Chapter Fifty

Ivy noted Gary was getting more and more stressed each day until she had to go and it made her get worried, unable to figure out what the heck was wrong with him. Yet she was also getting more and more irritated with the man.

Was it selfish of her to think that Gary should do his utmost to make time for her before she left again?

A little maybe, but at the same time, it was his own damn fault for trying to push Jaguars in a way they may not have been truly ready for. Then again, their numbers were large, so Ivy was thinking that they could, just they didn't have enough higher up members with more administrative and leadership abilities.

Then again, she blamed Gary and his territorial tendencies for that.

Still, she didn't mind because trusting the right person and having them betray them would be decimating.

Lani was exhausted each day, and Ivy was feeling anxious for her health to remain stable. This was one hell of a stressful job and even though Lani was getting paid wonderfully for equally wonderful work, the girl was physically the weakest of them. She'd gotten the girl shipped off to her favourite spa in Ayrshire for a day of pampering with Mandy meeting up with them later on in the day. Mandy had surprised them with having a tattoo of a Jaguar on her ankle and the two had cooed over the prettiness of it, with Lani declaring she'd get one as soon as she had time as Mandy covered it up again.

Ivy had taken over the hacking for Lani for a few hours, not quite as good as her hacking partner in crime, but doing enough that Lani wouldn't fret over the lack of work so badly and would chill Gary out herself if he got aggravated by it. The girl had been surprised as she wobbled out from a delicious hour long massage but grateful. "I forget that you've been injured with nothing to do. I'm so used to you fighting that having really decent skills in this is surprising. No offence, haggis. I just haven't seen any of your hacking work while you were in recuperation mode." She said lightly, slumping down next to her.

"I love you too, fish and chips."

Mandy followed Lani out, just as wobbly and relaxed as the hacker. "Oh man, that guy is the best."

"Oh yeah…" Ivy smiled in memory at each time she got a massage done. "Feel better?"

"Much." Lani smiled dreamily, falling on her shoulder.

The second in command chuckled before looking out the window and narrowing her eyes at the Russian members passing in their jeep slowly out the window. "Mandy, Lani, go home. Alert the lads now." Ivy got up swiftly, passing over the laptop and the bag.

.I.

Ivy stared down at the ground in denial. A squirming mass in her arms was the only movement. Why the fuck she was holding a baby would've been anyone's guess, yet the truth of the matter is that there'd been a fearful woman holding this baby in the same room as her before one of the Russians took her away for interrogation, leaving her with the babe. Great. She awkwardly held the baby in her hands before recalling about holding the head correctly, remembering doing the same for her brothers when she was about ten.

Then she remembered why she hated holding babies.

They loved hair.

Munching on it, touching it, tugging it.

Bleh.

Googly eyes stared at her in fascination, smiling and making chirpy little noises but it didn't avert her real situation of being a somewhat willing prisoner. Four guards at the door, constant patrolling men with guns; just what the fuck were the Wolves thinking about doing to her? There were easier, more business like ways if they wanted to use her talent. Or did they just want to kill her off? Her hands stiffened around the child. She didn't want to die. Fuck, she even held fear about getting old just because her fighting abilities would naturally decline. She'd always consoled herself with the fact martial arts were about dexterity and accuracy rather than strength but it still always made her depressed.

She shook her head and scowled at the door before an uncomfortable moving body made her made relax and she gave a dour look to the baby.

If only it wasn't here then she'd have made an escape, but she couldn't just leave the baby there.

It went right against her dumbass honour.

Why'd dad have to instil her with such stupid principles of integrity?

"Bloody thing."

She must have been there, playing with the baby, for about, what? Four or five hours for lack of anything else to do? The child started to whinge a bit and she couldn't smell anything bad, so… hunger, right?

"Oi! Tosspots, it's hungry!" She called out, sitting at the table in the room, the only piece of furniture in there. She was unsure where she was, how long she'd been in here or why the hell they'd captured some freaked out woman along with her baby. She placed the baby on the table on top of the child's cover, unsure if it were male or female, and huffed at the lack of response and then tried to dredge up an insult she'd heard Alyona use. "Zalupa!" She yelled causing their heads to turn and glare at her and knew she'd gotten 'Dickhead' right.

Fuck yeah that felt good.

"Bliatz." One muttered and her limited Russians skills knew it meant 'Bitch'.

