Wolves.
He saw them now. Gorgeous, fast, and really, really big wolves were herding the kangaroos away from the people. The kangaroos hopped, grunted, and occasionally boxed as they went, but they were steadily pushed away.
The cavalry had arrived in the form of Bing’s friends. And now that the kangaroos were gone, that cleared the field for—
“Back away! Down on the ground! Now!”
The cops, guns drawn, had half with their weapons trained on the grand master and the other half trained on the wolf that was Bing.
“No! No!” Walter cried, but no one paid the least bit of attention. Certainly not the grand master, who was spinning his staff and relishing the idea of a fight, even against modern firearms.
“Don’t be an idiot!” Kong screamed at his father, but that just made Monkey curl his lip at his son.
“I’m not a coward,” Monkey said.
“You’re also from ancient China,” Walter said, pitching his voice to be picked up by Gator. “It must be confusing,” he said, “not understanding what modern guns can do to a body. Monkey!” he commanded. “Dig down into the grand master’s mind. See the truth of the weapons.”
“Get down!” the cop barked again.
Fortunately Bing complied. He dropped down and put his nose on his paws. He might be able to leap from that position, but he wouldn’t be fast. On the upside, the cops training their weapons on him didn’t feel as threatened.
That gave Walter breathing room to continue telling his story to Gator’s audience. “Do you see what’s happening?” he asked the camera. “Monkey is searching the grand master’s mind. He’s the spirit possessing the human, you see. And looking deep in there, he’s going to find something else—the truth in Grand Master Wu’s thoughts.” He took a step forward, investing his words with all the passion he possessed. “The man was jealous of his son’s youth and afraid of Kong’s love for someone else. And when Kong failed to win the part, his rage turned to revenge.”
Walter gestured back to where the grand master’s expression was changing. He saw the man’s eyes widen in shock and his hand lower in confusion.
“Right now Monkey is realizing that this is not a righteous fight. That the evildoer had used him, bringing him to a time and place that he could not possibly understand. But Monkey was a demigod, and every demigod recognizes thoughts of vengeance, jealousy, and hatred. He knows those feelings are not blessed by Buddha. They are hallmarks of wrong thinking.” He lifted his chin and pointed hard at the grand master. “Right now, Monkey is withdrawing from the grand master. He is pulling his energy back and away, leaving behind a body growing weaker by the second.”
Walter put all his theatrical power into his voice. He needed the audience to believe his words. It was their energy that would make his words come true.
Or so he prayed.
“No!” Grand Master Wu bellowed. Or he tried to. The sound did not carry as it had a few moments ago.
Walter didn’t stop talking. “The man’s muscles grow weak, unable to hold up even his hands. His shoulders sag and his eyes wither. He can no longer see as he once had. His hair turns gray, and his mind becomes clouded. Without Monkey to sustain him, he loses focus on his rage until nothing but a doddering old man remains.”
Walter was pouring it on thick, but he had to use the power he’d corralled from Gator. It wasn’t a fully conscious feeling. It felt like when he was writing, the flow of words typed on a page in a seamless spell. This time he was weaving words around Grand Master Wu. He was pulling power from all those people watching Gator’s feed and shaping it to the story he wanted.
“Monkey returns to Heaven. He will not possess anyone ever again.”
It worked. Not quickly, but inch by inch, the grand master’s arms dropped. His breath caught, and his expression showed fear as he blinked and squinted. He stumbled slightly as he tried to take a step forward, and all around him, the cops tensed. But they eased a moment later when he spoke in a quavering voice.
“Kong?”
His son took a step forward. “I am here,” he said. His expression was resigned, and he looked at the cops. “He’s unarmed. You can put your guns away.”
The sheriff slowly straightened, but he didn’t holster his weapon. Instead, he moved it to cover Bing, who was still a very scary-looking wolf, though still flat on the ground.
“Roll over, Bing,” Walter said, his voice lighter now. “Roll over and give the sheriff a big grin.”
Bing shot him a put-upon glare, but in the end, he did it. He rolled belly-up and then let his tongue loll out in a goofy doggy grin.
“There,” Walter said to the man. “All over.” Then he looked at Gator. “Right? You can end this now. Right?”
Gator grinned at him as he adjusted his phone camera. “So what was this?” he asked. “A Red Wolf publicity stunt?”
It was as good an excuse as any. “Sure. But, um, it got out of hand. I have no idea how the kangaroos got involved.”
He looked up. The cops were relaxing, Kong had his father under control, and Bing was doing his best to be a good, nonthreatening puppy dog.
