One Bridge Too Far

Sissy, Lt. Sissy Van Buren and I , ADA Keith Wallace watched as the train ran past us on the bridge... A cool, early morning, early spring breeze blew past us...The sun was rising, but you could feel little droplets of rain and see a small rainbow in the distance..

.

On the ground, My wife, Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace , Detective Tyriq Pile, Detective James "Jimmy"Barlow and Detective Edwin "Duke "Baylor surveyed the area with several Bayside county sherrif's deputies...We were Philadelphia Homicide detectives...but today...we weren't in Philadelphia...Today we were a long way from Philly...Well about, an hours drive away in Bayside City,Pennsylvania...a small community...and a community where we were looking for a citizen...Not just any citizen...but ADA Warren "Red" Granger...who vanished ,seemingly into thin air...on the eve of an important trial...

They surveyed the entire area with the deputies....

"These footprints could be something...It's two sets and they head right for the water.." said Carlotta...

Tyriq and Jimmy squatted down and studied the footprints...

"This looks like a size 12 or 13...We'll need Hazel or someone to look at these." said Jimmy...

"Yeah...and they are fresh...as if someone was dragged down here...but the killer or kidnapper had second thoughts....Look..the footprints stop at the water ,then start back in the opposite direction." said Tyriq..

''And..It's only one set of footprints, going back up." said Carlotta..

"Top,Rico, Junior...These footprints prove nothing...They could belong to anybody...."said Duke ,who had bent down and was looking at them and following them himself..

"You're right Duke...but right now...it's all we got." said Tyriq...

Duke's wife...our forensic investigator...Dr. Hazel Hunter-Baylor, joined them...She had three of her staff members with her...

"Hey guys..make a plaster cast of these footprints...They're the only ones down here in this area...besides ours....I'm going to call the wife and find out what size his shoes are and compare.." said Hazel....


II-

Sissy and I watched from up on the bridge....Sissy had binoculars...She surveyed the entire area..

I sipped on my coffee...This was such a grim business on such a nice day.....

"This case has started out like a whole lot of our cases..With a whole lot of nothing...." she said.


''Yeah...I know....I'd be pleased if we got a phone call from Lydia Granger telling us that ''Red" is alright and that he was just in a fender bender and is safe and sound in the hospital or something." I said.

"You know it's never that easy for us." said Sissy with a slight smile..

"Yeah..I know..."I said.

FBI Special Agent ,Sharon Ferrell-Hopkins drove up with three FBI agents....

''Anything?"she asked.


"Nothing yet" said Sissy.....

"They've got scuba divers in the water." I said..

"We asked around the town and showed his picture to people....He was definitely known...Apparently..He had a cabin up here and he came up here with a friend to hunt...He drank in the local bar and he ate his meals in the local diner..." she said.

Sissy's phone rang.....

"I have to take this...It's Sirena!" she said.

Sirena was Tyriq's wife, Detective Sirena Pile ..

"Heyy Lieutenant...Hop and I found his car..." said Sirena...
"You did?" said Sissy...

"Yup..He was definitely here...at this Lodge...I need Hazel or somebody to come out here and dust for prints."she said..

Her partner, Detective Antonio Hopkins got on the phone next..

"Lieutenant..We have film footage of ADA Granger in the hobby shop buying something and I have a sales slip...He walks to his car, puts whatever he bought in the trunk...Then walks away, towards the road...and that's the last sighting of him...This film footage is about a day old.."said Hop...

"Outstanding work you two...I'll Have Sharon and Hazel over there in a few...just sit tight...don't let anybody near that crime scene..." said Sissy.

Sissy looked at me and Sharon...

"Your husband and Tyriq's wife found his car!!! and footage of him taken just yesterday in the store..They need Hazel and your guys to go over there and do a work up of his car." said Sissy to Sharon..

''I'll send my guys over.. They are forensic specialists...Which is why I brought them..." said Sharon as she got on her walkie talkie...

Just then...I heard my wife's thick spanish accent!

"Boss lady...We got something!!!  We got a laptop!!" said Carlotta...
One of the divers had recovered a laptop... Sissy, Sharon and I rushed off of the bridge and down to where
She, Duke,Hazel,Tyriq and Jimmy were  standing...

"It's one of ours...It's got the City of Philadelphia seal on it..." said Duke..
"They were down there for hours...no sign of a body Lou..."said Tyriq...

"It might have got caught in the undertow, washed out to sea or something."said Jimmy...

"Well..one thing is for sure...We know he was here...Sirena and Hop called...They found his car and footage of him at a hobby shop taken yesterday...So we know he wasn't kidnapped...he appeared to have come up here on his own.."said Sissy.

"I think I should get my people over there and dust that car for prints and DNA."said Hazel.

"That's a good idea....We are all heading over there." I said.

III-

Sissy, Myself, Carlotta, Tyriq, Sirena, Duke,Hazel , Jimmy, Hop and Sharon had all come up in a big Philadelphia Police Crime Lab Van....Followed by FBI agents and members of Hazel's forensic team in two other vans.. We had split up into three teams...The team at the bridge, Sirena and Hop at the Lodge and Sharon and her FBI agents in the town...We had at least found out that our missing ADA was here in this town...

Carlotta ,Tyriq and Jimmy had traced his Debit and Credit card purchases first to Sam Mother's Diner in Philly, two days ago...the last time he was seen alive, a gas station in Philly and finally here in Bayside City...
We had called ahead and the Sheriff and his deputies had been more than helpful in assisting us..

Within a few hours...Hazel ,Hop and Sirena had this to report...

"This is definitely his car....We found his fingerprints and a pair that we can't identify...We found his wallet in the front seat...Debit cards, credit cards intact and about a grand in the wallet." said Hop..

