Welcome to a secret world that hides beneath the surface of the mundane. It is a world of urban legends and rumors, a world of astonishing deeds and epic battles. Meet its enigmatic inhabitants. Learn their secrets, their desires, their beliefs, their hopes and their dreams. Listen to the tales of pain, injustice, compassion, kindness, courage, cooperation, love, sacrifice and hope. Meet the guardian angels, the warriors, the philosophers, the priests, the phantoms and the wanderers. But remember – once you enter this world, you can never truly leave it.

GEISHA’S FAVOR: Brother’s Warden

It was late afternoon in Riverside City. We were coming back from school. Scott was babbling about Spider-Man. Fei was teasing me about my detention. I was pretending I was hurt. Then, they showed up.

Dark jackets with green-and-yellow symbols. Chains. Torn jeans. Heavy boots. Orange shirts. Pierced ears. There was no mistaking it.

“Yeplees,” Fei growled.

Them circled around us before we could even think of running.

“Well, well, well,” a loud, somewhat high-pitched voice rang across the street. “What do we have here?”

A short, well-dressed Asian girl stepped out from behind the Yeplees. She wasn’t that much older then my brother. Anyone from out of town would probably think she was a cheerleader or some other popular high-school person. We knew better.

Lina Yep-Leung.

The Wicked Witch.

“Just a bunch of little rugrats who don’t know their place,” one of the taller Yeplees replied darkly.

“What,” I heard myself yelling in protest. “We didn’t do anything!”

Scott looked at me like I just swore in class.

“You don’t get it, do you, kid,” the taller Yeplee moved closer, breathing menacingly, “You’re trespassing on Yep-Leung territory. And we don’t take kindly to trespassers, do we?”

The rest of the group laughed in agreement.

Everybody in school thought we were lucky. We lived in the Red District, one of the few neighborhoods that didn’t belong to Yep-Leungs or Daltons. Sure, we had to pass through Yep-Leung territory to get to school, but as long as we didn’t attract attention, we were safe.

“I wonder what we should do with them…” the Tall Yeplee taunted us. “Should we kill them? Skin them alive? Hang them upside their heads?”

Fei clenched her fists, her mouth pressed in a tight line.

I shot a sharp look at her direction. I knew she hated Yep-Leungs more then anything else. After all, she grew up in the heart of Yep-Leung territory. But we couldn’t do anything. We were just eleven years old. Maybe, if we just stayed quiet, they’d leave us alone…

“No, no, please.” Scott cried. “We’ll be good, I promise.”

“Chicken,” Fei spat. Scott looked away.

Lisa Yep-Leung came up to Scott and ruffled his hair. He started shaking uncontrollably.

“I like this one,” she smiled warmly. “What’s your name, little boy?”

“Scott Danvers,” he whimpered.

“Aww… That’s such a cool name,” she tilted her head a bit. “We’re gonna have so much fun.”

“What… what do you mean?” Scott’s voice rose to a panic.

Lina Yep-Leung touched Scott’s shoulder.

“I want you to come play with me. You will come, won’t you? Because, if you don’t, I’ll be really upset.”

The Yeplees moved even closer. Some of them reached into their jackets.

How can they do this to us? We didn’t do anything wrong. Why doesn’t the police stop them. They can’t do this…

It happened so fast. Fei tackled Lina Yep-Leung. She was almost immediately peeled off by the Yeplees. I kicked and punched, trying to get to Fei, but there were too many of them and I was too small…

BEEP!

I sat up, drenched in sweat.

Dammit.

Out of all the crap that happened to me over the years, why did it have to this memory?

It must be the Yep-Leung case. Got me thinking about the old days. Speaking of which…

I glanced to the side of the bed. Nine o’ clock.

I wasn’t as weak and helpless as I used to be. I knew several martial arts. I had a few convenient gadgets. I had friends in high places. And, after five years of sneaking around in the shadows, dressed in a crimson costume and wielding my signature blades, I was a force to be reckoned with. Still, I wasn’t Batman. I couldn’t fight crime all night and do whatever it is that businessmen do all day. I had to worry about things like eating, sleeping and having a social life. And, since I didn’t have a huge fortune I could blow on gadgets and a spiffy cave, I had to earn a living. Thankfully, for me, the two went hand-in-hand. I spent my afternoons researching for Riverside Herald’s “Youth Culture” column. And, at night, I follow up on the information I gathered, going into places I couldn’t go, spying on people I wouldn’t dare to approach. Then, armed with enough information, I go after criminals. More often then not, I stop them. And, because of my … intimate connections with the city’s police department, they usually stay caught.

The only downside is that juggling crime fighting, work and social life forces me into a very, very odd schedule.

And speaking of intimate connections…

I looked to the other side of my bed. Wendi wasn’t there.

I stretched, forcing myself to get up. My clothes were exactly where I left them: all over the floor. Wendi’s clothes were nowhere in sight.

She must have gotten up and left.

This shouldn’t have bothered me. She was a lieutenant at RCPD’s 15th precinct, which meant that she was pretty much on call 24/7. Something probably came up. She had to take care of it.

Yet, it did bother me. It bothered me quite a bit.

I strolled into the kitchen.

A note was hastily scratched on a post-it on the refrigerator

Chris

GG. MDT. Another YL missing. Get everyone ASAP.

Love, W.

Crap.

Crap crap crap crap crap.

MDT. “Madness Downtown”. In other words, the Riverside City Police Department is, to put it politely, in the state of panicked uproar.

That was bad enough. Having dealt with over four decades of gang warfare, our police don’t scare easily.

And, after reading the rest, I could see why.

YL.

Yep-Leung.

These days, it seemed hard to believe that there was a time when long the entire city was a sight for the struggle between two of the most influential crime families in this part of East Coast – the Yep-Leungs and the Daltons.

