Temptations
'You messed up.'
'You said it was a chick and her civil friend, not a cop and Bruce Lee…'
'What difference does it make?'
'Five of my men arrested, three in the ER, that's what.'
'Send more.'
'You'll be the one who has to send me something first.'
'How's five thousand?'
'Make it 10.'
'Asshole.'
'Pleasure doing business with you.'
Franklin never replied because of a timid knock on the door.
'Come in, Jefferson.'
XXXX
The ringing mobile found Tara at the door of her house. She recognised the number and that brought a wide smile on her usually stone face.
'Hey, stranger!'
'Hello, gorgeous! Has the Niagara frozen yet?'
'No idea.'
'Don't tell me you haven't been there by now.'
'I'm so busy I haven't seen my own precinct yet.'
'So, it's really the 101st?'
'Yes... Why are you giggling?'
'Oh, nothing… I… I've worked with… the detectives.'
'And they were awesome and perfect and professional and bla bla?'
'Absolutely!'
'Good. 'Cause so far I'm not terribly impressed.'
'Give them some time. Few people can rise to your impossible expectations.'
'You can.'
'Me and…?'
'Never mind. So, when are you coming? I want to hear everything finally!'
'I'll be there as soon as I can, two days tops. …Missed you, partner!'
'Me too, ol' man.'
'Hey, that was uncalled for.'
'Look, I really need to go. I've got a giant folder and a rolled stack of city plans waiting for me.'
'Getting into city planning?'
'No, getting into FBI operations.'
'Oh… I'm sorry!'
'Tell me about it. The captain said it's one of the side effects to police work.'
'Do you think they're still mad at you for turning them down?'
'Honey, the CIA is still mad. Who cares about the FBI…'
'You're unbelievable.'
'I know. …OK, shall we close?'
'Yes, better, they're expecting me for lunch.'
'You're still in France then…'
'Where else would I be?'
'God… I still can't believe… I can't describe it… I'm so happy for you!'
'Yeah… Took me months to get used to having a father. I still can't believe it, to be honest, even 3 years later...'
'At least one of us did it… That's amazing, just amazing.'
'Hey, hey, I don't mean to ruin your mood.'
'Nonsense, I'm glad you called, I always am. The cold weather and the even colder house are getting to me.'
'Is it very big?'
'Not very… It's just a big, bright house with a wonderful garden. It's suited for a family with many children, not… for me…'
'Just turn many lights on, or the TV, perhaps.'
'Yeah, sure. I was actually considering moving to a hotel for a while. This place is a maze of boxes, suitcases and pieces of furniture. I'm sleeping on a couch in the sitting room.'
'You've no bed?'
'Nah, it's dismantled. It's either wood planks that need to be cut, or my Daddy has wanted me to sleep in a king-size.'
'Yahoo.'
'Yeah. Dealing with this is the last thing on my mind at the moment.'
'I understand. OK, I also need to go, big bro is throwing me deadly looks.'
'Look at you, talking about big bros and stuff.'
'I know, can you believe it? Alright… See you soon.'
'See you soon.'
'And, Tara, the Pol misses you.'
'I'm not sure if I miss it, too, or I'm just being miserable. Bonne appetite, mon ami!'
'A bien tôt, ma chère!'
XXXX
'I'm sorry!'
Peter sighed and checked the view through the hospital window. The last memory he had was of a June rain, not February snow… Where did 8 months of his life go?
'Now what? How is it that I remember who I am?'
'Oh, that's just bad television,' smiled Dr Craig. 'In real life such cases are far more rare. Besides, the CT scan shows even less damage than I myself expected.'
'That's good, right?'
'Absolutely! You just have to rest and your body will do the hard work.'
'How long will it take?' interfered Harris.
'Hard to say, few weeks, a month…' Peter groaned. 'It's really not that bad, Mr Caine. In fact, I reckon your memory will be fully recovered before the swelling is actually gone.'
