| Fan Fiction |
by DTLCT
Jacky locks the door and goes to give the superintendent the key to the apartment before leaving. Of course he doesn’t let her out of his sight for even a second. They step out the apartment building, feeling all relief it’s over. Jacky drives the whole way back to Constant Comfort. They do not say much to each other but he knows that they already did a lot.
Jacky have to park all the way at the back of the building and then doubles back because this place is already packed. He carries Jan’s heavier bag while she carries the other.
When they enter the building, Wallace is also coming back from somewhere. Probably on one of his search missions with Kenneth.
“Another tough day?” Jacky asked casually.
“Yea,” Wallace said before realizing Jacky’s with a girl. “Umm…your friend?”
“Yea. This is my girlfriend, Jan.”
Jan sticks out her free hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Wallace shakes her hand. “You look familiar. Have we met?”
“Probably not since I’m moving in right now.”
Wallace snaps his fingers. “No. I meant somewhere else.”
Jan shrugs. Jacky continues to walk towards the elevators with Jan by his side. Wallace looks puzzled but still follows them.
While they’re waiting for the elevators, someone from behind them calls out. Jacky and Wallace turn to look while Jan continues to watch the elevators. They see Ray heading towards them.
“Mandy, you got to see this!” Ray exclaimed excitedly. He’s actually inches from them now. “I just bought something just for you!” He grabs on Jan’s shoulder as he finished.
Jan, alerted, turns around finally. Ray realizes that it’s not Mandy. He yanks his hand back quickly and awkwardly.
“Sorry!” Ray blurted out, his voice full of apologies – and embarrassment. “I thought….”
“It’s all right,” Jan reassured him.
Ray wrinkles his eyes. “You seriously look like Mandy from behind.”
Wallace finally realizes why he said that she looks familiar before. Ray is right. She does look like Mandy from some angles. While Wallace’s thinking, Jacky and Ray had exchanged a few words. When Wallace is brought back to the present again, introductions had been made. The elevator to the right had opened also. They all get in. But before it closes, someone yells out “Wait” so Jacky pushes the “Open” button quickly. The door reopens and he sees Kevin and Gallen. They both step in quickly. He couldn’t help but smile since it feels like an uninvited party in the elevator.
“About four more people and we can have a party in here,” Jacky joked.
“You’re funny, man,” Ray said. “Oh yeah, Wallace, you missed the hotpot the other night. It was awesome. We did major bonding among the guys here.” He pauses as if remembering something. “Well, sort of.”
“Alice told me,” Wallace said.
“Oh right. Of course. You guys want to do something tonight?”
“Mr. Cho, in case you forgot, we all have work tomorrow,” Jacky said. “I think most of us are exhausted enough already.”
“What did you guys do the whole weekend anyway? I meant Wallace got a reason to be, but the rest of you?”
“Helped my girlfriend move.”
“The whole day?”
“It’s more than enough.”
Ray looks down at the bags Jacky and Jan are carrying. “It doesn’t look like much.”
“You’re so nosy, man,” Kevin jumped in. “Better stop it before you’ll be in trouble.”
“Wow! Suddenly you’re not my friend anymore. Don’t forget I’m Mandy’s brother.”
Jacky smiles and shakes his head. “You have got to come up with a better plan than that. Don’t hold that over him. Mandy’s got a mind of her own, you know. And if you want to pull the ultimatum, find a more reasonable one.”
Before Ray could put up a respond, Gallen speaks up.
“Why aren’t we moving?” Gallen asked.
The others begin to notice. Since Ray had been keeping them quite entertained, they haven’t realized. No wonder they’d been talking for quite a while now and it haven’t even reach their floors yet.
“I’ll call Auntie,” Kevin volunteered. He reaches for his cell phone and begins to call in.
The others stay silent for Kevin to describe what is going. When he gets off, Ray speaks up first.
“What happened?” Ray asked.
“They don’t know,” Kevin replied. “Both elevators are like that now. Charmaine, Mandy, Annie, and Alice are trapped in the other one.”
“What?!?!” Ray exclaimed. He begins to pace the place, which isn’t much since there are six of them in there, not much room for a comfortable pace.
“I think we should all stay calm and figure this out,” Jacky said.
“Auntie has already contact those techs to come help us,” Kevin told them.
“Then let’s reserve our energy.”
After he said that, he backs up towards the wall and sits down, setting the heavy bag aside. Jan does the same. The others follow the lead even though it sounds bizarre but still nothing they can do now, except wait.
“You’re starting to sound very strange to me, Wilson,” Ray commented.
Jacky smiles. He puts his right hand around Jan’s shoulder. She leans into him and they wait. The other guys are on the phone to call the girls to make sure they’re all right.
“I wonder if Mandy can cope with her fright,” Kevin said.
