Requiem III: The Search for The Truth

By Bonnie Eagan & Alisa Joaquin

Part 6: Enter The Master

"Resident cop turned Shaolin Priest, Peter Caine has been busy these days, and with crime escalating in the city, rumor has it that the police commissioner will be asking Mr. Caine to return to work to help end the crime spree. It is also a well-known fact that Caines' father, Kwai Chang who has recently arrived back in Chinatown, will also be asked to assist in this matter.," the News Anchor reported. "The father and son team brought down crime Lord Tan a few years ago and ended a wave of crime and violence that took over Chinatown. It is also rumored that Tan's daughter is at the center of this crime spree. Peter Caine and his father have played a very important part in keeping Chinatown's streets safe for its residence. Kwai Chang Caine, also a Shaolin Priest, was elected as this district's representative over two years ago. Councilman Caine played a key role in stopping development in the Nottingham neighborhood by developer Abel Lennex who was later charged with bribery, conspiracy, and even murder. We will continue with this news story when more details become available."]

The person sat back and watched the broadcast. This was indeed news.

"So, you still have family, Matthew Caine. I suspected as much. Your son looks a lot like you. I wonder where your grandson gets his looks. From your in-laws' I suspect? That certainly is a change for the better. No one would suspect him of being Chinese or Shaolin. All my life, I have waited for this moment. You stopped me the last time, you will not stop me, again. I've waited for nearly fifteen years, listening to rumors and stories. When I finally confirmed my suspicions three years ago, the timing was still not right. You were not here. I know you are here, Matthew Caine. My spies have told me this is so. You will watch your family die one by one, then I will take your life. The Shaolin will cease to exist and so too will the line of Caine."

The figure clicked a button on the remote control and the image of Marlene Pei came up on the screen. The figure watched as she turned the television off. A smile rose within as the mysterious person realized that someone had disobeyed the orders that they were given. Rather than become angry, that person thought, 'How fortuitous. Knowing Marlene Pei, and I have watched her over the years, she will find a way to contact them.'

Sure enough, the Master watched as Marlene sank to the floor to sit in lotus position. 'Meditating, my dear? You do that. It should bring Caine and his son and grandson right into my trap.'

The figure turned away from the television and picked up the phone. "I have a package that needs delivering. Please come to my office, it is very important."

"Pop, I could have sworn the woman was Mother," Peter tried to convince his father. Even though he had only felt the woman's essence, Peter did not see her face.

"Peter, you are forgetting. I knew your mother for three years. I knew her essence and the essence of that woman was not your mother's. True they are similar. I am at a loss to explain how, but I know she was not Laura."

"How are we going to find her?"

Caine gave a deep sigh. "You are 'the detective.' You tell me."

"Pop, I'm not used to this metaphysical stuff. I've only been doing it a couple years."

"Have not Lo Si and I trained you in being observant while in meditation? Remember Master Po?"

"Yeah, but . . ."

"You were caught up in the fact that the woman felt like your mother," Caine finished the sentence for his son.

"Yeah," Peter said a bit embarrassed.

"Do not fret, my son. We will find her. I still have some unanswered questions myself."

"About the woman in the photograph?"

"Yes."

Peter was about to explain that he knew the answer when a knock came on the open-door frame of the Caine apartment.

"Come," Caine stated.

A man entered carrying a large, thick envelope. "Is there a Kwai Chang Caine here?"

"I am Caine."

"I've got a package for you." The man handed the package to Caine then left.

"What is it, Pop?"

Kwai Chang Caine took the envelope over to the workbench and emptied its contents. Several photographs of varying age and sizes fell out. They were images of a girl at different ages, as if someone was keeping a record of her life in photographs. Some contained images of a couple, the young girl a grown woman, obviously had been taken in some foreign country. Caine recognized them as being taken at the temple of the Dalai Lama in Tibet. One photograph, however, drew his attention. It was a photo of a wedding of the same young couple. The girl looked so much like his dead wife Laura. Questions of who she was continued to float in his mind. For now, Caine's eyes fell elsewhere. He could not take his eyes off the young man.

"Li Pei?"

Continues With Part 7