Chapter 165 -- LFN Storyboard 2

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Date Posted: 04:45:41 05/24/08 Sat
Author: taurus2124
Author Host/IP: CPE-124-188-5-158.nsw.bigpond.net.au / 124.188.5.158
Subject: Chapter 165
In reply to: taurus2124 's message, "The Rising Dragons continued ...." on 08:39:51 05/10/08 Sat

Chapter 165

The Dragon rises up his back
In daylight near and far
He soars at night with deadly eye
Beneath the moon and star
The Rising Dragon!

Be wary of its mercilessness
For treachery brings you danger.
Perpetrators be especially vigilant,
It will rise up in anger...
The Rising Dragon!

�Death with Honour� its way of life
With motto �Strength by Dare�
Once you yield fear nought � but
When it seeks you, beware!
The Rising Dragon!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sipping a glass of chilled wine, Andy Koo sat staring out of the window repeating the mantra of the triad in an attempt to keep himself grounded after Nikita�s interrogation session. The torture techniques used on her, although harsh, were necessary. The triad needed to make a statement that they meant business and what better way to get a reaction from Section One than to show them a disc of one of their own suffering and being tortured. The fact that Nikita was a woman didn�t enter into the equation; however ... the way she reacted under interrogation was an eye opener to him. Nikita was obviously well trained and disciplined. The woman was unwavering. She was strong and loyal ... in fact all the qualities that the Rising Dragons valued in their members. But if Nikita was this resolute ... were others of her kind the same? This Michael Samuelle perhaps?

He pondered the events that had befallen the Rising Dragons over the last couple of months. It was clearly evident that Nikita and Michael were somehow involved in the triad�s demise and the more Andy thought about it, the more he concluded that they had been extremely vigilant in their methods.

But ... the triad would have its day of reckoning.

An invincible, powerful brotherhood
The triad rules supreme
Don�t ever try to obliterate
For retribution will be extreme
The Rising Dragon!

Andy smirked brimming with confidence and began to plot their revenge.

He was confident that the disc sent to Section One would do the trick. Once they�d viewed it and knew that the Rising Dragons had Nikita, they would look for anything that could lead to her location. His stoke of genius in demanding that Michael Samuelle be sent to them was poetic justice. In his mind this man was equally responsible with Nikita. His veiled threats would certainly have Section One jumping through hoops to accommodate his ultimatum. The 12 hour deadline was tight but that was just a guideline. If Section took longer so be it. They would have to decipher the clues as to their location first and that might take extra time.

There was enough evidence, however for Section One to locate the monastery if they looked carefully enough into the video recording. He had subtly left clues for them that Section was sure to act upon. Andy knew they had many resources at their disposal and if they really wanted to take down the Rising Dragons, they would move heaven and earth to locate Nikita quickly. Andy also needed to know where they stood. He needed Section One to show their hand. They would then send her companion, Michael Samuelle and others to rescue her. When they did ... they would be waiting. That�s when Section One would feel the full wrath of the Rising Dragons.

The triad was fully prepared for any assault. The monastery was fortified ... so there was little chance of storming its fortress. The remote location as well as around the clock surveillance and guards were impregnable. Andy knew that the retaliatory action by Section One would be swift, but that�s just what they wanted ... for anyone who tried to bring them down would suffer the consequences. This had to end. There had to be a victor and the vanquished. It was his intention that the triad would crush the insurrection imposed upon the Rising Dragons once and for all. If he had to torture whoever came after Nikita then so be it. No one would escape the wrath of the triad ... no one. Nikita�s leaders would know who was the more powerful ... and he knew who would surrender first.

Reflecting on what had transpired in the torture chamber; Andy couldn�t help the wry smile that crossed his mouth. Although Wang Yu was a man who�d been responsible for taking care of any of Sun Yee Lok�s dirty work, he was a pussy cat in comparison with himself. Consequently Wang had let him take care of business this time for Nikita�s interrogation. It was a warning to Section One that the Rising Dragons were a formidable group too and would not be messed with a moment longer. The leaders of Section would know in no uncertain terms that they would seek vengeance for what had happened to their people. This was just an example of how ruthless the triad could be. They were not afraid of anyone ... least of all Section One.

Be cautious of its ruthless ways
This enigma to the night
For the Dragon bears upon his wings
A chilling tale of fright
The Rising Dragon!

Sun Yee Lok had long suspected that Nikita was someone to watch and he�d expressed his concern on more than one occasion. It was such a pity that Jiang was not alive ... he�d been looking into Nikita�s movements and had been backtracking them since her arrival in Hong Kong but he hadn�t found anything specific on her. Although their suspicions about Nikita were heightened everything was just sheer conjecture. And now here she was under their control, and Jiang wasn�t here to reap the benefits of his great work.

