Pete's Taiwan Adventures Ch. 04

Warning! This story contains a mild male on male encounter.

Hi, reader. I decided to explore an unfamiliar genre and write this alternative ending to the story. It features a male-on-male encounter, nothing too steamy, (I don't think). I've hinted through the story that Aiden could be the one, if Pete were to turn to the dark side, (so to speak), so I decided to amp up the massage scene in the training room. To tell the truth, I wasn't sure what Pete would do in this situation until I started writing. If that's not your thing, I suggest you stop reading now. If you like it, please vote.

Once again thanks go to Chief Hal for proof reading. Any spelling or grammatical errors are mine alone, and are there probably because I didn't follow Chiefs edits closely enough. Cheers, FosterK

Pete's Taiwan Adventures

A Mia and Sia story

FosterK

Chapter 4 - Pete's Happy Ending

The Master clapped his hands, "that's the end of our session for today, I am very pleased with your progress everybody."

All four turned and bowed, as was the custom. The Master bowed slightly in return.

Sakura moved among them gathering used towels, oil bottles, needles and other paraphernalia they had used during the day.

He walked past them to the door, unaided by a stick, as he unerringly navigated the room.

He paused at the door, "Peter," he said, turning back to the group, "good luck with your other endeavours. I have the feeling your planning is coming along nicely." He bowed once more and left the room.

Pete was stunned, how could the Master possibly know what he was planning? Only he and Dan had discussed the job. Was tonight too soon?

He followed Aiden into the change room. As he did, he had a sudden thought. "Aiden," he said, as he slipped out of the cotton jacket, they both wore, "do you know of a man called John Chen?"

Aiden froze in mid motion, "I do, and I can tell you that he is a very bad man, he's involved with prostitution and the distribution of drugs. He once tried to recruit my sister into his circle. He thinks he's some kind of king pin in Tainan. In reality though he's just a common crook. Why do you ask Peter?"

"What if I told you I have a plan to bring him down a peg or two?" Pete knew he was taking a big chance here, but he thought Aiden might be the Chinese speaker they needed.

Aiden smiled, "has this got something to do with what the Master referred to? Your project?"

"It does, meet me at Starbucks for a coffee and I'll explain more."

By the time Pete exited the building, Judy and Helen had left. His phone pinged with a message from Judy, 'sorry to rush off, we have an appointment with a masseur. We'll catch up later.' He pressed the quick reply, giving a thumbs up.

Pete had just sat down with his iced latte in Starbucks when his phone rang, it was Dan.

"Good news Pete, I've got some intel on the building, one of Chen's lingerie girls applied for a job as a waitress. She's no longer a fan of the man, so Grace asked her about Chens apartment. Quite the chatterbox she was, Grace couldn't shut her up, but she got us some valuable details."

Pete butted in, "wait... Grace asked her? You told Grace about the plan?"

"Of course, old buddy, Grace and I have no secrets... well maybe some, but we've talked about this. Anyway, meet me later and I'll go over the details with you."

"Okay later, hey that's good news Dan," he clicked off the call just as he saw Aiden enter the restaurant.

~~~~

Aiden, Dan, and Pete sat in a small room at the back of Dans bar, Dan and Pete sipped on beer while Aiden had a Diet Coke.

"Okay, I've got a white van organised, magnetic signs and uniforms for you both. After I disable the internet, I'll be nearby in a rented Hyundai, on watch. Have we missed anything?"

Pete nodded, this was the crux of the plan, the Wi-Fi and cameras had to be down. Dan, with his experience from Chunghwa could achieve this. "I don't think so; but well go over the building details just once more. Now Aiden, are you sure you're okay with your role?"

"Yes Pete, I'm sure, I took acting classes at college, piece of cake."

Pete handled the bump key set that Dan had picked up from River that afternoon, not as perfect as a commercially available set but they would do the job. River also included a screwdriver, wrapped in electrical tape. When held by the shaft it made an acceptable hammer to hit the bump key with. Everything else was checked, they had tested the comms and the night vision gear, so they were good to go.

"Okay, we go tomorrow night." He drained the last of his beer and stood.

"Oh, one last thing," Dan said, he produced a playing card and gave it to Pete, "leave this in the safe."

Pete looked at the card, the three of spades. He looked questioningly at Dan.

"Remember the dickhead with the tattoo?"

"Yeah, he thought he was getting the Triad symbol in Chinese, but he got 'tired' instead."

"Well, they are real, even here in Tainan. Very bad men, but they do have a code. And a sign."

"It's true Pete," said Aiden. "John Chen might think he's a big deal, but these guys," he indicated the card, "I don't even want to speak the name. They are the real deal even here in Tainan."

Dan continued, "the spade indicates digging, the three is how far you have to dig your own grave if you cross them. Leave the card in the safe, Chen will think he crossed the line somewhere and will lay low for a while."

