Chapter 70: She Needs A Kickstand!

Chapter 70: She Needs A Kickstand!

A short while before the trap was sprung, three people sat discussing their plan inside the quiet interior of a long black limo parked near the highway.

One of them was a man in his early thirties with a darker tan skin tone who was obviously of foreign descent, carrying a mixed heritage that looked like a blend of the China Empire and South American bloodlines. He kept most of his black hair clipped down into a tight buzz cut, sporting a rough, slight beard from avoiding a razor for a few days, which only served to make his muscular frame look more impressive as he sat there towering at around six feet two inches tall. He was currently disguised in a standard truck driver's uniform to blend into the road crew, but this massive man was actually Brock, a high-ranking outlaw and enforcer from the notorious Southern Cross criminal group.

Sitting across from him was a woman in her late thirties with sharp purple eyes, dressed in dark female Kung-Fu robes that heavily resembled a black ninja outfit. Resting right at her side was a heavy, sheathed Chinese Empire broadsword, revealing her true identity to be none other than Laura Long.

In the main leather seat of the limo, the young master Number 6, Ronald Di, was furiously texting away on his smartphone, tracking the latest news so he could tell the other two exactly what was going on, since it seemed his older co-conspirators were not technology savvy at all.

"Seems you were right and your Mountain Monk could not stop him," Ronald Di muttered, keeping his thumbs moving across the glass. "One of the family members I know saw them all climb into their SUVs and no injuries were had. Now they are about 15 minutes away from our location based on the guy I had hiding in the woods on the side of the road, so they have fallen into our trap."

Laura Long, the woman everybody loves to hate, only let out a heavy sigh and said with a deeply worried look on her face, "Brother Dang was as good as me, so now I am worried how good that little shit actually is?"

Brock, the large enforcer from the Southern Cross, let out a booming laugh that filled the cabin, answering her in a thick, distinct China Empire accent,

"It won't matter how good he is if you are pinned inside his hummer, brouhaha! I love this trick!"

Ronald Di, who was still feeling completely humiliated at his previous tournament loss to me, turned a glare toward the big man and warned, "You better not hurt Tina Feng too badly, or our deal will be off! She needs to be able to be married. I have a Life Statistics office in the town ready for it. If we use Rick's life to force her, I can be the next Feng."

Brock was in a thoroughly jolly mood as he waved his hand dismissively at the shrimp, chuckling, "Don't you worry your small brain over it, this move may break a bone or two but I have yet to kill with it, mostly."

Laura shifted her gaze toward Di, her expression tightening into pure malice as she stated, "I will kill him soon, so get her married or no dice. I can not let that demon live any longer. I will never become a Grandmaster if my heart is burdened with any Rick Lee in this world."

"But I thought the Long and the Mountain Temple was forbidden from messing with Rick Lee, what changed?" Di asked, looking confused.

Laura squinted her purple eyes and growled out, "My oldest sister shrank like a little coward warning me to never touch Rick again, while my stupid youngest sister wants to be that shits teacher?! As for my mountain temple, it's fine as long as we don't go into Star City so this ambush and North City are fine. See no problem. Plus after that bombing we moved some of the families out into the countryside."

She paused, reaching up to wrap her head and face in her dark cloth wrappings, completely hiding all of her features until nothing but her cold eyes were showing as she continued, "But really crawling up my ass is my weak husband and daughter, my Hue embarrassments who also sit and cower to that brat. No, he dies tonight."

Brock, a man who seemed completely chill on the outside but was truly a piece of human scum at his core, cracked his knuckles and said, "Personally I don't care about your petty hangups, I just want to get my hold in Star City. But those Syndicates need to get weakened more or it's tough to do business."

Knock! Knock! A sharp knock on the tinted limo window alerted the three that the convoy was closing in, prompting them to climb out into the night air to take their designated positions.

One of the waiting Southern Cross members saw the approaching headlights and immediately pulled a road closed sign into the lane to halt the normal flow of traffic. Brock gunned the engine of his massive, heavy dump truck, accelerating hard into the lane and slamming the front bumper straight into the side of the red Hummer, delivering a crushing blow that ensured the vehicle would clearly never be drivable ever again.

Ronald Di and Laura watched the pinned Hummer from the shadows and smiled, seeing the entire plan work out just as Brock said it would. Laura watched Brock's team of six soldiers, all dressed as construction workers, start to approach the smoking wreckage with their M-16 rifles pointed straight at the shattered glass, moving with plenty of caution.

