003: Diethel, Lyserg Diethel
Disclaimer: Genies do not come out of pepsi bottles
Several boats carrying numerous police officers sped through Hong Kong bay, its passengers looking keenly upon a rather decrepit Chinese Junk which had anchored in the middle of their waters.
Once they had reached the vessel, all they found were silent, empty decks with no signs of any human activity.
The men proceeded into the holds, where they found a rather curious door. They quickly assembled next to it, and once they were arranged in proper fashion, one of the men turned the knob quickly, and at once the men pointed their guns inside.
"Freeze, Police!" Unfortunately, all they found was a bomb and three seconds left, "Oh my G--!"
Too late, had they realized it was a trap, and soon the Junk was engulfed in an inferno, taking with it several men and leaving many more grievously wounded.
Upon the road overlooking the bay, a limousine's rear window opened, and a pair of eyes framed by sunglasses peered at the mess caused by the ship's destruction.
His cellphone came to life and quickly he answered it, "Yes, they fell for it flawlessly, that should keep the cops off our back for a little while. Yes sir, I'll be back within the hour."
(Cue Intro)
Starring:
Lyserg Diethel as 003 (aka Himself)
Iron Maiden Jeanne as The Diethel Girl
Tao Ren as The Evil Genius
Tao Men as The Evil Companion
Horokeu Usui & Chocolove McDonell as The Evil Henchmen
Meene Montgomery as Lyserg's Boss
Guest Starring:
My own OC: Agent Fenghuang
(Without further ado, let the show begin)
Britain: Home of the Union Jack, Shepherd's Pie, the English Language, Big Ben, and everyone's favorite Celtic warlord-turned-Hero-King, Arthur.
Today was a great day, for the time of a new hero was upon us, one of British blood, to be tempered by the flames of adversity, one who bore tinges of green, and a handsome countenance that would put Adonis himself to shame.
As of now, he was currently at his favorite gentlemen's club, playing a nice game of cards and gambling with his entourage.
One of the other men spoke up in commendation at his skill in their game, "You seem quite well-acquainted with this game, Mister--?"
He graciously finished that statement, "Diethel, Lyserg Diethel."
The man continued, "Well, Mister Diethel, would you care for another round?"
Lyserg, however, had to decline, "Alas, no, my occupation rarely allows me the time to enjoy such pleasures, perhaps next Friday? When I'm not too busy?"
The others in the club nodded politely, allowing Lyserg to excuse himself for now, though not before having one last shot of vodka.
The next day, Lyserg sat down at his dining table at home, having a breakfast of ham, toast, kippers and some orange juice all while watching episodes of "Mr. Bean" on the television, "Ha ha, you really know the best medicine, Mister Atkinson."
Just then, Lyserg's mobile rung across the room, Lyserg reached for it and began talking with the person contacting him.
(A quick note, "mobiles" are what Britons call "cellphones," or even occasionally just "phone," in case you didn't know.)
It was Meene, no doubt with another assignment for him, "Hello, Lyserg, I have a job for you."
Lyserg worked for an independent investigation and espionage company, known as EXIT (Which stood for "EXecutive InvesTigations"), led by Meene Montgomery, who formed the group out of dissatisfaction for her time in the Canadian Special Forces, due to insubstantial salary and corruption in their ranks.
"I'll be there in a jiffy," Lyserg got dressed and quickly drove on his specially-designed, custom-crafted Koenigsegg CCX, and quickly drove through London, finally arriving at Meene's office.
Hoisting his coat up on the hanger, Lyserg greeted his boss, "Good morning Meene, how was your sunrise?"
Meene gave a light sigh, "Oh it's been better."
Lyserg folded his arms together, "Anyway, what's our job this time? Retrieving kittens up a tree with planes that can barely fly?"
"Ha ha, no, and why would we do that? That's the army's job. Anyway, this next assignment, as our contact has so graciously elaborated for us, will apparently be bringing us to the good ol' Far East."
"Ah, the Orient, I've always wanted to try their dishes, and take in the sights. Anymore details I should know about this job?"
"You'll know when you get there, our client has already made the necessary preparations for when you arrive. As for me, I've already prepared for your flight to take you there."
"How much are we being paid for this one?"
"70,000 pounds, which is why I'd leave a job with that kind of reward to one of our more 'capable' agents, do you understand?"
"Of course Meene, I will handle everything."
