"The way you looked at me," Vic began. His dark blue eyes locked with the emerald green of Ulyssa's. Her squinting stopped the moment their eyes made contact. For a moment, her look of disgust turned into bewilderment. "Just like that!"

Malthe watched his employer. She seemed almost frozen, lost in thought as she continued to stare at Vic. "Your Majesty?" he whispered at her with confusion. "Is everything alright?"

Ulyssa blinked twice and shook her head, snapping out of her confusion. "Tell me, where do you hail from?" Ulyssa asked of Vic.

"Isla Lucrecia. Born and raised!" he said with confidence with a thumb pointed at his chest.

"And what of your family? What is your lineage?"

Vic tapped a finger to his chin as his eyes angled up towards the starry sky. "Hmm, I never thought about that. Never knew my parents. The only life I've known is the one that Rodney helped me develop. I guess he'd be the closest thing that I have to a dad. Guess that would make Quang my brother. And if him and Selene ever—"

"Stop!" Ulyssa raised one hand, closing her eyes as she tilted her head to the side. "I have no concern for who you consider to be your family. I'm only interested in your family tree. Now tell me. Do you know anything about your biological parents?"

"Nope," Vic replied with a shrug. "Know nothing about 'em."

"Intriguing," Ulyssa said. "Some random... street lurker... thinks he has some kind of special connection with the last heir of the Ingwersen fortune. And why? All because I looked at you?" Ulyssa pressed a hand against her chest. A sideways smile grew on her face as she held in a laugh. "Am I right so far?"

"I think it's a bit more complicated than that," Vic said nervously as he scratched the back of his head. 

"You do remember that you were stealing scraps off a table, right? Well, I suppose in Isla Lucrecia that's not something that's unheard of. But it's far from the norm that someone such as myself would come across. Of course I'd look at you like you were... some kind of freak."

"No, no, no." Vic shook his head and wagged his finger. "Definitely wasn't a 'you're a freak' look. Trust me. I've gotten plenty of those. It was something else. And not romantic either."

Ulyssa became silent. She squinted her eyes and took a step back. "Hurry up and finish your business, Malthe. I want to go home." She turned around and began heading back to her limousine. The rest of the White Swan accompanied her.

"But what should I do with this man?" Malthe asked.

Ulyssa turned around, locking her eyes with Vic again. He wore a look of utter disappointment as he let Shondell touch the ground, holding only one of its sections in his hand.  She scanned him from the top down before facing her bodyguard. 

"I don't care as long as he and his friends are out of this memorial! I'm tired of delays! I want to go home, Malthe. Do whatever it takes to get us back to the estate fastest." She twirled her finger in the air, resuming the procession of her and the White Swan guards that accompanied her. "Kill him. Leave him be. Doesn't matter. All I know is that I want us to be gone from the dreadful place within the next five minutes. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Malthe replied in his usual deep and serious tone.

"Good." With a clap of her hands, she and the rest of the White Swan were off. Malthe turned around to face Vic. His eyes remained fixated on the woman as she headed further from the construction site.

"You're fortunate," Malthe said. "If Ulyssa weren't so upset, you'd be dead before sunrise."

"Don't think you can kill me in five minutes, big man?" Vic said as he looked at the bodyguard from the corner of his eye. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Malthe reached down and snatched Vic by the tattered remains of his shirt collar. With one hand, he hoisted him off the ground, so his feet dangled inches above the dirt. Like a predator, he cut his eyes towards Vic's smug face. "If we cross again, you won't be so lucky! Someone wiser would know when to quit. But I know you aren't smart enough for that." Malthe through Vic onto the ground, making him land on his back.

"Looking forward to it," Vic said with a sour face. He sat up and folded Shondell across his lap.

"Hudson!" Malthe called out. The Union lifted his head from the standoff he was having with Quang and Ulyssa to look at the bodyguard. "Make sure that this project is done on time! And tell the kendo woman to not be late tomorrow."

