chapter 7

- Present Day -

Kris’s staff came swiftly down towards Amber’s head in an overhead blow, connecting firmly with a loud ‘clack’ as Amber raised her pole to block. She then spun out from under it, bringing her staff for a blow to his head. He blocked it, ing the of his pole upwards towards her chin which she jumped away from, just out of reach. They circled one another, their eyes never leaving the other as they waited for their opponent’s move. Amber was the first to instigate the attack, her pole forwards, aiming for his head. Kris dodged the blow easily, moving his head out of the way slightly as he aimed a blow for her abdomen. Amber moved to block it, spinning around to bring her staff to jab him in the stomach. He moved deftly out of the way, stepping around behind her and bringing his staff up to lock her from behind. Amber stopped moving, her chest heaving from the exercise as she felt the pole pressed firmly at her neck. She could hear Kris’s heart pound loudly behind her, he too exhausted from their duel. He suddenly released her, walking over to a wooden bench at the edge of the room, picking up a towel to wipe the sweat from his face.

Amber and Kris were located in a small dojo, only one of the many training rooms in SM’s mansion. The room was spacious, blue foam matting on the floor to help ease the amount of stress put on the fighter’s joints. Mirrors lined the walls, allowing the martial artists who used the room to correct their form if need be. Nobody else was in the room, yet several other junior members were located just outside the doorway, still trying to peer into the room. Amber glanced their way and they scattered, guilty at being caught.

Kris followed Amber’s gaze, taking a large swig from his water bottle as he spotted the fleeing heads of their spectators. A small, wry smile spread on his face. “You’re always scaring them off, Amber.”

Amber turned to glance at Kris with an indifferent look. “They should know better by now.”

Kris snorted as he took another mouthful of water. Since the night he had first met her, Amber had always appeared aloof and uncaring towards everyone. Even after all these years she was still the same. However, the way she had lost the fight so easily indicated to him that she was distracted.

“Something on your mind?” he asked casually as she finally came to sit beside him.

Amber remained quiet. She opened a bottle and began drinking greedily. “Nothing really. How are things going with gangnam do?” asked Amber, obviously changing the topic.

Kris decided not to press her further. “They seem to be attacking in a pattern, always attacking the pubs and bars our members visit in a specific order. Not very bright. Tonight’s target will be The Rose Pub and I’ll be going there with some of my men.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Amber all of a sudden. Kris turned to stare at her, surprised.

“This isn’t exactly your area, Amber.” He turned away, staring back at her through the reflection in the opposite mirror. “Besides, Lee soo man won’t let you go.”

Amber returned his stare. “He will,” she replied simply before standing up and leaving the room. Kris watched her leave, a worried expression on his face. Amber really was troubled.

The two of them were seated in the midst of Kris’s underlings, Amber ignoring the boys as they cheered loudly. They were putting up the charade that they were truly out for a night of fun, in case the attackers happened to have someone watching their group for suspicious activity. Sure enough, Amber spotted the spy, a boy of no more than fourteen who tried to appear as if he wasn’t looking at them. Amber felt scorn for the boy, noticing how young he was to become involved in gang affairs.

Several hours passed by before Kris figured that they had spent enough time ‘having fun’. He stood up slightly, pretending to sway on the spot as if he was drunk. “Come on guys; time to get back. We’ve done enough celebrating for tonight!” He pulled Amber up to her feet, placing an arm around her shoulder. She turned to give him an annoyed look and he just winked in return. “You wanted to come along,” he whispered as he began to drag her along, the other men following along in their mock drunken states.

Amber bit back several nasty retorts as she conceded to Kris’s act. They made their way past the spy, his nose still buried in the menu. Amber had to stop herself from shaking her head.

The street outside was quiet, few cars driving as it was just past midnight. The other’s were still pretending to be drunk, screaming out loud into the night air or getting into playful fights with one another. Kris continued to leave his arm around Amber; enduring the pain from the pinch she was now giving his side. He laughed out loud, leaning his head against Amber’s shoulder.

“I bet you’re regretting coming with us now, huh, Amber?” he smiled, stumbling a little so that he had to hold her in a tight hug.

Amber stepped on his foot, making him stand back upright. “No, I regret coming with you.”

Kris laughed. “Now are you going to tell me what has been troubling you lately?”

“No.” Amber continued to walk beside him, her arms crossed across her chest.

“Why not?” He began to her cheek, making her swat his hand away in annoyance. He just smiled. “After all, you were my student.”

Amber continued to stare ahead as they rounded a corner. “Only for a year. You were more of a training partner than my teacher.”

Kris laughed once more. “True, true… but I still think of you as a student.”

