Match of the Millennium

Description: After his brief stint into kidnapping went wrong, Johnny Wong finds himself afoul in the attention of the Southtown Syndicate. A mysterious savior steps in to rescue him, but Johnny finds himself out of the frying pan, and straight into the fires of FATE.

[DUKE]
His name was Johnny Wong.

He had spent his life in CHinatown, doing nothing of account. All he had, was a racket he ran. Well, it wasn't really much of a racket. He ran underground tournaments. The street fighting tournaments were supposed to take place on his empty lot in CHinatown. It was a demolished site, no good for a rebuild until it got up to code. So he had made it into an arena. Amongst the cinderblocks and gutted windows, was his business. He did try to diversify with a kidnapping with a schoolgirl with a rich daddy. But that didn't go well. Especially when he handed it over to the Syndicate. His two partners, well, 'henchmen' had ditched him after that failed kidnapping gig. But that was fine, he didn't need them, he thought.

That was a far away thought now, as he is pulled up from the floor of his arena.

Ten gangsters were out in broad daylight at his arena. What was supposed to be a street fight tournament, was now a one versus ten match, all against this weaselly man. Well, what was left of him. The last guy, a topless gangster covered with tattoos, had just finished working him over with a bat. The 'commander' of this group was a big, thick man, covered with snake tattoos, wearing a pair of shades and clutching a chain. He was watching while he smokes a cigarette. He looked all business. When Johnny Wong was brought up into a stand, the leader tilts his head. "That's Zero wins, three losses, Johnny Wong. You look like your not doing good on this tournament. Got seven more rounds left. You sure you can't think of where any more money is?" Johnny Wong gurgles, blood pouring from his mouth, as the last of his teeth are spat out. The bat-wielding gangster snorts a laugh, as the boss shrugs. "I'm sorry, we don't take teeth. You've been doing a lot of work, Mr. Wong. But we've been reviewing your papers. You've been doing a lot of work, and haven't be keeping up with your taxes. We frown upon that in the Syndicate." He snaps his fingers. "Bring up number four." A needle-thin gangster in a tacky green suit lines up, a sneer on his long face.

And when he snaps out a long, sharp knife from under his sleeve, Johnny Wong gives out a pathetic whine.

Alba's gang, FATE, was finally getting to the point where they could make a move. Claim territory, establish infamy, and why not start with these syndicate goons and pile of rubble? Today, he had come alone. He can handle these mooks on his own Besides- it'd make for a good story. A gang-leader that singlehandedly beat 10 men? Stuff like that spreads around like wildfire.

And as the fourth, knife-wielding Syndicate thug gets ready for his match against Wong, Alba steps from the shadows and makes his presence known, slowly walking towards the group of men. The few sources of light reveal his usual extravagent red-and-black garb. As he gets close enough he gets straight to business. No clever Quip, nor cocky remark. "Who's the leader here?" He spoke with a bored tone, knowing the question to his own answer full-well.

He peers straight into the sunglasses of the snake-tatooed man, challenging him to make a move."

[ALBA]
Alba had been looking on from the shadows for a couple of minutes, Judging the situation. Johnny Had been battered and bruised by his "colleagues". His escepades hadn't gone unnoticed to Alba. Kidnapping a rich girl and expecting it to end well for him? What a fool.

Alba's gang, FATE, was finally getting to the point where they could make a move. Claim territory, establish infamy, and why not start with these syndicate goons and pile of rubble? Today, he had come alone. He can handle these mooks on his own Besides- it'd make for a good story. A gang-leader that singlehandedly beat 10 men? Stuff like that spreads around like wildfire.

And as the fourth, knife-wielding Syndicate thug gets ready for his match against Wong, Alba steps from the shadows and makes his presence known, slowly walking towards the group of men. The few sources of light reveal his usual extravagent red-and-black garb. As he gets close enough he gets straight to business. No clever Quip, nor cocky remark. "Who's the leader here?" He spoke with a bored tone, knowing the question to his own answer full-well.

He peers straight into the sunglasses of the snake-tatooed man, challenging him to make a move.

[DUKE]
Johnny Wong doesn't even recognize the savoir, as the knife-wielding is cut off.

