Kwai Chang Caine stumbled and collapsed on the street. "Peter." He said softly before losing consciousness. He came to in the back of the apothecary's shop on a cot.

"Master Caine, Are you alright?" Dennis Zhaio asked, concern evident in his middle-aged eyes. "Too much of Mrs. Lin's cooking perhaps." He said, handing the Shaolin master a cup of tea.

Caine shook his head "No. Not Mrs. Lin's cooking." He sipped at the tea, to wet his parched throat "My son... he is in danger. The force of his fear and despair overwhelmed me." He shook his head "I must go to him."

Mr. Zhaio shook his head sadly "Finish your tea and I will gather things for your trip to Bayview."

"Thank you," Caine said. He sat on the cot, frowning. The despair he had felt was not new. It was not a sudden thing, the intensity of the emotion was a long time in the making. Why had he not sensed this before now? What was happening to his son? Would he be able to get to him in time?

He finished the cup of tea, wanting to get on the road as soon as possible. Besides the only way to drink Mr. Zhaio's tea was all at once. It was always too bitter and he never wanted to learn another recipe.

He lay back on the cot and closed his eyes, attempting to reach out to his son, but once more he felt nothing, only the distant fact that he was alive, nothing of the fear and despair that had been so intense. He could see nothing, not so much as a snapshot vision. "Peter," He said quietly as he drifted once more into unconsciousness.

Zhaio made certain he was unconscious before calling Miranda. "We have a problem. Caine received a vision of his son or an impression of something. There is no way to keep him here. He'll be heading to Bayview once he wakes. I managed to get another dose in him. It will slow things down a bit."

"Don't worry. I can manage things from here. Your efforts have been appreciated. It won't be long now. Our ancient enemies will soon no longer exist."

He ended the call and went to the cot where Kwai Chang lay sleeping. "Master Caine, are you alright?" He asked, nudging him slightly. It wouldn't do to simply let him sleep after such a revelation. It would look bad and he wouldn't trust the herbs that were being sent with him. The Harbingers needed both Caines to be neutralized until the prophecy passed into history. Then there would be no Kung Fu, no Shaolin temples, and no meddling priests.

Caine drew in a deep breath and nodded "Yes, the intensity of the contact must have taken more out of me than I realized. " He sat up once more.

Zhiao handed him a bag filled with smaller bags of herbs and roots. "It is everything I could think of that you might need. My wife is preparing food for your journey."

"Thank you," he said. He thought perhaps he should take the bus rather than walk. He couldn't afford to take the time involved to walk back to Bayview. Peter might not have that kind of time. He could meditate on the bus and try to find out what was wrong.

March 2nd

Caine got off the Greyhound bus and then boarded the city bus to take him to the 101st precinct. He needed to talk to Paul Blaisdell. He needed to know what had happened to their son.

He walked in quietly, avoiding the other officers as he made his way to the Captain's office. He walked inside and closed the door behind him.

Paul looked up, irritated that people didn't think they needed to knock anymore. It was as if the disappearance of his son made him less worthy of respect. Well, maybe they weren't wrong about that. His mood suddenly got worse when he saw who it was that had disrespected him this time. He swore that man had no concept of social norms. "You have a lot of nerve coming back here."

"What has happened to Peter?" Caine asked ignoring Paul's anger.

"If I knew that, he'd be home right now." Or in the family funeral plot. "He disappeared the day you left town. We found his car under the pier in Chinatown three days later. Forensics went over it with a fine-toothed comb and didn't come up with so much as a fingerprint."

"I only sensed that he was in danger two days ago. I came back as quickly as I could."

"I don't know what to tell you. All I know is that he has been missing since February 3rd. There have been no sightings. No contact, no ransom demands. Nothing. There has been no body found, but with the river currents and the bay heading out into the ocean we may never find one."

"Peter is not dead. Of this I am certain." Caine said. He knew what he had felt. Peter was very much alive and he was very much in trouble.

"Sure and you were certain that he was dead for 15 years when he wasn't. That sense of yours isn't always spot on where Peter is concerned." Blaisdell ran a hand down his face "Look, if you ever think you have a location on him, no matter how thin that feeling or whatever may be, you come to me and we will go get him. Whatever it takes."

"Of course." He said with a nod.

"Where will you be staying?"

Caine shrugged "Chinatown."

"Now Look, I don't have time to chase you down all over Chinatown. When you figure out where you are going to be, let me know. Otherwise, you're out of the loop if I find something first."

