Chapter 40

When they pulled up to the restaurant Ho Min Wei led the little group back to the kitchen where her father was working. Tom and the other women stood as Wei made the introductions.

Tom watched. He knew that Wei spoke English and suspected that her father did as well, but he wasn't surprised that she spoke Chinese. At the appropriate time Tom Bowed and each of the women bowed low and formally.

Tom was introduced to Ho Min Lu, Wei's father. Once the introductions were out of the way Tom leaned close to Mei and whispered in her ear. She looked at him, and then a big grin split her face. "Master Tom would like to offer a price for Ho Min Wei."

Each of the women gasped in surprise and Tom thought that he even heard a few of the women in the kitchen make a sound as well. Tom waited and watched as Lu seemed to think things over.

Tom watched as Lu said something and waited for Mei to translate. She had a confused look on her face as she turned to Tom, "Master, he wants to know how much you are going to offer." Tom hadn't thought about that and considered it. He knew if he offered more than he paid for Mei and Su they would be offended, but he didn't want to offer too little to offend Lu either.

He decided to offer the same thing that got him Mei and Su. "Tell him that I offer him Twenty dollars in gold." He heard a few noises from the people in the kitchen and knew that they understood what he had said. He watched as Mei told Lu the offer. Tom watched and knew that the information as no surprise to him, so he concluded that he spoke English, but was just being cagey.

After he spoke this time Tom noticed the almost open hostility in the room. There were mutters from every corner and Mei turned back with a shocked expression on her face. "Master, he said that it was too little, that she is worth much more than that."

Tom smiled and nodded his head. "Tell him thank you for allowing me the offer, and that I hope that in the future he finds someone to remove the shame from his house." Mei gasped but knew that she had to say his words. She turned to Lu, but before she could speak Wei stepped before Tom and dropped to her knees, "Please sir, offer him more. I will do anything to that you require of me I will please all of the men that you send. You will never hear a sound from me. I will be a good whore for you."

Tom smiled at her, "Wei, I could offer him all of the gold in the world, but it would never be enough. He wants you right where you are. There is nothing that I can do about that."

Tom watched as Wei stood to face her father. "Is this true? Is there no amount that will remove my shame?"

Tom saw that hard look in Lu's eyes as he turned them on Wei. "Shut up girl, this has nothing to do with you. I will decide who you will be with, and how much you are worth. The only shame is the amount that is offered is too low. You will stay here and cook, just like I have said that you would." He turned and strode back to the open door at the kitchen. Wei watched him leave with a stunned expression on her face.

Tom was also stunned when Wei turned to face him, and then once again dropped to her knees and lowered her head to the floor with her arms stretched out in front of her with her wrists crossed. Tom heard many gasps from around the room. Wei's voice was soft but it carried around the room, "Master I give myself to you. I renounce my family, and my life. They are now yours to do with as you wish."

The words carried a formal tone and Tom knew that this was something new. As he looked around the room he saw the shocked and stunned expressions on every face. Obviously the ones that didn't speak English were listening closely to the ones whispering into their ears.

Before Tom could speak Mei quickly pushed him back a few steps and urgently whispered in his ear. "Master, do not say anything yet. This is something that you do not have to answer right away. She has broken tradition and gone against her family. She has renounced her life and it is now forfeit. If you accept her she will be lower than the lowest whore. If you reject her, you must kill her because she no longer has a family, and there will be nobody that will help her. She will be shunned, and cast out. If you fail to kill her you will shunned. This is very bad master, you must be very careful."

Tom looked around again and noticed that every eye was on him. He knew that they were all waiting to see what he would do. He noticed a small girl also watching. He knew that there had not been anybody whispering in her ear. He turned to her, "Who is the head of the Ho Min family?"

She blinked a couple of time before she spoke softly, "Great-grandfather Fong." Tom smiled and told her softly, "Go and bring great-grandfather Fong to me." Tom knew that he had not asked, but ordered her into action, so he wasn't surprised when she took off at a dead run.

