The following morning, Ryu went for a walk before Chun Li woke up. He wanted time alone to think. He felt the stay in India was coming to an end. There was only so much he could learn from Dhalsim. Ryu thought about the next country he wanted to travel to, and he decided it would be Thailand. After walking another ten minutes, he went back to the hut. Inside, Chun Li was still sleeping, and he quietly got into the bed with her. The movement of the bed woke her up. She felt Ryu's warm body on the back of hers. He put his arm around her, and she snuggled his large muscular arm.
"Your arm is cold, were you outside?" Chun Li asked sleepily keeping her eyes closed.
"Yes, I went for a walk," Ryu replied quietly. He looked at his wife. Even with her hair messy from sleeping, she looked beautiful, so serene, so sexy. He lightly pressed himself against her backside.
"Don't get fresh, it's too early for that," Chun Li gave a light smile. He pressed against her again. "Ryu!" He kissed her cheek and reached down to her butt, he began massaging it. Oh well, Chun Li thought. He removed her sleep shorts, underwear, and pulled his pants down enough to uncover his member. He proceeded to enter her slowly from behind. Although still sleepy, she didn't mind the intimacy with Ryu.
30 minutes later, the two lovers were out of bed preparing for the day. Ryu wanted to tell Chun Li he was ready to leave India. "I think our time here is up. We need to keep traveling," Ryu began.
"I had a feeling you'd say that, especially after what happened yesterday," she replied.
"I have no challenge here anymore. I need to continue to test myself," he said.
"I understand. But, I also want to finish investigating the missing children. Give me 2 days and if I can't crack this case, then go without me." Chun Li knew in her heart she needed to help the missing children.
"Are you sure you would be alright without me?" he asked.
"I could always ask Rashid to stay at his hotel," she teased. Ryu quickly got up and tickled Chun Li's sides. She let out a loud laugh and promptly moved herself away from him.
"Ugh! You know I hate that!" she yelled. Ryu smiled mischievously.
"I really hope you can find those kids. I don't want to leave without you," he said.
"I don't want you to either. I will do my best!" she said.
Later, Chun Li met with Rashid and Azam. They continued their investigation on the missing children by going to Calcutta. From asking around the village, the locals, and information she got from Tao and his gang, she zoned in on a business district. As they sleuthed around, they came upon a bus transporting 10 children into a warehouse.
"That must be it!" Chun Li said to Rashid.
"We must be sure. Let's see if there is any other way in," he replied. "Azam, be our lookout." On the side of the warehouse was a locked door. Rashid picked the lock, and they went in quietly. Chun Li pulled out her gun to the ready. They went from room to room checking for any children. Nothing was found.
"I don't understand. Where did all the children go? The adults with them?" Chun Li asked.
"They've got to be here somewhere," Rashid replied. Suddenly, Chun Li heard a faint sound of voices.
"Rashid, do you hear that?" she asked. He shook his head no. "Listen carefully. It sounds like it's coming from below us." Chun Li put her ear to the ground, so did Rashid.
"I hear it! There must be a hidden floor beneath us," he said. The two fighters looked around for an opening and came to a trap door. They went in and the voices became louder. As they went further in, they heard men's voices yelling and children cheering and shouting. Chun Li hid behind some boxes, peered through them, and realized what she was looking at.
"They're making the children fight!" she gasped. She saw a circle of children with two in the middle fighting. She saw a boy in a red shirt. That boy, he looks familiar.
"Chun Li, look! That man! That must be Fang!" Rashid exclaimed. The tall skinny man in the purple changpao sat back and orchestrated the fighting. Chun Li cocked back her gun, she was angry. She couldn't stand back and let the men take advantage of the children any longer.
"I'm going in, this has to stop!" she told Rashid.
"No, Chun Li! Wait! We don't know exactly what we're up against. We might need backup," he tried to explain.
"Then tell Azam to find help!" This might be our only chance to rescue these kids!" she argued. Rashid communicated to Azam through his earpiece.
"Alright, Azam is getting the police," he told Chun Li. "We have to be careful."
Ten minutes passed and they didn't hear a word back from Azam. Chun Li was getting impatient.