Caine nodded.

"And maybe … if we find him you can stick around like he was important for a while." Paul said bitterly "Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do."

Caine almost gave in to his own anger. He almost told Blaisdell what he thought of his admonition. Instead, he left the room and the precinct. He knew his anger was truly with himself. Because perhaps Paul Blaisdell was right. Because perhaps it was his fault Peter was missing, perhaps one of those enemies he had thought to protect his son from had merely been waiting for him to leave in order to strike. He suspected that Blaisdell had similar thoughts about himself.

Peter lay on his stomach, arms folded under his head as a makeshift pillow. He had tried not to think about the things she had told him. But all he had in the darkness was his own thoughts so her words came unbidden to his mind.

Lo Si being Ping Hai. He could see it now that he thought about it. He was hunched over a little more, he had more wrinkles, and there was something different in his eyes. But the voice was the same, and if you overlooked the beard and mustaches the face was the same too.

All this time he thought that he had been put in the orphanage because his guardian could no longer take care of him, but it turned out that it was just that he didn't want to anymore. He didn't want him, and he didn't want him in another temple either. He had loved both incarnations of that old man, now he knew that it was not returned. Had he really told his father that he was dead to protect them?

He thought back to his reunion with his father. He had cried and declared that he wished he could kill Ping Hai. His father said that Ping Hai had done it to protect them both from Tan. How had his father known that if he hadn't known that Lo Si and Ping Hai were the same? If he had known that they'd been kept apart to keep them safe then he had to have known that his son was alive before that moment in the hospital. He had known. No wonder he found it so easy to leave him behind again. He'd never intended to see him in the first place. He would never come back. This left not only a deep aching sorrow in Peter's heart, but it destroyed all hope that he might have had. He was going to live out his days in the dark. Because he was the last of a bloodline that had no use for him.

He closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep. It didn't matter that it was dark when he slept. Sometimes he dreamed of sunshine. It was more often the snake, but it was worth it just for the chance of sunshine.

Caine entered the Ancient's apartment and looked at his old friend who was in meditation. He did not interrupt him. He simply sat down on the floor across from him and waited. He needed his friend's help if he was going to find his son before it was too late. The bond was tenuous at best and it felt as though it was fading with each passing minute.

Lo Si opened his eyes sometime later. "Kwai Chang Caine... it is good that you have returned."

"I should never have left." He said, his tone anguished. "... My son..."

"What is it that you have seen?"

Caine shook his head. "I felt his fear... his despair... two days ago. It was so powerful that It rendered me unconscious. I have not felt a genuine connection with him since then. Truthfully I have not felt one since I left."

"That was when he disappeared. The day you left. I believe I was the last to see him that day."

"My meditations have shown me nothing more. I do not know how to find him."

"We will find him. It will take us both, but we will find him. Were you able to help the people in New River City?"

He shook his head "The Harbingers were causing them trouble but I was not able to locate them. Another will have to see to them. I cannot focus on anything but finding Peter."

Lo Si nodded "We know that he is alive, and as long as he lives there is hope. No matter how long it takes there is hope."

March 7th

Peter didn't move when the door to his prison opened. He hadn't moved from his bed much at all in the last few days. He assumed it was days. He didn't know for certain. He'd ignored the sandwiches that had come through the slot under the door for several days. Again, it was an assumption. Eight sandwiches he had ignored. He just didn't care anymore.

The routine was much the same as the last time only he didn't banter with Kline, didn't ask questions, he just let them lead him through the corridor until he was locked in the bathroom once more.

He had contemplated just sitting down on the floor and going back to sleep but it was hard to sleep when your eyes were in such pain. Or when you were dirty. It was amazing how dirty you could get just laying in bed.

He cleaned up in the shower but didn't bother shaving this time. He didn't care if he was clean-shaven or not. He didn't care about a lot of things anymore. Or maybe it was another tiny rebellion. A tiny bit of control in his life. He snorted a little at that thought. No. It wasn't control. He just didn't give a damn. Who was going to see him in the dark?

The scrub pants they left for him were a pale blue and there was a white tee shirt as well. He pulled them on and then sat down on the floor to wait. They'd figure it out eventually. Or they wouldn't. He just didn't care.

The door opened and Kline motioned for him to get up. "Come on. Let's go."