'I don't understand why it is I forgot just these last 8 months? Why do I remember clearly everything before that?'
'You see, the human brain is just as little known to us as is the Universe. I can give you many possibilities, but one option would self-preservation.'
'From what?'
'Well… It could be that whatever has happened over the past 8 months has been so traumatizing that your brain has put it in a buffer…'
'Like.. taking a break?'
'Yes, yes, pretty much. But as I said, that's just one option.'
'Great. So, am I going to remember everything day by day, or…?'
'No, no, it's going to be more like a puzzle. Different bits will start flashing through your brain and then you'll start linking preceding and following events.'
'Basically what you're telling me is that I'll have to re-live whatever shit has happened to me over the past 8 months?'
'Well…'
'You shouldn't be so negative,' said Harris softly and elegantly tapped the branded forearm. 'There must have been also good things.'
Peter looked bored.
'If you knew of my life you wouldn't be so sure.'
'Then allow me to get to know about it,' purred the chocolate-haired detective.
Dr Craig knew when he was no more needed and prepared to leave. On his way out he casually let the patient know that little Mel was on her way to see him.
'Mel? You mean Melissa Winch?'
'Yeah… She's the reason why you're in Riverton.'
'God… What happened?'
Cop and doctor exchanged looks and Harris continued.
'Her foster family turned out to be not as decent as we thought.'
'Foster… Why the hell is my Mel in foster care? She has a grand… mother…'
'According to her file Mrs Winch died in December.'
Immediately Peter's hand landed on the throbbing forehead.
'No… No, dammit!' The hand hit the side of the bed. 'Sorry…'
After a sip of water and a check on his blood pressure Peter's face grew even darker.
'You see, that's what I'm talking about. And I'm pretty sure that's only the cherry on the cake.' He chuckled. 'That's just my luck… or curse, same difference.'
Voices from the hall informed them that the girl was already there.
'OK, guys…' Peter got agitated. 'Please, don't tell her I have amnesia, alright?'
'Are you sure?'
'Yes, yes, I don't want to worry her. Please?'
'OK…'
The patient spent the rest five or ten minutes trying to convince the orphan that he was fine.
'In fact, I'm so healthy, they're discharging me as early as tomorrow.'
'Are they?' Mel's eyes glittered.
'Are we?' The doctor was puzzled.
'I can be pretty challenging patient,' winked Peter.
'So when can we leave? I had my last test at school today, I'm done here.'
'I'll… discuss it with the social worker…'
'Mrs Gerard?'
From behind Harris nodded energetically.
'Yes, yes, Mrs Gerard.'
'Can't you talk to her now? She's here…'
'I need rest now. I really want to get out of here tomorrow,' uttered Peter and tickled the little girl.
'OK, OK, but I can't wait.'
'Nor can I,' whispered Peter and patted the little shoulder.
Mel leaned to kiss her guardian when she spotted an item she hadn't seen before.
'What's this?'
'What?'
'On your neck?'
Puzzled, Peter touched his chest. His fingertips sensed an oddly shaped pendant. Bewildered he silently sought help from the doctor and the detective; both shook heads.
'Uhm…'
'Is it from China?'
'Uhm… yes, yes… China? Why China?'
'Well, since you were there…'
'I was? I was!'
After the latest discovery about the missing part of his life, Peter explored the pendant. It was tear-shaped.
'I know, the Yin and the Yang, that's it!'
'What?'
'Your pendant! You were telling us about it shortly before you left; you have the white half.'
'I…'
'Why do you have only one half? Was this a present?' Mel grinned. 'Like in the movies?'
Blushing, for his own sanity's sake, Peter concentrated on the little ornament. It emanated warmth and love; love, from the heart close to which it had been worn, and warmth, from the skilful hands that had made it.
But whose was the heart?
'Uhm, yes, honey, it's a present. And you're asking too many questions.'
'Ugh, you're always so secretive.'
