| One-Shot |
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Retired
| Reality Fault |
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Bloody Idols: Chapter Two
It takes only seconds for the twosome to realize -- they're (in effect) surrounded. The original enforcer smiles nastily at Xing, then with exaggerated politeness gestures to the stairs to the first floor, "Perhaps the infamous Mr. Xing and his companion would care to step downstairs, to speak with the Grandfather?"
Rain says, "Companion? What am I, a dog?"
Glancing around, the two realize about 10 impassive-faced, black suited men surround them.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Xing says to Rain, sliding his hands subtly into an opening position of mulan quan wushu. "This suit's too new. How about you, 'companion'?"
Rain says, "If you call me that again I'm going to kill you along with the rest of these fools."
Xing says, "So noted," and lashes out with a strike to the nearest mook's legs, trying to trip him and take a few of his friends with him."
The original enforcer murmurs, "You do-" then cuts off at Xing's action, snarling, "Get them!"
The goons surge forward, and that's what causes Xing's initial swipe to miss.
Xing mutters, "I meant to do that!"
Rain has his back to Xing to face the other flank of black-suits, so he doesn't have time to make a snide comment about Xing's martial arts skill, as the enemy charges. Rain springs forward, doing a flip toward the first enemy and grabbing the enforcer's head with his feet; he flips himself back, swinging the enforcer off-balance then dumping him on his head. Grandfather will forgive me if I open with something out of Mexican wrestling and not the national martial art... I hope. Using the momentum, he does a rear handspring, and lashes out with both feet at the next enforcer as he comes charging up over his partner. The enforcer sees the somewhat-flashy move coming well in advance and blocks the little ninja, who curses. At least he lands on his feet.
Xing mentally curses his lack of a palpable hit, knowing Rain is going to give him flack for it. He focuses on the mook in front of him (the one he missed), whirling his hands upwards in a windmill strike and rising up on his feet in the same motion.
His hands go whiff! right past the enforcer, who doesn't even have to dodge. I better look damn good doing this!
Rain hmms and glances over his shoulder. Xing appears to be having some difficulty. He lunges at the closest enforcer, and strikes him once to stagger him, pushing off his knee, bouncing up and off his shoulder to lash out first at the back of the springboard mook's head, then to swing his outstretched leg around to bring it down on Xing's more stubborn opponent.
Rain snaps a quick, vicious kick against his springboard's head before sailing in an arc over the gambler, smashing his shin into the enforcer's face. He lands, takes an aggressive stance. To Xing, he says, "You're welcome!" To the head enforcer, "NEXT!"
The two enforcers go down as if pole-axed. The remaining seven deliver a devastating flurry of punches and kicks at the daring twosome. A moment later, when the air clears of flying limbs, it's startlingly apparent that both Xing and Rain have gracefully and athletically dodged every single strike! The originally flattened goon is slowly getting up off the floor, shaking his head ruefully and groaning... obviously not a fan of Mexican wrestling.
Xing makes a bit of a face. "Thank you," he says, sourly albeit sincerely. He's never going to let me live this down. Despite the miracle of evading each strike from the enforcers, he's angry for having lost his touch. Right then.... He picks out the nearest enforcer. "You," he says simply, and his arms become a semicircle intersecting with the enforcer's head.
His hands actually do manage to smack into the enforcer, though it doesn't bring him down. Xing expected that; he's slowly getting back into the swing of unarmed combat. Been carrying that damn piece of iron for too long, I bet. It's screwed up Fortune's favor when it comes to fighting, I'm sure.
Rain realizes quickly from the hammer-fisted swings of the larger enforcers that he's not going to be able to go head-to-head with them for long. That's fine; he doesn't have to. He leaps to one side as a burly Cantonese tries to axe-handle him, and dashes along one wall for a few feet before jumping up onto to run for several feet, diagonally up, to flip himself over, somersaulting over one diving mook and bringing his heel down hard on another, leaving the way between himself and the head enforcer clear.
Xing whirls, and in one motion strikes the enforcer he had just hit, with his open palm to the enforcer's chest, turning and sweeping his leg around to trip another enforcer. He really has to start pulling his weight in this.