~~~~

On a quiet street, in the Anping district of Tainan, a black Audi A6 rolled out of an underground car park, the roller door automatically closing behind it. A shadowy figure, dressed in black ducked under the door before it fully closed.

Sixty-year-old Concierge, Hao-ju Ceng poured a cup of green tea from his heated flask. As he lifted the cup to his lips, he looked at the row of monitors in front of him. They showed views of the carpark, the elevator lobby and a street view. He looked at the street view as a Chunghwa Telecom van pulled up out front. Just then, the screens winked out one by one. He stared; this had never happened before. A tapping noise came from the glass door to the street. He pressed the door release button.

Two men in Chunghwa Telecom uniforms complete with logoed hats entered, carrying toolboxes, one was a white person the other younger, was Chinese or Taiwanese. Taking a last look at the screens, Hao-ju got up to talk to the visitors. "Gentlemen, how can I help you?" he asked in Chinese.

The younger of the two men answered, "Chunghwa Telecom, we have a report from one of your residents, a Mr. Jonn Chen, complains of intermittent internet coverage.

"Okay, my cameras have all gone down too, is it connected to the internet problem?"

"Most likely, probably a fault in the basement." The young man replied.

"Rats," said the older of the two men in English.

"What did he say," asked Hao-ju.

"He said it could be rats in the basement, they could have chewed the cable."

The concierge looked sceptical, the translation of one word in English seemed longer than it should. "I assure you there are no rats in my building," he claimed, indignantly.

"I can assure you, that there are rats in every building in Tainan," the young man stated, "we need access to the basement to take a look."

"Alright, I will need to record you in the visitors' book, can I see your ID's please."

They each unclipped ID cards from their shirts. Hao-ju duly filled in the details and handed back the cards.

"Mr. Jacki Chan, and Mr. Tom Cruise, the stairs to the basement are over there, he handed them a key, I can't go with you. I can't leave my post here. This is the key to the cage in which the communications equipment is housed.

He turned and went back to his tea and his blank monitors.

Pete Townsend closed, but didn't lock, the safe in Chen's office, he looked at his watch, five minutes, good timing. The information the girl had told Grace was reasonably accurate, the bump keys worked perfectly, the safe was tricky but nothing he couldn't manage.

Dan spoke over his comm unit, the discreet Bluetooth earpiece had excellent audio. "Pete, Grace just phoned, Chen is leaving the bar, much earlier than usual, he got a phone call then became agitated, paid his bill."

"Shit, the concierge may have called him to let him know his WiFi was getting fixed. See if Grace can stall him, we need time to get out."

"Okay will do."

John Chen got up from the table in a hurry, he was speaking angrily to his young lingerie clad companion.

Just then a waitress passed, carrying two large pots of beer on a tray, she appeared to stumble and spilled the beer over John. Chen went into a tirade, as Grace came over uttering apologies. "You stupid clumsy bitch," he yelled at the waitress, "look what you've done!"

"I'm so sorry Mr Chen," said Grace offering John some napkins, "please send me the cleaning bill for your clothes."

Chen glared at her, "you will be receiving a bill for new clothes, and shoes," he seethed. He took his companion by the arm, "right now, I have somewhere to be." He turned and practically ran out of the bar, dragging lingerie girl behind him.

One by one, Hao-ju watched his monitor screens come to life; the view of the car park showed the two Chunghwa men striding across toward the stairs.

They entered the lobby as Hao-ju came out from behind his desk. "All fixed," said Jacki Chan handing back the key.

"Thank you, what was the problem?"

"It was as my colleague predicted, rats had chewed a section of cable, we replaced the cable and installed some rat proof armour over it. Our office will forward a full report tomorrow."

They headed for the door which Hao-ju opened. He watched on his screen as they loaded the van and took off.

