Yup, yup. Nothing is mine. Never will be and I'm happy with that.
Captain Black tried to struggle free from the ropes that tied him to a chair, but it was no use. He was in an apartment that was messy and dim, clearly a criminal hideout. It reminded him of some old film-noir movies he had used to watch as a kid. Expect that this was real and the criminals were more ridiculous.
"Let me guess," he said. "You want me to free your partner?"
"He's not stupid," Ratso stated. He sat on a sofa and kept an eye on Black. Hak Foo and Finn had dragged a table in the room and sat at it. Because of the extra furniture the room was very crowded, but it didn't really bother any of the men. They had other things to think about.
"No, but difficult," Finn turned towards Black. "We will let you go if you free Chow and give Hak the talisman he wants."
Black raised a brow.
"You really believe it's going to work like that? My disappearance won't go unnoticed and the whole Section 13 will look for me. San Francisco will be turned upside down and it's impossible for you to stay undiscovered," he said.
"Hey, you are not the one to make the threats!"
"Actually I am. It would be better if you just gave up so that my men don't have to rush in guns blazing," Black said.
Ratso glanced at Finn in worry. "What if he's right?" he asked.
Finn snorted in despise. "Bah. Merely barks. They are probably taught to speak nonsense."
Black didn't say anything, just smiledto himself. He was sure that Jackie or Tag or someone would come to help him if he hadn't managed to escape by that time. How hard could it be? Those three were all idiots and would screw up sooner or later.
It was funny how much excitement he had in his life at the moment. First he had got enough courage to start looking for Naoise and now this. Black didn't think this was very serious. Despite its reputation Dark Hand wasn't what it had used to be and they would be no trouble.
Jay Flick with his group was a much more serious threat and he'd have to concentrate on them once this was over.
And then there was Bennett. Black had to admit that he was disappointed with the man. He had expected to get results soon and meet his brother in a week or so, but Bennett had done nothing. Black didn't know what he would do if the whole thing turned out to be a flop and he never found out where Naoise was and what he's life was like.
Finn frowned at him. "Don't mess with us. This is not a game and if we don't get what we want you'll get it," he warned.
Black snorted. "What are you going to do?" he asked in amuse.
Finn licked his lips. "I may not look like a body builder, but Hak Foo here really wants the talisman. If you don't get it for him he might get mad and that's not very beautiful," he said trying to sound as tough as possible.
"Yeah. Do you remember how he broke our table when you -- " Ratso started, but Finn silenced him with one glance. He wanted to keep the atmosphere dangerous and Ratso's side comments weren't good for that.
"So remember. We'll let you think about it a while," the Irish man finished.
"Shouldn't someone stay and keep an eye on him?" Ratso asked. They all glanced at each other. Finally Finn sighed.
"All right, I'll do it. But then it's someone else's turn," he said.
How many damned corridors did this place have?
Chow glanced nervously around and thanked his luck for that no one had seen him yet. He thought it was a miracle, what kind of security system did they have in Section 13? Had they no guards at all?
"Hah, when Finn hears about this..." he muttered. Then he heard steps ahead of him and froze. They were the steps of one person and usually he wouldn't have hesitated attacking him, but now he was injured. Broken ribs and a twisted ankle were not very useful in a fight. No, he had to come up with something else.
A man dressed in a neat suit appeared behind the corner and gave him a surprised glance. Chow suspected it was pretty much because of his beaten face and the fact that he wore an orange outfit. They were probably not very popular around here.
"Laundry service," he said quickly and the expression of suspicion disappeared from the man's face. He even smiled a bit.
"Oh, okay," he said and continued on his way. Chow didn't stay there thanking his luck, but hurried up. He'd have to get out and soon! But how would he do it when every place was full of doors that opened into new corridors? At which point would he pick the wrong one and end up in the agents' arms?
He passed another door. It was finer and somehow more magnificent than the others and he hoped it would take him closer to the exit. It was slightly open as if no one had bothered to close it properly and Chow pushed it carefully open. He sighed in disappointment.
The door didn't lead out, but into an empty office. He was about to close the door and keep going, but then a map on the desk caught his attention. The owner's name was written on it with neat blue handwriting.
"Augustus Black," Chow read aloud and stepped into the room. He knew the wisest thing to do was to get lost, but this opportunity was too tempting. He'd probably never again have the chance of reading Black's personal notes so he decided to enjoy it as long as it lasted.
He walked behind the man's desk and hoped that Black hadn't locked his drawers. It would have been the wise thing to do, but the good guys had a childish habit of trusting each other. Chow doubted Black was afraid of anyone breaking into his room that was so well protected by the walls of Section 13. Chow noticed he had been right, the first drawer opened easily and with no sound. He grinned to himself and then grimaced as his injured face objected.