Alba's arrival brings silent stares from the rest of the gang, their heads turning as they watch him. The only sound was the blubbering of Johnny Wong, who was too afraid to even run away. A building rage comes over the face of the knife-armed gangster. While his bat-wielding counterpart was watching, a scowl on his face. Alba comes to a stop.

And the boss doesn't even get up, as he croaks out a response.

"Name's Yohei. Nice to meet you." His tone was flat, as plastic of a kindness as you can imagine. He wasn't even looking at Alba, just staring off in the distance. "I'm the boss here. I've heard of you too, though. 'Dumb upstart.' Or something like that. I get it though. See the poor man get beat up, step up to help him, beat up the gangsters, save the day. You're a real do-gooder, huh?" He doesn't make a gesture. But Alba wouldn't get a chance to respond. Not a beat passes, when there is a sound behind him. The knifed gangster? Yeah, he was lunging in from behind, going straight for the backstab.

A twisted smile leering across his face.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Alba has joined the fight here on the right meter side.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0             Alba

COMBATSYS: Alba blocks Syndicate Gang's Quick Strike.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////////  ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/-------|===----\-------\0             Alba

[ALBA]
Alba doesn't particularly care about the man. He would've stepped in earlier if his goal was to save him. As the "Leader" is talking, he notices the green-suited knife wielder slipping into the shadows and circling to his back. He pretends he's unaware, not breaking sunglasses-contact with the man, until the attack actually commences.

He quickly turns around, while spreading his Chi through his entire body, enhancing himself for a moment as he glows a faint white. His right arm comes into action, snatching the man's wrist and slowing down the motion. He can't prevent getting a slight carving into his wrist though, but better his wrist then his ribs.

Alba quickly retaliates, he is prepared for a outnumbered fight like this. He takes a quick dash back, making sure he has a position where he can see most, if not all of the thugs. Alba Gathers Chi in both arms, more then usual, he wants to finish this quickly. A domination. He spreads his arms vertically, before sweeping them back together, releasing a large, white crescent blade of Chi heading straight towards the knife-wielder. Though, one projectile isn't much fun is it? He spins to the right and releases a second towards the Bat-wielder, and, with a final sweep of his arms, shoots out a third towards the Leader.

After this sequence, he takes a defensive position in preparation to the men that'll likely try to jump him. "You thugs are always so predictable."

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang dodges Alba's Remnant Flash ES.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1             Alba

[DUKE]
Yohei shifts his gaze back to Alba.

It wasn't the block per say; it was the chi. Hot shots with energy were always the most dangerous people on the streets. And when he looks at how fast he moves, from a -backstab-, he furrows his brow. He gives a draw off the cigarette, as the thin man's smirk fades. He drew blood. But when that energy surges up? He was already running backwards, terror. Not terror of the unknown. Oh no.

He knew -exactly- what chi blasts meant.

The first projectile comes, and he is forced to throw to the ground, dropping his knife away. The bat wielder actually steps forward, ready to punish- when the second comes. He drops the bat and takes cover, his pants getting roasted. Yohei's composure breaks when Alba turns towards him. Suddenly, that fat man moves, as he rolls to the dirt, gasping and groaning as he brings his chain with him. The last projectile blazes past, as the gang isn't hurt. Well, not physically. Their egos and presence were humilated, sent scrambling like rats.

And that wouldn't do.

The three were still recovering, as Yohei barks out furiously. "GET HIM! GET THAT FUCK FACE!" Was the snarl as the calm Yohei wasn't so calm anymore. The other seven gangsters scramble out after Alba. The first one to reach him actually comes out with a forward straight kick, trying to knock him back. The other two catch up, bringing a quick one-two jabs from the second and a steady haymaker with the third, after the first kick comes out. The fourth comes up, and stops short, trying to find an opening. The fifth actually picks up the dropped bat, and goes for Alba's back, attempting to brain him in the back of the head? And the Seventh? He was fighting with the thin man over the dropped knife.

