Yeah yeah, nothing is mine. It's kinda funny actually...
"Ow..." Jade muttered. She didn't feel like opening her eyes.They felt heavy, her head ached and she was tired. All the girl wanted was to lie still and drift back to sleep.
Maybe she indeed did that. The next time she found herself thinking about something everything felt much easier. She was even able to open her eyes and have a look around herself.
"Woah," she said to herself and eyed the room. It must have been a storage room once, but now the shelves were empty and trash loitered around.
And Chow was there next to her.
Suddenly Jade remembered everything that had happened. Realising that cleared her thoughts some more and she started to feel pretty sharp again, though she still had a headache. She realised that the bad guys must have brought them both there and that they had had luck when neither had been killed.
Right? Jade glanced at Chow's still figure and to her relief his chest was moving. Good, she wouldn't have wanted to share the room with a dead criminal anyway.
Jade tried to stand up. She did it, but had to sit back soon because the sudden movement made her feel dizzy and made her head throb more. She bit her lip.
"I have to think now," she said. She wasn't afraid or worried, this was an adventure and they never ended badly.
At first she had to find out who their enemies were. Jade didn't think she had ever seen the man who had drugged them, but she figured she would find out his identity sooner or later.
She gave Chow a light punch in the shoulder. Maybe the man knew something she didn't.
"Time to wake up," she said and punched harder when the first attempt turned out to be useless. She didn't get any reaction out of him. Jade frowned and sighed in frustration. She stood up ignoring the dizzy feeling.
Then she aimed a sharp kick at Chow's chest and that made the man open his eyes.
"What..." Chow muttered and looked around himself with eyes that didn't see much. Jade suspected the man felt just as horrible as she had when she had woken up for the first time. She didn't feel any sympathy towards him though.
"Get up. We have things to do," she said. Chow blinked and sat up.
"My head hurts," he said and rubbed his face. Jade realised that maybe he was feeling even worse than she had.
"No time for that. We have to get out of here," she said.
Chow glanced at her and only now seemed to realise that he wasn't alone. "What are you doing here?" he asked and took a look around himself. "And where are we?"
Jade shrugged. "It seems to be a storage room. The maniac killer probably brought us here," she replied.
"The maniac killer?"
"Yeah. Don't you remember anything?" Jade asked lifting a brow.
Chow thought about it and nodded. "I think I remember... something," he said.
"Good. Then you can probably say who that guy was. And why did he want to kill you," Jade said.
Chow glanced at the girl and for a moment he was suspicious. Jade had always been against them and almost all of their plans had been ruined by her and her uncle. Maybe it would be better if he told her nothing.
And then he realised that despite the fact that they didn't like each other they were in the same situation. Jade had an incredible luck so maybe he had a chance to survive this if he knew how to take an advantage of that. If he knew when to stop he could probably even escape and get his freedom back.
"I have no idea of who he is. He seems to have taken Black's place because I haven't seen him since this guy arrived," he replied.
"So you don't know what happened to Black?" Jade asked.
"No. What?"
Jade figured that no one had bothered to tell Chow anything. Why would they have? He didn't have to know anything about those desperate tricks that his comrades were pulling. They would just give him hope and then he would never reveal where the rest of the Dark Hand was.
"Finn and the others have kidnapped Black and are not about to free him unless they get you back," she said simply.
"What? How did they do that?" Chow asked in surprise and he was shocked too. Didn't the others realise what kind of mess they had created? Kidnapping Black? Oh boy...
"I don't have time to explain. I want to get out of here," Jade said in determination. She didn't feel as dizzy as before so she walked to investigate the door. Despite that it was old it seemed to be well built and locked, of course.
She was just about to try and see if she could open it somehow when the lock clicked and someone pushed the door open. Jade backed away and sat down.
Two men stepped in. The other one was the same one who had drugged Jade and Chow, but neither of them had seen the other one. They stopped at the door blocking the exit. The other man had a bird on his shoulder.
"Who are you?" Jade asked. The man looked at her in amuse and opened his mouth, but started to talk to the bird.
"Hey Darling, look. A little girl. Do you like little girls? No? Me neither," he said and caressed the bird's feathers.
"Chirp chirp!" the bird said happily.
Harris coughed and glanced at Flick in despise. "Can't you keep your mouth shut a while?" he asked.
"Don't talk to me like that. I have the right to say anything, right Darling?"
"Chirp!"
"Wow. Does that bird really understand what you say?" Jade asked.
"Yes," Flick replied with pride.
"Chirp!"
Harris rolled his eyes. "We didn't come here to talk about birds," he said in frustration.
"But what?" Chow asked. Harris glanced at Flick.
"If he told me I could reply for him."
Flick looked at everyone. He didn't look like the cruel and cunning crime lord that he was. "I didn't have anything to say. I just wanted to show the prisoners to Darling before we kill them," he said.
"So we are going to kill them? Good," Harris said in relief. They were finally going to get rid of these two.
Jade and Chow didn't look very happy because of this announcement. "Um, couldn't you wait for a while?" Chow asked
"Why?" Flick wanted to know.
"Because... because Darling doesn't want that!" Jade said.
