The next morning, Cammy woke up in a completely unfamiliar room. It
took her a while to actually realize where she was. It was her first night
in her new home, and already she had the same nightmares. She did not feel
as depressed as she had been in the hospital, however. Chun Li had used
a different method to calm her down, and it worked.
She got out of bed and stared at the mirror, looking at the reflection
of herself. The room that she had been in at the hospital didn't have a
mirror. This was the first time that Cammy had actually seen herself fully.
The nightgown she was wearing was unmoving as she stood in front of the
reflection.
It seemed unnatural to Cammy that she could act in this way. In the
hospital, she mostly sat on her chair, knees brought up to her chest as
she remained a picture of despondence, thinking about the short life that
she could remember.
She saw the scar on her cheek, clearly visible, as if it was to be
a reminder of what she might have been through in the past, if she could
remember it. The dreams told her about a scientist who slashed her cheek
with a knife and raped her, but she would never tell anyone. She felt that
she'd break down if she ever did, and she was sure she wouldn't be able
to handle it.
What happened after that, she could not remember.
Outside the door, the phone rang, and Chun Li answered it. Cammy could
only hear what she was saying.
"Hello?……..Oh, hi Fei…..yeah, sorry about last night, cutting you off
and all."
Cammy continued listening. Who's Fei?
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm taking care of someone for a while……I can't really
tell you, it's classified. Maybe I'll show her to you sometime next week…..did
you want to say something to me?"
Classified? Why am I described as classified?
"Oh, yeah? Wow, that's great. So when's this new movie of your coming
out?…"
Movie? He's a film star?
Cammy opened the door silently to hear Chun Li better, but the door
suddenly opened sharply and fell outside. Chun Li turned around and saw
Cammy sprawled on the floor.
"Uh, Fei? My friend's just woken up. It was nice to talk to you again."
She put the phone down and ran to Cammy to help her up.
"I'm sorry." Cammy said in a quiet, but obviously scared, tone.
"Don't worry, Cammy. It was just a friend of mine, that's all. His
name's Fei Long. He's a Hong Kong film star who trained with me when I
was learning Kung Fu. He's been famous since the first film he made, and
people believe him to be the next Jackie Chan, or even Bruce Lee. Personally,
I just think of him as Fei Long."
Cammy simply nodded, saying nothing.
Cammy sat down to breakfast, her first since…she couldn't even remember
when she had breakfast, she never ate anything at the hospital, unless
it was forced into her. It was not a Chinese breakfast, as she thought
it would be, but rather something more English.
"I thought you'd like to try something from your own home as your first
proper meal, instead of something from here."
Cammy actually ate the food that was laid out to her, which was surprising
since she hadn't eaten anything. It wasn't much, as she did have a shrunken
stomach, it mainly consisted of a boiled egg, some toast and a couple of
Hash browns, but she managed to eat the lot. She hadn't eaten ever since
she was captured, and she looked like she wanted to make up for it.
"How about some tea?"
Chun Li stood over Cammy, holding a teapot and a jug of milk.
"I don't know what it tastes like." Cammy said quietly.
"Well, why don't you try some?" asked Chun Li.
Without waiting for a reply, she poured some tea into Cammy's cup,
and sat at the other end of the table, eating a larger breakfast than what
Cammy had. Cammy took a small sip of the hot brown liquid, and tasted it.
"It's not bad." was all she could say after she got over the initial
heat.
"Well, try it with some milk."
Cammy poured a small amount of milk into the tea and watched as the
liquid became a lighter brown. She took another sip of the tea.
"It tastes better."
"There you are, we've found something you like."
Cammy did like it. It became her favourite drink from that day.
After finishing her breakfast, Chun Li cleared the table and put the
dirty saucepans and plates into the dishwasher. Cammy looked around the
living room and saw some photographs on the wall.
The pictures showed Chun Li in a number of places, mostly by herself,
but a couple with one or two others. Cammy saw a photograph of her with
a Japanese-looking man, wearing what looked like a white jacket with the
sleeves torn off, and white trousers.
"That's my friend Ryu."
Cammy turned her head and saw Chun Li standing at the doorway, wearing
a leather jacket.
"He's a Street Fighter that I met a couple of years ago. I became a
Street Fighter as part of an undercover operation. I didn't do all that
well. In fact, Ryu won."
"Is he good then?"
"He's the best fighter I've seen. He's never lost a fight in his life.
Thing about him is that he wanders the world, looking for fighters to challenge
him. He loves to fight."
"He doesn't sound very nice."
"You couldn't really find anyone nicer. He's helped me once or twice
before."
Cammy looked through Chun Li's photo collection and saw several pictures
of a young Chun Li with a man with a mustache.
