Chapter – 3 ‘Night Market’

Winston shouted from back, "Hey! What the fuck is going on out here?!" Anger on his face and an expression, like he will kill someone close.

"Boss, we were just leaving," Conroy answered, shuddering at the question asked of him.

Dogeyes walks to the backyard where the fight just happened. "And it was getting interesting too. Winston, my old friend. So good to see you! How's your family?"

Walking with the intention of punching Dogeyes, Winston spoke. "What do you want, Dogeyes?"

"Winston, wait wait wait- brother, I just came to talk to you man, for old times' sake." Dogeyes' thugs of a bodyguard snickered at Dogeyes' mockery toward Winston. "Let's work something out here, okay?"

"We can share the night market." Dogeyes tried convincing Winston. "We're both Sun On Yee, both grown men. We shouldn't be fighting like children."

"Hey, who's the new blood?" Chuckling Dogeyes asked.

"It's Wei. You remember Mimi Shen? Back when you first started getting girls for Big Smile Lee?" Winston glanced at Wei, as he started to talk.

"Ho ho Mimi! Oh yeah! First girl ever suck my cock. Eh. So what?" Dogeyes expressed himself, as he remembers Wei's sister.

The thugs behind Dogeyes started to laugh at Wei's discomfort. "Wei's her brother."

"And I was the first guy who ever stabbed you. You remember me now?" Wei's voice rose in anger, as he pointed his finger at Dogeyes.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Wei. What the fuck, man?" Dogeyes moved back, "Wei, I apologize. I'm really sorry your sister blew me."

The thugs laughing at his misery, Winston spoke out, "The night market is mine, Dogeyes. You got Siu Wah and the warehouse. That was the deal. So, stay the fuck out."

Winston wasn't taking no for an answer, as he stood firm, along with Wei and Jackie.

"Hey, tell your sister give me a call, huh? I wouldn't mind giving her a mouthful." Dogeyes' laughed, as he gestured for his thugs to follow.

"He hasn't changed."

"Yeah, he has. He used to be my friend." Winston said, in anger as he orders Jackie. "Jackie! You two go to the night market. You make sure people understand that I'm in control. Not Dogeyes. Got it?"

"Got it, boss! No problem."

"And you fuck up anybody who tries to get in your way, I want to send a fucking message." Said Winston, as his anger peaked.

Jackie nodded again, and Winston turned away, his mind already on the next move. Jackie knew this was serious.

He had been with Winston for years, and he had seen the lengths he would go to to protect his territory.

But this was different. Dogeyes was a formidable opponent, and he had a lot of support within triads.

As Jackie and Wei made their way to the night market, he felt a sense of unease. He had never seen Winston this angry before and knew that things could get messy.

"This'll be easy. No problem." Jackie talked with Wei, as they walked to a vendor to collect protection money. "You just have to be strong. That's what people respect."

As they were strolling through, Jackie questioned. "So, you mentioned your sister back there…"

"Mimi? Yeah, she O… she OD'd. Years ago, now. After we moved to the States, she tried to kick that shit, but…"

"That sucks! She was, you know, really alive."

"My mother thought maybe a new city… new country… but the hooks were in deep." Wei's grievance at his hardship.

"Once you start on that shit, it's hard to stop. For anybody."

"Yeah. Once she started…" Wei's eyes misted, remembering his sister and mother.

"Oh, man. And it was Dogeyes that got her into it."

"Yeah. Fucking Dogeyes." Wei said, his anger rising.

"You going to tell Winston?"

"No. You?" Wei questioned back.

"Shit, Wei. Winston's the boss, but when we were kids you were the only person who was nice to me." Jackie replied, answering back to Wei. "You were my best friend, man. That means more than a boss, you know?"

The night market was packed, as usual. Vendors shouting, inviting traveling people to come to visit their shops.

As Jackie and Wei moved through the packed streets, he took in the sights and smells of the bustling marketplace, it had been 15 years since he fled from Hong Kong.

The aroma of grilled meat, sizzling vegetables, and freshly baked bread filled the air, making their stomachs grumble in anticipation.

They weaved through the throngs of people, trying to get closer to their destination.

"Joey Kwan sells pirate DVDs. Let's start with him." Jackie gestured for Wei to follow him, through the packed street.

Jackie cued Wei to do the talking, extortion at its finest. "Hey, little brother. We work for Winston."

