Family Reunion 1/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******** "Yes! I am finally home! " Peter exclaimed to himself as he balanced his duffel bag on one shoulder and fitted his key into the lock of his apartment door. For the past two weeks he had been recuperating at his foster family’s home. Todd has just dropped him off on his way enroute to a sales conference. After the accident where he had been hit by a car, it had taken Peter a week to convince the Blaisdells to let him go back to his own apartment. He walked in, and dropped the bag on the sofa and opened a window to let in some fresh air. Then he went to the kitchen and opened his refrigerator. Great, Peter thought as he picked up a dusty looking glass from the nearby counter. All I’ve got for dinner are some very interesting looking science experiments. The faucet made a soft clunking sound before finally filling his cup with water. After his cleaning lady had been murdered, he had not had time to engage a new one. The doorbell rang. He set the glass down on the table and went to answer the door. How the hell did anyone know I was home? Peter wondered. He looked through the peephole and sighed. He opened the door to let his foster father in. "Dad, what are you..." Peter stopped as he saw what was in Paul was holding gingerly in one hand. "Not one word, Peter," Paul Blaisdell threatened his foster son as he thrust the object in question at Peter. "Umm...sure Dad, whatever you say," Peter tried his best not to show his amusement, but he failed. Paul let out a long sigh, he guessed it did look a little strange. He was on his way to work, so he was dressed in a suit and overcoat. However the large overflowing yellow picnic basket with pink flowers in his hand, didn't exactly match his assemble. He quickly released the handle so that Peter had no choice but to catch it, "Here, your mother sent this over. She said to take it easy, got that?" Peter gave him a little salute, "Yes sir, captain sir." Paul gave him a mock punch which Peter easily blocked, despite his colorful burden. "I can't stay too long, because SOME of us have crimes to stop and people to rescue," Paul said. "Hey, you need me, I'm there," Peter said seriously. "I know. Only problem is that Annie would kill me if she ever found out that you disobeyed her orders," Paul replied, "I don't even know how she finds these things out. She seems to have a better network then some enemies I've fought." Peter laughed. Paul looked at his watch, "Damn, I'm going to be late for an appointment." He got up to leave. Before opening the front door, he took a small object out of his pocket and handed it to Peter, "Here, I thought that you might like to add it to your town over there." Paul nodded to the family room where a miniature town and train set had been laid out. He remembered spending many an hour with Peter on it. He remembered when he first shared his love of models with Peter. It was the day that they had signed the adoption papers making Peter an official member of their family. They had even had a party to celebrate Peter's induction to the Blaisdell family. Each member of the family had given him a small gift to welcome him. Paul's gift had been a large piece of plywood. < INSERT FLASHBACK MUSIC HERE :) > Peter looked at him with slightly puzzled eyes, "It’s very ...nice." Peter awkwardly turned it around looking for some kind of clue. "Umm... What is it for?" "Come on down to the rec room, Peter, and I'll show you," Paul said. "Not now, Paul," Annie had said, "You can show it to him tomorrow." "But Annie," Paul pleaded. "No," Annie replied firmly, "Today we are welcoming Peter. It can wait til tomorrow." After the party had ended and everyone was getting ready for bed, Peter heard a soft knock on his door. Paul beckoned to him and Peter followed. He was curious about what Paul wanted to show him They quietly snuck towards the basement, where the rec room was. Paul turned on the lights and they went down the stairs. At first, all Peter could see was a pool table and several couches of which were facing a television set. Paul pointed to the far corner and Peter gasped. In the far corner of the room was a miniature town. It was unbelievable. A train was resting on its tracks in the middle. Peter turned to Paul as if to ask for permission. Paul smiled and motioned him to take a closer look. As he looked closely, Peter noticed that it was the very picture of a town from the old west. Complete with tumbleweeds and all. "Wow!" Peter exclaimed. "Well, getting any ideas on maybe what to do with that wood now?" Paul had asked grinning widely. "Yes," Peter replied as he saw that Paul’s town was carefully being supported by a large piece of plywood. "Any thoughts on what you’re going to put on it?" Paul asked curiously. Peter thought for a moment and hesitantly said, "I think I want to recreate my town in Northern California. Braniff was beautiful." Paul smiled. Peter was healing. When he had visited before, Peter had never voluntarily mentioned anything from his past life before the orphanage. Maybe now, as he worked to recreate his hometown, he could rebuild his life as well. Paul shifted his attention back to the present. He and Peter had spent many weekends scouring hobby shops searching for just the things to add to their works of arts. However they had never found the one object that Peter had been looking for. Until now. Peter looked down at the object his dad had given him. His mouth dropped open, "Oh wow! How in the world did you ever find this?" Paul grinned, "Oh I have my ways." Peter looked as if he wanted to question him about it, "Never mind, Peter." "Come on," Peter said respecting his dad's privacy, "Let's go and find a place for this mini Shaolin temple." Paul glanced at his watch again and then followed Peter to the family room. He didn't have to report in for another two hours and his appointment with Caine could wait. He didn’t know about Caine, but he sure enjoyed these moments with their son. Family Reunion 2/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******** "You are nervous, my son?" Matthew Caine asked his son, Kwai Chang. There were sitting outside a small tea shop in Chinatown. After the ordeal with Peter's accident, Matthew had decided to stay a while to help his son while he was recuperating and visit with Peter. They had not seen each other since Caine and Peter had gone to France to protect the chalice of I-Ching. And since they had had to leave not long after, they had not had a lot of time to catch up. "Yes, father," Caine replied, "But this man, Paul Blaisdell, he raised Peter for over 15 years." "And this makes you nervous? Did you not have the same amount of time with Peter at the temple?" Matthew inquired. "Yes, but I am afraid that I was not always there for my son. This man has. Somehow Peter seems to be more like this man's son then mine." "How so?" Matthew asked as he took a sip of his tea. "For one thing, he has chosen to walk the same path as his foster father's. He is a cop. Peter often chooses the violent path over the more peaceful one," Caine replied as he thought about all of the times that Peter wanted to use his weapon to face whatever situation they were in. "You are...disappointed in your son? " Matthew asked, looking over his thick glasses.. "Yes," Caine said, then immediately protested, "No! I could not be more proud of him." Matthew looked at him carefully, "Which is it Kwai Chang?" Caine felt his father's gaze upon him, "Maybe," he admitted, "I...do not know. " The chair in front of them was suddenly pulled out. And Paul Blaisdell sat down in it, " Sorry I'm late. I went by to see how Peter was doing. That and drop off a care package from Annie. Whatever you do, don't let a blind chick convince you that it won't look silly for you to care a bright yellow and pink basket." Matthew and Caine smiled and replied, "We will not." Family Reunion 3/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******** Paul left his meeting with the Caines unsatisfied. He hadn't wanted to bring up the issue with Matthew there, yet he also didn't want Caine to up and disappear without a word to Peter again. Didn't Caine know that Peter needed him? Especially now? Peter had not quite seemed the same after he had completed his shaolin training. He remembered the first day Peter had reported for work after he had came back. Paul could hear the welcomes from his detectives through