The master collapsed.
King yelled, “Reid, you better come out to say goodbye!”
Inside the grand hall, Noah heard King scream. “If you don’t give me my money, the old man is gone.”
Noah hobbled to the door. His money? How could he say that?
The answer was immediate once he fumbled into the courtyard. Like Master Wu, Noah saw the resemblance between Chin and King.
“It’s no longer your money,” Noah told Chin’s son. “We’re giving it back to the people your father took it from. Every street kid, every prostitute, every destroyed family is getting a share back.”
“You can’t do that!” snarled King. “You don’t even know where it came from.”
“It doesn’t matter. They’re all victims and they all need help.”
In addition to the official and private groups the Foundation helped fund, Noah gave money back directly to victims. He knew a lot of the recipients would just find a way to give the money back to people like Chin. But for some, that thousand bucks, that crazy act of kindness, might be life-changing.
“I couldn’t give a damn. Just give it back and I’ll let you all live.”
“I can’t because it’s all spent,” said Noah, hoping King would swallow his lie. If King thought the funds were irretrievable, he wouldn’t go after anyone else for them. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get it.”
No! This was King’s worst nightmare come true. If he was going down, he was taking everyone he could with him. “You’ll never live to enjoy your stupidity.”
King unleashed a martial arts blitz on Noah unlike anything seen on celluloid or in real life. His fists exploded at lightning speed. He launched himself in the air, corkscrewing his body, with arms out straight, ready to demolish Noah’s face.
At the last split second, Noah ducked. King flew over him but kicked Noah’s head from mid-air. As he landed, King threw spear-like fingers at Noah’s throat. Noah leaned back, missing the impact, deflecting the charge with a sidearm swipe.
Then, with energy that came from an unknown source, just like when he was battling Chin, Noah took charge with fists exploding like cannonballs aimed at King’s ribs.
Unfazed, King stepped back into the Horse Ready position, with two fists together under the jaw and arms underneath and elbows touching. His arms snapped forward, releasing two simultaneous punches toward Noah’s head. With lightning reflexes, Noah ducked and head-butted King’s exposed chest.
Senses tingling on alert, Noah followed up with step movements and palm strikes to the head, Left. Right. Left. Right. King leapt up to avoid the onslaught and came down on Noah’s head, knocking him to the ground.
As Noah struggled to get up, King bombarded him with devastating hammer fists. Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Switching motions, King twisted his right arm back as the left arm came up, arms moving in harmony like engine pistons, up and down.
It was too much. Sheer willpower was not enough for the injured and depleted Noah to defeat a well-rested and conditioned opponent. He crumbled to the ground unconscious next to Master Wu.
King sneered. “Monk and disciple. You can keep each other company in hell.” King unzipped a pocket in his jacket and took out two poisonous dwarf adders.
“No!” Sam, seeing this, rushed at King, wielding his sword. Arriving, he swung it at the snake master. King, holding the hissing snakes in the air, easily kicked Sam’s sword away. With his free hand, King delivered a stunning knockout blow to the teenager.
King then threw his snakes at Master Wu and Noah.
Though immobile, Master Wu was awake. Seeing the snake, he painfully reached and pulled the adder off his body with his left hand before it could bite him. With his right arm, he reached for the snake on Noah but was too late—the adder had bitten Noah in the arm.
Noah began to tremble. Master Wu turned and put his mouth over Noah’s wound. With as much strength as he could muster, he sucked the venom out.
King strode over and held Master Wu’s mouth shut, watching as the venom invaded his blood system. He began shaking, and then convulsing. There was nothing that could save him.
Chapter 40
Wangdan, lying on the ground, had a pounding headache. Unsure of how he got there, he heard a faint voice shouting, “Wake up, man. Wake up, Wangdan.”
His eyes struggled open and he saw Sam shaking him. “Noah and Master Wu are in trouble in the courtyard.”
The cobwebs disappeared. “I’m there, Sam.” Fully alert now, Wangdan rushed out of the grand hall to see Master Wu and Noah both lying still on the ground.