“Don’t worry,” Ray said, not knowing whether he’s reassuring himself or Kevin. “She’s a strong kid.” He hesitates for a bit before continuing. “I hope!”
“Relax,” Jacky said, sounding more confidence than Kevin or Ray. “She can handle it.” He leans forward to the other guys. “Hey, how about we play a game to kill time?”
“What game?” Ray asked, curious.
“Tell all our secrets! The more wild the better!”
“You’re crazy.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun.”
Jan taps on Jacky’s right hand to make him stop.
Jacky looks at her and smiles. “I’m not saying you have to tell it all. Just pick a random one. Or we can go around the circle and choose one. Or how about flip a coin? Whoever guesses right get to pick anyone to ask a question.”
“You’re really bored, huh?” Ray asked.
“Come on! One of us can call the girls to make sure they’re okay the whole time. And that way – by keeping them on the line, we would know their status while we play this game. It’s a tactic to keep calm until help arrives.”
Gallen sees where Jacky’s going with this and it’s a good idea to keep everyone’s nerves from going insane.
“I agree,” Gallen said. “How about we tell our secrets then? But we’ll make Wilson go first since he suggested.”
Jacky lets out a chuckle. “You’re getting back at me, right? Okay, fine. I’ll go first. And if I figure anyone lies in this game…” He does a quick circular scan at everyone by pointing with his index finger. “I’ll get back at them by printing out about a thousand fliers and post it on every wall in this building!”
“How could you tell we’re lying though?” Ray asked doubtfully.
“I’m a cop.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Gallen looks at Jacky, amazed that he’s actually blowing his cover now. Or is it his way to gain everyone’s trust before he can actually move on further with his investigation? Gallen have no idea but he knows that Jacky will keep to his end in helping him with looking after Ray.
“Wow!” Ray said. “Score one for me then since most of the gang bet that you’re a crook and I’m the only who didn’t.”
“Congrats,” Jacky said, his passiveness contradicting his words. “But…” He stops for emphasis. “…how can you tell I’m not lying at this moment?”
Gallen couldn’t help but smile since this guy is just too much. He can just twist the whole thing around in less than two minutes.
“Okay, now you’re breaking the rule of your own game,” Ray reminded Jacky.
Jacky shrugs and stays silent, looking at Gallen.
“Okay,” Ray said. “I guess I’ll just have to accept that. Who’s next?”
“Call the girls first, Jacky said. “They have to know. Who has the least battery life right now?”
It’s Kevin so he calls Mandy and tells her to stay on the line while they repeat what the guys are doing. He also told her what Jacky just told them. He heard Mandy repeat it to the girls and Alice saying “Whoa”.
“Okay, put it on speaker now,” Jacky instructed. “Who’s next? Or do I have to choose? How about you, 'Tim'?”
“Can you stop putting an emphasis on his name?” Ray asked.
“It’s fun.”
“It’s not when we hear it.”
“Stop wasting time and let 'Tim' go. I don’t want to be the only person telling his secret by the time someone gets us out of here.”
“Okay, stop arguing,” Gallen interfered. “I…um…I’m afraid of rats.”
“What kind of secret is that? Half of the apartment building knows already. After your screaming episode since last week.”
“Okay then. I…..”
“Careful, 'Tim'.”
Gallen knows that Jacky’s reminding him not to blow his cover yet. “This is harder than I thought.”
“It’s just a game. Pick whatever, like had you ever cheated on a girl before?”
“No.”
“That doesn’t count,” Ray jumped in. “He has to choose on his own.”
“I’m just suggesting,” Jacky said.
“Okay,” Gallen said, still thinking. “I stole from my parents when I was five.”
Jacky couldn’t hold it in anymore, he laughs so hard that he ends up coughing. Jan have to pound him down to stop it.
“Ok, next!” Jacky said when he finally recovered.
“Okay,” Ray said. “I’ll go since it takes you guys a million years before finding one. I used to spike Kevin’s drink when we were in school without him realizing it and he even thanked me for giving him the meds to help his stomach stopped from hurting.”
“That was you?” Kevin asked, turning to Ray. “I thought it was this girl sitting next to me.”
“It was funny though.”
“Yea, funny when I spike your drink later.”
“Come on, man. It’s over.”
Kevin shrugs and seems to forget it right away.
“You should beat him up after we all get out of here,” Alice said from the other side of the line.
“Alice!” Wallace scolded his sister.
“Ge, stop spoiling the party. How about you go next?”
“Good idea,” Jacky agreed. “How about you, Mr. Huo?”
“I….”
“Need help?”
“Fan Gang!” Jan called out.
“It’s harmless, don’t worry.”
“Don’t be such a bully,” Jan whispered to him.
Jacky looks at her and smiles. “Okay, who’s next now?”