"We found a .45 glock in the glove compartment with a silencer!  Why would an ADA be carrying something like that?" asked Sirena...

"Any fingerprints on it?" asked Sissy.

"A smudge." said Hazel...."I'll have to take it back to Philly to examine it thoroughly."said Hazel..

"Lou...This laptop is a bust....The hard drive has been pulverized..." said Tyriq..

 Duke just shook his head and pounded his fist angrily! "They still may be able to do a forensic examination of it and pull something off of it." He said.

Tyriq looked at the water logged desktop....

"Nah Bro....This thing is shot...but I'll pass it to Hazel's guys...Who knows?...You might be right." he said.

"Look..his cell phone!" said Carlotta, who put it in a plastic evidence bag.

Jimmy looked around and found a pair of panties on the floor of the car under the front seat...

''Whoa...What is this?" he said..Placing them in a plastic evidence bag....."What was going on here??" he remarked.

"If I have to tell you, Angie isn't doing her job at all." said Duke...It was the first time that any of us had found a reason to laugh....

"He wasn't with a woman....I looked at the video footage...He was alone.."said Sharon..

"Maybe Not Today....but at some time or other , he was definitely with a woman." said Tyriq...

Carlotta looked at Sharon, who looked at her knowingly... They both said -"MEN!!" at the same time.

"We've got a lot of evidence to examine and look over...I just called a towing agency...To tow that car back to Philly." said Hazel...

A few drops of rain began to fall on the ground...I looked up at the sky...It seemed appropriate....

(TO BE CONTINUED)

A Scent of Jade

I dreamed about the female Ninja that aided us the night before...I couldn't get the scent of her perfume out of my mind...I mean ,I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt who she was...and I knew where to find her!

The next morning..I showered and shaved, got dressed....Rubbed my sleeping wife's belly and then kissed her softly...Her eyes opened up slowly...She smiled at me...I kissed her again...

"Don't have that baby before I get back."I said ,smiling...

"Oh I won't.." she said giggling like a school girl as I went out the bedroom door and out of the house...

II-

I drove to the downtown Marriot and I went straight to the room where I knew Jade Lee was staying..I knocked on her door...

She came to the door in a white athletic top and white bikini panties...I was somewhat stunned at first...She didn't appear to be...

"May I help you?" she said.

"Can I come in?" I asked.

"It's early."she said dryly...and moved out of the way so I could walk inside...It was a very immaculate and surprisingly neat hotel room...She had a nice oriental scent flowing through the room...Incense!

"I will only take just a minute of your time."I said...

"Just a minute?" she said,smiling and winking...

I smiled and entered her room...She put on a robe and she sat down and faced me...I tucked my suit jacket over my pants...She was very arousing and I couldn't hide the fact from my self that I was very turned on....

''So what can I do for you Kevin?" she said.

"You know my name?" I said.

"I do...and I know that you're a private investigator and you have been building a case against Michael Chen.." she said.

"Your lover." I said.

"He used to be.. I've been trailing him myself...For about a year and when I came here ,I discovered that you were trailing him also.."she said.

I had a look of pure surprise on my face... She laughed....

III-

"You look surprised....Don't be....It's my business to know."she said.

"Your business?" I asked.

"I'm a cop!" she said and walked over to her dresser and showed me a badge and and ID...She also pulled out some files...I looked at them...They resembled the evidence I had pulled on him.

''Detective Jade Lee, Tokyo Homicide!" I said in pure surprise.

"Yes" she said.  "I didn't want to believe that Michael was behind my father's death...but the more I looked...The more things begin to point to him..."she said.

"And his Black Dragon!"I said.

"There is no Black Dragon!  At least not anymore...The real Black Dragon is dead...That was his father's personal hitman who terrorized Tokyo for decades...After Low Chen died...His former hitman, was just a shadow of himself...He was arrested and charged with multiple murders....He committed suicide years ago...If you're speaking of Handjob...He is no Black Dragon...Not even close."she spat.

"If you suspected that Michael Chen might be your father's killer...Why did you sleep with him?" I asked.

She smiled at me sheepishly....

"You know about that?  You are good.....It was a long flight from Tokyo to Philadelphia...I was horny!."she replied without an ounce of regret!

We looked at each other and busted out laughing...I liked Jade..

I walked over to her closet and opened the door...

''Excuse you!!" she said.

"It's the reason I came here...To thank you for your help last night...What are you...a Superhero?" I asked, looking at the Ninja costume in her closet...

"You knew that too huh?" she said.

"I never forget a woman's scent.."I said. "Or her voice..." I continued..

She smiled wryly....

"The Ninja suit was just a ruse...I didn't want Handjob or his boss to know that I was on to them...They don't know that I'm a detective." she said.

"You're probably on a leave of abscense ...am I right? You've been investigating your father and your cousin's murders for a few years now on your own right? You gave up being a successful attorney to be a cop so that you could investigate the murders of your family members." I said.

"Did you used to be a cop?" she asked.

"Somewhat...I was a Military Investigator..."I said.

"You're very good. You know my whole story" she said smiling...

"That's called knowing all of the players in the game...It keeps me alive most times."I said.

She nodded...

"Indeed!" she said.

"Look Jade...I have in my possession...a very incriminating recording of a conversation between him and Handjob that puts them both in for murder in Tokyo and in New York." I said.

"New York?" she said.

"You had a boyfriend...You two were engaged...He was murdered in an apparent robbery..Well it wasn't a robbery..It was planned...It was Handjob...on orders from Michael Chen...That's how he got you to come back to him...I suspect that that was the first or second of his murders.." I said.

She hung her head and for the first time...She began to cry...I held her in my arms...Her body,so soft...so round..so enticing...

She softly broke out of our embrace...she opened up her drawer and passed me a ledger.

