Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
The following day, Erin drove down to the police station to see Ted. She walked through the familiar corridors until she reached his department. A recognizable male nodded to her “Kwong Sir, you have a visitor.” He announced towards Ted’s desk.
Erin waved with a small smile “You have time?” she asked when he got up to greet her.
He glanced at his watch “I guess.” He turned to the group “I’ll be back.”
Erin noticed Sara in the corner desk, nodding politely at her. She smiled at the girl and followed Ted to the station cafeteria “Work busy?”
“It’s the usual.” Ted shrugged nonchalantly “But that’s not why you’re here.”
“No.” she shook her head “I don’t know how to say this Ted.”
“You can tell me anything.” Ted reached for her hand automatically while she pulled away “I’m sorry…I forgot we…” She lowered her head and he quickly regretted reminding her “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“I’m sorry.” Erin said sincerely as she looked at him in the eye.
“For what? Everything we had is in the past, I don’t want to let it bother us anymore.” He said firmly.
“No, it’s not okay. I have been hanging you from a string for years now, it’s about time I be honest with you and myself. It would never work between us. My feelings are too complicating and I feel like I’ve been leading you on.”
He raised a hand to stop her “I don’t want to hear this.” She opened her mouth but he cut her off before she could say something “Tell me something Erin, did you ever love me?”
She did not want to lie to him “I care about you a great deal.”
A saddened smile appeared on his face “Is it that hard to lie to me?”
“No, it’s hard not to tell you the truth. That is something I always had with you. I could never lie to you. Eventhough I know it has hurt you in the past, I don’t want this to end without a closure.”
“So what are you saying exactly?” Ted asked.
“There is no chance for us.” Erin sighed, “I’m sorry. It’s not about Brad or Luke or anyone else. I just think we are not made for each other. You deserve much better than me. And according to Doug, you’ve got a secret admirer.”
He moved his eyes away from her “If you’re talking about Sara, we’re just friends. There’s nothing more than just co-workers.”
“Why are you not giving her a chance? Is she a horrible person?” Erin tested.
“No, she’s a great girl. She makes me laugh sometimes and she’s so thoughtful…” he smiled remembering the joke she said earlier.
“But?” Erin knew there was a reason, there always was.
Ted smiled “You know me too well. Maybe I can’t let go of us or maybe it’s too soon. I’m not ready to accept a new person.”
“I think it’s just an excuse.” Erin’s gaze penetrated into his “You’re afraid of giving your heart to another girl because of me. I don’t mean to hold you back Ted and I never meant to hurt you in any way. All the things I did were to protect you from getting hurt. I did a horrible job but in the end, we will still have the same conclusion. We don’t belong together.”
“You don’t know that.” He emphasized.
“No, I don’t know for sure, but I still know at this moment in time, it would never work out.” She tilted her head at him “You can’t tell me that a portion of the reason why you took care of me was because Brad told you to before he was killed.”
“It has something to do with it but I still care about you a great deal. I know what love is, Erin.” He sounded hurt and she realized the hole she was digging could never be covered.
“I’m not doubting you, Ted. But I’m saying that it’s not fair for you to hang onto something that’s not there. You could be missing out on a great girl. Someone that deserves you as much as you deserve her.” She said earnestly “I hate myself for being responsible for your pain but please don’t use the package as a float, it will sink you eventually.” She got up “Think about it Ted, that’s all I ask.” Smiling she turned to leave without looking back. He didn’t watch her leave like he normally did, his eyes fixated on a certain female that sat a few tables from him. She tried to hide her gaze but it was obvious she had been looking at him.
***********
Erin left the station feeling lighter on her feet, a problem was off her shoulders as she headed down the street. Jenna asked her to pick up some vegetables, she was making a veggie casserole that Reina was salivating from her description. The girls got along amazingly and they accepted Luke into their lives with open arms. She hoped it would help him from feeling isolated.
Bags of fruit and vegetables hung over her arm as she searched the market for other interesting food “Pomegranates?” a lady picked up the red fruit and handed it to her.
“Oh no, I don’t like this fruit.” Erin declined gently.
“It’s free.” The woman smiled as she placed it in a ready back and handed it to Erin.
She looked at her strangely but decided to take the bag. She walked down the street to a bus stop and waited for the next ride. Curiosity taking over, she opened the bag with the red fruit inside, there was a note ‘Tsim Sa Tsui 2pm.’ She glanced at her watch, it was 1:30. Who had left her a note, she wondered to herself.
Erin dropped the food at home and drove out to the city of Tsim Sa Tsui and parked her car at a local lot. Walking down, she stood in the center of the town. Glancing at her watch, she noticed it was five minutes til 2pm. Suddenly, there was a giant explosion from a car a couple of blocks down. She turned her head to keep the debris from flying towards her.
She moved away from the chaos that began to fill the streets and into an alley. Standing there was Devin, leaning comfortably on the wall. In his hand a control made from a clear plastic material “Did I get your attention?”
Erin turned her head at him “You caused the explosion?”
He smiled “Don’t worry, no one was in the car.”
“But there were people around it.” She argued with reason.
“Are you always this righteous, Erin? Live a little…life can be fun.” He snickered.