In the meantime, the enforcers are having a rather bad time of it. Rain's insanely sheer athleticism is causing them to hesitate, and the posh-suited Xing's abilities are obviously also unexpected. The head enforcer yells irritably at them, "Take these guys down!" -- as he whips out a small snub-nosed pistol
The results are dramatic... if predictable. The previously mildly curious patrons panic, screaming and rushing for doors, hitting the ground... gambling chips cascade to the floor, glasses shatter messily, and the bartender ducks neatly behind the bar.
Xing's palm sends the first to the ground, and his other strike staggers the second enforcer. An Ying is rather pleased by this, at least until he sees the head enforcer pulling out a gun. Never bring a knife to a gunfight. Even worse, never bring nothing to a gunfight. He'd warn Rain, but he knows the Hwarang Knight already noticed, probably even before he did.
Rain does another back flip to get outside the arc of fire as he sees the gun coming out; laying his hands on the leg of a high stool that sits shattered in the middle of the melee, he springs back to his feet armed with a staff. Or... something resembling one. Kind of. Regardless, he has at the head enforcer with enthusiasm, striking first at the gun hand, swinging the length of broken wood around his body, striking his target with the middle portion, letting go and kicking it back again at the hapless bouncer.
Rain catches the staff as it bounces back into his hands just as the head bouncer hits the floor; he turns, and gives the staff a flashy whirl around his midsection, catching it between wrist and hip, thrusting out his free hand at the nearest mook to grin... and beckon with his fingertips. "C'mon."
Xing sees Rain is taking care of the head enforcer. He flicks his suit jacket to the side a little, letting him whip his leg upward in a kick against the enforcer he just staggered, then uses the momentum to drop himself down into a horse stance to strike at the solar plexus of another.
The enforcer has the unfortunate chance to have his face where Xing's foot goes, and flips end-for-end. He drops his foot into horse-stance, and his strike to the second's solar plexus sends that one falling backward, dropping him. Out of the corner of his eye he spots another enforcer coming up too close. Now, now, he thinks, That isn't nice. He drops neatly to the ground on his hands and drives the foot of his boot up into the enforcer's chin. Hey, I think I'm actually warming up, he thinks to himself, hopping up to a standing position, his hands windmilling to face any more attackers.
Xing glances over at the last standing one, and not wanting to be cocky, whips out his arm in a quick strike to the enforcer's neck. That one drops. He spins around, looking for any more attackers, and, seeing none, straightens his jacket.
Rain tosses the broken stool-leg aside. "It's time to leave."
The clients are still screaming and struggling to make it out the door. However, over at the bar, the pretty bartender leans on the counter and grins, raising a glass of something richly amber colored in salute to the two men. "Been wanting to do that for way too long... take care of the girl, please, eh?"
Rain ties his long black scarf around the lower half of his face; "Cheers, ma'am."
Xing smiles and inclines his head to the bartender, then a little more seriously, "We will, definitely." He looks around, frowning a little. Where is the baccarat girl?
Rain says, "Give me your keys. I'll get the car. Meet me out front."
Xing sees the girl, hiding beneath the table and just now peering out. Considering how she tried to save her job, he won't try to approach her for more information; she's apparently told them all she's capable of. He starts to pull out his keys, then eyes Rain warily. "I've let you drive my car before, haven't I?" he asks, tossing the keys to him.
Rain says, "I can make an escape across the roof. Can you? Do you want to find out?"
Xing grimaces. "Nice. Here you go."
Rain nods, "Thank you." He disappears down the hallway; for a small man he's alarmingly fast on his feet.
The bartender pushes another small, amber-filled glass across the bar and smiles at him, "I'm off at one, handsome."
Xing shakes his head a little, then looks around briefly, letting out a breath. I would have liked to have played here. Ah, well. He grins to the bartender. "Well, with luck... this won't take too long. Without luck... I may not be able to be anywhere at one." He takes a slight roundabout route, going past the baccarat girl, pausing only to murmur, "We'll find out who caused your friend's death, miss. Until then stay strong." And with that, he heads outside, hoping Rain remembered how to drive his stick shift coupe.
Rain is sitting outside with the engine running, perched like a skinny gargoyle on the hood. "Well?"