The drawer was mostly full of papers and Chow didn't have the patience to read them. He glanced at the first one and after seeing that it was about some arrest about a month ago he decided that it didn't interest him. On the other side of the paper was an unfinished drawing of something.
"Rubbish," he muttered and closed the drawer. He found a dirty coffee mug with "Black but never Slack!" writing from the second one. He thought the mug just proved that its owner had no taste and after checking the empty match box and questionable magazines he had found he closed the second drawer too. It seemed like Black had nothing important in his office. That was probably why it hadn't been locked.
He decided to go through one more drawer before getting lost. He had to find a souvenir to make Finn and Ratso believe that he had been in their enemy's office, after all.
The next drawer was empty. Or so Chow first thought. He was about to close it, but then he saw an old photo in the back of it. He recognised it to be the same one that they had seen in TV and he took it. While watching television he hadn't really paid any attention to it because he and Ratso had been so busy insulting Black.
Now he had more time to observe it and he frowned in thought. The woman and the small boy in her arms looked kinda familiar. He wondered if he had ever seen them. The picture was light, but their green eyes and red hair were clear.
"Black's mother must be from Ireland. Just like Finn," he said to himself and remembered how he had immediately contacted Black's eyes with his friend's ones. Chow took another look at the picture.
"Funny," he said. He didn't really care about the child's eyes, everyone changed when they matured, but the woman's eyes were interesting. They were familiar, he had seen them many times though he had never met the woman herself. They were the eyes of Finn and Black.
He chuckled at himself. "Imagining things again," he muttered. It was very ridiculous to jump into conclusions just because of one picture. All Irish people probably looked the same. He glanced at the back of the picture. The words "Angela and Naoise" were written behind it. Chow shook his head and put the picture in his pocket.
It was time to go.
"Prisoner 202 has escaped!"
All agents who were in Section 13 that night froze. It was a rare occasion that someone managed to escape Section 13 and every time it happened they had to hurry. Most of the agents didn't even know who prisoner 202 was, but they were still doing everything they could. It was unlikely for the prisoner to be able to get outside the section, but there was no time to waste. If someone was intelligent enough to escape no one knew what he could come up with.
"Where the heck is Black?" Tag asked himself. Usually his superior and friend was the first one to know about things and he found it strange that Black just wasn't there.
Tag had just returned from a mission in Mexico and he wasn't actually on duty. He had just decided to stop by to say hello to Black and chat with some other agents. Terris had told him that Black had gone to meet Jackie earlier the night, but he should have returned already. Tag knew that Black was never gone this long without a good reason.
He shrugged and glanced at Terris. "So I don't get a night off after all," he stated. Terris snorted and didn't smile. He never smiled. And he rarely talked.
"Let's go and find that escapee. Black can then marvel at us when he comes back," Tag continued. The two left to follow the other agents.
"There is no way you can pull this off. What kind of idiot is Valmont?" Black asked.
"Shut up."
"So you can't handle the truth? Typical criminal behaviour."
"I told you to shut up! I have a gun."
"So? You can't shoot me or you'll lose your merchandise."
Finn wasn't on the mood to argue with an idiot. So like little brothers to always talk back, he thought in frustration. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling. It was not very interesting so he tried to come up with something else to do. For some reason he felt really ridiculous. They'd never get Black to co-operate if they didn't take strong actions and use violence. And for some reason they had done nothing.
What kind of fools were they? And where was Hak Foo when you needed him?
He turned his eyes back to Black and noticed his face interested him more than before. He started to look for similarities in them and couldn't say how disappointed he was when he found them. Their eyes for an example, they had both inherited the green eyes of their mother. And Black's eyebrows revealed that if he had had hair it would have been as red as Finn's.
Other than that their faces were very different. Finn looked much more Irish and Black had inherited his looks from his American father.
"What are you staring at?" Black asked.
Finn was startled. "Huh? Nothing."
"Whatever. I just want to make clear that I don't like you. "
"Well that I know already," Finn stated. He frowned. Of course he couldn't be sure, but he thought Black was behaving oddly. He didn't know Black well enough to be sure, but... Nah...
Black snorted. He couldn't even say how much he hated Valmont and his men. He had never found out why it was Valmont that made him boil,not some other criminal. Not even those who were more violent and dangerous annoyed him that much. Something in Valmont just was so irritating and he had started to feel the same about all of his men.
"It is very strange that Valmont has taken a risk like this just to save one of his Enforces and get the Ox talisman. You can always get more men and the Ox is not the strongest of the talismans," Black stated. Finn knew he was just trying to get more information to use it against them.
"Uhhuh," he said.
Chow had also heard what the agents had and it had made him really nervous. He knew he got often nervous for no reason, but this time it was all too serious. The chances of escaping were not very good now that everyone in Section 13 was after him. Black would get really mad and Chow didn't really like that idea.
"I am in trouble now," he said to himself. Why had he gone to Black's office? If he hadn't done that he might have had enough to escape before this. Oh well, there was no time for self-pity now, he'd just have to find his way through the agents.
