Fatal Fury Fan Fiction ❯ Fatal Fury - The Vengeful Spirits ❯ Chapter Nine - Many Revelations ( Chapter 10 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

 

 

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them, the video games or the anime.

 

Chapter Nine: Many Revelations

 

“Whoever this collector is,” Joe Higashi remarked after the cabbie had dropped them off, collected the fare and gone on his way. “He does well for himself.”

He, Terry, and Andy stood outside an ornate bronze gate, looking through it at the long, cobbled driveway that led up a small hill to a spacious-looking mansion. Between them and the house, they could see several different hedge sculptures all over the immaculately groomed lawn, most of them likenesses of mythical creatures.

“So, how do you wanna do this?” Joe asked the Bogards. “Shall we knock?”

Terry looked around, located an intercom set into the polished brick wall next to the gate, and pressed the button. “Hello?” He spoke into it. “Is anyone home?” There was no answer.

Andy squinted up at the house through the bars of the gate. “There are cars parked out front,” he noted.

Terry pressed the button again. “Is anyone home?” He repeated. “We've recently acquired some museum pieces that we think Mr. Hughes would be interested in. Hello?” Still no answer.

Joe cast a nervous glance around the upscale neighborhood. He didn't see anyone else, but suddenly he felt exposed (and it had nothing to do with the fact that he was only wearing boxer shorts). “Guys, I'm getting a bad feeling. Think we may already be too late?”

“I say we go in,” said Andy. “How about you, Terry?”

Terry thought for a split-second, looking down at the sidewalk, eyes hidden by the brim of his hat. Then he looked up. “I agree,” he said. “You on board with that, Joe?”

Joe nodded. “All for one, right?”

They went over the wall with little effort and proceeded slowly across the lawn, trying to use the hedge sculpture as cover. They didn't know what they were expecting, but whatever it was, it never came out to meet them. When they got to the front steps, they noticed that the door was open a crack.

“Not a good sign,” Terry said as he pushed the door open.

The other two nodded agreement. “Not unless he's so rich, he feels like wasting electricity,” quipped Joe.

As their eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, they saw that they were standing in a main entrance hall with a black and white-tiled marble floor, several expensive-looking paintings on the walls, and an ornate staircase directly in front of them. Andy found the light switch close to where they came in and flicked it up and down. The lights did not come on. He tried the two switches next to it. Nothing. “Also not a good sign,” Andy said grimly. “So, what now? Do we split up?”

Terry shook his head. “No, we can't risk one of us running into Geese alone. He's too strong. We search the place together. Start on this floor.”

They made their way through several rooms finding no sign of anyone, which only served to heighten their sense of unease. Finally, they found themselves in a large, cavernous study, which had both a ground floor and a spiral staircase leading up to a balcony that encircled the room. The walls were lined with shelves containing both books, and a number of artifacts that seemed quite rare. Off to one corner, the three of them saw a desk with a large, high-backed leather chair, the back of which was turned to face them.

From where they stood, Terry could see a pale hand resting on one of the armrests of the chair. “Mr. Hughes?” He asked cautiously. “My name is Terry Bogard. I'm sorry for the intrusion, but we think you may be in danger.”

There was no answer from the chair. They did not see the hand so much as twitch. “Mr. Hughes, I'm Terry's brother,” said Andy. “We think there may be a man coming after you. A man who wants something you recently bought. We need to stop him from getting that artifact, and we need to keep you safe from him.”

There was no sign of movement. Joe cautiously approached the desk, then grabbed the back of the chair and spun it around. The three of them flinched involuntarily at the sight before them. Sitting in the chair was a man with a long white beard dressed in a scarlet lounging robe, his head and limbs twisted into grotesque positions.

Joe leaned in closer to the man, and then drew back suddenly. “Shit... his head's been rotated nearly three-sixty!”

“Yes,” a familiar voice spoke from the upper balcony. Joe quickly leaped back to where Andy and Terry were standing, and the three took up their fighting stances.

“It's a pity,” the deep, growling voice continued. “I was prepared to offer him twice what he paid for it. But he was a sentimental fool. To him, it wasn't about money. It was about the possession of something priceless. So I had to persuade him with a demonstration of power instead. I'm sure he regretted his decision for the rest of his life, which was less than a minute.”

The eyes of the three friends followed the source of the voice, their gaze moving upwards to the balcony. There, half-concealed by shadows, they saw the familiar figure of a tall, well-built man with short blond hair. He was dressed in a white dogi and red hakama, the latter of which was held in place by a black belt. A familiar vertical scar ran down his left eye, but what caught their attention most was his chest. The dogi's neckline left the center of his chest exposed, and Terry couldn't help but notice the large, raw-looking scar that seemed to be seared into the older man's muscular flesh.

Geese Howard.

“Surprised to see me, Terry?” Geese asked his old nemesis.

The elder Bogard shook his head, never taking his eyes off of Geese. “I wish I could say I was.”

“I'd have sent you a nice bottle of champagne after you took care of my worthless half-brother for me, but obviously I couldn't reveal myself too soon.” Geese's cold eyes then surveyed the vast study, stopping on Joe Higashi. “What's wrong, Joe? Nothing smart-ass to say? How's your shoulder these days?” The kickboxer simply stood there with his fists clenched, took in a harsh breath, and drew it out slowly.

The former king of South Town fixed his gaze on Andy Bogard next. “You seem to be one short today. Where is your lovely ninja squeeze, Andy?”

Andy's blue eyes narrowed, fixing Geese with a venomous glare. “It's none of your business where she is, Geese.”

Geese shook his head. “Pity. I was looking forward to meeting her. I've heard she's lovely. Isn't that right, Billy?”