A minute later a black Audi A6 pulled up outside. John Chen leapt from the vehicle and ran to the door, opening it with his smart key.

"Where are they?" he screamed at the concierge.

"They just left." Hao-ju explained about the monitors going down and the Chunghwa Telecom men turning up.

"Show me the video footage," Chen demanded angrily.

"Th... there is none, as I explained, the cameras were down," Hao-ju stammered. He brightened, "wait there should be some footage of them crossing the lobby when they were finished." He tapped a few keys on his keyboard. "Here it is."

John came around the desk to look at the footage, the two men had their heads down as they passed the camera, their caps covered their faces.

"Aaargh, show me the visitors book then, I hope they signed in," he yelled.

Hao-ju produced the book, John Chen looked at the last two entries. Jacki Chan and Tom Cruise, 'those names sound familiar,' he thought.

Chen ran for the elevator. He burst into his apartment heading for the study, a very bad feeling in his gut.

The safe door was closed. He tried the handle, not locked. He cursed. At first glance he could see all his cash was gone, the bricks of heroin and packs of coke remained. 'Why just take the cash,' he thought. Then, his sinking feeling returned, he opened a small drawer in the safe, empty, save for a single playing card laying on the felt. He picked it up with a feeling of dread, turned it over, though he already suspected what it was. The three of spades!

~~~~

POP! The cork bounced off the ceiling, Grace filled four glasses and Dan proposed a toast. "To Jacki Chan and Tom Cruise, Chunghwa Telecoms most efficient technicians." The haul was laid out on the table. A felt bag which contained twenty diamonds of varying sizes, around three hundred thousand New Taiwan Dollars (NTD) and twenty thousand in US dollars.

They had already decided that Pete would take the diamonds, any cash would be shared among the other three, Aiden told them he was happy just to take John Chen down a peg and have the fear of Triad put into him. Pete and Dan insisted he take the three hundred thousand NTD, that was around ten grand US. Grace and Dan would take the US dollars.

"So, Pete," Aiden enquired, "how are you going to get the diamonds back into Australia?"

"Probably the less you know about that the better," Pete replied, "let's just say this isn't my first rodeo, I have a very safe method."

They toasted again and Grace poured more wine. "Okay, how about dinner?" she asked, "I'm suddenly hungry and the girls can look after the bar for a while."

Ten minutes later they were seated around a wide bench. On the other side a chef prepared savoury meats on a very hot plate.

Pete took a sip of his beer, "Mongolian Barbeque; Grace, you are full of surprises, cheers!" He clinked glasses with the others. He looked around, and through to the other side of the barbeque area. It was arranged as a series of hot pates, with the chef in the middle, so patrons sat around the chef watching him work.

On the other side, he spotted a familiar face, Sakura. She caught his eye and smiled, raising her glass in a toast.

Pete excused himself to the others and slipped off his stool. Aiden had also spotted Sakura and gave Pete a raised eyebrow, then continued his conversation with Grace and Dan.

"Sakura, what a surprise seeing you here." Sakura was dressed in loose black pants and was wearing black high heels. Even then, he doubted she would stand more than four-foot-four tall.

Sakura indicated the seat beside her, so Pete slid in next to her. She clinked her glass against his beer bottle. "Hello Peter, the Master said I would find you here."

Pete stared, they had only decided to come here a short while ago at Graces suggestion.

"The Master asked me to keep an eye on your little band of men tonight, in case anything should go wrong. I must say that you did cut it very close leaving the building, Chen was thirty seconds behind you."

Pete's jaw dropped again, Sakura reached over, placed a finger under his chin and pushed up.

"But how? And what?" he started, suddenly lost for words.

"Peter not much happens in Tainan, without the Master knowing about it, he has ears all over the city. The man you know as River; the stall holder at the night markets; by the way, he was very amused about the story of the fully functional companion doll that you built.

Pete thought about the people he'd come across this visit; what about the waiter from The Brother, who suddenly seemed to have a good grasp of English?

Sakura continued, "the waiter at The Brother; He's studying languages at university, works in the restaurant to pay his way."

There it was, Pete thought. Mia had that ability from the beginning. Somehow, she had the ability to intuit what he was thinking. Sia too, to some extent and now Sakura.

"And of course, Hao-ju, the concierge. Did you really think it would be that easy to get the key to the communications cage, Mr. Cruise?" She paused, as if debating how much to reveal, "We've been waiting for someone with your particular skill set to help us with the Chen problem. Mia hinted that you could be the one, so we extended your invitation and smoothed the way, so to speak."

Pete shook his head as he struggled to get his head around these revelations. "But you haven't explained, what could you have done if something did go wrong?" he could not imagine this attractive, yet diminutive blonde could be much help in a scrap.

She smiled, the smile extending to her brown eyes. "The Master has schooled me in many of the popular and some less popular, forms of martial art. So, I can assure you Peter, that, had there been any danger to you, Aiden, also known as Jacki Chan, or Dan, I would be more than capable of neutralising that risk."

She waved to Aiden, who had been observing this conversation, "I see your meal is ready," she observed as she slid from her stool. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Cruise, enjoy your evening."

With that, she turned and strolled confidently to the exit. More than one of the other patrons paused and watched her leave.

Extraordinary, he thought as he joined his friends. "You're not going to believe the conversation I've just had," he began.

