Fatal Fury Fan Fiction ❯ Fatal Fury - The Vengeful Spirits ❯ Chapter Fourteen - Damage Control ( Chapter 15 )

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

South Town Pavilion

They had made it about a hundred feet back up the corridor when Mary Ryan heard the explosion. Her cop instincts kicking in once again, she threw herself flat on the concrete floor, bringing Terry and Joe down along with her. Moments later, a cloud of dust and finely pulverized debris flew past over their heads as the ground rumbled slightly, and the harsh lights overhead flickered.

As soon as the dust had settled, Terry Bogard got to his feet and stared grimly back the way they had come, which was now blocked off. Mary and Joe got to their feet as well, neither of them speaking, as they simply did not know what to say. What could be said?

“We... we don't know for certain they... were still in that ring,” Joe finally found the courage to venture. “The match... might have ended before it blew.”

If Terry had heard what his friend said, he did not acknowledge it. He simply turned on his heel and sprinted back towards the ramp.

“Terry, wait for us!” Mary called as she and Joe ran after him, trying their best to keep up. But when they got to the ramp, it was evident that the elder Bogard had left them far behind. They moved back up to ground level, and saw no sign of him, nor did they see any sign of Billy, Sokaku, or Yamazaki. What they did find was a large crowd swarming out of the stadium area in a panic, clamoring to get to the exits. A few uniformed policeman were trying to keep things under control, but Mary could see that there weren't enough of them.

Still running on instincts, she approached the nearest officer without hesitation, picking her way through the crowds with Joe following cautiously behind. “What's your name, kid?” She spoke to the patrolman in a commanding voice.

“Officer Martin Coleman,” the cop said, taken somewhat aback by both the authority with which Mary spoke, and the steel behind her green eyes.

“I'm a detective with the South Town PD, Martin,” Mary spoke, unflinching. “Has anyone called for back up?”

“I... I don't know,” Martin answered, not sounding as sure as Mary wanted him to sound. “I think that I saw the inspector on his radio, but I... I couldn't be sure.”

Mary shook her head. The kid was definitely a rookie, as he hadn't even asked to see a badge. She was beginning to wonder if that was why she hadn't recognized any of the men Bowers had picked. Had he chosen green kids on purpose? Wonder about that later, she thought. There's work to do.

“Thinking is not good enough in a situation like this, Martin,” she snapped at the young patrolman. “You have a radio of your own, don't you? You get on it, and even if assistance has been requested, you request it again. You tell dispatch exactly what happened, and tell them to have every precinct within ten miles of this venue send every last cop they can spare, and even those they can't spare. Have them bring in off-duty cops if they have to. We'll need crowd control, we'll need paramedics, and tell them to bring plenty of blankets, water, and flashlights. Understand?”

“Yes, ma'am,” said Martin. He reached for the radio that was clipped on the shirt of his uniform and started speaking into it, slowly at first, but then with a little more confidence.

Mary turned back towards Joe. “This way,” she said, running as fast as the throng of retreating spectators would allow her towards the arena entrance. The kickboxer took a deep breath, and then plunged after her.

Like a salmon fighting its way upstream, Terry Bogard tried to make his way back into the arena, pushing past the crowds who were fleeing in the opposite direction. Some of them appeared to be bruised and scraped, but all of them were screaming. Terry could barely hear it over the blood pounding in his ears, could barely notice it over the images playing over and over in his mind: Joe Higashi's shoulder being pierced by the sniper's bullet, Lily McGuire falling headfirst to her death... and now, the fact that his brother and his future sister-in-law might be in pieces, or burned and bloodied beyond recognition...

He shook his head. No, don't let yourself think that. Joe is right, they might not even have been in the ring. But judging by the cheering that had been filtering down right before the bomb went off, Terry couldn't help but feel a doubt.

Terry was halfway to the crowd-control barriers when he felt someone grab his arm. He turned, and saw a man about his age with a rather large gash in his forehead just below the hairline, blood seeping down into his eyes. The man seemed to be having trouble seeing because of this.

“Help...” the man said feebly as he blinked repeatedly, his hand gripping the collar of Terry Bogard's jacket. For a moment, Terry didn't know what to do. There was a good chance that Andy and Mai might be dead, but Terry needed to know as soon as possible. Besides, what could he do for this guy? He had learned a few field techniques in the street-fighting rings for patching up wounds, but this man might have internal damage, maybe even a brain injury. Terry didn't know anything about what to do for that...

