From: lurker@iglobal.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Subject: Third Time's A Charm (Part 5) Date: Sat, 31 Aug 1996 22:50:43 -0500 Message-ID: <19960901034940441.AAD129@denp1-26.iglobal.net> THIRD TIME'S A CHARM by Deb Parizek and Rhonda Hallstrom ***** Peter sat down at his desk and began checking the medical histories on the suicides. Five minutes later, he felt a presence beside him. He looked up and found Sam standing near the desk. "Sam, c'mon! You're hovering like a mother hen! I appreciate the concern, but-" "I hit a dead end," Sam said. "Thought you might like some help with the medical records." He leaned closer to Peter and said in a low voice, "You should call me Kermit when there's a chance someone might hear us." Peter winced at his mistake and nodded quick assent. He was surprised how quickly he and Sam established a friendly rapport. He got back to the topic at hand. "So, what happened?" "The messages were forwarded to the list by an anonymous remailer. There's no way to trace them back to the originator - not with this technology anyway," Sam informed him. "What is an 'anonymous remailer?'" Sam sat down on the corner of Peter's desk and explained. "It's a server which forwards mail to mailing lists, UseNet, etc, after stripping off the sender's identifying information like Internet service provider and username. I, unfortunately, did not remember that the messages show up on the list with a 'from' address of a randomly generated username with '@ANON' as the machine name. The random username does equate to the sender's actual name but it's stored in the remailer and we can't get to it." "Why not?" "The particular remailer used is in Finland." "Oh....Well, so much for that..." "For us anyway," Sam said, glancing around the squadroom. It was 10 p.m. and the place was quiet. "Maybe Ziggy can track it down." "How would Ziggy do that?" Peter asked. "Sorry, pal, that's classified." "So, if you told me, you'd have to kill me..." Peter joked, a crooked smile appearing on his face. Sam laughed. "Yeah, and that would nullify my entire purpose here!" The imaging chamber door opened and drew Sam's attention away from Peter's attempt to lighten the mood. Both he and Peter oriented on the light. Gooshie stepped into view. "Hello, Doctor. I have the results of Ziggy's processing for you," Gooshie stated. Sam looked around once more to make sure they were alone. "Go ahead, Gooshie, tell me." Peter sat, staring at the same spot in space as Sam, endeavoring to see the hologram. He could almost make out the lines but still could not hear any of the discussion. "Of the ten suicides, six were one-quarter Chinese, three were one-half Chinese and the last one was three-quarters Chinese," Gooshie relayed. Sam nodded. "Were any of them abandoned, given the definition I used before?" "All were, Doctor. One lost both parents and a sibling in a car accident. One lost a father to suicide. Seven were children of messy divorces and one lost a father in a construction accident." "Hmmm...that's quite a pattern," Sam stated. "What is he telling you, Sam?" Peter asked. Sam summarized. "All of the victims were, at least, one-quarter Chinese and all were abandoned - one way or another - by their father." "Someone wants to kill Chinese-American Taoist males abandoned by their father? That seems VERY specific...." Peter offered, unconvinced. "Yeah, it does, though, as Al pointed out to me earlier, people can have all sorts of prejudices against just about any ethnic group....OR...on the other hand, maybe the message was sent by a Chinese-American Taoist male who was abandoned by his father to help liberate others like him from their pain...perhaps, one of our victims sent it, then killed himself." Peter lifted an eyebrow at that. *It's possible,* he thought. Aloud, he asked, "Were you going to have Ziggy see if she can track down who sent those messages?" "Oh, yeah...I almost forgot," Sam apologized. "Gooshie, have Ziggy see if she can find the equivalent to this Internet address from an anonymous remailer in Finland...ABZ123DF@ANON." Gooshie typed the address on the handlink. The handlink beeped pleasantly at the end of his input. "She is searching now, Doctor." "Sam, is Gooshie short with curly red hair and a red moustache?" Peter asked, squinting at the spot in space to which Sam had been speaking. "Yes." "Yessss!" Peter said, smacking the top of his desk. "I'm getting the hang of this!" Sam smiled at Peter's reaction to being able to see Gooshie. *The kid's good!* Sam thought. Ziggy beeped, apparently indicating that the processing was complete, and Gooshie read the output. "According to the remailer in question, the equivalent address is 'RAYBAN@ISP.NET'. Ziggy took the liberty of tracing it and found it to be 'Internet Solution Providers' here in Sloanville." "Here??" Sam asked, surprised. "Yes, Doctor." "Sam, what's here?" Peter asked, endeavoring to remind Sam that he could hear only half of the conversation. He could almost, but not quite, hear something that sounded like whispering. The words were indistinguishable. *If I didn't know better,* Peter mused, *I'd think my father arranged this for me to practice controlling my chi!