"I took this from his condo while he was sleeping and made copies and then returned it.. It's a ledger....It has names and addresses and lists of payments of all of the businesses he is shaking down...The police here can use this to shut down his loan sharking and protection and money laundering racket..."she said.

"And you want that tape recording right?" I asked.

"Yes...Even exchange!"she said.

"Deal...either way....The criminal career of Michael Chen is over...I just want to be the one to deliver the bad news to him." I said smiling....

"I'm sure you do...Now go...So I can get dressed...A married man should not be in the room with woman clad only in a night shirt and panties.." she said with a wink...

I did need to get out of here..She was right...

IV-

I strolled into the tony little bar and grill some time later....Micheal Chen was holding court with two Black guys who I knew were drug dealers....Upon seeing me coming in my expensive and tailored suit..They got up and quietly left....Handjob was standing next to the booth where Micheal Chen was drinking a tumbler of coffee...There was an unopened bottle of water sitting in front of him...

I smiled..

"You Must be Mr. Michael Chen."I said.

''Who are you?" he asked.

"Handjob knows me well, Don't you Handjob?  Wow...You've got quite a shiner there and your cheek is swollen.."I said..

He went to lunge at me...I stepped back..

"Come on now...Let's not go there....You didn't fare so well the last time we danced.."I said.

"Who are you and what do you want?" snarled an exasperated Michael Chen..

"I represent some businessmen who have been making huge payments to you and one who refused...The payments are over...So don't send Handjob or anybody else to collect...Is that understood?"I said.

He smiled..He whispered...

"You just signed your death warrant....I'm tired of you interfering in my business..."he said...

"Oh I'm not interferring ,I'm just ending it.."I said.

Handjob went in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small caliber pistol...He cocked it and was about to aim it...When he was hit with a slug ,right between his eyes.....

"I don't believe it......I've been shot!" he said and fell to the ground....as dead as a door knob...

The crowd gasped.....

Michael Chen looked behind me with shock!!

"Jade!!!  Jade!!!" he said...

Jade was standing behind me with a .38 smokeless...She was just as lethal a shot as she was a martial artist...

"You bastard...you killed my father, my cousin and my boyfriend..."she said.

"No Jade...It wasn't me...It wasn't me...It was Handjob...He is the Black Dragon!!!!!!...When I found out it was him,I was shocked and appalled..."he said..

"Well, Hello Jade..You look as good in your clothes as you do out of them.."I remarked..

She smiled at me sheepishly...

"What is he talking about? Jade?? You didn't sleep with him did you?? JADE..."he asked.

"You're a murderer...and a liar...I hate you Michael.." she snarled..

"Jade...No...I love you...I love you...Everything I did..I did for you..I swear Jade...I swear...."he said, now crying uncontrollably..."

I looked behind me and I saw a familliar face...It was Lt. Sissy Van Buren..she had three uniformed policemen with her...

"Looks like I missed the party.."she said.

"Yeah...I'll tell you all about it...This here is Mr. Michael Chen, Loan Shark, and Money launderer as well as murderer." I said.

He was crying uncontrollably...and stomping his foot and banging his head on the table..

"JADE!   JADE! ..Jadddddddddddddddddddddeee! arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" he screamed...still banging his head on the table and stomping his feet...

Jade looked at him with disgust!

"Hook Him up boys...and Thank you for your help Detective Lee...I see you've met my friend, Kevin.."said Sissy.

"Yes I have, He is every bit as good as you said he was Lt. Van Buren." she said smiling.

"You two know each other?" I said.

"Yes...She checked in with us ,when she came to town...and later she told us she discovered that you were shadowing her suspect..."laughed Sissy...

I just shook my head...

The police read Michael Chen his rights and led him away...blubbering and crying and asking Jade for forgiveness...

"Well Detective Lee...Once we are done with him...We'll make arrangements for him to be extradited to Tokyo to stand trial for murder.."said Sissy..

"Thank you both so much...."she said.

"Since we are all here...Let's have some coffee..My treat."I said...

Sissy ,Jade Lee and I sat down, ordered coffee and watched as the body of Handjob aka The Black Dragon was taken out on a stretcher...

It was a quiet and warm afternoon in early spring..

EPILOUGE-

I was back home resting in bed with Sepia...listening to her stomach....She rubbed my head...

"Hear anything?" she asked.

"No...nothing of consequence...I guess he or she is sleeping.."I said.

"She is sleeping."said Sepia..

"Huh?" I said.

"My curiosity got the best of me ,so I called Dr. Meadows...We are going to have a girl."she said.

"Oh WOW!!! That's ~MAJOR!!!" I said.

Sepia gave me a slow and sensuous kiss...

I stared at her....

"You're not disapointed are you? I know you wanted a boy.." she said.

"Disapointed? Nooooooo..As long as she's alive and healthy, what could I be disapointed about?" I said.

She smiled...

"I guess Mr. Saki and all of those business owners can breathe a sigh of relief now that Micheal Chen and the Black Dragon are gone huh?" she said.

"Yeah...and their pockets can breathe a sigh of relief too..Micheal Chen was a bully, He had a false sense of entitlement..The rich son of a gangster....In the end..he was telling the truth..He wasn't his father...He wasn't the man his father had been..And I guess that's a good thing."I said.

"Our daughter is going to be safe from the bullies of the world isn't she?"asked Sepia,kissing me again..

"Yes...as many of em as I can take down..."I said and smiled and rubbed my wife's pregnant belly again.

Two Ninjas...

This was a most perplexing case and a very intelligent target...I had to make some things happen and I also realized that if I didn't allow Mr. Saki to return to his business..He wouldn't have one and he might as well sell to Mr. Chen.

So Clerow,Owen Todd and I returned his family to their home and he opened his club up again..

