Post by sam on Sept 11, 2013 8:29:01 GMT -6
Midtown Manhattan.
When the sun is overhead at it's brightest, and the weather is anywhere above--say, 60 degrees, there is no city quite like New York, anywhere. Jeanie stared out her office window to the majestic skyline of the aptly named 'World's Greatest City'.
Days like this, daydreaming is natural; because you wonder if life could possibly be any better.
But when the reality of today stares you in the face, all you can be is humble.
She fixed her gaze on a picture of herself, Ron and Sam from when they were kids. Ron was in the middle with a huge fish, and Jeanie on his left, had kicked water at Sam, standing on Ron's right with Sam trying who to block the incoming stream of water.
Her smile evaporated when he called out to her.
"Elizabeth?" Her boss called out. "Elizabeth can you see me in my office, please?"
Professionally, Jeanie opts to go by her first name while in the office. It keeps the line between her personal life and her professional life visible at all times. Wearing a white sleeveless blouse, and beige linen wrap skirt, she walked in to her boss' office, closing the door.
"Thank you, Elizabeth." He smiled. "Please, sit down."
She sat down and crossed her legs. "Everything alright, Alex?"
"I'm fine, but I'm sure you know why I called you in here." Alex eyes narrowed in on her. "I'm checking up on you again. How's our project coming along?"
"Just know that I'm close. I'm very close to landing my first major client."
The doting boss smiled towards her, nodding his head. Almost as if to say that he wanted to believe her, but her track record proved otherwise.
"Is this why you left so suddenly a few days ago?" Alex took his glasses off. "No--wait you were at a funeral. Sorry to bring that up; how are you, by the way?"
"Still dealing, but actually, you're right on both fronts." She explained.
"I am? Well don't keep me guessing, talk to me." Alex smiled.
"Alright. Well, I've known him since I was, like 9 years old." She did her best to contain her excitement. "We trained together in the martial arts until I was 16 years old, and then I moved to Jersey."
"You trained in the martial arts?" Alex asked.
"Yup, competition tested and everything." Her eyes went up and to the right. "Good times. Fun times. That homicide in Queens that was all over the news..."
"Yeah, the um--old man gunned down in the park." Alex recalled; the news coverage of the homicide was broadcast all over the tri-state area.
"...That man was our instructor." She looked away from Alex briefly. "It was his funeral I went to."
"Oh my--Liz...I'm so sorry." Alex apologized.
"It's okay, Alex. But he's a fighter who's back in the States--MMA type, sexy even." Her phone vibrated from her purse. It was an incoming text message which she read and interpreted. "And apparently we're meeting for dinner, so hopefully I can seal the deal tomorrow."
Putting her phone back into her purse, she stood to her feet to leave. Alex stood up and went ahead of her to open the door.
"Good luck, Elizabeth." Alex said to her. "We need this; you need this. Matter of fact, take the rest of the day off. I wanna make sure you land this client."
As if there were not enough pressure on her, she knew she couldn't tell Alex the whole story. Rather, she reserves that story for another time and turns back with a confident smile.
"It's in the bag, boss."
Elizabeth went back into her office, and became 'Jeanie' again, when she resumed reminiscing over the fishing trip photo on her desk.
[_+_]
12 Years Ago.
Babylon, Long Island.
The dojo that Master Inoue ran hosted mainly teenagers and adults. And honest as he is, he'd even tell you that the teenage market is quickly dwindling, with the advent of video games and the onset of puberty, the challenge of bettering ones' self was not as appealing as, say Grand Theft Auto.
Wisely, he invested in younger kids. Kids whose parents wanted them to be active, who were encouraged to play outside. Kids who though they have just turned 15, still find themselves wanting to be active, maturing in the sport and discipline, they have come to love.
These 3 exceptional youths, all had a special bond with Master Inoue.
Today, he's taken them fishing. Earlier that week, the world these kids knew, the world that America knew, changed. Those changes were already having a profound effect on the kids' lives. The innocence that used to shield them had been taken away, and life's complexities stared back at them.
So Inoue took it upon himself, to be that shield.
"Now remember, there are fish all around here. It's up to us to catch them, like this." Master Inoue held his prong in his right hand, but used his left to push down on the opposite end of the spear head. He plucked a nice salmon from the water. "Let the short spear be an extension of yourselves."