Then she noticed the doors of the four other SUVs flying open, the occupants jumping out of their right sides and leaping right over the guardrail into the dense forest area, but she didn't care about rank-and-file trash.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The fake workers started to fire their automatic rifles toward the runners escaping into the dark undergrowth.

"Idiots!" Laura yelled, her voice cutting through the gunfire. "Secure the hummer, forget the trash, just get the girl and the boy!"

Soon, a thick cloud of gas started to leak right out of the cracks in the bent doors, the sharp smell and stinging air making it obvious they had used tear gas grenades inside the Hummer to disable anyone from seeing who was left alive inside.

Brock walked right up to the mangled SUV carrying a heavy hydraulic tool called the Jaws of Life, which emergency crews typically use to open wrecked car doors.

With a wide grin on his face, he laughed, "Hahahaha, I eat tear gas for breakfast! Now open for me!"

Brock shoved the metal teeth of the device into a bent crack in the metal and engaged the pressure, ripping the upper door frame completely open while shaking off the tear gas as if he spent lots of time in it, only getting some minor irritation in his eyes. His smile never faded from his face, until the metal peeled back and he looked inside.

He didn't see the targets at all; instead, he saw an unknown, stubborn Fire Birds driver holding a gas mask tightly to his face, using the only arm that wasn't broken from the massive impact to give him a massive middle finger. Yes, a crazy man with a broken left arm was flipping him off in the smoke while the rest of the car was completely empty, and as Brock realized what that meant, he started to yell, "IT'S A T—"

Splatter! BANG! Brock was entirely unaware that his head was about to become the main star at a Gallagher show. His skull exploded exactly like a watermelon in a shower of red matter, and a split second later, the booming echo of a heavy sniper rifle vibrated through the highway corridor.

"Quick into the forest!" Laura quickly yelled to the remaining crew. "Hide from the sniper and find those two before the sniper aims at you... RUN!"

The six gunmen were already sprinting for cover before she even finished her sentence, while Ronald Di dove straight under his black limo in a state of absolute panic. Laura was not about to stay behind and help the little shit, so she used her natural agility and peak human speed to leap over the rail, making it into the safety of the woods well ahead of the six gunmen.

Back when the Hummer was being sacrificed with our craziest, most bad-ass Fire Birds elite sitting at the wheel, our own vehicle had pulled up safely behind them. I quickly grabbed the heavy sniper rifle for Mei Xia, and the three of us—Mei, me, and Tina—leaped straight out of the right side of the SUV we had traded with the crazy dude back at the gas station.

Jenifer was riding safely in the second SUV down the line, and as the dump truck struck, Tina yelled into her radio, [ Everyone run into the woods now! Just hide from the pursuers and protect Jenifer. ]

Tina, Mei, and I all possess an Advanced level or higher in Acrobatics, and we have a minimum of a Basic skill level in Stealth, so slipping over the rail into the woods and hiding in the brush was the easy part. Mei knowingly took the massive Barrett M107 .50 caliber rifle straight from my hands and immediately split away from us into the dark tree line, while I took Tina's hand and moved deeper into the woods, knowing this was exactly where Mei was setting up her sniper shot to kill the boss at close range.

The only reason I had carried the massive weapon this far was due to its heavy weight of thirty-five pounds, but since I am an Acrobatics Master, I was able to lug the heavy gun to the tree line incredibly fast for her.

The two of us ran about fifty feet deep into the brush and stopped right after we heard the automatic gunfire die down, followed by that single, heavy sniper blast echoing through the trees. I turned to look at Tina and said, "Since Di is after you, just hide high in the trees, and let me take out some of these guys. I will be fine if I know you're safe."

Tina stepped in close and kissed me fast, her golden eyes locking onto mine as she told me, "I am not a greenhouse flower, and right now you're not my bodyguard. So you take care of the killers, and I will sneak back for that coward Di, don't argue with me, I will be fine, I am a professional. Now go husband!"

I smiled helplessly as I watched her slip into the shadows and vanish completely into the darkness, and then a soft click sounded in my ear as Mei's voice came through my earpiece, [ Let's keep her as she is good. Now watch out, six gunmen plus a stealth master from Mountain Temple with a sword is after you, now go. I will follow you. ]

Hearing her confirmation, I turned and dashed southward back toward the other members of our group, utilizing my unlocked Cat Burglar combination skill to ghost through the brush and keep myself completely hidden from the killers tracking us.