Xing pauses, looking at Rain perched on the car, then decides not to make an issue of it; Rain's earned the right to be comfortable. He goes to the driver's side door. "We need to find Djang, I imagine. Any ideas where he might be? I certainly haven't met him in gambling circles."
Rain takes a seat in the passenger side and says, "I know where the family he is associated with tends to operate."
Rain says, "It stands to reason that this murder was committed in order to get to a mister Kai, who is affiliated with those families controlling the docks. It would reason, then, that he is after this Kai. Since I know where he is likely to stay, perhaps we should seek this Kai out."
Xing considers for a moment. "Yeah.... Say, do you remember what side the bartender said the girl was shot?" He starts to dig out the picture of Soo-niang to compare.
Rain says, "I don't believe she said. But it stands to reason also that this person is Korean as well, in which case it becomes a matter of pride for me to determine his complicity in this."
Xing nods absently. "Yeah, of course, feel free... here, now. Ook. The picture here has Soo-niang's face scarred on the left. But... her roommate said she was scarred on the right."
Xing says, "That is, she said the ghost was scarred on the right side." He looks up at Rain. "I think our 'ghost' was Yu-soo."
Rain says, "It's entirely possible this Djang did not do his homework. Slovenly work is something of a trademark with him."
Xing says, "In which case, he killed the wrong girl, Yu-soo was at Soo-niang's dorm to retrieve her letters... and everyone thinks Yu-soo is dead." he sits back, letting out a breath as he fully realizes what happened. "Poor Soo-niang. Her father's going to be devastated."
Rain says, "I am going to make certain that she gets her vengeance."
Xing nods quietly, then revs up the car. "We'll go to the docks, then, and see what we can find about why someone would want Kai and Yu-soo killed. And that should lead us to Djang.
Xing moves the car on through, waving to the guard as they go on through. "Well," he murmurs to Rain, "that was easy."
Rain pulls his black bag into his lap from the back seat, then starts to remove several clips of ammunition and another gun -- this one a small SMG. How does he hide all that stuff under one jacket? "I would not count on it getting any easier."
Xing says, "No, I won't take that bet. So what do we do now that we're here?""
Rain says, "We go to the meeting."
Just as the guard said, there's a parking lot by the last building on the left. Lots of bicycles are there, as well as a few cars. The building itself is all lit up, with the doors and windows open for coolness in the warm night. A person talking loudly can be heard, followed by a disgruntled murmur of sound.
Xing says, "Well," he says, parking the car in a discrete area, "here we are then....""
Rain tucks his scarf into the back of his jacket and pulls it down a bit so as not to cover up his face. "Let's go. We'll find Kai and get to the bottom of this."
"...and what are we going to do about it? How long will we put up with being pushed around like this?!" The voice is male, and the agitated crowd growls again in response.
Xing nods, following discretely behind Zero and leaving his suit jacket in the car, unbuttoning his top buttons. This sounds like a meeting where it would be bad to be seen in a suit.
As Rain steps up towards the door he can see there is a rather rough and standing-room-only crowd within. The speaker continues, "Are we not contributing members of society? Do we not pay our taxes, just like they do? Yet we're still the 'interlopers' -- the 'filthy foreigners'! Whenever they feel like it, they simply dispose of one of us -- as a 'warning'!"
Xing pauses. This definitely sounds like a bad place for him to be, as a native of Kowloon.
Rain half-turns, and says, "Why don't you try to find our friend's office, Xing. This is probably not a good place for you to show your face."
Xing nods quickly, "Most assuredly." He slips out, making as if he's stretching his legs, and when nobody's looking retrieves his dark jacket and starts to look for Kai's office. Perhaps the gentleman will be in.
The crowd is still growly and unhappy-sounding. At Rain's approach, several men by the door turn to look, nodding politely to him. One of them looks a bit perplexed, leaning a bit to apparently look curiously past Rain.
Rain steps inside, nodding quietly. He takes a place toward the back, out of the way and unnoticed.
Xing looks around thoughtfully in the darkness. There are some really huge buildings off to the right -- probably a number of warehouses. There are a few smaller ones near the building he's just parked by. Hopefully some of those will be offices... although... surely closed offices, late at night, shouldn't be showing small sparks of light moving jerkily through them, through the windows?
