===
November 6, 2009……9:00 a.m.
===
The morning sun finally reached its peak. Dawn again enveloped the city of Hong Kong in its warmth as people’s day fully began. For one individual, his day had already begun and was dragging out longer than it should be.
He had his phone in his hand, glancing back at the address in the text as he stepped out of his car and down the side walk. Ron was in the more quiet and outskirt side of Hong Kong where rich villas and mansions filled the streets. Each residence was fenced off by a high rise elegant concrete wall of white plaster or stone. Glancing inside at each house as he looked at their house number, he could see how vast the land must be just by the depth his view got. He looked back at his phone. Knowing he was on the right street and heading the right direction, he just had to find the house numbered 1091.
Earlier he had sent a call and a text message out to Kate and Bosco, requesting their presence at that house as soon as possible. Abiding Nancy’s promise to Tavia, Ron kept the search between him and his team instead of releasing the news to the entire police force. In his mind, Ron continuously questioned himself why he wasn’t even protesting his act. He was helping Raymond Lam, a criminal, find Michelle Yim, yet another criminal. Looking up into the bright blue sky and the fading yellow autumn leaves, Ron shook his head and laughed at himself quietly. Because of Nancy, he would always end up flexing his principles. He was beginning to wonder if they were more important to him, or his Nancy was. At the moment, Nancy won by a far mile. Ron shoved his phone back into his faded jean pocket as he stopped at the house and pushed the opened front gate to get inside.
Behind him, without looking back he could hear the familiar car engine of Bosco’s dying Cadillac come to a stop in front of the house. He then heard footsteps as both Bosco and Kate got out of the car and walked closely beside him. Obviously he had just woken Bosco up because his hair was still a mess, his eyes half closed, mouth wide open yawning, and Bosco had on what looked like a navy blue sweatshirt with Kanji characters and an old pair of light blue jeans he probably threw on without much thought. Kate on the other had looked even better than usual. In a way, Ron could also describe her as slutty, but that was no way he would think of his close colleague. She had on a short white mini skirt, a low cut red tube top with a black vest on and her hair up. In all honesty, she looked as if she had just gotten out of a club. Bosco was smart enough to bring their tools with him. In his hands he held two black cases, filled inside with tech equipments that would greatly aid them.
“What’s the emergency call for? Why are we at this house? And what happened to you and Nancy last night?” Bosco asked as he stretched his arm walking in.
“Consider it a secret operation,” Ron replied. “We’re looking for Michelle Yim without letting the rest of the force know. We’re at this house because we are meeting Raymond Lam here. And Nancy and I went to arrest Macy Chan last night with enough evidence to prove her guilty, but she got away and Nancy got shot and is still at the hospital.”
Bosco raised his eyebrows. He must’ve had a thought run through his mind, but he decided to shrug it off knowing asking more and more questions would only complicate things. “When this is over, tell me the whole story,” he spoke to Ron.
Ron nodded as they neared the door. He noticed that the moment Kate stepped into the grounds of this villa and realized where she was, she was suddenly quiet, a lot different than usual. She kept her eyes from direct contact with Ron’s and pretended to look around the house. He couldn’t explain what exactly it was, but Kate wasn’t herself. That was all Ron knew. Something about either last night or today or maybe something about Michelle Yim and this house was causing Kate to think about something. She was acting weird, and normally he would take a little time out to question her out of kindness, but this was not the time.
The front doors opened just as they approached it. A tall young man stood in the doorway, wearing a bright sky blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the collar left loose and unbuttoned. Ron had to take a second look to recall that the man was Raymond Lam. He was so used to Raymond portraying a street rat in a vest with his arms showing, but instead Raymond looked serious and professional with no tattoo in sight. The only thing recognizable about him then was his face and the way his hair was oddly messy.
“Welcome,” Raymond greeted. “Glad you’re willing to help.” His attention was mostly on Ron, wondering how and why the principled officer decided to offer him his aid.
“How long has Mrs. Yim been missing?” Ron asked immediately as he walked inside.
Bosco set the two cases on the glass table that Raymond had led them to in the living room. He opened each one quickly and took out two laptops along with wires and another small system box with red lights blinking at a mild speed.