He failed soon after that decision and a strong arm slammed him against the wall.
"Not another step, crook."
The night didn't last forever even in San Francisco. It was not yet over either and the dim light hovered over the city and air was cold. Jackie didn't know anything about it, he was still asleep in his warm bed. He was not allowed to enjoy that very long though.
He woke up with a flinch as his cell phone started ringing loudly and he tried to find it without opening his eyes. First he hit a half empty glass and knocked it on the floor, but the then he got what he was looking for.
"Yes?" he asked suppressing a yawn and wondering who would call him so early in the morning.
"Jackie, where is Black?" Tag's familiar voice asked in the other end.
"What? Why do you ask me?"
"According to our information he never returned from his visit to you."
Jackie was fully awake now. "What? What happened?" he asked and tried to dress up. He had the habit of placing his clothes on a chair before going to sleep so he found them immediately.
"We don't know. That's why I called to you because I'd like to know if you are any wiser than us," Tag replied.
"Oh."
"We have no time to lose. Black has never done this so something must have happened. You must come to Section 13 and we'll have to think about the situation."
"Yes, I'll come as fast as I can," Jackie promised. He finished dressing up and crept the stairs down. It was still so early that Jade was happily asleep. Uncle was already up, but had withdrawn to his library to read and drink tea so Jackie met no one on his way out. He almost ran the way to the phone booth that was one of the secret passageways to Section 13. Tag was there to greet him.
"Good that you came this fast," the agent said.
"What did you mean in the phone?" Jackie asked.
"Just what I said. Black is gone and no one knows where he is."
"But..." Jackie didn't know how to continue. Black had been perfectly fine when he had left so something must have happened to him on his way back to Section 13.
"Any clues?" he asked. Tag shook his head.
"None. The whole section has been quiet if we leave out the prisoner 202 incident. He managed to escape, but we caught him soon."
"Prisoner 202?"
"Chow."
Jackie blinked.
"He escaped? How?" he asked. Chow wasn't stupid, but he had never thought of him as someone highly talented. How did he even manage to get the door open?
"We'd like to know that too. The lock was picked fromthe outside, so someone must have opened it for him. It is dangerous to even consider that we have a traitor here, but we can't pass that option," Tag said. "But thankfully we caught him and locked him up again. Now he won't be able to escape and we can concentrate on the Black case."
"Do you think Flick's gang has something to do with this?" Jackie asked. Tag looked slightly confused.
"Flick? Isn't he in prison? And his territory is in Las Vegas," he said.
"It's obvious that you have been gonefor the last two months if you haven't heard the news. Jay Flick has escaped and come to San Francisco on order to overthrow Valmont," a new voice said and Jackie and Tag turned around to see the man. Jackie didn't know him, but Tag frowned.
"Harris. What are you doing here?" he asked. The leader of Section 4 snorted and looked smug.
"I was informed of Black and since I am the highest officer available at the moment Section 13 is in my control until Black returns," he said. Tag looked like the announcement was one of the worst possible.
"I see," he said.
Harris turned his eyes to Jackie. "I don't think we have met," he said. Jackie offered his hand and Harris took it.
"We haven't. I am Jackie Chan, Black's friend."
"Do you always discuss the matters of this section with civilians?" Harris asked from Tag.
"Jackie is not a civilian, but has worked with us many times," the agent replied. He was pleased when he could tell Harris something he didn't already know. Harris on the other hand didn't look happy.
"Ah, I see. I expect you to do everything to find Black," he said, turned around and left. Jackie glanced after him and shrugged. So that was the man who had trained Black and who his friend respected so much...
Tag shook his head.
"What a coincidence," he muttered.
"What?"
"That Harris is here at the same time than Flick. And Black happens to disappear too," the agent said.
"Black said Harris came here to warn him of Flick."
"Well, why is he still here? Everything that happens in San Francisco belongs to Section 13 and he doesn't even have the right to interfere."
Jackie thought about it. "Maybe he just wants to help." he suggested.
"In a way, yes. Harris has been after Flick his whole career and now that he is free again I don't think our friend will allow someone else to arrest him again. He is here just to get Flick himself," Tag said.
"What do you mean 'again'?" Jackie asked.
"Flick has been caught only once in his life. It happened when Black was still in Section 4 in Las Vegas. They had just got enough proof to put Flick behind the bars, they just had to catch him first. Agents surrounded his manor and attacked. I don't know everything that happened, but Harris was injured and Black was the one who got Flick," Tag said. Jackie could guess the rest.
"And Harris didn't really like it?"
"No. Some even say that was the reason why Harris sent Black so San Francisco and that he has never forgiven how he stole Flick," Tag admitted.
"But is it really possible that something that old is involved in this?" Jackie asked in suspicion. Tag merely shrugged.
"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised," he said.
To be continued...