With feet like deer, he raced across the courtyard and took a flying headfirst leap at King.
King threw his arms to protect himself but Wangdan knocked them away and pushed him to the ground. Wangdan swung his leg over King’s torso, then kneed him in his midriff. King got up and made an Eagle Claw move toward Wangdan’s windpipe with his thumb, index and middle fingers.
Flexible as a prima ballerina, Wangdan’s leg kicked straight up, knocking King’s claw to the side. He countered with an Elephant trunk with his fist curled toward King.
King countered with a straight-arm attack to the chest, allowing the Elephant to knock his head.
Both men were seasoned warriors and blows like this barely affected them. King whipped out his left leg, but Wangdan squatted and, with a lightning kick, he shoved King’s stationery leg, making him lose balance. As King fell, he grabbed at Wangdan’s groin.
Wangdan leapt back. “You broke the code,” snapped Wangdan.
“Sue me.” King’s dirty move transformed the battle. No longer a battle of Shaolin titans, it was now a down-and-dirty street fight, something King was a master at and Wangdan never experienced.
A potential nose-crushing blow by King was pushed aside with Wangdan’s side punch. Wangdan countered with two fingers aimed directly for King’s corneas. A last moment sidearm swipe prevented King from being blinded.
King thrust his knee into Wangdan’s thigh and, when Wangdan buckled over, King elbowed his head. Wangdan crashed to the ground.
King grabbed Wangdan’s arm and threatened to snap it in two.
Wangdan swung blindly and landed a lucky roundhouse on King’s head. The crook’s head knocked back but, like a punch-drunk boxer, the snake master kept coming and he shook the stars out of his head.
King’s fists were savage machines, delivering blow after blow to the head and body. Wangdan’s eyes, nose, and mouth were bleeding profusely.
Crippled and dazed, Wangdan dropped to the ground. King leapt in the air and was about to apply a coup de grâce double elbow to Wangdan’s head and neck when Wangdan suddenly moved to the side and shot up. King’s elbows crashed into the dirt.
Wangdan lifted King up and began his own barrage. He shouted, “Five Animals of the Shaolin.”
“Snake!” With the speed of the serpent, Wangdan used three fingers to attack pressure points on King’s throat, making him chortle as he gasped for breath.
“Tiger!” The claws of the striped cat ripped King to the ground where Wangdan applied a supreme kick.
“Crane!” Wangdan spread his arms like the magnificent bird, and then brought them together, clapping King’s head between his wings. A sweeping leg kick sent King reeling backward.
“Leopard!” With the agility and speed of this ferocious cat, Wangdan punched short, sharp kicks to King’s abdomen followed by a blaze of little jabs.
“Dragon!” Like the huge winged reptile’s curved body, Wangdan’s arms circled and grabbed King by the elbows. He lifted him and tossed him ten feet in the air, giving him solid palm strikes on the head during his descent
King lay in the dirt, helpless, when he suddenly reached inside his jacket and pulled out a dwarf adder. He tossed it at the fatigued Wangdan.
Lisa recognized it as one of the serpents with a fast-acting lethal venom. The snake opened its jaws, and its fangs were ready to bite down and release its poison into Wangda
n when Lisa jumped in the way to shield the monk. The snake’s mouth closed on her neck.
“Aah!” she screamed as she ripped the snake from her throat. Putting its body into her mouth, she bit it in half.
The venom was fast acting and almost immediately, Lisa started shaking, sweating, and breathing hard.
“No!” Wangdan turned and crawled over to the dying woman.
“Go, Wangdan. Take Noah and go,” groaned Lisa. “You’ve done more for me than you’ll ever know.”
“But you...”
Lisa touched Wangdan’s lips with her fingers, drawing his gaze to hers. He saw the liquid film of death forming over her almond pupils. “Save yourself. It’s too late for me.”