his office door. Peter was back, he thought. Now is this going to be a good sign or a bad one? For all I know, he could be coming in to turn in his resignation. Did he become a priest like his father? His real father? Did he get those tattoos? Patience is the key to all life, he thought. Screw patience, he thought as he walked and opened his office door, " Detective Caine, I'd like to see you in my office now!" Peter looked up as if waking up from a slight daze. He hadn't even been back for more then a couple of minutes and it sounded like he was already in trouble. He walked into Blaisdell's office. Blaisdell closed the door and then the blinds. Then he turned around. Well, Peter wasn't holding an envelope or anything. But what about his arms? They were covered by Peter's long sleeves so he couldn't see them to check for the existence of the brands. Paul tried to think of a way to ask Peter about his plans. He opened his mouth. "I'm staying," Peter said before he had a chance to say a word, "And no, I didn't get the tattoos." "What?" had he spoke his thoughts without knowing it? "No," Peter replied. Now this was getting spooky. How was Peter doing this? Peter sighed as he took a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, "While at the temple, I finished my training. It’s heighted some of my abilities. However, I decided that I'm still going to be a cop instead of a priest. I decided not to get the brands." "But why?" Paul asked as he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. But then the father in him came out to make sure that this was truly what Peter wanted, "Isn’t that why you completed your training? To be a Shaolin priest like your dad?" "Not right now," Peter replied, "Maybe sometime later on, right now, I believe that it is my destiny to perform my duties as a cop as best that I can." Peter looked at him and smiled, "In other words, I’m going to still follow your footsteps for a while yet." "So, what will that make you now? A shaolin cop?" Peter gave Blaisdell an amused glance, "You know, that's exactly what the Ancient called me." "So, how were you reading my mind before?" Paul was a bit worried. He still had some secrets that he hadn't even shared with Annie. He didn't want them to come out now. It could be dangerous to the family. "Huh?" Peter looked distracted, "Oh, the mind reading thing. I didn't mean to do it. Its just that I'm still a bit new at this shielding stuff. I'm like a psychic antennae right now, so strong thoughts from the people around me leak through sometimes. When I'm surrounded, like I was out there, it can be a bit of a headache, but don't worry, my Pop and the Ancient are working on it with me." Family Reunion 4/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******** * Note: words in ''denote mindspeaking Beautiful night for a drive, he thought as he pulled his Dodge Stealth out of storage. Of course having your own personal driver wasn't bad. He thought of all of the girls that had flocked near him. And it didn't hurt the old image any either, but it just wasn't the same as driving yourself. You had no control over what happened when somebody else drove, and he absolutely hated not being in control. He tapped on the accelerator a bit harder. Although it was nice being able to make out without having to keep your eyes on the road. He thought of his last encounter in the back of the limo. What was her name? Oh yeah, Marilynn, he thought dreamily. A voice sounded in his head quickly interrupting his thoughts and he swerved to the side of the road. Shit, he thought. At times like these, he wished that he hadn't had to fire his driver, Johnny, but that had just been a part of his cover. It had been kind of fun getting into the part of being a bad actor, but it had been time to split. The Wolf had met his enemies and knew that this was one mission that wouldn't be carried out. Uncle Martin had been right. There was no way he could kill his father. 'What the hell do you want?' 'You did not accomplish your mission,' came the reply in a voice that demanded an answer. 'Damn,' he thought, 'I don't have time for this kind of shit.' The voice continued, 'He abandoned you, did he not? He could have kept you too, but instead he gave you away and kept the other instead. Why did you not reek your revenge? Why did you not kill them?' 'Well why the hell didn't you do it Mr. Know-it-all?'he returned. The voice paused. 'What are you talking about?' it demanded. 'I heard about the fiasco with the bell and the brotherhood. You had him, yet he still managed to beat you. One Shambala master beat you in a castle embedded with evil.' 'He was not alone. That traitor Martin Bradshaw was with him,' 'Your half brother, as I understand. Didn't even finish the training to become Sing Wah before he left. How much harm could he do against the descendants of the most evil of villains?' 'It wasn't just him, you nitwit, it was your younger twin that helped him. Your twin that unknowingly strengthened Kwai Chang Caine with the undisciplined power of his own chi. And now, he's completed his training. You want revenge? Then use your Sing Wah training and take him out. He is your father's weakest link,' the voice spat out before fading away. Wolf leaned back against the headrest. Peter, he thought. The son that their father had decided to keep. His mirror image. So much was alike, he thought as he patted the dash of his car and thought of his real job, and yet so much was different. He thought of the past five years. Instead of being trained in the Shaolin way, as Peter had. Uncle Damon had seen to it that he had completed his training in order to be a member of the Sing Wah. He sighed remembering the first time he had seen his father...Kwai Chang Caine. Caine had looked straight at him and said, "That is not my son!" Of course Caine had not actually told him that face to face. He had been talking to the crew on the set of Flying Fists of Fury II. He had overheard it after Caine had jumped out of nowhere and ruined the scene. For a brief moment, he had hoped against hope that maybe his father had been looking for him and had thought that he, Wolf had been really getting attacked. And that was why he had jumped into the fray, but no, he had only come because he had thought that Peter was in trouble. It didn't matter that he had been masking his identity with one of the few old Sing Wah tricks Uncle Damon had taught him. He had still hoped that his father would recognize him, and when he hadn't, it had hurt. Here he was, Matthew Caine, after his grandfather, also known as Wolf Gannett, actor extraordinare. He let out a Wolf Gannet trademark growl. Damn, he thought as the sound vibrated in the small vehicle. It really does sound more like a bobcat. He shook his head and started the car. He couldn't kill Peter. He knew that. It would be like killing...himself, but the Sing Wah didn't know that. And what the Sing Wah didn't know could and would hurt them. Family Reunion 5/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******** Peter walked into his father's kung fu academy. His grandfather was in the front of the room with his father overseeing a group of students. His father made a small bow to Matthew as he left to go to Peter's side. Caine watched as Peter rubbed the back of his neck, trying to relieve the tension. The Shaolin could see the lines of exhaustion in his son's face, the dark circles around his eyes, and this disturbed him. He reached out his hand, stopping Peter from running his hand through his hair, yet again. "Pop, I think I'm going crazy," Peter stated as he started nervously pacing around. "What has led you to this conclusion, my son?" "I've been having the strangest dreams. Only I'm not so sure that they are only dreams." Caine shook his head as he heard the exhaustion in Peter's voice. Caine reached out to stop Peter's pacing, "Be still my son. Describe to me what you see in your visions." He was worried about the toll Peter had whenever he had a vision. Visions were a part of a Shaolin's life and Peter needed to learn how to deal with them effectively. "You and grandfather are in trouble. I can hear the ringing of a loud bell in the background and the sound of somebody laughing. I've heard that laugh before. I'm trying to get to you. Or at least I think I am." Caine tilted his head and motioned for his son to sit down. Peter continued, "The strange thing is that when I look at the person who is with me, rescuing you, I see myself. That's never happened before. Why am I all of the sudden seeing myself as a third person? Is this really a dream, or a vision of what is to happen, like at the temple when I was completing my training? " "All dreams are possibilities of what can be," his grandfather said, as he silently walked up behind them. Peter looked up startled. He had not noticed that his grandfather had dismissed the class, "But Grandfather, what does this all mean?" "It means what the dreamer takes it to mean," his grandfather replied. "Huh?" Peter still looked puzzled. Caine sighed inwardly. Why didn't Peter ever get it? Matthew glanced at Caine and softly reprimanded him in his mind. 