Of all the martial arts known throughout the galaxy, Joon Kee is easily the smoothest and most fluid. In practicing the ancient art, the Joon Kee master does not only imitate the properties of water, but seemingly becomes a part of the universal energy of water, flowing and pounding with the slick reflexes of a clear mountainside stream or the torrential force of a monsoon.
It was common knowledge that Mars yielded the most talented and devastatingly dangerous of the masters, and until 2061, the undisputed master of the masters was a citizen of Tharsis who went by the name Tornado Raines. Tornado had been working for the Red Dragon Syndicate for ten years before the accident, in which he worked training young recruits to utilize the strategies and techniques of Joon Kee.
In those days, the syndicate was not corrupt, and served more as an elite society and facility for young boys and men to learn to protect themselves and the order, and to be a member meant that you and your family was guaranteed security in the sometimes treacherous territory of Mars. Merely carrying a Red Dragon badge where minor criminals could see it secured your safety. It was common knowledge among the lowlifes of the red planet that if you dared do wrong against a syndicate member, they would know, and you and your loved ones would be hunted until they got the point across.
Tornado and his wife Linda had been esteemed members of the Syndicate for most of their lives, and had been good friends with Mao Yenrai since long before he became the head of the syndicate. They were all in the same circles as Jack Spiegel and Annie throughout their years in the syndicate, and looked out for each other in all aspects of their lives. So when Jack got married and had a son, Spike, it was only natural that all of them took him under their wings and silently vowed to protect and watch over the newborn boy.
He grew and flourished in the syndicate, and it soon became apparent that he would lead the next generation of Red Dragons. Even as a seven-year-old, Spike oozed confidence and potential, and he was extremely bright for his age. By this time, Mao had been named the head of the Red Dragons, and was understandably pleased with the progress Spike had made. He was already taking basic combat lessons with the other boys in the syndicate, and being so advanced for his age, he was usually among the thirteen and fourteen-year-olds in his training classes.
Seeing the rare opportunity for someone to forge him into a master of his trade, Tornado decided to take Spike on as his Joon Kee disciple, and give him private daily lessons. Shortly after making this announcement, he discovered that his wife was pregnant with twins, and took it as a good omen for both ventures. However, some of the events that would transpire over the next year were overwhelmingly far from good.
The White Tiger Syndicate had always been a main rival of the Red Dragons on Mars since both were founded. They had never seen eye-to-eye on many issues, and fighting between members of the two clans was ever-present in the background of the city, or rather, colonized area of Tharsis. Thus it became Mao's main aim as he took up the position of Syndicate Leader to settle some of the differences between the syndicates, and establish an era of peace.
One idyllic afternoon in late April, Jack and his wife Abby lay against the rough bark in the shade of an oak tree in Destiny Park, proudly gazing upon their son as he animatedly repeated some of the moves Tornado had taught him, an entranced grin forming on his face.
"Dad! Dad! Watch this! It's called the 'Diving Crane'!" Spike stood on his right foot and dramatically lunged forward, his left leg bent and rising above his waist. He then pivoted his hips and snapped his back up to a straight standing position, swinging his bent leg around his side, and made to land a kick into the side of an invisible enemy in front of him, but instead his leg swung with eager and unnecessary force and continued its elliptical path, knocking his other leg out from under him. Falling forward onto his stomach with a grunt, he urgently got back to his feet, his face tinted pink. "Uh--that was supposed to happen."
He placed a hand behind his head, nervously tangling his fingers in his mossy mop of hair and letting out a slight chuckle. His mother complacently let out a chuckle of her own, her head resting against Jack's well-muscled chest. He glanced down at his calloused fingers, drifting through Abby's long silky green hair like rays of sunlight peeking through a lush forest, and sighed contently. Together they made a beautiful family.
"Well well well, isn't this a lovely little frolic in the park..." Jack tensed up as he heard a familiar drawling voice from behind the tree he was leaning against. Abby quickly understood what was happening, and stood, rushing over to Spike and grabbing his hand, and turning around to face her husband so that Spike was still behind her.
"Dad..." Spike whispered with concern, making a move to run over to him before he was halted when his mother gently squeezed his hand.
"Shhh," she softly bade Spike to stay quiet, and he nodded slightly, though he uneasily shifted his weight trying to rid himself of the anxious foreboding feeling in his stomach.
