Fay sat up suddenly, and groaned at the sharp pain in her arm. She held onto her upper body when someone held her still. "What the hell was that? You shouldn't move this fast. You scared the hell out of me jumping like that!" Hwoarang said, making her lay down again.
Fay blinked and realised that she was in a white room. There was an IV in her arm and other wires on her chest. Her wounds were taken care of. She felt tired, and the muscles in her body were screaming in pain. "Mika?"
"Right there," Hwoarang said, pointing to the bed next to hers. "He's fine. Just beat up."
Fay covered her face in relief. "Thank you."
"It's a good thing you called Jordan. He immediately had your phone traced." Hwoarang explained, his features concerned. "What the hell happened?"
"Hey, you're awake." Jordan walked in. He was dressed in black cycling shorts and a neon green t-shirt. He had his phone in one hand, and a water bottle in another. A towel over his shoulder as he approached them.
Hwoarang stood up, his jeans falling loosely on his waist. He had on a black t-shirt and gave Jordan a thumbs up. "She's all yours now. Mika was awake earlier but he went back to sleep." Hwoarang moved to Fay's side, and asked. "Who ended up shooting them?"
"Mika." Fay shuddered, remembering the incident. They were really going to put that poison in me. She held onto her shoulder, and recalled at how vicious those two were. They really came to kill.
"You rest. I will catch up with all of you later. Jordan and I are taking shifts in here. I am going to go and change. Aya is on her way to you too." Hwoarang waved as he left them.
Jordan saw him leave and looked at Fay. "You've been out for two days." He sat down next to her, reaching for her hand and kissed it.
Fay sat up and turned around so her feet touched the floor. "Thanks for finding us."
He kept holding her hand. "and thanks for calling me."
Fay felt fluttery. She hadn't seen him in days and... I do miss you…. She noted that he seemed disturbed. "Don't worry. I'm fine, and to be honest, I called Aya first." She joked, squeezing his hand.
"Well, at least you seem fine enough to joke about it." Jordan let go of her hand, stretching his arms above his head. "When Lei and I reached your location, we found all four of you on the floor. The other two were dead. What the hell happened?"
Fay told him what folded and then added. "Mika did get a good beating too." She giggled.
Jordan got vexed at the thought. "Serves him right for calling you out for a jog at 3am."
"I heard that, you piece of shit."
They both turned to see Mika trying to sit up on his bed.
"Well, I said it loud and clear!" Jordan said sharply, glaring at him.
"Che. I saved her ass." Mika muttered, grunting as he put his feet on the floor. "They tried to poison her."
Jordan narrowed his eyes. "It was you who put her in danger to begin with. Come on, Mika! We are all sitting ducks here. We need to be more careful."
Mika eyebrows furrowed. "Whatever…"
"Don't disregard what I'm telling you! This is serious. The last thing we need is to bury two more people?!" he snapped angrily. He fisted his hand and glared at him. "You're taking this extremely lightly."
Fay shook her head in disbelief. "Jordan, please calm down." She kind of sensed why Jordan Was pissed off. I need him to compose himself before he kills Mika. "I'm pretty much at fault too for going."
"Don't make excuses for him." Jordan replied at Fay.
"Whatever," he muttered. "They're both dead now. We don't need to worry about any assassins coming after us." He tried standing up while holding onto the edge of the bed. He was only in a blue hospital pants and no shirt on. His hair was all over the place as he tried to control his breathing.
Jordan took his arm and let him sit on a chair. "Can we try and not be stupid! Sit the hell down."
Mika swore at him. "What's up your ass?! Look, what we did was crazy, but what the fuck, man! It's like someone kicked your behind instead of mine."
"Because I know Miguel. He has a list of people who will get the job done." Jordan snapped, leaning by the wall. He was fuming at how stupidly Mika was shaking this off as nothing. He glanced at Fay who was looking disapprovingly at the both of them.
Mika stood up again and sat on Fay's bed. "How come we are confident that it wasn't Lee who was targeting us?"
"Because sending assassins is a cheap trick," Aya answered walking in dressed in shorts and a shirt. "Lee has class, he would do it smartly." Plus, we know Lee by now. He would never hurt any of us. Not physically anyway.
"Sheesh." Jordan muttered, as he observed everyone in the room. It was obvious that Fay was worn out. Mika could barely stand, and Aya was trying to lighten the mood. Jordan crossed his arms. "It seems that Miguel is getting desperate." Indeed, that was a close one. Those two women were sent to kill. Fay and Mika got lucky. He felt a hollow sensation in his stomach when he realised that Fay could have seriously gotten hurt.
