JCA is not mine. Is this really necessary? It is? Geez...
Augustus Black lifted his eyes from the comic book he was reading and frowned. He couldn't quite hear the words that were spoken by his parents in the other room, but he thought he wouldunderstand some if he really concentrated.
"Are you sure, Angela?" he heard his father ask. He didn't hear his mother say anything, so he thought she had just nodded or shaken her head.
"Oh Thomas, I don't know what to do!" Angela Black said and from mother's voice Augustus heard she was holding back tears. He frowned again and a worried expression appeared in his green eyes.
What was wrong? Why was mother crying?
He jumped down from his bed and crept closer as quietly as he could. It wasn't very difficult, he knew how to be careful and the soft carpet on the floor killed all sounds.
"Don't worry Ang, old Briggs knows what to do," Thomas Black assured just as Augustus appeared on the door. He watched as his parents hugged and quickly withdrew so that they wouldn't see him.
Angela sniffed. "But can he do it? Seamus is so stubborn and he has changed so much. It's all my fault, if I had been more careful, loved him more or done something he would have never- " she started to, but Thomas told her to stop.
"Don't say that, nothing was your fault. Seamus deserves all he gets," he said.
"But what about Naoise? Why does he have to suffer because of his father's mistakes?"
Augustus blinked. Naoise? It had to be the boy mother talked about at times. It didn't happen very often and Augustus was glad, mentioning the boy made mother look so sad. That was probably why she was crying now.
Thomas sighed. He was a tall and a bit angry looking man, but under that shell was a warm and gentle heart. Many other men would have demanded their wives to forget everything about their former marriages, but Thomas really wanted to get Naoise to live with them.
Sadly it wasn't possible as long as that cursed Jack Flick bribed judgesso that theywould never take the son away from his father.
Damn it! Angela shouldn't have togo through this.
"If I had taken better care of Nao he wouldn't have done that... I am a horrible parent!" Angela said finally giving up and burying her face against her husband's shoulder. Thomas rubbed her back and tried to make her calm down.
"Come, you better rest." he suggested and led Angela in the bedroom. Augustus peered into the room once he was sure his parents were gone. He was really curious to find out what was going on and see if he could help.
When he stepped in the room he immediately noticed an open letter on the table. Augustus knew it wasn't his business to touch it, but he was a young boy and couldn't help himself. Before he even thought about it he held the envelope in his hands.
The first thing he noticed was that it had the postmark of New York and that it was sent to Angela Black. Who would write to his mother from there? Interested in learning more Augustus slipped his fingers in the envelope and drew out the letter...
"Augustus! What do you think you are doing?"
Father's strict voice made him flinch and he dropped the letter. He raised his gaze and realised that father looked both tired and disappointed.
"Nothing," he said quickly. Thomas sighed.
"Haven't I told you it's wrong to touch other people's property without a permission?" he asked picking up the letter and slipping it into his pocket.
Augustus nodded.
"Yes," he said and was ashamed. He never liked it when father scolded him.
It was strange to notice what kind of thoughts crossed your mind when you were busy.
Black sighed and gave up the idea of concentrating on Jay Flick and all this that demanded his attention. He preferred thinking about his brother and parents.
He remembered well that time when he had been so closeto reading one of his mother's letters. Some Briggs had sent them from New York all the time and mother had neverlooked happy after reading them. Black didn't know what the letters were about, but he suspected they had something to do with Angela Black's former marriage.
That was why he had told Bennett to start from New York.
Uh, how disgusting this place was!
Bennett looked around on the street that was surrounded by falling buildings and hoped that he wouldn't have had to come here. He was a man of order and he liked tidyness. This trap covered by dirt offered him neither.
But what wouldn't he do for fame?
When he got Naoise and Black together on TV the whole America would learn to know his name and he'd finally get all the respect that he wanted.
He took another look at the piece of paper where he had written down the address. Getting it had been pretty hard, first he had had to find the judge who had taken care of the Finn case and then make him tell everything he knew. He had been old and corrupted, the ideal victim for bribing.
Losing a good amount of money bothered him a bit, but at least he now knew where Naoise had lived as a child. That was a good start and Bennett was feeling positive.
He stopped on the street when he arrived at the right house and he gave the building a glance. It was dirty and old and he thought it was unlikely for someone who still respected himself to live in it. On the other hand, the people here probably respected nothing so it was worth a try.
