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Matter of Honor[/center]\n\n[center]a story set in the universe of Champions Online[/center]\n\n\tThe bamboo forest was still and silent, shrouded in permanent shadow by the leafy canopy held up by the tall, green, segmented stalks, like poles holding up a circus tent. The stillness was broken by a figure running through the dense undergrowth, panting hard. Even from a distance, one could easily see that it was not human.\n\tHe was small, his head barely breaking through the ferns, which rose only a meter above the forest floor. That head was covered in brown fur, with pointed, catlike ears and a white, whiskered muzzle that protruded forward, ending in a black, leathery nosepad. Above the muzzle, his face was covered by a black mask that was part of his natural fur coloring. He was clothed in a green sleeveless tunic and trousers with white trim and a gold cloth belt, his feet unshod. All of his body that could be seen was covered in brown fur, save for his chest, which was white with a furry ruff below the neck, and a tail that was ringed in black and white. His fingers and toes bore claw-like nails.\n\tThe raccoon paused for a moment beside a bamboo stalk and looked upward. All the bamboo stalks seemed to radiate out from a single point high above his head. He held his breath as his ears swiveled slightly, straining to pick up any stray scrap of sound. Something came whistling through the air toward him, and he ducked his head as the object struck the stalk just above him, embedding itself in the tough, fibrous plant tissue. It was a steel star with four sharp points. He looked around wildly, but there was no sign of the thrower. Taking a deep breath, he resumed running.\n\tThe raccoon broke out of the forest and into an open area that contained a beautifully landscaped garden with a pond traversed by an arched wooden bridge. At the center of the garden stood a large house built in traditional Japanese style, with the corners of the roof turned up. He made his way cautiously toward the bridge, alert for any sign of attack. Bridges were ideal places for ambushes.\n\tAs he neared the bridge, two men and a woman erupted from the pond, sailing through the air, and landed before him, each holding a gleaming [i]wakazashi[/i]—a curved Japanese short sword. They were all dressed identically, in black tunics, breeches, soft boots, hoods, and masks that covered the lower halves of their faces. What could be seen of their faces had distinctly Asian features. They moved to surround the raccoon, swords raised. He raised his clawed hands defensively, turning to keep all three in view.\n\tThe woman struck first, lunging with her blade. The raccoon parried it with one hand and struck out with his foot, hitting her in the midriff and knocking the wind out of her. Then he leaped and somersaulted over her as the two men sliced at him with their blades, both missing. The raccoon landed behind the woman and spun around to face his opponents. Each of the men raised a steel star with his free hand, preparing to throw. The raccoon turned and dove into the water as the two stars smacked into the surface just behind him.\n\tThe trio spread out along the edge of the pond, each with a throwing star in hand, eyes scanning the water for any sign of the submerged raccoon. A minute passed. Then another. The surface of the pond remained perfectly still, with nothing to betray the raccoon's whereabouts. As the third minute elapsed, the trio looked at each other, puzzled.\n\tThe raccoon burst out of the water beside one of the men, catching him off guard and locking an arm around his neck, bringing him down on his back in the grass. He slammed his fist into the man's chest three times, accompanying each punch with a loud shout. Then he whirled as the woman ran up and hurled a throwing star at him. He dodged the spinning metal star and leaped at the woman in a flying kick, his foot striking her on the chin. She fell in a heap as he spun to face the remaining combatant. The man struck with his sword, cutting at the raccoon's head. The raccoon gave ground, weaving to avoid that shining blade. The man lunged, thrusting the tip of his sword at the raccoon's chest. The raccoon twisted to one side, grasped the man's wrist, and threw him over his head and into the water. Then he turned and headed for the bridge.\n\tAs the raccoon reached the crest of the bridge, he could see that before the house stood an elderly Asian man with white hair and a white beard and mustache, wearing a white robe. The raccoon ran across the bridge and directly up to him, drew back his arm, and then thrust it forward in an open palm strike that stopped inches from the old man's face.\n\tThe old man broke into a smile and clapped. \"Well done, Rick,\" he said in Japanese.\n\tRick lowered his hands and bowed deeply to the old man, water dripping from his whiskers. \"Thank you, Master Yamada,\" he replied in the same language.\n\t\"You have passed all the tests I have given you,\" said Yamada. \"It is clear that Master Quan taught you well.\"\n\t\"You honor me, master,\" said Rick.\n\t\"The honor is mine,\" replied Yamada, fanning himself with a paper fan as the other three came across the bridge to join them. \"Though we were of different disciplines and different nationalities, I always had the greatest respect for Master Quan. There is a bond all practitioners of the martial arts share that transcends borders. I am pleased that his last student and member of his house sought me out.\"\n\t\"I could do no less,\" said Rick, \"for the greatest living master of ninjitsu in all Japan.\"\n\tYamada smiled. \"I do not know if I am worthy of that title, but I am deeply honored all the same. Now, clean yourself up, and then join us in the meeting hall.\" And with that, he turned and went inside.\n\tTwenty minutes later, once Rick had showered, dried his fur, and changed into a fresh outfit, he entered the meeting hall. The room was lined with a dozen ninja on each side, kneeling on the floor, with Master Yamada sitting at the far end. Rick knelt facing Yamada.\n\t\"What are the[i] kuji-kiri[/i]?\" Yamada asked without preamble.\n\t\"They are a ninja's nine levels of power,\" Rick replied.\n\t\"Recite them!\"\n\tRick nodded and began. \"[i]Rin[/i], strength of mind and body; [i]pyo[/i], direction of energy;[i] toh[/i], harmony with the universe; [i]sha[/i], healing of self and others; [i]kai[/i], premonition of danger; [i]jin[/i], knowing the thoughts of others;[i] retsu[/i], mastery of time and space; [i]zai[/i], control of the elements of nature; [i]zen[/i], enlightenment.\"\n\tYamada smiled. \"Very good. Ours is an ancient order. In the days of the shogunate, we served as assassins and spies to the daimyo. Today, we practice the art of ninjitsu out of tradition, with the understanding that it will not be used to serve evil ends. I deem you worthy to study with us, Rick.\" He addressed the others. \"Does anyone here object?\"\n\tOne of the ninja pounded his fist on the floor. \"I object strenuously!\"\n\tYamada sighed. \"I expected as much, Korenaga.\"\n\t\"It is bad enough that you decided to admit women to our order!\" Korenaga said, glancing at the female ninja who had fought Rick in the garden, who glared back at him. \"But now you intend to dishonor our sacred traditions by sharing them with this . . . this animal!\"\n\t\"Rick proved his worth to Master Quan,\" said Yamada, \"and has passed all the tests required for membership. To refuse him based on his appearance would be foolish, and petty.\"\n\t\"How do we know he proved himself to Master Quan?\" Korenaga demanded. \"We have only his word!\"\n\t\"He carries with him Master Quan's family crest,\" Yamada countered, \"which he would only have given to his heir.\"\n\t\"For all we know, he stole that!\"\n\tYamada's eyes flashed. \"You accuse him of being a thief?\"\n\t\"Master, may I speak?\" asked Rick quietly.\n\tYamada nodded. \"Of course.\"\n\tRick turned his head to address Korenaga. \"The crest was being held in a safety deposit box by the Bank of Beijing. You may contact them if you wish to confirm this.\"\n\t\"There,\" said Yamada. \"He could hardly have obtained the crest if Quan had not granted him access to it.\"\n\t\"That does not change the fact that he is not human!\" said Korenaga, his voice rising to a shout. \"He does not belong here!\"\n\t\"Lower your voice!\" roared Yamada, which made Korenaga flinch. He then continued in a quieter tone. \"The world has changed since the days of the shogunate, Korenaga. We must change with it. That is the price of survival.\"\n\tKorenaga shook his head. \"You ask too much! I cannot remain in an order that admits such creatures to it!\"\n\t\"Then go,\" said Yamada. \"Your bigotry dishonors us.\"\n\tRick looked at Yamada. \"Master, it was never my intent to bring such discord to your order. I respectfully withdraw my request.\"\n\t\"It is too late for that,\" said Yamada, his eyes fixed upon Korenaga.\n\t\"Indeed!\" said Korenaga. He rose to his feet, cast a venomous look at Rick, turned, and left.\n\tThere was a long moment of silence, which was finally broken by Yamada. \"Are there any other objections?\" he asked. No one spoke. He turned his gaze to Rick and bowed his head. \"Welcome to our order, Rick.\"\n\tRick swallowed. \"Thank you, master.\"\n\tAs the meeting broke up, the female ninja came over to Rick, removed her mask, and smiled at him. \"The first day is always the hardest,\" she said.\n\t\"I'm sorry, Emiko,\" said Rick. \"I didn't mean for this to happen.\"\n\t\"It's not your fault, Rick,\" Emiko replied. \"This has been coming for some time now. Your arrival was simply the catalyst. You should have heard the stink he made when I joined.\" She sighed. \"Korenaga had the misfortune to be born too late. A thousand years ago, he would have been a great warrior.\"\n\t\"Perhaps he will change his mind,\" said Rick hopefully.\n\tEmiko shook her head. \"He will not.\"\n\tAt that moment, one of the student ninja came running up to them, holding an envelope. \"Rick, a letter just arrived for you!\" he said, holding it out to the raccoon. Rick accepted the letter, opened it, and read the contents. His eyes widened.\n\t\"Something important?\" asked Emiko.\n\t\"An old friend of mine living in the Philippines needs my help,\" Rick replied.\n\t\"Hmm,\" said Emiko. \"It seems you'll have to postpone your training with us.\"\n\tRick stared up at her. \"After what just happened?\"\n\tShe smiled. \"Master Yamada will understand. A ninja always honors his commitments.\"\n\tRick nodded. \"I will return as soon as I can. Goodbye, Emiko.\" He turned and ran off to his room to pack.\n\n\tThe muggy, mid-afternoon air hit Rick in the face as though he'd just opened the door to a sauna when he exited the terminal of Manila International Airport. The raccoon was now dressed in white slacks and a light blue polo shirt, though his feet were still bare. Slung over his shoulder was a duffel bag containing all his worldly possessions. He ignored the stares from the other people standing in front of the terminal. While the existence of manimals—human-animal hybrids created on an island in the South Pacific by the rogue geneticist Dr. Philippe Moreau—was public knowledge, very few people had ever actually seen one in the flesh, so Rick tended to attract attention whenever he went. He attempted to hail a cab, but, not entirely to his surprise, no one seemed to be interested in picking up an anthropomorphic raccoon. Rick sighed and removed some bills from his pants pocket, having stopped at the currency exchange booth in the airport to trade his Japanese yen for Philippine pesos, and waved them about above his head. A cab screeched to a halt directly in front of him. He opened the door and climbed into the back, and the driver—a pudgy, round-faced Filipino with thinning black hair, a scraggly goatee and mustache, and eyes like Peter Lorre's—turned in his seat and gave him a wide, rather unsettling grin. \"Mind if I take your picture?\" he asked, in perfect English. \"Otherwise, the guys back at the garage will never believe this!\"\n\tRick smiled back at him. \"Feel free.\"\n\tThe driver held up his camera phone and snapped a picture of him. \"Thanks, man!\"\n\t\"Thank you for picking me up,\" Rick replied. \"I was starting to think I'd have to walk.\"\n\t\"Hey, when a guy holds out a couple bills like those for me, I don't care what he looks like! Speaking of which . . .\" He held his fat, sweaty hand out to Rick, who placed the bills in it. \"So, where to, Mac?\" His toadlike eyes widened when Rick gave him the address. \"Whoa, that's way outside the city, out in the boondocks! Probably a two hour drive!\"\n\tRick shrugged. \"Then we'd best get started.\" The driver nodded, pulled the cab away from the curb, and headed toward Manila.\n\tThey drove along the outskirts of the city, past shops and residential areas, which gradually gave way to lush tropical countryside. The road dwindled to a two-lane highway, forcing them to occasionally swerve around carts pulled by oxen. Eventually, they arrived at a modern-looking single-story house with a yard surrounded by a vine-covered stone wall that might well have been built before the Spanish-American War. Rick paid his fare and waved to the cabbie as he drove off, then walked up to the wrought iron gate. It was padlocked, and there was no one about and no means of alerting anyone to his presence, so he tossed his bag over the wall, climbed it easily, and jumped down the other side. Picking up his bag, he began walking toward the house.\n\tA woman emerged from the front door. She was about thirty, with long, blonde hair and large, dark eyes, wearing a white blouse, blue jeans, and brown leather boots. In her hands she held a shotgun, which was pointed at Rick. He stopped as she stared at him in disbelief. \"What in God's name?\" she asked, speaking with a mild British accent.\n\t\"Hello,\" said Rick. \"I'm a friend of Paul Andrews.\"\n\t\"Don't move!\" the woman said, keeping the gun trained on him. Rick didn't move. \"Put the bag on the ground.\" He did so and stood with his hands raised as she approached warily. \"What the hell are you?\"\n\t\"You've never heard of manimals?\" Rick asked. \"Monster Island isn't that far from here. We're practically neighbors.\"\n\t\"What are you doing here?\" she demanded.\n\t\"I was invited,\" said Rick. \"Did Paul not mention that I was coming?\"\n\t\"No, he did not.\"\n\t\"Rick!\" came a man's voice from the front door. \"How are you, you old fuzzball?\" The speaker was a lean man in his forties, with curly brown receding hair and several days worth of razor stubble, wearing a khaki shirt and blue jeans.\n\t\"Just fine, Paul,\" Rick replied, his eyes still on the shotgun. \"For the moment.\"\n\tThe man came down from the porch to join them. \"I see you met the wife. Madeleine, put that down. He's a friend.\"\n\tShe lowered the gun and turned to her husband. \"Why didn't you tell me you'd invited this . . . person?\" she asked angrily.\n\tPaul shrugged. \"Must have slipped my mind. Come on inside, Rick.\"\n\tThe three of them entered the pleasantly furnished living room, and Paul went to the bar and began pouring himself a glass of bourbon. \n\t\"Do you have to drink?\" Madeleine asked her husband. \"You just got up.\"\n\tPaul looked at her. \"I don't have to. I just choose to.\" He turned to Rick. \"Can I get you anything?\"\n\t\"Just water will be fine,\" said Rick, feeling as though he were intruding on a private matter.\n\tPaul nodded, filled a glass with water and a couple of ice cubes, and handed it to the raccoon while Madeleine went to put the shotgun away. \"I guess I should have mentioned he was coming.\"\n\t\"So, how do you two know each other?\" Madeleine asked.\n\t\"We met in Hong Kong,\" Paul replied, \"on my last mission for the United Nations Tribunal on International Law.\"\n\tShe stared at him. \"UNTIL? You never told me you used to work for them! You said you were a soldier!\"\n\tPaul nodded. \"I was, before I joined UNTIL. I'm not supposed to talk about it, but now I figure, eh, what the hell? We were both investigating an outfit called Chang Chun Shipping. They were involved in gun running, drug smuggling, human trafficking, all kinds of nasty stuff.\"\n\t\"Are you an UNTIL agent as well?\" Madeleine asked Rick.\n\tThe raccoon shook his head. \"No, I was just trying to find out what had happened to a friend of mine who had disappeared while looking into Chang Chun's affairs. Paul and I bumped into each other while we were following the same lead, and we decided to work together.\"\n\tShe looked back at Paul. \"You said it was your last mission. Is that how you got that wound in your belly?\"\n\t\"That's how, honey,\" Paul said, taking another gulp from his drink. \"I would have died that night if it hadn't been for Rick. As it was, I spent two months in the hospital. When I got out, UNTIL told me I was no longer fit for duty and gave me my walking papers.\"\n\tRick spoke up. \"You neglected to mention that the bullet that hit you was meant for me.\" He glanced at Madeleine. \"He saved my life as much as I saved his.\"\n\tPaul nodded. \"And together, we saved a whole ship full of refugees. Made it absolutely worth getting shot.\" He glanced at his wife and smiled. \"Of course, if that hadn't happened, I never would have met you.\"\n\tShe smiled back, then turned to Rick. \"I take it you'll be staying for dinner?\"\n\t\"If it's not too much trouble,\" Rick replied.\n\t\"No, no trouble at all. I'll just tell the maid to set an extra place. And tell her who to expect.\" She turned and left the room.\n\t\"So,\" said Rick, \"did the warm welcome your wife gave me have anything to do with the reason you asked me to come?\"\n\tPaul sighed and nodded. \"It's the land, Rick.\"\n\t\"What about it?\"\n\t\"They want us to sell it.\"\n\t\"Who is 'they?'\"\n\t\"Ever hear of Tiros Enterprises?\"\n\tRick shook his head. \"No.\"\n\t\"They're land developers. Multinational. They've already bought most of the plantations around here, and now they want ours.\"\n\t\"Then sell it,\" said Rick. \"Make a profit for yourself.\"\n\t\"I can't do that,\" said Paul. \"Maddy loves it here. It's her whole life.\"\n\tRick shrugged. \"Then don't sell it.\"\n\t\"That's the problem. They won't take no for an answer. They've had their goons come around here, beating up our workers, vandalizing equipment. They want to ruin us so we have no choice but to sell.\"\n\t\"Have you told the police?\" Rick asked.\n\tPaul chuckled wryly. \"Do you have any idea how corrupt law enforcement is in this country? Tiros has money, and money talks. Goons who go to jail at all are out on bail the next day.\"\n\t\"And you think I can help with this?\"\n\t\"I've seen what you can do, Rick. I figure if anyone can help, it's you.\" His mouth tightened. \"Besides, you owe me. I took a bullet for you, and it ended my career.\"\n\t\"And I dragged you out of Hong Kong harbor,\" Rick replied. \"I believe that makes us even. And I'm quite sure UNTIL would have offered you a desk job in lieu of early retirement.\"\n\tPaul grimaced. \"You know I never could have worked behind a desk.\"\n\t\"No, I suppose not.\"\n\t\"Please, Rick,\" Paul said. \"I just need to show them we're more trouble than we're worth. Then they'll lay off.\"\n\tRick sighed. \"Very well. I'll stay on for a while.\"\n\tPaul grinned. \"Great! We'll show 'em, you and me! It'll be just like the old days!\" He held up his glass of bourbon. \"To the old days!\"\n\tRick clinked his glass of water against it. \"To the old days.\"\n\t\n\tEarly the next morning, Paul invited Rick to come and meet the plantation's workers. They walked together down a dirt path from the house that led to an open area containing a large, thatch-roofed pavilion, along with several grass huts that served as storehouses for the coconuts that were the plantation's crop. Milling about the area were some fifty Filipinos, ranging in age from early teens to elderly. They all stared at the raccoon as Paul introduced him to the foreman, a Filipino he called Shorty, though he wasn't especially short, who was dressed in jeans, a denim jacket with no shirt, sandals, and a straw hat.\n\t\"Shorty, this is Rick,\" said Paul, \"an old friend of mine. He's going to be staying with us for a while.\"\t\n\tShorty, apparently having been told what to expect, smiled at the raccoon and nodded. \"Pleased to meet you!\" Then he turned to Paul. \"Sir, you want me to set up a cockfight for your friend?\"\n\tPaul grinned. \"Sure, why not?\" He took some bills from his pocket and handed them to Shorty. \"Put five hundred pesos on it.\"\n\tShorty grinned. \"You got it, boss!\" He ran to the workers, shouting in Filipino, and they quickly gathered in a circle and starting laying bets. Two birds were brought out and released into the circle. Immediately, they began leaping and clawing at each other, squawking loudly, and Paul joined in with the workers, yelling, \"Fight! Fight! Kill him!\" Rick simply watched, frowning. The spectacle reminded him of the fight pits on Monster Island, where manimals had been made to kill each other for the pleasure of their creator. Without speaking, he turned and walked back toward the house. Paul was apparently too engrossed in the cockfight to notice.\n\tTo calm his nerves and re-center himself, Rick decided to meditate on the front porch. He had been sitting there for about ten minutes when Madeleine drove by in a jeep, saw him, and stopped.\n\t\"Morning!\" she said cheerfully, waving to him.\n\tRick opened his eyes and nodded to her. \"Good morning.\"\n\t\"I'm going into town,\" she said. \"Do you want to come?\"\n\t\"I would love to,\" Rick said. He stood up, walked to the jeep, hopped in, and they drove off.\n\t\"So, what do you do for a living, Rick?\" Madeleine asked, her long blonde hair blowing in the breeze.\n\t\"Right now, I'm something of a drifter,\" Rick replied, flicking his ears as the wind tickled them.\n\tShe looked at him curiously. \"Where do you get money?\"\n\t\"My [i]sifu[/i], Master Quan, left me a small inheritance. I've been living on that.\"\n\t\"Ah,\" said Madeleine. \"That explains how you were able to just drop everything and fly from Japan to the Philippines at a moment's notice. Was he . . . like you?\"\n\tRick shook his head. \"No, he was human.\"\n\t\"And he left all his money to a manimal?\"\n\t\"He had no one else to give it to. He wouldn't have even had me if I hadn't washed up on the island he was living on.\"\n\t\"Why did you leave Monster Island?\" Madeleine asked.\n\t\"Because it was a terrible place,\" said Rick. \"I didn't want to kill other manimals to survive, so I built a raft and sailed away.\"\n\t\"And how do you like living among humans?\"\n\tRick looked up at her. \"It's interesting.\"\n\t\"Don't you ever get lonely for your own kind?\"\n\t\"There are no others of my kind. I was a one-off.\"\n\t\"I meant other manimals.\"\n\t\"No, not especially. Most manimals aren't very nice.\"\n\tMadeleine smiled, blushing. \"I'm sorry about asking so many questions. It's just that I've never met anyone like you before.\"\n\tRick smiled back. \"That's quite all right.\"\n\tThey drove into a small town that seemed to be made up mostly of bars and shops. It looked quite poor and run down, like most small towns in the Philippines. Madeleine stopped the jeep in the main square. \"I have to pay the workers today and pick up some money at the bank,\" she said. \"If you want to have a look around, I'll be back in about half an hour.\"\n\t\"See you then,\" said Rick, climbing out of the jeep. He began walking along the main thoroughfare, doing his best to ignore all the dark eyes staring at him as he took in the not entirely pleasant sights, sounds, and smells of the town. He noted that at least one pair of eyes watching him was blue, belonging to a stocky Caucasian man in a white suit and Panama Jack hat who was walking down the dirt street toward him with the aid of a cane. Behind the man walked a big, beefy Filipino.\n\t\"Good day, sir,\" the man said, with a German accent, doffing his hat and inclining his balding head toward Rick.\n\t\"Good day,\" Rick replied, nodding to him. The big Filipino behind the German stared at Rick, but said nothing. Rick continued on past them, then stopped and turned, watching as the pair entered a nearby open-fronted shop.\n\t\"Damn, if it ain't one of them manimal folks!\" came a rough, American-accented voice from behind him. Rick turned to see a man of about sixty with a white beard and skin like shoe leather walking toward him, wearing a straw hat, camouflage jacket and khaki shorts. \"Never expected to see one of you here!\" the man said, holding out a hand to him. \"I'm Cash!\"\n\t\"I'm Rick,\" the raccoon replied, taking the man's hand and shaking it. \"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Cash.\"\n\t\"Like to buy some dirty pictures?\" Cash asked, opening one flap of his jacket to reveal several photographs of nude women hanging from the inside. \"No, I don't suppose those'd interest you. Not hairy enough. Maybe you're the religious type?\" He opened the other flap of his jacket, revealing several crucifixes hanging from it.\n\tBefore Rick could respond to either offer, the sound of raised voices from the shop caught his attention. He turned back toward it just in time to see the German sweep his cane across the counter, sending the merchandise on it crashing to the floor. The shopkeeper handed over a wad of bills, which the German stuck in his jacket pocket. The German smiled and patted the shopkeeper on his cheek.\n\t\"Who's that?\" Rick asked.\n\t\"His name is Heinrich,\" said Cash, glaring at the German. \"He leans on everyone in this town, myself included. Boy, what I wouldn't give to see him get his!\"\n\tRick just nodded, watching. As Heinrich left the shop, the big Filipino grabbed the shopkeeper by his shirt collar. \"Next week, you pay on time!\" he roared, and backhanded the man across his face. Rick took a step forward, but Cash put a hand on the raccoon's shoulder, restraining him.\n\t\"I wouldn't do that,\" Cash warned. \n\t\"He's a parasite!\" Rick growled.\n\t\"Maybe, but word is Heinrich knows people. Anyway, little fella like you wouldn't stand a chance against a big bruiser like that!\"\n\t\"You might be surprised,\" said Rick, but made no further move as Heinrich and his pet thug walked away. While it angered him to see anyone pushed around, Master Quan had once told him that one must pick one's fights carefully. He had come here to help Paul. It would be unwise to invite more trouble on top of that.\n\tRick was sitting in the jeep, waiting, when Madeleine returned. \"So, what do you think of our town?\" she asked as she got in and turned the key in the ignition.\n\t\"You have some bad people here,\" Rick replied quietly.\n\tMadeleine nodded as she began driving them back toward the plantation. \"I know. It wasn't like this when we came. I'm glad we live outside town.\"\n\tRick looked up at her. \"Evil has a tendency to spread if it goes unchecked.\"\n\tThey arrived back at the plantation, and Madeleine drove down a dirt road toward the area where the workers congregated. The sound of shouts and cries ahead told them something was wrong. They drove up to find four big Filipinos pushing the workers back while two more held Shorty and another punched him repeatedly.\n\t\"Oh my God, they're back!\" cried Madeleine. \"Stop it! Leave him alone!\" She got out and ran to help Shorty, but one of the thugs grabbed her and threw her to the ground. \n\tRick jumped onto the hood of the jeep and launched himself at the man, the heel of his foot cracking against the man's jaw and sending him sprawling to the ground. Rick rebounded off the man's jaw, back-flipped, landed on his feet, and planted a foot in another thug's groin, making him groan and double over, clutching himself. A third whipped out a switchblade and lunged at the raccoon. Rick knocked the knife aside with one hand and slammed the palm of his other hand into the man's nose, breaking it.