Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction ❯ The Black Hawke ❯ Ashes to Ashes ( Chapter 5 )

This is the last completed chapter of 'The Black Hawke' that I have finished. There are only a very few reviews left for me, so I am not certain whether to continue. I offer my greatest appreciation to my long time friends, Belledaynight, and Seiphress for supporting me. And I extend my heartfelt thanks to jenni4kl and DarkGodessAluthri who were kind enough to leave me wonderful reviews. Thank-you to those who have read without reviewing, although I would appreciate your feedback. It lets me know if the story is good enough to continue. I have a short start on chapter six, but have qualms about finishing/posting with such a small response. Let me know if you really want to read more.

God Bless, Kanzen ne Tsuki

Chapter Five

Ashes to Ashes

He still could not believe it. Even standing and looking at the devastation he could not believe it was real. The entire inside of the warehouse was smoke damaged from the fire that had been deliberately set and left to burn in the small office where the files had been kept. The files that represented every item of product that had come through this warehouse in the last 20 years and where it had been delivered or dispersed to.

The office was a total loss; the computer was a piece of melted plastic, the CD's and 3 ½ floppy's were a melted mosaic of colorful flowers oozing through the cracks of their melted plastic storage shelf, the desk a charred skeleton with drawers of ashes, and the filing cabinets... the filing cabinets, though made of metal, had been tipped on their sides, the folders pulled out and dumped on the floor and torched. The blackened empty can of gasoline gave testament to the source of the blaze and it had made certain there was not enough left of the documents to be of use to anyone.

Everything was gone. Or so it seemed. No one but Hawke was aware that he had been systematically copying all of the files to CD for the last 2 years and everything that was in the filing cabinets had been preserved. It was not lost. He had a copy of everything. Every receipt, every invoice, every ledger entry, every signature... everything.

But worst of all, and the most heart breaking was that Sano was right. Out in the warehouse lying in the spilled and destroyed product was the unmistakable evidence of who had betrayed him, and who had stolen from him. Burning the files meant that the pair had been working together for a long time and had most likely been stealing from him for years. He wondered how much cash had been embezzled let alone product stolen and sold for their personal profit while being covered up in the books. She was the only one who could or would be able to cover up such things because she was the books.

'Yumi... why? Why did you do this?' Hawke knelt down and picked up the delicate silver ankle bracelet that was curled up in the dust at his feet. The images of unicorn's and fairies winked at him as he rolled it around in his hand. It was unmistakably her's. He knew it because he had given it to her for her birthday two years ago. 'Yumi...'

The other unmistakable piece of proof was the set of foot prints that were running through the dust. The fancy tread of the foreign sneakers had long been a joke around the warehouse and among the 'pack' ever since Shishio had brought them back from England last summer. The swirling sun prints were unique and made quite a definite impression anywhere he stepped into something that took the prints. Some of the younger kids had even taken to calling him 'Swirly Man'. He didn't like it much. 'Shishio, you fuck... how could you?'

"Sano?"

"Yeah?"

"Call the Police."

"Yes, Sir." The tall dark haired man nodded and pulled out his cell-phone and dialed the number. "Ah, Yeah... I need to report a robbery and possible arsin... uh-huh... over here at the Shinomori Warehouse on Shipley and 34th st. ... Yeah, that's the one.... Yes, Mr. Shinomori is here... 15 minutes... that'll be fine, thanks."

It was going to be a long day

Knock! Knock!

"Kay? Kay? Are you alright in there?" Misao's worried voice was muffled as it penetrated the barrier of Kaoru's bedroom door. "You've been in there all morning... aren't you even going to come out and eat? You need to eat something. Kay?" Kaoru rolled over onto her back and pulled the pillow off her head so she could see her clock.

'12:30?? AAARRRGGH! I don't want to get up... crap!' "I'll eat in a while, Misao. I'm not hungry right now, Ok. I just want to sleep."

"You've been asleep. Now it's time to get up and move. You can't stay in there brooding over whatever it is all day... it's not good for you." Kaoru heard a loud frustrated 'humph' as her friend tried to think of something that would inspire her to leave the 'sanctuary' of her room. "I'll make banana pancakes if you get up?"

'Dammit!'Kaoru groaned inside her own head. 'She knows I love those...' "Fine. I'll get up, but I'm not talking."

