POSSIBLY POSSIBLE
Chapter 12
"So, Darling, do you want Black to have a slow death, or a fast one?" Flick asked. This time the bird didn't reply.
"What is it? Why don't you talk to me?"
"The sane thing to do would be to get rid of the prisoners. If we don't do it the situation might turn against us," Harris stated.
"You have to let Jade go. I came here when I was promised that she wouldn't be hurt," Black said. Now that a few moments had passed he had got past most of his confusion and was his own rational self.
"You shut up. You have nothing to say in this," Flick pointed out.
Black nodded to his left where Jacey, Barbara and Benjamin sat looking pretty bored.
"They promised that Jade can go," he said.
"They don't decide it. We are the ones in lead," Harris said.
"No, I and Darling are. You are just a lackey to me," Flick remarked.
"A lackey? Without my help you would still be in prison!"
"Exactly. You helped me out, so you are a lackey."
"Hey, when do we get the money?" Barbara threw in. No one replied her.
Black looked around himself when the criminals argued. The room wasn't very big and to his right was a door. He was sure that Jade was kept behind it and he really wanted to make sure that she was all right.
There weren't many pieces of furniture, only Flick's chair and a wooden table. There was a window up in the ceiling, which was pretty funny. It was impossible for light to get in through the high buildings that surrounded the small shop. It was the only small building nearby and one of the few that still existed in San Francisco.
Harris shook his head.
"Never mind. Let's just take care of Black before it's too late," he said.
Jade tapped her finger against the floor in thought. It was difficult to get out of the warehouse when the room behind the door was filled with crooks and neither she nor Chow could reach the window in the ceiling. Not even when she was standing on Chow's shoulders.
"This is the most boring prison in the world," she muttered.
"No it isn't, I can name many that are worse," Chow pointed out.
Jade shrugged. "But a good thing is that the crazy idiot is totally controlled by his bird. There should be no trouble with him."
"Unless he thinks the bird wants out death."
"Um..."
"Let's hope the chick is in a good mood."
Jade sighed in frustration. "This is so stupid! If I had a talisman or something I would get out. It's so boring to just sit here," she said.
Suddenly they both heard sound from the roof and raised their eyes to the window.
"What... " Chow muttered and stood up. He still felt slightly dizzy and sick, but this was too interesting.
"There is someone in the window," Jade pointed out. They hadn't seen anyone yet, but the sounds revealed that there indeed was someone.
And then they saw Hak Foo's face behind the glass.
They both almost exclaimed the man's name aloud, but then they remembered that their capturers would hear it too. Finn's face appeared soon too and though Jade didn't like the criminals she was happy to see them both.
Hak Foo fiddled some with the window and was able to remove the glass. "We don't have a rope," he said then.
"Right, we don't," Finn muttered. He peered down. "You okay Chow?"
"Yeah," Chow replied. "How did you know to come here?" They had to speak quietly in order to not attract any unwanted attention.
Finn shrugged. "The crooks stole Black from us and we followed them here," he said.
"Those guys have Black? We have to help him," Jade said taking part in the conversation for the first time. All three criminals turned to stare at her.
"Yeah, right. We'd be pretty stupid if we endangered ourselves for him," Finn chuckled.
"Yeah," Chow added.
Jade watched the trio, starting to feel desperate. She had no doubt about were the crooks about to hurt Black or not and there was no way she could let that happen. She trusted herself and why wouldn't she? She had fought demon and criminals after all, and won every time.
But what were her odds now that she had no magic on her side?
"You have to help him. Without him you would never have found here. And besides, if you don't do it I'll scream and the game shall be lost for all of us," she said in determination.
"You wouldn't do that. You'd be lost yourself too," Chow stated.
"Actually she would do that and sacrifice herself. She is a Chan, remember?" Finn remarked.
"Oh yeah. I didn't think of that."
"The small one is right. We will make fools of ourselves if we don't avenge all this and drive them away," Hak Foo announced.
"Hey, wait a minute..." Finn said, but Hak Foo had already made up his mind and jumped down to Jade and Chow. "This isn't the way things are supposed to be."
