THE ROAD IS LONG
Just a quick chappie I wrote t'other night whilst panicking about my assessment. I know I said that chapter 4 would have Vince and Dom's cousins in it but I figured that I needed to introduce these two. They play a big part in later events…grins ominously Happy reading! The next chap shouldn't take too long to do! Thankies to for reading! Gem xxx Chapter 4: Tran's Retribution. As he moved through the large painted red gates to his Uncle's restaurant, Lance Tran had a notion of the punishment that he was about to bear. He walked with a permanent limp, favouring his right leg and wincing every time that his heel touched down on the highly polished black marble floor of the foyer. Two men dressed in black suits stood either side of the restaurant door, their hands clasped before them and their legs slightly apart offering the guards increased balance during their long shifts. They barely acknowledged Lance as he passed them, attempting to keep his steps even and from showing his lame leg, but he felt their dark eyes boring into him with each step he took. Inside the usually teeming restaurant the air was deathly silent. Still. Lance would have called it calm if he hadn't known why he had been summoned here, before his Uncle, Hikaru Tran. His eyes fixed onto the figure of his Uncle who sat in a rigid backed chair facing away from Lance's entrance, drumming his fingers on the long banquet table he sat to. So intent on this small but commanding man was Lance that he barely noticed when his shining black leather shoes sunk deep into the blood red carpet that ran the length and breadth of the long hall-like room. He reached the table in a matter of seconds and dipped his head in a low, respectful bow, wincing as his still present injuries gave a twinge where his body bent at the waist. He had been hospitalised for only a single week after the 'accident', yet he was still recovering. His Uncle had discharged him from hospital early without more than a word in his direction and then he had ignored him for a further three weeks. No doubt deciding what was to be done with his impotent nephew. Lance swallowed at the stretch of silence that had followed his gesture and raised his head slightly to glance at the back of Hikaru Tran's head. His sleek black hair was parted on the side and not a single hair was out of place nor discoloured by age. "Uncle, I-" Lance began but a swift slicing motion of Hikaru's hand was enough to return the young man to silence. "I did not invite you to speak." His voice was thickly accented with his Chinese heritage and sliced through the air, which had become inexplicably heavy Lance thought, with ease. Hikaru twisted his swivelling chair about so that he was able to scrutinize his young nephew for a long, breathless moment, lacing his pale, slender fingers together. "When my brother died," Hikaru began, tapping the tips of his fingers together. "I took you in. You and that whore of a mother that he loved so much." He paused again in both his speech and his movements. "I fed you. I clothed you. I raised you as a second son…Yet…here we are." A hush returned to the restaurant and the wrinkles at the corners of Hikaru's mouth pulled his lips downwards into a grimace. Lance could scarcely bear to hold his Uncle's burning gaze. "Do you know why you are here, Lance?" he asked finally, a wry smirk twisting his grimace up slightly. "Yes, Uncle. I am here to accept my punishment for not preventing my cousin's death and-" Hikaru's hand made another slice in the air that made Lance flinch and abandoned his answer. "My dear, dear boy!" Hikaru gave a guttural laugh. "If I had intended to have you punished, you would be dead by now." No humour tinted Hikaru's laughter or features. He stood and strode, slowly, towards Lance, stopping inches in front of him and giving him a considering glance. He reached out his hand and took hold of Lance's chin firmly, turning the young man's face into the light in order to inspect the still visible lacerations and bruises. Lightening fast, the older man backhanded Lance across his already battered face, reopening the deep split in his lower lip. Lance tasted the salty bitterness of his own blood but resisted the urge to spit it out across the flawless crimson carpet. He flinched as his Uncle's hand returned to his face again, smoothing across the same cheek that he had assaulted seconds before. "My dear Nephew. You are here for one purpose and one purpose only. If you succeed, I shall spare your miserable life and name you as my sole heir in the place of my beloved and sadly departed son." Hikaru strode in a large, purposeful circle about Lance as he spoke, his hands clasped at the small of his back. Lance waited. Counted the footfalls until his Uncle was directly behind him. One..two…three…four…five…six…seven. It was on the count of seven that Lance felt the older man's fist slam into his lower back, exactly above his left kidney. He hissed and stumbled forwards onto his knees, clenching his teeth against the throbbing ache. "If you fail…I shall punish you." Lance squinted up as Hikaru finished his full circle and gazed down at his agonized form. Fury and madness blazed deep in Hikaru's coal black eyes and Lance feared too much not to take his Uncle's proposition. "What…what is m-my task, Uncle?" Lance stammered, slowly regaining his breath and Hikaru's face broke out into a cold, forced smile. "I am glad you asked, my boy." He beamed falsely, adjusting his diamond cufflinks in a dramatic flourish. Suddenly his face turned stony. "I want you to hunt down and kill all who played a part in my precious son's demise." His tone was icy and clipped and he extended his hand, palm out, to Lance who still knelt, wheezing slightly. "Do you accept?" Lance closed his eyes tightly for a long minute before taking the waiting hand of Hikaru Tran and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. "Yes, Uncle. I accept." Was all he could say, was all he needed to say before Hikaru clapped and the room filled with guests and dancers and food and drink, all in bountiful quantities. "Then tonight we shall celebrate!" -00000-
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