Requiem III: The Search for The Truth

by Bonnie Eagan & Alisa Joaquin

Part 26: Reunion and a Confrontation

Li Pei left the shop and did his best to follow the shop keeper's niece. The street was crowded, and it was difficult to keep an eye out for just one Chinese woman. She was not distinctly dressed which made it all the harder. She was also at least a block ahead of him and moving swiftly away. Not knowing the proper procedure for following another, Li Pei could not know if he had been spotted or not. As the woman stopped at a corner, Li Pei quickened his pace, but before he could reach her, she turned the corner. When he reached that same spot, he looked around to see where she had gone to continue following her, but to his surprise, she had disappeared. Li Pei paced around, astounded that he could lose her so quickly. He then threw up his hands and headed back in the opposite direction.

Li Pei headed back through Chinatown. He was disgusted with himself for letting Peter go off on his own and now he lost any chance of finding his wife because the woman who might have led him to her disappeared. It was as if she knew she was being followed and had thrown him off the scent. Why didn't he just go up to her and let her know who he was? She might have taken him to see his wife. Replaying the conversation in his mind that the woman had with her uncle caused him to pause. If his wife was being held prisoner against her will, something had to be done, but what? He was only one man. How could he make a difference? He thought about the tales he heard in his travels about Caine. It did not matter which Caine it was, only that Caine had made a difference. Could he do the same?

Li Pei's confidence faltered. He still felt shame at not being able to protect the Dalai Lama. What if he failed again and his wife died in the process? He did not want to take that risk. He knew there had to be another way and he knew who to turn to for help. Li Pei quickened his pace as he neared the entrance to the alleyway. As he mounted the fire escape steps and climbed up to the fourth floor, so focused on his goal was he that he had not noticed the bright green sports car parked outside in the area. It wasn't long when he stepped onto the terrace entrance to the Caine apartment. The place was dark and silent. Caine had not returned with his father and the Ancient. Peter also had not returned. It looked like it was going to prove to be a long wait. As Li Pei was deciding what his next move would be, shadowy movement caught his attention. Someone was in the Caine apartment. Li Pei was about to bolt and try to find assistance elsewhere when a figure stepped into a shaft of sunlight coming from another window from across the hall. Her face had not changed in the 20 years they had been apart. Though he could see her hair was streaked with gray, she was just as beautiful as the day he met her.

"Marlene," Li Pei whispered. Slowly and silently, he opened the terrace doors and stepped inside. He watched her for just a moment, then opened his arms out toward her, and finally called her name. "Marlene!"

The woman turned when she heard her name being called. A man partially in darkness held his arms out to her. As he came forward, his face emerged into the light. Though he had aged somewhat, he still held that breathtaking smile and that twinkle in his eyes that captured her heart long ago.

"Li Pei!" she said breathlessly and launched herself into his embrace. Two miracles had happened that day, two which she dreamed would never happen in her life. She met her sister's son, a handsome young man who tried to rescue her from some unknown fate, and now her husband had been restored to her as well. Hope swelled within her at the prospect of being reunited with her son someday loomed before her.

Li Pei clung to his wife as if she were a lifeline. After searching for her for many years, he had finally found her, though it appeared more likely they had found each other. Tears stung his eyes and he realized they were no longer tears of despair, but tears of great joy. Two miracles had happened for him this day. He had found his old Master and best friend, alive and safe. His friend even had a son of his own. And now, his wife was nestled in his embrace. He dares not, could not let her go for fear she would disappear forever.

As the couple continued to cling to each other, another presence tried to make himself known.

"Um, excuse me. I take it you know each other?"

The woman pulled herself from her husband's arms, though not quite releasing the contact and smiled at the man watching them through his green shade.

"I'm sorry. Li Pei, this is Kermit. He found me and brought me here."

"Where did you ever find my wife? I have been searching for her for so long."

Kermit was about to explain the situation when a blinding flash of light enveloped the room. Three new figures came into view. Caine back from Shambhala along with the ancient and another man, who surprisingly looked just like him, except for the hair. It had evidence of blond in it. "So, what's new in the world of the metaphysical?" Kermit asked.

"It is a long story. We must find Peter. He is in trouble."

A woman left Li Pei's side and stood in front of Kwai Chang Caine. "I know where he is, but I don't know how to get back there."

Kwai Chang Caine's eyes became wide, and he remained speechless, caught in the fabric of time. She looked so much like her. It was as if Laura had come back from the grave, so hauntingly beautiful and alive.

When his father stepped forward and spoke, the spell that Kwai Chang was under broke and he realized this woman could not be Laura but was her sister.

"Marlene, my dear. I am pleased to see that you are safe."

"Monsieur Caine," Marlene embraced her old friend Matthew, speaking French.

"Please my dear, speak English. How is it that you managed to find this place?"

"I brought her." Kermit explained how he found Marlene. "She said Peter was in trouble, so I brought her here."

"We must find my son. He is injured."

"Oh, Peter. I should not have left him," Marlene declared. "Kim Luc promised me he would take care of him."

"What did you say?" the Ancient stepped forward at that moment.

"You," Marlene exclaimed. "Why, why did you leave me with him?"

Everyone fell silent as the Ancient turned his back. No one noticed the tears in the old Master's eyes. All this pain was his doing. There was only one way to fix it. Without another word, Lo Si left the Caine apartment and headed home and into the waiting arms of his own destiny.

Continues with Part 27