T.N - Chapter 29

I watched Grandfather and the Dragon face off, circling each other warily. They both had their eyes trained on each other, watching carefully in case one decided to move first. After a few suspenseful minutes, the Dragon got impatient and sent a flying foot towards Grandfather’s direction. Grandfather merely stepped aside and used the energy from the Dragon’s kick to flip him backwards. The Dragon landed as softly as a cat, and prepared himself again. For men their age, this bout was truly impressive. They started circling each other again.

“Ah, I haven’t had a match like this since we were training together, back in China a few decades back. We were such foolish young men at the time, weren’t we, Damian?” said the Dragon, smiling and looking relaxed. Grandfather didn’t reply, but he looked more antsy and tense, with a concentrated scowl on his face.

Martial arts…I remember Grandfather told me about his time in China, when he was studying under the greatest masters. He told me his story all while he was teaching my brothers his technique. He did say that he trained with others, but I never knew it was the Dragon. I look at them, and for a second, I see a mirage. It was the Dragon and Grandfather when they were young, circling each other like they were now. Both of them, at that moment, wore grim, set smiles. I blinked, and it was back to their older, modern selves.

Martial arts…I suddenly got an idea. I looked up at the five men who were guarding us. They weren’t even paying attention us, the wards. Instead, they were watching the Dragon and Grandfather with awe-stricken faces. They almost looked like harmless spectators. But I knew if they weren’t taken down, they still posed a risk.

I wasn’t a master like Grandfather, but I had picked up enough from watching his lessons that he gave to my brothers. They were never interested, but Grandfather didn’t mind. I think he knew that I was watching and learning, even though I never expressed an interest around him.

I looked up at the men again. Two of them were standing right behind Charlie, Heathcliff and Wolfgang. Wolfgang was mercifully unconscious, and still breathing. One was besides me, and the two others skirted the edge to the left of the group. Only the two behind us had visible weapons (assault rifles, the both of them), which they had trained on us earlier. But those two now had their entire attention on the fight.

I scooted over to Charlie and Heathcliff quietly. “I’m going to try to do something completely stupid and reckless, but it will give us a bigger chance of escaping,” I whispered. The two turned to me slightly, just enough for them to listen. “Charlie, I want you to go over to the go over to the guy on our right. Once you see what I do, I’m pretty sure you’ll know what to do. You’re not that stupid. Heathcliff, prepare to carry Wolfgang over to where my Grandfather’s men are. Don’t object.” Heathcliff must’ve heard the urgency in my voice, so he didn’t say anything. He just moved to where Wolfgang was, awaiting my next move. I looked once more at the two men behind me with their weapons. Seeing they hadn’t moved, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

I crouched, and then flipped backwards, extending my legs so that my booted feet connected and I jolted from the impact. From the groans and curses, I could tell that I hit one guy in the face and the other in the chest. I landed on my stomach in a landing position, and stood up. The two men looked dazed, and I saw the two other guys (the ones Charlie wasn’t taking care of) turn to see what the noise was. I grabbed the assault rifles, and hit the two dazed ones as hard as I could. They crumpled to the ground. Crude, but certainly effective. I felt two arms encircle my neck, but I quickly freed myself by sending a solar plexus directly to the assailant’s gut. They were on me by the time I managed to get my bearings, but I had enough time to check to see if Heathcliff had made his escape. To my relief, he had, and he was carrying Wolfgang with him. Some of the men on the other side of the helipad rushed over to help them. I couldn’t check on Charlie, but from the sound of it, he was doing fine. I knew I could trust him to take care of the fifth guy.