So guys, I did a thing. A really weird thing. Read this chapter, be happy, be appalled, be joyous, be disgusted, be offended, be whatever you want to be but I kind of laughed while writing this chapter. Not because it's funny but because I knew that [this idea] never crossed anyone's mind before and it's kind of really out there. But I'm going to do it anyway. So.
Disclaimer: NYSM belongs to someone that is not me.
P.S. there is some Chinese words (according to google translate and I know that's not really accurate so sorry to those who actually speak Chinese here) in here so whenever you see Chinese pinyin I will put the translations in parenthesis near them.
Jacky boy
The shot rang out and Jack knew, Jack knew before he felt it, that the bullet was coming for him. Jack dropped, but the speed of a bullet is much faster than most people think. Jack knew that already too. He knew he was going to get hit. He just hoped it wasn't going to be a vital shot.
This is a flashback.
"Hey! Give that back!" a boy yelled angrily. The boy lashed out with a fist, nicking him on the cheek, causing him to stumble but he continued trying to run away with the boy's pocket change. "I said: give it back!" he yelled again, grabbing the other young boy's collar and pushing him up against the wall of the Laundromat.
Jack grunted as his head bounced off the brick wall but he kept a firm grip on the cash in his hand while his other hand scrabbled uselessly against the boy's hands around his jacket. When Jack realized he wouldn't be getting away so quickly he looked up into the boy's face. He had dark brown hair and almond shaped eyes, his mouth was set in a firm line. "Back off," he said, trying to sound threatening.
"Give my money back," the boy demanded again.
Jack snarled at the boy and brought his knee up into the boy's crotch. Just as the other boy's hands started slackening around his neck another, older voice rang out in the out-of-the-way alleyway. "What's going on here, Chi?"
Jack whipped around, not sparing the boy on the ground cupping himself a single glance, and started running what he hoped was the opposite way of the older voice. Growing up he had learned rather quickly that you didn't ever want them to see your face – they could recognize you better that way. He ran down the alleyway and glanced behind him only to run right into the solid chest of the second, older voice. Jack looked up at the man and saw that he looked exactly like the younger boy – an older brother maybe? The man grabbed Jack's collar just as the young boy, now identified as Chi, had and asked again, "What's going on here?"
Jack shook his head fiercely and said, "Nothing."
"He took my money, Min!" Chi cried as he shakily got up from the ground.
The man, now identified as Min, looked down at the boy in front of him and said, "It is not good to lie, boy."
"Let me go," Jack replied, trying to shake off the stronger man.
"Where are your father and mother?" Min asked instead of complying.
"He's from the street, Èr gē," the boy piped in. (second oldest brother)
Jack craned his neck to glare at the boy behind him and Min said, "No parents?"
Jack didn't answer him but kept trying to shake him and kept grumbling.
Min looked at Chi and said, "Wǒmen jiāng wǒmen de fùqīn dài tā qù." (We will take him to our father)
Jacky boy
When the impact of the bullet slammed into his right shoulder, only years of practicing self-control and the experience of having felt the pain of bullets previously kept him from crying out in pain. Henley might hear him. Henley might try running back for him. He couldn't let that happen.
Flashback wooooo
Jack looked around himself warily as they walked through Chinatown and more and more people joined them as they continued their walk. He didn't have any idea what was going on, but he wasn't really scared. He didn't exactly have a lot to look forward to in his life and if they beat him up – or worse – it's not like he had anything to go back to.
The young men and boys around him chattered to each other in a language he couldn't understand but easily deduced was Chinese as they lead him to what looked like any other building up and down the mega block of Chinatown. He couldn't make sense of the neon sign blaring Chinese characters attached to the three story building and was left still confused as the men and boys took him around the back and into the building, taking a sharp left and up two flights of stairs.