"Weren't we supposed to go and see him?" Aya asked as she took a seat on the chair. She was wearing sneakers and hated the squeaking sound it was making. I guess I need to get new shoes…
"Lei asked us to wait. He doesn't know what he will pull if we visit him. I think he's tired of seeing us get hurt one after the other." Jordan explained. Dionne's death did affect him the most. It's funny how the older man really cares about these girls. He couldn't even come to the funeral.
"I sort of have an idea." Aya said out loud, looking at Fay.
Fay bit her lip, knowing what she was going to say. She hated it when Aya was right, but at the moment they did not have a choice. "You want me to come too?"
Aya gave her a puppy face which made Fay roll her eyes. Fay played nervously with her hospital gown, then exhaled deeply. "Fine. Fine."
"I'll talk to Lei." Aya said immediately, picking up her phone.
Jordan seemed confused. He was trying to follow the conversation. "What's going on?"
"They're going to go and see Lee." Mika answered. I'm not sure if it's a smart idea to have Fay visit him again. He exchanged a look with Jordan.
The thought perplexed Jordan. He moved his eyes between Aya and Fay, then settled on Fay. "Will you be comfortable going to see him again?"
Fay was sitting on the bed still while Mika sat next to her, and Aya stood by them. "Will you?' Mika asked too. The last stunt was not pretty. Just say you don't want to go and we will make sure that you don't see him.
Aya put her arm around Fay and sat down next to her. "It will be fine. I won't allow him to pull anything."
Fay gave them all a weak smile.
Central
Mika observed the scenario in front of him with a scowl. Fay and Aya were discussing how to approach Lee while they waited to go inside. Him and Fay were both discharged two days ago and they still looked tired. Mika had an arm band on for his injury while Fay just had bandages.
He noticed that Fay was covered today. She was wearing a very loose Gray boyfriend shirt that was long sleeves. It ended at her knees and she had black boots on. Is she trying to cover her injuries from Lee?
Aya was just in jeans and a concert t-shirt. She wore biker boots to complete her look.
I swear those two are like yin and yang, but they complement each other in a weird way. "You all good?" Mika questioned, his eyes following their move. "How come no wires today?"
"It's pointless." Lei answered, walking in. "Just get this over with. He's inside already."
Aya realised that Lei looked worn out. He must want this finished as soon as possible.
"Let's go," Fay said, walking ahead.
Aya gave Mika a thumbs up, following Fay.
"Oh, I get double fun today?" Lee asked, eyeing Aya and Fay who were sitting in front of him. Something's off though, he thought as Aya placed four photos and a document on the table.
Lee gazed at Fay who was completely ignoring him, and then picked up the document. He scanned it, "What am I looking at?"
"You are looking at a toxicology report." Aya described, then she put the photos in order. "Four exclusive darts were stolen from a collector. This dart…" she said, pointing at the second photo was used on a weapon's store owner. She picked up the third photo, "Fortunately, this one missed the target." That sure was close, she thoughtwith a shudder looking at Fay.
"And this one is the one that killed Dionne." Fay pushed the last photo forward.
Lee glanced at her, his eyes flickering then he picked up the last photo. He studied it, then flicked it away. "I can't help you. I don't know anything about poison."
"Don't try to act like a dumbass. You are working with Miguel on this." Fay snapped at him.
"Curb that tone, sweetheart." He smirked. Always feisty if angered.
"I am not your sweetheart!"
Aya put her hand on Fay's so she can relax, and looked at Lee. "What's going on?"
"I have other business with Miguel, but not poison." He stood up, and shrugged. "Thanks for the visit, ladies."
"Wait a minute!" Fay demanded, standing up, "Dionne is dead. Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"
He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, surprising her. "I said, curb it down." He whispered, almost angrily. "Use that temper when necessary." He pushed her away not too gently, making Aya catch her from falling.
I've never seen Lee like this. She really pissed him off. "Lee?" Aya began, holding Fay from the shoulders.
Fay held onto her injured shoulder, wincing in pain. Shit… it still hurts.
"It still hurts?" Aya asked.
Fay ignored her.
Lee raised an eyebrow, approaching her. He pulled her shirt down from the side, exposing it. "What happened?"
Fay moved away, ignoring him.
"Miguel tried having Mika and Fay killed. He sent the Williams sisters after them." Aya explained. "They barely made it out but Mika managed to kill them both."
"You don't owe him an explanation, Aya!" Fay bitterly looked at him. To think I loved this man. I feel nothing now.
He eyed her with a tight lip, then turned away. "I'm out."
Aya and Fay exchanged glances. "That was useless," Aya mumbled disappointed, as she helped Fay walk back to the others.
"It didn't go well?" Mika had witnessed the whole thing.
"On the contrary, I think it went brilliantly well." Lei added, confusing all of them. "One day, I'll explain."