"Fine. Don't talk. I just want to see your face. Geez! Is that so much to ask?" Kaoru rolled off the bed and landed with an undignified 'thud' on the floor her hair hanging in her face.

'I guess not... God I feel awful.' She mused to herself as she looked across the small room and met her own gaze in the reflection of the mirror. 'You look like shit too.' An ironic smile passed over her pink mouth as she examined her disheveled appearance. She was still wearing her uniform and her hair looked like a birds nest. 'I need a shower... I really need a shower, and a cup of coffee... and an asprin the size of Miami.' With those semi pleasant thoughts on her mind, she pushed herself up off the floor with a hearty groan and wandered her way to the bathroom.

It took her 20 minutes to shower and wash the mane of hair that occupied her head. Standing under the heated water and letting it beat down on her stiff shoulders had felt good. It had almost felt like she was washing off... what? What was she trying to wash off? Hawke? That particular thought was very disturbing to her and a frown planted itself on her face and remained until she entered the kitchen where Misao was making breakfast. The aroma of hot banana's filled the air and Kaoru thought she would swoon with pleasure.

"Mmmmmmm... smells gooood." Misao laughed as she watched Kaoru lean over and sniffed the intoxicating aroma and follow her nose to the griddle like a kid. "Oh so gooood. You know these are my favorite."

"Of course... how the hell else was I going to get you out of that dungeon you call a room?"

"Hmmmm, temptation? Interesting tactic." Kaoru kissed her friends cheek fondly and then turned and pulled two plates out of the cupboard and set them on the small dining table. "I'll have to remember that in the future should I ever need to coax or persuade someone to do something they don't want to do."

"Yeah, right... like there is anybody in this world who would refuse YOU anything."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"You're spoiled, Kay." Misao brought the platter of pancakes over to the table and slipped into a chair while Kaoru brought the butter and syrup. "No one ever tells you no... they can't."

"They do too. Larry tells me no all the time."

"He's your Boss, and an asshole so he doesn't count."

"Ok, then who does... Thad? Alex?" Her tone took on a edgy challenging note. "They used to tell me no too." She opened the refrigerator and retrieved the milk and then closed the door with an agitated 'click'.

"Bullshit! The only time either one of them told you no what right before they broke up with you, but before that... they bent over backwards to make you happy. You just never noticed cause you were always so fucking depressed all the time."

"I was not!" Three pancakes found their way onto Kaoru's plate and she began smearing them with butter and then covered them with syrup. "I was not depressed all the time. I was happy."

"Yeah right. You'd set humped up in front of the TV and hug one of the couch pillows instead of your boyfriend. What was up with that?" Misao started stuffing pancake into her mouth followed by a swallow of milk to wash it down. "Those two guys were so in love with you either one of them would have married you at the drop of a hat if you woulda just given them a little more than a dog bone once in awhile."

"Misao..." Kaoru looked at the perky brunette wondering how she could have been so blind to what those two relationships had really been like. How could she have thought all this time that it was Kaoru that had been the one that was holding back? She didn't know anything.

"You have to pet your puppy dogs once in a while, Honey, if you want them to hang around; otherwise, they go looking for another lap to set in, you know." Unable to help herself, Kaoru burst into laughter almost evacuating all of the food in her mouth out onto the table top. Misao simply looked at her as if she were utterly ridiculous. "I don't know what you think is so funny, Missy Poo," she sniffed haughtily turning up her nose in disgust. "I was being perfectly serious."

"I know, Misao." Kaoru giggled behind her hand as she finally swallowed her food without choking to death. "That was half the reason it was so funny." The other girl just rolled her eyes and shoved another mouthful of food in her mouth. It was obvious this particular conversation was over, and to Misao's dismay Kaoru giggled off and on for the next two hours.

'It wasn't that funny.'Scowling darkly she wondered when Kaoru was going to start getting ready for work. 'Not soon enough, that's for damn sure.'

Several hours and dozens of pages of interviews later Hawke was still standing with one detective talking about his suspicions and the amount of potential evidence that could be found in the copied CD files he had stored at his home.

"It was very foresightful of you, Mr. Shinomori, to have copied ALL of the files clear back to when your Father started the 'business'. I remember many times suggesting the same thing to him and having him say to me that..."

