<b>Chapter 201</b> -- LFN Storyboard 2

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Celebrations had continued long into the night for the triumphant return of the Rising Dragon warriors. Sun Yee Lok was well pleased with his members and the champagne had flowed freely into the wee hours of the morning. Revelry had been the order of the night for the triad had been beset with one problem after another. But finally there had been closure. Last night they had been able to let their hair down after what had been a troublesome time for the Rising Dragons. The mysterious deaths of prominent triad members, destabilising of their power base and other problems had left their mark. Now it was time for the Rising Dragons to reassess their power base and rebuild before the Black Panthers or 14K triad saw them as vulnerable for a takeover. With the successful outcome at the monastery there was nothing stopping the triad from regrouping and consolidating its position in Hong Kong.

Triad lore stated that to lose face was to lose power. During the past few months, the Rising Dragons had been made to look like a fool for it had lost face amongst the brotherhood for not being able to reign in the fractious element afflicting them. Sensing some imploding, there had been rumblings within rival triad groups and no doubt they had looked towards the Rising Dragons with interest. Samuel Li, the leader of the Black Panthers, had been ready to pounce on their territory should they fail to regroup. Consequently his relations with him were strained especially since his alleged involvement in the firebombing of Andy Koo's nightclub � The Triangle. The 14K triad had also seen a potential opportunity to gain some ground during those turbulent times. But the eminent triad leader was having nothing to do with their machinations.

To reassert his absolute authority among the Hong Kong triad groups, Sun Yee Lok had contemplated the possibility of calling for a gathering of the fractions to set them right as to the Rising Dragons' position in Hong Kong. He was still in favour of this course of action and depending on what Karen, Andy and Wang Yu had to say ... it was highly probable that this meeting would occur. The Rising Dragons would be able to assert their influence before the rival triads had time to make a move. The last thing that he needed was a protracted turf war with the Black Panthers for supremacy and to a lesser degree the 14K's. This was a time for survival of the fittest. It was time for the Rising Dragons to affirm its dominance in Hong Kong and beyond once more and as leader, Sun Yee Lok intended that the Rising Dragons would be the one to triumph over all.

The rule of the triad is absolute

To the vanquished misery it will bring

It triumphs over adversaries

Then its greatness loudly will sing

The Rising Dragon!

The triad soars in its conquest

For power and fortune go to the bold

The dragon will reap rewards and enjoy

Long life in abundance ten-fold

The Rising Dragon!

As Walter made his way down the stairs from the perch, it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. He'd just stood up to Operations, something he never did to his leader's face that's for sure. Retracing his steps across the Common Room to Birkoff's station, he shook his head in disbelief. It was a wonder that Operations hadn't put him into abeyance after his meeting just now. What had possessed him to be so flippant? It must have been that his mind was on other things and felt that he had nothing to lose.

Thankfully Section's leader and he went back a long way and Walter was grateful that Operations had given him a little leeway at their meeting. On occasion he'd been known to go against the rules and obviously this was one such occasion when Section's leader had turned a blind eye. Walter was, after all, a long term veteran of Section One who'd spent most of his 60 years in the secret organization. He was Section's longest serving Level 5 operative who was their weapons and munitions specialist. Unlike a lot of other operatives, he had come to terms with his life in the Section and knew that it was pointless to even think of having a life outside of Section � something that Operations knew only too well also.

It was fortunate that he'd written his debrief for him before Belinda had turned up last night or else Walter would have had some explaining to do today. Had the debrief not been finished, he may have found himself a candidate for cancellation for sure. Operations was obviously satisfied with his report and for that he was thankful. It may have led to his greater understanding to how Michael was injured. His superior had overlooked his behaviour in the perch and thank god that he had. With all the events and turmoil of last night, Walter had not been himself. Having the worry of Michael's collapse and subsequent surgery, coupled with the injury to Nikita and finally meeting up with Belinda ... it was little wonder that he was still standing today.