'You were not always as enlightened as you are now, my son. You must be patient with Peter. He has not yet had the training and experiences that you have to draw on.' Peter, full of nervous energy stood up and started pacing again. He stopped in front of his grandfather, "Look, is there anything I can do to stop these dreams?" Matthew and Caine exchanged glances. Peter saw the answer in their eyes, "Damn, just once, I'd like to be tuned into something other then the 'There's trouble a brewing' program." Peter started waving his hands wildly to emphasize his point, "If I have to receive messages on this telepathic Shaolin channel, why couldn't they be pleasant? You know like...oh I don't know, Greetings from the little green men of Mars?" Caine watched as Peter muttered something about going to visit his mom while walking out of the door. Caine turned to his father as his father turned to him, "Little green men?" they asked each other simultaneously. They both shrugged. Family Reunion 6/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******* Wolf opened the door of his executive suite at the Hilton just outside of Sloanville. As he entered, he sensed that he was not alone. He dropped his key on top of the wet bar and was about to turn around when he felt a gun pressed against his back. "Hands up!" a voice commanded in the darkness behind him, " And don't turn around!" Wolf aborted his movement as the voice ordered, "Don't even think about using any of those Sing Wah tricks that Damon taught you." "Look, I need your help," Wolf said as he raised his hands in the air. In a motion too quick to be followed, Wolf quickly whirled around and kicked the gun out of the man's hand. He threw a couple of quick punches, sending the man gasping to the floor. Keeping a careful eye on his opponent, he retrieved the fallen gun. "God, am I the only Caine that's lousy at this kung fu business?" Martin Bradshaw complained as he tried to catch his breath. He slowly got up using the bed for support and took the gun back from Wolf. "Well, if you had completed your training...." Wolf started. "No, I'm not going back to the Sing Wah, and I am not going to kill your father! If that's what you came to ask of me, then I'm leaving," Martin straightened up to do just that. He holstered his gun and started for the door. "Wait!" Wolf grabbed him by the arm, "I was thinking more of you asking Kwai Chang Caine to help you complete your training," Wolf replied surprising even himself with the answer. He didn't know why he had said that considering how he himself felt about Caine. "Huh?" Martin dropped onto the bed, "Now I'm getting a bit confused here. " "Look, Uncle Martin, to cut the story short, I came here to film Flying Fists of Fury II..." "Saw the movie, you could have done much better, especially those stunts. What the hell were you thinking?" Martin shook his head in disappointment. "I didn't do those stunts, Peter did," Wolf replied immediately defensive. "Peter did? Oh god, Two lousy actors in the family. Alright, get on with the story," Martin groaned. Wolf ran a hand through his hair, "I couldn't do it. While I was here filming, I got to know Peter. There's no way in hell I'd be able to kill him. He's my exact duplicate. Its' downright freaky. But the Sing Wah wants him and Kwai Chang Caine dead." "God, we have to warn them!" Martin sprang from the bed. Wolf unconsciously started pacing. "That's where I need your help. I mean think about it, they all know me as being a Wolf Gannett, a lousy actor. I mean who's going to believe me?" "Matt, I think your Dad would believe you." Wolf turned and glared at the older man. "He's not my dad! And don't call me Matt. My name is Wolf Gannett. That's the name my real family gave me. My parents taught me to be the best that I can be. And look how I turned out?" Wolf groaned, "Right after they died, I followed Uncle Damon and the Sing Wah. They would have been so disappointed in me." "Look Matt," Martin corrected himself as Wolf glared at him, "Wolf, you were just out of the academy when your foster family died. You were young and impressionable. It could have happened to anyone." "Yeah, but it happened to me." Wolf sighed and ran his hand through his hair again, "But I'm going to try and fix that." "Does that mean that you're back on the good side again?" Wolf pulled out his badge from his jacket pocket and threw it up into the air, "Yup, I asked my captain back for my gun and badge 6 months ago." Martin grinned as he stood up, "Gotta love this family. If we're not priests, we're officers of the law." He slung as arm around Wolf, "Come on, let's go. To find your father we're going to have to go to Chinatown and ask for Caine." Wolf, nervous about meeting his father replied, "You know, wouldn't this be much easier if he had a phone?" Family Reunion 7/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******* Peter pulled his Stealth into the Blaisdells driveway. As he got out of the car, three men in black rushed out of the house. Arms raised to protect their heads. "What the hell?" Peter exclaimed as the men ran right by him and into the night. He quickly drew his gun and ran up the steps. With his gun held in front of him, he cautiously poked his head around the doorway. He ducked and pulled his head back just in time as something flew by his head and shattered with a crash behind him. "Get out and stay out!" a familiar voice call from inside. "Mom! I'm one of the good guys here!" he yelled as he carefully shielded his head with his right arm and entered the house. "Whoops, sorry honey," Annie apologized from behind the sofa. She had another plate in one hand and her white cane in the other. "Mom, are you alright?" Peter rushed over to see if she was hurt. "I'm fine, Peter. So how was your day?" Peter looked at her in disbelief. She was the one who had just been attacked, and she was worried about him? He reached out with his recently acquired Shaolin senses and put away his gun after verifying that no one else was in the house. Then he slowly took the other plate out of his mother's trembling hands and carefully led her through the path of broken dinnerware to the kitchen. Finding an unbroken glass amidst the destruction around him, he drew a glass of water. "Peter, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that it was you. I...I don't know what came over me," Annie stammered as the adreneline started to wear off. "Mom, I'm fine. Now take a deep breath." Peter placed the glass of water on the table and slung an arm around the only mother he has ever known and gave her a hug. "Do you know who they were? Did they say anything?" "Peter, I think they were after you and Caine," Annie said after taking a deep breath. She raised her hands towards Peter. Peter knowing what she wanted to do held still as Annie checked for herself that he was alright. They both turned towards the door as they heard a car screech to a halt outside. A car door slammed. And they heard hurried steps running up the walk. "Mom, stay here, I'm going to go take a look." Annie gave a long sigh and carefully felt the table top in front of her until she found the plate Peter had taken away from her. She stood up, "Since neither of your fathers are here, I guess I'm your backup." Peter gave her a look of disbelief before drawing his gun for the second time in ten minutes. "Mom! This isn't supposed to be like that movie, Stop, or my mom will shoot!" Annie pointed her white cane in his general direction, "Don't give me that look. Besides, this is, Stop or my mom will throw!" She hefted the plate she was holding and shook her head, "A mercenary wife's job is never done." Family Reunion 8/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ****** Paul