Lyserg traveled the great world distance from London and arrived at Hong Kong, once there Lyserg started looking through the crowd to find the client he was supposed to meet, until he caught sight of a man holding a sign bearing his name.
Lyserg approached him, "Excuse me sir, are you my client?"
The man nodded, "And you must be the agent they sent, all right, please come this way sir."
Lyserg followed this person out of the airport, but took the time to observe him, he had gray-white hair and a goatee, and he wore a white Boss of the plains hat, white coat, white, long khaki pants, heck his whole attire was white save for his round sunglasses, black fingerless gloves, and black, polished shoes. To Lyserg, he looked something like a Triad gangster, but he stuck out like a sore thumb, "Mind if I ask your name, sir?"
The man in white turned to Lyserg, "Ho ho, I cannot tell you my real name, but you may call me 'Fenghuang,' it's dangerous to reveal any personal information about yourself in Hong Kong these days."
Lyserg raised an eyebrow, "This undoubtedly has to do with the job you've offered us?"
"Quite so, I will explain more along the way." After exiting the terminal and into open air, Lyserg and Fenghuang called for a taxi to take them to Lyserg's lodgings.
Lyserg turned to Fenghuang and resumed their conversation, "So, mind filling me on the details of this assignment?"
"Recently, there has been an unexpected increase in the black market sale and distribution of illegal drugs and narcotics. China is suffering from a flourish of opium, heroin and other vile nasties seeping into the country, and that's not the worst of it."
Lyserg asserted himself, "How bad could it possibly be?"
"Our search to put down this trade has led to nowhere up to now, last week, a group of our officers were caught in a trap that cost most of their lives, and about the only thing we know is that the number of addicts is increasing to enormously dangerous levels. Wherever the mastermind behind all this is, he's definitely making a lot of cash, and ruining many more lives."
After arriving at their destination: A posh hotel, Fenghuang ordered for Lyserg the penthouse suite as his quarters during his stay in Hong Kong, paying for all the expenses and luxuries for him too.
The two men ascended up the elevator and arrived in the penthouse, it was as Lyserg had expected it to be. Fenghuang told him that if he needed anything, he can call the hotel service from the telephone, Fenghuang also gave him a card with his contact number, in case Lyserg needed something or wanted to tell him anything important.
After a brief exchange of farewells, Lyserg took the time to settle in his new surroundings. It was a beautiful room with a comfortable living room, a widescreen TV, an elaborately decorated mahogany dining table, a swimming pool and a king-sized bed. He reached for the telephone and ordered for something to drink.
"I'd like a Bloody Mary, shaken, not stirred, and put some ice with it, if you please."
That night…
A stranger opened the door to Lyserg's bedroom, seeing his prey lie soundly on his resting spot, the stranger raised his gun and shot at him four times, afterwards, he carefully approached the lump under the blanket with green hair sticking on top.
Everything seemed to be going well, until a shot struck his leg.
The stranger stumbled to the ground, grabbing his leg which had been shot and groaning in pain, the lights suddenly came alive, and the stranger looked to see none other than Lyserg himself, having waited beside the door for this very moment, "Even after just arriving here, I suspected I would get something like this."
The stranger attempted to regain his weapon, but Lyserg shot at his wrist before he could get there, and the man reeled back in pain, and then the Brit called upon him sternly, "Who do you work for?"
The stranger sat upright on the floor, "You don't know who you're messing with, Brit, leave Hong Kong now or you'll be sorry."
Lyserg remained firm, with his gun at the ready, "I don't take orders, or threats for that matter, lightly, especially if it isn't my boss, or if I've been marked for death, now answer me: who do you work for?"
The stranger bent his head and mumbled something under his breath, "You'll be sorry."
Lyserg then noticed a crunching sound in his mouth, and quickly he rushed to him, "What, hey, stop!" Too late, the man killed himself rather than be captured, a cyanide capsule having waited in his mouth.
"Damn it…"
Morning…
Lyserg came to Fenghuang's office, and they began discussing the events which transpired last night, "An assassin? That must have been harrowing." said Fenghuang.
"Not really, although I am curious as to how they've known where I'd be so soon, you didn't send him, did you?"
Fenghuang raised his arms in defense, "I assure you, Mister Diethel, I'm a man of my word, this is perhaps an indication that whoever we're dealing with, his treachery runs deep, this is the kind of 'dangerous' I informed you about yesterday at the airport."