Something about a 'family heirloom'

COMBATSYS: Alba dodges Syndicate Gang's Relentless Thumping.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////////////   ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1             Alba

[ALBA]
"Tch" Even though Alba's attack send a message, he'd would've preferred to actually put on some hurt. He doesn't get much time to sulk however, as almost the entire squad quickly approaches. In a situation like this, if they manage to surround you, you lose. Alba starts moving backwards, swiftly and steadily, managing too keep the group in front of him. Because of this, the attacks are induvidually more spaced out, and, as such, easier to dodge. He evades around them perfectly and they don't manage to land a single shot. He still needs to be careful, he used a lot of energy in the last sequence. Alba decides to take it safe for now, resorting to simple-yet effective strikes.

The final attempted bash with the bat left his attacker in a bad position, wide open and right in front of him. He puts his right hand against the left of his torso, before lashing out with a quick and wide back-hand towards the thug's face.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang blocks Alba's Aggressive Strike.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////    ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/------=|=======\-------\1             Alba

[DUKE]
Yohei stares stupidly at the display, jaw open.

When Alba evades it? That was the sign that they made a bad, bad mistake. Yohei actually stands up, watching as the last dodge comes, and the poor thug gets punished. He was -armed-, and was getting punished. The thug struggles, bringing up the bat to attempt -some- kind of deflection. It barely works: the backhand actually connects, sending the thug stumbling backwards. Another bruised ego, with a face to boot. He drops the bat too. It looks like one of the thugs managed to get out of Alba's hair now.

But a fresh one was stepping up to take his place.

It was the thin man, armed with his knife again. The other gangster he was arguing with? Was nursing a bruise on his gut, doubled over. The thin man was striding out, as the original bat owner was -looking- for something on the side, out of sight. The thin man was approaching with his blade out, letting it dance in the sunlight.

ANd he was watching Alba intently.

The first man throws out a kick, as the thin man roars out. "Back out of the way! OUT OF MY WAY!" The thin man snarls. The kick comes short, as the men actually swing their arms to clear themselves out safely; it wasn't to land a clean hit, but to clear out of the way for the thin man. He sneers at Alba, as the crowd clears out, letting him have a clear path to Alba. "You made a mistake, asshole." And he runs his tongue on his knife's blade.

"And I'm gonna make you regret it."

COMBATSYS: Alba blocks Syndicate Gang's Evasive Strike.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/-----==|=======\=------\1             Alba

[ALBA]
Alba may not have landed a solid hit yet, but he is controlling the pace of the fight. Getting inside of their heads, doubt is a powerful weapon. The first throws out a kick towards Alba, giving a chance for the rest of them to spread out. He puts his arms in the way of the kick, significantly dampening the impact. The thin man's obvious attempt at a intimidation lead to nothing but a condescening smirk from Alba. But Still, that blade is a dangerous tool.

Alba steps towards the thin man, and attempts to push him back by striking his face with a thrusting palm-push with Alba's left hand.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang blocks Alba's Medium Punch.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////////     ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/----===|=======\==-----\1             Alba

[DUKE]
The knife man keeps his sneer this time, when Alba attacks.

As the step in palm strike comes, the thin man blocks with his opposite hand. It was hard enough to send him stumbling back. But at no loss of momentum. He brings his knife back, taunting. "Stupid move, pretty boy! I'm going to carve that face up, and give you a glasgow smile!" And he would have, except a cry comes out. The gangsters were forming a circle now. But why weren't they closing in?

Something goes through the air.

A bottle? It was that first bat man. He had found something, and thrown it past the crowd, right for Alba. The lit rag, however, makes it clear what that guy was cooking: A molotov cocktail. Whether it hit Alba directly or grazed him, the area around Alba would be on fire. A dirty trick. But was it all according to plan? The recoiling of the thin man, and his furious expression, made it clear that he wanted to cut up Alba.

ANd you can't cut up anybody if they are on fire.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang successfully hits Alba with Molotov Cocktail.

[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////        ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/----===|=======\====---\1             Alba

[ALBA]
Alba gets distracted, he's staring down the thin man, trying to anger him further. But in his taunting, he doesn't notice the flaming bottle flung towards him in time. He tries to dash to the side, but the bottle still impacts his shoulder as a searing heat spreads around him. Shards of glass dig into his shoulder, and it starts to bleed. And to top it all off, his clothes caught fire! He can try to move, but that won't make him escape his own garbs. Instead, he decides to go all-in. They surely won't expect him to attack through the fire.

