"Alright boys, I think it's about time to pick up the pace." Hudson put two of his fingers together and made a loud whistle, drawing the attention of all the Union members. Each one moved to a different section of the construction site and took hold of their tools and began to work on their assigned task. Hudson traveled around the site, making sure everything was in working order. The use of work lights gave the men enough visibility to work well into the night. An evening breeze passed through the area, giving all the men a relaxing gust as they wiped away the dried sweat that coated their skin.

Hudson took off his hard hat and scratched the shaved strands of hair on his head before letting out a long sight. He looked around the site once more and shook his head when he realized just how far behind schedule they were. Building materials were scattered all around. Tools were strewn across the ground. Their construction vehicles were parked just beyond the perimeter of the area and were due to be returned soon despite them still being needed. The ground surrounding the small building they were working still consisted of mounds and hills of brown dirt.

"I don't know how we'll get this done on time without Ben," Hudson said to no one in particular as he took a sip of water from his bottle. He took a seat on a long metal beam and brushed away the dirt on his forehead with his arm. He then looked down, staring at the ground for a moment until a shadow cast over him, interrupting him from his short break.

"What is it, Martin?" Hudson asked without lifting his head.

"It's about Ben," the man said somewhat nervously.

"Yeah?"

"He just called. Said he was in jail on the other side of town."

"Okay."

"And... uh... he was wondering if we could... you know..." Martin tapered his sentence off, looking at Hudson for an answer.

"Get to the point, please." Hudson looked up, clearly peeved. The Union man stepped back, tugging on the strap of his tank top.

"He wanted to know if you could get Ulyssa to pull some strings. Get 'em outta there."

Hudson laughed and rolled his eyes. "He must be out of his mind. Your brother wants me to ask a favor of Ulyssa? Does he want my kidney too?"

Martin took a step as he watched Hudson rise to his feet. "But we need him, boss. You see how far behind schedule we are. If we don't get him out, then we probably won't meet the deadline she's asking for."

"You and your brother can forget it. There's no way I'm asking her to do that. You know how she gets! One wrong word and we'll have the White Swan hounding us!" Hudson proceeded closer towards the building they were working. The long rectangular structure itself couldn't have had more than one room inside of it. The outside was made of pristine white marble that had intricate pillar work along the edges. Other Union members were on the scaffolding set up just beyond the walls, either laying down brick or adding other details. "We'll just have to work harder to make up for being one man short. If we work through nights, I think we can be finished on schedule."

"But boss..." Martin said as he followed inside through the building's front entrance. The inside of the structure contrasted greatly with the work that was visible outside. The roof was incomplete, letting moonlight seep in through its unfinished construction. Flooring hadn't been done either, making the ground rough and coarse. Hudson shook his head, becoming frustrated as he made a mental estimation of how much time would be needed to complete the project with the men he currently had.

"No 'buts.' Ben is staying in jail until we at least get this memorial done. Until then, all of our attention is going to be focused on this here!" Hudson exclaimed. He looked towards his underling as he darted back in fear.

"Yes sir. You're the boss."

"That's right. Now, the sooner we finish this, the sooner we can work on freeing your brother. Got it?"

Martin nodded.

"Alright. So stop standing around and make yourself useful."

Martin obliged and headed out the building's door. The sound of metal and brick clacking against one another continued to ring out through the night. Hudson rubbed his face with his dirty hands once more before leaning against one of the walls. Inside the structure was much colder than the outside; chills travelled across his body as he stared at the moon above. There's no way we're going to be getting this done on schedule. Especially not with Ben locked up, he thought. Anger overtook him. He picked up one of the hammers propped against the stone wall and raised it over his head. With a single heave, he threw it to the ground, sending a small cloud of dirt up into the air. He clenched his fists and began to breathe heavily as he restrained himself from unleashing a long string profanity.

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A knock on the door freed him from being caught up in his seething rage.

"What is it!?" he shouted.

Without answering, Fátima stepped inside. She was both unarmed and unamused as she entered the memorial. With crossed arms she slowly walked around the perimeter, taking in the handiwork of the Union.

"You're just gonna walk around like you did nothing wrong?" Hudson asked as he picked up his hammer. "Because of you, we're down a man."

"It wasn't my fault one of your men get caught," Fátima replied as she began to feel the cool marble of the interior. "I was the one that wanted to skip stopping by Rodney's studio altogether. Remember?" Her eyes cut towards Hudson, giving him an indignant stare in the process.