* "Ziggy tracked the originator of the messages to an address here in Sloanville," Sam informed Peter. "Who??" "'Internet Solution Providers', under the username 'RAYBAN'." "Doctor, according to ISP, the username 'RAYBAN' was assigned to Jack Chan," Gooshie said. "Jack Chan was the one who sent the messages," Sam relayed to Peter. "He's one of our bodies," Peter said. "Looks like your theory on one of the victims sending it and then killing himself might be right...." "What's his story, Gooshie?" Sam asked. "He was the one who was three-quarters Chinese and lost his father to suicide," Gooshie replied after punching a few buttons on the handlink. "Any records of psychiatric help?" Peter checked the file on his desk while Gooshie checked with Ziggy. After a brief period of silence, Sam heard "None" in stereo. "So, he lost it one day, composed those messages, sent them, stabbed himself...." Sam summarized, disbelievingly. Peter shrugged. "I've heard stranger things....Shall we check out his place? It's now a crime scene so we don't need to wait for a search warrant." "Let's do it," Sam agreed, standing up. "Thanks, Gooshie - that'll be all for now." "Our pleasure, Doctor," Gooshie said. "Give my best to Al." "I will." Gooshie activated the imaging chamber door and disappeared into the light. Peter handed Sam a small piece of paper. "This is Jack Chan's address. You want to follow me?" "We're calling it a night afterwards?" "Yeah, I'm beat...." "All right. Lead on," Sam said, hoping Peter just meant that he was tired. ***** Ten minutes later, Peter parked his Stealth in front of the apartment building in question. Sam parked Kermit's Corvair right behind the Stealth. Together, they entered the building and found the apartment. Once in the apartment, they proceeded directly to Jack's PC. Sam sat down and powered up the machine. After a minute, it obediently presented a DOS prompt. Sam typed a directory command and found nothing but DOS files on the hard drive. "It's been wiped clean," Sam announced. "Great!" Peter said, frustrated. "See any diskettes around?" Sam asked as he opened a desk drawer and looked inside. Peter scanned the living room. "Nothing obvious in here. I'll check the other rooms." Sam nodded, continuing his search of the desk. The desk contained nothing, so he checked the rest of the living room thoroughly, even looking under the couch. Peter returned a few minutes later. "I've checked every shelf, drawer, and wastebasket in the other rooms, plus looked under the bed, the sink and behind the toilet. No diskettes." "There's nothing out here, either," Sam said. "It's odd that he'd have no backups or diskettes containing purchased software. Did you see any signs of tape backups or small disk cartridges?" "Not even a cassette for the tape deck in the bedroom," Peter replied. "I think someone removed all the magnetic media," Sam concluded. "That would mean that someone else knows about these messages and that someone was here before we arrived," Peter said. "I'm going to get my fingerprint kit from the car and dust the place." "Fine." Sam stood. "I'll come with you. I saw what looked to be blank diskettes in Kermit's car. I'll back up the hard drive - maybe there's a hidden clue in there." Peter opened the door and was surprised when a foot came out of nowhere and kicked him in the face. Sam rushed to the door to see four men, all covered in black bodysuits, rush inside. Peter rolled with the kick and gained his feet while Sam assumed a ready position. Two of the men leaped at Sam while the other two attempted to surround Peter. Sam dodged a kick to the head as Peter attacked the one man trying to get past him. A high kick sent the thug sailing over the couch but gave the other man an opportunity to connect solidly with Peter's knee. Peter staggered, shifted his weight to compensate, and attempted to hit the man who had just kicked him. He lacked the inertia and missed as his intended target hit him hard on the side of the head. Sam quickly did a spin-kick to take out his first man. He connected solidly with his opponent but, much to Sam's dismay, his opponent got back up."Oh boy," he muttered, as he backed away. He was beginning to wish that he hadn't given Kermit's gun to Peter. Most of Sam's opponents were not this skilled at martial arts. Maybe he'd do better to resort to just plain fisticuffs. The second man struck so that Sam had no choice but to dodge directly into the first man's reach, which connected painfully with Sam's shoulder. The first man, who had plunged over the couch, leaped back to fight Peter as Peter stood on his good leg and double-punched the second man, sending him into the potted plants near the door. Peter then neatly turned, caught the second man by the arm, and