Requiem III: The Search for The Truth

By Bonnie Eagan & Alisa Joaquin

Part 9: The Master's Thoughts

The Master turned, and once again, began watching Marlene Pei on his hidden monitor. She continued to sit in meditation, not moving. She had been at it for what seemed like over an hour, but in truth, it had only been 20 minutes. Suddenly, he noticed that tears started to fall down Marlene's cheeks. Something was happening. Did she make contact? Or was she weeping at the fact that all her efforts were futile. 'In all my life, when I meditated, I've never made any contact with anyone. Not even the Oneness that the monks spoke about,' the Master thought bitterly. 'This is futile. I have sent the pictures. The woman has seen her own relatives come to life, but it isn't enough. There must be a way to bring Matthew Caine here to me.'

The Master played the recording of the broadcast. A name was mentioned. Tan. He had been a prodigy of the order. His skill with weapons had no equal. His ambition was just as great. The Master knew his heart's desire and sent him to the only temple in America to test his skills and to see if the rumors were true. Tan did enter the temple, but under the name that the Master had given him, Master Dao*. An appropriate name for a weapon's master, for Tan had been master of the butterfly swords. His lessons would be harsh and difficult. They would strengthen the body, sharpen the mind, and hone the spirit, preparing young men to fight. The Master's prodigy showed great promise in succeeding. He was certain that many of the young men and boys would be lured to his cause, until he ran into a Shaolin who shamed him, the very son of his hated enemy. Tan was banished from the temple in disgrace before he could learn if the line of the emperor still survived. It would be many years before Tan would meet that Shaolin again, and by then Tan had left all that he knew behind. The Master also turned his back from his former prodigy and turned his eyes toward another. But she in her zeal to take revenge for the death of her father nearly cost her freedom. But being a woman, she played upon the sympathies of the court and was acquitted of her crimes due to the lack of physical evidence, which she so gracefully concealed and yet did not. If you wished to hide something, sometimes just placing it in plain sight amongst common objects is often the best choice.

'So, they suspect she is behind this. What fools these mortals be,' he quoted one of his favorite sayings. 'Still, my chances of succeeding would be greater if she were by my side. It has been almost two years since she attempted to kill the Shaolin. She has had time to increase her skills since then. We shall see just how powerful she has become.' The Master reached over and picked up the phone and dialed a number.

On the other end, a phone sitting on a dark wooden table with candles and the image of a man not long dead began to ring. A slender hand with long red nails reached over and picked up the receiver. Bringing it up to her ear, a beautiful blonde woman with blood red lips and eyes the color of ice answered. "Hello?"

"Ms. Xia Tan? You do not know me, but I have a proposition for you. They say you never get a second chance, but Ms Xia, how would you like that second chance."

"Who are you?" Xia demanded.

"Let's just say I knew your father once."

"I'm listening." Xia said, as she listened to the voice on the other side of the line. As that voice outlined the proposition, Xia Tan began to smile.

Peter took one side of the street while his father took the other. They crossed paths several times, talking and asking questions. When they finally came together, to compare notes, Peter shook his head in dismay.

"No one seems to know anything. It's like the time I went into Paul's office and told him about Sing Ling. He was really surprised about that. He wanted to know why he hadn't heard anything. I told him. 'It's Chinatown,'" then Peter brushed his fingers across his lips as if he was closing a zipper. "No one seems willing to open up to me."

Calmly, Caine told his son what he knew. "A woman fitting the description in the photograph came to Chinatown three years ago. The woman, though, is a recluse. Her only companions a maid and gardener. The maid and the gardener are the only two anyone has seen within the marketplace. There is rumor of a fourth person, but he is rarely seen as well."

"Pop, how do you do that?"

"Peter, though you are part Chinese, you cannot pass for Chinese, and our people are more willing to speak to an elder than they are to the young or to someone they perceive as an outsider."

"And that's what I am to a lot of them, an outsider. I thought by now they'd accept me because of who I am. I'm the Son of Kwai Chang Caine." It was not meant to be a boast, but a matter of fact. Peter bowed his head, not wanting his father to see the tears of frustration and anger welling in his eyes. It had been an emotion-filled day all ready. He did not need any more to complicate matters. So, he quickly wiped them away, as if they were specks of dust.

