THE DOOR KNOCKED HARD WITH HIS MOTHER’S YELLING – Peter was regaining his sentient rapidly -- with his conscious senses balancing on the borderline to kip.
“HOI-PETER! Are you awake!!? We are leaving to church in another 20 minutes!”
“… Mom… I’m ‘not’ coming… I need my sleep…” Peter whined.
Caroline in her bathrobe barged into the room, hollering at her motionless son, who was sprawled on the single bed with his face-down …
“No! You are coming to church!”
“… but Mom… I did ‘not’ sleep… well… last night…”
“Have you been watching Netflix till late at night?”
“… no… did… ‘not’…”
“You better discipline yourself – school is starting tomorrow – you go to back to the routine by going to bed by 10 and waking up by 6… and no more afternoon naps, which also disrupts your night sleep -- hey-are you listening!!?”
… Caroline’s finger poked his stump…
“… yea… yea…”
“Now wake up – and head to the bathroom!”
Peter turned to face his mother – with stretching yawn…
… the curious Caroline noticed red marks on his neck…
“What are those ‘marks’ – they were ‘not’ there yesterday evening?’
“… donno… probably mozzie bites…”
The mother pulled off his blanket – and ordered…
“Get-up, get-up-get-up – go to the bathroom now!” as she left the room…
… the sleepy Peter sat up and yawned-long for the third time… he got up from the bed, and pulled his t-shirt over his head with his single hand – and headed to the bathroom in his room to pee…
The bare-bodied one-arm boy’s attention caught in the bathroom mirror – as he paused to gasp in horror…
…to the bitemarks and fingernail-scratches all over his body…
… the last time he had scratch-marks was with the nympho-lover Jezebel from Perthland, with her rough sex…
‘… huh… did I have sex with Frenchie last night…?”
Peter turned his back to examine in the vertical long-mirror – and noticed more scrape-fingernail-marks on his shoulder blades…
‘… mom should ‘not’ know…’
… a brief memory passed…
‘… but-Poe… he saw me sneak back in – will he tell Mom…?’
-O-
Paul Walker was the first member of the family to be ready for church in his Sunday’s-best – he was sipping hot black coffee and hoped to finish the cup before his mom came downstairs, to drive them over to St Michael's…
… he ‘too’ didn’t have a goodnight-sleep…
He was half-way finishing his cup -- and noticed Caroline in her green dress was knocking again at his twin’s door…
“Peter, come on downstairs now – we are leaving!”
She came down -- and Paul offered…
“Mom, I poured you a cup of warm coffee.”
She nodded to thank him, and drank…
… they both looked up to Peter rushing down the stairs – overdressed to ‘coverup’ his bodily abrasion marks. He ran to be the first outside the main-door…
“Come-on, chop-chop! Let’s get going – coffee break is over!”
-O-
Throughout the journey to church, Caroline was lecturing her twin sons and reminded them that the school-break was over with school reopening tomorrow on Monday – where their ‘laid-back’ family-time was over, and come-Monday…
… they-all would be busy with 3 individuals ‘leading’ their separate lives.
She was giving the dos-and-don’ts…
… Paul listened while Peter sniggered…
“Peter, you are going to confession -- AND YOU TELL IT ALL to Father Aloysius…”
“Tell what?”
“… on ‘what’ you did in school on Thursday!”
“Nothing happened ‘on’ Thursday, Mom!”
“You can lie to me but -- ‘not’ to God – you better confess to Father Aloysius!”
“… like I said ‘nothing happened’ at school on Thursday…”
At the backseat was the curious-to-know Paul – who had sensed for 3 days at home -- that ‘something’ was going-on with his mother-and-Peter -- that they were ‘not’ telling…
‘… I ‘got’ in trouble at the zoo on Thursday – ‘what’ did Peter get in trouble-for in school -- on that 'same' day?’
… as his ‘brother’s keeper’ -- he would find-out that ‘secret’ tomorrow in school – when he would ‘ask’ Ms King.
“You better go for confession on ‘what’ you delinquently did – and I’ll personally ask Father Aloysius himself later…”
“Hoi-Mom, this is sacrilegious — it’s a sin – come on, please don’t go harassing the Good man-of-God with your police interrogation tactics.”
“Hah! Then, you better tell the ‘TRUTH’ OF WHAT you ‘did’ at school that Thursday…”
“What you hope to gain from this, Mom – you want to intervene for God…? What are you-are you now -- St Caroline -- the patron-saint for mothers with-delinquent-sons?”
