Street Fighter: Destiny Wind
Original Fanfiction by: Ichabod Crofte

Chapter Four: The Man in the Shadow

Bangkok, Thailand
Phyathai Hospital
January 7, 2001

"How is he?" Chun-Li asked between muffled sobs.

"He's stable," admitted the elderly doctor. "He's been in surgery all night long. If it hadn't been for you miss, he probably wouldn't have made it."

"What do you mean 'if it hadn't been for me'?" said Chun-Li, wiping her eyes.

"You are Chun-Li of Interpol are you not?" the doctor inquired. Chun-Li simply nodded in agreement. "It was your name and affiliation that was written under the column of the person responsible for bringing him to the hospital."

The Interpol agent simply stared, her face blank. At length, the disbelief wore off. "But I only just arrived last night," she muttered.

Guile took Chun-Li's arm and drew her close to him.

"It's a warning," he whispered in her ear. "Shadowlaw must have someone on the inside and they knew you were coming to Thailand. They're warning you not to meddle in Shadowlaw affairs."

"But what's that got to do with my name on the sign in sheet?" argued Chun-Li impatiently.

"They wanted to make sure you got the message. They could have killed the hacker if they'd wanted to, but they didn't. Technically, if you look at it the way those creeps do, you owe them for sparing his life."

Chun-Li spat. "Oh I owe them alright," she snarled. "I owe them a swift kick in the head!"

The doctor cleared his throat. "If you would like to see him, you may. But he's in a coma, so he'll not be able to hear anything you say to him."

Chun-Li looked at Guile, and the major nodded. "You go ahead," he consented. "I'll be right outside."

The doctor opened the door for Chun-Li as she stepped into a dimly lit chamber. She could hear the monotonous droning and bleeping of the plethora of life support devices that worked diligently to tether Simon Kwok to his mortal coil.

"It's not a pretty sight," the doctor cautioned, his thick bushy eyebrows twitching anxiously.

"Leave me," Chun-Li commanded sternly.

She didn't need to say it twice; the door closed quickly behind her. Chun-Li crossed the room and knelt by the bed where the body of Simon lay, embalmed in bloody rags, tissues and heat packs. His face was completely enshrouded by gauze stained with cruor. Tears began to cascade down Chun-Li's cheeks again. She gently stroked Simon's raven-black hair, remembering how she used to ruffle it playfully when he was a teenager studying tai chi at her father's dojo. In her other hand she took his, curling her fingers around his languid digits.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm sorry that I could not protect your sister, and I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you."

Chun-Li began to weep. Her tears darkened the bloodstains upon the dressings. "You've taken us so far with your genius, your creativity and your passion. I will see that you have your vengeance..." Chun-Li clenched her fists tightly. "In this life or the next."

Guile, engirdled by a throng of doctors and physicians, was overjoyed to finally see the door to Simon's hospital room open.

"Please, excuse me," he bid them farewell as he fell in step with the Interpol agent. "Who besides you, me and Simon knew you were flying into Thailand?"

Chun-Li thought to herself. "Very few people," she pondered. "The flight wasn't even arranged by I.C.P.O. Simon booked it himself."

"Maybe someone was fishing the grid," wondered Guile.

"What does that mean?" Chun-Li asked.

"It's something I learned from a few black ops buddies of mine back when I was flying F-100s in Vietnam with the 136th. These guys would travel all over the world but they could find each other at any time by tapping into the electronic passport registrars. They used to call it 'fishing the grid'."

"I thought you didn't speak 'cyber geek'," smirked the Interpol agent.

"I don't," Guile retorted. "Did I sound convincing?"

"For a minute there, yeah actually," laughed Chun-Li.

"But seriously, Chun," Guile went on. "It's a possibility. If these guys were doing it thirty years ago, I'm sure today it's much easier. If Shadowlaw red-flagged your passport, they could have easily found out what you were up to."

"It's a good theory," considered the other, "but it doesn't work."

"Why not?" Guile asked dubiously, wanting to feel proud of his suggestion just a little longer.

"Because Simon sent me fake passports and he hacked the registrars just in case Shadowlaw was using some sort of graphical identity harmonization device."

"I have no idea what the hell you just said," chuckled Guile as the two walked into the elevator.

"It's okay," said Chun-Li. "I didn't expect you to."

Guile frowned. "Hey, you know, it's not like I'm stupid or anything," he began to say just as the elevator doors closed.

Undisclosed Location
New Shadowlaw Headquarters
January 7, 2001

The steel drawbars slid back and the triple-plated chrome door hissed open. The slender, classically-built figure of the Spanish matador, Vega, strode into the large circular antechamber. It was completely dark except for the eerie blue lighting upon the floor, illuminating the way to the center dais where a massive array of enormous computers were broadcasting hundreds of channels, data streams, and feeds of information simultaneously. Vega dropped to one knee and bowed as he neared the dais.

"My lord," he said.

The man completely bathed in shadow turned, colorless eyes gleaming through the blackness.

"Is it done?"

"Of course, my lord," Vega answered proudly. "Just as you fancied it."

"And the data?"

"The little bastard nuked his hard drive before I could download the information."

The man in shadow snorted. "That is of no consequence. How is Balrog doing on his assignment?"

"He claims he's making significant progress," Vega scowled. "But my lord, how can you trust an insensate philistine like him? He is not worldly enough to appreciate the beauty of your chaotic artistry, my lord."

"And that is why I choose him, Vega. He is indeed an unimaginative rube, but his incapacity to understand the true nature of power makes him loyal. He served my pupil well, as I expect he will serve me."

"Of course, my lord," Vega consented.

"The pieces have begun to fall into place," continued the man in shadow, turning back to face the monitors. "The fighters will once more be assembled upon the stage of destiny. We shall laugh in the face of the Gods as the new millennium will belong to the true warrior and his spirit."

The man in shadow began to laugh wickedly, his voice echoing all about the titanic atrium. Vega felt a chill race up his spine, feeling the nauseating nexus of power in the room being filled with the psychotic fury of his new master.

"My lord," Vega said at length. "What should I do about Chun-Li?" he licked his lips. "Can I play with her, my lord? Savor the delectable sweetness of her warm blood upon my lips?"

"In time, you shall have your rematch against the Interpol agent," the man in shadow mused, "however not yet. She must be tested, readied for what is to come. My pupil crushed her once almost effortlessly. Clearly, her own innate ki has not fully awakened." The man in shadow grinded his teeth. "Send the samurai."

"But my lord," protested Vega worriedly. "Perhaps we might send someone a bit less insane? I mean, he might kill her and-"

DO IT!!

Vega crumpled to the floor in agony. He felt as though his skull had split in two, his soul seared with the diabolic energy he had only known one other to possess. He wretched and vomited all over the dais. At last, he stood, wiping his mouth.

"Yes my lord. It shall be done."

A quick word from the author...

Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone for their advice and support on this story so far. I take every suggestion and criticism to heart to try to make this story better, more appealing and exciting for you to read. I hope you will all continue to read the rest of this story as it unfolds.

Secondly, this is a Street Fighter fiction, but there hasn't really been too much fighting yet. Thanks for bearing with me while I set the stage for everything. There will be an actual street fight in the next chapter, so keep reading!

Lastly, I do my best to return crits and reviews respectfully. If I've somehow missed reading something you've written, just notify me by email or in your next review as a p.s. telling me which story of yours to check out.

Peace,

I.Cro