Lyserg slumped back in his seat, "So I see, in any event, I pulled this out from that guy before they took him to the morgue." Lyserg presented a wallet, and Fenghuang took it and began examining its contents, one of the items inside piqued his interest, "Ah, what is this?"
"What is it?"
"It looks like that assassin worked as a bouncer at a local nightclub: The Pearl of Ceylon, he must have been so certain that he could have accomplished his mission, he didn't think to remove any indication of who he was or who he worked for, even if he committed suicide, he had unwillingly helped us either way."
"I guess we'll take this as a lead?"
"We don't have anything else to go for, so why not?"
Later that night, Lyserg dressed in much more formal attire, black trousers, white tuxedo coat, bowtie, the whole works, while Fenghuang merely dressed as he always did, he felt perplexingly comfortable in them.
The two agents approached The Pearl of Ceylon cautiously, they spotted a patron coming near the door, a sliding peep opened, and the patron presented ten Hong Kong dollars to the man viewing him, the bouncer quickly let him in after that.
Fenghuang moved closer towards the door, "Well, I suppose this is it, we're going in."
Fenghuang knocked on the door, the bouncer looked at the two men, "You look new, ten dollars and I'll let you in."
After presenting the cash, Lyserg and Fenghuang entered the edifice, inside they were greeted by young patrons and flashing lights, cool music, and the chatter of friends and lovers over a spot of tea and beverage.
The two men decided to have a drink and see how things play out first; the barkeep approached them as they took their seats, "What can I get you?"
"I'll have some green tea." said Fenghuang.
Lyserg turned to her, "I'd like a Bloody Mary, shaken, not stirred, and put some ice with it, if you please."
So far, nothing happened, at least, until a Negro walked in, with an afro, sunglasses, and a cream-white suit.
Lyserg pointed towards him, "Who's that?"
Fenghuang looked at the afro man's direction, "Oh, that's Chocolove McDonell."
"Anything I should know about him?"
"He's a patron here, a standard regular, he's on good terms with the owner if I'm not mistaken."
"Hm… Fenghuang, do you mind if I uh, go to the men's bathroom do you?"
Fenghuang suspected Lyserg was on to something, so he played along, "Sure, take your time."
Lyserg departed for the men's room, he observed each cubicle, and found one with a ventilation shaft right above it. Entering, he locked the door behind him and used his screwdriver in his Swiss army knife to open the shaft, and traveled through the narrow passage.
After a while, he finally found the owner's office, and Chocolove came in too.
The owner graciously addressed Chocolove, "Mister McDonell, it's nice to see you here again."
"Can it, Shao, I'm here to check on the goods."
Shao gave Chocolove a ledger from his safe, "As you can see, we've doubled our sales of heroin in the past few weeks."
"I can see that, all I'm here for is to make sure you guys stay in line, you dig?"
Shao was perspiring in uneasiness, "But of course sir! We'd never, ever let the boss down!"
"Good, just remember, keep the stuff flowin', and the money goin', and maybe we'll give you a promotion… maybe."
"Yes sir!"
Chocolove tossed the ledger on Shao's desk, and abruptly left the room.
Shao slumped back in his chair, Chocolove was a very dangerous guy, he was glad he didn't have to go through that anymore, "I need a drink." Shao walked out of the room afterwards.
Lyserg quietly descended from the ventilation shaft. He carefully began examining the ledger and its contents; afterwards, he took out his button camera and started taking some photos of each page, "This is gonna be juicy."
The next day…
Fenghuang and Lyserg began sifting through the evidence they uncovered yesterday, although a record of the villain's drug trafficking activities wasn't that helpful, at the very least they found something to work with.
Fenghuang commented on their staggering amount of sales, "I've sorely underestimated the full extent of their operations, they're working nearly everywhere, and China's not the only one that's been hard-hit."
Lyserg arranged the pictures and placed them on the desk, "Do you know anything about that McDonell guy? Any sort of information?"
"Well… the only thing we know is that he was believed to have been involved in the New York crime upheaval from way back, but other than that, he's since gained Chinese citizenship, ever since he started working for him."
"And who is this 'him?'"
Fenghuang tossed him a magazine showing a Chinese man, with golden eyes (Ohh, golden eyes, Golden Eye, hehe) and an unusual hairstyle with a prominent spike.