On the third floor, immediately off the stairs, was an archway with strands of dark, translucent green beads hanging to the dark hardwood floor. The boys dragged him through the beads and into what looked like a little sitting room with a low table. A woman who could have been fourteen or thirty held a little child in her lap and beckoned a little toddler over to her as the boys walked through the room, bowing respectfully as they entered the room. Jack walked through the beads obliviously and an older boy growled, "Nǐ bìxū dītóu, wǒmen de shūnǚ," smacking the backside of his head. (You must bow to the Lady)
Jack glared back at the boy, confused and frustrated. He had no idea what was going on. The boy that had smacked him rolled his eyes and roughly grabbed Jack's arm, dragging him across the room and into the next room.
In the next room was a large desk made of the same dark wood that floored the room and seemed just as ancient. There were intricately carved chairs around the room and a large and detailed painting of an albino tiger and a peacock hanging on the back wall. Five men were in the room, one sitting behind the desk with another standing next to him and the remaining three lined before them. When the ensemble stumbled into the room with Jack in tow the man behind the desk stood and said in a stern voice, "Zhèlǐ fāshēngle shénme shì?" (What is going on/happening here?)
"Baba," Chi spoke up, "Zhège nánhái shìtú cóng wǒ zhèlǐ tōuqiè!" (this boy tried to steal from me!)
"Hé? Nǐ wèishéme yào gàosu wǒ zhège?" the man behind the desk thundered. He had dark brown hair – almost black – like the boys except his had two streaks of white racing back from the crown of his head to the tips at the nape of his neck. "Min, wèishéme nǐ bù chǔlǐ zhège?" (And? Why did you bring this to me/why did you bother me with this?) (Min, why didn't you deal with this?)
Jack was still thoroughly confused as the men and boys spoke to each other and he searched everyone's face trying to look for something that could tell him what was going on. The three men that had been standing before the desk now lined the side of the room with their hands folded behind them and stoic expressions on their faces while the men and boys who had followed him in were shifting nervously on their feet. Chi had called the old man behind the desk 'baba' which he assumed meant 'father' and was edging closer to the desk as they spoke. The young man, Min, answered the man in what could almost be called a pleading tone, "Baba, Zhège nánhái yǒu méiyǒu jiātíng, wǒ bùnéng líkāi tā zài dàjiē shàng." (Father, the boy has no home, I could not leave him on the street.)
"Min!" the old man glared at the young man. "Nǐ tài ruǎnle! Zhè jiùshì wèishéme nǐ gēgē jìchéng de yèwù, ér bùshì nǐ!" (Min! You are too soft! This is why your older brother(his twin who is older) will inherit [the business] and you will not.)
Jack couldn't be sure but he thought he saw Min flinch and then the old man shook his head and then looked at the man beside him, the three men lining the wall, and the other young men and boys behind Jack, "Suǒyǒu nǐ bìxū líkāi. Wǒ xiǎng yǔ wǒ de érzi hé Jiē lǎoshǔ shuōhuà." (All of you must leave. I wish to speak with my sons and the street rat.)
Jack looked around in confusion as the people started filing out of the room and he started following but Min gripped his arm tightly to prevent him from leaving. "What is your name, boy?" the old man asked in heavily accented English.
"Jack," he answered cautiously.
"Why did you take money from my youngest son?" He asked, eerily calm.
Jack glanced over at the aforementioned son and saw him glaring at him and responded with a glare of his own. When he looked back at the man the man's face was still seemingly impassive and Jack wasn't sure what to do and simply said, "I need it."
"It is like I had said, father," Min said, "I could not leave him."
A quick glare sent Min's way silenced him quickly and the old man said, "Líkāi tā zài xiàngzi lǐ." (leave him in the alley)
Jack glanced around, confused when the man started speaking Chinese again, and saw Chi grinning manically and Min with a defiant look in his eye. "Baba!" (father!)
"Bùyào gēn wǒ zhēngbiàn, érzi!" the old man hissed as he spared a disgusted glance in Jack's direction which left him feeling offended. (do not argue with me, son!)
