Characters:  David Chow, Kwai Chang Caine (at the end)

Violence:  None

Timeline:  Primarily Chow's thoughts when Caine and his son arrive in the Council Chamber.

Rating:  G

Violence: None

Disclaimer: All characters are borrowed except those created by me.   All other characters (from KF: TLC and we know who they are) are the property of Warner Brothers.  I promise to give them back when I am done with them (of course I do not know how long that will be.)  I give permission to archive.

David Chow frowned as two men entered the council chamber.  Several months ago, he had heard that a new Shaolin Priest had arrived in the city.  Upon hearing that the man's name was Caine, David Chow had done some discreet investigating and realized that this man was related to a cop with the same last name who worked out of the 101st precinct.  Further investigation uncovered some startling news.  That information was brought before the council.  Questions arose.  What was the man doing in this city?  Would he be a threat to the young prince?  For a time, he let the matter go, seeing that it was placed in the hands of others.  But now, with that man standing in these very chambers demanding that his honor be given a chance to be regained, David Chow was forced to look more closely at the priest who now stood before them all.

As the Ancient spoke to Caine, David Chow continued to be consumed by his own thoughts.  Here stood before them the grandson of the one who killed the nephew of the emperor over 100 years ago.  He could not believe that even with the dishonor placed upon the line, the son of Caine and even the grandson had both been allowed to become priests, as if that would somehow wipe out that taint.  And now, the grandson, the hated enemy of the royal throne, was begging the assembly to regain his honor; not only for himself, but for his own son.

Did the man take him for a fool?  Then another more sinister thought occurred to him.  If Caine was allowed to do this, perhaps it would be the bojaya who would be blamed if he should fail, but David Chow doubted that it would go that far.  Test the young man?  This was turning into a circus.  Why was the Ancient allowing this to go on?  The son did not look anything like the father, and he was considered an outsider.  He carried a gun, and the bojaya, though protector to the royal Prince was not allowed to carry any weapon.  Let the young man be tested.  If he failed, then the honor of this upstart priest would be forever lost, and his unworthiness would prove to have been right all along.  Most of all, the young Prince would have no one to protect him.

David Chow watched the fight with disgust.  The young man wasn't even trying to defend himself..  "He's a coward."

Before he could turn away, expecting to hear the death screams of the Shaolin's son, Chow watched in fascination as the young man suddenly made an impossible move and disarmed Master Kahn.  Caine's son should not have been able to do that.  Master Kahn was a Shaolin Priest and very skilled.  Few have been able to defeat him.  It was why he had been selected as the young prince's trainer, oddly enough by the Ancient.  And to see that Caine and his son knew Master Kahn, disturbed Chow.  How was it that they knew each other?  Was the test even a worthy one?  Had it even been fair?  Still, to see Master Kahn defeated by the son of the dishonored caused David Chow to pause.

If the bojaya succeeds in keeping Sing Ling alive, perhaps that was not a bad thing.  Sing Ling was still a child and still pliable.

'Perhaps it might be best if I talked to the Lo Chang, try to get them to see that keeping the young Prince alive may be a good thing,' Chow thought.  'Even if Sing Ling was allowed to ascend the throne, all major decisions could still be made by others.  The real power would be behind the throne.  We could always fall back on our plans if the young Prince becomes a problem.'

As the son of the Shaolin was declared bojaya and Chow returned his thoughts to the center of the conversation, the eyes of the Shaolin Priest locked on his.  Not a word was spoken between them.  David Chow, however, felt as if the priest's eyes was boring into him.  The priest seemed to read him, as if trying to pry his secrets from Chow's very soul.  There were legends of the Shaolin, legends that stated that only the greatest of the Shaolin fully understood the mysteries of the universe.  It was said that they were more than just mere men.

As everyone started to leave, David Chow remained where he was.  He sat back on the chair and folded his fingers together, still locked in the Shaolin's gaze.  The Shaolin was the first to break eye contact.  And when he did, David Chow had to smile.  'We shall see who is the stronger, Kwai Chang Caine,' thought David Chow, as he watched the priest and his son leave to meet their newly appointed task.

The End