Requiem III: The Search for The Truth

By Bonnie Eagan & Alisa Joaquin

Part 11: Confrontation and an Old Friend

Matthew Caine struggled to regain his strength. The walk from the Ancient's home to his son's rooftop apartment above the warehouse had taken its toll. The weakness he had been experiencing the last two weeks baffled even him. It started soon after he had received a mysterious package in the mail. When he opened it, he had been showered by a white powder. Father Vashon stated that it may have been a practical joke by some of the boys in the village, but Matthew thought otherwise. The weakness came on slowly. Some tasks became harder to accomplish. Some days his legs didn't seem to want to support him, other days it was his hands. They would shake. His eyesight was beginning to blur more than usual, and now, his lungs seemed to burn more from the excursion. It took all his strength to hide his condition from his son. Though Peter learned the news that he was dying, even Peter denied its truth. Matthew knew he was slowly dying, a truth he could no longer deny, but he did not know from what. All his senses told him that he had been poisoned, but what kind of poison eluded him. He had never heard of anyone being poisoned by a white powder. As Matthew watched his son and grandson leave with the photograph to try to find Marlene Pei, the eldest of the Caine line could no longer support his own weight. As he started to collapse, arms as strong as an old oak grabbed him from behind and lowered him to the floor.

"Your chi is out of balance. You have been poisoned," the Ancient stated. "How did this happen and when?"

"I do not know. Perhaps two weeks ago," Matthew explained.

"And you have not done anything to stop it?" the Ancient questioned. "Tell me how."

Matthew went on and explained how the poison had entered his system. "I have not been able to find a cure. No antidote that I have tried has worked."

"You must tell your son," Lo Si stated.

"I do not wish to worry him. He must find Marlene."

"You are just as stubborn as your son, Matthew Caine."

"I will accept that as a compliment," Matthew quipped.

Assisting Matthew to his feet, Lo Si helped him to the raised platform. He helped Matthew to lay down and placed a pillow under his head. Lo Si then went over to where Kwai Chang Caine stored his herbs and elixirs and scanned the shelves. He found what he was looking for and quickly mixed several tinctures together. Pouring the mixture into a small brown bottle, Lo Si took it over to Matthew.

"Drink this. It will restore your chi at least for a few hours until we can find the necessary herbs to find a cure. You must tell your son. He may be able to help you. He may also need you later."

Matthew did not say a word but thought on the Ancient's words. It had been too long. Would his son need him? He certainly had not wanted his help in his Bardo and the fact that Kwai Chang had turned his back on him in the Ancient's home did not bode well either and gave Matthew little hope for reconciliation. Perhaps he should not have come, but he had no other choice. His life as a Shaolin was nearing an end, but if he could do one more deed to save a life, he would.

"Very touching," a female voice, deep and seductive interrupted the moment. "Too bad you won't have much time to enjoy it."

The woman pulled out a long rope with a weighted ball on each end. She twirled it in the air and sent it flying toward the two priests. Both Shaolin moved quickly considering their advanced ages and Matthew's reduced strength, the weapon missing its intended target by inches. The woman in her black cloak followed up with a volley of steel red-handled knives. Like the wings of a crane, the Ancient caught one of the knives between his fingers, just barely missing his face. Matthew, however, was not so lucky. The second knife entered his shoulder and sent the old Shaolin to his knees. With her weapons gone, the woman circled her prey, ignoring the wounded of the two men. She would deal with him later. As quickly as she could, she sent a volley of kicks aimed at the Ancient's head, but the old priest proved more adept than she had been told. Each kick she threw the Ancient blocked it with ease. She knew if she kept up her assault, the old one would soon falter. It wasn't long before Lo Si showed signs of tiring. Her time had come. Deep within her cloak, she pulled a third weapon, a pair of butterfly knives; the edges sharp enough to cut through a wooden block two inches thick. They could easily cleave a man in two. Xia raised the large knives high, bent on bringing then down across the neck of the ancient priest, until someone struck her from behind. The force of the blow sent the swords flying, one imbedding itself into the leg of the workbench, the other sliding across the floor to end up resting against the French doors that opened upon a small terrace. Xia turned to see who attacked her.

"You will not harm them," the unknown man addressed the woman.

Xia stared enraged at the intruder. She had not counted on someone else entering. She had hoped that she would have been able to finish what she started, but that was once again thwarted.

"We shall meet again ,priests," she stated and threw a pellet on the floor that exploded, releasing a cloud of smoke.

The man who entered rushed through the thick billowy cloud, but the woman had disappeared. Coughing, the man moved through the smoke and found the French doors and opened them to the terrace. As the smoke dissipated, the younger man approached Matthew Caine to examine his wound.

Matthew stared into the younger man's face and coughed out, "Who are you?"

"Master Caine, do you not recognize me?" the man replied in return.

Matthew Caine's eyes became wide as recognition set in. "Li Pei?"

Continues with Part 12