There was no sign of a doorbell so Bennett knocked sharply at the door. Then he took few steps back and waited.
Nothing happened.
He tried again, this time louder, but no one came. Damn, was this the end of it now?
"No one lives there," a young man's voice said and Bennett turned around. He found himself staring at a youngster who was dressed in rather clean clothes. He wore a brown jacket, black trousers and he looked perfectly worn out to be in that place.
"I see," Bennett stated. Then he shrugged. "Pity, I would have liked to meet the family that lived here. They were my friends," he said.
The youngster gave him a suspicious glance. "A family has never lived in that house. Only an angry old man and after him Seamus Finn with his son," he said. "You don't seem to be the kind of person to get along with them."
"What else can you tell me?"
"How much can you pay?"
Bennett didn't need to be told that it was easy to make a deal with this guy. He clearly welcomed money and he knew this would be cheaper than with the idiot judge. He drew his wallet from his pocket and took out few bills.
"How about this?" he asked. The youngster nodded pleased.
"What do you want to know?" he asked.
"What happened to those two Finns? Where is Naoise today?" Bennett asked.
"Why do you want to know that?"
"Do you want the money or not?"
The young man rolled his eyes and sighed. It wasn't common that someone came to ask about something that old, especially if it concerned anyone called Finn. Oh well, he had nothing against extra cash so he could probably tell what he knew and come up with the rest.
"The old Finn is dead, and his son... I don't know. If my uncle was still alive you could have asked from him," he replied.
"Your uncle?" Bennett repeated.
"Yeah, good ol' Gregory Briggs. That old fox could tell you many things, but I'm just his nephew and don't know much," Briggs Jr. said.
"How much more do you want?" Bennett asked.
"How much do you have?"
They spent a small moment discussing the final price and then Briggs Jr. was ready tell all he had ever heard about the Finns.
"Seamus' son left New York soon after his father died. It wasn't a surprise, no one liked old mister Finn and it was a relief that he died. I was just five when it happened. And if you know what sort of business he was involved with you understand that it was a miracle he lived that long," Briggs Jr. lectured counting the bills. He put them neatly into his pocket.
"Do you know where Naoise left?" Bennett asked.
"No, but it was in west. San something, if I remember correctly. If you really are his friend, I don't think it is a good idea to find him."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's just say he is not that different from his father."
Finn said goodbye to his friends and decided to head back home before father noticed anything. He didn't want him to ever find out what was going on. If Seamus Finn even suspected something he'd get beaten up.
But who was his father to tell him what to do? Finn knew better than well that this was his only chanceof becoming something and he wasn't going to let anything destroy his plans. As long as he had his friends and a straight route nothing else mattered.
"Ah, good day Naoise. Going home?"
Finn stopped when he heard and old, but still cheerful voice, and turned around.
"Good day mister Briggs. Yeah, I'm on my way home. I better be there before father wakes up," he said.
The old man nodded. "Yes, yes, I understand. But where have you been?" he asked.
"Pretty much nowhere. Just wandering around," Finn replied slightly nervously. He liked the old Briggs and didn't want him to know what he was up to. It felt as if he'd betray the old man who was one of the few that were polite towards him.
Briggs sighed.
"I see," he said and something in his voice told Finn that he already knew.
The old Briggs.
Finn had to smile when he remembered the old cheerful man who had lived right next to him when he had been a child. The man had been like a grandfather to him. He had never even seen his real ones. And he had really liked him too. The old Briggs was probably the only one he had truly cared about in New York.
And probably the only one who had taken care of him.
What the heck was wrong with Finn nowadays?
Chow would have been ready to give almost anything if someone just had told him the answer. He was worried about his friend and wanted to do something to help him. But how could he ever do that when he didn't know what was going on?
He kicked the street in annoyance as if it was its fault. Soon after Finn had gone out he had followed the example and decided to have a walk. With good luck he'd end up in the same placeas Finn and make him talk.
But apparently Finn wasn't here. Chow stopped when he noticed that the street he was following ended in a dead end. He frowned. Of course, just his luck. He turned around his intention being to return and start looking for Finn somewhere else, but then he realised he couldn't do it.
Three people blocked his way.
"Get out of my way," he said trying not to care how unfriendly those three looked like. Two of them were men and one a woman, and the woman was the one who looked the most terrifying.
