Brady knew Chloe. She’d interfere with the fight, call the police, buy a gun, or do some other incredibly rash thing. The relief he felt knowing that she was safe made him giddy, the weight of the last months lifting like shackles dropped. His duty was finally clear; Ling needed to be stopped.

“Thank you.” He spoke out loud to apparent nothingness until Ling inked into view, suddenly on Brady’s left, a nod and a tight smile to indicate readiness.

“Her part in this is over. She needn’t watch you die.”

“Nobody needs to die.” Brady started to back away from the gathering emergency vehicles. The men distanced themselves but a few yards to another alley. Walled in by brick, empty and dank, it was a dead end. “Yet everybody does.” Ling answered making his move with a sweeping kick to the head that Brady barely escaped. Then it was defend and attack, block and hit, reaction, redirection, sweat on skin. Equally matched, no ground was given by either until Brady deliberately let Ling drive him towards the back wall. At the right distance, he held firm and planted a palmed push against Ling’s chest creating the necessary fraction of separation and disorientation in his opponent. Brady scaled the wall in a one step spring, flipping head over heels, bringing his legs into a pike at the descent to slam into Kai’s back. Brady fell hard to the ground as Ling crashed against the wall, crumbling momentarily.

“You have hurt innocent people, people with no connection to you or to me.” Brady stood, wiping blood from his chin. He saw a dead sparrow on the ground between them, its body crushed. “When we were boys, you were the first to defend the weak.” Brady walked to Ling who struggled to rise. “You helped me once too; I never forgot.” Brady took Ling’s hand; met the startled, angry gaze; and assisted his foe. “Your brother fell. True, in a fight I might have killed him. I was angry. Like you, I wanted justice, but he never gave me the chance. He hurt Gigi. He killed Lau, and he ran. Accept it and let this end.”

Ling twisted Brady’s arm behind his back and shoved him to the ground, ramming a foot into his enemy’s neck. Viscously, Ling pulled on the arm and kicked into Brady’s bad leg along the break, snapping it again. “Your lies die with you.” Ling spat over Brady’s scream of pain, stepping on his neck.

“As does your soul.” Brady gritted out before closing his eyes. He didn’t want to see the dead bird anymore. It was too much. He’d had enough of death. The pressure on his wind pipe increased exponentially. He thought of Chloe. He pictured her face, her blue eyes when she smiled. There was no way to break loose; but with his death, Ling would go back to Hong Kong, and Chloe would be safe. Yet unbearable, the relentless pressure burned ‘til no thought could soothe. Instinctually, he heaved for air, struggling to find a purchase, to twist his body, to pull at Ling’s foot with his one hand. His eyes flew open, and the bird swam before his sight as he choked, distorting, blurring until there were other hands, a long curtain of dark hair. It was Chloe. “Stop it,” she screamed at Ling, pulling on his wrists. Ling tumbled backwards as Chloe elbowed him in the face. Gasping for breath, Brady crawled to his knees while Chloe held him close.

“It’s ok,” she whispered over and over, rocking him against her.

“Run, before it’s too late.” Brady demanded despite the gravel in his throat. “I can take care of this.” He slipped trying to get to his feet.

“Do what he says, Chloe.” Ling loomed over them, his expression distant. Rain began to splatter on the pavement in huge steady drops. It stung Ling’s wounds, mixing with his blood until it ran and pooled with that of his victim’s on the concrete. As he looked at Chloe and Brady and the blood and the water and the bird, it was as if he heard a voice. His brother.

“No. You’ll have to kill me first.” Chloe clung fast.

“Chloe, please go.” Brady begged her.

But Ling heard something else. Over ‘Chloe, please go,’ he heard Hang’s voice. “Brother, please…no.” Instead of seeing Chloe and Brady huddled in the rain, he saw himself holding his brother at the quarry. How cold it was, how the dust bit in like sandpaper, stinging and sharp; it cut him, as sure as Hang’s steady, strong breath tore. Ling relived the moment he took his brother’s head between the hands and twisted, the sharp sound of a neck breaking. When the crows came in a black feasting cloud, the memory ended. Ling felt himself back in the alley, seeing Brady and Chloe with new eyes.