"The plan was that you were supposed to be the back-up. Once you and your band of rookies left, Rodney and those two managed to get the upper hand. "

"You outnumbered them."

Hudson laughed. "You know we've got witness, right? My boys saw you get folded twice by that old man. Now you're coming in here acting like I'm the coward?"

Fátima halted her tour of the memorial and walked towards Hudson. Her arms remained crossed as moved in closer towards him. She angled her head up so her eyes would meet his. "I'm not here to talk about what happened earlier," she said in a low voice. "I'm here to let you know I quit Dragon's Bite."

"And?" Hudson said, unamused.

"And?" Fátima asked confused.

"Why are you telling me this now? You know I'm on a strict deadline. I don't have time for your melodrama." Hudson slung his hammer over his shoulder and proceeded to grab a bucket from the corner of the building. He dumped the contents of the container out and began to sort through the materials on his hands and knees with his back towards Fátima.

"I'm going to need some work," she said.

"You looking to work for the Union? Because I'm telling ya, you won't like it. I don't pay my men to sit around and read magazines all day," Hudson said, focused on getting the flooring done.

"No. I don't have the kind of face to be part of the Union. What I really want to know is how I can get working with the Ingwersens."

Hudson paused. He looked back behind his shoulder. "Trust me. You don't want to do that. If it's not too late, I'd suggest going back to Belanger and groveling."

"I'm not going back. I realize now that Dragon's Bite has been keeping me down this entire time." Fátima leaned her back against the wall adjacent to where Hudson was working. "Nobody there knows what they're doing except me. I'm losing to people I shouldn't be. All because I have no one to train or practice with. First that Vic guy shows up and humiliates me during business hours. Then Rodney bests me. Twice. In front of my own people and now he has my favorite bokken. I can't let this keep happening. Kendo is who I am. And ever since I've been working at Dragon's Bite and earning easy money, I've lost sight of that."

"Uh-huh," Hudson muttered as remained focused on his task. "And you want that White Swan money so you can keep up this classy lifestyle you've had going is what I'm guessing? I assume entering kendo tournaments that you might not win isn't a particularly stable income."

Fátima remained silent.

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"You sayin' nothing just means I'm right. There's no denying that the Ingwersens pay well. Or at least the one that's still breathing does. But once you're in with 'em, there's no going back out. Well, none that don't involve changing your name and leaving the country. Or dying."

"Believe me. I'm not afraid of commitment if it's worth it."

"I don't think you quite get what I'm saying. If you're in, you're in. Don't expect to be able to put in two weeks’ notice the minute someone says something you don't like or asks you to do something you don't want to. Remember at Rodney's studio when you took over the situation and tried to talk to him instead of doing what I said?" Hudson stopped what he was doing to look at Fátima. She looked back at him with worry in her face but remained silent. "Well, that won't fly if you're wanting to get in with the White Swan. If what happened today makes you feel guilty, then you might as well start filling out job applications elsewhere."

"You think Ulyssa could use someone with my talents?" Fátima asked as she watched Hudson's hands smooth out material that he had just placed down.

"For sure. Someone that knows that kendo and aikido could definitely find use in the ranks of the White Swan. Bodyguard. 'Debt Collector.' Trainer."

Fátima's eyes widened when she heard the last word from Hudson. "She's looking for a trainer?"

"From what I've heard. She's looking for someone to train some of her men. I don't know the full details though. But I think someone of your talent might stand a chance. Don't know for sure though."

"I can't believe I'm asking you this," the kendoka said with a sigh. "But would you be able to put in a good word for me? If she's looking for someone to actually teach martial arts to the White Swan, I'd be more than capable."

Hudson sat up from his task and adjusted his hard at. "You know, it's not like I'm friends with Ulyssa Ingwersen, alright? All she did was commission the Union to put up this memorial. She tells me what she wants. I nod my head and say we can do it. Then she pays me a bit upfront. We do our job. She pays us the rest of the sum. That's the extent of relationship. Doesn't go any further than that. But if you really want to impress her, you'd have to tell her yourself. She's gonna stop by here any day to inspect the memorial. If you stick around, you might be able to catch her. Just be careful how you approach her."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'll be blunt with you,” Hudson said as he sat himself upright. “Ulyssa is crazy. Thinks she's some kind of royalty. Gotta talk to her that way. Or else."

Fátima nodded. "Okay. I get what you're saying. I'll stick around then."

Hudson reached over to his side and handed the kendoka a shovel. "Then you better make yourself useful."