The first of the men was tall and lanky man with dark hair. He was dressed in very ordinary clothes and nothing in his figure looked special. It were his eyes that made him horrible, there didn't seem to be a soul in them at all.
The other man was much shorter, he barely reached Chow's shoulders. He looked plump and he wore a coffee brown jacket that was tightly tiedon his waist. The man kept his hands in his pockets and stared at him with his blue eyes.
And then there was the woman. She was probably the most hideous female creature Chow had ever seen. She wasn't actually ugly, her body was okay and her face was framed by short brown hair. But there was something in her that whispered you that this woman had never treated anyone gently.
Chow didn't know what the three were doing here, but he was not going to find out.
The woman crossed her arms on her chest and glanced at the man next to her.
"Jacey, please don't tell me this is one of Valmont's men," she said. Jacey nodded.
"I told you only Hak Foo is a fighter. These other three are just clowns," he replied.
"How fascinating," the second man, Benjamin, commented. He had a very strange reputation among the underworld, but only those who had met him could tell why. He kept smiling all the time and his childish face looked very cute until he started to work.
Chow didn't like this at all. The three could clearly make a connection between him and the Dark Hand and though it was unlikely that they worked for police he didn't want them to catch him.
"What do you want?" he asked deciding to get to business. He easily freaked out and had many times told himself that you got rid of nasty things if you didn't try to avoid them.
"We have strict orders of what to do with you. Unfortunately it won't be nice," Barbara said.
"How fascinating," Benjamin said again. That was the other reason why he was thought to be weird. He pretty much never said anything else but those two words.
Chow frowned, he was starting to realise what was going on.
"You work for Jay Flick, right?" he asked. He remembered everything Valmont had told about Flick's gang and now when he looked at these three he understood it had all been true. Flick's group looked just as violent and cruel as he had thought.
Unfortunately.
Jacey laughed.
"True, maybe you are not as stupid as you are weak," he said.
"Enough of talking, men always talk too much," Barbara snapped. She really liked her job, hurting others was probably the only thing in the world that pleased her twisted mind.
"How fascinating."
The three started to near Chow and he had to back away until his back hit the wall. The alley was too small for him to escape past his hunters and he knew he wasn't strong enough to take them all.
Chow was starting to feel this wasn't going to be a nice afternoon.
Barbara delivered the first hit, just as Chow had guessed. The woman's whole figure screamed the word "impatient" and it felt in her attack. Her fist hit Chow in his chest and he was smashed against the wall. But he was ready to hit back, he wasn't helpless and was never going to just give up like an amateur.
Chow slipped his hand inside his jacket where he kept the only weapon he still had. Fooling around with Shendu had eaten the Dark Hand's bank accounts so well that Valmont hadn't had enough money to pay for them as much as he had used to, and his Enforces had been forced to sell some of their own property to survive.
He aimed a hit at Benjamin, the small man looked like the weakest of them. There was a quiet thud when it his the man's chest, but his smile didn't disappear.
"How fascinating," Benjamin said and for a moment Chow could only stare. Damn, he was sure even Chan couldn't have done that!
Unfortunately that small moment cost him much. Jacey grabbed his hand and before Chow knew it his weapon had been taken away. Now he had nothing to defend himself with and he glanced around.
No one and nothing to help him.
The next punch hit his face and broke his nose. He got that from Barbara too, it seemed like Jacey took care of talking, the woman beating up and Benjamin filled the production quota of freaks. Chow also realised that Barbara wouldn't just kill him - it was no doubt her intention - but she wanted to make it look as bad as possible.
And next would come either Finn or Ratso.
"But Uncle, the shop is not here!"
"Find better! Uncle remember the shop well and it exists!" Uncle's voice shouted from the mobile phone and Jackie had to move it away from his ear to not become deaf. He sighed.
"Fine Uncle, I will look for another moment," he promised and decided that this was the last time he agreed to do Uncle's shopping. It wouldn't have been that bad if you could buy chi ingredients from the nearest local shop, but the owners of magic shops had a nasty habit of hiding in shadows.
He usually found the shops Uncle demanded to see in one day, but now he thought he was going to have to give up. Uncle had sworn the shop was here, but Jackie hadn't caught a glimpse of it, not even an advertisement sign.
But the place was fitting for a small shop, the alley was small and everything was covered in dark shadows. The sounds of the city were distant and everything was very peaceful.