"What are you doing here, Quinn?" Jack stood slowly, his feet planted, and faced the white-haired man who sauntered confidently into the clearing, his hands in his pockets and flanked by two rather large syndicate goons in black suits. A badge displaying a white tiger preparing to pounce outlined with the words 'White Tiger Syndicate' in a circle was easily recognized, standing out on the lapel of his light grey suit jacket.
"What?" he adopted a look of false innocence, and set his sights upon Spike, "can't a man say hello to an old friend? And I'm guessing this must be Spike, correct?"
At the mention of his name, Spike looked up at the man with a glare of silent defiance, obviously frightened, but not about to let it show. The strange man walked over to him and crouched down to Spike's eye level, the glint in his iron-rimmed dark blue eyes hinting at a hidden malicious intent. "You know, I have a boy about your age myself. Maybe you two could get together and play sometime."
He lowered his head, still staring into Spike's mahogany eyes, and chuckled. He stood up again and turned back to his cronies as his chuckle grew in volume into a full, malevolent laugh. Jack's eyes grew concerned and he edged over to his family, picking up on his icy tone. "What are you doing here?"he repeated, this time with more urgency and determination.
Quinn simply pivoted on his feet, now standing slightly in front of the syndicate workers, and diverted his eyes to the ground when he saw the formerly carefree happy family, now cowering in expectant fear, Spike glaring nervously from behind his mother, only the left side of his body visible, and his father on her other side with a protective arm around her waist.
He raised his eyes, turned his back to them once again, and nodded.
Jack reacted slower than the White Tiger bodyguards. Once his wife and son were pushed out of the range of bullets, he pulled out his own Jericho and fired right back, hitting them both in the head. Quinn had already gone.
He turned his attention back to his family, and gasped in horror when he saw Spike crawling onto Abby's stomach, blood staining the white material of her blouse. "Mom...MOM!" Spike screamed, crying and shaking her arms, desperately searching for a sign of movement. Jack rushed over to her side, pushed the hair out of her face and grabbed her hand, glancing down at the gunshot wound in her chest and closing his eyes in painful realization. There was a good chance the bullet was lodged in her heart.
"Jack...Spike..." she weakly gasped out their names, her eyes brimming with tears as she quietly resigned herself to the awful truth that her life was almost over. They both quickly moved their eyes up to her face, and she smiled with relief to see they had both not been hurt. Her eyes fell shut, and she groaned slightly before her arms fell limp.
"NO! MOM!" Spike cried out despairingly and Jack closed his eyes again, a single tear falling onto her lifeless hand still grasped tightly in his. He released it and stood, eyes still shut, and turned around to face the space in the trees where Quinn had left, the two bodies of the nameless White Tiger henchmen still unmoving on either side of the opening. His eyelids slowly parted giving way to two dark anguish-ridden orbs glowing with hatred.
"Quinn, you bastard. What did you do that for? You know as well as I do that your wife died because she was getting herself mixed up in matters that were none of her business. Her death came of her own doing. Abby did nothing wrong. And how dare you even attempt to harm my son." he spat the words like poison as his grip around his gun tightened again, knuckles white.
Quinn reappeared from behind the same oak Jack and Abby had been so freely relaxing against just minutes earlier. He continued staring straight ahead and didn't dare to let Jack see the tears gathering in his own eyes. "You killed her. You killed her and now I killed your wife." His head slowly turned to the left, and he brandished his gun in his left hand. "Now I'll kill you too."
If Jack hadn't aimed his own gun at that moment, Quinn's goal would have been reached. But as it happened, Quinn's bullet hit Jack's gun, and ricocheted to his left. Jack immediately took the opportunity and fired his weapon, this time hitting his target deep within Quinn's chest. A scream penetrated the stifling air and Jack turned his back on his downed enemy and a harsh breath exited his body when he saw Spike clutching his hand to his right eye, crying in pain, blood running down his arm, bringing the total number of bloodstains on the formerly pristine grass to five. "SPIKE! Are you alright?"
He fell to his knees to comfort his son when his ears caught a last request, regarding a certain child still waiting for daddy to 'take care of business' in the syndicate car parked on the street a block away from Destiny Park, haggardly gasped out of dying lips only feet away.
"Please...take care...of my son...take care of Vicious for me."