~~~~

Ting, ting. Pete woke with a start, it was a sound he had heard before, back when he first met Sia. The sound of acupuncture needles dropping into a steel bowl.

"Welcome back Pete," said Aiden.

"How long was I asleep?" Pete asked.

"Since just after the last needle went in, you dropped out like a light."

Pete remembered. When the four arrived for class that morning there were two tatami mats on the floor. The Master told them it was time to put their newfound skills to work. One of the pair would be on the mat covered in a towel, the other would focus and 'tune in' to the patient to determine a course of treatment. Whatever discipline they chose from the ones they had studied would be used, iridology, phrenology, aura reading, and herbal medicine.

Aiden accurately identified Pete's old back injury, which had initially led Pete to consult Sia and Mia years ago.

"Okay, time for your massage Pete," Aiden laughed, "can I assume you won't be wanting a happy ending after?"

"As tempting as that is; perhaps not Aiden, maybe another time." Pete relaxed as Aiden expertly massaged his sensitive back area. He glanced over at a similar scene on the other side of the room, Judy was gently massaging Helens legs. No surprises there, he thought, all those years of pushing a cart around at thirty thousand feet wearing heels, takes its toll on knees, ankles, legs. I wonder if Helen will get a happy ending? he mused, most likely he decided. Perhaps he should have taken Aiden up on the offer. He and Mia had discussed this before, in the context of the treatment room, some inhibitions were suppressed.

Hmm another time, Aiden thought, as he massaged Pete's strong back, perhaps there's hope for you after all Pete.

"Right, time to turn over Pete," Aiden announced as he moved himself to sit at Pete's head.

Pete rolled over while Aiden placed a rolled-up towel under his neck. He looked around, the Master had left the room, there was just, Judy and Helen, him and Aiden. The ladies seemed to be enjoying their massage, more of a body slide, from what he could see.

The Master had advised that if the person giving the massage was comfortable, they could strip out of their suits. As long as there were no objections from the patient, he added.

"Those two are very comfortable with each other, aren't they?" Aiden offered.

"They sure are," Pete agreed thinking back to their encounter a couple of nights ago. The thought made his cock twitch. He lay back closing his eyes.

Aden placed his knees either side of Pete's head and proceeded to massage his neck and shoulders, gradually moving down to his chest, then tummy, this of course meant he was now kneeling over Pete, his cock, dangling above Pete's face. Adens hands moved lower, easing down either side of Pete's balls, tantalisingly close.

Pete looked up, saw Aidens cock within reach, if he just lifted his head a little and opened his mouth. He thought about the conversation with Mia, 'expand your horizons Pete', she had advised. He reached up putting his hands on Aidens back, then tentatively, licked the tip of Aidens cock.

Aiden took this as a sign of encouragement; he took Pete's cock in his slippery hand, the other hand sliding over to cup Pete's balls. Pete hummed at the touch and opened his mouth, allowing the head of Aidens cock to slip inside.

He found it wasn't an unpleasant sensation; he swirled his tongue around Aidens glans. He could see how Mia and Sia found this pleasurable, not to mention Vina, and more recently Judy and Helen.

Becoming bolder, Aiden slipped Pete's cock into his own mouth, he sighed with pleasure as Pete's talented tongue lathed his cock. Aiden pulled back, gathered some saliva to coat his throat, then proceeded down Pete's cock 'til he had the whole length in his mouth and throat. He held still for a few seconds before slowly sliding his lips back, until just the head was in his mouth. He hummed his appreciation of Pete's efforts.

