Rule No. 1: Don’t be too emotional : Chapter 55

“Hell, you might just be the best damn girl in Texas”

Clyde Barrow

P’Jane threw on a pair of black jeans and bolted out of the room. I heard the heavy thuds of his and Lee’s footsteps as they scrambled downstairs. I rushed into the bathroom, cleaned myself up, and dressed as fast as I could to follow them.

“Boat! How are you?” P’Jane asked anxiously. Boat sat there shirtless, his face pale and clearly battered. A brown burlap sack lay mockingly on the floor nearby-the bag they had used to dump him like trash in front of P’Jane’s house. Boat’s hands trembled as he held a cup of warm ginger water provided by P’Sai. He couldn’t speak; he looked like someone who had just returned from a frozen wasteland. Lee explained with a shaky voice, “Dan’s men grabbed him and beat him senseless.” He paused, overwhelmed by pity for his friend.

“They stripped him naked and locked him in a refrigerated shipping container… in sub-zero temperatures.”

“They didn’t kill him because they wanted to send a message,” P’Jane said, his voice dropping to a deadly, analytical chill. P’Jane stepped toward Boat to comfort him, but Boat flinched away, trying to hide his back. P’Jane didn’t miss it. He grabbed Boat and spun him around. I gasped, covering my mouth as a wave of nausea hit me. Carved into Boat’s flesh with a box cutter was a horrific, bloody checkerboard pattern. And below the grid, the skin had been sliced into English words: SEE YOU SOON JP “Goddamn animals,” P’Jane cursed. Dan had to be a psychopath. Who else could calmly carve human flesh like a piece of art? To represent the black squares of the checkerboard, he had hacked away at Boat’s skin until it was a raw, bloody red.

P’Jane gripped Boat’s shoulder, his eyes blazing with a fierce light.” Don’t be afraid. We’re going to get them back for everything. When the time comes, you’ll point them out, and we’ll handle it. You won’t bleed for nothing.” P’Jane ordered Lee to take Boat to a private hospital under the care of a doctor named Ram. As they drove off, I could see a rage in P’Jane that could burn down an entire forest. Dan hadn’t just insulted him; he had declared open war by snatching someone as close as Boat. P’Jane sat on a stone bench in the garden and lit a cigarette. He didn’t look panicked or scared. He looked… focused.

“Think you can spit at the sky and not have it fall back on you?” P’Jane let out a cold, sharp smirk, the cigarette dangling from his lips. He exhaled a cloud of grey smoke like a demon.

“He’s about to find out he messed with the wrong man.” We spent the next three hours in his office. P’Jane didn’t wait; he ordered his men to find Dan immediately. If we missed this chance, Dan might flee back to Japan. Finally, the phone rang.

“Hello?”

[P’, I found his right-hand man near Bang Khun Thian. They’re hiding out around here. Get here fast!] I followed P’Jane to the garage.

As he got into the driver’s seat, I jumped into the passenger side.

“Why are you following me? Stay home,” he barked.

“No. I’m worried. I’m going,” I replied stubbornly.

“Jane, this isn’t a game.”

“I’m not playing! I’m not letting you go alone!” He sighed but realized I wouldn’t budge.

We sped toward Bang Khun Thian. We met up with about ten of his men, all armed and lurking in the shadows of a small alley. But as we prepared to move, a blue Ford and a black Benz roared out of the alley.

“Jane, get down!” The windows slid down, and men with shotguns began spraying lead in every direction. People screamed and dove for cover. My heart hammered as the deafening roar of gunfire filled my ears. As soon as they ran out of ammo, the cars sped off. P’Jane dove back into the car, and we gave chase. He drove like a man possessed, redlining the engine and blowing through every red light. We eventually chased them onto a massive, empty plot of land on the outskirts of the city. The tires kicked up clouds of reddish-brown dust so thick it looked like smoke. P’Jane gritted his teeth, driving blindly into the haze. The two enemy cars began driving in opposite circles-one clockwise, one counter-clockwise-creatinga massive “dust tornado” around us.

“Dammit!” P’Jane cursed. He rolled down his window halfway and fired his pistol into the brown fog, while I sat there coughing from the inflowing dust.

“There, P’Jane! To the left!” I shouted. He spun the wheel and fired again, but we couldn’t see a thing. When the dust finally settled, the Ford and the Benz were gone. They had lost us. P’Jane stood on the hood of the car, scanning the horizon like a predator. He looked like a movie lead-leather shoes, black suit, padlock pendant swinging, gun in hand. Even in the middle of a war, he was annoyingly handsome. As the sky began to darken, we headed back toward Bangkok. P’Jane was silent, his genius-level brain working like a high-speed machine.

“Did your men not keep up? There were ten of them,” I asked.” Their cars weren’t fast enough,” he muttered. I checked the time on the dashboard: 6: 00 PM. I sneezed from the dust and reached for a tissue. Then, a sudden, icy realization hit me. My hand flew to P’Jane’s arm. My skin was cold.

“What is it?” he asked.

“P’Jane… if we’re both here… and your men all followed us here… who went to pick up Jamie from school?” I felt P’Jane’s breath hitch. I felt the hair on his arms stand up. His pulse quickened instantly. With shaking hands, I dialed Jamie’s number as P’Jane pulled a U-turn and floored it back toward the city. The phone rang. And rang. Finally, someone picked up.

“Jamie? Jamie, where are you!?” But the voice on the other end wasn’t a child’s. It was the low, mocking laugh of an adult man.

[Well, well… little Jane. Do you remember your senior’s voice?]

“P’Dan!” P’Jane slammed on the brakes in shock. He lunged to grab the phone from my hand. In the scramble, the speakerphone was toggled on. Dan’s laughter echoed through the car.