It all started in the 1940s, when Renaldo Dalton and Fu-Han Leung came to the poverty-stricken, deeply corrupt, chronically mismanaged Riverside City and, taking advantage of the power vacuum left by the demise of the previous crime lord, established their bases of operations within its heart. For the next four decades, they fought over the control of the city, ruling their respective territories with an iron fist, terrorizing anyone who dared to challenge them. It took an alliance of costumed vigilantes and the group of dedicated police officers to finally bring them down.

My dad, Brian Ensis, was one of the people who started it all. Back in the seventies, he used to dress up in the red, full-body costume and hunt down Yep-Leungs and Daltons, armed with nothing but a pair of red-dyed broadswords and scare tactics. People called him ‘A Man with Red Blades’, which eventually got shortened to ‘Red Blade’ or ‘Crimson Blade’. When he got married, he gave up crime fighting. Sixteen years later, my older brother, Kyle, decided to take up dad’s identity, updating the costume and changing the broadswords into hand-mounted ‘blade gauntlets’. I tried to help as much as I could. In the end, I would like to think I made a difference.

I sighed.

It seemed so easy then. Topple Yep-Leungs and Daltons from power, and everything would be all right. The streets would be clean, the jobs would be plentiful and everyone would be happy.

Maybe that’s why you quit, Kyle. You couldn’t handle the disillusionment.

I went to take a shower and get myself cleaned up.

This was going to be a long day.

It has been eight years since the heads of both families were arrested. Seven years since the last ‘YLD Trial’ ended. Most of the members of both families wound up in jail. A couple of them already finished their sentences. Others got off for ‘good behavior’. The rest weren’t getting out for a while. As for those who never went to jail, there were a few who were truly innocent. The rest didn’t really do anything that couldn’t be swept under the rug. Somehow, despite everything they did, despite the fact that most of the family accounts were frozen, they seemed to survive and, to a certain extent, thrive.

About five weeks ago, members of Yep-Leung family started to go missing.

Shi Ping ‘Sophie’ Leung, the crafty, calculating matriarch of the Yep-Leung family, was kidnapped on her way out of a coffee shop. According to witnesses, an unmarked white van swooped in. A pair of men in black bodysuits and black masks leapt out of the trunk and dragged the old lady in. The car drove off before anyone could do anything.

The police opened an investigation, but I knew that it was largely a formality. There was too much bad blood, too many bitter memories. Some of the cops I knew were openly gloating, delighting in the fact that Yep-Leungs, who used to be quite famous for drive-by kidnappings, finally got the taste of their own medicine. I couldn’t help but agree. Sophie Leung just got out of prison because her lawyer managed to convince the parole board that his client was too frail to continue her sentence.

‘Too frail’ my ass.

Two days later, Stacy Yep-Leung, the youngest member of the Yep-Leung family, was called to the principal’s office. She never came out. Forty minutes later, the receptionist realized that the principal wasn’t taking any calls. When she opened the door, she found the principal crumpled on the floor. The medical exam determined that he was heavily tranquilized. When he came to, he insisted that he never called Stacy to the office. The examination of the room shoved no signs of forced entry. According to the receptionist, no one came in or out of the office after Stacy entered it.

There were no fingerprints. No foreign DNA. No clues. No nothing.

Part of me didn’t want to care. They were Yep-Leungs. They deserved everything that happened to them. But I couldn’t turn my back on this. Stacy was eight years old. She had nothing to do with her family’s crimes.

Besides, I despise the bastards who would sink so low that they would kidnap innocent children.

I searched every building within the 2-mile radius of the school. Questioned hundreds of witnesses. All I managed to find out what that a while van left the school grounds about ten minutes after Stacy entered the principal’s office. After that, no one was quite sure where it went.

That’s the problem with white vans. They’re just too damn inconspicuous.

At this point, the remaining Yep-Leungs started to panic. They hired bodyguards. Some pleaded for protective custody. A few of them pulled their resources together to hire a private. Everyone who was outside the city was ordered to stay put and wait for further instructions.

The Daltons offered their support. They were “politely rebuffed”.

One week later, Ying ‘Joe’ Yep-Leung, who risked his life and limb to help bring his family to justice, defied family orders and went to a club. At 9:45 PM, he got a call from a payphone somewhere in downtown and quickly took off on his motorcycle.

The next morning, his cell phone and his jacket were discovered in the park almost a mile away from the club. Nobody had any idea what happened to his motorcycle.

Yep-Leungs stepped up security. All the remaining members of the family were forbidden to leave their homes. The police finally decided to take their investigation seriously.

With Wendi’s help, I traced the pay phone where the call to Joe had come. It was in the western business district.

In the old days, it was part of Yep-Leung territory. But ever since they were toppled, several major companies that used to stay away moved in, eager to take advantage of thousands of people that suddenly found themselves unemployed. Prospero International, which already made significant inroads, expanded its presence. Other, smaller businesses followed suit. As a result, both business districts were busy and thriving.

Back in the day, I could have safely assumed it was an internal power struggle of some kind. Now, I wasn’t so sure.

At that point, I had only one lead: the white van. I went to several car shops, using my press credentials to find out if anyone recently bought a van matching witnesses’ descriptions.

Turned out that some guy bought two white vans – one from a shop in Rolling Hills, one from a shop in my neighborhood. They were miles apart.

I gave Wendi the description of the buyer.

Four days later, the Yep-Leungs’ private investigator turned up dead, stuffed in the garbage can near the police headquarters.

The Yep-Leungs decided that they could not afford to take any chances. All free family members within the city were ordered to move into their fortified suburban compound (the only one the family managed to retain).

Police didn’t find out about this until it was too late.

On the way to the compound, Howard Yep, one of the most paranoid members of Yep-Leung family, was kidnapped en route. His van was pulled over by what he thought was a patrol car. He made a run for it.