Jade grinned. She had never even in her wildest dreams thought of working together with the Black Tiger.
"Sure it can!" she said happily. "Hey Hak Foo, help me climb up."
"I am going to rush through the door and take care of them all," the warrior replied. There was no way he would let a pathetic girl boss him around.
"If you do that wait until I'm miles from here," Chow said and shot a yarning glance up in the roof.
"Come on. If you really are going to do something you shouldn't do it there. It would be one of the best suicide attacks I've heard of, but it's not a plan. Come up from there," Finn said.
"Sounds good," Jade said with slight sarcasm. Hak Foo caught the girl's waist and lifted her up to Finn.
"I'm going to hate myself for this," the Irish man muttered. Here he was helping one of their worst enemies... so pathetic and ridiculous...
Getting Chow up was a bit harder, but he was a short and light man and Hak Foo had no difficulties to hold him on his shoulders. Chow didn't have the best balance in the world - oh, how he hated to be lifted above the ground - but he was also able to climb up.
And Hak Foo wasn't any real problem. He was tall and strong and was able to grab the window sill with one jump, and then climb up. He didn't accept anyone's help, though Finn tried to assist him.
Now the fourwere on the roof and eyed each other.
"Okay, let's get out of here," Chow said then.
"But what about Black? How can you leave him?" Jade asked.
"What kind of question is that? Sure we can! He is our enemy," Finn said. He thought that maybe he should have felt some compassion for his... brother... but he just didn't. You didn't start to care about someone you hate just because he turns out to be your relative.
"Aww... Where is Jackie when I need him?" Jade asked. She couldn't leave Black alone!
"The Tiger will not retreat," Hak Foo said.
"Come on, Hak Foo. You know how stupid this is," Finn commented.
"Then it is your own problem if you are fired."
"Huh?"
"Valmont will not like it when he hears that we rescued Chow, but didn't do anything to destroy Flick," Hak Foo said.
"Oh yeah, I had forgotten about Big V. He would never understand that we appreciate our own health."
"So, are you helping me?" Jade asked hopefully.
"No. We are just doing something that suits you too," Finn stated.
"Cool. I have always wanted to part of a criminal battle!"
"I think I might be starting to know how Chan feels..."
Hak Foo had listened to this a while, but now he had had enough.
"Are we just going to stand here for the rest of the day or do something?" he asked.
"Hak Foo is right. We have to do something before they notice we are gone. We would lose the element of surprise," Jade said.
Finn shot her a look. "Since when did you become the one who decides what we do?" he asked.
"And why do we even allow her to come with us?" Chow added.
"I have a feeling she would come even if we didn't let her. Besides, if she is with us her luck will protect us too," Finn said. "But that doesn't mean that she can do anything she wants. We know more about this situation and can come up with a plan."
"Aww... " Jade muttered, but decided that as soon as the criminals' plan was good she could play along. If they turned out to be as stupid as when they were fighting against Jackie she would change the plans - or come up with new ones.
"That kid is so annoying..." Chow muttered and though Jade heard it she didn't care.
"Okay, okay, so we are facing at least the three guys that brought Black here," Finn said in order to show the conversation the right direction.
"And that bird addict and the traitor," Jade said.
"They won't cause trouble," Chow added.
"The best thing to do would be to lure Flick's goons out. Then we'd have two opponents to face and could take care of them. If we had guns, that is," Finn said.
"We need Valmont at the moment," Chow said.
"Actually Ratso is on his way to get him, but there's no way they'll find here," Finn said and rubbed his chin in thought. "This could still be easy. We just do like they do in movies."
"Which means?"
"Some of us distract the crooks and lure the three killers away and the rest stay here and take care of those who are left. They must be idiots if they haven't killed any of their prisoners yet and stupid criminals are easy to defeat," Finn replied.
"Yeah, I have experience with that," Jade stated.
"I and Chow will do that," Hak Foo said.
"What? Why me?" Chow asked.
"The best way to distract them is to make them believe that at least one of you has got away. I will come because we will most likely have to fight. And you come because of the escape distraction and I will not team up with that little girl," Hak Foo said.
"Wow. Did he really say all that at once?" Chow asked.
