Chapter One
LANDING IN THE SOUP
"Announcing Japan Airlines flight number 268; has just arrived from Hong Kong one half hour ahead of schedule. Passengers are deplaning at gate 8" came the announcement over the airport's tannoy speakers. Inwardly Tang Lung sighed, he'd been shuffling nervously from foot to foot in his Chinese slippers for around 10 minutes now, trying to avoid the unwelcome curiosity of a elderly Italian grandmother also waiting to be met by someone. She was intently studying Lung's handsome Chinese features and strange, simple tang style cotton suit with it's mandarin collar and wide baggy trousers. Lung turned and gave her his best broad smile, trying to diffuse her scrutiny. She continued to stare until a large man in a check sports jacket emerged from a crowd to claim the matriarch with hugs and kisses. Lung blew out his cheeks, happy to see to see them wander off in the direction of the exit corridor; hoping the rest of his trip to Rome wouldn't turn out to be as uncomfortable as the last 10 minutes.
Feeling quite hungry and still no sign of anyone looking to meet him he finally decided to seek out somewhere to eat. He knew no Italian and only a few English words, so this was going to be difficult trying to make himself understood. He wandered around for a further five minutes before spotting a young girl eating an ice cream cone with relish. Lung bent down with a gesture/motion of eating which had the effect of startling the girl and set her off running down the corridor shouting for her mother. Caught like a rabbit in the headlights with passengers starting to stare, Lung quickly got himself away from the scene, rounding a corner to find the airport restaurant. Sniffing the smell of cooking he started to enter when a large grey haired man began to emerge. "Go right on in..." he said in English cheerfully. Lung nodded not entirely understanding as his stomach began to growl.
Entering the glass fronted restaurant he looked around trying to find an empty table in the rather garish orange themed decor. Finding one in front of a pair of pretty stewardesses. Lung slid onto the seat behind the table, placing his shoulder bag –really no more than a cloth wrap- onto his lap as a thin, aged waitress complete with lace cap and apron sidled up to the table, notebook and pen in hand. "May I help you" she said in accented English. Lung swallowed nervously "eggs?" he replied in Cantonese, hoping she understood. "Huh? she replied with a quizzical look. Feeling foolish and dumb Lung picked up the menu and began to flick through the pages pointing at various dishes on the pages. The waitress looked on bored and feeling infinitely superior. Finally he pointed at several items repeatedly with a broad grin until she understood what he wanted. "Hmmph!" the waitress exclaimed taking the menu from him while ambling toward the kitchen. "That wasn't too bad" thought Lung, "I wonder what I ordered?" After what seemed like seconds, the waitress returned carrying a large tray of steaming bowls. Hurridly taking his napkin Lung, got ready to fill his hungry belly, tucking the napkin into the front of his jacket he was surprised to see the waitress placing 5 different bowls of hot soup in front of him. "There!" she proclaimed with a smirk. Lung looked up at her with a smile before adding salt and pepper to the steaming broths. The waitress continued to stare in amazement for a minute before wrinkling her snooty nose and going off in search of another customer. Lung was happy to see her go as he proceeded to polish off each bowl of soup in record time. With a distinct belch he then loosened his his sash-belt before gesturing the waitress that he was ready to pay. "Hmmph" she exclaimed again while picking out the correct currency from Lung's hand, without a further glance she headed off to the cashier while Lung made his way gingerly to the exit, drawing a multitude of stares from the other diners. Once outside Lung immediately felt queasy from gulping down the soup. His stomach started to throw a few flips and somersaults...he now needed to find the toilet!
Chapter Two
DRIVING HER CRAZY
The five bowls of soup where having a rapid effect on Lung's stomach and not in a good way. He thought that the unthinkable might happen there and then in the crowded airport and in front of all those curious gwailo's. Just then a pretty girl with long black hair strolled past. She seemed to be looking for someone. Lung was pleased to see that she looked Chinese and fished inside his tunic pocket for a photograph - to see that the girl in the picture was one and the same. By now the girl was aware of Lung's stare and began to take in his simple attire. He did the same, noting her figure hugging flared jeans and sweater. "Tang Lung?" the girl asked in Cantonese. Almost at the same time Lung gave a broad grin "Miss Chen Ching Hua?" "Yes" she answered "and why weren't you waiting at the exit gate?" "We were early" Lung replied pointing his finger upwards "I was starving hungry so I ate a little!" "Ah...and how is my uncle?" "I'm afraid he's not feeling well, so I came instead" Lung offered apologetically. "He didn't write very much about you...what can you do?" she questioned. "Hey! Don't be so formal" he gestured with hands open, "don't worry I know I can help you!" he replied holding a calloused fist up. "How can you help me? You know my problem?" Ching Hua demanded to know. Lung's current situation needed dealing with now "You can tell me later, now please tell me where the toilet is!" Ching Hua sighed and gestured with her thumb much like a hitchhiker as Lung ran off in the direction of where she had pointed to. "So uncouth!" she muttered, thinking that this uncultured ragamuffin might be better getting the next plane back to Hong Kong. How the hell was this buffoon going to help her deal with the mess she was in? He looked liked he belonged on a pig farm rather than the Via Veneto. Granted he was handsome and strong looking but they were hardly the qualities she needed right now. Her mood darkened as she led Lung out of the terminal exit in stony silence, toward the car park.