"I understand. How can I help?"

"Winston runs this place, and if you don't want trouble, you pay him. Period." Wei changed his tone, voicing like a mob.

"Of course. No problem." Joey said, handing him a Red Packet full of cash. "You need anything, just come ask."

As they jogged to their next recipient, Jackie sound off. "You know, this is going to piss Dogeyes off."

"At some point, Winston and Dogeyes are going to clash, man," Jackie said, excited about it. "It's going to be epic. Winston versus Dogeyes. Just like the movies, man."

As they made it to their next prey, Wei recognized one of the thugs, guarding the vendor's store.

The Jade Gang is led by Sam Lin (Dogeyes). Thugs like them normally wear a cheap gray tank top, or a black shirt and denim jeans. They also have tattoos, indicating their ranks in the gang.

"Hey, you wanna do the talking?"

Nodding, Wei walked to the vendor. "We're collecting for Winston."

"Winston? Dogeyes said he in charge here." The vendor said, he resists, not paying Wei.

"We're here to clarify that. What? You wanna be the guy we use to clear up the confusion?"

"I'm not afraid of you guys." The vendor snorts, not caring a bit as the thug was backing him up.

Wei walks to the thug, grabbed him by his shoulder, then slams and kicked his head at a telephone booth. "Don't be a tough guy."

"Okay! I'll pay." The vendor cowered, as Wei strides toward him.

"I'm glad I could make you see reason."

"Take the money… but Dogeyes won't be happy." The vendor grumpy handed the Red Packet to Wei.

As he walked off, Jackie stood still with a shocked expression on his face. Trying to speak, "Dude… I think… I think you killed him."

"He'll be fine. He'll just have to drink through a straw for a while."

Now moving on to their third prey, Jackie pointed Wei to a Vegetable vendor. "Over there! I think this guy is with Dogeyes."

Wei steps forward to the vendor, "We work for Winston. We need to discuss business."

"Winston? I don't have any business with Winston."

"Everybody has business with Winston. You're gonna pay up, you understand?"

"Go tell Winston to stick a Bok choy up his ass."

"Hey! Fellas! These jerks are moving in on your territory!" The vegetable vendor shouted, stirring up the jade gang thugs in the area.

A group of Jade Gang thugs emerged from the shadows, weapons in hand. Wei and Jackie stepped forward to engage them.

Wei was the first to attack, launching a flying kick at the nearest thug. The thug dodged, but Wei landed gracefully and followed up with a series of quick series.

Jackie joined in, his fists and feet moving with deadly precision.

The thugs fought back, swinging their weapons wildly. Wei and Jackie dodged and weaved, their movements graceful and fluid.

They moved as one, anticipating each other's moves without needing to speak.

As the fight progressed, Wei and Jackie's moves became more daring. Wei launched himself into the air, flipping over the thug's head and landing a devasting kick to the back of his neck.

Jackie swept another thug off his feet, then delivered a series of punches to his midsection.

The thugs began to fall, one by one, but they fought on with fierce determination.

Wei and Jackie were surrounded, but they continued to fight, moving with incredible agility and skill.

Finally, the last of the thugs lay defeated on the ground. Wei and Jackie stood, panting and sweating, their clothes were torn and bloodied.

After all that violence, Wei and Jackie move to the vegetable vendor. "So, did you have a message for Winston?"

"He's obviously better than Dogeyes. Please give him this payment from me." The vegetable vendor handed him the Red Packet, panic in his voice.

"Oh?!... No Bok Choy for him?" Wei asked, walking away from the vendor with Jackie, with a smirk on his face.

"..." Not even daring to speak a word, the vendor bows his head, cowering in fear.

"I think we're almost done, but let's check over here," Jackie said, leading Wei to another part of the market.

After strolling for a minute or two, Wei and Jackie noticed a group of Dogeyes' thugs beating up an old vendor in the streets.

"Hey look at that guy! He's beating up the man! That ain't gonna fly on our turf." Jackie said, running into the crowd.

Wei followed Jackie into the crowd, his heart pounding with anger at the sight of the thugs beating up the old vendor.

He saw landed a powerful punch on one of the thugs, knocking him to the ground.

"You don't mess with anyone under our protection!" Jackie shouted.

Wei joined in, throwing a flurry of punches and kicks at the remaining thugs. The crowd around them scattered, but Wei and Jackie stood their ground determined to protect the old man.