Chapter 3-Li comes


Sakura was much happier the next morning. "Children, I believe your father is coming. Practice your Japanese. He won't know much English." The girls nodded. "Yes mother." they said in unison. Meilin said quietly, "We will leave our Clow things here, and I will not fight." Sakura put her thumb under her daughter's chin, and lifted her head. "Don't give in. Just don't get yourself bruised. Your father might be upset if it looks like his kids are getting beaten. And he won't understand, 'You shoulda seen the other guy!' act either." Meilin grinned. "Parents. Are they the same worldwide?" Madison giggled. "at least ours are."

~*~

Li sat down in his seat, nice and relaxed. He was headed for his wife and children. His cell phone rang. It was his mother. "You said you put Syaoran on the bus at 4. He isn't here yet." Li nodded. "I will check, mother."
Li got down on his knees, and whacked his suitcase. "OW!" came a muffled but familiar voice." Li picked up the phone. "He has snuck aboard in my luggage. I will punish him." he said wearily. His mother laughed. "I know you will. Call me when you see that Sakura is all right. I want to know that your stalker has given up." Li nodded again. "Yes. I will."

~*~

Meilin walked past Kurt with her head down. She was tightly grasping the Clow book. She held Madison's hand tightly. Kurt stuck his foot out, but with the girls concentrating on the sidewalk so intently, they easily avoided him. He leered out, reaching for Meilin, but she spun around, and kicked him. Kurt sprawled, and his friends laughed again. Meilin and Madison walked on, unaware of a smile on Michael's face.

~*~

Li paid for Syaoran's ticket, and ordered him not to leave the chair. He would not watch the movie. He would sleep. if he wasn't rested when they arrived, it wasn't Li's fault, as he'd told him to rest. Syaoran shrugged "Whatever. You didn't think I'd want to stay home, did you?"

~^~

Tom Lorraine checked his old video camera. He usually did so once a year. He checked Li's office. The boy wasn't there either. He looked at his clock. It would be getting dark there, he guessed. He'd blow it off. They were bound to go out and eat. Li couldn't cook that well. He checked for flights returning from countries on the Pacific coast. All had been postponed until further notice, do to a hurricane. Tom smiled. The water card had kept that storm going for ten years.

~*~

Sakura hummed to herself. Li would be coming here, and Syaoran would be training with her mother in law. The girls apparently hadn't gotten into fights, and no calls had come from angry teachers. Life was good. Until.

RING! Sakura shivered. It was still traumatic to pick a phone up while she was alone. Heavy breathing on the other end. "Is this the Showron residence?" Sakura silently pressed a playback button on her recorder. Her neighbor had recorded this for her. "No. Habla Espanol?" The man laughed. "Ci. Ah, senorita Showron en casa?" Sakura pushed number two. "Soron? No, no soron." A baby wail amplified was heard. "Adios!" The man laughed as she hung up. "Stupid mexicans!" he muttered in Mongolian.

Sakura was worried. Could Tom Lorraine, the new leader trying to reunite Mongolia be her stalker? She shook her head. Imppossible. But it did make sense. Why else would he speak in that language? Sakura shook her head. A freak was always a freak. his spanish wasn't that good, anyway. Sakura pushed a button on her phone. 911 emergency, what is the state of your emergency?" Sakura pressed a button. "Senora at cross street has problem. Address is-" the woman had hung up. After a terrorist had stopped all flights out of Japan, Mrs. Showron was a special case.

A minute later, Sakura heard a rap at the door. "Portland Police, open up." Sakura did so. She touched her ears and eyes. The men nodded, and checked the room. The gave her a thumbs up. Nothing had been found. "Could you watch the school? He just called asking for me." The leader pointed to a phone. Sakura nodded. They checked. They found a tiny wiring problem. "We'll check this out. It may be nothing, but-" While in his hands, it exploded. She thought her ears were amplifying the explosion as she screamed, but she discovered later a dozen homes had the devices in them. Apparently her home was the least suspected, as her bomb was the smallest. It still blew up in his hand. Sakura quickly turned on the wailing neighbor and baby screams. The neighbor who had been brought campoflouged as the officer was escorted off, wailing and crying, holding a lifelike doll. Sakura was carefully hidden, and the remaining three guards waited for the follow up men. They came. One came to Sakura's home, and looked around before exiting. Apparently, everyone believed the neighbor woman lived here. She did most of the time, but she worked at a laundromat a few hours a day.