"That's mister Ren Tao: Founder, President, and CEO of the Tao Exporting Company. Ever since the mainland has been pressing forward its 'Modern Way' programme, Mister Tao was requisitioned by the government to lead the charge. Ever since, China's exports of consumer goods have increased within but a year, not only that, Mister Tao has also secured for China a friendly relation with the members of OPEC, allowing us access to at least 42% of their oil. With all these things he's done for us, China has been placed on the cutting edge of finance."
Lyserg examined Ren's picture sternly, "That's quite a success story."
"You don't think he has any connection to all this?"
"That, or Chocolove is working for someone else right under his nose, but either way, I want to investigate this Tao Ren person."
Fenghuang reclined on his chair, popped open a can of beer, and resumed talking, "Well, I suppose there is one way we might get close to him."
"And that would be?"
"He is celebrating his wife's birthday tomorrow, here in Hong Kong, I've heard there's a special hotel he always reserves for such public occasions, I might be able to scare up an invitation for us; maybe we can get close to him then."
Lyserg contemplated the idea, "Sounds a little risky, but then again, I like a little risk. This could be our only chance to do so as well."
Fenghuang reached for his telephone and started dialing a number, "I'll get started on that right away."
Next day…
Lyserg and Fenghuang arrived at the hotel in question, after presenting their invitations and seating in the ballroom, they were given some appetizers by the hotel valets.
Lyserg commended the room's appearance, "Mister Ren certainly has a very artistic Oriental taste, I kind of like this place."
"That's because he actually ordered it to be built, his styles are reflected in his property."
"I see, it pays to be a multi-millionaire tycoon I suppose." Suddenly, the lights of the room went out and a single spotlight focused on a host who entered the room.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced, "I am proud to formally introduce today's guests of honor: Mister Tao Ren!"
The multi-millionaire stepped forth from a nearby door and was now the center of attention. Lyserg commented his appearance, "His hair spike looks even longer in person."
Ren started addressing the people gathered, "Ahem, good afternoon to you all, I'd like to express my gratitude to you all for coming here on this special occasion, really, I am. Now then, I'd like to present to you, my darling wife and son: Jeanne and Men!"
Just then two more people entered the ballroom, a young man with silver hair and crimson red eyes, apparently shared Ren's sense of hairstyle, as he too possessed a spike from his hair.
But what really caught Lyserg's attention, was Ren's wife. As soon as he laid eyes on her, well, they nearly popped out of his sockets, "Whoa, what a beauty."
Fenghuang nudged his friend, "Easy Lyserg, she may be quite the eye-opener, but she's a married woman, don't forget that."
"I understand that, Fenghuang, but really, I cannot help but appreciate the splendor of the fairer sex, even if she may very well be a forbidden fruit."
The party began with a short dance between Ren and Jeanne, the two danced elegantly on the ballroom floor, with some soothing, classical music playing by a dedicated group of performers.
Lyserg watched Jeanne with a keen interest, his eyes mystified by her beauty. It was truly hypnotic, when Lyserg looked upon beautiful women, he usually felt a pang of naughty pleasures occasionally invade his mind, but this was different, Lyserg felt a unique sensation, a tug of temptation which began picking at his mind, reality was lost to him as his thoughts were drowned by her.
Lyserg knew this meant only one thing, "She's special."
Lyserg did not realize he had spoken it somewhat audibly, and Fenghuang turned to him curiously, "How so?"
Lyserg quickly broke into stuttering, "Uh, erm… hmm, ah, she… moves very gracefully, that is to say."
Fenghuang regarded it for a moment, soon a devious smile shaped on his lips, "Lyserg, do you know how to dance?"
"Oh, well, yes, I know some ballroom dance."
"Good enough."
As soon as Ren and Jeanne finished their little tango, everyone else dug in to eat, while some of them entered the dance floor to try their own little number and outdo their hosts.
Fenghuang stood up from his seat and approached the couple who sat at the main table, Lyserg watched him approach the couple and tried to call out to him, "Fenghuang, what are you doing!?"
Fenghuang came face-to-face with the Tao couple, "Excuse me Mr. Tao, but may I have a moment of your time?"
Ren regarded him when he presented himself, "Why no, not at all. What brings you here sir?"
"Well, to be honest sir, my friend over there finds your wife to be a very skillful dancer, and he couldn't help but want to demonstrate some of his own talent as well, but he wishes for an 'equally' talented person to be his partner."
