And then in between two of the shelves, just barely visible in the light, saw something. Because it was white, it was notable in the darkness behind it. It was a white mask that would cover a whole face. It was painted with red and black lines, the art style distinctly Asian. The markings suggested the stylized image of a wolf. Had he been in Wong's shop in the dark at any other time, Dane would have thought he was just seeing something on the wall. But here in the darkness, Dane wasn't so foolish to think this mask hung on the wall. When he saw the mask move slightly, as if the wolf had inclined its head, Dane knew that there was an unseen body in the darkness around it.
"Hello, what do we have here?" said Dane, putting his bravado forward to hide the uneasy fear behind him.
A flame flared into existence below the mask, revealing a figure dressed in black. The clothes were fitted, looking more like the robes of an assassin or ninja. Dane took in the clothes before realizing that the masked man was not actually holding a light source. His hand was the light source; the man's hand burned, flames feeding off his flesh. But the fire did not hurt his hand, instead it continued endlessly, never able to consume his hand.
Dane heard Abby gasp and realized something else in the flickering flame light. They were not just dealing with the man in the wolf mask. The new light showed that around the store were other assassins in white masks. Though the style of the mask was similar, the art differed. All were animals however: Dane saw snakes, pigs, mice, and oxen. None of the others held light sources or burning hands, so they remained half in shadow, ghosts that existed just on the edge of visibility. They were not moving, but they were all far closer than expected. How had they gotten so close so silently? Abby stepped back from the edge of the circle the masked people made around them and stayed as close to Dane as she could.
"Where is Fei Zhang?" asked the wolf masked figure whose hand burned. The voice was male and accented, but the English was clear. There was a note of hostility to it.
"I don't know a Fei Zhang. But that doesn't mean we can't be civil!" said Dane. "You're in my friend's shop. Why don't we instead talk about why you're here and what you want? I'm sure we could find an amicable situation. No one needs to die. Assuming dying is somewhere on the menu! Just an assumption, hopefully not insulting! If you want this Fei Zhang for tea, by all means go ahead!"
"This doesn't concern you, Outsider" said Wolf Mask.
"What, because we're gaijin?" said Dane.
"We're Chinese," said a masked figure, this one from the other side of the room. The voice was female and offended. The mask was of a mouse.
"Gaijin is a Japanese term," explained Abby.
Dane threw up his hands in frustrated apology. "I'm sorry if I don't know my various types of ninjas!"
"We're not ninjas either," said Mouse Mask. "Why are you being so culturally insensitive?"
"Can we get back to threatening and getting information?" said Wolf Mask, his accent thickening in exasperation. "That's the important part. We have an op here."
"Oh, it's easy for you to get over generations of marginalization and oppression," said the masked female, "you're male."
"We have a job to do, we can talk about social issues later," said Wolf Mask.
"You say that now, but later on when I bring this up, you're going to say you don't have time to talk," said Mouse Mask. "You're going to sweep this all under the rug. This is how you marginalize our conversations on marginalization!"
"I, uh, also think we might want to talk about marginalization issues when the topic is fresh and relevant," said another masked figure, this one male and wearing an ox mask.
Wolf Mask sighed in exasperation. "I will never recruit Americans again."
A noise of disgust came from Mouse Mask. "I feel threatened by your -"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up all of you!" said Wolf Mask. He turned on Dane. "You! Outsider, white guy, gaijin, whatever you want to be called! Where is Fei Zhang? Where is the fox?"
"The fox...? Of course!" said Dane, a realization suddenly dawning on him. Then he deadened his facial expression, trying to look impassive. "Uh, I don't know a fox. No, I definitely don't know any foxes. I mean, isn't that preposterous? Foxes can't talk. They're just animals. Nope, no foxes."
"I think he actually knows something," said Ox Mask.
"Of course he knows something!" practically spit Wolf Mask. He lunged forward, grabbing Dane by the shirt with the non-burning hand. "Where is he?"
"I have no idea -" started Dane.