\n\tBy now, the remaining thugs had surrounded Rick, and the raccoon adopted a defensive posture, waiting for them to make their move. As two men closed in from either side, Rick jumped into the air and struck out with both legs at once, smashing the sole of one foot into each of their faces and sending them stumbling backward. When he landed, he leaped again, somersaulting over the head of one of the thugs. Whirling when he touched down behind him, Rick rammed the heel of his palm into the small of the man's back, making him cry out in pain. The last one yelled and charged at the raccoon, who grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder to the ground, where he landed with a loud thud.\n\tAs the thugs got up and limped away, beaten and bloody, Rick turned toward Madeleine, who had gotten up and was staring at him in disbelief. \"Are you all right?\" he asked.\n\t\"My God!\" she gasped. \"How . . . ?\"\n\t\"You didn't think Paul called me here for my winning smile, did you?\" he asked, smiling at her in a way that he hoped looked winning. Then he looked around. \"Speaking of Paul, where is he?\"\n\tMadeleine clenched her jaw. \"Most likely back at the house, passed out drunk.\"\n\tThey both turned as Shorty limped over to them, supported by one of the workers. \"Mrs. Andrews, we are all leaving,\" he said, sounding apologetic. \"We cannot stay.\"\n\tMadeleine nodded. \"I understand.\"\n\t\"Can we have our money now?\"\n\t\"Yes, of course.\"\n\tRick watched silently as she paid off the workers and they began filtering away. In a few minutes, the only people left were himself, Madeleine, and three teenage boys. Rick wondered why the three boys had stayed. He later learned that they were orphans—street kids that Paul and Madeleine had taken in. This was their only home.\n\t\"Well,\" said Madeleine, pulling her blouse up and tying it into a tie-top, \"those coconuts aren't going to gather themselves.\" She strode to the oxcart and began leading the huge beast into the grove of coconut trees, the cart creaking along behind it. Rick and the three boys followed. The boys each began clambering up the tall, slender trunks and tossing coconuts down to the soft, sandy ground, while Madeleine collected them and deposited them in the cart.\n\t\"Can I help?\" Rick asked.\n\t\"Have you ever been a farmer?\" Madeleine asked.\n\tRick took his shirt off, tossed it on the cart, and began helping her gather coconuts. \"No.\"\n\t\"Neither have I. Not until I came here. Did you know this plantation's been here for two hundred years? Some of the workers who just left were born here. Their families have lived and worked here for generations. It's a great pity.\" She wiped her brow with the back of her hand as she worked, her sweat darkening her blouse and making it stick to her skin.\n\t\"How long has Paul been . . . like this?\" asked Rick.\n\t\"The drinking? Ever since the problems started. This place has become a haven for criminals, and it's getting worse and worse. Maybe he doesn't care anymore.\" She looked at the raccoon. \"But I care. I love it here. It's become my home, and I'm not leaving it.\"\n\tRick nodded and glanced up at the coconut trees towering over them. He picked up a coconut from the ground, took aim, and hurled it at the top of one of the trees. It struck, and six coconuts came raining down. Rick picked them up in his arms and brought them to the cart, dropping them in as Madeleine stared at him open-mouthed. \n\t\"Maybe you won't have to,\" he said, smiling.\n\n\tDinner that evening was a quiet, somber affair. Paul and Madeleine hardly said a word and avoided meeting each other's eyes. Rick felt extremely uncomfortable sitting between them. In fact, this entire situation had him deeply troubled. He felt he should be doing more to help his friend, but he wasn't sure what more he [i]could[/i] be doing. After all, he wasn't a superhero. He was just a manimal who knew kung fu. Madeleine mentioned that she was going into town the next day to hire more workers, and Paul simply nodded and took a gulp from his glass of whiskey. Rick excused himself and went to bed.\n\tThe following morning, while Rick was helping the boys gather coconuts and keeping an eye out for trouble, Paul came to him, wearing a headband, a T-shirt, and sweat pants. \"Up for a jog into town?\" Paul asked. \"It's only five miles.\"\n\t\"Are you sure that's a good idea?\" Rick asked, glancing up at the three boys in the trees. \"Suppose more of those goons show up.\"\n\tPaul grinned. \"Nobody's going to come here after what you did yesterday. Come on!\"\n\tRick nodded, and the two of them began jogging toward town. After the first mile, though, Paul was struggling to keep up. He paused to lean against a tree, and Rick stopped and turned to face him.\n\t\"Jesus!\" said Paul, staring at the raccoon. \"You're not even winded!\"\n\tRick smiled. \"Master Quan used to make me jog around the island every morning before breakfast.\"\n\t\"How far was that?\"\n\t\"About five miles.\"\n\tPaul shook his head, leaning against the tree, drenched in sweat and panting. \"I've lost it, Rick. Whatever I had, I've lost it. I used to be an UNTIL agent. Back in those days, I could have trashed those goons myself, instead of needing you to protect my home . . . and my wife.\"\n\t\"There's a reason UNTIL took you out of the field, Paul,\" Rick said gently. \"You were wounded. I remember before, in Hong Kong. You were good. You were very good.\"\n\t\"Hong Kong was a hundred years ago, Rick,\" said Paul. \"Come on.\" He pushed off the tree, and they resumed jogging. Rick kept the pace slow for him.\n\tArriving in town, they spotted Cash and jogged toward him. \"Hello, my furry friend!\" the old man said, smiling and waving as they approached.\n\t\"I see you two have met,\" said Paul, gasping for breath.\n\t\"Indeed we have,\" said Cash. \"Reconsidered my offer, Rick?\"\n\t\"What offer?\" asked Paul.\n\t\"He wanted to sell me some things,\" said Rick.\n\t\"Hey, Cash,\" said Paul, \"have you seen my wife?\"\n\tCash nodded and pointed at a nearby bar. \"She's in there, looking for workers.\"\n\t\"Thanks,\" said Paul. \"Come on, Rick, let's get a morning drink.\" He jogged toward the bar, and Rick followed him.\n\tMadeleine was inside, sitting at a table before a large group of Filipinos. Rick noticed that Heinrich was perched on a stool at the counter, watching her as he sipped something from a glass. Paul threw himself into a chair at Madeleine's table. \"How's it going?\" he asked.\n\t\"They're all frightened,\" Madeleine replied. \"Do you see who's here?\" She indicated Heinrich with a nod of her head.\n\tPaul nodded, glancing at the German. \"Yeah, I see him. Screw him!\" \n\t\"Your usual, Mr. Andrews?\" the bartender asked Paul.\n\t\"Thanks, buddy,\" said Paul as the bartender poured him a glass of bourbon. \"Rick, you want anything?\"\n\t\"Lemonade,\" the raccoon replied, hopping up on a stool at the counter, next to Heinrich.\n\tMadeleine stood up and addressed the group of Filipinos. \"Listen to me, please. We're looking for people to work for us. We pay well, you'll have good quarters, and we need you to stay for at least a year. Now, who will work?\"\n\tThe Filipinos murmured among themselves, then suddenly fell silent as the tip of Heinrich's cane started tapping lightly on the wooden floor. Madeleine, Paul, and Rick all turned to look at the German as the Filipinos began filtering away.\n\t\"Wait, please,\" Madeleine implored them. \"Don't leave!\"\n\t\"Mrs. Andrews,\" said Heinrich, smiling. \"You cannot work your land without help. Therefore, you will have to sell it.\"\n\t\"We will find help,\" said Madeleine, glaring defiantly at him. \"And we will not be selling!\"\n\t\"Excuse me,\" said Rick, looking down at the German's cane. \"Is that teak?\"\n\tHeinrich gazed at the raccoon coldly. \"And what about you? Are you looking for a job with them?\"\n\tRick raised his black eyes to meet the German's watery blue ones. \"No.\"\n\t\"Then what are you doing in here?\" Heinrich asked.\n\tRick lifted his glass of lemonade. \"Having a drink.\" He knocked it back, turning on his stool, and as he did so, his elbow bumped Heinrich's arm, spilling the German's drink across his white-suited chest. Heinrich stood up quickly, scowling at the raccoon.\n\t\"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!\" said Rick, taking a napkin from the bar and dabbing at the man's chest. \"Here, let me clean that up for you!\"\n\t\"Do not touch me, you freak!\" Heinrich spat, stepping back.\n\tRick flattened his ears and bared his teeth. \"What did you call me?\"\n\t\"You heard what I said!\" Heinrich snarled. He turned to three big Filipinos who had just entered the bar and nodded to them. They moved to surround the raccoon.\n\tRick hopped down off his bar stool, looking up at the three men. \"Gentlemen, let's be reasonable,\" he said, smiling. \"Why don't we talk?\" \n\tOne of the men raised his fist menacingly. Before he could throw the punch, Rick darted in and rammed his fist into his belly, doubling him over. \"I thought we were going to talk!\" the raccoon protested, spreading his arms as the man fell to his knees before him.\n\tThe second man seized Rick from behind, lifting the raccoon off his feet as the third moved in front of him. Rick drew his knees back to his chin and slammed both feet into the chest of the third man, sending him sprawling backward. Then he broke the hold of the second man, dropped to the floor, spun, and drove his foot into the man's groin. \n\t\"Oh my God!\" Madeleine gasped, grabbing her husband's shoulder. \"Paul, please, stop it!\"\n\t\"No, it's okay,\" said Paul, grinning. \"He's terrific! He can handle it! Get 'em, Rick! Take 'em down!\"\n\tRick growled, Paul's egging him on reminding him uncomfortably of yesterday's cockfight. Then he pushed that thought aside as the first man charged at him like an angry bull. Rick grabbed him by his arm and belt and threw him over the bar, smashing a considerable amount of glassware in the process. The second man came running back and tried to throw a kick at the raccoon. Rick caught the man's leg in an arm lock, yanked him off balance, and swung him across the floor so that his head smacked hard against the leg of a nearby table.\n\tA whooshing sound from behind alerted the raccoon. He twisted aside just as Heinrich's cane parted the air next to him, and then whirled to face the German. Heinrich swung again, and again the raccoon dodged. The third time the German brought his cane down, Rick caught it with one hand and tore it loose from his grasp. \n\tHeinrich stared at the raccoon as Rick held the cane with both his clawed hands, inspecting it. \"It [i]is[/i] teak,\" said Rick, and brought it down across his knee, snapping it cleanly in half. He tossed the broken pieces on the floor at the German's feet. \"Now, listen carefully. Tell whoever it is you work for that the Andrews' plantation is off limits. They're not going to get it. And if I ever even hear about you trying to extort money from anyone in this town again, what I did to your cane, I'll do to both your arms and legs, understand?\" Heinrich swallowed and nodded frantically. \"Now, get lost.\" \n\tHeinrich scurried out the door, and Paul came over and clapped the raccoon on his shoulder. \"That was amazing, Rick! You're fantastic!\" He turned to Madeleine. \"Wasn't he great, honey?\"\n\tMadeleine made an annoyed, impatient sound. \"Come on, let's get out of here. We must find some workers!\"\n\tAs Paul and Madeleine went outside, Rick turned to the bartender, took some bills from his pocket, and held them out to him. \"Will this cover the damages?\" he asked.\n\tThe bartender grinned broadly. \"You keep your money, Mister Rick! It was worth it just to see that asshole get put in his place!\" \n\tRick shrugged, put the bills back in his pocket, and left.\n\n\tIn downtown Manila stood a steel and glass tower with the word TIROS atop it in twelve-foot neon letters. It was this building that Heinrich entered, taking the elevator forty stories to the topmost floor, where he was met by a tall, tan, black-haired man wearing an immaculate white suit. The man gazed at the German with undisguised contempt. \"What are you doing here?\" he asked.\n\t\"I need to speak to Mr. Tiros,\" Heinrich replied.\n\t\"You know he doesn't like to talk to you.\"\n\t\"This is important. There is a problem with the Andrews property.\"\n\tThe man raised an eyebrow. \"What sort of problem?\"\n\t\"I would prefer to tell Mr. Tiros himself.\"\n\tThe man frowned. \"Very well.\" \n\tHe opened the door behind him, which bore a simple name plate reading, \"Martin Tiros,\" and he and Heinrich entered what seemed to be an indoor jungle. There were tropical plants everywhere, growing not in pots but in soil that filled recessed areas in the floor. Each area contained a stone fountain with water bubbling from the top and dribbling into a basin beneath and got plenty of sunlight from skylights in the ceiling. Against the far wall, before a floor-to-ceiling window looking out over the city, was a large mahogany desk. Behind it sat a sandy-haired, square-jawed man in his fifties, wearing a vibrantly colorful dressing gown. He was reclining in a high-backed chair, eyes closed, hand moving before him as he silently conducted to the strains of Beethoven's \"Pastoral Symphony,\" which was playing over the sound system. He opened his pale gray eyes as they approached, and gazed up at the tall, black-haired man. \"Yes, Mr. Baker?\" he asked in a soft voice, turning down the music.\n\t\"Heinrich says there is a problem with the Andrews property, Mr. Tiros,\" said Baker. \"He wants to talk to you about it personally.\"\n\tTiros shifted his gaze to the German. \"I take it you haven't gotten them to sell yet.\"\n\tHeinrich shook his head. \"No, Mr. Tiros, I have not.\"\n\t\"Why?\"\n\t\"Someone is helping them.\"\n\t\"Some . . . one,\" said Tiros. \"You mean, one person?\"\n\tHeinrich nodded.\n\t\"And you and your men can't handle [i]one[/i] person?\" asked Tiros, leaning forward and frowning.\n\t\"He is not an ordinary person,\" said Heinrich. \"He is a manimal.\"\n\tTiros blinked. \"A manimal? One of those human-animal creatures?\"\n\tHeinrich nodded again. \"A raccoon, to be exact.\"\n\t\"Well,\" said Tiros, \"that is unexpected. But last I heard, manimals weren't much tougher than ordinary humans, and raccoons aren't exactly formidable creatures. So what's the problem?\"\n\t\"He appears to be some kind of martial artist,\" said Heinrich. \"He fights extremely well. He defeated me and three of my men single-handed!\"\n\tTiros stared at Heinrich, then smiled and shook his head. \"A raccoon martial artist. Sounds like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon.\" He leaned back in his chair, sighed, and waved one hand. \"All right, Heinrich. What do you need?\"\n\t\"More men,\" Heinrich replied promptly.\n\t\"Fine. You will have them. And I sincerely hope that the next time you come here, you'll have good news for me.\"\n\tHeinrich grinned and nodded. \"I am sure I will, Mr. Tiros.\"\n\t\"Does this raccoon martial artist have a name?\"\n\t\"Mr. Andrews called him Rick.\"\n\tTiros looked at Baker. \"Find out all you can about this Rick.\"\n\tBaker nodded. \"Of course, Mr. Tiros.\"\n\tBaker and Heinrich left Tiros's office. Tiros sat silently for a moment, drumming his fingers on his desk. \"Rick,\" he said finally. \"Of course. What else?\"\n\t\n\tPaul stood alone in the area where the workers normally congregated. Rick, Madeleine, and the three boys were out in the groves somewhere, harvesting coconuts. He should be helping them, he thought to himself, but he simply couldn't bring himself to bother. He couldn't bring himself to do much of anything anymore. He hadn't even tried to help Rick when he'd been fighting those thugs in the bar. He'd just sat there on his ass, cheering the raccoon on. He sighed, remembering when this place had been crowded with noisy, boisterous Filipinos. It looked so empty and desolate now. He turned and began trudging back toward the house.\n\tAs he did, he noticed a group of Filipinos standing outside the gate, looking at him. He blinked, then broke into a grin as he recognized them.\n\t\"Boss,\" said Shorty, grinning as he stood there cradling a large fighting cock in his arms, \"we're back!\"\n\t\"Shorty!\" cried Paul, running up to the foreman. \"And Jose! And Pedro! And Maria! [i]¿Cómo está? ¿Cómo está?[/i] It's so wonderful to see you all!\" Then he looked down at the cock in Shorty's arms. \"And Banker! My Banker is back!\" He stroked the bird's feathered back. \"Let's have a cockfight!\" The workers nodded, grinning eagerly, and they all rushed to the center of the compound, formed a circle, and released two birds into it. Immediately, the birds began cawing and squawking, leaping and clawing at each other as the humans cheered them on.\n\tThe noise of the cockfight masked the approach of two jeeps. Carrying ten Filipino thugs and Heinrich, they drove right into the compound. Cries of alarm went up, and the workers began backing away as Heinrich and his thugs got out of the jeeps and began moving toward them.\n\t\"Don't panic!\" Paul ordered the frightened workers. \"Stay where you are!\"\n\t\"Mr. Andrews,\" said Heinrich, walking toward him with the help of the new cane he had bought to replace the one Rick had broken in the bar. \"Your workers have foolishly decided to go against the wishes of the union.\"\n\t\"What the hell are you talking about?\" Paul asked, scowling. \"They don't belong to any union!\"\n\t\"They don't?\" asked Heinrich, in mock dismay. \"So, I will organize one for them!\"\n\tPaul glared at the German. \"All you gotta do is get your goons off my property right now, mister, before I have them thrown off!\"\n\tHeinrich turned to Shorty and tapped him on the shoulder with his cane. \"I told you not to come back. Now, I must teach you a lesson!\"\n\tShorty looked over at Paul anxiously. \"Boss?\"\n\tPaul lunged at Heinrich and grabbed him by the collar of his white suit jacket. \"Get away from him, you son of a bitch!\" \n\tImmediately, two of the thugs seized Paul, holding him while two more punched and kicked him mercilessly. Four others grabbed Shorty, forced him around behind one of the jeeps, and tied his wrists to the rear bumper. One of them jumped into the jeep, gunned the engine, and began dragging the foreman around the compound.\n\tRick came running out of the grove, wearing only a pair of trousers, Madeleine and the three boys close behind him. The raccoon leaped into the jeep dragging Shorty, smashed his palm into the face of the driver, threw him out, and then slammed his foot down on the brake, bringing the jeep to a quick stop. As another thug ran up to the jeep, Rick sprang out and threw a flying kick at the man's chin, which connected, knocking the man off his feet and onto his back. The raccoon landed, to find thugs closing in around him from all sides. Taking a deep breath, Rick suddenly became a furry dervish, punching and kicking with furious precision. Each blow struck a weak spot, cracking shins and kneecaps, driving into stomachs and groins, the raccoon so small and fast that the thugs ended up colliding with each other as they tried to grab him. Within a minute, they were all lying on the ground, moaning in pain. \n\tRick stopped, panting, then whirled about, glaring at Heinrich. The German was ghost white, his blue eyes wide. He began backing away as Madeleine ran up and knelt beside Paul, who lay beaten and bloody on the ground.\n\t\"I warned you,\" Rick growled, striding purposefully toward the German.\n\t\"No!\" Heinrich cried, trying to ward off him off with his cane. \"No! Stay back!\" He swung his cane at the raccoon, who blocked it effortlessly. Then Rick grabbed the German's left arm and threw him onto his back. Holding the man's arm firmly, he raised his clawed foot and slammed it down, snapping the lower arm bones clean through. Heinrich screamed in agony. Getting to his feet as Rick released his arm, he staggered away, cradling his broken left arm with his right one and whimpering pitifully as he looked back at the raccoon. \"You . . . you will regret this, freak!\" he hissed through clenched teeth, his face a mask of pain. \n\tRick just watched him go, saying nothing.\n\n\tThat evening, while Rick and Paul were sitting before the coffee table in the living room and playing chess, Madeleine came in wearing a black blouse and slacks, holding a silver tray that contained a bottle and two glasses. \"Are you sure you won't have a liqueur, Rick?\" she asked the raccoon. \"It's good for the digestion.\"\n\tRick smiled up at her. \"All right.\" Madeleine smiled back, filled each of the glasses, and handed one to him.\n\t\"Hey, what about me?\" Paul asked.\n\tMadeleine gestured at the glass of bourbon on the table before him. \"You have yours.\" She sat down on the couch beside her husband, crossing her legs and holding her glass up, looking as though she could have been posing for the cover of [i]Cosmopolitan[/i]. \"So, what happens next?\"\n\t\"I suspect Paul is going to take my bishop,\" the raccoon replied, studying the board.\n\t\"I meant about our problem,\" said Madeleine, annoyed.\n\t\"Oh,\" said Rick. \"Well, next I imagine Heinrich's boss will try to buy me off.\"\n\tPaul nodded. \"That would be the logical thing to do.\"\n\t\"And when that fails?\" asked Madeleine.\n\tRick chuckled. \"It says a lot about your faith in me that you assume it will.\"\n\t\"You don't strike me as the sort who cares about money,\" said Madeleine.\n\t\"You're very perceptive,\" said Rick, taking a sip from his glass. \"When that fails, he'll try to have me killed.\"\n\t\"You don't sound very concerned,\" said Madeleine.\n\tPaul grinned. \"Rick isn't easy to kill.\"\n\tRick looked at him. \"I'm not bulletproof, Paul. By that point, Heinrich's boss will be done playing around. He'll want me out of the way, and he'll pay to have it done right.\"\n\tMadeleine bit her lip. \"Then perhaps you should leave.\"\n\t\"Rick's no coward,\" said Paul, scornfully. \"He doesn't run from a fight.\"\n\t\"It's not your life that's in danger!\" Madeleine exploded. \"It's his!\"\n\t\"So you're saying we should sell?\" Paul demanded. \"After all we've been through?\"\n\t\"This place isn't worth dying for!\"\n\t\"Madeleine,\" said Rick calmly, \"whoever this guy is, he's committed a lot of crimes. And if he's not made to pay for them, he's just going to go on grinding innocent people under his heel to get what he wants. I intend to put a stop to that.\"\n\tMadeleine spread her arms. \"Why? You're not a policeman! You don't have a sworn duty to uphold the law! You're just a manimal who knows martial arts!\"\n\t\"I have a duty to do what I feel is right,\" said Rick. \"That's what Master Quan would have wanted. It's the reason he trained me.\"\n\tPaul grinned and raised his glass. \"You're the Eleventh Commandment, Rick: 'Thou shalt not get away with it.'\"\n\tMadeleine looked desperately at the raccoon. \"You could be killed, Rick!\"\n\tRick shrugged. \"Everyone dies. If we're lucky, we get to do a little good in the world before we leave it.\"\n\tThe conversation was interrupted by a knock on the front door.\n\t\"Turn off the lights,\" said Rick. Paul nodded and did so, and Rick moved across the room like a shadow, taking up a position beside the door. Madeleine got the shotgun from the closet and held it at the ready.\n\t\"Who is it?\" Paul asked.\n\t\"It's me,\" came the sound of Cash's voice through the door.\n\tPaul went to the door and opened it. The old man was standing on the front porch, alone. On the driveway behind him sat a jitney—a colorfully-painted open-air bus—with a driver at the wheel. They were a common sight in the Philippines.\n\t\"Why are the lights off?\" asked Cash.\n\t\"Come in, come in,\" said Paul, as he ushered him inside, closed the door, and switched the lights back on.\n\t\"What are you doing here, Cash?\" asked Madeleine, lowering her shotgun.\n\t\"I have a message for ya,\" Cash replied, handing her a note.\n\t\"We obviously have a problem,\" said Madeleine, reading from the note, \"and suggest an immediate meeting to reach an understanding.\" She handed the note to Paul, who inspected it.\n\t\"Who's it from?\" Rick asked.\n\t\"There's no signature,\" Paul replied. He looked at Cash. \"Who gave it to you?\"\n\t\"No one gave it to me,\" Cash said. \"A jitney driver wanted to know where you were, so I showed him the way.\"\n\t\"Who gets the tip?\" asked Rick.\n\tCash grinned. \"Not him!\"\n\t\"So, what do we do now?\" asked Paul.\n\t\"You're not going?\" asked Madeleine, sounding worried.\n\t\"Maddy . . .\" Paul began.\n\t\"I think you should go, Paul,\" said Rick.\n\tPaul turned back to his wife, and his voice was almost pleading. \"I've got to do this, Maddy!\"\n\tMadeleine was silent for a moment, realizing it was useless to argue. Then she looked at Rick. \"You take care of him,\" she said. Rick nodded silently.\n\tAs Paul and Cash walked out to the jitney waiting in the driveway, Paul noticed that Rick was nowhere to be seen. They went around to the passenger side of the vehicle, and Paul leaned in. \"Where are you taking me?\" he asked the driver, a Filipino wearing a denim jacket, jeans, and a Chicago Cubs baseball cap.\n\t\"You'll know when you get there,\" the driver replied, smiling smugly.\n\tRick popped up beside the driver and seized his head in a choke hold. \"You have exactly three seconds to tell me where the meeting is,\" the raccoon growled as the man gagged and struggled, \"or I'll break your neck.\"\n\tThe driver hesitated for a full second, then gasped out, \"Fort Santiago!\"\n\tRick released the man and looked over at Paul. \"Okay, let's go.\" \n\tAs the raccoon turned away from the driver, his ears pricked up at the faint rustle of the man's hand sliding beneath his jacket. Rick jumped and whirled, his spinning kick knocking a pistol out of the man's hand. A second flying kick struck the man across his chin and dropped him to the ground. \n\tRick glanced up to see Madeleine standing on the front porch, staring at him. He smiled at her and shrugged. \"I don't like guns,\" he said. Then he turned to Paul and Cash, who had come around the jitney to see what was going on. \"Take him with us,\" the raccoon said, pointing at the unconscious driver. They picked the man up and dumped him in the back. Then Cash took the wheel while Paul sat in the passenger seat and Rick climbed in behind them, and the jitney trundled off into the night.\n\n\tFort Santiago was a stone citadel. It had been built by the Spanish in the newly established city of Manila in 1593. It was now a major historical landmark and tourist attraction, whose famous facade was featured on many postcards sent from the Philippines. Normally, it was closed to the public after 7 PM, but as the jitney pulled up, Paul could see that the front gate was open and before it stood a man wearing a white suit and holding an M-16 assault rifle. \n\tCash parked the jitney in front of the ancient fort, and Paul got out and began walking toward it. Paul could see that there was a second white-suited man with an M-16 just inside the gate. He walked up to the first man, who stepped aside to let him pass. As he neared the second, Cash leaned out of the jitney and called to the first man, \"Psst! Hey, come here!\"\n\tThe man frowned and walked over to him. \"What do you want?\" he asked, annoyed. \n\tRick sprang out of the shadowy interior of the jitney, seized the man, and threw him against the vehicle's side, knocking him cold. Simultaneously, Paul grabbed the head of the second man with both hands and slammed the man's face into his upraised knee.\n\tRick picked up the M-16 the first man had dropped and held it out to Cash. \"Do you know how to use this?\" he asked.\n\tCash grinned, accepting the weapon. \"Try me!