"Otvali shliushka." She hoped 'piss off, little slut' came out right. It certainly made her tormented target twitch. "Or something like that. Thanks, Alyona."

"Alyona? That woman is alive?" A heavily Russian accented English replied, the man she'd been insulting, looking in intently. "Dreadlocks?"

"Yeah." Ivy replied warily, eyeing him in confusion and then rubbed her finger against the baby's cheek when the offspring made noise. "You know her?"

He entered, big, bulky and exceedingly handsome. Tall, dark, rugged with piercing eyes and entirely her type, but she easily took in the gorgeousness and let it slip by just an unobtrusively when she noticed the pleading look. "She's my sister, we thought she had died. She is well?"

"Well, yeah. She's a Jaguar. Anyway, zalupa, get me the fuck out of here and I can let you see her."

"I cannot. I am Mikhail." He sat at the table then looked at the little being on the table. "This baby…? You like him?" He wondered and Ivy simply narrowed her eyes at him. "I simply am bored."

So it was male. "He's cute. Most babies are." Ivy shrugged, trying to pull off uncaring but the little thought of what her own would be like made her a little easier to read. She mentally cursed Gary and every bloody one else for talking about children the past few months. There was no way she was coming around to the idea. No way. The child giggled and then suckled on her finger, waving it's… his arm and she couldn't help the little grin.

Fuck.

She inwardly knew being around the talk of it had led her to be more prepared for it and cursed them all.

"The mother is around no longer." That stopped her cold and she looked up at him in surprise before looking back down at the happy baby. "Do you wish to have him?"

"No."

"A shame. One with your talents would be a good protector and provider. Alyona, she is happy?"

"I'm sure she is." Ivy replied unwillingly. Victor Boris walked in at that moment causing her body to tense, ready to protect herself, but he merely snarled something in Russian at the brother of Alyona. "Yo. What are you going to do about this?"

Victor looked over at her as she pointed at the child. "Get rid of it."

The Scot couldn't believe her ears. "It's just a baby! Give it over to an adoption agency, jeeze! And why am I here, already?" After going up to the car, she'd been quickly surrounded and it didn't help they were in broad daylight and she had an identity to hide still. Reluctantly she'd followed, hoping Lani and Mandy were fine and had called Gary and he was on the job already. It surely hadn't been too long?

"I'm to hold you to give you over after our part of the deal is done."

"Over to who?"

"Your leader."

Relief filled her. He'd come through for her! But then confusion tore at her. "Part of the deal?"

"To see you safely over to the Jaguars."

Oh. Made sense. Yet something tugged at her. Why would she be taken in the first place? "Why was I kidnapped then?"

"Business."

This whole thing didn't make sense again until she worded it out slowly. "I was kidnapped because of business and you're holding me until you see me over to the Jaguars? Who were you having business with?"

"None of your concern, Jaguar."

Indignation flared brightly before she realised that she was still a prisoner and still very much killable, no matter her worth. Some would simply prefer her completely gone than to demand she work for them with blackmail or try to entice her to their side. It didn't matter she was a top martial artist and wicked with a gun they could try and convert; sometimes it's best to take that person out completely. This kidnapping honestly made her want to huddle up somewhere with a cover over her head and let Gary deal with retribution until it all blew over. Once again, she inwardly cursed herself for her 'runaway and let problem solve themselves' mentality.

Then Ivy frowned, rubbing her closed eyes.

Wait, let Gary deal with it?

Since when was she so dependent on him?

She didn't need him to get her out of anything.

Ivy felt anger burrow at her thoughts and position she was in and glared up at him.

In fact…

"Whatever." She dismissed. "Can you take the child away to an adoption centre then?"

"Why would I bother? It's not mine." His phone went and he watched her as he took it out, but Ivy knew her situation for now and would gladly wait to strike for this indignity. "Da? Hm. Jaguar is here. Come. Take it or leave it, I don't care." He snapped the phone off and exited with Ivy quickly snatching up the child in his quilt.

She followed him to a main room and was quickly shoved down into a chair opposite her Jaguars. The baby grumbled in her arms at the swift movement, but she simply let him gnaw on her finger as he lay on her lap, reminding her of the time her twins were little bits like this. It was a sweet time indeed. She flickered her eyes up to Gary who slowly blinked at her, emotionless around neutrals, before letting him take the reins and focused her attention on keeping the baby quiet as she listened to the area around her.