The kids began in earnest, with Jeanie taking the lead on the fish scoring. She grabbed two of them within her first 5 minutes. Of course that couldn't go unnoticed by the two strapping young men on the scene.
"You betta' get movin', Sam." Ron chided him. "Your girl's gonna get more fish than you."
"Whatever, nigga." Sam blushed.
Jeanie chuckled at Sam's red cheeks. It was pretty common knowledge that Sam was smitten with his teammate.
"Easy boys..." Master Inoue reined them in. He knew the competitive nature of both Sam and Ron, and quelled it before it could get started. "Anybody wanna talk about what happened this week?"
"Well, they used our school as a hospital." Jeanie spoke up, with her cute Latin accent.. "We were in Math class when we saw the whole thing happen."
Sam's eyes became more animated. "Yeah, yo that sh--"
A stern look, changed the next word to come from Sam's lips.
"...er--um--stuff was crazy. It looked like a movie or somethin'. The first plane I didn't see, but the second one...I never saw nothin' like that before." Sam speared his fish. "Then it got sad, 'cause you knew people were dyin'. Some of them were screamin' when they brought them to our school."
"It got scary, because we didn't know what was going to happen next. Sam held my hand; so I knew I was going to be okay." Jeanie smiled towards Sam as she speared another fish.
He tried to hide it, but Sam smiled back at her.
"But why would they wanna do something like that? Just kill innocent people?" Jeanie asked precociously.
"Cause they criminals." Ron spoke up, offering a slight glimpse of his future career. "The bad guys attacked the good guys, and now it's on..."
"Well Ron, it's not so simple..." Inoue began
"...It was on, on Friday though, right?" Sam added.
"Hell yeah!" Ron hi-fived Sam.
There was legitimate concern on Master Inoue's face. When Ron and Sam join forces, (as is often the case) they have been known to be pretty efficient troublemakers.
"What happened, boys?" Master Inoue scowled.
"Aight, well these 12 graders came pushin' around our main man, Hamed." Ron began. "Hamed is crazy cool, plays basketball, the whole nine. Anyway the 9th grade cats got in his face..."
"...Yeah, they was like 'your family did that to the World Trade Center, we should fly a plane into your house'. Hamed started cryin' 'cause they circled him, and started pushin' him and stuff." Sam's chest then stuck out. "So we rolled up on them, like 'yo what's really good'?."
Ron picked the story back up. "There was five of these dudes, and we had Hamed behind us. We was all squared up, then they was like 'Look at the ghetto niggers, stick up for the sand niggers.' Then the dude pushed Sam."
The story paused there, as both boys shot a look towards each other. They just started snickering to themselves.
"So what happened after they pushed you, Sam?" Master Inoue asked.
"Well...um...I...kinda happened." Jeanie flashed an embarassed smile as she speared another fish.
"You happened?" Master Inoue was shocked; he could barely contain his laughter. "You boys have corrupted poor Jeanie. Please tell me it isn't so, not my sweet Jeanie."
"They pushed him, and I...I hit him with an elbow." She sweetly explained. "Mirar, pero nunca toque, right papi? Look, but don't touch."
Sam winked at her with a smile.
Master Inoue knew Sam and Ron too well. He knew the story didn't end there. "So what happened next....boys."
"We started handin' out beatdowns, Master Inoue." Ron triumphantly declared. "Put the paws on 'em...early!."
"Holla!!!" Sam quipped with another hi-five to Ron. "Yo, let's show him how we dropped that last dude."
"Oh yeah. Yo Master Inoue, watch this." Ron got into position. "Say he was standin' right here in the middle between us, right..."
Standing directly across from each other, Ron and Sam threw right legged roundhouse kicks with their shins connecting with each other. In other words they sandwiched the poor kid with simultaneous roundhouse kicks to the front and back of his head.
"BOOM! HEADSHOT!" Sam roared.
"You guys should've told a teacher." Master Inoue reminded them.
"But then they would've beat up Hamed." Jeanie rationalized. She speared another fish. "You told us to defend ourselves when confrontation was imminent."
