Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
The conference room was filled with awkward silence as Joe stared sternly at the team. Jenna glanced at her watch again, it had been ten minutes and he still had not said a word yet. She knew he was well aware of what happened the night before. Darren made eye contact with the girl as he whipped his head towards Joe. Knowing that no one would dare speak up, she raised her hand slowly “Daddy…”
“Oh, it’s Daddy now? What happened to Joe?” he snapped.
“Please, don’t be mad. We won’t let it happen again.” Jenna pleaded with her famous puppy eyes.
But it didn’t matter how innocent or regretful she looked, he was going to be upset for a while “When I warned you guys to stay low, it didn’t mean to go to a bar and start fights with gangsters. And it surely didn’t mean use your weapons in vain!” he eyed Doug carefully.
Ted stood up to defend his team “Sir, I don’t mean to disrespect you but I thought the four of them handled this really well.” Jenna, Mark, Leah and Riley exchanged small smiles “Ah Bat was safe and no lives were taken.” He reasoned.
Joe raised his brows “Really? They handled it well?” he laughed sarcastically “If they handled it well, the fight would not have started and we would not be on the first page of the news this morning!” turning to the table behind him, he dropped the newspaper in the center of the table with a splat.
Mia reached for it as she read the headlines out loud “Mysterious Group in Brawl with Tiger Gang. P.R.A. turning to the bad…” she let her words fade when Darren nudged her to stop.
Joe frowned at his team “Congratulations, you have just gave away our faces.”
“Who could have taken these pictures?” Erin wondered out loud “And who would know we were there?”
Matt shrugged “It’s too late for that. The pictures are taken and now almost everyone in the city will know our faces.” He turned to Joe with a shaking head “There will be more trouble for us.”
“You can guarantee it.” Joe confirmed. He turned away from the group, still angry “Meeting is over.” He said coldly. The group got up quietly an exited “Erin. Stay back, I want to talk to you.”
She nodded and turned to Ted “I’ll see you at home.”
“Okay.” He smiled and closed the door behind her.
“Did I do something wrong, Joe?” she asked.
He smiled, showing his soft wrinkles at the corner of his eyes “No. I must apologize for not making it to Shelly’s funeral. I had some business to take care of.”
She nodded “I understand. So what did you need?”
“I want you and Ryan to see Ethan for a session.” Joe suggested firmly.
“Ethan? I heard from Mia that he stayed in the U.S.A. after his trip to Hawaii three years ago?” Erin was certain that was what her friend informed her.
Joe nodded “He was, he just got back last month. It seems he is more comfortable in his homeland.”
“That’s understandable. Alright, let me talk to Ryan tonight and see what he thinks.” Erin promised.
The group met up for dinner that night at Darren and Mia’s home. Ryan was the last to arrive, looking grungy and unshaven. Mia and Erin were cooking dinner when they saw him dragging his feet into the home “He looks like crap.” Mia whispered. Looking up at him, she smiled brightly “Hey Ryan, you look good!”
Erin jabbed her friend in the ribs “The guys are setting up the dinner table, you can have a seat out there.”
“Okay.” He said lifelessly.
Mia glared at Erin “Ow!”
“Sorry, but you needed it.” Erin laughed.
“So…how are you doing?” she was worried for Erin. After Brad’s death, the girl became more emotional. Losing a sister is unbearable, Mia could only imagine.
“I’m okay, I guess…sad…it feels very surreal. When we found her body, I think I was almost prepared for the worse. You know, our lives are always full of danger and we never know what psychos will be lurking around the corner ready to pounce on us. I am more worried about Ryan. He miss her terribly but at least I know she is in a good place, but Ryan...”
Mia frowned “I don’t know how you do it. First Brad…now Shelly…” sighing, she turned to her friend and quickly regret the mention of Brad “I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay.” Erin smiled, her eyes red “I’m almost over it.”
“Really?” Mia asked unsurely “Do you still…you know…” Erin shook her head, not sure where she was getting at. She sighed and leaned into Erin’s ear to whisper “see his spirit?”
Erin laughed lightly “No, not for a years. But I’m pretty sure it’s a part of my imagination. My conscience is trying to help me find closure.”
“Too bad Ethan is not here, I’m sure he can help you with the troubles.”
“That’s right, I almost forgot to tell you. Joe said Ethan is back from the U.S. He’s at Yan Sum again.” Erin informed.
