Chapter 3
"Filipino Connection"
Within a couple of hours, Cody had arrived in the city of Thunder Bay. Yet it was at least another hour and a half before his flight to Metro City was scheduled to depart. The boxer hadn't eaten any breakfast, so he decided to have some lunch at a Chinese restaurant near the airport called Panda Fortune.
It was a nice little restaurant with dim lighting and small booths. The navy blue seats and floor contrasted well with the mahogany wood paneling. Cody poured some gyoza sauce over his steamed dumplings and took a bite out of one. Chewing his food, Cody took a glance around the perimeter. Most of the people in the booths that he could see were couples, chatting away and smiling at each other. Cody was the only one who ate alone, but it didn't bother him. He was used to eating by himself for the past year or so, that or eating with fellow inmates.
Eating mostly amongst white people, his eyes caught glimpse of a tan-skinned Asian, appearing to be in his early twenties. He looked skinny, but not frail. His black hair was spiked up and ran down to a fade.
"He definitely has strange taste in women," Cody thought to himself, as the young man was talking to a white girl with medium-length orange hair. The young spiked-haired man felt as if being watched and switched his focus around, his eyes stopping on the ex-hero.
Cody quickly looked down, slicing another dumpling open, as the young Asian continued in his conversation. To Cody's uneasiness, the young man would frequently look back at him and then continue his conversation with the woman who sat across the table.
"I must have made him nervous or something," Cody thought to himself. Soon after he completed this last thought, the woman got up and walked out of the restaurant, leaving the young man alone in his booth.
"The girl doesn't seem his type," Cody judged. "She looked sort of punkish and dumb. The guy, on the other hand, seemed sort of preppie, sporting cargo pants and a navy blue pullover that matched the decor of the restaurant.
"Is everything ok?" a waitress asked. She was Chinese, wearing a black and white suit with long, brown hair. She must have been the manager or something.
"It was great. Can I get the check please?" Cody replied.
"Certainly, one moment," she answered as she walked back to the kitchen. Finishing his last scoop of fried rice, Cody noticed someone had taken residence is the seat across from him. It was the young Asian kid, with his hunter-green backpack around his shoulder.
"I'm sorry if I was staring at you back there," he started, "but I know who you are." Cody grew a little tense upon hearing those words.
"You're Cody Travers," he started, "I can't believe it's you." The ex-convict's mouth dropped open. He prayed that this guy didn't see him on the news or on some wanted poster for his arrest.
"What am I thinking? That's probably the only reason," he thought to himself.
"How do you know my name kid?" Cody stated in a relaxed tone. His outer appearance remained cool and calm, yet his inner self was somewhat alarmed. He sat casually in his booth, appearing not to be intimidated.
"I've heard many stories of you fighting on the streets of downtown Metro City when the Mad Gears were trying to take control of the city. You were amazing!" he said enthusiastically, mimicking some boxing uppercuts.
"You certainly seem to know about me, but just who the hell are you?" Cody questioned with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.
"Oh, sorry. The name's Dion. Dion Paracelano," he sat up, putting his bag down in the aisle way.
"Well kid, the keyword there is was. I was amazing, but I'm not a hero anymore and if you want to stay out of trouble, it's best that you don't stick around me. You should already know that I'm a . . ."
"I know," Dion started, "you're a wanted criminal, but all that garbage about murdering your own girlfriend is bologna," he stated matter-of-factly, his hand making a gesture.
"And what makes you so sure that I didn't? My defense lawyers couldn't find proof of my innocence, nor could I." the boxer answered, cracking his wrists. He tried seeing into the young man's dark eyes, but couldn't tell much coming from them, other than the fact that he was really excited.
"Because I know," Dion replied. "Look, the point is that I've been searching for you for the past six months. Metro City is in danger again – the Mad Gears have somehow been revived and are slowly, but surely gaining numbers."
"And what do you know about the Mad Gears?" Cody asked suspiciously. "Why are you trying to help me?" he questioned, leaning forward against the table, his eyes squinting into Dion's soul.