Alba goes back to his more feriocious attacks, he needs to let loose some steam. He ducks in low, and sweeps his right hand towards the thin man's foot to unsteady him. He instantly follow with a crackling lightning-like burst of chi with his other hand.

COMBATSYS: Alba successfully hits Syndicate Gang with Thunderbolt Thrash.

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////////         ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/-======|=======\======-\1             Alba

[DUKE]
Impossible.

Alba was on fire. The man scowls at the burning. "I can't have my fun!" The thin man screams. "I never have my fun! I always want to-" Suddenly, Alba is on him. The man's eyes go wide as the youth trips him up. He tries to bring his knife up for a guard... against lightning, this is a mistake as he is -blasted- across the lot, slamming right into a wall of a nearby building. The knife is shattered. And everyone?

All the gangsters are now -buzzing-

"GET HIM! GET HIM!" Kohei roars out, as the gangsters scramble. All eight were now rushing at Alba, even though he was burning, even though he was a flaming up. The mass was stampeding to grab him, three pairs of arms trying to seize him. Even as he -burns-. And in the panic, the other four barrel over each other with punches and kicks to stamp at him. Until the bat comes into play again, as the tattoo man brings the stick up, and attempts to hammer into Alba hard.

All while Kohei screams orders.

COMBATSYS: Alba counters Gang-Up Beating EX from Syndicate Gang with Dragon Snatch EX.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ///////////////////           ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/=======|=======\======-\1             Alba

[ALBA]
They came down crashing onto him. The pairs of arms trying to grab him are swiftly avoided by Alba rolling back, doubling as a attempt to stop the fire. The others keep running towards him ready to slam him into the ground. With a set of quick dashes and weaves, he manages to avoid the punches and kicks. When the wide- and deadly- overhead bat comes into view, Alba sees an opportunity. Unbalanced stance. Momentum perfect for turning his his defense into offense. He crouches down again, and grabs the bat-man's arms before it has a chance to reach his head, using the forwards momentum to slam the man on his back behind Alba. -Hard-

"All that and you can't manage to hit one blow?" He taunts to the thugs.

[DUKE]
When bat man goes down, the pacing changes completely.

Knife man was down. Bat man takes a judo slam, hitting the dirt hard. And Yohei was looking like he was about to have a stroke. He begins to wade in forward, armed with his chain. "YOU. JUST! HIT! HIM!" He snarls, as he whips the chain around over and over. The scramble of men pull away again, letting the big boss come stamping in, as the big boy comes swinging. Armed with the chain, he actually lashes out for Alba's neck. Should he get a grip? He would jerk Alba in, and give him a follow up of a powerful left hook to the jaw. Yohei was large, and in charge. But the fact of the matter was that they were down to 8.

And the remaining 8 weren't the strongest, either.

COMBATSYS: Alba blocks Syndicate Gang's Armed Combo.

[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\1             Alba

[ALBA]
The big one is finally coming into play. Alba manages to intercept the chain with is hand, but is still pulled along back to the captain. The left hook is blocked by putting right arm in the trajectory, leaving naught but a bruise on his forearm.

Alba is charged up. And in a prime position to attack the leader. If he'd manage to knock him out, the rest of the group would be even further disorganized. He turns around and lifts his right leg up high, before spinning back with the kick attempting to crash into snake-tats torso from below, if he should connect, the kick would launch up the man, and Alba would folow after him with another kick, before barraging him with a dozen chi-infused punches with lightning-fast tempo. Finally, he would slam him back into the ground with a whirling mass of wind-like Chi from a final punch.

COMBATSYS: Alba successfully hits Syndicate Gang with Celestial Smash of Odin ES.

[                    \\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Syndicate Gang   1/--=====/=======|>>>>---\-------\0             Alba

[DUKE]
The big man had a reputation to hold up, but it might be too late.

