Pawns
A mourner watched the two men at the other end of the cemetery as they stared at the defaced statue. A smile formed on his lips. It would not be long now until his revenge on Peter Caine would be complete. Soon, the second half of his plan would be put into action as soon as the young man of the two made a decision that would seal the fate of the two people involved.
The man lowered his gaze, appearing to mourn the loss of his loved one as the coffin was lowered into the ground. It was fortuitous that at the same time Peter was receiving this clue, his daddy was just a few 100 feet or so away from him. The irony of it caused the man to secretly smile.
'So long, Priest," he thought. 'Your son has lost this battle. By the time he saves his blind mommy, it'll be too late for you. There's only enough air in that box to last a couple of hours. Your Shaolin abilities can't help you now. I guess this is your final resting place after all.'
As they finished lowering the coffin, the man picked up a handful of dirt and tossed it into the open grave. It was that signal that caused another man to break off from the group and head toward the statue at the other end.
*****
"Father, no."
Peter collapsed at the base of the statue. How could his father let himself die? But how could he not? Even he was forcing Peter to choose, trying to remind him in some way that a Shaolin protected those weaker than himself. If there had been any other way, his father would have found the means to free himself or succeeded in letting Peter know exactly where he was, but Caine had been drugged and his Shambhala Master's abilities had been severely hampered. It must have taken a great effort for him to even establish a link at all to let Peter know that only he could save Annie.
Peter knew his father was right. Chances were Peter would not be able to save his father without saving Annie. Even with that brief link, he still did not know where his father was, but it was possible Annie might have found out.
At that moment, a man dressed in a dark suit approached.
"Are you Peter Caine," the man asked.
"Yes," the young Shaolin answered.
"I was told to give you this." The man handed Peter an envelope then left the cemetery. Peter opened it to find yet another note.
"You have less than one hour to save her before there is a hot time in the old town tonight. It would be a shame to loose all that valuable real estate over one woman, but I'm sure the city planners can find something to do with all that storage space. After all, no one's going to notice one human body among all those other carcasses.
M"
Peter Caine's face paled as he realized just what the man was planning.
"We've got to get to the warehouse district," was all he said before he was on the move with Matthew following close behind.
End of Part 11
Alisa Joaquin & Linda Schwartz Copyright@2000.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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