"Not so fast, kid," Kermit cautioned. He read through the now comprehensible characters on the screen. "What we have is a name, not a person."
Nevertheless, Peter felt elated. The day of his father's wedding was fast approaching, and until this moment they hadn't been able to find a trace of the man who had hired the assassin, nor the reasons why he had done so.
The search of the hitman's office, however, had turned up a curiously encrypted disk. Kermit had been set to work deciphering it, and now the two of them studied the result of his labor.
The ex-mercenary whistled as he scrolled down. "This is one slick operation. Murder, blackmail, theft, forgery, fraud...a man for every occasion. We haven't even scratched the surface."
"But they're just the hirelings, right? This man" --he pointed to a name on the screen-- "Gregor, he's the one who holds the bankroll."
"Then let's see what we can turn up on him, shall we?" He closed the assassin's incriminating file and called up another page of information. "Gregor, Lucas. Head of Abel Legal Services, a division of--ha, ha--Cain Brothers, Incorporated."
Peter frowned. "But why would he want to kill my father? I've never even heard of him."
"Someone with a grudge from the good old days at the temple, perhaps?" Kermit suggested.
Peter studied Gregor's picture, trying to recall if he had seen the man's face, even a glimpse, in his youth. Finally he shook his head. "I have no memory of him at all. That doesn't mean he wasn't there, of course, just that I can't remember him."
"All right, we'll have to keep that in mind... Well, well, what have we here?" He chuckled. "Looks like our friend Gregor left town in a hurry."
Peter perked up. "When?"
"Surprise, surprise! Two days after Skalany brought in the hitman. Seems he knew in advance there would be a trail leading to him."
"That leaves us back where we started," Peter sighed. He had hoped to rid his father of this menace before the wedding. Not that he expected his father would ever be completely safe--even now, there were periodic attacks upon him by disgruntled clan members who saw the Shaolin as a threat to their way of life--but it would have been one less distraction to worry about.
"Not quite." Kermit leaned back in his chair. "As I said, we have a name. Information is power." With a cool smile and a click of his mouse, he blanked Gregor's picture into oblivion. "It's only a matter of time."
He absolutely refused, however, to think about his father's tush.
The entire Chinatown community had rallied around the Shaolin. Many of them came to watch the ceremony, filling the church to capacity, while others prepared a festive celebration for afterward. They had supplied the baskets of flowers that decorated the area before the altar and lined the aisles, lending the air a delightful fragrance.
The very front rows had been reserved for family and personal friends. The whole precinct gang was there--excluding those actually participating in the ceremony--as well as various members of Skalany's scattered clan. Diligent persistence on Peter's part had resulted in the attendance of both Matthew and Martin, which his father had declared in his hesitant, heartfelt way to be a present he would treasure above all else.
Then Mary Margaret entered. The gown she had chosen, a white brocade bodice with ivory satin skirts and lace-trimmed sleeves, practically glowed in the light of her radiance. Her hair had been carefully plaited with sprigs of baby's breath, echoed in the bouquet she carried. As she walked sedately toward the altar, she spared a brief glance and smile at her mother, who promptly burst into tears.
She stepped up beside Caine, eyes shining. Peter had to remind himself to start breathing again, so strongly did her appearance touch him, and he could hardly imagine how his father must be feeling.
The Ancient performed the ceremony. Mary Margaret's priest sat in the audience, witnessing the event so that it would be considered official according to her religious beliefs. Peter had to force himself to listen for his cue, ignoring the insistent inner voices telling him the whole service was too good to be true.
It almost seemed inevitable that anything resulting in happiness for his family would be disastrously interrupted. The wedding of Kwai Chang Caine was such a tempting target, he couldn't shake the sense that something would go terribly wrong at any moment.
He forced himself to think about it rationally, however, and came to a startling realization. They had here, in one room, concentrated the most highly trained martial arts masters, metaphysical warriors, and law enforcement officers in the entire region. They had more combined defensive talent than the NFL.
Any potential attacker would have to be really motivated.
Finally the moment arrived for Peter to produce the rings, and he handed them over without hesitation. He had wondered how he would feel when Mary Margaret slid the simple gold band onto his father's finger, marking as hers something that had once belonged only to his mother. It hurt, he couldn't deny it, but the pain was curiously distant, and it faded even further when he saw the eyes of the new couple. The look that passed from one to the other was so laser-bright that anything unlucky enough to be caught in the air between them would have been instantly incinerated.
The Ancient smiled. "You may kiss the bride."
Caine bowed before his wife, his eyes never leaving hers. He gently took her hands and kissed them, first the left, then the right. Next, with a flourish and the graceful precision of a dancer, he lifted her into his arms and spun to face those assembled, who cheered, delighted.
"How long do you intend to carry me?" Mary Margaret whispered, only Peter close enough to overhear.
The Shaolin merely shrugged. "As long...as you need."
Peter chuckled and followed them outside. He nearly got lost in the press of the crowd, but managed to hold his own, escaping by mere inches being pelted by rice--although he suspected Jody of aiming for him intentionally. A horse and carriage had been hired for the occasion, to drive the bride and groom to Chinatown for the reception. As Mary Margaret took her seat and Caine stepped up to join her, Martin called out, "So, brother, where's the honeymoon?"
Caine didn't even blink. "Ah...we are going to...Disneyworld?"
Mary Margaret laughed, pulling him onto the seat next to her. "Get over here, you, and stop teasing the guests. We don't know yet," she answered the question, "Kermit arranged it. I told him to surprise us."
"They'll be surprised, all right," Kermit murmured, coming up to stand next to Peter. He put on his glasses, which he had removed during the ceremony.
Peter shot him a Look. "You better not have--"
"Calm down, kid," the other detective reassured him. "I'm not sending them to the Bermuda Triangle--though I'm sure they could handle anything they might encounter there."
"Then where?"
Kermit watched the carriage start off, Mary Margaret tossing her bouquet out behind her into the clustered group of women and girls. He nudged Peter. "Hey," he hastened to change the subject, "that one who caught the flowers, isn't she your friend Jennifer?"
Peter glanced over to check, and when he turned back the ex-mercenary had vanished into the crowd. "Kermit? Kermit!" He shook his head wryly. Well, wherever his father ended up, he would no doubt enjoy it to its fullest.