Billy Kane, who was standing just behind and to the right of Geese, nodded. “Yes, sir. Quite a looker. Seems the Bogard boys have surprisingly good taste in women.”

Geese smiled coldly. “Very surprising. Too bad they're not very good at holding onto them, though.”

Terry saw that both of Andy's hands were balled into fists now, his jaw clenched tightly. Even from where he stood, Terry swore he could hear his little brother's back teeth grinding together. “Andy...” he said softly.

“I swear, Geese,” Andy spat at the crime lord. “You harm a single hair on Mai's head, and I'll make you wish that Terry had done the job right the first time.”

Geese raised his hands in a gesture of mock goodwill. “Now, now, Andy, should anything happen to her, I'll let you keep the body. I'm generous like that. Just ask your brother.” Geese moved his gaze back to Terry. “How is your lady friend, Terry? Still where I left her?”

Terry's own fists were clenched now. He took a relaxing breath, trying not to take Geese's obvious bait. Just then, Andy gave a cry of rage and leaped up towards the balcony where Geese and Billy stood. “Andy, no!” Terry shouted, leaping up after Andy to try and pull him back down.

“Reppuken!” Geese shouted as he swung both his arms upward, an arc of blue energy blazing from each fist. His blasts struck each of the Bogards and sent them crashing back down to the ground.

Terry lay there, dazed, wisps of smoke rising from his body, then he slowly regained his feet. He stared incredulously up at Geese Howard. A double Reppuken? He thought. That shouldn't be possible. And was it his imagination, or was the scar on Geese's chest glowing slightly?

Geese chuckled coldly as he held up his left hand, clutching a tightly wound scroll of heavy bamboo paper. “I assume you came here looking for this?” He asked as he tucked the scroll into his belt. “Sorry, but I think I would make better use of it than you idealistic fools. It's the final step in securing the kind of power that I've always dreamed of. I suppose I should thank you, Terry Bogard.” He tapped his fingertips against his chest scar. “You are the reason I've become as strong as I am now. And soon, I will hold the power of immortality within me.”

“Get down!” Billy shouted suddenly, shoving his boss to the ground. Seconds later, Billy was hit by an energy blast that sent him crashing into the bookshelves behind him. Down on the ground level, Terry, Andy and Joe turned towards the source of the blast, and saw two teenage boys standing in the doorway of the study. One had shoulder length brown hair and was dressed in a red Tang suit, while the other had black hair with shocks of white running through it that seemed to stand on end, who was dressed in a blue Tang suit.

“Okay,” said Joe. “Who invited Prince Valiant and Frankenstein's bride?”

The two youths ignored the humor, keeping their attention focused on Geese. “I think that we would get better use out of that scroll,” said the one in blue. “Just hand it over, and we'll be able to avoid any unpleasantness.”

Geese had now regained his feet, his eyes burning with a dangerous light. “Never!” He shouted. “I have the last one in my possession now. I refuse to just hand over this much power to a child!” There was a crackling noise, then, accompanied by the eldritch green glow of negative chi. Billy Kane had seen this before and quickly leaped from the balcony, hitting the ground with a somersault and then taking refuge behind the desk where the collector's body sat. Terry's blue eyes flicked over to the desk and then back to Geese, a sense of unease building in his stomach. The two boys in Tang suits leaped forward at Geese, flipping in midair.

“Raging...” Geese began to cry.

“Everyone get down!” Shouted Terry. He, Joe and Andy threw themselves flat on the plush carpet as Geese finished the cry with: “STORM!”

A funnel of green energy shot up and outward from Geese's body, enveloping the study. A deafening roar filled the ears of everyone present. When the energy dissipated, Terry, Joe and Andy each had to scramble to avoid debris falling from the ceiling.

His ears still ringing, Terry took a moment to survey the carnage with a sense of dread. The study had grown considerably larger, mainly because the walls behind Geese (as well as the balcony he'd been standing on) were obliterated, providing a clear view to the room beyond. The study had also acquired a skylight, as a large piece of the ceiling was missing. Hundreds of shredded book pages, ripped from their bindings by the blast, fluttered around the room like confetti.

Geese and the two boys in Tang suits had vanished. Which only filled Terry with even more unease. If he's this powerful without the scrolls... Jesus Christ. He just may be unstoppable when he actually figures out how to use them.

“Joe? Andy?” He shouted over the ringing in his ears, which was starting to die down. “You with me?”

“We're with you,” they affirmed, stepping up alongside him. They were both a little bruised, and Andy had a small gash above his right eye, but neither one looked badly hurt.

Terry nodded. “Okay, then. We need to catch up to Geese before he goes too far.”

“Can't allow that, gents.” The three turned their heads as one and saw Billy Kane standing on the remains of Mr. Hughes's desk, brandishing his bo staff.

“And who's going to stop us, Billy?” Andy growled. “You? I've beaten you before. This time, it's three against one.”

“Puh-leeze, Andy,” Billy said with a shake of his head. “Do I look stupid?” He snapped his fingers, and instantly a large group of thugs swarmed into the study, surrounding the three friends.

Andy, Joe and Terry each assumed their stance as Billy jumped off the desk and moved to take his place in the circle of Geese's henchman. “Time for a rematch, Andy,” he said with a cold smirk, flashing his canines at the younger Bogard.

“Ka-chou-sen!” They heard an angry female voice shout from above. This was followed by a familiar whistling sound, moving through the air towards Billy's head. Billy picked up on it just in time and spun on the balls of his feet, using his staff to knock the fan aside right before it would have struck his head.

He looked up and saw Mai Shiranui standing on the edge of the gaping hole in the mansion's roof, another fan already in hand. “Hello, cutie,” said Billy. “Nice of you to join the party.”