Outside the weather was fine and sunny. Ching Hua had driven to the airport in her white Cadillac convertable a present to her from her late father. Lung's eyes widened in admiration as he looked at every inch of it. "BMW?..Mustang?" he enquired hoping to seem up to date on cars. "Hmmm, I know...it's a Rolls!" exclaimed suddenly. Ching Hua grunted and slapped the red leather passenger seat. Lung quickly jumped in as she roared out into the airport traffic. " We may as well take the tourist route as you might not be here too long" Ching Hua said as a matter-of- fact. Lung nodded lamely agreeing inwardly. His favour to "Uncle" was turning out to be a disaster so far. The 'tourist' route his lovely but unfriendly companion had decided to travel took in all the usual classical Roman architecture; the Coliseum, Plaza del Popelo, the Trevi Fountain and something that the locals referred to as the "Big Typewriter", Lung was finding it hard to keep up with Ching Hua's running commentary and so decided to cut to the chase by asking her "So what exactly has uncle asked me to come here for?" Ching Hua frowned then shouted something in Italian at a scooter rider. "Last month my father passed away and left me his restaurant. Uncle Wong and the others have helped me out a lot. Then a big syndicate stepped in, they're interested in buying the restaurant, they want me to sell out before it's too late." "So what's the problem? If you won't sell it, they can't buy it." Ching Hua changed down to second gear to avoid running into a Fiat while honking the horn. "In theory you're quite right but they won't listen to any kind of reason. I've realised they'll stop at nothing to get my land and they've got some thugs watching us all the time. When customers arrive these thugs turn up and threaten them and scare them all away. We can't do a thing!" Lung noticed Ching Hua's eyes starting to moisten "I take it you've told the police?" "Police! Hah! They disappear as soon as the police arrive and we can't really ask them for 24 hrs protection. Now business is bad, getting worse and the waiters how can I pay them? Also the expenses I've hardly any money left." Ching Hua now had tears streaming down her cheeks, Lung felt both sorry and awkward to see this lovely girl cry on such a nice day."They're pressing me, they want an answer right away so I wrote to my uncle in Hong Kong...I thought he would send me a top lawyer, but now..." she tailed off sobbing. "Hey, Hey! So polite!" Lung offered cheerfully. "I'm here to get you out of this mess, don't worry Miss Chen just leave them to me. I'll get them." Ching Hua turned to Lung and gave him a half-smile and then pointed to a modern newly built building as she slowed down. "There, that's their headquarters. That's where they hang out." Lung looked the building up and down and took in the surrounding street in case he had to visit the place.
Chapter Three
FRIENDLY LOCALS
Soon the mismatched couple slowed down and parked in a side street off the main road out of the city. "We're here" said Ching Hua pointing at a doorway with her expensive clutch bag. Her apartment was on the first floor of the building and quite spacious with lounge and dining area separated by a tasteful bead curtain. It was nicely decorated with several art prints that gave it a real European feel. Lung thought it looked too clean and tidy, as if Ching Hua didn't spend a lot of time there. Ching Hua came back from the kitchen with a glass of water and gestured for Lung to sit down. His stomach cramps were starting to surface again. " I rent this apartment. All the men live at the restaurant, it's much more convenient you know? You can stay here now, you're my uncle's friend so feel at home. Anything you want, just ask". "Thanks" gulped Lung. "Can I use your toilet?" "Through there" Ching Hua sighed watching him hurry off again. She wondered if she should get something for his stomach when the sound of water flushing brought her out of her thoughts. Lung re-appeared and sat at the dining table. There was an uneasy silence for a moment when he suddenly smiled and looked excited, as if he'd just remembered something. "It'll soon be New Year, everyone in Hong Kong will be happy and celebrating, do they have New Year here?" Ching Hua looked away, not really feeling like small talk but decided to make the effort strolling back to the lounge. " I haven't been back for years, I guess it's changed a lot, I don't know if I'd like it. Say, how's the restaurant business doing?" Lung idled up behind "I live way out in the New Territories and every day I practice martial arts!" he grunted as he began to throw a series of punches and kicks with blinding speed. "Watch out! You'll break something!" Lung stopped just as suddenly feeling like a scolded child. "Restaurant's? About the same" he sniffed. "Sit down" Ching Hua commanded taking a key and business card out of her bag. "Here's the key and my card. The number of the restaurant is on the back. If you get lost just show it to a taxi driver." "I've got a good sense of direction and taxi's are expensive here! Don't you have minibuses like back in Hong Kong?" "You need money Ah Lung?" Ching Hua started to reach into her purse. "Don't worry I've got plenty" Lung said patting his pocket. "In that case we'd better go and deposit it in the bank." Lung looked shocked "Hey! It's much safer to carry it, then I can look after it myself!" Ching Hua wasn't going to take no for an answer, "I won't argue, how much have you got?" "Not, much...really not much" protested Lung. "I still say it would be better in the bank, c'mon." With that Ching Hua was up and heading for the door. Lung followed with a sigh and a childish pout.