“She was supposed to get off the flight at three yesterday. We visited her here this morning but didn’t see her. Then we called everyone who would know that she’s back and we still couldn’t find her,” Raymond replied, watching them as the three police officers set up their work.
“Kate, can you please call the airport and check up on that for me?” Ron asked.
Standing to the side, Raymond had his arms folded as he watched with a straight expression as Kate left the room the make the call. Bosco asked first then went around the house to set up his antennas and get a good feel of the place for some if any evidence or clues. Raymond’s observing eyes shifted from the well dressed but tired eyed Ron to the sloppy and uncaring mess Bosco, and finally to the slutty tramp of a police officer Kate. He raised one eyebrow surprised at what results he got by Tavia making just one call. The only thing missing was the presence of that goofy and reckless officer who tried to pass herself off as a triad, Nancy Wu. Raymond then sat down on the sofa across from Ron and began a conversation.
“So I get the special team from the police force? I feel so important,” he teased.
Ron glanced up for a mere second from the laptop screen. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“Please, an uptight by well principled officer, a sloppy and unready mess, and a slutty tramp of a police investigator. All I’m missing is that amusingly reckless cop Nancy, your fiancée.”
Ron’s thought processed quickly as he asked casually his next question. “You knew Nancy was a cop. Why did you still allow her free roam in your territory?”
“She showed no threat to me personally,” Raymond replied. “…for the moment.”
Ron only nodded as he continued typing away rows and rows of codes and lines on the laptop.
“There’s something weird about her,” Raymond finally spoke a part of his mind.
Ron didn’t bother to look up, keeping himself busy with work and away from direct speech with the playboy and triad. “Who? Nancy?” he asked.
“No,” Raymond replied as he leaned back on the sofa, still with his arms crossed. “That other girl officer, I think Kate was her name? Whenever I’m at your office for interrogation, she would be flirting all over you. Something’s different today.”
Ron suddenly stopped typing and looked up from the screen, completely ignoring the midst of his work. “You think so too?” he asked, wondering if someone like Raymond Lam could have such high deductive skills.
Raymond nodded and had a small, unreadable smile across his face. “Did you reject her badly?”
“No,” Ron replied. “But something is wrong.”
“Keep an eye on her then,” Raymond warned. “It’s just a feeling, but I think that this Kate might just be more trouble than Nancy is.”
He never thought the day would ever come, but Ron kept Raymond’s word fresh in his mind. He nodded and gave a quick, neutral smile as a silent ‘thank you’ and returned back to his work, typing and opening up tracking software on the laptop. Never would he be able to guess what kind of trouble Kate might bring, but just the thought of trouble made him more alert than anything. As he worked, Ron kept half his mind on the software and the other half on Kate.
The front door to the house suddenly opened. It wasn’t a loud bang or a grand entry, but the sound of the door knob and hinge was enough to stir Raymond and Ron’s attention. They both turned their heads and looked up, only to find three women step in from the doorway. Raymond was glad to see them, one especially who wore a straight yet undyingly attractive expression on her face. The other woman was one he knew would cause him at least some amusement for the day, but the last woman he completely didn’t recognize.
Ron on the other hand was caught completely surprised by their presence here. He saw Tavia walk in first, then Fala, and then his Nancy. Whether Tavia and Fala showed or not didn’t matter to him as they didn’t have a still bleeding wound on their shoulder and still jacked up on painkiller medications, but his Nancy was different. Nancy walked in, first her expression was unreadable, but then a smile suddenly widened her face as she sat down beside him. He knew by instinct that whenever Nancy was like that, something was wrong and she was hiding something. He gave her an acknowledging nod and so did to the others.
“I explained to Nancy that you knew everything already,” Tavia spoke with a gentle smile.
Raymond could easily see how comfortable she was around him and her close friend. He definitely wouldn’t mind these girls. “And is Inspector Nancy Wu okay with me knowing?”
Nancy socially smiled. “I’m fine with it. Actually I’m quite thankful you haven’t tried to kill me yet,” she replied in a casual tone.
