I am very proud to say that I own as much as nothing.
Harris dialled the number and glanced around. No one was around and it didn't really surprise him. He had made sure that he was completely alone when making this call.
If someone ever found out that... He hated himself already.
"Flick? Are you there?" he asked when the phone was picked at the other end.
"Who else?" his nemesis' voice asked and Harris clenched his fists. Just hearing Flick talk was enough to make him mad.
"What have you done to Black? Didn't we agree that we'd both get a slice of him?" he asked. There was a silence at the other end of the line. Flick had never been good at hiding his surprise.
"I haven't even touched him!" he said.
"Don't lie to me, you dirty rat! You have ordered your men to capture him! Have you completely forgotten about our deal?" Harris asked. All these days he had tried to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. At least the right thing for his own good. In order to get what was rightfully his he had had to agree with that crook.
And arrange his escape...
"Harris, Harris, don't lose your temper. It is very unhealthy. Did you know that a bird's heart is so weak that it can't take much stress? I haven't done anything to Black, but I'd like to know what is going on," Flick said gently.
"If I knew I wouldn't have called you. I don't want to be involved with you more than is necessary."
"Haha. So like you. I have always been like that. But you know, for a little favour I could get my group to forget about Valmont's men and concentrate on finding Black. They are just as good as your agents," Flick suggested.
"What do you want me to do?" Harris asked reluctantly.
"Little birds told me that you have someone whose life should have been mine. Make sure that he won't wake up tomorrow and my forces are in your service."
"You want me to kill a guarded prisoner? Do you know how dangerous that is?"
"Just as dangerous as helping a guarded prisoner to escape. I think you should remember how much I know."
There was a click at the other end and Harris stood on his tracks a long while. Then he smashed the receiver against the table and drew a deep breath.
"Fine," he said. "I'll play along a while more, but then it's going to be my turn to act."
"Wouldn't a video camera be a better option? This is kinda old fashioned," Ratso pointed out.
Finn raised his eyes from the letter he was writing. "Ratso, we don't have a video camera," he said. "Besides, they would see who we are."
It hadn't been even 24 hours since they had captured Black, but they were sure that everyone in Section 13 knew that something had happened. Everyone had had enough time to speculate and start investigating. Now was their time to announce what had happened. Nothing too great, just a note with an explanation and their demands.
Finn placed the pen on the table and eyed his writing critically.
He glanced at Ratso. "Hey, what do you think of this? 'We have Black. Take Chow and the Ox talisman to the harbour, pier 18. No Chan'," he read aloud.
"I think it's good," Ratso said.
Black started to laugh. "It sounds like you took it from some kids' cartoon," he said.
Finn glared at him. "Always as amusing?" he asked.
"I could teach him to shut up," Hak Foo added. He had never been very patient and didn't like to just sit and wait. And the fact that Black had turned out to be a very annoying person didn't make him feel any better. Either Black commented everything they said in order to get them make a mistake or Chan had no taste in friends.
Finn shrugged. "Do it later. Right now I have something else for you to do," he said and slipped the letter into an envelope. "We don't know where Section 13 is, but they should get this when you leave it at Chan's door."
Hak Foo took the letter and nodded. "Pigeon delivers the message," he said. Then he left and Finn looked pleased.
"Everything has been going on well," he said. To be honest nothing had been going on for long, but why be pessimistic? They had had success before and most of their plans would have made them rich if some little detail hadn't gone wrong. This time that couldn't happen, they had been very careful and would take good care of their cards.
"Yeah, we haven't been caught yet," Ratso agreed.
"And we won't," Neither of them would have admitted it, but their pleasant conversation was just an act. It helped them to relax and forget the fact that they had one of the most important men of San Francisco in their hands. If they got caught the punishment would be hard.
But they wouldn't. Though this was dangerous nothing had gone wrong yet. And while they had not had any success before they had one advantage: they were fighting for their friend. Wasn't that important enough for them to make it?