"Yeah, pretty amazing, huh? I and Ratso have experienced the same."
"Do something! No wonder you always lose," Jade said. They had spent more time talking than rescuing her and Chow!
"Okay, okay. Little brats are always so impatient..." Finn muttered.
Because they really didn't have time or anything else to say they decided to finally get into business. Finn and Chow still felt uncertain and neither liked the idea of risking themselves for Black. They knew better than well that Black would never do anything for them.
If the truth ever comes out I can at least use this as a weapon against him. He owes me, Finn thought with dark pleasure. Maybe he would have to play a protective big brother and rush to help when little bro got into trouble. Heh, that was a funny thought.
He and Jade moved near the other skylight and made sure that no one in the room saw them. The Irish man didn't like the idea of being alone with Chan's niece, but maybe the girl's infamous fortune would help him too.
"Try to get rid of the trio or at least lure them away," he said to Hak Foo and Chow, who had jumped down from the roof.
"I know what to do," he said and kicked the trash pin near the door making it fall.
Everyone who was inside flinched when they heard the noise and Jacey rushed at the door to see what was going on. He saw Hak Foo and Chow who were on their way away.
"Hey, our prisoner is getting away!" Jacey exclaimed.
"So what? We don't need him anymore," Barbara said.
"Idiot! They will tell about us and send someone here!" Harris said angrily. "Go and get them!"
"Do it. Darling says this place is too crowded anyway," Flick added.
Jacey, Barbara and Benjamin glanced at each other. Flick just ordered them around and still hadn't paid.
"Fine. We will be in trouble too if the whole San Francisco starts looking for us," Jacey said finally and the trio rushed after the escaping criminals.
Black frowned in thought. He had seen what was outside too, but he hadn't seen Jade anywhere. Where was the girl?
"I really want to hear everything when this is over," Chow said to Hak Foo, who didn't reply. They had noticed that the Flick gang was after them and they were leading them far away from the others.
They didn't make the mistake of running to public streets because that could have made Jacey and the rest give up and go back. It was better to stay on dark alleys and find a deserted place somewhere. It was more dangerous, yes, but gave them the great opportunity to get rid of the trio without any interruptions.
"Why are we helping Black?" Chow continued his monologue. He really didn't like Black, especially after the treatment he had got in Section 13.
"We are not helping him! We are getting rid of our enemy and Black just happens to get free because of it," Hak Foo finally bothered to answer.
That was enough for Chow, because he was not on the mood to argue with Hak Foo. The man wasn't really his friend despite that they worked together. And it wasn't Chow's fault, really, at least not in his own opinion. He, Finn and Ratso had tried to make Hak Foo a little friendlier, but he hadn't changed at all.
The Flick gang was still after them and Chow was starting to wonder how far they were going to run. Escaping wasn't like Hak Foo, so the man had to have something in his mind.
"I think we are far enough by now," Chow stated. He got no answer from Hak Foo, but the man ran a while before finally stopping.
"We are now," he said. Then he grabbed the ladders on the wall and started to climb up. The ladders looked to be fine, and after a moment of hesitation Chow dared to follow Hak Foo's examples. He kept his eyes shut though, he hated heights too much.
"Hey, wait for me Hak," Chow hoped that Finn could have been with them. The Irish man wasn't as good in fighting as Hak Foo, but he usually knew what to do.
They reached the roof after a while and Chow peered down. He had to draw back immediately, the building was even higher than he had thought! During the short moment he looked down he saw Jacey and the rest and heard Barbara's angry exclaim.
"They are there," he said.
"Did they see you?" Hak Foo asked.
"I think so."
"Good."
Chow looked around. The roof had much room, there wasn't much extra junk around. In the middle was a small hut thingy that probably lead to the floors below. There didn't seem to be a lock in the door and he tried it quickly. It opened with ease. Good. They would be able to escape if Hak Foo's plan didn't work.
"They are coming up," Hak Foo announced.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Kick the ladders down!"
It wasn't a very fair way to start a fight, but Hak Foo had never really been a friend of fair game. Besides, the Flick gang had done the exact same to them.