The crowds gradually came back and so did another letter with a disturbing photo of the murdered Mr. Lee.

I found the post office it was mailed from and I looked at the security camera footage and actually found a photo of the man who mailed it...It was the same athletic man I saw standing next to Michael Chen in the club the other night with the fresh bruise on his cheek!!!!

I made a copy of the photo and a photo of the same man standing next to Michael Chen and I mailed it to Jade Lee, who I had also found...I'm sure she'd find this interesting and I'm sure we would probably finally hear something interesting on the phones...

I was right....We pulled a rather interesting conversation off of our wire in his condo..proof that he was slipping...Good sex, especially with a woman you are crazy about can do that to even the most careful guys..

"Michael....I got a most disturbing photo in the mail today..."said Jade Lee.

"Disturbing photos?" he said.

"One is a horrible photo of my dead cousin, shot to death in the streets of Tokyo, with his hand chopped off." She screamed...

''What? What kind of sick bastard would send you a photo like that?" he said.

"Oh cut the crap Michael...It was you....and your man, the guy I saw you with the other night in the club mailed it...I got a photo of him at the post office mailing it.." she said.

"What? Huh? He wasn't mailing that to you...I-I-I mean...I don't know what he was doing at the Post Office...I-I-I-.." said Michael..

"Ohhhh just stop the lying...You had my cousin murdered...You beast and I almost believed you, when you said that you were not like your father."she screamed, then broke into tears.."Handjob is the Black Dragon."she said.

"Jade...Baby, Sweetie...Handjob has been my loyal associate for years....He is not the Black Dragon...He had nothing to do with your cousin's death....That was in Tokyo...He wasn't even in Tokyo when your cousin got killed...I don't know who sent you those photos....Jade...please....I-I love you....Please don't talk like this...I am not my father...I'm not a gangster..."he pleaded....

"Go to Hell Michael...I hate you!" she said.

"Jade Please....Please....Please....Please baby please....JADEEEEEEEEEEEE!"he screamed in anguish.

Within minutes...he made another call.

"Hello" said Handjob..

''Handjob..you were seen."said Michael Chen.

"Seen doing what?"asked Handjob

''You were seen mailing that photo of Chou Lee to Saki...Somebody took a photo of you mailing it and mailed it to Jade."said Micheal Chen

"Who would know where I was mailing it?"said Handjob

"I don't know...but whoever it is must know that you killed him....Find whoever it is and eliminate him."said Michael Chen

"It's Saki...I mailed a photo to him...."said Handjob.

"Saki is too much of a coward to defy me...and he doesn't know Jade...It's got to be someone else?Didn't you say that Saki had someone with him the other night,Someone who knew crouching tiger?"said Michael Chen

''Yes...it was an African -American man...I think he is in Saki's employ. Do you think he knows about the other murders? Jade's father in Tokyo , Her boyfriend in New York?"said Handjob.

"No way...but she's been talking about this Black Dragon foolishness...Somebody is putting these notions in her head..and somebody is behind Saki's disapearence and his bold re-appearence and refusal to pay me.It's got to be your adversary."said Michael.

"I think I know who is behind this....Saki had a helper...a man who knew crouching tiger.....He must be the one."said Handjob.

"Isn't that what I just said you ignorant asshole??" screamed Michael.

"Yes Michael" he said humbly...

"Then I think the Black Dragon should make another appearence tonight...and Handjob...Eliminate them all, Saki's entire family....His African -American helper..all of them! Does this helper of his pose a problem?"said Michael Chen

"Not at all. I have been practicing and I'm in better shape..." he said.

"Then get it done!" he said coldly. "Take some boys just in case." he said.

"I can handle it...I don't need any help." said Handjob..

"Take some boys...Do as I said damn you!" screamed Michael...

"Yes Michael... You pussy whipped punk " said Handjob....grumbling under his breath.

"What was that?" said Michael...

"Nothing...Nothing Michael..."said Handjob...

"Then quit grumbling and get the damn job done!!!"he snarled.

(Click)

 I went in the closet and got my Kevlar vest and trauma plate...My .38 smokeless and my 22..and my sweat suit and flak jacket....Tonight ,I was going to be prepared for the Black Dragon!

II-

''Do you think he's coming tonight?" said Saki..

"I'm certain of it...That's why your family is where they'll be safe...At my house!!...But you have to be here.." I said.

We waited until after two when his bistro had closed and the last customer had left...Several of his employees had left...Like clockwork...Three men in nice suits walked into the Bistro...

Mr. Saki turned toward them...

"We are closed..."he said.

They aimed their weapons at him...

"No Saki...You're closed for good..." they said..

The sound of guns clicking  were heard behind them...Their eyes got as large as saucers...They slowly turned around.....

"Nah buddy, you guys are done for the night.." said Owen Todd...

Clerow had his .45 at the head of one...His toothy grin in full effect!!

Owen Todd had his .45 at the head of the other and Kool Kat had his riot pump shotgun aimed at the other..

They put their hands up, dropped their weapons and were tied up...Just as we were marching them out of the club....He appeared!!!!...The Ninja!!!...The Black Dragon!!

"YOU!" he snarled...upon seeing me...

"Let me guess...You're the Black Dragon right?"I said laughing...

"You have interferred with our plans for the last time!" he snarled..

"Come on Handjob...You can do better than that." I said.

He seemed taken aback...

''Yeah ,Yeah, Yeah I know your name and I know your boss is extorting half the businesses around here...Well ,that all ends tonight."I said.

"Whyyyy youuuuuuuuuu"he screamed and lunged at me...I told Clerow, Kool Kat and Owen Todd to stand back..It was time for a showdown...

Once again,I went into a crouch....The so called Black Dragon went into a crouch...He pulled out his sword and lunged...I side stepped it..He swung at my head...He missed..