"Tā bù huì shì yǒu quán líkāi tā zài nàlǐ! Tā kěnéng shì yǒuyòng de, baba" Min replied quickly in what could have sounded exasperated or pleading if Jack had any idea what they were saying. (It would not be right to leave him out there! He could be/become useful, father.)
Jacky boy
Jack grunted and rolled over in the snow covered ground, grateful that he had though to grab another gun, and shot the last two offending agents before they could shoot him again.
After making sure the agents were down he turned and sprinted into the woods. His shoulder ached like it was on fire and Jack felt his eyes sting as he held back cries of pain.
Feeling the wound and the blood that was seeping to the ground he quickly ripped his shirt into strips as he ran and tried wrapping his should himself as he kept running. He couldn't use his jacket because it was leather and he was running out of time. He had to make do with what he had.
Back to the flashback except this is a different time.
"Zàicì!" Fai, Min and Chi's older brother, demanded when Jack was knocked to the ground once again. (again!)
Jack shook his head in an attempt to clear it as he pushed himself up from the mat to try and beat Fai once again. It had been two years since he tried stealing from Chi and since then he had spent his time with the three brothers learning Chinese and Wing Chun, a type of Chinese martial arts which was what the bottom floor of the three story building turned out to be: and Wing Chun studio. He was getting very good, but he was still young.
"Zàicì!" Fai demanded for the hundredth time that day. (again!)
After the first year with the boys Jack could now fluently speak, write, and read Chinese and Xiānshēng Ru decided it would be worth it to put Jack in school so he could learn more and become smarter, more resourceful, as he had put it. (Mister Ru)
"Zàicì!" Fai said once again as Jack crashed into the mat again.
Jack tried, he really did, and just as he was dragging himself to his knees Min walked into the room and said, "Zúgòule, gege!" (enough, older brother!)
"Zhè méiguānxì, Min! Wǒ néng zuò dào zhè yīdiǎn," Jack spat out determined. He stood up again to face the young man in front of him and fight again. Disregarding the fact that Fai was nearly twenty years old and had fifteen years of experience while Jack was a measly twelve year old with barely two years' experience under his belt. He wouldn't back down. He was finding something here that he didn't have anywhere else and he was going to fight for it. (It's ok, Min! I can do this.)
Jacky Boy
Jack ran as quickly as he could, trying to suppress his groans as his shoulder screamed at him in pain. All he had to do was get to the creek. He had to believe that Daniel had some sort of plan. He had to believe that Daniel could get them out of this. As soon as he got to the creek he could pass out, but not now!
Flashback, different time again.
Jack wasn't stupid. He was actually very observant. He knew what went on around him. He knew that Mr. Ru was part of one of the Chinese gangs. He figured he must be pretty powerful: there were hundreds of people under him and who reported to him. Jack had never seen any kind of gang violence near the Wing Chun studio which he assumed was the base of operations which told him the other gangs respected Mr. Ru's territory and didn't challenge it.
This is why it surprised him one fall night three years after his arrival when three men burst into the studio sputtering nearly incoherently of how someone had jumped Fai and they didn't know where he was.
Mr. Ru had been furious. He had jumped up from his desk and thundered furiously at the men to wait by the door. There would be a ransom Mr. Ru had said.
Jack had turned to Chi, who had been sitting beside him outside of Mr. Ru's office and asked, "Tāmen zěnme shèfǎ bǔzhuō Fai? Tā shì zuì hǎo de zhàndòujī zhī yī?" (How did they manage to capture Fai? He is one of the best fighters)
Chi was glaring at the ground and answered in a low voice, "Tāmen kěndìng zuòle shǒujiǎo. Tāmen bìxū yòng yī bǎ qiāng qù shānghài tā." (They must have cheated. They must have used a gun to hurt him.)
Jack nodded. He knew all about guns. Mr. Ru had demanded that his sons must learn how to use guns as well as their bodies in a fight because he knew the world did not fight with just their hands and feet. He said they needed that extra measure of protection and because Jack was always with the boys he had learned as well. He, it turned out, was a very good shot.