Alarmed, Caine asked, "Peter, I hope you are still not angry with me?"

Peter lowered his head. "No. I understand why you did that. I acted like a brat and deserved it. I'm angry at the fact that this past year has been so frustrating for me. I know you left me in charge, but no one wanted to come and see me. Only my friends and former co-workers would come over and they seemed reluctant to ask me for help. I'm a civilian, Pop. Everything's changed. They don't know how to deal with me being a priest. I shouldn't say not everyone hasn't come to see me, some of the younger people in Chinatown came, but the older members would always ask for you or the Ancient."

Caine felt Peter's pain. 'Perhaps I had been gone too long,' he thought. 'I should have prepared the community to accept him.' Caine placed a supporting hand on his son's shoulder. "We will teach the community together that there are now three Shaolins to help them. They must learn to look beyond the pretense. Come, we must go tell my father the news."

"Uh, Pop, did you happen to get an address with that information?"

"Sadly, no, my son. But that will be our next move."

"I'm not ready to give up yet. Maybe if we go back to the place, you got that information, they might point out who these people are."

"Good idea, my son. Perhaps we shall find your aunt very soon. But we must tell my father about the progress we are making. He will want to help."

"Hey, if Grandfather is able to stick around, maybe there will be three Caines and one Ancient to help," Peter smiled. "Wouldn't that be great?"

Caine did not respond. His anger toward Matthew clouded his judgement of the elder priest. Peter might think it was great, but Caine was reluctant to fully accept his father in his midst.

"Pop, are you alright?" Peter picked up on his father's sudden silence and a chill ran through him. He could tell his father was still angry, but it was not directed at him. The anger seemed to be toward someone else.

Caine's head lowered so he would not allow his son to see just how much anger he felt at that moment. Lately, it seemed to keep coming back every time Matthew's name was mentioned.

Then Peter realized just whom it was his father's anger was directed at. "Pop, I don't understand. Why are you so upset with Grandfather?" Peter suspected, but he wanted to hear it from his father.

As Caine's head snapped up and he turned his eyes toward his son, the rage that was barely contained, disturbed Peter greatly. There was also something else, a pleading. Caine was asking his son for privacy and for now, Peter allowed him to have it.

"Okay, I'll let it go for now," Peter said. "I understand your need for privacy. And I really don't want to end up making a scene here on the street either. But I am going to ask you later, and you've got to let me help you deal with it. You've helped me in the past so, it's only fair."

Caine gave an audible sigh, "Thank you, my son."

"Looks like we've got a long walk back."

"At least it is a pleasant day."

Continues With Part 10

Note: There are many meanings for characters in the Chinese language and dao is no exception. In my Chinese/English dictionary, one of the meanings for dao is sword or knife. So, the name chosen for Tan's alias, Master Dao, was chosen with great care. It shows that even this small detail was researched well. If you remember the scene in Initiation where Caine states Master Doa's name with very strong inflection, you know that even Caine is trying to use Dao's name against him, as if he is "sticking him with a knife," and trying to get the true teaching across.

Caine: In the Shaolin teachings, you will see there are no colored belts or ranks. You are individuals whose prowess will grow within your own internal power.

Peter: When can we fight?

Caine: The philosophy that you will learn is non-aggressive. Personal combat is the least precious ability that you will draw from these teachings.

Dao: But without that prowess you walk defenseless in a cruel world.

Caine: A courageous fighter shuns violence. A skillful soldier avoids anger. A mighty warrior does not fight for small conquests.

Dao: No? Let's find out . . .

Dao makes a move on Caine. A surprised Caine avoids a series of kicks and the two Masters circle each other. Caine is clearly annoyed. A short kung fu fight follows in which both men move with great grace and skill . . . and then Dao appears to overpower Caine and bring him to submission. Dao jumps to his feet triumphant. There are a few whispered disappointments among the students (from Peter in particular). Caine turns to face them.

Caine: True insight does not issue from specialized knowledge, from membership in coteries, from doctrine and dogmas. It is the illuminating intuition of one's inner self. In other words, it is not who wins or loses. Is that not our philosophy, Master Dao?

Dao: Your philosophy. When I am placed in charge of this temple, you will come to understand my philosophy. (Clapping his hands) Class is dismissed for today . . .