Hawke cut him off in mid-sentence as he finished it for him with one of his Father's most well known catch phrases. "...technology can't beat a good old fashioned filing cabinet with a lock on it. Hacker's can't get into my cabinet's but they sure as hell can get into my computer." The detective looked at the stone faced young man and thought not for the first time how much he looked like his father but how different their personalities were.

Dutch Shinomori had been a brash and brazen young businessman who had a dream that took him years to realize, but once he did he became a cut-throat barracuda within the business world of trade, import, and export whose name was well known in all of the important places. Know one wanted to cross Dutch. He didn't take kindly to it, and whenever anyone did their business usually ended up becoming one of his in a reasonably short period of time.

The man was ruthless... until his wife died. When Elizabeth died, something inside of Dutch died with her. He let his business go... he lost touch with his son... he turned into a walking dead man who didn't care if he made money or got hit by a bus. Fortunately for him, he had good people working for him... mostly, and the 'business' practically ran itself. However, when he died and the responsibility of managing his father's holdings fell to his estranged son, many had believed the boy would simply turn his back on his father's life's work and let it fail. Not that any of them would blame him. After all, the old man had basically abandoned him when his mother died, but the boy surprised them all by coming home and picking up the reins and pulling the 'business' back under control.

Now it was the name of 'The Black Hawke' that struck a cord of fear throughout the business and trades community. For if Dutch had been ruthless, his son was relentless and uncompromising. He never gave an inch unless it was mutually beneficial to both parties. He never backed down and he never gave in. He was cold, calculating, and brilliant. The 'business' had prospered under his watchful eye until he was able to indulge in some of his own personal ventures. These were things that only the Police and a few members of the City Council were ever aware of, and this warehouse had been one.

It had been a 'hobby' of his Father's but Hawke had taken it on very seriously and turned it into a full-time project. The fire and the robbery were devastating to his cause, and the detective knew that behind the bland mask of emotionless features the young man wore fury and pain lurked just below the surface.

"You knew your Father well, Aoshi," He chuckled gently taking slight advantage of the familiarity between them and calling the younger man by his given name. "He never did believe that computers were the answer to anything."

"No, he didn't. He was convinced that there were corporate spies linked to every terminal just waiting to download every piece of information he had stored on the hard-drive." A faint smile tugged at the corner of the mans lips as he remembered the blustery man and his computer phobia. "He would only allow correspondence and inner office mail to be stored on the computers. No important data containing documents were ever to be entered into the mainframe. He had more filing cabinets than the Ozarks has old maids."

"I never realized it went that far."

"Oh yes, true phobia." Hawke looked at the older man and half winked. "I often wondered if he would have a seizure if I snuck in and turned the computer on in his office... but I never did." The detective burst out laughing and Hawke let go a few chuckles. "I was an evil child... I really was."

"I don't believe that. You just wanted his attention."

"That I did." Hawke's gaze grew pensive as he looked down into his hand at the anklet he still held. "Do you think there is any way of tracking either one of them?" The detective shook his head as he followed the icy glare.

"I don't know. We'll start looking into the airlines, bus stations, train stations... the obvious places first. Then the car rental establishments and hotels and motels close by. The fact that you have such recent pictures of them is of great help, and the fact that they 'left' behind part of themselves for us to find was quite helpful as well."

"Hmmmm... I don't believe that was intentional, Daniel." Hawke cast a cynical look in the detectives direction and received another short round of chuckles for his effort. "I really don't think they planned on leaving anything behind what so ever... this was simply fortuitous... a gift from the God's, if you will."

"I don't care where the stuff came from... the God's or Aunt Fanny's underwear, we're just damn lucky to have it."

"Indeed." Hawke held his hand out and offered the bracelet to the detective who took it and dropped it in the pocket of his jacket. "Do you need me for anything else, Daniel, or are we finished here?"

"I think we're pretty much finished. Did you get everything you needed for the insurance company and all that bit?"

"Yes, I believe so. Your officer's were kind enough to take pictures for me along with their own." Another furtive glance around the ruined warehouse and Hawke turned back toward the exit. "They were more than willing to help me out."

"That is because we all appreciate what you do for City, Aoshi. This place was important for a lot of reasons and to a lot of people." Daniel reached out and put his hand on the younger man's shoulder stopping him for a moment. "You give a lot back to the City, Young Man... It is the least we can do to help you out in YOUR time of need."