As he stood there with the wounded man, debating on what he should do, Mary and Joe soon found their way to him. “I've got him,” Joe said as he gripped the injured man by both his arms. “You two go on ahead. You might need Mary's help getting past the cops.”

Mary nodded. “All right. Listen to me, Joe: Move this man off to the side, away from the crowds, and keep talking to him. Make sure he hears and acknowledges your voice. Whatever you do, do not let him fall asleep. As soon as you spot someone who looks like a paramedic, you hand him over to them and come find us.”

“Right,” Joe said as he started to steer the man out of the crowds that were still rushing around them. Terry and Mary continued onward towards ringside.

By the time they got closer to it, the crowds had almost completely gone. They both noticed that the barriers surrounding the ring had been knocked flat, and that the ring itself had been replaced by a mountain of rubble partially obscured by a thick dust cloud. There were a few officers milling around by the flattened barriers, but other than that, there was no one else in sight.

Both Terry and Mary looked silently at each other for a moment. Then Mary reached over, took his hand in hers. “Are you sure you're ready to see this, Terry?” She asked him.

Terry looked back towards the remains of the ring. “I have to know,” he said simply, then shrugged off Mary's hand and started forward. He had almost made it over what was left of the barriers when a middle-aged man in a gray trench coat suddenly appeared in front of him.

“This area is a crime scene now,” the man said, holding his hands out in front of him. “It's restricted to anyone who isn't police, fire, or paramedics.”

Mary was at Terry Bogard's side in seconds. “If it's a crime scene, Bowers, then how come your men are just standing around holding their dicks instead of cordoning it off?” She waved her hand, indicating the two or three officers standing nearby who did not appear to be doing much, other than looking confused. “Or for that matter, why are they not helping facilitate an orderly evacuation? Please tell me you at least called for back-up to help replace the men who were no doubt killed when this bomb went off. Or would that require too much thinking on your part?”

Inspector Bowers moved his gaze to Mary. “You're suspended, Ryan,” he snapped. “You have no jurisdiction here, and even if you did, I would outrank you. So I will handle this situation as I see fit.”

“In other words, you'll handle it the way your master, Geese Howard, tells you to handle it!” Mary fired back.

“By all means, Ryan, dig your hole deeper,” the inspector snarled. “Make it easier for me to suspend you indefinitely!”

“Please!” Terry shouted over both of them. “Both my brother and his girlfriend might have been in that ring when the bomb went off. I need to see if they're all right!”

Bowers turned back to Terry and gave a cold smirk. “So you're the next of kin? Well, then, please give your contact info to any uniformed officer you see here. If we find any body parts, we'll call you in to ID them.”

Terry suddenly grabbed the inspector by his collar, cocked his other arm back with his fingers curled into a fist. He was about to let fly when he felt Mary grab his arm with both hands.

“Terry, no!” She said firmly. Terry looked down at her with confusion as he released his grip on Bowers. Mary gave Terry a smirk and added: “Please, allow me!” She then turned swiftly and punched Bowers dead center in the face. The inspector flew backwards, blood pouring from his nose like a faucet, and crumpled next to what was left of the ring's edge. “Your bedside manner needs a little work, captain,” Mary snapped as she glared daggers down at him. The officers who had noticed the punch seemed more concerned with helping the inspector than with trying to stop the two fighters, which was fine with Terry and Mary. They proceeded past Bowers and started to circle the pile of debris that had once been the ring.

As the pair moved around the rubble, Terry started to shout the names of both his brother and Mai. After a few minutes, he heard a female voice call his name. Terry and Mary turned, and saw Mai Shiranui come running up to them through the haze of dust that still hung in the air. She was bruised and her gi was slightly torn and frayed around the edges, but otherwise she looked fine.

Terry breathed an audible sigh of relief as he put his hands on her shoulders. “Mai, thank God you're all right. Is Andy...?”

“He's alive,” said Mai. “Follow me.”

