Point Blank (Sisterhood Book 26) (19 page)

Nikki agreed, her voice ringing the loudest, to the monk’s dismay. Yoko whistled sharply, an earsplitting sound that made the monks cower and move closer together as they stared first at Yoko, then at Harry. Dennis thought it was funny and burst out laughing. He did a jig of sorts, still laughing, until Ted told him to bottle it up.

Harry and Dishbang Deshi looked over at the line of monks, who appeared to be standing at attention. They slowly ripped at their various disguises until they looked once again like Harry Wong and Dishbang Deshi. “How do you communicate with the intruders?” Harry asked.

“We don’t. They just follow us around and shout orders. I will say that none of them have laid a hand on any of us. I want to believe it is out of respect, but I simply do not know whether that is true.”

The girls were now ripping at their wigs and shedding the extra clothing and padding they’d been wearing. Yoko tossed her glasses into the flames of the kitchen fireplace, along with the hated knee socks. While she didn’t look any bigger or smaller, she once again looked like Yoko. She grinned at the others, who simply grinned back.

“Are we all agreed that we will . . . um . . . take them on?” Myra asked.

Every hand in the room shot in the air.

“Brother Hung, it is up to you to invite all of Wing Ping’s men to the arena. All of them. Jack, Dennis, and Yoko will go with you.” Cooper barked. “And, of course, the dog.” Cooper barked again. “Sorry, Cooper. Jack, Dennis, Yoko,
and Cooper
will accompany you.” Harry looked down at Cooper and hissed, “Show-off.” Cooper barked happily as he trotted off.

“And if they don’t or won’t do as I ask?” the old monk asked fretfully.

Harry laughed. The old monk shivered as Cooper let loose with another happy bark.

Dennis was so giddy that he was being included in the initial takedown, he almost blacked out in excitement. That Harry thought he was good enough to accompany Jack and Yoko had him floating on a cloud of pure bliss.

“What? Are you waiting for a bus?
GO!
” It was an iron command from Annie and Myra at the same moment.

“Hold on here a minute,” Jack said. “Do any of you think there might be a little bit of a problem since Dennis, Yoko, and I do
not
speak Chinese?”

“True, but Brother Hung does speak Chinese. He can do all the talking,” Brother Shen said. “He has been our spokesperson with these people since they first arrived.”

Cooper let loose with several happy yips as he danced around Yoko’s legs.

“If the dog isn’t worried about the language barrier, then you don’t need to worry either,” Harry snarled. “Go already!”

“Well, since you put it like that, Harry, I guess I’ll just take my little merry band and the dog whose name is Cooper and head out to save the monastery and return or not return as the case may be.”

Harry couldn’t resist a parting shot. “Don’t come back unless you are victorious.”

Cooper stopped in his tracks, but he didn’t bark. He simply looked up at Harry as much as to say, stupid is as stupid does. The thought raced through Jack’s brain at the speed of light. “See, even the dog whose name is Cooper knows we will be victorious. O ye of little faith!”

Everyone in the dining hall started to talk at once, the decibel level so high, the fine hairs on the back of Annie’s neck started to move back and forth. She whistled sharply for silence. “Let’s all sit down and get with the plan.”

“We don’t have a plan,” Maggie said.

“I know that, dear. We are going to make a plan right now at this table. So, everyone please sit down, and let’s get to it.”

“It’s about time,” Kathryn grumbled.

“Amen!” Nikki said.

 

T
he foursome, along with Cooper, exited the dining hall and emerged into a wide corridor that smelled strongly of incense. The little group was quiet, all of them looking over one shoulder to see if anyone was following or watching them. “No eyes that I can see,” Yoko whispered.

“I don’t see anyone either,” Jack said. “Are you and the others free to walk around at your own leisure?” he asked Brother Hung.

