He did have to admire them though. They knew that they were going to die, but they showed up anyway.

He looked to the left and saw an unfamiliar face and wondered what his politics were. There was only one way to find out he decided. He walked over to Peter and introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Andrew Kelley." He said extending his hand.

"Peter Benjamin." Peter replied taking Andrew's hand.

"You're starting kind of late aren't you?" Andrew asked.

"Yes, I just moved from Sacramento last week. I had some business to finish up after discharge."

"You served?" Andrew asked.

"Sure did... unfortunately, the fighting was all but over by the time I was discharged." Peter replied.

"What theater? Europe or the Pacific?"

"Pacific." Peter replied. "I was hoping to kill a few of the yellow bastards, but they dropped the bombs before I got my chance."

"Listen, I would like to talk to you some more, are you free after classes?" Andrew asked eagerly.

"I have no place to be." Peter replied.

Peter watched Andrew walk away.

"Sick son of a bitch." Peter muttered under his breath as he opened the textbook.

After the class was over, Peter stopped and verified that he and Andrew were going to meet.

"Do you know where the 'Empire Diner' is?" Andrew asked.

"I sure do! They make a meatloaf that put's my mother's to shame." Peter replied.

Andrew laughed. "My mother makes their meatloaf, I'll be sure to tell her that. Classes are over at three... I'll meet you over there at three-thirty. Oh, do you need a ride?"

"Three-thirty is perfect and no thanks to the ride, I have my own car."

After Peter was gone, Andrew stared at the back of Kenji's head imagining it to be a bull's-eye. He almost jumped when Kenji turned around and looked at him. It was almost as if Kenji knew what he was thinking. Andrew forced himself to meet Kenji's stare. Anger rose when Kenji didn't look away, but nodded at him. Andrew was about to turn away when someone asked him a question.

Before the week was over, he decided; "I'm going to have a gun."

********

The rest of the day passed quietly. Andrew, Kenji and Joel had yet to speak. Kenji and Joel spoke to Patricia and the children twice with the last time letting them know that they were on the way home. When they got to the car, Kenji circled around it to check the tires. It was a habit that he kept ever since their car had been vandalized the year before.

Next, they inspected the inside of the car looking for any nasty surprises. Satisfied, they got in the car and began the drive home.

"What's Peter up to?" Joel asked. "He isn't supposed to interact with Andrew is he?"

"No." Kenji replied. "But I understand what he is thinking. He wants to get close to Andrew in the hopes of finding out what he is planning."

Joel didn't like it and said so.

"What happens if Andrew finds out that he works for the government?"

"He will kill him." Kenji said softly.

"What are we going to do?" Joel asked.

"This may be a part of his job." Kenji replied. "We do nothing until we talk to him."

********

They weren't even out of the car when they were mobbed by seven anxious people. Hiroshi and Dai were just as anxious as the rest of them. He had come home from work early unable to concentrate. He listened to each and every phone call making Patricia repeat what Kenji said until he was satisfied that all was well.

He and Ralph both jumped up every time they heard a car go by.

"Will you two stop it?" Patricia said. "They only left ten minutes ago. Ralph, why don't you read to Marie?"

Hiroshi looked at Patricia and once again realized how wrong he had been about her. Even in her fear, she was strong. He could see the strength and determination of both parents in his grandchildren. He had the feeling that they were going to need it.

While he waited for Kenji to come home, he went to the back yard and picked a few lemons from off the ground to make lemonade for Ralph and Marie. As he picked the fruit, he realized that he hadn't told Kenji just how proud he truly was of him.

Hiroshi stood back and waited while everyone else greeted Kenji and Joel as if they were long lost war heroes. Once the crowd cleared, Hiroshi pulled Kenji aside.

"I wanted to tell you that I am very proud of you. I once questioned your integrity and your honor and for that I apologize. You have brought much honor to our family and for that I thank you. I know that I have apologized to Patricia and I have accepted her as my daughter, but I want to tell you that I am also proud of her. You were right to defy me and our customs for her."

"I... Thank you father." Kenji said softly. "I must admit that when I called you for help, I was not certain that I would receive it. I also confess that there was a part of me that was not completely convinced that you had changed. Our time here as proven that you have. Thank you for allowing all of us to stay in your home."