He hasn’t been seen since.

The ‘patrol car’ turned up in the junkyard ten hours later.

The description I gave to Wendi turned up nothing. The face was too generic.

According to witness testimony, Howard Yep managed to run at least a block. After that, the trail went cold.

At this point, the accusations started flying. Tao-Ran Leung, son of Fu-Han Leung who, until his arrest, was the acting chief of Yep-Leung crime family, issued a statement from his prison cell, accusing Daltons of masterminding the kidnappings. Daltons fired back, accusing him of organizing the whole thing to frame them. Tao-Ran’s wife, Lin Leung, accused Commissioner Rae of deliberate negligence. Camilla Jing Yep, Howard’s aunt, insisted that there was a traitor in the family. Other members of the family chimed in, moaning about how it was all the work of a secret cabal of costumed vigilantes.

Nobody took them seriously.

Not even the ‘cabal’ in question.

Still, I was running out of leads, so I decided to get some extra help.

That was two weeks ago.

I got out of the shower, brushed my teeth, shaved and went to make myself some breakfast.

Masters of Unorthodoxy weren’t “costumed vigilantes” per say. Sure, some of them wore costumes, but some of them didn’t. It wasn’t really the point. While most of us deal with street level crime – robbers, murderers, rapists, corrupt officials and occasional mob bosses; they dealt with global stuff. Secret conspiracies, large criminal organizations, terrorist movements – you name it. They have bases all over the world. Their members are carefully chosen from every corner of the planet. They have dedicated tech support teams. Their gadgets and vehicles are stuff of legends. But most importantly, they are very, very well informed. If you want to know something no one else knows, something no one wants to talk about, you ask them. There is a very good chance they’ll have the answer.

I picked up my breakfast from the microwave.

Masters of Unorthodoxy were willing to help any crime fighter who managed to discover their existence. Unfortunately, they had long waiting lists.

I went over to my computer, plate on hand, and connected to the Internet. Several passwords and security checks later, I entered the Justice Convention message board.

It was created by Brian Owens, a former costumed crime fighter who used to work with my brother. Several server moves and two major upgrades later, it became THE premier message board for crime fighters, costumed or otherwise.

I logged in.

Seconds later, a new window popped up

You have 1 priority message

I opened Justice Convention my “p-mail” account and opened the message highlighted in red.

From: G M – D r u i d 3 8 a t j u s t i c e c o n . n e t

To: R e d R i d e r3 a t j u s t i c e c o n . n e t

Subject: Re: Information Request: Yep-Leung Case

Holy. Crap.

I got an e-mail from Druid, Grandmaster of Unorthodoxy.

It’s kind of like if you sent a question to your local congressman and got a response written by the President of United States himself.

It was kind of what it’s like. Only cooler.

I skimmed through the letter.

The Masters of Unorthodoxy had no idea who was behind the kidnappings. But, according to their research, right around the time Yep-Leungs started vanishing; someone started taking money from their secret accounts. After passing through several parties, it wound up in a couple of accounts. A decent chunk of it went to someone named Travis Lee Warden.

This was odd. As far as I knew, Travis Lee Warden was a big-shot lawyer who lived in Meridian City. The only Warden around here was…

Wait a minute.

I reread the e-mail.

Grandmaster Druid retraced all the accounts the money was laundered through. The names meant nothing to me. Except one.

Claire Warden.

Two months ago, I rescued her from a rapist. Or so I thought. It turned out that it was simply a case of kinky sex gone wrong.

As I recalled, the whole thing was settled it out of court.

According to Grandmaster’s e-mail, before the money was spread out to several people and organizations, it went through the bank account bearing her name.

It was probably one of her secondary accounts. Something she created off record, away from the prying eyes of the IRS.

Interesting. Very interesting.

I tried to remember what I knew about Claire Warden. Blonde. Early 30s. Pretty, if you like them anorexic. She was in charge of the Riverside City branch of Warden Shipping.

Wait. Blonde? I thought the Wardens were all brunettes. Something about the Greek blood in the family…

I went on the Internet and researched the Warden family tree.

It turned out that Tom Warden, the third son of Cliff Terrance Warden, the founder of the dynasty, remarried at some point. Claire was the daughter of his new wife from her previous marriage.

Furthermore, Travis Lee Warden was Tom Warden’s son from his first marriage.

I felt like I was on to something. I just wasn’t sure what.

I decided to run the new information by Wendi. See where that would take us.

I went back to Justice Convention message board and put out a general alert to any of our allies that might be in the vicinity of Riverside City. Something told me we’d need all the help we could get.

I called Fei and Kyle, telling them to meet me at the 15th precinct HQ. Then, I printed up Grandmaster’s letter, grabbed a jacket and went out.

Several minutes later, I was on the road. Two of the city’s tallest skyscrapers loomed ahead, overshadowing everything in sight. For so long, they were symbols of the evil that controlled our city, monuments to their struggle and unchallenged supremacy. Now, they were home to several corporations.

It should have made a difference, but it didn’t. Too many lives were ruined within those walls. Far too many.

I sped along, zooming through surprisingly heavy traffic. At this like this, I was glad I had a motorcycle.

15th precinct was pure bedlam. Police cars were coming and out. The press swarmed around the entrance, badgering some poor rookie. Cops and civilians were running, pushing and showing, complaining and arguing. And, by the looks of things, Yep-Leungs’ lawyers were already on the scene.

“… Fifth Yep-Leung kidnapping in that past few weeks. What are the police…”

“… Demand to see Lieutenant Rae…”

“…Doing everything we can to…”

“… Please, step away from…”

“… an affront to justice. You’re biased…”

“… suited Yeplees…”

“…Pardon me…”

Oh man. Wendi better hurry up.

