Detective Peter Caine was talking with the manager at the service counter. "So, you're saying that some men demanded protection money. Local tongs?"
The manager, an old man named Fong, nodded in reply. "Yes, I tell them that I can't afford it. But these thugs...they don't listen! I try to explain that we cannot pay our lease and their boss, but they won't hear of it. They say that the Tiger is hungry!"
"Tiger?" Peter looked at him with a serious expression now. "The Tiger. Wait..my father might knows them. These men, what did they look like?"
Fong thought for a minute, remembering the threats he had gotten so far. "They were all different. They were mostly Chinese, but.. I have seen other races. Black, white, all kinds. They are different punks each time. But what remains constant is their clothes. Black pants, dark overcoats, and an orange button-shirt under the coats."
Peter seemed to remember those men. He and his father had fought them on more than one occasion. "Ahh. Black and orange.. hmm. Any weapons when they threaten you?"
"Sometimes," he said with a nod. "It's always the small daggers. They say that 'Bon Bon Hai wants payment or the tiger will eat the sparrow.'"
Peter said, "Oh yeah, it's them. I know these assassins personally. So does my father."
"You do.." Fong looked a bit nervous. "I am sorry, I hope I am not putting you in danger."
"They're Sing Wah. Don't worry, we handle this kind of thing all the time. I'll talk to Pop; you can relax, I'll make sure that the Shaolin are on your side." He put his notepad in his pocket. Then he walked out of the red doors and headed for his car..
It was quiet for a few minutes. Fong then checked his watch.. yes, fifteen minutes left until closing time.
Suddenly, the sunroof windows shattered, the broken glass falling down to the clean floor. A series of dark cords came down, almost touching down all the way. Ten men in ninja outfits dropped down, landing almost perfectly. They started overturning tables, smashing glasses, throwing the chairs through the windows.
Tatsu had come down now. He walked up to the trembling old man. "I am Tatsu! This is a taste of what will happen.. unless you pay! The Foot Clan demands money for protection."
"No!" Fong shook his head. "No, we cannot. We cannot afford to pay for supplies, the Tiger, and the Foot!"
"Then, we will destroy your place. This establishment will be RUBBLE when we're done!" Tatsu waved at his men. "Crush it all!"
Fong was scared. "Why.. who are you? What do you want? Surely, there are other places-"
A ninja yelled as he flipped a table over, "The Foot Clan! Master Shredder sent us to destroy your place if you did not comply!"
Peter was about to enter his blue sports car and drove off. But then, he could hear crashing and violent yelling from inside the diner. He picked up his CB unit. "Baker One-Nine. Detective Caine, requesting backup! Hostile situation, vandalism in Golden Dragon at Chinatown." He put it down and ran back toward the diner.
Peter slowly opened the door, stepping inside. He was expecting to see Sing Wah fighters. Not this time. No, these guys were in all black, head-to-toe.
They wore red headbands with a Japanese characters on them. And their eyes: they were covered with nets, which made the warriors appear to have bug-eyes.
He drew his gun, pointing it at Tatsu. "Hey you, Mr. Clean in a dress!"
Tatsu looked at him, angry. "Nnnggh?"
Peter nodded, pointing the gun. "Yes, you. That's right.. Baldy."
"Nnghhh! You will pay for insolence!" He started to walk toward the hot-tempered cop.
Peter showed his badge in the other hand, while still holding the gun in the other. "Detective Peter Caine, 101st Precinct. I'm placing you all under arrest! Freeze, all of you!"
Tatsu held up an egg. At least, that's what it looked like. "Ninja, vanish!" He threw it on the floor. When the object broke, white smoke went everywhere, concealing Tatsu and his men.
When it clears five seconds later, the assailants were all gone, but not before Peter had grabbed one of their headbands. He looked at the Oriental letters. "Strange. I think I saw this lettering at the temple.. I hope that Pop can interpret Japanese." He walked over to Fong. "Look, uhh.. sorry about the damage. I'll call someone to help fix this."
Fong grabbed a broom and started to sweep up the mess. "Thank you, Peter. I'm so glad you stopped them in time. But.. these were not who I suspected."
"Yeah, I was just as surprised as you were," Peter said. "They weren't Sing Wah, I know that much. Their movements are different. And they can vanish in smoke, with no trace left behind." He noticed that the hanging ropes were gone as well.
"Yes, I know." Fong nodded, he understood what kind of thugs the men were. There was no doubt about it. "Ninja! Men of shadow, masters of stealth. They deal in death."
"Yes," Peter agreed. "I only saw this style once. And that was when Tan returned to destroy our temple. But these ninja are dressed differently... there's something familiar about them, but I can't place it. Did they say anything to you?"
Fong answered, "Yes. They said they were sent to destroy all this. They were sent by Master... Shredder, I think. I think Tatsu was leading it. Tatsu.. that was the bald man."
Peter arched a curious eyebrow. "Shredder? Never heard of him. As for Baldy, it's pretty clear that he was leading them. Shredder must be his boss. Oh well, I've seen Tatsu now. I can get a description to every precinct in the state. I'm sure if I make some calls, we'll see just how long the guy's rap sheet is."