For the first time since Kenji arrived to the United States, Hiroshi hugged him. At first, Kenji stiffened and then relaxed returning the hug.

Dai and Patricia watched through the window and smiled at each other.

"They will be fine now." Dai said placing her hand in Patricia's.

*********

"Your orders were to protect Kenji and Joel!" Nick roared when Peter told him and Charles about the pending meeting with Andrew.

"I understand, but the opportunity presented itself." Peter replied. "Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone." He added.

"Nick, hold on a minute." Charles said before Nick could respond. "I think he's right. What better way to protect them than by being in the inner circle? And maybe he can at least find out if Kelly has a gun. If he does then we can search his home."

"What about Kenji and Joel?" Nick asked. "It would look suspicious if another student joined the class."

"There's another agent in the class." Charles replied. "He can take over for Peter."

"Do you understand that if Kelly finds out who you are, he'll try to kill you?" Nick asked.

"I know, but he isn't going to find out. I know how his mind works." Peter said. "He's narcissistic and impulsive. The impulsiveness is what makes him so dangerous. He's also very much into control. I saw that today when he and Kenji had a staring contest that they didn't know I saw. The very things that make him so dangerous are the things that we'll use to catch him."

"You know this from one meeting?" Nick asked.

"That and from what Kenji and Joel told me. Look, I've got to get going, is this thing a go?" Peter asked.

"Keep us posted." Charles replied.

********

Andrew looked at the clock above the diner counter and frowned. It was three-thirty five and his potential recruit was late. At three-forty, Peter slid into the booth profusely apologizing.

"I'm sorry. I had to make a quick stop that took longer than I planned."

Andrew bit back a reprimand; the man hadn't agreed to join the group yet.

"No problem, my mother is working so meatloaf is on the menu."

After they ordered, Andrew began to question Peter.

"Where are you from originally? I hear an accent."

"I was born in the mid-west; we lived there until I was fifteen." Peter replied telling the truth. "My parents had a farm out there."

"Had?" Andrew asked.

"It got to be too much for them and I had no interest in farming so they sold it and moved to Florida. I lived there until I joined up."

"But you said that you had business in Sacramento." Andrew countered.

"I did and it's personal." Peter replied his tone cool.

He noticed that Andrew blinked and his lips thinned at his tone confirming that he had control issues. He softened his tone and continued.

"I'm sorry; it's just something that's going on between my girl and me."

"I understand." Andrew replied.

They stopped talking when their meals were brought to the table and didn't continue until the waitress was gone. The longer Peter listened to Andrew talk, the more convinced he became that he had indeed committed at least one murder and was planning another. He had to find out if Andrew had a gun.

By the end of dinner, Andrew was convinced that he had a new recruit and Peter was convinced that in a few days, Andrew would be in custody. They agreed to meet again, but this time at Andrew's house.

"Mom will want to meet the man who likes her meatloaf better than he does his mother's."

"She won't mind?" Peter asked. He was in fact very interested in meeting the people who bore and raised Andrew.

"Not at all, you can meet my dad. I told you that he was a war hero didn't I?"

"Yes you did and it would be an honor to meet him." Peter replied.

Andrew paid the bill, picked up the sack containing dinner for his father and waved at Peter. He had just decided that Peter Benjamin, newly discharged Air Force officer was going to be his second in command.

**********

Peter sat at the booth for a few minutes to give Andrew time to get to his car and drive off. When he left, he looked around for Andrew's car, got into his own car and drove back to the office.

"Well?" Charles asked.

"'He's nuts." Peter said sitting down. "Where's Nick?"

"He had to be in court. What did you find out?"

"It's like I said." Peter replied. "He's a control freak and narcissistic. I'll tell you something else, he's our shooter. I can feel it in my gut. We've got to find out if he has a gun or not."

"How do you propose to do that?" Charles asked. "You can't just ask him."

"No, but I can ask his father. I'm going to Andrew's house for dinner tomorrow night. Andrew is anxious for me to meet his father who according to Andrew is a war hero. I'm also military so it wouldn't be out of line to discuss firearms."

"Alright and just so you know, Andrew's father is a bona fide war hero. He lost a limb saving several men from his platoon. Just watch your back and keep me posted."