It shocked them all how calmly and nicely Nancy could reply about such a scary thing, but three of the four knew her better and she could possibly pull anything off.
Raymond then turned to the shy and reserved girl that sat between Nancy and Tavia, her long hair cupping her face nicely. “I’m afraid we haven’t been introduced,” he spoke with a smile.
“Fala Wu,” she simply replied. “Nancy’s younger sister.” Even though that was the fact, Fala would more often than usual feel that she was the older one and Nancy was the younger one. Their roles have been reversed ever since Ron showed up in Nancy’s life. Fala had become much more mature with age and Nancy the contrary. She knew no doubt that it was because of the happiness Ron brought Nancy that made her so childish and carefree and she didn’t mind it at all, but it was just odd to her.
Raymond nodded, smiled and shook her hand. “Pleasure,” he spoke.
===
Taking a short break, Ron finally got to know the house better as he and Nancy walked around, first searching for the bathroom and then a place to get some fresh air. He held her hand but kept quiet. Their walk was silent until they reached the open patio in the backyard where the shining sun shown brilliance down upon them. Nancy leaned on the wooden railing as she took in the beautiful landscaping of the rich backyard. Ron did the same for a moment until he sighed and finally decided to speak seriously with her.
“I told you to stay in the hospital,” he spoke calmly. “You know better and usually would only do something like this when the case is really important. Tell me, who is Michelle Yim exactly and what relations do you and her have together?” His speech was straightforward, but it was a better option than beating around the bushes.
Nancy looked down at her hands, thought for a moment and finally released a long sigh. “Michelle Yim,” she began with a bitter smile. “I don’t really know how else to put it. But do you remember when we first met?”
“The time in the alley?” Ron asked.
“No, before that,” Nancy corrected. “That time at the police academy when we, two complete strangers, spoke to each other and decided to become police officers.”
Ron nodded. He definitely remembered that time. After all, whether big or small, Nancy still played a role as Ron’s muse to becoming the great officer he was now. “What about it?”
“Remember when I told you that my reason in joining the police force is because police officers can find people and it’s because I want to find someone?”
He nodded again. “Of course I remember. I never forget anything you say.”
Nancy smiled, still looking down at their hands, now linked and fitting perfectly together. “I never told Fala that was the reason. I only told her that I want to become a police officer because it seemed like a fun job and because of all the benefits we get from it.”
Ron nodded and moved closer to her. Their foreheads were touching as he looked at her face while she looked down at their hands. They were so close he could feel her warmth and her heartbeat rising at a slow but steady pace. She looked tired and worn out, but was still capable of holding her sweet, sweet beauty that he loved so much. Nancy’s wounded shoulder was bent back oddly, perhaps to keep the wound from causing too much pain. He didn’t notice this until they got closer again.
“Well the person I wanted to find was Michelle Yim,” Nancy spoke softly. “I’ve been denying it for over ten years now, but she’s my mother.”
Holding her hands, Ron was quiet for a moment. “You’ve told me about your past and what your mother had done, but you never told me who she was and I respected that secret of yours. Now that you have the opportunity to see her again…what are you going to do?” Ron asked. He was fully understanding of Nancy’s situation for he had asked to hear her story many times so as to remind her that even if the world turned on her, he would be the one still beside her.
She shook her head and laughed without humor. “I don’t know. I never imagined that I’d be able to see her again.” Nancy paused for a moment. Her words were soft and sullen even if she had on a fake smile. “I still can’t bring myself to forgive her so easily. Now her being a triad also complicates things, but I can’t deny it. Even though I hate her for what she did to me, I still miss her.” Only when she was around Ron and no one else could she admit to something like that. Only around him alone could she admit to her true and innermost thoughts.
“It’s your decision, but my idea is to cherish the time you have now. Things could have changed in ten years, and no matter what she’s still your mother. Sure you have to break the news to Fala but that could be done slowly over time. For now, try your hardest to mend your relationship with her. No mother will stop loving their daughter, and it goes the same the other way around. Just don’t be reckless and get into trouble that’s all I ask. Whatever you do, I’ll support you.”