Bennett was in New York again. He liked the city more than San Diego, but it was still frustrating to run around. He really hoped this would be his last visit in this city, at least for a while.
The connection Bobby had promised lived some distance from the centre of the city so he couldn't be a very poor fellow. Knowing his friend Bennett was certain of that the man hadn't got rich by legal ways, but that didn't really bother him. He'd just get more colourto his story and make more money.
"Hector D'Crita," he muttered to himself glancing at the address. He really hoped this trip would turn out to be useful. Hector didn't live on any big street so Bennett couldn't take the bus to his home door. Walking didn't take too long though and soon he was standing in the man's hallway.
Or actually in a room that was located where every normal person would have had a hallway. In Hector's case it was much more like a ballroom. There was even a stage for an orchestra and the room was so big that that there probably wasn't much else in the house.
"Excuse me?" Bennett asked. In the centre of the room stood a man dressed in a dark suit. He was smiling happily. He looked like he really wanted to hide his real age, but Bennett guessed him to be about sixty.
"Welcome. I am Hector," he said. Bennett no longer wondered how Bobby knew this guy. Freaks had the habit of teaming up.
"My name is Bennett. Bobby probably told about me," he said.
"Ah, of course. Bobby is certainly a fine gentleman when it comes to being in time," Hector said. Bennett completely ignored the comment. He didn't have patience for games.
"I came to ask about Naoise Finn. Bobby told me that you know quite a lot about him," he said.
Hector nodded. "Of course I do. Why not?"
"No one of those I've met this far knew much."
"Then they must not have been born in New York."
Bennett smiled. "Actually one of them was."
Hector stepped closer. His shoes made a sharp sound against the shining floor. "Why do you want to know about this man? And why should I tell you?" he asked.
"I have my reasons," Bennett replied and took a wallet from his pocket. A bored expression appeared on Hector's face.
"Money?" he asked. "I have that more than enough. Just answer my question and I'll see what I can do." Bennett didn't reply immediately. He had no reason to be suspicious -- everyone who watched TV knew what he was doing -- but it was an old habit from the times when he had been a real detective.
"Fine," he said, "I want to find him because he happens to be the lost brother of my client. I should arrange a happy family reunion, if you know what I mean."
The smile returned on Hector's lips. "Ah, I see. Doing that kind of job must be fun. At least in the movies. I could try it myself if it wasn't so hard. My clothes would get dirty too. I prefer dancing tango," he said.
Bennett glanced at the ballroom. "I believe that."
"I am honoured to help, but we shouldn't just stand here," Hector clapped his hands and soon a male servant appeared in the room. His face was completely expressionless and he stopped at a meter or two from his master.
"Rudolph, get us a table and wine. I suppose you drink wine?" Hector said and during the last words he turned to face Bennett again. He didn't wait for a reply though and send his servant away. Bennett was starting to feel more and more confused.
Rudolph returned after a while carrying a small table and he was followed by a young boy with two fine chairs, a bottle of wine and two glasses. They didn't say anything at all, but left as quietly as they had appeared.
Hector snorted. "I detest them. I don't really want to even look at them, but I wouldn't survive without them," he said. He gestured Bennett to sit and poured wine for the both of them.
"Could you tell me something now?" Bennett suggested trying his wine. It was too sweet for his liking and he didn't even like wine.
"Of course. Naoise Finn..." Hector sipped his wine. "Not a very interesting case. The usual story," he said.
"Please tell it to me," Bennett said slightly impatiently. What kind of slick idiot was that guy?
"With how many details?"
"Just tell it!"
"Well, this story began when the Finn family arrived to the US. Seamus and Angela were a happy couple and they had a small son, Naoise. They had left their home in the hope of a better life, but America wasn't what they had believed it to be. Seamus didn't get a job and they really needed money. Finally he had to -- in order to feed his family -- take part in a job or two. It was pretty much nothing, just drug dealing, but things like that have the habit of growing into something bigger," Hector said.
"Tell me more," Bennett suggested. He felt he was going to get the story he wanted.