Ching Hua decided they should walk to the bank as it wasn't far from the apartment. "Be careful crossing the streets here Lung, the drivers are crazy" she said pulling him away from stepping in front of a bus. After a minute or two they arrived at the Banca Nazional which was siutated on the corner of a particularly busy route. Once again Lung had been concentrating on the route they'd taken to the bank. Once inside Ching Hua spotted Mr. Ricardo a large dark haired man with jet black hair and wearing a fawn lightweight suit and glasses. "Miss Chen! How are you?" he said in Italian and shook her hand vigorously. "This is Mr. Tang, he wants to deposit some money." Mr. Ricardo beamed a smile at Lung and embraced him warmly "Ah, ha my friend!" Lung stiffened, like a block of wood, shooting an uncomfortable glare at Ching Hua. Seeing his unease she diffused the delicate situation "C'mon let's see your money." Mr. Ricardo sat at his desk and asked "How much do want to change into Lira?" Lung looked puzzled. Ching Hua translated "How much do you want to change ?" "Oh, only twenty dollars, I don't trust this foreign money at all." With that he fished a number of Chinese bank notes out and piled them onto the desk. Mr. Ricardo looked astonished then took them away for the clerk to change. Shortly he returned with the cash and a receipt. Lung sniffed and put the money in his pocket. "Ciao Miss Chen" Mr Ricardo waived as she started to leave. She waived back with a smile while pushing Lung out of the door onto the busy street.
On the return journey to her apartment Ching Hua reflected that she'd better put Ah Lung in the picture regarding etiquette with Europeans. She sat him down on a public seat in the Plaza Novana opposite it's beautiful ornate fountain. "That was a bank manager not a thief, you must learn to be more polite to people while you're here. Not everyone is a criminal!" Just then Lung noticed a gorgeous looking woman take the end of the seat behind Ching Hua. She started to look at Lung with appreciative eyes. Ching Hua was oblivious to this and continued her rant "Also I know him well and you've embaressed me!" By now Lung was totally focused on the woman. "The foreigners here are really friendly, you'll see. When people smile, you smile back. It's only right." Just as she said this, the woman gave Lung a flirty smile , who returned the compliment with his broadest grin. "And when people put their arm around you it's ok, you should behave in exactly the same way so remember that." Now the woman winked and Lung followed suit awkwardly trying his best to take Ching Hua's advice. "While you're here just don't be so uptight." Ching Hua finished with a sigh. The Woman now boldly got up and squeezed on to the seat between Ching Hua and Lung putting her arm around him. Ching Hua looked on in amazement as Lung responded likewise. Suddenly she was up on her feet and striding out of the plaza with a puzzled Tang Lung looking- mouth agape, off into the direction of where she headed. The woman's hand came into his view and gestured for him to stand. With another smile he had taken her hand and started to walk out of the Plaza in the opposite direction...
To most of the tourists passing by they must have looked a strange sight. Lung in his simple Chinese attire holding hands with a glamorous Italian woman in a smart black skirt-suit adorned with a pattern of small red cherries. After a few minutes the pair came to a hotel. The woman babbled something in Italian. The only thing Lung seemed to understand where the words 'Lira' and 'Malisa' which the woman said a number of times while pointing at herself. He nodded and smiled, unsure what would happen next. "At least I'm being friendly" thought Lung as Malisa ushered him into the hotel lobby. At the desk, the duty manager gave Malisa a conspiratorial wink as she ushered Lung into the lift. As soon as the door closed she got close up and personal by hugging her Chinese 'John' and giving him a peck on the cheek. Lung could feel her large breasts against his chest and the aroma of her perfume filled his nostrils causing him to feel giddy with both desire and fear. Before anything else could happen, the lift came to a halt and Malisa ushered Lung out and down the corridor to the last room on the right. "Here we are" she said while opening the door "Sit down" s offering Lung a seat on a chintzy couch. Lung sat down like as if her were a robot responding to commands. Malisa then proceeded to remove her jacket, showing off her luscious body in a tight fitting vest-top. "Make yourself at home, I won't be a moment" she assured Lung who didn't understand a word. With that she disappeared into the bedroom opposite Lung who now relaxed a little and took in his surroundings. It was a nice hotel suite and obviously very expensive. Getting to his feet he paced around taking in the view from the window and checking out the fixtures and fittings. Just then a small movement caught his eye and immediately he was on his guard. He was relieved to find that he had caught his reflection in the wardrobe mirror. Relaxing more he decided to throw a few kicks and punches, all the while checking his form and speed. Suddenly he stopped and started to check his eyes for bloodshot. After all it had been a very long trip and he would need some rest. Then without any warning, the bedroom door opened to reveal Malisa, hands on lovely hips, naked except for the briefest of briefs. He turned from the mirror to find the real McCoy smiling suggestively at him. Almost frozen with fear, Lung could only respond by saying "Wwwwoooowwww!" before quickly slipping through the door and galloping off at full speed down the corridor...
