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I finished the first episode of Heroic Brothers. I was surprised that I managed to keep it the length that I set it for and I hope you guys enjoy it!
Heroic Brothers:
Short-Order Catastrophe
This was the third time he dialed this number. After three rings, the answering machine picked up the line. Detective Ma Kwan exhaled roughly as he listened to the pre-recorded message and the familiar voice again.
“Hi, this is Ma Yuen. I’m not here right now but if you leave your name and number, in due time I’ll get back to you.” The machine beeped and Kwan fought to bridle his tongue. He felt a need to reconnect with his younger brother.
It was three years since he’d seen Yuen. Kwan and Yuen were orphaned at a young age when their parents died in a car accident, and they were taken in by an old master of martial arts, Master Wong. Seeing ferocious fighting spirits in the boys, Master Wong took it upon himself to train Kwan and Yuen in the Fists of the White Lotus.
Master Wong explained that while the Fists of the White Lotus were a deadly fighting art, the two would have to learn how to control themselves in combat. The two began their training during their early childhood; Kwan was eight and Yuen was five years old when Master Wong started teaching them.
Unlike his older brother, Yuen had always been involved with the local street fighting scene, disobeying Master Wong’s rule to not fight outside of the dojo. With his skill and love of combat, he soon found himself in the gaze of powerful Triad tong boss Terrence Li.
Kwan always possessed a strong sense of justice as well as moral values; he took his skills learned during his training and became a Detective Inspector with the Royal Hong Kong Police Force.
Yuen had refused to join Terrence Li’s gang and in retaliation the boss promised that he’ll soon “see things his way”. Yuen was assaulted and beaten brutally; he crawled back to the dojo only to find the corpse of Master Wong.
Yuen demanded blood while Kwan remained strictly by the book; Yuen decided to storm Terrence Li’s stronghold and extract revenge but Kwan, trying to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, suggested that they handle it through procedure. This did not sit well with Yuen and he lashed out at his older brother, resulting in a brutal fight.
The battle ended in a draw; battered and pained, Yuen broke ties with Kwan and left Hong Kong. Embittered, Kwan remained with the Police and dedicated his entire career to taking down the notorious Terrence Li and destroying his operations.
Kwan considered dialing the number again but immediately replaced the phone on its base. Cursing in Chinese, he walked into the bathroom, turned on the light, and looked at his face in the mirror. He was twenty seven now and he had been a Detective for six years now.
Due to his vendetta against Terrence Li, his life was consumed with police work. His girlfriend, a pretty little brunette named Mei Lien, had become fed up with his constant time away and workaholic lifestyle and left him. The sudden shock caused Kwan to botch an operation he spear-headed to bust up a prostitution ring funded by Li.
The resulting mayhem caused Kwan to serve a one-month suspension. Today was the day he resumed duty, and he was glad; no more sitting at home and sparring against dummies that don’t hit back. He ran his hand through his spiky reddish brown hair and dragged a finger down a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, a souvenir of his first encounter with Li’s enforcer, Wah Sing Kung.
Kwan looked at his watch and grunted. “Back on the clock again.” He dressed himself; he garbed himself in a white dress shirt, black slacks, and Converse All-Stars. He reached for his gun belt and holstered his sidearm, a M1911 pistol. Grabbing his keys, he departed his apartment and continued to his car.
He hated going to the precinct; he wished that he could’ve checked in from the road and went on duty. Looking at his wristwatch Kwan checked the time and decided to grab some breakfast before he went to the precinct. The restaurant he frequented was close by; he pulled the car into the parking lot and caught the owner just as he was reentering the restaurant to turn on the stoves.
As he took a seat, Kwan recognized several members of a triad and cursed mentally that they weren’t a part of Terrence Li’s outfit. The owner of the store approached him, a smile on his face.
“Glass of tequila?” he asked. Kwan shook his head. “I’m back on duty. Give me a glass of orange juice and a stack of flapjacks.”
The owner nodded and went into the kitchen to prepare the order. Ten minutes later, he emerged with a steaming plate of pancakes and a glass of juice, the pancakes smothered with maple syrup.
Kwan sighed in euphoria; he always did enjoy flapjacks and orange juice in the morning. As he finished the first pancake and drank some juice, he took a glance over towards the triads and then back to the owner.
“You noticed them, huh?”
“So you’re catering to triads now, Mr. Sang?” Kwan grunted as he chewed the second pancake.
Mr. Sang chuckled and pulled up a stool to sit. “Triads are people too, and people gotta eat, don’t they?”
It was then that a new group of men entered the restaurant, dressed in black suits. This was the earmark of Li’s tong but these looked like new guys; Terrence Li had given his men a flee-or-shoot-on-sight-order pertaining to Inspector Kwan. The men from Li’s gang sat at the table where the other triads were.
Almost immediately, one of Li’s gang pulled out a Beretta and placed it on the table. Terrence Li was all about intimidation and this trait was passed on to his subordinates.
“Boss Li arranged this meeting to discuss the matter of buying the dock territory from your boss, Hyoto.”
The name caught Kwan’s attention; Hyoto was a Japanese crime boss, a member of the twelve heads of the Yakuza. Those men sitting at the table, they weren’t triads; they were Yakuza. “So Li is breaking into Japan’s turf now.” The mention of Yakuza had made bringing down Li a trite harder.
“What’s with the gun?” one of the representatives of the Yakuza said. “Keep calm; there may be cops around.”
The mention of the word “cop” caused the speaker to look around until his eyes rested on the figure of Inspector Kwan. “You brought a cop here?!” he noticed the gun belt and the outline of Kwan’s badge tucked into his coat. In anger he grabbed the Beretta and shot the representative in the face.
The man didn’t stop there; he swiveled around and fired on Kwan, who immediately fell backwards from his stool, kicked it into the air, and swatted it at the man taking shots, causing him to accidentally shoot one of his comrades in the chest. Kwan pulled out his M1911 and returned fire at the man who slid behind a table for cover.
The table was weakly crafted but the triad didn’t take that into consideration; he poked his head out quickly to train a bead on Kwan’s position and then began to blind-fire.
Kwan returned fire while positioned behind a support pillar and he began to trace a line composed of bullet holes around his opponent’s prone position. With the remaining bullet in his clip he fired at the middle of the outline, killing the man outright.