"Once you are in it's very difficult to get out and to be honest, Seamus wasn't a very strong man. So he became a small timer and Angela found out. She couldn't understand why Seamus had done what he had and without even thinking about it she decided to leave him and take their son with her. I think Seamus panicked and went to see his boss Jack Flick. He promised that if Flick made sure of that Angela wouldn't take Naoise away he'd be in his service forever and do all the dangerous jobs that no one wanted. Flick agreed just to amuse himself and because it didn't cost too much. So Naoise stayed here when Angela left. The reporters Flick had bribed made her seem like an alcoholic and she was ashamed."
"What happened then?" Bennett asked. He hoped he had taken a note book with him to write all this down. If he forgot something important his story could lose something.
Hector shrugged. "Angela got married again and had another son, but I think you know more about him than I do. Angela and Seamus are dead, but Naoise is alive and lives elsewhere. I heard he had some luck and is part of a criminal organisation," Hector said.
"Where is he now?"
"In San Francisco."
"San Francisco? Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. I had to check some facts when Bobby called, but I never give wrong information," Hector said. He sounded hurt, as if someone had just hit him.
"How do you know this much? No one has given me this much information yet."
"It is not hard to find out things if you know who to ask. Besides, I saw most of that myself because I used to work with the Finns at times. You could almost call us old friends," Hector said.
"So you are a criminal. Admitting that doesn't seem to make you nervous you," Bennett said. Hector chuckled.
"Come on! Do you think you could do something even if you had evidence? I have so much power that it's simply impossible to get rid of me. Just ask Jay Flick if you don't believe me. I assume you'll soon be on your way to San Francisco and you might meet him there," he said.
"Do I owe you anything?" Bennett asked. He wanted to leave as soon as possible. To think of the irony, Naoise had been in San Francisco the whole time. Literally under Black's nose!
"No. Just tell me how the story ends. Maybe someone will come and ask me about it one day," Hector said and sipped his wine.
Jackie and Tag had thought about what was the best thing to do, but they had no chance of doing anything as long as Harris was in the lead.It looked like he was doing something, but Jackie had noticed that he had not done anything to find Black. He was starting to feel that Tag was right and it made him nervous.
"What if Harris is behind all this?" he asked.
"If that is true it is possible that we'll never find Black," Tag replied darkly.
Jackie stared at him in shock. "Harris wouldn't kill him, would he?"
"I don't know. The competition between Sections and their heads is much harder than you think. Assassination and secrets aren't very rare," the agent replied. It made Jackie feel even more gloomy.
"Hi Jackie," a cheerful voice said next to him.
"Jade!" Jackie exclaimed, but wasn't very surprised. "What are you doing here this time?"
Jade looked at him frowning and shrugged.
"There was an envelope with your name at the door. You weren't home and I though I could find you here so I brought the envelope to you." A hurt and worried expression appeared on her face. "Jackie-e, why didn't you tell me Captain Black is in trouble? I could have helped!"
"Jade, did you read the letter?" Jackie asked.
"Tch, I had to. If it had been something useless I wouldn't have bothered to bring it," the girl replied and handed the envelope to her uncle. He drew out a piece of paper and read it fast. Then he gave it to Tag who sighed in relief.
"At least he's still alive," he said.
"And it's also obvious who are behind this," Jackie added.
"Exactly, it's the Dark Hand. I have helped you to defeat them many times, so I guess you won't mind if I take part this time too, right?" Jade said. She gave the men the cutest look ever, but neither was ready to agree.
"It's probably useless to say this, but this adventure is not for you. Besides, shouldn't you be in school?" Jackie replied. Jade didn't say anything, just glared at her uncle. She thought Jackie should have been grateful for that she had even bothered to show up.
"Hey, I'm skipping classes for an important matter," she said.
"We can take care of this. You are going to school," Jackie said. He knew he needed a miracle to make Jade obey, but he wanted to try. Jade crossed her arms in front of herself and sighed.