“No, not at all. Someone, usually groups of two or three, monitors the halls. Something must be going on. I would assume that the interlopers who have been occupying the monastery are gathering somewhere to discuss what to do with all of you. Us as well, I would think. It is possible, of course, that those inside are waiting for orders from Wing Ping. I simply do not know. Nothing like this has ever happened to us before, so there is no precedent.”

“Let’s head for the offices so we can speak with the imposter who claims to be your Abbot,” Jack said forcefully. “Where is it located from where we are right now?”

The words were no sooner out of Jack’s mouth than the bells from the center bell tower in the courtyard outside the entrance to the monastery started to ring. They all stopped to listen. “Why are the bells ringing?” Dennis asked in a jittery voice.

Brother Hung looked around. “I do not know. This is the first time that the bells have rung since these people arrived. We ring the bells only when there is an emergency of some sort. Our captors do have people on guard outside. The weather might have worsened, so it might be a call to come indoors. Or possibly it’s a call for them all to gather. Quickly, go around the corner, and the office is to the right.”

Cooper sprinted forward at the speed of light just as though he knew exactly where to go. His long, plumed tail swished importantly as Jack advanced and, with one quick motion, thrust open the door. Jack saw at a glance that there were four people in the room. One man, supposedly the bogus Abbot because of his yellow robe, was sitting at a computer, with a man to his right, one to his left, and a man Jack identified as Brother Dui stapling papers into a neat pile.

“I take the Abbot, Dennis left, Yoko right. Coop, guard the door!” Jack hissed.

The element of surprise worked. The encounter was over before any response by the invaders had a chance to get off the ground. Jack looked at Brother Hung. “We need something to tie them up. I don’t suppose you have any duct tape, or even know what that is, do you?”

Brother Hung stood rooted to the floor, stunned at what he had just seen. Who were these people Wong Guotin had surrounded himself with? He shook his head to clear it and said as smartly as he could, “Of course we have duct tape. It is in the closet. Dui, please fetch it and . . . and do what they say.” His gaze went to Yoko; he was as impressed as he could be with what he’d just seen her do. She winked at him and smiled. Brother Hung was so flustered, Cooper nipped at his leg to let him know he was to get with the program.

And at that precise moment, the doors burst open and a small army of men rushed into the room. To Jack’s dismay, every single one of the intruders assumed a fighting stance. He risked a glance at Dennis and Yoko, who were frozen in place. What confused him even more was that Cooper was silent. “Stand down, guys,” Jack said under his breath, his lips barely moving.

“I count nine,” Yoko whispered. “These three are bound. Stand down my ass!”

“My ass, too,” Dennis hissed.

Cooper remained silent, watching the men, who were jabbering, their hands pummeling the air around them.

“They want us to take the tape off their people,” Brother Hung said.

“Well, that’s not going to happen anytime soon,” Jack said. “We don’t give an inch. They have no weapons.”

“Like we give a good rat’s ass what they want,” Dennis said defiantly.

Cooper remained silent but watchful. Jack wondered what the hell the dog was all about at that moment. He stared at Cooper long enough for a thought to ricochet through his head. On the count of four was the thought.
Four?
He looked at Yoko and Dennis. “On the count of four!”

“They want you to shut up,” Brother Hung said. “Do not talk! They said they will kill you if you keep talking. They do not understand English.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

Cooper lazily got up as though he was stretching his legs. Then he was in the air, as were Yoko and Dennis. No slouch himself, Jack reacted and lashed out, Brother Dui trying to help him by swinging a stapler at one of the attackers, before he wisely, Jack thought, ducked under the desk. But a moment later, to Jack’s amazement, Brother Dui had a metal wastebasket in his hands, which he dropped over the head of one of the attackers. Then he yanked at the phone and beat on the bottom of the can with all his strength. The attacker managed to get the basket off his head, but he was so disoriented that he started to stagger across the room. Brother Hung’s leg shot out and tripped him, knocking him to the floor. Dennis moved, dodged an attacker, and stomped on the man’s neck, all the while yelling, “Tape this jerk up!”

