"Did that really happen?" Charmaine asked and giggled mirthlessly when Chris nodded his head in confirmation.  "I wish I had been there to see it."

Laughing out loud, Chris shook his head and retorted, "And I thank God you weren't.  I wouldn't want you to see me in such an embarrassing situation."

"Afraid of losing your cool in front of me?" Charmaine teased and another burst of giggles erupted from her when Chris shook his head vehemently.

"Mind if I interrupt?" Raymond's voice cut in smoothly through their laughter.

Charmaine jumped at his voice, unaware that he was standing behind her and very close too.  Close enough for her to feel the feathery light of his breath on her neck when he spoke.  Shifting with unease she was able to put some distance between them, although not a lot since Raymond literally had her cornered in place against the ledge of the counter.

Chris lifted his eyes to Raymond and received a hard glare.  He knew better than to mess with Raymond Lam.  After all, not only was Raymond his boss but he was also part of one of the most notorious gangs in Hong Kong.  Knowing without being told that Raymond wanted him to leave, he smiled apologetically at Charmaine and quickly moved away towards the other end of the long bar counter.

"Excuse me," Charmaine said stiffly and tried to walk past him.

Raymond didn't budge as he gave her a coy smile and stretched his arms out on both sides of her, trapping her in place.

Glaring up at him, Charmaine snapped, "What do you want?"

Keeping his eyes on her, Raymond bent slightly towards her and asked softly, "How much?"

"How much what?" Charmaine seethed with unconcealed irritation.  Not like being kept a prisoner against her will and worse, the way he was looking at her with those dark eyes of his that seems to burn right through her.

Raymond lifted his hand and slid a finger with tantalizing slowness down her face.  He chuckled softly when she tried to pull her head back away from his finger.  Lowering his head closer to her, he whispered, "To sleep with me."

White hot fury exploded in Charmaine.  She swatted his hand away from her face and glared at him.  If looks could kill then she would have killed Raymond Lam a thousand times over with the searing look on her face.  "Get out of my way," she hissed and pushed at his arms.

Ignoring the thunderous look on her face, Raymond remained firmly fixed in place.  "Name your price," he said in a soft drawl.

"I am not for sale!" Charmaine bit out and again pushed at him but he wouldn't budge.  She looked down the end of the bar and saw Chris watching them with a worried expression on his face and yet he didn't come to her aid.  She scanned the room and no one seemed to be paying any attention to them, especially since they were in a very remote part of the room.  "Get out of my way!" she repeated.  This time there was a tinge of desperation in her voice as she again tried to push past him.

Raymond leaned in closer, his eyes boring into hers.  With a superior smile on his face, he murmured, "Everyone has a price.  Name yours."

Looking him straight in the eyes, Charmaine said coldly, "You can't pay me enough to sleep with you.  Not only because I hate you but the very thought of you touching me makes me sick.  Now let me go and get out of my way!"

Undeterred by her words, Raymond continued to smile down at her.  "Would $500,000 change your mind?"

Pushed beyond her limits, Charmaine reined in her fury and slowly brought her hands to his shoulders and gave him a seductive smile.  She saw the pleasant surprise on his face just before she lifted her knee and jammed it with force between his legs.

Surprised by the attack, Raymond pressed his lips together from yelping out in pain and hunched over.

Charmaine used this opportunity to quickly walk out of his reach.  She stopped a few feet away to turn and give him a scathing look.  In a low deadly voice, she warned, "Don't you ever come near me again.  If you do, I swear I'm going to scratch your eyes out and that's only the beginning of it."

Reeling with pain Raymond watched her walk away.  Slowly standing up, he glowered at her retreating back and muttered angrily, "You little tramp!  I'm going to get you back for this."

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

The hour was late and no one was around except for them.  With the boxing hall to themselves, they took full advantage of it.  After an hour of non-stop fighting, Bosco walked over to the crumple form of Kevin and extended a hand, "Need help?"

Kevin looked suspiciously at the outstretched hand but nevertheless took it.  Once back on his feet, he staggered out of the ring and towards the bench by the window where he slowly lowered himself onto it.  Wincing with pain he removed his gloves then the security helmet from his head.

"You're good," Bosco called out as he stepped out of the ring and headed in Kevin's direction.

Puzzled by the comment, Kevin looked up at Bosco, "You beat me so how does that make me good?"

Bosco plopped down beside Kevin and said smartly, "That's because you let me beat you."

"Do you want a fair fight then?" Kevin asked in return, eyeing Bosco warily.

Giving Kevin a smug smile, Bosco said, "Perhaps one day.  For the time being I want to practice some more."

Standing up, Kevin locked his eyes on Bosco and said confidently, "Whenever you're ready for a real fight, I'll be up for it.  And you're not going to win."

"We'll see," Bosco said softly as he watched Kevin walk away and disappeared into the changing room.  Feeling restless, Bosco returned to the ring and began punching and kicking at a hanging sandbag.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadowy figure creeping towards him.  When the figure was at close range, Bosco suddenly turned and raised his hand in the air, preparing to strike.

"Don’t!" Vin cried out, his arms immediately crossing on top of his head to ward off the incoming blow.

Bosco halted and dropped his arm.  Turning away from him, he said briskly, "I didn't know anyone else was here."

Vin walked around to stand in front of Bosco.  Falling to his knees, he begged, "Mr. Lam, I really need your help.  Can you loan me a million dollars?  I'll repay it.  I swear I will!"

Bosco scanned Vin from head to toe with disdain and snickered, "If, and I said if, I loaned you the million dollars, how will you ever be able to return it to me?"

"I'll work for you!  I'll do anything you want me to!" Vince responded anxiously.  "I really need that money.  Please help me."

Bosco didn't say a word as he studied Vin.  After a long pause, he smiled arrogantly at Vin and said, "A million dollars is a small amount to me.  I'll loan you the money but you must repay me the full amount within two weeks and that doesn't include the interest you would have to pay me on a daily basis until the two weeks is up.  Is that clear?"

Vin nodded his head fervently, "Yes!  Thank you Mr. Lam!  Thank you so much!

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

Michael Miu walked into the restaurant with his two bodyguards.  They scanned the half empty place and took a table along a far wall.  When the waiter had taken their orders and left, Michael leaned back against his chair and took out a cigarette.  He had only taken a puff when the person he was supposed to meet came into view.  Smiling a greeting, he waited for Moses Chan to approach.

"Hey Michael, it's been a long time," Moses said and the two men exchanged a friendly hug.

Breaking away, Michael poured Moses a cup of tea and asked, "How is everything coming along?"

Tapping his fingers on the table, Moses looked up with a grin, "Everything is going according to plan.  Lau Kong trusts me a lot and he's on the verge of stepping down and naming his useless son Power as the next leader."

"Very good," Michael said in a low voice.  "Remain by his side and tell me everything that he does."

"I will," Moses replied and picked up his cup.  After taking a few sips, he set the cup down and asked quietly, "What are you going to do about Dominic Lam?"

At the mention of the name, Michael tensed.  A vision of Sheren flashed before him and he curled his fingers into a tight fist and sneered, "I will deal with him myself."