"That I did." Master Inoue nodded. "Sad thing is, lots of people like Hamed experienced the same thing this week. People are scared and angry, and unfortunately that anger sometimes can turn into blind ignorance. I'm just glad of the bond you three have, sometimes its the only weapon against ignorance...love. This week, in the face of humanity at it's worst, humanity was at it's best. When evil pushed, it was fought with bravery, with compassion, with empathy, and with love. If you're to move on to be responsible adults, if we're to move forward as a nation, then the measure of evil and ignorance inflicted on us must be met with bravery, compassion, empathy, and love. Or else, we're no better than they, and they will have truly won."
Master Inoue collected the speared fish from both Jeanie and Ron, who hadn't caught any fish today.
"Knuckle pushups when we get back." The wise instructor offered a form of discipline. "No fighting in school. No matter what."
As he loaded the fish into his mini van, Sam plunged his spear into the water. He knew he had something.
"Yo, Ron. Take this spear, bruh." Sam handed Ron the spear.
The young fighter ran to Master Inoue, encouraging him to see what Ron had "caught". When Ron pulled the spear out of the water, it was one of the biggest salmon any of them had ever seen.
"Congratulations, Ron." Master Inoue clapped. "You stuck with it, and you got a bigger fish than any of us. Get together guys, I wanna take a picture of this."
They gathered with Ron and his prized salmon in the middle, Liz on Ron's left, and Sam on his right. Master Inoue was in place. "On three say 'Perseverance'. One...Two...Three...."
"Perseverance.." The three said in unison.
Master Inoue took the picture, as Jeanie kicked water at Sam, who attempted to block the incoming stream.
[_+_]
Harlem--Present day.
"We never did those knuckle pushups, did we, Master Inoue?" Ron said quietly to himself.
Ron has the same fishing photo on his desk. He just couldn't take his eyes off that picture especially today. The detective wasn't even sure if Sam knew just how defeated he felt all those years ago. To selflessly give Ron the stage and bragging rights that should've been Sam's. For years it's played over and over in his mind's eye.
That was the moment, he called Saml his best friend.
Ups and downs in the relationship they may have, but through it all, they will always be bonded; like brothers.
Ron's countenance then became hard as steel.
Because as brothers, it's up to Ron to find out who took the life of their dearly departed father figure, Master Inoue. It's up to Ron to help set right those pieces of their broken hearts. It's up to Ron to make sure that justice is served.
By the letter of the law.
It's a pressure that Ron welcomes, for that is the reason he dubbed the shield in the first place. A burden easily taken on his massive shoulders, a duty he so relishes:
To Protect and Serve.
"Detective Steward, do you have a moment?"
Ron quickly snapped out of his trance. "Yeah, sure Captain Forelli. Need me to do anything else, just ask. I know how hard today is for you."
Catain Forelli lost men; including his own son, Steve, 12 years ago, today.
"Thank you Ron, I appreciate it, really. I just came to let you know, you got the red light on the Inoue investigation." Forelli nodded. "I know how much your sensei meant to you, and I made sure that yours and Inoue's history was not given to the higher ups. Are there any surprises that I should know about?"
Ron quickly thought about Sam and the vigilante style retribution Sam wanted to deliver.
"No, sir." Ron lied.
"Okay, Ron." Captain Forelli shook his hand. "Do what you do. Good luck."
Captain Forelli left Ron's office as Ron saluted him. The Captain then, quickly came back into the room.
"Steve...he really respected you, Ron." Captain Forelli nodded with a smile. "He always spoke highly of you when you two were cadets together. Always said you were trustworthy, I'm glad he was right."
Ron felt the weight of his guilt against his chest as Captain Forelli exited Ron's office again.
[_+_]
Later that afternoon.
The paint was chipped and cracking, and the floor was dusty. Sam paid no attention as he stared at the fishing photo hanging up on the center wall. This place is the dojo where he spent so much time as a teenager. Where for better or worse, Sam learned.
Until it was time to go.
Unfortunately for Sam, he allowed life to get in the way of the many nuggets of wisdown Master Inoue often gave him.
Wearing a pair of solid black shorts with only his knuckles taped, Sam eyed the sand and sediment filled heavy bag. Amazingly enough, it looks the least worn of everything inside.
To drown out the overwhelming cries of his memories, Sam begins to assault the bag.
It was a futile effort.
The more he struck the bag, the more the bag resembled his rebellious self. He looked into the pride he had, the arrogance he displayed; the rage he felt. Sam struck harder, as if he could beat his former self into submission. He lunged in with a left knee strike, and followed with a right downward elbow strike.