Was Section One somehow involved in the atrocities at his nightclub too? So many triad brothers had been killed that night and how that could have happened was still a mystery. Surely Nikita and Michael weren�t involved in that as well? Or were they?

No matter if they were or weren�t ... the triad didn�t need to know any more information. It was obvious that Nikita had somehow been involved in the atrocities that had befallen the Rising Dragons of late. There were now too many coincidences that could be explained logically. The trail of events could be traced back to Charlie Yin and the two assailants who had come to his rescue on the wharf in Aberdeen. Wang Yu had been present when Sun Yee Lok had visited Tony Wong in Aberdeen and he�d been told about the two assailants who had killed six of their men. At the time they had no idea who these people were ... they had disappeared into thin air ... but now in the clear light of day it was highly probable that they were in fact Nikita and this Michael Samuelle. She had also arrived in Hong Kong around about the time of these events.

The triad has a cruel, ferocious wrath
Beware! Take heed! Think twice!
Never ... ever ... deceive or betray
For you will pay the price...
The Rising Dragon!

But he wasn�t going to kill her yet ... Nikita could still be useful to them.

Yes ... everything was making a lot of sense. The triad had their woman and they would eventually have their man too once Section One sent Michael Samuelle to them. Things were beginning to fall into place. All the puzzle pieces were coming together on both Tony Wong and Madame Cheung. Nikita was obviously the blonde prot�g� whom Madame Cheung had taken under her wing. Their suspicions would eventually be confirmed. Nikita Wirth would eventually pay the ultimate price for her demise as well. Her associate would pay with his life too.

Bring it on! Andy thought and took another sip of his wine. He was most satisfied and so too would be Sun Yee Lok when he heard of the developments.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Birkoff sat staring at his computer screen. He was despondent and very worried that Michael hadn�t replied to his message. Where was he? Had he managed to find Nikita on his own already? Why didn�t he check in? He knew Walter and he had promised to help in any way if he needed them. Obviously Michael had things under control ... but still this was no consolation. Section One had legitimate proof that Nikita was being held and if Michael knew what she had suffered he would be pitiless. It was imperative that he know this Intel ASAP ... Nikita�s life hung in the balance. How much more could she bear if the Rising Dragons tortured her again?

The one stipulation on the disc was that Michael be sent to the triad ... but if they couldn�t locate him then how could they send him? And where would they send him? Birkoff knew he would need to search deeper into the tape to find any clue that could bear light on her location. Birkoff was a very worried man. His fingers automatically repeated the process that he had done many times over ... sending the same message to Michael.

MICHAEL: ARE YOU THERE?

Birkoff looked at his monitor willing for an answer to appear on his screen, but yet again his reply was no different from all the other times.

NO REPLIES TO ENCODED INQUIRY

Disheartened he lowered his head and placed his hands to his face before trying once again. Now that Michael had gone dark he would not communicate with Section One unless they gave him something concrete. As a last resort Birkoff coded something into his computer which pulled up a hologram of the apartment where Karen Ho lived. It was a shot in the dark but it may work. Karen was Michael�s only known link to the Rising Dragons. He would surely go in search of her first in order to find Nikita. Perhaps he could try to incriminate Karen further in his attempt for Michael to reply.

So far there was no indication that he�d tunnelled into Section�s database under an anonymous I.D. to access any information about Karen or else Birkoff would have been able to track any files Michael had accessed. However if and when he did, Michael would see Intel about Nikita that he had placed there and that would certainly make him check in. Birkoff�s only hope was that Michael hadn�t gone into full �Mandatory Refusal� and that he had severed all communications until his mission to find Nikita was completed. Would the next time he contacted Section be to tell them that he�d been successful?

Birkoff typed in the question again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael heard the beep on his PDA and casually glanced at it on the seat of his car. He saw the light blink with a message, but he ignored the question that flashed up on the screen. He had more important things to attend to. He had a woman to trace down and whatever Birkoff wanted to know could wait.

However, if nothing else ... he was insistent for the PDA still beeped with the same request some moments later.

MICHAEL: ARE YOU THERE?

Reaching his hand over to pick it up, Michael switched the PDA off then stared at its blank screen for a moment. There was nothing to indicate that Section had news of Nikita�s whereabouts and until Birkoff gave him something substantial in his communiqu� ... he would remain dark. Otherwise they were just wasting their time and his as well.

Michael was determined that Karen Ho would give him the answers as to Nikita�s location. At long last she would also prove that his gut instincts had been correct all along and that she was indeed a member of the Rising Dragons. But most importantly, Karen could tell him where to find Nikita.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Play on text from ... HL and MR

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