"Thank-you, Daniel." The voice was quiet and pensive. "Thank your officers for me please. Would you do that?"

"Of course I would. Consider it done, My Friend."

"Thank you." Hawke turned and walked away, his long black leather trench whipping about his black tailored suit as he went, but then he hesitated and turned back around for a moment. "Daniel?" He called back.

"Yes?"

"Please don't call me Mr. Shinomori anymore... that was my Father. To you, I'm just Aoshi. Call me if you need anything else." And then he resumed his pathway to his black Maserati driving away a few short moments later.

Daniel Livingston had known Dutch Shinomori for more years than he cared to remember. He had respected and at times feared the man, but this son of his... this Aoshi, he was something altogether different. Volatile, unpredictable, and a complete enigma. He and his so called 'Pack' secretly prowled the streets of the slums and the more seedy parts of town in an effort to provide another element of protection for those who would otherwise fall prey to the gang violence and other crime that lurked in those places. But... Daniel knew that the 'Pack' was not completely law abiding and some of them were even petty criminals and thieves, but... the crime rate had dropped so drastically over the years since they moved in no one had the heart to hunt them down.

Daniel often wondered just how 'clean' Aoshi was. Considering how the boy was raised he wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have some major emotional and violence issues to deal with. He just wondered at times, 'How do you deal with all of that rage I know must be lurking behind that cold aloof mask you wear, My Friend? How long can you hide the loneliness and the heart ache before you explode and have to find a release for that energy? And when you do finally explode... where do you go, and what do you do? Who pays the price for your Father's indifference to you? Who Aoshi? Who pays the price for your pain?'

"More coffee... Hey! You stupid bitch, I said MORE COFFEE!"

"I heard you... I'm coming." Kaoru glared angry daggers at the large man with shaggy beard, bald head, and tatoo's all over his arms who was yelling at her for more coffee. He'd been giving her crap all night right from the moment he'd walked through the door. The Diner was full, and Lisa hadn't showed up or even called so Kaoru was running around like a chicken with its head cut off just trying to keep caught up, and this guy was not helping matters. He was demanding, rude, crude, and he had a filthy mouth. There were a lot of disapproving looks from the other patrons but no one was making any moves to help her or stand up for her. They all just turned their heads back to their own meals and tried to ignore the offensive man, but she had taken about all she was going to from him. 'If you don't cool it, Mister, I swear this hot coffee and your di...'

"Here's your coffee... and will you stop yelling at me please? I'm here by myself and I'm moving as fast as I can, alright." Blazing blue eyes glittered challengingly at him as she filled his coffee cup. He practically ignored her, but as she turned to walk away one of his big fingered hands snaked out and grabbed her painfully around the elbow yanking her back practically spilling her into his lap. "HEY!" The coffee sloshed dangerously in the pot steam escaping through the top as it did.

"Hang on minute there, little girl." His foul smelling breath wrinkled her nose as he shoved his face up against her cheek. "You don't get to talk to me like that. You see, I don't like bitches talking to me like that...you understand?" The grip of his hand on her arm tightened painfully and Kaoru winced but held her tongue. She was damned if she was going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry. "You're here to serve me coffee and bring my food... and you're supposed to bring it when I ask for it... not five minutes later."

"I told you, I'm here by myself..."

"SHUT-UP!" You bitches are all the same... stupid." He stood up and yanked the coffee pot out of her hand, and after setting it on the table he grabbed her other arm forcing her up against his smelly chest . "I didn't ask you no questions so you shouldn't be talking, got that? I don't want to hear what you've got to say... you're just a stinkin' low-life bitch anyway, and that means you're nothin'... you're nothin' but a fuck toy and a baby machine. That's the only reasons God put your kind on this Earth... and if it wasn't for that, I'd kill every stinkin', lying one of you whores. So you don't talk to me unless I tell you you can, bitch. YOU GOT THAT?"

Fear and tears clogged her throat and she couldn't make a single sound, so Kaoru simple nodded in a small shivering manner but it seemed to suffice because the angry beast shoved her away and sat back down to eat his food. Kaoru, on the other hand went sprawling across the Diner floor in a tangle of flailing arms and legs, sparkling tennis shoes, and billowing skirt.