He connected with a left hook punch, then a right straight. Gritting his teeth together, Sam threw a series a right legged, thunderous roundhouse kicks--his signature--into the heavy bag.
Into his rebellious self.
Not just because of the time he missed with his beloved father figure.
But because of what he's since become.
Like the crescendo of a fined tuned musical piece, or the climax of a well performed drama, Sam channeled his grief, his guilt, his fury and passion into his right leg. He unleashed a mountain-shattering, right legged, roundhouse kick. The force was so, that the usually stiff and unyielding bag bent around Sam's shin; indenting the bag. The sonic boom-like sound thundered throughout the dojo, the gale force of the kick cleaned the dust from beneath and around the heavy bag.
Impressive as it were, Sam immediately dropped to his knees, spent. With his soul weary, Sam dug into the pit of the fire in his soul and cried an inhuman roar of such lament, such pain and anguish--
Even she had to wipe a tear from her own eye.
After gazing on the 'Dragon vs Tiger' tattoo on Sam's back, which was now rising up and down in short rapid bursts, she makes her move. Having already taken her shoes off, she walked across the floor, and knelt in front of him.
She placed his weeping head into her bosom, close to her heart.
"I miss him too, Sam." Jeanie kissed his forehead.
[_+_]
Elsewhere.
"And you're sure it was Sam you saw?" The voice asked with the back of his chair facing the room. "I don't get excited much these days, so I can't afford to waste the moment."
"Y--yes I'm s--sure." The man stuttered, giving a casual scratch to his own neck.
Smoke billowed upwards from the voice's direction. A Cohiba to the trained nose.
"You've always been loyal to me, my eyes and ears on the street." The voice commended him. He shot a leather index finger from his position. "Zeke, give this whatever he needs to scratch whatever itch he's got."
The burly Zeke, nodded in kind and took the stuttering man by the arm, out of the room.
"So...'The King of the Streets' has finally come home, eh?" The voice said aloud with equal parts disgust and sarcasm. "I must be live right."
He chuckled as more spoke billowed upwards.
"Shame to hear about Inoue, though. That must cut deep."
When the sun is overhead at it's brightest, and the weather is anywhere above--say, 60 degrees, there is no city quite like New York, anywhere. Jeanie stared out her office window to the majestic skyline of the aptly named 'World's Greatest City'.
Days like this, daydreaming is natural; because you wonder if life could possibly be any better.
But when the reality of today stares you in the face, all you can be is humble.
She fixed her gaze on a picture of herself, Ron and Sam from when they were kids. Ron was in the middle with a huge fish, and Jeanie on his left, had kicked water at Sam, standing on Ron's right with Sam trying who to block the incoming stream of water.
Her smile evaporated when he called out to her.
"Elizabeth?" Her boss called out. "Elizabeth can you see me in my office, please?"
Professionally, Jeanie opts to go by her first name while in the office. It keeps the line between her personal life and her professional life visible at all times. Wearing a white sleeveless blouse, and beige linen wrap skirt, she walked in to her boss' office, closing the door.
"Thank you, Elizabeth." He smiled. "Please, sit down."
She sat down and crossed her legs. "Everything alright, Alex?"
"I'm fine, but I'm sure you know why I called you in here." Alex eyes narrowed in on her. "I'm checking up on you again. How's our project coming along?"
"Just know that I'm close. I'm very close to landing my first major client."
The doting boss smiled towards her, nodding his head. Almost as if to say that he wanted to believe her, but her track record proved otherwise.
"Is this why you left so suddenly a few days ago?" Alex took his glasses off. "No--wait you were at a funeral. Sorry to bring that up; how are you, by the way?"
"Still dealing, but actually, you're right on both fronts." She explained.
"I am? Well don't keep me guessing, talk to me." Alex smiled.
"Alright. Well, I've known him since I was, like 9 years old." She did her best to contain her excitement. "We trained together in the martial arts until I was 16 years old, and then I moved to Jersey."
"You trained in the martial arts?" Alex asked.
"Yup, competition tested and everything." Her eyes went up and to the right. "Good times. Fun times. That homicide in Queens that was all over the news..."