He swung again...Again he missed...He lunged again and I picked up a chair and blocked it,He tugged at his sword...but it was stuck in the chair...He used one blow and smashed the chair....He swung at me again and missed, chopping a table in half..I aimed a kick at his face...which knocked him backwards and seperated him from his sword..

He hurled...fighting stars at me...Using quick reflexes....I grabbed a small table and blocked each one... He did a flip and then got in a crouch....I side stepped him and smashed him in the face with a nice blow...He grunted and flipped again and again got into a crouch.....

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...

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh lawwwd..." he grunted....

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...

"I am trying to go easy on you...but you are going to make me get rough."he said.

I ignored him and smashed him in the face again....He spun around and flipped over again...He was breathing heavy....

We circled each other...He landed a swift kick to my face that knocked me down...I managed to get to my feet and he landed two more kicks to my face that knocked me down and spun me around...

"Now I'm going to get rough American Soul man, Ha Ha.."he said..

''Kev..You need some help babe"said Kool Kat  from a distance...

"I got this big man.."I said...

I got to my feet and this time,I blocked his next kick...I grabbed his foot and twisted it and sent him falling to the floor...I managed to get to my feet again ,but I was in extreme pain....He charged at me..I crouched and I landed about 12 good lefts and rights to his face.....I caught him with an uppercut that damn near ripped his head off and then clocked him in his jaw and sent him flying.... He quickly got to his feet and charged me again...throwing haymakers...I dodged them all and ripped his midsection with well placed lefts and rights and then cold cocked him in his jaw, sending him spinning around...I attempted a swift kick to his solar plexus , but he caught my foot , twisted my leg and sent me flying to the floor...

He lifted me up by my neck and put his massive hands around my neck..I kicked him as hard as I could in his privates and he let me go...I again punished his midsection with 10-12 lefts and rights and then planted more lefts and rights to his face...He fell to the floor.....I thought I had time to catch my breath....but he was up again and charging at me...

I side stepped him and landed two hard blows to his head..He groaned and hit the ground...Now it was my turn to kick him in his face twice... He recovered quickly...but I could see that he was winded and hurt ..He was breathing heavily...

"Watch him Kev...You got him babe." said Owen Todd.

"Come on Boss...Drop him."said Clerow..

"Ouuuuuu...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...You are going to get it...ohhhhhhhhhhh.."he groaned...

 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...

 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...

He was now in extreme pain...he got up slowly...I kicked him in his face twice...He staggered....

"I will kill you..ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuf"he groaned..

Then in a distance...I heard a voice...

"You will kill no more...."came the voice...

To all of our surprises, it was a woman!!!...A Female ninja !!!
She  went into a crouch....The so called Black Dragon went into a crouch...He pulled out his sword and lunged...She  side stepped it..just as I had...

"Who are you? What in the hell is this, fight night?" he proclaimed...

He swung again...Again he missed...He lunged again and She picked up a chair and blocked it,Then She did a sweep and knocked him down...They both spun and landed powerful blows on each other...

He hurled...fighting stars at her...Her reflexes were quicker than mine......She grabbed a trash can lid and blocked each one...

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

Then she crouched again...

He was exhausted and battered...He hadn't expected to fight both me and this other person...

"I will leave ....but I will return...Saki...You haven't heard the last of me....I went easy on your two helpers tonight...Tomorrow I'll be back and tomorrow, it will be different.." he said, huffing and puffing and running off into the night...

From a distance ,I could hear him groaning...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Lawd....That hurt...Ouuuuuuuuu..Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuu, ohhhhhhhh good lord...ohhhhhhhhh"

''Damn Kev...I didn't know you could fight like that...Had me worried there for a minute.."said Kool Kat..

"Call the cops..we got these guys and we got their car...with any luck..they might roll on Chen and his whole operation."I said.

"I doubt it Kev...These guys probably never even seen Chen in person...They're low level." said Owen Todd..  he was right..

I turned to the female Ninja..

"Thanks...You're good baby."I said.

''You're not bad yourself...Who taught you Crouching Tiger?" she said.

''A friend...He's Chinese.."I said.

"Get a Japanese to teach you...You were good...but not good enough."she said.

"Point taken..Who are you?" I asked..

''A friend."was all she would say and then ,like the Black Dragon...she left...

Saki walked over to me..

"You're letting her go?" he said.

I looked at him...

"Yeah...She helped us tonight...and besides...I'm beat...I just fought a damn Ninja...You want to try and stop her?...You're quite welcome."I said.

He smiled and shook his head...

Clerow, Kool Kat, Owen Todd and I all smiled...

III-

 The police came and picked up the three goons...and I sent them film footage of the attempted assault and their weapons...They'd be on ice for a time...

Kool Kat drove me home...

"I imagine Mr. Chen is going to be pretty upset...When word gets around that the Black Dragon is human and got his butt kicked by you and a woman, a lot of these guys are going to stop paying him all together..."
he said.

"Yeah."I said.

''What's with you tonight?" he asked me...

"That girl....That Ninja...The second Ninja...That perfume she had on...I know it...I smelled it before...Her voice..I've heard it before...I know who she is." I said.

Kool Kat looked at me and smiled as he drove into the Philadelphia Night.

CONCLUSION NEXT!

The Geisha Girl

The next afternoon my doorbell rang...It was my good friend...Walter "Kool Kat" Jones...at one time a feared enforcer on the streets...now my most trusted lieutenant...and friend.

"What's good wit ya partner?" he said.

"Not this latest case...Got a whole lottta nothin." I said.

"Maybe not...Get your coat....Let's take a ride." he said.

If Kool Kat was telling me to take a ride...I know he had found something..

I kissed Sepia and told her I was going for a ride with Walter and we left..