The ninja girl led the other two to one of the front rows of spectator seats. There, they found Andy Bogard sitting in one of those seats with a paramedic on either side of him. One of them was shining a penlight in Andy's blue eyes, while the other was dabbing at a gash on his forehead with a cotton swab of peroxide. Andy fidgeted uncomfortably in the seat, not so much from the stinging of the antiseptic, but rather from the attention that the EMTs were giving him. Standing nearby, looking even more uncomfortable than Andy, were Chonrei and Chonshu.

“Andy!” Terry shouted as he made his way over to his brother, blowing out a huge breath of relief in the process.

“Good to see you, bro,” Andy said with a smirk. “Maybe you can convince these two to stop fawning over me, since Mai wouldn't make them stop.”

“I needed to be sure my man was all right,” said Mai sternly, hands on her hips. “You got it a little worse than me.”

The medic with the penlight snapped it off and slipped it into his shirt pocket. “Well, the good news is, there doesn't appear to be any broken bones, and he scored a 15 on his GCS,” he said to Mai as he stood up.

Both Terry and Mai regarded the medic with confused looks. Then the second EMT added: “Sorry, he has an annoying habit of being too technical. What he was trying to say is that it looks like Mr. Bogard doesn't have any head injuries. But we would like to bring him downtown to observe him.”

Andy gave his girlfriend a pleading look. “Mai, you know I hate hospitals. I'm fine, really.” He stood up quickly to prove his point, but even this made him wince a little.

Mai rolled her eyes at Andy, but to his relief, she acquiesced. “Don't worry,” she said to the paramedics. “I'll keep him awake.”

The two paramedics looked at each other for a moment. “Okay,” one of them said. “But if you notice anything out of the ordinary, bring him down to South Town General immediately.”

Mary cleared her throat. “There's someone over by the west exit who actually might have a concussion,” she said to the EMTs. “A man named Joe Higashi is with him.”

The two men nodded, and ran off in the direction that Mary had indicated. As soon as they were gone, Terry asked what both he and Mary were thinking: “How did you two survive that blast?”

“Well, it was strange,” said Andy. “One minute we were in the ring, and then a second later, we were outside of it. We just barely felt the heat from the explosion.”

“Yes!” Andy was interrupted by a joyous shout. Joe ran up to the group and gave both Andy and Mai a hug. “I knew it would take more than a bomb to kill you two! But how did you survive it?”

Mai pointed at the two brothers standing nearby. “Chonrei and Chonshu told us that they carried us out of the ring a split second before the bomb went off. They moved so fast, much faster than we saw them moving earlier. Also, their chi is fire-based, like mine and Andy's, so apparently they used that to shield us even further, which protected us from the worst of it.”

Terry turned to face the two teenagers, pressing the palms of his hands flat together and bowing his head. “Thank you for saving their lives,” he said to them. “They're the only family I have left. If I lost them... you don't know what that would have done to me.”

Chonshu grew red in the cheeks, the same shade of crimson as his Tang suit, and looked away. Chonrei, however, folded his own hands and returned the bow to the elder Bogard.

“It was strange,” said Andy. “When me and Mai were fighting, she kept telling me that they were standing just outside the ring looking down at the floor. Like they thought something was up.”

“We heard voices underneath the ring,” Chonrei explained. “And what sounded like the beeping of a timer.”

“But with all the other noise around you,” said Mary. “How could you have heard that?”

“And we are grateful for what you did,” Mai added. “But why did you save us?”

“As I told the Lone Wolf earlier,” Chonrei explained. “The answer to the first question is for us to know. As for the second question: when Terry Bogard and I fought, I sensed that he was an honest man. He spoke the truth when he said that he does not desire the scrolls, or their power. The five of you only wish to stop Geese Howard from using them. The end of Howard is one goal we all seem to have in common, and my brother and I will need all the help we can get.”

Terry was about to question them further when suddenly they saw Inspector Bowers approaching them, flanked on each side by a uniformed officer, one of them with a pair of cuffs in hand. “Good, there you all are,” Bowers said, his voice slightly nasal from the tissues that were crammed in his nostrils to staunch the blood flow. “I'm placing Ryan under arrest for assault. I assume you know your rights, detective?”

Terry moved in front of Mary, while behind her, Andy, Mai and Joe all assumed a fighting stance. Mary, however, stepped around Terry and started towards the officers with her hands raised. “It's okay. I'll go with them. Bowers may be a corrupt piece of shit, but these other men are just doing their jobs.”