\"\n\tRick pointed to a spot on the wall of the fortress. \"Up there. And keep your eyes open.\" He turned to Paul. \"Stall. Play for time.\" Paul nodded and went through the gate and into the fort, while Rick clambered up and over the wall.\n\tPaul walked along through the courtyard, stopping when a tall, tan, black-haired man and a silver-haired man, both wearing white suits, emerged from a doorway about fifty feet ahead and stood before him on a slightly raised platform. \"Ah, Mr. Andrews,\" the black-haired man said, smiling unctuously. \"So glad you could come.\"\n\t\"Who are you?\" Paul asked.\n\t\"That's not important. I've been instructed—\"\n\t\"Instructed by whom?\"\n\t\"That's also unimportant. Our offer for your land is very generous. We can pay you in cash.\"\n\tPaul walked slowly up to them. \"How much are we talking about?\"\n\t\"Well over seven figures, Mr. Andrews.\"\n\t\"Hmm. Seven figures? I must admit, that's a very interesting proposal. How much time are you willing to give me to think about it?\"\n\t\"I'm afraid my employer insists on an immediate answer.\"\n\tPaul looked around. As far as he could see, the darkened fort was empty save for himself and the two white-suited men. \"I'm not selling,\" he said finally.\n\tThe black-haired man grinned smugly as the silver-haired man took a butterfly knife from his jacket and slowly opened it in an obvious act of intimidation. \"Oh, but Mr. Andrews, you must,\" the black-haired man said. \"You see, you have no choice.\" He stuck his fingers into his mouth and blew a whistle. Paul tensed, waiting for whatever the signal was meant to portend.\n\tNothing happened.\n\tThe two white-suited men looked around in obvious confusion. \"Where are the men I ordered?\" the black-haired man finally asked the silver-haired one in annoyance.\n\t\"There should be twenty of them around here somewhere,\" the silver-haired man replied.\n\tThe black-haired man held up a hand to Paul. \"Excuse us a moment,\" he said.\n\tPaul grinned. \"Oh, by all means, take your time.\"\n\t\"Just one minute,\" said the silver-haired man, and ran off through the doorway they'd entered from. He returned a few seconds later, rejoining the black-haired man. \"We have a problem,\" he said.\n\tThe black-haired man wasn't looking at him, however. His eyes were fixed on the small figure that had emerged from the shadows behind Paul. \"I see the problem.\"\n\tRick walked past Paul and up to the two white-suited men, carrying a veritable mountain of M-16s in his arms. \"Gentlemen, I believe these belong to you,\" the raccoon said, and dropped the guns on the stone floor in front of them with a loud crash.\n\t\"A very impressive performance, I must say,\" said the black-haired man. \"Mr. . . . Rick, is it?\"\n\t\"Just Rick.\"\n\t\"My employer is always on the lookout for people with real talent. There could be a place for you in our organization.\"\n\t\"Yes, I was expecting this,\" said Rick. \"Tell your employer there are things his money can't buy, and one of them is me.\"\n\t\"I see. Pity. Still, all the martial arts in the world can't stop a bullet, can they?\" Both the white-suited men reached inside their jackets.\n\t\"Hold it right there, fellas!\" shouted Cash from the wall of the fort. They both looked up to see the old man holding an M-16, aimed at them. \"Take those pieces out, nice and slow.\" They did so. \"Now, throw them away.\" They obeyed, tossing their guns into the darkness. Cash grinned and lowered his rifle. \"There! Now the odds are even!\"\n\tThe black-haired man grinned savagely at Rick as he whipped out a butterfly knife. \"I don't mind telling you, I'm going to enjoy this!\"\n\t\"That makes two of us,\" Rick replied, taking up a defensive stance. \n\tThe black-haired man jumped down off the platform and lunged at Rick with his knife. The raccoon parried the thrust with his left hand and rammed his right fist into the man's stomach. The man grunted with pain and sliced at the raccoon's head. Rick ducked and spun, his foot striking the man's wrist and causing him to drop his knife. \n\tThe man dropped into what Rick recognized as a karate stance. \"You're not the only one who knows martial arts, you furry bastard!\" he snarled.\n\tRick grinned. \"We'll see about that.\" He noticed that the silver-haired man had squared off with Paul and was menacing him with his knife. Paul had apparently dusted off his UNTIL combat training and was holding his own—for the moment, anyway. Rick concentrated on his own opponent, blocking several kicks and punches from the black-haired man. Karate was a brutal, straightforward martial art, lacking the flexibility of kung fu. It was designed to put an opponent down as fast as possible, and this man was quite good at it. Rick decided it would be best to end this quickly. He waited for the opening that he knew would come at the end of the combination the man was using, then darted in, seized the man's leg, and jerked it upward, flipping him onto his back. The man's head struck the fort's stone floor with a loud crack.\n\tRick whirled around just as the silver-haired man's knife sliced across Paul's palm, leaving a trail of crimson in its wake. Rick leaped at the man and seized his knife arm with both hands, immobilizing it, while Paul slugged the man across his face. The man took the punch without flinching, sent Paul reeling backward by planting his foot in Paul's midriff, and then punched Rick in the muzzle with his free hand. Tasting blood in his mouth, Rick growled and wrenched the man's knife arm upward. There was an audible snap as the bones in the man's lower arm broke. As the man howled in pain, Rick rammed his elbow into the man's gut, and he crumpled to the ground.\n\tRick looked around for the black-haired man, but he was gone. He turned to Paul, who was clutching his bleeding hand, teeth clenched in pain. \"That's going to need stitches,\" Rick observed. He looked up at Cash, who had just rejoined them. \"Could you drive us to the nearest emergency room?\"\n\t\"No problem!\" Cash replied. \"Hey, you got a little something on your nose there, Rick.\"\n\tRick wiped his forearm across his muzzle as he and Paul followed Cash back toward the jitney, and saw a smear of blood on his fur. \"It's nothing.\"\n\t\"Boy, that was something to see,\" said Cash, \"the way you moved around that fort, taking those goons down one by one, without a sound!\"\n\t\"Thanks,\" said Rick. \"Unfortunately, now their boss knows that his only option is to kill me. He'll hire a pro for that.\"\n\tCash grinned at the raccoon as they climbed into the jitney and he started it up. \"Well, after what I saw tonight, I'm sure you can handle whatever he throws at you.\"\n\t\"This was amateur night,\" said Rick grimly. \"Now, things start getting dangerous.\"\n\n\tIt was four o'clock in the morning by the time they arrived back at the Andrews' house, where Madeleine was waiting anxiously for them on the front porch. She took Paul, who was groggy from the anesthetic the doctors had used when they'd stitched up his hand, and put him straight to bed, while Rick saw Cash off. The old man grinned at the raccoon, thanked him for the most exciting night he'd had in ages, and drove off in the jitney. \n\tRick came back into the living room just as Madeleine emerged from the master bedroom. \"Well,\" said Madeleine, \"I don't know about you, but I could use a drink.\"\n\tRick smiled. \"Under the circumstances, I think I'll join you.\"\n\t\"Scotch and soda?\"\n\t\"Sounds great.\"\n\tMadeleine fixed the drinks while Rick sat down on the couch. Then she came over and handed him his. \"Thank you,\" said Madeleine, sitting down beside him.\n\t\"You're quite welcome,\" Rick replied.\n\t\"Paul said you were amazing.\"\n\t\"I was . . . satisfactory,\" Rick replied.\n\tMadeleine smiled and shook her head. \"So modest.\"\n\t\"The modest receive benefit, while the conceited reap failure.\"\n\t\"Did Master Quan teach you that saying?\"\n\t\"Yes, but it's much older than him.\"\n\t They both drank in silence for a moment.\n\t\"It's Tiros,\" said Madeleine. \"It has to be.\"\n\tRick nodded. \"Paul told me they had made offers for your land. What I don't understand is why they want it so badly. I don't know much about real estate values in the Philippines, but the amount Paul was offered tonight seemed rather high.\"\n\t\"How much was it?\" Madeleine asked.\n\t\"The man said well over seven figures.\"\n\tHer eyes widened. \"That [i]is[/i] high!\"\n\t\"There has to be some reason they're willing to go to all this trouble and expense.\"\n\t\"But how do we find out what it is?\" Madeleine asked.\n\t\"Heinrich might know.\"\n\t\"Then perhaps we should pay him a visit.\"\n\tRick turned his head and looked up at her. \"We?\"\n\tShe smiled. \"After what he did to Paul, I wouldn't mind seeing him suffer a bit.\"\n\tThe raccoon frowned. \"One who seeks revenge should first dig two graves.\"\n\tHer smile faded. \"Another of Master Quan's sayings?\"\n\tRick nodded. \"One he borrowed from the Japanese.\"\n\tMadeleine scowled. \"I'm sick of being pushed around, Rick! I want to push back!\"\n\t\"I understand that. But it might be best to leave this sort of thing to someone else. Someone who has nothing to lose.\"\n\t\"Someone like you?\"\n\t\"You have Paul. I have no one. No one will mourn me if I die.\"\n\t\"That's not true,\" Madeleine said. \"I would.\"\n\tRick smiled. \"That's very kind of you.\"\n\t\"After everything you've done for us? It's just common decency.\" She tilted her head. \"You've never had anyone in your life to care about you?\"\n\t\"Well, there was Master Quan, of course. He cared enough to make me his heir.\"\n\t\"No family?\"\n\t\"I told you, I was a one-time experiment. I never had a family.\"\n\t\"No girlfriends back on Monster Island?\"\n\tThe raccoon shook his head. \"None that I would call such.\"\n\t\"What about human women?\"\n\t\"No, not among them, either.\"\n\t\"Do you not find them attractive?\"\n\tRick shrugged. \"I don't find them unattractive. I am half human, after all.\"\n\tMadeleine smiled. \"Would you mind if I scratched behind your ears? If you wouldn't consider it demeaning, that is?\"\n\tRick looked surprised. \"Nobody's ever asked to do that before. No, I wouldn't mind. Feel free.\"\n\tShe reached over and started stroking the raccoon behind his ears, and he closed his eyes and chrrred softly. \"Do you like that?\" she asked.\n\t\"Yes, it feels very nice.\"\n\tMadeleine sighed. \"Is it wrong that I wish Paul were more like you?\"\n\tRick looked up at her. \"Paul is a good man, Madeleine. He's just had a rough time lately. Being shot, losing his job at UNTIL, and now this. His ego has taken a beating. He thinks he's lost what makes him a man.\"\n\tMadeleine's mouth tightened. \"Perhaps he has. Lately, he's so drunk all the time he can't even . . .\" She left the rest unspoken.\n\tRick frowned. \"You know he still loves you.\"\n\tShe nodded. \"I know he does. I'm just not sure I still love him.\" She finished her drink and got up. \"Good night, Rick.\"\n\t\"Madeleine?\" Rick called out as she walked toward the master bedroom, causing her to stop and turn.\n\t\"Yes, Rick?\"\n\t\"It might be a good idea to hire some guards.\"\n\tShe nodded. \"I'll see to it. Good night.\"\n\t\"Good night,\" Rick replied, watching as she disappeared into the master bedroom. He sat on the couch, gazing into his drink for a while.\n\n\t\"Twenty men?\" Martin Tiros asked Baker, staring at him in disbelief as they stood silhouetted against the early morning panorama of downtown Manila in Tiros's office. \"One manimal defeated twenty armed men, bare handed?\"\n\t\"Twenty-two, sir,\" Baker corrected him, a white bandage around his black-haired head, \"counting me and Elliot.\"\n\tTiros slapped his desktop with both hands. \"That's impossible! Nobody could do that!\"\n\t\"But he did, sir.\"\n\t\"How?\"\n\t\"I've had our people tracing his movements,\" said Baker. \"Being a raccoon, he does tend to stand out. He was involved in some business in Hong Kong two years ago, something about a ship full of refugees. There were armed men there, too, sir—more than twenty-two. Of course, he also had help, from an unknown UNTIL agent.\"\n\tTiros blinked. \"UNTIL? The last thing I need is for them to get involved!\"\n\t\"Not to worry, sir. As far as we've been able to determine, Rick is not on their payroll.\"\n\tTiros rubbed his temples. \"Well, that's a relief!\"\n\t\"Then he had some more adventures in China before ending up in Japan, where he most recently appears to have been studying at a dojo run by a certain Master Yamada, one of the few dojo remaining that still teaches the art of ninjitsu.\"\n\t\"Ninjitsu?\" asked Tiros. \"You mean he's a goddamned ninja?\"\n\t\"It would explain a few things, sir.\"\n\t\"Fine!\" said Tiros. \"I want a ninja, too! Find me a ninja, Mr. Baker!\"\n\tBaker smiled. \"As it turns out, sir, one has recently become available for hire—a Mr. Korenaga, also a former student at Master Yamada's school.\"\n\tTiros looked thoughtful. \"Do you suppose he and Rick know each other?\"\n\t\"It's entirely possible, sir.\"\n\t\"Well, no matter. Hire him, Mr. Baker. I don't care what it costs.\"\n\tBaker's smile broadened into a grin. \"Already done, sir.\" He checked his Rolex. \"He should be boarding a Japan Air Lines flight to Manila as we speak.\"\n\tTiros grinned as well. \"Good work, Mr. Baker. Oh, by the way, how's the head?\"\n\tBaker made a dismissive gesture. \"I've had worse, sir.\"\n\tTiros nodded. \"Put yourself down for a bonus. And tell Mr. Elliot that he and his twenty men no longer work for us.\"\n\t\"Already done, sir.\"\n\n\tPaul and Madeleine were having breakfast on the back patio when Rick came out to join them. Paul was talking enthusiastically about the events of last night, telling Madeleine how great Rick had been, which made Rick squirm inwardly. The raccoon bid them a quiet \"Good morning\" as he sat down at the table.\n\t\"Hey, Rick!\" said Paul, grinning widely. \"How ya doin', buddy? I was just telling Maddy how fantastic you were last night, the way you took down all those guys, then brought all their guns up to their leader and dropped them right at his feet!\" He slapped his thigh with his uninjured hand.\n\t\"Thank you,\" said Rick, as the Filipino maid brought him a glass of orange juice. \"How's the hand?\"\n\tPaul held up his bandaged hand. \"Eh, it's all right. Hurts a bit, but that's what Percoset is for. Man, it sure felt good last night, getting down and dirty with those thugs, mixing it up. Just like old times, eh, Rick?\" He grinned at the raccoon.\n\tRick smiled and nodded. \"Just like old times.\" He glanced over at Madeleine, whose eyes met his furtively. She was obviously just as uncomfortable as he was. True, they hadn't actually done anything last night, but she'd made her feelings clear. He focused his attention on the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon the maid had placed before him, digging in as Paul continued talking.\n\t\"Maddy was just telling me you suggested we hire some guards,\" Paul said. \"I think that's a great idea! Don't you agree, honey?\" he asked Madeleine, who simply nodded. He looked back at Rick. \"So, what's on the agenda for today?\"\n\t\"I thought I'd go into town and talk to Heinrich,\" said Rick. \"Find out what he knows.\"\n\tPaul nodded. \"Break that kraut bastard's other arm while you're at it.\"\n\t\"Do you want me to drive you in?\" Madeleine asked.\n\tRick shook his head. \"No, you're needed here. I'll go in on my own.\"\n\t\"All right,\" said Madeleine. \"Just be careful, Rick. Heinrich's a treacherous little rat.\"\n\t\"I'd say that's an insult to every rat I've ever met,\" said Rick. \"Don't worry, Madeleine, I'll be careful.\"\n\tPaul chuckled. \"Yeah, don't worry about Rick, Maddy. If he can take down twenty armed men single-handed, he can certainly handle one fat little German.\" He grinned at Rick. \"Bringing you here was the smartest thing I ever did!\"\n\tRick quickly finished his breakfast and excused himself from the table. After he'd left, Paul looked at Madeleine. \"You like him, don't you?\" he said.\n\tMadeleine blinked, then nodded. \"Yes, I do, very much. He's the most extraordinary person I've ever met, and not just because he's a manimal. If he were human, I'd feel the same way. He has a serenity about him, and a moral strength that's rare in any man.\" She peered at her husband. \"Is something wrong, Paul?\"\n\tPaul sighed. \"You know, when we first came out here, we were all over each other. Couldn't wait to have sex. Now . . .\" He let the thought trail off.\n\tMadeleine walked over to him and stroked the side of his face. \"You look much better clean-shaven, Paul. You should do it more often.\"\n\t\"Or maybe I should grow fur and a tail,\" Paul said bitterly.\n\t\"I think you're being a bit unfair, Paul,\" Madeleine said. \"To both of us.\" She turned and went inside the house, leaving him alone on the patio.\n\n\t\"Mr. Korenaga to see you, sir,\" Baker said as he entered Martin Tiros's office. Tiros turned from the window to see Baker walking toward him, followed by a handsome Japanese man wearing a black dress shirt with no tie, black slacks, and a white jacket. Korenaga stopped before Tiros and bowed deeply.\n\t\"[i]Konnichiwa[/i],\" said Tiros, bowing back. \"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Korenaga.\"\n\t\"Thank you, sir,\" Korenaga replied, in heavily accented English.\n\t\"Won't you sit down, please?\" Tiros asked. They both seated themselves at his desk, while Baker remained standing. \"Green tea?\"\n\t\"Yes, please,\" said Korenaga. \"No sugar.\"\n\tTiros touched a button on the intercom. \"Miss Lopez, bring in a cup of green tea with no sugar, please.\" He leaned back in his chair. \"I don't know how much Mr. Baker here has told you about the situation. We're having some trouble with another former student of Mr. Yamada's, a manimal named Rick.\" He watched as Korenaga's eyes widened. \"I take it you know him?\"\n\tKorenaga nodded. \"I know him. He is the reason I left Yamada's school.\"\n\tTiros smiled as his secretary brought in the tea in a cup of fine Portmeirion china, set it down in front of Korenaga, and departed. \"Well then, it would seem that fate has handed you an opportunity to get back at him.\"\n\t\"You misunderstand, Mr. Tiros,\" said Korenaga, sipping his tea. \"I bear Rick no ill will. It is not his fault he is what he is. I respect his abilities. In some ways, he is very admirable. I simply did not feel that he belonged with us.\"\n\tTiros frowned. \"Does that mean you won't do the job?\"\n\t\"I will do it,\" said Korenaga. \"A ninja does not allow sentiment to come between him and his duty.\"\n\tTiros smiled. \"Good! If you succeed, I may have several other jobs lined up for you.\"\n\t\"I will succeed, or die,\" said Korenaga.\n\t\"Your dedication to your craft is admirable,\" said Tiros. \"It's a pleasure to be working with a true professional.\" He reached across his desk to shake Korenaga's hand. As he did so, his arm knocked the teacup off the edge, sending the delicate object plummeting toward the hardwood floor. Korenaga reacted instantly, catching the cup in midair and placing it carefully back on the desk, as both Tiros and Baker stared in astonishment.\n\t\"The pleasure is mine, sir,\" said Korenaga, smiling.\n\n\tRick thought about Madeleine as he walked the five miles into town. He couldn't deny that he had developed feelings for her. She was a strong, brave, determined woman. She was also unhappy, and he wanted to help her if he could. But Paul was his friend, and it would be wrong to take advantage of a friend's misfortune, even if he and Madeleine had grown apart, which they clearly had. Rick sighed and shook his head. Nothing Master Quan had taught him had prepared him for this.\n\tAs he entered town, he noticed a number of people smiling and waving at him. Apparently, he was now their hero for ridding them of the scourge of Heinrich. While he was glad to have helped improve their lives, it made him feel uncomfortable. He had never considered himself a hero. Still, it was better than being feared and hated, so he politely smiled and waved back.\n\tHe found Cash in his usual spot on a street corner, hawking porn and crucifixes. The old man grinned as he saw the raccoon walking toward him. \"Hey, Rick, how ya doin'?\"\n\tRick smiled up at him. \"Fine, thank you.\"\n\t\"You're getting to be real popular in this town,\" Cash remarked.\n\tRick's mouth tightened. \"So I've noticed.\"\n\t\"Hey, you feeling horny? One of the local hookers said she'd give you a freebie for getting rid of Heinrich. She also said she was curious what it'd be like. I promised her I'd mention it to you.\"\n\tRick blinked at him. \"You're a pimp now?\"\n\tCash waved a hand dismissively. \"Nah, she's just a friend. A good friend, if you get my meaning.\" He grinned and winked. \"So I thought I'd send some business her way, as a favor.\"\n\t\"Actually, I have other things on my mind at the moment,\" said Rick.\n\t\"Oh, like what?\"\n\t\"Heinrich.\"\n\tCash stared at him. \"Heinrich? You already broke his arm. What are you going to do for an encore, give him cancer?\"\n\t\"I need to find out what he knows.\"\n\t\"Well, word is he's been laying low in Manila since you made him lose face here.\"\n\t\"Can you find out where?\"\n\tCash scratched under his bearded chin. \"I dunno, Manila's an awful big place.\"\n\tRick took some bills from his pocket and handed them to him. \"That enough?\"\n\tCash grinned and tucked the money in his jacket. \"Enough to get started with. Come on, we got a jitney to catch!\"\n\n\tTwo hours later, the rainbow-colored bus dropped them off in one of the poor sections of Manila, and so began a long day of walking around and asking questions. Rick wasn't known here, so he was subjected to constant stares from the locals. He also didn't speak Filipino, which meant that Cash had to do most of the talking. Fortunately, he seemed to know someone in every sleazy dive in the city. As they moved from one to another, Rick noticed that they were accumulating a crowd of Filipino children, who were all staring at him in wide-eyed wonder. This made him uneasy, since the crowd might draw attention he didn't want. He was tempted to give them some money to go away, but decided against it. Most likely they would just tell their friends, which would attract even more of them, and his finances were not unlimited.\n\tAround noon, the pair stopped at a cheap little restaurant to have lunch. They both ordered a fish sandwich and a bottle of beer—San Miguel for Cash, Tsingtao for Rick—and sat at a table, eating their sandwiches and drinking their beers as a line of tiny brown faces stared through the window at them. \n\t\"How long have you lived in the Philippines?\" Rick asked Cash.\n\t\"A little over thirty years now,\" Cash replied, around a mouthful of fish sandwich. \"I used to be a sailor. Served on a carrier—the [i]Ticonderoga[/i]. Then I started stealing stuff from the ship's stores and selling it to make a little extra money on the side. You wouldn't believe how much there is on a carrier. It's like a floating warehouse!\"\n\t\"What kind of stuff?\" Rick asked.\n\t\"No guns,\" Cash said quickly. \"I never messed with anything like that. Mainly just candy bars, booze, and condiments.\"\n\tRick raised an eyebrow. \"Condiments?\"\n\tCash grinned. \"Yeah, ketchup and mustard are real expensive here. Anyway, my superiors got wise to what I was doing, so I . . . well . . . disappeared.\" He shrugged.\n\t\"That explains why you haven't gone back to the States,\" Rick said.\n\t\"Eh, there's nothing there for me—except a stint in Leavenworth. Besides, I love it here!\" He chuckled.\n\t\"I'm glad you've found a place where you're happy.\"\n\tCash nodded. \"What about you?\"\n\t\"I'm still looking.\"\n\t\"I don't envy you,\" Cash said. \"Can't be easy, you being a raccoon and all.\"\n\tRick shook his head. \"No, it isn't.\"\n\t\"Hey,\" said Cash, \"it just occurred to me. What do you do for a passport?\"\n\t\"I have a French passport,\" Rick replied.\n\tCash looked puzzled. \"French?\"\n\tRick nodded. \"The French government issues a passport to every manimal who leaves Monster Island. I guess it's their way of making up for Moreau being a Frenchman.\"\n\t\"Huh. That's nice of them.\" Cash finished his sandwich, downed the last of his beer, and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. \"Well, back to pounding the pavement. You got this, right?\"\n\t\"Yes, I've got it,\" Rick replied, putting the money on the table and hopping down off his chair. They left the restaurant and went back out onto the street.\n\tAnother few hours of walking around asking questions finally got them a lead on where Heinrich was holed up. They arrived at a hotel that looked as if it had begun going downhill before the Japanese occupation. For a few pesos, the fat, sweaty desk clerk told them which room their quarry was in. \n\t\"Stay here,\" Rick said to Cash. \"Make sure he doesn't call Heinrich and warn him.\" He turned to the clerk. \"Give me your passkey.\" \n\tGrudgingly, the clerk forked the key over. The raccoon headed up the stairs as Cash stood grinning at the clerk. \"So, you interested in art?\" Cash asked him.\n\tRick reached room 403 without incident. There was a sign hanging from the doorknob that said \"Do Not Disturb\" in Filipino and English. He quietly unlocked the door with the passkey, opened it a crack, and wrinkled his nose at the smells that issued forth. The living room table was covered with Chinese food cartons, flies buzzing around them while a ceiling fan slowly rotated overhead. The walls were blotched with mold, and the paint was peeling in places. As Rick pushed the door open, a string tied to the doorknob tugged on a beer bottle set atop the frame, sending it tumbling toward the floor. Rick caught the bottle in midair and glanced at it. Tsingtao. That made sense. The brewery had been started by a German who had immigrated to China in the early 20th Century. He set the bottle down beside the door and entered the living room.\n\tThere were three doorways that led off from the living room, not counting the one he had entered through. One led to a balcony and was open to improve air circulation, with gauzy curtains that doubled as mosquito netting. Another was closed, but very narrow—clearly a closet. The third was also closed. Rick went over to the third door, turned the knob, and eased it open slowly, alert for another bottle-alarm. There wasn't one. \n\tThe room reeked of sweat and stale beer. Thin lines of sunlight from the shuttered window snaked across a rotund shape lying on the bed. Loud snoring filled the air, while another ceiling fan whirled above. The floor was littered with empty beer bottles. Moving carefully to avoid disturbing them, Rick walked over to the bed and hopped up onto it, causing Heinrich to wake with a start. The German's pudgy body was naked save for a pair of boxer shorts and a plaster cast on his left arm, his pallid skin gleaming with sweat.\n\t\"Hello, Heinrich,\" said Rick, smiling down at him.\n\t\"What . . . what do you want?\" Heinrich asked, swallowing. \"Haven't you caused me enough trouble?\"\n\t\"I just came to talk,\" Rick replied pleasantly.\n\t\"You're . . . not going to break my other arm, are you?\"\n\tThe raccoon shook his head. \"Not if you cooperate.\"\n\t\"All right,\" said Heinrich. \"What do you want to talk about?\"\n\t\"I want to know who you work for and why they want the Andrews' land so badly that they're willing to kill for it.\"\n\tHeinrich scowled. \"I do not work for anyone, thanks to you.\"\n\t\"That's a shame,\" said Rick. \"Still, I'm sure you'll find honest work eventually. Perhaps I could even put in a good word for you somewhere, if I knew the name of your last employer.\"\n\tThe German shrugged. \"I see no reason not to tell you, as I owe them nothing. My last employer was Tiros Enterprises.\"\n\t\"And why is Tiros so interested in the Andrews' land?