Just as the girl was about to start a rant on how her guardian never shared anything about his private life, after a brief knock the door opened. There stood a tall, blonde male nurse with a moustache.
'Oh… Sorry… I thought it was time for a change… Hehe, my bad. Sorry, guys... Doc…'
'Doctor Craig?' Peter's eyes couldn't leave the door off sight?'
'Yes?'
'Those pills you suggested… Is the offer still valid?'
'Of course, but…'
'Good, I'll take it. Detective?'
'I'm here?'
'Could you hang around for a bit longer?'
'Yes, sure.'
'Great. I'll need you to take me to the hotel.'
'Now?'
'Now!'
'And Doc…' Peter finally moved eyes from the door. 'You should tighten the hospital security; the man that just visited us was no nurse, he was an assassin.'
XXXX
It promised to be a sleepless night in more than one houses.
Morris said good-bye to the last of the day-shift and armed with a cup of steaming coffee sat behind his messy desk. His pager was set to the highest; if a felony should happen during that night and get him the-hell-out-of-there, he didn't want to miss it.
Grunting he set to work on the workload of cases his new best friend, lieutenant Jahn, had dumped on him.
X
Jody came out of the shower shaking. Two aspirins later she was pouring steaming tea in the semi-lit living room; the lamp by the couch provided enough light for the lonely woman. She stretched for a thick photo album that was lying together with some magazines and sank into memories. The last entry was a photograph from 97'. Taken by a passer-by outside The Rose Garden restaurant, it had three figures on it – her, a street artist, and Peter.
X
In another bathroom across town Bob Callahan just finished brushing his teeth. He rinsed his face and the tired blue eyes stared at their equally tired reflection.
'Do something, you idiot… or she'll never notice you…' he whispered and left.
X
Mary-Margaret was sipping wine by the window, the falling snow was her only companion tonight. She was just not in a mood for another evening of self-pity and Port with Jody. With legs leaning against the window sill, she had a piece of paper on her lap. This was the only companion she needed right now. Though she knew it by heart, it brought her peace to read it over and over again.
'… One day happiness will knock on your door, Mary-Margaret, do not turn it down!'
'When, Caine, when is happiness going to knock on my door?'
X
Central France, early morning
'You are up early.'
'I barely slept. Haven't seen my buddy in such a long time. The last time we met for more than a few hours I was this orphan with the wealthy relatives.'
'You… care about her, do you not?'
'Of course, Tara's like my little sister… I'd say daughter but I'm not that old… I took her under my wing the very moment they brought her to the Pol.'
'You will have a lot to talk about…'
'For Heaven's sake, why don't you just come with me?'
'No! No… I cannot.'
'But you want to.'
'These are two different things. I cannot stop now, I am too close.'
'You were close six months ago…'
'I will not give up now, brother.'
'OK then… At least, do me a favour, make yourself some tea or whatever, just have some sleep.'
'Is it so obvious?'
'Well, judging by your pale face and swollen eyes, it's not difficult to guess you haven't seen much sleep tonight… nor the night before… nor…'
'Alright, I will. Actually… I was in a hurry… to finish something…'
'Don't worry about that, Damon will bring it. Besides, I'm already loaded with presents.'
'Do you have the…'
'It's right here in my inner pocket, don't worry.'
'Good.'
'Big bro…'
'I will never tire of being called that...'
'I thought you'd prefer it to Damon's K.C.'
The oldest of the Caine brothers chuckled and shrugged.
'I can tell your mind is here but your heart is across the ocean…'
'I… Do you want some tea?'
'Seriously, you're just like our Father.'
'Where... are you going to stay when you arrive?'
'Heh, probably will end up knocking on strangers' doors… Just joking, I'll stay in a hotel, don't want to bother the neph.'
'Here is your tea.'
XXX
'Are you always that impulsive?'
Peter smiled.
'I'm trying not to be,' he said in a low voice and quietly closed the door of Mel's bedroom. He limped to the bed where a large file was waiting for him.