"Welcome."

"Victor." Gary greeted before his eyes slunk over to her form, drinking in the sight of her playing with a baby. He'd planned this whole thing just for this moment. Just like he thought, she was having trouble concentrating on anything but the baby, barely even looking at him. She deserved to be a mom and this only reinforced it in his mind. With how she treated the twins, the Jaguars and looked after him, she was definitely full of 'motherhood' potential. "You've something of mine?"

Ivy closed her eyes to stop from rolling them before leaning back and ignoring the giggling being on her lap and looked at her side. Something about this didn't stack up. Something was off. Jimmy stood behind Gary along with Alyona and a good few other Jaguars watching on with hard faces. She looked around at all of this. All of a sudden, she wanted out. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want to carry on doing this. She didn't like this child on her lap. She didn't want to see her friends in these life or death situations. She was the fucking idiot for getting the idea into Gary's head. The one to first agree with joining him. The first to get the tattoo.

Now she was relatively useless for the group.

Her mind flashed through all the people she'd taken down and her mind settled on what her twins would think.

They'd be horrified.

Suddenly, she simply stood up, put the child down on the table in front of her and walked away.

Victor tried stopping her but she put his hand in a lock, pressuring when he wanted to fight back, causing him to buckle.

"No, Victor." Her voice was light, uncaring. "I'm going now. Gary, come." She commanded and walked away, leaving everyone unsure as to what was happening before the male, scowled and did as she said, throwing the suitcase full of money on the table. They were out before Gary grabbed her shoulder. "Let me guess, what the fuck was that?"

"Exactly."

"I don't care. I couldn't give two shits about it anymore." Ivy stated in brutal honestly, pulling him to one of the Jaguar jeeps, pushing him in and slamming it after her. "Take us to the Bullworth base." She turned and pushed the button to lift the window up so the driver could see nor hear anything in the back. "Screw me." Her eyes narrowed. "Now."

Who was he to say no?

.I.

The next two days Ivy had kept him up with promiscuous promising, tiring Gary out utterly.

She watched him as he slept, fiddling with her ring before sighing and taking it off, putting it on the chain and gently placing it over Gary's head to rest it around his neck.

With a bit of hesitation, she took his, putting it in her pocket.

She kissed his lips gently, licking inwards slightly, but not enough to completely molest the man.

Only needing a taste.

There was no way Gary would ever accept her leaving of her own free will and giving up the Jaguars meant giving up her whole life. Her career, her friends, her lover… well, she'd given up her family in her old life and that had meant the world to her. She just didn't know how to take this killing and kidnapping anymore. She needed a break. She needed to find herself. She needed to figure out if she wanted to still be an active Jaguar. She ran a hand over her face and got up, having spiked his drink with tasteless sleeping pills. He wouldn't be up for hours. She got dressed, got her pre-packed gear and went downstairs.

Lani met her, looking worried. "Are you sure, Ivy?"

"Lani, I must have… I must have killed up to a thousand people." The Englishwoman's eyes bulged causing Ivy to look away in pain at the fact it was nearer two to two and a half rather than one.

"How did they hide it? That's... near impossible to."

"We've planted many fake doctors reports of tragic illnesses and accident and paid many people off. Or they've gone on holiday and have never been heard of again. Sometimes it's just unsolved murders, and sometimes it's pinned on other people. Anyway possible, really."

"Will you be back?"

"I can't… I can't continue right now. I need to get my shit together. I need a break. I don't know if I'll be back. I think I will, but- but... Look, just… just keep him safe. Guide him with common sense. Be his friend. Petey will do his best, but you two get along just as well and without me during my last time in Spain, he was always touching Petey. Give him a spontaneous hug once in a while. Just don't forget he's mine." She smirked a little at Lani's sighing shake of the head. "Yeah, yeah, you're screwing Ricky. Just keep the chicks away from him, especially that Alyona. I'll miss you, toad-in-the-hole."

The Brit hugged her younger, shorter boss, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Yeah, me too, haggis."

.I.

Vale looked at her in disappointment before thinking it through. This was still a girl-woman of nearly twenty who'd not had a single break from this life and had taken more lives than he had in his whole life; within less than a year. All of a sudden, her habit of running was exceedingly understandable. People needed breaks from traumatic events. Needed ways of relaxing. When was the last time she'd had a proper one? When was the last time any of those kids took time away from constant planning and fighting and shoot-outs? Vale couldn't believe it hadn't happened sooner. Maybe he'd have to pull rank and get them to calm down before they broke themselves. "Where?"