pulled, thus helping the centrifugal force and slamming him into the wall. Turning, he saw that Sam was in serious trouble. He was holding his own but wouldn't be for long. Peter drew Kermit's gun and fired right above the fighting trio's heads. "Police - FREEZE!" he yelled. He didn't expect them to comply, but procedure was procedure. The men ran. Peter didn't bother to go after them - they would be back. He lifted his gun upright as he approached Sam. "Sam, you okay?" "Yes," Sam said gratefully. He was breathing heavily. "I think NOW we could call it a day, huh?" "Yeah," Peter agreed. "Just let me dust the desk and we'll go." He started for the door, this time with the gun drawn. "I usually do a lot better than that," Sam began to explain. Peter waved the explanation off. "Hey," he said, "that's what partners are for - to watch each other's backs. Back in a minute." Peter chuckled to himself as he raced down the steps. Sam's fighting style reminded him of his at the time of his father's return. His father was a very good teacher. *I could have been a better student, though.* Twenty minutes later, Peter was packing his fingerprint gear back into his car. "So, why don't we meet at your dad's in the morning?" Sam suggested. "Why Pop's?" "Well, you promised him you'd be back," Sam pointed out. "He's so tired, I doubt he even remembers my name," Peter said. "I don't want to disturb him so I thought I'd just go to my place-" "Peter, that's not a good idea," Sam said. "Think about it for a second. There are two very good reasons why you should go there. First, you may still be under the influence of that message; you shouldn't be alone tonight." "And second?" "How do you think your dad will feel if he DOES remember and you're not there?" Peter sighed. "Okay, okay, I'll go to Pop's." "That's the spirit!" Sam said, giving the young man a brotherly clap on the back. "Good night." "'Night, Sam," Peter said. Peter felt a twinge of disloyalty for liking Sam so much. Too bad both Sam and Kermit could not be here at the same time! "Hey," Sam called to Peter's back. Peter stopped his progress to the Stealth and turned to face his partner. "Could you give me a hint as to where Kermit lives?" Sam requested. "Actually, I don't know," Peter replied. "What does his license say?" Sam pulled the wallet out of his pants pocket and read, "2401 48th Street..." "That's about twelve blocks West and, probably, two and one-half blocks North." "Thanks. Good night." "Do you remember how to get to my Pop's?" "Yeah, no problem." "Okay. Good night." ***** Fifteen minutes later, Peter was attempting to sneak into his father's apartment. He knew Lo Si would be aware of him the second he was outside the building but he was really trying not to disturb his father. The reason for his father's exhaustion was rather glossed over - all he had said was that he was looking for Kermit. But how? Maybe he was finally approaching an explanation as to why his father always knew what he was up to. He heard a whisper, "Peter." It was Lo Si. Turning, Peter saw the Ancient approach him and smiled. Apparently out of deference to Caine, the Ancient decided not to scare Peter out of his mind by sneaking up on him, as he usually did. Peter appreciated it and wished that the Ancient would do this more often. Lo Si took Peter's arm. "Welcome to Grand Central Station," the Ancient joked in a low voice. "Come - you can sleep over here." They walked quietly across the dark room. "What happened to him, anyway?" Peter asked. "Why is he so exhausted?" "Searching the world takes a long time," Lo Si told him. Peter looked at Lo Si in shock. "No way...!" he breathed. "No way can he do that...! No way!" "Ssshhh!" Lo Si cautioned. "Are you kidding...you ARE kidding me, right?!" Peter demanded in a lower tone. Lo Si shrugged. "You're NOT kidding! The whole world...wow!" "It amounts to that. It is very difficult, even if you know the person well. For someone like Kermit-" the Ancient made a disgusted sound. "If it's that hard, why did he try? Sam told me Kermit's fine," Peter said. "He was worried about Kermit. He was also worried that YOU might worry about Kermit." "So, basically, he did it for me?" "Basically." Peter sighed. "Didn't you try to stop him?" "I have told you before: your father is stubborn, like you. Now, sleep." Peter kicked off his boots, flopped onto the futon, and quickly went to sleep. ***** The next morning, Caine's awareness came back to him slowly and comfortable. He breathed deeply, assessing his physical and mental condition. Minute stretches quickly assured him that his bodily condition was as fit as ever. Now for the crucial test.... Eyes still closed, he reached deep into his consciousness for his chi. He could feel the world around him. His son was here in this room, he could tell, meditating. Furthermore, Peter's spirits were unusually high. It seemed that his relationship with the visitor was responsible. Caine was pleased that this scientist had done so