'That's a lot of data…'
'The file wasn't half as full before you came, most of this is your investigation.'
'In 2 days?'
'Less, actually.'
'Wow, I'm good.'
Harris took advantage and sat opposite her man-of-interest.
'What was this thing about dinner you mentioned earlier?'
'Oh, I mean it, but I'd rather keep it for a day when I can walk normally.'
'This may take a while.'
'Mmm, not if you're a Shaolin, actually.'
'What's the difference?'
Playfully he leaned and continued with fogy eyes.
'It's all about who's in charge – whether your body controls you, or you control your body.'
'And how good are you… in controlling your body, Mr Caine?'
'Right now I'm seriously failing…' he whispered.
And then they kissed. Peter quit trying to remember the last time he had kissed a woman. Was it Jody? Perhaps… But then again, with eight months missing from one's memory, anything was possible.
After their lips parted Joanna smiled.
'You know, you're different.'
'How?'
'You're somehow… more laid back, I can't see that seriousness, the coldness.'
'Seriousness?'
'Yeah… You're way more cheerful than before.' She smiled.
Peter's stomach turned; 'not cheerful' as before, serious… Coldness? What had happened? Could it be that the events from the past half a year were so life-changing that his brain really chose to forget about them?
The ex-cop noted to speak with Dr Craig again. But now he had more pleasant occupation. It wasn't a lie that consciously he had been avoiding relationships, especially after the fiasco with Jody. After finding himself outside Sloanville, however, Peter felt that he didn't need to follow a certain code of behaviour, nor reach certain expectations; he felt absolutely free.
So why not take advantage? There were times when in the presence of such a woman he wouldn't give it a second thought.
'Well…' He leaned close again. 'Let's take advantage of my good mood, then.'
The couple was about to kiss again when the Shaolin got tense; it was so sudden that his whole body strained.
'What's…?'
A finger against her lips was a signal for Harris to keep quiet. Peter pointed at the door and got up. With great effort he limped forward, his straight face not giving the slightest sign about how much pain he was actually in.
After reaching the wall he turned the lights off and listened. He signalled Harris that there was only one man outside; the detective moved closer and waited, her gun was ready to be fired.
As it turned out, she never had to use it. The lock clicked and a tall silhouette was about to enter. Harris never saw what really happened; she didn't actually hear anything happen. All she saw was the silhouette quietly sliding and remaining there, still and unconscious.
X
Some time later Harris's colleagues were on location, while Peter was fretting they might wake up Mel. The girl, as it turned, didn't hear a thing; she was sound asleep while the intruder was being taken away.
The detective in charge was a new addition to the Riverton station, the 28-year old Sandra Chu.
Detective Chu approached Peter.
'Mr Caine… I need to know that you confirm you've seen this man before.'
'That's right,' he said and with a slight groan got up from the chair he sought refuge to after a sudden wave of dizziness. 'Excuse me…' He took two pills, mentally kicked his butt for doing so, and continued. 'He came to my room this morning, he pretended to be a nurse.'
'In this case…'
Not a word of what Chu said reached the former cop. It was as if lightning struck him. Peter just stood there and stared at the eyes of the petite detective.
'Mr Caine?'
'I… Excuse me, have we met before?'
Interested, Harris listened.
'N-no, we haven't.'
'Are you sure?' Peter limped closer to the light. 'Look at me, please, please…'
'Uhm,' Harris interfered, 'Mr Caine has partial amnesia…'
'Oh… Well…' Mostly out of kindness, Chu pretended she was taking a closer look at Peter's face. She remarked on his handsome features and mentally cursed Harris for being there before her. 'No, I'm sorry. I'm pretty sure I would remember you.'
'Wish I could say the same thing.' Peter let the lady go but kept staring at her.
'Anything new?'
'I don't know… She… looked so familiar…'
'We know you've been in China, right? China is full of… you know…'
'Chinese?'