"Yeah, the um--old man gunned down in the park." Alex recalled; the news coverage of the homicide was broadcast all over the tri-state area.
"...That man was our instructor." She looked away from Alex briefly. "It was his funeral I went to."
"Oh my--Liz...I'm so sorry." Alex apologized.
"It's okay, Alex. But he's a fighter who's back in the States--MMA type, sexy even." Her phone vibrated from her purse. It was an incoming text message which she read and interpreted. "And apparently we're meeting for dinner, so hopefully I can seal the deal tomorrow."
Putting her phone back into her purse, she stood to her feet to leave. Alex stood up and went ahead of her to open the door.
"Good luck, Elizabeth." Alex said to her. "We need this; you need this. Matter of fact, take the rest of the day off. I wanna make sure you land this client."
As if there were not enough pressure on her, she knew she couldn't tell Alex the whole story. Rather, she reserves that story for another time and turns back with a confident smile.
"It's in the bag, boss."
Elizabeth went back into her office, and became 'Jeanie' again, when she resumed reminiscing over the fishing trip photo on her desk.
[_+_]
12 Years Ago.
Babylon, Long Island.
The dojo that Master Inoue ran hosted mainly teenagers and adults. And honest as he is, he'd even tell you that the teenage market is quickly dwindling, with the advent of video games and the onset of puberty, the challenge of bettering ones' self was not as appealing as, say Grand Theft Auto.
Wisely, he invested in younger kids. Kids whose parents wanted them to be active, who were encouraged to play outside. Kids who though they have just turned 15, still find themselves wanting to be active, maturing in the sport and discipline, they have come to love.
These 3 exceptional youths, all had a special bond with Master Inoue.
Today, he's taken them fishing. Earlier that week, the world these kids knew, the world that America knew, changed. Those changes were already having a profound effect on the kids' lives. The innocence that used to shield them had been taken away, and life's complexities stared back at them.
So Inoue took it upon himself, to be that shield.
"Now remember, there are fish all around here. It's up to us to catch them, like this." Master Inoue held his prong in his right hand, but used his left to push down on the opposite end of the spear head. He plucked a nice salmon from the water. "Let the short spear be an extension of yourselves."
The kids began in earnest, with Jeanie taking the lead on the fish scoring. She grabbed two of them within her first 5 minutes. Of course that couldn't go unnoticed by the two strapping young men on the scene.
"You betta' get movin', Sam." Ron chided him. "Your girl's gonna get more fish than you."
"Whatever, nigga." Sam blushed.
Jeanie chuckled at Sam's red cheeks. It was pretty common knowledge that Sam was smitten with his teammate.
"Easy boys..." Master Inoue reined them in. He knew the competitive nature of both Sam and Ron, and quelled it before it could get started. "Anybody wanna talk about what happened this week?"
"Well, they used our school as a hospital." Jeanie spoke up, with her cute Latin accent.. "We were in Math class when we saw the whole thing happen."
Sam's eyes became more animated. "Yeah, yo that sh--"
A stern look, changed the next word to come from Sam's lips.
"...er--um--stuff was crazy. It looked like a movie or somethin'. The first plane I didn't see, but the second one...I never saw nothin' like that before." Sam speared his fish. "Then it got sad, 'cause you knew people were dyin'. Some of them were screamin' when they brought them to our school."
"It got scary, because we didn't know what was going to happen next. Sam held my hand; so I knew I was going to be okay." Jeanie smiled towards Sam as she speared another fish.
He tried to hide it, but Sam smiled back at her.
"But why would they wanna do something like that? Just kill innocent people?" Jeanie asked precociously.
"Cause they criminals." Ron spoke up, offering a slight glimpse of his future career. "The bad guys attacked the good guys, and now it's on..."
"Well Ron, it's not so simple..." Inoue began
"...It was on, on Friday though, right?" Sam added.
"Hell yeah!" Ron hi-fived Sam.
There was legitimate concern on Master Inoue's face. When Ron and Sam join forces, (as is often the case) they have been known to be pretty efficient troublemakers.
"What happened, boys?" Master Inoue scowled.
"Aight, well these 12 graders came pushin' around our main man, Hamed." Ron began. "Hamed is crazy cool, plays basketball, the whole nine. Anyway the 9th grade cats got in his face..."