Chapter Five
A VISIT FROM HO
While Ching Hua busied herself taking orders from customers, Lung hurried past , already loosening his sash-belt. At the same instant a young, tall blonde man excused himself from the group he was with and followed Lung into the toilet. Thinking he was alone, Lung had neglected to shut the stall door and found himself looking up at the man, who stared wide-eyed at Lung crouching with both feet Chinese style on the toilet seat. With a sour expression Lung pulled the door to thinking "Can't anyone take a dump in peace?!"
The restaurant doors suddenly swung open to reveal a group of four tough looking young me led by a slim, almost girlish looking Chinese man dressed in what could only be described as the campest outfit in the whole of Rome. One of the toughs quickly moved over to Ching Hua and grabbed her by the wrist while another went over to the table where the blonde man's friends sat. "Out!" the tough demanded. "Huh?" replied the other guy in the foursome. "Get the hell out of here now!" the tough said meaning business. "C'mon. Let's go" said a pretty blonde girl in the party, not wanting to be a part of any of this. The camp Chinese guy smiled sickly as he watched the leaving customers head for the doors. Then, the blonde guy re-appeared to find his friends gone. The Chinese cut him off pushing him in the chest. "Get out." "Why?" protested the man. "Here's why" said one of the toughs as he brought up a sharp knife to the blonde man's throat and led him out of the exit while gesturing to the two others to cover the door.
"What's your decision?" demanded the camp gangster as Ching Hua called for Uncle Wong to come out from the kitchen. "Hey! The Gwailo's are back, come quickly!" Wong called to the waiters who had changed into their scarlet work jackets. Rushing forward to fight with the gang they ground to a halt as Ching Hua pleaded with them to stop. "All right. If you don't give us an answer by tonight, we're going to tear this place into little pieces" said the fey gangster with bravado. Wong approached him, almost apologetically "Mr. Ho. Tell your boss to give us a break, we need more time to decide." "More Time!? You stupid bastard. Let's have it...so sell!" with that Ho slapped Wong hard across the face. Once again the waiters reacted wanting to fight until Wong calmed them by saying "Don't fight! We'll only wreck our own place! "Remember we'll be back for your answer" said Ho with finality before putting on his sunglasses and pushing Wong out of his way. By sheer coincidence, Tang Lung chose the moment to re-appear from the toilet, bumping into Ho while doing up his sash."Watch where you're going now." Said Ho patting Lung's sash back into place around his waist with relish. "Oh sure" came Lung's naive reply while smiling. The smile turned to a frown as he looked upon the shocked faces of his new friends. "It's so crazy, you don't know these people...why did Uncle send you?!" Ching Hua demanded before she and the waiters turned to resume their duties. Wong sympathetically took Lung aside and offered some assurance "They're young and very inexperienced. It'll be all right, see?" and then headed for the kitchen. Lung felt hurt and confused, sniffed and pouted in his childish way thinking he should get the next flight back to Hong Kong.
Chapter Four
MEETING THE GUYS
Tang Lung was out of the hotel in an instant, not bothering with the lift; he took the stairs two at a time. Sprinting through the lobby he nearly crashed into an American couple who were booking in. He continued through the busy streets invoking all manner of curious stares from passers-by. Finally he ground to a halt when he saw two police officers on the opposite side of the street. Switching to a nonchalant stroll, he glanced casually at shop windows until the police had moved on. Finally he looked back to see if anyone had followed him.
Lung found his way back to the apartment quite quickly and was just about to unlock the door when it opened. Standing in the doorway was a smiling Chinese fellow with a chubby face and wearing a hideous Hawaiian shirt in green and brown. "Hello"..."Ah you must be Ah Lung" the friendly face said. "Welcome to Rome. I'm Ah Kune." "Oh yes, Ah Kune" said Lung shaking the offered hand. "I'm from Miss Chen's restaurant, she asked me to take you there" Kune continued "Er...where did you go to just now?" Lung shuffled uneasily, and stared silently, straight ahead. When no answer came, Kune just shrugged and said "Ok, let's go..." closed the door and put an arm around his new friend as they left.