With a roar of anger, Wolf Mask grabbed Dane with both hands and in one smooth motion tossed him through the shop's window. The window exploded outward in a shower of glass, the silence of the street broken in violence. The dirty window removed, new illumination from the street lamps flooded into the shop, fixing Abby in a circle of light. This new light brighter than the previous dimness, the contrast seemed to cloak the masked figures in a greater darkness.
Wolf Mask turned to Abby. "You, Stupid Girl, where is Fei Zhang?"
"Isn't that rather sexist?" said Mouse Mask.
"Fine!" said Wolf Mask in exasperation. "White Person, where -"
"That's racist!" said Mouse Mask.
"Shut up!" said the Wolf Mask. "Redheaded person who happens to be female of likely non-Asian ancestry, where is Fei Zhang?"
"Thank you," said Mouse Mask.
"I don't know a Fei Zhang!" said Abby, taking a quick look out the broken window to see if she could see what happened to Dane.
"Is everyone in this town useless?" said Wolf Mask. "Fine! It doesn't matter anymore! Burn it! Burn it all!" The other masks nodded, all of their hands suddenly erupting in flames.
"No!" came a shout from the back room. The movement was quick and hard to see in the unstable light, but a form dressed in green rushed forward, carrying a spear. It rushed the masked figures, swiping with both ends of the weapon, then twirling in a circle. More than just movement, the spinning of the spear seemed to generate a supernatural whirlwind, lifting up almost all of the masked figures and tossing them out the broken window. Then the newcomer grabbed Wolf Mask with one hand and hurled him out after all his comrades.
"Stay here, Abby!" said the figure. It took a moment, but Abby realized it was Wong. But it wasn't a Wong she knew. She knew either Wong as his most common forms: either the ludicrous Asian stereotype or the nondescript man. This Wong was reminiscent of the other two, but different. While the other two were disguises, this appearance seemed more real. This figure could be the actor that played the other two. He wore green silk robes, his hair tied up in a bun. His face was covered by a bushy black beard and his eyes were intense. His voice was brusque and deep, the scent of wine on it. His body was bulkier, a huskier form that conveyed strength, even with his pot belly. She saw his spear more closely. A long staff, it ended in a large curved blade, built more for cutting than the short poking point of a spear. It was ornate, conveying its age and its role as an artifact, yet it appeared well-cared for. There was something special about it. Looking at the serpent spear gave Abby a strange hum in her ears.
"Wong?" she said, confused and still not completely sure it was him.
"You need to stay here and out of the way!" said Wong.
"They threw Dane outside!" said Abby.
"I know!" said Wong. He pushed through the door to the street. Not knowing what else to do, Abby took out her camera and began filming through the broken window.
The street outside was full of chaos. A building across the street had already been lit on fire. People were shouting. Smoke was filling the air. Bodies were sprawled on the street, but none were dead. The masked figures were still on the ground, but starting to pull themselves up. Dane was shakily on his feet, brushing glass off him. His jacket was sliced up, and he had minor cuts, but he had survived the throw through the window with miraculously good luck. Despite that, his face was still bleeding and he swayed on his feet from dizziness.
Wong ran over to him and helped him stand straight.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," said Dane once dizziness left him. He looked Wong up and down. "This is a good look for you."
"Stay back," said Wong. "I'll take care of these, but after that, we need to grab Abby and run. There will be more of them. There are always more of them." He turned to face the masked figures who were just getting up.
"You don't know who you are messing with," said Wolf Mask. "You're going to lose."
"I don't know, he did pretty well so far," said Ox Mask.
"He just got lucky and took us by surprise," said Wolf Mask.
"You're the Thousand Hands of Fire," said Wong, raising his serpent spear in front of him in a practiced fighting stance. "And I wish you never had never come here."
Wong burst into movement, kicking off the ground. His feet barely returning to touch the ground, he charged the group of masked assailants. Most scattered away from his rush. But two had moved too slowly. Without effort, Wong's charging form knocked them down. As Dane watched, it didn't even seem like Wong's spear blade made contact with his enemies. Instead it appeared as if the air around the spear made contact, the two enemies being knocked down and unconscious.