walked through the busy streets of Chinatown until he saw who he was looking for. The person he was looking for was exactly where the Hong Kong cake vendor down the street had said. Now if only this network would work when Caine was not in Chinatown, he would have nothing to worry about. Peter would always know where his father was. Paul sighed and walked towards Caine. Caine lowered his flute as Paul approached him. "Mind if I join you?" the police captain asked gesturing at the seat across from the Shaolin priest. Caine gave a small bow, "I would be honored." Paul sat down. The waitress came over and poured him a cup of coffee. After thanking the departing girl, he debated over what to say. How did you tell the man before you not to abandon your son? Or at the very least, don't leave without saying something? Caine was Peter's real father after all, not him. He was only Peter's foster father. Caine looked at him, "Do not think that way." "What?" Paul looked at him startled then he realized what Caine had said. "Dammit, Caine, its very unnerving when you and Peter do that." "I apologize," Caine said contritely, "I did not mean to listen in, but I am afraid that your thoughts and emotions were too strong to block out." "Alright, if you saw that in my head, then you must have also seen my main concern as well," Paul replied taking a sip of his cooling coffee. Caine nodded, "Yes, all I can say is...." Paul waited as a far away look entered Caine's eyes. "Caine? What is it?" Paul fiddled impatiently with his coffee cup as he waited for Caine to come out of his vision. God, he thought I feel like Lois Lane while she waits for Superman to tell her what he's hearing. He tried again, "Caine? Is everything alright?" Caine blinked rapidly before refocusing his eyes on Paul. He picked up his flute and motioned for Paul to get up. "We must hurry!" "What? Wait a minute, will you?" Paul threw some money onto the table as he caught up with Caine. "You mind telling me what's going on?" They stopped in front of Paul's car. As Paul opened his door and got in, he demanded, "You want to tell me where exactly we're going in such a hurry?" Caine looked at him, "Home, you must go home. Annie needs our help!" "Oh my god, Annie!" Paul whispered as his face turned pale. He quickly picked up his radio and called for backup while turning on the sirens with his other hand. Then he and Caine raced home leaving black skid marks on the pavement. Family Reunion 9/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******** Martin walked away from a man selling fruit. He stopped in front of Wolf, "We just missed him. He was here about 15 minutes ago, but he left in a hurry with another man." "Great," Wolf groaned as they walked down the street towards Wolf's Stealth. It was just as well. He still wasn't sure how he was going to act towards his real father anyway. "Hey!" a voice whispered from behind a dumpster. Wolf and Martin turned around as one. "Hey Pete," the man repeated as he stepped out of the shadows, "You looking for your old man?" Wolf looked at the man. His first impression was, snitch. The man looked a lot like the men he himself paid to keep their ears out for trouble. Wolf tried to make his voice sound like Peter's, "Yeah I am, you seen him?" "Donny! Where are you, you little weasel?" a voice shouted. Donny Double D looked around furtively for a place to hide, "Uh oh, its the missus. She wants us to go house hunting. Said something about it being time to expand the family soon." Donny was ready to bolt. "Wait! You never said where my...father is," Wolf struggled on the title. In his mind, his real father was, Michael Gannett, the man who took him in as an abandoned baby and loved him unconditionally until the day he died. "Oh yeah, he was shouting something to your other dad about them having to go home and then they rushed out of here. Umm...sorry Pete, love to stay and chat, but I gotta go!" "Thanks," as Wolf and Martin entered the stealth, they heard a high pitched voice yelling at Donny. "There you are you little weasel! Come on, we got an appointment to look at that little house on George Street." Wolf started the car and turned to Martin, "You know where home is?" "He was talking about the Blaisdells' home, Peter's foster family. Its' that a way." Martin replied as he pointed to the right. Wolf pulled away from the curb with tires screeching. Martin had given him food for thought. Foster family? I didn't know Peter had a foster family. I thought Caine kept him. Why did Peter have a foster family? Hhmm...maybe I'll ask him later.... Wolf grinned. He couldn't wait to see what Peter's reaction would be to learning of their relationship.. Martin glanced at his silent nephew, "Why don't you use the siren? It'll get us there quicker and anyone who sees you will probably just think you're Peter anyway." Wolf reached under his seat and pulled out a siren. He hooked it on to the dash and turned it on. Now this was more like it he thought excitedly. He was getting the urge to... Martin looked at him, "If you yell that ridiculous howl of yours I'll sock you!" Family Reunion 10/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ****** Five blocks away from the Blaidsells' house Caine and Paul saw a group of men running down the street perpendicular to the one they were traveling on. Paul made a wide turn and slammed on the brakes as Caine opened the door and engaged them in battle. One of the men reached into his tunic and pulled out a pair of glasses he knew well. They were his father's. "We have the two old ones, priest. You kill us and you'll never see them again," the man grinned as he swung the glasses back and forth. "What do you want?" Caine demanded. The man motioned for the men to surround Caine and Paul. He gave an evil smile, "For you to come quietly of course." Then he laughed and motioned for his men to throw their two prisoners into their nearby van. After a short trip, they were pushed unceremoniously onto the ground. Caine stood up and looked around. Before they were thrown bound and gagged down into the dungeon, Caine knew that he had been here before. It was the same place, although it looked a bit different in the daylight. They were back at the castle where he had defeated Damon and his brotherhood before. After releasing himself from his bonds, Caine noted Paul Blaisdell rolling on the floor, straining against the bonds that were preventing him from getting free. He knew that the captain was glaring at him, silently asking why he hadn't untied the officer after freeing himself. And he could hear and feel the worry that Blaisdell had for his wife, but Caine had other things to worry about. In front of him, just like the Sing Wah henchman had said, was the Ancient and his father. They were both sitting Indian style in the middle of the room and looked as if they were doing nothing more then meditating, but Caine could feel the poison which was racing through their bodies. There was no time to lose. He quickly sat down behind both of them and focussed his chi. Then he placed his left hand on the Ancient's back and his right hand on his father's. Caine then closed his eyes and reached down deep inside of himself and sent some much needed energy to his elders. ************************ Peter carefully peered around the shadowed kitchen doorway and into the foyer. Annie stood pressed behind him, plate ready at hand. The footsteps were getting closer. He reached out with his Shaolin senses and discovered two people. They seemed familiar, but just to be on the safe side, he raised both arms and pointed the gun towards the open doorway. ************************* Wolf pulled his Stealth to a screeching halt behind Peter's. His cop instincts automatically noting the widely flung open front door. He looked at Martin to see if he had come to the same conclusion. He had. Martin nodded in understanding at his nephew. They both reached for their weapons and got out of the car. Then they slowly jogged toward the front door, slowing down as they got closer. Wolf observed the broken dinnerware around the doorway with a bit of interest. He raised his right eyebrow in a Spock like imitation. Martin gave him a Caine like shrug and with his gun, motioned for him to proceed. Wolf entered the doorway and quickly scanned the foyer, his gun following the same path as his eyes until he came face to face with his startled twin. His twin who was pointing a loaded weapon at