The restaurant was called The Shanghai and was in a pretty side street off the Via Del Corso. As the two new friends entered, Lung was surprised to see Ching Hua and an older man dressed in a chef's tunic sat at one of the tables looking thoroughly bored. They both looked up when Lung and Kune approached. "Hey there, Ah Lung's here" said Kune happily. The older man got to his feet, hand outstretched "Ah Lung, this is Uncle Wong." " Hi there" said Wong pumping Lung's hand "It's good to see you man, sit down. Ah Kune make some tea!" Lung took his seat, a little embarressed at the welcome. Wong continued to make Lung at home,"Well it's a long trip out here, long flight...now that you've looked around...do you like Rome?" "Ever since I got off the plane it's been terrible" Lung explained with a sigh. "Well, I think you'll get to like it". After a pause he said "How are things back in Hong Kong?.. It's ages since I was there." Lung's mouth turned into a huge grin "Hong Kong? I'm from the country not the town, you see in the country heeee!" Both Ching Hua and Wong looked at Lung as if he was some kind of moron. Lung shuffled uncomfortably in his seat and stopped talking, looking around the empty restaurant which was furnished in a mixture of Chinese and European styles. Finally he broke the silence. "All these empty tables, where are the customers?" "Ah, with all these thugs hanging around, no one dares come in here" confessed Wong shaking his head slowly. Kune reappeared with tea just then and said "Ah Lung, we've got the waiters training out back. Let's go watch them ah?" Lung was quickly up on his feet "Fine!" and glad to break free of the chit-chat with Wong and followed Kune out to the service area.
Lung and Kune emerged from the rear door into a large yard, with empty delivery boxes stacked against the opposite wall while a group of five young Chinese men dressed in white Karategi uniforms were limbering up for practice. Lung observed that three of them were wearing the coveted black belt around their waists. "There's no work" Kune explained "so they spend their time practicing". The waiters lined up and proceeded to perform an inside block/reverse punch combination. Kune continued, "Before Mr. Chen died they all started learning Karate so they could deal with those damn thugs." "How about you?" asked Lung. "Ah...it's foreign! It dosen't intrest me!" said Kune dismissively. Lung frowned "Foreign or not, if it helps you look after yourself in a fight you should learn to use it. It dosen't matter at all where it comes from, you should realise that." Kune looked surprised at Lung's martial wisdom "Now my game is Chinese Boxing. Say, you know Chinese Boxing?" "Sure" shrugged Lung. "Really?" said Kune not quite believing him. "Mmmm" replied Lung nodding his head. At that moment the waiters brought the combination to a halt as the lead waiter called "Ok, take a break." The tallest waiter noticed Lung for the first time and gestured to his colleagues. "Hey you guys,come over here" called Kune as they lined up facing Lung and him. "This is Tang Lung, introduce yourselves." The tallest spoke first, "I'm Tony" followed by "Jimmy", "Thomas", "Robert" before the last in line said "I've no English name, just call me Ah Chuan." "Hello!" grinned Lung. The waiters looked Lung over with interest noticing his Tang style suit, typical attire of a Chinese martial artist. "Can you box?" Tony asked cockily. Before Lung could answer Kune interjected "Ah Lung's come from Hong Kong to help us, you know he's a great Chinese boxer!" Lung cringed slightly before saying "I've just learned a little." "Oh,Chinese boxing? I have heard it lacks any real power." Tony smirked. "Well you only lack power when you're a beginner" replied Lung, not taking offence. "Well come on, how do you develop any power?" This time it was Jimmy demanding to know. "By putting your whole body behind it, put your hip into it" Lung demonstrated with a twist of his right hip. Jimmy persisted with his question,"C,mon will you show us how you put your hip into it?!" Lung looked a bit shocked at this and replied "You'll get hurt." The waiters began to smirk "What?!" laughed Jimmy "You're kidding!" Kune desperate to see Lung in action added "Aw, c'mon. You can use the protective pads they're holding. You won't hurt them..." he reassured Lung while leading him up the steps to the large practice space. The waiters gathered up the foam pads, one of which was an air-filled shield for practicing kicks. Tony held it firmly ready for Lung to launch a sidekick at it when everyone's concentration was broke. "Hey! Hold on, hey!" shouted Uncle Wong from the doorway. "We've got customers. Go and change your clothes!" The waiters groaned with disappointment before heading off to the back door leaving Lung to bring up the rear. When he caught up with Kune he asked him quietly "Err..the john?" "The toilet?" Kune pointed to a sign in the restaurant near the entrance. "Can't you see the sign?" Lung nodded grinning from ear to ear before going off like a shot...again.
Chapter Six
DRAGON WHIPS HIS TAIL!
It was early evening. Traffic in the city was frantically busy with office workers wearily making their way home to the suburbs while night owls drove in to sample the delights of Rome's many bars, clubs and eating establishments. In The Shanghai the waiters sat clustered around a table discussing what had happened earlier in the day. Lung sat away from them in a booth, still pouting and still pondering on whether to go back home.
"It's lucky they weren't armed, we could have been hurt" argued Kune lectured the others. "In broad daylight ? They haven't got the guts" Tony smirked. "All they can do is crawl around in the dark like rats!" "Yeah" grinned Thomas "If Uncle Wong hadn't stopped me, I'd have used my Karate and finished them off with one chop!" They all laughed and nodded before Kune broke in "What good is your Karate against guns?!" "Well it's better than Chinese Boxing" said Jimmy standing up and looking towards Lung "He let someone shove him all over the place and then he apologised!" Lung stared back briefly and sniffed.