Mai leaped off her perch and landed gracefully a short distance from the circle of men surrounding Andy, Joe and Terry. “Sorry I'm late,” she said to the three of them. “Seems someone forgot to tell me there was a party.”

Andy's face turned beet red. “Mai, what are you doing here?” He asked.

“What does it look like I'm doing?” The irate ninja girl snapped. “I'm rescuing my stupid, lying boyfriend so I can kill him myself when we get out of here!” With another cry of “Ka-chou-sen!”, she launched her fan at one of the thugs in the circle.

With that, the battle was joined. Andy ducked a swing from Billy's staff, saw that Geese's bodyguard was trying to move him into a position where he would be vulnerable to another attacker. Andy turned suddenly and did a Zan-Ei-Ken towards the man coming at him from behind. The flying elbow strike broke the attacker's nose and knocked him out cold. Andy then turned his attention back to Billy.

Terry and Joe were fighting back to back, trying to avoid using chi-based attacks due to the close quarters. Joe gave one of his attackers a one-two punch on either side of the head, then lunged with his knee, slamming it against the man's breastbone. “Nice of you to finally join us, Mai,” he called out over the melee. “Did you have fun shopping?”

The vein in Mai's temple throbbed wildly. She struck her opponent on the side of his head so hard that she snapped her fan in half. “Andy, you told them I was shopping?” She practically shrieked. “I've changed my mind. Now I'm not going to kill you. You're gonna wish you were dead by the time I'm through with you, but...”

“Please, people!” Shouted Terry as he deflected a kick. “Whatever my brother did, let's punish him for it after we've taken care of these guys.”

Mai took a deep breath, trying to channel her anger out of her mind and into her extremities. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to hit someone as hard as she could. She soon spotted a large-enough target, a heavyset man who had a foot of height and at least a hundred pounds on her. She smiled and pulled a fresh fan out of her gi.

“Hey, big boy!” She called, getting the man's attention. She raised one eyebrow and smirked coyly as she opened her fan and used it to cover the lower half of her face. “Let's you and I dance!”

Billy was providing more of a challenge than Andy had expected. Andy had been training tirelessly since their battle together three years ago, but apparently so had Billy. Billy had just dodged Andy's Hishou-ken by planting his staff into the ground and vaulting over Andy's head, landing on the other side of the younger Bogard. He then lunged while twirling his weapon like a windmill, and Andy had to leap backwards rather quickly to avoid getting hit.

Andy circled Geese's bodyguard warily, searching for an opening. He then heard a yelp of surprise from the other side of the study. He turned his head only slightly to see Mai Shiranui's opponent spinning her around by the leg, and then throwing her against one of the walls that was still standing.

“Mai!” Andy shouted, for a moment forgetting his own battle. He felt the sudden rush of air as Billy tried an overhead swing, and at the last moment Andy managed to pivot his body to avoid Billy's staff cracking his collarbone. Andy did a few steps backward and raised his forearms defensively.

“Worry about yerself, Bogard!” Billy said with a sadistic grin. “Don't lose yer head figuratively, or you may just lose it literally.” He then lunged at Andy again, his staff becoming a blur as he tried to land a blow.

Mai managed to twist her body in midair so that she was vertical when she struck the wall, and was able to land on her feet. Her opponent offered her no chance to shake it off, and came at her swinging his beefy arm in a roundhouse. Mai ducked it, sidestepped to the left, and delivered a kick to his exposed right side, hoping to the gods she hit the correct spot. The man grunted as he felt one of his ribs crack, and he responded by trying to backhand the kunoichi with the same fist that he'd just swung at her.

Mai ducked to avoid it, did a flip over him, and when she was on her way back down to the ground, struck outward with both legs, her booted feet connecting with the man's back. He flew forward, striking the same wall he'd just flung Mai into.

Mai landed in a crouch, and quickly spun to face him. But another attacker had lunged at her as she landed. As soon as Mai felt his arms on her shoulders she grabbed him by the wrists and flipped him bodily over her. He slammed into the wall alongside Mai's first opponent and slid to the ground, not moving.

The heavyset man she was originally fighting had recovered more quickly than she expected, and lunged at her. Mai did a flip backwards, kicking him in the chin, but it did not seem to slow him down. He closed the distance between them and wrapped both arms around the kunoichi's waist in a bear hug. Mai gave a small cry of pain as the man then squeezed as hard as he could, trying to crush her spine.

Andy heard the scream as he was sidestepping Billy's staff, and countered his own opponent with a roundhouse that struck Billy in his torso.

“I'm coming, Mai!” He called, trying to race towards her. Then, he felt something hard and wooden catch on his foot, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Andy turned and saw Billy Kane standing over him. “Ah, ah, ah, Bogard!” He said as he wagged a finger. “We ain't done yet.” Billy raised his staff, trying to bring it down on Andy, but Andy rolled to the right, dodging the blow. He was attempting to lead Billy along, and as he was hoping, Billy turned his body in the direction Andy was rolling, raising his staff again.

Andy quickly rolled the other way, and then countered with a Chou Reppa Dan, lunging at Billy feet-first and slamming them into his opponent's belly. Billy grunted and went flying back several feet, banging his head against a marble pedestal that had survived Geese's attack. Andy then stood up and started towards his girlfriend again. “Hang on, Mai,” he said.

As she felt the big man's arms start to crush her, Mai realized that she needed to think fast. The man was angry, and his anger was obviously clouding his judgment, as he had grabbed Mai by the waist, leaving her arms free. She raised her fan and brought it down hard on the man's collarbone. There was a loud crack, and he grunted as he dropped the kunoichi.

