May 1st

Peter woke with a faint cry, covered in sweat, his breathing was shallow and rapid. He looked over and saw his father sitting at the campfire, wide awake.

"Are you alright, Peter?" Caine asked.

Peter nodded. "Yeah. Just a dream." He said, hoarsely. He sat up and reached for his canteen for a drink of water. But it wasn't. Not JUST a dream. He didn't know if it meant anything or was his fears coming to the surface where he couldn't beat them down.

"What did you see?"

Peter shook his head "It was just a dream, Pop."

"Peter… you have been meditating. Opening yourself up to the universe. Sometimes a dream is not just a dream."

"I was back in the room with the snake statue." He said quietly "Bodies surrounded me on the floor. Miranda was standing at the base of the statue. I no longer had control over my body." He swallowed hard. "So I really hope this was just a dream."

Caine said nothing but handed a cup of tea over to his son.

Peter looked at it. "That smells terrible." He said. "What is it?"

Caine listed off the herbs within and indicated he should drink it. "It will help."

"Help what?" He wrinkled his nose, as he brought the metal camp cup near his face. He set it aside.

"Your dreams leave you drained," Caine said. He picked the cup up and handed it to Peter. "Now drink." He added firmly. Peter had been having 'just dreams' since they had left Carol's. Caine knew they were not just dreams even if his son refused to admit it.

"I'm letting it cool off." Peter said, "That way the taste doesn't give advanced warning." He set it down again.

Caine rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Pop…" He paused at the look from his father. "Sorry, Dad." He corrected. "Is there a way to, I don't know, prepare myself so that Nag can't take control when he… if he … possesses me?"

Caine pondered the question. "Perhaps." He said. "It would be easier if you had completed your training but it is not impossible without it. We can work on mental exercises. I would like to take you to a temple to confer with the priests there. They may know things I do not." He picked up the cup and put it in Peter's hands.

"What happens when they find out that I'm carrying around a piece of Nag inside me," Peter asked quietly and set the cup down once more.

"I do not know," Caine said. "But you will be safe, My Son."

"I'm not worried about safety," Peter said. "I worry about being turned away."

"Because of what she told you?" Caine asked. He picked up the cup once more and handed it to his son.

Peter nodded and started to set the cup down again. He stopped seeing the stern look from his father.

"Peter. The priests in Bayview did not turn their backs on you. What makes you believe that others would do so."

"They're family. It's hard to turn your back on someone when you used to put bandaids on their skinned knees." Peter said. "Strangers aren't going to be so forgiving." He stared into the cup and swirled its contents.

"There is nothing to forgive," Caine said, worriedly. "They will not blame you for what has been forced upon you."

"They're human like everybody else, Pop. Just because they shouldn't doesn't mean they won't." He didn't look up from his cup.

Caine lifted his son's chin as he had so many times when he'd been a boy. "You are not tainted." He said.

"You have to say that. If you don't they'll kick you out of the father's union." Peter said with a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

"I have to say it because it is true. She told you these things to chain you. To make you see yourself as unworthy." He worried about his son's sense of self-worth. For that matter, he worried about his sense of self.

"They thought less of our bloodline because of what your grandfather did. They held it against you of all people. You had nothing to do with it. Your father wasn't even alive yet much less you. What makes you think that they won't blame me for … things."

"The Shaolin did not blame me for my grandfather's crime." He said. "The emperor's guardians were concerned that someone from our bloodline was going to be guarding the soon-to-be Emperor. Some sins bring shame upon an entire family."

"They should have been looking closer to home for threats to Sing Ling," Peter grumbled.

"We protected him," Caine said. "And I will protect you. Now drink your tea."

"Let's focus on finding a way that I can stay in control of myself if worse comes to worst," Peter said quietly. He made a face and downed the tea. Then he made a worse face and sputtered. "That is disgusting."

"At least it is not peanut butter," Caine said with a shrug.

Peter laughed.

Jordan had spent the past two weeks being wined and dined. Not literally, but it was the same thing. People had been more receptive to her since the encounter with the snake. She'd had to talk Kermit down after she'd made her report to him and Captain Blaisdell. He'd wanted to pull her out right then and there. But she wasn't ready to leave. All she knew to date was that they had identical rings and that Captain Ryan had a snake. It wouldn't be enough to make anyone not in the know give it a second glance. It would at the very best wind up with Jordan, Kermit and Blaisdell all getting psych evals and possible suspensions for running an unauthorized investigation outside their jurisdiction. Sure it was easier to get forgiveness than permission but sometimes neither was possible.