"She doesn't?" Flick asked in uncertainty.
"Come on! They are just trying to fool you!" Harris said sharply.
"Do you want to wait for longer? Do you?" Flick asked Darling's opinion without paying any attention to Harris.
"Chirp..."
Flick nodded looking pleased. "Fine then. If you want to enjoy their death later we can kill them later," he said.
Harris stared at him not believing his ears. "What kind of idiot are you? Do you really think that bird understands anything of what you say or is able to answer? It's almost as stupid as you!" he said. Flick frowned.
"Beware Harris. If you insult me and Darling again it could be that the Sections lose another leader soon," he said.
Harris said no more and the two left locking the door behind them.
"That was... strange," Jade pointed out. Chow could only nod.
"I sure hope Ratso comes back soon," Finn said once his friend was gone. Hak Foo said nothing. He kept an eye on their surroundings and saw the Flick gang even before Finn even realised they were near.
"They are coming," the warrior said.
"Huh? They are?" Finn turned around and saw that Hak Foo was indeed right. Flick's three goons were coming to their direction and he didn't want to see the result. Not that he was afraid, the fight -- if they got into one -- could become pretty fair, actually.
But they would exchange words at first. Only idiots started fighting in a situation like this without knowing what the other side really wanted.
Jacey, Barbara and Benjamin stopped and stared at them.
"Okay... What do you guys want to have in your shopping basket?" Finn asked.
Black could hear everything that the criminals said and he followed the situation with interest. This was very exciting -- now it was his turn to tell Jackie about his adventures -- and he would probably get some real evidence against both groups.
"There are many things we want. Killing you is one, but that can wait until later. Maybe we can even make a deal concerning that desire of ours," Jacey said.
"A deal? What is Flick up to?" Finn asked.
"Flick is up to nothing if he doesn't pay us soo -- oof!" Barbara started, but stopped as Jacey elbowed her.
"Shut up!" he hissed angrily. Why did Barbara have to be so impatient and over-excited?
"If you give us Black we are ready to let you go. For a while, at least," Jacey said.
Finn blinked. Black did the same under the boat.
"You want Black? Why?" the Irish man asked.
"We have use for him. He means us more than you do," Jacey replied.
"Uhhuh," Finn stated. "So what? We need him too."
Jacey shrugged and looked very smug. "Hand him over and that is taken care of too. We have your friend and a small trade could work out."
This was yet another shock for Finn, Hak Foo and Black.
"How in the name of John Travolta did you get Chow?" Finn asked.
"We have... connections inside Section 13. But I won't say more. Give Black to us and your friend walks free today. If we are on a good mood we may free the girl too."
"The girl?" Finn asked.
"We caught a young Chinese girl. A really annoying case, appeared there just when we didn't need any interruptions."
Black felt cold. He didn't even have to guess who they were talking about and that made him fear for Jade. He knew the girl could take care of herself, but now she had no one to help her.
Finn chuckled. "That has to be Chan's niece. You are doing us a favour if you kill her," he said. Maybe he felt slightly uncomfortable when saying that, but he let no one see it.
"Then maybe that is what we are going to do. But we want Black. Without him you are not getting your friend back," Jacey said.
Finn and Hak Foo glanced at each other. Why had they let Black go? If they had managed to keep him a little longer...
"Uh, we have to think about it," Finn said and smiled nervously to their three enemies. "Come on, Hak."
The Irish man dragged the warrior with him behind the corner and looked at him asking for advice.
"What are we going to do now, Hak? This is probably our only real chance of getting Chow back. Where do we find Black now?" he asked.
"We have to hunt," was the warrior's answer.
"Nah," Finn said and glanced at his companion in thought. "If we cut your hair you could probably fool them a while..." he suggested.
Hak Foo blinked.
"No!" he said. "Besides, you look a lot more like Black than I do."
"No I don't! I and Black have nothing in common, absolutely nothing!" Finn replied slightly insulted and Hak Foo peered behind the corner.
"They are getting impatient. We better come up with something," he said.
"Let's keep talking a moment. Ratso will come with Valmont soon and we can catch those three. After that we'll force them to tell where Chow is," Finn decided.
"So you think Valmont is coming?"
"Sure, why wouldn't he?"
"So we are after Black, the Flick gang is after us, Section 13 is after everyone and dogs are after cats," Ratso explained.
Valmont leaned his chin on his hand and glanced at his Enforcer looking rather bored.
"Right..." he said.
"We are not pleased with this deal," Finn said when he and Hak Foo returned to the others. Barbara frowned.
"What? What else do you want?" she asked.
"The girl. She has caused us a lot of trouble and we would like to play with her a while," Finn replied to win some time.
"I don't know... " Jacey said. "She was pretty and according to you words very clever too. I like clever little girls and it has been a while since I enjoyed the company of one."
"How fascinating..." Benjamin said.
"... not," Barbara finished. The two weren't as intelligent as Jacey, but they thought some of the man's desires were pretty disgusting.
Black didn't like this at all. Jade was almost like a niece to him and he'd never forgive himself if that monster touched her.