But again, he recovered more quickly than she expected, delivering a punch that struck her in her stomach and knocked her to the ground. She rolled to the left as he raised his foot and attempted to stomp her, avoiding the bone-crushing force of his strike. As he brought his foot down, Mai kicked out with both her legs, hitting him in the kneecaps.

Without giving him a chance to recover, she did a handspring to her feet and then focused a small amount of chi. “Ryu en bu!” She shouted as she spun in midair like a top, whipping the flaming tails of her fighting outfit around to strike her opponent in his face. It was a weak move, as she had only intended for the flames to blind him temporarily, but it achieved the desired effect, as the large man staggered backwards, blinking rapidly.

Mai pressed the attack. She leaped forward, planted one foot against his chest, and did a flip kick that connected with his chin. The heavyset man's head snapped back, exposing his neck. As Mai finished her flip and was starting back towards the ground, she lashed out hard with her fan, slamming it against the man's Adam's apple. He dropped like a stone, choking and sputtering as he clutched his neck with both hands.

Andy had been on his way to Mai's rescue, but had gotten blocked by another of Geese's men. Andy took the man down as quickly as possible, and right after he had knocked his attacker out, he saw Mai execute her flip kick, followed by the fan strike that dropped her larger opponent.

Mai landed back on the ground and turned to face her boyfriend. Andy regarded her with an odd look, his mind trying to process what he'd just witnessed. “Mai...” He started to say. The ninja girl said nothing in response. Instead, her brown eyes narrowed into deadly slits. “Mai?” Andy repeated.

“Ka-chou-sen!” She cried out suddenly, flinging her fan straight at Andy. Andy Bogard could only stand there, like a deer in the headlights, as the projectile came at him... and then continued past him, missing his head by mere inches. It traveled onward for several more feet... towards Billy Kane, who was lunging with his staff, attempting to sneak-attack Andy from behind. Mai's fan struck Billy dead center in the forehead, and sent him sprawling unconscious to the floor.

Andy looked back at Mai, still unable to do anything except stare. Mai simply nodded at him, pulled another fan from the confines of her gi, and then went off to help Joe and Terry. Andy stood there for another moment with an odd look on his face. Then he shook his head to clear it, and started searching for his next opponent.

Terry Bogard knocked out the man he was facing with a burn knuckle, and then turned his head slightly towards Joe. “We need to finish this quickly. Geese is probably long gone by now.”

Joe nodded as he dodged his opponent's attack, and then roundhouse kicked them on the side of their head. “Who do you figure those other two guys were?”

“I don't know,” said Terry. “Whoever they were, they didn't seem to be friends of Geese. And they definitely wanted that scroll.”

“Hissatsu Shinobi Bachi!” One of the attackers circling them was suddenly flung to one side as he was struck by Mai's Deadly Ninja Bee attack. She gave a brief nod to Joe and Terry, and then took up a stance next to them.

“You okay?” She asked them.

“We're fine,” Terry answered. “How are you holding up, Mai?”

“Physically, I'm okay, just bruises,” she said. “Mentally... well, I've had better days.”

“You didn't see anyone leaving when you arrived, did you?” Asked Joe.

Mai shook her head. “Didn't know I was supposed to be looking.”

“We'll sort it out later,” said Terry as he dodged an attack, countered with a knee to the man's solar plexus.

A minute later, there was a burst of blue as another attacker was hit by Andy's Hishou-ken, and then Andy joined the other three. Once they were all together, they made short work of the rest of Geese's men.

As they were taking a breather and surveying the carnage in the study, Andy asked: “Do you think that blast from Geese alerted the authorities?”

Terry gave a grim nod. “Probably. Let's slip out the back.”

Terry, Mai and Joe started towards the door. Andy stood there for a moment, watching Mai with that same look in his eyes from when she had saved him from Billy. “Wake up, Andy!” He then heard Terry shout, snapping him out of his trance. “We gotta hustle!” Andy shook his head again, and then started after them.

The four of them left the ruins of the study and made their way towards one of the back doors of the mansion. For a moment, they were blinded by sun as they opened the door to the outside. Then, when their eyes adjusted, they saw Mary Ryan standing there.

“Hold it!” The detective snapped, and Terry saw that both her gloved hands were wrapped around the handle of a nine-millimeter. Out of the corner of his eye, Terry saw Mai raise her hand slightly, gripping a fan, and he turned towards the ninja girl for a moment and shook his head. Mai blew a sharp breath out through her nostrils, but she lowered her hand.

“Mary,” Terry asked the blond woman warily. “Why are you armed?”

“I'm good, Bogard,” said Mary. “But probably not good enough to take on four fighters as experienced as you with my bare hands. And I need to make this as easy as possible.”

“Mary...” Terry started.

Mary silenced him by raising the gun. Terry saw remorse in her green eyes, something he'd never seen there before. “Please make this easy on me,” she said. “I hate to have to do this, I really do. Why couldn't you just listen when I told you to stay out of it?”

“Because this is worse than the Armor of Mars,” Terry started to explain. “Much worse. We just found out...” His voice trailed off, and he shook his head.

“Terry, tell her,” said Andy.

“Why?” The elder Bogard asked. “She wouldn't believe me.”

Mary raised an eyebrow. “Try me.”

Terry exhaled sharply. “Well, it looks like Geese...”

Mary's other eyebrow raised. “Geese Howard? You actually saw him?”

The eyebrows of the other four were raised now. “Mary,” Terry finally managed to say. “How do you...”

“Dammit, Bogard, it's a simple question. Did you or did you not see Geese Howard?”

Terry looked long and hard at her for another minute. Then he nodded slowly. “Yes, Mary. And I can say without a doubt it was him. If anyone would know, it's me.”

