Chapter 5

"Your incompetence cannot be tolerated! Guards, remove this vermin!"

"But, Master, Please give me another chance! I guarantee to remove that troublesome marshal this time!"

"Oh, very well. I'll give you one more chance. But, if you fail, it will be your last chance!"

"Thank you, Master. I won't let you down!"

"Friends, we have reached a serious point in our relationship with Master Chin. He has threatened to have me killed if I cannot eliminate that marshal in Sacramento, and I believe his threat. We are caught between two opposing forces and we cannot escape both.

"We must choose which one to fight. Master Chin made a serious mistake when he chose to expand the Ying Chu operations out of San Francisco. We have done well here and there is really no need to expand. I believe that we should accept our losses in Sacramento and seek to recover our position of respect in San Francisco.

"I think that Marshal Johnson in Sacramento is too strong and too far away to pose any threat to us if we simply avoid antagonizing him further. Instead, we should concentrate on eliminating Master Chin and taking over Ying Chu as our own. I can stall for about 3 weeks, so we have that long to act. Are you with me?"

There was unanimous agreement, so plans were made to assassinate Master Chin. Master Chin had alienated practically every one around him, so it would be relatively easy to subvert his guards. Plans were made to hold a banquet in honor of Master Chin in two weeks. He would be poisoned at the banquet with a quick acting agent, and, should he fail to die immediately, he would be garroted by a trusted assassin who would be ignored by the guards.

Master Chin was so sure of his power and control that he readily agreed to attend the banquet in his honor. It was a grand affair, with the entire Ying Chu hierarchy in attendance. Between courses, there were flowery speeches praising Master Chin's leadership and accomplishments, all of which caused Master Chin to swell with pride. The third course of the banquet was a special treat which was Master Chin's favorite. Since it was so expensive and rare, Master Chin was not suspicious when only he was served; this treat contained the poison.

Master Chin downed the entire serving and longingly stared at the plate, hoping for more to appear as if by magic. Then he felt it! The poison began to act! His lungs were paralyzed and he began to suffocate. The other members of the dinner party smiled and applauded at the performance that Master Chin put on in the several minutes it took him to die.

Normally, Master Chin had kept a food taster at hand to check for poison, but he was too greedy to share any of the special treat. The members of the conspiracy had counted on this and they were rewarded by Master Chin's quick death.

One of the members of the dinner party then surreptitiously signaled the assassin with the garrote. He attacked Sub-Master Liu and quickly disposed of the one who was expecting to be promoted to Master status. Now, all of those people responsible for the Sacramento fiasco were eliminated and peace could return to San Francisco and Sacramento.

A messenger was immediately dispatched to Wang Fu with a description of the night's activities and the offer of a truce.

Two days later, Wang Fu showed up at Eddy's office beaming with good nature and joy. He was ushered into Eddy's office and welcomed as the reigning potentate that he was in Chinatown.

"Mr. Wang, How nice of ya ta visit me. Ta what do I owe this honor?"

"Eddy, my boy, I have glorious news! The Ying Chu criminal organization in San Francisco is begging for peace! They have assassinated the leaders who began this war on us and assured me that they have no further desire to expand into Sacramento. They insist that they would like for the situation to return to its former peaceful state, and I believe them."

"Well, Mr. Wang, if you believe them, then I do, too. I am delighted to hear this news, particularly in light of the other great news I got this morning. Ya're the first to hear from me that my wife is going to have another baby! I was waiting to tell ya first. Ya jus' saved me a trip," Eddy said with a monster smile.