Li burst in the door. The police cocked their guns, and pointed them at him. "Freeze!" Sakura broke out, and pulled him into her closet hiding place. She hushed him. She mouthed one word, Showron. They nodded, and one sat on top of the trap door. One donned a brown wig, to fool the checker who would come back. He did, and he wasn't happy. Neither were Sakura and Syaoran who didn't like his Mongolian cussing.

"Well," he said. "They're probably here." he pulled a cord, and they heard an explosion. Sakura pulled Syaoran into the basement, and through a tiny collapsing tunnel that led next door. The remaining police officer struggled down to make it more old looking, while Sakura and Syaoran concealed themselves.

Meanwhile, at the schools, Madison and Meilin were being carefully hidden in the ceiling. The students silently swept up the fallen asbestos, and the girls were careful to keep their eyes shut and breathe through their clothes. They prayed that they wouldn't be harmed from hiding up here.

They watched in horror as a masked man broke down their classroom door. "Is this Meilin or Madison's class?" Mrs. Johns said calmly, "No, they were sent home with fevers a few minutes ago. We were going to have the students returned home." The man smirked. "You better not be lying, woman." Mrs. James looked at him. "Why would I lie? I have 28 students besides 2 foreigners." The man grinned. Better you hate them than protect them." Meilin felt an unquenchable urge to stomp her way out and bust the man's head in. She checked her anger, as it was making her breathe deeper. "All right, all of you out. We're going to check the room." The teacher briskly said, "Line up on your way out. We may still finish your math tests after this." The kids laughed, and the man smiled. "As long as there's a record with the nurse, you'll be clear for that math test." The teacher gave a curt nod. "You may even take Lynn as a hostage. If you don't find the record, you may hold her against us." The man nodded. He didn't know Lynn was a highly trained android, set to release the year 2006. She was a secret test at the school. The students all complained she was a know it all so why didn't they send her to college. But she was a sign to any teacher that a certain form was needed. All 20 what if forms were printed for each student every morning. The nurse looked at Lynn. "Ah, our little friend guided you here. Who are you looking for?" The man pointed an uzi at her head. "Where are Meilin and Madison Showron, and where do they live?" A read out in code was sent to the nurse's desktop. "They were sent home right after they arrived this morning. Both had high fevers. They live across town, but they still go here, as if their mother's paranoid now. Would you let Lynn go?" the man grinned. "Sure, she won't get far." He fired a bullet. Lynn quickly shielded her leg, and caught the bullet. The girl moaned.

~*~

In the basement, a scientist was quickly scanning the two for info needed for two androids. "One will be ordered killed. What will you do when Li is dead?" Sakura's face hardened. "I'd cry, but an officer would make a cruel remark. I'd find a way to kill myself and him, and also be placed in a way that wouldn't let them mock over my body. Preferrably deep out at sea is best." The man grinned. "They came in on boats. Maybe that's best." Sakura drew a sharp breath. "If we were brought before Lorraine, Li wouldn't say anything, just glare at him. I'd spit on him if he kissed me, or slap him if he touched me. I'd say I'd rather be dead than obey him." The man nodded. "I just wish we could have someone who knew you along, so when the situation changed, they could program the changes." Sakura shrugged. "I almost wish he'd find out, so I'd be the one laughing."

~~~^~

Tom Lorraine looked disgusted at Li. "Throw him to the sharks. No telling what he's holding." He looked hungrily at Sakura. "Come here." The girl refused to move. "Bring her to me." The android tried to put up a fight, and ended up throwing one man overboard. Thankfully, she didn't notice, or she would have gone crazy, trying to throw herself over. The man touched her hand sweetly. She smacked him. He slapped her. She slapped him back. Tom quickly got tired of this. "Lock her in the dungeon. See if she's calmer tomorrow."

Now Sakura android used her full powers. She rammed her way out of tight hands, and grasping one anout the neck, dragged him overboard. As a steel weight, she didn't have the human float. Sharks were circling, and as Sakura gave up her captive, people laughed at him, assuming he was Sakura. Sakura was floating to the bottom of the sea, where she buried herself, and turned herself off. Her purpose was completed.