Crouching Tiger

I drove up to the quaint looking, Neon Blue establishment....Even though it was daytime...It looked as if it was nighttime... Me? My name is Kevin Morris, I'm a Private Investigator of sorts...And a businessman also..Tonight..I was just the husband of a very pregnant real estate agent...My wife, Sepia. She and her partner, Bonita Foxworth had sold this property to it's present owner.

The building was purple...and neon lights flashed around the exterior....In the window was a large aquarium with aquatic life in it....Inside was a blue, neon bar area...not unlike Aqua Bar...

It smelled like fresh jasmine....and there was a kitchen, where good hot chinese food could be smelled cooking...It had a medium sized crowd and it was very nice.... My good friend, Robert Foxworth looked around, but said nothing...His wife ,Bonita and my 8 months pregnant wife, Sepia followed us in...

The man we had come to see...A Chinese man named Richard Saki greeted us...He had on a stylish, tailored Grey Suit...He was a little shorter than Robert and me..but he had a kilwatt smile and a pleasent demeanor...

"Hi Saki....Your place is beautiful..."said Bonita...

"It is amazing." said my wife Sepia...

"I likes...I likes" said Robert Foxworth.

We had a seat and menus were immediately given to us by a pretty Asian female hostess...

Sepia and Bonita had acquired this piece of prime real estate and had sold it to Mr. Saki about a year ago..

Another man had been quite persistant about wanting the property also...but Mr. Saki and his partners had come up with the money the fastest..

Robert was acting as his attorney..

"We hope everything is to your liking...Your meals and drinks are on the house tonight.."said Mr. Saki...

"Ohhh Mr. Saki you don't have to do that.."said my wife and Bonita almost simultaneously...

"Uhhhh, if the man wants to treat us ladies...Let's not insult him." said Robert Foxworth...

I smiled and just shook my head.

II-

Drinks were served as we waited for our food...Which came faster than I would have normally expected...

Good Hot and Piping Chinese cuisine...

"Oh My God Kevin, this food is incredible..."said my wife Sepia...as I attempted unsuccessfully to teach her how to eat with Chopsticks...

Bonita giggled...

"Don't get my girl upset with that Kevin...She's about to give birth...She doesn't need any stress.." she joked...

Robert laughed...

I laughed too...

"Right and living with a sometimes Private Investigator isn't stressful?" I said.

Both Bonita and Robert cracked up laughing.....

"You need to put your little side hustle on hold ...at least until the baby gets here." she said.

"I try...I try, but people keep getting themselves in jams." I laughed.

We all had a big laugh about that as we sipped some hot tea.

That had been my plan....After my last case..I had been working at my job,Morris Communications and running Sepia back and forth to the doctor and to get groceries and where-ever else she needed to go...and aside from hanging out with Robert,Chance and Cole...Not really hanging with my other friends as much, with the exception of Sean Jackson and Clerow... I did hang out with Kool Kat,Chess, Chris Thompson, Donald Smooth and Owen Todd one night last week at Josies....

 I caught Reed Nelson and 88 and his band playing one night when I was there...Chewing the fat with Gus, the head bartender and owner.

Sepia on the other hand had a steady stream of visitors, Bernadette, who came by to do her hair, of course Bonita...Mabel, Corabeth,Victoria, Anita and Baby Phatt and Josie Boyd ,Honey Brown and Cherry Johnson...

I didn't mind....The women cooked for us and basically kept us occupied, since Sepia and I could no longer have sex....It was nice to have friends drop by and cook and talk and laugh...

One night a week ago...we got a surprise visit from Sissy Van Buren and her cops, Carlotta ,Sirena, Hazel, Sharon and Angie Belton... .

My former client, Bridget Jones, who owned two lingerie stores came along with them..

"Can't wait until you have that baby Sepia... I've got a whole new line of lingerie for you to try." she said.

"It'll have to be after I get my body back in shape.."laughed Sepia...

''We'll help you with that honey...You can work out with Carlotta,Angie,Sirena and I at the gym..."said Sissy...

I smiled... We had such great friends.

This was our first night out in awhile..

III-

As the night wore on... Sepia and Bonita excused themselves and went to the ladies room.... It was then that Mr. Saki sat down with Robert and I...

''Was everything to your liking?"he asked...

"Mannnn, I am so full, Bonita may have to drive me home...How bout you Kev?" asked Robert, rubbing his belly...

"Sepia can't fit behind the steering wheel."I said..

"Oh yeah that's right..She's almost due isn't she?" he asked...

"Within the next few weeks man."I said.

''Congratulations on your new baby." said Saki.

"Thank you."I said...