The men ahead suddenly came to a halt and Kris finally removed his arm from Amber’s shoulders. They all visibly stiffened as they stared at the ten boys brandishing a variety of weapons, from rusted pipes to silver machetes. Amber eyed them carefully, spotting the boy who had been spying on them earlier posted at the back.

“The youngest boy is mine,” said Amber quietly to Kris. He nodded in reply before he walked to the front of his men.

Kris suddenly spread his arms out wide, as if welcoming the group. They stared at him in confusion, their stances faltering a little at this unpredicted action. “Hello there, boys. You seem to be in the mood for a fight. If you decide to put down your weapons, then all of you will be able to walk away without getting hurt. But-” He paused, looking down at the ground as he wagged a finger. “If you decide to do what you’ve been doing to our other men on our turf, then I can’t promise that you’ll all be able to leave with your lives intact.”

The tallest boy in the group who also seemed to be the oldest suddenly laughed as he tapped the baseball bat in his hands. “Do you really think you old guys can take on the ten of us without any weapons? Please, there’s only five of you and that frail girl behind you.” The boy moved to look past Kris at Amber, a demeaning grin on his face. “YAA! Pretty girl! You’d better get out of here before you get hurt. I don’t want a nice looking girl like you to get hit.” He laughed, several of his mates jeering.

Then he suddenly stopped. He stumbled backwards slightly into his mates as he lifted a hand to touch his bruised chin. He looked down towards the ground where a small, blunt metal dart that was as thick as a finger lay. Turning to peer back up, he saw Amber’s hand was still outstretched, her fingers still in the same position as when she had let the dart go. She had moved so fast that no one had noticed her throwing the thing.

“You brought those things with you, Amber?” asked Kris as he stared at the object on the ground. He turned back up to look at the boy. “You’re lucky that she didn’t pack her sharp ones, boy.”

Amber walked forwards, the other men moving to let her through. “Never underestimate a woman, kid,” she said, coolly.

The boy stared at her in contempt. He suddenly spat the blood in his mouth to the ground as he raised his bat over his head, charging at her with a scream. The rest of his crew rushed behind, attacking the rest of the men.

Amber dodged the bat with ease, her knee connecting with his stomach as she moved to the side. She followed through with an elbow to his back, aiming for a spot on his spine just below his neck. He collapsed straight to the ground, gasping in pain as his bat slipped from his grip. Amber was about to follow through with another kick when a machete suddenly came whistling through the air, missing her by a few centimetres. She grabbed the boy’s arm on the upward return, twisting his wrist around as she dug her thumb into the hollow part of his arm just below. The weapon clattered to the ground as the boy shouted from the unexpected pain, grasping his arm which had suddenly grown weak. Amber sent a back kick at a guy charging from behind before kicking the leader once more as he was trying to get up.

Looking around her, Amber saw that few were left standing. She noticed the youngest boy begin to charge at one of the men, a wooden plank with nails protruding from its end raised above his head. The henchman managed to stop the boy with ease, wrestling the board from his hands. He was about to hit the boy when Amber came to stop him.

“He’s just a kid.” The man stared at her angrily, Amber returning the gaze unfalteringly. He threw the board away as he walked towards Kris who was now tying up the boys as the fight was over. Three boys were in worse shape than the others, one of them sporting a large gash across his chest and a broken arm. Another was bleeding badly from a wound to the head whereas the third was unconscious, his leg at an odd angle.

Amber dragged the boy to his feet, pulling him over to the rest of his group and throwing him to the ground. She grabbed him by the hair, forcing him to look at the injured bodies. “Is this what you like doing? How does it feel, seeing your friends in such a state? See how easy the flesh parts with a blade, how fragile human bone really is? Do you want to spend the rest of your life inflicting such pain on others, receiving the same wounds yourself eventually?” She let go of his head, shoving it a little towards the ground. Tears began to stream down his innocent face as he stared at his injured mates.

“I didn’t realise it would be like this…” he sobbed silently. “I only joined them today… I didn’t have anywhere else to go…” His voice cracked, disappearing as he stared helplessly at his friends.

Pity suddenly filled her soul as she watched the boy cry. She crouched down beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. For some reason, she felt a strong affinity for the boy, as if she recognised something in his eyes… “Listen; it’s not too late to start anew. Stay away from all this gang violence. It only leads to sorrow and pain.”

The boy peered up at her, his eyes glistening in the light from the street lamps. “Then what should I do? My uncle… does things to me. I don’t want to go back to him.”

“Then don’t.” Amber smiled at the boy, and for the first time in a long time the smile actually reached her eyes. “Help me take these idiots to a hospital first, and then we’ll figure out what you’ll do next.”

She looked up as Kris’s shadow fell across the both of them. They exchanged a silent look with one another before he nodded his consent, turning back around to face the rest of his men.

