All at once there was a flurry of activities as a loud rumble cut across the sky followed by a downpour of heavy rain.  Charmaine was pushed forward and her elbow slammed against the hard concrete ground.  Fighting back against the pain she crawled and crawled.  She needed to get as far away from whatever was happening to that madman who only seconds ago held her captive.  Scared, confused and drenched throughout, she lifted her gaze to look for Kenneth but didn't see him.  Suddenly she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders from behind and she stiffened in panic.  He's back!  He's going to kill her now!

"Are you alright?" Raymond asked as he gently lifted Charmaine off the ground.  He felt the muscles in her arms stiffen and quickly asserted, "I'm a cop and we've arrested that guy.  He can't hurt you anymore."  Raymond felt the tension leave her body.  "Are you alright?" he asked again.

Charmaine nodded numbly, still shocked from the incident.  "I-I am.  Just s-scared," she stuttered.

Raymond saw her shiver and without thinking took off his jacket to wrap it around her.  The rain immediately soaked through his shirt but he didn't care.  His main concern right now was making sure that this woman was alright.  "An ambulance is on its way.  They'll take you to the hospital for a thorough exam."

"Charmaine!" Kenneth called out to her.  He had been pushed to the side during the chaos.  By whom he didn't know.  All he remembered was looking helplessly at Charmaine while she was held hostage and then suddenly a dozen or so cops stampeded towards them and he was pushed to the side.  When it was over, he quickly looked around for Charmaine.  "Are you alright?"

"I-I think so," Charmaine replied softly.  She tried to move her injured arm and a hot searing pain pierced her.  Crying out softly she grabbed the arm as tears of pain formed in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Raymond asked with open concern.  "Are you hurt?"

Kenneth eyed Raymond warily and then suddenly snapped his fingers, "Raymond Lam!  You're Raymond Lam!"

Raymond turned his gaze from Charmaine to the man next to her.  "Do I know you?"

"It's me, Kenneth Wong from high school.  We had a few classes together.  Do you remember?"

Raymond scanned Kenneth's face as recognition hit him.  "I do!  You sat next to Ron in chemistry class."

"Yes, that's me!" Kenneth responded excitedly.  "I can't believe that after all these years we bumped into each other again."

"Lam Sir!" a young pretty cop called out to Raymond as she approached them.  "We're going to take Joe Ma back to the station for questioning.  Are you coming with us?"

Raymond shook his head.  "Tell Benjamin  to interrogate him.  I'll be back later."  The young pretty cop turned and had taken a few steps when Raymond stopped her, "Nancy, tell everyone to keep their eyes on Joe Ma and call me immediately if anything doesn't seem right."

"Yes Lam Sir!" Nancy said and jumped into the waiting van.

With his crew gone, Raymond turned his attention back to Charmaine and gently touched her arm.  He slowly bent it all the while watching her face for a reaction.  When he saw her wince he knew instantly that she had dislocated the joint in her elbow.  For some inexplicable reason, seeing her in pain didn't sit well with him.  "Don't worry, you'll be fine," he reassured her just as the ambulance pulled up beside them.  "Let's all get into the ambulance and out of this rain."

------------------------------------------------------

Gigi put away the last of the dishes and walked out of the kitchen.  Mandy had just finished wiping down the table and was now rearranging the floral centerpiece on it.  "I'm sorry that Raymond didn't make it back for dinner with us."

Mandy paused to look up at Gigi with a soft smile.  "Auntie, don't be.  I know Raymond's schedule is unstable.  As long as he's safe then it doesn't matter how many dinners he misses or how late I wait up for him."

"You're such a sweet and understanding girl.  Raymond is lucky to have you for his girlfriend," Gigi said then added with a wink, "He'll be even luckier when you become his wife."

Mandy lowered her head shyly at the suggestion and said timidly, "Raymond never discussed marriage with me.  Maybe I'm not the one he wants as a wife."

Gigi chuckled at the absurdity of that statement.  Taking Mandy's hand, she said, "You and Raymond have dated for over two years now.  If he's not thinking about marrying you then why waste all this time?"

Embarrassed by the direction of the conversation, Mandy gently pulled her hand away and murmured, "I'm going to reheat the soup for Raymond," then quickly dashed into the kitchen.