We stopped in front of a dusty looking storefront.....I looked at Kool Kat.....

"What is this?" I asked.

"Despite how it looks on the outside...It's a private club..It's a private club."he said.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Because it's my business to know." he said.

I didn't question him further...Kool Kat's ear was closer to the streets than even mine...People would talk to him that might not talk to me without physical persuasion...The big man's fierce rep and his imposing presence was enough for most..

''Your Boy, Michael Chen drinks there...and that is where he handles his not so savory business...I saw him talking to two well known drug dealers last night and shaking hands with them." he said.

"Wait...You saw...How did you see this?" I asked.

"Because I was in there...you gotta see this joint...It's pretty nice." he said.

"How did you get in?" I asked.

"I walked in." he said.

"Huh??" I said...

"Who is going to tell ME no?" he asked quietly..

I smiled...

"Guess you got a point big man."I laughed.

"You been trailing him and looking into his public persona...Nothing on the record books is gonna tell you about this place...I asked around and I found out that he conducts business here, away from the public eye...Come on..Let's go in." he said.

"Now?" I asked.

"Yeah...he's in there....He don't know you...He don't know you're looking into him..Let's just go in and get a drink and watch and listen.." he said and smiled.

"Lead the way kools."I said and followed him in.

II-

The inside was beautiful...a modern bar with a huge crowd of Blacks,Whites,Latinos and Asians...drinking, laughing, talking and getting lap dances from the many beautiful exotic Asian dancing girls....

"This joint is called the Geisha Girl ...Your boy slips in here maybe two times a week..
He's usually with that cool charactor there next to him..." said Kool Kat pointing to a tall man.

A tall athleticly built man stood next to him...He had a scar on his left cheek...And his face was swollen as though he had recently been in a fight...

Three well dressed Latinos sat with him...they passed him two envelopes...He in turn passed it to the athletically built man next to him and he vanished into the crowd...
They had drinks and they left...The athletically built man returned a few minutes later.

Three well dressed Black guys sat with him...Same thing..they passed him two envelopes...He in turn passed it to the athletically built man next to him and he vanished into the crowd... They had drinks and they left...And like before,...The athletically built man returned a few minutes later.

"I wish I knew where they were taking that money."I said.

"The basement....I suspect there is a counting room down there...Me and Owen was watchin this joint...We saw a truck load of women get out of a bus...They took their clothes off...except for bra and panties and got marched down into the basement of this joint..The only reason they would be doing that is that they are either cutting up drugs or counting money...I doubt that he would be cutting up drugs...So these babes are counting money in the basement."said Kool Kat.

"No way to get in that basement is it?" I asked.

"I doubt it...This spot is open 24 /7 and heavily guarded." said Kool Kat.

"How bout if we fished a girl inside to plant a tracking device?" I asked.

"Forget it...If she aint Asian..She aint gettin in...That's all that's goin in...Asian babes and they comin out at 6:00 in the mornin."said Kool Kat.

"Damn it...Got to be another way in."I said.

"What do you think Kev?" asked Kool Kat.

"Those guys he's talkin to...I recognize some of them...They're all drug boys....Middle managers...He's laundering money for them...Dirty money and getting his cut off the top in advance..."I said.

I had used a small micro-camera Peeping Tom had given me and snapped photos of it...

"This is where his real business takes place Kev..He's a broker...He's laundering so much cash, that he needs more legitimate businesses to launder the cash through....He's in the laundry business and the protection rackets...All this is funneled into whatever legitimate business he has...It's damn near impossible to follow the money trail...You're not going to get much from those joints you got bugged."said Kool Kat..

"I need a way in..He probably doesn't talk on the phone either...Everything is face to face."I said.

"Yup...He's not even on the cops radar.."said Kool Kat.

"You think he owns this joint?" I asked.

"Oh of course...but like the others...It's not in his name..The owner probably pays him every so often just like the others...With nothing in his name...Nothing comes back to him." said Kool Kat.

"Smart guy." I said.

"Yeah...he reminds me of Chris Thompson , when he was in the game and Basil Robinson...Those guys always stayed under the wire until they quit the biz...Few people get to do that...Eddie C., your friend, Sissy's boyfriend was almost like that,but he got knocked in the end."said Kool Kat.

While Kool Kat and I were sitting and talking and drinking, a beautiful young woman entered the bar and sat near us..She ordered a drink..

Upon seeing her, Michael Chen's eyes lit up.....He got up...He motioned for his bodyguard to stay back...He walked over to the bar...

"Jade?   Jade Lee?  Is that you?" he said....He seemed star struck..

"Michael...."she said..

"Jade....."he said longingly....

"Micheal..it has been a long time."she said.

"I haven't seen you since we both went to Penn."he said.

"Like I said...it's been a long time...I went back to Okinawa after Penn to take care of my father..."she said.

"How is your father?" he asked.

"He's dead...He was murdered, just like my cousin was in Tokyo recently by the Black Dragon...but you know that don't you?"she said.

"Jade...You don't believe those stories about the Black Dragon do you? That's rumors..Superstition, tales made up by frightened old men.." he said.

"Men frightened by your father....The Black Dragon was your father's personal assasain..Everybody knows that."she spat..

"Jade...please....I am not my father....Those stories were never proven...just street stories,urban legends....My father was not a gangster...just a shrewd and tough business man..."he said.

"Like you?" she said.

"No..I am nothing like my father...I am different..I told you that....I told you that when I asked you to marry me....Remember....I'm no gangster...I've done not one day of time in my life...I'm a successful commodities broker...Nothing more.."he said.

She said no more..

"Jade...What are you doing in Philly?" he asked.

"Just visiting some old friends..."she said.

"I'm an old friend...I used to be.." he said.

Kool Kat and I looked at each other and smiled...Perhaps I had a way in...

