I descend upon the goons before they can even register what has hit them. I am a flurry of flying fists and kicks and pure, unadulterated fury —a one-man machine of pain.
Pow. One down. Pow pow. Another down. Duck, swing, grab his arm and throw him onto the floor with the filth where he belongs. Crack. He cries in pain. Wham. He takes one to the gut.
I am unstoppable and I can tell that they know it. But that's what happens when you mess with the one girl I would do anything for. Because all I see is red and it is the red of her blood that they have no doubt spilled in trying to hurt me through her. I am merciless and I will hurt them with all of my might, because I want them to never forget that they will be the ones suffering the most if they ever touch my girl again.
Arghh. I cry out in frustration as I crack another man's arm onto itself like a matchstick. He whimpers and runs away. Several of the smaller men have already fled the scene.
But I am just getting started now. I feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. It is the rush of pure joy I get from making grown men feel pain and cower in weakness before my power. It is the high I used to feel from getting in fights almost every day before I met Shan Cai and changed for the better.
Now is not the time to wonder what if my power isn't enough to keep the ones I love safe or if I'm the one causing problems for them in the first place. I have to believe that it is enough and that I am enough for Shan Cai to continue being with. Because I have to be enough for her. For us. For me. To be loved.
"Had enough?" I cry out loud, holding my arms out like a madman. "Anyone else want to go home with a few broken bones today?"
"Ah Si," Lei's voice rings out, and it brings me back down to earth, echoing calmly from his corner of the room where he has also cleaned up quite nicely. For such an outward pacifist, sometimes I forget that he also trained with the best martial arts teachers in all of China when we were growing up.
"Ah Si, there is no one left," he says softly, smoothing his sweater back into place.
I look around, and he is right. Everyone else in this warehouse is either passed out or long gone like dogs with their tails between their legs. I had been so caught up in my rage that I hadn't even noticed.
Breathing hard, I finally look down at my bloodied knuckles. Only now is the stinging starting to set in.
Weeee-ooh. Weeee-ooooh. In the distance, I can hear police sirens wailing. They're late again from traffic, just like last time. But still in time enough to round up everyone who's still left, strewn across the floor like broken toys.
"Shan Cai, I need to see her!" I cry out. Now that the fight has ended, I'm reminded of why I even got into it in the first place.
"Here, let's tie up these four here, and then can you handle the police, Lei?" I ask.
Lei nods in response.
Luckily, there is rope lying around all over this place, clearly a surplus from their kidnapping materials. We drag the men together and we tie them up well.
"There, that should hold them," I mutter.
"Yes, that should do it," Lei responds, fully back to his gentle and soft spoken self now.
Cocking his head to the side, he looks at me with the same bemused expression he always did when Shan Cai and I were still on-and-off dating back at Mingde University.
"Ah Si," he prods. "Go get your woman."