We met up at the usual place, an interrogation room that was perpetually ‘under renovation’. Kyle was already there, stretching. Brian Owens was here too. He was completely absorbed in the heap of computers by the far wall.

“So, little brother, how long did it take you to find parking?” Kyle said as soon as he saw me. His voice was sardonic and tired.

“Don’t even joke,” I replied. Kyle smirked.

It was funny. Back in the day, our neighbors couldn’t stop talking about how much we were alike. We both had brown hair and blue eyes. Of course, it wasn’t that simple. Kyle’s hair was darker and messier. He was always taller and lankier then I ever was. He couldn’t stand anything that had to do with writing, just like I could never figure out how to repair a bike or fix a broken faucet. I’ve always been pickier about my clothes. But ultimately, all of that was superficial compared to one important difference. Kyle was a fighter. When he wore a suit, he focused on defeating his enemies. He didn’t like compromises. And, at the end of the day, he expected others to feel the same way.

This is why we will never quite get along.

“Anyway,” I continued. “Which Yep-Leung vanished this time?”

“Lina.”

Simple. Direct. Precise. It came from somewhere in the right corner of the room. The voice was hauntingly placid, calm, yet menacing.

If I weren’t used to it, I probably would have jumped a couple of feet.

Sure enough, Yuzuki Yami, a Japanese-born woman who’s been my brother’s girlfriend for what seemed like forever, was sitting on a pile of boxes. She looked completely natural, like she always belonged there. Her clothing was unassuming. Her supernaturally black, long hair was casually tossed over her shoulders. You could almost fool yourself into believing that she was just another poor immigrant – until you noticed her eyes – unusually wide, colorless and cold.

A chill went down my spine. Yuzuki was out for blood.

“Yeah,” Kyle sighed. “Out of all the people, why the hell did it have to be the Wicked Witch? This is fucked up. Couldn’t they have kidnapped someone else?”

I couldn’t help but agree with him. I didn’t want to have to rescue her. Not her. Anyone but her.

Suddenly, the door swung open. A lean girl with short, spiked hair and a leather jacket, spiked belt and tight jeans to match walked through it. She tossed her jacket at the closest chair, revealing a ‘Not Your Cherry Blossom' t-shirt underneath. Her favorite.

She meant so many things to me, this Asian girl with no traceable origins and more then enough bravado to compensate for it. My friend. My ally. My ex. In all the world, there wasn’t many whom I trusted as much as I trusted her.

“So?” she asked, her voice panting slightly. “What’s going on?”

“Well, here is what we know,” Kyle answered. “At seven a clock today, Leila Yep-Leung went to wake up her older sister, Lina. As you may or may not know, they were staying in Yep-Leung compound. Lina was gone.”

“You mean someone infiltrated the Yep-Leung compound!” Fei shouted, her voice a mix of shock and envy.

“Possible,” Yuzuki remarked. “Not likely.”

“Why?” I asked.

“No blood.”

“Plus, they probably upgraded since the last time we were there,” Kyle said, nodding towards Yuzuki.

“Doesn’t matter,” said Yuzuki. “I could have still gotten in. But there are not that many people that could say that.”

“Do you think Yami Shogun is involved?” I asked.

“No,” Yuzuki shook her head emphatically. “If he wanted to get Yep-Leungs, he would have had them long ago.”

“Then what happened?” Fei demanded impatiently. “Lina couldn’t have just vanished into thin air.”

“She probably snuck out,” Kyle said. “Wanted to see the sights, that bitch…”

“I don’t know…” I said. “She’s already done time for that. Do you think she would risk it?”

“Sure,” Fei spat dismissively. “Never stopped her before.”

That was when Wendi finally walked in.

“Sorry,” she said, sounding slightly frazzled. “It’s a jungle out there. So, how’s parking?”

We exchanged looks.

“Don’t ask.” Fei said for all of us.

“Right…” Wendi said. “Anyway, I didn’t find out much. We questioned security guards and servants. To nobody’s surprise, most of them were quiet as houses, but one guard told me that he’s seen Lina sneaking out. Once she was outside the compound walls, a black limo swung by. She jumped inside. Next thing he knew, the limo took off.”

“Great!” Kyle exclaimed. “She could be anywhere by now!”

“Wait.” I said. “If that’s true, then how do we know she was actually kidnapped?”

“Her family tried calling her. There was lots of static. Lina said something. Then, someone shouted at her. She shouted back. Then, connection got cut off.”

“Oh…”

“Our tech guys are going through transmission as we speak.”

“Did you send it to Brian?” Kyle asked.

“Of course,” Wendi smiled. “I don’t wanna wait all week.”

As if on cue, Brian suddenly shouted:

“I got it!”

We crowded around his chair.

“Well, I analyzed Ms. Rae’s recording. I did the best I could with this equipment...” Kyle gave him a stern look. “Right… Anyway, I managed to find a couple of interesting things.”

Brian hit several buttons:

“There’s still some static I couldn’t clear out, but for the most part, the conversation is legible.” He adjusted his glasses. “Here we go.”

For a few seconds, there was nothing but static. Then, suddenly, the sound came on.

“…Am in Yep-Leung…” static “…in the old storage room. Second floor, I think. Mama…”

There was some kind of scuffle in the background.

“Hey, what are you.…”

Static.

“…let her keep the cell phone! Idiot!”

“Let go of me, you…” static. “…knobs! If my family…”

A loud crash.

“Shut up!”

“Dammit, someone, kill the…”

Static.

Silence

We looked at each other, then at Brian.

“Is that it?” Kyle asked.

“Yep,” Brian shrugged apologetically. “Pretty much.”

This was definitely Lina. She sounded terrified and haggard. She probably hasn’t eaten since she was kidnapped.

There were at least two other people in the room. Probably in their thirties. Judging by the accent, one guy was from either New Beijing or Channel Docks. Hard to be sure.

