CHAPTER 1
"Hmph" Logan exhales in a sigh after taking in a huge breath as the huge prison walls crowned with barbed wires create a rather photogenic backdrop behind him. It has been three long years since he got locked up and he was ready for a fresh start."Hmmm that's odd," he thinks as he stares at his dulled silver watch, which surprisingly is still working after all this time, "I thought she would be here by now" he mutters further as he glances around in search of his girlfriend.Just then........"Vroom!" a red sedan suddenly pulls up in front of him, garnering a little dust and startling him a bit as he jerks backward. He squints his eyes as he tries to peer through the tinted windows, which then suddenly slide down."Logan! My man, what's good?!" the driver with his sunglasses on, asks excitedly as he stares at Logan from inside the car."Lucas?" Logan asks rhetorically as he recognizes his voice."In the flesh dawg," he replies"How did you know I was.......""Nonsense!" Lucas interjects, "Why in the world wouldn't I know? You're my best friend dawg. Now get in," he says as he stretches his hand to open the front seat passenger door. Logan gets in and they drive off."Welcome back man. It's good to see you free again" Lucas says with a huge smile, his eyes fixated on the road for the most part as he pats Logan on the shoulder."You can say that again" Logan responds, "I missed everyone a lot, especially you and Chanel" he adds. On hearing Chanel, an evident expression of displeasure etches up on his face.What could have caused it?Anyway, Logan notices it and decides to ask."What's up with you man? What's with the long face?" Logan asks with a mild chuckle, "Wait hold up, you're not gonna cry 'cause I said I missed you, are you?" he mocks with a chuckle."You're crazy man. Y'think this is some sorta Titanic movie and shit?" he responds with a smirk as he steers the car with one hand, the other resting out the window."Haha, you are getting emotional" Logan laughs pointing at him mockingly. "Did you lose your balls while I was locked up man?" he asks rhetorically."Pfft, you wish" he scoffs, "They got bigger," he says which makes both of them laugh heartily as they drive down the curly road, from which they can see the ocean down below from the side."Hope your girl chokes on 'em" Logan quips and then suddenly remembers his girlfriend. "Hey, where is Chanel anyway? I thought I called her to come pick me up" he says.Lucas keeps driving as the smile gradually wanes off his face."I'd rather let her go, man. She ain't good enough for you" he suddenly says and gives a pause, "There's better fish out there" he adds."Geez, what's with the attitude man?" Logan responds, wondering why Lucas is acting a bit weird today. "I can't just let her go 'cause she ain't shown up yet. She might be busy or something" he says in her defense while Lucas shakes his head in pity."Oh she's busy alright" he casually says."Hey man, what's the big idea? Cut it out. I don't like the way you're talking about her" Logan tells him, "she's my girlfriend, not yours" he adds."Dammit, Logan! Do you think I'd be saying all this if I didn't care about you man?" he replies, "Of course, she's not my girlfriend and she ain't yours ei.......*sigh*... Never mind", he pauses suddenly."Hold up, what do you mean she ain't mine?" Logan asks in defense mode."It's nothing man, it just sorta came out" he replies."No man. Shit like that don't just come out. I demand an explanation" he says. "You have done gon' smash her, haven't you?" he interrogates, glaring at Lucas threateningly."Jesus Logan! Hell nah!" Lucas denies it vehemently, "Why in the world would I even do that? You're my best friend dawg. I'd never play you dirty," he says reassuringly to him."Then what is it? what's with all the trash talk about Chanel?" Logan then asks. Lucas stays quiet and keeps driving. He doesn't know how to break the news to him."You gotta tell me something man or I'll have to believe you guys have been doing stuff together behind my back," he says accusingly."She's getting married" Lucas mutters as he stares at the road ahead."What's that?""She's getting married dammit!" he yells. The realization hits Logan hard and he is unable to accept it. He stalls for a minute as if trying to digest what he has just heard."That can't be true man. She promised me she'd......""Promised you? Wake the fuck up man!" Lucas yells at him, "She's been playing you like a guitar. Wake up" he says.Shivers ran down Logan's spine as if cold water had been poured on him. He simply can't believe his ears."It can't be," he thought "Chanel would never do something like