“Bastard,” I curse in jest. I should have known not to be late today. “Go on then, what have you given me?”
Chen gestures to where another group are climbing an assault course. My mouth drops open. If Chen has the elite of the bunch, I’ve got the dregs. Two of the men look half okay—they’re managing the course, but the other two, an overweight man and a boy who looks little more than eighteen, are both struggling behind them.
“Seriously?”
“Sorry, sir. I had to give them to someone,”
“You’re supposed to protect your general,” I moan.
“Our general is the best fighter in the group. He doesn’t need protecting.”
The boy tumbles over a high bar, and I wince.
“It looks like I’m not going to be fighting. I’m going to be spending my entire time protecting those two. They’ll get me killed,” I shout, and both the men look at me.
The boy has a pissed off expression on his face while the overweight man starts to cough and then grabs his chest.
“Oh crap,” I curse and race toward him. “Get a doctor!” I shout as he collapses down in my arms, his skin turning blue. “He’s having a heart attack.”
The young boy looks on, his eyes wide with concern.
“Is he okay?” the boy tentatively asks.
“He’ll be fine. The doctors will look after him.” I know this man will play no further part in the draft, though. If he has a son, they’ll be called up in his place. If not, we’ll be one man down. This was inevitable with so many people of different ages and fitness. “Come, what is your name?” I question and pull the boy and the two other men in my team away from where the doctors are now giving CPR to the man.
“Zhàn, sir, son of Lin Zhànshì.” The bow lowers his head in a greeting to me.
“Welcome, Zhàn. We need to improve your fitness, but that’s possible with a bit more exercise. I’ll devise a plan, and you’ll start it immediately. Let’s see what skills you have with a sword. You.” I point to one of the other men in my group.”What’s your name?”
“Kuo, sir.”
“Kuo, I want you and Zhàn to spar with swords. Hits only, no blood.”
Both the boy and Kuo bow to me and walk away to gather their weapons. I take a seat on a nearby bench, my head still hurting and my stomach now voicing its displeasure at not getting any food.
I watch as Kuo and the other strong man from my group chuckle between themselves, confident of an easy victory against the young boy. I must admit I’m definitely worried about having him on the team. I suspect I’ll be spending most of my time ensuring he doesn’t die, because in the heat of a battle, he’ll be up against skilled, strong fighters…men like me, and I’m twice the size of him. I hate to admit it even to myself, but I know in a few weeks I’ll be informing his parents of his demise.
“Go for it,” I shout as Kuo and Zhàn bow to each other before raising their swords.
The weapon Zhàn uses catches my eye. Honor, truth, and justice. With an inscription like that on it, it must have been presented by Gaozu or his predecessor to one of the boy’s ancestors. Maybe there’s hope, if we can bulk him up a bit.
At first, the fight is nothing special. Kuo keeps pushing, and Zhàn backs off. Eventually, Kuo appears to grow bored with this and loses his form as he presses forward into Zhàn. The young boy then demonstrates amazing skills—flattening his body underneath the thrusting blade of Kuo’s sword, he then jumps up and spins in front of the bigger man before scoring a hit to Kuo’s body.
I lean forward on my chair. This is interesting. Resting my chin on my hand, I watch as Zhàn scores point after point with incredible sword skills. I’ve never seen anything like it before in someone so young, and because he’s so small, he’s light as a feather, flying through the air with ease. Kuo finally concedes defeat at a score of ten to nil.
I push up and stroll over to the boy, ordering the other two men to run the assault course a couple of times more, even though Kuo is already exhausted.
“Where did you learn to fight like that?” I take the sword out of Zhàn’s hand and examine the inscription on it.
“From my father, sir. The sword was presented to my grandfather. They were both loyal Yi Shu soldiers. I hope to follow in their footsteps and help to preserve our way of life.”
“Hmm.” I hand the sword back and stroke my chin as I examine the boy more closely.
I can’t help thinking there’s something strange about him. He’s from a prestigious line of fighters, but he has no muscle or weight. Is he a genetic anomaly? He’s small but demonstrates the skills of an expert fighter. I need to do more research on his family, but for now, he needs to improve his strength.
“I’ve got a task for you.” I point over to where several boxes of food need moving into the canteen area. They won’t be light, but transporting them will teach him perseverance and improve his strength. “I want you to take all of them into the kitchen. When you’re done, you are to return here and run the assault course three times before you are allowed to take an hour break. This afternoon, we’ll work on your fitness, but I can already tell you’re going to be an asset to my team. Well done.”
“Thank you, sir.” The boy bows to me, his eyes wide with shock at the praise I’ve given him. “I won’t let you down.”
As I watch the youngster race off with enthusiasm and joy at what he’s doing, I can’t help being reminded of myself as a child. I was playing a part of someone I wasn’t until Gaozu took me in. He made me a man, and Zhàn may have just become my project to do the same for him.
I stand in front of a sea of kneeling men bowed down to me—their leader, their god. I’m dressed all in black, a black t-shirt and jeans. In the glare of the sunshine and the dust of a dry winter’s day in Los Angeles, it’s evident who the man with the power is here.
The men’s families line the sides of the road to wish them well for the future as I guide them on the path to victory over the inferior Yi Shu. A faction that cares more for ancient tradition in a country where we need to adapt to survive. We need to fill our pockets with as much money as possible, so we can increase the superiority of the Jīn Long in comparison to the Americans already here and prospering. We’ll sell whatever supplies we can, legal or not, to take over California and make it a new China—one where I rule, and all will bow to me. I will be their king.
“Welcome.” I hold my head high, my expression smug on my face as I address those assembled.
I don’t tell the men they can stand up. No, I’ll keep them on their knees for as long as possible. It’s the only way to instill respect into them. “I’m Wang, the leader of the Jīn Long. I will be the one to bring untold wealth and valuable, new land to our people. We’ll take control of California and rule over it as we choose for the benefit of our people, and the men kneeling here before me will be the ones to achieve it.”
The elite guards surrounding me, who are standing because I allow them to, cheer. It brings forth only subdued shouts of joy from the crowd, which infuriates me. They should be elated I’m taking them into a new and better world where we’ll be the rulers for once. I step down from the platform I’m standing on, my heavy boots clomping on the ground as I walk toward the rows upon rows of men. My nostrils flare as I listen to my guards trying to rouse them in a chorus of cheers again. It doesn’t work, though. Eventually, I stop in front of one kneeling man—his head is still bowed, but I can tell no sounds are coming from his mouth. He’s silent and not celebrating my prowess like he should be.