"I'm not waiting any longer! I've seen enough of this. Are you ready?" she asked. As much as Rashid wanted to wait, he knew he wanted to get his hands on Fang to ask the whereabouts of his friend.
"Let's go!" The two fighters emerged from the shadows scaring the children. Fang and four other thugs looked at them.
"Fang, you're under arrest for suspicion of kidnapping, illegal fighting, and endangerment of minors," Chun Li pointed her gun at him.
Fang laughed. "Chun Li, former Interpol agent. Hard to make an arrest without your badge backing you!"
"I don't need a badge to make a citizen's arrest! Let the children go and come with me quietly," she replied.
"These children are free to leave whenever they want, aren't you kids?" Fang walked up to the child with a red shirt on and made him stand up. "Take this boy for example. Ask him if he wants to leave."
Chun Li didn't let her guard down, she knew something was amiss. "Come with me. You can be free of this man. Your mom has been looking for you," she tried pleading with the boy. The boy looked at Fang and then looked back at Chun Li. He didn't understand her, but he understood the meaning of her actions. He shook his head no.
"You see!?" Fang let out an eccentric chuckle. "These boys want to be here. So, why don't you leave, you're not wanted here."
"I don't know what lies these men have told you, but you're all in danger being here!" Chun Li pleaded again. She remembered the word danger in Bengali, "bipada!"
"Come children. Let us take you back to the village or where you came from," Rashid said.
"Hmm, you? Rashid, is it?" Fang asked.
"How do you know my name?" he replied.
"I know a lot more than I let on. It's my job to follow my master's orders and carry out what he asks. I know all his enemies," he said.
"Who do you work for?" Chun Li yelled.
"All in due time, my pet. You two have become very annoying. I believe it's time to leave. Boys!" All the children got up and began walking toward Chun Li and Rashid. "Attack them!" Fang ordered in their native language.
Back in the village….
Cammy gathered her belongings and made her way up the Ganges River. She had finally arrived at the village. As she was pulling up in a little speed boat, she saw children playing along the river. They ran away and called for Dhalsim.
"Master Dhalsim! There's a foreigner here!" a little girl cried out. He went to see who had arrived.
"Cammy White," Dhalsim said. "The spirits have been restless, they told me a warrior would be coming."
"Master Dhalsim. My apologies for coming unannounced. I am here for your help and wisdom," Cammy replied.
"Come, let us talk in my hut," he helped Cammy gather her things. As they began walking toward Dhalsim's hut, Ryu came running from the bush.
"Master Dhalsim, is everything alright? The children came to me saying there was a foreigner here," Ryu saw a woman with two long blonde braids. "Cammy!? What are you doing here?"
"Ryu! Is Chun Li here? I am on a quest," Cammy replied.
"She's in Calcutta, she's following up on an investigation," he began to explain.
"Wait, what? An investigation? What investigation?" she asked confused.
"If you two, please, let's reconvene in my quarters. We can exchange stories there," Dhalsim said.
In the hut, Cammy told Ryu and Dhalsim about the results of her physical. They both were astonished.
"Do you really think that is possible? A child?" Ryu asked.
"That's what I'm hoping to find out," Cammy said. She turned to Dhalsim. "And that's what I'm hoping you can help me with. I still don't have all my memories back from when Bison kidnapped me. Master Dhalsim, can you help me reach into the depths of my mind and help me find out if it's true?"
"It would require a strong hypnosis. It would be a difficult task, but I believe I can manage it under the right conditions," Dhalsim replied.
"What would that entail?" Ryu asked.
"No outside interruptions and someone who can help ground you," he said.
"Chun Li can do that! They are the best of friends," Ryu added.
"Where is Chun Li exactly?" Cammy asked.
"In Calcutta. She's investigating the local missing children. She's been at it for days now," he said.
Cammy shook her head. "That girl can never relax." Ryu agreed. "Have you heard from her recently?"
"Not since earlier," Ryu said.
"I guess we'll have to wait until she comes back," Cammy sighed.
"Ms. White, let's prepare for the hypnosis in the meantime," Dhalsim suggested. His wife, Sally, tended to Cammy and helped her get ready.