him. Family Reunion 11/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ****** Peter looked in astonishment as Wolf looked back at him. Wolf? He took note of the weapon in Wolf's hand. That didn't look like any movie prop. Peter took his eyes off Wolf to take note of the movement behind Wolf's right shoulder. Was that Uncle Martin behind him? What the hell is this? And why were they pointing weapons at him and Annie? First order of things, he needed to protect his Mom. And to do that, he needed to be the only one carrying a weapon. If they came in peace, they would understand if not then he needed to get rid of them as quickly as possible. "All right, I don't quite know what is going on here, but I want you two to lower your weapons," Peter commanded. Wolf and Martin looked at each other and slowly lowered their weapons to the floor. "Peter," Martin tried. "Now kick them over here," Peter continued. Wolf shook his head and stepped past his gun towards Peter. Then faster then Peter's eyes could track, he kicked Peter's gun out of his hands. "Shit," Peter said as he launched an attack on Wolf. Wolf quickly dodged Peter's attack, "Look Peter will you listen to me for a moment? There's trouble coming." "Look around you! If you haven't noticed, it already came and went," Peter replied, circling around Wolf. "Will you two break it up?" Martin exclaimed wading into the middle of the fight, "You guys are acting like two school boys in the playground." Annie gasped as she heard Wolf's voice for the first time. It sounded almost like Peter's, the accent differing very slightly, but slightly enough for her to tell the difference. However enough was enough, she had reached her breaking point for today. She threw down the plate she was carrying, listening to it shatter on the hard floor. There was an abrupt silence as the three men turned to look at her. She used a mother-like scolding voice, "I have had enough fighting in this house for one day." She pointed in their general direction, "You all either talk nicely or take it outside." The three men looked at each other and then her. Finally Wolf broke the silence, "From what I can see, we don't have much time. The Sing Wah are after Caine. They planned on using Peter and the people he cares about to get to him." "Wolf, how do you know this? Why would any actor know about the Sing Wah? I can understand Uncle Martin being involved, but how do you fit in? Why are you helping us?" Peter asked suspiciously. Martin looked pointedly at Wolf. Wolf was nervous. How was he supposed to tell Peter about all of this? How would he take it? The knowledge that they were twin brothers separated at birth and that he had once been part of the very group that was intent on killing Caine. Wolf grimaced to himself, even in his thoughts, he couldn't refer to Caine as his father. Not yet, anyway. He had been thinking so hard that he hadn't even felt Peter's mind probe. Wolf looked up as he saw Peter take in the knowledge that he had scanned from him. Peter was shaking his head at first in denial at the information. "Jesus," Peter whispered brokenly, as the information sank in. He looked at Martin, who nodded, and then back to his live mirror image standing in front of him. He looked at Wolf with new eyes, Shaolin eyes, looking to make sure there was no hint of evil or deception surrounding Wolf's chi. Wolf looked him in the eye and let down his shields. He knew that Peter needed to see it all for himself. "Peter? What is it?" Annie asked worriedly. "It looks like the Caine family vine has done a bit more creeping then we all thought," Peter replied still stunned. Family Reunion 12/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ****** Peter held the dustpan as Wolf swept some broken dinnerware towards it. Both of them uncertain about the way they were supposed to act towards each other. Martin was in the kitchen helping Annie clean up. "So...how did the sequel go?" Peter asked as he broke the silence. Wolf looked at him inquiringly. "You know, Fists of Fury III," Peter continued, making small talk. What do you ask a person who all of the sudden tells you that he's your long lost twin brother? "Never did it. Besides, that was just my cover to spy on you. I'm not really an actor," Wolf replied. Wolf made a dramatic pause, "Actually in real life I'm a cop." "Well thank god, hope you don't mind me telling you this, but you stank!" Peter exclaimed. "Well, excuse me! You didn't do too hot yourself on those stunts. I'm still getting complaints about them!" "Oh yeah?" Peter challenged, getting up from the floor to look him in the face. "Yeah!" "Boys, boys, behave yourselves!" Annie exclaimed coming into the room with Martin at her side, "The people down the street could probably hear you two arguing!" Martin turned to her, "Not even brothers for 24 hours and already they've started fighting." He sighed and shook his head, "Something just occurred to me. That guy in the street said that Kwai Chang and Paul were hurrying over here. But they should have arrived before us." Wolf looked at him, "You're right. During all of this confusion, I forgot." "What man on the street? How do you know that you can trust him?" "Well apparently this guy knew you. If it helps any, his missus was called him Donny and then in her next breathe, called him a little weasel," Wolf offered. "Donny Double D. All right, I believe you, I'm going to go and call in an APB for Dad and Pop. I'll be right back." Peter left the room to make the call. "Dad and Pop?" Wolf muttered under his breath. Which name belonged to which man? If it were up to him, he knew whom he would call Dad. Dads were the ones who loved and raised you for who you are. They allowed you to make your own decisions and were there to support you even when you've made the wrong ones. He wished Michael was alive now. He could really use some advice on how to deal with Peter and his new found family. "Wolf?" Annie's voice broke into his thoughts, "Is the path to the couch free of obstacles?" Wolf looked around, "Almost Mrs. Blaisdell, here let me help you navigate through the mess here." He held onto her forearm and gently guided her around the debris on the floor. As she sank down on the couch with a weary sigh, she patted the spot next to her, inviting him to sit down, "Call me Annie, there's no need to be formal." "Umm...sure Mrs.-I mean Annie," Wolf replied nervously, sitting down. This was Peter's foster mother. She reminded him an awful lot of his Mom, Rose Gannett. Rose Gannett had been one in a million. As an officer of the Klenville police force, she had been the first officer to arrive when a garbage man had called to report his finding of a baby in a dumpster. She and her computer programmer husband her taken him into their home as if he were their own. "Wolf? Is everything okay?" Annie asked. He had been silent for so long. "Yeah, I was just thinking." "I was wondering, I know that you're Peter's identical twin, but would you mind terribly if I saw for myself?" Annie tentatively raised her hands. Wolf gently brought her hands to his face. Her hands softly tracing his every feature. She smiled as she brought her hands back down, "Thank you. You two have very similar features, but there are very small differences." At that moment, Peter came back into the room walking past Martin who had been standing in the doorway. Wolf looked up from Annie. As he did so, a voice thundered in triumph in his head, causing him to fall off of the couch with a thump. "Wolf?" Peter rushed forward towards the couch. Wolf sat up, massaging his forehead, "Geez, I hate it when he does that!" "Who? What?" Peter asked, helping Wolf back up to his feet. "Uncle Damon. When he's got what he wants, he gets a bit excited when he's gloating and mindspeaking at the same time." Wolf lowered his hand, "The bad news is that he's got Mr. Blaisdell, The Ancient, and...our father and grandfather trapped in the castle." "So what's the good news?" Martin asked. "Who said that there was good news?" Wolf pulled out his gun and checked his clip as he opened the front door. He paused, looking out at the driveway, and then turned towards Peter. "Well, which will it be? My Stealth or yours?" Peter stopped behind him and gave a low whistle, "We really are alike aren't we?" "Yup," Wolf placed an arm around Peter's shoulder, "And now that I think about it, since I'm the oldest, I get to drive." "You? How do you know you're the oldest?" Peter