Spider's Bite
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Cheryl's words came to Caine as he walked into the disarray that was his abode. Many times this place had seen the attack of one enemy or another, but never had it seen one while Peter and Matthew Caine were living here. Matthew had only just moved to the city four months ago. He had come to help Peter with his lessons in being an apothecary while Caine was recovering in Shambhala due to the Black Widow sect's attempt at trying to corrupt him to their will. They nearly succeeded. Now it would seem the sect was once again troubling the Shaolin and sooner than they expected.
Caine walked around the room surveying the damage. He spied his father's cane lying among the rubble. The cane had been broken in two pieces. Images of his father trying to fight off three men while Peter fought with two others came through as he held the pieces in his hand. He watched as the sect tried to snare Peter and Matthew in their nets, his father artfully deflecting them with his cane, while Peter dodged as best he could their attempts at capturing him. The images nearly overwhelmed him when one of the men held his father at knifepoint and threatened to kill him if Peter did not stop. It was then that the images faded. It must have been when his father had dropped the broken remnants of his cane among the debris, perhaps for his own son to find and to learn what had happened.
Overwhelming grief hit Caine as he realized that the choice he would need to make might cause either his son or his father to die. Then Caine sensed a presence in his mind that he thought he would never be aware of.
*Do not grieve, my son.* It was Matthew. *I have lived a full life. My only regret is not finding out soon enough that you were alive. Please, tell Peter that I love him. He is a fine young man. You must save him before the sect harms him further. I will tell you where he can be found before . . . *
*Father, do not go.* Kwai Chang pleaded. But the link had been severed as quickly as it had come. "Kermit, my father has rescinded himself to die. He was going to tell me where to find Peter but the link was severed before he could."
"How was it that you were able to establish a link with him?"
Caine looked down at his hands and realized he still held his father's broken cane. Perhaps what he read was a message rather than an actual link that had been established. It seemed to have come and gone just like the images of the attack.
"That must have been some powerful link."
"Ones qi can be imprinted on objects," Caine stated as a matter of fact, and grasped the broken remnants of the cane to his breast. His father had this cane for many years it would seem. Kwai Chang had seen it when he saw his father for the first time in many years at St. Adele. And he had also observed the reason for it. His father had been broken, battered, and scarred. The avalanche that had killed so many on that doomed and fateful expedition had gravely injured his father. It had taken months for him to recover. But what had caused his father to loose all track of time was because he had suffered from amnesia for many years, only knowing his name and forgetting everything about his past. The full story had yet to be revealed, and at that moment, Kwai Chang Caine vowed to save both Peter and his father if it was physically possible to do so. Caine still had questions, and he was not ready to give up his father so easily without a fight.
"Caine, what are you going to do?" Kermit asked having seen a determination in Caine's eyes that had not been there before.
"I am going to meditate," Caine stated then stalked off toward the meditation room, still holding his father's broken cane.
"Meditate!?! What about this mess?"
"It will be taken care of," Caine stated. 'I must know where they have taken my father and Peter."
"You know I'm going to have to report this," Kermit stated. "Captain Simms will probably want to send a forensics team to go over this place."
"They will not find anything," Caine said.
"What makes you say that? I found that syringe outside. There could be more clues here."
"The sect would not have left any clues. They would have taken their nets with them."
"We still might find finger prints."
Once again Caine answered with, "You will not. Remember with whom you are dealing with Kermit."
Kermit Griffin blew out an exasperated sigh, "Caine, you're not helping me here. How am I supposed to help you find Peter and your father if you keep telling me that nothing can be done?"
"I did not say that nothing could be done. I said no clues could be found. We all ready know who has taken my father and my son. We just do not know where."
"All right Caine," Kermit conceded. "Meditate if that will help. I'll take this syringe to the lab and see what it contains. Inform me when you learn something. I'll be in my office."
Caine watched Kermit leave. He could see that the man was visibly upset that Caine was not able to help him find any evidence regarding the sect, but Caine knew he would not. The sect was very careful not to leave traces behind that would lead others to them. Still, he could not help but wonder about the syringe that Kermit found. Had one of the members slipped up and left it behind? If they had, it might very well give them the break they need. He just hoped it would not be too late.
Continues with Part 9
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2002.
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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