With my HK P30s in hand, I slowly make my way through the pitch darkness, keeping my body low to the ground because I occasionally hear some heavy shots from M-16s echoing nearby and I absolutely don't want to catch a stray bullet. I make sure to stay right near the thickest tree trunks for cover as I move.

Soon after, I hear a dry stick snap just a few yards ahead, prompting me to slide around a massive oak tree where I see one of the enemy gunmen scanning the brush with no other targets around him, so I immediately take aim with both hands and pull the triggers to send a simultaneous shot from each gun.

Bang! Bang! I then quickly dash away from the area the very second I spot a spray of headshot splatter glinting in the pale moonlight, keeping my boots silent as I fade back into the thick brush while thinking to myself that it is officially one down for the home team.

Moving deeper into the forest, I get close to an active, noisy gunfight involving several of our hitmen from the Fire Birds trading rounds with two remaining gunmen from the Southern Cross group.

Near the two enemy positions are two already dead Southern Cross members, or at least two guys who are absolutely going to die in a few minutes from blood loss, and looking across the clearing, I can tell someone on the Fire Birds side is currently holding a nasty shoulder wound, though I don't break my hiding position just yet.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Taking steady aim from the shadow of a large boulder, I completely magazine-dump both of my handguns into the two active men to put them down, as well as sending a few extra cleanup shots into the possums playing dead on the ground just to make sure they are completely finished off before I step forward and yell out to the Fire Birds group, "It is Lee, you alright?"

I hear Jenifer yell back at me through the settling gun smoke, her voice steady despite the pain, "I had a grazed shot on my shoulder, but I am fine."

I immediately eject my empty magazines, dropping the plastic blocks to the dirt and sliding fresh, fully loaded ones straight into the grips with a sharp click before speaking to the survivors, "I killed one earlier and this makes five, so there's only one more plus a stealth monk out there."

As I walk around the brush to check their perimeter, I see Jenifer tightly holding her bloodied shoulder, noting it is just a flesh wound that I can easily patch up later with my Advanced Medicine skills, and right then another female hitman steps out of the dark to report, "That's all six then, I got one when they first ran in."

I give her a firm nod and then state my immediate plan to the group, "That last one is after me so I will draw them away, stay put and watch everywhere."

Looking down at the glowing face of the watch on my wrist, I pivot my stance and head straight toward the location of the Bunny, sucking in a deep breath before I project my voice through the trees to yell out an incredibly loud insult, "MOUNTAIN TEMPLE MONKS ARE EASY-WHORES!"

Back out on the highway, Ronald Di, finally feeling like the terrifying sniper was gone for good, carefully sticks his head out from beneath the long frame of the black limo, noticing a massive crowd of curious bystanders from the blocked traffic who had walked up to look at the smoking wreck.

Di immediately climbs to his feet and mingles right in with the dense crowd for cover, pulling his smartphone out of his pocket to dial a number as he tries to salvage his situation.

"Hello Mr Feng! It is bad, some terrorist kidnapped me and used my car and credit cards to attack your daughter!" Ronald Di whines into the receiver, a sleazy smile spreading across his face as he thinks about how incredibly smart he is to flip the narrative. He shifts his weight and responds to the voice on the other end, "That's right! They chased Tina into the forest and—gagagagagaga!"

Ronald Di completely drops his phone onto the asphalt and falls flat onto his back, his entire body violently twitching and shaking against the ground.

The redheaded woman blurs out of the crowd and catches the falling phone right out of the air before it can hit the pavement, holding a high-voltage stunner tightly in her left hand and the device in her right as she brings the speaker to her ear to talk to her father.

"Father this bastard Ronald Di was trying to kidnap me and force me to marry him, he even tried to kill everyone in my group," Tina explains calmly, her golden eyes locked onto the squirming man at her feet. She listens to the voice on the line for a second before answering, "Yes, Rick is in the woods now killing them... Yes, I was going to even if you did not give me permission. Don't worry he will still be breathing when I am done, yes love you too father."

Tina clicks the call closed and looks down with an expression completely devoid of human emotion, speaking directly to the now slowly moving Ronald Di, "I won't let a man go that dares touch one of Rick's women, lets see how much you want me around in a bit?"

Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap! Zap! Keeping a perfectly cold face while gripping the heavy hand stunner in her left hand and her sharp dagger in her right, she drives the electric prongs down again and again, causing the entire crowd of bystanders who were gathered around to quickly scatter into the dark, completely terrified as they watch the incredibly cruel scene that follows...