Mary cursed under her breath. “I believe you,” she said. “I just wish it wasn't true, because now it creates a huge problem for me. All I've ever wanted was to honor my dad by being a good cop. Every moral fiber in me says I should arrest all four of you...”

“But you also know that the police aren't strong enough to stop a man like Geese,” Terry finished, for the moment trying not to think about why Mary was accepting the news so well. “And you're right, Mary, especially now. Geese has gotten more powerful since I defeated him three years ago. A lot more powerful. Andy and Joe can attest to that.”

Both Terry's brother and the Muay Thai kickboxer nodded their heads. Mary's eyes flicked over to Mai. “What about you, Princess?” She asked.

Mai shook her head. “I didn't see him, because I showed up late to the party. But I understand your desire to honor your family. If it helps, my grandfather once said that sometimes doing the honorable thing means making decisions that challenge what we believe to be right.”

“Look, Mary,” said Terry. “You've done your homework. You know how strong Geese was before. If he's even stronger now, you know the police can't stop him. Only people like us can stand a chance against him, and you know we can't do that if we're locked up.”

For a long moment, Mary regarded them. Then she holstered her weapon. “I know more than you think, Bogard,” she growled. “But we'll talk later.” She turned, and gestured for the others to follow her. “This way.”

As the five of them moved through the backyard, they heard sirens in the distance.

“I followed Romeo's girlfriend here,” Mary explained. “As soon as I saw her enter the property, I called it in. As long as none of you are seen, though, I should be able to run damage control.”

The back of the property was fenced by hedges, which they were able to clear easily. Once on the other side, they found themselves facing a red brick building, with a sewer grate on the side of the street. Working together, they were able to pry up the grate easily. The sound of sirens grew louder.

Joe, Andy and Mai quickly dropped down through the open grate. Terry lingered for a moment. “Mary...” He started to say. “About Geese. How do you...”

“Later, Bogard,” she snapped. “I'll meet you and your friends when I'm off duty. Just get out of here before I change my mind.”

Terry lingered for just another second, his blue eyes locked with Mary's green, and then he jumped down into the sewer, as well. Mary quickly pushed the grate back into place, and then started back towards the mansion.

Terry caught up to the other three, and they continued down the tunnel at a brisk pace, the sound of sirens starting to fade as they made their way out of that neighborhood. “And just the other day, I told myself I wasn't spending enough time in places like this,” Joe remarked as he waved his hand in front of his nose. “Terry, did Master Tung ever mention that Geese could do an attack like that?”

Terry shook his head grimly. “No. I've never seen a chi-based attack like that before.”

“That room was destroyed by a chi attack?” Mai asked incredulously. “How could any human being control the amount of chi that would take?”

“It's amazing what you miss out on while shopping, isn't it?” Joe asked.

The mention of that caused the vein in Mai's temple to start throbbing again. “So, Andy,” she said to her boyfriend. “Do you want to tell them the truth, or should I?”

Andy said nothing. He looked distracted, as if his mind were trying to process something. His blue eyes remained fixed on the tunnel ahead.

“Andy, you with us?” Terry asked, cuffing his brother on the shoulder.

“Hm?” Andy turned his head slightly to face Terry. “Oh, right, I guess I owe everyone an explanation.”

“You owe a lot more than that, buster,” Mai snapped at him. As they made their way further from the crime scene, Andy started to tell them about his poolside talk with Mai at the hotel earlier.

South Town Police Department - 37th Precinct

Mary Ryan sat in the chair with her legs crossed, her poker-face in flawless form as she sipped her coffee, which was hot this time. On the other side of the desk sat a stocky man in his forties, with a white button-down shirt and tie, his graying hair done in a crew-cut.

“Okay, Ryan,” said the man behind the desk. “Run me through your report again.”

Mary shrugged. “What for, Captain Bowers?” She asked. “Too many big words for you to understand yourself?”

“Inspector Bowers, actually,” he said with a smug look on his face. “I guess you didn't hear that they promoted me again, to help try and fill the void left by Commissioner Hurst's sudden death.”

Mary managed to keep her expression neutral. “No, I didn't hear. Guess that's because I was out doing real work. Remind me to buy you a fruit basket, sir.”

“Detective, is there a reason you're being so difficult?”

“I don't know what else you want me to tell you,” Mary said with a huff. “I was tailing a lead, someone who I thought was a street fighter because they dressed like one. I saw them enter the premises at 994 Chestnut. I then had probable cause to believe that someone on the property might be in danger, so I called for backup and entered the property myself.”

Bowers glanced down at the paper on his desk. “You described an Asian female, early twenties, between five feet and five feet six in height, long reddish brown hair, wearing...” Bowers paused for a moment and cleared his throat. “...a 'severely altered' ninja gi. And you never saw her face?”

Mary shook her head. “Not from the front. And we have a lot of fighters in town right now, sir. Most of them dress funny. And they come from all over the world. You can organize a lineup if you want, but I think it would have too many people in it.”

Bowers leaned forward across the desk. “And what did you say happened next?”

“For the third time, I went in through the front door,” said Mary. “I tried the light switch, it didn't work. I started to sweep the mansion. When I got to the study, I found several suspects unconscious, and the owner of the property dead. And the study itself looked like a bomb had gone off in it.”

Bowers nodded. “Forensics found no identifiable residue at the scene. They're still trying to figure out what caused the damage. And you're sure you saw nothing else?”

“No, sir. No one leaving the scene. I was in the study when Sergeant Hawkins arrived with backup.”

Bowers nodded again. “And Hawkins says you were carrying your issue.”

“So what?” Mary asked, not trying to mask her impatience.