"Hm… what do you think Jeanne?"
Jeanne looked at the green-haired Brit sitting at the table where Fenghuang pointed at, she considered him to be a bit attractive, "Hmm… I suppose I could spare time for another go, what say you, Ren?"
Ren thought about it briefly, it would've been just a simple dance, nothing more, "Oh why not?"
Fenghuang returned to Lyserg's side, and the latter seemed somewhat exasperated, "Why would you want me to dance with her? Are you forgetting our mission?"
Fenghuang calmly reassured him, "Don't make such a fuss, I've planned everything out, but for now I need you to cooperate with me on this one, just dance for as long as you possibly can, I'll handle the rest."
Lyserg felt a bit apprehensive, yet, he was also resignedly relieved, not because of Fenghuang, but because of his chance to be close to such a foxy lady.
Fenghunag walked out of the ballroom to make his preparations, leaving Lyserg to deal with Jeanne. Taking a deep breath, he casually strolled to where she was standing near the ballroom, "Missus Jeanne, you look breathtaking."
Jeanne felt somewhat amused by his statement, "Flattery will get you anywhere."
"I do not jest in the face of true beauty when I see it, but shall we move to the dance floor?"
"Enchanté."
Lyserg and Jeanne stepped into the ballroom, "Vous parlent en français, Monsieur Lyserg?"
(Translated: Do you speak French, Monsieur Lyserg?)
"Oui, Mademoiselle."
The two danced gracefully in a rigid, yet elegant tango which caught the eye of all within the room, even Ren, who liked this display, "That man moves very gracefully, doesn't he, Men?"
"Indeed father."
Lyserg and Jeanne moved to and fro across the room, all eyes fixed on their transcending tango, "Mon mari est un homme si se précipitant, mais vous n'êtes aucun slouch vous-même, Monsieur Lyserg."
(Translated: My husband is such a dashing man, but you are no slouch yourself, Monsieur Lyserg.)
"Est qui ce qui ils toute la parole, Mademoiselle."
(Translated: That is what they all say, Mademoiselle.)
After a few more minutes of dancing, Lyserg and Jeanne ended it with a lovely pose which won the applause of the audience, Jeanne turned to Lyserg, her eyes brimming with a sense of contentment, "Je n'ont tellement merveilleusement jamais dansé avant, merci Monsieur." Jeanne respectfully curtsied before him.
(Translated: I've never danced so wonderfully before, thank you Monsieur.)
Lyserg followed with a bow, "Et je n'ai vers le haut jamais dansé comme celui jusqu'ici aussi bien, vous me déplace avec la grace de Venus."
(Translated: And I have never danced like that up until now as well, you move with the grace of Venus.)
Jeanne smiled pleasantly, "Hmm, I suddenly feel a bit vibrant right now, Monsieur, would you care, perhaps, for another dance later?"
"I am not sure," Lyserg then noticed Fenghuang re-enter the room, "Oh, excuse me one moment, Missus."
Lyserg quickly approached Fenghuang, "There you are, so what were you doing this whole time?"
"While you were busy cascading on the dance floor, I had bugged Mr. Ren's room, I also put in a hidden camera to spy in on his room, as well, so what's happening on your end?"
"Missus Jeanne asked me to have another dance with her in a little while, what should we do?"
"Hm… tell her that you will accept her offer, in the meantime, we can spy on Ren's room and see if he has anything of interest, I had to bug the place quickly in case someone else came in so I had no time to be thorough."
Lyserg returned to Jeanne, "Well, mademoiselle, it looks like I may take up your offer after all, let's have another go in a little while then?"
Jeanne nodded, "Of course, in any event I need to freshen up a little bit, you don't mind do you?"
"Please, take your time, I also have some minor business to attend to as well."
Lyserg and Fenghuang returned to their vehicle, a van, parked outside the hotel. Inside, several devices and monitors were alive doing their business, Fenghuang was looking over the screen displaying the Tao's room, so far, nothing happened just yet.
Lyserg came back in the van with some French fries and pepsi, "Anything happen yet?"
"Not yet, how about you take a look? I need to make a phone call."
"All right."
Lyserg started shifting around the room, waiting for something to happen, just then, Jeanne came into the room, she flourished her platinum hair and began undressing.