Either way, I wouldn’t be surprised if those guys used to work for Yep-Leungs. It certainly explained the ‘knobs’. It’s what the younger Yep-Leungs tended to call their underlings.

Could it be that some minor lieutenant decided to recruit some disfranchised Yeplees and take revenge on his former employees? It would certainly explain why they were so effective. They had the insider knowledge and probably a few insider contacts. Also, Lina said she was being held up at the Yep-Leung building. I heard rumors that there was some activity in the old Yep-Leung warehouses…

I relayed my thoughts to others.

“Do you have any idea where the signal came from?” Wendi asked.

“Yeah,” Brian nodded. “I managed to retrace the signal. Judging by the position of the towers,” he clicked a few more buttons, switching the screen to a very detailed map of the city, “It came from somewhere down…” the screen filled with circles and dots. “Here.”

He pointed the mouse at the location. It zoomed in.

“Holy crap!” Fei shouted. I couldn’t help but agree.

It came from the northwestern side of the western business district!

“Damn,” Kyle whistled. “This whole place used to belong to Yep-Leungs.”

“Yeah,” I said. “But these days, they wouldn’t dare set foot there.”

“Sure,” Kyle agreed readily. “But I bet you there are still a few hideouts we’ve never discovered. Heck, for all they know, they could be using the old basement levels at…”

“…Yep-Leung Tower!”

“It would explain the static,” Brian noted nonchalantly.

“No way,” Wendi shook her head furiously. “This place is secured tighter then Headquarters. Besides, last I heard, Warden Shipping converted the basement levels into storage...”

Warden Shipping.

Yep-Leung.

Warden Shipping.

Yep-Leung

Oh! Shit!

“Guys,” I said. The wheels in my head were in overdrive. “I got an e-mail from the Masters. Apparently, someone’s been emptying secret Yep-Leung accounts. All the money was funneled through Claire Warden’s account…”

“No. No way!” Kyle said, his voice rising with every word. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying….”

“I thought all the accounts were frozen by the feds!” Wendi exclaimed.

“So did I,” Brian mumbled darkly.

“That’s not the point!” I shouted. “If I’m right, then Claire Warden is responsible for all this mess.”

“I don’t know,” Wendi asked. “It doesn’t seem right. Why would a member of the family that owns one of the biggest shipping companies on the planet want to steal money from disgraced crime lords?”

“Or better yet, how did she find their accounts?” Brian asked.

“I don’t know. According to the Masters, she’s been depositing money in Travis Lee Warden’s account.”

“Who’s Travis Lee Warden?” Fei asked

“A famous lawyer from Meridian City,” Wendi explained. “Davis told me about him.”

“Wait!” Fei shouted. “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would a lawyer want to steal from criminals?”

“I don’t know,” Brian shrugged. “Why would a Warden want to be a lawyer?”

“Look!” Kyle shouted. “It doesn’t matter why she stole the money. We’ll find it out later. All that matters is that she’s been kidnapping Yep-Leungs off the street…”

“Yeah,” Fei said. “Why would she do it, anyway?”

“Because accounts are secret.” Yuzuki spoke up suddenly. “She needs the locations. She needs passwords. Only Yep-Leungs know that.”

“And that little Yep-Leung girl…”

“Cohesion tactic,” Yuzuki said, her voice suddenly lowered to an eerie whisper. In a blink of an eye, she was on her feet. “I will kill that konoyaro…”

“Wait.” Wendi raised her hand in protest. “Wait, wait, wait! Are you going to assume that Claire Warden is behind the kidnappings simply because some organization that’s accountable to no one told you that she was involved in a laundering scheme!”

Kyle, Brian, Yuzuki and Fei looked at her like she was out of her mind.

“The Masters sent me proof,” I said before Kyle could say something he might regret. “I got printouts if you want to take a look at them.”

Wendi thought about it for a few seconds.

“No, it’s OK” she finally said. “I trust you. You guys have to understand… We are talking about a member of a very powerful family that helped the Riverside City after the gang wars destroyed our economy. If we’re wrong…”

I took Wendi’s hand:

“I know. Believe me, I know. Last thing we want is another Rae Scandal. But this is the only lead we got. “

“Besides, they got Joe,” Fei pointed out. “We can’t just abandon him.”

A heavy sigh echoed throughout the room.

“Alright…” Kyle finally said. “What’s the plan?”

“We go in,” I said. “Check the prison levels. If the Yep-Leungs aren’t there… well, we’re back to square one.”

“We should check Claire Warden’s office,” Kyle added. “Just in case. It’s in the same building, right?”

“Of course,” Brian nodded.

“I wonder if we’ll be able to use the old secret passageway,” Kyle wondered aloud.

“Nah,” Brian shook his head. “It’s likely the Wardens blocked it off at the first opportunity. You wouldn’t want the criminals to get your goods, you know.”

“Alright,” I sighed. I always wanted to check out that entrance. “How do we get inside, then?”

“You can’t sneak in,” Brian said. “My blueprints are too outdated. I could tap a few favors and find fresh blueprints, but that could take hours.”

“Can’t you just hack something and find them?” Kyle asked.

“No. It would take just as long.” Seeing our incredulous stares, Brian shrugged. “This is Wardens we’re talking about. They’ve got top of the line Proteus firewalls and thousand-variable encryptions. Just because I make it look easy doesn’t mean it is easy.”

“We need those blueprints,” I insisted. “And security codes, if possible.”

“Well, in that case, you’re going to have to wait. I need to get back to my lab.”

Brian went to turn off all the computers. He rose from the chair, taking his cane from Kyle’s outstretched hand.

“Thank you,” he mumbled softly.

“Sure,” Kyle said. “How long are you going to need?”

