《Lethal Combo (Weapon-Based Martial Arts Adventure)》Part 3: Chapter 14 - So Much for Plan A
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"What's taking Selene so long?" Quang said as he faced the dozer parked several yards away from the front of the memorial. Vic turned his head to look around the corner of the of the front of the structure, eyeing the downed generator. He couldn't make out much, but he could hear numerous profanities followed by metal clashing against metal as Hudson shouted "Who broke this?" at his men.
"Think she bailed?" Vic whispered, returning his attention the vehicle that Selene was thought to have been hiding behind.
"No way!" Quang replied quiet yet confidently. "She wouldn't just... run away! Especially in a situation like this."
"You really got a lot of faith in a chick that you just met," Vic whispered back.
"After all we've been through, she's more than earned it."
"Two days, bro?"
"Just keep watch, Vic. I'm going to start without her. If she doesn't come in a few minutes, we're going back there, alright?"
"Sounds like a plan to me."
Vic remained outside, keeping his sanjiegun ready by stretching out each segment and holding it by the opposite ends. He spread his legs in a stance that put his readiness to fight on display. His eyes darted from side to side, scanning as much as he could with limited vision. Quang dashed inside the memorial, pausing underneath doorway.
"Let's see, what can I do?" Quang muttered in a low voice. The inside was darker than out. He tiptoed forward, keeping his eyes glued to the floor to keep a look out for anything that he could trip over. He kept one hand along the wall for leverage, his fingers running across the coarse and uneven lining. His foot bumped into something, followed by a sloshing sound.
"Ahh!" Quang shouted as he lifted his foot. After turning his head behind him to see if he had alerted any of the Union members, he looked down at what he had walked into. A quick glance revealed that it was paint inside of a large bucket. He reached down and held it by the handle and placed his other hand underneath it.
"At least this is a start," he said quietly. With a heave he tossed the contents of the bucket against the wall, making a loud splash. He put the bucket back on the ground and walked towards the opposite of structure. He stepped on something metal that made a loud clanking sound. An inspection revealed a wide assortment of tools and equipment. His attention came across a long steel hammer strewn atop of the pile.
Quang lifted the tool with both hands, lifting it up and down slowly as he let the weight sink in. "This must be Hudson's!" he whispered. Mimicking the Union leader, Quang practiced a sideways swing. He stopped a few inches from the wall, slowing his swing so that the mallet tapped against the building material that made up the inside of the building. There was a small dinging sound as the two materials touched.
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"That'll make a lot of noise," Quang whispered to himself. "Man, where's Selene?" he then muttered as he stared out of the memorial’s entrance and into the night. He carefully put the hammer back on the floor before running outside. Vic still stood by the building, still in his defensive pose. The two faced each other.
"Everything alright?" Vic asked.
"Have you seen Selene?"
Vic shook his head. "Nope."
"Come on. We're going back over there to check on her." Quang ran towards the dozer until Vic's hand grabbed onto his shoulder.
"But what about the building?"
"We'll figure that out once we see what's going on with Selene!" He then ran towards the construction vehicle while keeping his profile low. Vic shook his head before following behind him. Quang arrived at the location, calling out Selene's name before he had walked around to the other side of the vehicle.
"You okay Sel—" Quang ended his sentence when he went around to the other side of the dozer. Five pairs of eyes all turned around to face him at once. Selene turned around, still holding her tonfas. Fátima squinted, giving him a look of both confusion and annoyance while her three students stared at him with furor. Vic ran into him from behind, pushing him forward as both men fell to the ground.
"Hey!" Fátima shouted. She stepped closer and pointed towards Vic. "You're that nutjob with the sanjiegun!"
"Did Shondell give that away?" Vic said as he jumped to his feet, holding his weapon by opposite rods.
"You named that thing?" Fátima replied with a faint tone of disgust.
"Of course!" Vic looked towards the other three former Dragon's Bite instructors. A flash of silver bounced off the moonlight as Vic twirled the various sections of his segmented staff around his body. The three flinched back, raising their hands in front of their bodies to protect themselves. "Never would have though you guys would be desperate enough to work with the Union! I thought Belanger paid you good money?" He stopped his warning flurry before resuming his defensive stance.
"What's it to you..." Fátima began, tapering off as she tried to recall his name.