“I’m sorry.” He said, moving as if it were perfectly common place towards the fire escape. He started to climb.

“What’s happening? What’s he doing?” Chloe rose to her feet, helping Brady to his.

“I don’t know.” Brady watched too as Ling reached the roof of the building and simply walked off.

“Oh, my God!” Chloe screamed, hiding her face as Ling crashed to the ground.

“Don’t look.” Brady shielded her from the gruesome sight with his body when she dared to raise her head from her hands. “Go get help,” he ordered, waiting until she stumbled away in shock to limp towards the remains of Kai Ling. The only thing left to do was to say a prayer.

--

Author’s Note: I know I have gaps to fill in. I know I should have written a chapter (and squashed it in before Kai & Brady’s final showdown) about how Lucas tracks down and confronts Ling’s gang, beating them soundly and loosing his shirt in the process. Every good martial arts story should have the heroes loosing their shirts during battle at some point or another, and sometimes the villain too if he is cute enough, in my humble opinion. And, I regret that I didn’t make Ling and Brady loose theirs, but oh well, I tire. You see, I’m more interested in the end. It’s way past time to end this story, so I leave it to you, gentle readers, to fill in the horrible and dishonorable gaps I’m compelled to leave.

This is what you need to know. Will is being tutored by Mrs. H and the widower Henry in Pre-Calculus and Driver’s Ed (via four-wheeler). Lucas and Sami have reconciled and are rebuilding the school. Things are touchier for Brady and Chloe. Brady is taking Ling back to Hong Kong to be buried. He doesn’t have the courage to tell Chloe in person, so he writes her a note, giving it to Lucas to deliver after the plane takes off. Sami finds the note, gives it to Chloe, and off she rushes to stop her true love at the airport. She’s horribly waylaid, of course, by a freak, late ice storm. Her only hope is that the storm has delayed Brady’s plane. And wow, wouldn’t you know it, it has.

--

Chloe stepped onto the plane feeling like the last kid to board the bus, a transfer student headed for a new school. Everyone was staring, in a bored, sick-of-waiting kind of way. And it made her nervous, a little more clumsy than usual. She felt like a stranger in her own body. She didn’t even know how to carry herself; but somehow she managed to stumble down the aisle, a duffle bag in one hand, an English/Chinese dictionary in the other. She stopped when she spotted Brady in the back. He was a mess of black and blue marks; a vulnerable angel resting with his eyes closed. How awkward, this pull to rush to him and kiss him to bliss against the push to run away and pretend that he didn’t matter. What if she was all wrong, and he didn’t even want her here? Maybe he never wanted her. Maybe all he ever felt for her was obligation mixed with the beginnings of friendship. Impulsively, she took a step backwards, but before she could truly bolt, Brady opened his eyes.

“Chloe, how’d you—“

“—I found your letter,” She held it up, walked over, took the seat beside him. “I get a note?” She deadpanned. “After everything we’ve been through. You’re not very good at goodbyes, are you?”

“I didn’t want to say goodbye.”

“Then why do it?”

“I couldn’t ask you to follow me. And I knew you would. Go home Chloe, while there’s still time.”

“And do what? Write you letters?” She crumpled the paper in her hand and threw it at him, rising, “Well, surprise, I’m no good at that either.” Crushed, she welled with tears. At the calm center of her stormy thoughts she knew she was being irrational, thinking the worst. But in the face of what he was doing, it didn’t matter. All she knew was that he was leaving and she needed the truth.

“As soon as Kai is buried, I’ll return, two weeks or less.” He squeezed her hand as a means to reassure.

“Then, why can’t I go with?”