Peter got to his feet and stepped out without saying a word. He didn't resist when they cuffed his hands behind his back. He went quietly to what he thought of as the throne room. He didn't give them the satisfaction of forcing him to his knees. He strode forward and dropped down to his knees in front of the dais of his own accord. Now that was a tiny little bit of control.

"Have you thought about my words?" She asked.

Peter nodded "Yes." He said quietly.

"I suppose in the world of the Shaolin they are good priests. Although I don't think those two words go together. Good and Priest. It's always so selective. Rather undoes the good that they do when you know the destruction they leave in their wake. After all, wasn't the man that eventually destroyed your temple also Shaolin ?"

"Why is it you hate them so much," Peter said, his voice still quiet. "Because there are good Shaolin? Or because of this so-called destruction left in their wake." It didn't really matter why she thought what she thought. That was his father's way of thinking. Find out why the criminal committed the crime and then they will never do it again. Peter was a cop. He knew better. Why didn't matter except as a way of getting to who? It changed nothing. A monster was still a monster. Didn't matter that it was eating the village children because it was hungry. It had a taste for it, and handing it a bowl of rice and petting its mangy fur was not going to suddenly turn it into the family pet. Miranda wasn't someone who made mistakes trying to stay alive, she was the devouring monster.

"It is why my order hates the Shaolin. I have my own reasons."

"Why? Did they abandon you too?"

"Not as directly as they did you, but yes. It was their refusal to aid my family that brought about my parent's death. The order took me in, helped me heal."

"Let me guess if I sign up you'll help me heal and let me go."

"No." She said, "I can help you heal, but I cannot let you go."

He gave a bitter laugh "Because I'm the last in the line of Kwai Chang." If he died would that make his father the last? He bet she wouldn't get away with keeping his father in the dark like a rat. He would sit there and meditate and somehow believe that he could bring her back to the light by the power of his Shaolin beliefs alone.

She moved forward to kneel in front of him. "No. Because I can't trust that you will shift allegiances so easily." She told him "You are not a weak man. I can see this. Your will is strong and until you recognize the truth in my words you will always seek to return to your old ways. Once a Shaolin…"

Easily? He thought nothing about this had been easy. "I was never fully Shaolin." He said

She pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Are you willing to submit to being educated, to learning our ways?"

He shrugged "Does it get me out of the dark? Cause that's better than a Klondike bar. And you have no idea what I would do for a Klondike bar right now. " Anything but cheap peanut butter on cheap white bread, in the dark.

"Yes." She was amused. She also knew that he was insincere. It was too early for any actual thought change. But she was patient. When he tried to escape, which she knew he would, it would make his confinement even more devastating.

Peter nodded. "Fine, I'll play along. Just don't ask me to hurt them."

"Of course not." She purred. "I wouldn't dream of it." She rose to her feet and cupped his chin, indicating she wanted him to rise. No, she'd never ask him to do that. It wouldn't be necessary. "Let's have breakfast and we'll show you to your new room."

Caine had sent word to Blaisdell that he would be staying with the Ancient, but he had not gone to see him again. He had nothing new to share with him and it was plain that Peter's foster father blamed him for their son's disappearance. Caine wasn't certain he disagreed. It wasn't just anyone that could block the bond between himself and Peter. That took power he had not encountered in a long time. Unless it was Peter himself that was doing so. He did not believe his son had the skill necessary to accomplish this. Not on his own.

"You did not sleep." The Ancient said. He was beginning to worry as much about the father as the son. This was possibly the entire reason Peter had been taken in the first place. To weaken his father and make him vulnerable to attack.

Caine shook his head. "I was meditating, trying to reach out to Peter. It is as though he is further away than ever."

"He still lives." Lo Si said firmly. "He needs you to be at your strongest to help him. You cannot help him if you are weakened by lack of sleep and sustenance."

"Yes, he lives, but I believe his situation is dire. It is not merely his body that is in danger..." He could not shake that feeling from their brief contact. He did not get a sense of physical torment. Just fear and absolute despair. He wondered how long any man could live under such conditions and come out whole.

"Come. You need out of this apartment." Lo Si said.

"I need to find Peter."

"You will not find him here. You need to find your center again or you will not find him out there either."

Caine nodded even though he did not agree. He was not always right and had always been able to rely on his old friend to tell him when that was so. "Perhaps the park." He said.

"I will bring a thermos of tea." the Ancient said.

"It is early in the day for your secret spice family recipe," Caine said.