She leaned in to kiss him. Ron returned her kiss quickly and after a few seconds, their quick interaction turned into a moment of pure silence and passion. He held her tighter, knowing his Nancy needed him. Nancy ignored the constant shots of pain that came from her shoulder and only focused on him. As she kissed him harder, Nancy thanked God for allowing such a wonderful man like Ron to be there for her. Taking his words into mind, she didn’t know how she will do it and she doesn’t know how her rash nature would affect it, but all she knew was that somehow, she will fix up her broken home.
Just the thought of speaking to her mother again after so long made her nauseous and sickened, but she will have to do it if she wanted a proper home again. No matter if she was a cop and her mother was a triad, no matter the fact that Fala was a forensics that stood in between them, no matter the fact that both sides were supposed to be enemies. She was still going to fix everything. Nancy closed her eyes harder as Ron pushed in for a harder, stronger and more passionate kiss. She could feel his soft lips on hers, providing her support as she thought through such an important decision in her mind. At that moment, it was decided. With Ron by her side, she had the confidence to do anything. She will do what she wanted most, and it was to fix her broken home and then finally expand on it with Ron soon after when they could properly get married once everything was done and over with. There are possibilities that fate could toy with her and mess things up again, but she didn’t care. All she knew was she had a chance to fix everything. She was determined to do so, no matter what the cost.
===
November 6, 2009……3:00 p.m.
===
The afternoon came by slowly, dragging out every single second of it. Raymond was just about ready to fall asleep, if not for the fact that he had a missing savior lingering in the back of his mind. During the time, he had been sitting beside Tavia, watching as she even understood how to work the different police technology. Bosco Wong, the untidy mess was more helpful than he could ever believe. In nearly one hour, Bosco had cracked the many messages of nearly the whole 14K triad, and narrowed down Michelle’s location to five places. Raymond couldn’t understand how he did it, but Detective Wong was really something.
Another hour seemed to have passed, but when he took a look back at the clock it seemed five minute hadn’t even passed them by. It felt as if Raymond was frozen in time, waiting in a bright, autumn afternoon. Tavia had left him to go to the bathroom, doing whatever a woman would do in there, and also cancelling all her plans for the day just to help him. He was so thankful of the busy city woman that he couldn’t hide his little smile for her, even during a time like that. He waited in silence for a minute, but boredom soon caught up with him.
It had come to the point where he memorized each and every aspect of the house for Raymond. He had wandered pass the screen doors leading to the open patio. About to go outside, he noticed the oblivious couple, too engulfed in each other to notice the moving world around them. For the first time in a very long time, Raymond felt a mature sense to leave them alone and not ruin their moment, no matter how much his rougher, triad side wanted to. He shook his head and continued walking on. A little bit pass the patio, he finally saw her. She had basically disappeared from him since that morning, but he saw her again. Kate, the skin showing girl of the police force stood before the glass window, looking out at the couple.
He approached her casually, finding something off with this girl. “It hurts right?” he asked.
She turned to face him. “What do you mean?”
“Anyone with eyes and ears can tell that you’re in love with Inspector Ng. If you’re in love, it would hurt to see him with someone else.”
She didn’t even bother to deny it. She nodded in silence and then longingly turned to look back out the window.
Raymond raised an eyebrow. “So what’s wrong this morning?” he asked.
“Nothing’s wrong,” she lied.
He simply laughed. “Right,” Raymond sarcastically replied. “Usually you’d be all over him and not even allow them a moment of alone time.”
Kate suddenly turned towards him with an angry expression on. “You,” she began.
He cut her off quickly. “Don’t lie. So what’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” she replied.
Raymond folded his arms, amused by how reading people could be so fun. “If nothing’s wrong, can you go and help me find Michelle Yim now?”
Kate turned from him and began to walk away. She suddenly stopped and without turning around asked, “Why do you need to find Michelle Yim? You’re probably only going to get yourself in more unwanted trouble.”