"Do . . . do you know the name Myrna Aguilar?" Dion asked. His tone of voice all of sudden became a lot softer, almost somber. It had been awhile, but Cody remembered the name well.
"Yes, I know a Myrna Aguilar, she used to be a neighbor in the apartment complex I used to live in, but that still doesn't tell me . . ."
"Myrna Aguilar is my cousin," Dion interrupted. "You saved her from a couple of street thugs who were trying to rob and rape her." Dion looked down toward the table. He appeared sort of ashamed.
"You're Myrna's cousin?" a confused Cody asked.
"Yeah," Dion said sadly. "I don't know what I would've done if something bad had happened to her. I've always wanted to meet and thank you for what you have done. I promised her and myself that I would try and return the favor when I got the chance, but I never did get that chance until now."
"Well, the feeling is mutual Dion, and I'm glad that I was able to save Myrna, but the truth is that I don't think she'd appreciate me putting your life in danger. And then there's the very simple fact that I really don't trust you," the boxer said with a cold tint in his voice.
Cody could see the hurt look on Dion's face. Maybe he's telling the truth? The racial implication would definitely support Dion being Myrna's cousin, as she was Filipino herself, but the circumstances just seemed too perfect. Something wasn't quite right with this picture. How would he know that he would be eating at this particular restaurant at this exact time?
"Here you go sir." Cody looked up to see the waitress place a black, plastic tray with the check and a few almond and fortune cookies on it. Looking at the check, Cody took out his wallet and put ten dollars on the table.
"It was nice meeting you Dion. I'll tell Myrna 'hi' for you if I see her. See ya around." He lifted his bag and walked out of the restaurant. Cody walked toward the airport, but no more than a few steps outside of the restaurant did he once again hear Dion's voice behind him.
"Wait Cody!" Dion yelled as he stormed out of the restaurant. Cody stopped and turned around to face him. He stood much taller than Dion, making him look like a little kid.
"Please, let me help you. All I have left in my family are Myrna and my grandmother in Japan. My parents died in a car accident, by people connected with the Mad Gears. At first it didn't make sense, but later I found out that both my parents were Interpol agents, investigating a smuggling ring between the United States and Japan. The reasons for me helping you are many. Cody turned his head toward the ground with his eyes closed, wondering what to do.
"I don't know Dion, its . . ."
"If you're worried about my safety, you don't have to be. I've studied in the martial arts for many years. I can fight at your side just like Mayor Haggar and your friend Guy did. Please Cody; I want to be your partner. If I give you a reason to distrust me, you can beat me up and you'll never hear a word from me again, but at least give me a chance.
Cody once again faced the ground with his eyes closed, pondering what to do. It appeared that this Dion character was being sincere, but again, something wasn't right. He appeared, almost desperate to tag along with me.
"Listen Dion, this is what I'll do. If you can fight, then prove it. You don't look like much of a fighter, but in fight, appearances can be deceiving. If you win, you can come with me and help, but if I win, you get off my back and go on your way. Agree?" Cody asked holding out his hand.
"Deal!" Dion shouted, returning the handshake with an awkward smile.
"We need to get a place where there won't be a lot of spectators," Cody stated. "Let's check around the back of the restaurant."
The two began walking across the restaurant parking lot to the back alley. Both were silent, each of them mentally focusing themselves for the battle ahead. Dion wanted to tag along with Cody, but Cody wasn't sure about this new acquaintance. He seemed a little smooth, a little too smooth.
The alleyway was actually pretty clean. Trees lined the concrete road with garages on one side and the restaurant, complete with dumpsters on the others side. Putting down their bags, they both got into their fighting stances, circling each other with concentrated eyes.
"Judging from his stance, I'd say that he probably knows a thing or two about the martial arts. This should be interesting," Cody thought to himself.
"Alright Dion, here's your chance. Try to impress me."
Confident in his skills, Dion lunged out with a crane kick, swiping his right leg over his side and ending near his head, connecting into a spinning back fist. Cody easily ducked underneath the kick and managed to parry the back fist, swiftly countering with a leg sweep.