Bowers leaned closer towards her. “Ryan, I've never seen you carry your issue. Not since you were promoted off your beat to detective. What would suddenly give you a change of heart?”

“My job has gotten a lot harder lately,” Mary said without flinching. “With more street fighters in town than ever, maybe I needed an edge. You can ask Sergeant Hudson. He and I had a conversation about this in the break room a few weeks ago.”

“I see,” Bowers said.

Now Mary leaned forward. “Look, if there's nothing else, I have a lot of work to do. I'm supposed to be running security for the mayor's shit show, which starts tomorrow, and I'm still not close to being satisfied with the number of men you graciously bestowed upon me.”

For a moment, they stared each other down. Then Bowers asked her: “What is your relationship with Terrance Bogard, detective?”

Mary almost lost her poker-face, but managed to control it, and responded with: “There is none, sir.”

“Really?” Bowers cocked his head. “I hear you've been spending a lot of time with him lately.”

“To get information,” Mary countered. “He rid the city of Geese Howard, and he's participated in the King of Fighters tournament. I figured he could give me some intel to help me in my current assignment. That's all he is to me. A source of info.”

“Oh?” The inspector leafed through the papers on his desk, found some black and white photographs, and passed them over to Mary. Mary flipped through them rapidly. There was an enlarged picture of her and Terry at the diner, Mary with that faraway look in her eyes as she talked about the deaths of her father and Butch, Terry with his hand over hers; the pictures underneath that one were from the gym yesterday, of her and Terry sparring, the last picture was of her on top of Terry, that brief moment where they gazed wistfully at each other.

“You're sure that's all he is?” Bowers asked her. “And are you also sure you have no feelings that would, say, cause you to lie for him?”

Mary didn't hear the question. Though her green eyes remained ice-cold, underneath her skin her blood was boiling. “You've had a tail on me?” She hissed through clenched teeth.

“You've had excellent reports from all your previous captains before you came to me. But I have to be honest.” Bowers fixed her then with a hard stare. “I don't like you. I never have. You've always been unorthodox, you come from a background similar to most of the people you've been putting away lately, and until today, you've never carried a gun. I always thought your special assignment was a mistake, putting you in such close proximity with your own kind. So, yes, I decided that I needed to keep an extra set of eyes on you.”

Mary rose swiftly from her seat and flung the photographs onto the inspector's desk. “Said the pot to the kettle,” she snapped, no longer able to control her anger. “I am not going to sit here and listen to baseless accusations from someone who used to polish Geese Howard's ass. If you want to formally accuse me of something, you already know the number for Internal Affairs. Why don't we call Agent Winters? Or Agent Kaminsky? I'm sure you remember them, you spent a lot of time together while they investigated you.”

Now Bowers rose from his seat. “Allegedly used to polish Geese Howard's ass,” he growled. “You forget that the DA threw out the case due to lack of evidence.”

“Yeah, convenient how there was that fire in the department's records archives,” Mary shot back. “Your alibi was airtight, until they caught the guy who started the fire. Then he was killed before he could finger anyone, and even though IA bought your story about where you were at the time of his death, there still wasn't anyone to corroborate it. Also real convenient. You polishing anyone's ass in Internal Affairs, too?”

Bowers slapped his open palm sharply on his desk. “That will do, Ryan,” he snapped. “Your report on the incident at the Hughes mansion is suspicious, to say the least. I don't have proof that you left anything out, at least not yet, but until we get to the bottom of it, I'm suspending you from duty.” He slapped the desktop again. “Your badge and gun, detective.”

Mary's gloved hands were clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened her hands. Finally, after a long moment, she reached inside her jacket, unpinned the badge, and tossed it onto the desk. “I hope whoever has to take my place at the last minute to run security for the tournament tomorrow doesn't fuck up too badly,” she growled. “Otherwise a lot of people will get hurt.”

Bowers folded his arms in front of his chest. “We'll manage. How about your piece?”

Mary pulled a key from her jacket pocket. “I dropped it off in my office on the way over here,” she said. “It's in the locked drawer of my desk.” The inspector reached his hand out to take the key. Mary started to give it to him, then right before her hand touched his, she tossed the key over Bowers's shoulder, and through the open window behind him which led outside.

“Happy hunting, Inspector,” she spat, then turned sharply on her heel and left the office, slamming the door so hard it cracked the frosted glass in the middle of it.

It was early evening when people started to gather in Terry Bogard's hotel room. Joe Higashi showed up first, still wearing his fighting outfit, and took one of the chairs by the desk. Mai showed up a few seconds later, also still in her fighting outfit. Her cheeks were flushed, as if she had just spent the last several minutes screaming her guts out at someone.

“Andy will be here in a minute,” she huffed as she entered the room, then sat down on the dresser and crossed her legs. Sure enough, Andy showed up a few minutes later, his own cheeks flushed as if he had just spent the last several minutes being screamed at. He did his best to avoid Mai's glare as he took the other chair at the desk.

“Okay,” said Terry as he shut the door. “First, let me say the obvious. As far as what Andy said or did earlier today, what's done is done. Andy, whatever is going on, it's up to you and Mai to sort it out on your own time. This is a strategy meeting, that's it.”

“Fine with me,” Mai said from her seat on the dresser. Andy, who was looking down at the floor, simply nodded.

Before Terry could continue, there was a knock on the door. Terry answered it and saw Mary standing there with several file folders in her hands, a cold fire burning behind her green eyes.

Terry blinked in surprise. “Mary, I... wasn't expecting to see you so soon.”

Mary entered the room and explained why she was so early. Terry stood there, wanting to put his hand on her shoulder, but at the same time telling himself he shouldn't. Instead, he simply said: “I'm sorry, Mary.”