"W-wait," Hudson stuttered. Malthe turned his back towards him and continued to walk away from the construction site. "Malthe! I could still use a bit of help here!" The bodyguard continued on his path, undeterred by Hudson's shouting. 

"What a bummer!" Vic exclaimed, kicking up a bit of dirt as he watched Malthe get inside the limousine. "I finally get a decent fight and you just bail on me like that?" The door to the vehicle shut. In a few seconds it drove off, disappearing into the dense cityscape.

"Don't feel too bad Vic," Quang called out. "Hudson here still seems to be itching for a fight."

The Union Leader looked at all three. Vic ran to accompany Quang and Selene. They all looked at him with anger on their faces as they held their weapons ready to strike. "Come on now," Hudson said with a groan. "Is this how your master Rodney taught you how to handle this kinda situation? Ganging up on a single guy?"

"We picked it up from you!" Selene called out. "You're not so tough when you're outnumbered, are you?"

Hudson took a step back, maintaining his defensive posture as he kept the handle of the hammer stretched across his chest. Vic swung Shondell low, hitting the Union leader in the ankle. He fell onto his knee and used his weapon to keep himself upright. As he lowered, all three moved in, soon surrounding him from all angles. 

With a swift kick, Quang knocked the hammer out of Hudson's hand. Selene then picked it up and tossed it to the side. Hudson looked up at Quang, locking their eyes together. He gritted his teeth, his mouth on the verge of saying something. 

"Not so tough now, huh?" Selene mockingly.

"So what do you want, eh?" Hudson said quietly. "Gonna tear up this place some more? You know who you're dealing with, right? Who we're dealing with!"

"Damn right we're going to tear this place down!" Vic shouted. "Saw some big machinery that could—"

"Quiet, Vic," Quang blurted out. "No, we're not going to keep damaging your little project."

"We're not?" Vic said, confused.

Quang shook his head from side to side. "Nah."

"I don't need you folks to pity me," Hudson muttered with a hint of disdain.

"Yes," Selene interjected. She had her hand on her hip and pointed one of her fingers in the Union leader's face. "Yes, you do. If we wanted to, we could set you and your team back who knows how many days of work!"

"But then you'll just put a target on your back! You think The Union is a nuisance? Just imagine if the White Swan figured out that Quang's restaurant is Pho 68! Or if they know where Rodney lives!"

"Those goons wouldn't scare Rodney," Vic said. "He's dealt with them before. No way they'd be able to intimidate him now, either!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Man's tough. I can't deny that. But he's past his prime. And Ulyssa's got an army at her disposal. There's only so much a washed-up movie star with an oar can do against Isla Lucrecia's most powerful crime family."

"We don't want Rodney getting plagued by Ulyssa's men," Selene said softly to Vic. "I don't doubt that Rodney could take on plenty of the White Swan. But being under the constant threat of a wealthy gang? That's not a way to live!"

"Exactly," Hudson said. "You three have to got to hear me out. I can make you an offer."

"You think you're in a position to bargain?" Quang asked. "Come on now. You're on your knees."

"I'm trying to look out for what's best for The Union. I'm telling you, further ruining this memorial won't do anyone any good. At all." Hudson looked up at Quang with worry. "The White Swan is going to come after me and my men. And you know what she's going to ask? She's gonna want to know who was responsible and where the White Swan can get to them."

Quang remained silent, prompting Selene to advance the conversation. "But what's stopping you from spilling the information in the first place? Even if we leave this project of yours alone, you'll still tell Ulyssa where Pho 68 and Rodney's studio are!"

Hudson snickered. "You think Ulyssa is just going to go after you guys because I tell her? She does whatever she wants, whenever she wants. All she wants is for the memorial to be done on time. If we can deliver, she'll be satisfied and go back to minding her business. Just... just trust me on this one." His eyes looked at the three that surrounded him, receiving no sympathetic looks. "I know you've got no reason to trust me... but..."