“I'll come get you when we're done here,” Terry said to her as the cop with the handcuffs approached her.

Mary thought for a second, then reached into the pocket of her jacket, causing the patrolmen to instantly move their hands towards the weapons holstered at their hips.

“Oh, take a pill, Wyatt Earp!” Mary snapped at them. “You know I don't carry a gun.” Her hand reappeared a moment later, holding a set of keys. “You know how to drive a motorcycle, right?” She asked Terry.

“You already know the answer,” Terry said with a smirk.

Mary smirked back at him, and tossed him the keys, which Terry snatched out of midair. “They'll likely be taking me to the thirty-seventh precinct,” she said as the uniformed officer with cuffs pinned her hands behind her back. “After you're done here, come bail me out, will you? My ride is parked in lot B2. And if you scratch her, you're a dead man.”

“I'll treat her like a lady,” Terry said. “Thanks, Mary.”

Mary simply nodded to him as the cuffs were snapped in place. After the patrolmen had taken her away, Bowers turned to the other four. “As I said to Mr. Bogard earlier, this is now a crime scene. You have five minutes to leave the stadium, or you'll be joining her in that cell.” With that, he turned on his heel and stalked off.

Mai stuck her tongue out at the inspector's back, while Terry turned back to where the Jin brothers had been standing. But they were gone. “Damn, they must have slipped off,” Terry growled.

“We'd better get lost, too,” said Joe. “Not much more we can do standing around here, and Mary's boss seems like a real prick. I'm sure he probably would arrest us, too.”

As they made their way towards one of the exits, Terry asked Andy: “Are you sure you and Mai are gonna be all right?”

Andy nodded. “We'll be fine. You go take care of Mary.”

“Lemme know what her bail is when you get there,” said Joe. “I'll take care of it.”

“Thanks,” Terry said with a nod, and then picked up his pace a little, soon leaving the other three behind. After he was gone, Mai put her arm around Andy's shoulder. “Okay, Andy, when we get back to our room, I'll have to keep you awake at least until midnight. But fortunately, I have some ideas.”

“Oh? Like what?” Andy asked her.

Mai gave him a smile, and a sly wink. “Well, remember that errand I had to run right before we left Germany? I think maybe it's time I showed you what I bought. I've been waiting for a long time now to wear it for you.”

“Hey, lovebirds!” Joe growled. “Keep it down, will you? Don't make me lose my appetite before we get back to the hotel. I've been having dreams about those alligator bites all day.”

“If you don't wanna lose your appetite, then don't look in any mirrors before we get there,” Mai said with a laugh.

As Joe and Mai continued to go back and forth, Andy took a moment to look in the direction that Terry had gone. He remembered what Terry had said to the Jin brothers earlier, remembered the look on his face before that when Andy and Mai had chosen to go ahead and fight each other to try to draw Geese's plan into the open. He had gotten used to Terry being the strong one, the rational one, the one who always managed to keep his head no matter what. Even when they were growing up on the streets, Terry had always been the one in control, both inside and out. Now... Andy hoped his brother would be able to keep it together for what was to come.

Several blocks from the tournament stadium, Jin Chonrei and Jin Chonshu were racing down the busy sidewalk, moving with that same unnatural speed, yet still managing to avoid the pedestrian traffic.

“Why did you hesitate, brother?” Chonrei asked. “You still managed to save Andy Bogard, but he was wounded. If you had moved at the same time I had, both of them would be all right.”

“I was thinking about our plan,” Chonshu explained. “Doesn't it seem like Terry Bogard is moving too slow with trying to locate Howard? I thought that perhaps if he lost someone close to him, that might strengthen his resolve to find that thief. Also, Andy's death might have done the same thing to the Riběn girl's resolve. Andy is her lover.”

Chonrei's brow furrowed with concern. “And what made you choose to save him?”

“They convinced me it was the right thing to do,” Chonshu said simply. “They told me that we cannot let what we have been through in our own lives deprive us of our compassion. Otherwise, we are no better than Geese Howard. Or the men who left us for dead.”

The two of them turned off the main road into an alleyway. “I'm glad you chose to listen to them,” Chonrei said after a long pause. “Because they are correct. But next time, you should not hesitate. If I tell you to do something, then you do it. Otherwise, we might not be as lucky as we were just now.”