"I can't tell you, Vale. I don't even know myself."

"Do you intend to break away forever?"

"Yes." Then thought of giving them up made guilt and longing rush through her. "No." She immediately replied before shutting her trap with a grimace and running a hand through her hair. "I don't know. I'll finish off my contract for you sometime in my life. That I promise. I won't give up on my commitments."

"What about Gary? Is he not one?" She winced and looked at the ground, saying nothing. "I see. He will end up searching the world for you," Vale said lightly and the woman seemed to deflate in front of him.

"Yeah. I know. But it's him that'd pull me back into this and I can't… I just can't…" She put a hand to her eyes, harshly rubbing them.

Choi watched on silently from leaning against the wall before pushing off and walking up to her and leaning to whisper in her ear. "You should find Sifu Han in Hong Kong. Let me help you get citizenship sped through."

The idea… sounded appealing. "I… Yeah."

"Good. Come. Vale, I will take care of this so you have no reason to quarrel with your grandson. If he knew you knew anything of where she is I have no doubt he'd destroy the Tigers himself." Vale hesitated before nodding in sighing agreement. Choi then turned to her sternly. "Ivy, I'll give you five years." Vale's eyes widened at the time length and Choi's commanding tone. He'd been expecting months not years. Did Choi really see how much she needed this over Vale himself knowing? "You have that to find yourself or never come back." Ivy's eyes widened this time, and then he continued once more. "I'm serious. We have no time for traitors, but we do for travelling on a career break. You have your degree certificate, so you have a job to go into at least. You just have to find that person I just told you of for a place to live."

"Bring me to the airport?"

"Yes, Sije."

"Thank you, Eun. Vale, grandpa, I'll be back."

The journey was long and quiet, Choi making phone calls and speaking in both Korean and Chinese.

He finally toned off the calls and looked to her. "You have a private jet to Kowloon. You're on your own to finding him."

"Thank you. Can I ask you a favour or two?"

"If it is not out of my range of ability."

"Get them things for their birthdays from me until I come back? I'll write a list now."

If she cared for them so much, why did she not stay? Or explain herself? Or even drag them with her? Vale could handle the bulk once more and they could telecommute. Choi sighed and nodded. "I can do that at least. Here. It's a type of pill to help you sleep for the flight. Doctor Phelps created it. It will cleanse your system in case he has tracked you. Do not ask me how."

"Cheers."

.I.

"Hm..." Gary's head was fuzzy and throat dry but the ring around his neck, the one he'd put a tracker in, glimmering back at him innocently when he looked down at the odd itching on his naked chest brought a horrible feeling encapsulating him. His hand tightened around it before he got up, quickly throwing on some jeans and a teal shirt. He quickly dashed around the house for clues, noting her favourite sparring shoes gone, only a couple changes of clothing, but nothing electronic and traceable.

She was a touch smarter than he thought, but then again she was a hacker.

He always forgot that after her amazing feats of physicality and lack of high scores in the Academy that she'd know about tracking.

Or she just didn't care about it.

Just didn't care about them.

Care about him.

His chest clenched, feeling sick and sweaty at that thought.

Logging onto the computer did nothing for him; she hadn't done anything online he'd not known about and he hadn't thought to implant an actual trace into her, figuring she'd keep the damn ring on her all the time. Well, she had until then. He'd make sure to plant something in that damn tattoo to make sure he knew where she was at all times. Not only did this fuck up some plans – Ivy's reputation for swift demolishing was well known in this state amongst the elite gangs after the Big Five's news of being impressed got out, something he used as a weapon itself by sometimes making her appear by his side at meetings – but it would fuck up things in the home.

Home.

Did the others know?

Jimmy was with Mandy and Petey his three playthings.

Would Lani know anything?

His gut instinct said yes.

The girl was nursing a cup of tea when he found her, and his hunch was right when she looked at him knowingly, laptop screen blaring light across her face. "Where is she, accountant?!"