Scattered, the hands of the other masked enemies all burned with fire. Wolf Mask charged Wong, his burning hands in front of him while Mouse Mask flanked. Her movements were less ostentatious than Wolf Mask's, less dramatic, because she was trying to ease into Wong's blind spot unseen. But that didn't mean her movements were not quick nor lethal. Wolf Mask charged in and made a few fiery punches, but they seemed half-hearted, a feint to catch Wong's guard and attention. Then Mouse Mask, the true assault, struck, her arms flashing with two short burning blades drawn from her back. Deftly stepping into Wong's personal space, she attempted to drive those fiery weapons into Wong's back and side. But he had seen the feint and her attempted backstab. No wasted movement, he fluidly twisted from defending against Wolf mask to sweeping his spear behind him. Mouse Mask spun away while Wolf Mask jumped backward.
Using his existing momentum, Wong kept the spear spinning and turned it forward. Closing on Wolf Mask, his enemy had to keep giving up ground to not be struck by the rapidly moving serpent blade. Then as if on cue, Wolf Masked flattened to the ground in a well trained and rehearsed movement. The serpent spear swung above him as two masked assassins leaped forward from behind him, their bodies gliding in the air above the spear. The flaming fists of these two hurtled at Wong's head. Momentum freezing and then reversing, Wong's serpent spear came to a stop in his hands, the horizontal haft of the spear arriving exactly on time for the two fiery punches to deflect off it. Then Wong jumped up, his feet using the shoulders of those two assailants as a leg up as he leapt high into the air. A moment later, two more masked ninjas lunged into the space Wong just vacated, their flaming fists accidentally glancing off the masks of the two who had inadvertently given Wong a boost.
Wong's leap brought him high in the air, and at the apex of his jump he raised his spear over his head to slam down on a group of the masked ninjas. But from that small crowd came the tall Ox masked man. Seeing what Wong intended, Ox Mask pulled a giant black fan from his back. Adept and quick with the massive tool, he swung it in the air. Dane was surprised to hear the fan make a whistling roar as it fought against the air. Instead of coming down with great force wielding his serpent spear, Wong was cast upward and back as if caught in an updraft. He landed on the ground, skidding a few feet, but was back on his feet before he stopped moving.
Meanwhile, Dane was out of place for this conflict. He was hardly even a combatant. The ninjas ignored him because they saw him for what he was: just an audience gawking at fantastic moves of esoteric martial arts. Dane had never even tried to learn any hand to hand techniques, but he also conceded that even if he had, he would still be very much out of his league in this fight. He didn't know how they managed to jump so high or move so fast. He had a hard time even following the action.
However, he knew he should try to do something. So he resorted to what he always did when he had no ideas but time to squander: he began digging through his satchel, considering if any item could possibly do anything at all of use in the current situation.
The snow globe was at the top of the satchel. He considered that if it cracked in just the right spot, the knockout gas that was probably in it could get a few of the assassins, but outdoors the gas could disperse too quickly, or the ninjas could do ninja stuff to get out of the way real quick. And maybe they could hold their breath. Or summon a whirlwind to hit it away or even back toward Dane. Realizing the ridiculous unlikelihoods that clustered around his life, the snow globe suddenly seemed like a liability.
Among weapon-like candidates he had his old trusty screwdriver and the all-purpose athame. But in this fight, he'd probably get disarmed instantaneously. He even if his strike actually connected, Dane was just not someone to stab another human being. Not unless it was the stabbing of the antiserum into the mutated patient or some other life-saving stabbing. And these ninjas didn't seem mutated, unless they were hiding that underneath the masks.
As he rummaged through his satchel, it came down to the fact that Dane didn't ever plan on fighting. He picked his gadgets for utility. He didn't carry a gun on purpose, and that general eschewing of items of lethal intent extended to wands, swords, and plasma cannons. He didn't want to hurt anyone if he didn't have to, and many conflicts could be resolved through talking or at least trickery. Unfortunately, the melee in front of was different. Nobody would have even stopped to listen.