III-

That night in the basement of my office, Morris Communications in the offices of Morris Investigations, Kool Kat, Owen Todd, Clerow,Peeping Tom ,Lockpick Johnson and Sean Jackson got an eye full on our video screen...Michael Chen took Jade Lee back to his condo...

Inside Michael Chen's condo...he and Jade tossed off thier shoes and he eased Jade up against the wall and began kissing her passionately...She returned his  passion....his shirt went to the floor as he continued kissing her and she continued kissing him...He hastily unzippered her dress and slipped it off....She unzippered his trousers and he hurriedly stepped out of them....She held his erect penis in her hands...They hadn't even bothered to close the front door...

"Close your front door,Michael we don't want everyone seeing us" she exclaimed...as he unhooked her bra and began sucking on her breasts.....he took his foot and kicked the door shut.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh Michael!....ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.." she moaned as he slipped her panties down ......

"Ohhhhh jade...I've waited so long for this,...oh my GOD!...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.."he moaned

He thrusted his tongue practically down her throat and while squeezing one breast with his hand...With his other hand he pulled out a condom...She helped him tear open the wrapper....he slipped it on and lifted her up and positioned her on top of him as he entered her and began thrusting away...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH me love you soooo longggg" she screamed as he continued to thrust , harder and feverishly more.......

"Ohhhhh Jade....Jade......JADEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS,OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he moaned, oblivious to the world..

"Well at least they practice safe sex." laughed Clerow as Lockpick Johnson, Kool Kat,Owen Todd and Sean Jackson guffawed with laughter...

"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH me love you soooo longggg" she screamed as he continued to thrust , harder and feverishly more.......

"Ohhhhh Jade....Jade......JADEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS,OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I love you soooo much...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu." he moaned...

Kool Kat slapped his thigh and cracked up laughing...So Did Owen Todd, Lockpick Johnson ,Peeping Tom ,Clerow and Sean Jackson...

"Don't you make noises like that Kool Kat?" laughed Sean Jackson...

"Nah man...I'm a quiet,smooth kind of lover.." he joked...

"Lyin ass...I've walked past your house in the summer and you be hollerin Chelsea's name."said Owen Todd...

At that, Even I laughed...

Kool Kat laughed too and pointed at Owen....

"But I got someone's name to holler..."he said...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, score." went Clerow..

While they were busy laughing and joking...I had been busy doing a work up on one Jade Lee...

Like Micheal Chen, She had been born on an Air Force Base in Japan...To Japanese parents who had given her up for adoption...She had been educated in American schools and had graduated from the University of Penn with honors...She had gone on and gotten a J.D. and was a very successful corporate lawyer..

She ,like Michael Chen had residences in Tokyo,New York City and here in Philadelphia.

I had to find out the connection between them....I was in luck...She graduated from law school with a good friend of mine...Attorney Olivia Bennett-Alexander... I hadn't seen Livy in awhile..Tomorrow was as good a time as ever to see her.

IV-

Attorney Olivia Bennett -Alexander and her sexy niece, Attorney, Beverly West met with me the next day at Sam Mother's diner.....

''It's not everyday  big time attorneys like you two like you agree to meet with me at Sam Mother's Diner.."I said as we all ordered Fatburgers and Fries and a Milk shake..

''Oh Hush up Kevin...I love this place...I've been eating here since I was in the public defender's office."she said.

"Hi Mr. Kevin." said Beverly... I smiled at her as the three of us took a seat in a booth...

Olivia was a cute  and petite woman , who felt as at home chowing down on a Fatburger as she did Prime Rib in a Tony establishment....My kind of woman...I watched her eat and I smiled..

Her niece ,Beverly was just as cute and petite...and equally at home... They were big deal attorneys now,but before all of that...they had both been West Philly homegirls...

''So..tell me about Jade Lee.."I said.

"She and her cousin Chou Lee attended law school with me...They were both brilliant students...Michael Chen was a year ahead of us...He was smitten with Jade from the time he first met her at an outdoor cafe...He followed her around, he called her constantly, he sent her flowers and he practically begged...I used to feel sorry for him...She gave him a hard time for about two years..and then Michael and her cousin got in good with each other and gradually he began breaking her down...She went out with him...They began dating seriously and on the eve of his graduation he asked her to marry him."said Olivia..

"Wow! "I said.

"She turned him down..Said she had a job offer in New York..."said Olivia..

"Let me guess...He followed her.."I said.

"Yeah, a year later...but she had another boyfriend by now and it was serious.."said Olivia..

'What happened?"I said.

''He was murdered..A street hold up..." said Olivia...

Hmmmmm,I thought...

"Jade moved back here ,moved in with Michael....For awhile, she and Michael were happy....Then she found out about Michael's father and his gangster past....Then her father got sick in Japan and she left Michael again..to return to Japan and see about her father....Within a year..Her father was murdered...Just senseless violence.."said Olivia..

Hmmmmm,I thought...

"You've got that look my husband gets when he's on to something...You don't think that Michael was behind these deaths do you?"said Olivia...

"Uhhh no..no..who said that?" I lied...

Olivia shook her head and smiled..

"Even if that was the case...how would you prove it?" she asked..

"You're right...I couldn't."I said...."Thanks for the story. Ladies...it was a pleasure" I said, taking their checks from them....

"Thanks for lunch...Tell Sepia, we all said hi and we wish her the best." said Olivia..as she and Beverly got up and headed for the door.

"I'll do that." I said smiling...

(DEFINITELY TO BE CONTINUED)

Beware The Black Dragon

Clerow had purchased some apartments recently that he hadn't opened to the public for rental....They had just recently been gutted and fully renovated....He and Owen Todd and I temporarily moved Mr. Saki, his young wife and small child into these apartments...I figured...Anyone looking for him would not be able to find him there...