"But..." Selene said, gesturing by the rolling of her hand for Hudson to finish his sentence.

"Look. I can make it up to you." Hudson got up to his feet. "I know you've been looking for something," he said while looking at Selene.

The woman's eyes grew as she connected the dots. "My necklace?"

"Yeah, that. I saw it Fátima’s gym bag. Should be somewhere by the memorial building. I think right in front of the main door," Hudson said while pointing behind him at the unfinished structure. 

"I'll be right back!" Selene said as she darted in the direction of the building. Quang and Vic stayed behind, still standing at either side of him. An odd silence ensued as they waited for Selene to return. A minute of pure quiet later and Selene returned, running back with something dangling between her hands.

"Told you," Hudson said as he watched Selene stand next to Quang. She had a massive smile as she placed the blue jewelry over her head. 

"I-I can't believe it!" Selene said on the verge of tears. "I was starting to believe that I need never see it again."

"Now you got that necklace back," Hudson said, pointing at the object. "Now if you want what's best for the most people, could you just leave us be to finish our job?"

"What do you think Quang?" Selene asked. "I think you've got as much beef with Hudson as I do."

"You know how long it's gonna take to clean up that mess you made?" Hudson butted in as he gestured towards the memorial. "It's doable. But it's gonna be a real pain. If that's any consolation."

"It's not," Vic said. "You suplexed my best friend through a table for crying out loud!" He raised one end of Shondell, ready to strike Hudson in the back until Quang came around to stop him by putting his hand in front of his arm.

"Cool it, Vic. Hudson is making a bit of sense. I hate to admit it, but I'd rather not deal with The White Swan if I don't have to."

"Listen to your friend, tough guy," Hudson said as he turned around to look at Vic. "Of all the people in this town, Ulyssa is the very last person that you'd want as an enemy."

"No way Quang!" Vic shouted. "We can't just let this guy get away with everything he's done!" 

"We gotta think of the bigger picture, Vic!" Quang said in a hushed tone. "I know you're all about fighting, but that's not something I want to spend every waking moment of my life thinking about! And I can't put my parents at risk like that."

"I'm telling ya, Quang," Hudson said with a trembling voice, "Just let us get back to work. We won't come by Pho 68. Union man's promise." He placed a hand over his heart.

"You really think your word has any meaning?" Selene shouted. "You're the last person I'd ever trust!"

"I know, I know. But why do you think we go by Pho 68 and all the other restaurants in town, huh?" Hudson rubbed some imaginary money in between his fingers. "It's because we need the money. With what The White Swan is going to pay us, we won't need to shake down any place for a while."

"So you'll still be doing it, huh?" Selene said with a stern look. 

"Not to Pho 68."

"Don't take his word for it, Quang!" Vic shouted out. He took one of the rods of Shondell and waved it in front of Hudson's face. "One good hit is all I need. Put him out and we'll have more than enough time to do whatever we want to this place!"

Quang put one hand on his friend, pulling him back from an exhausted Hudson. "He's kinda right, Vic. I hate to admit it. But I'm not going to risk The White Swan harassing me and my family. I think we sent our message across."

"You can't be serious, Quang!" Vic turned around and looked at Quang with utter disappointment.

"I am. Besides. We've got his friend. Or at least the Isla Lucrecia Police Department does. I'd say that makes us even," Quang said. He gave the Union leader one more look of disgust. "We got our message across. The Union isn't as tough as they make themselves out to be."

"Will that get ya out of here?" Hudson said. "Yeah. We're not as tough as we make ourselves out to be. Especially with one of our own locked away." He then shrugged his shoulders. "Happy now?"

"No," Quang said with a shake of his head. "But it's a start." He tucked his nunchucks into his jacket and turned away. 

"So that's it, Quang?" Vic said as Quang headed back towards his car. He still held onto two segments of Shondell, looking at Quang with confusion. "Is this where it ends?"

"No. I've got a feeling that this is just where it begins."