Tom heard the whispers starting again but this time he heard a few grunts and noticed some nervous jitters from many of the kitchen workers. He knew that this was family and he had called the head of clan into the middle of a situation that nobody wanted to be part of. He suspected that he was stirring a pot of trouble.

Mei softly whispered in his ear. "Master, do you know what you are doing?" Tom almost laughed at the thought, but knew that it would not be accepted by any of the people in the room. This was a very serious matter to them, and laughter would be a serious insult.

Tom whispered back, "Nope. There are many things about your people that are very different from the things that I know. But some things are very much the same. I think that I know what must be done here." Mei looked in his eyes deeply and said softly, "Be careful Master. We just found you and we don't want to lose you." Tom smiled at her.

There was a sudden rush of people through the rear door in the kitchen. Leading the large group of men was the little girl followed by twelve men. Tom watched them spread out as they entered the room; each of them holding a knife, or a tomahawk, spear or even a hammer.

Tom saw that the old man leading the group had nothing in his hands. He watched as the old man's eyes searched the room, looking for the source of the trouble. When his eyes stopped at Wei on the floor, his eyes got big in surprise. He then looked at Tom.

Tom watched as his eyes scanned over him and then continued to scan each of his companions. When he stopped scanning and locked his eyes Tom followed his gaze to see Ben with his pistol pointed at the old man's chest. Tom gave a wave and Ben slipped the pistol back into his holster. He then casually leaned against a wall. Tom knew that this movement was both a casual statement and a threatening posture. He had watch both John and Ben use this on many occasions. The old man nodded his head and a similar wave had the men with him putting away their weapons.

Tom bowed as a sign of respect for the old man and was not surprised when the old man bowed in return. Once the formalities had been dispensed with the old man spoke, "I have heard of Master Tom. Your concubines have changed the lives of the Wong Su Clan. Are you now trying to take over the Ho Min Clan?" Tom decided that there were politics involved that he had no idea of. He thought that it might be a good idea to stay away from all mention of anything not directly related to the incident.

"I have no intension of taking over anything. If any of our ideas can be helpful we offer them to all freely. But I asked you to come here about a matter of honor." A wave of his hand indicated Wei waiting on the floor.

The old man didn't respond quickly as he seemed to study Tom instead. "You say that you sent for me?" At Tom's nod the old man turned to the little girl and the conversation in Chinese left him guessing what was happening. He watched the little girl shrug her shoulder as she spoke quickly. Nods and head shakes followed and the old man questioned her. When he was finished he turned back to Tom, "What have you decided to do with the woman? She is no longer a member of the Ho Min Clan. If you are going to kill her, please do it outside so that we will not have to clean up her blood."

Tom nodded his head. "I had something else in mind, but I was trying to see how we got to this point. I still have a hard time understanding why she has done this. Can you explain why to me?"

The old man looked flustered for a minute before he calmly replied, "You are not Chinese, so you would not understand honor and duty."

Tom didn't smile as he looked as the old man. There was no respect in his voice or his bearing when he softly spoke to the old man again. His eyes lost all emotion and his face looked like a stone mask. "Old man, you have no idea what duty and honor are. I have lived my life for nothing but duty. I carry the weight of my people with my honor alone. When you insult someone's honor you had better be prepared for war. My people will remove the memory of the Ho Min from the world. We will search out and destroy your clan to the last child, until even the memory of a Ho Min will be lost."

Tom snorted at the men standing behind the old man, "Do you think that those men are supposed to frighten me. We are warriors from a nation of warriors. We live, die and fight by the code of honor and duty. You insult me and my honor. I challenge you old man. Bring me your best and we will see if you know the meaning of honor that you speak so highly of." The old man was stunned at the fire and vengeance of the young man and wondered if he had made a serious mistake.

The old man realized that it had gone too far to back out now; once challenged he couldn't refuse. Only if the challenge were withdrawn could he allow this to end quietly. If the white man lost he was sure that the other white men would retaliate against a rich man being killed. If he lost the other Chinese families would see it as weakness and descend on them like a flock of angry cranes. He realized that win or lose the Ho Min family was in trouble.