Yohei lashes that chain, catching an arm instead of the neck. As he lunges with the punch, it's blocked cleanly. He needed to keep steady. And he might have, if Alba was a stock-level brawler. But once that energy starts crackling, Yohei mouths his curse silently. He leans in hard, trying to get his defense, any defense up. But that's the thing. The man -is- knocked into the air, but he was just barely able to keep his defense together. It's not enough, when the youth shoots into the air, and rips him with electrified punches. THe combo -spikes- him down, and Alba even manages to use Yohei as a projectile to completely flatten a poor gangster. Yohei goes down.

And chaos reigns.

Unorganized, they -might- be less dangerous. But no less chaotic. Once Yohei is thumped, Alba finds himself thronged by the remaining... Six. That's not a big number anymore. When Alba lands, he is greeted by a man trying to grab him behind, to hook his arms behind Alba's back. And there, he would do everything he could to hold him in place, while the other 5 unleash stomping kicks, punches, anything. Anything, including a great big cinderblock, which is -slammed- with both hands overhead. They weren't even concerned about hurting each other now. It was all to get on Alba. It was chaos. No taking turns. But disorganized mob attacks...

Well, they weren't that effective against a trained martial artist, huh.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang successfully hits Alba with Gang Warfare.

[                     \\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////                     ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/-----==|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1             Alba

[ALBA]
Alba lands, but is instantly apprehended by one of the thugs, he came in from behind. A blind spot. Miscalculation, Alba tries to struggle free to avoid the coming onslaught, but he fails. The other 5 surround him, smashing in any soft place they could manage, before he gets knocked over the head with the cinderblock. That broke his nose. He is battered and bruised, and a stream of blood starts steadily dripping from his nostrils. He is going to *dominate* these bastards.

He worms loose from the grip and stands up, digging up additional reserves of Chi. He is charged up, visually glowing, in fact. He bolts towards the thug that dared to hit him with the block, and attempts to grab him by the neck. He'll try to spin him around, so that he's turned towards his comrades as a meat-shield. Alba buries his knee into the man's back while still grappling him.

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang blocks Alba's Combo Grapple.

[                       \\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Alba

[DUKE]
Progress, at least.

Without their leadership, they simply throng at Alba. ANd while thronging was working for a bit, that surge of chi gives them halting pause. They can't even recognize the damage they are doing. It gives Alba space, as they back up. In a sense, that ends up working against them... sorta. The cinderblock man is seized, and the poor guy becomes a human shield for at least -one- man, who kicks the poor soul right into the gonads.

The kicker winces, giving a low apology to his comrade.

THe other men keep back, unsure what's going to happen next. Three of the men glance at each other, while the kicker stumbles backwards. The cinderblock man whines in agony, as the three men get an idea. They point at the bloodied Alba, and suddenly, all together, the three men all charge at Alba and his friend, attempting to all tackle him down into the dirt into a dog pile.

The captured man shrieks at his comrades assistance.

COMBATSYS: Alba just-defends Syndicate Gang's Multiple Tackles!

[                        \\\\\\  < >  //////////                    ]
Syndicate Gang   0/-------/---====|>>>>>>>\>>>>>>>\2             Alba

[ALBA]
The 3 men charge at Alba. He's still holding the man, and before they get a chance to reach him, Alba tosses the man into them, cutting the charge short entirely. "Strike." He declares, mocking the syndicate thugs.

Alba will target the first one to recover and stand up, giving him quick and dazing backfist to the temple with his left, transitioning swiftly into a chop to the neck. Upon impact, the chop turns into a grab. Alba tries to hold the man up by his neck while pummeling his stomach with a set of heavy body-blows. Before letting go and pushing him onto his back.

COMBATSYS: Alba successfully hits Syndicate Gang with Cobra Strike ES.

[                                < >  /////////                     ]
Syndicate Gang   1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>------\1             Alba

[DUKE]
THis was it.

The three men are left catching their own man, stopping their assault cold. Off-balanced, the first one rises... to be instantly floored by the backfist. He doesn't even make it to the ground, before Alba practically savages him. The gang stares in wide-eyed horror as their former friend was being ravaged like the worst of Yamazaki could muster. ANd finally, finally, the push, if you can call it a push, comes. The man is mercifully sent into the dust.

And they are running.