"...Yeah, they was like 'your family did that to the World Trade Center, we should fly a plane into your house'. Hamed started cryin' 'cause they circled him, and started pushin' him and stuff." Sam's chest then stuck out. "So we rolled up on them, like 'yo what's really good'?."
Ron picked the story back up. "There was five of these dudes, and we had Hamed behind us. We was all squared up, then they was like 'Look at the ghetto niggers, stick up for the sand niggers.' Then the dude pushed Sam."
The story paused there, as both boys shot a look towards each other. They just started snickering to themselves.
"So what happened after they pushed you, Sam?" Master Inoue asked.
"Well...um...I...kinda happened." Jeanie flashed an embarassed smile as she speared another fish.
"You happened?" Master Inoue was shocked; he could barely contain his laughter. "You boys have corrupted poor Jeanie. Please tell me it isn't so, not my sweet Jeanie."
"They pushed him, and I...I hit him with an elbow." She sweetly explained. "Mirar, pero nunca toque, right papi? Look, but don't touch."
Sam winked at her with a smile.
Master Inoue knew Sam and Ron too well. He knew the story didn't end there. "So what happened next....boys."
"We started handin' out beatdowns, Master Inoue." Ron triumphantly declared. "Put the paws on 'em...early!."
"Holla!!!" Sam quipped with another hi-five to Ron. "Yo, let's show him how we dropped that last dude."
"Oh yeah. Yo Master Inoue, watch this." Ron got into position. "Say he was standin' right here in the middle between us, right..."
Standing directly across from each other, Ron and Sam threw right legged roundhouse kicks with their shins connecting with each other. In other words they sandwiched the poor kid with simultaneous roundhouse kicks to the front and back of his head.
"BOOM! HEADSHOT!" Sam roared.
"You guys should've told a teacher." Master Inoue reminded them.
"But then they would've beat up Hamed." Jeanie rationalized. She speared another fish. "You told us to defend ourselves when confrontation was imminent."
"That I did." Master Inoue nodded. "Sad thing is, lots of people like Hamed experienced the same thing this week. People are scared and angry, and unfortunately that anger sometimes can turn into blind ignorance. I'm just glad of the bond you three have, sometimes its the only weapon against ignorance...love. This week, in the face of humanity at it's worst, humanity was at it's best. When evil pushed, it was fought with bravery, with compassion, with empathy, and with love. If you're to move on to be responsible adults, if we're to move forward as a nation, then the measure of evil and ignorance inflicted on us must be met with bravery, compassion, empathy, and love. Or else, we're no better than they, and they will have truly won."
Master Inoue collected the speared fish from both Jeanie and Ron, who hadn't caught any fish today.
"Knuckle pushups when we get back." The wise instructor offered a form of discipline. "No fighting in school. No matter what."
As he loaded the fish into his mini van, Sam plunged his spear into the water. He knew he had something.
"Yo, Ron. Take this spear, bruh." Sam handed Ron the spear.
The young fighter ran to Master Inoue, encouraging him to see what Ron had "caught". When Ron pulled the spear out of the water, it was one of the biggest salmon any of them had ever seen.
"Congratulations, Ron." Master Inoue clapped. "You stuck with it, and you got a bigger fish than any of us. Get together guys, I wanna take a picture of this."
They gathered with Ron and his prized salmon in the middle, Liz on Ron's left, and Sam on his right. Master Inoue was in place. "On three say 'Perseverance'. One...Two...Three...."
"Perseverance.." The three said in unison.
Master Inoue took the picture, as Jeanie kicked water at Sam, who attempted to block the incoming stream.
[_+_]
Harlem--Present day.
"We never did those knuckle pushups, did we, Master Inoue?" Ron said quietly to himself.
Ron has the same fishing photo on his desk. He just couldn't take his eyes off that picture especially today. The detective wasn't even sure if Sam knew just how defeated he felt all those years ago. To selflessly give Ron the stage and bragging rights that should've been Sam's. For years it's played over and over in his mind's eye.
That was the moment, he called Saml his best friend.
Ups and downs in the relationship they may have, but through it all, they will always be bonded; like brothers.
Ron's countenance then became hard as steel.
Because as brothers, it's up to Ron to find out who took the life of their dearly departed father figure, Master Inoue. It's up to Ron to help set right those pieces of their broken hearts. It's up to Ron to make sure that justice is served.