Tom walked out the rear kitchen door and looked around the wide alley. He noticed that the alley was wider than the street in front and realized that the real traffic in Chinatown was all behind the scenes of the white visitors in the street. He smiled as he moved to one end and started stripping off his clothes. Once he was down to his pants and soft boots he stopped and sat cross legged with his hands resting on his knees and closed his eyes.

The old man called for his grand-son, over the voices of the young men gathered around begging to be allowed to fight the white man for the honor of the Ho Min Clan. The old man shook his head. All knew that his grand-son was the best fighter in the Ho Min Clan. All of the others were sure that they could best the soft white man, but the old man wasn't so sure that he was all that soft. If even half of what he said was true, this might turn out to be very bad.

The men watched as Ho Min Chu bowed and softly spoke, "I have come to defend the honor of the Ho Min Clan. I am ready grand-father." Chu stood with his pike in hand. As he began his pike kata he was sure that fear would disable the white man and he would be able to end this quickly.

Tom watched as the young man danced and thrust with the spear. He had heard that it was call a pike, but to his trailed eye it was still a spear. He knew how to fight against a spear. He was surprised at some of the moves of the young man. He used both ends of the spear equally, as well as his hands and feet. Tom smiled a challenge. It looked like it would be his best work-out since Grey Eagle knocked him senseless using two spears. The young man had some good moves, but so did Grey Eagle. He had learned to win, and he wasn't going to start losing now.

As the world prepared for a contest Tom sat with his eyes closed and listened to advice from another source. He saw and understood a number of fighting styles designed to defeat the pike. He allowed the knowledge to merge with his own. When Tom opened his eyes the young man was patiently waiting. Tom nodded to him and stood in one easy movement.

Tom walked purposely to the old man, "What shall it be old man? Fist blood, surrender or death?" The old man blinked and realized that he still had a chance to get out of this without losing everything. If the white man could still walk away then the other whites wouldn't destroy his family, but they still had to win to keep the other families off of their back. He knew that his grand-son was the best chance that they had; "Surrender."

Tom nodded his head and turned to go back to his place in the alley. He calmly stood with his knife in his hand, waiting for the young man with the pike to come to him. He didn't have to wait long. With a nod from the old man the fight started.

Tom watched as Chu advanced boldly, with no sign of fear, supremely confident of his own abilities. Tom had watched all of the moves the young man had displayed, and he smiled at the thought that he had some knowledge from another source, unknown to any of the people present.

That thought brought to light that there were too many people present. He took a second to scan all of the people crowded together at the sides of the alley. He saw Wong Su Li in the crowd and knew that he word had spread, probably all over Chinatown. With that thought he knew that his own reputation was at stake, as well as his standing among these people. A defeat here would spread to the white people, and that could make his mission suffer. A new determination settled into his mind.

Chu thrust his pike solidly at Tom's chest. He wasn't surprised to see Tom turn and his pike slide harmlessly slide past. It was expected and he quickly moved his pike to the side to slap Tom in the chest. He was too far expended to do any real harm, but it was a message to the white man, and a position of confidence and dominance. The message was as clear to Tom as it was to the rest of the assembled crowd.

Tom smiled at the young man as he turned to face him again. Chu stepped back a few paces and took a guard position. The message clear; he had shown what he could do and it was now Tom's turn.

Tom turned his knife in his hand with the blade along his forearm as he strode confidently toward the young man. Chu had seen overconfidence and arrogance before and smiled. He expected this would put an end to the fight quickly. As soon was the white man was solidly in range he lunged, his pike thrusting solidly toward the middle of the chest. He knew his speed wouldn't allow him to turn this time.

Tom was expecting the lunge and he knew as well as Chu that he couldn't turn to avoid the knife tipped pike. He never planned to turn and used the blade of his knife against his forearm to block the pike. He also used the opportunity that his opponent was extended and out of a defensive position to turn the block into an attack.

He had blocked the pike, and as his arm had crossed his body he took the opportunity to continue the turn as he moved forward into the surprised young man. Bringing his knife around and slashing across his stomach. He continued to move toward the young man and contacted his chest with his shoulder. The impact knocked the young man firmly on his ass, but he kept a firm grip on his pike.