“Six hours. At best. I’ll call you guys. Until then…Fei, Wendi – tap your contacts. See if anyone’s been hiring ex-Yeplees. Chris – find out everything you can about Claire Warden. See if there’s been anything unusual about her recent behavior. Kyle…”

“Yuzuki and I will check out Claire Warden’s house,” He interrupted. “See if she left anything there.”

Brian looked like he was about to say something, but he thought better of this. He picked up a laptop from the pile of tech, put it in his bag and headed out the door.

“He still thinks he’s in charge,” Kyle whispered to Yuzuki.

Yuzuki’s reply was too silent to be heard.

Kyle’s face darkened.

“Alright,” Wendi said. “I’ll see you guys later.”

I gave her a quick kiss, wished her luck and headed out the door.

For the next several hours, I called nearly everyone I could think of. I browsed through Riverside Herald’s archives. I even looked through some tabloids. The information was surprisingly scarce. By all accounts, Claire was a quiet, publicity-shy, dedicated woman who did her job pretty well. The tabloids were full of accounts of kinky sex and scandalous affairs, but I wasn’t sure how much of it I should take seriously. I managed to dig up an interview she did with Riverside Herald a couple of years ago, but it was mostly fluff. Still, one thing jumped out at me. She cared a great deal about her family, especially her adopted brother. She seemed to mention him at every opportunity. Hmm…

At about two o’ clock in the afternoon, I finally got a call back from my contact in Warden Shipping. According to him, Claire was been spending way too much time in her office. Nobody was quite sure what she was doing there.

At three o’ clock, I got a call from my editor, asking me if I had the Sammy Choi story ready. I lied that it was pretty close to getting finished.

I had to spend another two hours going through my research, creating an outline and putting it all together into some semblance of a story. I spent another twenty minutes, checking, rechecking and fine-tuning it. After it was sure it was at least passable, I faxed it to the editor.

That’s when Brian called.

“We’re meeting at Shock Tactics internet café. It’s about a block away from Yep-Leung Tower.”

“Is it safe?”

“Of course,” a smirk could be heard in Brian’s voice. “A friend of mine owns this place. Now go. We’ve got no time to lose. And, oh, bring the suit.”

I sighed. The traffic sucked at this time of day.

Nonetheless, I managed to make it in thirty minutes. Not bad, all things considering.

Fei and I burst through the door at almost exactly the same time.

It was a small room with a few Proteuses and Macs, a scanner and a printer. There didn’t seem to be anyone manning the counter. Kyle, Yuzuki and Brian were sitting at a large far-off table. They didn’t look too pleased.

“Sorry,” I said. “Traffic...”

“Save your excuses and sit down,” Kyle replied harshly. “What did you find out?”

I told him everything, trying my best to sum it up as fast as possible.

Kyle’s shook his head.

“Fei?”

“Well, the word on the street is that somebody has been recruiting former Yeplees. I found one of the guys who got shafted. Said he was interviewed by a ‘fancy broad’. The lighting sucked, so he couldn’t tell me what she looked like.”

At times like this, I couldn’t help but wonder just how Fei always manages to get this kind of information, but I thought better of it. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

Suddenly, I realized something:

“Guys… where’s Wendi?”

“She called me earlier,” Brian responded. “She can’t make it. But she did send me a couple of files. Most of them seem to correlate Fei’s information.” Brian paused. “Well, there was one more thing… it seems that a while back, Claire Warden was caught doing something illegal. It was hushed up pretty quickly, so Wendi couldn’t get any details.”

Why didn’t she call me? I was the boyfriend and a costumed crime fighter…

I forced myself to end that line of thought.

“Alright,” Kyle said. “As for us, we didn’t really find anything incriminating in Claire Warden’s apartment. Though, I gotta tell you, the lady has a serious Japanese fetish. All those kimonos and sashes and masks…”

He was interrupted by Yuzuki’s glare.

“And love letters,” Kyle changed the subject without missing a beat. “They’re so mushy it’s sickening. The lady definitely has some serious dependency issues OUCH!”

I looked at Yuzuki. She stood perfectly still.

“So…Yeah…” Kyle said. “Overall, we didn’t find incriminating. Not really. I still wish you would open that safe.”

“You wanted to be inconspicuous,” Yuzuki noted serenely.

I so don’t have time for this.

“In any case… Brian, what do you have for us?”

“Well, as I said before, I’ve got us the up-to-date layouts,” he said, activating the projector. The wall filled with an image of a remarkably detailed map. “This is what used to be the first ‘subterranean security level’. As you can see, the Wardens demolished as much as they could, building new storage rooms in its place. There are fourteen of them. Each storage room is temperature-regulated through the slightly modified old air-conditioning vents. Before anyone asks, you can’t crawl through them – they’re too small. The doors are protected by electronic locks, which can only be opened by with keycards. Each card has a unique code, so it only works on one door.”

Kyle swore.

“Don’t worry, guys,” Brian smiled. “From what I understand, all locks can be opened by an emergency override card.”

“Oh, goody,” said Fei. “Where can we get one of those?”

“Right here,” he replied, producing two cards from his pocket. “I pulled a few favors… too many if you ask me…anyway, these cards are good for a day.”

“Wow,” I said. “Awesome. Thanks, Brian.”

“I’m not done yet,” he smiled. “I got us three Level 1 entrance passes. They should be enough to get you in. You’re going to have to do the rest.”

“Only three?” Kyle looked at Brian skeptically.

“Yeah. I may be a genius, but I’m not a miracle worker.”

I looked at my watch.

“Alright. Here is the plan. Yuzuki and I will go in. Fei will be our back up.”

“But I want to kick some ass!” Fei mock-whined.

“I know. That’s why you’re a backup. Kyle…”

“I’ll hang out by the entrance, “ he said placidly. “Just in case…”

He looked at Yuzuki. She looked back at him. For just a brief moment, the creepy darkness vanished, replaced by – dare I say it – tenderness.