By the letter of the law.
It's a pressure that Ron welcomes, for that is the reason he dubbed the shield in the first place. A burden easily taken on his massive shoulders, a duty he so relishes:
To Protect and Serve.
"Detective Steward, do you have a moment?"
Ron quickly snapped out of his trance. "Yeah, sure Captain Forelli. Need me to do anything else, just ask. I know how hard today is for you."
Catain Forelli lost men; including his own son, Steve, 12 years ago, today.
"Thank you Ron, I appreciate it, really. I just came to let you know, you got the red light on the Inoue investigation." Forelli nodded. "I know how much your sensei meant to you, and I made sure that yours and Inoue's history was not given to the higher ups. Are there any surprises that I should know about?"
Ron quickly thought about Sam and the vigilante style retribution Sam wanted to deliver.
"No, sir." Ron lied.
"Okay, Ron." Captain Forelli shook his hand. "Do what you do. Good luck."
Captain Forelli left Ron's office as Ron saluted him. The Captain then, quickly came back into the room.
"Steve...he really respected you, Ron." Captain Forelli nodded with a smile. "He always spoke highly of you when you two were cadets together. Always said you were trustworthy, I'm glad he was right."
Ron felt the weight of his guilt against his chest as Captain Forelli exited Ron's office again.
[_+_]
Later that afternoon.
The paint was chipped and cracking, and the floor was dusty. Sam paid no attention as he stared at the fishing photo hanging up on the center wall. This place is the dojo where he spent so much time as a teenager. Where for better or worse, Sam learned.
Until it was time to go.
Unfortunately for Sam, he allowed life to get in the way of the many nuggets of wisdown Master Inoue often gave him.
Wearing a pair of solid black shorts with only his knuckles taped, Sam eyed the sand and sediment filled heavy bag. Amazingly enough, it looks the least worn of everything inside.
To drown out the overwhelming cries of his memories, Sam begins to assault the bag.
It was a futile effort.
The more he struck the bag, the more the bag resembled his rebellious self. He looked into the pride he had, the arrogance he displayed; the rage he felt. Sam struck harder, as if he could beat his former self into submission. He lunged in with a left knee strike, and followed with a right downward elbow strike.
He connected with a left hook punch, then a right straight. Gritting his teeth together, Sam threw a series a right legged, thunderous roundhouse kicks--his signature--into the heavy bag.
Into his rebellious self.
Not just because of the time he missed with his beloved father figure.
But because of what he's since become.
Like the crescendo of a fined tuned musical piece, or the climax of a well performed drama, Sam channeled his grief, his guilt, his fury and passion into his right leg. He unleashed a mountain-shattering, right legged, roundhouse kick. The force was so, that the usually stiff and unyielding bag bent around Sam's shin; indenting the bag. The sonic boom-like sound thundered throughout the dojo, the gale force of the kick cleaned the dust from beneath and around the heavy bag.
Impressive as it were, Sam immediately dropped to his knees, spent. With his soul weary, Sam dug into the pit of the fire in his soul and cried an inhuman roar of such lament, such pain and anguish--
Even she had to wipe a tear from her own eye.
After gazing on the 'Dragon vs Tiger' tattoo on Sam's back, which was now rising up and down in short rapid bursts, she makes her move. Having already taken her shoes off, she walked across the floor, and knelt in front of him.
She placed his weeping head into her bosom, close to her heart.
"I miss him too, Sam." Jeanie kissed his forehead.
[_+_]
Elsewhere.
"And you're sure it was Sam you saw?" The voice asked with the back of his chair facing the room. "I don't get excited much these days, so I can't afford to waste the moment."
"Y--yes I'm s--sure." The man stuttered, giving a casual scratch to his own neck.
Smoke billowed upwards from the voice's direction. A Cohiba to the trained nose.
"You've always been loyal to me, my eyes and ears on the street." The voice commended him. He shot a leather index finger from his position. "Zeke, give this whatever he needs to scratch whatever itch he's got."
The burly Zeke, nodded in kind and took the stuttering man by the arm, out of the room.
"So...'The King of the Streets' has finally come home, eh?" The voice said aloud with equal parts disgust and sarcasm. "I must be live right."
He chuckled as more spoke billowed upwards.
"Shame to hear about Inoue, though. That must cut deep."