"I'm not sure. All I know was that she left hours ago, a day even. You've been asleep the whole time. She'll be well gone by now," Lani admitted tiredly and held up her hand when he scowled darkly and looked ready to snap at her. "Don't try to interrogate; I'll tell you everything I do know. I let her go because she's also my leader and I have no physical way to stop her and in that type of mind I wouldn't be able to talk any sense into her. Only you could've… but I doubt even then would have any impression. I'm only telling you because you're also my leader." Lani slowly spilled what she knew, detailing the sleeping pills used and Ivy's leaving and all she could remember from her last words. "So, yeah."

There was a pause of silence before Lani broke it hesitatingly, on a different subject.

"Boss. We have many men and so, so much work that I can barely keep up working fourteen hour days. Is there any chance we could focus on… hiring administrative people more? We have our own lawyers and solicitors and barristers, whatever terms you prefer, but we need sub-heads if we're to survive the business aspect which is becoming heavier and heavier by the week. We both know this."

Gary did, but his control streak would be hard to regulate when it came to his things, so he merely nodded tensely.

Lani didn't even blink when he turned her laptop away from her and scoured through his many email boxes. "What do you want to do about Ivy?"

He struggled with replying, "Give her a couple weeks. Then if she isn't with Vale again…" Gary didn't know what to do then. He'd do his damned fucking best to track his runaway wife, but he had much work to do here to keep everything running, repairing links with the Russians, but it seemed one of the main men had found his sister in the Jaguars and the Russian leader had a soft spot for his member. Ivy still found herself useful with her two main abilities not being used. How did she not see this? Fucking problematic woman and her fucking hang-ups. She was beyond lucky he bloody well loved her. He rubbed his eyes at such a thought and the way it was worded. Gary loved her too much. "I'll get more people in."

Lani gave him a swift hug, putting her hands up when he glowered at her, grinning at him. "I'll do whatever I can to help, boss."

"Good," He said gruffly, now rubbing his temples, trying to sort through his thoughts before something occurred to him and then he shook his head. No, that wouldn't happen. "I'll be in contact with grandfather. I'm giving my work to you while I find more people. Maybe it's time to take over all the locals rather than the big leagues for now," He murmured, noting her perked up state. "What?"

"I'm glad." Lani smiled once more. "The Big Five scare me."

His brown eyes looked over her honest face before he snorted and let his mind wander. Vale was the biggest thought. Where the hell else would she be? Dutiful was the word to describe her, and she wouldn't balk out on keeping up her agreement that the Jaguars and the Tigers made. He thought about Cancun or the Quetzalcoatl's but that was a long shot. Spain was more likely, especially if she'd run off to Vale like he supposed she would have, then she'd still be in her agreement made boundaries. He mulled over it, but after such great sex him mind was peacefully blank. "Who's the strongest right now apart from our side?"

"The Wolves, the Cobra's, the Kai or the Road Killers who just moved in."

He needed to focus his head on something not Ivy. "We'll be taking over the Road Killers after first tempting whoever we can find useful. Then… perhaps the Wolves." Kai had worldwide links and they were also very useful still. The Cobra's hadn't done anything, more friendly in deals when Gary decided to be fair, but the Wolves were the ones who were rather frivolous with their allying.

"Tempt betrayers and traitors?"

She had a point.

"A temporary filling," Gary amended then. "The work is in the study. Get to it," He commanded, leaving the kitchen and grabbing a jacket and his usual boots, putting them on and leaving.

He had to sort his head out and minutely wondered if this is what it felt like to be Ivy, needing a break.

A break.

They all needed one.

.I.

Jimmy blinked. "Gone?"

Petey nodded with pursed lips as Mandy gasped and Lani stared out the window to see her boyfriend and Lance dabbling in some electronic things on that sunny day, topless and looking far too good for such a sombre talk.

"Are you s-?"

"What do you think?" The doctor in training asked angrily before slumping his shoulders a little. "Sorry."

Gary was in the corner of the room, watching on, and waiting for it with arms crossed.

"Is this fucking you again, Smith?" Jimmy rounded on the male as if on demand.

The leader mentally scoffed. 'There we go.'

"There's a chance my actions could have aided her on this path." Gary sneered at him, daring him to say anything.

"So why'd she go?!" Jimmy demanded, standing up as he glared at him. "That's my best friend, you asshole. It's always fucking you doing something to send her running!"

