Lion

by Jeff Stone

  Phoenix patted him on the back. “Way to go, bro.”

  Jake beamed.

  We reached Waverly Place, and I saw that the guys who’d been hanging out in front of Hok’s a few hours ago were now gone. I heard a noise overhead and looked up to see her on the balcony.

  “Dear me,” she said. “Is something the matter?”

  “Big-time,” I said. “Can we come up?”

  “Of course. Leave your bicycles in the entry. No one will tamper with them.”

  We hurried up the low, narrow staircase. She was waiting for us outside her door, and we ran inside.

  “What’s the hurry?” she asked.

  “DuSow has taken Peter,” I said. “He tried to keep us, too, but we escaped.”

  “Oh, my,” Hok said. “Did he follow you?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Well done,” Hok said. “Come into the kitchen and tell me the details.”

  The four of us sat at her kitchen table and filled her in as she stirred a small pot of liquid simmering on the stove. The longer she stirred, the hungrier I got. I was starving. We were supposed to have eaten a Chinatown dinner with Peter hours ago. She kept lifting the wooden spoon in the air to check the consistency of the liquid, and it was driving me crazy. It smelled delicious.

  As soon as we’d finished getting Hok up to date, Jake asked, “Can I have some of whatever it is you’re cooking? I’m starving.”

  “I’m sorry,” Hok said. “I should have asked if you were hungry when you first arrived. That is a traditional Chinese greeting, you know, Chi le ma—‘Have you eaten yet?’ It doesn’t always mean that literally, but you’ll hear it often around Chinatown.”

  “That’s my kind of greeting!” Jake said. “What’s cookin’?”

  “Nothing for you, I’m afraid. This is medicine.”

  “That is the sweetest medicine I’ve ever smelled,” I said.

  Hok laughed. “Really? Do you want to know what is in here?”

  “Maybe not,” I said.

  “I do!” Jake said.

  Hok nodded. “Dried flying lizard. Very good for boosting one’s metabolism.”

  “Yuck,” Jake said. “Got anything else?”

  “I have some things you might like in my refrigerator. Do you like longan—dragon eye fruit?”

  “Yum!” Hú Dié said.

  “I like it,” Phoenix said.

  “I don’t know,” Jake said. “I’ve kind of had it with dragon stuff.”

  “I hear that,” I said.

  Hú Dié nudged Jake in the side. “Hey, are you forgetting something?”

  “What?” Jake said. “I—oh, yeah! I have something for you, Hok.”

  Jake unbuttoned one of the pockets of his cargo shorts and pulled out a small bottle that was stoppered with a cork. It appeared to contain several dozen tiny green curlicues, and there was a Chinese character written on it with gold paint. He set the bottle on the table, and Hok quickly snatched it up with a towel over her hand.

  “Go to the sink, Jake!” she snapped. “Wash your hands immediately!”

  Jake turned white as a ghost and leaped to his feet. He began to scrub his hands vigorously.

  Hok wiped the bottle down and set it on the kitchen counter. She threw the towel into the garbage and turned to Jake. “Show me your hands,” she said.

  Jake pulled his dripping hands out of the sink and thrust them toward her. She looked them over without touching them; then she nodded. “You are fine. Dry your hands and sit back down.”

  Jake lowered his hands to wipe them on his shorts. “No!” Hok snapped. “Try not to put your hands anywhere near the pocket where you kept this bottle. As soon as you are able, dispose of those clothes. I doubt they have been contaminated, but you can never be too careful.”

  “What is that stuff?” I asked.

  Hú Dié frowned. “Dragon tongue. Remember when Jake called me over in DuSow’s research room? He did not want to ask me about the bikes. He saw bottles that all had different Chinese labels.”

  “I thought I remembered the Chinese character from Hok’s recipe for the dragon bone antidote, but I wanted to be sure,” Jake said.

  “Bro,” I said. “You truly are a mutant.”

  Jake shrugged. “Only trying to help.”