much to help Peter. He promised himself to thank Sam properly. Lo Si was there, making breakfast. Caine was also aware that the Ancient knew that he was awake. Lo Si began making another cup of tea for him for the aftereffects of the exhaustion. Caine sensed one more - only, it was a shadow or a residue. He frowned as he concentrated his chi to focus on the impression. It centered around the presence of Mary Margaret Skalany when she was here last night, but something was wrong.... "Good morning," a cheery voice greeted. Caine opened his eyes to see the Ancient with the prepared cup of tea. Across the room, Peter said, "Hey...how'd you know he was awake?" Lo Si looked at Peter mischievously. "Never mind." Caine sat up carefully. He was pleased to note that his aches and pains were gone as he took the tea, while still trying to pin down the mysterious presence. Lo Si shook his head imperceptibly at Caine. Caine, realizing that Lo Si knew something about the presence but didn't wish to discuss it in front of Peter, nodded once, relaxed, and sipped the hot tea. "Good morning, Master...Peter," Caine greeted. "How was your evening, my son? I was worried." "Sam and I made a lot of headway, Pop," Peter said, relieved to see that Caine was feeling better. "How are you doing, Pop - you okay?" "Yes," Caine said, and stood to prove it. "What did you discover?" Lo Si graciously served breakfast as Peter related the night's events. As Peter completed the story, a tentative knock sounded in the doorway. "Sam! Good timing," Peter said. "C'mon in. I was just telling Pop about that computer message." Sam fished the printout from his pocket as he entered the small apartment. "Would you care for some breakfast?" Lo Si inquired. "Or, perhaps, some tea?" "Uh...." Sam would have preferred coffee. He did not sleep well last night. "Tea is fine, thank you," Sam repled as he handed the printout to Caine and sat on the floor next to Peter. Lo Si rose and left them as Caine read the message. Peter and Sam watched with interest. As he read, his expression became more and more solemn. Once he finished, he laid the paper on the floor in front of himself and bowed his head. Concerned, Peter tried to get Caine's attention. "Father?" "I am all right, my son," Caine said, without meeting Peter's gaze. "You don't look 'all right'. What's wrong?" Lo Si returned and handed a cup of tea to Sam. "Thank you," Sam said, distracted. Lo Si took a place on the mat and looked at Caine curiously. "The message...is...very disturbing, Peter," Caine began slowly. Peter and Sam exchanged a concerned look. "Such as?" Peter encouraged. "The...feelings evoked by the contents...are very strong," Caine continued. "The message speaks of honoring the family which, as you know, is a very important concept in our heritage. For those who have not done so...those who have abandoned their families-" Caine looked downward, but nonetheless continued, "-like myself...this message arouses feelings of guilt." Before Peter could comment, Caine asked, "You have read this message, my son?" "Yes." Part of Peter's story of the previous evening's events flashed through Caine's mind. Peter had mentioned a suicide attempt. "Reading this message is what caused you to try to end your life?" Caine asked to be certain. "So Sam and the Chief said." "It left you feeling depressed and alone?" "Severely depressed and very much alone...like there was no reason to live." "After one who feels abandoned reads this message, they would feel the things you did. If those feelings are unresolved, the reader might attempt suicide," Caine confirmed, finally looking at his son. This time it was Peter's gaze that shifted to the floor. He was ashamed and could not meet his father's eyes. "I'm sorry, Father," he said quietly. Caine reached out and grasped Peter's upper arm. "There is no reason for you to be sorry, Peter. We must deal with the feelings that you have. They are very important and have been neglected for too long....Also, these feelings cannot be helped when I leave without an explanation....It is *I* who am sorry, my son, for the pain I have caused you." Now it was Sam who looked toward the floor. Caine was obviously affected by the message as well as Peter - he'd admitted as much - but his feelings were different. It seemed that the guilt Caine felt simply allowed him to express suppressed feelings. Theirs was a very complex relationship and Sam wasn't sure whether or not he was meant to be witness to it. Unfortunately, Sam's reflections only served to draw Caine's attention. "To you, I owe a great debt," Caine told him. "Thank you for saving my son's life." "I am glad I was here to help," Sam replied. "So," Peter said, clearing his throat, trying to summarize the case, "Jack Chan composed this message-" "No, my son." "What do you mean, Pop?" "The responsible party reveals themselves in this message." Peter's eyes widened. "That's great! Who ARE they??" "The Wing Tsun." "Who?" "A splinter order of