Judy paused her massage of Helen; she had got her to turn over and was massaging her inner thighs. She looked over at the two men. "H, look over there," she whispered.

Helen looked across the room, two men, one younger, were in a very comfortable sixty-nine with each other. She raised herself up on her elbows and whispered back, "are you thinking what I'm thinking, Judy?"

Judy nodded. "We should go over there and give them a hand, and a finger!" she said flexing her long middle finger." They scrambled to their feet, grabbing massage gel.

Both Pete and Aiden felt the presence of the women approaching, Judy made a beeline for Aiden, kneeling behind him. She started to gently massage his bottom while she cupped his balls in her other hand.

"Oh Helen, you should see this, Aiden has got the cutest little bum-hole I've ever seen," said Judy.

"Mmm, hm, Pete's is pretty cute too remember?"

Pete felt his legs being lifted up and placed on Helens shoulders then felt her tongue on his asshole, her fingers competing with Aidens on Pete's balls.

As if they were somehow telepathically connected then two women lubed up their fingers, then simultaneously, pushed their well lubed fingers into each man's arse, expertly probing for and finding the prostate gland.

Without warning Pete's cock erupted in Aidens mouth, spewing spurt after spurt. Aiden plunged his head down taking Pete's cock deep, then swallowed.

For his part Pete was totally taken by surprise, as jet after jet of cum filled his mouth, he had no choice but to valiantly attempt to swallow the lot.

Helen and Judy high-fived over the two men as they lay on their backs catching their breath. Judy leaned over Pete and kissed him then used her tongue to scoop up some small residue of cum that had escaped Pete's mouth.

Aiden was the first to speak, "Wow, that was intense," he breathed.

"Yeah, they did that to me the other night, it's kind of a specialty, prostate milking."

"Well, I'm definitely going to visit you two when I'm next in Brisbane. And Pete, that was totally unexpected," He looked over, "did you like it?"

Pete reached for the younger man's hand and squeezed it, "Yeah, I did Aiden, it could take me a few days to figure out what all that means though."

"Well, you can always call me if you need to talk."

"Thanks Aiden I will."

In another room, Sukura looked over The Masters shoulder at the TV monitor.

The Master had discovered her years ago, a lifetime it seemed. She was orphaned, a street waif. The master found her rooting through garbage in a lane beside a McDonalds restaurant, grimy face and matted hair, the Master had coaxed her to him. He picked her up in strong arms, 'you're safe now' he'd said. Somehow, she knew it was true, tears ran down her grimy cheeks. The master took her to a nearby monastery, handing her over to the nuns with instructions to clean, feed, and educate her. He left them a sizeable donation to cover the cost of her food.

Sakura was a willing student and a hard worker. When she wasn't in studies, she worked in the kitchen and laundry to earn her keep. The nuns provided her with a stool so she could easily reach the sinks and counter tops. The Master kept in touch with her mentors, the nuns. So, on her eighteenth birthday, he went to collect her, it was time to start her spiritual journey, he'd told her.

She became his apprentice, learning the ways of holistic healing and acupuncture. The Master held daily sessions schooling her in several forms of martial arts; "For self-defence and the defence of others," he insisted. "Not for aggression," although it was unlikely that his young blond protégé could be aggressive to anyone.

She learned to anticipate the Master's needs, becoming an invaluable assistant. In return, the Master educated Sakura in the art of tantric massage and relaxation.

"The current batch of students have come a long way in a short time," she told the Master as she watched the CCTV display. "The two women, Judy and Helen have some unexpected talents." She explained what she was seeing on the screens.

The Master had his back to the screen, Sakura was sitting comfortably in his lap, his cock snugly sheathed in her vagina. Her small stature and light weight made this a comfortable position for the Master. He could use her as his own, real life, onahole. It was a position they often assumed, while they discussed the students. Sakura could sit like this for hours, and often did, she marvelled at the stamina the old man had. He had seemingly endless energy.

"Yes, it seems they have," the master replied. "Now I think it's time we dismiss them for the day, we will continue this later, upstairs."

Reluctantly Sakura raised herself up slowly, she loved the feeling as the Master's long cock slid out of her. She took a warm cloth from a warming cupboard and gently cleaned the Masters cock.