“What do you want?” she asked hastily “I don’t have time.”
Devin moved himself off the wall as he laughed, “Of course you don’t. But you are curious aren’t you? Curious to know who I really am. If not, you wouldn’t have come here.”
“I didn’t know it was you.” She crossed her arms “Honestly, I don’t care to know who you are, I just want to know who killed Joe.”
“Funny, you didn’t accuse me.” He analyzed.
Erin smiled “You wouldn’t be standing here if you killed Joe.”
“Ah, you are the observant one.” The crooked smile appeared again, his eyes wrinkling at the edge with the smile “What do you know?” She pulled out the picture and handed it to him “That’s me and Joe.”
“You two look like good friends. But we never heard Joe talk about you.” Erin frowned “At this point, I don’t know who’s team you’re on.” He raised his brows as she elaborated, “We know Robert Kwok and Joe went to the same school. What do you know about them?”
He motioned for her to follow him down the alley “Actually, we all went to the same high school. It was my first year and they were graduating that year, strange enough we were on the same soccer team. I’ve been playing since I was five, so I was allowed to be on the more experienced team. We got along really well and became the three musketeers.” He opened a door for her to enter but she paused at the steps “If I wanted to kill you, I would have plenty of time.” He assured her.
“It’s not harmful to be careful.” She smiled and eventually entered the run down home. She looked around while he motioned for her to sit at the broken table, there was a limp on the chair “You live here?”
“No, I hide here.” He said darkly.
She tilted her head “If you’re trying to scare me, you can save it. I don’t scare easily.”
“Right.” He nodded as if remembering something “Joe said that about you. Strong, stubborn and hard working. But he was forgetting calm, dangerously beautiful and smart.”
“Flattering won’t get you nowhere.” She said, trying to hide her blushing face.
He laughed humorously “I guess you want to know why Robert killed Joe?”
“So he did do it. You were there…” she recalled Jenna said she bumped into him.
“Yes but alas I was too late. He was murdered hours before I came by.” He sighed sadly “Robert is not going to stop until someone kills him. And he’s not hard to kill what with all the bodyguards that surround him daily. He knows what the team is capable of doing, he’s not stupid to give you guys a chance.”
“What’s your relation with Joe?” Erin asked straightforwardly “And how much do you know about the team?”
He raised his brows “The team…you mean before or after?”
“You know about London?”
He laughed “My dear, there’s a lot I know.” Sighing he began the explanation “Thirty years ago, Robert Kwok’s father formed a team of thieves called P.R.A. which stands of Paying Ron’s Assets. Ron is the name of Robert’s father. Of course not many people knew of this group of thieves' official name except a handful of people. Every time they robbed a bank, they’d leave behind three letters P.R.A. scratched on the wall. Interpol had a hell of hard time finding them. They were masters at stealing, they were trained killers, no one could stop them.”
“How did they get caught?” Erin grew intrigued with the history of the team.
“Joe.” He smiled, recalling the day like it was yesterday “He was only eighteen years old, on his senior trip to London with his class. He witnessed a robbery by the P.R.A., he recognized one of the male and you can blame his wonderful memory. He was able to sketch out the man’s face. Interpol found him and it started a trend, slowly they caught all the thieves and eventually Ron. He was thrown in jail for life. But at that time, Joe didn’t know that he was Robert’s father. He didn’t understand why Robert suddenly gave him the cold shoulder.”
“So Robert is in this for revenge? For his father?” Erin concluded.
Devin smiled “Obviously. Joe took the team’s name into his own hands and turned it for good. He couldn’t bear having the name be ridiculed by the English for the P.R.A. was formed by a Chinese man. Joe was too loyal to his country. He turned the P.R.A.’s world around. Instead of thieves, the team were made out of highly trained and skilled agents formed to protect the people and keep the evil from rising.”
“That explains a lot.” Erin nodded, overwhelmed by the information she was taking in “Why didn’t Joe tell us all this?”
He laughed “I may know a few things but I don’t know everything. You will have to ask Joe that yourself when you die. But, I wouldn’t want that to happen because who would bare my children if you’re gone?”
She ignored the last comment “Why did you tell me all this?”
“So you can warn the others.” He said casually “And I’m trying to get on your good side, is it working?”
“Maybe.” She smiled secretively “You still haven’t answered my question.”
Devin nodded “What is my relation with Joe?” Erin tilted her head into a nod “Hmm, that is the question, but I am not ready to answer that.”
“When will you be ready?” she asked while he got up to pour her a cup of tea.
“When the time is right.” He smiled “Have a drink. I’ll take you somewhere in a minute. But let me show you something first.”
Erin gulped her drink down, she didn’t realize how thirsty she was. Looking around, she noticed a picture on the wall. Getting up, she walked closer and had to squint to make out the faces “Who is this?”
“My mother.” Devin replied without looking up from his crouched over position.
“You look like her.” Erin shook her head when she had a sudden dizzy spell. Soon, the tiny room was spinning as she turned back to Devin, who stood up facing her with a conniving grin “You…what’s in the tea…”
“Sleeping pills.” He crossed his arms and stepped closer to her. Waiting for her to go unconscious as he caught her in his arms “Works every time.”