"Angry bear... uh... kicks the ladders down!" he exclaimed and did as he said. The ladders started to fall with a nasty creek after a few kicks. They didn't fall all the way though, but were left to lean against the opposite building. When he stepped next to Hak Foo Chow saw Jacey, Barbara and Benjamin hanging on the ladders with their hands.
"And now?" he asked. Hak Foo stared in front of himself.
"We wait."
They didn't have to do that for very long, because Jacey and Barbara managed to lift themselves on the ladders and use them as a bridge. Benjamin wasn't agile or strong enough, but Barbara helped him up and together the trio climbed on the roof of the opposite building.
For a while they all just stood there and stared at each other. Then Jacey frowned.
"Let's show them," he said. Before neither Barbara nor Benjamin even realised what he was up to had he prepared himself and jumped on the other side where Hak Foo and Chow were.
Barbara and Benjamin glanced at each other and made a move to follow the example of their partner. Then they froze when they saw what was going on the other side.
Jacey had barely managed to gain his balance before Hak Foo had already caught him and pushed him down from the roof. Jacey fell screaming and then there was silence after a nice "thud" sound.
"How fascinating," Benjamin stated.
"It sure was," Barbara replied. She glanced down, then at Hak Foo, then at Benjamin and then at Hak Foo again.
"Flick didn't pay us so we can quit now, right?" she asked.
"How fasc - " Benjamin started, but Barbara didn't let him finish.
"I take that was 'yes'. Come on!" she said and grabbed the shorter man's collar. The duo disappeared as soon as possible.
"I don't even want to say what that was," Chow muttered and peered down.
At the same timewhen Hak Foo and Chow were taking care of the Flick gang were Finn and Jade trying to come up with something.
"Come on, try to understand that you can't just rush into a situation like that," Finn said in frustration.
"Why not? There are just the two idiots and they are no problem. They are already fighting with each other," Jade said. She moved closer to the skylight and peered down. "They don't even have a gun and Black is not tied."
"Hey, get away from there! They might see you!" Finn said and drew Jade back.
"Well, at least something would happen then," the girl muttered. She still found it a bit hard to believe that she had made the criminals help their enemy. It was too good to be true.
"It is sometimes better if nothing happens. Just sit there in silence while I do the thinking," Finn scolded. Jade frowned and looked around. Her eyes found a strange peace of metal. She ran to it, caught it in her hand and threw it threw through the skylight.
A piece of metal fell through the window and shreds of glass few around. Flick exclaimed in surprise and Darling flew from his shoulder.
"Darling! Where did you go?" he asked in worry. For a while it seemed that he was about to go after the bird, but then he - to Harris's and Black's surprise - got a hold of himself.
"What was that?" Flick asked.
"I think it was a piece of metal that flew throughthe skylight," Black stated. He glanced up to see what was going on, but he saw no one.
"I told you we should have killed everyone when we had the chance! Our prisoners have escaped and if we don't do it now we will lose our opportunity to get rid of Black," Harris said with a voice that was the mixture of anger and worry.
"Well what do you want me to do? Shoot him right there?"
"Yes!"
"Fine then," Flick said and drew a gun inside his suit. "We have been waiting for this," he said and only now did he become the criminal Harris knew.
Black wasn't about to just stand there and get shot, but a quick glance around told him that he didn't have many options. Harris stood between him and the door so he couldn't just rush out of the shop, and there wasn't really any protective furniture.
The only possible thing was Flick's chair and Black wasted no time in leaping behind it. Flick raised his arm to aim. He knew the chair wouldn't protect Black.
He never pressed the trigger, though.
"Chirp chirp!"
"Darling?" Flick turned around when he heard the voice of his pet and Harris felt like giving him a hard punch.
"Give that to me!" he snapped and snatched the gun from Flick. The crime lord barely noticed it because he was too busy trying to see Darling flying somewhere near the ceiling.
"You die now Black!" Harris said and tried the same thing that Flick a moment ago. Unfortunately his attempt was doomed too because Finn jumped right on him. Or fell was actually a better word, he didn't do that voluntarily.
"Oops. I didn't push you on purpose. My hand slipped," Jade exclaimed down at them. The gun had flown from Harris's hand and he and Finn lay in a mixed heap on the floor.