A couple of days later
Fay was sitting on the sofa in her office; while Mika read to Aya as she stuck the clues on the wall. "Are things starting to make sense now?" Mika read the notes.
"No, I am not satisfied." Aya proclaimed. "What do you think, Fay?"
"Something is missing." She snapped her fingers, trying to put her thoughts together. In truth was, she was tired. Her arm still hurt. After Dionne's burial, it was one drama after another. She felt that they weren't able to get a break. Everyone was tense. She threw her pen down, "can we please take five minutes?"
"Of course not!" Aya snapped.
"Come on, Aya. We are all…"
[CRASH]
They all jumped up at the sound. Mika ran out and saw that Jin had thrown, Haru?! Against the table. "What's going on?"
"This piece of shit knows something!" Jin shouted, pushing Haru onto the floor again. "I am sick and tired of running around in circles."
"I told you I don't know anything!" Haru whimpered, holding his arms up as a shield.
Jin was holding a baseball bat and wanted to clobber him when Aya held him back. "Calm down, Jin! I know you're upset but this is not the right way."
Fay leaned down next to Haru and helped him to stand up. "Are you ok?"
"What's going on?" Jordan demanded, coming out from another office.
Haru was trembling from fear. "He just dragged me out of the arcade and demanded answers." He explained, then his eyes fell on Mika. "I know you."
Mika frowned as he realised that his cover was blown. Thanks a lot, Jin! "Look, we lost a friend to that poison which came from your lab. Do you know anything about it?"
"It's not even my lab. I just work part-time there." He repeated, his eyes darting back and forth between all of them.
Jin kicked the chair in frustration.
"We don't clobber things for answers." Jordan told Jin angrily. "Way to go shithead. You just blew Mika's cover."
Jin just glared at him.
Fay helped Haru sit on a chair. He was pale and frightened from all of them.
"We still can't figure out how that poison works." Aya exhaled, annoyed at the whole scene in front of her.
"Maybe I can help with that."
They all turned to the sound, and found Lei Wulong standing by the entrance of their office with Kazuya Mishima. He was eyeing them all dangerously, dressed in a dark suit and his arms crossed.
They were all seated in the meeting room. The meeting room was white with glass tables and coloured sofas. It had a minimalistic edge to it that made it fresh to be in. Black and white portraits of abstract hung on the walls. It looked like everyone was scattered. Lei was sitting on a neon floor cushion. He was in a relaxed posture. "What did Lee tell you?"
Fay's eyes darted between Lei and Kazuya. Kazuya stood by the glass table in the middle of the room. She nervously pulled her hair behind her ear and sat down on a nearby red chair. "I found it weird but he asked me for my name." Her fingers fidgeting. "I thought about it a lot then I started researching. Why would he ask me that?"
Lei remained silent while Kazuya clenched his jaw.
Fay stood up. "It kind of makes sense now. Meeting Lee and working for him was not a coincidence. It was all part of the plan." She started saying. "What's the best way to crush your enemy?" Her eyes falling on Kazuya.
"Fay…" Lei began.
"So, answer me this," she interrupted. "What is my name?"
"Maybe it's better that we speak in private." Lei began but Fay narrowed her eyes. "This is my family. We have no secrets."
"Fay, we will leave." Aya stood up from the sofa. They were all there and followed her.
"It's Mishima, isn't it?" Fay answered her own question abruptly.
Everyone stood in their places, frozen. Aya stared wide eyed at Fay. "What?" What is she saying? Has she lost it?
Jin looked flabbergasted.
Mika kept a solemn look, whereas Jordan remained quiet.
Fay stared heatedly at Kazuya. It was obvious that she was pissed off.
Kazuya exhaled deeply, and straightened himself. "You're right. It's Fay Mishima." He confirmed. "You are Jin's half-sister, I had you when his mother passed away."
Fay pursed her lips. She didn't think he would admit this so easily. She turned her gaze to Lei. "And you knew all along?"
He nodded.
"How come I don't remember anything?" she whispered.
Lei and Kazuya exchanged a look. "Your memory was erased." Lei answered.
Fay took a step back, and sat down. She had no words. She didn't even know what to ask. "I don't understand."
Mika sat down next to her and whispered something in her ear.
Jordan watched the scenario fold between Mika and Fay, and didn't say anything. He was as surprised as them. He felt bad for Fay. Things are actually more complicated than we had hoped for.
"What's going on, Lei?" Aya asked.
Lei rubbed his hands together. "I think it's better that everyone takes a seat." He walked to the door of the room and put his head out. "Josei, order coffee for everyone." He closed the door. "Now let's do this properly. Kazuya, by all means."
Kazuya loosened his tie and took off his jacket. He folded his sleeves and sat down. The silence in the room was electrifying. "Your mother died at childbirth. I was with her when that happened. We took you home from the hospital and my mother raised you."