\"\n\tHeinrich pursed his fat lips. \"What is this information worth to you?\"\n\tRick seized the German's right arm with both hands and twisted it, making him cry out in pain. \"Don't try my patience, Heinrich. It's been a long day and my feet are sore.\"\n\t\"All right! All right! Please, stop!\" Rick relaxed his grip on the man's arm. \"Tiros believes there is questionite beneath the Andrews' land.\"\n\tRick raised an eyebrow. \"Questionite?\"\n\tHeinrich nodded. \"He mentioned a survey made by a geologist who works for him. It said there were traces of questionite in the soil. He thinks there may be a large deposit there!\"\n\tRick thought for a moment. Questionite was an extremely rare metal, stronger than steel and much lighter. Any sizable deposit of the stuff would be worth a fortune. \"Thank you, Heinrich,\" he said. \"You've been very helpful.\" He released the German's arm and hopped down off the bed.\n\t\"You are quite welcome,\" said Heinrich. \"[i]Auf wiedersehen[/i], Rick.\" \n\tRick's ears pricked up as he heard the German slide something from beneath his pillow. He ducked aside as a shot rang out, the bullet whizzing past his ear. Scooping up one of the bottles from the floor, he hurled it at Heinrich, beaning him on his forehead. As the German howled in pain, Rick leaped on top of him, grabbing his right arm and forcing him to point his pistol at the ceiling. They were on the top floor, so nobody would be harmed if it went off, except maybe some seagulls.\n\t\"Some people never learn,\" Rick growled.\n\t\"No! No, please!\" Heinrich begged.\n\tRick ignored him and slammed the German's lower arm down across his knee, snapping the bones clean through. Heinrich screamed in agony, his pistol thudding to the floor. Rick slid off him and onto the floor, standing and watching in disdain as the German writhed on his back, kicking and screaming. Then he turned and left the room.\n\tHe met Cash on the stairs, the old man running up to him. \"I heard a gunshot!\" Cash said, panting hard.\n\tRick nodded. \"A Luger, I believe.\"\n\tCash swallowed. \"Did you kill him?\"\n\t\"No, but he's going to need help eating, dressing himself, and going to the bathroom for a while.\"\n\tCash grunted. \"Well, that's better than he deserves. Did he talk?\"\n\t\"Yes, he told me what I wanted to know. I have to get back to the Andrews' place,\" said Rick. He and Cash descended the stairs to the lobby, Rick gave the clerk back his passkey, and they left the hotel.\n\n\tNight had fallen over the Andrews' estate, and Madeleine stood outside the house, leaning against a palm tree in the front yard, her arms folded around herself. She hoped Rick was all right. Then she shook her head. The raccoon had amply demonstrated that he was more than able to take care of himself. What a remarkable person he was! So violent, and yet kind, generous, and humble, putting his life on the line for a friend and asking nothing in return. He had said nobody cared about him, but she cared—perhaps more than she should, she reflected. She wondered what would happen when this was over . . . assuming, of course, that they all survived. Would Rick want to stay here, or would he just drift off somewhere else? Did she want him to stay? Did she want to go on being married to Paul? Did Rick have feelings for her? It was hard to tell; he was so self-contained. She wondered what it would be like to have that small, furry body lying beside her. She sighed, pushed off the tree, and went around to the back of the house.\n\tAs she walked along the brick walkway, she nearly tripped over something in the dark. She looked down and gasped. It was one of the guards she'd hired just today, his eyes open and blank, his chest glistening black in the moonlight. \"Paul!\" she screamed, running to the back porch. \n\tPaul was sitting at the table on the patio with a glass of bourbon. He stood up quickly as his wife came running toward him. \"Maddy, what's wrong?\"\n\t\"One of the guards has been killed!\" she said, running past him to the living room.\n\t\"What?\" Paul asked. Madeleine opened the closet, took out her shotgun, and ran back to the patio. She flicked on the yard lights, illuminating the whole back yard. Another guard lay on the grass beside the swimming pool, face down. Madeleine began running over to him.\n\t\"Madeleine, wait!\" Paul shouted. \"Let me get my revolver!\" He ran into the house as Madeleine knelt beside the guard and turned him over. A steel throwing star was embedded in the man's forehead. As she stood up, an arm suddenly clamped around her neck from behind, paralyzing her. There had been nothing around her for more than sixty feet in every direction a second ago.\n\t\"Where is Rick?\" her captor asked, in heavily accented English, his gravelly voice slightly muffled.\n\t\"I-I-I don't know!\" Madeleine cried. Then she screamed as she felt an agonizing pressure just beneath her shoulder, and the shotgun fell from her hands.\n\t\"Tell me, or there will be more pain!\" the man growled. Madeleine shook her head, sobbing.\n\tPaul came running back out onto the patio, holding his revolver, and saw Madeleine standing by the pool next to a dead guard, locked in a choke hold by a man dressed in a black tunic, hood, mask, breeches, and soft cloth boots. Only his eyes were visible. \"Let her go!\" Paul shouted, walking toward them, his revolver leveled. \n\tThe man shifted his position so that Madeleine was between him and Paul. \"Drop the gun, or I break her neck!\" the man demanded.\n\t\"No, Paul, don't!\" Madeleine cried.\n\tPaul hesitated, looking around. \"Guards?\" he yelled.\n\t\"Your guards are all dead,\" the man said. \"You have three seconds. Then she dies.\"\n\tWith a look of resignation on his face, Paul sighed and dropped the revolver. It thudded in the grass.\n\t\"Now,\" the man said, \"where is Rick?\"\n\t\"He went into town looking for Heinrich,\" said Paul. \"He should have been back hours ago. That's all I know.\"\n\tThe man looked annoyed. He threw Madeleine aside, sending her sprawling on the grass. Then he drew a throwing star and hurled it at Paul, embedding it in his knee. Paul cried out, falling to his other knee. He reached for the revolver, but the man was suddenly standing before him and kicked it away, sending it skittering into the pool, where it sank with a plop. Paul looked up at him, grimacing in pain. \"Who are you?\" he asked through clenched teeth.\n\t\"I am nobody,\" the man said. \"I do not exist.\" He drew a gleaming curved short sword from its sheath.\n\t\"No!\" Madeleine screamed.\n\tThe blade came down in a bright flash, slicing into Paul's chest and releasing a spray of blood across the grass. Paul fell forward and lay still.\n\t\"You bastard!\" Madeleine shrieked, scrambling to her fallen shotgun, picking it up, and aiming it at her husband's killer. She fired once, the report tearing a hole in the night, and the man spun aside like a wisp of smoke. His sword came singing around, striking the barrel of the shotgun and cutting into it, destroying the mechanism for chambering the next shell. Madeleine sprang to her feet and reversed the weapon, trying to bludgeon him with it, but the man evaded the blow with casual ease and delivered a karate chop to the side of her neck, which caused her to slump to the ground. He wiped the blood from his blade with a cloth and sheathed it. Then he picked up Madeleine's limp form, hoisted it over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and walked off into the night.\n\n\tA jitney dropped Rick off at the Andrews' estate, and he walked up the driveway and into the house. He called out to Paul and Madeleine, but there was no reply. Odd. Perhaps they were taking a late swim in the pool. After walking around Manila all day, he could do with a swim himself. He went out the back door to the patio. The backyard lights were on. Immediately, he saw the two bodies beside the pool and realized that he knew who one of them was.\n\t\"Paul!\" Rick cried out, running over to his friend. He knelt beside Paul and turned him over on his back. The stickiness of the blood on his chest told him that Paul had been dead for at least an hour. Sighing, he closed Paul's eyes. Then he saw something metallic embedded in Paul's knee. He reached down and plucked it out. \n\tA throwing star. He had seen this design and the kanji engraved on it before. \"Korenaga,\" Rick growled.\n\tHe noticed a shotgun lying in the grass a dozen feet away, and went to inspect it. It was the same one Madeleine had threatened him with when he'd first arrived. There was a deep cut in the barrel. He sniffed the weapon. It had been fired recently. Rick stood up and put his hands to his mouth. \"Madeleine!\" he shouted as loudly as he could. There was no reply but the songs of frogs and crickets. Clenching his teeth, he walked back into the house. He remembered what Paul had said, about Rick being the Eleventh Commandment. \"Thou shalt not get away with it.\" He went into his room and began to change.\n\n\t\"Mrs. Andrews?\" \n\tMadeleine started awake as the sound of her name penetrated her awareness. She sat up quickly and looked around. She was in what appeared to be an indoor jungle. Tropical plants grew out of recessed areas in the tiled floor, and there were skylights overhead. Stone fountains burbled softly in the planted areas, keeping the soil moist. Before a floor-to-ceiling window displaying the glittering nighttime skyline of Manila stood a large mahogany desk. She was lying on a very modern padded bench made of steel and vinyl. Around her stood three men. One was a sandy-haired, square-jawed man in his fifties, with gray eyes, wearing an expensively tailored blue suit. The second was a tall man with black hair, wearing a white suit. The third she recognized as the man who had killed Paul. \"You!\" Madeleine snarled, attempting to lunge at Paul's killer, only to discover that she felt weak and dizzy. She almost fell, but the first man caught her and gently set her back on the bench.\n\t\"Easy, there,\" the first man said, smiling. \"I'm afraid Mr. Korenaga had to drug you for the trip to Manila. I'm told it'll wear off quickly. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Andrews. I'm Martin Tiros.\" He held out his hand to her.\n\tMadeleine just glared at him. \"The pleasure is [i]not[/i] mutual, Mr. Tiros!\"\n\tTiros nodded and withdrew his hand. \"I can understand why you'd be angry with me.\"\n\t\"Angry? Angry doesn't begin to describe it!\" She pointed at Korenaga. \"That man murdered my husband!\"\n\tTiros sighed. \"Your husband was being obstinate, Mrs. Andrews. I made him a very generous offer for his land. If he'd just accepted it, he'd still be alive, and quite wealthy.\"\n\tMadeleine stared at him. \"So instead, you had him killed? And you don't see anything wrong with that?\"\n\tTiros shrugged and leaned back on the bench, crossing his legs. \"It's the law of the jungle, Mrs. Andrews. Survival of the fittest.\"\n\t\"That's how you justify cold-blooded murder?\" Madeleine demanded. \"By fobbing it off on Darwin?\"\n\t\"Actually, Darwin didn't coin that phrase,\" said Tiros. \"It was Herbert Spencer. You see, Spencer believed that those who win the struggle for survival are by definition not only the fittest, but also morally superior.\" He smiled.\n\t\"You are a sick man, Mr. Tiros,\" said Madeleine. \"There's nothing morally superior about killing those weaker than yourself. That's just common barbarism.\"\n\tTiros sighed again. \"Mrs. Andrews, it's late, and I'm not really interested in debating philosophy with you. I brought you here because I want you to sign your land over to me. Do that, and you can walk out of here a free woman with enough money to last you the rest of your life. Now, that seems reasonable, doesn't it?\"\n\tMadeleine laughed. \"Do you take me for a complete idiot? Do you think I'm too stupid to realize you can't possibly let me live, knowing what I know? Your pet ninja over there will kill me before the ink on the contract is dry!\"\n\t\"I give you my word, Mrs. Andrews,\" Tiros said.\n\t\"You can take your word and cram it up your ass! You're a thug, Tiros, nothing more, and it will be my pleasure to deny you what you want!\"\n\tTiros frowned. \"You might want to reconsider, Mrs. Andrews. Mr. Korenaga can be very persuasive. I'm told he knows many ways of inflicting pain.\"\n\tMadeleine shook her head. \"Like I said, nothing but a thug. I feel sorry for you.\"\n\tTiros chuckled. \"Don't, Mrs. Andrews. You see, I'm what's known as a winner. Your late husband, on the other hand, was a loser.\" He shrugged again, holding his hands palms up in an exaggerated \"What can you do?\" gesture.\n\tMadeleine smirked. \"You're not going to win, Mr. Tiros. I know someone who will see to that.\"\n\t\"Ah yes,\" said Tiros, \"your furry friend. I admit, he has been an unexpected thorn in my side. That's why I hired Mr. Korenaga. It seems he and Rick went to the same school together.\"\n\tAt that moment, the black-haired man's cell phone buzzed. He answered it, and his eyes went wide. \"What?\" He looked at Tiros. \"Rick is in the lobby!\"\n\t\"What?\" echoed Tiros. \"What's he doing?\"\n\t\"Nothing. He says he wants to talk to you, in person.\"\n\tTiros glanced over at Korenaga, who simply nodded. \"Very well. Have him come up, Mr. Baker.\"\n\t\"Bring him up,\" Baker said into his cell phone.\n\tThere followed a period of prolonged silence while they waited for the raccoon to arrive. It was Madeleine who finally broke it. \"You're going to die tonight, Mr. Tiros,\" she said, smiling at him.\n\tTiros smiled back. \"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Mrs. Andrews. Rick may be a formidable combatant, but he's still just flesh and blood. He can be killed.\"\n\t\"So can you,\" said Madeleine icily.\n\tThe door to the office opened and Rick entered, accompanied by four uniformed security guards. The raccoon was now dressed in his sleeveless green tunic with white trim, green trousers, and gold cloth belt. His black eyes moved to each person in the room, lingering on Madeleine for a moment and finally stopping on Tiros.\n\t\"Hello, Rick,\" Tiros said, smiling at him. \"I'm Martin Tiros. What can I do for you?\"\n\t\"You can release Madeleine and let us both walk out of here,\" Rick replied calmly.\n\tTiros chuckled. \"And why would I do that?\"\n\t\"To avoid going to jail for the murder of Paul Andrews and four security guards, among other things.\"\n\t\"And who's going to bring me to justice? You?\"\n\t\"No, UNTIL. Or weren't you aware that Paul Andrews used to work for them?\"\n\tTiros and Baker both looked at each other, alarmed.\n\t\"I know about the questionite under the Andrews' estate,\" Rick continued, \"and I know you had Paul killed to get it. And in case you think you can get yourself off the hook by killing me, I've given this information to an associate of mine who has instructions to contact UNTIL and give it to them if he doesn't hear from me in one hour. UNTIL will investigate Paul's death, and it won't take them long to confirm that what I said is true. Your only option is to let Madeleine and me go free and never bother either of us again. This is an ultimatum, Mr. Tiros.\"\n\tTiros clenched his jaw. \"And what guarantee do I have, if I let you go, that you won't blab to UNTIL anyway?\"\n\t\"You have my word as the last member of the House of Quan,\" Rick replied.\n\tTiros snorted. \"As if [i]that's[/i] worth anything!\"\n\tKorenaga spoke up. \"If Rick gives his word, he will keep it.\"\n\tTiros turned his head and stared at the ninja. \"Seriously?\"\n\tKorenaga nodded. \"It is our way.\"\n\tTiros turned back to Rick, scowling. \"If you think I'm just going to abandon that questionite—\"\n\t\"I'm giving you a chance to not spend the rest of your life in jail, Mr. Tiros,\" Rick interrupted. \"I trust that's worth more to you than the questionite.\"\n\tTiros glared venomously at the raccoon, shaking, his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. \"Goddamn you, you furry little shit!\"\n\tRick returned the man's hateful look with a placid gaze. \"The clock is ticking, Mr. Tiros.\"\n\tTiros ground his teeth for a long moment as everyone waited tensely for his decision. Finally, he threw up his hands in exasperation. \"All right, fine! Take the woman and go!\" Then he pointed at Rick. \"But mark my words, this isn't over! I don't like losing, especially to some genetic freak!\"\n\t\"Failure is the mother of success,\" Rick replied, unperturbed.\n\tTiros sneered at him. \"You get that out of a fortune cookie?\"\n\t\"No, the [i]I Ching[/i]. You might want to take a look at it.\"\n\tTiros gave a derisive snort as Madeleine rose from the bench and walked past him toward Rick. In front of Baker, she paused and coughed, bending over slightly. Her right hand snatched his pistol from its holster, and she whirled, shouting \"Bastard!\" and fired at Tiros point blank, a red hole appearing in the center of the businessman's chest.\n\tThree things happened simultaneously: Rick sprang, sailing through the air toward Madeleine; Baker seized her right arm and twisted it so the gun was pointing upward; and Korenaga snatched a throwing star from the sash across his chest and hurled it at her. Madeleine squeezed the trigger again, firing a shot that shattered the skylight above her, as Rick collided with her, knocking her down, and the spinning steel star whizzed by above his head and struck Baker in the throat. Baker staggered backward, gurgling blood, and fell to the floor as glass from the skylight rained down on Rick and Madeleine, the raccoon doing his best to shield the woman with his body, while Tiros also fell, staring down at the hole in his chest in disbelief.\n\tThe four security guards who had accompanied Rick all drew their pistols, aiming them at him and Madeleine as they lay on the floor together. Korenaga tossed a small glass globe toward the guards, and it shattered when it hit the floor, engulfing them in a cloud of green vapor. They all reeled and collapsed.\n\t\"Are you all right?\" Rick asked Madeleine. \n\tShe nodded. \"I'm fine. Thank you.\" \n\tThe raccoon got to his feet, fragments of glass raining down from his back and shoulders, and looked up at Korenaga. The ninja was slowly drawing his sword. \"Tiros is dead, Korenaga,\" Rick said. \"You don't have to do this.\"\n\t\"Of course I do,\" Korenaga replied, holding his sword before him with both hands, the blade gleaming under the lights. \"I must avenge my employer's death, just as you had to come here to help your friend. Honor demands it.\"\n\t\"Master Yamada said that ninjitsu should not be used to serve evil ends!\" Rick persisted.\n\tKorenaga scowled behind his mask. \"Yamada has lost sight of what ninja truly are: weapons. A weapon is not concerned with the morality of the man who wields it.\"\n\tRick shook his head. \"Emiko was right about you. You're living in the past.\"\n\t\"To hell with this!\" said Madeleine, raising her pistol and aiming it at Korenaga.\n\t\"No!\" cried Rick, reaching for her gun arm. She got off one shot before he knocked it aside. Korenaga's blade moved lightning fast, sparking as the bullet glanced off it with a metallic zing. Then it came down in a blinding arc and sliced cleanly through the pistol, narrowly missing Madeleine's hand. \n\tRick rammed his foot into Korenaga's midriff, causing the ninja to grunt with pain and take a step back. \"Run!\" Rick shouted at Madeleine. She hesitated a moment, then turned and ran for the door of the office. Korenaga moved to follow, but Rick blocked him. \n\tThey stood facing each other for a moment. Then Korenaga shrugged. \"It does not matter,\" the ninja said. \"I can track her down later.\"\n\t\"There isn't going to be a later,\" Rick growled.\n\t\"Not for you,\" Korenaga said and lunged, thrusting with his blade. Rick jumped back, hands raised defensively. Korenaga came at him again, swinging his blade in a wide arc, and Rick dove through a wall of ferns growing out of one of the plots of dirt in the floor. The ninja's blade swept through the ferns and struck a stone fountain, biting into it with a sharp clang. The raccoon rolled to his feet and ran to the fallen security guards, lifting two of their nightsticks and holding one in each hand. As Korenaga charged toward him, he turned, knocking the scything blade aside with one stick while ramming the end of the other into the ninja's chest. Korenaga swept the raccoon's feet out from under him with one leg, knocking him onto his back, and brought down his sword in a strike intended to bisect him. Rick parried the sword with one stick and hurled the other at Korenaga's head, striking him directly on his forehead. Korenaga staggered backward, momentarily stunned, as Rick kipped up and laid into the ninja, striking savagely with hands, feet, and stick.\n\tKorenaga executed a side slice with his blade, cutting Rick's nightstick in half and forcing him to jump back and bump into the trunk of a small palm tree. Rick swiftly scampered up the trunk and leaped for the skylight Madeleine had shot out earlier, grasping the edge and pulling himself up onto the roof. Korenaga frowned and quickly followed the raccoon up the tree and through the skylight.\n\tOnce he was up, Korenaga paused and scanned the rooftop. There were several large air conditioning units humming away, any one of which the raccoon might be hiding behind. To the north, east, and south, the lights of the city glittered in the humid night, while to the west lay the vast black expanse of Manila Bay. Cautiously, Korenaga began describing a circle around the rooftop, his soft boots crunching on the gravel, sword held at the ready.\n\tThe attack came without warning. Rick leaped from the top of one of the air conditioners, his foot striking Korenaga directly in his back. The ninja whirled, cutting with his blade, and Rick felt a hot sting of pain as the tip of the sword sliced across his chest. He somersaulted away from Korenaga, landing on his feet, and the ninja charged at him, blade upraised. Rick spun aside as the blade came down, and seized Korenaga's left arm in an arm lock. For a moment, the pair struggled for control of the sword. Then Korenaga lifted the raccoon off his feet and slammed his back against the side of the air conditioner. Rick grunted with pain and sank his sharp teeth into Korenaga's wrist. The ninja cried out and slugged Rick across his muzzle with his right fist. Rick ignored the punch, biting down harder, and Korenaga lost his grip on the sword, the weapon clattering to the ground at his feet. Rick let go of Korenaga's arm, dropping to the roof, and snatched up the sword, spinning and cutting across the ninja's belly. Korenaga staggered back as Rick stood holding the sword with both hands, his muzzle stained with blood, some of it his own.\n\tWith his left hand dangling uselessly, Korenaga drew a throwing star with his right hand and hurled it at the raccoon, who deflected it, the star clanging off the steel blade. Then he drew a small steel weight attached to a chain and swung it at Rick. The raccoon parried, and the chain wrapped around the blade of his sword, fouling it. Korenaga yanked hard, and Rick resisted, his clawed feet crunching against the gravel rooftop. Then Korenaga suddenly let go, and Rick went stumbling backward, falling on his rump. Korenaga drew a dagger from his belt and sprang, landing atop the raccoon and stabbing downward. Rick held up the still tangled sword, one hand on the hilt, the other on the blade itself, blocking the stabbing dagger with its point mere inches from his eyeball. Korenaga snarled as he bore down with the dagger, and Rick grimaced as he pushed back with all his strength.\n\tFor a moment, they lay there locked together, neither able to overcome the other. Then Rick managed to wedge his short leg under Korenaga's torso and, with a effort fueled by desperation, lifted the ninja up and off of him, flipping him head over heels and onto his back. The raccoon rolled to his feet and, as Korenaga struggled to rise, plunged the point of the sword into the ninja's belly.\n\tKorenaga stared at Rick as the raccoon withdrew the blood-stained blade from the man's stomach. The ninja fell to his knees, then slowly reached up with his right hand and pulled off his mask and hood, his glistening face lined with pain.\n\t\"You have won . . . with honor,\" Korenaga said, through clenched teeth. \"Permit me . . . to die . . . with honor.\"\n\tRick swallowed, hesitating, his chest heaving. \n\t\"Please!\" Korenaga begged.\n\tRick nodded, tensing his muscles, and brought the blade down in a swift, powerful strike. Korenaga's head fell to the roof with a thud, his body following a second later. The raccoon stood there silently for a moment, breathing hard. Then, letting the sword fall from his hands, he turned and went back downstairs.\n\n\tMadeleine, Cash, and Rick sat on the rather uncomfortable fiberglass seats in the terminal of Manila International Airport as they waited for Rick's flight to be called, Cash taking an occasional gulp from a bottle of San Miguel. Rick was once again dressed in a polo shirt and slacks, his duffel bag on the seat beside him. Two weeks had passed since the death of Martin Tiros. The Manila police had determined that both Madeleine and Rick had acted in self-defense, and the activities of Tiros Enterprises were now under investigation. The legal monster had been awakened, and was now looking at the company with hungry eyes. But that was someone else's problem.\n\t\"Are you sure you won't stay?\" Madeleine asked, turning her head to look at Rick.\n\t\"I have obligations back in Japan,\" the raccoon replied. He tilted his head. \"What about you?\"\n\t\"I have to stay,\" said Madeleine. \"I owe it to Paul.\"\n\tRick nodded, noting the sadness in her big, dark eyes. \"He was a brave man, and a good friend. Have you decided yet what to do about the questionite?\"\n\tMadeleine sighed. \"If it were up to me, I'd let it stay in the ground. It's what Paul was killed for. But the information is bound to come out sooner or later. After all, Heinrich knows about it, so I have to assume others at Tiros do also and will tell the police, if they haven't already. And since I don't want to go through that hell again, I've decided to sell the mining rights to the Philippine government.\"\n\t\"That will make you a very wealthy woman,\" Rick commented.\n\tShe shrugged. \"I suppose.\"\n\tCash grinned. \"Hey, if you don't want the money, I'll take it!\"\n\tMadeleine smiled. \"I imagine I'll find some use for it, eventually. Maybe I'll set up some sort of humanitarian foundation in Paul's name.\"\n\tRick nodded. \"That sounds like a fine monument. Master Quan used to say, 'If you want happiness that lasts a lifetime, help someone else.'\"\n\t\"Thank you for your help, Rick,\" Madeleine said.\n\tThe public address system crackled to life. \"Japan Air Lines Flight 107, non-stop from Manila to Tokyo, now boarding at gate ten.\" \n\tMadeleine and Cash both rose as Rick hopped down off his seat and hoisted his duffel bag over his shoulder. \"Well, I guess this is goodbye,\" Rick said. \"It's an honor to have met you both.\"\n\t\"You take care of yourself, fuzzy,\" Cash said. \"Say hello to all those geishas for me.\" He held out his hand to Rick, who shook it. \n\tThen Rick turned to Madeleine. Her eyes were glittering. \"If you're ever in the Philippines,\" she said, her voice tight, \"there will always be a place for you.\"\n\t\"Thank you,\" said Rick. \"That means a lot.\" \n\tMadeleine knelt and put her arms around the raccoon, and he did the same to her. They stood like that for a long moment as people walking by stared at them. Finally, she let go of him and stood up. \"Goodbye, Rick.\"\n\t\"Goodbye, Madeleine,\" Rick said. \"Goodbye, Cash.\" He turned and began walking toward the gate, and they watched until his small form was swallowed up by the crowd.", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
A Matter of Honor


