"Make sure your feet are square with your shoulders. You gotta remember your balance, kid."
Michael adjusted his feet, keeping the wooden practice sword level with his eyes. He'd been practicing this fourth-level shaolin sword kata for weeks now. He finished the set and saluted the big American man with the sword in his hand.
"How was that, Master Leo?"
"That was great, kid! I can't believe how fast you're picking this up." Leo saluted him back.
As Michael walked towards the rack to put the practice sword away, his gaze lingered on the footpath outside the door of Leo's martial arts studio. He remembered the day when he first stood outside and was looking in. He smiled inwardly. He had come a long way since then. He owed it all to Leo.
"I can't stay, Leo. I've gotta go."
"Why the hurry, kid?"
Michael hesitated. He couldn't look Leo directly in the eyes.
After an instant, Leo understood. "You know the sooner you leave this Triad business behind, the better. I've told you this before, kid."
"I know, Leo. I'm trying. It's just that Snake is getting his promotion today. He's gonna be a big brother. I have to be there, you know?"
Leo dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, yeah, kid. I'm not gonna tell you what to do – that's up to you. Just…" he looked at Michael meaningfully, "be careful kid. You know I'm here for you if you need me."
Michael saluted him carefully, showing as much respect as he could, then grabbed his bag and left.

He decided to drop off his gym bag at home first. No use lugging the thing around all night, he thought, as he dropped it on his bed. When he went back out through the front door, he saw Mrs Fung. She was struggling with grocery bags while trying to unlock her door. When she pulled the keys out of her handbag, one of the plastic bags she was carrying ripped open and spilled some oranges on the floor. Michael knew his normal reaction would've been to ignore her and be on his way. He thought about this and became immediately disgusted with himself. He quickly gathered all the oranges from the floor, then walked to her side and took her bags so she could easily unlock her door with her now-free hands. For the first time in a very long time, she looked up at him and smiled. Michael felt elated.
"Mrs Fung… I'm sorry." His eyes were downcast. "About everything."
She put her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at her. When he did, she was still smiling, but her eyes were welling up with tears.
"Mikey. Oh my little Mikey. You are good boy. I always knew."
Michael helped put her groceries inside, said "goodbye" and promised to visit again. He felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders. He felt good.

Snake's 'initiation' was held at one of the many Triad-owned nightclubs in Mongkok. As Michael descended the narrow stairs into the club, cigarette smoke swirled around him, stinging his eyes. The place was crowded. It looked like a scene straight from a gangster movie. Snake wasn't the only one getting promoted tonight. Big Brother initiates from Triad factions all over Kowloon, Hong Kong Island and the New Territories were here. This was one of the few times different factions could get together without things getting violent.

Michael carefully wound his way through heavily tattooed gangsters and scantily-clad – though just as heavily tattooed women. He headed to where he could see Tommy, Blade and the rest of Snake's gang at the rear of the club.

Suddenly, Michael heard an ear-splitting shriek coming from a screened alcove in the VIP section of the club, loud enough to be heard over the already deafening music. He turned to see the screen wrenched open and a naked Chinese girl lurch out, eyes wide. She was screaming for help. Michael could clearly see the blood running down the side of her neck and the inside of her thighs. He thought for sure that the gangsters closest to her would help. The Triads were ruthless, but they still maintained a clear, if somewhat twisted code of honour. He was genuinely surprised and more than a little horrified when they pointedly turned away from her and resumed drinking and talking as if she wasn't even there.

As quickly as she appeared, a hand grabbed her neck from behind and pulled her back inside. Through the gap in the now-open screen, Michael could see another naked girl slumped on a couch. She was also covered in blood. She wasn't moving. One of the gangsters who had ignored the first girl calmly reached over and closed the screen.

Michael heard another piercing scream. A splash of blood streaked diagonally across the inside of the screen. Then, silence.

Slowly, the screen opened and a man stepped out. Michael was expecting to see someone drenched in blood from head to toe. Instead, there stood a handsome Chinese man around 30 years old, impeccably dressed in a fashionable, contemporary suit.

Michael felt a familiar, stabbing feeling. A mixture of the worst aspects of revulsion, hatred and contempt. It was a familiar feeling. One he seemed to experience at the oddest of places, against the strangest people, for as long as he could remember.

It never made any sense to him exactly how or why these random people were targeted by this strange feeling; a harmless old beggar, an attractive businesswoman, a 7-eleven clerk, a baby in a pram? Every time he came across one of these people, his urges were always the same; to hurt, to maim, to kill. To obliterate them from the face of the earth. He'd always assumed there was just something wrong with his brain - some chemical imbalance most likely inherited from the father he never knew. Of course, he never acted on these feelings. He had lived with his mother long enough to know the difference between right and wrong - or in this case, between right and disturbing.

"Who's that guy?" He asked no one in particular.
"Someone you don't wanna meet." The voice came from behind him.
Michael turned around. He almost didn't recognise the man standing in front of him. It was Snake, but not as Michael remembered. He wasn't dressed in his usual loose jeans and tight- fitting muscle t-shirt. He was sporting a neat-looking grey suit, befitting his new status in the Triads. He wasn't just 'Snake' anymore. From now on, he was 'Brother Snake'.