There it was. Raymond knew she would spill something sooner or later. Normal people would simply base her words on a guess, a simple question to get out of doing her work, but there was something about the atmosphere that day that made him believe she meant something more. He kept his arms folded and watched her as she lingered in her next step. He knew that she had something on her mind and that something could no doubt relate to Michelle. This woman, she was a questionable one to him. Perhaps he was just over-analyzing the situation, or perhaps it was instinct. He didn’t know, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.
“More trouble?” He continued to question, hoping for more leaks.
She shook her head and left. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a complete idiot. Raymond sighed and continued with his walk around the house, wondering what would happen next. He didn’t know why, but things felt like they were beginning to get interesting.
===
November 6, 2009……6:00 p.m.
===
Hours passed by. At that time in the evening, they were all gathered in the elegantly furnished living room, waiting on phones and staring at laptop screens for news. No one spoke much, it was one of those times when speaking would do more bad than good for them. Ron scrolled through a series of recorded phone conversations Bosco had easily recovered while Nancy stared blankly at the footages taken from the airport.
After a long while, she finally spoke. “The last place they confirmed seeing her was at the airport.” She paused for a moment, thinking. “But I also saw Michelle Yim at a bakery too. So she must’ve had time to roam the streets a little bit, and then she was taken.”
“You saw Michelle Yim at a bakery?” Tavia asked, surprised.
Nancy nodded then she turned to Ron. He had his head in his hands, listening intently even though he had already heard the story. She then took a look at Fala. Out of all of them, Fala seemed to be the least involved. She helped Bosco out and continued treating to Nancy’s bullet wound with the medical knowledge she had. What all but two of them knew was that Fala and Nancy had more related with Michelle Yim than anyone would ever think.
“If it had been someone we know, on the streets one of the gang members must’ve seen it,” Raymond suggest.
“Not unless if that person had enough reputation to back their actions up enough to remain unquestioned,” Ron cut it.
“Where are you going at?” Kate suddenly spoke up. She had been unusually quiet most of the day but that moment, all eyes turned on her.
Ron didn’t hold back his words. To him, Kate was a colleague, someone he could talk to, and nothing more. “I’m saying that someone well known in the 14K could’ve taken her. Raymond you said it yourself, recently there had been a lot of stirs in the 14K. It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if it was someone big in your gang.”
Nancy nodded in agreement. “Why is Michelle Yim back in Hong Kong?” she asked.
Tavia turned and faced Raymond, wondering if he would hold back the truth or not.
It took him a moment of thought, but he finally decided. What was most important right then was to find her. Even if the cops do find out about their little plan. What he didn’t want to happen though was for it to be leaked, and in that room he knew there was one person he couldn’t bring himself into trusting.
“Never mind then,” Nancy sighed.
“No,” Raymond interrupted. “I’ll tell.” He stopped for a moment, his eyes on Kate. Ron saw it too and he took over Raymond’s role in paying attention to her reaction. “Kevin Cheng, the son of the last 14K boss, is at odds with Michelle over who should be the head of power in the gang. He came back to Hong Kong a few days ago, ready to discuss with the elders and higher ranked members about it. Michelle came back in secrecy to fight him over the seat.”
Kate remained quiet and showed no reaction. But that was her mistake. Ron saw that everyone else in the room had some reaction beside her. Fala was intrigued by the whole gist of the story she was witnessing. Tavia shook her head and sighed, hearing of stories similar to this, the fighting of power, over and over again. Bosco hid his amusement into where the case was leading, and Nancy stayed in awkward silence as millions of thoughts ran through her head. The fact that Kate had no reaction to this triggered something to Ron. She must’ve known something ahead of time. It was either that or Kate really had nothing on this case, but Ron was willing to bet otherwise. There was something about her today that triggered his attention.
The sound of Raymond’s cell phone suddenly caught their ears by surprise. He scrambled to get it from the empty sofa across from him as Ron attached a tracking but onto it and Bosco turned on the software. They all sat in silence as he placed the call on speaker phone.
“Macy?” Raymond spoke once he realized who had called him through the caller ID.
“Raymond, I’m glad you picked up!” she spoke loudly over the phone in a pitchy voice.
“What’s up?” Raymond asked. He turned to look at Nancy and Ron.
“I’m sure by now you have heard about what happened last night,” Macy began.