Yoko dusted her hands together as she eyeballed Dennis. “You did good, kiddo. We barely broke a sweat on this one. Nine down, not bad. What do you think, Jack? Will my husband be happy with us?”

“I don’t think your esteemed husband could have done it any better. Yoko is right; you did good, kid,” Jack said. “Cooper, you little devil, we couldn’t have done it without you. You did good, too, Coop. Okay, enough praise. What’s our next step?” All eyes turned to the two monks, both of whom were wearing blank expressions. Jack knew in that instant they would be no help. “Okay, drag them all into that big bathroom. We lock that door, then we lock the door to the office and go about our business. Hung, you tell anyone who asks that the Abbot himself locked the doors and said no one was to go inside the office. Tell them the moment the bells rang, he and his two partners ran down the hall and out another entrance. It’s not much, but for now I think that will work.”

“Where are we going now?” Dennis asked.

Cooper was back on his feet and sauntering to the door. Yoko opened it. “Wherever he goes, we follow—it’s really that simple.”

Hung finally came out of his stupor. “Do you Americans always follow the whims of . . . of this creature?”

Cooper stopped long enough to glare at the old monk. “Excuse me, I meant to say do you always follow . . .
Cooper’s
orders and go where he goes?”

“Yep,” the three said in unison. Cooper barked once, just loud enough to acknowledge the old monk’s gaffe.

“Absolutely remarkable. Do you not agree, Brother Dui?” The younger monk nodded although he looked perplexed.

“It looks like Cooper is taking us back to the dining hall. I thought we were going to go to the arena, or at least tell someone we all wanted to meet there,” Dennis said as he trotted alongside Yoko.

“I guess Cooper has other plans.” Jack turned to Brother Hung. “I have a question. Your oldest class of students, are there any young men advanced enough in their studies so that they can fight? Men whom we can enlist to help us? In case we are significantly outnumbered.”

“I knew you would ask me that question sooner or later. The answer is yes and no. Certainly, they are not of the same caliber as Jun Yu, Dishbang Deshi, and Wong Guotin. And certainly not Wing Ping, when he was their age. None of the three students in attendance now have come close to the prowess shown by those four. We hold the first three alumni up as models and try to avoid any reference to that monster, Wing Ping, except as an example not to follow. The students all strive to match the expertise of the first three. But none of them even come close.

“Having said that, in a real-life situation, they might surprise us all.”

“Where are the students right now?” Jack asked.

“At the back and at the other side of the building. What do you want me to do?”

“We’re almost to the dining hall. Turn around, and if anyone asks, pretend that the Abbot told you to go to the three students and take them to the dining hall. Can you do that?”

Brother Hung looked around nervously. “I can certainly try. I
will
do as you ask.”

“Do you want to take Cooper with you?”

“Um . . . no, I think . . . he is better off with you. I will go now. Be careful.”

“Always.” Yoko smiled at the old monk, who jammed his hands into the folds of his robe so that the others couldn’t see how badly he was trembling.

Dennis stopped at one of the paned windows to look outside. “Weather doesn’t look good. And is anyone noticing that it is getting colder here?”

“I don’t think they heat the hallways, Dennis. We aren’t going outside, so cross that worry off your list. At least for now. Okay, I see the door to the dining hall. Move it, guys!”

“I didn’t see a lock or bolt on the dining-hall door,” Yoko volunteered. “Do you all think that maybe just the office has a lock? I remember thinking it was very shiny, like perhaps newly installed. Maybe when these gangsters moved in, they installed it for their own reasons.”

Jack had no idea, because he hadn’t paid any attention to the shiny lock. He shrugged as Dennis thrust open the door. Cooper let loose with his victory greeting.

“Talk! What happened?” the group shouted out, as if their voices were controlled by a group mind.

