BLOODLINES, BLOOD MONEY & BLOODSHED (Episode 1: A Family Apart)

Chapter 3: Keiser Li

It was morning in Lower Manhattan's Columbus Park. With towering office buildings and apartment buildings along its surrounding streets, the NYC Chinatown park's usual activities were in sway: joggers, Tai Chi gatherings, checker and chess games, dog walking, and more. Overhead, the sun shined beautifully. Outside its fences, cars made their way up and down the streets.

In the center of the park, thirty three year old Keiser Li sat on a bench. Handsome, his lips full and red, his skin light brown, his eyes brown, he sat with his legs crossed at the knees. With long jet black hair falling across his shoulders, he was dressed in a navy blue Armani suit and loafers. Underneath the right cuff of his suit jacket, he wore a platinum Franck Muller watch, which he now raised his wrist and checked the time on. Afterward, he folded his hands in his lap and continued sitting silently.

Standing beside Keiser's bench was Garth; a Chinese man of over six foot in height and a solid three hundred pounds in weight. Dressed in a suit, he was trained in numerous martial arts as well as gunplay.

Moments passed.

An old Chinese man in cheap dress pants and a cheap dress shirt entered the park. Making his way through the surrounding activities with a scowl on his face, he reached the center of the park and approached Keiser. Reaching Keiser, he sat beside him.

"Time is money, Mr. Wong, especially mine," Keiser said without looking at the old man. "You're ten minutes late."

"Look, you're lucky I'm here in the first place for this meeting," Mr. Wong told him, clearly angry about the reasons the meeting was needed, his accent thickly Chinese. "I hope you know I plan to be very, very vocal during this little get together of ours."

"As you should be. Let's take a walk."

The two men stood from the bench and began to walk the park side by side. As they did, Keiser's hands were behind his back, the back of his left hand in the palm of his right. Garth followed behind both men.

"My restaurant was hit again last night," Mr. Wong said angrily. "They did thousands of dollars' worth of damage."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, I'll bet you are."

"Mr. Wong, please do not mistake being vocal with being disrespectful."

"To Hell with that."

Garth approached ready to tear Mr. Wong apart. With his hands still behind him, Keiser signaled him to back off. Garth obeyed.

"I went through this in Hong Kong," Mr. Wong continued angrily. "You think I don't know what's going on? I'm not stupid."

"What do you suspect is, as you say, "Going on"?"

"You're shaking me down."

"I am shaking you down?"

"Yes, you. You, your tong, your family; you're all in cahoots. You're obviously connected to the Sun Yee On. You sent those young punks to break into my restaurant last night and do what they did. This is the third time."

"Mr. Wong, it's not wise to make assumptions about things you're not quite sure of. I'm sure a man of your age is quite aware of that."

"Oh, I'm sure, damn it. I'm definitely sure. I'm sure you and your people are nothing but crooks. You give us Chinese a bad name."

The men passed by a group of people in rows practicing Tai Chi to soft music.

"Mr. Wong, myself and my people,as you call them, are here in the community to help. We provide a service. Many services as a matter of fact, services that highly benefit the people of Chinatown."