"Vic!"
"Right. Vic. Whatever. Why are you so concerned with what we're doing, huh?" Fátima said while tapping one foot. "Looks like you should be down by some restaurant begging for scraps."
"Because of what you did to Rodney's studio! You thought you could come through and wreck everything he's worked for and assumed we'd be okay with it?"
Fátima shook her head. "You're one to talk after what you did a while back at Dragon's Bite. Showing up just to humiliate everyone there. You really seem to hate... whatever that stuff Belanger teaches. Must make you boil over to see that place be so successful while Rodney's place stays empty. No wonder he sent you over to try and cause trouble."
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"What? Rodney never sent me. I went there on my own terms!" Vic shot back.
"Sure. And his other two students just happened to try to do the same thing a few months later?"
"Yes!" Selene said. "Are you really going to try and play victim here? Don't forget that you still have my necklace!"
"Is that what this is all about?" Fátima said as she narrowed her gaze on Selene. "You want that piece of porcaria back?"
Selene clenched her tonfas tighter. "I only have a rough idea of what you just said, but I can tell you it's certainly not that. For a moment, Fátima, I respected you. Vic did too. You showed some serious talent back at your dojo. But... apparently we were wrong. You're no better than the rest of the crooks here in Isla Lucrecia."
"I'm just doing what it takes to get by," Fátima replied. "That includes picking my friends... and my enemies... carefully."
"So what's the next step then, huh?" Quang butted in. He drew his nunchucks, letting one of the batons rest underneath the arm. "Are you going to go around demanding money from mom-and-pop restaurants to make payments on that sports car of yours?"
"Don't be ridiculous," the kendoka said. "I've already paid that car off. But that's not the point. I've got to look out for myself. You really think you can get by in this city just by staying out of trouble and hoping that no one pops your little?" Fátima then scoffed. "Explains why you three are the way you are. It's a dog-eat-dog world. The right decision is the one that ensures that you get to live to see another day."
"I'm not listening to this," Vic said before Fátima could continue. He stepped forward, brandishing his weapon. "You itching for a rematch?"
"W-what?" Despite the darkness, the expanding of the whites of her eyes became clear as Vic snapped the chains of his sanjiegun by pulling the segments apart. "You really trying to fight now? In a construction site? In the middle of the night?"
"We didn't come all this way for a tour. Come on Fátima," Vic said with a smile, "you seemed upset about that loss back at your dojo. Your crew is here. My friends are here. There isn't a better time."
Fátima pointed to her shoulder. "In case you couldn't tell, I've suffered an injury. You caught me off guard last time with that weird weapon of yours. I'm not going to let you scum out another victory when I'm injured."
"Suit yourself," Vic said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Taking on weakened opponents isn't fun anyway." His head shifted to the other three that had accompanied her. "You guys looking to fight?" Spencer, Jake and Kiki all jumped back as Vic pretended to jump forward. They all let out a loud yell in fear.
"You're going to alert the Union!" Quang said to Vic.
"Fine! Let them show!" Vic replied in a raised tone. "Fátima can't fight. Those three aren't even close to being threats. Sounds like the Union are the only folks that would provide any kind of challenge! Part of the reason I came here tonight is to see some action, Quang. Maybe it'd be best to just have them come here, knock 'em out and get back to tearing down that memorial!"
"Wait, wait. That's what you're here to do?" Fátima said. She pulled out her bokken and pointed it towards the three intruders. She then shifted her head to her students. "Go get Hudson and the others," she commanded. They sprinted towards the downed generator at full speed.
"Great going, Vic," Quang said. He smacked Vic upside the head with the palm of his hand, making a loud 'pop' sound. His friend shook his head, brushing off the pain.
“At least I’m going to get that fight I wanted!” Vic stepped forward, only to have Selene impede his progress by placing herself in front of him.
“I want to take on Fátima,” she said softly.
“You sure about that?” Quang asked. “You remember what happened last time, right?”
“Of course I do!” She stood on the tips of her toes, looking past Quang and Vic. “Looks like you two might have your hands full, anyway.”
They both turned around. The rest of the Union cam sprinting in their direction with the kendoka’s followers not far behind.
“You get Fátima while me and Quang get everyone else?” Vic asked while grinning. “Sounds like a deal to me.”
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