"OOF! OWWE!" She landed hard on the floor and then frantically punched down the poof of her skirt which was giving everyone a great view of her pink underwear. The pain of bruised pride and lost dignity stung hard inside of her, and she glared daggers of pure hatred for the smelly bald man who was now calmly eating his food as if nothing had happen. 'You fucking ass...' Shaking her head in a defeated gesture, Kaoru decided it was time to try and find a dignified way to get up off the floor.

She was trying to maneuver herself over onto her knees without putting on a peep show when she found herself looking at a pair of very expensive black patent leather shoes sticking out from under the legs of a very rich looking pair of black suit pants. She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat and reached up to brush the hair out of her face with the back of her hand noticing as she did that the individual was also wearing a long black leather trench that reach about mid calf. 'WoW! The coat alone is about $2000... who the hell... and what's he doing in a place like this?'

A hand appeared in front of her face and she stared at it dumbly until a soft husky voice spoke to her from somewhere above her head. "Take it...it won't bite you." 'That voice?... I know that voice... Oh My God.' Her eyes darted up and were met by the intense icy blue-green gaze of the man who was becoming the source of all her worst nightmares... and best fantasies.

"Hawke..." Her mouth fell open as she looked at him in astonishment taking in his drastically altered appearance from his smoothly brushed back hair and neat ponytail, to his button up white shit and black tie, and finally the elegant black business suit and black trench coat that finished him off. 'Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Hawke?'

"Take my hand, ragdoll, I can't very well help you stand up if you don't." Kaoru nodded dumbly and finally laid her hand in his and watched in fascination as his fingers closed around hers and he tugged her easily to her feet. "Are you all right? Are you hurt?" He was looking at her with great concern and all she felt was total confusion as she continued to stare at him. 'You're not real... you're not real... not real... not... real...' "Kay? Are you hurt?" Grabbing her shoulder, Hawke shook her slightly until her eyes focused on his face and he got her attention. "Are you all right? Did that bastard hurt you?"

"N-no... I think I'm Ok." 'More gorgeous... how's that possible?'

"That's good." He leaned over and picked up her order pad and pen which had fallen out of her pocket as well as the hated pink mouse ears that had skittered several feet across the floor. "Looks like you dropped some stuff. Here." He handed the things to her and she took them numbly still not sure what to make of him and his 'altered' appearance.

"Thanks."

He reached out and briefly touched her cheek with the tip of his finger the contact shooting through her like quick silver making her catch her breath. "Anytime, ragdoll... anytime."

"Hey, lover boy... You're holding up my service there." Hawke's eyes narrowed dangerously as the voice of the same customer who had just pushed Kaoru to the floor grated along his sensitive hearing. "Why don't you leave her alone so she can do her job. She's supposed to waiting on me not sucking up to your pretty-boy candy ass."

The Diner went deathly quiet.

About two thirds of the people inside knew who stood among them whether by reputation or personal experience, the other third that didn't know just felt the shift in the atmosphere and knew there was going to be hell to pay. They just didn't know who was going to be doing the collecting.

Kaoru felt the breath freeze in her lungs and the blood in her veins turned to iceas she watched the look in Hawke's eyes change. Even the night he had almost given in to his emotional rages and raped her, his eyes had not looked like this. Not thiscold, ruthless, unforgiving... murderous fury. Yet he was calm, and that fact frightened her more than anything else. It was as if he has no feelings... no emotions at all. He's frozen inside of his own rage, and in perfect control.

"You aren't from around here, are you Mister...." Hawke walked slowly around Kaoru until he was standing between her and mouthy patron. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"That's because I didn't give it to you, dumb-ass." The man stood up and wiped his mouth on a napkin, wadded it up, and threw in on his neighbor's plate. "Is everybody in this fucking town as stupid as you, pretty boy?"

"I suppose that would depend, Sir."

"On what?"

"On what you consider stupid."

"Well, you're right on the top of my list there pretty boy. Why I haven't seen anybody quite as stupid or as pretty as you in a good long while. What's say you and me go outside and go a round and see who comes out on top... the winner gets to play games with your little bitch there... whadaya say? You up for it?" Foul lacivious laughter spilt from his mouth as he leaned over and spat on the floor. "If you're not... then get the fuck out. I got me plans for this mouthy uppity little bitch already and there isn't room for three. Get me?"