Earlier, Sakura had reported to the Master that all had gone well on the Chen project as they called it.

Back in the room, the four students were finishing up, Aiden wiped most of the oil from Pete's body with a clean towel, while Judy did the same for Helen. Aiden looked around, "do you think we should let the Master know we're finished," he asked Pete.

"Oh, I think the Master will know when we're ready," said Pete pulling up his pants. He had observed the camera hidden in the ceiling vent, when they first arrived. "I'm sure Sakura will keep him informed, if he hasn't already intuited it."

The Master walked in, closely followed by Sakura, who started to gather all the used towels and acupuncture needles.

"Thank you all," the Master said, "once again a very productive session. Your skills are coming along well. Tomorrow is the final day of the course; I will have one last lesson for you. An ancient technique that has been passed from Master to student for three hundred years. I warn you; you may not speak of this to anyone that has not completed this course," he said mysteriously. He bowed, "until tomorrow."

With that he left, Sakura trailing behind him. She gave Pete a knowing look and a smile as she passed.

~~~~

John Chen stared hard at his computer monitor; the image was a freeze frame of the two Chungwa telecom technicians. He'd called Chungwa that morning. No, they had no technicians called Jacki Chan or Tom Cruise. The customer service rep had seemed amused. And no, they had no record of any technicians visiting his building.

He decided to google the two names.

Just then, lingerie girl tottered into the room on her vertiginous heels. "What do you want?" he asked irritably.

"Sorry Mr Chen, there are Police here to see you."

Behind her, a man in a light grey suit walked into the room followed by two uniformed policemen.

"Mr. John Chen," said the suit, "you're under arrest."

"On what charge?" John demanded angrily.

"Suspicion of possession of a trafficable quantity of a narcotic substance." The suit replied, the line clearly well-rehearsed.

Johns' eyes involuntarily glanced at the safe, which, inconveniently, lay open.

The detective followed his gaze. "Body cams on," he said to the two uniforms, then, being careful not to block the view of the cameras, he approached the safe. He pulled latex gloves from his pocket and a clear plastic bag. He reached into the safe and pulled out a package wrapped in plastic.

"Hey, you can't do that," John exclaimed angrily, "you need a warrant to search."

"Mr, Chen, we do not need a warrant, this is not America! Taiwan police have the power to enter any business or private property, if they suspect a crime has been committed. This power was conferred on us in 1967 after the end of martial law." Another well-rehearsed line.

"Well, I've never seen that stuff before! It must have been planted there, I was robbed yesterday, by these guys," he indicated the monitor.

The detective dropped the brick into the evidence bag, "gloves on and bag all this other stuff," he said to one of the uniforms. He looked at the screen. "Robbed by telecom technicians, who planted narcotics in your safe? You're going to have to do better than that. Cuff him," he said to the other uniform. He held up the bag, "we'll soon see whose fingerprints are on these packages."

~~~~

Pete rose early and went for a long walk around the streets, they were mostly empty at this time of the morning, he had a lot to think about and wanted to prepare himself mentally for today's final session with the Master. He had had a long chat with Mia the evening before and, after a light meal turned in early. Late nights, and the mental effort of both planning the job on Chen, and the concentration and effort the Master required, had reminded him that he was no longer in his thirties, or forties for that matter. He found a café offering western style breakfast and entered. A hearty breakfast was what he needed, fuel for the day ahead.

The Master clapped his hands, "that brings us to the end of the session and also the end of this course. The progress you have all made over these past days, has been extraordinary. You are now also in possession of the ancient technique, use it wisely, indeed, sparingly, it is better if you are seen to have less skill in this area, than more." He bowed, "now I would like to speak privately with each of you, before you leave, starting with you Peter. Helen, Judy, Aiden, could you please wait outside, Sakura will let you know when to come in. Thankyou."

The other three filed out of the room, Sakura appeared with a tray and tea. "Please sit," said the Master lowering himself to the tatami mat.

Pete did so, as Sakura poured two small, earthenware beakers of tea, then left the room.

The master took a sip of the tea and Pete followed suit, "Peter, you have made very good progress this week, I have been impressed with your ability to follow energy trails. And indeed, to detect latent trails. I suspect that, unknowingly, you have been able to tap into this talent in your other endeavours." The master took another sip of tea, "you have my thanks for helping to remove a particularly bad person from our midst. Enjoy the profits of your labours."