What seemed like ages later there was a request for a ransom in the form of a young boy dressed in red.
"Zhè shì shénme, nánhái?" Mr. Ru demanded. (What is it, boy?)
"Wǒ de zhǔrén xīwàng chéngshì jiēqū 28 hé 29. Wǒ zhǔrén yào 30000 měiyuán. Wǒ de zhǔrén xīwàng míngtiān de qián, zài gōngjiāo chē zhàn zài chéngshì jiēqū 32," the boy replied in a rehearsed manner. (My master wants city block twenty eight and tweny nine. My master wants thirty thousand dollars. My master wants the money tomorrow at the bus stop on city block thirty two.)
"Mǎshàng líkāi!" Mr. Ru roared. (leave immediately!)
After the boy was out of the building Mr. Ru growled for his best fighters to enter his office. Some were young, some were older and more experienced but what surprised them all was when Mr. Ru gripped Jack's shoulder and hissed, "Shíjiān lái zhuàn qǔ zìjǐ de shēnghuófèi." (Time to earn your keep.)
That night had been the first time he had ever been thrust into gang business. It was certainly not the last, either. After Fai was returned more or less in one piece without the ransom being paid Jack was sent on more transactions and gang matters. He was getting more involved than even Chi had ever been and soon was sent on his own clandestine missions for Mr. Ru.
It was on one of these missions a year after recovering Fai that Jack first saw street magic. It was a scruffy looking man that must have been around Fai's age. He charmed the crowd with his smile and his shifty hands. Jack saw each sleight of hand for what it was – he already knew all about sleights of hand – but was charmed nonetheless. When the magician, J. Daniel Atlas as he had loudly declared to the crowd, was dispersing the crowd Jack brushed past him and gently lifted a pack of cards from his pocket. He could learn how to do that too. He could be as charming as this Atlas guy.
Phil Coulson
"Hey Agent, it's been too long," a voice that sounded forced said from the opposite end of the phone. Coulson looked at his phone and then brought it back to his ear just in time to hear the person say, "Listen Agent, we've been thinking: why not move our meeting up to today?"
"How did you get this number?" Coulson asked in lieu of an answer.
"You know what, Agent? I will tell you all about that later. This is J. Daniel Atlas, by the way," the voice panted from the other side.
"Are you running or something?" Coulson asked but quickly pieced it together. The only reason Atlas would call him whilst running would be because he was running from something. "Never mind. Where are you?"
On the other side of the call there was a few pants and then, "Morrisson Creek just east of Mead Hill Road. We will be at the creek immediately east of this small, out of the way town called Kripke. Can you find us?"
"We can find you," Coulson confirmed.
"How l-long?' came the out of breath question.
"Give us two hours," Coulson replied, already feeding the information to Maria Hill.
"Hurry."
Daniel, Henley, and Merritt.
The three had spread themselves across the creek just enough that they could see each other in an effort to give Jack a larger area for him to stumble to. Daniel was still repeating his calming mantra that the kid could take care of himself. Henley had slipped into nervous state of shock. She was very pale and shivering, whether it be from the cold or from fear for Jack Daniel couldn't tell.
Merritt was the first to hear Jack coming, however, and called for the other two to come over. They scanned the tree line for the boy as they waited nervously. After what seemed like hours but was only a minute or so Jack stumbled onto the creek bed.
"Jack!" Henley cried out in relief, running to hug him. As she ran towards him Daniel thought he saw something a little off about the kid but brushed the thought away with relief of the kid even being alive.
The relief was short lived and just as Henley reached Jack she let out a small screech as Jack's eyes rolled back into his head and he stumbled, face first, to the ground, blood seeping into the white snow around him.
WOOOOAAAHHH! WHAT A CRAPPY CHAPTER! Say it. I know you want to. I'm even slightly confused and I wrote it. Tell me what you think of this crazy crazy chapter – even if it's a flame because I totally understand if there's a flame towards this wacky thing.
But anywho
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