Dion flipped hard onto his back, but quickly got up and reversed into a hurricane kick. The boxer dodged just in the knick of time and countered with a high ruffian kick. The kick connected with Dion's arm, as he landed back on his feet, slightly unaware of his surroundings.
Cody initiated a couple of quick stomach punches, ending in his signature uppercut. Dion flew, his back hitting hard against the aluminum garage door as he slumped to the ground. The young Filipino clutched his stomach in pain as he struggled to get up.
"Come on; don't tell me you're down after a couple of punches. I was hoping you had more in ya," Cody said disappointedly, but to his surprise, Dion had lifted up into the air with a jumping uppercut, one that was all too familiar. The punch connected squarely on Cody's chest as he took a few steps back.
Dion noticed his back was close to a wooden fence, as he eyes shifted over to Cody, who moved in with a crack kick. Dion was quick to see it coming and jumped back toward the fence, pushing himself off and following through with flying kick. The attack, once again, connected cleanly with Cody's chest. Cody fell to the ground, but quickly got up.
"The hell? Bushin-ryu? Did Guy send this dude over?" Cody thought as he got up. He'd been going light on the kid, but it seemed that he was a very skilled fighter for being that young.
The two fighters stood motionless. Only the wind moved a few strands of hair and loose ruffles of clothing on their bodies. They peered into each others souls, attempting to steal the thoughts of the other. As if a gunshot let loose, they sprinted forward, throwing out punches and kicks while blocking or deterring the opponent's. It was like out of a movie sequence, with appendages only a blur. Cody, however, being the more experienced fighter, gained the upper hand and was able to get a few critical hits on Dion's weak areas, mainly his stomach and ribs, as he was a somewhat skinny fellow.
Dion backed away, not being able to take many more heavy blows. Breathing heavily, he made a last ditch effort to impress Cody. Getting into his stance, he performed his most potent move – a shippu-jinraikyaku. Surprised, Cody managed to dodge or block all of the kicks, except for the final thrust kick, which connected squarely on his face. The six-foot fighter fell back and landed on the ground, but to Dion's dismay, Cody had started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Dion asked accusingly, breathing very heavily.
"Not bad kid," he laughed as he stood up. "It seems you've mixed up some skills of karate and Bushin-ryu. If I didn't know any better, I'd say my ol' pal Guy was your instructor. I only know a few people who can perform some of those moves you're pulling off. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"What do you care?" he replied with an angry tone, squatting down and resting his head below his knees. It was pretty obvious that Dion was exhausted. "I've lost my chance, you bested me."
"Um, I never said that you lost," Cody stated sarcastically. "And if you want to come along, you best start talking," he continued, crossing his arms.
"Huh? Well, my sensei lives near Tokyo. He taught me many of the techniques I use and occasionally let me study out of a strange book," he mentioned from his crouched position.
"Does he have a name?" the boxer asked.
"Actually, I don't know his real name. I've always called him 'sensei' since I started training under him when I was three," he answered, as he stood up.
Cody couldn't tell whether his answer was genuine or not. He had no reason to doubt him and yet no reason to believe him either. Nonetheless, he's definitely a capable fighter and the boxer wouldn't mind having him as a partner. He could prove useful in his search for Jessica.
"I'm a man of my word," Cody started. "There's no doubt that you can hold your own in a fight and a deal's a deal." The boxer walked over to the young martial artist. "You can come help me, but let me say this: If I find out that you're leading me on, you're going to regret ever meeting me," he said with a stern look.
"Thanks Cody, you won't regret it. I promise," Dion replied with a big smile.
"We're gonna see about that. We don't have much time to get to the airport. We're going to have to jet there, think you can make it?" he asked, pulling his bag off the ground.
"Tch! I was the highest ranked runner in my province for both cross country and track and field. I can beat anybody in a race," he said braggingly."