Jack brought the group up to speed quickly, ending with, “Brother Hung is on his way to the student quarters to fetch his three star pupils.” At Harry and Dishbang Deshi’s puzzled looks, he explained, “They’re bodies. A show of force. I have to be honest here. Brother Hung said they are . . . not nearly as good as you guys were. I took that to mean, even on your bad days they can’t measure up. Like I said, a show of bodies, and as students, they speak English. At least I assume they do. Brother Hung was quick to point out that possibly they might rise to the occasion when they see it is a life-and-death matter. I hope he’s right.”

“Are we going to fight it out here in the dining hall?” Dennis asked.

“Ask me something I know the answer to, kid. I know what you know. For the moment, I think we just sit here and wait for someone to come blasting through that door.”

Harry chewed on his bottom lip as he stared at Dishbang Deshi. “Something’s wrong. Do you feel it, my old friend?”

“I do. If they have the army we think they have, we should be surrounded by now. We cut their numbers by . . . a dozen. If you’re counting, that is. By now they should be missed. And that number includes the fake Abbot himself and the goons he had with him in his office. We should build the fire up and perhaps make tea for everyone. Tea is a calming agent, as we all know.”

Fergus tended to the fire while Charles headed for the monster range to prepare tea.

“So we sit and wait, is that what you’re saying?” Annie questioned.

“Unless you have a better idea,” Maggie snapped irritably.

“Someone should do the dishes,” Isabelle said.

“I will,” Alexis said. “I’ll wash, you dry. Shouldn’t you have heard from Abner by now?”

“Yes, and I’m worried that he hasn’t been in touch. I don’t know what that means.”

“Probably means he doesn’t have anything worthwhile to report,” Ted said.

“Where’s Cooper?” Nikki asked.

“Sleeping under the table. That’s a good thing right now. It means we’re safe for the moment,” Myra observed.

Charles was pouring tea into little white bowls when the doors to the dining hall opened to admit Brother Hung and his three students. Introductions were made. “Meet Wen Ho, Chang Li, and Yong Park.” The students bowed, their faces a mix of awe, respect, and excitement. Especially when Harry and Dishbang Deshi were introduced.

“Hero worship at its finest,” Jack muttered under his breath.

“What is going on outside?” Yoko demanded of Brother Hung.

“Nothing. I saw no one. I was not accosted. The three men guarding the students gave me no trouble when I told them the Abbot wanted to see these three in his office. One of them has a cell phone. I saw no sign of weapons. They are treating the students well. None of them seemed overly anxious. Aside from the three men standing guard, everything appeared normal.”

“Maybe the weather has something to do with things,” Maggie said. “Mother Nature, as we all know full well, is notorious for throwing monkey wrenches into the best-laid plans. Or”—her voice changed from sounding fretful to outright angry—“it is night now. Maybe they’re waiting for the witching hour or something to wage a full-scale attack.”

No one offered up a comment. The huge dining hall turned silent again.

Harry paced, Dishbang Deshi right behind him. “I say we call Wing Ping. We have the Abbot’s phone. We speak Chinese. What do you think, Dishbang Deshi?”

“What I think is that Wing Ping is waiting for you to call him. He wants to be in control. Right now, we have a standoff. It’s just my opinion, Harry, but I think we should wait it out, make him come to you. Not us, you.”

Harry nodded. “You’re right, Dishbang Deshi. As hard as it is to do, we’ll wait him out. By now, he has to know we’ve taken out some of his men. They haven’t reported in. Twelve men suddenly going silent will not go unnoticed for long. He’s probably weighing his options right now. At the moment, I just don’t know if the bad weather out there is in his favor or ours. We still haven’t figured out what the ringing bells was all about.”

“A call to arms, Harry. That’s the only thing it can possibly mean. Somewhere in this holy monastery are a group of malcontents bent on destroying us. Obviously, they are waiting somewhere inside this holy place for further instructions.”