For a while, the two brothers fell silent. They scurried up a fire escape, then continued their rapid run across the rooftops of South Town. After a while, Chonshu said: “I'm hungry. Let's pass through the Chinese district and steal some dim sum before we return home.”

Chonrei had a few concerns about his brother's behavior back at the stadium, but he simply nodded. “Very well. I'm also hungry.”

South Town Police Department - 37th Precinct

It was after dark by the time Terry Bogard managed to get to the station where Mary was being held, and take care of her bail. The two of them made their way down the sidewalk to where Mary's bike was parked, neither one of them speaking. Finally, Mary said: “I overheard some chatter while I was in my cell. Thankfully, it doesn't look like any civilians were killed. The bomb was designed to target the ring only. There were a ton of cuts, bruises, and concussions from spectators being struck by debris, but that was it. Five cops were too close to the ring when it went off. Three of them didn't make it, the other two are in ICU at South Town General. It's 50/50 on whether they'll pull through.”

“I'm sorry,” Terry said simply.

“It could have been a lot worse,” said Mary. Then, she put her arm around Terry's waist, and added: “Thanks for coming to bail me out.”

Terry shrugged, not seeming to notice her arm. “Hey, I owed you. If you hadn't stepped up, I'd have been the one taken away in cuffs. And anyway, you really should be thanking Joe. He's the one who fronted me the money for bail.”

Mary stepped in front of Terry then, stopping him momentarily, and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Maybe I don't want to thank Joe,” she said as she gazed up into his eyes. “Maybe I want to thank you.”

For a moment, Terry was lost in the deep emerald pools of Mary's eyes, and despite the doubts that gnawed at him, he found himself moving his own arms around her, found himself bending down to press his lips to hers in a soft kiss.

But the moment passed all too quickly, and Terry remembered himself, remembered his dream, and forced himself to pull away. Mary noticed this, as well as the concern that etched the features on his face.

“Terry?” She asked. “What is it? What's wrong?”

Terry shook his head, let his arms drop to his sides. “I'm sorry,” he said. “I told you, I can't think about us until this whole business with Geese Howard is settled.”

Mary kept her arms around him for another moment. Can't? She thought silently to herself. Or won't? Then she asked him: “Terry, answer me honestly. Did you spend the night with me because you wanted to?”

“Yes, I wanted to,” Terry told her firmly. Then he thought to himself: But I can't tell you how much I've regretted that decision. Because I'm afraid that I'm still cursed. That I already let you get too close, past the point of no return, and now you're going to die because of that.

Mary looked at him for a long time, seeing the pain in his blue eyes, sensing that there was a “but” hidden in Terry's answer. Then she let her own arms drop to her sides. “Okay, Terry. Just remember that I actually understand what you've gone through. What you're probably still going through. When you finally are ready to talk about us, you know that I'm here.”

You are today, thought Terry. But will you be tomorrow?

Mary could still see the unease lining Terry's face, so she gave him a playful tap on the chin with her fist. “Hey, I'm not going anywhere. You know what a cautious gal I am. Goes with my job. Just promise me you won't go anywhere, either, okay?”

Terry forced himself to give a weak smile. “I promise,” he said. Then, after a few moments, he added: “We should probably get back to the hotel. The others are waiting.”

“Right,” said Mary, and the two of them continued walking towards her bike. “I've got a good lead from my informant today,” Mary continued. “I think we should follow up on it first thing in the morning. I'll share what I know after we meet up with Andy, Mai and Joe. And I'll probably be staying at that hotel myself. I stopped off at my apartment this morning for some fresh clothes, but I won't be sleeping there again until after we've dealt with Howard. So... do you mind if I crash in your room again?”

“Sorry,” Terry answered. “But I... don't think we really should right now.”

“I understand,” said Mary. “I'll book my own room.”

The two of them were silent for the rest of the trip back to the hotel. Mary drove while Terry sat behind her on the bike with his arms around her waist. Touching her was both ecstasy and torture, because as much as he loved the feel of her, he found he couldn't shake the images from his dream, images of Mary dead in his arms, just like all his past lovers.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, their kiss had not gone unseen. In the driver's seat of a black sedan parked on the side of the road across from the precinct, Hopper watched through a small pair of binoculars as Terry embraced the detective.

