Raymond Steed was unable to get time off work to go to Germany to support Jason in the World Karate Championships. But Jason preferred it that way; if Boudicea was skulking behind the scenes he didn’t want his father at risk. Wong Tong and Jason would travel to Germany together.
Wong Tong wasn’t aware that Jason was being watched in a scheme to trap to catch Boudicea. Jason was sure Wong Tong would recognize that some of the people on the plane were also in the audience at the karate competition. If he did he never said anything or suspected anything when they were picked up at the airport.
The driver informed them he was with the British karate organization. Jason knew him as Dexter, one of Infinity’s top agents, who was also Jason’s handler.
They were staying at the Holiday Inn in Berlin. Wong Tong and Jason had rooms next to each other on the fourth floor. Infinity agents occupied the room on the other side of Jason’s and across the hall.
Jason smiled as he entered his hotel room. He had a kingsized bed, a large color TV and fridge stocked with cold drinks and candy. The bathroom was impressive; it had a large bath with powerful jets. He filled it with hot water and poured the entire bottle of shampoo in it. He lay back in the bath sipping from a can of coke with the jets bubbling water.
Slowly a sea of foam bubbles grew and started to submerge him. He relaxed and wondered if Boudicea would ever show up. If she didn’t he should at least enjoy the stay at the hotel and the time he could spend with Wong Tong.
His room phone rang. Jason emerged from his sea of bubbles, dripping them and water across the carpet on the way to answer it.
“Hello,” Jason said.
Dexter asked him to come across the hall for a debrief.
He dressed and walked across the hall and tapped on the door. Immediately it opened and was Dexter beckoned him inside.
Jason took in his surroundings. A thin man in his early thirties and a small woman a similar age sat behind a desk watching monitors. They both wore headphones and made notes. Dexter was wearing jeans and a blue pullover. He looked relaxed sat on a couch.
“Jason I see you settled in okay,” Dexter said. “This is Jill and Colin, two of our agents who live here in Berlin.”
“Yeah the room is great; it’s got a Jacuzzi tub,” Jason said.
“We know. You spilled half of the bubbles across the floor. Hopefully you didn’t get the floor too wet and create a problem for the room below yours,” Colin sighed.
“What? How did you know that?” Jason paused and rushed to take a look at the monitors. His eyes widened when he saw a monitor was showing his hotel bedroom and bathroom. The bathroom floor was soaked in frothy bubbles. “Don’t I get any privacy? She’s a woman,” Jason shouted pointing at the female agent.
“He’s quite smart sir isn’t he?” The woman laughed sarcastically.
“Jason, Jill is one of our better agents, we are all here for your protection.” Dexter said.
Jason pulled the plug from the wall and threw it across the room, causing all the monitors to shut off. “You guys were watching me,” Jason cursed.
“That’s why we’re here,” Dexter reasoned.
“But I was in the bath, undressed, no clothes on and she’s a woman. I didn’t sign up for this. Take the cameras out of my room,” Jason cursed, his face started turning red with both anger and embarrassment.
“Jason we don’t expect to hear that kind of language from our junior agents; it’s for your protection,” Dexter said reassuringly.
Colin started to pick up the electrical cords to plug them back in. Jason stood in front of the socket and glared at the man.
“Jason we have cameras in every corridor and we put them in your room to ensure you’re safe that’s all,” Jill said.
“I should have been told, and no we don’t need one in my bathroom; that is private. The bedroom’s ok if you have to but not the bathroom,” Jason said dropping another curse word.
“Dexter we can monitor his room and the corridor. We can disable his bathroom camera,” Colin said.
Dexter nodded. “Fine, anything else Jason?”
Jason nodded and watched as they plugged the monitors back in and switched off the camera in his bathroom. Once he was satisfied he wouldn’t be watched in his bathroom he finally sat down next to Dexter.
“We haven’t seen or heard anything regarding Boudicea, so we are starting to doubt Scott’s suggestion. It could be just a coincidence that the leopard was taken and has nothing to do with her,” Dexter said.
