The Frenchman's Revenge (73 page)

He knelt
quietly
for
several
minutes then said in a soft voice
, “
Mon
cher ami
et
mon
guerrier
courageux
.
T
he note your mother receives will be worthy of you.
Worthy of her son,
of
my friend, and my warrior man--second only to Nianzu among my men.
Thank you, Quitin.
May your spirit live in peace.”

Bai
leaned down and kissed him on his forehead
,
then covered him with the sheet and got to his feet.
He stood for a moment
,
then lit a cigarette and turned back to the others.

Nianzu came up and put his arm around Bai’s shoulders.

“
If Quitin lived a hundred years
, Bai,
he would never have a prouder moment than he did tonight.
Each one of us has said that
our
greatest
honor would
be to die protecting you.
Just as we know you would do the same for any one of us.”

Bai grimace
d.
“You’re right. I would.
But that doesn’t make this any easier
.”

Nianzu looked down at Quitin’s body and blinked back tears.

“You’re right. It doesn’t.”

Elena, Wyatt
,
and Alex stood quietly behind them.
Elena didn’t try to stop the tears that streamed down her face.
She remembered Quitin’s last words to her and sobbed soundlessly
,
knowing that he died honorably protecting her.
When they got home
,
she would reassure Bai that both she and Quitin understood the emotion behind his angry words
in the
g
overnor
’s
office
. She would tell him
that Quitin died knowing Bai trusted him with his most precious possession, herself.

She heard Alex groan and turned to see her brother standing
back. She
thought she understood the
crush of
emotions on his face.

Alex
looked at her and then at his father
. H
is face and voice
were
wracked with pain
.

“How can I ever redeem myself? I was wrong, so wrong.”

Before either of them could speak, Bai came up and put his arm around Alex.

“You already have,
Alex
.
We couldn’t have done it without you
r help
tonight.
Moreover
,
you proved that you have it.
Your
grandfather has it, your father has it,
Nianzu and
I have it
.
Goddamn, even your sister has it.”

“Ha
s
what?”