that" he wished in his heart of hearts."And worse still, she's getting married today. That's why she couldn't come over to pick you up" Lucas says further."It's a lie" Logan mutters to himself repeatedly in a bid to dispel all doubt."Well suit yourself. I only told you what I had to" Lucas says as he takes a right turn into the freeway. Gritting his teeth, Logan soon surrenders to the reality of the truth and rage sets in."Who is it?" he mutters."What's that?" Lucas asks for clarity"Who's she getting married to?" he asks.Lucas stalled for a moment, realizing just how much pain it would bring to Logan should he spew the answer."You ain't gonna like to hear it" Lucas replies, "I'd rather you just move on and forget about her" he advises."Give me a name. I need a name" he urges.There's something ominous about his tone, something unlike his normal self. "He must have snapped" Lucas reckons and deciding to avoid any further triggering, remains silent."Don't play with me, Lucas. Give me a godd*mn name!" Logan snaps at Lucas sending chills down his spine. Logan isn't the type to get violent easily, but it seems something has changed."It almost feels like it's a different person," Lucas thinks before finally answering."Sebastian," he says, "it's Sebastian"."Sebastian?" Logan mutters as he drifts off in thought >>>>>>>>______________________________________________Three years ago>>>> At a high-end club with changing colored lights and loud music, Logan is to meet some business tycoons for an investment in his company. They had suggested that they meet at the club first to get to know each other on a personal level before doing actual business with each other. Over at the counter, Logan in a black suit, and his girlfriend dressed in a short silk red gown discuss and laugh together as they sip from their wine glasses."You haven't seen them yet?" Chanel asked him, almost yelling to avoid getting drowned by the music, as he glanced around the room while sipping on his wine."I don't know what they look like but I'm sure I can identify them when I see them" he replied."Pssst!" He heard and turned around only to see a blonde man with a crewcut in a suit walking up to him."Yeah, how can I help you?" He asked. Judging from his outfit, he was a security personnel."Are you Mr. McCarthy?" He asked sternly."Yeah, why?""Please follow me," he s
"Okay man, I got it!" The voice said in a eureka moment."Alright man, text it to me""Done dawg""Aiit thanks. I'll call you later""Ain't nothing wrong with that homie. Catchu later" the voice said before he hung up."44 Rotown Street. You dig?" Logan asked Lucas as he read out the location on the text."Yeah man, I fuck with that place. But you really wanna go there?" Lucas asks."Man, you don't gotta go with me if you ain't comfortable with it" he responds.Lucas thinks about it for a moment. What's the point? Maybe he should just go there and get this thing off his chest."So what's your take?" Logan asks."Let's go, man. I'm with you" Lucas said as he turned the car around and sped off.___________________________________________________ The interior of a nineteenth-century-styled classical building with white plaster of Paris ceilings with perfectly sculpted art engraved in it. From the ceiling hangs several chandeliers studded with gems that brilliantly reflect colored l
"How is it my fault your life turned out so terrible?" She asks with a shrug, looking at Sebastian for validation, "Nobody boards a sinking ship Logan. So get out of your feelings and get your shit together. I've moved on Lolo and I've found someone better" she says with a smile as he hugs her soon-to-be husband, "I'm sure you will too if you look hard enough. I mean, there's gotta be someone better than me out there. Right baby?" She asks Sebastian, who stalls for a while, looking up at the ceiling as if trying to think."Nah, I highly doubt it" he replies"Hmph!" She sighed feigning a bit of sadness, " I guess you're right baby. There is no one better than me" she said at which point they both broke out into laughter."What a bitch" Lucas thinks as he glares at the couple.Logan tries hard to keep his cool, but how can he?His emotions are welling up inside him. "He'll pop at this rate," Lucas thinks."You were right Lucas" Logan finally breaks his silence, startling Lucas a little