“Scott was only guessing, but he is normally right but if he’s wrong it worked out good anyway.”
Dexter sat back his eyes widened and looked like he was constipated. “Good anyway.
What was good about this? This operation has cost a small fortune.”
“I got to enter both the karate championships and spend time training with Wong Tong. To me that’s a big win,” Jason smiled.
“We have twelve agents monitoring the hotel and watching you. They all need to be paid and put up in hotels; this is a big operation. It’s not a big win unless we catch Boudicea.”
“So you want her to show up?” Jason asked.
“Fes.” Dexter, Colin and Jill all said at the same time.
Jason picked a small clump of grapes from a bowl that was in front of Jill and popped one into his mouth. Dexter opened a black folder and shuffled through some papers before looking up at Jason.
“It says here that you were given strict instructions by Infinity not to visit Princess Catherine,” Dexter quizzed.
Jason rolled his eyes and slumped down on the couch, stuffing his face with grapes.
Dexter’s eyes narrowed. He continued. “You left your home and slipped passed our agents and broke into Buckingham Palace no less. It caused a major concern for us; it put you and the entire royal family at risk. Then three weeks later you did it again, only this time you assaulted several members of staff. Some needed hospital treatment.”
Dexter became calm once more and compassionately asked: “If you were me Jason and a junior agent did this against orders, how would you punish them?”
“Well I would only order seedless grapes to start with,” Jason said spitting a seed into his hand. “And tell the agent he did a good job for SYUI for showing them their flaws.”
Dexter bolted up from his seat and threw the folder at Jason. With lightning speed Jason caught it before it hit him in the face.
“You don’t work for SYUI; you work for Infinity,” Dexter screamed. Both Jill and Colin jumped. Jason sat up in his seat.
“Okay calm down and keep your hair on. Brenda asked me to try and break in again to test security so I did. See I’m a good boy, I do as I’m told,” Jason grinned.
Dexter pointed towards the door. “Get out and back to your room Jason. I can’t deal with you when you are like this.”
Jason’s eyes widened; he knew he had pushed Dexter a little too far. He passed him back the folder and left, slamming the door behind him. He went back to his room, jumped on his bed and turned on the TV.
Colin looked at Dexter. “Forgive me for saying sir. This is the first time I have worked on a mission with a junior agent and from what I have seen, probably the last.”
“Why do you let him talk to you like that?” Jill asked.
Dexter sat back down again and sighed. “I love working with the junior agents and to be honest Jason Steed is the best we have. The fact he’s a hotheaded angry teenager, with an attitude, is perfect for us. Who would ever suspect any of our junior agents? They argue with each other like siblings, they fight, make up and work well together.
“You can’t expect him to be a choirboy. A choirboy would be useless on a mission. You need someone witty, who thinks quickly on his feet and does not always respect authority. Many times they have to take on adults during a mission so from time to time they talk to me like Jason just did. Yes he disobeyed an order not to leave his home, but
he’s a confident thirteen- year-old who wanted to see his girlfriend.
“Thousands of kids get grounded and they sneak out of the house to see friends. What Jason did was no different really; it just so happens that the girl he is friendly with is the thirteen- year-old princess who lives in Buckingham Palace. We trained Jason how to break into a building and he put it to good use,” Dexter said.
“But he’s so much hard work,” Colin whined.
“Nonsense. We have all been on boring protection duty and seen an adult enter a hotel room. They unpack, sit on the bed and watch TV. Today we all laughed when we saw Jason try his bed out by jumping up and down on it a few times and sinking in a bath full of bubbles stuffing his face with coke and candy.”
“Yeah it was different; he went a bit overboard with the bathroom camera though.” Colin suggested.