Walter stared off into the distance. With a satisfied gleam in his eye he uttered a melancholy sigh, Boy ...What a night! he thought. He was running on empty today having spent all of his energy into the wee hours of the morning ... not that he was complaining. Belinda had certainly made sure that his was a homecoming to remember. Walter gave a satisfied growl in recollection of the night that was. Then with a lively spring in his step his thoughts again centred on his paramour and hopes that they would get together sometime soon. Despite his advancing years, Walter knew he definitely had the stamina to keep up with her. There was still life in the old body and he certainly had more in his bag of tricks in the romance repertoire.

Walter felt like whistling as he made his way towards Munitions via Birkoff's station.

Despite the extensive festivities last night, Sun Yee Lok had risen early this morning as he wanted to go over the plans for his newest venture for the Rising Dragons. Before his daughter and the others arrived for their meetings, he carefully perused the documents on the development that were laid out on his desk. Despite the triad's fortunes having taken a severe battering of late, Sun Yee Lok felt a positive anticipation and enthusiasm at the prospect of getting this new project off the ground � with the right person in charge. The triad leader would make a decision depending on what he heard this morning as to who that person would be, then, if things turned out as he expected, this business enterprise would bring much wealth power and prestige to the Rising Dragons.

Satisfied with what he'd read, Sun Yee Lok closed the folders and sat back in his chair. He felt good about this plan, but before he could set anything in motion, he needed to hear the reports about the two people who had been responsible for most of the Rising Dragon's recent woes. Ever since the appearance of this Nikita Wirth, bad fortune had systematically escalated against the triad and its members. With her male accomplice they had managed to wreck havoc without being apprehended. However, that was all in the past for victory had been with the Rising Dragons. Since the two perpetrators had been eliminated now was a time of rebuilding.

Nevertheless, Sun Yee Lok was anxious to hear what Karen, Andy and Wang Yu had to say about the events at the monastery. He'd made it clear that he expected to hear only excellent news this morning when he would meet with them individually as planned. Thus, before retiring for the night, he had reminded those gathered of that fact. As their leader, Sun Yee Lok was positive that their meetings would be extremely constructive. Looking forward to their accounts of events, he was sure that the news he would hear from all three would only bring good fortune to the Rising Dragons from here on in.

At the back of his mind though, was one pressing question that needed clarification. Had their success at the monastery put an end to all the mysteries and problems that had befallen the triad once and for all? If so then things could now return to some normalcy.

Having summoned each individual to his private office to speak personally with them, Sun Yee Lok wanted to see if the three had carried out his orders and worked collaboratively together. He was particularly interested in the teamwork between them and if they were compatible for other ventures. He also had ulterior motives. Little did his daughter Karen, Andy or Wang Yu know, but any future decisions their leader had in mind were being considered on their appraisal this morning. Sun Yee Lok needed the best person for this new expansion venture and he needed to see who was worthy of taking on the project.

Hence the triad leader waited for their arrival. It was not long before he heard the first knock on his office door.

When Walter found that Birkoff wasn't at his station, he became a little worried. Where was he? Perhaps his buddy was handing in his report to Operations and they'd missed each other.

This was the better of the scenarios that filled his mind as Walter hoped that Birkoff wasn't doing anything that would get him into trouble. Sometimes his buddy's nervousness was a dead give away to the fact that he was doing something unauthorised. If that was the case he needed to be careful for they could be in deep trouble if Operations or Madeline got wind of their high jinks. Birkoff needed looking after and if he was up to something then Walter wanted to be there to cover his back.

He glanced around the area but there was still no sign of him. Hopefully he was okay. Walter decided that it was no good standing around waiting for Birkoff to return back to his station. There was nothing he could do here so he made his way to Munitions first. He had a clear view to Systems from his area and could monitor when Birkoff returned to his post. Until then, Walter needed to keep himself busy. He wanted to know how his buddy was before he headed to Medical to check on Nikita's situation. That was his plan. He knew there was no chance of seeing Michael until later this evening when the 24 hours would be up. They would know then if Dr Johnson needed the Intel on Michael or not, but he may be able to see his Sugar ... anyway there was no harm in trying. In the meantime, Walter planned to check the inventory to make sure that all equipment from the mission had been returned properly and wait for Birkoff to reappear or for him to contact him as to his whereabouts.