“I’ll go,” Kevin said. “I used to put tacks on Ray’s chair and he thought it was Fat Chow sitting next to him in third grade.”
Ray jumps up. “What? You did that? I can’t believe you! I thought we were friends!”
“Serves you right for spiking my drinks.”
“I thought you just found out now.”
“I found out but I know that you just want to have a friend when we were little so I just pull that prank on you every time you spiked my drink to get back at you for a bit. When you stopped that, I stopped too.”
“No wonder you’re not really mad when he said he did that,” Alice said.
Jacky smiles wider. “This is getting much more interesting than I thought. I meant so many dramas. Who’s next?”
“Hold on, my battery’s dying,” Kevin told them. “How’s yours, Mandy?”
“It’s fine, have Ray call me,” Mandy said.
Kevin hangs up and Ray calls Mandy before they continue. It appears that Wallace finally volunteers to go.
“I used to sneak out a lot at night when we were little,” Wallace confessed. “I told mom I was going to a friend’s house to do homework or study. But it was because I want to spend more time in the fields but was too little to stay there alone so Mom didn’t let me.”
“Ge, our old spot?” Alice asked.
“Yea.”
Finally, there’s only Jan left in their cart. All the other guys wait for Jan to speak up. But before she could, Alice volunteers from the other side.
“I finally got a job but I didn’t tell anyone yet since ge has been so busy and worried lately,” Alice said.
“Alice,” Wallace called out gently – not his usual scolding tone like before.
“Ge, don’t worry, I’m fine. We can have a big celebration after we find Vincent and Alyssa.”
“I never told my parents about Fan Gang,” Jan said since everyone’s quiet after that little confession from Alice. “They just thought I’m moving here with some friends.”
“You didn’t tell them?” Jacky asked, turning to Jan.
“I didn’t know how to.”
“We’ll tell them next weekend then.”
Jan looks at Jacky. Jacky squeezes her left hand to reassure her.
Gallen just have to admit that Jacky’s so calm since this matter involves him but he doesn’t seem at all that worried, just a bit when he first heard Jan say it. He made it sound like they forgot to buy salt and will do it later.
“Okay, girls?” Ray prompted, waiting for Charmaine or Mandy or anyone to speak up.
“I’ll go,” Charmaine said. “I used to date a cop.”
“I hope it’s not me,” Jacky said, smiling. “Your voice sounds familiar though. I mean now that I think about it more. I didn’t really pay attention when we had hotpot earlier.”
“Some unfinished business?” Ray asked, his eyes wide open waiting for the plot to unfold. “I bet you got a past, right?”
“Ray!” Mandy called out. “If Charm dated him, I would have known.”
“Do you?”
“All right, let’s get back to the game. We got my next door neighbor and Miss Cho left.”
“I saw Wilson the other day talking to Tim but I didn’t tell the others since I didn’t want Tim to follow him around.”
“How do you know I was following him?” Gallen asked, surprised.
“I….”
“Relax, 'Tim',” Jacky said. “She didn’t mean to see you, but your snooping tactic sucks big time. No wonder I discovered you so fast. Besides, there are no secrets in this apartment building.” Then he addresses Mandy. “It looks like you’re supporting me all the way, Miss Cho. Thanks.” He smiles although Mandy couldn’t see him anyway.
Mandy doesn’t respond but it makes Wallace wonders how come he didn’t see Mandy?
Before Annie could say anything, Jacky speaks up.
“What’s taking them so long?” Jacky asked, sounding impatient all of a sudden. “It has been like what? More than half an hour already.” Jacky takes out his phone and calls in again. He snaps off the phone in a minute but doesn’t tell them of the newly learned information right away. It seems like he’s collecting his thoughts. “Everyone, don’t panic, but we have to stay here about an hour more.”
“What?” Ray asked. “What happened?”
“Someone destroyed the whole system. We’re trapped in here like a coffin. I’m surprised we didn’t drop down to the basement yet.”
“Fan Gang, you’re scaring them with the exaggeration,” Jan said.
“Okay, how about another round of tell the secrets though? This time, we just blurt out who the last person we dated before our current one.”
“You’re still in the mood for the game?” Ray asked, almost dropping his jaws.
“What else can we do?”
“He’s right,” Wallace said. “I’ll go first. It was Jocelyn.”
“Brave. Mine is still my current one.”
“You gotta be kidding me!” Ray shouted out, his jaw actually dropping this time around. “How can you not date at all? How old are you anyway?”
“Twenty six. And it should make sense though. I work half of my life already. Do you think I have time for a girlfriend?”
“He’s right,” Gallen said. “It’s hard to get involve when you’re moving around so much.”
Ray shrugs. “Okay then. Mine was Betsy.”
“My is Richard,” Alice blurted out before the guys can continue.