A few seconds later the doors opened and four men started to come in, an obese Italian with a black beard, a tall lean black guy in a red tie-dye shirt, a long haired Caucasian fellow and another black guy sporting a beard. The waiters jumped up ready to serve their new customers. "Please sit here gentlemen" Thomas offered a table while Jimmy got out his notepad ready to take orders. "May I help you?" Jimmy asked cheerfully. "Sure" said the tall black guy "I'd like some Chinese spareribs." Jimmy looked puzzled "Chinese spareribs?" "You mean to tell me you don't know what Chinese spareribs are?" the black guy continued. Jimmy shook his head smiling. "Well let me show you man" the black guy lifted Jimmy's arm up and punched Jimmy heavily in the ribs sending the young Chinese down to the floor. The group laughed and fat Italian to drop the glass candle holder to the floor with a crash. "What are you doing?!" shouted Ching Hua from the cash desk. "You know what we're doing" the tall black guy answered nodding to his chums. "You all should have left this restaurant." Tony called Uncle Wong out from the kitchen "They're here again!" Wong rushed out at a pace "Be careful, don't wreck our own things!" Jimmy picked himself up and put on a show of bravado "You wanna step outside?" he said to the group. "Sure" said the fat Italian. Jimmy pointed to the rear service exit and motioned for them to go out back to settle the everyone started to go towards the exit Kune looked across at Lung who had been taking everything in from his position in the booth. "C'mon!" Lung called getting up to follow them.
Once outside the thugs lined up to the rear of the yard while the waiters, Wong, Ching Hua and Lung faced them across the concrete floor, waiting now for the next move to be made. Jimmy and the fat guy moved forward sizing each other up, the Italian moving into a boxer's stance. Jimmy suddenly started to perform a series of Karate moves much to the amusement of the gang. The tension was suddenly broke by Jimmy launching a step through punch at his opponents head. The Italian may have been fat, but he was quick and took out the young Chinese with a big right hand punch that ended the fight as Jimmy went down sprawling and totally unconscious. Jimmy's colleagues looked down astonished as Uncle Wong tried to revive him. The tall black guy laughed with the Italian and mocked Jimmy's attempt "Chinese Boxing?" the two of them guffawed pointing at Jimmy's limp frame. "I'll go!" Tony shouted stepping out from the line. "Wait!" He was instantly cut off by a wave of Lung's arm to gesture him and his colleagues aside. "We'll show them Chinese Boxing!" Lung proclaimed in Cantonese. "Yeah" translated Kune in Italian "Real Chinese Boxer!" pointing at Lung who performed a fast series of Gung fu moves that ended in a low stance. The fat guy yawned and put his dukes up again thinking he'd just drop the guy like the other chink. He moved in with a jab that Lung intercepted with a fast and powerful roundhouse kick to the ribs. The Italian staggered back thinking his ribs were broke, clutching at his side. "Movement number four. dragon seeks path" Lung called out to his amazed countrymen and then spun on the ball of his right foot and kicked the Italian straight in the face with the sole of his left foot. "Dragon whips his tail!" The fat guy dropped like a stone as the waiters cheered and the rest of the thugs looked down in awe. Ching Hua could not believe how manly and attractive Lung had suddenly become in the space of a few seconds. Lung now waited to see if they would attack again and was soon slipping to the right to dodge the tall black guy's punches before firing one back to the jaw and sweeping the him to the floor. To make sure he wouldn't get up again, Lung hit him with another right and then sat on the guy's chest and surveyed the remaining two thugs who looked uncertain what to do. Lung noticed the white guy was close enough and trapped the guy's leg with a scissor leg lock that took him down to the floor, repeating the action on the other black guy. Suddenly Lung sprang up like a cat as the gwailo's staggered to their feet and then launched the white guy across the floor with a punishing side kick to the solar plexus that lifted him off his feet. With a quick shuffle of his feet Lung performed a high rear hook kick to the other black guy's head that knocked him out cold. Looking down at the unconscious forms he sniffed, thumbed his nose and shrugged as his friends rushed over to congratulate their new champion. "You did a great job, beautiful!" Tony exclaimed excitedly. "Don't be overjoyed" said Wong "Now they've been whipped, they'll be back for revenge". Tony didn't let this dampen the mood "Now our dragon has entered!" Ching Hua suddenly parted the group and sidled up to Lung who was pleased he had managed to win over the group "We can discuss all this later, and close up for the night. Tony, Thomas, Ah Kune, please get rid of them" she pointed at the thugs who where groggily coming around. "Yes Miss!" they responded with a salute to their young employer. She linked arms with her new bodyguard and said to Lung smiling "Let's get back to the apartment".
Chapter Seven
SHOW US AGAIN!
The drive back to the apartment was in complete contrast to the one from the airport. Ching Hua's mood was both chatty and flirty. Lung was amused and not a little flattered by the attention and his new found hero status. "You were fantastic Ah Lung. I now see why Uncle asked you to come!" Lung gave his usual biggest smile "It was nothing...really nothing." Lung murmured, trying not to boast. " But still, those guys were out cold!" continued Ching Hua as she slowed down to a stop outside the apartment. "They did it to themselves really." Lung replied, opening Ching Hua's door. He seemed to be even lighter on his feet than usual as they both ascended the stairs. "Do you want to eat?" asked Ching Hua as they entered the apartment. "Nope, you see I want to get up early and do some training tomorrow". As he turned towards the bedroom door, a thought occurred to him. "Is it easy to get a gun around here?" Ching Hua smirked at his naivety again. "Of course! We are in Rome after all." Lung looked puzzled and frowned. "Ever heard of the Mafia Ah Lung?" " Ah, I get you! Well, goodnight Miss Chen" he called over his shoulder before closing the bedroom door behind him.
