Disclaimer: I say again, I don't own any of the Dead or Alive Characters. Don't sue.
Author's note: This chapter didn't really come out how I envisioned it, and will most likely be revised sometime in the near future. Reviews of this chapter are particularly appreciated. Let me know what you think.
Lupi Loop, thanks for your review!
In the basement of The Regal King Hotel, Tokyo, Japan. Present Day
The basement door was shut. No light came from the crack under it. The two occupants were making absolutely sure that nobody would disturb them. The blacklight around them glowed eerily, making Christie's face looked as though it had been dipped in the color blue. She assembled her sniper rifle with cold ease. The clicks not even audible. The light only served to make the shadows on Bayman's face deeper and more pitted. He went over his weapons briskly. They worked in unison, and in silence. She looked like a goddess, He looked like a monster.
At last Christie spoke, nonchalantly as she adjusted the scope.
"I was surprised when they told me you would be my partner, Bayman. You seemed like a stand alone kind of guy." She chuckled as she adjusted the scope a third time. He paused in his preparations for a moment.
"The client wanted people who had fought the target, add the fact that I've killed at a tournament before…" He placed another knife into a hidden slot in his vest. "Plus, somebody needs to hold him while the girl is killed. The client wants him to watch before he dies. Despite your skill, I don't think you can hold him and snipe a target at the same time."
"True," She said swinging the gun up and catching Bayman in her sights. "But that wasn't my question"
They were at close range. The barrel of the gun ended under his nose.
"A job is a job," He shrugged, unoffended and unconcerned by the gun. "I will admit, killing Jann Lee and Lei Fang is not something I would do on my own, and certainly not with you, Christina; but I owed that man in Hong Kong a favor."
Christie smiled, satiated, as she lowered the gun.
"The Dead or Alive tournaments are going to be so much less fun without them." She drawled as she made a final adjustment. "I'm all set here"
He grunted, "Let's go set up phase 2 then."
A classy jazz piano tune played in the background as Jann Lee quietly drank his whiskey at the hotel bar. Or it was quiet, until somebody appeared behind him.
"There's a hit out on you, you know"
Jann Lee glanced up at the speaker as he sat down on the stool next to him.
"How did you find that out, Ryu?" He swirled the alcohol in his glass and watched it slop against the sides.
"I had some business in Hong Kong as of late." He explained, signaling the bartender, he needed a drink himself. "I also know the job was taken pretty recently. You should be careful."
He shrugged, "Let somebody try to kill me. They'll learn why I'm the best in the world."
Ryu glared at his arrogant drinking partner.
"You do know that there are other ways to kill you than fighting you head on." He reminded him "Besides, I know you can handle yourself. That's not what concerns me."
"Well, what then?" Jann asked taking a quick drink of his whiskey.
"The hit is not only on you, it's on Lei Fang as well." Jann Lee spat out his drink all over the unsuspecting bartender in surprise and slammed his glass down in rage. The bartender, despite being sopping wet and angry to boot, quickly moved away from them when she saw his face.
"What?!"
Ryu raised an eyebrow as his head swivled around to look at him. He finally had Jann Lee's undivided attention.
"My source said that it was "an anniversary gift" to the two of you. Any thoughts on what that means?"
Jann Lee was shaking, Ryu couldn't tell if it was with rage, but it certainly wasn't with fear "yeah, I know. Let me guess, The White Dragons ordered the hit. "
Ryu raised his other eyebrow, "Friends of yours?"
Jann took the sarcasm seriously. "I was a member of the original chapter, before things got too…deep for me. The current boss and I go way back."
"And this involves Lei Fang how?" He said hardening.
He had known Jann was a bouncer, and he had provided him with some pretty interesting intelligence when he had jobs in China, but he had never pegged him as a former gang member. He would have guessed that he had too much pride for that.
"She doesn't know it, but she goes way back with him too." Jann Lee's eyes softened suddenly, as if remembering something "Silly girl, she would have been safe if she hadn't tried her damnnest to stay with us…" He was stone again after a moment.