"Then let's go. I don't want to have to wait for another plane," Cody said. The two fighters set off for the airport. There was an access skybridge to the airport from the bus terminal where Cody had gotten off earlier. Weaving and racing through people and cars alike, they were a blur only caught by camera.
Cody had glanced a look over to Dion, who seemed to be content, with the huge smile on his face. The boxer wondered if he had made the right decision to allow him to tag along, but he did give his word and Cody was man true to it. Whatever the case, Cody needed to keep an eye on him.
Upon reaching the end of the skybridge, Cody and Dion found themselves in the main concourse of the airport, bustling with people heading toward their perspective terminals.
Attention customers, flight 421 to Metro City, United States will be departing in five minutes. Repeat. Flight 421 to Metro City, United States will be departing in five minutes. All passengers please report to Terminal C.
"Fuck," Cody exclaimed, "let's go." The duo once again started running through the concourses of the airport, being slowed down by more passengers and checkpoints. "Damn, we're not going to make it," Cody shouted out loud.
"We will, don't worry," Dion supported. "Terminal C is just beyond this checkpoint." as he walked through the metal detector. Grabbing his bag, Dion raced to the terminal. To his relief, there was still a small line of passengers waiting to board.
"Did we miss it?" Cody asked, as he caught up to Dion.
"Nope. We're just in time. It told you we'd make it." Dion walked over to the ticket counter. The young, blonde ticket clerk behind the desk blushed a bit. Dion definitely had the looks to melt a girl.
"Hiya cutie, are there any tickets left?" The young blonde blushed even more.
"You're in luck, there's one seat left," she said meekly. Her blue eyes connected with the dark ones of Dion.
"I'll take it," he exclaimed. The young Filipino brought out his wallet and pulled out a wad of cash from it. "There you go sweet cheeks. That should cover it."
"Yes, here's your ticket, seat fifty-four. Have a nice flight," she said with a smile.
"Nice meeting ya." He saluted her with two fingers and went off to the line to board the plane. "She's pretty cute," Dion admitted to himself, "but not my type."
"Sweet cheeks, huh?" Cody smirked, holding his ticket at hand.
"Hey, I was trying to be polite and charming at the same time. I have seat fifty-four, what do you have?" Dion asked, trying to look what was printed on Cody's ticket. The boxer pulled the ticket away from his grasp.
"Seat fifty-three." Cody replied.
"Hmm, I guess we're passenger buddies as well," the Filipino mused. "Metro City, here we come." Handing their tickets to the clerk at the door, they walked in with their bags.
"Aw hell no," the boxer remarked. The look on his face was priceless upon looking at the majority of the passengers. Aboard the plane were many punks, complete with chains hanging down from head to toe. There were a few tough-looking bikers there too. Cody brushed his fingers through his brown hair. "I hope no one here recognizes me," he said to Dion.
"You worry too much," Dion said flatly. "If you nearly beat out an entire city of thugs, I'm sure you could take on this whole plane by yourself. Come on, let's find our seats." He continued to search for their seats while Cody just looked at the passengers. Memories of fighting through Metro City arose again, the countless hoodlums and punks that he beat to a pulp and the dozens that were killed with well-timed knife stabs.
"Here's our seats Co- hmpphmph!"
"Ssh! No names on this plane. Low-key is the best key," the ex-hero whispered to Dion's ear, removing his hand from his acquaintance's mouth. Dion just gave a smirk, while Cody lifted his duffel bag over his head and placed it in the compartment above.
"Sorry," Dion said sarcastically as he put his bag next to Cody's. They took their seats and sat down, quiet for moment. Cody still looked around as Dion looked outside the window.
"Attention passengers. Please fasten your seat belts and make sure all cellular devices and laptops are turned off. Please place any purses or handbags in one of the compartments above your seat. If you are carrying any loose items, please hold them securely in front of you. Enjoy the ride and thank you for choosing Metro Airlines." Suddenly, the plane jerked and slowly began moving down the runway.