… Caroline bellyached, and she then said…
Stolen novel; please report.
“You too Poe – you go for confession too – you had ‘been’ a disobedient-son these days!”
-O-
The Audi arrived at the church parking lot -- with other parishioners parking their cars to go for Sunday service. Peter was the first to get out of the car and headed to the church, his mother called…
“Hey Peter, wait – what about Poe?”
… she wanted ‘help’ to get her crippled-son from the backseat to his wheelchair…
… Peter glance over at the Nissan Almera entering the St Michael’s church compound…
“Hoi-Mom, ask Gary Morrison – he is short-leg’s chauffeur! I’m going in for confessions – and I’m ‘praying’ for you too!”
-O-
Peter went for confessions – in the 2-way booth, he told the parish priest, Father Aloysius Brown, that he was ‘disobedient’ to his mother – with no mention of his ‘frolicking’ in the Boys Room with Bella B – and told of ‘other’ venial sins like a one day-that he stole a lolly from the canteen. because he was hungry for snacks…
… he left off with a lighter penance of contrition from the priest – he walked out the booth and saw his twin on the wheelchair and his mother standing in line to go for their confession. He smirked at them and left to sit on the pew.
Paul was next – and recalled in the other-Perth -- when he confessed if it was a sin to ‘befriend’ Mercury-the-demon, and the St Michael Catholic church priest laid on ‘heavy’ penance for Paul to recite and ‘repent’…
… followed by, his church sermon later of the danger of science-fiction to the modern-day youth.
‘… what is there to confess…?’
… as a superhero, he had done the necessary-evil -- to save and protect Perth from the Dark Lord Asmodeus – where he had shot-and-killed his twin in Perthland to prevent the Evil-one from using Peter’s body and walk on earth.
‘… I can’t say that…?’
Just like Peter, he told that -- he was disobedient to his mother and sneaked out to visit the zoo – and got a ‘lighter’ reparation.
<><>
AFTER SUNDAY MASS, THE WALKERS WENT for their brekkie at a nearby Subway, and Caroline noticed the boys were lethargic and quietly eating their sandwiches -- and were constantly yawning like their had lacked the previous’ night sleep…
… she was glad that they were ‘not’ at each other’s throats – and felt that she should ‘reward’ them with a surprise – since they were going to school tomorrow.
Caroline stopped at a Nike store -- and told the boys she had a $400 budget for them to choose 2 shoes each. Peter was rejuvenated like a kid-in-a-candy-store as he went and tried out the high-end brands with his mother cautioning him that he would ‘only’ get one pair…
… the one-arm boy whined and pleaded…
Paul made A ‘SACRIFICE’…
… and told his mom that he only needed a pair of sneakers – and told that her that -- Peter can have his budget of the 3rd shoe…
… the rapt Peter did ‘not’ thank him – as he too ‘previously’ made A ‘SACRIFICE-TOO’…
… by-letting his twin ‘stealing’ his collector's prized-and-rare shoes in the other-Perth, on the night – when they went on a mission to rescue Samuel Jaheem.
Paul was satisfied to get an $89 size-10 Adidas Duramo -- while Peter grabbed the over $200 Nike Metcon-5 tennis shoes, and he chose his other 2 pairs from the bargain-bin.
Caroline paid $423 with her credit card -- and drove her twin-sons back home.
<><>
THE BUDDHIST MAHA VIHARA TEMPLE WAS IN BRICKFIELDS, in the heart of Kuala Lumpur city. A portal opened at night-time -- and the aura of the Red-demon exited on the steps of sacred ground. Wearing a robe, he walked among the smoky joss-sticks placed at shrines and idols outside the temple -- hearing stereo-recording of calming chants coming inside the house-of-worship.
He was attracted to a young monk meditating alone – seated on the floor of the temple, in front of a huge Gautama idol.
The youth-owned bodily marking of Buddhist tattoos of the Shaolin-sect at the back of his neck – and Mercury knew that the monk was a trained martial-art warrior – just like the monks in the distant realm of the SeeIn Temple of Kampuchea…
The aura of the Red-demon ‘entered’ the host body of the youth.