Gary blinked at that, somewhat surprised he'd never picked that up, because it was true. He considered that a little. Cancun. The twins disappearing and his reaction to it. Thailand. Even taking over Jaguars and her going to Spain could be considered him doing something to make her want to leave his side. Now she'd gone because of his pushiness to wanting children. He couldn't help put his wishes and wants onto her because she was his, the closest person he'd ever have, almost another part of him, and that was how he worked. He was so used to her being there like an extension of himself that he projected his goals on her as if she too wanted them so when she did something good he was beyond pleased, even at the smallest things, but when she did something exasperating his frustration with her was higher than usual.

He hated her not by his side, his possessive urges going riot inside him. "I'll hunt her down. Have no worries of that, friend."

"Hunt?! That's not- Ugh." Jimmy scowled at him, chugging down the decanter of brandy Lani had given him, topping his up again. "Just stop doing it! We're stressed to fuck! We've had no fucking time out! If I'm feeling it, then Ivy, who's so tangled up in you and your damn ambitions, has probably had her mentality blowing up because of you! It's a wonder none of us have done anything sooner! We can't handle this on our own constantly!"

"Isn't she your break?" Gary eyed Mandy who flushed a little.

"Even we will eventually get pissed off being around each other for so long." Jimmy said in exasperation, rolling his eyes. "We need time to ourselves."

"You do?" Gary just didn't have that need.

Jimmy gave him a disbelieving look.

Petey could only nod in agreement. "There's no way I could stay around the three Bruzzini's for so long, as push-able and easy going as I am. But I am balancing three women." He added with a small smile. "Just promise us you won't push her to come back if you do find her. Well, when you do find her. There's such a thing as pushing too far and this time, she hasn't taken neither Jimmy nor myself like she did to Thailand, Cancun, and to my parents. Even at my parents we were meant to go abroad before I laid my problems on her and she helped me fix it." The doctor in training admitted.

"Ivy doesn't care about you laying your problems on her. You're one of her best friends and she'll find herself honor-bound to help you." Gary absently spoke. "All four of you are." He added on, looking out the window, not noticing their traded looks of consideration, wondering if he could use that to help him get her back.

Then again, it was his plans that chased her away.

Should he wait it out?

At the very least, he'd first find out her whereabouts.

Then he'd decide.

.I.

The first few nights in Hong Kong were rough as hell. They full o

f desperately longing to go back and blurt out apologies but she'd held back and coped, knowing she needed to figure herself out. Yet with it now being two months later, finding Sifu was looking utterly hopeless. She'd had money in her bag and plenty of accounts to take advantage of when she'd gotten here, as well as weapons, but to splash around such cash and buy even a cheap apartment could cause attention that she couldn't have. Far too detrimental. She had a picture of Sifu Han and had taken to flashing it in underground fight arena's where she'd kept low and on the lookout but no one knew anything.

Of course they didn't.

Even if they had they wouldn't tell the female outsider they kept away from.

Ugh.

She stayed in very cheap hotels and ate cheap but fresh food from stalls, watching every single item used in the meals and picking up the language with far more fluency from some kind local women in the outer reaches of northern Hong Kong coming up near mainland China. Her grasp on it had improved in leaps and bounds with lack of much else to do but search, track and learn. Basic conversations were easy, but many adjectives remained out of her understanding until she could find some person well versed in English to explain. Insults were always fun and at the top of things first learnt list, so she'd gotten used to being called derogatory terms behind her back from underground triads.

She'd had plenty of run in's with '49-ers', the simple foot soldiers, of different triads groups, hating having to look weak and feeble, but she'd managed to steer clear of Red Pole's and Straw Sandals that way - the head of a fighting sect and liaisons between the different groups of each singular triad gang respectively. If the '49-ers' didn't know of her then she felt safe in the knowledge that any leader's and operations officers - people above the Pole's and Straw's - didn't know her.

But she wasn't leaving until she got a lead damnit.

She'd been sick from eating the wrong food that upset her belly for about a week, and giving her nausea, but no real vomiting, and she wondered if she was simply allergic to something out here. She'd narrowed it down by experimentation and stuck away from the chicken's… something that had some sort of spicy… stuff on it and that'd helped, so she stayed away from the spicy section of Hong Kong's street market stalls and had been fine ever since. One of the kinder local women that owned a teashop had taken to giving her ginger tea she'd homebrewed and made from their own ingredients in their back garden, and it'd worked a treat, especially on her throat, with Ivy happily running gopher tasks for her in return.