“No, I haven’t,” Raymond replied, narrowing his eyes on Nancy, the one person he knew was capable of pulling some unpredictable stunt.
“The cops came and interrupted my little meeting. It’s fine now, I’m pretty sure one of them is in critical condition.”
Ron looked at Nancy, then to her wound. He wanted so badly to yell at her, but he just couldn’t bring himself to. Not with all the many things that were happening around them.
“Macy why did you call?” Raymond asked impatiently.
“Leave with me,” she demanded.
“What?”
“Leave with me. I know you value Michelle Yim’s life very much, so leave Hong Kong with me and I’ll let her go. I can’t stay here anymore, not if I still want to have my freedom. But I can’t bear leaving without you either. So using Michelle Yim to get you to come would be the best idea.” She replied confidently.
Raymond paused for a moment but then asked, “Where are you?”
“That doesn’t matter. Tomorrow at three I’ll pick you up at your apartment. Then we can go.”
With that the line went dead. The whole room turned to Bosco and Ron as Bosco silently gave them a thumbs up. Raymond slipped his phone back in his pocket and sat back down on the sofa, running his hands through his hair as he let out a troubled sigh. He had some idea of what was happening, but for Macy he doubted them all. He had always thought she was too innocent to be able to do anything. That was part of the reason he kept her around.
“Michelle is probably with her. We have to find her before she picks Raymond up tomorrow or we’ll lose trace of Michelle,” Tavia spoke, placing her hand on Raymond’s shoulder.
“She’s at the bay, east point,” Bosco pointed out as Ron looked over his shoulder on the map he had just pulled up. “The phone call traced to there. But it’s in the middle of the water, so we’ll need to get a boat if we go there.”
“I can’t believe it was her the whole time. I mean I had some idea, but I never expected them to all be true,” Raymond spoke in frustration. “What happened to her?”
“Love changes a person tremendously,” Tavia commented.
He looked up at her with sullen eyes, his way of a silent ‘thank you’. Raymond then turned back to the crowd. “Did you guys try to arrest her last night?”
“We did,” Nancy replied, pointing to Ron and to herself. “But of course, she got away.”
“And one of you got shot?”
Ron nodded. “Nancy did.”
“On behalf of Macy, I’m very sorry. I knew something was going to happen and I could’ve prevented it, but…I’m sorry.”
Eyes of surprise were met when Raymond suddenly stood up and apologized to them. He spoke in the sincerest voice and his eyes showed no lie. Tavia was struck with silence, watching as the infamous playboy of the 14K suddenly showed a side much more mature than she could ever imagine. She was right. There was something different about him, something that made her want to trust him, want to be with him, and want to love him. She had attempted to deny all her feelings before, fearing the pain she would walk into. But what he said just then to Ron and Nancy that was just the push she needed to take the jump.
Ron too was in shock. In one day, his impression of Raymond had nearly taken a full 360 degree turn. “No need to apologize,” was all he could say.
“Nancy’s wound will be fine,” Fala spoke in, assuring everyone. “What’s important now is that we find Michelle Yim. If Macy could change that much like Raymond had seen we don’t know what she would do to Michelle.”
Nancy suddenly turned to look at Fala. Inside her mind, she was foolishly laughing at herself for pushing the people around her in such an ironic situation. Fala, her sister, was speaking of their mother as if they were strangers. As if that wasn’t odd enough, the one innocent soul of the night world had turned into a complete psycho.
“Kate, when’s the next boat available for us to use?” Nancy asked.
Kate seemed out of it as she rested her head on her hand. Sighing, she finally gave an answer after glancing at the screen. “Tomorrow morning, six a.m. The bay will be open for us then. Now we won’t be able to do anything unless if we get a signed paper, but that could take days.”