Lyserg's eyes perked as he saw Jeanne casually remove her dress, t'was a shame Lyserg only had view of her backside though. Lyserg turned back to Fenghuang, who was at the front seat talking with somebody on his phone, Lyserg quietly resumed observing Jeanne, who started performing some stretches and exercise in the room. Lyserg observed her with a keen interest, she looked so pale and fragile, but she was also full of strength and youthful energy that defied, and perhaps complimented, her fair appearance. She was not only beautiful, but innocently charming, woe onto any man who dare reject the blessing that was her mere presence by their side.
After a few minutes, Jeanne wrapped a bath towel around herself and headed into the bathroom, Lyserg couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed at this, but he felt content at having had the pleasure to have done such a forbidden thing.
Just then, two men, Ren and Chocolove, entered the room, "So Chocolove, how is everything proceeding?"
"Sales are going up by the notches, boss, and no one's suspecting a thing. The feds are spooked after that stunt you pulled with the junk."
"I should know, where's my laptop computer? I need to check our transactions, and make sure that this week's proceeds are properly recorded."
Chocolove pointed to a little black board on the table, "Over there sir."
Lyserg beckoned Fenghuang to him, "Fenghuang, check this out!"
Fenghuang returned to his side, "Hmm… the plot thickens."
"Too bad we can't see what's on his laptop."
After Ren finished up his business, he closed the laptop and turned to Chocolove, "I'm heading back to the party. Chocolove, you keep checking on our friends, and make sure they keep the merchandise rolling."
Lyserg and Fenghuang began contemplating what to do next, it seemed certain, though, that the key laid within that laptop.
"So Fenghuang, how do you propose we get to it?"
"You did promise Missus Tao you would dance with her again, correct?"
"Yes."
"Perhaps you can keep the audience occupied while I steal my way back into their room and see if I can find any useful information?"
"That could work, but we'll need a way of keeping in touch."
"No problem," Fenghuang opened his palm and revealed a tiny device, "We can probably use this."
Lyserg picked up the curious device, "What is this?"
"This, Mister Diethel, is known as a codec, it's been all the rage amongst intelligence agencies across the globe, with this little gizmo, we can listen to each other in volumes barely audible than a whisper, perfect to keep in contact with and conversation privacy guaranteed. Just put it in your ear, and we'll be all set."
Lyserg returned back to the ballroom, with Jeanne waiting near the dance floor, he approached her suavely, "Hello again Mademoiselle, did I take long?"
Jeanne seemed somewhat cross, "You most certainly did, I was beginning to think you had chickened out on me."
"Forgive me for the delay, I was simply waiting for the proper moment. Now, shall we?"
"Mais naturellement."
(Translated: But of course.)
Lyserg took Jeanne's hand and guided her onto the dance floor, the spotlight once again shown upon them, Lyserg and Jeanne respectfully bowed and curtsied respectively towards the audience, and began another dance, this time with no one else to disrupt their moment.
Lyserg recalled seeing Jeanne's bare, nubile body from earlier, even now he could feel a divine, splendid aura emanating from her as the two waltzed the length of the dance floor, feeling so close in person and yet so far in reality, Lyserg couldn't help but sigh.
Jeanne heard it, and turned to Lyserg, "Ce qui est la matière, Monsieur Lyserg?"
(Translated: What is the matter, monsieur Lyserg?)
"Rien mademoiselle, juste un sentiment tragique que je suis venu au moment, il n'est rien."
(Translated: Nothing mademoiselle, just a tragic feeling I've come upon, it's nothing.)
Jeanne looked at him with a soft, compassionate look, almost as though understanding his situation, she pitied him, but couldn't exactly put her thumb as to why.
Just then, Fenghuang called through Lyserg's codec, "Lyserg, are you there?"
"Fenghuang, how is your progress?"
"I've managed to get back into the room, but I'm still trying to crack through Ren's computer, can you spare me a few more minutes?"
"That won't do, Fenghuang, I can't keep her, and Ren, tied up forever!"
"Deal with it, you said you wanted a little risk, and it can't get any riskier than this!"
Jeanne noticed Lyserg mumble something, "Vous a dit n'importe quoi, Lyserg?"
(Translated: Did you say anything, Lyserg?)
"Aucun pas du tout, Mademoiselle Jeanne, pas du tout."
(Translated: No not at all, Mademoiselle Jeanne, not at all.)