As soon as the two were out of sight, Hopper tossed the binoculars onto the empty passenger seat and started the car.

“The boss is gonna love this,” he said to himself as he pulled out into the street and drove in the direction of the nearest payphone.

South Town Plaza Hotel

The window to their room was open slightly, letting in both the soothing night breeze and the noises of the city drifting up from the sidewalks below. Andy Bogard and Mai Shiranui snuggled above the covers of their bed, enjoying both each others' company and the feel of the breeze as it blew in through the cracks in the drawn curtains and dried the sweat on their skin. Their clothes were strewn haphazardly all over the floor of the room.

A few hours earlier, they and Joe had met with Terry and Mary. Mary had told them about a possible location for the tournament's sponsor, which they would be checking out as soon as it was light. After the excitement today, Andy and his girlfriend should probably have been resting. But Mai still insisted on keeping Andy awake just to make sure there was no long term damage from what he had been through. Not that Andy was complaining.

“So, how do I look?” Andy asked her.

“Sexy as hell,” Mai said with a smirk as she ran a hand up and down the solid muscle of his abs. “But if you're asking about your health... I think it's safe to say you don't have a concussion. But we should probably do one more 'thorough exam' before you go to sleep... just to be sure.”

Andy shrugged. “If you think that's best. I just... need a few minutes first.”

Mai kissed his neck softly. “Take your time. I want to order us a snack before we do anything else. I don't know about you, but I worked up an appetite.”

“I could eat something,” said Andy.

Mai rose from the bed and slipped on her favorite pink cotton robe, then she moved over to the table where the room service menu sat. “Is there anything you're in the mood for?” She asked as she flipped through it. When she got no answer, she turned her gaze towards the bed, saw her boyfriend sitting there, propped on his pillow, staring in the direction of the open window with a pensive look on his face.

“Penny for your thoughts, Andy?” She asked him.

“Just thinking about what happened today,” Andy said after minute. “You know that bomb was supposed to kill us, right, Mai?”

Mai put the menu down, crawled back onto the bed, and lay down next to Andy on her side, head propped up on her elbow. She reached over with her other hand, wrapped her fingers gently around Andy's bicep. “I know, Andy, but it didn't. We're both still alive.”

“What I mean is,” Andy explained. “It was meant for us, not Terry. Geese wanted Terry to see us die. It made me think back to our conversation last night, when I told you one of the reasons I thought Geese killed Lily. I think Geese is trying to make my brother suffer again by targeting everyone else Terry still cares about.”

Mai's own expression grew pensive now. “But... why?” She asked.

“Terry is the one who actually defeated him three years ago. Geese lost an empire because of that. And even though he says Terry did him a favor by defeating Krauser, I think that a part of Geese is resentful that Terry stole his chance for revenge. But Geese would never admit that. Terry took everything from him, so now Geese is going to do the same to Terry. And after Geese has taken care of you, me, Joe, Mary, and anyone else Terry cares about, once Terry has nothing to lose, he'll stop at nothing to find Geese. But Geese also knows how much Terry's power has grown. Which is why he stole the Jin Scrolls. The man Terry and I met with yesterday said that they have the potential to make one stronger than a god. So if Geese has their power inside of him, he knows that Terry will be no match for him. He kills Terry, and then his revenge is complete.”

Andy went silent then, and for a time, Mai was silent, as well. “Andy,” she said after taking a deep breath. “It's... kinda scary just how much sense that makes. Are... are you going to tell Terry?”

“I feel like I should, but on the other hand, I can also name several reasons why I shouldn't. But I think he already knows.” He turned to face Mai, then, his deep blue eyes ringed with worry. “You know that from this point on, things will get a lot more dangerous, Mai. For all of us.”

“Andy, you're not still worrying about me, are you?”

“No,” Andy said. Then, after a pause, he gently took Mai's hand in his own. “Well, that's not completely true. Mai, I know that you can take care of yourself. And I respect that you've made your decision to be here, fighting with us. But deep down, a small part of me is probably always going to worry, just because I love you. But I will try hard never to let that part of me come between us.”

Despite the somber theory Andy had just shared, Mai couldn't help but smile at him. It's amazing how far we've come, she thought. I'm so proud of him.