"That's Simon Wong." Snake said, nodding towards the man, who by now had his back turned to them, sipping a drink a waitress had just handed to him.
Michael inhaled sharply. "That's Simon Wong?!" He had heard stories about him. Stories that made his skin crawl.

He was looking at the back of Simon Wong's head and then SNAP! It happened again. As with his strange vision of the broken antique shop owner in the alley, Michael seemed to be looking through at the man with a different set of eyes. Again, it lasted no more than a fraction of a second, but in that split second, the detail Michael could see was phenomenal. He could see a vein along the side of Simon's neck, pulsing with blood. Michael could imagine how the blood would spurt after slicing his neck open with a chopper. He could see the protrusion of Simon's spine at the back of his neck, and he imagined the sound it would make once broken with a quick snap. He could see the indentation of the temple - where a well-placed blow would cave in the skull and pieces of bone would slice through his brain, killing him instantly. He never let his mind dwell on these violent thoughts as much as he had now. He had just witnessed at least one murder. For once, he KNEW these feelings were directed towards someone who deserved it.

Then, the moment was over. Michael's vision was his own again. The whole, weird moment occurred in just a fraction of a second, so nobody around him noticed at all. Well, almost nobody. Chillingly, almost as if in slow motion, he saw Simon Wong stiffen, then turn around and look directly into his eyes. Just as chillingly, he held Michael's gaze for a moment, at first looking slightly bewildered, then he smiled. It was an evil grin that sent shivers down Michael's spine.

Almost as if Simon Wong recognised him.

Simon broke off eye contact just long enough to say something to the gangsters closest to him. One of the gangsters, the one who had closed the screen earlier, shot to his feet and was by Simon's side in an instant. After a few whispered words, the gangster looked directly at Michael. He nodded once at Simon Wong, and then started walking through the club towards Michael.

"Oh shit, dude!" Snake laughed into Michael's ear. "Looks like he wants you next, pretty boy!"
When the gangster reached him, he barked an order at Michael in Cantonese. "Come with me."
Michael looked at Snake, Tommy and Blade - his 'brothers' - looking for support, willing them to back him up. They turned their backs on him. They pretended they didn't know him. They pretended they didn't know what was going to happen to him. When Michael didn't move, the gangster grabbed his arm. "Come with me NOW!"

Michael's instincts took over. He took the man's wrist with his free hand, stepped back, balanced, then snapped his arm free with a quick twist of his elbow. The man attempted another grab at Michael's arm, but suddenly staggered back, doubling over from Michael's lightning-fast punch to his sternum. Michael turned around and bolted towards the exit, knocking over a waitress holding a full tray of drinks. At the same time he heard her scream, he heard another one. A much deeper, gutteral scream. Four words. An unmistakeable order:

"BRING HIM TO ME!"

Michael was out the door and running full-stride before the sentence was finished. He narrowly avoided an old lady pushing a wooden basket full of fruits and vegetables. A few seconds later, he heard the same woman scream as she and her basket were knocked over by the gangsters chasing him. He didn't turn around - he was too busy sidestepping and dodging around all the people on the crowded sidewalk. The gangsters giving chase weren't so careful. He could hear people and their belongings being pushed aside, as well as the gangsters' shouting "MOVE" every few seconds. He heard the startled screams of the people who weren't quick enough, as they were shoved aside or knocked off their feet completely.

Michael felt his panic levels begin to rise. He could hear the gangsters' shouts get louder as they gained ground and got closer to catching him. Every fibre of his being was screaming at him, telling him he needed to get away at whatever cost. His panic was beginning to turn into despair as he realised he was not going to be able to outrun them all - he was already slowing down due to exhaustion.

Suddenly, a late-model black Mercedes roared past him on the busy street to his right. Tyres screeching, the Mercedes mounted the kerb and skidded to a halt on the footpath a few metres in front of Michael, scattering pedestrians in every direction. Unbelievably, despite the crowded footpath, the car didn't hit a single person.

The front passenger door swung open and Michael saw the driver. It was Leo. "GET IN!" he screamed.

Michael jumped into the passenger seat. He hadn't even closed the door all the way before Leo floored the Mercedes and peeled back into the busy street, forcing the other traffic to slam on their brakes or swerve to avoid a collision. One of the gangsters chasing Michael threw something at the car as it sped away, hitting the rear window and causing a large, spidery crack across the whole window. Michael saw Leo wince. "Damn. Mr Chen's gonna have my hide for that." Leo mumbled.

They weaved in and out of the busy traffic. After a few minutes, when it was clear they were no longer being chased, Leo slowed the car to match the speed of the rest of the traffic. They drove in silence. Michael's breath was just returning to normal and his heart no longer felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. He looked at Leo, whose face was set in a humourless scowl, eyes set on the road infront of him.

The silence was starting to become uncomfortable.

"Hey, Leo. Guess what?" Michael said suddenly.
"Hn?" Leo grunted.
"I was thinking of maybe leaving the Triads."

When Leo looked at him, Michael had the cheekiest grin plastered on his face.
Leo's chuckle started as a deep rumble. It grew and grew until he was laughing out loud and couldn't stop. Michael started laughing as well. Before long, both of them were laughing so hard they had tears streaming from their eyes...