"Oh we'll see just how weak they are," he says with a smirk on his face."Well, I ain't waiting around to find out," Logan says as he walks up to him and lands a direct jab on his face, causing him to stagger backward. He glares at Logan and touches his nose only to feel the warm fluidity of blood. "What happened? You don't seem to have much to say anymore" Logan teases."Get away from him!" Chanel yells at him, stomping her heels on the floor in a tantrum-like manner. A smirk etches up on his face as he turns to look her in the eye."Oh, so you're worried about him?" He asks sarcastically, "Geez that hurts""How dare you raise your....... right!" Sebastian falls on the floor as he receives an uppercut from Logan.Lucas by the way, isn't comfortable with what's going on. "There's too many people watching," he thinks. It's all the more severe since Logan just got out of jail a couple of minutes ago! Walking up behind him, Lucas whispers, "We gotta get the hell outta here. What if the c
"Move along!" Logan is ordered by one of the two prison guards who shoves him forward as they escort him to his cell."Alright, this is gonna be your new home," one of the guards says as he searches his bunch of keys for the key to that cell. In the cell are situated a lot of jocks, mostly skinheads, black and white. It's one hell of an intimidating sight to see them glaring at you. And that was exactly what they were doing, glaring at Logan, who shyly and more due to the intimidation averted eye contact. As the guard tries a couple of keys, Logan hopes that he doesn't find the key quickly. His face at this point kind of seems like he's desperate for some miracle.'Maybe it's a dream' he thinks, 'it has to be. I'll wake up and it'll all just be a dream' he repeats to himself in a whispery mantra. Then......'Clink!'"Finally, I got it," the guard says to the other laughing as he tells him about how he always finds this cell key difficult to identify."Alright, pretty boy. Get in" the
"You testing my patience, white boy," he says, "now we can either do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way, your call' he says. Logan realizes that he's in no position to refuse or accept as he sees the others cheering their leader on. Regardless of his choice, the outcome will be the same.'What do I do?' he thinks.He clearly can't fight all of them off. Hell, he can't even fight a single one of 'em!'I'm so fucked!' he thinks (literally)."Can't we work something out?" He asks the skinhead."Oh you're the one who's not willing to cooperate" the skinhead accuses, "and I ain't waiting around for your compliance no more. I'm taking the damn thing!" He says as he forces Logan down to his knees with a single downward press on the shoulder. "Now put it in" he orders as he tries to shove it in his mouth. Logan dodges and punches him in the nuts.He immediately arches down in pain."Why you....." The others infuriated, walked up to him. Before he could try to move, a huge right ha
"The great dragon," he says as he takes a bow and then ticks his name without even calling it out. The old man simply smiles and watches him walk past. No one seems surprised about it except Logan.'Why is no one saying anything?' he thinks as he stares sideways at the man, who keeps looking forward. Any warden or guard that passed by him would immediately bow before moving on'Just who was this guy?'*** Back at Lucas's house ***"..........And that's how I got the ring," Logan says."Whoa man, he did all that?" Lucas asks in surprise."Yeah man, I swear it" Logan responds, "I really wouldn't have made it out of that shit hole if it weren't for him," he says."I still can't wrap my head around why those thugs let us go when they saw the ring though" Lucas responds, "There's something the old man didn't tell you. After all, there's gotta be a reason why even the prison wardens bow when they walk past him, right?""Right, and that's exactly what I'm gonna have to find out," Logan says.
'Chinatown? Why didn't I think of it before?' Logan thinks smacking his palm against his forehead."Thanks a lot, man," he says, "you've been a big help"."No biggie bruh," the jap says as he plugs his earphones back into his ears and walks away."Chinatown, here I come" he mutters as he begins to walk towards the nearest bus terminal. Finally, a clear path shows up. Will he find what he's looking for?"Alright, thanks" Logan waves at the dude in the yellow cab."No biggie man" the man responds before he drives off .'What a nice guy' he thinks as he watches the car zoom off into the buzzing traffic. Then turning around, he sees a gate with two huge reddish posts between which a huge neon arched sign, wrapped around with colorful strings of blinking lights, is placed on top reading " 歡迎來到唐人街. " With an tiny English translation underneath that reads, "Welcome to Chinatown".'Hwweeww!' he exhales from his mouth as he walks in>>>>>>>__________________________________________________**