It had helped her to get connections between the gossipy women giving her some leads but never much more than dead ends, depressing her. Ivy didn't know how to face going back after so long away, so she trekked on, desperate to find Sifu Han and find some solace for a little while.

So it was a blow that when she did find him, he closed the door on her face.

'Wanker!' She thought to herself angrily. She banged on the door insistently. "Sifu Han! You let me in you old coot!"

"I've nothing to do with them anymore!" He called back through the door.

She kept on knocking irritably on the door. "The hell are you talking about?! I'm here by my own mind! I-I ran…" She banged a couple of times but he didn't answer and then, kneeling, called into his postbox, "I ran because I'm tired and I'm scared! I'm tired of hurting people and I'm scared of what that means for me!"

The door opened with a scowling Sifu alighting the way as he glowered down at her. "It's your own fault!"

"I know it is but, Sifu, please! Please! I just want to find someone to help me for a while as I sort myself out. Give me advice. I need a shoulder from a wiser person and there's no one better I know than you." She said, standing up slowly. "I never had any knowledge of what was going down. Only my husband did."

The man looked at her, realising that his prodigy was still only twenty and she'd been embroiled in the fast and hard life and was coming down from her high and going 'cold turkey' so to speak. He'd been twice her age before his first experience, and she wasn't raised around it either and had delved so utterly into the heart of it she'd probably had been drowning in it and even more worse still since he'd left. He got reports every few months from some old friendly contacts. Jaguars had taken down some, nay, most, of the biggest in the state and he had no doubt who was leading the frontline attacks on that.

To be honest, he was absolutely fearful of the girl, and had no trouble admitting it.

Fearful of her abilities and experience and unnatural power she always had to keep tight contol of, fearful of whom she was in league with and especially fearful of whom would follow her to take her back.

He was surprised none of the local gangs here had picked up on it, and wondered how she'd hid it so far.

"Ivy?"

Her head perked up when she saw Mina and an unfamiliar woman. "Mina… You're here?"

"Snapping Teeth stick together," Mina replied dazedly.

Ivy took the girl in, a lot more mature looking and so much prettier than she remembered her. There was maybe a couple inches height increase, so now the girl stood even with Ivy's five foot three, and her hair had lengthened plenty, going down to her waist in glimmering strands of silkiness. There was no anger or hate upon seeing her on their doorstep, but blinking away the surprise, wariness and worry soon emerged. "There's nothing wrong… well, apart from me. I needed a break from the life I've lived since you were gone, and Sifu was the first person I thought of."

"I am your Sifu no longer."

"You'll always be my Sifu. Just like my first one, and just like Sifu Choi."

"You continued Muay Thai?" Sifu asked softly, intrigued and wondering at how far she'd grown in over a year without him.

"Of course. I even began picking up Southern Dragon Kung Fu from Sifu Zhang."

"I will have nothing to do with any of the gangs anymore…" Sifu smiled at her disappointed face as he stroked his beard. "However. There is a Southern Dragon Kung Fu temple to the North-West. Barely any technology and only a single bus to get there once a week."

Completely away from everything and also practising the arts?

"Sounds wonderful."

"If you are staying for a while…?"

Ivy hesitatingly said, "Choi gave me five years or demanded I not return."

"The temple does have a tendency to drag in strays. The bus is in two days. I will take you there, for now, come in."

.I.

"How is… How is Petey?"

Ivy had wondered when Mina would bring this up as she cleaned plates and Mina dried them, having been a bit bemused by the fact Chinese people cleaned their cutlery and plates twice but accepting it. An odd but delightful cultural twist. One of the few she could understand.

Chinese people could be friggin' gross though.

For instance they spat everywhere; apparently this was because swallowing phlegm was some kind of bad sign for you, but they could at least aim for a damn bin or a drain grate in the road or just on the road- not where she was about to fucking walk, thank you old man. And the smoking! Holy shit, the smoking was bad. They even smoked in hospitals. around this part of the outback old country style part of the country. Who the fuck did that with all the warnings around in this day and age? It drove her barmy because while she was used to the smell of weed, fag smoke just smelt tainted and nasty. And a hell of a lot of them didn't cover their mouths when sneezing!

Maybe it was just the area she'd landed in but…

She shuddered.

Ugh.

Fucking nasty.

