“Can’t you fools count? There’s four of you! Just grab him!” Hudson barked. The members of the gang that could still stand encircled Quang as he moved his weapon between his hands, creating a barrier with the nunchuck’s flurry. The gang’s hesitation subsided. Quang was able to land one more stray hit on an aggressor’s arm, but the glancing strike only sent him staggering back a step. Quang could feel his arms seized from behind, putting an end to his weapon’s movement as his arms locked up from the clutches of the vice-like grips.
“Keep him steady.” Hudson inched forward, cracking his knuckles as he took a step. Quang looked on with anger, staring into the hatred of Hudson’s eyes. But before the Union leader could make it to his target, Selene stepped between him and the captive.
“That’s enough!” She said with her arms spread out. “I’m the one that you’ve got a problem with. You don’t have to-“
Hudson pushed her to the ground with one arm and carried on with his procession. Quang continued his struggle to free himself but the Union men kept their stances firm. The two met eyes, both staring at each other with the same vicious look. Hudson reached down and pried Quang’s weapon free from his hand and dangled it inches from his face.
“Let’s get this out of here.” With a flick of his wrist, the nunchucks soared across the restaurant.
Quang shuddered as he became fixated on the hulking individual in front of him. Hudson twirled his finger, making his men turn their captive around so his back was towards him. Quang could feel a muscular arm take hold of his leg and another wrap around his waist. The next instant the ground vanished beneath him. He felt weightless as his feet lost contact with the floor. The ceiling became a blur as he fell backwards at a meteoric trajectory. The back of his head and the back of his upper shoulders crashed onto the table, scattering menus and utensils across the ground as his body broke through the wood.
Quang lay propped against the shattered tabletop, motionless with both eyes closed. Mrs. Nghiem reached out towards her son while tears streamed down her face. Selene’s hands covered her mouth as she looked on in horror at the scene. She had risen to her feet, but the rest of the Union stood in her path.
“I think we’ve made our point.” Hudson dusted his hands off before picking his sledgehammer up from the ground. “I don’t want to have to go through this with you again, understood?” He said as he looked towards Mrs. Nghiem. She was too focused on Quang to pay him any mind.
“Let’s get outta here.” The Union left the restaurant in a single file, leaving the door wide open. Mrs. Nghiem and Selene both knelt by Quang. He mumbled while tilting his head from side to side. After blinking twice, he woke to the two women staring back at him.
“Are you alright?” Mrs. Nghiem asked with one hand on his arm.
“I’ve been better,” he replied groggily. Selene took hold of one hand while Mrs. Nghiem took the other. Together they hoisted him to his feet. Once upright, he rubbed his head and looked at the destruction behind him. “See Ma? I had it all under control until you came barging in.”
“Control?” She looked at Quang with disgust. “You were going to give them a buffet for free! Then you start swinging your weapon around like a mad man.”
“What was I supposed to do, huh? Let them push my mother down and take some woman’s necklace?” Quang snapped back, his face a blend of worry, anger and confusion.
“They could have killed you!” Mrs. Nghiem snapped back.
“And what if we went with your plan and didn’t give them anything, huh? You think they would have just walked out of here like nothing happened?”
Mrs. Nghiem didn’t reply. Her eyes continued to stream a long cascade of tears. Her lips quivered as she tried to find something to say. But instead of speaking she remained silent.
“No. They wouldn’t have. Every table would look like this one,” Quang remarked as he pointed to the crushed wood that lay behind him. “And the chairs. And the paintings. And the pots.” He rubbed his back as he bent down to pick up the sharper bits of debris that lay across the tiled floor. “Maybe we should close this place down after all.”
“Do you know how hard your father and I worked to move to America? To save up enough money to afford this place?” Mrs. Nghiem moved to Quang’s side, placing her hands on her hips as she watched her son gather up the larger pieces of wood. “And now you say we should close down because of some crooks?”
“You hit the nail on the head, Ma. It’s not like we’re making money, anyway. If the Union doesn’t run us out of business then the landlord will.”
“Just go.” Mrs. Nghiem pointed towards the open door, making sure to avoid eye contact with her son as she did.
“What?” Quang looked up, chunks of wood protruding from his crossed arms.
“You said you had somewhere to be tonight. So just go.”
“Maybe I will! I’ll put my energy into something that actually matters.”
Mrs. Nghiem pursed her lips. Without another word she stormed off into the backroom, making sure to slam the door behind her. Quang shook his head and dropped the bits of the table that he had been gathering onto the floor and headed towards the coat rack by the entrance. Selene looked at the mess of the center restaurant and then at Quang.
“Are you sure alright?” She asked in a low voice.
Quang remained focused on putting on his red and black leather jacket. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Selene walked closer and took some money out of her pocket. She counted out a few dollar bills and handed them to Quang. “Here. This is for the meal.”
His hands remained focused on fastening his jacket’s zipper. “Don’t worry about it. You didn’t even finish your food.”
“Just take it.” Selene put the cash closer to him, but he turned his back to her as he put a hand on the restaurant’s door.
“I don’t want it. You’ve done enough already,” Quang said with annoyance.
Selene raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?”
“I don’t feel like explaining. Use your context clues. I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
Selene blinked, tilting her head back as she pointed towards herself. “Oh, so it’s my fault you got suplexed through a table?”
Quang turned around. He looked stunned, physically confused by what she had said. “Yes,” he replied with confidence, “It is your fault!”
“And not the man that walked in here, demanded money, stole my necklace and attacked your mother?” Selene said with one hand on her hip.
“You attacked them!” Quang raised his voice. He held off zipping his jacket to shrug his arms in an exaggerated manner.
“And you let them attack your poor mother. Were you just going to let them get away that?”
“What’s it to you, lady? I don’t even know your name and you’re here telling me what I should and shouldn’t be doing.”
“I’m sorry for trying to help out an innocent, hardworking family. Maybe next time I’ll just watch them beat you upside the head with your mother’s purse as I’m chomping down on the noodles you made for me.”
“A meal and a show then.” Quang zipped up his jacket and rubbed the sore spot on his back. He groaned a bit and lost his balance before stumbling forward, only to have Selene grab him by the shoulders and keep him upright.
“I’m Selene, by the way,” she said with a hint of condescension.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Quang replied with a wince.
“Look at you. You can barely stand up.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve been through worse.”
Quang set himself upright. The pair made eye contact. The hostility had subsided as they both took in a deep breath. Their eyes drifted apart to avoid the uncomfortableness of the silence.
“Got a ride?” Quang asked.
“No. I walked here. I can go back the same way.”
“Where do you stay?”
“Over on Clearwater Avenue,” Selene replied as she brushed some stray hair away from the front of her face.
“All the way out there? I can’t let you walk that far by yourself. Not at this hour.”
“I’ve done it before.”
Quang pointed at the broken table in the center of the restaurant. “Did you forget what just happened?”
Selene sighed. “But you said you had something to do tonight. I don’t want you to cancel your date because of me.”
“It’s not a date, alright?” Quang tucked one hand into his jacket’s pocket and used the other to hold the door open. “My car’s just across from here,” he gestured with a nod of his head towards the row of cars parallel parked on the street to his right. Selene squeezed past him and began moving in the opposite direction that Quang was facing.
“Thank you for the offer. Very gentleman-like of you. But I’ve walked this distance before, and I can do it again.” Selene continued off along the sidewalk, leaving Quang scratching his head.