demanded, "How do we know that I'm not the oldest?" "Because of that book, remember? You're the last of the Caines. If I'm the youngest, then I would have had to be the one who had to go back in time and invent kung fu, but since you did it, that makes you the youngest," Wolf explained. Martin shook his head and gave a long sigh as he herded them out of the door and muttered under his breath, "This is going to be a long night." Annie's sensitive hearing picking up his last sentence smiled and wished them all luck. Family Reunion 13/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******* Using the wall for support, the captain of the 101st precinct inched his way into a standing position and looked around the room for something that could help him get rid of his bonds. I need to get free. Annie and the kids need me. He looked at the three Shaolin in the room. From what he could see, they hadn't moved a muscle since sitting there. What the hell were they doing anyway? Meditating? Hhmm...that pottery on the fireplace across the room looked promising. Now to figure out a way to get there. He made an experimental hop and then another. All right! He thought excitedly. Aside from the fact that I look like a trussed up Easter bunny, this could work. He continued across the room, never looking away from his goal on the mantle. ****************** Wolf stopped the Stealth and got out of the car. Peter and Martin followed him. Leaning against the hood of his car, he paused to look at the place where he had lived before moving out on his own. He could still remember the day. He fiddled with the collar of his dress uniform. Two weeks ago just minutes before he had graduated from the academy with honors, his mom had helped him sew a loose button back on. Now here he was standing in front of a gravestone with the names Rose and Michael Gannett, waiting for their caskets to be lowered. On his left was another newly dug plot. Christina Gannett, beloved sister. She was the only one of his family who had not been killed immediately upon impact of the drunk driver. Instead she had died enroute to the hospital. Wolf grimly accepted the folded flag from his mother's casket as other officers fired their weapons in tribute. The sound of Taps was being played on the bugle. He was the only Gannett left. There was nobody left to hold onto. His family was gone. After each of the caskets had been lowered and buried, everyone left him alone to grieve in private. He dropped to his knees and stared at the darkening heavens. A gentle rain fell as if to disguise his tears. Why? He implored the sky above. Why had he been the only one spared? He was supposed to be in the car that night as well. They had just finished eating dinner and had piled into the car when the maitre had come running out of the restaurant yelling about some phone call for him. In the brief moments it took for him to answer the phone, a drunk driver had slammed head on into their parked car. His parents and the driver had been killed instantly. But not Chrissy. Not his beautiful foster sister who had been older then him by three years. She had been an aspiring figure skater. On the way to the hospital he had disregarded the paramedics order to stay back. Instead he had held her hand and pleaded with her to hold on, but she had quietly slipped away into the night, leaving him by himself. He could feel somebody's eyes upon him. He hadn't heard the approach, but considering his state of mind, he didn't think there was anything strange about it. Couldn't they let him cry in peace? He turned around. There was a man in black jeans and dress shirt standing silently behind him. The man's dark ponytail slid over his shoulder as he offered him a hand up. Wolf had never seen him before. "Who are you?" In a voice that was full of compassion, the man spoke. "I'm sorry for your loss. My name is Damon. Damon Caine. I am your real uncle. Come with me and I'll explain everything to you." Peter touched him, breaking him out of his memories, "Hey, you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine. Did you check your clip?" Wolf shook himself out of his memories. Peter glared at him, "I'm a cop. That's who I am. That's what I do. What do you think?" Wolf stared back at him with his hands on his hips and repeated, "Did you check your clip?" Peter thrust his hands in his hair in frustration, "Hell yes, I checked my clip." Martin spoke up, "I don't suppose either of you have a plan, do you?" Peter and Wolf looked at each other and shook their heads. "What else do we need to know? Its' the basic go in through the tunnels, rescue them all and hopefully come out again." Peter added, grinning widely, "What more could you ask for?" Martin grumbled to himself as took the flashlight Wolf offered him, "Just great. I have to end up on a rescue mission with two smart alecks." He looked up at the sky and implored, "Why me?" Peter slapped him on the shoulder, "Why not you?"" Family Reunion 14/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ***Note, words in ' ' denote mindspeaking Caine could feel his energy faltering. It had not been long since he himself had recovered from his extensive injuries from his last journey. He opened his eyes as he heard the small jumping noises stop. Peter's foster dad had reached his goal. He used his head to knock the small vase off of the mantle. The vase crashed onto the floor into a million pieces. Paul sighed and lowered himself back onto the floor. He picked up a piece and carefully started working on his bonds. The captain looked up as he felt Caine looking at him. Caine watched as he removed his bonds with the ceramic fragment. "What?" Paul asked after removing the gag from his mouth, "What's going on?" He nodded towards the Ancient and the elder Caine. Caine sighed wearily, "They have been poisoned." Paul glanced at him sharply, "How are they? And how are you doing?" "For the moment, they are...stabilized? I am fine, but I did not have enough energy to force the poison out." "Annie, can you tell me. How is she?" Paul asked concerned as he stretched and flexed his limbs to restore circulation. Caine closed his eyes and very slowly used his chi to find Annie's presence. A wall of darkness that was surrounding the castle prevented him from making contact. He opened his eyes surprised, "My senses are being blocked. I am sorry....I do not know. I can not reach her." Both of their eyes went towards the door as they heard someone open it. Caine could feel the displacement of air that was being used to unlock it. Whoever was on the other side of the door did not have a key. He stood up just as the door opened and the first thing they saw was an arm with a gun coming in and sweeping from side to side. Paul's observation skills immediately noted that this person was right-handed. His eyes narrowed as he saw the face behind the gun. Peter? No. It couldn't be Peter. Peter was left-handed. "Who in the world.... Wolf?" he asked incredulously. Wolf grinned as Peter and Martin came in behind him with their weapons drawn. "In the flesh." He gave his trademark bobcat yell. Peter and Martin immediately glared at him. "All right, all right...everybody's a critic." Peter took note that his dad and pop were both all right. His eyes widened when he saw the Ancient start to fall over. Wolf ran to their sides. He pulled up the Ancient's sleeve and felt for a pulse. Peter was busy examining his grandfather's "Shit!" Wolf exclaimed as he positioned the ancient and their grandfather away from him and calmed his chi, "Peter, I'm going to need you." "What do you need me to do?" Peter asked. Wolf obviously knew what he was doing. And he was willing to follow his brother's lead. "Calm your chi, and link with me." Wolf took a deep breath, "I don't have enough energy to help them both, but I also don't have the time to teach you how to do this either." Wolf dropped his shields and mentally reached for Peter. Peter read through the link what Wolf wanted to do. Sitting down behind his grandfather on Wolf's right hand side, Peter quickly calmed his chi. Duplicating the same motions that Wolf was using, he placed one of his hands on his grandfather's back and followed the mental instructions that Wolf was sending him. Next he placed his left hand, palm out towards Wolf's right. Together they formed a U-shape. As both of their palms touched, a surge of energy went through both of them. 'Wolf? What the hell is happening?' 