Wangdan looked over to Master Wu, Noah and Sam. Master Wu was turning blue. He was beyond saving but Noah and Sam, while unconscious, were still breathing.
He stumbled over and put Sam over one shoulder and Noah over the other. Wangdan’s veins popped out as he hobbled with his cargo toward the exit gates of Heaven.
There was no point in staying anymore. King limped back to the helicopter and climbed. “Get me the launcher, Charlie.”
Charlie helped King carry an automatic grenade launcher to the door. King pointed it at the mountain peak guarding Heaven and unleashed a furious barrage of grenades at it.
Explosion after explosion rocked the mountain.
The thunderous booms stopped Wangdan and shook Noah out of dormancy. Horror covered their faces as the mountain began crumbling.
They turned to the helicopter to see King hopping out with a handful of grenades. He pulled the pin on one and threw it at the ground.
The earth exploded, spewing rubble and rock fragments into the air. A huge crater twenty feet in diameter opened up.
King continued throw grenades, destroying statues, buildings, even the courtyard bell. He then ducked inside the chopper and the metal bird began to lift.
Noah spotted one undetonated grenade and raced to it. He pulled the pin and tossed it into the open door of the chopper.
Noah heard King scream, “No!”
King’s shouts were eclipsed by the sound of an ear-shattering blast.
Noah looked skyward to see a fiery furnace lighting up the sky.
Then another explosion. Fragments of the chopper rained on Heaven.
“Let’s go, Wangdan,” screamed Noah. The rockslides on the mountain peak had escalated into a full-blown debris avalanche.
Noah and Wangdan, still carrying the unconscious Sam, ran as hard as they could away as soil, rocks, trees and boulders the size of houses came tumbling around them. They only stopped when they realized there was no more sound—the landslide had finished its course of destruction.
Completely exhausted and out of breath, Noah and Wangdan turned to examine the wreckage. Heaven had disappeared, buried under hundreds of tons of geologic material.
As tears filled both men’s eyes, Noah recited, recognizing Wangdan’s religious sensibilities, “In sure and certain hope, we commend to the Almighty our friends and loved ones; we commit their bodies to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
Chapter 41
After the memorial, Wangdan found some water and Sam was revived. All of them were eager to leave and started out without waiting to recuperate. Going downhill was a whole lot faster than going uphill, especially when Noah and Wangdan didn’t have to carry a load on a stretcher.
The three made it back to the mountain base in a day and a half. No longer needing to worry about being tracked down, and wanting a little pampering, Noah borrowed a cell phone and splurged by hiring the biggest limo he could find. It was a bit of a waste because, during the whole journey back to Shanghai, he, Sam, and Wangdan simply slept.
Wangdan took them to his family’s home, two blocks away from Shaolin Paradise. The three were ravenous and Wangdan’s mother had prepared a simple meal of tofu, nuts, rice crackers, seaweed, and brown rice. She bowed, then left the travelers alone.
Sam looked at the meal aghast. “When can we stop eating rabbit food? I think I’m going to grow ears and start hopping.”
Noah handed him ten bucks. “There’s a noodle shop down the street. Don’t get lost.”
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” cried Sam as he rocketed out.
It gave Noah and Wangdan the opportunity to spend a moment alone. Noah explained quietly, “There is something I have to tell you, Wangdan. I lied to King. I told him the money I had was all gone. It’s not. We have plenty left.”
“That’s your business, Noah. Not mine,” replied Wangdan.
“No, it is your business. Because of it, because of me, Heaven was destroyed. When I first got it, I wanted to burn the money but everyone around me said to use it for good, to help those it had hurt. I shouldn’t have listened. It’s caused the death of Master Wu, Sigong Zhang, Master Jingsha... and so many more. It’s caused the destruction of Heaven.”
“No, Noah. It is turning the lives of thousands of people around, including Sam’s,” interjected Wangdan. “Look at him, Noah. He’s not dealing drugs. He’s not in a gang, both of which he was before he met you. If all you accomplished was to rescue someone like him, it was worth it.”