Xing frowns slightly. Looks like someone's doing some midnight accounting. He tries to sneak up on the buildings so whomever is within doesn't notice him -- even knowing this is really Rain's specialty.
Xing starts to sneak up on the building.. but then notices the sentry. He draws back quietly around a corner and plans his next move. He shouldn't go in there, not without Rain. Rain's much, much better at that sort of thing. But Rain is in the meeting.. and if he shows his face there, he's likely to get hurt. Worse, whomever is rifling the office will not be there for very long. That can't be helped, though. This is no longer the gambling dens, this is dealing with the tongs. He goes back to the car, to wait for Rain to come out, which he hopes is soon and quickly so they can get to the office.
As Xing starts to draw back he hears someone murmuring softly, and the sentry turns to whisper something back. It's... wait -- that's not any tongue routinely spoken in Hong Kong, that he knows of!
Xing hesitates. The tongs would speak Cantonese. Maybe even Mandarin. This isn't even anything Asian. He chose a good time to go, though. Hmm, interesting... in the glow of the flashlight.. the sentry didn't even look Chinese. This just got a lot deeper. He pauses, waiting in the shadows nearby, glad that the light would have ruined the sentry's night vision.
In the building, Rain is watching the crowd be expertly whipped up into a frenzy of anger about Kai's disappearance. The assumption is the tongs have either already gotten him, or soon will. No one is sure just why Kai's been targeted, though... but the speaker is convinced the answer is in Kai's office!
Back at the office, Xing watches the hasty ripping-apart of everything in a frantic search for... something... what would a docks union manager have that was so unique?
Rain curses silently in the back of his head. No clues here. Damn... I hope Xing is having better luck...
Suddenly the sentry Xing is watching softly barks out something in that odd language. Everyone inside the building freezes, looking up -- then simply drop what they're doing and flee!
In the union hall the crowd starts to spill out, heading for the office buildings in a growling flow of people that takes Rain along with it.
Xing blinks. Well, now. I wonder where they're off in a rush to. He tries to follow along at a safe distance. He isn't really trained to track and shadow someone, but he'll give it his best shot. And worse comes to worse he starts shouting.
From Xing's perspective, he's about to be sandwiched between the angry, growing crowd and the surprisingly scattered group of office thieves. He hopes Rain's all right -- and then that ceases to worry him as he almost trips over one of the black clothed thieves, who shouts in startlement and lashes out at him reflexively!
From Rain's perspective, the crowd is an annoying impediment sweeping him along with it towards some small buildings. Things rapidly get worse as the crowd first finds the forced door, reacting with increased anger -- then turns, attention drawn by a shout in the night!
Xing blinks. Crap! I knew I should have left this to Rain. No matter, the crowd will be here soon. Wait, is that a good thing...? He defends himself as best as he can, hoping to put this guy out before the crowd or this guy's friends get here.
Rain struggles a little, then just goes with the flow, fairly climbing over people in the direction of the crush to try and get free.
I should have known this wasn't going to work.
Flashlights flick on in the crowd, highlighting a masked, black clad man striking at a suited man whom Rain recognizes as Xing, and other black clad men turning and running. The crowd, recognizing neither, simply turns its anger on the nearest targets, rushing the group.
Rain shouts, so Xing will hopefully know not to shoot him; "Hey, the Black Mask! Don't fight that guy, Xing, Jet Li will kick your ass!"
Xing thinks, The hell?! I'm fighting jet Li? Oh, hell...! Wait, no, that was Rain! What to do... wait.... crowd of angry dockworkers... guys who just broke into dockworkers' boss's office.... I think I'll keep this guy. He should have some answers! And we're really desperately needed answers.
Rain finds himself wondering, as he scrambles free of the press, who the hell are these guys? These aren't Sulsa... or Ninja, hell he knows a couple ninja! These guys aren't even professional burglars. And what kind of whacked out gwailo language are they speaking? Martian?
Rain breaks clear at last, clawing his way out of the press. His scarf, knocked free by the jostle of the crowd, almost appears to zigzag in and out from between people of its own accord as the unusually fast little man weaves in and out down the hallway. First thing to do, know the enemy. He closes his eyes, finds his Tao, and opens them again with darksight, so as to get a better fix on who is where.
Xing glances back at the crowd. Okay, this is not good.