'…Yeah…'
'No… no, it's not her. I've seen those eyes before, but it's not her, she's not tall enough.'
'I'm sorry, what do you mean by that?'
'I...have absolutely no idea.' For a while Peter got the cold expression again. He limped away with his cell in one hand.
Not particularly excited with the way her evening unfolded, Harris got rid of the cops as fast as she could. When she returned to Peter she took the chance of seeing his back and unbuttoned her shirt.
'She should be there by noon. …Don't know, buddy, a couple of days… No, I'm fine, fine. …Look, Kermit, let's talk when I get back. …He-he, I'll try, I promise. Take care, OK? Bye.'
When he turned Harris completely forgot about her unbuttoned shirt.
'Did you just talk to… Kermit the Frog?'
'You can say so.'
He approached.
'Thank your people for me for being so quiet.'
'My pleasure,' answered Joanna in a husky voice. 'Speaking of pleasure… Where were we?'
But something about him had changed. He looked anxious.
'What's wrong? Are you in pain?'
'Oh, believe me, with the amount of pills I've had they can perform surgery on me and I won't feel it.' Peter stopped, his gaze met the grey eyes opposite. 'Something happened tonight. I saw this flash and…'
'I see.'
'Look…' He pulled her lightly. 'There were times when I would have gone for this without thinking; I'd have probably done it tonight, too, just… Let's concentrate on the case, shall we? I need to get back as soon as possible.'
'I understand, no problem.' Trying not to look too disappointed Harris turned and nervously began fidgeting with her buttons.
'Are you sure?'
She was not.
On her way out she remembered something.
'Is our dinner thingy still on?'
'You bet.'
The door shut. Alone at last Peter let the pain creep to his face and with crooked expression dragged his bruised body to the bed. He couldn't possibly stand any other pain killer, not to mention the antibiotics.
Lights shut, Peter could finally centre himself, first time he did this in an unidentifiable amount of time. From the moment Dr Craig had told him that his memory would restore with time he was wondering if he could give it a little push with some Shaolin magic; if you could make people forget, you could certainly make them remember.
But first things first, with his sprained ankle he was next to useless. Peter took a deep breath, visualised it entering through his abdomen and leaving through his third eye and heading down to his ankle; his heartbeat relaxed. He had few hours before dawn to make it as good as new.
XXX
Tara was one of the first in from the morning shift. Her usually stern face made it impossible for her subordinates to think that its sombre expression is even remotely connected to nightmares and total loneliness.
As the click of the computer indicated the beginning of the working day, she sank in her leather chair and began contemplating if there was any use of coming so early. There was – the precinct was always going to be a better place to be than her big, cold and empty house.
'Morning, sunshine!'
The surprise to find Kermit there so early was more than welcome.
'Morning, Captain! What are you doing here so early?'
'You know, kicking ass, keeping it safe… catching on the best fresh jelly doughnuts in town…'
Kermit grinned and placed a small paper bag on his new chief's desk.
'There, now you're a proper American cop.'
'Thanks.'
'So, how are you finding it so far? I mean here, in 1-0-1.'
Tara was inserting her password to enter the system.
'Well… It's fun, like you promised, the people are cool, very little pressure… Yeah, totally, I like it.'
'Little pressure?'
'A former mercenary should know what I mean.'
'Oh, he does.' Kermit approached. 'I'm just glad you have something to occupy yourself with while Peter gets back.'
'I waited 8 months, Captain, I can wait few more days.'
'So.. uhm… How do you find our new filing system? I hope it's not too obsolete for an Interpol super-cop.'
'Actually… I'm quite pleased. It's so easy to check who's working for me and what they've been up to; I'm really impressed with Jody's cases, I want to try her with something more challenging.'
'Jody's one of our best.'
'I agree. No wonder she has impressed Peter…'
'What the… How did you know?'
Tara was typing with left hand, her right one was too busy holding a still warm doughnut. She didn't even look at him.
'You're underestimating me, Griffin.'