Gigi looked at Mandy's retreating back and sighed heavily.  If only Raymond would get marry and fast.  Then he'll have his wife by his side to take care of him when she's no longer around.  She knew without a doubt that Mandy would take very good care of Raymond.  The problem was Raymond.  Every time she even mentions the word marriage to him he changes the topic or finds an excuse to leave.  His avoidance of the topic frustrated her.  Raymond was at the age where he should be settling down.  Although Mandy never said it but Gigi knows that marriage was frequently on her mind as well.  Tonight when Raymond gets home, she was going to get a straight answer from him on his plans with Mandy.

---------------------------------------------------

Ben stepped through the gates and was greeted by two men dressed in identical black suits.  The taller of the two, Moses Chan, stepped forward to take his luggage.  "Is the car waiting?" he asked the other man.

Kenny Wong nodded in answer.

"Good."  Ben walked out of the airport with Moses and Kenny following closely behind.  He stepped out into the open air and took a deep breath.  "It's good to be back in Hong Kong."

"It's good to have you back," Moses said as he opened the back door of a sleek limousine for Ben to get in.  Once Ben was in, he quickly went around to the front passenger side and got in while Kenny occupied the driver's seat.

The car took off.  Ben looked out into the night.  With his gaze focused outside the window, he asked to no one in particular, "How has my brother been?  I haven't seen him in four years."

Kenny looked at Ben's profile through the rearview mirror before answering, "He's doing good.  He's working at this building development company.  Learning experience he said.  He seems to like the job."

"Does he know that I'm back tonight?" Ben inquired softly.

Moses shook his head and answered, "No.  We didn't tell him."

"Good," Ben said with a wide grin.  Leaning forward in his seat, he stuck his head towards the front and said, "I want to surprise him."

--------------------------------------------------

The doctor pulled the curtains back and Raymond and Kenneth jumped on their feet.  They hurried towards where Charmaine was now sitting up on the examining table, with a cast on her injured arm.  "How is she?" Kenneth asked anxiously.

The doctor looked down at his clipboard and said, "Her elbow joint came out of place but I've already re-set it.  The cast is to make sure she doesn't move her arm until it completely heals.  However, I'm going to keep her here overnight for observations.  A nurse will bring Miss Sheh to a room shortly."

"Thanks doctor," Raymond said, his gaze remaining on Charmaine's pale face.  The doctor nodded and turned to give the nurse instructions before walking away.

"Does it still hurt a lot?" Kenneth asked.

Charmaine managed a small smile and said, "It doesn't hurt as much anymore."  Raymond and Kenneth exhaled in relief.  There was a length of awkward silence before Charmaine spoke again, "You guys can go now.  The doctor already said I'll be fine."

Kenneth looked at his watch and realized the lateness of the hour.  He was exhausted, not to mention exceedingly hungry.  "I'll stop by tomorrow to visit you on my way to work."

"That won't be necessary.  I'll be leaving tomorrow anyway," Charmaine said softly.  She really didn't want to take up any more of Kenneth's time.  After all, they've only known each other for a few months, not long enough to inconvenience him in any way.  Plus, their relationship has always been a working one and anything that was not business related she didn't dare impose upon him.

As if sensing her thoughts, Kenneth said, "I'll let Mr. Kwok know of what happened and that you'll be taking a few days off from work to recover."

"Thank you Kenneth," Charmaine replied in that same soft voice of hers.

Kenneth his heels and remembered that Raymond was still there.  He looked inquiringly at Raymond, "Aren't you leaving yet?"

"Uh yes."  Turning to Charmaine he said, "Get some rest," before following Kenneth out the door.  At the doorway he paused to look back at Charmaine.  She had now lay down with her eyes closed.  Somehow seeing her small frame against the big hospital bed made her appear fragile, like a lost child and Raymond felt guilty for leaving her all alone.  After all, she got injured because of him.  If he hadn't shouted for his team to attack Joe Ma then she wouldn't have gotten caught in the rumble.  Yes, it was definitely his fault.  So feeling overly concern for her was normal.  It was out of guilt.  He kept telling himself that all the way home because that was the only plausible reason he could find for caring so much about a woman he had just met.