Rain squints as he bears down on the leader. He could have sworn he heard someone yell "Allah" just now. And that gun... didn't BBC News say the Sunnites favor that make of weapon? What the hell is going on here?
Xing glances between the gang, then blinks, hearing the shouting guy. He picks out one or two words: Inshallah? Allah? These guys are Muslims?!
The thieves seem to be rallying, turning towards the shouting and shouting something in reply as they collect.
Rain sighs a little, hearing his grandfather in his head, 'The Hwarang Knight has traditionally defended our people from foreign invasion.' Easy for you to say, Granddad. They didn't have Uziel Gal when you were doing this... He gives up on worrying about it for now, and leaps. He lashes out at the leader with a straight kick that carries him past, just behind him, and hearing the whirl of a blow to the back of his head, drops, springing off his hands to lash out with a mule kick and right himself.
Rain kicks up to standing, and takes a defensive posture, to try and get the measure of his opponent. He has to admit, he's curious... how well do these guys fight? They sure as hell can't sneak.
The man Rain faces snarls in fury at him, then snaps in heavily accented English, "Thievv! You may not havv ourr country's trreazures! I, Abdullah, shall tek eet bak savely!"
He grabs for the small machine gun on the strap about his torso to yank it forward again.
Rain blinks, and says, in his own broken English, "Ah, so sorry?" He grins to himself, That was just mean, Rain. And racist too. Grandfather would die.
This seems to be a bit of a theme, in fact -- small machine guns are appearing in the hands of several of the black-clad men, even as the dockworkers' growl turns into an ugly howl -- and they seem to produce an alarming number of knives or blunt clubbing tools!
Rain glances at the crowd, then at the man he's facing up, then nods, trying again in his bad English, "You an' me, Black Mask? Let's do this!" He wheels back, snapping out his foot once at his enemy's head and again at his chest, a simple attack to see what his enemy's real measure is.
Rain finds his attacks are being well-defended against. All right, he thinks, finally a worthwhile enemy! He grins, "Right on, Black Mask, right on..."
Xing gets the hell out of the way of the two freight trains. He's Cantonese between mad Muslims and even madder Koreans; he doesn't stand much of a chance. He just tries to get out of the way of the two groups.
Xing looks around, then decides that height is the best advantage. He says, briefly, "Excuse me," to someone, then jumps up onto their shoulders, jumping off onto the containers nearby before the person can complain.
Xing got out just in time -- the violent meeting between Sunnites and dockworkers is a messy clash. The dockworkers are closing in fast enough that the machine guns rapidly become unwieldy close-in weapons. The morass of thrashing, milling, shouting men is punctuated by brutal clubbing thuds, sporadic automatic gunfire, screams, shouts, and groans. Mercifully, the lack of light hides the worst of it, but it's clearly hard to tell friend from foe this close in.
Up nearer the gate, hidden in the darkness, Abdullah finally gets his machine gun aimed roughly at the almost unseen little man facing him. His chattering burst of machine gun fire, while very loud and causing shouting from the gatehouse, misses Rain entirely!
Xing thinks he sees where Rain and his current opponent are, and he makes his way across the tops of the containers towards that area.
Rain tchs and dodges in and out of the melee, his black scarf zipping in and around and between people, and flying maddeningly around Abdullah as the little ninja attacks him. He dodges inside the enemy's arm, grabs his wrist and turns it so the gun barrel faces well away, and proceeds to kick Abdullah repeatedly in the head with one outstretched foot while he is relatively defenseless.
The crowd churns agitatedly, with a hoarse roaring, both sides desperately struggling to survive in the dimly lit bloodbath. Up at the gatehouse the shouting has stopped. Were anyone able to spare a glance that way, they'd see the gate guard gesticulating frantically as he yells into the phone, occasionally glancing towards the furious melee.
Abdullah manages to break free of Rain's grasp, wild-eyed and bloody-faced. He turns the machine gun on the Korean again, his face split in a rictus of fury, "Dezeivver! Thievv! Pawn of the veeschous hoozein! Die!"
Rain isn't quite fast enough that time, wrenching out of the way just in time to avoid being well-perforated. The burst-fire shreds his jacket and a small part of his side as well. "Aaagh!" He grimaces, "Now I have to hurt you."