'What else have you figured about our hero?'
'Well, I'm pretty sure he's had a thing with Kelly, and I'm guessing it's been serious... Also with the redhead at dispatch… Linda, right?'
'It was just a brief flirt…'
'Yeah, I figured as much. However, he has never had a thing with Skalany.' Now Tara met Kermit's bewildered green shades. 'I don't get it, though, she's a very beautiful woman, good cop, too.'
'Oh, Mary-Margaret is…' He coughed. '…A whole other league…'
'Did I make you nervous?'
Kermit cleared his throat.
'Not at all. Actually, what I meant was if you've checked Peter's cases, his file.'
'I see… No, I haven't.' Tara felt odd, and besides it was too early in the morning to start explaining to him that she didn't even know Peter's family name.
'That's a shame. I can see that none of the gang has impressed you by now, I was hoping to earn us a red point with our hot shot.'
'He was good, wasn't he?' Tara sipped coffee.
Kermit's expression changed.
'He's the… one of the best cops this precinct has ever seen.'
The lieutenant smiled.
'I'm not surprised. And, to be honest, I'm quite tempted…'
'Why don't you just type his name and be amazed?'
'Because…. You see, down there we didn't exactly spend our time talking about each other…'
'I know, he told me.'
'He did?!'
'Yup. I still can't believe he never... you know…'
Tara grinned.
'What, made a move on me?'
'Yeah… It's not like him…'
'Oh, my, I'm feeling so singled out.'
Loud voices from the reception interrupted the morning chat.
'I'd better go get this. You take your time, enjoy the doughnuts.'
'With pleasure,' smiled Tara. After Kermit left she stared at the computer; she suddenly wondered how the former mercenary managed to do any work with the green screen while wearing his ever-present green shades.
The voices got louder. Tara wanted to join, to go and help, but her captain had planted the curiosity seed; the temptation was just too much to bear.
There was no use to search family names, it could take hours. Tara skimmed through the list – there were more than 350 names on it. Fortunately Kermit had been proactive and the data base was searchable also by personal name. She typed 'Peter'; only nine men by that name had worked in the precinct.
She started from the top. Peter Andrews had worked in 101st in the late 80s, died in the line of duty during a hostage situation. Tara shook head and read further. Peter Benson was a cadet, this was his first year as a cop. With a soft smile she wished him good luck and moved further.
In life, sooner or later everyone finds himself in that situation, when they hear, or see, or… read something that makes time stop and mercilessly drains the blood off their faces.
Tara was facing one such moment right now.
There it was, the evil c-letter.
Caine!
Tara spun the chair and stared through the window; she saw nothing, her mind was thousands of miles away from here. It flew back to China, where an American sailor baring the family name of Caine had fallen in love with a local girl, who also happened to be the last survivor of an ancient lineage, going back to the first Shaolin temple and a monk named Kwai Chang, the first known priest from the order of the Fighting monks.
Caine…
Her attention returned to the computer. A man with the same family name had been part of this precinct. Caine, Peter, joined June, 1984, resigned January, 1997. And then there's the mysterious man she meets at the other end of the world, Caucasian, former cop turned Shaolin, who has been part of this very same precinct.
Coincidence?
Tara gulped and pressed 'enter'. Tender feelings rushed to her heart when she recognised the man on the screen, a younger face, stern, wearing police officer's dress uniform… All doubts forgot, she bravely read on, convinced this had to be a coincidence. Skipping the impressive list of awards, she found the birth certificate. And it happened again, this chill…
Mother: Laura K. Caine
Father: …. Father: …
She read it again.
Then again.
And a third time…
The young chief hid face behind two trembling hands. Realising she had fallen in love with the son of Kwai Chang Caine, now more than ever she wanted to be back in her village, cultivating herbs and looking after the community the way her mother had, away from the outside world, away from strangers, and finally, away from the one man in the whole wide world that family honour forbade her to be with.
'This can't be happening!'
XXXX