Kyle nodded.

“Alright. OK,” I said. “Yuzuki and I go in. Fei will cover our backs. Brian, how do we get to basement levels?”

“Service elevator,” he replied. The projection on the wall changed to the layout of the first floor. “Go past the entrance, turn left, and then walk all the way to the end. There will be an elevator. Get in. Hitting the button ‘BL-1’ will get you to the first one, ‘BL-2’ to the second, etc.”

“Any idea where they keep the prisoners?”

“I would go with the second level. It’s mostly used to archive documents, so it’s not checked often.”

“Okay. Yuzuki, Fei and I will go down the elevator. Fei will stay inside. If any reinforcements come in, do whatever you can to hold them off.”

“Score!” Fei grinned broadly.

“We’ll free the prisoners. Yuzuki, you’ll take them out of the building. I’ll go to Claire Warden’s office and look around.”

“What if there are no prisoners?” Brian asked.

“Then, we’ll just retreat and hope Wendi won’t shoot us on sight.”

“Cool,” Brian nodded. “Keep in contact. I’ll call the police the second you’ll release the prisoners. Make sure they don’t run off before they’re questioned.”

“I’ll try my best,” I winked. “Alright, does this sound like a plan.”

“Sure,” said Fei

“Yes,” whispered Yuzuki.

“Is there anyone else in the area we can call for help?” Kyle asked. “We might need some extra reinforcements.”

“No,” Brian replied. “Unless, of course, you want me to contact White Gentleman…”

“Are you high!” Kyle and I yelled more or less simultaneously.

“I thought so.”

“In that case,” I said. “Let’s do it.”

I grabbed my bag. Fei grabbed hers. Yuzuki and Kyle grabbed their jackets.

We walked in silence, stopping only to make sure we weren’t being followed. Soon, we crossed the plaza right in front of what was now called ‘Warden and Wright Tower’. Before we went through the door, Yuzuki kissed Kyle. It was brief, but there was so much passion and sincerity I almost felt like I was intruding.

We walked on, leaving Kyle behind.

We got past security without a hitch. No one questioned our attire. Our bags didn’t set off the alarms (thanks, in no small part, to the fact that they were no ordinary bags). Nobody stopped us as we walked to the service elevator. When we got in, it was completely empty. So far so good.

As soon as the doors closed, I quickly opened my bag and changed into my costume. When I first started out, it took me five minutes to put it on. In the elevator, I managed to do it in one, give or take ten seconds.

Then again, it wasn’t quite like my brother’s original costume. Cloth was replaced by anti-friction-coded, wind-resistant leather. The full-face mask was Kevlar-reinforced; with filters and radio link incorporated into the design. The goggles could flip to night vision if I wanted to. The blade gauntlets had armor on the top, to ensure that a stray bullet won’t harm the delicate mechanism within. The utility belt was more economic, packed with smoke bombs, electric shock generators, and a bunch of other useful stuff. The jacket was now decorated with a broad, bright-red X – the simplified version of the crossed-swords motif Kyle used. I traded the bright red of the original costume for darker, but nonetheless striking shade. It took me a lot of money, time and hard work to make all the improvements, and I’m sure I’ll make many more before I retire.

I hid my civilian clothing in the bag. For my sake, I hope Fei wouldn’t lose it.

For Yuzuki, the change was smaller, but nonetheless startling. She put on black gloves and a matching mask. She switched her jacket inside out, revealing pockets, buckles and armored padding. She strapped a pair short Japanese-looking swords to the side. I had no idea where she they came from and I probably never will.

Fei simply zipped up her jacket and pulled out her guns. She stuffed a couple of clips into her pockets.

“Everybody ready?”

Yuzuki and Fei nodded.

The elevator came to a stop.

The doors started to open.

I threw “fog” palette out the door. It didn’t detonate. No time to worry about that. Yuzuki and I rush out the elevator. There are four guys pacing down the hall, looking completely bored. Yuzuki lunged at the nearest one, taking him out with one blow. I ran past her, hitting the ‘trigger’ hidden in my glove. The blade shot out. I truck the second guy on the head with the blunt side. As he started to fall, I retracted the blade, delivering a double strike – one blow to the stomach, one to the neck.

The remaining two pulled out their guns.

Yuzuki jumped into the air. I spun around, kicking the guy on the right. The blow landed on his wrist. He dropped his gun with a surprised yelp.

Focus. Don’t let him react. Strike.

I swung my right hand, pinning him to the wall by his neck. With my left hand, I punched him in the stomach.

“Red Blade!” he coughed. “Fuck!”

He tried to kick me. Bad move. I stepped back while still keeping the pressure on his neck. In a single notion, I triggered the blade on the left arm and pointed it at his heart.

He stopped struggling.

Yuzuki came over.

“Two unconscious,” she stated matter-of-factly. “One wounded and unconscious. Do you need help?”

“Yes,” I said, carefully disguising my natural voice. “Make sure this guy doesn’t go anywhere. I’ll go open the storages.”

I let the guy go. He fell into Yuzuki’s arms.

Poor bastard.

Those guys didn’t look like the usual security types. I didn’t recognize them, but that didn’t mean much. They could still be former Yeplees.

So far, so good.

I opened the storage closest to me. Nothing.

I opened the second storage.

A little girl was huddled in the corner. She looked up.

I’ve never actually met her in person, but there was no doubt about it. This was Stacy Yep-Leung.

She stared at me, wide-eyed.

Oh my God. I didn’t even realize it. I was one of the people who made her relatives go away. What would she think…

“Are you Red Blade?” she asked softly.

I nodded.

She tried to get up, but she was too weak to move. I rushed to her side.