a story set in the universe of Champions Online


\tThe bamboo forest was still and silent, shrouded in permanent shadow by the leafy canopy held up by the tall, green, segmented stalks, like poles holding up a circus tent. The stillness was broken by a figure running through the dense undergrowth, panting hard. Even from a distance, one could easily see that it was not human.
\tHe was small, his head barely breaking through the ferns, which rose only a meter above the forest floor. That head was covered in brown fur, with pointed, catlike ears and a white, whiskered muzzle that protruded forward, ending in a black, leathery nosepad. Above the muzzle, his face was covered by a black mask that was part of his natural fur coloring. He was clothed in a green sleeveless tunic and trousers with white trim and a gold cloth belt, his feet unshod. All of his body that could be seen was covered in brown fur, save for his chest, which was white with a furry ruff below the neck, and a tail that was ringed in black and white. His fingers and toes bore claw-like nails.
\tThe raccoon paused for a moment beside a bamboo stalk and looked upward. All the bamboo stalks seemed to radiate out from a single point high above his head. He held his breath as his ears swiveled slightly, straining to pick up any stray scrap of sound. Something came whistling through the air toward him, and he ducked his head as the object struck the stalk just above him, embedding itself in the tough, fibrous plant tissue. It was a steel star with four sharp points. He looked around wildly, but there was no sign of the thrower. Taking a deep breath, he resumed running.
\tThe raccoon broke out of the forest and into an open area that contained a beautifully landscaped garden with a pond traversed by an arched wooden bridge. At the center of the garden stood a large house built in traditional Japanese style, with the corners of the roof turned up. He made his way cautiously toward the bridge, alert for any sign of attack. Bridges were ideal places for ambushes.
\tAs he neared the bridge, two men and a woman erupted from the pond, sailing through the air, and landed before him, each holding a gleaming wakazashi—a curved Japanese short sword. They were all dressed identically, in black tunics, breeches, soft boots, hoods, and masks that covered the lower halves of their faces. What could be seen of their faces had distinctly Asian features. They moved to surround the raccoon, swords raised. He raised his clawed hands defensively, turning to keep all three in view.
\tThe woman struck first, lunging with her blade. The raccoon parried it with one hand and struck out with his foot, hitting her in the midriff and knocking the wind out of her. Then he leaped and somersaulted over her as the two men sliced at him with their blades, both missing. The raccoon landed behind the woman and spun around to face his opponents. Each of the men raised a steel star with his free hand, preparing to throw. The raccoon turned and dove into the water as the two stars smacked into the surface just behind him.
\tThe trio spread out along the edge of the pond, each with a throwing star in hand, eyes scanning the water for any sign of the submerged raccoon. A minute passed. Then another. The surface of the pond remained perfectly still, with nothing to betray the raccoon's whereabouts. As the third minute elapsed, the trio looked at each other, puzzled.
\tThe raccoon burst out of the water beside one of the men, catching him off guard and locking an arm around his neck, bringing him down on his back in the grass. He slammed his fist into the man's chest three times, accompanying each punch with a loud shout. Then he whirled as the woman ran up and hurled a throwing star at him. He dodged the spinning metal star and leaped at the woman in a flying kick, his foot striking her on the chin. She fell in a heap as he spun to face the remaining combatant. The man struck with his sword, cutting at the raccoon's head. The raccoon gave ground, weaving to avoid that shining blade. The man lunged, thrusting the tip of his sword at the raccoon's chest. The raccoon twisted to one side, grasped the man's wrist, and threw him over his head and into the water. Then he turned and headed for the bridge.
\tAs the raccoon reached the crest of the bridge, he could see that before the house stood an elderly Asian man with white hair and a white beard and mustache, wearing a white robe. The raccoon ran across the bridge and directly up to him, drew back his arm, and then thrust it forward in an open palm strike that stopped inches from the old man's face.
\tThe old man broke into a smile and clapped. "Well done, Rick," he said in Japanese.
\tRick lowered his hands and bowed deeply to the old man, water dripping from his whiskers. "Thank you, Master Yamada," he replied in the same language.
\t"You have passed all the tests I have given you," said Yamada. "It is clear that Master Quan taught you well."
\t"You honor me, master," said Rick.
\t"The honor is mine," replied Yamada, fanning himself with a paper fan as the other three came across the bridge to join them. "Though we were of different disciplines and different nationalities, I always had the greatest respect for Master Quan. There is a bond all practitioners of the martial arts share that transcends borders. I am pleased that his last student and member of his house sought me out."
\t"I could do no less," said Rick, "for the greatest living master of ninjitsu in all Japan."
\tYamada smiled. "I do not know if I am worthy of that title, but I am deeply honored all the same. Now, clean yourself up, and then join us in the meeting hall." And with that, he turned and went inside.
\tTwenty minutes later, once Rick had showered, dried his fur, and changed into a fresh outfit, he entered the meeting hall. The room was lined with a dozen ninja on each side, kneeling on the floor, with Master Yamada sitting at the far end. Rick knelt facing Yamada.
\t"What are the kuji-kiri?" Yamada asked without preamble.
\t"They are a ninja's nine levels of power," Rick replied.
\t"Recite them!"
\tRick nodded and began. "Rin, strength of mind and body; pyo, direction of energy; toh, harmony with the universe; sha, healing of self and others; kai, premonition of danger; jin, knowing the thoughts of others; retsu, mastery of time and space; zai, control of the elements of nature; zen, enlightenment."
\tYamada smiled. "Very good. Ours is an ancient order. In the days of the shogunate, we served as assassins and spies to the daimyo. Today, we practice the art of ninjitsu out of tradition, with the understanding that it will not be used to serve evil ends. I deem you worthy to study with us, Rick." He addressed the others. "Does anyone here object?"
\tOne of the ninja pounded his fist on the floor. "I object strenuously!"
\tYamada sighed. "I expected as much, Korenaga."
\t"It is bad enough that you decided to admit women to our order!" Korenaga said, glancing at the female ninja who had fought Rick in the garden, who glared back at him. "But now you intend to dishonor our sacred traditions by sharing them with this . . . this animal!"
\t"Rick proved his worth to Master Quan," said Yamada, "and has passed all the tests required for membership. To refuse him based on his appearance would be foolish, and petty."
\t"How do we know he proved himself to Master Quan?" Korenaga demanded. "We have only his word!"
\t"He carries with him Master Quan's family crest," Yamada countered, "which he would only have given to his heir."
\t"For all we know, he stole that!"
\tYamada's eyes flashed. "You accuse him of being a thief?"
\t"Master, may I speak?" asked Rick quietly.
\tYamada nodded. "Of course."
\tRick turned his head to address Korenaga. "The crest was being held in a safety deposit box by the Bank of Beijing. You may contact them if you wish to confirm this."
\t"There," said Yamada. "He could hardly have obtained the crest if Quan had not granted him access to it."
\t"That does not change the fact that he is not human!" said Korenaga, his voice rising to a shout. "He does not belong here!"
\t"Lower your voice!" roared Yamada, which made Korenaga flinch. He then continued in a quieter tone. "The world has changed since the days of the shogunate, Korenaga. We must change with it. That is the price of survival."
\tKorenaga shook his head. "You ask too much! I cannot remain in an order that admits such creatures to it!"
\t"Then go," said Yamada. "Your bigotry dishonors us."
\tRick looked at Yamada. "Master, it was never my intent to bring such discord to your order. I respectfully withdraw my request."
\t"It is too late for that," said Yamada, his eyes fixed upon Korenaga.
\t"Indeed!" said Korenaga. He rose to his feet, cast a venomous look at Rick, turned, and left.
\tThere was a long moment of silence, which was finally broken by Yamada. "Are there any other objections?" he asked. No one spoke. He turned his gaze to Rick and bowed his head. "Welcome to our order, Rick."
\tRick swallowed. "Thank you, master."
\tAs the meeting broke up, the female ninja came over to Rick, removed her mask, and smiled at him. "The first day is always the hardest," she said.
\t"I'm sorry, Emiko," said Rick. "I didn't mean for this to happen."
\t"It's not your fault, Rick," Emiko replied. "This has been coming for some time now. Your arrival was simply the catalyst. You should have heard the stink he made when I joined." She sighed. "Korenaga had the misfortune to be born too late. A thousand years ago, he would have been a great warrior."
\t"Perhaps he will change his mind," said Rick hopefully.
\tEmiko shook her head. "He will not."
\tAt that moment, one of the student ninja came running up to them, holding an envelope. "Rick, a letter just arrived for you!" he said, holding it out to the raccoon. Rick accepted the letter, opened it, and read the contents. His eyes widened.
\t"Something important?" asked Emiko.
\t"An old friend of mine living in the Philippines needs my help," Rick replied.
\t"Hmm," said Emiko. "It seems you'll have to postpone your training with us."
\tRick stared up at her. "After what just happened?"
\tShe smiled. "Master Yamada will understand. A ninja always honors his commitments."
\tRick nodded. "I will return as soon as I can. Goodbye, Emiko." He turned and ran off to his room to pack.

\tThe muggy, mid-afternoon air hit Rick in the face as though he'd just opened the door to a sauna when he exited the terminal of Manila International Airport. The raccoon was now dressed in white slacks and a light blue polo shirt, though his feet were still bare. Slung over his shoulder was a duffel bag containing all his worldly possessions. He ignored the stares from the other people standing in front of the terminal. While the existence of manimals—human-animal hybrids created on an island in the South Pacific by the rogue geneticist Dr. Philippe Moreau—was public knowledge, very few people had ever actually seen one in the flesh, so Rick tended to attract attention whenever he went. He attempted to hail a cab, but, not entirely to his surprise, no one seemed to be interested in picking up an anthropomorphic raccoon. Rick sighed and removed some bills from his pants pocket, having stopped at the currency exchange booth in the airport to trade his Japanese yen for Philippine pesos, and waved them about above his head. A cab screeched to a halt directly in front of him. He opened the door and climbed into the back, and the driver—a pudgy, round-faced Filipino with thinning black hair, a scraggly goatee and mustache, and eyes like Peter Lorre's—turned in his seat and gave him a wide, rather unsettling grin. "Mind if I take your picture?" he asked, in perfect English. "Otherwise, the guys back at the garage will never believe this!"
\tRick smiled back at him. "Feel free."
\tThe driver held up his camera phone and snapped a picture of him. "Thanks, man!"
\t"Thank you for picking me up," Rick replied. "I was starting to think I'd have to walk."
\t"Hey, when a guy holds out a couple bills like those for me, I don't care what he looks like! Speaking of which . . ." He held his fat, sweaty hand out to Rick, who placed the bills in it. "So, where to, Mac?" His toadlike eyes widened when Rick gave him the address. "Whoa, that's way outside the city, out in the boondocks! Probably a two hour drive!"
\tRick shrugged. "Then we'd best get started." The driver nodded, pulled the cab away from the curb, and headed toward Manila.
\tThey drove along the outskirts of the city, past shops and residential areas, which gradually gave way to lush tropical countryside. The road dwindled to a two-lane highway, forcing them to occasionally swerve around carts pulled by oxen. Eventually, they arrived at a modern-looking single-story house with a yard surrounded by a vine-covered stone wall that might well have been built before the Spanish-American War. Rick paid his fare and waved to the cabbie as he drove off, then walked up to the wrought iron gate. It was padlocked, and there was no one about and no means of alerting anyone to his presence, so he tossed his bag over the wall, climbed it easily, and jumped down the other side. Picking up his bag, he began walking toward the house.
\tA woman emerged from the front door. She was about thirty, with long, blonde hair and large, dark eyes, wearing a white blouse, blue jeans, and brown leather boots. In her hands she held a shotgun, which was pointed at Rick. He stopped as she stared at him in disbelief. "What in God's name?" she asked, speaking with a mild British accent.
\t"Hello," said Rick. "I'm a friend of Paul Andrews."
\t"Don't move!" the woman said, keeping the gun trained on him. Rick didn't move. "Put the bag on the ground." He did so and stood with his hands raised as she approached warily. "What the hell are you?"
\t"You've never heard of manimals?" Rick asked. "Monster Island isn't that far from here. We're practically neighbors."
\t"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
\t"I was invited," said Rick. "Did Paul not mention that I was coming?"
\t"No, he did not."
\t"Rick!" came a man's voice from the front door. "How are you, you old fuzzball?" The speaker was a lean man in his forties, with curly brown receding hair and several days worth of razor stubble, wearing a khaki shirt and blue jeans.
\t"Just fine, Paul," Rick replied, his eyes still on the shotgun. "For the moment."
\tThe man came down from the porch to join them. "I see you met the wife. Madeleine, put that down. He's a friend."
\tShe lowered the gun and turned to her husband. "Why didn't you tell me you'd invited this . . . person?" she asked angrily.
\tPaul shrugged. "Must have slipped my mind. Come on inside, Rick."
\tThe three of them entered the pleasantly furnished living room, and Paul went to the bar and began pouring himself a glass of bourbon.
\t"Do you have to drink?" Madeleine asked her husband. "You just got up."
\tPaul looked at her. "I don't have to. I just choose to." He turned to Rick. "Can I get you anything?"
\t"Just water will be fine," said Rick, feeling as though he were intruding on a private matter.
\tPaul nodded, filled a glass with water and a couple of ice cubes, and handed it to the raccoon while Madeleine went to put the shotgun away. "I guess I should have mentioned he was coming."
\t"So, how do you two know each other?" Madeleine asked.
\t"We met in Hong Kong," Paul replied, "on my last mission for the United Nations Tribunal on International Law."
\tShe stared at him. "UNTIL? You never told me you used to work for them! You said you were a soldier!"
\tPaul nodded. "I was, before I joined UNTIL. I'm not supposed to talk about it, but now I figure, eh, what the hell? We were both investigating an outfit called Chang Chun Shipping. They were involved in gun running, drug smuggling, human trafficking, all kinds of nasty stuff."
\t"Are you an UNTIL agent as well?" Madeleine asked Rick.
\tThe raccoon shook his head. "No, I was just trying to find out what had happened to a friend of mine who had disappeared while looking into Chang Chun's affairs. Paul and I bumped into each other while we were following the same lead, and we decided to work together."
\tShe looked back at Paul. "You said it was your last mission. Is that how you got that wound in your belly?"
\t"That's how, honey," Paul said, taking another gulp from his drink. "I would have died that night if it hadn't been for Rick. As it was, I spent two months in the hospital. When I got out, UNTIL told me I was no longer fit for duty and gave me my walking papers."
\tRick spoke up. "You neglected to mention that the bullet that hit you was meant for me." He glanced at Madeleine. "He saved my life as much as I saved his."
\tPaul nodded. "And together, we saved a whole ship full of refugees. Made it absolutely worth getting shot." He glanced at his wife and smiled. "Of course, if that hadn't happened, I never would have met you."
\tShe smiled back, then turned to Rick. "I take it you'll be staying for dinner?"
\t"If it's not too much trouble," Rick replied.
\t"No, no trouble at all. I'll just tell the maid to set an extra place. And tell her who to expect." She turned and left the room.
\t"So," said Rick, "did the warm welcome your wife gave me have anything to do with the reason you asked me to come?"
\tPaul sighed and nodded. "It's the land, Rick."
\t"What about it?"
\t"They want us to sell it."
\t"Who is 'they?'"
\t"Ever hear of Tiros Enterprises?"
\tRick shook his head. "No."
\t"They're land developers. Multinational. They've already bought most of the plantations around here, and now they want ours."
\t"Then sell it," said Rick. "Make a profit for yourself."
\t"I can't do that," said Paul. "Maddy loves it here. It's her whole life."
\tRick shrugged. "Then don't sell it."
\t"That's the problem. They won't take no for an answer. They've had their goons come around here, beating up our workers, vandalizing equipment. They want to ruin us so we have no choice but to sell."
\t"Have you told the police?" Rick asked.
\tPaul chuckled wryly. "Do you have any idea how corrupt law enforcement is in this country? Tiros has money, and money talks. Goons who go to jail at all are out on bail the next day."
\t"And you think I can help with this?"
\t"I've seen what you can do, Rick. I figure if anyone can help, it's you." His mouth tightened. "Besides, you owe me. I took a bullet for you, and it ended my career."
\t"And I dragged you out of Hong Kong harbor," Rick replied. "I believe that makes us even. And I'm quite sure UNTIL would have offered you a desk job in lieu of early retirement."
\tPaul grimaced. "You know I never could have worked behind a desk."
\t"No, I suppose not."
\t"Please, Rick," Paul said. "I just need to show them we're more trouble than we're worth. Then they'll lay off."
\tRick sighed. "Very well. I'll stay on for a while."
\tPaul grinned. "Great! We'll show 'em, you and me! It'll be just like the old days!" He held up his glass of bourbon. "To the old days!"
\tRick clinked his glass of water against it. "To the old days."
\t
\tEarly the next morning, Paul invited Rick to come and meet the plantation's workers. They walked together down a dirt path from the house that led to an open area containing a large, thatch-roofed pavilion, along with several grass huts that served as storehouses for the coconuts that were the plantation's crop. Milling about the area were some fifty Filipinos, ranging in age from early teens to elderly. They all stared at the raccoon as Paul introduced him to the foreman, a Filipino he called Shorty, though he wasn't especially short, who was dressed in jeans, a denim jacket with no shirt, sandals, and a straw hat.
\t"Shorty, this is Rick," said Paul, "an old friend of mine. He's going to be staying with us for a while."\t
\tShorty, apparently having been told what to expect, smiled at the raccoon and nodded. "Pleased to meet you!" Then he turned to Paul. "Sir, you want me to set up a cockfight for your friend?"
\tPaul grinned. "Sure, why not?" He took some bills from his pocket and handed them to Shorty. "Put five hundred pesos on it."
\tShorty grinned. "You got it, boss!" He ran to the workers, shouting in Filipino, and they quickly gathered in a circle and starting laying bets. Two birds were brought out and released into the circle. Immediately, they began leaping and clawing at each other, squawking loudly, and Paul joined in with the workers, yelling, "Fight! Fight! Kill him!" Rick simply watched, frowning. The spectacle reminded him of the fight pits on Monster Island, where manimals had been made to kill each other for the pleasure of their creator. Without speaking, he turned and walked back toward the house. Paul was apparently too engrossed in the cockfight to notice.
\tTo calm his nerves and re-center himself, Rick decided to meditate on the front porch. He had been sitting there for about ten minutes when Madeleine drove by in a jeep, saw him, and stopped.
\t"Morning!" she said cheerfully, waving to him.
\tRick opened his eyes and nodded to her. "Good morning."
\t"I'm going into town," she said. "Do you want to come?"
\t"I would love to," Rick said. He stood up, walked to the jeep, hopped in, and they drove off.
\t"So, what do you do for a living, Rick?" Madeleine asked, her long blonde hair blowing in the breeze.
\t"Right now, I'm something of a drifter," Rick replied, flicking his ears as the wind tickled them.
\tShe looked at him curiously. "Where do you get money?"
\t"My sifu, Master Quan, left me a small inheritance. I've been living on that."
\t"Ah," said Madeleine. "That explains how you were able to just drop everything and fly from Japan to the Philippines at a moment's notice. Was he . . . like you?"
\tRick shook his head. "No, he was human."
\t"And he left all his money to a manimal?"
\t"He had no one else to give it to. He wouldn't have even had me if I hadn't washed up on the island he was living on."
\t"Why did you leave Monster Island?" Madeleine asked.
\t"Because it was a terrible place," said Rick. "I didn't want to kill other manimals to survive, so I built a raft and sailed away."
\t"And how do you like living among humans?"
\tRick looked up at her. "It's interesting."
\t"Don't you ever get lonely for your own kind?"
\t"There are no others of my kind. I was a one-off."
\t"I meant other manimals."
\t"No, not especially. Most manimals aren't very nice."
\tMadeleine smiled, blushing. "I'm sorry about asking so many questions. It's just that I've never met anyone like you before."
\tRick smiled back. "That's quite all right."
\tThey drove into a small town that seemed to be made up mostly of bars and shops. It looked quite poor and run down, like most small towns in the Philippines. Madeleine stopped the jeep in the main square. "I have to pay the workers today and pick up some money at the bank," she said. "If you want to have a look around, I'll be back in about half an hour."
\t"See you then," said Rick, climbing out of the jeep. He began walking along the main thoroughfare, doing his best to ignore all the dark eyes staring at him as he took in the not entirely pleasant sights, sounds, and smells of the town. He noted that at least one pair of eyes watching him was blue, belonging to a stocky Caucasian man in a white suit and Panama Jack hat who was walking down the dirt street toward him with the aid of a cane. Behind the man walked a big, beefy Filipino.
\t"Good day, sir," the man said, with a German accent, doffing his hat and inclining his balding head toward Rick.
\t"Good day," Rick replied, nodding to him. The big Filipino behind the German stared at Rick, but said nothing. Rick continued on past them, then stopped and turned, watching as the pair entered a nearby open-fronted shop.
\t"Damn, if it ain't one of them manimal folks!" came a rough, American-accented voice from behind him. Rick turned to see a man of about sixty with a white beard and skin like shoe leather walking toward him, wearing a straw hat, camouflage jacket and khaki shorts. "Never expected to see one of you here!" the man said, holding out a hand to him. "I'm Cash!"
\t"I'm Rick," the raccoon replied, taking the man's hand and shaking it. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Cash."
\t"Like to buy some dirty pictures?" Cash asked, opening one flap of his jacket to reveal several photographs of nude women hanging from the inside. "No, I don't suppose those'd interest you. Not hairy enough. Maybe you're the religious type?" He opened the other flap of his jacket, revealing several crucifixes hanging from it.
\tBefore Rick could respond to either offer, the sound of raised voices from the shop caught his attention. He turned back toward it just in time to see the German sweep his cane across the counter, sending the merchandise on it crashing to the floor. The shopkeeper handed over a wad of bills, which the German stuck in his jacket pocket. The German smiled and patted the shopkeeper on his cheek.
\t"Who's that?" Rick asked.
\t"His name is Heinrich," said Cash, glaring at the German. "He leans on everyone in this town, myself included. Boy, what I wouldn't give to see him get his!"
\tRick just nodded, watching. As Heinrich left the shop, the big Filipino grabbed the shopkeeper by his shirt collar. "Next week, you pay on time!" he roared, and backhanded the man across his face. Rick took a step forward, but Cash put a hand on the raccoon's shoulder, restraining him.
\t"I wouldn't do that," Cash warned.
\t"He's a parasite!" Rick growled.
\t"Maybe, but word is Heinrich knows people. Anyway, little fella like you wouldn't stand a chance against a big bruiser like that!"
\t"You might be surprised," said Rick, but made no further move as Heinrich and his pet thug walked away. While it angered him to see anyone pushed around, Master Quan had once told him that one must pick one's fights carefully. He had come here to help Paul. It would be unwise to invite more trouble on top of that.
\tRick was sitting in the jeep, waiting, when Madeleine returned. "So, what do you think of our town?" she asked as she got in and turned the key in the ignition.
\t"You have some bad people here," Rick replied quietly.
\tMadeleine nodded as she began driving them back toward the plantation. "I know. It wasn't like this when we came. I'm glad we live outside town."
\tRick looked up at her. "Evil has a tendency to spread if it goes unchecked."
\tThey arrived back at the plantation, and Madeleine drove down a dirt road toward the area where the workers congregated. The sound of shouts and cries ahead told them something was wrong. They drove up to find four big Filipinos pushing the workers back while two more held Shorty and another punched him repeatedly.
\t"Oh my God, they're back!" cried Madeleine. "Stop it! Leave him alone!" She got out and ran to help Shorty, but one of the thugs grabbed her and threw her to the ground.
\tRick jumped onto the hood of the jeep and launched himself at the man, the heel of his foot cracking against the man's jaw and sending him sprawling to the ground. Rick rebounded off the man's jaw, back-flipped, landed on his feet, and planted a foot in another thug's groin, making him groan and double over, clutching himself. A third whipped out a switchblade and lunged at the raccoon. Rick knocked the knife aside with one hand and slammed the palm of his other hand into the man's nose, breaking it.
\tBy now, the remaining thugs had surrounded Rick, and the raccoon adopted a defensive posture, waiting for them to make their move. As two men closed in from either side, Rick jumped into the air and struck out with both legs at once, smashing the sole of one foot into each of their faces and sending them stumbling backward. When he landed, he leaped again, somersaulting over the head of one of the thugs. Whirling when he touched down behind him, Rick rammed the heel of his palm into the small of the man's back, making him cry out in pain. The last one yelled and charged at the raccoon, who grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder to the ground, where he landed with a loud thud.
\tAs the thugs got up and limped away, beaten and bloody, Rick turned toward Madeleine, who had gotten up and was staring at him in disbelief. "Are you all right?" he asked.
\t"My God!" she gasped. "How . . . ?"
\t"You didn't think Paul called me here for my winning smile, did you?" he asked, smiling at her in a way that he hoped looked winning. Then he looked around. "Speaking of Paul, where is he?"
\tMadeleine clenched her jaw. "Most likely back at the house, passed out drunk."
\tThey both turned as Shorty limped over to them, supported by one of the workers. "Mrs. Andrews, we are all leaving," he said, sounding apologetic. "We cannot stay."
\tMadeleine nodded. "I understand."
\t"Can we have our money now?"
\t"Yes, of course."
\tRick watched silently as she paid off the workers and they began filtering away. In a few minutes, the only people left were himself, Madeleine, and three teenage boys. Rick wondered why the three boys had stayed. He later learned that they were orphans—street kids that Paul and Madeleine had taken in. This was their only home.
\t"Well," said Madeleine, pulling her blouse up and tying it into a tie-top, "those coconuts aren't going to gather themselves." She strode to the oxcart and began leading the huge beast into the grove of coconut trees, the cart creaking along behind it. Rick and the three boys followed. The boys each began clambering up the tall, slender trunks and tossing coconuts down to the soft, sandy ground, while Madeleine collected them and deposited them in the cart.
\t"Can I help?" Rick asked.
\t"Have you ever been a farmer?" Madeleine asked.
\tRick took his shirt off, tossed it on the cart, and began helping her gather coconuts. "No."
\t"Neither have I. Not until I came here. Did you know this plantation's been here for two hundred years? Some of the workers who just left were born here. Their families have lived and worked here for generations. It's a great pity." She wiped her brow with the back of her hand as she worked, her sweat darkening her blouse and making it stick to her skin.
\t"How long has Paul been . . . like this?" asked Rick.
\t"The drinking? Ever since the problems started. This place has become a haven for criminals, and it's getting worse and worse. Maybe he doesn't care anymore." She looked at the raccoon. "But I care. I love it here. It's become my home, and I'm not leaving it."
\tRick nodded and glanced up at the coconut trees towering over them. He picked up a coconut from the ground, took aim, and hurled it at the top of one of the trees. It struck, and six coconuts came raining down. Rick picked them up in his arms and brought them to the cart, dropping them in as Madeleine stared at him open-mouthed.
\t"Maybe you won't have to," he said, smiling.