[I never thought such a simple trick would lure the great Jane out of the city]

Dan mocked.

“Don’t you dare touch Jamie!” I screamed into the phone, trying to force my voice into a calm, persuasive tone.

“P’Dan, please don’t do this. Jamie is just a nine-year-old boy. He has nothing to do with this. This is between adults-between you and P’Jane. Why drag an innocent child into it?”

[There is no morality in war or revenge]

Dan replied coldly.

“P’Dan, I know the old Dan is still in there,” I pleaded.

“The one who used to buy us dinner, play football with us, and go for drives with Putt… ”

[… ]

“Please don’t do this, P’Dan… please.”

[” It’s too late, Jane.”]

” P’Dan!”

[That Dan died the moment I was left a cripple. ]

His voice turned razor-sharp, dripping with resentment.

[If you want to blame someone, blame that boyfriend of yours for making my life like this. ]

“P’Dan! Don’t hang up! P’Dan!” I frantically redialed, but he didn’t pick up. I turned to P’Jane, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

“P’Jane, what do we do? Jamie is in danger!”

“Jane, stay calm. Get a grip. We can handle this.”

“Handle it how?! We’re stuck out here, we won’t make, it to Bangkok in an hour, and we’ll never find Jamie before Dan does something!” I was losing my mind, the thought of innocent Jamie being a victim of this adult feud felt fundamentally unfair.

P’Jane, as always, kept his head. He quickly called Lee.

“Find Jamie’s location from his smartwatch and go help him now! Dan has him!”

[P’Jane, calm down, ]

Lee replied.

[Jamie is with me. ]

“What?” we both shouted in unison.

[Boat didn’t need to be admitted to the hospital, so we went to watch Jamie at school. We saw Dan and his goons dragging Jamie out. There was a bit of a struggle, but we secured Jamie and got away. ] I slumped against the seat, the relief so physical it felt like my strength had been drained.

But P’Jane caught a detail.

“But Dan just called us from Jamie’s phone.”

[The phone must have dropped in their van during the scuffle. Jamie is crying his eyes out, and there were four of them against just the two of us, so we just focused on getting Jamie out. Dan must be furious he failed, so he’s trying to mess with your head by pretending he has the kid. That coward… to go after a child… and a stupid move at that. ] I asked to speak to Jamie, but Lee told me Jamie was sleeping after being given a sedative by Dr.

Ram. However, Lee’s voice turned hesitant.

“Lee… what is it? ‘But’ what?” I shouted.

[Dan stabbed Jamie in the leg with a box cutter. Jamie was so traumatized that Dr. Ram had to give him a pediatric sedative. ] We returned to find Jamie waking up in a panic.

P’Jane knelt by his bed, stroking his hair.

“JP? JP! Run! They are coming for you!” Jamie screamed as he regained consciousness.

“Shhh… it’s okay now. No one is coming for us.” After calming the boy down, P’Jane looked at his brother and said what had to be said.

“You have to go back to the States.”

“What? No! I want to stay with you, JP!”

“It’s not safe here, Jamie. You’re my only brother. Do you want me to live with regret for the rest of my life?” Jamie sobbed, accusing P’Jane of pushing him away just like their mother did. It was heartbreaking to watch, but P’Jane stood firm. He promised Jamie that once things were settled, they would be together again-though I saw the sadness in P’Jane’s eyes. He knew that in his line of work, he could never truly keep a child close safely. After Jamie fell back asleep, P’Jane’s father called. Mr. Chuck Terry was livid, cursing P’Jane for his “stupid ambition” and blaming him for nearly getting Jamie killed. P’Jane didn’t argue. He just took the verbal beating in silence.

“Jane, go rest,” P’Jane told me softly.

“I ‘Il stay with Jamie tonight.” He kissed my forehead.

“You were amazing today. You’re the best partner I could ask for.” At 3: 00 AM, I woke to the sound of a door. I peeked out and saw P’Jane-dressed in a white sleep tee and jeans, holding a gun. He looked like a predator, radiating cold fury as he headed downstairs. I went back to bed, feeling like I was in a daze, telling myself it was a dream. But it wasn’t a dream. JP had received a call from Dan.

[Let’s settle this, Jane. Man to man. No subordinates. Just you and me. I’m at the abandoned warehouse-the one that belonged to my father. You know where it is. ]

Despite his intelligence, JP’s rage over what happened to Jamie drove him to make a reckless choice. He drove to the warehouse alone. The warehouse was a dark, hollow shell of Dan’s family’s former glory. JP moved like a professional, gun in Traditional High Ready position. Suddenly, the lights flickered on.

JP was tackled from behind. Dan, discarding his cane, pinned him to the floor and began raining punches on his jaw.

“I’ve waited for this day! The day I get my revenge!” Dan screamed like a madman. They brawled brutally, shattering crates and equipment. JP managed to fight back, striking Dan with a wooden plank, but Dan’s earlier head-strike had left JP’s vision blurred. Eventually, Dan pinned him down, the barrel of a gun pressed hard against JP’s forehead. JP felt the cold metal. His life flashed before his eyes-memories of his parents, Sunday ice cream, his academic awards, the snow in Bridgeport, and finally… Jenalee. So this is death, he thought. It’s just this. Dan’s finger tightened on the trigger.

“Goodbye, you piece of shit. See you in hell.”

“You’re the one going to hell.” The sound of a gun cocking behind Dan’s head was unmistakable. The voice was powerful and steady.

“Get off my boyfriend right now, or I’ll blow your brains across this floor.” It was me. I stood there, gripping the gun, pressing the muzzle into the back of Dan’s skull.

“Do it! Now!”