'I'm not sure. I've done this before with others, but the energy we've got between us...it's' unbelievable.' 'Well what do we do now?' 'We need to carefully use it to push the poison out of their bodies.' Wolf sent a mental picture to Peter on how he needed to do it. 'Alright, here goes.' Martin was keeping watch by the door. He had seen Wolf do this once before and he knew it would be very dangerous for the twins to be interrupted. Caine was watching them anxiously. "Oh my god," Paul whispered as he saw blood coming out of the Ancient's and the oldest Caine's mouths. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and went to wipe it away. Caine grabbed hold of his arm before he could do anything. He shook his head at Paul's startled look. "You must not touch them yet. It would be dangerous for our son." As Peter and Wolf came out of their trance they heard Caine's words to Blaisdell. Wolf dropped his hands and started to withdraw into himself. He had distinctly heard the priest say son. Not sons. Caine still didn't acknowledge him as his son. Did he need to spell it out? What kind of Shambala master was his father anyway? It wasn't as if he was still using that Sing Wah trick to mask his identity. Family Reunion 15/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ********Notes, words in ' ' denote mindspeaking Through their mental bond, Peter could feel Wolf's anguish. Anguish which was being caused by their own father's words. He reached a mental hand out to Wolf and sent a pulse of love to his newfound brother. He needed to correct his father before he hurt Wolf anymore. The question was, how did you tell your father that he didn't have one, but two sons? Wolf nudged him. 'What? I'm thinking over here!' Peter shot his twin an irritated look. Wolf showed him a memory that he had scanned from Peter through their link. 'You're kidding, right?' 'Why the hell not? You did it in with Uncle Martin in this very room last time. I saw it in your memories.' Wolf replied, coming out of his shell. Hell, why not? It didn't go over too bad the last time...."Pop, guess what. For the second time in my life, I know something that you don't." Caine sighed in impatience, "As I said the last time we were here, that is highly unlikely. The chance of it happening again are even smaller this time." The words had barely left his mouth before he felt a displacement of air slap him on his cheek. He could see the faces around him mirroring his surprise. Matthew Caine's voice rang sharply in his head, 'Kwai Chang, I thought I had taught you better. Do not presume that you know everything.' Caine bowed to his father, "I will remember." He and then turned and bowed to Peter, "I apologize, my son, what is it that you know and I do not?" Peter continued flustered, "Umm....what I know is that Wolf here is my brother. My older twin brother to be exact. Older by how much, we don't know, but...still he is my brother." Caine was shocked, "How could this be?" Wolf was exasperated. He had had enough. He threw his hands into the air and exclaimed, "What do you mean how can this be? Tab A goes into slot B and then you have C. Only thing is that instead of one C you got two." Peter pulled Wolf aside to calm him down. In a lowered voice, he muttered, "Wolf, I don't think that's helping any." A voice spoke softly behind them. "Wolf, or should I say Matthew Caine was born seventeen minutes before young Peter." They all turned to look at the Ancient. "How do you...?" Wolf took a closer look at the old man, "I recognize you now! I knew I'd seen you someplace before." "Sure, at the movie set," Peter replied. "No, before the movie set. You're that old priest. Ping Hai wasn't it?" Wolf accused. The old man gravely nodded. "You are correct, young Caine." "Gannett," Wolf immediately corrected. "Why did you lie to me and tell me that my...father and Peter were dead?" "What are you talking about?" Peter asked bewildered. "It was years ago when I had first started working for the Sing Wah. After Uncle Damon told me of your existence, I went to your old temple to see what I could find out about your whereabouts." Wolf glared at the old man, "He took me to both of your graves and swore to me that you both had died in some fire." "I know the feeling," everybody but Martin and Paul replied. Martin looked up at the ceiling and shook his head, "Geez, another Caine tradition that I missed." He looked back down and sent a mock glare at them, "Any more you guys want to tell me about?" The Ancient continued with his story. Twin boys had been born to Laura and Kwai Chang Caine. It should have been a happy day, but it was not. Caine had not been able to return home in time to see his sons being born. He had been entrusted with a mission by the temple, and he had not yet completed it. The priests at the temple were worried. The birthing had taken too much out of the new mother. She was not expected to live throughout the night. Unbeknownst to them all, a young man jealous, of all that his older brother had was hiding in a storage room near Laura's room. It was written that the sons of his brother would do many great things. And that just wasn't fair. His brother had everything. A beautiful wife, two new sons, and the respect of the people around him. Damon fumed. Who wouldn't be jealous of all of that? With panther like grace he slipped into the new mother's room and with one felling blow to the attending priest's head, the healer crumpled to the ground. He went to the crib nearby and picked up one of the twins. The other twin, sensing that his wombmate was no longer nearby let out a cry of protest. The dying mother stirred as if sensing danger to her young ones. She wearily opened her eyes and saw the danger. "No!" Laura softly exclaimed, using energy that couldn't be wasted. Damon quickly turned around upon hearing her voice and ran out of the room. Laura bravely tried to drag herself out of her bed to follow him but collapsed on the floor near the priest. She wept as she listened to her remaining son cry out for his other half. And she wept because she knew that she wouldn't live to see the sun or her twins again. She heard footsteps approaching to answer her son's cries. Using the last of her energy, she pleaded with the priest, "Please....Master Ping Hai....save ... and protect... my sons....please...." "Those were the last words that Laura Caine spoke in our world." The Ancient bowed his head as the others did the same. The sound of applause was heard echoing throughout the room. Damon walked out from a secret passage in the far corner. "Now wasn't that a touching little story?" he asked sarcastically. Family Reunion 16/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******* At his appearance, Peter, Wolf, and Martin brought their weapons to bear on Damon. The rest of them automatically fell into various fighting stances. Damon's men filtered into the room with guns in their hands. Damon laughed at his family's actions. Did they think that they could stop him with normal means? He was no ordinary human adversary. He was Damon Caine, the right hand man of the Sing Wah leader, Ling Han Tsu. As he motioned with his hand, the guns that they were holding glowed a molten red. Peter's gun dropped from his burning hand. Shaking his hand to cool it off, Peter glared at his uncle and muttered to himself, "I don't know why we even bother trying to use the gun first anymore." He fell in line with the rest of them in a kung fu ready position. Damon walked towards them with a grin. He tried to sling his arm around Matthew Caine's shoulder, but his father deftly avoided his touch. "Well, what do you think, Pop? Aren't we having a great family reunion?" "Oh yeah, what a reunion," Wolf remarked sarcastically. "I'm sorry I forgot to bring the camera. This would have been a perfect Kodak moment. Damon started circling Wolf. "I see you chose to join with them. I trained you for over five years, don't you think I deserve a little loyalty here?" All of that time he had thought of Wolf as the son he had never had. He had given a vulnerable Wolf a home and a sense of family after his foster family had died. And this was the repayment that he got? Wolf raised his eyebrows, "Loyalty? To what? The side of evil?" Wolf gave a humorless laugh, "Give me a break. All I ever was to you was a tool to get back at your brother. And then you wanted me to kill Peter. Well, there's no way in hell that I'll do that! If