"Loud and clear."

"Good. That means you'll be leaving right away then doesn't it?"

"I don't believe I said that... did I?" Not once did the expression on Hawke's face alter but Kaoru could sense the change of his mood and the rise in his raging fury with each insult, each disgusting innuendo, each disparaging remark. The man was digging himself a very deep hole and was not even aware of it. The atmosphere of apprehension in the Diner was getting thick enough to cut with a knife.

Indecision and discomfort appeared the others mans eyes at the same time and he took an involuntary step backward. There was something not quite right about the man dressed in black who was standing so emotionlessly in front of him. It was giving him the creeps. "Look, I really don't want any trouble." He spread his hands out in front of him in a show of acquiescence as a nervous smile split his ugly mouth. "I just had enough of this little girl's smart mouth tonight... all I want to do is eat my food and leave. That's all. Can't blame a guy for just wanting what's his due, can you?"

"I suppose that depends... on what you consider your due." Hawke slowly and deliberately shrugged out of his leather trench and handed it to a shocked and silent Kaoru who took it in trembling hands, and then he loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his silk shirt. "Tell me, what do you consider your due at this point, Mister..."

"Fenton... Wil Fenton." Hawke's gaze grew sharper.

"Mr. Fenton. Is man-handling young woman and abusing the fairer sex what you deem 'your due'?" The tone of voice dropped low and seemed to take on an almost wolfish quality as Hawke spread his feet apart and planted them firmly in a balanced fighters stance, and then he crossed his arms over his chest and dropped his chin turning his eyes into veritable slits of seething icy fury. "Answer me, IS that what you consider your due? Forcing those weaker than you to 'serve' you in fear and submission? Do you enjoy the feeling of power it gives you? Is it a rush? Does it make you feel like a 'big' man? Tell me... Is THAT your due you slimy piece of gutter trash?"

Kaoru shivered. She had never heard Hawke talk like this before, but it proved all of her assumptions about him were correct. His grasp of the English language and ability to articulate it was obviously a product of a very well educated man... his rough talk and street speech was a cover, a put on to hide who he really was. The suave, arrogant, well spoken, frightening man was what hid behind the street ruffian. 'Which one is you, Hawke? Which one of these men are you... the real YOU?'

"I don't take to anyone talking to me like that, pretty boy. So I hope you got something in those fancy pants of yours besides your dick to fight me with, cause I'm gonna be all over you like stink on shit."

"I thought you said you didn't want any trouble, Mr. Fenton?" Sarcasm dripped like honey from Hawke's words and the man named Fenton growled in angry embarrassment.

"I don't let nobody insult my 'manhood', boy. Especially the likes of YOU and your fancy talk and pretty clothes. I got more 'MAN' in my little toe than you got in every inch of those tailored 'airomonee' pant of yours."

"Really? You think so?" Hawke cocked his head to one side and offered the man an icy sardonic half smile. "I doubt it."

"Why don't we find out... pretty boy." Suddenly a heavy switchblade appeared in Fenton's hand and in the several quick movements it took to open it and for him to drop into his fighting crouch, the Diner emptied. Money was dropped, thrown, and tossed on tables as the occupants beat a hasty retreat out the front door not wanting to get in the way. It was better to give 'The Black Hawke' a free arena when he fought than to get caught in the crossfire. Much, much better.

"Get behind the counter, Kay." Hawke's eyes never left his opponent but the command in his tone was more than evident.

"Wh-what?"

"Get behind the counter... I don't want you to get hurt." Out of his peripheral he could see her standing and staring but not moving. "Are you fucking deaf, ragdoll, I said MOVE!" He snarled angrily watching in satisfaction as she scampered for the bar.

"OOOO, ain't that sweet? The pretty boy protecting his little bitch?" Fenton leaned over and spit on the floor leaving a dirty dark brown stain of phlem when he was done. "So that's what this is all about... and I though chivalry was dead."

"Hardly."

"Your just as butt stupid as she is, boy."

"How's that?"

"There ain't a woman in the world worth fighting over... let alone dying for. They're all heartless lying bitches that'll steal you blind when you ain't looking, and there isn't a one of them that can stay faithful." Fenton shifted his feet uncomfortably as some memory stirred in the back of his mine. "They're nothing but money grubbing whores."