  Hok smiled. “And help, you did. It just so happens that what is on the stove is a batch of the antidote. I was preparing everything short of the dragon tongue so I could reheat it and add the final ingredient if I ever managed to acquire some. You have saved me a lot of trouble. Thank you.”

  Jake grinned.

  “Is it really that toxic?” Phoenix asked.

  “Yes,” Hok replied. “In fact, I am going to stay on this side of the room for a moment. Once I add the final ingredient, I do not want to risk any of you breathing in dust from the substance.”

  Hok stoppered her sink and filled it with water. She put on a pair of gloves and took a pair of tweezers out of a drawer. She gripped the dragon bone bottle with one hand and removed the cork stopper; then she pulled out a curlicue with the tweezers and dropped it into the small pot.

  The simmering liquid suddenly became a rolling boil, and Hok hurriedly replaced the cork stopper. She tossed the tweezers and gloves into the water-filled sink and hurriedly washed her hands. Then she began to stir the pot with the wooden spoon she’d been using earlier. The boil soon settled back down to a simmer, and she turned off the stove.

  “Done,” she said. “It reacted just as the recipe said it would. Now all I need is someone to try it out on.”

  I cleared my throat. “Do you really think it will work?”

  “I do not know,” Hok said, “but you will not be the first to try it. It is far too dangerous. Someone else can be the guinea pig.”

  She picked up the bottle of dragon tongue, and we followed her into the room with all the wooden drawers. She opened one that wasn’t labeled and carefully placed the bottle inside; then she closed the drawer.

  Someone pounded on the door.

  “Open up!” a voice demanded.

  I recognized the voice. It was DuSow.

  “We have to hide!” I said in a low voice.

  “The balcony?” Phoenix whispered.

  Hok shook her head. “No one is going anywhere. He will have seen your bicycles. He knows you are here. Even if you did manage to sneak out, he would find you.

  “Coming!” Hok called out. She unlocked the door and opened it.

  DuSow strolled in without a word, followed by DaXing, the huge guy with the gorilla tattoos. DaXing carried Lin Tan, whose entire chest was bandaged and splashed with red.

  I couldn’t believe Lin Tan was still alive. Then again, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Dragon bone worked in mysterious ways.

  Hú Dié looked as if she were about to rip DuSow’s head off. “How did you find us?”

  “Please,” DuSow said. “I knew you’d been here before you arrived at my warehouse. I received even more calls when you returned.”

  “What do you want?” Hok asked.

  “I’ll get right to the point,” DuSow said. “I expect you to heal my associate, Lin Tan. He was shot twice in the chest. These children are responsible.”

  “Us!” I said. “We—”

  Hok raised a hand to silence me. “I will handle this.” She looked at Lin Tan’s blood-soaked bandages. “Two bullets to the chest would kill most people.”

  “Are you going to heal him or not?” DuSow ask.

  “Why me?”

  “I can smell the dragon bone seeping out of your pores from five feet away, that’s why.”

  Hok closed her eyes. “So Lin Tan is a dragon bone user?”

  “You said it yourself, his wounds would have killed most people.”

  “And you want me to cure him?”

  “Do you need me to explain it to you in Chinese?” DuSow asked, beginning to lose his cool. “Yes, cure him!”

  Hok nodded. “Lay him on the
floor.”

  DaXing laid Lin Tan down on Hok’s hardwood floor, and Hok headed into the kitchen. She returned a moment later carrying a small Chinese teacup. I caught a whiff of its contents, and I tried to keep my expression neutral. It was the dragon bone antidote.

  Hok set the teacup down on the floor beside Lin Tan.

  “What is that?” DuSow asked as he squatted down and peered into the cup, sniffing. “It doesn’t smell like tea.”

  “It is blood tonic. I just completed a batch. Would you like some?”

  DuSow stood. “No. I know flying lizard when I smell it. It is supposed to be good for your metabolism, but I never touch the stuff.”

  “Suit yourself,” Hok said. “It will make a world of difference for Lin Tan. I promise.”

  She first removed Lin Tan’s bandages, examining his wounds. I turned away. I couldn’t watch.

  “It appears as though he is healing at a tremendous rate,” Hok said. “He does not seem to be losing any more blood.”