It was all silence afterwards. Raymond sat beside Bosco as he pointed out the different directions they could take in getting to Macy’s constantly changing direction. Tavia stayed close to him, her hand protected in his hold as she knew of no way she could help anymore. Tavia looked on the screen, playing a game in her mind of which way to take. Occasionally she would speak up and point out to them a different option, and almost every offer she had worked, but she was too engulfed in another matter to provide much of help. She was too engulfed in Raymond. Her impressions of triad boys were never altered so much in her life. She saw something in Raymond that she couldn’t ever imagine. She had thought guys with real principles were limited to only a select few and with her luck she would never meet an available one. But her luck seemed to have turned. She silently laughed in her mind, thinking how in one day, an unwanted cooperation could allow so much change to silently creep up on them.
She suddenly tightened her grip on his hand and Raymond quickly returned to gentle nudge. He glanced at her quickly, quick enough that it was discreet to the entire room, but slow enough that she could see his clear, shiny eyes.
===
In another room of the house, Fala had found a small box of first aid materials that proved to work in helping reduce Nancy’s jolting, piercing pain. She gently dabbed small amounts of alcohol to the wound, cleaning it and to numb out the effect of the bullet. As she did so, she sighed whenever Nancy would hold back her squeal of pain, shaking her head at her sister. She was gentle every time, but the pain could not be helped.
“You don’t have to hold back your cries you know,” Fala sighed. “Every girl is entitled to cry.”
“It’s become a habit,” Nancy laughed humorlessly. “People always have something they don’t want others to see, and I’m just the same. I don’t want to seem like a burden to everyone. Even though sometimes I feel like I am.”
“What are you talking about?” Fala laughed in an airy sigh. “I think you had a very long day.”
“Probably,” Nancy nodded and yawned. “Have you ever thought about our mother?”
Fala was caught off guard. She knew that whenever they accidently touched upon that topic, Nancy would become very guarded and sensitive. She never thought Nancy would be the one mentioning it, and in such a calm voice. Her sister had definitely had a very long day if that happened. She stayed silent, unsure if she should tell Nancy how she truly feels.
“I’m being serious,” Nancy spoke. “I know it’s usually a sensitive topic to touch upon, but have you?” she continued to ask.
It took a moment for her to process an answer, but Fala slowly sounded it out. “Often,” she replied. “To be honest, I wonder about her every day. I was too small to remember what she looked or sounded like, but how could I ever forget my own mother? I remember how she used to hold us.” Fala paused. She laughed bitterly as Nancy could see the tears come to her eyes. They were held back though, something she didn’t want Nancy to see. “I never thought we’d be able to talk about her again. I wanted so badly to ask you where she was or what she was like, but whenever we touched upon that topic, you’d back away and close yourself entirely.”
Nancy sighed as she slowly slipped her shirt back on. “I’m sorry,” she spoke softly. “…but a lot of things are better kept hidden.” She sounded sad and down, but she wasn’t closing herself up. Fala was glad and wanted to hear more, anything she could about the mother whose face she never knew. “If we see her again, how would you feel?”
“I wouldn’t know because I could never imagine the day. But I would be very glad to see that she’s alright. And I would ask her why she was never there.”
Nancy leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Fala. She could feel Fala’s arms around her body as they stayed together, hugging for a long moment. Nancy then let out a soft sigh, trying to come to a conclusion in her mind. After a long moment, she slowly and carefully pulled herself away. She placed both hands on Fala’s shoulders and spoke to her in a soft and nearly motherly voice. During those moments, it was then that Fala felt like the younger sister of the two. They were rare moments, but usually important, unforgettable ones for their minds.
“If we see her again,” Nancy began. “I’ll let you know. But remember to have fudge brownies ready, mom loved brownies,” she sighed.
They both smiled and Fala nodded. She could hear loud footsteps approaching them from down the hall, perhaps a guy. The only man that would come at that time was Ron, and Fala knew well enough to give her sister and still future brother-in-law some alone time. As Ron’s figure appeared at the door, Fala quickly cleaned up the first aid materials and quietly slipped out of the room. Ron had his hands in his pockets. He finally pulled them out when he was around Nancy’s presence, using them to gently take her into his arms.
“Why do you always have to pretend that nothing could hurt you?” he asked softly as he turned her so that her shoulder wouldn’t hurt against his body.
Nancy smiled. “Funny, Fala and I were just talking about that before you came in.”
Ron leaned down to kiss her forehead. “You talked to her about your mother didn’t you?”