As he quickly made his way to his feet he saw that the white man had turned his back on him and was calmly walking back to the place that he had started from. He knew that if the white man had pressed the attack he would have been defeated. Looking down he saw that his shirt was cut across the stomach and he had a hairline cut seeping blood. He couldn't feel the cut but that wasn't a surprise. He knew that he would feel it later.

The old man was not only shocked but knew that this young warrior was everything that he had claimed to be. He saw the destruction of his clan in his eyes. He quickly moved to his grand-son and stressed the need for him to do better.

Tom heard Ben softly saying, "The old man will never allow the boy to surrender, you might as well go ahead and kill him."

Tom nodded slightly to acknowledge that he had heard and turned to watch the old man whispering frantically at the young man. He knew instinctively what the old man was saying even though he couldn't hear the words. He quickly looked around the crowd, he saw many completive faces and when he looked at Li he suddenly knew what those faces meant.

He focused all of his attention on the young man again. He knew that when he came this time, he would be trying to kill him or at lease injure him very seriously. He played several attack options through his mind as he prepared to meet the next attack.

He didn't have long to wait. The young man approached cautiously this time. He was on guard and ready. Tom was surprised when he did not attack when he came into range of his pike. Tom dropped into a defensive stance, waiting for the attack.

When it came it was lightning fast and totally unexpected. Instead of a thrust he used the bladed edge of the pike to cut in a quick sweep. The unexpected move only had one good defense and Tom dove to the side and rolled. When he came up to his feet he found the other end of the pike waiting as it thrust into his stomach. He suddenly saw that the pike was not exactly like a spear, at least in the hands of an experienced fighter. He decided to step back and consider the situation more fully.

Feinting a more serious injury, he stepped back expecting the young man to give ground. He was surprised when he pressed the attack. Sensing victory close at hand, he threw away all attempts at finesse or style and went with brute force. The thrust was hard and vicious centered on Tom's bent over body.

Tom smiled at the attack, he couldn't have asked for anything better. He batted the pike aside and grabbed it as it past. He surprised the young man when he stepped forward and threw all of his body behind the pike. It suddenly changed direction and the butt slammed into the young man's stomach. The force of the blow knocked him off of his feet, but Tom's hold on the pike ripped it from his hands.

Instead of pressing the attack Tom stood and turned to the old man. He knew that he could demand his surrender, but that wasn't what he wanted now. He bowed respectfully "Ho Min Fong, I am honored that you have allowed me to see your families' honor. I understand that this is not your best warrior, but only luck has allowed me to call it a draw. I hope in the future that I do not have to face such fearsome warriors." Tom bowed again deeply.

The old man was stunned, but quickly realized that the white man had just redeemed his honor in front of the other families. He was quick to understand his debt to this white man, but his own honor demanded that he show the same respect publicly that he had.

He bowed low and respectfully and when he stood he spoke loud enough for all of the families to hear. "You are an honorable and worthy warrior. You duty and honor rival that of the Ho Min Clan. We are proud that one of our minor warriors could show his skill to so great a warrior." He bowed again very respectfully.

Tom bowed again and then turned to the young man standing close by and presented his pike and bowed. The young man was no fool and accepted the pike with the ceremony that it required, then bowed lower that Tom had ever seen anyone bow. When he stood straight he spoke softly so that only Tom could hear him. "You are the greatest warrior I have ever seen. You defeated me from the first and still allowed me to hold my head up. I am in your debt. My life is yours to command." Tom was surprised but smiled at the young man.

As Tom was putting his clothes back on the noticed the crowd disappearing. He was surprised when Li came up to him. "This was very good. You turned a sure win into a draw, and allowed the Ho Min clan to hold their heads high. You might even have done more than that, only time will tell. We will be back working in your house again this afternoon. I would like the chance to talk to you again." Tom nodded as he buttoned his shirt. He didn't look at Li, or even acknowledge his presence. He was sure that would have caused other problems that he was trying to avoid.