\tDinner that evening was a quiet, somber affair. Paul and Madeleine hardly said a word and avoided meeting each other's eyes. Rick felt extremely uncomfortable sitting between them. In fact, this entire situation had him deeply troubled. He felt he should be doing more to help his friend, but he wasn't sure what more he could be doing. After all, he wasn't a superhero. He was just a manimal who knew kung fu. Madeleine mentioned that she was going into town the next day to hire more workers, and Paul simply nodded and took a gulp from his glass of whiskey. Rick excused himself and went to bed.
\tThe following morning, while Rick was helping the boys gather coconuts and keeping an eye out for trouble, Paul came to him, wearing a headband, a T-shirt, and sweat pants. "Up for a jog into town?" Paul asked. "It's only five miles."
\t"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rick asked, glancing up at the three boys in the trees. "Suppose more of those goons show up."
\tPaul grinned. "Nobody's going to come here after what you did yesterday. Come on!"
\tRick nodded, and the two of them began jogging toward town. After the first mile, though, Paul was struggling to keep up. He paused to lean against a tree, and Rick stopped and turned to face him.
\t"Jesus!" said Paul, staring at the raccoon. "You're not even winded!"
\tRick smiled. "Master Quan used to make me jog around the island every morning before breakfast."
\t"How far was that?"
\t"About five miles."
\tPaul shook his head, leaning against the tree, drenched in sweat and panting. "I've lost it, Rick. Whatever I had, I've lost it. I used to be an UNTIL agent. Back in those days, I could have trashed those goons myself, instead of needing you to protect my home . . . and my wife."
\t"There's a reason UNTIL took you out of the field, Paul," Rick said gently. "You were wounded. I remember before, in Hong Kong. You were good. You were very good."
\t"Hong Kong was a hundred years ago, Rick," said Paul. "Come on." He pushed off the tree, and they resumed jogging. Rick kept the pace slow for him.
\tArriving in town, they spotted Cash and jogged toward him. "Hello, my furry friend!" the old man said, smiling and waving as they approached.
\t"I see you two have met," said Paul, gasping for breath.
\t"Indeed we have," said Cash. "Reconsidered my offer, Rick?"
\t"What offer?" asked Paul.
\t"He wanted to sell me some things," said Rick.
\t"Hey, Cash," said Paul, "have you seen my wife?"
\tCash nodded and pointed at a nearby bar. "She's in there, looking for workers."
\t"Thanks," said Paul. "Come on, Rick, let's get a morning drink." He jogged toward the bar, and Rick followed him.
\tMadeleine was inside, sitting at a table before a large group of Filipinos. Rick noticed that Heinrich was perched on a stool at the counter, watching her as he sipped something from a glass. Paul threw himself into a chair at Madeleine's table. "How's it going?" he asked.
\t"They're all frightened," Madeleine replied. "Do you see who's here?" She indicated Heinrich with a nod of her head.
\tPaul nodded, glancing at the German. "Yeah, I see him. Screw him!"
\t"Your usual, Mr. Andrews?" the bartender asked Paul.
\t"Thanks, buddy," said Paul as the bartender poured him a glass of bourbon. "Rick, you want anything?"
\t"Lemonade," the raccoon replied, hopping up on a stool at the counter, next to Heinrich.
\tMadeleine stood up and addressed the group of Filipinos. "Listen to me, please. We're looking for people to work for us. We pay well, you'll have good quarters, and we need you to stay for at least a year. Now, who will work?"
\tThe Filipinos murmured among themselves, then suddenly fell silent as the tip of Heinrich's cane started tapping lightly on the wooden floor. Madeleine, Paul, and Rick all turned to look at the German as the Filipinos began filtering away.
\t"Wait, please," Madeleine implored them. "Don't leave!"
\t"Mrs. Andrews," said Heinrich, smiling. "You cannot work your land without help. Therefore, you will have to sell it."
\t"We will find help," said Madeleine, glaring defiantly at him. "And we will not be selling!"
\t"Excuse me," said Rick, looking down at the German's cane. "Is that teak?"
\tHeinrich gazed at the raccoon coldly. "And what about you? Are you looking for a job with them?"
\tRick raised his black eyes to meet the German's watery blue ones. "No."
\t"Then what are you doing in here?" Heinrich asked.
\tRick lifted his glass of lemonade. "Having a drink." He knocked it back, turning on his stool, and as he did so, his elbow bumped Heinrich's arm, spilling the German's drink across his white-suited chest. Heinrich stood up quickly, scowling at the raccoon.
\t"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" said Rick, taking a napkin from the bar and dabbing at the man's chest. "Here, let me clean that up for you!"
\t"Do not touch me, you freak!" Heinrich spat, stepping back.
\tRick flattened his ears and bared his teeth. "What did you call me?"
\t"You heard what I said!" Heinrich snarled. He turned to three big Filipinos who had just entered the bar and nodded to them. They moved to surround the raccoon.
\tRick hopped down off his bar stool, looking up at the three men. "Gentlemen, let's be reasonable," he said, smiling. "Why don't we talk?"
\tOne of the men raised his fist menacingly. Before he could throw the punch, Rick darted in and rammed his fist into his belly, doubling him over. "I thought we were going to talk!" the raccoon protested, spreading his arms as the man fell to his knees before him.
\tThe second man seized Rick from behind, lifting the raccoon off his feet as the third moved in front of him. Rick drew his knees back to his chin and slammed both feet into the chest of the third man, sending him sprawling backward. Then he broke the hold of the second man, dropped to the floor, spun, and drove his foot into the man's groin.
\t"Oh my God!" Madeleine gasped, grabbing her husband's shoulder. "Paul, please, stop it!"
\t"No, it's okay," said Paul, grinning. "He's terrific! He can handle it! Get 'em, Rick! Take 'em down!"
\tRick growled, Paul's egging him on reminding him uncomfortably of yesterday's cockfight. Then he pushed that thought aside as the first man charged at him like an angry bull. Rick grabbed him by his arm and belt and threw him over the bar, smashing a considerable amount of glassware in the process. The second man came running back and tried to throw a kick at the raccoon. Rick caught the man's leg in an arm lock, yanked him off balance, and swung him across the floor so that his head smacked hard against the leg of a nearby table.
\tA whooshing sound from behind alerted the raccoon. He twisted aside just as Heinrich's cane parted the air next to him, and then whirled to face the German. Heinrich swung again, and again the raccoon dodged. The third time the German brought his cane down, Rick caught it with one hand and tore it loose from his grasp.
\tHeinrich stared at the raccoon as Rick held the cane with both his clawed hands, inspecting it. "It is teak," said Rick, and brought it down across his knee, snapping it cleanly in half. He tossed the broken pieces on the floor at the German's feet. "Now, listen carefully. Tell whoever it is you work for that the Andrews' plantation is off limits. They're not going to get it. And if I ever even hear about you trying to extort money from anyone in this town again, what I did to your cane, I'll do to both your arms and legs, understand?" Heinrich swallowed and nodded frantically. "Now, get lost."
\tHeinrich scurried out the door, and Paul came over and clapped the raccoon on his shoulder. "That was amazing, Rick! You're fantastic!" He turned to Madeleine. "Wasn't he great, honey?"
\tMadeleine made an annoyed, impatient sound. "Come on, let's get out of here. We must find some workers!"
\tAs Paul and Madeleine went outside, Rick turned to the bartender, took some bills from his pocket, and held them out to him. "Will this cover the damages?" he asked.
\tThe bartender grinned broadly. "You keep your money, Mister Rick! It was worth it just to see that asshole get put in his place!"
\tRick shrugged, put the bills back in his pocket, and left.

\tIn downtown Manila stood a steel and glass tower with the word TIROS atop it in twelve-foot neon letters. It was this building that Heinrich entered, taking the elevator forty stories to the topmost floor, where he was met by a tall, tan, black-haired man wearing an immaculate white suit. The man gazed at the German with undisguised contempt. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
\t"I need to speak to Mr. Tiros," Heinrich replied.
\t"You know he doesn't like to talk to you."
\t"This is important. There is a problem with the Andrews property."
\tThe man raised an eyebrow. "What sort of problem?"
\t"I would prefer to tell Mr. Tiros himself."
\tThe man frowned. "Very well."  
\tHe opened the door behind him, which bore a simple name plate reading, "Martin Tiros," and he and Heinrich entered what seemed to be an indoor jungle. There were tropical plants everywhere, growing not in pots but in soil that filled recessed areas in the floor. Each area contained a stone fountain with water bubbling from the top and dribbling into a basin beneath and got plenty of sunlight from skylights in the ceiling. Against the far wall, before a floor-to-ceiling window looking out over the city, was a large mahogany desk. Behind it sat a sandy-haired, square-jawed man in his fifties, wearing a vibrantly colorful dressing gown. He was reclining in a high-backed chair, eyes closed, hand moving before him as he silently conducted to the strains of Beethoven's "Pastoral Symphony," which was playing over the sound system. He opened his pale gray eyes as they approached, and gazed up at the tall, black-haired man. "Yes, Mr. Baker?" he asked in a soft voice, turning down the music.
\t"Heinrich says there is a problem with the Andrews property, Mr. Tiros," said Baker. "He wants to talk to you about it personally."
\tTiros shifted his gaze to the German. "I take it you haven't gotten them to sell yet."
\tHeinrich shook his head. "No, Mr. Tiros, I have not."
\t"Why?"
\t"Someone is helping them."
\t"Some . . . one," said Tiros. "You mean, one person?"
\tHeinrich nodded.
\t"And you and your men can't handle one person?" asked Tiros, leaning forward and frowning.
\t"He is not an ordinary person," said Heinrich. "He is a manimal."
\tTiros blinked. "A manimal? One of those human-animal creatures?"
\tHeinrich nodded again. "A raccoon, to be exact."
\t"Well," said Tiros, "that is unexpected. But last I heard, manimals weren't much tougher than ordinary humans, and raccoons aren't exactly formidable creatures. So what's the problem?"
\t"He appears to be some kind of martial artist," said Heinrich. "He fights extremely well. He defeated me and three of my men single-handed!"
\tTiros stared at Heinrich, then smiled and shook his head. "A raccoon martial artist. Sounds like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon." He leaned back in his chair, sighed, and waved one hand. "All right, Heinrich. What do you need?"
\t"More men," Heinrich replied promptly.
\t"Fine. You will have them. And I sincerely hope that the next time you come here, you'll have good news for me."
\tHeinrich grinned and nodded. "I am sure I will, Mr. Tiros."
\t"Does this raccoon martial artist have a name?"
\t"Mr. Andrews called him Rick."
\tTiros looked at Baker. "Find out all you can about this Rick."
\tBaker nodded. "Of course, Mr. Tiros."
\tBaker and Heinrich left Tiros's office. Tiros sat silently for a moment, drumming his fingers on his desk. "Rick," he said finally. "Of course. What else?"
\t
\tPaul stood alone in the area where the workers normally congregated. Rick, Madeleine, and the three boys were out in the groves somewhere, harvesting coconuts. He should be helping them, he thought to himself, but he simply couldn't bring himself to bother. He couldn't bring himself to do much of anything anymore. He hadn't even tried to help Rick when he'd been fighting those thugs in the bar. He'd just sat there on his ass, cheering the raccoon on. He sighed, remembering when this place had been crowded with noisy, boisterous Filipinos. It looked so empty and desolate now. He turned and began trudging back toward the house.
\tAs he did, he noticed a group of Filipinos standing outside the gate, looking at him. He blinked, then broke into a grin as he recognized them.
\t"Boss," said Shorty, grinning as he stood there cradling a large fighting cock in his arms, "we're back!"
\t"Shorty!" cried Paul, running up to the foreman. "And Jose! And Pedro! And Maria! ¿Cómo está? ¿Cómo está? It's so wonderful to see you all!" Then he looked down at the cock in Shorty's arms. "And Banker! My Banker is back!" He stroked the bird's feathered back. "Let's have a cockfight!" The workers nodded, grinning eagerly, and they all rushed to the center of the compound, formed a circle, and released two birds into it. Immediately, the birds began cawing and squawking, leaping and clawing at each other as the humans cheered them on.
\tThe noise of the cockfight masked the approach of two jeeps. Carrying ten Filipino thugs and Heinrich, they drove right into the compound. Cries of alarm went up, and the workers began backing away as Heinrich and his thugs got out of the jeeps and began moving toward them.
\t"Don't panic!" Paul ordered the frightened workers. "Stay where you are!"
\t"Mr. Andrews," said Heinrich, walking toward him with the help of the new cane he had bought to replace the one Rick had broken in the bar. "Your workers have foolishly decided to go against the wishes of the union."
\t"What the hell are you talking about?" Paul asked, scowling. "They don't belong to any union!"
\t"They don't?" asked Heinrich, in mock dismay. "So, I will organize one for them!"
\tPaul glared at the German. "All you gotta do is get your goons off my property right now, mister, before I have them thrown off!"
\tHeinrich turned to Shorty and tapped him on the shoulder with his cane. "I told you not to come back. Now, I must teach you a lesson!"
\tShorty looked over at Paul anxiously. "Boss?"
\tPaul lunged at Heinrich and grabbed him by the collar of his white suit jacket. "Get away from him, you son of a bitch!"
\tImmediately, two of the thugs seized Paul, holding him while two more punched and kicked him mercilessly. Four others grabbed Shorty, forced him around behind one of the jeeps, and tied his wrists to the rear bumper. One of them jumped into the jeep, gunned the engine, and began dragging the foreman around the compound.
\tRick came running out of the grove, wearing only a pair of trousers, Madeleine and the three boys close behind him. The raccoon leaped into the jeep dragging Shorty, smashed his palm into the face of the driver, threw him out, and then slammed his foot down on the brake, bringing the jeep to a quick stop. As another thug ran up to the jeep, Rick sprang out and threw a flying kick at the man's chin, which connected, knocking the man off his feet and onto his back. The raccoon landed, to find thugs closing in around him from all sides. Taking a deep breath, Rick suddenly became a furry dervish, punching and kicking with furious precision. Each blow struck a weak spot, cracking shins and kneecaps, driving into stomachs and groins, the raccoon so small and fast that the thugs ended up colliding with each other as they tried to grab him. Within a minute, they were all lying on the ground, moaning in pain.
\tRick stopped, panting, then whirled about, glaring at Heinrich. The German was ghost white, his blue eyes wide. He began backing away as Madeleine ran up and knelt beside Paul, who lay beaten and bloody on the ground.
\t"I warned you," Rick growled, striding purposefully toward the German.
\t"No!" Heinrich cried, trying to ward off him off with his cane. "No! Stay back!" He swung his cane at the raccoon, who blocked it effortlessly. Then Rick grabbed the German's left arm and threw him onto his back. Holding the man's arm firmly, he raised his clawed foot and slammed it down, snapping the lower arm bones clean through. Heinrich screamed in agony. Getting to his feet as Rick released his arm, he staggered away, cradling his broken left arm with his right one and whimpering pitifully as he looked back at the raccoon. "You . . . you will regret this, freak!" he hissed through clenched teeth, his face a mask of pain.
\tRick just watched him go, saying nothing.

\tThat evening, while Rick and Paul were sitting before the coffee table in the living room and playing chess, Madeleine came in wearing a black blouse and slacks, holding a silver tray that contained a bottle and two glasses. "Are you sure you won't have a liqueur, Rick?" she asked the raccoon. "It's good for the digestion."
\tRick smiled up at her. "All right." Madeleine smiled back, filled each of the glasses, and handed one to him.
\t"Hey, what about me?" Paul asked.
\tMadeleine gestured at the glass of bourbon on the table before him. "You have yours." She sat down on the couch beside her husband, crossing her legs and holding her glass up, looking as though she could have been posing for the cover of Cosmopolitan. "So, what happens next?"
\t"I suspect Paul is going to take my bishop," the raccoon replied, studying the board.
\t"I meant about our problem," said Madeleine, annoyed.
\t"Oh," said Rick. "Well, next I imagine Heinrich's boss will try to buy me off."
\tPaul nodded. "That would be the logical thing to do."
\t"And when that fails?" asked Madeleine.
\tRick chuckled. "It says a lot about your faith in me that you assume it will."
\t"You don't strike me as the sort who cares about money," said Madeleine.
\t"You're very perceptive," said Rick, taking a sip from his glass. "When that fails, he'll try to have me killed."
\t"You don't sound very concerned," said Madeleine.
\tPaul grinned. "Rick isn't easy to kill."
\tRick looked at him. "I'm not bulletproof, Paul. By that point, Heinrich's boss will be done playing around. He'll want me out of the way, and he'll pay to have it done right."
\tMadeleine bit her lip. "Then perhaps you should leave."
\t"Rick's no coward," said Paul, scornfully. "He doesn't run from a fight."
\t"It's not your life that's in danger!" Madeleine exploded. "It's his!"
\t"So you're saying we should sell?" Paul demanded. "After all we've been through?"
\t"This place isn't worth dying for!"
\t"Madeleine," said Rick calmly, "whoever this guy is, he's committed a lot of crimes. And if he's not made to pay for them, he's just going to go on grinding innocent people under his heel to get what he wants. I intend to put a stop to that."
\tMadeleine spread her arms. "Why? You're not a policeman! You don't have a sworn duty to uphold the law! You're just a manimal who knows martial arts!"
\t"I have a duty to do what I feel is right," said Rick. "That's what Master Quan would have wanted. It's the reason he trained me."
\tPaul grinned and raised his glass. "You're the Eleventh Commandment, Rick: 'Thou shalt not get away with it.'"
\tMadeleine looked desperately at the raccoon. "You could be killed, Rick!"
\tRick shrugged. "Everyone dies. If we're lucky, we get to do a little good in the world before we leave it."
\tThe conversation was interrupted by a knock on the front door.
\t"Turn off the lights," said Rick. Paul nodded and did so, and Rick moved across the room like a shadow, taking up a position beside the door. Madeleine got the shotgun from the closet and held it at the ready.
\t"Who is it?" Paul asked.
\t"It's me," came the sound of Cash's voice through the door.
\tPaul went to the door and opened it. The old man was standing on the front porch, alone. On the driveway behind him sat a jitney—a colorfully-painted open-air bus—with a driver at the wheel. They were a common sight in the Philippines.
\t"Why are the lights off?" asked Cash.
\t"Come in, come in," said Paul, as he ushered him inside, closed the door, and switched the lights back on.
\t"What are you doing here, Cash?" asked Madeleine, lowering her shotgun.
\t"I have a message for ya," Cash replied, handing her a note.
\t"We obviously have a problem," said Madeleine, reading from the note, "and suggest an immediate meeting to reach an understanding." She handed the note to Paul, who inspected it.
\t"Who's it from?" Rick asked.
\t"There's no signature," Paul replied. He looked at Cash. "Who gave it to you?"
\t"No one gave it to me," Cash said. "A jitney driver wanted to know where you were, so I showed him the way."
\t"Who gets the tip?" asked Rick.
\tCash grinned. "Not him!"
\t"So, what do we do now?" asked Paul.
\t"You're not going?" asked Madeleine, sounding worried.
\t"Maddy . . ." Paul began.
\t"I think you should go, Paul," said Rick.
\tPaul turned back to his wife, and his voice was almost pleading. "I've got to do this, Maddy!"
\tMadeleine was silent for a moment, realizing it was useless to argue. Then she looked at Rick. "You take care of him," she said. Rick nodded silently.
\tAs Paul and Cash walked out to the jitney waiting in the driveway, Paul noticed that Rick was nowhere to be seen. They went around to the passenger side of the vehicle, and Paul leaned in. "Where are you taking me?" he asked the driver, a Filipino wearing a denim jacket, jeans, and a Chicago Cubs baseball cap.
\t"You'll know when you get there," the driver replied, smiling smugly.
\tRick popped up beside the driver and seized his head in a choke hold. "You have exactly three seconds to tell me where the meeting is," the raccoon growled as the man gagged and struggled, "or I'll break your neck."
\tThe driver hesitated for a full second, then gasped out, "Fort Santiago!"
\tRick released the man and looked over at Paul. "Okay, let's go."
\tAs the raccoon turned away from the driver, his ears pricked up at the faint rustle of the man's hand sliding beneath his jacket. Rick jumped and whirled, his spinning kick knocking a pistol out of the man's hand. A second flying kick struck the man across his chin and dropped him to the ground.
\tRick glanced up to see Madeleine standing on the front porch, staring at him. He smiled at her and shrugged. "I don't like guns," he said. Then he turned to Paul and Cash, who had come around the jitney to see what was going on. "Take him with us," the raccoon said, pointing at the unconscious driver. They picked the man up and dumped him in the back. Then Cash took the wheel while Paul sat in the passenger seat and Rick climbed in behind them, and the jitney trundled off into the night.