"So, Jordan," Captain Ryan said, "My wife would like to have you over to Sunday dinner this weekend."

"Oh, Uhm, sure. I'd like that." She said. He had been the only one with the ring that hadn't made a point of pulling her into friendship-building activities. She'd wondered when it was coming. Now she knew.

"Great. Say around 6 pm?"

"I'll be there." She said. She noticed the concerned look from her partner but didn't mention it while in the office. "So, Tammy, how about we go and interview the shopkeeper again." The man's wife had been murdered and left in the alley behind his bodega.

"Not sure what we'll get from him that we haven't gotten before but sure, let's go," Tammy said.

Once inside their car, Jordan said, "Okay, spill, what has you so worried?"

"Nothing," Tammy said shortly.

"Liar," Jordan said, glancing over as she started the car. "Talk to me."

"Instead of the bodega… we're going somewhere else." She said after a tense silence. "Head over to Chinatown," Tammy said. "I'm trusting you. I hope I'm not making a mistake."

"You're my partner. You can trust me." She said and she hoped the same thing, that she wasn't making a mistake as well. Jordan kept an eye on the rearview mirrors as she drove making sure they weren't being followed. She made a point of checking the car daily for listening devices so she was certain they were safe enough to talk there.

"Yeah well, that may not be the case for much longer. You may not be able to trust yourself if things go much farther."

"What do you mean?" Jordan asked but she was sure that she knew what Tammy Li was referring to. What else could it be?

"My uncle can explain it better than I can. Half the time I think he's crazy the other half I think he is the wisest man I know."

"Isn't that how it usually goes with wisdom?" Jordan said "Okay, we're in Chinatown. Where do we go from here?"

Tammy gave her directions. "I suppose it does. He's a priest so I guess crazy and wise are in the job description."

"Since we're in Chinatown I am betting that he isn't a Catholic priest."

Tammy laughed a little "No, he is definitely not a Catholic priest."

"Shaolin?" Jordan asked and Tammy nodded "Well this is going to be interesting. I'm going to bet tonight's bar tab that I already know what he's going to tell me."

Paul looked up at the sharp rap on his office door. "Come in." He said and turned off his computer's monitor. The door opened and he raised an eyebrow when Miranda Gray entered his office, followed by what he had to assume was a bodyguard. Although if what Peter had to say about the woman was any indication she didn't need a bodyguard at all. Which would make the man who closed his office door more of a speed bump.

He rose to his feet. "To what do I owe this visit, Mayor Gray?" He said with a smile and indicated that she should have a seat. He waited for her and her companion to be seated before he sat down as well.

"I have been looking over your service record." She said.

He chuckled softly "Usually when someone says that they follow it up with a request for a disciplinary review."

"Whatever for?" She asked, giving him an amused look. "You have an exemplary record. You should have been promoted 10 years ago."

"I'm not considered a team player by the politicians." He said.

"Now that's the thing I like the most about you," Miranda said. "I have no use for yes men in positions of authority."

Another quiet laugh. "You say that now." Paul wondered where this was going. He had an idea. There were only two positions higher than his own in the force and only one that she could appoint.

"I am less than pleased with the current commissioner." She said. "I'm sure it's not that he's dishonest. I have no reason to believe that at all. However, he was appointed by my predecessor, and unfortunately, that means he's tarred with the same brush."

"See, I'm not political enough to know how that works," Paul said. He didn't always see eye to eye with Commissioner Calvert but he knew him to be an honest man doing everything he could for the force. He could just imagine how much that would annoy Miranda.

"Again, something I like about you. I want to offer you the post." She said "Now, before you say no out of loyalty, please understand I will be replacing him whether that is with you or with someone else. You're just my first choice, not the only choice."

Well, she was direct, he'd give her that much. "Can I have a few days to think it over?" He asked. "It's not a decision to make hastily."

"I can wait a few days." She said, "I imagine you have a family to discuss this with after all." She got to her feet. "I'll call say, on Thursday?"

Paul nodded "Yes, Thursday should be fine." He said. He was being played. Damned if he did and damned if he didn't. What he had to think about was which version of damnation would protect Peter and which would destroy him.

Peter frowned as they walked onto the rail yard. "What are we doing here, Pop?"

"Looking for transportation," Caine said.

"These aren't passenger trains."

"Passenger trains have other passengers that might see you. As you have been having repeated dreams of the cult it is perhaps better not to be seen."

Peter opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. He hadn't so much as jumped a turnstile before this all began. He'd driven everywhere he needed to go. He had a routine and friends and he had spent his days taking risks for the sake of others. He hadn't been afraid of anything if you didn't count heights.