She'd never met any Chinese person in Scotland, Spain, England or America like that and she'd met and passed hundreds. Who hadn't? Nor did they stare so damn much like they did here and oh her fucking deities above did that freak her out at first, paranoid as fuck. But no, staring curiously was just a thing over here.

Weird.

"Ivy?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah he's well, still studying to become a paramedic, but we also have him learning under an actual doctor like an apprenticeship thing, so he's doing really well on that. Excellent even. Jimmy finally got with Mandy, and she's also studying under the doc for natal, to become primarily a midwife, but also secondarily a surgeon. Petey's more on the spot healing though. He's patched me up a few times when a meeting or two got angry and tense."

"Oh."

Ivy looked at her carefully and gave a wry smile. "He missed you for months afterwards." Her face flushed and Ivy knew she hit the mark of what Mina wanted to hear but then sighed as she added on, "He does have a girlfriend now, though I don't know if it's anything really serious like it was for you two. What do you… what do you think about Petey, after what happened?"

After what happened to your father?

Mina slowed down on her cleaning. "Well, at first I hated him. It's that… I loved him and I loved father. How could he do this to me? But then I was angry and then it slowly… went away. I just wish none of it happened because I still love him, even now. When I shouldn't." She bit her bottom lip. "I hate myself for it but I don't and it makes me feel crazy and stupid and-and-"

Ivy dried her hands and gave her a hug which was instantly approved of as Mina hugged her back.

"Can I come with you?"

"To the temple? To stay?" Ivy blinked, looking down at her in surprise. "Truly?"

"Dad left money for me? So can I join you?"

The Scot honestly didn't mind. "It's completely up to you, sweetness. Of course I wouldn't mind, as long as you're serious about learning for a few years." Ivy didn't think she could go back anytime soon and she understood dedication, but did Mina? Did the girl know it'd be physically and mentally draining?

"I am." The determination flashed through her face.

"Then I'd suggest packing what you'll need and letting your mother and Sifu know."

Mina bounced away and Ivy sighed, mind filled with many thoughts to munch through.

.I.

Mina's mother, Mei, had been crying and clinging to her child that was going away yet again, cursing the foreigner for her actions and causing a bit of a scene. "I'll give you time." Ivy simply shook her head and walked on to the bus stop, with Sifu following, waving a fan in his face from the heat.

"Those two days were awkward."

"Only as much as they would ever be considering that woman is attached to her little girl."

Ivy added on slowly, "Who's also growing up very quickly, yes?" She'd been living in another country at seventeen going on eighteen. "Mina is only going to be hours away by bus."

"It'll be very scheduled." Sifu warned sternly. "Though I know you'll have nothing else to do but train, learn the Chinese language fully and think."

"Yeah."

He gave her a worried look. She'd seemed constantly stressed and wound up, discerning eyes looking at everything and everyone warily. Ivy had changed into an impressive warrior. She didn't need the physical teachings of these people; she needed the harder mental teachings.

Mina caught up, looking teary and clung onto Ivy's arm, just like she used to back in America.

The journey was long and loud and humid, slowly getting quieter as people got off and they knew that eventually they'd be there.

Sifu led them up the thousands of stairs, passing by training monks and practitioners and they were quiet for the forty minutes it took them to go up the stairs. An older man greeted them curiously and Sifu spoke to him as the two girls looked around, staring at the large amount of men and few women meditating or napping in the sun. Then he turned to the two women. "I am Sifu Li Jie." He explained the rules and what was expected of them. No sex, no smoking, no meat eating; the list went on. Then he looked at the pair of them, nodding slowly at Mina before turning to Ivy. "It'll be a first for me in my time to have one like you here but we will do our best to accommodate you and I'm sure some of the youngsters will appreciate this too."

Ivy cocked her head, confused. "Pardon? Is it because I'm foreign?"

He smiled lightly. "No. You will soon know, Niang Ivy."

Mina gasped and looked at her before taking her bag for her, causing Ivy to gawp at her before reaching back for it. "No, no! Not in your state!"

"State?" She was full of dread suddenly.

Sifu Han chuckled. "Looks like problems follow you. Congratulations. You're expecting a baby."

Ivy nearly fainted.

.I.

A/N: Oh dear, after running away form the problem, it actually follows her. Honestly, Ivy, you made me do this to you.

I threw this up because its been too long without and update. Much love to all thos who reviewed and added to favs. I will add you next time! Or update this! LaRS x