"Mr.Kevin...There is a small problem...Which is the reason I call you and Mr. Foxworth here." he said.

"Oh? What problem?" I said.

"Last year..When your wives found this place...There was a man..''Mr. Lee" he said he name was..he represented a very powerful Asian businessman....From Japan...Named Michael Chen...He put in an aggressive bid for this property..Very Aggressive." said Saki..

"Yeah, I recall my wife saying how he was almost a pest...Coming to her office, following her to other showings...She came close to calling the police and getting a restraining order..."I said.

"Well...My partners and I out bid him and we bought this property....but that wasn't the end of the story...Shortly after I opened this establishment..I began getting calls from a man....I don't know who...He kept saying reconsider...Sell......I didn't know who it was at first...and then I got this in the mail...."he said and pulled out a large manilla envelope...

"I waited until your wives left...I didn't want to upset them." he said.

It was a photo of a man, lying in the street in a pool of blood and with his left hand chopped off...He looked like he had been shot between the eyes...

Robert and I gasped....

"Whoa!" I said...

"Look what it says below...." said Saki..

It read -Reconsider or Else....This is what failure got him....Your stubbornness will get you the same or worse!

It wasn't signed and there was no return address...but it was post marked.....

"I'm going to my car and get a plastic bag...I can trace the post office and get a good eye on who sent this.."I said.

"Mr. Kevin...I think it's this businessman,Michael Chen and I think he's here in Philadelphia now."said Saki...

He passed me an envelope...

"This is $3000.00 ,I just need you to look into this...Find out who he is...Get him off of my back."said Saki.

"I can do that...I can have somebody mike this place...and see if you can get whoever talking about who they work for...Get them on tape making a credible threat...Then I can take it to the police and get whoever this is shut down..."I said.

Just then,Sepia and Bonita were coming back from the bathroom..As they approached the table...A sinister figure entered the restaraunt....A Ninja!!!
IV-

"Oh My God Kevin...It's a Ninja.." said Sepia.

The customers gasped...Customers who were coming in turned and left...

Saki looked blinded with fear....

The Ninja said-

"Saki...Give me that photo and that envelope..!!"

"He's not giving you anything." I said.

"You need to mind your business and leave...This does not concern you!"said the Ninja.

"I'm making it my business, now back off." I said.

"I will kill you all, including your pregnant wife."he said..

"Sepia...Bonita...get behind Robert..Saki...Take that envelope and move backwords..

You could hear the hush of the crowd...

"Baby!" said Sepia...

"It's okay....just back up Sepia...."I said.

I went into a crouch....The Ninja went into a crouch...He pulled out his sword and lunged...I side stepped it..
He swung again...Again he missed...He lunged again and I picked up a chair and blocked it,Then I did a sweep and knocked him down...I tossed the chair and his sword away....

He hurled...fighting stars at me...Using quick reflexes....I grabbed a small table and blocked each one...

He grabbed a Psi and lunged at me..I blocked his arm, spun and ducked his second lunge, I punched him in his jaw, hard and fast and kicked him in his solar plexus, sending him flying across the room...

We both crouched and faced each other.....He kicked toward my face...I ducked...I kicked toward his face...He ducked...He swung again..I blocked his hand...I swung at him, he blocked my hand....We faced each other again...

"You know Crouching Tiger ,American Soul man...Who taught you that?" he said.

" A friend." I said. Chinese Bob ,who owned the Chinese take out store in my neighborhood had actually taught me crouching tiger, a form of martial arts years ago...This was the first time I actually used it...I mostly worked on my boxing and kick-boxing skills..

''You are good, but not good enough....I will return...If you are smart...You will stay out of this...The Black Dragon has spoke.." he said...He tossed some type of small tea bag looking thing on the floor...It exploded !!....An odorless Blue gas rose ....When the gas subsided....He was gone!

Everyone was stunned...

"Wow! said Robert....coughing....

"Kevin,I didn't know you knew the martial arts."said Bonita...

"Just enough to get me by..You guys, head to the car..We are out of here.."I said.

"He will return, he will kill me."said Saki...

"No he won't... Close this place for a few days...I'll give you an address and a place to hide until I can make some sense of all this." I said.

"Oh Thank you Mr. Kevin." he said.
V-

That night at home and in bed....I rubbed Sepia's pregnant belly and smiled.....

"I can't wait until that little rug rat comes out of there so that I can get back in there..."I joked..

"Kevin!!!! " laughed Sepia,playfully smacking my arm....

"I'm just kidding babes."I said.

"No you're not..."she laughed...

I smiled...

"Looks like you got yourself another case huh?" she said.

"Yeah ,how about that? Trouble just follows me sometimes."I said.

(TO BE CONTINUED...)