“I understand, Andy,” she said, then leaned over and kissed him. “And I love you, too.” She squeezed his hand gently, then got up from the bed once more and resumed looking at the menu. After a few minutes, she asked: “Andy, what are jalapeno poppers?”

“Honestly,” he said. “It would be better for you to find out for yourself. We'll get two orders.” Andy then picked up the bedside phone and started to dial.

South Town Commerce Plaza (Formerly Known as Geese Tower)

Inspector Bowers stepped off the elevator and glanced around nervously. The room was sparsely decorated, containing only a desk that used to belong to the receptionist. Billy Kane lounged behind the desk, his feet resting up on its polished surface, his staff balanced on his knees.

Billy couldn't help but smirk as he looked at the older man's face. Bowers's nose had finally stopped bleeding, but it had turned purple and swollen to the size of an egg. “Lookin' good, inspector,” the blond fighter quipped. “In fact, I'd say it's an improvement over how you usually look.”

Bowers pretended he had not heard, instead crossed over the room until he was standing directly on the other side of the desk. “Is he in there?” The inspector asked, indicating the large double-doors behind Billy.

Billy nodded casually, but made no move to get up to open the door for him. “Yup, and he's expectin' you. Go on in.”

Annoyed, Bowers stepped around the desk, grabbed the ornate lever handle doorknob, and entered the office.

The lights were turned down low, with much of the illumination coming from the light pollution of South Town's night sky filtering in through the large picture window on the far end of the room. Geese Howard sat behind the desk in a black suit and red power tie, perfectly tailored for his muscular build. He regarded the inspector coldly with his fingers steepled in front of his face. “So nice of you to be punctual, inspector,” he said with a hint of sarcasm just beneath the ice in his voice.

“Well, as you can imagine,” Bowers said as he walked over and took one of the seats on the other side of the desk. “After what happened at the tournament, it was hard for me to just walk away at short notice. I have more responsibilities, since I was promoted back to inspector.”

“And who do you have to thank for that promotion?” Geese asked, his hard eyes unblinking. He picked up a crystal rocks glass filled with scotch that rested atop a coaster on the desk's surface and took a small sip. “The bar is over there, if you want a drink,” he added, indicating a large niche in the wall on his right, which appeared to be well-stocked with several different spirits as well as different types of glasses.

Bowers shook his head. “I'm technically still on duty,” he said.

“Hm,” Geese said with a small nod. “But for how much longer, I wonder?”

The inspector gulped a little, tried to stay calm, but he couldn't stop a few beads of sweat from breaking out across his forehead. “What... what do you mean?”

Geese took another sip from his glass, then set it back down and leaned forward slightly across the desk. “Well, if you recall our conversation from this morning, I said I would hold you responsible if things did not go as planned today. Andy Bogard and his ninja squeeze are still alive. Terry Bogard did not see them die, as he was supposed to. I would say that counts as a deviation from the plan.”

More sweat was gathering on his face, and Bowers no longer tried to hide it. He pulled a cotton handkerchief from his pocket and mopped at the perspiration on his brow. “Well, I d-don't really think it's … f-fair to...”

“Mr. Ripper's bomb obviously worked,” Geese went on. “Billy and the men that he paid to help him were able to stop Terry and his friends from getting to that bomb in time. So Andy and Mai should both be dead. They're not. Tell me... who is to blame here?”

“Those... two boys you met yesterday,” Bowers said quickly. “Jin Chonrei and Jin Chonshu. They interfered at the last second.”

Geese did not flinch. “Billy told you about them when he got to the pavilion, didn't he?”

“He... mentioned them, yes.”

“So I assume you had men watching them?”

Bowers gulped again as a fresh wave of sweat broke out on his brow. “Based on what Billy told me, I... didn't think it was necessary. They didn't seem like they were allies of Terry Bogard.”

Geese stood up suddenly and pounded the desk with his fist, cracking the finished wood slightly. “Well, they're clearly not OUR allies!” He thundered. “Which makes them our enemies! You should have taken them into account!”

The inspector had gone white as a sheet. At first, all he could do was stare at the spiderweb crack in the desk's surface. Then, he managed to get out: “Well, as you... um, know, Mr. Howard, after you, ahem, 'died' a few years ago, the South Town Police Department... was, um, completely restructured. I'd like to remind you that there... are very few men on the force... still loyal to you. I might be one of the only ones left. So, I... um, can still be useful to you.”