She nodded. “I didn’t tell her it was Michelle yet. I didn’t know if I should.”
“Time will eventually fix everything, no worries.” Ron closed his eyes and sighed as he rested his head on the nape of her neck. “Since there’s nothing left to do but wait, Raymond and Tavia are downstairs, staying cozy. Bosco’s playing a game on one of the laptops, and Kate is zoning into space.”
“Does something about Kate today seem off to you?” Nancy suddenly asked.
Ron nodded gently. “Yeah,” he replied. “But we could worry about that tomorrow. Right now she won’t be doing anything.”
“I guess so.”
“Tired yet?” he asked Nancy, able to feel a soft, almost inaudible ‘yes’ from her. “Then let’s go to bed.”
===
November 7, 2009……7:00 a.m.
===
The morning sun was beating down on them as the two boats scanned the waters in search of a bigger one. The sun was brightly hanging up on the sky, gleaming down and causing most people to cover their eyes. It was bright, but unusually chilly for an autumn morning. So cold that even Ron had to wrap his arms around Nancy to keep her warm. It was so cold that Tavia had to snuggle against Raymond to keep warm. They didn’t know what the sudden change in whether could foretell, beside the fact that winter was coming early that year.
“Ron do you see anything?” Nancy asked as she pushed herself back into his hold, searching around the nearly empty waters.
He shook his head. “Fala?”
“I got nothing,” Fala replied as she attempted to properly maneuver the boat.
“Ron,” Bosco’s voice suddenly spoke over the radio. “We found her.”
“Send me your location and we’ll get their immediately,” Ron spoke.
The temperature in Nancy’s body rose once she realized how close they were. She pushed herself out of Ron’s hold to get closer to the radio. “Fala steer east,” she spoke quickly. “Bosco, who do you see?”
“All we see are Macy and Michelle. She has Michelle handcuffed and standing at the bow of the boat,” Tavia’s voice spoke over the radio now. “Bosco is getting out his gun, he could see a gun and knife in Macy’s hands.”
Nancy turned to look at Ron. “Did I drop my handcuff the other day?”
“Maybe, but I’m more worried about her gun,” he spoke as he leaned on the windshield of the boat, looking ahead as he held Nancy close by.
“Macy’s asking Raymond to get on the boat and leave with her. Then she’ll make the exchange and give us back Michelle,” Tavia spoke. “Bosco’s in position in case anything happens. He wanted me to tell you guys that.”
“Tell Raymond whatever you do, don’t agree to Macy. If she brought a gun, she’ll be expecting something from us.”
They were coming closer. Nancy could see the two boats, facing each other as they approached. She could hear the voices of Macy and Raymond going back and forth, arguing about something she couldn’t understand. A cold and lonely breath of wind stroked their faces as the speedboat continued on its path due east. She narrowed her eyes down to the front bow of the boat, trying to see clearly as they were approaching from the back.
Her eyes widened slightly when she finally saw the scene. The familiar face that stood on the bow of the boat beside a young girl, handcuffed and threatened to silence. The woman didn’t quiver in fear. Instead she seemed to be quite confident she would be released safely. Nancy finally got close enough to see her eyes, looking out in the open sea and seeing another boat approaching to her rescue. Her aged and warm eyes lit up for a moment, but then returned to a discreet glance once she realized Macy would notice if she acted up. Her black fur coat was taken off and sitting on the chair beside them as she stood in a lovely white blouse, swaying freely in the ocean breeze. Michelle’s eyebrows suddenly came together slightly, seeing clearly the faces that were approaching to her rescue. They felt like familiar faces and something inside of her made her feel very close to them, but yet she couldn’t recall who they were.
Inside her head, rescuing Michelle was top priority, but there was another thought lingering in the back of her mind. Nancy wondered whether she would even recognize them. It had been so many years since she had last seen them, how could she ever imagine that the two chubby, sweet-tooth little girls she once knew would grow up to be such women.
“Fala kill the engine,” Nancy spoke softly. She stood up straight, holding onto Ron’s hand as she looked back, coming into eye contact with her mother, Michelle Yim.
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