It was 9am when Ching Hua appeared from her room. She found Lung sat at the coffee table with pen-knife and some small pointy pieces of wood. "What's that?" she enqiuired. "They're darts." Replied Lung testing the sharpness of the needle like points. "Darts? What for?" Ching Hua asked. Tang Lung avoided the question "I need something to give them some weight, can we go shopping on the way to The Shanghai?" he asked practicing a quick throw. "Sure, we don't have to get there too early. I'll let them know."
Ah Kune carried the heavy tray from the kitchen, pausing to look up at the clock. Miss Chen had called ahead to tell them to expect them around 10. In appreciation of Lung's heroic's last night, Kune had prepared a variety of Chinese snacks, Siu Mai, Dim Sum and a pot of fragrant green tea for his new best buddy. As he put the tray down, the other waiters came bounding in from their morning workout still wearing their Karategi. Immediately they saw the snacks and reached out to grab some. Kune quickly fended them off by slapping their hands away. "What's up? You're hungry? Well if you think you're as good as Ah Lung you can have it. But Right now you'd better go and practice for a few more years!" "Ah Lung? ! Well...why didn't you say!" said Tony putting his stolen snack back on the tray. "Ah Lung! It's always Ah Lung!" Jimmy complained moving away from his co-workers and annoyed at the newcomer's hero status. Just then the door opened and in walked Ching Hua and Lung to a boisterous greeting from the rest of the group. Kune reached the pair first. "Ah Lung, I made this little meal for our new champion. Go ahead eat up!" Lung exchanged glances with Ching Hua and grinned. He was about to sit down and sample Kune's tasty dishes when Robert stopped him. "Ah Lung. Your Gung fu is just terrific." "Who's your teacher in Hong Kong?" Thomas wanted to know. "Hey take a look!" Tony butted in and proceeded to mimic some of the moves that Lung had made the night before. "Little Dragon seeks path! Big Dragon whips his tail!" They all laughed before Ah Kune interrupted, "You said Chinese Boxing was weak" "Ah..." Tony started before they all started laughing. Lung was enjoying the camaraderie of it all when Tony said "Hey you were too fast yesterday, we couldn't see what you were doing. Will you show it to us again?" Jimmy had been observing all this and decided to give his two cents worth "Yeah why not?" he said cockily "Let's see if the great master can do it again." "Hey..." Lung was about to answer when Kune cut him off "Ah Lung...let's see it again?" Suddenly Lung was being marched off to the rear exit by his eager followers, just catching a glimpse of the smiling Ching Hua as he rounded the corner.
In the yard, the waiters gathered up the various striking pads and surrounded Lung. Robert held a yellow forearm shield close to his head for Lung to kick, while Ah Chuan held on tightly to the air-filled shield. Once again Jimmy started to taunt as Lung took up his position. "Everyone says you're fast and very powerful but I didn't see those things last night. You told us that you have to learn to use your hips properly. Well then let's see you do it." Kune walked over quickly and shut him up " Hey, you keep quiet! You might learn something." The others backed Kune up telling Jimmy to be quiet. Lung took it in good humour and gave a faint smile, before his face took on a serious look and then with a cat like yell he delivered five superfast roundhouse kicks to the shield held by Robert, each one landing with accuracy and power. Robert staggered back by the sheer force and was visibly shaken. The rest of the waiters, including Jimmy looked on in both awe and admiration at Lung's technique. Ah Chuan gulped noisily as Lung prepared to use his air shield as the next target. Shuffling his feet, Lung backed off slightly before launching his whole body horizontally into a devastating sidekick that seemed to penetrate the shield and lift Ah Chuan off his feet and deposit him 10 feet away into some stacked up cardboard boxes. Everyone, including Lung looked shocked for an instant before racing over to Ah Chuan to pick up his shocked and winded body. "Great, Superb, Wow, Some kick man!" The waiters couldn't find enough superlatives to congratulate Lung on his kicking skills. "Ah Lung, why don't you teach me that?" asked Kune, beaming with admiration. "Hey! You said physical training was quite useless." Tony reminded him mockingly. "That was Japanese Karate, this is Chinese...understand?!" Kune replied with a burst of national pride. "Right then" Tony answered, "We'll all give up Karate!" He turned to his fellow waiters who immediately agreed. Lung smiled his approval and was about to say something when Uncle Wong appeared out of the rear exit. "Hey, there are customers, go and change your clothes!" Wong's booming voice meant business as the waiters started to hurry inside with a collective groan. Quickly Kune sidled up to Lung and put his arm around the shoulders of his new hero "Ah Lung...my teacher. I have to go now but later we can get together and talk huh?" Lung smiled and nodded as he watched him rush off to take orders from a table of customers. Noticing Ching Hua Lung went over to her and startled the customers with a cheery "Hello!" in English before switching to Cantonese "Is there anything I can do?" "Watch out for those thugs Lung. I'm sure they'll be back" Ching Hua said pointing to the door. "Mmm" murmured Lung as he went over to the bar and sat on a stool to give him the best view.