In Calcutta…
Chun Li and Rashid were trying their best not to hurt the children who were attacking them. Fang stood back and watched with his thugs. "Enough!" he said. The children stopped and came back to his side. "If you want these children, you're going to have to get through me." Rashid stepped closer to Fang and readied himself to fight.
"You will tell me where The Usher is!" Rashid demanded. He went on the offense and made the first attack. Fang easily avoided the connection. Again, Rashid went in for another round of attacks. Meanwhile, two thugs came up to Chun Li. They tried grabbing her but she was able to land a kick on the abdomen of one thug, knocking him down, while the other received a knee to the groin and the wind knocked out of him. The children watched on as the fighters continued to brawl.
With one thug subdued, the other went back in to fight Chun Li. He was joined by two more men. All three men went in to try to grab her. The closest to her received a punch from a her left fist, then her right, followed by a roundhouse kick to the face knocking him out. The other two equidistant from her received whirlwind kicks to their heads. Chun Li jumped up onto the shoulders of one man and used all her weight to knock in him down and into the other man. Both thugs were beat. She rounded her arms and grounded herself back into a fight position. She looked around and saw the four thugs subdued. She turned her head toward Rashid and watched his fight with Fang.
Rashid had gotten close to Fang and knocked him backward but he managed to keep himself from falling to the ground. In a backbend, Fang used his powerful legs to kick Rashid's chest and made him stumble back. Fang stood up and proceeded to knee kick Rashid's face. He fell to the ground.
"Rashid!" Chun Li called out. Fang stood back.
"As fun as this was, I've grown tired of our encounter," Fang said. He pulled out a detonator from his pocket. He pressed the button, and an explosion blasted the warehouse. Chun Li was thrown to the ground from the blast.
As she came to, her ears were ringing. She slowly opened her eyes and saw a purple figure walking away. She looked around for Rashid and managed to pick herself off of the floor to check on him. He had cuts and bruises on him from flying debris.
"Are you alright," Chun Li asked as she helped him to his feet.
"Yes. I'm…I'm fine," Rashid shook his head. "Coward! Using explosives to get away from a fight." Chun Li looked around and accessed the situation.
"We've got to get out of here. This building looks like it hasn't been up to code in years and I'm sure the blast is going to made it come down to hide any evidence Fang wants gone," she said.
"We've got to go after him! We'll never know where he's going if we don't follow!" he cried.
"Right now the most important thing is getting these kids to safety," Chun Li pointed to the hurt children. As badly as Rashid wanted to find his friend, he knew the children needed help in getting out. They guided the kids through the rubble.
Azam was overjoyed when he saw Chun Li and Rashid emerge from the crumbling warehouse. He immediately went over to them and saw a line of children behind them. The police had finally arrived as well. They got out of their cars and went over to them for aid. As ambulances and fire trucks showed up, Chun Li found Officer Sharma running to her. He saw the missing children around her.
"The missing children! How did you manage?" Officer Sharma asked. Chun Li gave him the details of her pursuit. They counted eight children.
"I know this may only be a small number of the missing kids, but at least these ones are safe!" Chun Li told him.
"You have done more than enough for these children's families," he replied. All the children were checked out by the EMTs as well as Chun Li and Rashid. They had only sustained minor injuries. After giving the rest of the details to Officer Sharma, he offered to give Chun Li a ride back to the Dhalsim's village. They arrived later that night.
"Thank you, Chun Li. You have helped tremendously. The locals will be very happy with their children back," he said.
"I only wish I could have found more," Chun Li replied. They said their goodbyes and Chun Li walked back into the village. She was met by the children. They announced she was back. Ryu and Dhalsim went out to greet her.
"I did it. I cracked the case!" Chun Li said triumphantly. She gave them all the details of her day. Ryu was proud of his wife and Dhalsim was touched that she cared so much for the children. He gained a new respect and admiration for her.
After cleaning up, Chun Li met Ryu outside Dhalsim's hut.
"I wanted you to meet me here because there's something I want to show you," Ryu said.
"What is it?" Chun Li asked. From the hut, Cammy walked out. "Cammy?!" Chun Li rushed over to her best friend and gave her a hug. They were very happy to see each other. "What are you doing here?"
"It's best we sit down over a cuppa, luv. Long story…" Cammy began.
To be continued…