“But it destroyed Heaven. Can I risk having something like that happen again?”
“Of course. Reward only comes with risk. And why do you think your God gave the money to you? To hide it? To do nothing with it? Of course not. It is a gift to use, Noah.”
“Then I want to use it to rebuild Heaven, a sacred place for true and genuine Shaolin, where Heaven meets Earth, where the physical and spiritual come together in harmony.”
Wangdan nodded. “That is noble but rebuilding a legend is not easy.”
“No, it’s not,” agreed Noah. “But all things are possible with the right leadership… Wangdan, I want you to be the Sigong of the new Heaven, to bring it back to life. There is no one else that could do it.”
“I... I... am flawed. I... was tempted,” stuttered Wangdan.
“Which makes you the perfect person to be in charge of Heaven,” Noah argued. “You know how difficult it is to resist temptation. You know what the feel of a woman is like. And yet you overcame it. You rejected it.”
Wangdan was silent for a few moments before he spoke. “Actually, Noah, I want that experience again. That’s why I can’t be part of this. I have been thinking of this for a while. What held me back was my father’s promise that I would take his place in Heaven. If there is no Heaven, then the promise is no more.”
Sam, who was listening at the door, chimed in. “Hey, Wangdan, we could use some help with the Foundation.”
“I thought you went to get something to eat,” snorted Noah.
“Well, when you started talking about money, I had to stay. Anyway, Wangdan, I could use some help with the basketball program.”
“Never played it before. But I could learn.”
“Done. You’re hired,” winked the arrogant youth. “But, uh… If you’re gonna start hanging with us, you’re gonna need a new name. Like, I mean, there’s nothing wrong with Wangdan but, if you’re gonna relate to kids, they’re not going to like someone whose name sounds like ‘Yellow Egg.’”
“What would you call me?”
“How about JJ?” shrugged Sam.
“JJ?”
“Jackie Junior, as in Jackie Chan Junior.” Sam did a quick martial arts turn with his hands.
Wangdan laughed. “I like it. Why not? New direction in life. New name. JJ.”
He, Noah and Sam gave each other high fives.
Chapter 42
Before he left, King left his father a companion—a King Cobra. For a week, the snake slept, but it chose today to awaken.
Hungry, it smelled Chin and made its way up onto his bed.
The snake checked its prey, searching for a spot that wasn’t bandaged to sink its fangs into. It seemed to have no exposed area from head to toe, save for its eyes and mouth.
/> Rising up with its neck expanding to form a menacing hood, it poised for attack. It spat out its forked tongue menacingly, and then struck toward the eyes.
However, Chin shifted and the snake shot past Chin’s head.
Chin quickly bit the snake’s throat but couldn’t penetrate its skin. Biting harder, Chin finally broke through. He started sucking the snake’s blood, not stopping until he had drained the writhing serpent of the life-giving liquid.
Releasing his hold, Chin realized he hadn’t heard from King for over a week. That could only mean one thing. He made a phone call.
“Hello, Sexy. What do you want?” purred a female voice at the other end.
“I’m not into incest,” said Chin. “We need to talk.”
“I’m not coming back to Asia.”
“You won’t need to. Everything is going to happen in New York.”
Epilogue
Noah, Sam and newly named JJ were in a good mood at the Shanghai International Airport. They got there hours early to enjoy all the perks of flying business class. And, of course, to plan how the Chad Huang Foundation would take over the world.
Noah’s cell phone started ringing. It was puzzling because it was a brand new cell with a new number that he’d given to very few people.
“Hello, it’s Noah here. Who is this?”
“Hello, Noah. Looking forward to seeing you again,” said the voice from the grave. The caller hung up immediately.
Noah’s face drained of color. “Chin.”
THE END
INNOCENCE ASSAULTED
It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on.
SUN TZU, The Art of War, c. 500 bc
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.
The Noah Reid Action Thriller Series: Books 1-3 (plus special bonuses) Page 39