-O-
Wu Leong the ex-driver of Madam Wong was now worked for a gangster trait, whose leader loan-shark Papa Song -- who was running a debt collection, money laundering and human trafficking syndicate…
… they have abducted the blind Maggi Wong…
… and gave a mandate of 48 hours for Madam Susan Wong to raise a ransom of a million-Ringgit for the return of her niece, or else -- they had threatened to ‘sell’ the girl into prostitution in Thailand…
… the bankrupt-status Madam Wong was desperately calling on to her ‘previous’ business contacts to raise the money – where many had turned her down as she lacked the collateral – so, she had to put the house she lived in Damansara as a mortgage.
But Wu Leong had ‘other’ plans to cover his criminal track – now that the blind-girl ‘recognized’ his voice, where…
… once he received his cut of the ransom – HE WOULD ‘SECRETLY’ KILL MAGGI -- and then flee to Hong Kong with his girlfriend.
-O-
At the eleventh hour, in the night-time…
… the Buddhist-robed monk walked in the industrial estate in Jinjang, at the outskirts of the capital city. From afar he observed 4 armed men gambling on a make-shift table, outside an animal-feed manufacturing warehouse factory.
In stealth mode, he surprised them -- and killed all 4 of them with his trained martial-art skills, without transpiring gunshots…
… the bald monk then sneaked into the storage factory…
-O-
Inside, were hundreds of one-tonne white bags of animal-feed stacked on 3 tiered racks and the inner walls of the factory. There were 2 forklifts which were operated by Bangladeshi workers on night shift -- transporting the bags into 40-foot-ling stationary metal containers, for the day shipment to Europe.
The trespassing monk slipped pass them – as he headed inside the farther end of the storage factory -- where there were 7 other triad members with Wu Leong…
… they had locked-up the blind tween in a dark storeroom – and waited for Madam Wong to raise the ransom -- for the release of her niece.
The unarmed monk had crept-in -- and took-down 3 of the gang members ‘individually’ -- by surprising them from the rear – and stashing their dead bodies behind the large grain-bags…
… when Wu Leong noticed that some the henchmen were ‘missing,’ he called for a search – and discovered the bodies nearby and -- the remaining 5 men were on high alert -- as they combed the area to hunt the predator.
Soon, in the confined area they found the hiding monk -- and they fired their guns at him – leaving a messy dusty trial of punctured holes in polyester sacks with pouring grain feed…
… but the cunning and artful monk slipped away from their sight.
Above, on the 3rd tier…
… the unarmed monk hid and saw the henchmen clamouring and disorientated below -- with Wu Leong giving orders in Cantonese to search-and-kill.
A large bag dropped from above – crushing to death a gunman below and injuring another. The remaining triad members unloaded their bullets from below – with one of them firing his Uzi…
Sacks of punctured animal-feed grains burst -- and the confined milieu was totally dusty –and the gunmen kept on firing till they ran out of bullets…
… when the dust had finally settled down – the robed monk jumped below to confront the remaining 4 men with engaging in unarmed combat…
Wu Leong saw his men were going down effortlessly with the kung-fu trained monk – who easily parrying and going offence by bone-crushing and neck-snapping…
… the coward Wu Leong ran away…
-O-
The storeroom’s door was unlocked -- with the terrified Maggi was crouching in the dark, after hearing the earlier frightening gun blasts. The blind girl then heard a friendly voice calling out…
“It is now safe, girl – you are free to go…”
“Who are you?” Asked Maggi.
“… just a friend of a friend…”
-O-
The police arrived after reports of gun-battle transpired in the remote Jinjang industrial estate – they found the blind girl in the aftermath -- among the 11 dead triad members…
… Maggi told them that she was kidnapped by her aunt’s ex-driver employee.
That same night, the investigating authorities arrested the ring-leader Papa Song in his residence -- based on the dead men’s phone records and gang tattoos.
…Maggi was soon ‘reunited’ with her aunt in Damansara…
… while Wu Leong fled the country to Hong Kong, with his girlfriend.
-O-
After his mission, the monk arrived back at the Maha Vihara Temple after midnight. He removed his sandals and washed his feet clean before entering the house of worship…
… he went on to continued his ‘daily’ routine, as he sat on the floor to meditate.
Mercury’s aura morphed ‘out’ of the host monk’s body – and walked on the steps, leaving the temple…
… the Red-demon the stepped into a transport portal -- which conveyed him away to another realm -- to return-back ‘home’…
… to the Cube of Apollo.