Chapter Eight
THE BIG BOSS
The day at The Shanghai had gone well, with many hungry and more importantly - paying customers and no sign of the men who were harming the business. It was around 2am when the last of the diners had left and a little while later Ching Hua and Lung were parking outside the apartment. Lung was whistling his favourite tune as he opened the door. "What's that tune?" asked Ching Hua. "Oh, it's from a tv show back home." "Want some tea?" replied Ching Hua reaching for the light switch. Just then, a voice came out of the darkness "My boss wants to see you." The pair turned and could make out a heavy set Italian in a pinstripe suit and bow-tie. He was sitting in one of the armchairs and pointing a Browning pistol at them. "Is he nuts?" said Lung quickly calculating the distance to the gunman. "It looks like we'd better do as he says" said Ching Hua who was now petrified. "Shut up! Now move..." came the gunman's next order as he uncrossed his legs and began to get up. Lung now made his move with an accurate whip-like throw of one of his darts. The needle pointed dart buried itself into a vein in the man's gun hand making him drop the pistol. Lung was now on him like a cat, unleashing a roundhouse kick to his stomach and punching him hard several times before executing a kick-back throw that slammed the Italian onto the floor. Quickly Lung grabbed the gunman's collar and dragged him across the room and out of the apartment door which he then slammed shut. Ching Hua had watched the whole thing rooted to the spot, mouth agape then bent down to pick up the pistol. Lung quickly took it from her and tossed it onto the couch. "Hmmph! See you!" and made his way to the spare room leaving Ching Hua standing there mouth still open.
Gianni Bennito sat brooding at his desk in his large office looking at the bruised and battered individual sat opposite him. "Only you were good for nothing! Didn't you have a gun? "What I like I get, and I want that restaurant!" Ho, looking ever the dandy was stood behind the so-called assassin "Yes boss, yes boss!" he agreed in his usual sycophantic manner. "Haven't you wasted enough time?" Bennito continued. "But I always do my best..."pleaded Ho. "Then how come you failed?" said Bennito. "Ahhh" Ho minced over to him, "I have found out that they are helped by a man called Tang Lung ." "A man! Only one man!? Bennito couldn't believe it. "Ahh, but this man knows Chinese Kung fu!" said Ho making a passable attempt at an on-guard posture. " Kung fu?!" "What is that? Is it like Kung-Pow chicken?!" " You fool, nothing's faster than a bullet!" Bennito's rage got worse as he slumped down into his chair. Clicking his fingers, one of his 'assistants' appeared with a large scotch and a Cuban cigar. He took a slug of his drink and lit the cigar and then loosened his silk white tie. Bennito was a large imposing man with receeding grey hair and a goatee beard, always immaculately dressed. He was also "The Fixer" and the acceptable face of the mob. Millionaire 'Property Developer' and a qualified lawyer who was also handled a protection racket with muscle supplied by his 'employers'. They were beginning to breathe heavily down his neck to either get rid of the Chinese girl or let her run the business under their 'protection'. "Who is this Tang Lung?" he asked Ho who was wearing a too-small trilby hat and several gold chains that flapped around when he moved. "He's a young punk from a farm back in Hong Kong. He's really good at Kung fu – that's the Chinese version of Karate – but I'm sure we could buy him off." "What would he step aside for? Money, girls...drugs?" Bennito wanted to know. "Hmm, none of that I'm sure...maybe a pig! I'd suggest we go back there with an army this time." Ho laughed and nodded to himself.
Tang Lung worked out on the balcony at the apartment, doing an exhaustive range of calisthenics, stretching, stomach crunches and body buiding exercises. His finely chiselled body, glowed with perspiration under the early morning sun. An aroma of Chinese cooking broke his concentration and he sniffed the air. Going back inside he found Ching Hua placing plates of hot Chinese snacks onto the dining table. Lung smiled "Morning! I didn't know you were awake yet." Ching Hua beamed back, "Sit down and eat!" Lung quickly sat down and got busy with his chopsticks, tucking hungrily into the snacks. " In Rome you won't often find such food." Ching Hua said proudly. Lung looked up and clumsily said "Hmm, they're better in Hong Kong." "Sure, I know that but I cooked them myself." Ching Hua said without taking offence. Lung blushed at another of his faux pas and gave her a half smile. "And you?" "I've already eaten. Want some more?" as she offered him another plate. Lung nodded trying to stuff another snack into his mouth. "After you've eaten, I'll show you around the sights of Rome." "Mmmm" murmered Lung with enthusiasm as he gulped down another snack.