\tFort Santiago was a stone citadel. It had been built by the Spanish in the newly established city of Manila in 1593. It was now a major historical landmark and tourist attraction, whose famous facade was featured on many postcards sent from the Philippines. Normally, it was closed to the public after 7 PM, but as the jitney pulled up, Paul could see that the front gate was open and before it stood a man wearing a white suit and holding an M-16 assault rifle.
\tCash parked the jitney in front of the ancient fort, and Paul got out and began walking toward it. Paul could see that there was a second white-suited man with an M-16 just inside the gate. He walked up to the first man, who stepped aside to let him pass. As he neared the second, Cash leaned out of the jitney and called to the first man, "Psst! Hey, come here!"
\tThe man frowned and walked over to him. "What do you want?" he asked, annoyed.
\tRick sprang out of the shadowy interior of the jitney, seized the man, and threw him against the vehicle's side, knocking him cold. Simultaneously, Paul grabbed the head of the second man with both hands and slammed the man's face into his upraised knee.
\tRick picked up the M-16 the first man had dropped and held it out to Cash. "Do you know how to use this?" he asked.
\tCash grinned, accepting the weapon. "Try me!"
\tRick pointed to a spot on the wall of the fortress. "Up there. And keep your eyes open." He turned to Paul. "Stall. Play for time." Paul nodded and went through the gate and into the fort, while Rick clambered up and over the wall.
\tPaul walked along through the courtyard, stopping when a tall, tan, black-haired man and a silver-haired man, both wearing white suits, emerged from a doorway about fifty feet ahead and stood before him on a slightly raised platform. "Ah, Mr. Andrews," the black-haired man said, smiling unctuously. "So glad you could come."
\t"Who are you?" Paul asked.
\t"That's not important. I've been instructed—"
\t"Instructed by whom?"
\t"That's also unimportant. Our offer for your land is very generous. We can pay you in cash."
\tPaul walked slowly up to them. "How much are we talking about?"
\t"Well over seven figures, Mr. Andrews."
\t"Hmm. Seven figures? I must admit, that's a very interesting proposal. How much time are you willing to give me to think about it?"
\t"I'm afraid my employer insists on an immediate answer."
\tPaul looked around. As far as he could see, the darkened fort was empty save for himself and the two white-suited men. "I'm not selling," he said finally.
\tThe black-haired man grinned smugly as the silver-haired man took a butterfly knife from his jacket and slowly opened it in an obvious act of intimidation. "Oh, but Mr. Andrews, you must," the black-haired man said. "You see, you have no choice." He stuck his fingers into his mouth and blew a whistle. Paul tensed, waiting for whatever the signal was meant to portend.
\tNothing happened.
\tThe two white-suited men looked around in obvious confusion. "Where are the men I ordered?" the black-haired man finally asked the silver-haired one in annoyance.
\t"There should be twenty of them around here somewhere," the silver-haired man replied.
\tThe black-haired man held up a hand to Paul. "Excuse us a moment," he said.
\tPaul grinned. "Oh, by all means, take your time."
\t"Just one minute," said the silver-haired man, and ran off through the doorway they'd entered from. He returned a few seconds later, rejoining the black-haired man. "We have a problem," he said.
\tThe black-haired man wasn't looking at him, however. His eyes were fixed on the small figure that had emerged from the shadows behind Paul. "I see the problem."
\tRick walked past Paul and up to the two white-suited men, carrying a veritable mountain of M-16s in his arms. "Gentlemen, I believe these belong to you," the raccoon said, and dropped the guns on the stone floor in front of them with a loud crash.
\t"A very impressive performance, I must say," said the black-haired man. "Mr. . . . Rick, is it?"
\t"Just Rick."
\t"My employer is always on the lookout for people with real talent. There could be a place for you in our organization."
\t"Yes, I was expecting this," said Rick. "Tell your employer there are things his money can't buy, and one of them is me."
\t"I see. Pity. Still, all the martial arts in the world can't stop a bullet, can they?" Both the white-suited men reached inside their jackets.
\t"Hold it right there, fellas!" shouted Cash from the wall of the fort. They both looked up to see the old man holding an M-16, aimed at them. "Take those pieces out, nice and slow." They did so. "Now, throw them away." They obeyed, tossing their guns into the darkness. Cash grinned and lowered his rifle. "There! Now the odds are even!"
\tThe black-haired man grinned savagely at Rick as he whipped out a butterfly knife. "I don't mind telling you, I'm going to enjoy this!"
\t"That makes two of us," Rick replied, taking up a defensive stance.
\tThe black-haired man jumped down off the platform and lunged at Rick with his knife. The raccoon parried the thrust with his left hand and rammed his right fist into the man's stomach. The man grunted with pain and sliced at the raccoon's head. Rick ducked and spun, his foot striking the man's wrist and causing him to drop his knife.
\tThe man dropped into what Rick recognized as a karate stance. "You're not the only one who knows martial arts, you furry bastard!" he snarled.
\tRick grinned. "We'll see about that." He noticed that the silver-haired man had squared off with Paul and was menacing him with his knife. Paul had apparently dusted off his UNTIL combat training and was holding his own—for the moment, anyway. Rick concentrated on his own opponent, blocking several kicks and punches from the black-haired man. Karate was a brutal, straightforward martial art, lacking the flexibility of kung fu. It was designed to put an opponent down as fast as possible, and this man was quite good at it. Rick decided it would be best to end this quickly. He waited for the opening that he knew would come at the end of the combination the man was using, then darted in, seized the man's leg, and jerked it upward, flipping him onto his back. The man's head struck the fort's stone floor with a loud crack.
\tRick whirled around just as the silver-haired man's knife sliced across Paul's palm, leaving a trail of crimson in its wake. Rick leaped at the man and seized his knife arm with both hands, immobilizing it, while Paul slugged the man across his face. The man took the punch without flinching, sent Paul reeling backward by planting his foot in Paul's midriff, and then punched Rick in the muzzle with his free hand. Tasting blood in his mouth, Rick growled and wrenched the man's knife arm upward. There was an audible snap as the bones in the man's lower arm broke. As the man howled in pain, Rick rammed his elbow into the man's gut, and he crumpled to the ground.
\tRick looked around for the black-haired man, but he was gone. He turned to Paul, who was clutching his bleeding hand, teeth clenched in pain. "That's going to need stitches," Rick observed. He looked up at Cash, who had just rejoined them. "Could you drive us to the nearest emergency room?"
\t"No problem!" Cash replied. "Hey, you got a little something on your nose there, Rick."
\tRick wiped his forearm across his muzzle as he and Paul followed Cash back toward the jitney, and saw a smear of blood on his fur. "It's nothing."
\t"Boy, that was something to see," said Cash, "the way you moved around that fort, taking those goons down one by one, without a sound!"
\t"Thanks," said Rick. "Unfortunately, now their boss knows that his only option is to kill me. He'll hire a pro for that."
\tCash grinned at the raccoon as they climbed into the jitney and he started it up. "Well, after what I saw tonight, I'm sure you can handle whatever he throws at you."
\t"This was amateur night," said Rick grimly. "Now, things start getting dangerous."

\tIt was four o'clock in the morning by the time they arrived back at the Andrews' house, where Madeleine was waiting anxiously for them on the front porch. She took Paul, who was groggy from the anesthetic the doctors had used when they'd stitched up his hand, and put him straight to bed, while Rick saw Cash off. The old man grinned at the raccoon, thanked him for the most exciting night he'd had in ages, and drove off in the jitney.
\tRick came back into the living room just as Madeleine emerged from the master bedroom. "Well," said Madeleine, "I don't know about you, but I could use a drink."
\tRick smiled. "Under the circumstances, I think I'll join you."
\t"Scotch and soda?"
\t"Sounds great."
\tMadeleine fixed the drinks while Rick sat down on the couch. Then she came over and handed him his. "Thank you," said Madeleine, sitting down beside him.
\t"You're quite welcome," Rick replied.
\t"Paul said you were amazing."
\t"I was . . . satisfactory," Rick replied.
\tMadeleine smiled and shook her head. "So modest."
\t"The modest receive benefit, while the conceited reap failure."
\t"Did Master Quan teach you that saying?"
\t"Yes, but it's much older than him."
\t They both drank in silence for a moment.
\t"It's Tiros," said Madeleine. "It has to be."
\tRick nodded. "Paul told me they had made offers for your land. What I don't understand is why they want it so badly. I don't know much about real estate values in the Philippines, but the amount Paul was offered tonight seemed rather high."
\t"How much was it?" Madeleine asked.
\t"The man said well over seven figures."
\tHer eyes widened. "That is high!"
\t"There has to be some reason they're willing to go to all this trouble and expense."
\t"But how do we find out what it is?" Madeleine asked.
\t"Heinrich might know."
\t"Then perhaps we should pay him a visit."
\tRick turned his head and looked up at her. "We?"
\tShe smiled. "After what he did to Paul, I wouldn't mind seeing him suffer a bit."
\tThe raccoon frowned. "One who seeks revenge should first dig two graves."
\tHer smile faded. "Another of Master Quan's sayings?"
\tRick nodded. "One he borrowed from the Japanese."
\tMadeleine scowled. "I'm sick of being pushed around, Rick! I want to push back!"
\t"I understand that. But it might be best to leave this sort of thing to someone else. Someone who has nothing to lose."
\t"Someone like you?"
\t"You have Paul. I have no one. No one will mourn me if I die."
\t"That's not true," Madeleine said. "I would."
\tRick smiled. "That's very kind of you."
\t"After everything you've done for us? It's just common decency." She tilted her head. "You've never had anyone in your life to care about you?"
\t"Well, there was Master Quan, of course. He cared enough to make me his heir."
\t"No family?"
\t"I told you, I was a one-time experiment. I never had a family."
\t"No girlfriends back on Monster Island?"
\tThe raccoon shook his head. "None that I would call such."
\t"What about human women?"
\t"No, not among them, either."
\t"Do you not find them attractive?"
\tRick shrugged. "I don't find them unattractive. I am half human, after all."
\tMadeleine smiled. "Would you mind if I scratched behind your ears? If you wouldn't consider it demeaning, that is?"
\tRick looked surprised. "Nobody's ever asked to do that before. No, I wouldn't mind. Feel free."
\tShe reached over and started stroking the raccoon behind his ears, and he closed his eyes and chrrred softly. "Do you like that?" she asked.
\t"Yes, it feels very nice."
\tMadeleine sighed. "Is it wrong that I wish Paul were more like you?"
\tRick looked up at her. "Paul is a good man, Madeleine. He's just had a rough time lately. Being shot, losing his job at UNTIL, and now this. His ego has taken a beating. He thinks he's lost what makes him a man."
\tMadeleine's mouth tightened. "Perhaps he has. Lately, he's so drunk all the time he can't even . . ." She left the rest unspoken.
\tRick frowned. "You know he still loves you."
\tShe nodded. "I know he does. I'm just not sure I still love him." She finished her drink and got up. "Good night, Rick."
\t"Madeleine?" Rick called out as she walked toward the master bedroom, causing her to stop and turn.
\t"Yes, Rick?"
\t"It might be a good idea to hire some guards."
\tShe nodded. "I'll see to it. Good night."
\t"Good night," Rick replied, watching as she disappeared into the master bedroom. He sat on the couch, gazing into his drink for a while.

\t"Twenty men?" Martin Tiros asked Baker, staring at him in disbelief as they stood silhouetted against the early morning panorama of downtown Manila in Tiros's office. "One manimal defeated twenty armed men, bare handed?"
\t"Twenty-two, sir," Baker corrected him, a white bandage around his black-haired head, "counting me and Elliot."
\tTiros slapped his desktop with both hands. "That's impossible! Nobody could do that!"
\t"But he did, sir."
\t"How?"
\t"I've had our people tracing his movements," said Baker. "Being a raccoon, he does tend to stand out. He was involved in some business in Hong Kong two years ago, something about a ship full of refugees. There were armed men there, too, sir—more than twenty-two. Of course, he also had help, from an unknown UNTIL agent."
\tTiros blinked. "UNTIL? The last thing I need is for them to get involved!"
\t"Not to worry, sir. As far as we've been able to determine, Rick is not on their payroll."
\tTiros rubbed his temples. "Well, that's a relief!"
\t"Then he had some more adventures in China before ending up in Japan, where he most recently appears to have been studying at a dojo run by a certain Master Yamada, one of the few dojo remaining that still teaches the art of ninjitsu."
\t"Ninjitsu?" asked Tiros. "You mean he's a goddamned ninja?"
\t"It would explain a few things, sir."
\t"Fine!" said Tiros. "I want a ninja, too! Find me a ninja, Mr. Baker!"
\tBaker smiled. "As it turns out, sir, one has recently become available for hire—a Mr. Korenaga, also a former student at Master Yamada's school."
\tTiros looked thoughtful. "Do you suppose he and Rick know each other?"
\t"It's entirely possible, sir."
\t"Well, no matter. Hire him, Mr. Baker. I don't care what it costs."
\tBaker's smile broadened into a grin. "Already done, sir." He checked his Rolex. "He should be boarding a Japan Air Lines flight to Manila as we speak."
\tTiros grinned as well. "Good work, Mr. Baker. Oh, by the way, how's the head?"
\tBaker made a dismissive gesture. "I've had worse, sir."
\tTiros nodded. "Put yourself down for a bonus. And tell Mr. Elliot that he and his twenty men no longer work for us."
\t"Already done, sir."

\tPaul and Madeleine were having breakfast on the back patio when Rick came out to join them. Paul was talking enthusiastically about the events of last night, telling Madeleine how great Rick had been, which made Rick squirm inwardly. The raccoon bid them a quiet "Good morning" as he sat down at the table.
\t"Hey, Rick!" said Paul, grinning widely. "How ya doin', buddy? I was just telling Maddy how fantastic you were last night, the way you took down all those guys, then brought all their guns up to their leader and dropped them right at his feet!" He slapped his thigh with his uninjured hand.
\t"Thank you," said Rick, as the Filipino maid brought him a glass of orange juice. "How's the hand?"
\tPaul held up his bandaged hand. "Eh, it's all right. Hurts a bit, but that's what Percoset is for. Man, it sure felt good last night, getting down and dirty with those thugs, mixing it up. Just like old times, eh, Rick?" He grinned at the raccoon.
\tRick smiled and nodded. "Just like old times." He glanced over at Madeleine, whose eyes met his furtively. She was obviously just as uncomfortable as he was. True, they hadn't actually done anything last night, but she'd made her feelings clear. He focused his attention on the plate of scrambled eggs and bacon the maid had placed before him, digging in as Paul continued talking.
\t"Maddy was just telling me you suggested we hire some guards," Paul said. "I think that's a great idea! Don't you agree, honey?" he asked Madeleine, who simply nodded. He looked back at Rick. "So, what's on the agenda for today?"
\t"I thought I'd go into town and talk to Heinrich," said Rick. "Find out what he knows."
\tPaul nodded. "Break that kraut bastard's other arm while you're at it."
\t"Do you want me to drive you in?" Madeleine asked.
\tRick shook his head. "No, you're needed here. I'll go in on my own."
\t"All right," said Madeleine. "Just be careful, Rick. Heinrich's a treacherous little rat."
\t"I'd say that's an insult to every rat I've ever met," said Rick. "Don't worry, Madeleine, I'll be careful."
\tPaul chuckled. "Yeah, don't worry about Rick, Maddy. If he can take down twenty armed men single-handed, he can certainly handle one fat little German." He grinned at Rick. "Bringing you here was the smartest thing I ever did!"
\tRick quickly finished his breakfast and excused himself from the table. After he'd left, Paul looked at Madeleine. "You like him, don't you?" he said.
\tMadeleine blinked, then nodded. "Yes, I do, very much. He's the most extraordinary person I've ever met, and not just because he's a manimal. If he were human, I'd feel the same way. He has a serenity about him, and a moral strength that's rare in any man." She peered at her husband. "Is something wrong, Paul?"
\tPaul sighed. "You know, when we first came out here, we were all over each other. Couldn't wait to have sex. Now . . ." He let the thought trail off.
\tMadeleine walked over to him and stroked the side of his face. "You look much better clean-shaven, Paul. You should do it more often."
\t"Or maybe I should grow fur and a tail," Paul said bitterly.
\t"I think you're being a bit unfair, Paul," Madeleine said. "To both of us." She turned and went inside the house, leaving him alone on the patio.

\t"Mr. Korenaga to see you, sir," Baker said as he entered Martin Tiros's office. Tiros turned from the window to see Baker walking toward him, followed by a handsome Japanese man wearing a black dress shirt with no tie, black slacks, and a white jacket. Korenaga stopped before Tiros and bowed deeply.
\t"Konnichiwa," said Tiros, bowing back. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Korenaga."
\t"Thank you, sir," Korenaga replied, in heavily accented English.
\t"Won't you sit down, please?" Tiros asked. They both seated themselves at his desk, while Baker remained standing. "Green tea?"
\t"Yes, please," said Korenaga. "No sugar."
\tTiros touched a button on the intercom. "Miss Lopez, bring in a cup of green tea with no sugar, please." He leaned back in his chair. "I don't know how much Mr. Baker here has told you about the situation. We're having some trouble with another former student of Mr. Yamada's, a manimal named Rick." He watched as Korenaga's eyes widened. "I take it you know him?"
\tKorenaga nodded. "I know him. He is the reason I left Yamada's school."
\tTiros smiled as his secretary brought in the tea in a cup of fine Portmeirion china, set it down in front of Korenaga, and departed. "Well then, it would seem that fate has handed you an opportunity to get back at him."
\t"You misunderstand, Mr. Tiros," said Korenaga, sipping his tea. "I bear Rick no ill will. It is not his fault he is what he is. I respect his abilities. In some ways, he is very admirable. I simply did not feel that he belonged with us."
\tTiros frowned. "Does that mean you won't do the job?"
\t"I will do it," said Korenaga. "A ninja does not allow sentiment to come between him and his duty."
\tTiros smiled. "Good! If you succeed, I may have several other jobs lined up for you."
\t"I will succeed, or die," said Korenaga.
\t"Your dedication to your craft is admirable," said Tiros. "It's a pleasure to be working with a true professional." He reached across his desk to shake Korenaga's hand. As he did so, his arm knocked the teacup off the edge, sending the delicate object plummeting toward the hardwood floor. Korenaga reacted instantly, catching the cup in midair and placing it carefully back on the desk, as both Tiros and Baker stared in astonishment.
\t"The pleasure is mine, sir," said Korenaga, smiling.

\tRick thought about Madeleine as he walked the five miles into town. He couldn't deny that he had developed feelings for her. She was a strong, brave, determined woman. She was also unhappy, and he wanted to help her if he could. But Paul was his friend, and it would be wrong to take advantage of a friend's misfortune, even if he and Madeleine had grown apart, which they clearly had. Rick sighed and shook his head. Nothing Master Quan had taught him had prepared him for this.
\tAs he entered town, he noticed a number of people smiling and waving at him. Apparently, he was now their hero for ridding them of the scourge of Heinrich. While he was glad to have helped improve their lives, it made him feel uncomfortable. He had never considered himself a hero. Still, it was better than being feared and hated, so he politely smiled and waved back.
\tHe found Cash in his usual spot on a street corner, hawking porn and crucifixes. The old man grinned as he saw the raccoon walking toward him. "Hey, Rick, how ya doin'?"
\tRick smiled up at him. "Fine, thank you."
\t"You're getting to be real popular in this town," Cash remarked.
\tRick's mouth tightened. "So I've noticed."
\t"Hey, you feeling horny? One of the local hookers said she'd give you a freebie for getting rid of Heinrich. She also said she was curious what it'd be like. I promised her I'd mention it to you."
\tRick blinked at him. "You're a pimp now?"
\tCash waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, she's just a friend. A good friend, if you get my meaning." He grinned and winked. "So I thought I'd send some business her way, as a favor."
\t"Actually, I have other things on my mind at the moment," said Rick.
\t"Oh, like what?"
\t"Heinrich."
\tCash stared at him. "Heinrich? You already broke his arm. What are you going to do for an encore, give him cancer?"
\t"I need to find out what he knows."
\t"Well, word is he's been laying low in Manila since you made him lose face here."
\t"Can you find out where?"
\tCash scratched under his bearded chin. "I dunno, Manila's an awful big place."
\tRick took some bills from his pocket and handed them to him. "That enough?"
\tCash grinned and tucked the money in his jacket. "Enough to get started with. Come on, we got a jitney to catch!"

\tTwo hours later, the rainbow-colored bus dropped them off in one of the poor sections of Manila, and so began a long day of walking around and asking questions. Rick wasn't known here, so he was subjected to constant stares from the locals. He also didn't speak Filipino, which meant that Cash had to do most of the talking. Fortunately, he seemed to know someone in every sleazy dive in the city. As they moved from one to another, Rick noticed that they were accumulating a crowd of Filipino children, who were all staring at him in wide-eyed wonder. This made him uneasy, since the crowd might draw attention he didn't want. He was tempted to give them some money to go away, but decided against it. Most likely they would just tell their friends, which would attract even more of them, and his finances were not unlimited.
\tAround noon, the pair stopped at a cheap little restaurant to have lunch. They both ordered a fish sandwich and a bottle of beer—San Miguel for Cash, Tsingtao for Rick—and sat at a table, eating their sandwiches and drinking their beers as a line of tiny brown faces stared through the window at them.
\t"How long have you lived in the Philippines?" Rick asked Cash.
\t"A little over thirty years now," Cash replied, around a mouthful of fish sandwich. "I used to be a sailor. Served on a carrier—the Ticonderoga. Then I started stealing stuff from the ship's stores and selling it to make a little extra money on the side. You wouldn't believe how much there is on a carrier. It's like a floating warehouse!"
\t"What kind of stuff?" Rick asked.
\t"No guns," Cash said quickly. "I never messed with anything like that. Mainly just candy bars, booze, and condiments."
\tRick raised an eyebrow. "Condiments?"
\tCash grinned. "Yeah, ketchup and mustard are real expensive here. Anyway, my superiors got wise to what I was doing, so I . . . well . . . disappeared." He shrugged.
\t"That explains why you haven't gone back to the States," Rick said.
\t"Eh, there's nothing there for me—except a stint in Leavenworth. Besides, I love it here!" He chuckled.
\t"I'm glad you've found a place where you're happy."
\tCash nodded. "What about you?"
\t"I'm still looking."
\t"I don't envy you," Cash said. "Can't be easy, you being a raccoon and all."
\tRick shook his head. "No, it isn't."
\t"Hey," said Cash, "it just occurred to me. What do you do for a passport?"
\t"I have a French passport," Rick replied.
\tCash looked puzzled. "French?"
\tRick nodded. "The French government issues a passport to every manimal who leaves Monster Island. I guess it's their way of making up for Moreau being a Frenchman."
\t"Huh. That's nice of them." Cash finished his sandwich, downed the last of his beer, and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "Well, back to pounding the pavement. You got this, right?"
\t"Yes, I've got it," Rick replied, putting the money on the table and hopping down off his chair. They left the restaurant and went back out onto the street.
\tAnother few hours of walking around asking questions finally got them a lead on where Heinrich was holed up. They arrived at a hotel that looked as if it had begun going downhill before the Japanese occupation. For a few pesos, the fat, sweaty desk clerk told them which room their quarry was in.
\t"Stay here," Rick said to Cash. "Make sure he doesn't call Heinrich and warn him." He turned to the clerk. "Give me your passkey."
\tGrudgingly, the clerk forked the key over. The raccoon headed up the stairs as Cash stood grinning at the clerk. "So, you interested in art?" Cash asked him.
\tRick reached room 403 without incident. There was a sign hanging from the doorknob that said "Do Not Disturb" in Filipino and English. He quietly unlocked the door with the passkey, opened it a crack, and wrinkled his nose at the smells that issued forth. The living room table was covered with Chinese food cartons, flies buzzing around them while a ceiling fan slowly rotated overhead. The walls were blotched with mold, and the paint was peeling in places. As Rick pushed the door open, a string tied to the doorknob tugged on a beer bottle set atop the frame, sending it tumbling toward the floor. Rick caught the bottle in midair and glanced at it. Tsingtao. That made sense. The brewery had been started by a German who had immigrated to China in the early 20th Century. He set the bottle down beside the door and entered the living room.
\tThere were three doorways that led off from the living room, not counting the one he had entered through. One led to a balcony and was open to improve air circulation, with gauzy curtains that doubled as mosquito netting. Another was closed, but very narrow—clearly a closet. The third was also closed. Rick went over to the third door, turned the knob, and eased it open slowly, alert for another bottle-alarm. There wasn't one.
\tThe room reeked of sweat and stale beer. Thin lines of sunlight from the shuttered window snaked across a rotund shape lying on the bed. Loud snoring filled the air, while another ceiling fan whirled above. The floor was littered with empty beer bottles. Moving carefully to avoid disturbing them, Rick walked over to the bed and hopped up onto it, causing Heinrich to wake with a start. The German's pudgy body was naked save for a pair of boxer shorts and a plaster cast on his left arm, his pallid skin gleaming with sweat.
\t"Hello, Heinrich," said Rick, smiling down at him.
\t"What . . . what do you want?" Heinrich asked, swallowing. "Haven't you caused me enough trouble?"
\t"I just came to talk," Rick replied pleasantly.
\t"You're . . . not going to break my other arm, are you?"
\tThe raccoon shook his head. "Not if you cooperate."
\t"All right," said Heinrich. "What do you want to talk about?"
\t"I want to know who you work for and why they want the Andrews' land so badly that they're willing to kill for it."
\tHeinrich scowled. "I do not work for anyone, thanks to you."
\t"That's a shame," said Rick. "Still, I'm sure you'll find honest work eventually. Perhaps I could even put in a good word for you somewhere, if I knew the name of your last employer."
\tThe German shrugged. "I see no reason not to tell you, as I owe them nothing. My last employer was Tiros Enterprises."
\t"And why is Tiros so interested in the Andrews' land?"
\tHeinrich pursed his fat lips. "What is this information worth to you?"
\tRick seized the German's right arm with both hands and twisted it, making him cry out in pain. "Don't try my patience, Heinrich. It's been a long day and my feet are sore."
\t"All right! All right! Please, stop!" Rick relaxed his grip on the man's arm. "Tiros believes there is questionite beneath the Andrews' land."
\tRick raised an eyebrow. "Questionite?"
\tHeinrich nodded. "He mentioned a survey made by a geologist who works for him. It said there were traces of questionite in the soil. He thinks there may be a large deposit there!"
\tRick thought for a moment. Questionite was an extremely rare metal, stronger than steel and much lighter. Any sizable deposit of the stuff would be worth a fortune. "Thank you, Heinrich," he said. "You've been very helpful." He released the German's arm and hopped down off the bed.
\t"You are quite welcome," said Heinrich. "Auf wiedersehen, Rick."
\tRick's ears pricked up as he heard the German slide something from beneath his pillow. He ducked aside as a shot rang out, the bullet whizzing past his ear. Scooping up one of the bottles from the floor, he hurled it at Heinrich, beaning him on his forehead. As the German howled in pain, Rick leaped on top of him, grabbing his right arm and forcing him to point his pistol at the ceiling. They were on the top floor, so nobody would be harmed if it went off, except maybe some seagulls.
\t"Some people never learn," Rick growled.
\t"No! No, please!" Heinrich begged.
\tRick ignored him and slammed the German's lower arm down across his knee, snapping the bones clean through. Heinrich screamed in agony, his pistol thudding to the floor. Rick slid off him and onto the floor, standing and watching in disdain as the German writhed on his back, kicking and screaming. Then he turned and left the room.
\tHe met Cash on the stairs, the old man running up to him. "I heard a gunshot!" Cash said, panting hard.
\tRick nodded. "A Luger, I believe."
\tCash swallowed. "Did you kill him?"
\t"No, but he's going to need help eating, dressing himself, and going to the bathroom for a while."
\tCash grunted. "Well, that's better than he deserves. Did he talk?"
\t"Yes, he told me what I wanted to know. I have to get back to the Andrews' place," said Rick. He and Cash descended the stairs to the lobby, Rick gave the clerk back his passkey, and they left the hotel.