  “I already knew that,” DuSow said. “I just want to make sure he survives. He is important to my organization.”

  Hok replaced Lin Tan’s bandages with fresh ones and cradled his head in one hand. She lifted the teacup with the other hand, gently raising it to Lin Tan’s lips, and she poured the liquid into his mouth. He coughed and sputtered, then swallowed the entire mouthful.

  Lin Tan’s body began to ripple like a dying fish, slowly at first, then faster and faster. His heels banged against the wooden floor as his head jerked in Hok’s hands.

  “What’s happening?” DuSow asked.

  “I am curing him,” Hok replied, “like you wanted.”

  “You call that curing?”

  “His complications are great. The cure must be greater.”

  Lin Tan’s undulations soon slackened, and his body curled up, tightening into a rigid ball exactly as mine had done earlier. He trembled once, then relaxed entirely.

  “I’ve never seen anything quite like that in all my years,” DuSow said. “Is he going to live?”

  “I hope so,” Hok said. “Take him with you and keep an eye on him. Do you have my telephone number?”

  “I can get it if I need it,” DuSow said.

  “Call me if his condition worsens. Otherwise, tomorrow morning I will call you or whomever you select as his caregiver to follow up.” She handed him a pencil and a pad of paper from a small desk. “Give me a number, please.”

  DuSow shoved the paper and pencil at DaXing. “You get the honors of playing nursemaid. Give the woman your cell phone number.”

  The giant scribbled down a number and handed the items back to Hok. She placed them on the desk.

  “We’ll be leaving now,” DuSow said.

  “Not yet,” Hok said. “We have something to discuss.”

  “And that would be?”

  “Ryan’s cousin, Peter.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Hok’s eyes narrowed. “Do not disrespect me, DuSow. You know exactly what I am talking about. Everyone turns a blind eye to your activities, including me, but I will not look away from this one. I welcomed you into my home and I healed your associate. I am not asking for repayment; I am asking for a favor. Let Peter go.”

  DuSow waved his hand and turned his back to Hok. “I am done with you.”

  Hok grabbed DuSow by the arm and said in a low voice, “You are an important person here in Chinatown, DuSow. So am I. Do not test me. What are your plans for Peter?”

  DuSow grinned. “Strong words from a strong woman. I can appreciate that. How about we make a deal? I am interested to see these teens race as planned next week in order to keep the race’s attention level high. I have received word that cycling journalists from several countries will be there, including China, thanks to Hú Dié and Phoenix’s involvement. If all four teens race, I will let their coach go. If they do not race, or if they go to the authorities, Peter will never be seen again.”

  “Let Peter go now!” I blurted out.

  DuSow shook his head. “No. My offer stands. Take it, or leave it.”

  Hok looked at me. “Do you agree to this deal?”

  I felt my hands begin to shake. “Why would I?”

  DuSow raised his gloved right hand and wiggled his fingers at me. “Here are five good reasons.”

  My blood ran cold and my face turned red. Hok put her hand on my shoulder. “Calm yourself, Ryan. I am afraid this is how business is done in Chinatown. I do not like it any more than you do, but DuSow holds all the cards.”

  “You should be grateful that I’m offering a deal at all,” DuSow said.

  I turned to Phoenix, Hú Dié, and Jake. “What do you guys think?”

  “This isn’t a deal,” Phoenix said. “It’s straight-up kidnapping. But I’ll race if you want me to.”

  “I will race, too,” Hú Dié said, “if that is what you wish.”

  “Heck yeah, bro,” Jake said. “I’m looking forward to smoking those clowns.”

  I turned back to DuSow and glared at him. “We’re in, but we’re not racing for you. We’re racing for Peter.”

  “Whatever motivates you,” DuSow said. “See you at the race.”

  I woke late the next morning in Hok’s guest bedroom with my mother’s head hovering over mine. Hok stood beside her. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was past noon.

  My mom kissed me on the cheek. “Good morning, sunshine. How are you?”