"Thank you Master," he said, "although it seems that I can't take all the credit. I was happy to be of assistance. And thank you for sending Sakura to keep an eye on us."

The Master bowed his head once more.

Pete took this as the signal to leave, he bowed and left.

He passed Sakura in the hallway, "thank you Sakura, it was very nice meeting you; he pressed a small velvet bag into her hand, "a donation," he said.

She looked at the small sack, weighing it in her hand as if assessing the contents. "This is too much Peter," she went to hand the sack back to him.

"No, I've thought about this a lot, our job wouldn't have gone as smoothly without the Masters, and your intervention."

Sakura paused then stepped closer and hugged him, "Thank you Mr. Cruise, safe travels, and please visit us again."

~~~~

Pete met up with the others in the foyer, "so, what are your plans for tonight, I feel we should celebrate?"

Aiden looked pained. "Pete I'd love to, but I'm back at work tomorrow, on a six-o'clock flight to Aukland. I'm going to head for Taoyuan, the high-speed train stops there. I'll stay at a little hotel, close to the airport."

"What about you ladies?" asked Pete, looking at the other two.

Helen spoke up, "Sorry Pete, we're heading to Taipei tonight, we have a full day of shopping tomorrow."

"Yes, sorry Pete," Judy added, leaning in to give him a hug, "shopping, then an afternoon of indulgence at a day spa. So many stores, so little time!"

They all said their goodbyes, promising to catch up back in Australia. "Any time you need help on a job, Pete, I'm there for you." Aiden promised.

Pete sat in a corner booth in Starbucks; his iced latte, beading with condensation in front of him. He felt a bit flat to be honest; it was always this way after a job, as the adrenalin hit wore off. There was also a lot to unpack from the course. He didn't feel any different; he, like the others, had a new technique to practice, discreetly. He picked up his phone and scrolled till he found Mia's number.

~~~~

Pete yawned, then showed his boarding pass to the flight attendant. Gate sixty-five, of Hong Kong International airport. He had flown from Taipei to Hong Kong on Dragon air. Now he was waiting to board his Hainan Airlines flight to Brisbane. He looked at his watch. 23:15 no wonder he was tired. Mia had wrangled a last-minute upgrade for him, so he was once more headed to the pointy end of the plane.

Towing his small wheelie case behind him, he approached the cabin door. He was entering via a separate entrance to the economy passengers.

Hainan Airlines are renowned for having the most attractive flight attendant uniforms. Looking more like stylish, traditional Chinese dress for women, white with cloud patterns flowing down to a low hem, a pattern of sea and mountains contrasts with the collar's clouds and sky. Light grey stockings and silver, low heeled pumps finish off the look.

The flight attendant who took his boarding card, looked like she might have been a model for the designer, the tailored uniform fitting in all the right places without looking restrictive. Brown almond shaped eyes, brilliant red lipstick on full, natural lips, dark brown hair held back from her face in a ponytail. She reminded him of the Chinse model Echo Yue. She was, in a word stunning.

"Mr. Townsend, welcome, just one second please." She called over another flight attendant, "please take over here for a moment," she told her.

She turned her attention back to Pete, "My name is Kate," she said, "I'm the cabin supervisor, and I'm also looking after the first-class cabin tonight. Follow me please, we have you in K2." She led the way; Pete admired the way her uniform fit across her bottom.

She showed him to his seat, indicated where he could stow his luggage.

As Pete settled into the comfortable chair, she called over another stunningly beautiful attendant, who was carrying a tray of sparkling wine and orange juice. "Jun will look after you until after take-off, I'll be back to check on you a little later." She turned to leave, then turned back, "Oh, and Mr. Townsend?"

"Yes?"

"Mia said to tell you, she hopes you enjoy the in-flight entertainment." She gave him a hundred-watt smile and turned back to the cabin entrance.

Pete sipped his sparkling wine; Mia, he thought, how was it possible she knew flight attendants, on so many different Asian airlines, or did it stop there? This airline takes the cake though, the flight attendants, from what he had seen, all looked like they just graduated Chinese catwalk model school.

He made a mental note to ask her if she knew any hostesses on Qantas, or perhaps Air New Zealand. In any case, it looked like he was in for an entertaining flight.

That's the end of this short tale; thanks for reading if you got this far, and please vote.

Cheers, Foster Kaizen