"I hate that brat..." Finn muttered and tried to get up.
"Ditto," Harris replied angrily. He tried to stand up too, but it turned out to be quite difficult when another man was on top of him. Finn wasn't feeling any better either.
Black stared at the scene in confusion.
Flick had climbed on a table and was trying to lure Darling back to him, one of the Dark Hand Enforcers had fell on Harris and Jade was on the roof grinning and looking very pleased with herself.
He took the gun before Harris had the time to touch it again.
"Jade, what is going on here?" Black asked.
"I teamed up with the Dark Hand so that I could save you," the girl said happily. Black took another look at the criminals.
"The Dark Hand wanted to free me?"
Jade shrugged. "Well, not really. But they wanted to get rid of Flick and in this case it is almost the same thing."
"... Fine, but that doesn't matter now. The most important thing is to get everything in order," Black said and turned to point at Flick with the gun. "Get down."
Flick shot him an angry glance.
"I am not going anywhere without Darling," he said and turned his attention back to the bird. "Come to daddy, little one. Come on."
"If I were you I'd be worried about this dude here," Finn said while finally standing up. Black knew the Irish man was right, but he didn't like that. The truth wasn't very nice.
"Harris..." he said turning to his old teacher and friend.
Harris glared at him, but instead of saying anything rushed for the door. Black raised the gun.
"Don't move. You know me well enough to know that I'll shoot anyone if I have to," he said.
Harris hesitated, glanced at the door and gave up. Anger and bitterness didn't die in his eyes though, but he glared at everyone in the room.
"This is all you fault..." he muttered.
"All right people. Go in that corner and do nothing," Black said sharply. "You too," he added when Finn didn't move a muscle.
"Hey, I saved you! If I hadn't jumped you'd be riddled with bullets!" the Irish man stated.
"That doesn't change the fact that I am going to have to arrest you," Black said and only now he thought of something. "Jade, where are the rest of the criminals?" he asked.
"The Flick gang? Hak Foo and Chow are taking care of them," the girl replied.
"I don't like this. I might not be enough to hold such an amount of law breakers," Black muttered. The situation wasn't really bad though. Everything was clear now and he would soon be able to return to his normal life. Or to a life that was as normal as it was possible after this.
He glanced atthe sulking Harris and decided that he would have to think of that on his free time. Now he had more urgent problems.
"Jade, do you think you could run to the nearest phone and call Jackie here? Tell him to bring help," he said. It was a silly question, of course Jade could do that. But he felt that he had to ask the question anyway.
"Sure thing, Black," Jade said cheerfully and disappeared from view. She climbed down from the roof and ran away. There had to be a phone booth somewhere.
If Jade had glanced around she might have seen a man, who was pretty dang pleased with himself.
"I think it is my turn to make an appearance," Bennett said to himself.
Black made sure he was ready to shoot any of the criminals if they tried anything. He was perfectly calm, this kind of situation was not new to him.
"If you don't try anything stupid, nothing will happen," he said. He was worried for Harris, he was clearly the only one in rage. Darling had returned to its master and Flick seemed to be surprisingly co-operative. And Finn glared at him looking bored.
Suddenly the door was opened. First Black thought that Hak Foo and Chow had come back to help their partner.
"Bennett!" he exclaimed in surprise. He hadn't really heard of the man during the time he had done his job and at times he had thought the man wasn't even trying.
"I have found your brother, Mister Black," Bennett said and closed the door after.
"You have?" Black asked in surprise. He recovered in the blink of an eye though. "This might not be the right time to tell me about that," he continued nodding towards his gun and the criminals.
Bennett snorted. "This is the perfect moment." he said.
"What do you mean?" Black asked.
"The history of your family is very interesting. Let me tell you something about it," Bennett said.
"This is not a good moment. I have three dangerous criminals here, Flick, Harris and Finn, so I really don't have the time to - " Black started, but Bennett interrupted him.
"Finn? He is Finn?" he asked. There were probably many with that name in San Francisco, but how many of them looked Irish?
Finn frowned and licked his lips. This couldn't be happening... That TV clown just couldn't ruin his life like this!