After he left the office, Peter drove to Hiroshi's house. He hated to intrude, but he had to tell them about the change in plan.

********

"I'll get it!" Penny called out when the doorbell rang. She opened the door and was surprised to see Peter standing there. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

"It's fine, I just need to talk to all of you for a moment. Is this a good time?"

"We were just making dinner, but come in. Everyone is in the kitchen."

The chatter stopped when Penny entered the kitchen followed by Peter.

"What happened?" Patricia asked hoping that it would be good news.

Peter quickly explained the change in plan and then told them about his meeting with Andrew.

"Peter, do you understand how dangerous he is?" Kenji asked.

"Yes I know, but this is the only way to end this quickly. Kenji, he hates you with a passion that I've never seen before. Joel is no longer of any real consequence to him. It's you that he wants. I'm not even sure that his agenda is white supremacy anymore. I think that it's more about control and today when you stared him down, you threatened that control."

"What are you saying?" Patricia asked.

"I'm saying that if we don't take him into custody soon, he may make an attempt on Kenji's life at school. If he does, it will be a purely impulsive move. You scare him, but yet he admires you. He also sees you as a representative for all Japanese; didn't his father lose his leg fighting the Japanese?

Add to that, you're at the top of the class. You're self-assured and confident and.... Don't take this wrong, you live in a nicer neighborhood and house than many whites. Do you see what I'm saying?"

"What are you going to do?" Hiroshi asked.

"I'm going to his house for dinner tomorrow night. Pray that I find out that he has a gun because if I do, this thing could end tomorrow night." Peter replied.

"What about the rest of them?" Patricia asked.

"Most of them will back away." Kenji replied. "The others will either start or find new groups. This is what I meant when I said that there will always be people like Andrew Kelly in the world. To hide from them gives them power."

No one said anything because they knew that he was right. They all felt a measure of relief knowing that they could be done with Andrew Kelly by the next evening.

Peter left a few minutes later politely declining the offer of dinner but accepting for another time.

There was a hopeful silence as dinner preparations began again. All of them said their own prayer that Peter would be safe and that he would find what he was looking for.

********

Andrew drove home, ran into the house with his father's dinner and set it on the table. He wrote a quick note and ran out of the house again. Once in the car, he drove off. He didn't want to run into his father. He pulled into the first parking lot he saw and pulled out the classifieds that he had saved from the night before.

He quickly skimmed the ads that he had circled and began a process of elimination. Finally, he decided on a private seller who lived several blocks to the north of the school. Andrew found a payphone and called the number listed in the ad.

"Hello." A gruff voice said after answering on the third ring.

Andrew explained why he was calling hoping that the man still had the gun.

"I still have it." He said.

"Do you have a place where I can shoot it?" Andrew asked.

"Not here, but there's a place not far from here if you want to test it out." The man replied more pleasant because he had a buyer. "When do you want to come?"

Twenty minutes later, Andrew was sitting in the man's living room sipping on a glass of water while the man showed him how to clean and load the gun.

"You aren't planning to shoot anybody are you?" the man asked.

"No sir, it's a gift for my father." Andrew replied with a smile.

"It's a good choice. The man said. "I wish that I could keep it, but I need the money."

Andrew could have cared less about why the man as selling the gun. He wanted to test it and then take it home.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Andrew said. "So a forty-five is a good gun?"

"One of the best." the man replied. "Let me get my keys and I'll drive you to the spot where you can fire it."

An hour later, Andrew was driving home with his new purchase imagining it pressed against the back of Kenji's head.

*********

Isadora's first day of class was everything she had imagined and hoped it would be. She sat in the front row not wanting to miss a word of what was being said and took notes good enough to rival Kenji's. It didn't matter that she was starting a week later than the others, she would catch up.

The one thing that she noticed was that no one seemed to pay any attention to the fact that there was a black woman in class. No one spoke to her, but no one bothered her either. Even the professor treated her with respect.

"Miss Hughes, since you're a week behind, I've asked Miss Sullivan to work with you to help you get caught up. I'll leave it to you to set up a time to meet. Miss Sullivan, please raise your hand so that Miss Hughes knows who you are."

kalamazoo707
kalamazoo707
1,662 Followers