"Kazumi Mishima?" Aya questioned, glancing at Fay. I'm worried. Fay has an absolute poker face.
"Yes." He answered, then cleared his throat. "Lee lived with mother too, and he became obsessed with Fay."
"Where was I?" Jin asked.
"You were always with me."
Lei stepped forward. "Lee was involved with serious illegitimate activities, and he was always being watched. Drugs was just a façade. It was the least of his concerns."
"You never asked me what I do, Jin?" Kazuya asked his son who was as astounded as everyone else in the room. "I own a pharmaceutical company. I used Lee's shipments for my own research. We make medicine."
Mia stood up. "Wait a minute! You were a ruthless bastard. You were going around killing everyone."
"I had the authority to remove anyone who was a threat. If you think about it, I was just killing drug lords." He justified.
"Undercover? All this time you were undercover?" Jin asked. "But why? You killed Julia too? Don't tell me that was innocent."
"Julia had to be sacrificed because she was about to blow our biggest agent's cover." Lei explained. Then his gaze turned to Hwoarang. "Red, has been helping us from the very beginning. We made sure that Lee trust and use him too."
Aya looked sharply at Hwoarang, but he kept his calm demure and didn't look back.
"You tried to kill me." Fay remembered.
Kazuya watched his daughter and felt bad. "No, I put you in a freezer and don't forget that Mitch helped you."
"Mitch?!" Mika interrupted, in shock. "He was working for Lee."
"We made Lee think that Mitch was working for him, but he was taking orders from me. Lee thought if he had Fay then he can blackmail me. We had to make him think otherwise. That's why he was always pissed off."
Fay's eyes flickered in pain, but she kept her composure.
"You said drugs was a façade." Jordan intervened. He was sitting on a blue floor cushion with his knees bent and his elbows on them. His jaw was resting on his folded hands. "What is it that he was doing then?"
"Weapons." Lei replied, and went to the door because Josei had got them all coffee. He took the cups and passed them around. "He is making weapons that cannot be distinguished."
"Poison?"
Kazuya faced Jordan who had asked that question. "Yes. Poison. That dart that killed Dionne was only a prototype. He is planning to have them made as bullets too."
"But Lee would never kill Dionne!" Aya insisted in a loud voice. She walked back and forth the room until she stopped next to Lei. "I know he betrayed us! I know he is doing a lot of shitty business, but he would never kill any of us! I am sure of this."
"You could be right because it was Miguel who ordered the kill." Lei confirmed, crossing his arms. "And Lee was not happy. We never knew who Lee was working with until you and Jordan found out about Miguel." He explained. "This whole operation was to find out who was Lee's accomplice."
"Miguel betrayed Lee's trust. That's why he bailed himself out of jail this morning." Kazuya explained, "and my cover got blown too."
"How come? Lee's out now? That sucks." Mika stood by the door, crossing his arms. He was trying to make sense of everything. This whole time we were told to fight Kazuya who was our biggest enemy, and now it turns out that he was helping us all along. "You were in jail, though. Was that undercover too?"
"Yes."
Lei coughed then sipped his coffee. "I think that is good history lesson for all of you. Today, we have to worry about Miguel more than Lee now because he is making his own plans. The bastard had hired the William's sisters to assassinate all of you using the darts. Thanks to Mika, they're no longer a threat."
"How was my memory erased?' Fay suddenly asked, sitting up properly. Come to think of it I don't remember anything about my childhood. I always thought I just had a bad memory.
"You were five when your grandmother made you drink one of her mixtures. We knew about Lee at that time. He was already always in trouble for different reasons and he kept rambling about destroying the world and loving you at the same time." Kazuya took the coffee from Lei and just stared at it. "For what it's worth, you had the best time of your life back then. You and Jin never left each other's sides."
Fay rubbed her temple and inhaled sharply. She stood up, picked her bag and walked to the door. "I'll see you guys later."
"Hey, wait…" Jin exclaimed.
"Let her go." Kazuya stopped Jin. "She needs to process everything we have told you."
Jin stopped, but really wanted to chase after her. This is absolutely crazy.
Aya was staggered as well. She poked Jordan who was standing next to her now. "What is it?"
"This is your cue to leave." Aya added with a hint of amusement. Maybe he is the one for her. They're not admitting it, but I think there is Chemistry. Just maybe this was the perfect time for Jordan to show up.
Jordan declined. "Give her time. She needs to be alone now."
Mika stood up, stretching his legs. "Now what?"
"Now, we really need to stop Miguel before he starts making his own plans. Lee is the least of our concern." Lei answered, then he cracked his finger. "Kazuya's company managed to breakdown on the poison's composite. It stays in your body for 72 hours, then it disperses and disappears. That's when it becomes lethal."