“For now, anyway,” Geese countered, his expression neutral, which only made him look more deadly. “You'll remember that the commissioner's job just became available. And after what happened at the tournament today, you've had a few more spots open up in the department. I've already had a chat with the mayor about who I'd like to see fill each of those spots. Soon, you won't be as indispensable as you'd like to think you are.”

Bowers wanted to gulp again, but found that his spit had gone dry. Fortunately, they were interrupted a few seconds later by a knock at the door.

“This meeting isn't over yet, Billy,” Geese Howard growled.

The door opened slightly, and Billy Kane peeked his head through. “Sorry to interrupt, sir, but Hopper is on the line. He said his orders were to notify you the second he saw an opportunity.”

Geese blew a large breath out through his nostrils. “Put him through, then.” The door shut, and a moment later, Geese picked up the phone on his desk. “Mr. Hopper, you have something for me?” A pause as the man on the other end spoke. Then Geese's expression changed in an instant, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth. “You're certain of this? Hmmm, I see... and you weren't spotted?... Excellent work... No, don't move on it yet. Continue to monitor, for now. I'll let you know when the time is right.”

Geese hung up the phone and sat back down in his seat, looking more pleased than he had a few minutes ago. “The good news, inspector, is that we may yet recover from your debacle. I've just learned that the Lone Wolf was foolish enough to fall for another woman.”

Bowers, though still on edge, allowed himself to relax just a little, as well. “You mean Mary Ryan?” He asked. “Yeah, she works for me. Or used to. She's currently suspended, under investigation for suspicion of filing a false report. I knew that she and Terry Bogard had gotten close, though she denies it.”

Instantly, the smile was gone from Geese Howard's face, and he was on his feet again. “You knew about her already?” He shouted across the desk. “When were you planning on informing me?”

“We... we already had the bomb plan in motion,” Bowers stammered. “I didn't... think that Mary was relevant at the time.”

Geese reached over, lifted the inspector bodily over the desk with one hand, and started towards the window, his hand gripping the collar of Bowers's trench coat, leaving the inspector struggling in midair. When they reached the window, Geese slammed Bowers up against it. “Are you blind, inspector, or just completely incompetent?” He snarled as Bowers squirmed in his grip like a worm on a fish hook. “You were first on the scene the night that Lily McGuire died. You helped take down and dispose of the ladder. You altered the coroner's report to list the cause of death as 'suicide.' If Terry Bogard has fallen for another woman, how could you NOT think that's relevant?”

Bowers opened and closed his mouth convulsively, but the terror he felt prevented him from forming words.

Geese raised his other hand menacingly, his palm glowing with chi energy. “You were already hanging by a thread, inspector. Tell me why I shouldn't cut that thread, and just end you here and now?”

“The... the detective,” Bowers managed to finally say. “Terry Bogard's new love interest... I can... I can help you get her!”

“And what makes you think we need your help?”

The words started tumbling out of Bowers more rapidly now. “Because I know her better than you, I have an idea of how her mind works. She's the best cop on the force, extremely cautious, not easy to fool. She might be able to sense if you're setting up a trap for her, but I can help you set one up that she won't suspect. I just need help accessing the computer in her office, and getting into her encrypted files.”

After a few seconds that seemed to drag like hours, Geese lowered his hand, the energy glow fading, and set the inspector down. “Mr. Ripper will assist you,” he said. “But be warned, if you fail me just one more time, we'll see if you can fly better than Lily could. Now get out of my sight!”

The inspector all but ran from the office. Geese Howard gazed out the picture window, looking at the marble courtyard far below, and soon he saw the faint shape of Bowers emerging from the building and running towards his car. Geese walked back to the desk and took another sip of scotch.

“After what happened to Lily,” Geese said out loud to himself with a cold grin on his face. “You really should have known better than to reveal your weaknesses to your enemies, Terry. But that's all right. We're more than willing to give you a painful reminder...”

 

To be continued...

 

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Just in case anyone was curious, GCS means Glasgow Coma Scale. It's usually used to determine how responsive someone is at the scene of an accident. Fifteen is the best score you can get (which means you have no brain injuries), zero is the worst (you're either dead or in a coma). As always, thanks for reading. Please feel free to leave a review. I thirst for them!