the Shaolin - primarily female - who fight using a combination of the crane and snake styles. This-" Caine indicated the message, "-is presumably from an evil faction." "I've never heard of them." "They know of you," Caine said. "YOU were the intended victim, Peter." "WHAT???" Peter gaped at his father. "ME?? Why me?? Why didn't they just shoot me or something?" "The Wing Tsun are known for deception," Caine replied. "As for why you were targeted, they must be endeavoring to abolish the Caine line. You are the only one of us who is still capable of fathering offspring." "Wait a minute....Men can father children later in life," Peter protested. "Not all men...." Sam, the physician, mentioned. Peter let this news sink in. "Why would they want to abolish the Caine line?" "We stand for everything they find detestable," Caine said, matter-of-factly. "What of the others - the innocent ones - who died?" "In the minds of the Wing Tsun, the end would justify the means," Caine explained. Peter's stomach knotted. He did not like other people suffering because of him. "So, Jack Chan was somehow connected with these women?" Sam speculated. "I would assume so," Caine replied. "Did he have a girlfriend?" "Peter, do you remember if Jack had a girlfriend?" Sam asked. "Huh?" Peter returned to the conversation. "Yeah, I think he did...." "Maybe if we find her, we find the Wing Tsun," Sam suggested. "That could be true and VERY dangerous," Caine told him. "I MUST accompany you on your search." Peter, fully expecting this reaction, did not argue. "All right, Pop, you can come." Then, even knowing it was futile, he added, "but as BACKUP...ONLY!" "Of course, Peter." "Uh, Peter...is that SOP?" Sam questioned, surprised. "Well, Sam...not really, but this is my Pop...regular rules don't apply!" Peter replied with a grin, rising. He picked up his coat and fished in the pocket for his cellular phone. Not finding it, he said, "Damn, left it in the car. I'm going to go call Jody for info on Jack Chan's girlfriend. Be right back." Peter exited and Caine seized the opportunity. Turning to Sam, he asked, "Does Peter know about 3 p.m. today?" Surprised again, Sam replied, "No. He IS beginning to SEE the holograms but he still can't hear them." Caine nodded. He was proud of Peter for making progress in seeing what was not there but decided to save the compliment for later. "It seems," Caine said with a shrug, "that I cannot help but keep secrets from Peter. However, I see no reason to alarm him by telling him of his possible future - especially when we are all here to try to prevent it." Lo Si and Sam both nodded their agreement. "Now, Master, you wished to tell me something regarding Mary Margaret's visit last evening?" Caine asked. Sam choked on the tea he was swallowing. "Mary Margaret was here?" he asked. "Yes," Lo Si said, with a knowing look at Sam. "She was not quite HERSELF. It seems, Kwai Chang Caine, that another visitor has taken her place in much the same way Sam has taken Kermit's place." "Do you know of this visitor?" Caine asked Sam. "Yes. She, unfortunately, works for the 'other' side...." Sam said. "Does she travel by science as well?" "I don't know." "Do you know her purpose here?" "I'm not certain," Sam told him. "She mentioned something about driving a wedge between you and Peter. I figured if I stayed close to Peter, she would fail." Turning to the Ancient, he asked, "Did she do something last night?" Caine looked to the floor, wondering if he should mention that she kissed him. "Her 'orders' were to kill you, Kwai Chang Caine," Lo Si said. "I came back in time to prevent her from doing so." "Thank you, Master," Caine bowed. Lo Si bowed slightly in return. "I took her weapon from her, not that she protested that much. She explained that she is in thrall to the powers that transport her through time. I told her to go to Mary Margaret's apartment. I have not seen her since." "Does Peter know of this other visitor?" Caine asked Sam. "I don't think so," Sam said. "Should we...?" "We shall have to be cautious...." Caine said, his head inclining slightly toward the door. Peter entered, notepad in hand, still conversing with Jody. "Got it. Tell the Chief that Kermit and I will be out, checking on it." He paused, then added, "Thanks, 'bye." Clicking the cellular phone closed, he turned to the others. "Well, Jody checked on the girlfriend. She has no record - not even a parking ticket - but thanks to the DMV, we have home, work and parents' addresses." "What is this woman's name, Peter?" Caine asked. "Perhaps she is known in our community-" "Mai Li." "I may know her mother...." the Ancient mused. "I suppose you want to come along, too?" Peter asked. The Ancient shrugged, smiling. "Well, the more, the merrier...." Peter replied, realizing, again, the futility of argument. *He IS learning,* Caine noted with a smile. "There should be enough room in the Corvair. Shall we do it, Partners? First stop, Mai Li's apartment!" ***** TO BE CONTINUED!