Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
58 days later
After lunch would be the team’s last day of training. Although progress has improved, Devin had not noticed for his mind was somewhere else. He sat in the lunch room while Bonnie ate her fried chicken lunch. Grease covering her fingers and lips “Should I tell her?” he asked the little girl, who was oblivious to his troubled expression “If I tell her, there’s a chance she can’t accept it. I can’t even accept it, how I do I expect her to? But this is so big.” He rubbed his eyes in frustration “Tell me what to do.” He begged.
Bonnie turned to him with big eyes “I want more chicken.” She threw the bone onto the plate and grinned at him.
Devin sighed as he pushed his full plate towards her “How pathetic I’ve become. I’m talking to a kid that has no idea what I’m talking about.” He laughed at himself “Devin Hsu, you sure turned out swell.”
“Felix, get down!” Bonnie suddenly cried. She turned to him with begging eyes “Uncle Devin, make him go down. He’s licking my food.” She pointed.
He had grown use to her little imaginary cat. Smiling he picked up the fake cat and placed it on the floor “Now sit and let Bonnie eat.” He ordered with a pointed finger.
“Thank you Uncle Devin.” She said sweetly.
He crossed his arms on the table and leaned his chin on his arm “Bonnie, can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.” She replied with a short nod.
“If your parents were to divorce, who would you want to live with?” he knew Mia would kill him for the question but he wanted to get inside a child’s mind.
“I don’t know.” She answered after a long pause “I like Daddy’s home but Mommy gives me anything I want. Why do they have to divorce?” she asked.
“Sometimes adults cannot work through a problem so they have to split up.” He explained in the simplest terms “If you stayed with your mother and she starts to date another man. Would you be mean to the man?”
The girl began to scratch her greasy finger on her hair but he quickly caught her fingers and cleaned it with a napkin. He raised his eyes for an answer “Who is the man?”
“Mommy’s new boyfriend or maybe your new father.” Devin said.
Bonnie tilted her head to the side and hummed “I only have one daddy.” She said after a moment.
He sighed, “That’s what I was afraid of.”
“Uncle Devin, you don’t make sense.” Bonnie said with confusion.
He laughed, “I know. Now finish your chicken and we’ll go watch your parents and the others train.” She gobbled the remaining chicken and brought her hand out so he can wipe them. He did it automatically as he picked her up and tapped her bottom “Go to the bathroom and clean your hands. I’ll be there in a second.”
“Okay!” she bounced away while he finished cleaning. It had not occurred to him that he was her guardian for the past two months. Growing accustomed to tending to her needs, he did everything for her without question. He met her at the door of the girls’ room as she jumped into his hands “All clean.” She wiped the wet hands on her jacket while he grimaced.
“Bonnie, your clothes is not a towel.” He scolded lightly.
“Mommy does that to daddy all the time.” She argued.
“Well, mommy is a little coo-coo.” Devin finished with a laugh. They headed off to the gun training. He found her some head phones to drown out the gunshots and put one on himself. He placed her on the ground and walked with her hand in hand down the row watching the agents shoot. He nodded with approval when they hit their targets to perfection. Aiming for the heart, it seemed Erin was the most accurate. Smiling proudly, he caught her grin when she turned to reload the gun.
Bonnie was not fond of the sound as she eventually dragged him outside. Devin smiled when she sighed with relief “Bonnie don’t like guns.” She shook her head “Daddy says, it’s not good for kids to play with guns.”
Devin nodded “Your dad’s right.” He never knew how much he could learn from a little girl old enough to be his own kid. But he had a kid. The thought of his own son looking at him like a stranger, he could feel the little tugging on his heart.
“Uncle Devin…” Bonnie yanked on his shirt as she pointed to a man talking to a monk in the garden “Bad man.”
His brows furrowed, he too recognized him. He was the one that attempted to kidnap Ah Ming. Pulling out his handy cell, he zoomed in and snapped a picture of the man without him noticing. He suddenly had an idea. He brought her back to his room and opened his laptop. Connecting his cell to the USB plug, he was able to download the picture. Sending it off to the China police station of Beijing, he used his code as the Head of Security to request information on the man. It would be weeks until he got a response but it was a start.
After dinner, the group returned to their rooms to rest. Mia felt the weights lifting off her shoulder “Goodbye hard bed.” She kicked it roughly “Goodbye musty smelly room!” she spun around in circles while the girls laughed.
“You have to admit, it wasn’t that bad.” Reina curled under the blanket as she sat watching her friend twirl herself into a dizzy state.
Carmen was quick to agree “I have never been in better shape.” She showed off her muscles.
“Thanks to those stupid weights. I'm so bulky!” Jenna complained, “All I know is that I can’t wait to get back home and sleep.”
“Not so fast speedy.” Erin reminded their junior agent “You still have to train for the Taekwondo tournament.”