"Fine, I'll go," she muttered, but -- like usually -- had another plan in mind.
Jackie and Tag watched as the girl walked away and once they were sure of that she really had left the room they dared to talk. Tag ran his fingers through his hair.
"And I thought Harris was behind this," he said.
"I don't think anyone can blame you for that. Knowing the Flick case it was easy to think he was guilty," Jackie replied. He was relieved for that their enemy was no one else than the Dark Hand. He knew them and how to fight with them. "They want us to free their partner and give them one of the talismans."
"Why only one? If I was with them I'd take all of them," Tag said.
"Maybe they think we'll agree if their demands are reasonable," Jackie suggested.
"Could be, but they are stupid if they think we'll do this. We can't free prisoners, at least without Harris' approval. And getting the highly guarded talismans is even more difficult."
"And we may have another way of getting Black back too. They have to keep him somewhere in San Francisco so we might find them. How many hideouts does the Dark Hand have anyway?" Jackie said.
"I don't know, but Harris will have to send agents to search Black," Tag said.
"Where is Harris, by the way?"
"So they want Chow and the Ox talisman," Jade said to herself while wandering at the corridors of Section 13. She had no intention of going to school now that something this serious was going on -- Black was her friend too.
She wasn't stupid and her previous adventures had made her lose some of the naive nature of a child and she knew that if she let adults take care of this Black would probably never come back. Section 13 was filled with old squares who would never give away a prisoner and a talisman. They'd talk about law and rules, but forget what the situation was. Black was simply more important than anything else.
Jade wasn't sure what she would do. She wanted to march into the Talisman Vault, take what the criminals wanted and save Black, but her heart didn't like it. This time she wouldn't just borrow the talisman, but give it to their enemy. They might never see it again and she didn't want to think about all the bad things that could be done with it.
Suddenly she stopped when she heard steps behind her. It couldn't be Jackie or Tag and Jade didn't want anyone else to know that she was around. Some old idiot could kick her out and she'd have to sacrifice at least ten minutes in order to get back in.
She ran into a near by room and closed the door a bit so that she was able to see what was going on without anyone seeing her. And just in time too, only a couple of minutes later a man appeared behind the corner. He seemed to be in a hurry and he kept glancing behind himself as if he was afraid of someone seeing him.
Jade thought he was more than suspicious and once he had passed she returnedto the corridor and went after him. The man's destination wasn't far away -- he stopped at the same door where Jade's legs had been taking her. There was a guard at the door and to Jade's shock the man she had followed hit him in the back of his head.
The guard let out a small cry and fell on the floor. Jade realised her target had to be someone from inside Section 13 if it was that easy for him to surprise the guard. It got her even more suspicious and she watched in silence as the man stepped into the room. He didn't close the door properly, so it was easy for Jade to peer in and see what was going on.
The room was Chow's new cell and not even clearly as nice as the one in the hospital wing. Jade watched as the strange man took a rag from his pocket, charged at Chow and pressed the rag on his face suppressing his shout. It didn't take long before the criminal's body relaxed as he lost consciousness. What came next was what shocked Jade the most.
The man pressed his hand on Chow's face not allowing him to breathe. He's trying to kill him! Jade realised and even before she knew what she was doing she had rushed in the room.
"Stop! If you think you can kill someone here you are wrong!" she snapped and Harris turned around in surprise and shock. He let Chow fall and the man's head hit the floor with a nasty sound.
"Who are you?" Harris asked. Jade stared at him frowning and believing that if she tried to do something right nothing could go wrong. She was also so angry that couldn't think clearly. Maybe that was why she was so surprised when Harris caught her from her neck and forced her to breathe trough the rag too.
Jade tried to hold her breath but in the end her lungs were victorious and forced her to draw a breath. The rag smelled sweet and Jade felt drowsy. She managed to blink a few times before everything became black and she had no idea of what was going on around her.
Harris shook his head.
"Now you are in trouble, girl," he said. "I know someone who has killed little girls before and he won't hesitate this time either."
To be continued...