"Ooh, this is my favorite part," Dion exclaimed. "The thrill of ascending upwards, your gut dropping to your feet, the pop of your ears when you finally break the sound barrier."
"You're having too much fun," Cody stated without any expression.
"Tch, whatever! At least I know how to have some, if you get my drift."
"So where are you really from," Cody asked Dion, not paying attention to the stewardess. "Don't tell me you're from Metro City. You don't dress a like a typical youth from there, not to mention the way you speak, the slight Asian accent and your strange approach to charming the ladies."
"Huh? Wha . . . What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, letting out a low yawn. He began to stretch a little, but suddenly clutched his left rib cage with his right hand. "Ow, that punch still hurts," he complained.
"Just answer the question," Cody said in an annoyed manner.
"Geez, Myrna never said anything about you being so grouchy. What side of the bed did you wake up on this morning?"
"Don't even go there," snapped the boxer.
"Fine, I'm from the same town as my sensei, a few hours from Tokyo, Japan." Cody glared at Dion for a moment before going into thought.
"How would he know all about me if he lives all the way in Japan," he thought. "Sure there was the thing about Myrna, but even then, he wouldn't have seen my face before. I've been in a few fights competitions in Tokyo, but it's pretty unlikely he would recognize me. Myrna never told me about Dion . . . ah, this is all so confusing." He turned to Dion to ask him another question, but he seemed to have dozed off. The ex-convict looked at his new partner with confused eyes.
"Who are you really," he thought. He had an idea, but he decided to make sure that Dion was indeed asleep. He looked around his surroundings once again. The number of punks on this plane was somewhat astonishing to him. Is it true? Are the Mad Gears really forming again?
A few minutes passed by and Dion was still sound asleep. Cody stood up and took Dion's bag from the compartment above. Unzipping it slowly, he looked through the contents of the bag. There wasn't much in the bag except for a couple articles of clothing, a navy blue gi and a pair of gym shoes.
"Damn," he said to himself. "There's nothing here." He opened one of the pockets in front of the bag and found several pieces of paper.
Cody pulled out what appeared to be an envelope. It was addressed to Dion and the address verified that he was indeed from Japan. He looked at the return address. It didn't have a name, but the address was very familiar.
"That's strange. This was my apartment address," Cody whispered, as he opened the envelope. He pulled out a letter.
Dear Dion,
I hope you are doing well. I am sorry if I have not replied to your letters and phone calls as of late, but I have been really busy searching for a job. As you know, I have finally received my nursing degree from college. I have had several interviews at hospitals in and around Metro City. It seems that nurses are in high demand; it will be quite difficult choosing which one as an employer.
It appears that I have entered the profession at just the right moment. Rumors are spreading that the Mad Gears are slowly formulating once again here in Metro City. I am beginning to get worried in fear of what had happened more than a year ago will soon erupt again in the not-so-distant future. For now though, everything remains quiet.
I must admit, I do feel scared being here by myself. Especially since my neighbor Cody, the one who saved my life a few years ago, was charged for the murder of his girlfriend. I personally don't believe he would do something like that. The last I heard, he escaped from prison some time ago – I hope he is doing alright. I wish you were here in Metro City with me. I know you wouldn't let anything happen to me if you were around.
Well, tell grandma hello for me. Stay out of trouble and congratulations on winning the Tokyo Martial Arts Competition. I always knew you would excel in your martial arts studies.
Love,
Myrna
"Well, he's not keeping out of trouble, that's for sure," the boxer said to himself as he folded the letter. Before sliding it back into the envelope, he pulled out a photo that was stuck inside. It was a picture of the two cousins. Dion appeared to be crouched on the ground, flexing and making a goofy face while Myrna sat on his right thigh. It was a cute picture.
"Perhaps I'm being too cautious. The Myrna connection checks out, as well as Dion's statement that he's from Japan. He does seem to be a nice guy at heart. Perhaps I should just let it go."
He put everything back into the envelope and returned Dion's pack up to the compartment. Cody, a little more relaxed now, fell asleep himself – on his way to Metro City.