When he wouldn’t meet her eyes, when he didn’t answer, Chloe continued, “I’ll tell you why, it’s because deep down you don’t want me to. Burying Ling is just an excuse to go home. You miss your old life and now that the danger is gone, you’d like that old life back. Can’t see me in that picture, can you? You know Brady, you don’t have to pretend with me. I want you to be happy, even if that means I won’t see you again. I’m willing to follow you. I’m willing to try, but if you don’t want me to, if you don’t want me…I’ll accept it. I’m a big girl. Don’t stick with me because of some promise or code of honor. I deserve more than that. As much as I love you, it wouldn’t be right if you didn’t love me too. Ok?” Mustering up the last of her courage, Chloe kissed his cheek intending to leave, but as soon as the gesture ended and she lifted her head Brady tugged her back, his mouth urgent and claiming.

Then he held her face, looked her straight on, and said, “I do love you. I will return. Stay, because the danger lives. Kai has friends. He may have paid people to hunt me. I didn’t tell you because I did not want your worry. Do not make me worry, stay.”

In the silence that followed, Chloe took his hands and kissed them. She bowed her head in understanding and stood, grabbing her duffle bag, ready. The plane was still grounded, the exit open. She gazed at it and then back at Brady. “I know there’s risk, but I’d still like to go with you. The truth is, I could die at any time, for any number of stupid reasons. Lately, I’ve been aware of my mortality…too much. And it’s taught me one thing. I don’t want to waste anymore time. I want to be with you. We just found each other, and something like two weeks would be an eternity to me, especially if I knew that you might be in trouble. There’s always going to be trouble. Let’s face it together. I don’t want to give Ling anymore of my time or my joy. He’s stolen enough of it already. Don’t wait for a better time to show me your world, Brady. I’m ready now. Can I stay?”

“I can see now that I’ll never win a war of words with you. Brady indicated the seat to his right towards the window. After she arranged her bag and settled in, he leaned over and attached her buckle. She smiled to see him revert to his formal, courteous self. He grinned back, “It’s certain to be a bumpy ride.”

“That’s ok. I’ll protect you.” She quipped. “In fact, if I were keeping track. I’d say that you saved my life only once while I saved yours, what is it now…three times.”

“I don’t understand.” He answered, amused. “When did I save your life?”

“Today. Although, I suppose your save counts more since it continues every day we’re together.”

They kissed until interrupted by a whistle. “That’s hot,” a teen boy with a nose ring and blue hair announced, “But she’s in my seat.”

“Would you mind trading?” Brady asked, “She just agreed to marry me.”

The boy ogled Chloe, “hot.” Then, he looked back at Brady blandly, “But what’s that got to do with me?”

Brady offered cash, “I’ll give you fifty.”

“Cool. If you give me another fifty, I’ll give you the picture I took.” The boy grinned like a shark and held up his camera.

“What! No. Go away you creep.” Chloe ordered, trading tickets.

“Fine. Just thought you might like it for your wedding album. No sweat off my back. I’ll use it on my website.”

“Ewe. Can you believe that kid?” Chloe shuddered after the boy walked off while Brady laughed.

“It’s not funny.” She admonished, punching him playfully.

“Yes it is.” He retorted, “We should give him the fifty. I think he needs the money for a new hair style.”

“Brady, really, not funny.” Chloe chastised, as the flight attendants issued last minute pre-flight instructions.

“Your right.” Brady admitted, becoming serious. “We’ll need the money for the wedding.”

Chloe’s heart jumped. Brady took her hand, as if all were settled, and looked out the window. She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“You were serious?”

“Of course.”

“Brady, when did I say yes?”

“You asked me. Remember? To save your life, I am to love you everyday.”

Chloe smiled. “Oh.” Then she frowned. “Why did you say yes?”

“Because I want to.” Brady answered and kissed her lightly. The plane engines roared in their ears as they took flight, but neither was aware. They had already left the ground.

The End.