"Black is right. Maybe we should concentrate on what is important," he said.
"The name of Naoise's father is Seamus and he came from Ireland with his family. Things weren't good for them here so Seamus had to take part in criminal activities to bring food to the table. Your mother found out and left him," Bennett said to Black ignoring all objections.
"What? Why did they allow Naoise to live with a criminal? Why didn't my mother take him with her?" Black asked.
That was a question that had been in Finn's mind quite often. He had wondered about it since he had been old enough to understand things and even in the middle of a criminal life it had bothered him at some nights.
Why had his mother abandoned him?
"Seamus didn't want to lose his son so he sought help from the crime lord he worked for. He bribed the judge and made the press spread stories of Angela's so called drinking problem. Your mother would have taken Naoise with her, but these things stopped her from doing that," Bennett replied. He dramatised his words on purpose to impress Black more.
Black blinked. "I had no idea," he said.
Harris observed the situation with interest. If Black got confused enough anyone would be able to make an escape from the room.
"And the story just gets more interesting," Bennett said. Finn wanted to attack him and force him to be silent. He felt he was trapped and the whole room had become somehow... crowded.
If Black found out... What would he do? What would they do? Finn wanted to think that nothing would change, but that would have been too naive. A thing like this would touch both them and those who were close to them.
When Big V finds out... He will never shut up, he thought to himself.
"Naoise grew up to be like his father and he was involved with crime at a young age. He hasn't changed at all, but is part of a criminal organisation this very day."
"Naoise is a criminal?" Black asked in shock. The wishful images he had been having were crushed on that one moment.
"Yes, and in San Francisco too."
The door was opened again and Jade stepped in.
"Hey, who are you?" she askedBennett. "... Anyway, Jackie and Tag will be here in a minute."
"This makes no sense anymore," Black muttered to himself. What was Bennett trying to say? And was he deaf or why couldn't he realise that he had no time for this? The whole scene reminded him of "The Bold and the Beautiful".
"I... appreciate what you have done for me, but couldn't we talk about this later? I am busy," he tried again.
"Aren't you interested in knowing the surname of your brother?"
"Once I have time - "
"It's Finn."
It was silent for a while. Everyone who had something to do with the matter could hear their own heart beating. Finn closed his eyes for a moment and really hoped that when he opened then again he would be somewhere very else.
"What?" Black's voice asked and Finn opened his eyes for the cruel truth. Damn...
"An incredible coincidence, isn't it? Naoise Finn, your brother, is part of the Dark Hand. We can get a hell of a story out of this. The whole America will love it!" Bennett triumphed.
"What?" Black asked.
And in the next instant the whole situation was turned upside down. Harris and Flick were suddenly on the move and rushed for the door. Harris wrenched it open and both ran away.
"Hey, they are getting away!" Jade exclaimed.
"What?" Black asked.
"Aww, do I have to do everything alone?" the girl asked and ran after the criminals. Once she was outside she realised what had just been said inside. She almost stopped to glance behind her, but then she realised what was truly important.
Despite that she was a very agile girl Jade really had no chance to catch two grown men. That was why she was very happy to notice that they hadn't got far.
"Hi, Jackie!" she exclaimed happily and greeted her uncle who rant to her. Two agents from Section 13 were making sure Harris and Flick got nowhere. Harris was trying to tell that he was one of them, but Tag was there to make sure he fooled no one.
"Jade, what is going on here? Where is Black?" Jackie asked. Jade pointed behind herself.
"He's in there, but I don't think it is a good idea to go there right now," the girl said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well... I think Black might want to have a word or two with his brother first."
The situation inside hadn't really changed.
"What?" Black asked. Finn was starting to feel that the whole thing had shocked Black much more than him.
Bennett had a wide smile on his face. "I have found your brother, just as I promised."
"But... he can't be my brother!" Black stuttered.
"I thought the exactly same thing when I found out," Finn remarked dryly.
"How long have you known?"
"Since you showed that picture in television."
"What? And you didn't tell me anything?"
"Should I have? You would have just arrested me!"
"Dang right! That's my job."
