9

Was his search finally over?

“Jiro.. change of plans, call Mike.”

The man whispered quietly as he turned his attention back. He walked slowly towards them, causing them to back up slowly. “Young man, we have no money nor a home. There’s nothing that you want so why don’t you get back on the road?” Uncle Wu stated as he turned around to see two mysterious figures coming behind Hebe and Ying Jie.                

In a flash, Aaron quickly ran past Mister and Uncle Wu as he pulled Hebe and Ying Jie behind him. Slowly backing them up as the two mysterious men came closer. “HEY! ARE THEY WHO MR.Q–“ When on the men cried out, Aaron quickly grabbed one of the men’s arm, twisting it behind him as he kicked him into the water. Unaware that the other men has already made his way to the girls. When he heard a scream from Ying Jie, he quickly kicked the man away, punching him hard as he collapsed due to the impact.

When he got up, Hebe was about to walk closer to him but Mr. Wu held her back. “Son...” He walked over to lift his eyes to meet his and when it did, he gasped. “What are you doing here?” He asked as Aaron glanced behind him before looking at Mr. Wu. “You are far from home lad... Go home, your father might not show it but he will be worried.”

“I’m quite certain my father will not worry about this but if we don’t hurry, you might start worrying.” He quickly stated as he walked over to Hebe. “Long time no see Fu–“

“Hebe. I go by Hebe...” Hebe quickly cut him off as he nodded, before his eyes slowly turn its attention to see Ying Jie behind Hebe. “Ying–“

“Gui Gui. She goes by Gui Gui.” Aaron nodded as he stared at the frightened Gui who kept tugging on Hebe, afraid of whoever that got close to her, other than her family members, she felt scared to face anyone. “She... went through a lot, give her time to warm up. She’ll remember you eventually.” Hebe smiled over to Aaron as he replied with a nod. He quickly walked back to Jiro and the two man quickly walked over to the Wu’s. “We need to split up, I have two–“ Just then, another 2 cars parked themselves and another two guys walked out. “We need to hurry, if we want to escape, then we need to get going.”

“I agree with Wu Chun. Everyone might be unsafe if we stay longer then we already have.” Aaron nodded as he quickly glanced at Mr. Wu. “We are going to split up. We have a safe house ready and we need to move or else we might get spotted.” Mister Wu and Uncle Wu gave a stern nod to one another as they turn to look at the girls. “Split up.”

“NO!” Ying Jie screamed out as she refused to let go of Hebe’s arm, she didn’t want to comply. “I agree with Gui, I want to stay with her.” Her objection surprised everyone, Aaron the most. “It’s better to keep the girls together, they feel safer if they are together. We have to split up brother, safety comes first. I will contact you once we get to the safe house.”

Mr. Wu was about to move but Uncle Wu held him back. “How can we trust them? I don’t even know who they are.” Mr. Wu quickly leaned in to whisper something in his ears. “Aaron is the son of Chris Yan.” That was enough for Uncle Wu to go along with it. “Aaron, please take care of my two gems.” Mr. Wu stated as they got into the car. “Oh, and it’s nice to see you lad.”

“It’s nice to see you too Mr. Wu, Uncle Wu.” The two man nodded as Jiro and Calvin quickly got into the car and drove off to the safe house.

“Hebe... Gui... please. Get in, we need to go.” He pleaded with his eyes as Hebe nodded. She walked with Gui, getting into the car. Aaron gave a thumbs up for Calvin as he nodded, taking the lead with Aaron following behind him. “If you guys are cold, there’s a blanket, don’t be afraid to use it.” He stated as he continued driving. He glanced at the rear view mirror to find Hebe whispering the words “Thank you.” He chuckled as he turned his music on, hoping to ease the mood down for a while. Then his eyes went back to the mirror to see Gui’s eyes closed, she must be asleep. “It’s good to see you again...” Hebe whispered as she fell asleep, allowing herself to take the chance, letting her guard down as she fell asleep.

................

“What do you mean you lost them?”

Alan asked as he stared at his two men clutching on their abdomen, in pain. Just when he thought that they have gotten the news first, somewhere along the lines, they let it slip through their fingers. Alan slowly played with his rings before taking them out and handing it to one of his trusted men behind him. The two men could only stay kneeling in front of him as they watch him do it, deep down, they were scared sh!t at what was going to happen.

“I gave you guys a simple task. Was it too much to ask for your cooperation? And what do I hear? Someone beat you to it? Tell me, how was it possible?”Alan asked as they walked to the deepest part of the forest. “WE WERE SO CLOSE! SO DAMN CLOSE! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST THEM? IT’S NOT LIKE THEY COULD FLY! SO?! HOW DID YOU LOSE THEM? Don’t tell me you guys lost them then decided to hit one another to make a story up.”

“I’M NOT LYING! THEY GOT TO THEM BEFORE US.”

“YEAH! THE KID KNOWS HOW TO FIGHT.” Another man chimed in. “Kid? So now you’re telling me this little kid out of nowhere that had no relation to this appears and saves them like comic books heroes? ARE YOU GUYS CHILDREN? GROW UP!”

“WE AREN’T–” They felt the hard metal held up against the side of their head which caused them to plead for their lives. Alan sighed as he took the gun and without hesitation, he fired at them. When they bodies hit the cold floor, the men around him remained emotionless as Alan turned around, putting his rings back on.“Take in this moment boys. Make the same mistake again, I won’t hesitate.”

With that, Alan walked away with his men, leaving a few men to take care of the mess.

“What do we do now?” One men asked as Alan stared into the distance. What was next? “Seeing how I send those two lunatics after the Wu, we are going to keep looking for them. They won’t have gone far so tell our men to keep their ears open. Till then, I am going on a little hunt.”

The men nodded as one opened the door for Alan to go in, he was about to close the door when he a hand landed on him, causing him to halt. “Erase our trace, no one shall know we were here.” Like wild fire, they dispersed into the forest and did what was needed. Just when the car drove off, the fire truck passed in a hurry as it’s sirens rang through Alan’s mind. Like sweet music, it was the music to his ear. He was about to turn his attention back on the road until a familiar car trailed the fire truck, it was a news reporter’s car. A smirk graced his lips as he knew the person sitting on the passenger seat, it was none other than Angela.

Like her brother, they both recognised each other’s car. There was a pained expression on her face as she feared the worst. Ao Long.. what was he doing here? She stared at her hands and could feel cold sweat coming, she was shaking but managed to keep her composure as her film crew arrived at the scene.

“What is this?” Mei Mei whispered as she glanced at the fire in front of them, it was huge. It could take the firemen a couple of hours to cease the flame. “This doesn’t make any sense. Perhaps they were cooking something and forgot to turn off the stove, someone bumped into it and it landed on the floor.” One of their people stated as they started thinking off scenarios inside their head, trying to piece what has happened. Throughout the entire time, Ao Long’s words kept ringing in her head. “You can’t catch up sweetheart.”

“A step too late...” she whispers and clenches her hands. “The chase is warm again.”