I swiftly climb up into the branches of a thick tree and begin to scan the dark undergrowth for the hidden assassin, keeping my breathing tightly regulated. Suddenly, a sharp, womanish voice echoes eerily around the darkness, bouncing off the tree trunks so I can't pinpoint the direction, "Rick Lee, the spawn of that bastard who dared dismiss me for that tramp whore. It is not nice to meet you."

Right then, I discover a major Gun-Fu flaw; if I can't actually see my target, I can't shoot it with any level of accuracy. I squint hard through the brush, hunting for her shape while realizing this crazy speaker is obviously fucking Laura Long, even though nobody bothered to tell me ahead of time that she was a high-tier fighter!

"Man, my dads luck was so good to get rid of you!" I yell back into the canopy, letting out a mocking laugh. "If you were my mother I would have to die of shame!"

From another location completely, her shifting voice continues to float through the dark, proving her high stealth skill makes her far too difficult to spot until she physically commits to an attack.

"Do you think I am stupid and will let you shoot at me with your toys?" she taunts from the shadows. "Guns have weaknesses too, plus you're not invincible, in fact I can easily kill you, just watch!"

Swoosh Thunk! Piercing straight out of my absolute blind spot, an arrow thuds deeply into the bark right next to my leg, its tip coated in a highly combustible liquid that instantly causes the tree I am perched on to burst into raging flames.

Not only that, but my Advanced level Medical skill immediately picks up the distinct, dangerous scent of a heavy hallucinogenic chemical mixing into the rising smoke, prompting me to cover my mouth and nose as best I can with my hand.

Staying up in this burning branch means certain death, so I immediately leap out of the tree, executing a fluid roll as I hit the dirt to absorb the impact before scrambling to hide behind another thick trunk.

I slide my HK P30s back into their holsters knowing she is intentionally avoiding a direct gunfight, reaching down to my belt instead to pull out my collapsible metal batons.

Chink Chink! The metal shafts lock into place with a sharp ring, and I force my eyes to stay wide open despite the terrible odds of finding a hidden master in the black woods. Crap, my vision is already starting to experience some faint swimming effects from the inhaled smoke, but thankfully it isn't heavy enough to completely paralyze my movements just yet.

"Oh? So you're going to fight like a man now?" Laura's voice rings out, closer this time. "Well you're right, I won't be shot so easily, but I think you're affected by my smoke, right?"

Actually, as the chemical fully hits my system, the rush feels exactly like nitrous-oxide, better known to most people as simple laughing gas. I tighten my grip on the batons and let out a wide grin.

"This gas feels good, thanks, it will let me see your ugly face better, ha-ha, oh a pretty Bunny?!" I laugh out loud, the drug making my words bounce around.

Swoosh! Clank Clank! Swoosh! Clank Clank! Swoosh! Clank Clank!

She blurs directly from behind my hiding spot, swinging her heavy Chinese broadsword in wide, lethal arcs designed to take my life on the spot!

Sure, I may have a heavy dose of that laughing gas flowing through my bloodstream right now, but my Grandmaster level Kung-Fu is hardwired straight into my muscle memory, meaning that even though I am temporarily reduced to her level or slightly lower at the moment, I am still able to deflect every single one of her strikes with a wide smile on my face!

Swoosh! Clank Clank! Swoosh! Clank Clank! Swoosh! Clank Clank!

"Brat, why are you smiling, you're going to die?" Laura snarls, her blade sparking against my metal batons.

"That vicious Bunny is going to get you, old hag!" I crack up, deflecting another heavy downward slash.

"Huh? What non—AHHHHHHHHH!"

BANG! From a few hundred yards away in the dark woods, the thunderous roar of the Barrett sniper rifle rips through the trees, and we both clearly hear the massive half-inch bullet smash into her upper leg, completely shredding the limb right off her torso in a horrific, bloody mess!

Thwack Thwack! Thwack Thwack! Without a single second of hesitation, I step into her guard and commence the absolute beating of a lifetime on this screaming, heavily bleeding woman.

I make sure to violently kick the broadsword right out of her hands, hitting her upside the head with my batons to knock her ass completely out cold.

Moving fast, I yank my leather belt off my pants and tightly tie a rough tourniquet right around the messy, bleeding stump left on her leg. I absolutely don't want her dying on me out here, oh no, she has way too many answers I need!