"Then why do you make those silly questions?"
"Hey, could you two talk a little slower so that I can write it all down?" Bennett's voice interrupted the argument.
"What? You are taking notes of this?" Finn asked.
"Of course. I just got a brilliant idea. Who needs a live TV show when we can make a movie!" Bennett triumphed.
"A movie?" Black repeated.
"Yes! The whole world can hear your tragic story! Imagine the money and fame and... and the Oscars!"
Black and Finn glanced at each other.
"The world will find out that I am his brother?" they asked at the same time and pointed at each other.
"Yes."
"No way. I won't give you the rights to use my name," Finn said.
"Me neither."
"But - " Bennett tried. It seemed that he had only now realised that Black and Finn weren't as happy as he was.
Black sighed. "Why don't you leave us alone? I'll call you." he said. As if. If I never hear of him again I will be very happy, he thought.
Bennett hesitated, but agreed then.
"Remember to call!" he exclaimed and marched through the door.
"All right, he came out too. We can probably go in now," Jackie said.
"Nah, I don't think so," Jade replied.
"But we have to arrest the Dark Hand," Tag pointed out.
"The Dark Hand? Hak Foo and Chow must have noticed how you arrived here, so they are miles away by now. And Finn, I think Black can take care of him," Jade said.
"But we should get him out of there so that Black can speak with his brother," Jackie suggested.
"... not really. Finn is Black's brother."
Jackie's eyes widened and he looked like an owl.
"What? How?"
"Don't ask. I'm not good in Biology."
"But - "
"Maybe Black will explain it all once he has settled this," Tag said.
"Maybe you are right," Jackie admitted. Boy, was he curious!
Finn and Black looked at each other.
"So..." Black said.
"I have nothing to say," Finn replied immediately. "I just want out of here and go on with my life."
"You think this doesn't concern you at all?"
"Yes, if I don't pay attention to it."
"So you want to forget all about this?"
"And you don't?"
Black had to think. Finn wasn't the kind of brother he had wanted to find and this unexpected revelation hadn't made him like the Irish man any more than before. Maybe he wanted to forget this matter too.
But could he do that?
"You can't just pass something like this," he said. Finn snorted and rolled his eyes.
"Then what do you want to do? Go out and have a drink and some brotherly fun?" Huh, saying that felt weird. "I don't like you, you don't like me. Your job is to arrest me and I have to avoid you at all costs, or even better, get rid of you. That's it."
"You don't happen to know the number of a good family therapist?" Black asked with a very weak smile.
"Huh?" Finn had never thought Black would be able to joke. At least not at a moment like this. "I'm out of here."
Black neither said nor did anything when Finn left. What was there to do? He was too confused to say if he wanted the man to disappear as soon as possible, or to stay and talk.
Both options felt good.
"Finn, where were you?" Chow asked when Finn stepped in. They were in a building that served as a temporary Dark Hand HQ. They didn't dare to return to their apartment since Black knew where it was.
"I had to take care of some things," Finn replied.
"Sorry I couldn't help. Valmont didn't want to listen," Ratso said. He had heard part of the story from Hak Foo and Chow and he was slightly sorry for having missed it all.
"Nah, it doesn't matter," Finn said. He barely glanced at his friends and seemed to be thinking of something only he could understand.
"Uh, you okay?" Chow asked. Finn was being very strange again.
"Yeah, sure. I just need to thinkabout something."
In the evening captain Black and Jackie were having a conversation in Black's office.
"This is unbelievable," Black said and stared at the picture in his hand. Jackie felt very uneasy; he had no idea of what he should have said.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
Black placed the photo on his desk. "I don't know. What should I do?" he asked and he made the question mostly for himself. "Nothing should change, I guess."
"What do you mean?" Jackie asked.
"It's my responsibility to arrest him and I will do that one day. And he won't turn good because of this. So what is there to change?"
"I don't know... Maybe if you - "
"Figure things out? It's not that simple."
Jackie shrugged.
"No, it isn't," he admitted. He felt bad for his friend and yet he knew there was no chance of him being able to understand what he was going through. "But maybe with time...?"
"Yes, maybe. Or maybe not."
THE END