“I thought you said Richard looks too nerdy for you,” Wallace jumped in.
“I changed my opinion, okay? But it didn’t work out in the end anyway.”
“Next?” Jacky prompted.
“Hold on, Mandy’s connection is dying,” Ray said.
They switch again, this time Ray calls Charmaine.
“It’s still my current one,” Jan said when the connection resumed.
“That I can believe, but him?” Ray said, shaking his head. “Still can’t believe it.”
“Mine is…” Kevin started to say.
“No one,” Ray interjected before Kevin could finish.
“Hey!”
“I thought I say it out so you don’t have to make up one.”
“No, it was one of those only one or two times that I didn’t tell you about.”
“Okay, who then?”
“Xiao Ling.”
“Xiao Ling? Are you kidding me, man? And you didn’t tell me about it either.”
“I didn’t find the need to.”
Everyone turns to Gallen at that point.
Gallen clears his throat. “Joyce.”
“Mine was Michael from work,” Mandy said.
“Charm?” Ray prompted.
“Benny,” Charmaine uttered out softly, almost inaudible.
“Ho Man?” Jacky blurted out before he could stop himself. He knows that it’s too late to take it back so he pretends to cough.
But the others had already heard it. Charmaine’s connection suddenly becomes dead. Ray looks at Jacky and then looks down at his phone again. Wallace dials Alice’s phone this time to see if Charmaine’s okay.
“Are you girls okay over there?” Ray asked, sounding clichéd.
“Yea, we’re all right,” Mandy said. “Charm’s a bit shake up though. Maybe because of the AC here.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Sheh,” Jacky said, his voice serious and full of apologies – unlike his usual passivity. “I didn’t mean to.” Jacky knows that Mandy’s voice has changed. He knows that he had shake up Charmaine and Mandy’s just covering up for it. He decides to change the subject to avoid further attention.
But Ray doesn’t let it go. “You know him?”
“Doesn’t matter. I was just blurting out at random. It was a lucky guess.”
Ray doesn’t seem to be convinced this time. “But…”
Jacky gives Ray a sharp stare and looks at the phone to indicate that Charmaine’s listening right now on the other side too.
“Ray, drop it,” Kevin said.
Everyone stays silent for a while. The atmosphere suddenly becomes unbearably suffocating. One minute passes by. Then two. Ray couldn’t stand it anymore. He wants to speak up and breaks the silence. Before he could, he hears some squeaking sound from the next cart over.
“Mandy, what’s going on?” Ray asked anxiously.
“It’s fine,” Mandy said. “They got the door. We’re coming out now. See you outside.”
Wallace shuts off the phone since he sees no need to keep it on.
Ray jumps at the opportunity and turns his attention back to Jacky. “So you really know Charmaine, right? You weren’t joking before?”
Jacky looks up from the floor finally. “I wasn’t totally sure before. I was only half joking. But yes, she sounded familiar. I finally remember when she mentioned Ho Man.”
The others stay silent. It’s the first time they actually see Jacky in a serious mood.
“He was a good cop. My old partner really. He was the reason why I transferred over to doing undercover jobs.”
“Was?” Ray said, wanting to confirm his suspicion.
Jacky looks straight at Ray. “Yes. He’s dead.”
Although Jacky’s voice is calm and soft, but it sends a chill through the whole elevator cart. Everyone stays silent for the next few minutes, deep in thoughts. Jan holds on tight to Jacky’s left hand to reassure him.
Two more minutes pass by. The door finally swings open. Kevin, Ray, and Gallen get up first. Wallace looks at Jacky and somehow he could sympathize with Jacky since he knows what’s like to lose a friend. He hopes it’s not too late in his case though. He finally stands up when he hears Alice calling him from outside. Jan helps Jacky up and they head outside with the others.
© Saturday, June 2nd, 2007
Re-posted: Sunday, October 11th, 2009
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*Note from the Author aka me*: Okay, remember couple chapters back I told you guys that there was a coincidence how I cast Jacky's a cop in this story? After I was about on Chapter 50, I found out Jacky was in "Hi-Fly" (A Mainlaind Chian series - I think). I never knew that before. So here's another coincidence that you won't believe since it's the 2nd time but it's true. A few years back when I was done watching Voyage Of Emperor Qian Long with Benny & Charmaine, I searched around some more to see if there's any other series of Benny & Charmaine. I came across "Hi-Fly" but didn't bother to check further into it since I only know Benny's in there and a little bit about the plot.
*Random Note*: Talking about "Hi-Fly", I finally watch it recently because of Jacky. And guess what? They (meaning the script-writers) ruined his character! I liked him better when he was dumb & funny (like I said in some forums & in my Xanga also)! How could they! I had stopped watching "Hi-Fly" because of this. Maybe one day when I'm not mad anymore, I'll continue to watch.