The blond woman shrugged. “It's partially my fault. He baited me, and I took the bait. I'm not happy, either, but at the same time, something tells me that it's going to get a lot harder to be a good cop in this city. You remember that radio I got yesterday about the commissioner? He was killed when someone put a bomb in his car. How much you wanna bet whoever the mayor appoints to take his place is in Geese Howard's pocket? Also, my superior, the one who suspended me, recently got promoted back to his old job as Inspector. I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but he was suspected of corruption under Geese Howard's reign. The DA couldn't even get an indictment due to lack of evidence. And... he's had a man following me. No worries, I picked him out on my way over here. By the time he wakes up, he won't know where to start looking for me.”

“You're not worried about repercussions?” Asked Terry.

Mary shook her head. “I know this officer. If he wanted to press charges, it would mean he'd have to admit a woman beat him up. He'd rather cut his right hand off first.” The detective then heard a small chortle from the dresser where Mai sat.

“Mary, I am sorry about your job,” said Terry. “But... about Geese Howard... how much do you know about what's going on?”

Mary tossed the file folders she was holding onto the desk. “I've had a suspicion that he was alive. Geese has been another hobby of mine since I came to South Town. Those files contain all the research I've been doing in my free time. Crack them open, take a look.”

Joe opened the top folder and saw a series of enlarged photographs. They were aerial views of forests all over the world. Terry moved closer to the desk, and Mai got up from her seat on the dresser to peek over Joe's shoulder.

Each photograph they looked at showed large rings of felled trees that had been knocked over outwards in a circular pattern, like spokes on a wheel. Some circles were bigger than others, but the pattern was always the same.

“The top photograph is from the Florida Everglades,” Mary explained. “The next one, Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. Then Epping Forest in England. Then Zuhai Park in Yixing, China. And under that, near the banks of the Vasyugan River in West Siberia.”

“A circular pattern of destruction,” Terry noted. “Just like Geese's raging storm attack from earlier.”

Joe nodded. “And in each of these pictures, the circle keeps getting bigger.”

“Makes sense,” Mai pointed out. “Look at the dates on the photos as we move to the bottom of the stack. Each date gets more and more recent.”

“Ufologists were quick to jump in and blame the obvious,” Mary went on. “And for a while, that might have carried water. Until people started to find bodies. Open the second folder.”

Andy did as she said, and inside the four of them saw a copy of a mortician's report with a photograph of a middle-aged woman clipped to it. “She was found in the Columbian jungle, at the edge of one of those circles, with her neck broken,” said Mary. “But before that killed her, something did severe damage to her internal organs. The morticians never figured out the cause, but people like you and I learned at a young age how to spot the signature of chi-based attacks. Now look at the next photo.”

Joe lifted the report, and underneath they saw several photographs of a young man, also with his neck broken. There were also some close-up pictures of the backs of his shins, which showed some peculiar welts.

“He was found in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, again not far from another one of those blasted out circles. As you can see, his legs were broken first.”

Andy rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he studied the photographs. “These marks... Billy's work, you think?”

“Makes sense,” said Terry. “Guy tries to run, Billy breaks his legs, and then Geese finishes him off.”

“Witnesses,” Andy said as he exhaled sharply. “Geese has been off on a training journey of his own, and wanted people to keep thinking he was dead.”

Joe shook his head. “It's a tragedy. Chances are these people never even heard of Geese Howard, but we all know he wouldn't take chances.”

“Most of us would know, you mean,” Mai said with a huff.

Terry turned to face the detective. “Mary... you said Geese was also your hobby. Why have you been tracking his activities?”

Mary sat down at the foot of Terry's bed, folded her arms across her breast. “Because... Geese was once my grandfather's student.”

The other three heads now turned as one to face her. “Your grandfather was also a sensei?” Mai asked.

Mary nodded. “He's a Kobojutsu master. This happened before any of us were born. My grandfather told me the story after I turned eighteen. Geese was young, about eight or nine, when Grandpa took him in as a student. Terry already knows about my family's strong ethical code when it comes to studying martial arts. So it didn't take my grandfather long to see that Geese's motives for training were impure. After only a few months, he told Geese that he was no longer going to teach him until Geese learned to conquer his desires. Geese left my grandfather's dojo that night, but not before raiding the dojo's archives and making off with a few things from Grandpa's collection. My grandfather considers it his biggest failure. He's continued to train students, but I know he still suffers with the shame of what Geese did to him. So I've been keeping tabs on Geese ever since Grandpa told me the story, hoping that someday I can get back what was stolen and help my grandfather reclaim his honor.”

For a moment, the room was silent as Andy, Joe and Mai regarded the detective in a new light. Mai looked briefly over at Terry, once more noticing the look in the elder Bogard's eyes, which were shining just a little brighter with that glint that Mai had seen last night in the gym. “I misjudged you when we first met, Mary,” said the kunoichi. “In my country, few things are more noble than a deep respect for one's elders. I'm sure your grandfather is proud of you.”

“Thanks, Princess,” Mary said with her trademark smirk.

“What did Geese take?” Asked Terry.

“Writings on advanced Kobojutsu techniques, mostly,” said Mary. “Secret stuff that was supposed to stay within the family. But there were a few documents on Asian history that caught his eye too. One of them was a detailed history of the Qin Dynasty in China.”

The four friends all exchanged knowing glances. “Maybe that's where Geese first learned about Jin Scrolls,” said Joe, saying out loud what they were all thinking.

Now it was Mary's turn to be surprised, though she still kept her expression neutral. “What are Jin Scrolls?”

“Well, first I should ask you if you've ever heard of spirit scrolls,” Terry said to her.