“The knowledge that there’s nothing more honorable than killing an evil man.”

~~~

Jim Thompson
stood
in the background directing his deputies
,
who were
carting off the dead men and guarding the ones who survived.
Jim puffed on his cigar
,
then moseyed over next to Bai.

“Sorry about Quitin, Bai.
He was a good man.”

“Thanks, Jim.
That he was.”

Jim looked at the stack of bodies and the
cluster of
disgraced
deputies ti
e
d together
,
waiting for the paddy wagon
,
and shook his head.

“Fuck
it
, Bai
.
You not only toppled the
e
mperor
,
you took
down the whole goddamn empire. You sure as hell don’t do anything half-assed, do you?”

Bai grinned.

“No need to, Jim.
I’ve discovered over the years
that
the message needs to be
clear as glass
or the fuckers don’t get it.
”

“Yeah but in addition to those worthless pieces of shit over there that used to be on my payroll, you got the biggest criminal in the country and until tonight
,
no one knew him by name. Hell, nothing like
getting the bastard that
murder
ed
the
l
ieutenant
g
overnor, a
U
.
S
.
S
enator
,
and
tried
to kill the sitting governor.”

“
Y
ou’re right
, Jim
.
It’s been a big night.”

Wyatt chimed in.

“Keep you
r
eyes on the papers
,
s
heriff
. There’s gonna be more than your ugly mug gracing those
scandal
sheets.
What would you say, Bai?
Maybe as many as fifty – sixty elected officials will be spending
t
he rest of their lives fight
ing the laws that they thought
didn’t apply to them
.”

Jim shook his head as if in wonder.

“Hell, Bai, I think we’re gonna have
to start calling you Robin Hood.
Fuck if you don’t take down the rich to help the poor
and the rest of us
.
”

Bai chuckled.

“
Non
,
non
, Jim.
That analogy doesn’t work.
Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor.
That’s not my model.
I keep my riches no matter how I
go
t them
.
”

He looked over at Elena
,
who was holding the museum necklace and earrings in her hand.

“Don’t I,
cherie
?”

Elena shook her head and smiled in agreement.

Bai winked at the Sheriff.

“No, Jim, I think
t
he
‘
Frenchman’ suits me just fine.”

Chapter
3
4

They sat around the fireplace in the private garden next to the infirmary.
Platters of delicacies along with bottles of Bai’s finest brandy and
his imported
cigars
graced
the table.

Wan sat next to Bai
listening to
the retelling of the evening. His stern face softened when Bai told him how Quitin died. He puffed on his cigar
and
h
is sharp eyes
misted
.

“I loved that young man.
He was always eager
, willing. He never hesitated to volunteer for the most dangerous missions.
He comes from a fine family.
They will be devastated.
I will include a note along with yours, Bai.”

“I know his family will appreciate that, Father. They honor you.”

Bai invited Jeng Ming to join the family gathering.
He wanted her to hear the details of Aldo Marcello’s death and how important it was that they had taken down the Chameleon.

“You knew Aldo’s evil, Jeng Ming.
But he derived his power from Greg.
Greg
controlled the enterprise and the politicians who
sanctioned
their power
.
And
it was Greg who
oversaw
the slave trade that brought the young Chinese girls to this country.
They were l
ike Cerberus
, the
three-headed hound that guarded the gate
s
to
Hell. We
had
to cut off all three heads -- Aldo, Greg
,
and the politicians.
It was the troika that made their evil so powerful
. W
e needed to destroy them all
.
”

Bai turned to Alex
,
who snagged a seat
next to Jeng Ming. He spoke to his father
,
but looked at Jeng Ming.

“You would be proud of your grandson, Father.
Alex was a hero tonight.
He stepped up and took his rightful place
in this family.
He and Elena showed Greg
why men fear
the fury of
k
ung fu masters
,
and it was Alex who sent Greg on the final leg of his journey to Hell.”

Wan looked at
Jeng
Ming
,
then winked at his grandson
.

“
Ah
,
yes
,
Alex
, I can see it in your eyes. T
onight you became a man
.
I
have always been proud of you
,
but tonight you took
an important step. As for some of the things that have happened since you returned from China, l
ike the rest of the men in this family – and I include you, Nianzu, in that group
--
you are
occasionally wrongheaded.
You
can be forgiven
your c
oncern for
your
sister.
You have tried to protect her all her life. But a
s we are all aware, Elena has a tendency to test boundaries and assert herself in dangerous situations.
We
men have to be on our toes.”

Elena blushed
then jumped
up and ran over to her grandfather.
She put her arms around his neck and gave him a big hug. She turned back to Bai
with a
saucy wink.

“Now
,
Grandfather, you know that I am the model of a shy obedient young girl.”

Everyone laughed
at that outrageous assertion.
Wan swatted her on her bottom
,
then pulled her down next to him and held her close.

“I will defer to your husband to respond to that remark, Elena. But in addition to some questionable decision
s you made,
I understand you were very brave.
”

Bai laughed along with the others
,
but threw Elena a warning look.

“
No need to worry
,
Father
,
or you either, Wyatt. Elena and I will have a protracted discussion in our private quarters about her actions tonight.
But, yes, Father, along with Alex, Elena was incredibly brave
and skillful.
She was a true
k
ung fu master
,
physically and spiritually. I know Governor Sampson will never look at her the same
way
again.
Indeed, he will likely insist on a bodyguard the next time they meet.”

A round of laughter confirmed that they all agreed.

Deshi
raised his hand and looked to Bai for permission to speak.
Bai had asked Wyatt to let
Deshi
join the group and Wyatt agreed.

Bai
smiled
to himself at the adoring look on
the striking young man’s
earnest
face. He knew he was
Deshi
’s hero
. H
e recognized the look.
He was sure it was the same look that had been on his s
eventeen
year old face every time he looked at Wyatt.
Hell, he thought with a grin, he still looked at Wyatt that way. H
e
nodded for
Deshi
to speak.

“Uncle Bai, you told me when I
was skilled with the nandao, jian
,
and quiang
I would be ready to ride with you
.
Now that I can use all three weapons easily
,
I think it is time.”