“Grandma Sophie… they took her… I…” Stacy collapsed into sobs.

I hugged her.

“It’s okay, Stacy,” I said, dropping all my pretenses. “It’s OK. Your grandma will be alright.”

I took her in my arms and carried her out of the storage room.

Yuzuki looked at me.

“Free the others…” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’ll take care of her. Go!”

I nodded.

If Stacy were a little older, she would have killed all those Yeplees right then and there.

The third storage was filled with file cabinets.

The fourth was empty.

I found Joe Yep-Leung in the filth storage.

“Man,” he grinned weakly, “Am I glad to see you.”

“Can you get up?”

“Yeah,” he said. “And second thought – give me a hand, please.”

“Do you know where the others are kept?”

“No,” he said as he got up. “They blind-folded us as soon as they dragged us out,” Joe sighed. “This is the prison level, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Listen,” he whispered urgently. “Grandmother didn’t make it. I don’t want Stacy to find out. Not yet. “

“Of course,” I said.

I wasn’t sure what to say. Sophie Leung was a monster. A vicious, heartless monster. Yep, to a little girl, she was a grandmother. Heck, she was Joe’s grandmother.

“Uncle Ying!” Stacy shouted.

“How are you, Stacy-daisy,” he smiled.

“I’m OK,” she said unconvincingly. “I was a brave girl, like you told me. And that ninja lady is nice.”

I went to open the other storages.

I found Howard Yep in the next compartment. He was sleeping.

I decided to let him rest.

The other storages were filled with documents. Nothing more.

“Where is Lina?” I wondered aloud.

In a flash, Yuzuki’s dagger was at the throat of the only conscious Yeplee.

“Answer the question! Now!”

“Our emp…employer… Ms. Warden. She’s interrogating her.”

“Where?”

“Upstairs. Twenty-second floor. Office number eighteen seventy-six. Please don’t hurt me!”

“I am on it!” I shouted at Yuzuki as I ran to the elevator.

I tapped on the commlink.

“Brian!” I shouted.

“I got Yuzuki’s message.” He said. There was some static. “Police is on the way.”

The elevator door opened.

“I need the fastest way to Office number eighteen seventy-six. It’s on the twenty-second floor.”

Fei looked at me quizzingly.

“Hang on a sec,” Brian said.

“Fei, 22nd floor!”

She nodded.

The elevator went up.

“Brian!”

“Alright. Go forward. Turn right on the first hall. It’s the second office on the right.”

“OK… OK… thanks.”

“What’s going on?” Brian asked. “Do you need help?”

“Later!”

I looked at the elevator doors.

Faster! Faster!

The door opened.

I ran.

“Good luck!” Fei shouted.

I triggered both of my blades. In a swift motion, I sliced through the lock and kicked the door opened.

The windows were draped. The lights were toned down.

Lina Yep-Leung, the Wicked Witch, was strapped to the chair. There were cuts and bruises all over her body. Her fancy top was torn in several places. Her perfect hair was a mess.

A figure in a kimono and a geisha mask stood right in front of her. The figure pointed a sword at her throat.

“Please… I don’t know anything,” Lina cried. “Please… I don’t know. I don’t know.”

“Don’t lie to me! I know you…”

The figure turned towards the door.

“Who…”

Don’t give her time to react. Don’t give that bitch the time to react!

I rushed towards her, kicking her across the room. She bellowed in pain.

Before she had a chance to get up, I twisted her arm, grabbed her by the collar and slammed her into the wall.

I pulled her mask off.

It was Claire Warden.

“Let me go!” she half-ordered, half-pleaded. “Let me go!”

“WHY!” I screamed. “Why the hell did you do all this, you godless hag!”

Several expressions crossed Claire’s face. Uncertainty. Fear. Apprehension.

Then, out of nowhere, she burst out crying.

“My Travis. I did it all for my Travis. He’s a good man, but he made mistakes. Yes, many mistakes. Got cut up with all kinds of bad people. He doesn’t have the money to pay them back, I just wanted to do him a favor…”

“SHUT UP!”

Claire Warden collapsed into uncontrollable sobs.

“I’m sorry, big brother. I’m so sorry…”

I let her go. She dropped like a sack of potatoes.

I walked over to Lina. She stared at me. There was no fear. No gloating. No nothing.

“So… The big bad Red Blade comes to the rescue. I am touched.”

She coughed violently.

I had her right where I’ve always wanted her. Beaten. Helpless. At my mercy.

Yet somehow, I felt no satisfaction.

I put my blade at her throat.

“Do you understand now?” I asked. “Do you understand how they felt? DO YOU!”

I remember what she did to Scott. I remember…I remember being held, our hands forced behind our backs. She made us watch.

I looked at the Wicked Witch.

I expected anything. Denial. Bravado. Begging.

I remember a door swinging open…

She looked at me, her eyes full of tears.

“No… No… No papa… I was a good girl. I didn’t tell anything. Papa, I am sorry. I am sorry…”

I remember an older man bursting through the door. I remember him looking at us, looking at Lina. I remember him telling the Yeplees:

“Leave us.”

I remember them taking us away. We were too stunned to say anything. Too stunned to scream.

And I remember the look on the Witch’s face.

Pure, uncontrollable terror.

I remember screaming.

Dammit!

I hit Lina across the face. She shut up.

Dammit. Why?

What she did was unforgivable. Evil. Twisted. She was not supposed to be human.

She wasn’t supposed to hurt. She wasn’t supposed to suffer.

None of them were.

I tapped the comlink.

“Ground leader. This is Red Blade. Tell Yuzuki I found Lina Yep-Leung. Tell her I found the Wicked Witch.”

To be Continued...

Writer’s Note: I would like to thank my lovely girlfriend for her help with Chinese names. I would also like to thank RandiRogue for suggesting a way to improve my ending.