Rain grabs the Sunnite's gun arm again, snarling, "Did I say you could go somewhere?" He lashes out with two savage kicks; he strikes Abdullah's face and then his shin to knock one leg out from under him, then turns, shoulder-tossing him and giving him a farewell kick to the small of his back, slamming him with a clang into one of the cargo containers. "Bastard!"
Xing finally spots Rain as he kicks back the robber. he winces a bit'; that looked like it hurt. "Rain!" he calls out, "Police are on their way!"
Rain shouts back in Cantonese, praying nobody else here speaks it, "Then help me stuff this fool into the car!"
Xing jumps down nimbly from the containers, and goes to help Rain do just that. "Nice work," he compliments.
Rain tchs. "Well, let's finish this and get to the car."
The crowd's frenzied movements are focusing on the last remaining Sunnites. A few men -- it's hard to tell from which side in the crush -- have staggered out, clutching bleeding wounds, and some have simply fallen in ominously spreading pools of wet darkness. The earlier howling has fallen off into an unpleasant, hackles-raising, low growling -- as they determinedly finish off their prey.
Rain glances over his shoulder, "And let's hurry, before they realize one of us is not Korean."
Xing does a quick calculation, then snatches up one of the downed knives and leaps forward, underneath the gunman's aim, letting the blade make a line for the leather strap holding the SMG to the man's chest.
Xing flicks the knife about. This requires precision, something he's not used to doing with a knife. But he tries to imagine the blade as one of the little cellulose rectangles that get thrown about in his demesne, flicking it as he would that lucky pair of jacks that can net the entire pot in one go....
Abdullah is starting to slow down from his wounds, but manages to gasp, "No! No, muzt not... fail...!" as the gun is neatly and successfully snatched from him. Whatever else he intended to say is lost as he coughs blood from the hasty manhandling he's enduring.
Rain bends down and shoulders the Sunnite, "Let's go. We are about to overstay our welcome."
Xing says, "I hear you. Let's try to get out of here...."
For not the first time, Xing is glad his car has a decent-sized trunk.
The wounded man is shoved unceremoniously into the trunk, despite his protests. Moments later, the car careens out of the parking lot, onto the road where the crowd of men is now starting to quiet and mill about. Realization of their actions is starting to hit some of them... others are still groaning in pain from their wounds.
They're a bit difficult to see without headlights, but Xing thinks it wiser not to draw undue attention to themselves. A few sharp veers to avoid a stunned-looking dockworker or two... and then they're at the heavy front gates.
The gate guard peers warily at them from the doorway of the gatehouse.
Xing tries to look suitably distressed. "I don't know what's going on but it's a madhouse! I thought I heard shooting! It's insane!"
The gate guard's eyes widen, and he hustles out to yank the gates hastily open, "Hurry, honored sir! Hurry, come through, before the dockworkers rush the gate!"
He's almost jigging in place with worry, staring back at the now ominously silent crowd, waving Xing's car through, "Quick, quick!"
Xing gasps out, "Thankyouthankyou! You're a lifesaver! Please, stay safe, don't let them get youuu!" This last as the coupe careens off into the night.
The heavy gates swing back... and this time the gate guard padlocks them before hiding back in his gatehouse.
Rain sighs a little as the car pulls out. "Good." He reaches for his black bag; pulls out a cell phone. "I will call Xiao Chu and ask if there is an available safe-house we can employ for tonight."
Xing nods, concentrating on avoiding the main thoroughfares so as not to run into any police cars.
Xing remembers to turn on the headlights when one approaching car flashes its high beams angrily.
Rain winces but is silent, although he's looking a little gray. "Xiao Chu. This is Rain. Please connect me to the Field Operations Division. Yes, thank you." He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Hello? Yes. Can at least one room be secured? Good, thank you." He pauses, before adding, "Please see that there is available first aid as well. Thank you very much." He appears to be bleeding on the upholstery, too. Xing tries, for the moment, to avoid noticing that Rain is bleeding in his car. That's the least of his worries. Mostly.
Some time later everyone is safely ensconced in the safe house. Abdullah and Rain both have been seen to, and Abdullah has been pragmatically drugged into unconsciousness. Rest is diagnosed for them all.