We drove his car to a garage a few blocks away and parked it there...We knew the owners and they allowed us to use it...With him safely hidden...I had Lockpick Johnson, Peeping Tom and Sean Jackson, wire his establishment for sound and video...so that we could watch and see if anyone tried to break in and vandalize the place...

With that done....I went about doing a work up on Mr. Michael Chen.....

II-

I did my work from home.....I had computers , computers that had the same applications and law enforcement websites as the ones at my office.. I spent the next few days working from home...both for my company,Morris Communications and on this case...I kept a phone line and a skype line open to Sheila Jackson and Harry Charles as well as Sean Jackson at work and my laptop computers on getting information on Michael Chen...

Mostly ,I didn't want to leave Sepia's side...She was on maternity leave now...and I bided my time working and running into the bedroom to rub her belly or kiss her...She giggled like a school girl...

"Don't you have work to do?" she asked..

"Yeah, I do..."I said..

"Well...I'm destroying your concentration..You're not going to get much done if you keep running in here kissing on me and rubbing my belly every half hour..."she said seductively...

We kissed passionately for a long time...

"You always have destroyed my concentration...that's why I don't work with you." I said...

"Silly.."she said and rubbed my arm..

III-

Michael Chen and I were the same age...He was the son of a Japanese -American woman who was in Air Force Intelligence at a time and a Japanese Businessman...

He was born on the Air Force Base in Okinawa...Thus making him both an American Citizen and a Japanese Citizen...

He held both a Bachelors and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania here in Philadelphia and another MBA from Columbia University in New York City...

He was a very successful businessman, specailizing in both real estate and the accumulation of many small businesses....No criminal record whatsoever.....

He had a condo in New York City and one here in Philadelphia and a home in Tokyo...

His bank accounts ,both in New York City, Philadelphia and Tokyo showed that he was independently wealthy.....but a further look into his background showed something else...Something more sinister!!

His father, Low Chen was allegedly, high up in the Yakuza...Japanese organized crime....A ruthless man who ruled with an iron hand....and it was alleged, though never proven that Junior's business holdings in the United States was nothing more than fronts for a huge money laundering operation...

Something else.....Low Chen rose to power rather quickly and ruthlessly...Supposedly, he had a mysterious enforcer , a Ninja!!! known only as "The Black Dragon"  This Black Dragon was responsible for close to 20 contract killings...He frightened the hell out of the Japanese underworld...and in no time...Low Chen became the undisputed king of the Japanese underworld...

Low Chen died of natural causes ten years ago and his wife, long retired from the Air Force, died shortly afterword....

Young Micheal Chen moved his operation to the United States....New York and Philadelphia...and almost immediately...there were no more sightings of The Black Dragon and no more of his style contract killings....Until recently...

The man in the photo given to Mr. Saki's name was Chow Lee.....I did a work up on him...He was a lawyer....A Japanese citizen who had been a student at the University of Pennsylvania and had earned a J.D. from Penn....He had no criminal record, but was allegedly a lieutenant of Young Michael Chen...When he failed to acquire the property that Bonita and my wife had sold to Mr. Saki...He paid with his life...

He was shot in the streets of Tokyo and had his left hand cut off...a sign of the Black Dragon!!! I checked some more and found that Michael Chen was in Tokyo that same week...At a business conference....The Lee Murder has not been solved!!!

Could Michael Chen be the Black Dragon?? Was that the Black Dragon I faced off with a few nights ago?

IV-

I checked out the local businesses that Michael Chen swallowed up...Kool Kat,Owen Todd, Clerow and I went around talking to the managers of these businesses..Naturally, they were afraid and didn't want to talk to us at first....I brought Mr. Saki with me the next time I visited them and eventually some of them began talking about how Chen sent the now late Mr. Lee to pursuade them to sell to Mr. Chen..All of them balked at first and then they got a visit from the mysterious Ninja assasain known as "The Black Dragon"

After a some brutal, near fatal beatings by the Black Dragon...All of them came around...  They turned over close to 50 percent of their profits to one of Chen's collectors nearly every month...

Armed with this knowledge...I convinced them to allow me to help them rid themselves of Chen and his tyranny...At first they were afraid, but Mr. Saki convinced them to allow me to help them...

I had Lockpick Johnson, Peeping Tom and Sean Jackson wire all of their businesses for sound and video....I wanted proof that they were being shook down...If I could collect enough information and proof of this...I had something I could take to the police or FBI and shut Chen down...

Michael Chen himself was another matter... Clerow and I followed him in unmarked rental cars ...a different one every day....While Sean Jackson snapped photos of him...
He was a creature of habit...He was met by two bodyguards who escorted him to his town car...He had breakfast at the same tony restaraunt, everyday at the same time, He then attended a series of business meetings...He and a young woman had lunch at another tony eatery ,then back to his condo for a few hours....He then went to a spa, where he swam, took in the suana and played racket ball with the hoi polloi of the city..and then he drank at a very tony and exclusive bar....

Most of his associates were politicians and businessmen...None with any criminal records whatsoever...In fact...I never saw him with anyone who looked untowards...

While Clerow, Owen Todd and I was busy following and watching him...Peeping Tom, Lockpick Johnson and Sean Jackson got into his condo and wired it for sound and video and cloned his phone and his laptop...They were in and out and Kool Kat drove them back to my office...

"It's all done Kev..We can watch and listen to him now and watch all the businesses he's swallowed up..." said Peeping Tom...

Whatever this guy was doing...It was very underground... Nothing on his phones, no text messages...No activity during the day that smacked of anything illegal or untoward....

This guy was very careful and obviously smarter than most of the gangsters I had dealt with in the past....It was going to be an honor taking him down...

(TO BE CONTINUED...)