\tNight had fallen over the Andrews' estate, and Madeleine stood outside the house, leaning against a palm tree in the front yard, her arms folded around herself. She hoped Rick was all right. Then she shook her head. The raccoon had amply demonstrated that he was more than able to take care of himself. What a remarkable person he was! So violent, and yet kind, generous, and humble, putting his life on the line for a friend and asking nothing in return. He had said nobody cared about him, but she cared—perhaps more than she should, she reflected. She wondered what would happen when this was over . . . assuming, of course, that they all survived. Would Rick want to stay here, or would he just drift off somewhere else? Did she want him to stay? Did she want to go on being married to Paul? Did Rick have feelings for her? It was hard to tell; he was so self-contained. She wondered what it would be like to have that small, furry body lying beside her. She sighed, pushed off the tree, and went around to the back of the house.
\tAs she walked along the brick walkway, she nearly tripped over something in the dark. She looked down and gasped. It was one of the guards she'd hired just today, his eyes open and blank, his chest glistening black in the moonlight. "Paul!" she screamed, running to the back porch.
\tPaul was sitting at the table on the patio with a glass of bourbon. He stood up quickly as his wife came running toward him. "Maddy, what's wrong?"
\t"One of the guards has been killed!" she said, running past him to the living room.
\t"What?" Paul asked. Madeleine opened the closet, took out her shotgun, and ran back to the patio. She flicked on the yard lights, illuminating the whole back yard. Another guard lay on the grass beside the swimming pool, face down. Madeleine began running over to him.
\t"Madeleine, wait!" Paul shouted. "Let me get my revolver!" He ran into the house as Madeleine knelt beside the guard and turned him over. A steel throwing star was embedded in the man's forehead. As she stood up, an arm suddenly clamped around her neck from behind, paralyzing her. There had been nothing around her for more than sixty feet in every direction a second ago.
\t"Where is Rick?" her captor asked, in heavily accented English, his gravelly voice slightly muffled.
\t"I-I-I don't know!" Madeleine cried. Then she screamed as she felt an agonizing pressure just beneath her shoulder, and the shotgun fell from her hands.
\t"Tell me, or there will be more pain!" the man growled. Madeleine shook her head, sobbing.
\tPaul came running back out onto the patio, holding his revolver, and saw Madeleine standing by the pool next to a dead guard, locked in a choke hold by a man dressed in a black tunic, hood, mask, breeches, and soft cloth boots. Only his eyes were visible. "Let her go!" Paul shouted, walking toward them, his revolver leveled.
\tThe man shifted his position so that Madeleine was between him and Paul. "Drop the gun, or I break her neck!" the man demanded.
\t"No, Paul, don't!" Madeleine cried.
\tPaul hesitated, looking around. "Guards?" he yelled.
\t"Your guards are all dead," the man said. "You have three seconds. Then she dies."
\tWith a look of resignation on his face, Paul sighed and dropped the revolver. It thudded in the grass.
\t"Now," the man said, "where is Rick?"
\t"He went into town looking for Heinrich," said Paul. "He should have been back hours ago. That's all I know."
\tThe man looked annoyed. He threw Madeleine aside, sending her sprawling on the grass. Then he drew a throwing star and hurled it at Paul, embedding it in his knee. Paul cried out, falling to his other knee. He reached for the revolver, but the man was suddenly standing before him and kicked it away, sending it skittering into the pool, where it sank with a plop. Paul looked up at him, grimacing in pain. "Who are you?" he asked through clenched teeth.
\t"I am nobody," the man said. "I do not exist." He drew a gleaming curved short sword from its sheath.
\t"No!" Madeleine screamed.
\tThe blade came down in a bright flash, slicing into Paul's chest and releasing a spray of blood across the grass. Paul fell forward and lay still.
\t"You bastard!" Madeleine shrieked, scrambling to her fallen shotgun, picking it up, and aiming it at her husband's killer. She fired once, the report tearing a hole in the night, and the man spun aside like a wisp of smoke. His sword came singing around, striking the barrel of the shotgun and cutting into it, destroying the mechanism for chambering the next shell. Madeleine sprang to her feet and reversed the weapon, trying to bludgeon him with it, but the man evaded the blow with casual ease and delivered a karate chop to the side of her neck, which caused her to slump to the ground. He wiped the blood from his blade with a cloth and sheathed it. Then he picked up Madeleine's limp form, hoisted it over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, and walked off into the night.

\tA jitney dropped Rick off at the Andrews' estate, and he walked up the driveway and into the house. He called out to Paul and Madeleine, but there was no reply. Odd. Perhaps they were taking a late swim in the pool. After walking around Manila all day, he could do with a swim himself. He went out the back door to the patio. The backyard lights were on. Immediately, he saw the two bodies beside the pool and realized that he knew who one of them was.
\t"Paul!" Rick cried out, running over to his friend. He knelt beside Paul and turned him over on his back. The stickiness of the blood on his chest told him that Paul had been dead for at least an hour. Sighing, he closed Paul's eyes. Then he saw something metallic embedded in Paul's knee. He reached down and plucked it out.
\tA throwing star. He had seen this design and the kanji engraved on it before. "Korenaga," Rick growled.
\tHe noticed a shotgun lying in the grass a dozen feet away, and went to inspect it. It was the same one Madeleine had threatened him with when he'd first arrived. There was a deep cut in the barrel. He sniffed the weapon. It had been fired recently. Rick stood up and put his hands to his mouth. "Madeleine!" he shouted as loudly as he could. There was no reply but the songs of frogs and crickets. Clenching his teeth, he walked back into the house. He remembered what Paul had said, about Rick being the Eleventh Commandment. "Thou shalt not get away with it." He went into his room and began to change.

\t"Mrs. Andrews?"
\tMadeleine started awake as the sound of her name penetrated her awareness. She sat up quickly and looked around. She was in what appeared to be an indoor jungle. Tropical plants grew out of recessed areas in the tiled floor, and there were skylights overhead. Stone fountains burbled softly in the planted areas, keeping the soil moist. Before a floor-to-ceiling window displaying the glittering nighttime skyline of Manila stood a large mahogany desk. She was lying on a very modern padded bench made of steel and vinyl. Around her stood three men. One was a sandy-haired, square-jawed man in his fifties, with gray eyes, wearing an expensively tailored blue suit. The second was a tall man with black hair, wearing a white suit. The third she recognized as the man who had killed Paul. "You!" Madeleine snarled, attempting to lunge at Paul's killer, only to discover that she felt weak and dizzy. She almost fell, but the first man caught her and gently set her back on the bench.
\t"Easy, there," the first man said, smiling. "I'm afraid Mr. Korenaga had to drug you for the trip to Manila. I'm told it'll wear off quickly. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Andrews. I'm Martin Tiros." He held out his hand to her.
\tMadeleine just glared at him. "The pleasure is not mutual, Mr. Tiros!"
\tTiros nodded and withdrew his hand. "I can understand why you'd be angry with me."
\t"Angry? Angry doesn't begin to describe it!" She pointed at Korenaga. "That man murdered my husband!"
\tTiros sighed. "Your husband was being obstinate, Mrs. Andrews. I made him a very generous offer for his land. If he'd just accepted it, he'd still be alive, and quite wealthy."
\tMadeleine stared at him. "So instead, you had him killed? And you don't see anything wrong with that?"
\tTiros shrugged and leaned back on the bench, crossing his legs. "It's the law of the jungle, Mrs. Andrews. Survival of the fittest."
\t"That's how you justify cold-blooded murder?" Madeleine demanded. "By fobbing it off on Darwin?"
\t"Actually, Darwin didn't coin that phrase," said Tiros. "It was Herbert Spencer. You see, Spencer believed that those who win the struggle for survival are by definition not only the fittest, but also morally superior." He smiled.
\t"You are a sick man, Mr. Tiros," said Madeleine. "There's nothing morally superior about killing those weaker than yourself. That's just common barbarism."
\tTiros sighed again. "Mrs. Andrews, it's late, and I'm not really interested in debating philosophy with you. I brought you here because I want you to sign your land over to me. Do that, and you can walk out of here a free woman with enough money to last you the rest of your life. Now, that seems reasonable, doesn't it?"
\tMadeleine laughed. "Do you take me for a complete idiot? Do you think I'm too stupid to realize you can't possibly let me live, knowing what I know? Your pet ninja over there will kill me before the ink on the contract is dry!"
\t"I give you my word, Mrs. Andrews," Tiros said.
\t"You can take your word and cram it up your ass! You're a thug, Tiros, nothing more, and it will be my pleasure to deny you what you want!"
\tTiros frowned. "You might want to reconsider, Mrs. Andrews. Mr. Korenaga can be very persuasive. I'm told he knows many ways of inflicting pain."
\tMadeleine shook her head. "Like I said, nothing but a thug. I feel sorry for you."
\tTiros chuckled. "Don't, Mrs. Andrews. You see, I'm what's known as a winner. Your late husband, on the other hand, was a loser." He shrugged again, holding his hands palms up in an exaggerated "What can you do?" gesture.
\tMadeleine smirked. "You're not going to win, Mr. Tiros. I know someone who will see to that."
\t"Ah yes," said Tiros, "your furry friend. I admit, he has been an unexpected thorn in my side. That's why I hired Mr. Korenaga. It seems he and Rick went to the same school together."
\tAt that moment, the black-haired man's cell phone buzzed. He answered it, and his eyes went wide. "What?" He looked at Tiros. "Rick is in the lobby!"
\t"What?" echoed Tiros. "What's he doing?"
\t"Nothing. He says he wants to talk to you, in person."
\tTiros glanced over at Korenaga, who simply nodded. "Very well. Have him come up, Mr. Baker."
\t"Bring him up," Baker said into his cell phone.
\tThere followed a period of prolonged silence while they waited for the raccoon to arrive. It was Madeleine who finally broke it. "You're going to die tonight, Mr. Tiros," she said, smiling at him.
\tTiros smiled back. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, Mrs. Andrews. Rick may be a formidable combatant, but he's still just flesh and blood. He can be killed."
\t"So can you," said Madeleine icily.
\tThe door to the office opened and Rick entered, accompanied by four uniformed security guards. The raccoon was now dressed in his sleeveless green tunic with white trim, green trousers, and gold cloth belt. His black eyes moved to each person in the room, lingering on Madeleine for a moment and finally stopping on Tiros.
\t"Hello, Rick," Tiros said, smiling at him. "I'm Martin Tiros. What can I do for you?"
\t"You can release Madeleine and let us both walk out of here," Rick replied calmly.
\tTiros chuckled. "And why would I do that?"
\t"To avoid going to jail for the murder of Paul Andrews and four security guards, among other things."
\t"And who's going to bring me to justice? You?"
\t"No, UNTIL. Or weren't you aware that Paul Andrews used to work for them?"
\tTiros and Baker both looked at each other, alarmed.
\t"I know about the questionite under the Andrews' estate," Rick continued, "and I know you had Paul killed to get it. And in case you think you can get yourself off the hook by killing me, I've given this information to an associate of mine who has instructions to contact UNTIL and give it to them if he doesn't hear from me in one hour. UNTIL will investigate Paul's death, and it won't take them long to confirm that what I said is true. Your only option is to let Madeleine and me go free and never bother either of us again. This is an ultimatum, Mr. Tiros."
\tTiros clenched his jaw. "And what guarantee do I have, if I let you go, that you won't blab to UNTIL anyway?"
\t"You have my word as the last member of the House of Quan," Rick replied.
\tTiros snorted. "As if that's worth anything!"
\tKorenaga spoke up. "If Rick gives his word, he will keep it."
\tTiros turned his head and stared at the ninja. "Seriously?"
\tKorenaga nodded. "It is our way."
\tTiros turned back to Rick, scowling. "If you think I'm just going to abandon that questionite—"
\t"I'm giving you a chance to not spend the rest of your life in jail, Mr. Tiros," Rick interrupted. "I trust that's worth more to you than the questionite."
\tTiros glared venomously at the raccoon, shaking, his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. "Goddamn you, you furry little shit!"
\tRick returned the man's hateful look with a placid gaze. "The clock is ticking, Mr. Tiros."
\tTiros ground his teeth for a long moment as everyone waited tensely for his decision. Finally, he threw up his hands in exasperation. "All right, fine! Take the woman and go!" Then he pointed at Rick. "But mark my words, this isn't over! I don't like losing, especially to some genetic freak!"
\t"Failure is the mother of success," Rick replied, unperturbed.
\tTiros sneered at him. "You get that out of a fortune cookie?"
\t"No, the I Ching. You might want to take a look at it."
\tTiros gave a derisive snort as Madeleine rose from the bench and walked past him toward Rick. In front of Baker, she paused and coughed, bending over slightly. Her right hand snatched his pistol from its holster, and she whirled, shouting "Bastard!" and fired at Tiros point blank, a red hole appearing in the center of the businessman's chest.
\tThree things happened simultaneously: Rick sprang, sailing through the air toward Madeleine; Baker seized her right arm and twisted it so the gun was pointing upward; and Korenaga snatched a throwing star from the sash across his chest and hurled it at her. Madeleine squeezed the trigger again, firing a shot that shattered the skylight above her, as Rick collided with her, knocking her down, and the spinning steel star whizzed by above his head and struck Baker in the throat. Baker staggered backward, gurgling blood, and fell to the floor as glass from the skylight rained down on Rick and Madeleine, the raccoon doing his best to shield the woman with his body, while Tiros also fell, staring down at the hole in his chest in disbelief.
\tThe four security guards who had accompanied Rick all drew their pistols, aiming them at him and Madeleine as they lay on the floor together. Korenaga tossed a small glass globe toward the guards, and it shattered when it hit the floor, engulfing them in a cloud of green vapor. They all reeled and collapsed.
\t"Are you all right?" Rick asked Madeleine.
\tShe nodded. "I'm fine. Thank you."
\tThe raccoon got to his feet, fragments of glass raining down from his back and shoulders, and looked up at Korenaga. The ninja was slowly drawing his sword. "Tiros is dead, Korenaga," Rick said. "You don't have to do this."
\t"Of course I do," Korenaga replied, holding his sword before him with both hands, the blade gleaming under the lights. "I must avenge my employer's death, just as you had to come here to help your friend. Honor demands it."
\t"Master Yamada said that ninjitsu should not be used to serve evil ends!" Rick persisted.
\tKorenaga scowled behind his mask. "Yamada has lost sight of what ninja truly are: weapons. A weapon is not concerned with the morality of the man who wields it."
\tRick shook his head. "Emiko was right about you. You're living in the past."
\t"To hell with this!" said Madeleine, raising her pistol and aiming it at Korenaga.
\t"No!" cried Rick, reaching for her gun arm. She got off one shot before he knocked it aside. Korenaga's blade moved lightning fast, sparking as the bullet glanced off it with a metallic zing. Then it came down in a blinding arc and sliced cleanly through the pistol, narrowly missing Madeleine's hand.
\tRick rammed his foot into Korenaga's midriff, causing the ninja to grunt with pain and take a step back. "Run!" Rick shouted at Madeleine. She hesitated a moment, then turned and ran for the door of the office. Korenaga moved to follow, but Rick blocked him.
\tThey stood facing each other for a moment. Then Korenaga shrugged. "It does not matter," the ninja said. "I can track her down later."
\t"There isn't going to be a later," Rick growled.
\t"Not for you," Korenaga said and lunged, thrusting with his blade. Rick jumped back, hands raised defensively. Korenaga came at him again, swinging his blade in a wide arc, and Rick dove through a wall of ferns growing out of one of the plots of dirt in the floor. The ninja's blade swept through the ferns and struck a stone fountain, biting into it with a sharp clang. The raccoon rolled to his feet and ran to the fallen security guards, lifting two of their nightsticks and holding one in each hand. As Korenaga charged toward him, he turned, knocking the scything blade aside with one stick while ramming the end of the other into the ninja's chest. Korenaga swept the raccoon's feet out from under him with one leg, knocking him onto his back, and brought down his sword in a strike intended to bisect him. Rick parried the sword with one stick and hurled the other at Korenaga's head, striking him directly on his forehead. Korenaga staggered backward, momentarily stunned, as Rick kipped up and laid into the ninja, striking savagely with hands, feet, and stick.
\tKorenaga executed a side slice with his blade, cutting Rick's nightstick in half and forcing him to jump back and bump into the trunk of a small palm tree. Rick swiftly scampered up the trunk and leaped for the skylight Madeleine had shot out earlier, grasping the edge and pulling himself up onto the roof. Korenaga frowned and quickly followed the raccoon up the tree and through the skylight.
\tOnce he was up, Korenaga paused and scanned the rooftop. There were several large air conditioning units humming away, any one of which the raccoon might be hiding behind. To the north, east, and south, the lights of the city glittered in the humid night, while to the west lay the vast black expanse of Manila Bay. Cautiously, Korenaga began describing a circle around the rooftop, his soft boots crunching on the gravel, sword held at the ready.
\tThe attack came without warning. Rick leaped from the top of one of the air conditioners, his foot striking Korenaga directly in his back. The ninja whirled, cutting with his blade, and Rick felt a hot sting of pain as the tip of the sword sliced across his chest. He somersaulted away from Korenaga, landing on his feet, and the ninja charged at him, blade upraised. Rick spun aside as the blade came down, and seized Korenaga's left arm in an arm lock. For a moment, the pair struggled for control of the sword. Then Korenaga lifted the raccoon off his feet and slammed his back against the side of the air conditioner. Rick grunted with pain and sank his sharp teeth into Korenaga's wrist. The ninja cried out and slugged Rick across his muzzle with his right fist. Rick ignored the punch, biting down harder, and Korenaga lost his grip on the sword, the weapon clattering to the ground at his feet. Rick let go of Korenaga's arm, dropping to the roof, and snatched up the sword, spinning and cutting across the ninja's belly. Korenaga staggered back as Rick stood holding the sword with both hands, his muzzle stained with blood, some of it his own.
\tWith his left hand dangling uselessly, Korenaga drew a throwing star with his right hand and hurled it at the raccoon, who deflected it, the star clanging off the steel blade. Then he drew a small steel weight attached to a chain and swung it at Rick. The raccoon parried, and the chain wrapped around the blade of his sword, fouling it. Korenaga yanked hard, and Rick resisted, his clawed feet crunching against the gravel rooftop. Then Korenaga suddenly let go, and Rick went stumbling backward, falling on his rump. Korenaga drew a dagger from his belt and sprang, landing atop the raccoon and stabbing downward. Rick held up the still tangled sword, one hand on the hilt, the other on the blade itself, blocking the stabbing dagger with its point mere inches from his eyeball. Korenaga snarled as he bore down with the dagger, and Rick grimaced as he pushed back with all his strength.
\tFor a moment, they lay there locked together, neither able to overcome the other. Then Rick managed to wedge his short leg under Korenaga's torso and, with a effort fueled by desperation, lifted the ninja up and off of him, flipping him head over heels and onto his back. The raccoon rolled to his feet and, as Korenaga struggled to rise, plunged the point of the sword into the ninja's belly.
\tKorenaga stared at Rick as the raccoon withdrew the blood-stained blade from the man's stomach. The ninja fell to his knees, then slowly reached up with his right hand and pulled off his mask and hood, his glistening face lined with pain.
\t"You have won . . . with honor," Korenaga said, through clenched teeth. "Permit me . . . to die . . . with honor."
\tRick swallowed, hesitating, his chest heaving.
\t"Please!" Korenaga begged.
\tRick nodded, tensing his muscles, and brought the blade down in a swift, powerful strike. Korenaga's head fell to the roof with a thud, his body following a second later. The raccoon stood there silently for a moment, breathing hard. Then, letting the sword fall from his hands, he turned and went back downstairs.

\tMadeleine, Cash, and Rick sat on the rather uncomfortable fiberglass seats in the terminal of Manila International Airport as they waited for Rick's flight to be called, Cash taking an occasional gulp from a bottle of San Miguel. Rick was once again dressed in a polo shirt and slacks, his duffel bag on the seat beside him. Two weeks had passed since the death of Martin Tiros. The Manila police had determined that both Madeleine and Rick had acted in self-defense, and the activities of Tiros Enterprises were now under investigation. The legal monster had been awakened, and was now looking at the company with hungry eyes. But that was someone else's problem.
\t"Are you sure you won't stay?" Madeleine asked, turning her head to look at Rick.
\t"I have obligations back in Japan," the raccoon replied. He tilted his head. "What about you?"
\t"I have to stay," said Madeleine. "I owe it to Paul."
\tRick nodded, noting the sadness in her big, dark eyes. "He was a brave man, and a good friend. Have you decided yet what to do about the questionite?"
\tMadeleine sighed. "If it were up to me, I'd let it stay in the ground. It's what Paul was killed for. But the information is bound to come out sooner or later. After all, Heinrich knows about it, so I have to assume others at Tiros do also and will tell the police, if they haven't already. And since I don't want to go through that hell again, I've decided to sell the mining rights to the Philippine government."
\t"That will make you a very wealthy woman," Rick commented.
\tShe shrugged. "I suppose."
\tCash grinned. "Hey, if you don't want the money, I'll take it!"
\tMadeleine smiled. "I imagine I'll find some use for it, eventually. Maybe I'll set up some sort of humanitarian foundation in Paul's name."
\tRick nodded. "That sounds like a fine monument. Master Quan used to say, 'If you want happiness that lasts a lifetime, help someone else.'"
\t"Thank you for your help, Rick," Madeleine said.
\tThe public address system crackled to life. "Japan Air Lines Flight 107, non-stop from Manila to Tokyo, now boarding at gate ten."
\tMadeleine and Cash both rose as Rick hopped down off his seat and hoisted his duffel bag over his shoulder. "Well, I guess this is goodbye," Rick said. "It's an honor to have met you both."
\t"You take care of yourself, fuzzy," Cash said. "Say hello to all those geishas for me." He held out his hand to Rick, who shook it.
\tThen Rick turned to Madeleine. Her eyes were glittering. "If you're ever in the Philippines," she said, her voice tight, "there will always be a place for you."
\t"Thank you," said Rick. "That means a lot."
\tMadeleine knelt and put her arms around the raccoon, and he did the same to her. They stood like that for a long moment as people walking by stared at them. Finally, she let go of him and stood up. "Goodbye, Rick."
\t"Goodbye, Madeleine," Rick said. "Goodbye, Cash." He turned and began walking toward the gate, and they watched until his small form was swallowed up by the crowd.", "pools_count": 0, "title": "The Manimal Chronicles #3: A Matter of Honor", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "application/msword", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "2", "rating_name": "Adult", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "5", "name": "Strong Violence", "description": "Strong violence, blood, serious injury or death", "rating_id": "2" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "f", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "4" }