But what could he do? No matter which of those groups got Jade, her future wouldn't look very bright. Flick's men and the Dark Hand wanted only to hurt her.
If someone didn't stop them...
He didn't have to consider his next move. He could never look Jackie in the eyes again if he didn't help Jade.
"You may end this ridiculous conversation," he said and left his hideout. "I am right here."
Both groups stared at him in surprise. Then Jacey smiled.
"This was a nice thing to happen," he said.
"You'll free Chow now, right?" Finn asked hopefully.
Barbara laughed. "Forget about it! We got Black without your help so we owe you nothing," she said.
"But -- "
"Shut up! Be glad we are not killing you!" Jacey said.
"We are not?" Barbara asked in surprise. "But didn't Flick tell us to do that?"
"So what? We give him Black and demand our payment. Only then we'll take care of the rest," Jacey said. He walked to Black and eyed him.
"Can I trust you and that you'll come along without resistance?" he asked.
Black nodded looking dark and his eyes revealed all the despise he felt towards Jacey.
"I'll do anything as long as Jade is safe," he assured.
"Good. This is starting to be the way it should," Barbara said. She, Jacey, Benjamin and Black wasted no time, but left.
Hak Foo and Finn stood there staring after them and feeling stupid and useless.
"That didn't actually work out like I had planned," Finn stated.
"No," was Hak Foo's short answer.
"We have to do something. We lost Black and if we just stand here we are going to lose Chow too," the Irish man said.
"True," Hak Foo replied just as shortly as before. Then he left after the Flick gang and Finn could only follow.
"We'll follow them to their hideout, make a stunning enter and take what we want. Why didn't I think of that?" he asked himself.
"Ugh, ketchup is really horrible in San Francisco," Bennett muttered to himself and threw his hot dog away. He wasn't hungry anymore.
He had just arrived in the city and his whole body ached from the numerous hours he had spent in his car. And he was also on a bad mood.
Bennett had phoned the studio and asked to have a film group with him so that he could tape the expression on Black's and Naoise's face when the truth came out, but he had got no one. All cameras were following how Chris was finally reunited with his grandmother and no one was interested in his case.
"If we have time we can make a small extra for the next season episodes," he had been told.
"Damn," he muttered to himself. No he would have to get them in another TV show. There had to be a channel that was interested in them.
Suddenly he saw something on the other side of the street.
Black.
Bennett thanked his luck and was just about to shout at the man and arouse his attention, but then he paid more attention to the group. Black wasn't alone, but he had three very shady characters with him. Bennett didn't know them, but a life as a detective had taught him to be careful.
"This is interesting," he said and started to follow them. What could Black have to do with them?
Black memorised every street they passed. The criminals didn't seem to mind and that could mean onlywo things.
Either they were very stupid or he would get no opportunity to tell anyone about this.
Jacey, Barbara and Benjamin didn't really talk to each other and Black had decided that he didn't like them. Finn with his comrades had been different, with them he could have had a conversation at times. Black despised both groups, but the Flick gang made him sickas well.
When they had walked some good time and wandered deeper and deeper into the heart of the city Jacey finally stopped in front of a deserted pet store. He took a key from his pocket and opened the door. Barbara pushed Black in and the trio followed him.
Black stopped.
"Harris!" he exclaimed when he saw his former mentor. "What are you doing here?"
Harris smiled at him. "I have many reasons to be here. One is that I want to see you going down," he said almost fatherly.
Black didn't know what to think and he didn't catch any of his own thoughts. Harris... why was the man connected to something like this?
"I..." he started, but didn't know what to say. What could he have said?
"Well, Harris, don't take all the attention away from me and Darling," Flick stated. Black turned to look at the man who he believed to be behind it all. It was a much safer subject and for a while he could think of something else than Harris.
"What is going on? Why am I here?" he asked.
Flick chuckled.
"That is very simple. We both want to make you pay," he said.
"But -- uh... I don't understand," Black said and looked at Harris as if looking for help. He didn't get any, but Harris answered with a cold gaze.
"You put Flick in prison while you knew that he was my nemesis. That it was my dream to be his arrester," the leader of Section 4 said sharply.
"And I hate you because you are the one who put me behind bars," Flick added.
Black blinked.
"And that is why you've cooked this mess?" he asked in suspicious. All the trouble because of something like that? "Ridiculous!"
"Is it?" Flick asked smiling. "We shall see that once we are done."
"Woah, this place isn't very great. Flick has to be an idiot," Finn said when they arrived at the shop some time after the Flick gang. They had followed the group and managed to do it without anyone seeing them.
"Hope so," Hak Foo said eyeing the building. "Cat climbs on the roof," he said then and started to climb up.
Finn was about to follow, but glanced behind him quickly. There was no one. He could almost swear that he had heard something... nah.
"Hey, wait for me," he said and hurried after his comrade.
Bennett sighed in relief when it looked like that none of the criminals had noticed him. He licked his lips. This was the perfect story! He didn't know what was going on, but it had to be something very important. He could barely wait to find out.
He peered behind the corner, but saw no one. Good. No one would notice him either.
Something would happen soon and once it was all over he would appear and collect everything to his own pocket.
To be continued...