"They want the pit. So I say we give it to them." He sneered devilishly.
"So how's it gunna go down?" Scarlette asked stepping forward.
"They want to arrange a meeting." Shina started. "They left a prepayed cell and a number in her pockets along with the note. They want us to call them with the location of the pit. And they want us to be there. In exchange they will bring Uriko." Shina said confidently.
"So get the word out. Have everyone ready to move when I give the word." Shenlong said to Javier, Scarlette and Jenny.
"Long, you and the old man go see her mother and get a boat schedule. When we do this I don't want them to have anywhere to run." He said with a scoul. Gado nodded to Long and he made his way back outside. Everyone left the room to play their parts leaving only Gado and Shenlong in the room. It was clear that Shenlong was still anxious inside. Gado crossed the room and put his heavy hand on Shenlong's shoulder.
"You alright Stripes?" He asked concernedly.
"I'll be alright when we have her back and those bastards get what they deserve…" He trailed off in a dark tone.
"Stripes, listen to me. We're going to do this, but don't go back to your old ways. Remember, you have someone looking up to you now… Or do you want Mitsuko to be right about you?" He said looking at him sternly.
"Hey, you know as well as I do if Mitsuko could get a hold of those two she would take them out herself!" Shenlong threw off Gado's hand and shouted to him.
"She's her mother!" Gado shouted back.
"What if it were Shina? Would you let them get away with it?" He asked accusingly.
"If I needed to get involved, they would already have been marked to die, you know that! Besides, Shina can handle herself and…" He was cut off.
"That's just it! Uriko's a child! Long has only trained her in the basics and these psycopaths have her!" Shenlong shouted out getting into Gado's face.
Gado looked him in the eye before letting out a sigh. "She's going to be alright Stripes. And don't underestimate her. She's picked up on a few tricks, believe it or not." He finished turning away from him and walking out into the rain. Shenlong gritted his teeth and stared at the ransom note and the jacket.
Within the hour every pit fighter in the city new the plan and were prepping themselves for what was to come. There may have only been two of them, but these guys have robed them of someone who's grown very close to all of them. Uriko had brought a new light into the pit, win or lose she made every fighter feel like a champ, like they were'nt just knuckle heads who could only be noticed if they were making a fist or bearing their fangs. These two fiends were threatening that fulfillment and that would not be tolerated.
"…A cargo ship arrived today? Excellent. I want thing unloaded by sundown. Shina will make the call when we're ready…. Good work…. It's not over yet but we will have them soon…. I'm on my way." CLICK
Shenlong set off for the docks where he and a handful of fighters took the strenuous task of unloading hundreds of container units through the stormy night. Around mid day the rain had not sceased and many of the fighters had reached exhaustion from being up all night working. Shenlong however was undaunted and with only a couple dozen containers still onboard, he and a few others set to strategicly and asteticly placing a the containers to make an arena and observation area. "Perfect." He said confidently after placing the final container. He called Shina and told her to make the call. Then called Jenny and Scarlette and had them relay orders to every one of the fighters before getting some rest himself. He wanted to be at full strength when everything started falling into place.
Shina dialed the number and waited for an answer.
"We've been waiting to hear from you Xie hissed threw the line. "Now give us the information we want or your little girl may not remain as comfortable as she is now." He finished sinisterly.
"Let me talk to the girl first or there's no deal." Shina said directly doing her best to remember her military hostage training.
"I assure you she is completely unharmed." Xie said snidely turning his head to face the tied girl in the corner.
"Then you won't have a problem with me confirming that with her. Let me talk to her NOW!" Shina ordered. Xie hesitated at first, but motioned for Hung to remove the cloth gagging her mouth and put the phone next to her face.
"Talk." He said threatening her.
"Hellow…" Uriko said threw gritted teeth glaring at Hung who had been picking at her since she woke up.
"Uriko are you alright? Have they hurt you at all?" Shina asked franticly.
"I'm alright, they have me tied up, but other than that I fine; which is more than I can say for them if I ever get out of these ropes." She spat at Hung.
"Big talk, little girl!" Hung said tugging at her ropes. He and Uriko started arguing with eachother as Xie stepped away from their bickering to talk.
"There are you satisfied? Now tell us where to meet you at the pit or I let my companion tear into the girl." He was getting annoyed by the invreasing noise coming from behind him.
"Fine, the pit isn't in a fixed location, that's how it stays hidden. Meet me at the north end docks. My Companion is arranging things for tonight's event so there will be no interruptions, and no surprises." She said as flatly as ever. She could here Uriko shouting in the background so it eased her mind knowing the girl was safe. Suddenly bickering became roars and wild meowing.
"Will you two keep it down over there!" He turned to see that Hung had accidently pulled out the main knot holding Uriko secure and she was now clawing up and down his body swatting at his head and scratching his face. Hung tried to fight back, but the tiny girl on his massive frame was too quick for him to get a hold of her again.
"Hung will you just hold her down, she's a little girl for crying out loud! Now then the north end docks, tonight." He confirmed over then phone.
"That's correct. Bring the girl unharmed and you will have your entrance into the pit. However I warn you. Anything out of place and we will shut the entire operation down. Every fighter in the city associated with us will receive strict instructions not to participate in any fighting until you are gone. Am I understood?" She finished sternly. Xie hissed at the thought of all of this effort being for nothing and assured her that they would hold up their end of the bargan if she did the same. He was still vexed by the difficulty Hung was having containg the girl. He finally managed to grab her, but Uriko wasn't above biting his fingers or clawing at his chest and face with the claws of her feet. The two continued to shout, roar and growl as they faught around the room.
"Glad we have an understanding. I will see you there at sundown." Shina said sternly with a smirk.
"At sundown then." Xie finished before hanging up the phone.
"Hung, how can one child cause you so much trouble?" Xie said grabbing the rope and joining the tussle. It took both of them to hold her still long enough to tie her back down.
"Xie…" Hung started with heavy breathing. Xie just looked at him waitng for his statement. "I hate cats…" he said before leaving to dress his wounds. Xie simply looked at the girl who was staring daggers at him defore leaving the room with a scoff.
The day passed quickly, now that everything was finally coming together. Long returned to the hospital to inform Uriko's family about what was going to happen.
"Will she be alright? I know Gado's daughter is tough, but these men are ruthless." Alice asked concerned.
"She will be fine. She has already defeated them once before and this time, there will be many powerful fighters joining her to make sure Uriko comes home safely. We also have scouts on every major and side route to the docks. When they move, we will know it and if they try anything, we will be ready." He said confidently.
Mitsuko and Alice smiled at the reassurance Long gave them. Mitsuko still blamed and hated Shenlong for all of this, but was relieved that that he was (supposedly) no longer involved. The evening came to a close and Shina waited on the piere where they agreed to meet. Everything was quiet, save for a few sea gulls on the wind. Xie had been watching from a near by building for the past couple hours for anything suspicious, but to his surprise and delight, Shina had been waiting there patiently the whole time. He signaled Hung to come out and meet her, but not to engage her. He wanted to keep control of the situation.