"Interesting opinion you have there, Mr. Fenton, and there are a few women I know who would fit that catagory quite well; however, this young woman is not one of them. Therefore, I am honor bound to avenge her and the dishonor you put upon her."

"Dishonor?? You make it sound like I raped her... I just roughed her up a bit to make sure she knew her place, that's all."

"Roughed her up, eh? Trying to teach her her place? Is that what you call it?"

"Yeah. Women think too much of themselves. They need to be shown their place once in a while."

"Tell me something, Mr. Fenton... are you familiar with this area of town?"

"Huh?"

"Do you know who to go to if you want... something done?"

"You mean, do I know who 'The Big Dog' is?"

"If you want to put it that way... yes. Do you?"

"Sure... everybody knows. It's 'The Black Hawke'. He runs the gangs and owns practically every thing down here... including the police. You have to kiss his ass before you can do anything... he's a fucking wolverine."

"Indeed." Hawke unfolded his arms and began unbuttoning his shirt. "Have you ever met him."

"Hell no... nobody meets "The Black Hawke' unless they got money or connections up the ass... He's like a ghost that everybody knows haunts the house but you don't ever get to see him."

"Do you know what he looks like?"

"No... just that he's got this tattoo on his back... some kind of a tribal symbol or something. Supposed to be the image of his spirit or something like that... shit, I don't know." He glared at his nonchalant opponent as he began to shrug out of his shirt, and a hundred noses pressed against the glass of the front windows straining to get a good look at what was happening. "What the hell is going on? What the hell are you doing?"

"Let me explain a few facts of life to you, Mr. Fenton." The white silk shirt hung loose in one of Hawke's hands as he stood facing the confused and off balance man who was still holding his open switchblade. "The Black Hawke' does not own the police... however, he does work with them on a private basis... he does not own anything down in this part of town save one or two pieces of housing properties... he may or may not be involved in 'gang' activities, but just what those activities are remain his private business and none of your or anyone else's concern. He is foremost a businessman and a private citizen second. What he is thirdly is something you don't ever want to see."

"Wh-I don't understand? What are you telling me this shit for... I don't care about this crap. I thought we were going to fight, so let's get to fighting... or are you too scared I'll carve up your pretty face?" The last was spoken with just enough of a slur to raise Hawke's eyebrow.

"Not hardly." He replied in cold indifference his rage fully under control at this point. "I am telling you all of this crap in an attempt to save you sorry assed-existence, but if you'd rather fight and die on the floor of this Diner... by all means, let's begin."

"That'll be the day when a pretty boy like you get's the best of ole' Wil Fenton." A snort of disgust and another logy on the floor proved Fenton thought his skills with a blade were above dispute. "What makes you think you can beat me?" He watched in confusion as the younger man in front of him slowly turned his back to him, but he turned it at an angle so as to keep an eye on his dishonest opponent.

"Because, you deranged hyena." Hawke flexed he right shoulder blade and brought into view an intricate ancient kanji symbol that stood two inches high and perhaps one and a half inch across. It was filled in with flaming red ink and surrounded by a heavy bold outline of black making it stand out like a beacon that screamed in fury.

The switch blade dropped to the floor as a hand gone numb with shock simply couldn't hold on to it any longer, and eyes that refused to believe what they saw looked as if they might bulge out of the wretched man's head. "Holy shit..."

"I could snap your neck with one punch... break your back with one kick... or crush your chest... in short, there are any number of things I could do to your body that would result in your immediate demise before you would even be able move. I don't really want to do that because I don't enjoy killing, but... you 'roughed up' something that is special to me, and I don't take to kindly to that... in fact, I'm pissed as hell and I'd like to put my foot through your ugly face."

"Oh God... Please... please..." Fenton dropped to his hands and knees and began to beg as the pathetic individual he was. "Don't hurt me..."

"You make me sick, Fenton. You make me want to puke. Get your sorry excuse for an ass out of my sight, and if I ever see or hear that your hanging out down this way again... I'll finish this fight."

Wil Fenton picked himself up off the floor and darted for the door stumbling at least three times before he got there, but once outside in the freezing night air, he disappeared. No one ever heard from his again.

No one missed him either.