While he was digging through his bag, Dane missed some of the melee. He had heard their outbursts when they struck, the raging of the wind, the scuff of footsteps, and the crackle of fire, but he hadn't known what was going on until he lifted his head. Considering he was one man fighting more than a half dozen attackers, Wong was amazingly winning the fight. Around him the masked assassins were on the ground, some clutching their sides and faces, clearly aching from the fight. Only Wolf Mask, Mouse Mask, Ox Mask, and Snake Mask remained, though Ox was half crouched, clutching at his abdomen. Wong was still on his feet, but he seemed a little winded. Both sides had paused to stare at each other and decide their next move.
"Enough!" shouted a voice from their left. Before any could see who had shouted, an enormous ball of fire shot into the center of the street between the combatants, exploding in flames when it struck the ground. All in the street - Dane, Wong, and the masked warriors - were knocked off their feet by the explosive heat of the blast.
Surprisingly uninjured by the gigantic ball of fire, Dane pulled himself back to his feet. But just because he was fine that didn't mean things were good. He looked around and his blood ran cold. "Oh no..."
Wong was likewise unhurt, his clothes and beard singed, but otherwise undamaged. The masked figures were also unharmed. But neither of those were what caused Dane to freeze.
The blast had lit Wong's shop on fire. The flames were rapidly crawling up the sides of it. But it wasn't the shop that Dane cared about. Abby had been taking cover in the shop! Dane stumbled forward, his leg muscles rebellious, but he eventually managed to run. The whole storefront was burning, the conflagration rapidly intensifying. The door was open but ringed with a halo of fire. Dane tried to push through the door, holding part of his shirt over his nose and mouth. He only got a step toward it before a huge gout of flame erupted from the doorway, pushing him backward. The flames overtook the doorway.
Dane reached into his satchel and pulled out the snow globe. He mused that if the snow globe indeed had knockout gas, that knockout gas was inflammable, and if it was thick enough, then the gas might be able to choke off some of the fire. That was a lot of maybes, and Dane didn't know if any of them were true. He knew some of the snow globes had knockout gas, but maybe not all of them.
Taking as deep a breath as he could despite the smoke and flames, he lined up his throw and tossed the snow globe into the shop, doing his best impression of a baseball pitcher. The throw was good, but t
he effect was disappointing. The snow globe landed about where Dane wanted it. Even with the roaring and crackling of the flames, he heard the glass shatter. He waited a moment, but nothing happened. Either the globe didn't contain glass or it was swallowed up by the fire.
Dane now knew things were really bad.
"Wong, help me!" cried Dane.
But Wong's attention was elsewhere. When Wong had gotten to his feet, he had turned down the street to see who had thrown the ball of fire. Then he had stayed looking, no words spoken, but his expression uneasy. Dane saw Wong's look and followed his glance down the street. Buildings burning behind her, there stood a woman in red robes. At first glance, Dane thought this was Meilin, but after a moment he realized this was someone else. The two women had similarities, but this women was far different after even a momentary examination. This new woman had something cruel and dark in her expression, something haunted in her eyes, a severity to her mouth. And this woman burned with rage and fire. Similar to the masked men, fire danced across her, but it was not just limited to her hands. It seethed and raged over her arms, shoulder, and head. And like the masked fighters, she was unharmed by the roaring flames.
"Fei Zhang!" she screamed with anger.
Dane turned back to Wong. Despite holding his serpent spear and having dispatched many opponents, Wong paled in fear. His knees even shook as he turned to Dane and frowned. Dane's look implored him for help, but Wong's face was frozen in his fear. He shook his head and mouthed one word.
"Sorry."
Then Wong shifted his form, in an instant changing from a man to a small red fox. Wong's serpent spear shifted with him, changing in size to become a smaller, almost toy-like item that was now held between the fox's teeth. The fox took a moment to look at Dane with sad eyes, then it turned and ran, its tiny feet seeming to barely touch the asphalt. A moment later, the flames of the buildings on the street roared to new life, almost exploding after finding a new fuel source, the action almost intentionally covering the fox's escape.
Burning Monday: (Dane Monday 2) Page 15