you want it done, do it yourself!" "Maybe I will," Damon stated as he walked towards Peter. "Gee, thanks a lot Wolf," Peter replied. "What would I ever do without you?" Damon reached Peter and roughly grabbed him by the chin. He forced Peter to turn his head. Damn. He still looked too much like Wolf. But of course he would look like Wolf, he argued with himself, the two were identical twins. This was not good. Although Wolf didn't believe it, he cared a great deal about him. If he hurt Peter, it would be like hurting Wolf. But if he didn't, Tsu would never let him or Wolf live. That was the price of betraying the Sing Wah. Damon inwardly grimaced. In their last encounter he had held a sword to Peter's throat, but he hadn't been able to go through with it. Could he do it this time? To save Wolf's life? Yes. Damon launched an attack at Peter. Peter deflected them as best as he could, but he was losing ground. Wolf jumped in to help his brother as the rest of them engaged the men surrounding them. They all stopped in their tracks as a bell tolled, filling the room with its' resonance. With smoke softly drifting around his person, the Sing Wah leader himself, Ling Han Tsu made his entrance.. As if one, Wolf and Peter ran their hands through their hair and muttered, "Oh, hell." Family Reunion 17/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******* The black clad Sing Wah leader motioned with his cape. All of Damon's men stopped fighting and formed a line behind his back. "What the heck are they doing?" Paul asked Martin in a lowered voice. Martin watched as the men placed their palms on the back of the person in front of them. "They're planning on transferring the power of their chi to their leader." The Caines in turn rallied together as a single unit. All except Damon, who had stepped to the side, his face mirroring the indecision in his heart of whom he should support. Peter stepped behind Wolf, as the others formed a V behind him with his father on his left and the Ancient on his right, making him and Wolf the central point. He took a deep breath and gathered the tendrils of the others' chis behind him. Then placing his hands palm out on Wolf's back he gave control over to his brother. Everybody could hear the sound as Wolf's and Tsu's palms smacked together. Martin and Paul looked in wonder at the glow of power vibrating between their hands. From Wolf's hands came a soft blue glow while Tsu's glowed an eerie blood red. From the look of it, the Sing Wah were winning. The others watched as the red gradually overcame and swallowed the blue. The Caines, in unspoken agreement, gathered and focused themselves defiantly against the power that opposed them. The solid castle walls around them started to rumble as if they too felt the power battle within them. Tapestries fluttered and small objects crashed their way to the ground. Damon made his decision. If he was going to risk everything for Wolf before, there was no reason not to now. Besides it wasn't like Tsu would let him live after all of this anyway. He swiftly went to Wolf's left side. Peter's eyes widened as he saw Damon. "Damon! What are you going to do?" Martin shouted. With Damon, he never knew what to expect. If he disrupted them all now, the results could be disastrous. He and Paul started towards him. Damon ignored them and calmed his chi. Then with one quick motion, he placed his hand on Wolf's left shoulder. It was enough. With his contributing energy, the balance of power shifted. The blue glow grew until it overcame the red of the Sing Wah. With one mighty push, Wolf sent Tsu and the others behind him flying through the air. The walls around them stopped shaking. Slowly and carefully, each of the Caines and the Ancient disengaged themselves from the meld. They all watched as Tsu rolled to a sitting position, one arm propping himself up. A stream of blood was flowing from his mouth. He glared at Damon and the rest of them, "This isn't over yet! I'll be back!" And then he and the others on the ground disappeared in a puff of smoke. Peter turned to his family, "Why do they always say that?" "If you all don't mind, I'd like to get to check on Annie!" Paul exclaimed. "Don't worry, Dad. Mom's fine. You should have seen her." Peter replied smiling. "He's right, Mr. Blaisdell," Wolf said coming up behind them, "You have one gutsy blind chick on your hands." As they left the castle, Peter remarked to his brother, "How are we all going to get home? I don't think we'll all fit in your Stealth." Wolf looked at him as if the same had just occurred to him. He gave Peter the patented Caine like shrug. "I...do not know?" Family Reunion 18/18 Debbie Eng (debeng@eden.rutgers.edu) ******* As they all walked out they saw a man leaning casually against a lime green car. Despite the fact that it was well into the evening, he was wearing shades. He glanced at his watch. "What took you so long?" "Kermit? What are you doing here?" Peter exclaimed, "I thought you were off doing a job." "I got done early," Kermit replied as he opened the door to the Kermitmobile and helped the ancient ones in, "Imagine my surprise when I went to Annie's house and saw the remnants of a war zone in the living room. She sent me here as backup. For a moment there I thought that I was literally going to have to storm the castle to get you guys, but I figured I should give you guys a little more time." Kermit gave a long sigh and shook his head, "Can't even leave you home for three days before something happens, can I?" He paused for a breath. "So, you plan on introducing your friends to me or what?" Peter opened his mouth to begin the introductions. His father placed a hand on his forearm and bowed, "Please allow me to do the honors." Peter nodded. What was his father up to? As Caine was talking to Kermit, nobody noticed as a member of their party slipped away into the night. Caine turned around. Immediately he noticed the absence. He was saddened for a moment. He had hoped for a moment that he could mend the rift between him and Damon, but it was not yet meant to be. He turned to his other half brother and then to Kermit, "This is my half brother, Martin Bradshaw." Kermit gave Martin's hand a good firm shake, feeling the calluses created from handling a gun, he asked, "What agency?" Martin looked at him surprised, but answered anyway, "Interpol." Kermit nodded and then turned to Wolf. As he saw Wolf's face clearly he let out a low whistle. "What a resemblance. Cousin?" Wolf did not know what to say. Did his real father want to even acknowledge him in public? Hell, he would be satisfied if it was done in private. His twin came up and slung a reassuring arm around him. No matter what Caine did, he at least knew that Peter would acknowledge him. His heart beat in anticipation as he waited for Caine's introduction. He grinned widely as he heard Caine's next words. "No," Caine replied proudly, "This is Matthew Ca..." Seeing the stern look on Wolf's face, Caine corrected himself, "I mean Wolf Gannett, my oldest son...and Peter's twin." "You can say that again," Kermit's eyes widened at Wolf's name. "If you're half the cop Peter is, you're okay in my book." "How did you-?" Wolf started to ask. "Know that you were a cop? LoneWolf@gannettcorp.com, right? Who doesn't know that the founder's son of Gannett Computer Corp turned down the CEO position to be a cop instead?" Wolf's eyebrows flew up. This man was informed. "All right, enough of this, let's go." Peter said as he shoved his brother towards the Stealth. "Where to?" Wolf asked as he got into the driver's seat. "First to the Hilton, then to my place," Peter replied. Wolf gave him an inquiring look. "What for?" "To pick up your stuff, of course. I saw it in your mind before. You're on leave for an indefinite time. And since I got an empty bedroom...and we have a lot of catching up to do...." Peter hinted. "Why should I? What makes you think I want to spend my leave with you?" Wolf teased. "Because I'm the youngest, and you're supposed to give me whatever I want." Peter pouted. "I see," Wolf chuckled, "I never knew that. Of course, I've never been the oldest before." "Don't worry, I have, and I'll teach you everything you need to know. We'll have lots of fun, you'll see." "With the way trouble seems to be attracted to you, I doubt that there'll ever be a dull moment," Wolf replied dryly. The two of them looked at each other and roared the bobcat growl before laughing again.