Mia pointed at Jenna with a laugh “I wouldn’t be laughing turtle.” Reina snorted, “Devin said you didn’t improve on your quickness. He’s going to have you train on cardio every morning before our meetings.”
It was Jenna’s turn to laugh at Mia’s misery “Yeah grandma, you were the slowest runner everyday for the past month.” The other girls agreed with laughter.
In the guy’s room, they were ready to hit the sack when Doug announced, “I’m going out.”
“Where?” Ryan asked with a frown “You know, I noticed you leave everyday around this time. Where do you go?”
Doug was ready for the question as he answered, “Before I sleep I always have to have a midnight snack.”
“No you don’t.” Ryan snipped “I’ve lived with you for years, I’ve never seen you get a snack at night.”
“That’s because you are so dead asleep, how would you even know if I go downstairs to get a snack?” Doug argued.
Matt and Darren shook their heads with a laugh as they went to sleep. Devin covered a yawn “Just let him go Ryan. It’s our last night here. Come back soon, I’m turning off the light in five minutes.”
Doug agreed as he left the room. When he reached the kitchen, he was surprise not to see Ah Kiu there. She was never late and he was certain he told her it was his last day in China. After the first month, the girl had learned to trust Doug. She didn’t have a home but often told him stories of where she lived or stayed for shelter from the night. He decided to wait for five minutes but when she was still a no show, he grew worried. It didn’t take him long to decide to go searching for her. The last thing he wanted was to regret not making an attempt. He glanced at the guy’s room, which was pitch black.
Sneaking out quietly, he left the temple and took a bike to the city. There were little lights and the market was closed and most of the vendors were gone. Only a few stayed behind to clean their floors. He looked for the street that Ah Kiu mentioned before.
***********
A few streets down, Ah Kiu stumbled over a few straw waste basket as she tried to get away from the growing footsteps. She curled underneath an old cloth and covered her mouth, trying not to breathe “I think she went this way.” One guy observed.
“Split up.” A male’s voice ordered. The guys obliged as they began to move in different directions of the alley. But the one in charge lingered behind “Come out, I know you’re here!” She closed her eyes and wished him away but when she opened them, she was disappointed that he didn’t give up. Suddenly, he began pushing at things and when he got near, she panicked and threw the cloth off and began running “Stop!” he ordered.
“HELP!!” Ah Kiu yelled while she ran from her attacker.
Doug spun around when he heard a female voice. Instincts told him to check it out as he biked towards the direction of the voice. The guy caught up to her before she hit the big street and yanked her back by the arm. Pushing a palm over her mouth, he leaned her against the wall “Shh!! Don’t scream, I won’t hurt you.”
Her eyes widened in fear but something in his eyes told her to do as he said. Nodding her head, he slowly loosened his grip “What are you doing?!” Doug demanded as he dropped the bike and went after the guy.
“Doug!” Ah Kiu was ready to run to his side when the guy pulled her behind him.
“Who the hell are you?” the guy was buff, he could tell from his shirt and a tattoo sneaking from his left arm. Doug guessed he must belong to some sort of a gang.
“That’s none of your concern.” Doug replied coolly “I won’t ask you again to let her go.”
“And I won’t ask you to get lost. I’ll show you.” he let out an ear piercing whistle calling all his boys back to his side.
Doug refused to show fear. He calmly stood in his stance “This should take about five minutes.” He waved mischievously.
The guy raised his brows at the cocky Doug. Waving a hand shortly, the guys came at him in unison “Please, stop. They’ll kill him.” Ah Kiu begged.
“Siu Jei, I’m just testing him.” He smiled.
Ah Kiu was taken aback. She had never been called the polite form of a girl before. For a whole year it was street rat or beggar. She turned to the guy in confusion “Do I know you?”
“You don’t but I recognize that.” He pointed to her necklace.
She touched it softly while her eyes wandered to Doug, who was easily defeating the guys. She smiled with relief to see the last guy go down. Wiping his hands against his pants. He pointed to the tattoo guy “You’re next.”
“We’re all here for one reason. I don’t need to fight you.” He smiled “They call me Ah Chung.” He reached out a friendly hand to shake Doug’s.
“Doug.” He turned his head unsurely. Nodding to Ah Kiu, he asked “Are you okay?”
Ah Chung laughed “Not a scratch on her. Don’t worry, we wouldn’t do anything to hurt Siu Jei.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?” Ah Kiu asked “I really don’t know you.” She insisted.
Ah Chung nodded in understanding “We have never met, Siu Jei. But Hung Gor often talks about you. After the news of his death a few months ago, our gang broke apart. But his last request was for you to be safe, we are just paying our last requests.” Doug turned to Ah Kiu with raised brows, she was Hung Gor’s sister. He could feel the chills running down his spine.