Now he was running scared and dragging his father with him. He had left behind everything he knew and loved (Aside from his father that is) and now he was going to be hitching a ride on a freight train.

He followed his father, amazed by how silently he moved across the gravel. Peter moved nowhere near as silently, but he moved quietly enough as they moved between the trains on the multiple tracks. As one of them began to pull forward, Caine nodded toward it and moved quickly to climb into the open rail car. Peter followed suit, helped inside by his father.

"Okay, so where are we going? Or are we just… going?"

"California," Caine said. "There is a temple there that I believe can assist us."

He frowned. He was still certain they'd turn him away. He knew it was illogical. He knew that it was an emotional reaction to what Miranda had pounded into him literally and figuratively. Knowing those things didn't change how he thought. How he felt about himself. If he could see how sullied his soul was how could anyone else not see it?

"Peter-"

"I know, Pop, I do. You think this will help me forget." He said sharply. "And that all Shaolin priests are going to be as accepting as you are but you seem to forget that Tan was a Shaolin priest too."

"The priesthood isn't the French foreign legion or a private army, My son. Nothing can make you forget the horrors you have been through. But perhaps they can help you to remember who you are."

"I know who I am," Peter said, looking away as the train picked up speed.

"You have … superimposed who Nagaina wants you to be over the man that you have always been, the man you always will be. You cannot hope to resist Nag's control if you do not know yourself. You know your enemy… now you must know yourself."

"What if she's succeeded in making me who she wants me to be?"

"If that were true you would be willingly at her side." He answered. "You are still you, Peter. You are still that boy who would protect those smaller and weaker than himself. It is why you chose to become a cop, to help those who need your help. That has not changed."

"I'm not so sure of that." Peter sighed, resting his head against the metal wall of the train car.

Caine shrugged "Then when we reach the temple we will have the fragment of Nag forced from your mind. If you are no longer a man who is concerned with the welfare of others then it will not trouble you to release him to find another host."

Peter glared at his father but said nothing.

Jordan smiled faintly, holding the cup of Jasmine tea in her hand. As predicted she knew precisely what Tammy Li's uncle was going to tell her. She had not expected to be seated with not one Shaolin priest but three.

"Are you sure this is wise?" Master Jian asked. "The Harbingers are not to be taken lightly. They are very dangerous."

Jordan nodded. "Wise? Probably not. Necessary, yes, it's necessary. We have to be able to prove that they are involved in criminal activities to stop them. They've infiltrated the local precinct, which puts all of Chinatown in danger. To be honest they have settled themselves into the entire district. Here, Bayview, I wouldn't be surprised if they were throughout the entire county. They're too confident in their positions. Someone has to do this. It may as well be me."

"We will make tea for you." Master Tianyu said. "It will help protect you from the snake's seduction."

"Will they know?" She asked. "Will they know that I'm resistant?"

"They should not know if you are capable of acting receptive," Tianyu said.

Jordan nodded "I can do that." She said "I've already played along this far. The snake the captain has, is there significance to it? I've never seen another snake like it and they all seemed … in awe of it."

"How is it different from other snakes ?" Master Lixin asked. "What did it look like?"

" Rounded nose, triangular head with skinny neck, Solid black but iridescent, color shifting when it moved, the edges of the scales I mean, purple and blue. It was cold to the touch even though it had just come out of a well-heated vivarium." She said.

He looked thoughtful. "It is rumored that the Harbingers have bred snakes to achieve the most deadly venom. There is no proof to this rumor. The poisons they use are generally from the krait. But that does not mean they have not bred snakes for other purposes."

"Like choosing recruits?" She asked. "I know that sounds crazy but I swear that was why he asked if I wanted to hold it. To see if it liked me."

"Perhaps. Perhaps to see if you liked it." He said. "They would not continue their campaign of recruitment if the snake were able to sense intent. But that does not mean that they will not be able to perceive of y deception. What you do is very dangerous."

"I know." She said. "But they have hurt someone that I care about, and I can't let them do that to someone else." Not that she had ever admitted to caring about Peter Caine. That was a foolish path for any woman. He was a good man and a better cop. God knew he was gorgeous while doing it. But he was heartbreak on two legs.

"Master Caine's son," Jian said with a nod. "We are aware. Do these police officers know that you know Peter Caine?"

She shook her head. "No. Not as such. They know we were on the same precinct baseball team. That's it. I worked in vice, Peter was in Homicide. There is no reason for them to connect the two of us."

"Be careful." Tianyu said, "It is not only you that you risk but by association my niece also."

"I'll be careful." She promised.