Mary thought for a moment. “My grandfather mentioned those. Namely that he hoped none of the writings Geese had stolen contained any information about them. So naturally, I did some homework on the subject. I know how spirit scrolls work, but I don't know about the Jin Scrolls.”

Terry then told Mary what Xiang had told him and Andy about Qin Wang and Qin Kong.

“Two spirits in one scroll?” Mary asked. “How would that be possible? And how would these generals know how to craft a spirit scroll?”

“We read something about that earlier,” said Joe. “After the Qin Dynasty started to unravel, China was ravaged by a civil war. During that time, it was rumored that Qin Kong Long fell seriously ill. His son managed to rally an army of twenty-five thousand men using only the reputation of the Long clan, and then marched on a provincial city to the north. They laid siege to it for a month, claiming that the city was harboring agents who had played a hand in the death of Emperor Huang's son.”

“The strange thing is,” continued Mai, “That after the city surrendered and his army was inside, Qin Wang never searched for these agents. He relinquished his share of the city's spoils to his lieutenants, and he left the city with one hostage: a scribe who was employed in the service of the city's lord. No one knew the man's name, but accounts say that he was a bit eccentric. He knew several old regional dialects of Mandarin that had fallen out of use, and his friends say he described events in the Xia and Shang Dynasties, which were centuries earlier, as if he had been there.”

“Master Jubei mentioned that the first spirit scrolls were created by a sage who lived about five thousand years ago,” Andy said. “Could that sage's spirit have been in this scribe?”

Mary nodded. “Makes sense. Qin Wang's father is dying, somehow Qin Wang knew about spirit scrolls. Maybe he had learned some things about them during his time as an adviser in the Emperor's court. He finds out about an eccentric scribe who seems to know things far beyond his years, he uses his reputation to rally an army, captures the man, and forces him to craft spirit scrolls to house him and his father. Considering how old the spirit of the sage would have been by then, maybe he had learned how to seal more than one spirit in a scroll.”

“Well, what we do know for certain,” Terry said grimly. “Is that Geese now has all of these scrolls. That mansion we were at earlier belonged to a collector who recently bought a Jin Scroll on the black market. We were trying to stop Geese from getting that scroll but were too late. Could Geese know how to read them?”

“If not, I hope he doesn't try to read them,” said Joe. “One of the more somber things that came up in our research was a rumor that the Shaanxi earthquake in 1556, which claimed the lives of over eight-hundred thousand people, was caused when someone misread the mantra on a spirit scroll.”

“Geese isn't stupid,” said Mary. “I'm sure that he's read the same rumor, and so is going to make sure that he has the mantra memorized flawlessly before he uses the scrolls.”

“So, that gives us some time to find him,” Terry pointed out. “Right now, our best course of action is to go to the tournament tomorrow, and keep our eyes and ears open. Maybe if we can find out who the sponsor is, that will give us a clue as to Geese's location.”

“One of my informants is working on that,” Mary pointed out. “I'll reach out to him tomorrow.”

“Does he know about your suspension?” Terry asked.

Mary shook her head. “Way I see it, it's a need to know basis, and he doesn't need to know.”

Terry nodded. “There's one more thing,” he said. “Earlier, when we encountered Geese, these two boys in Tang suits showed up and demanded the scroll Geese had just stolen. Any idea who they might be?”

Mary frowned for a long minute. “No. They've never come up in any of my research on Geese.”

“Whoever they were,” said Andy. “Geese didn't seem happy to see them.” He looked down at the carpet, trying to ignore the glare that Mai gave him, as she had missed seeing the two boys, as well.

“Maybe we could join forces with them,” said Joe. “If we ever see them again. If Geese if their enemy, they might be our friends.”

“We'll deal with that if we see them again,” said Terry. “Right now, I think we should just relax here for the evening, and try to regroup a little. We've got a big day tomorrow, so let's rest up for it.” He turned to the detective. “Mary, how can we get in touch with you?”

“I'll be around,” Mary said as she rose from the bed. “I won't be going far from this hotel. I have a feeling that my apartment might not be safe at the moment.”

“I'm going over to my room to grab a shower and a change of clothes,” said Mai. “Then I'm going to the bar. Terry, will you or Joe come tell me if there's a change in plans?”

Terry's eyes flicked briefly over to Andy, who was still looking sheepishly at the carpet. Then, he nodded. “Sure, Mai.”

“Thank you,” Mai said, and left the room.

After she was gone, Andy got up from his chair. “I'm gonna go work out in the gym,” he said.

“Mind if I tag along?” Joe asked him.

“Not at all,” Andy said with a nod, and the two friends left Terry and Mary alone.

Mary said nothing as she gathered up the file folders from the desk. Finally, Terry asked her: “Mary, why didn't you tell me you knew about Geese being alive?”

“Because I didn't know,” she said with a shrug. “I suspected, but I didn't know for sure until today. Also, what Geese took from me... it's really nothing compared to what he's taken from you.”

“I don't see how that makes a difference.”

Mary looked at him then, her green eyes regarding Terry with something that almost looked like sadness. “I think it makes a big difference,” she said. “Terry, a bunch of books and parchments are nothing compared to the life of your father. Or your lover.”

Terry started, then. “You... know about Lily?”

Mary exhaled sharply, turned her gaze away from him. “She was in your file... and also Howard's file. I guess... I never mentioned that because I... I...”

Terry took a step forward, placed a hand on her shoulder despite his voice of reason screaming for him not to. “Because what?” He asked softly.

Mary's gaze went back to him, her poker face restored. “Nothing. Never mind.” She shrugged off Terry's hand and exited the room quickly, leaving the elder Bogard alone and wondering.

 

To be continued...