  I felt my face begin to flush with embarrassment. Fortunately, Phoenix, Hú Dié, and Jake weren’t there to hear her. I saw that Hú Dié had made her bed, and the guys had neatly rolled up the mats they’d slept on.

  “I’m exhausted,” I said, “and please don’t call me that.”

  “Sorry, dear,” she said, patting me on the head like a puppy.

  I grimaced.

  Hok smiled. “Your mother cares deeply for you, Ryan. You are a lucky young man.”

  “I know,” I said, sitting up. “Thanks for coming to help us train, Mom.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she said. “Hok told me about your adventures yesterday when she picked me up at the airport. I am very upset about Peter, and it took Hok a solid hour to calm me down. But as she convinced me, it is beyond our control. We must focus on the things that are within our grasp, like winning that race.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’m really upset about Peter, too, and it’s not like we’re going to win. I checked the roster last night. More teams were invited to ride. Some of the guys are category two racers.”

  “You certainly aren’t going to win with an attitude like that!” my mother snapped. “Don’t let thoughts about Peter distract you from your goal. You can think about him after the race. I bet he wants you to win even more than you.”

  “But we’re not even category five racers and—”

  “The reason you’re not cat five is that you’ve never participated in a sanctioned road race,” my mother said. “Categories and rankings mean nothing in this event. It isn’t even sanctioned. It’s a publicity stunt. However, it’s shaping up to be an important publicity stunt. There are already rumors of it becoming a full-blown event next year. Doing well next week could set the stage for big things to happen to the top finishers. Your father and Peter were in a position like this once, you know.”

  “They were?”

  “Yes. The race in which Peter wrecked was for all the marbles, so to speak.”

  I frowned. “Oh.”

  “Why the sad face? What happened happened. Good things did come out of that.”

  “Like what?”

  “You, for one.”

  “Huh?”

  “After Peter crashed, your father hung up his helmet. He decided to stop racing and focus on having a family. If he’d have continued riding, you wouldn’t be here.”

  “Oh,” I said. “But Peter—”

  “Peter accepts the hand life dealt him. You should, too.”
r />   “Your mother is right,” Hok said.

  “I guess,” I said. “I’m still worried about him, though.”

  “Me too,” my mother said, “but we’ll see him soon enough.”

  “Are we going to stay at his house?”

  “Yes. The others tell me there is a hidden house key?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Perfect. I’ve reserved a rental van with a bike rack. We’ll be leaving as soon as you and the others finish lunch. They’re in the kitchen right now. You should join them.”

  “I will. What about Peter’s van?”

  “It’s best to leave it where it is parked. Eventually, the police will tow it away. Peter can collect it next week. I’ll help him pay the fine if he wishes. If that DuSow character doesn’t keep his word, the abandoned vehicle will be important evidence in a police investigation.”

  I sighed. “Maybe we should just go to the police now.”

  “I don’t think so,” my mother said. “I’ve been on the phone with Phoenix’s grandfather, and he is convinced that we should let things play out ‘like the old days,’ as he said. He’s been around a very long time, and he seems to know a lot about criminals. He thinks going to the police is a particularly bad idea because DuSow likely has informants within the force. I trust his judgment.”

  “Phoenix’s grandfather is indeed intelligent,” Hok said, “and he is correct about informants.”

  “If you say so,” I said. “Did you hear anything more about Lin Tan?”

  “I called DaXing earlier this morning,” Hok replied. “I ended up speaking directly with Lin Tan. He is doing well, and his wounds have stopped their accelerated healing.”

  “The antidote?” I said. “It worked? Does he know what you did?”

  “It is very possible that it worked. His reaction last night led me to believe so. I convinced him this morning that he needs to stop taking dragon bone in order to heal properly. He hinted that he no longer wanted to consume it, anyway. I told him that he might be done with the substance for good—that he had ‘bled it out’ of his system. He seemed pleased with that. I do not think he will be taking it anymore.”

  I glanced down at my dan tien.

  “Don’t even think about it,” my mother said. “Hok told me all about the antidote and the poison in it. Who knows what kind of complications might arise from the substance. You aren’t going to be taking it anytime soon.”