A soft buzz sounds in my left ear as Mei's voice feeds through the earpiece, [ Sorry I was aiming for her right arm so I guess my aim was off, fufu, I am on my way Rick. ]

I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone and call Jenifer's mobile number, and while the line rings, I systematically strip every single hidden weapon, blade, and wire off Laura's unconscious body, not caring one bit that I will be dragging her out to the highway mostly naked.

[ Yes, how are you Rick? ] Jenifer answers, her voice breaking through the static.

"It is over, I got the last one, so tell the men to head back," I order, catching my breath against a tree. "Secure Tina for me."

[ I will radio everyone and on it! ] Jenifer replies, cutting the connection with a sharp click before the line goes to a flat tone, [ Click... do do do... ]

I stare at the screen for a second, a small smirk forming on my face as I mutter, "That was the first time she called me Rick!"

Right on cue, Bunny—I mean Mei Xia—comes strolling through the dense brush holding the heavy sniper rifle in her arms, a bright smile on her face as she looks at the mess.

"Good job baiting her out by putting your guns away," Mei says, stepping up to my side. "I could not find her before."

I stumble down onto my butt for a quick minute, rubbing my throbbing temples as the worst of the toxic smoke finally starts passing out of my lungs.

"Being drugged was not fun, let me tell you, this stuff is messing with me," I groan, shaking my head to clear the remaining dizziness.

Mei hands the heavy thirty-five-pound rifle over to me while she bends down to grab Laura Long, starting to drag the heavy lump of meat along the dirt while wrapping some discarded clothing around the leg stump to make sure she doesn't bleed out on the trail. I lift the heavy firearm and her gear, following close behind Mei's tracks.

She glances down at Laura's broken face and lets out a soft sigh.

"Looks like you shattered most of her teeth, so soft foods for her and no more smiling, well if she did in the first place, fufu," Mei teases, glancing back at me over her shoulder. "Rick, remind me to never get on your bad side master~!"

"Cough, actually that is her fault, my drugged state made it hard to aim," I reply, clearing my throat as we break through the tree line. "I was only trying to knock her out."

Mei just smiles at me, looking highly amused by the sight of me carrying all her sniper gear, though I am absolutely keeping this captured Chinese broadsword as a personal trophy!

When the two of us finally get back to the main road and lay Laura and Ronald Di side by side on the pavement, I look down at their mangled bodies and can't quite figure out which one of the two is going to hate their life more from this day forward. Looking at the mess Tina made, I can tell with absolute certainty that Di will never be able to have children ever again.

I call Jenifer over to the side of the SUV, pulling out my medical kit to carefully attend to her bleeding shoulder wound before I switch over to stabilize our two high-value prisoners so they don't crash.

While I am at it, I also make sure to treat our super-crazy, elite Hummer pilot who was still standing by the wreckage. This legendary guy is getting a massive promotion the second I win this entire tournament; he is officially my new hero! He had completely volunteered for my crazy bait plan, which is why I had given him that gas mask to survive the tear gas.

By the time I finish performing field triage on all of our wounded personnel, the loud thumping of medical and military helicopters echoes overhead as they arrive on the highway scene to collect the evidence and take custody of the remaining prisoners. The severely wounded are quickly evacuated into the air, and the authorities separate us to begin the standard questioning process.

I pull out my phone and call Nick Soto, my elite lawyer, to make sure I won't face any legal issues over the body count. Since all of my firearms are completely legal and registered, the authorities let Mei Xia off with no issues at all.

While no one is looking, I quietly slide a cold ice pack onto Mei's shoulder to help soothe the deep bruising left by the Barrett rifle, which packs an absolute monster of a kick when fired. All in all, we did some damn good work tonight!

A few hours later, I am sitting comfortably in the spacious back seat of our replacement SUV alongside Mei and Tina, while Jenifer takes the front passenger seat with a healthy Fire Birds member steering us down the road as we finally make it back to the city around five in the morning.

Tina wraps her slender arms tightly around my sleeve, holding my arm close as she looks up with a highly playful face to ask, "Going to classes today, Rick?"

I look at her smiling, chaotic face and slowly shake my head no, prompting her to let out a delighted giggle.

"Then we will stay home for Thursday as well, fufu," Tina declares, snuggling her head right against my shoulder. "This was a fun date!"

The very instant the word 'date' leaves her lips, a heavy twitch develops in my mouth as I stare out the window, realizing with absolute certainty that my woman is completely broken!