“Alright, guys; let’s get these troublesome idiots to one of our hideouts. It’s time to gather some information.” He bent down and picked up the leader, hauling him up painfully, twisting his arm. The others followed suit and soon they were hauling away their six prisoners towards a deserted nearby building. The boy watched them carry his mates away, feeling dread as he realised what would be in store for them next. He turned back to look at Amber and he saw her inspecting the boys.

“We won’t be able to carry them all the way to a hospital by ourselves, that’s for sure… I guess there’s no choice. I’ll have to call an ambulance. Boy,” snapped Amber suddenly, her earlier warmth gone. “Rip the shirt of the one with the cut on his chest open. Take off his jacket and use it to staunch the blood flow. I have to make a couple calls.”

The boy did as he was told as he muttered, “My name is jinwoo, not ‘Boy’.” Amber smiled as she dialled Kris’s mobile to tell him of what she was going to do, before calling for an ambulance.

Henry was called out to the hospital that night, deciding to do one of his co-workers a favour by taking his place. He eagerly took the case, seeing it as a chance to catch a breather from his own dead-end ‘Dawn’ case. The emergency ward was busy, nurses and doctors rushing to and fro from mildly ailing patients to seriously injured ones. He spotted two police officers trying to console a young woman, who sat sobbing against a confused looking teenage boy. They seemed to be at a lost as to what to do with the traumatised woman.

“Listen lady; please try to calm down. We understand that what you saw must not have been pretty. Everything is fine now. You did the right thing in calling the police, madam,” said the one who sat the closest.

The other was rubbing his temples, as if he was trying to ward off a horrible headache. He looked up and spotted Henry with his ID hanging around his neck, recognising him as the detective that was sent. He stood up, holding his hand out to shake. “Hello, Sir. This lady here is the witness but we haven’t been able to calm her down. She seems really stressed out over what she saw.”

“What about the boy?” asked Henry as he peered at the boy who was avoiding eye contact.

“He seems to be mute, Sir,” replied the officer by the woman’s side. Henry motioned for him to move away and he took the seat by the woman.

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, feeling her flinch away reflexively. “Miss… What is your name?” he asked gently.

The woman finally looked up and he was met with a stunning pair of eyes that stared back at him frightened. He saw her eyes drift down to his name tag where a moment’s glint of surprise flashed through them, but it was only for an instant. Her eyes returned to his face as fresh tears began to fall.

“My name is Amber Liu,” she replied in a small voice. Henry nodded his head as he pulled out a pad to make notes on.

“Amber… Liu…” He looked back up, his pen still poised above the paper. “is that your full name ?”

Amber nodded her head. “that my full name. I grew up in La and my parents never gave me one.”

Henry once again nodded as he scribbled across the paper. “Alright… I know that you probably don’t want to talk about this yet, but I would really appreciate it if you could.” He stared deep into Amber’s eyes, as if telepathically giving her the courage to recount the night’s events. Amber gave an uncertain nod before she began speaking.

“I was on my way back home from spending the night with some of my friends at a nearby bar. I called Jinwoo here to come and pick me up. He’s my cousin, by the way,” added Amber, her eyes drifting to the pad on which Henry was still furiously making notes.

“Uh-huh… and what happened next?”

“Well, we heard some strange noises up ahead so we decided to slow down and hide behind the corner. As I peered around, I saw… saw… people… fighting. It looked like a gang fight and there was blood… from that guy’s chest… and thumps… and… and...” Amber broke down into sobs once more.

Henry looked up from his notepad to place his hand on her shoulder once more to comfort her. “It’s okay… Amber…” He felt sorry for the innocent girl; that she had to witness such violence. The urge to suddenly pull her towards him in a protective hug was so strong that it surprised him. He suddenly stood up, looking elsewhere to hide how flustered he was feeling. Deciding it was probably best not to press her further he asked, “Do you need a ride home? I can take you if you want…?”

Amber took a deep breath as she made a show of pulling herself together. She stood up, smiling a half-smile at Henry. “That’s alright; I already have a ride waiting for me.”

Henry nodded, somewhat disappointed at her reply. “Oh, alright. Have a safe trip home, Miss Amber Liu.”

Amber bowed her head in thanks. “Thankyou, Detective Liu XianHua.”

Henry watched as Amber walked out, holding Jinwoo close to her side. He saw a black car suddenly appear at the entrance, and a man stepping out to hold the door open for her. Amber glanced one more time over her shoulder and their eyes connected for a second, before she stepped in. Something about the way she had said his full name seemed to bother him, but he dismissed that nagging feeling, thinking that it was because he had become so accustomed to being called Henry, that it just felt weird.

tbc.

So. Was that how anyone expected them to meet? Nothing spectacular, I admit.  But it was about time Amber saw some action. Ahh... that fight scene was fun. :)

Next chapter: Step back eleven years to...?