And so, Lyserg resumed their wonderful little dance, except it wasn't so little as it progressed. Soon, both dancers felt a deep, undiscovered passion arouse within their souls, they found themselves lost in a panorama of lights and shadow, playing tunes of romantic melody kindly in their ears, sealing them in a private world of keenly in tuned synchronization, their souls danced not as partners, but as a single performer rousing the onlookers in a spectacle of movement and sound, the true essence of a dance at its absolute finest, a beloved art form refined to its clearest and most beautiful. To Lyserg, he felt the touch of a miracle overwhelm him so intensely, that he didn't feel like letting go, and yet sadly, he must, for the good of all…
Fenghuang contacted him again, "Lyserg, are you there? I've got some great info that might help us."
Lyserg didn't respond, he was still lost in thought.
Fenghuang called out to him again, "Lyserg, Lyserg!"
Lyserg finally snapped out of his little dance trance to reply to him, "Oh sorry, I was caught up in something, anyway, what did you find?"
"We'll go over it someplace safer, right now you'll have to end your dance, we need to leave soon."
"Oh all right."
After ending it with glorious finality, the audience clapped their hands in honor of their great skill.
Later, Lyserg and Fenghuang were about to leave the hotel and return to Fenghuang's office when Jeanne stopped them, "Wait, Monsieur Lyserg!"
Lyserg turned towards the beautiful Frenchwoman and greeted her accordingly, "Hello again, what are you doing here?"
"I just wanted to say thank you for that wonderful dance, I have never done anything like that in my life up until now."
Lyserg smiled, "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it, good day, Mademoiselle."
"Au revoir, monsieur."
Lyserg and Fenghuang began riding back towards the latter's office.
Fenghuang decided to engage in friendly conversation with Lyserg, "So how was your dance?"
"Oh, well it was quite splendid, I've had many dances with lots of ladies, but never had one as… serendipitous as that."
"Is that so? Well, I've never quite understood the majesty of dance, and I may never will."
"Are you introverted Fenghuang? You seem to give the impression of it."
"That obvious huh? Well, I've got nothing to say about that matter, and before you start pressing buttons, I'd recommend you not get any more out of me."
"Fine by me, I'm not one to get into details about guys."
"Hmm… In any event, you don't happen to have any friends here in Hong Kong do you?"
"No, I don't believe I do."
"Then I suppose that van behind us is hot on our tail then?"
Lyserg looked at the side view mirror and saw a red van fast approaching them with some mean-looking men at the helm.
"I believe so Fenghuang."
"Then let's amskray!"
Fenghuang immediately had his car dash as quickly as possible to get away from their pursuers, who immediately gave pursuit.
Fenghuang rushed through the relatively light traffic amidst the sounds of cars honking and screeching, all while being pursued by the red van.
"Fenghuang, run up to that alley!"
Fenghuang did as told and rushed through a nearby narrow alley, numerous people jumped out of the way as their car ran past them.
Lyserg looked behind him, "Did we lose them?"
The car rushed back into open street, where the red van was once again on their tail, "Apparently not."
One of the men in the car pulled out a handgun and proceeded to fire upon Fenghuang's car, "Lyserg, hold them back a little!"
Lyserg pulled out his Springfield 1911 A1 Operator handgun, and started returning fire on the other car.
The two vehicles rushed on for a few miles, eventually reaching the outer limits of the urban zones, they raced on the cliffsides overlooking the sea and continued their little chase, by this time Lyserg had lost all his rounds.
"What do we do now, Fenghuang?"
Fenghuang did not speak, he instead accelerated the car further and proceeded to run it further down the road, going faster with each pace.
Soon they approached a sharp curve at the road, Lyserg became somewhat hesitant about what Fenghuang was planning, but he braced himself for what he was ominously expecting.
As soon as they were near the edge, Fenghuang quickly had his car make a major turnabout, the red van, caught off guard, continued moving straight, heading towards the edge.
Fenghuang quickly bumped the van near its back, causing the pursuers' van to go even more out of control and falling over the cliff and into the rocks below.
Fenghuang and Lyserg parked and exited their vehicle to inspect the wreckage below.
"Whoever's pulling the strings around here is really desperate to get us out of the way, huh, Lyserg?"
Lyserg nodded, "And I suppose we'll take this as motivation to move faster as well, huh?"
Author's notes: Longest first chapter I've ever made, 18 pages long huh? Now that's a record.