“Not really; he’s at that age when he needs some privacy. We should have told him first so he could have been prepared for that. Any of our teen agents would react the same way,” Dexter said. “Jason is a little rough around the edges. The first ten years of his life he was in Hong Kong on a navy base. He mixed with the children from naval families, so he picked up some skills such as how to curse. From there he went to St Joseph’s in London, one of Britain’s poshest schools. I think that’s where his arrogance comes from, and of course he has never known his mother so he’s independent.”
“You like him Dexter don’t you?” Jill said as if it was a question.
Dexter nodded. “Yes, I’ve seen him in action and if I were given the choice to have any agent with me on a mission, I would pick Jason every time. He’s lethal when he fights but he has a big heart. When you have junior agents you have to understand that children are still children. Yeah he can fly a plane, plant a bomb and take out four or five guys, but he’s still a teen looking for fun and thinks he knows best.”
“Oh he’s on the move,” Colin said watching the monitors. “He’s leaving his room.”
A knock came at the door; they could see the monitors it was Jason. He was feeling guilty the way he acted towards Dexter. He had been angry regarding the cameras and let his temper get the better of himself.
Dexter got up and opened the door.
“Sorry I was so rude sir,” Jason said meekly. “I wanted to see Catherine and thought I could get in and out of the Palace easily. I did, then it occurred to me so could anyone so we had to upgrade the security. Sorry I disobeyed the order.”
Dexter forced himself to keep a straight face. “Apology accepted.”
Jason gave a tight-lipped smile, nodded and went back across the corridor to his own room. Dexter closed the door, turned and grinned at Jill and Colin.
“See what I mean? He’s adorable really,” Dexter smiled.
Chapter Sixteen
The morning of the competition Jason was so nervous he had to force some apple and banana down his throat. Each swallow was a battle to keep it down. He knew the importance of giving his body energy. It was not so much the fear of the bouts he would have with other contestants, it was the size of the crowd. He heard that television cameras from most Asian countries would be filming.
Wong Tong met Jason in the hotel dining room. His moustache extended from his upper lip and hung down to his chest. Today he wore a gold colored satin robe with a red dragon embroider on the back. He has applied gel to his long moustache and given each end a sharp point.
“Wong Tong you look wicked in that. What is it?” Jason asked.
“A robe,” Wong Tong smiled he sat down next to Jason and started to pour himself some tea.
Jason laughed. “I can see that, but what is the significance? Is it an ancient traditional costume or something?”
“No Jason I bought it at the airport store,” Wong said in his broken English.
Jason studied Wong Tong; he wasn’t sure if he was serious or joking. They sat together saying nothing for a few minutes before Wong Placed his hand on the back of Jason’s.
“You are nervous Jason,” Wong said. “You have nothing to worry about it’s just a competition. You will either win or lose why worry about something that is beyond your control?”
“I intend to win. It’s the audience that concerns me, all those people watching me,” Jason sighed.
“Jason just be yourself. If you are nervous, be nervous. If you are shy, be shy. You may lose your ego but you will win the fight,” Wong Tong wisely proclaimed.
Berlin International Sports arena was much larger than Jason had anticipated. A pair of large towers grew from the ground and met the grey skies. Across the towers a large banner over ninety feet long stretched across them with red letters spelling out ‘Welt -Karate-Meisterschaft’. Jason translated it to World Karate Championship.
He had never visited Germany before but enjoyed finally being able to speak German. It was mostly to hotel staff he spoke to, but it gave him confidence with his language skills.
In between the large towers a large glass entrance welcomed spectators and contestants. The locker rooms were as large as a school assembly hall, with row upon row of lockers. The end wall was tiled in the different colors depicting the German flag. From the wall sprouted dozens of showerheads. Jason thought three football teams could all take a shower at one time.
Jason changed into his white karate gi. He placed a white headband on his head to keep his long bangs of blond hair out of his eyes. Several other competitors were also getting ready.
Two men dressed in navy suits and matching red ties walked towards Jason and Wong Tong. As they did a man with a mop that was acting as the janitor also headed in the same direction.