Jackie decided to search the end of the alley and if he didn't find the shop there he'd buy Uncle's ingredients somewhere else. After all, finding dried melons couldn't be too hard even without a magic shop.
He didn't quite like alleys like this, he thought they were too small and there was no room to defend if someone attacked you. Jade on the other hand did. Jackie was sure his niece would feel really homey in places like this. Where were shadows for hiding and room for creeping around, there was Jade.
Suddenly he stopped and frowned. Had he heard something?
Jackie wasn't sure, but he thought he had heard female laughter, a muffled shouts and - as strange as it sounded - the words "How fascinating".
What was going on?
Jackie was more curious than he wanted to admit and he found himself rushing closer to see what was happening. Part of him told him it could be dangerous, but the other half reminded him of that someone could be in danger.
The first thing he saw were three people who all stood their back at him. One of them was a woman, that he realised immediately, but that didn't make him any less suspicious. Especially when it turned out that the three were up to no good.
It took a small while before Jackie saw the bloodied man on the ground. Jackie sawhow he tried to cover his head with his hands and that was enough to make rage grow inside him. He was a very gentle man and nothing angered him more than hurting others for nothing.
Before he even knew it he jumped in the air and aimed a sharp kick at the taller man's back. The man shouted in surprise and pain, and his exclaim drew the attention of his companions. They forgot what they had been doing and concentrated on facing this new man.
"Who are you?" Barbara asked angrily and maybe she was a bit nervous inside her. She could see this man was a skilled fighter and she didn't like it at all. She, Jacey and Benjamin weren't fighters, they just could make things look bad when they were not in danger themselves.
"None of your business," Jackie said darkly. He didn't allow himself to glance at the victim on the ground, he knew that he'd lose some of his will to fight if he started to take a pity on someone.
"How fascinating," Benjamin said.
Barbara looked like she could have exploded at any moment.
"Grr, whoever you are, it would be the best to get lost! We'll smash you!" she threatened angrily. She had always hid her lack of skills with big words and had managed to scare many challengers away that way.
Unfortunately Jackie didn't scare away easily and he wasn't even interested in what those fools said. All he knew was that he had to drive them away and see if he could help the man they had been beating up.
Usually Jackie didn't like hitting women, but in this case he was willing to make an exception. Any woman who could hurt someone like that didn't deserve pity.
He kicked Jacey again and the man flewagainst the wall. He hit his head and the nasty knock made Jackie grimace.
"Hey! You can't do that!" Barbara exclaimed and charged at Jackie to give him a lesson. She wasn't interested in whether she was going to lose or not, she just wanted to show some things to that fool who dared to interrupt their work.
And they had seen so much trouble!
She got her answer in the form of a sharp kick and drew a surprised breath. It was long since someone had last hit her like that. It made her angrier and she tried to launch at Jackie again.
During this time Benjamin had done nothing, he just stood there and watched the scene a childish smile on his round face.
"How fascinating."
Barbara yelped when she flew next to Jacey cursing herself for never learning to fight. Jay Flick hadn't taken any of his fighters in San Francisco, only his best torturers. That was because he hadn't thought any of Valmont's men knew how to fight back.
"Let's go," she heard Jacey say and Barbara glanced at him in surprise.
"What about him? He is not dead yet," she said nodding at Chow. Jacey shook his head.
"But badly injured anyway. They have got the message. And we can kill the next one," he said. Then he stood up holding his side and helped Barbara up. She was an independent woman and never let men do anything for her, but Jacey was the only exception in her life.
"Come, Benjamin," Jacey said and the small man followed his companions with no sound. Jackie watched as they went letting himself relax. He wasn't going to go after them, he never chased anyone if they gave up. Besides, the victim of this needed him.
For the first time during this whole scene Jackie took a good look at the man. He yelped in surprise.
It was Chow!
The man's face and hair were covered in blood and it seemed like the three had really seen the trouble to make it all look really bad. His face was badly beaten and Jackie was sure at least one cheek bone was broken.
He swallowed and bent down next to the clearly unconscious man. He shook his shoulder not believing it was true, he was now part of a criminal showdown.
Chow whimpered quietly when Jackie tried to wake him, but he didn't say anything. Jackie sighed, stood up and took his mobile phone.
"Captain Black, I think we have a problem."
To be continued...