"Any clues as to who took the job?" He asked. Ryu shook his head, "Shortly after our first meeting my source disappeared. I did the usual asking around but no dice. All I know is that it's a male and female team"
Jann ran his hands through his hair. A male and female pair of assassins who got a kick out of killing people at tournaments, now who did that sound like?
"Okay, thanks, Ryu, I'll take it from here."
Ryu was amused, "What are you going to do?" Jann shrugged.
"They'll come to me eventually, right?"
"What about Lei Fang?"
"I'll deal with her, don't worry. she'll be far from here and well protected before this all goes down" He muttered. He was now in a worse mood than before. When he got a hold of the man who had been brave (or stupid) enough to order a hit on Lei Fang…
"Do you need my help? I still owe you for the intelligence you gathered for me in China." Ryu asked, his drink was empty, but he didn't get another. Jann did.
"I don't want your help." He said coldly, finish his second drink in one huge gulp.
"I didn't ask you if wanted it, I asked you if you needed it." The Ninja shot back. Although they were not particularly close, Ryu would have hated to see poor Lei Fang killed in a gang squabble that despite what Jann Lee alluded, was not her fault. He could still not wrap his brain around why Jann Lee would be in a gang. It was just not him. He seemed like such an honor bound man.
"I may," He said finally. He didn't he didn't want to take chances when it came to her safety. He didn't know how Lei Fang was going to react either. He gave him his room number before walking off, as if they had just had a causal conversation.
Jann absentmindedly rubbed a mark on the inner part of his left arm. It was a brand in the shape of a tiger, fighting a golden dragon.
Hong Kong, China 9 years ago
The blood spurted from his mouth and dribbled down his chin. A boot swung into his stomach, a fist slammed into his jaw. Even though he had been training he did not fight back. This was part of his induction and as much he wanted to fight back, he couldn't. He heard Lao's beating somewhere off to his left. As he was turned around by his various assailants, He locked on to his friend's eyes, which were a mirror for his own pain.
Above them, Boss Yuen stood silently, leaning forward on his cane, watching them, wondering who would be the first to cry out. They had been good choices, he thought; the pick of the litter of that rabble of street orphans that had been pick pocketing for the various gang bosses for the last couple of years. Despite his young age, Lao Zhi was known for his charisma as well as playing a mean, if crooked, hand of poker. He had potential, and the rumor was that the mastermind, the brain, behind their card schemes was Jann Lee, who he had noticed, could handle himself in a fight, if not well trained. Yes they had been good additions to his urban army. It was best to get them while they were young, with hopes of changing the world through their actions. He could work on eroding those principles later. The old man, bored with the beating, walked to the window and looked out. He had no doubt that Boss Zheng of the White Snakes was doing the same to his new recruits. The street was bare of children that night. The ones with homes were probably tucked away, safe from harm. The others… the boss turned back to the boys.
The beating had continued all night and well into the day. Just when, privately, Jann Lee though he was going to die. They stopped. After there "Purification ritual" the hardest part came. An evil looking man, with spiky hair, a stud in his nose and wrap around shades took a crude looking brand an dipped into a near by rusty oil drum that had lit a flame. For a moment, there was no sound but the crackling of the chemical flame. A sick string of knots began to form Jann's stomach as he realized just what was about to happen. The man held the brand aloft and with a swiftness that had to be seen to be believed, He wrenched up Jann's left arm and slammed the heated metal into his skin. He wanted to scream, but a hand was held over his mouth. The brand was left there, for a minute, and he writhed in agony before it was finally removed. Lao received the same treatment. Then there was cheering and yelling and hands that had been raised against them in anger now clapped them on the back in brotherhood. They were officially members of the Golden Dragons.