“Jason Steed?” The two men asked in a British accent.
Jason looked up and smiled. “Yes.”
“Welcome young man. My name is Harry Winters and this is Jack Shift. We are from the British Karate Council.” He shook both Jason’s and Wong Tong’s hands.
Jason noticed the janitor stopped and backed off but was still watching them at a small distance. He guessed he was an Infinity agent assigned to protect Jason.
Harry Winters showed Jason and Wong Tong to the front benches in the main area. Jason was stunned by the sheer size of it.
Either side of the massive indoor area grew rows of seats going up to the roof. At one end more rows of seats disappeared up into the roof. The other end was a massive LED scoreboard. In the center of the arena was a large white round ring marked with a red roped border on the ground. Cameramen were already set up around the perimeter.
Some were filming the arena; many of the TV crews were Asian. Jason knew that Martial arts were very popular in most Asian countries. Great Britain and America would not have a film crew at the event. Maybe one or two reporters but that was as much as he expected.
Wong Tong spoke to Harry Winters while Jason sat watching the crowds of people fill the seats. Every now and then he would catch someone’s eye. They would look away; Jason suspected they were more Infinity agents keeping an eye on him.
“Jason I have good news and bad news,” Wong Tong said sitting back down next to Jason.
Jason looked at him and in typical Steed fashion, raised his eyebrows, asking what the news was.
“Your first fight you have drawn against Kim Soo Hyun,” Wong Tong said. “He is from South Korea and is the current World under sixteen champion. He is fifteen and so next year he will be entering the adult World Championship. He will be a tough opponent and everyone is expecting him to win. But you can beat him.”
“Where is he?” Jason asked.
Wong Tong pointed to the other side of the arena. Unlike Jason who just had Wong Tong with him, others, all wearing black tracksuits with the South Korean flag on the chest, surrounded the South Korean. A news crew was interviewing Kim Soo Hyun.
“He is the favorite and has many fans and sponsors. When you knock him out all eyes will be on you,” Wong said.
“So what’s the good news?” Jas
on frowned.
A buzzer sounded followed by an announcement in various languages calling Kim Soo Hyan’s name followed by Jason’s.
“The good news is you are on first. So we won’t have time to worry about anything,” Wong Tong nodded and smiled.
“Is that your attempt at humor?” Jason winced.
Jason and Wong Tong walked towards the main ring in the center of the arena. The center ring was a large yellow square mat with a red border. It had two vertical lines parallel to each other where the fighter would stand. On each corner sat a referee and on one side a scorekeeper sat with a timekeeper.
A cameraman walked just a few feet ahead of Jason with the camera pointing in his face. Jason kept his head down, pulled his headband off and let his blond bangs flop down over his eyes. Jason was clearly out of his comfort zone and he started to perspire.
Jason took a few steps forward. He could feel the eyes of the crowd boring into him, waiting for him to go down and be Kim Soo Hyun’s first victory. In front of him, Kim Soo Hyun looked completely relaxed.
Wong Tong patted Jason on the shoulder and watched him take his place. Kim Soo Hyun walked towards the ring, stretching his head from side to side as he walked. Many of the audience applauded him as he took his place opposite Jason. Kim Soo Hyun waved at the audience and smiled before taking his place.
Jason kept his head down. To anyone watching Kim Soo Hyun the current under sixteen World Champion was more qualified, more experienced and much bigger than the small pale blond-haired boy who looked terrified. It was expected by everyone to be a warm-up round for Kim Soo Hyun. Even the Infinity agents working undercover in the crowd couldn’t help but think their little guy, Jason Steed was going to get his butt kicked.
The referee spoke to both fighters and bowed. Jason looked up at Kim Soo Hyun; both bowed in respect for each other. Kim Soo Hyun stared Jason in the eyes and froze. Jason wasn’t sure what he was doing and then he noticed Kim Soo Hyun slightly tremble. In all the fights either on a mission or in a karate school he had never seen it before.