"That's my father. He was a detective, like me. I wanted to follow
in his footsteps."
Cammy noticed a shift in Chun Li's tone. She was about to ask what
happened to her father when Chun Li interrupted her.
"So, are you ready?"
"Ready?"
"To go shopping, of course! You can't walk around in either a nightgown
or the clothes you were found in, can you?"
Cammy stared in wonder as they walked around the shopping districts of Hong Kong. Everywhere she saw clothes shops, electrical goods and appliances, and markets with stall holders trying so hard to convince potential buyers to at least look at their wares, be it pirate video games, food, or anything else. Cries of "Sir, Madam, over here!" could be heard around the whole shopping district.
As she and Chun Li threaded their way around Hong Kong, it occurred
to Cammy that a strange feeling of loneliness was overcoming her. The people
she was surrounded by had lived full, capable lives. They had battled through
their lives, suffered hardships and had survived and consequently deserved
to be part of society. They had earned their right to live their own lives.
Cammy felt that she had not.
As far as she could ascertain, she had lost all trace of her past life,
but she knew from what she heard by the doctors and nurses talk about her
was that her life had not been one of normality. She had killed and murdered
many innocent people, she didn't know who, but from the stories, she knew
that they were undeserving deaths.
Cammy realised that now was not a time to think about this. She was
out with her new friend, and she was going to make the most of it.
After an hour, they had shopped around many different stores. They were carrying several bags of clothes, luxuries, cosmetics and other products. Cammy suddenly stopped at a market stall that served different types of tea. Her new-found love for tea had suddenly made her want to see and try out the different types of tea. She looked up to ask the price of the stallholder and stared straight into a pair of black eyes that dilated with fear.
For a second, Cammy didn't understand the look. The man was afraid of
her. No, more than afraid - terrified. But how was that possible? They'd
never met before.
Then she realised she was staring into the eyes of someone who actually
had seen her – as she was before.
"You know me."
The stallholder ducked under the stall's thin cotton back cover and
started to sprint across the market place. Cammy pointed. "He knows me.
He knows about my previous life!"
Chun Li saw what was going on and began to give chase, Cammy following
behind. She ducked and weaved past a group of onlookers as she tailed the
stallholder as he fled through the market place. She leapt over two tourists
carrying a roll of carpet, side-stepped an overturned fruit stall and jumped
with a flying kick as he headed for a parked van. She knocked him down
in a skid of dust.
Cammy ran up panting. "How do you know me?"
The man frowned, not understanding, as he slid up against the side
of the van, obviously scared.
"How do you know me?"
"You know how I know you. What do you mean?"
"Just answer the question!" Chun Li barked, grabbing his collar tightly,
"How do you know her?"
"Is this some kind of…"
"Listen, pal." Chun Li flashed her Interpol ID. "I'm a police detective,
and you'd better talk before I put you under arrest for obstruction of
justice. How?"
"I was a member of a small drugs gang once. We were about to make a
deal with Shadowloo. They sent you to arrange the deal." He pointed at
Cammy.
"And then?"
We were picked up by the police. This girl killed all the police officers
on site. Then she was ordered to kill us, in case we talked!"
Cammy's heart sunk.
"And?"
"I was the only one who escaped."
"How long ago was this?"
"About three years ago. I had been arrested on suspicion of carrying
drugs, and was put on parole. I gave up drugs altogether."
"So, If I wanted to find this drugs group," started Cammy, "where would
I go?"
"I'm not telling you! They'd kill me!"
Chun Li put her hand off the man's collar, and her voice calmed. "Listen,
I promise you I'll do everything we can to keep you safe, but we need to
know. This young lady has suffered at the hands of Shadowloo. I want to
find the truth about her, as does she."
He whispered, "A……alright. They're in the Causeway Bay area, near Wan
Chai road."
Chun Li picked up the man and called for a police vehicle with her
mobile. She then faced the man.
"Thank you," she said politely. "You've been most helpful."
On the drive back, Cammy stayed silent. The news that the stallholder
had told her had not done her much good.
"Listen, Cammy," Chun Li said quietly. "You were under Bison's control.
You were not responsible for the deaths of those men."
"I know." Cammy replied quietly. It didn't make her feel any better
about it.
"Listen. We're going to make a bust on that address the stallholder
gave us. We'll be able to learn more about you, and Shadowloo, when we
arrest those responsible."
"Can I come?"
Chun Li grimaced. She obviously didn't expect that question. "I don't
know whether you'll be allowed. We'll need you when the bust is finished.
I'm sure they'll let you stay on the sidelines."
Cammy rested her head back on the car window. She was one step closer
to finding out who she was, but it was still only a small step. She needed
to know more. Maybe this drugs-bust was what she needed.