The two boys limped home together, leaning on each other for support. Although nothing was life threatening, they had to make some quick get aways from people too concerned for there own good. The shortest route home was past her house, and though they both dearly would have avoided her seeing them in there sorry state, they needed to get home as soon as possible. She was waiting for them on her steps, he could tell even from a long way off that she was concerned. After all, it had been four days since their last daily poker game, and she knew that they didn't have anywhere to go. She had once suggested getting them help, finding them homes. They had both rebelled at the idea of losing their freedom and had threatened to stop coming to see her if she told anyone. They were feral children living in a feral world; there was nothing a domesticated life could do for them now. They finally reached her. She was still wearing her school jumper, as if she had been afraid if she had gone inside to change she would have missed them. The expression of horror on her face was evident. Though he had been proud moments before, Jann felt shame and guilt seep into his wounds and make him feel even sicker.
"What happened to you two?" She leapt off the steps to help prop up a sagging Lao.
Lao, despite a split lip, smiled his same old smile at her.
"Aww, don't worry about it, little sister. Nobody is gonna pick on us ever again! We're official members of the Golden Dragons!"
"You're WHAT?!" she shouted. Her eyes cracked with an angry lightening.
The quagmire of looks that began to cross her face was not a surprise to Jann Lee as she glared at him. Lao, despite being a year older than him, always was the first to jump into anything, Jann knew that Lei trusted him to hold Lao back from doing stupid things. To her this was probably about as stupid as it could get.
"How could you! How could you!" she yelled, almost hysterically, she let go of Lao, and he sagged to the ground, Jann, who could barely support his friend, groaned. "It's too dangerous," she continued to glare at Jann over Lao as she propped up his body again. He was worse off than Jann, but not by much. Jan felt his own legs begin wobble.
"We had to join if we wanted to keep working for the boss," He shrugged, trying to explain, "Boss Yuen pays well" He didn't tell her that he was secretly drawn to the idea, as the boss had put it, of changing the world with his fists. He had a feeling she might hit him if he did and she was getting good at hitting hard. Her grandfather was teaching her Tai chi quan. Soon she was going to be a better fighter than Lao, maybe not him, but Lao.
"I can't believe you would do something so…" She began, but he cut her off.
"This is what we have chosen. There is no going back, and if you don't like it, you can go home, to your safe little world of school, training and girl things and never bother us again. We are gangsters now," He said looking at her evenly, "If you don't want to have anything to do with us, I understand." She returned his gaze. Something about his stare lately had made her belly do flip flops. Not have anything to do with them? Did she really want that? Memories of the past couple year flooded her mind. Lao teaching her how to making paper boats to float down the gutter after it rained; Jann teaching her how to mark cards. Lao teaching her how to steal pork buns off of the old man's stall when he was distracted; Explaining algebra to Jann Lee, teaching him how to do it, then watching in surprise as he picked it up and started helping her with her homework; Loaning him books and getting them back days later with a gruff, quiet assessment of them. Did she really want never to see Lao or Jann again? She knew there were safer people to be friends with; People that the idea of joining a gang would have never occurred to. But those people weren't Jann and Lao. She gently freed herself from Lao's shoulder and rested him on the sidewalk. His face flipped towards her, searching "Lei?"
"Stay here, I'll be right back. Those wounds won't heal without some kind of medical attention." She returned in a moment with a first aid kit, a bottle of water and some food in a bag strapped to her waist. She then situated herself between Lao and Jann and drapped them on to her shoulders, supporting them both. The look on her face was one neither of them had seen before, it held anger, fury and rage in it but also a fierce sort of protectiveness. She wasn't going to let them down.
"Now", she said through gritted teeth, "Where do you live?"
He pointed down the block as she shifted her wait and began, with some difficulty, hauling them both as the limped along side her. Jann was surprised he had expected her to turn around and walk away. Even though she had been their constant companion for years now, he had always though they were a game to her something interesting to be toyed with, like she had toyed with them at the first poker game.
He could hear the though in her head as they shuffled down the street.
13 and in a gang?! Ridiculous!