Straight out, they are running, helping Yohei to his feet. The thin man? Staggering away. The arena was finding it almost clear of Syndicate gangsters. Short of the last man who had the misfortune of being lost in Alba's clutches. And yet, someone was at Alba's feet. Someone moving, someone... grabbing him?

It was Johnny Wong.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, kind stranger!" The racketeer pleads, pulling at Alba's fine pants. "You saved my life! I don't know- I don't know what those awful gangsters would have done to me! And my three kids! ANd my poor, weak, starving wife. Oh, thank you, thank you!" He looks up, blood-shot eyes watery, as his bruised and bloody face was warped in a tense-teeth smile.

"How can I ever repay you for your heroism, kind sir?"

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang lets out a large yawn, slouching.

                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                  |>>>>>>>\>------\1             Alba

COMBATSYS: Syndicate Gang can no longer fight.

                                  >  /////////                     ]
                                  |>>>>>>>\>------\1             Alba

COMBATSYS: Alba has ended the fight here.


[ALBA]
As the last of the men scramble away, Alba stands up and cracks his arms with a smirk. There's one las scumbag to deal with though. The pathetic, grovelling entity known as Johnny Wong ruining his fine pants. He lets him speak, but looks down on him. With a stoic, intimidating look. "How you can reward me?" He lets a brief silence fall, before crouching down next to the man. "40 percent of your income. We'll collect every week on Sunday."

Alba has no patience or mercy for people like him. A criminal that exploits others for his gain, and grovels like a coward when it comes back to bite him. "My name is Alba Meira. My gangs name is FATE. Pleasure doing business with you" He pulls his pants from the clutch and walks away, back turned towards Wong. "Oh and, if you can't manage to pay? Well...." he gestures towards the one remaining thug sprawled on the ground. "....I think you can guess what'll happen." He doesn't give Johnny a chance to respond or negotiate, as he leaves the abandoned lot.

[DUKE]
What

Johnny Wong gives a high pitched whine as his body and spirit deflates. His savior was... Extorting him. Johnny Wong sputters an objection, staring at the battered remains of one of his attackers. But Alba is gone. And finally, he whimpers out his response.

"... But they only wanted 30%..."

**********************

The report came from the one eyed man in the brown suit. It was a routine weekly report. Revenues, recruitment, and incidents. Duke had little to expect other than another week of banal success.The dark-skinned crime boss was relaxing at a public resteraunt, the Gilded Truffle. He was dressed in the outing, a fine red and black suit. He was carving up some beef cutlets, smothered in garlic and peppercorn, blue rare. A tall glass of fine red wine was served by it. The salt-and-pepper haired man looks over his meal with yellow eyes.

Duke Torgue-O says, "Yohei will be out of commission for weeks. Yushi is in even worse shape. We are discussing cutting him loose for the insurance." The man continues. "It was one man, skilled martial artist." Duke rumbles, the fork clicking against the plate as he cuts. "A do gooder?" The man shakes his head. "It looks like a rival gang. He said something about FATE."

Duke halts in mid bite.

There is a strange smile on his face, though the smoldering in his eyes do not hide his focused fury. "FATE?" The crime lord leans back, a thumb tracing on his blonde beard... Before it lingers to the scar on his throat. "Is it one of Akatsuki's cutouts, sir?" Duke shakes his head. "No, no, it is just an old name. It is familiar to me." Duke begins carving the beef in long, thin strips, memories toying in his mind. Fate. He remembered that name. But where?

Why?

The man in the suit continues. "Will we be sending over a replacement, plus reinforcements?" Duke waves his fork at his assistant. "Oh, more than that. We have had enough trouble in Chinatown, with that botched kidnapping especially. The people there have fond memories of the Akatsuki, and are eager for anything not Syndicate. I want our specialists in Southtown, and I want them on clear orders to focus on FATE. One versus many losses are significant problems, and only work to discourage our business. You are dismissed " Duke puts down his knife and fork, and drinks deep of the glass of red wine. The man was gone like a whisper. But Duke thinks hard. FATE. How many years had it been? Could it...

No, it was impossible.
"

Log created on 11:30:21 03/09/2020 by Duke, and last modified on 09:36:56 03/11/2020.