Mia widened her eyes “He is? And he didn’t bother to call me? His best friend in the whole world? I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”
“The small one or the big one?” Erin teased, “Don’t give him a hard time. I’m sure he left so he can get over you.”
“No…you think?” Mia asked.
The girls stopped when they heard the pitter-patter of tiny footsteps “Mommy! Mommy!”
Mia turned and lowered herself to gather her little girl in her arms “Hi sweetie. What is it?”
“Daddy said to tell you that I am hungry and I that I need a medium rare steak. With a side of mash potatoes and carrots.” The darling round eyed girl said in one breath.
“Oh, he did? Did he?” Mia flicked a brow at Erin, who was stifling a laugh “Go back and tell your father that you cannot eat rare steak.” Dropping her girl she watched her bounce away.
Erin laughed with a shaking head “I think it’s a sign they’re hungry.” Gathering the dishes of meat, she walked it out as Ted quickly got up from his seat to help her “Thank you.” She smiled gently.
He patted the seat next to him while everyone settled down. Darren turned to his girl “Bon Bon, will you say a prayer?”
The two year old giggled, “Okay. Umm…God bless this food uh...and...and things around it!”
Chuck pulled out his napkin and rested it on his lap “Bon Bon? Isn’t that a name of a desert? Why would you name your kid that?”
Mia laughed “It’s really Bonnie but Darren calls her by the nickname.”
“I see, Mi Mi.” Chuck cracked making the group chuckle, except for Ryan.
Mia nodded her eyes to Ryan, hinting for Erin “Ryan, do you remember Dr. Ethan Chan?”
He looked up after making faces in his mash potatoes “Yeah.”
“Joe asked for you to see him tomorrow. I’ll take you there.” Erin added.
Mia quickly chimed in “I’ll go with you too.”
Darren stopped chewing as he placed down his fork and knife “Excuse me?”
“Get over it, I married you remember?” Mia rolled her eyes. He was not as jealous as he use to be but when it came to Ethan, he was almost fearful that something would happen because to him, Ethan was the guy that got away “Bonnie, remind your father how much you love him.” She instructed as the girl pulled herself up on the seat and leaned over to kiss her father on the cheek, leaving a chunk of mash potatoes on his skin.
He eventually picked up his utensils “Take her with you.”
“Take who?” Mia asked.
Erin smiled “Your dessert.”
“Fine.” Mia grumbled.
“I don’t want to go.” Ryan said out of the blue.
“What?” Erin asked.
He sighed and turned to her as he got up “Excuse me, I’m not feeling too well.”
Erin was about to push her chair back when Ted stopped her “Let me.” She smiled in return and watched him chase Ryan down. He caught him at the front gate “Ryan!”
Turning to Ted, he shook his head “There’s nothing you can say to convince me.”
Ted smiled “I’m not trying to convince you anything. It is your choice to do anything you want. But I want to remind you that if you want to find Shelly’s murderer, you have to see Ethan.”
“I don’t understand.” Ryan snickered “What can he do to help me? Will he know who the killer is? No. He doesn’t have ESP, he can’t read the future. Maybe it was just a robber.”
“Trust me, a robber does not slit someone’s throat with a Swiss Army pocket knife.” Ryan crunched his brows together at Ted’s comment “We discovered the weapon outside by the lemon tree, stabbed at the trunk. The blood is being tested.”
Ryan turned to the sky “Even if it was a murder, we have no clues to find out who did it.”
“That’s where Ethan comes in.” Ted replied.
“How so?” finally getting through to Ryan, he turned to him questioningly.
Ted pointed to his left temple “Here. The mind is a powerful thing. Erin mentioned that you were the first to walk into the kitchen, you thought Shelly was in there. Did you see a figure?”
Ryan’s eyes wandered down to the grass as he concentrated, suddenly his head whipped up “I did! That’s why I asked: Shelly what are you cooking. I forgot all about that! Ga Jei and I split up and we searched the house, that’s why I was positive Shelly was playing a joke on us. The killer was in the kitchen? What was he doing?” his head was spinning, how could he have forgotten that factor?
Ted smiled “Now we’re getting somewhere. I can’t answer your questions, but I know Ethan can help you go back to that day and maybe your memory will remember something else?”
“Maybe.” Ryan had found his purpose. He suddenly smiled when remembering Jenna’s words. He looked embarrassed “Do you think they’ll mind if I come back for dinner? I'm starving.”
Ted laughed “No, of course not. If they do, I’ll just shoot them.” Placing a friendly hand around his shoulder, he led him back inside.