After leaving the laptop with Interpol, Chun Li drove towards a safe house that was a few miles away from her home. With her home in the state it was, and with the fact that Shadowloo would have probably returned to try and finish the job should they have stayed, it wasn’t really a good idea to return there. Besides, the police had sealed it as a crime scene.
“Good thing I got those guys to transport some of our clothes, huh?”
Cammy said nothing. She still stared out of the window, watching the streetlights and car lights blaze past without taking much notice of what object shone them. Chun Li noticed a distinct quietness about her, as if she was still in thought. It wasn’t the usually depression that Cammy had originally displayed, but it still gave her a feeling of unease.

“Don’t worry Cammy, we’ll be alright when we get there. I don’t think Shadowloo will go through all that trouble of trying to find us and kill us again, now that Interpol has us ‘under protection.’”
“It’s not that…”
“Then what is it…are you thinking about what Vega said?”
Cammy turned her head. “No, it’s just…when I saw you assault that guy, I…”
Chun Li smiled slightly. “I guess you saw my violent side, huh?”
“I…guess I did…I never really saw you like that before…I suppose it must be part of your work, right?”
“Not really…I guess I have Bison to thank for that.”
“Bison?”

“After Bison killed my father, I not only felt sorrow, I felt anger. Angry that there were people like Bison out there that would kill for any reason, even fun. Angry that innocent people would suffer, and that the people who tried to protect them would just become targets of the killers. In all honesty, I felt that the killers were the ones who deserved to die, and I swore that I would be the one to bring them that justice. I’ve grown up since then, made sure that I do not end up like the killers themselves, but some of that anger still lives inside me. I just want to make sure I only use it to protect my friends, so that they don’t end up like my father.”
“Have you killed anyone yourself.”
There was a long silence.
“I’m sorry, I guess I shouldn’t have asked…”
“Yes…several times…”
Chun Li spoke sombrely as she said this. Cammy rose slightly from her seat. “Really?”

“I’ve never killed anyone who I felt didn’t deserve to die. But I’ve never really had remorse about anyone who did die by my hands, after what they did. I guess that means I’m cold-hearted…”
Cammy smiled slightly. “No you’re not, not to me. After what you’ve done for me, I would never think that way about you.”
Chun Li smiled in return. “Thank you Cammy. That really means a lot to me.”
Cammy sat back in her seat facing the road ahead. “Is it okay to ask…what it was like?”
“I’ve never really thought about it much. I remember what it was like the first time I killed someone, back when I was working for the Hong Kong police. There was a report about an elderly woman seeing an abduction take place, a little girl that had been abducted, she was talking to some guy in a white van. A sweet faced little girl, just learning the ABC’s. I happened to be patrolling the area where the abduction occurred, and I noticed the corner of a white van matching the description. The driver had backed it in, the sort of thing a carpenter or plumber might do. Or a man moving a small resisting body.”

“What did you do?” asked Cammy.
“I walked out and inspected the van, making sure not to make any noise. The interior was almost empty apart from a spare tire, jack…and a roll of duct tape. I called for backup when I told them I’d knock on the guy’s door and was told they’d be ten minutes away. Then I heard the scream. It was a woman’s scream, and something went click inside my head.’
‘I pulled out my gun and moved quickly to the front door without making any noise, and noticed it was unlocked. I felt I had enough reason to enter the house and crept in quietly. As I walked past the bathroom, I saw her.’
‘I remember what I saw clearly to this day. The little girl was in the bathtub, naked, her china blue eyes wide open, and her throat cut from ear to ear, with a whole body’s supply of blood covering her flat chest and the sides of the tub. So violently had the neck been slashed that it lay open like a second mouth…”

Cammy said nothing, but Chun Li knew she was shocked. Not so much by the description of that awful image but as to the fact that it had happened.
“All I could think about was that the man who had done it was only a few feet away. There was the noise of a television nearby. I didn’t even stop to think that the man could’ve had a friend with him. I edged forward and saw him, watching a horror movie, which was possibly where the scream came from. There was a butcher’s knife covered in blood in front of him and he wore a t-shirt sprayed with blood. From a little girl’s throat.’
‘I nearly lost it then. I stepped forward aiming my gun at his head. If I hadn’t knocked into a table and shattered a glass vase on the floor, I probably would’ve killed him with a shot to the head, which would’ve been murder. His reaction was more instinctive than reasoned. He grabbed the knife and rose to his feet. But he never made it.’

‘One of the things taught amongst police is that a man with a knife in his hands less than twenty-one feet away is an immediate and lethal threat. So I did what had to be done. I shot him.”
Cammy looked at her, attention focused squarely on hearing what had happened.
“I shot him three times, two in the chest, one in the shoulder. When I finally focused on what happened, I saw the guy sprawled on the floor, without speaking a word or crying in pain. My next reaction was to check all the other rooms. They were empty.’
‘When another officer, a sergeant, arrived, he asked me what had happened. I told him. He looked at me sceptically but then saw the image in the bathroom. There and then, he congratulated me, and the death was regarded as self-defence.’

‘The only thing I ever regretted was that I was too slow to save that little girl. I never regretted killing that man, even though it was officially self-defence. I received praise from the higher ups, but above all, I received thanks from the girl’s parents for avenging her. That made me feel that it was all worthwhile.’
‘A couple of years later, I was made a detective in the homicide division. There was another kidnapping case that I became involved in. I’d seen what he’d done to two of his victims—little boys—and you know what I felt?”
“What?”
“I didn’t want some psychiatrist telling the jury that he was the victim of an adverse childhood, and that it really wasn’t his fault, and all that &$*£ that you heard in court, where the only thing the jury sees are the pictures, and maybe not even them if the defense can persuade the judge that they’re overly inflammatory. So you know what happened? I got to be the law. I didn’t enforce the law, or write the law, or explain the law, I got to be the law. An avenging sword. And it felt good.”
Cammy was stunned, she never really expected to see this side of Chun Li, and wondered what to make of it.
“How did you know…?” she began to ask.
“How did I know he was our guy? He kept souvenirs. Heads. There were eight of them there in his house trailer. So, no, there wasn’t any doubt at all in my mind. There was a knife nearby, and I told him to pick it up, and he did, and I put four rounds in his chest from a range of ten feet.’
‘I’ve never had a moment’s regret. Not many people know that story, not even my friends. Now you know some of the darker moments in my life. As hard as killing may be, it’s one of those things that will get easier the more I do it. I just have to know when to control my anger and when I know if it is necessary. If you think bad of me now because of what I’ve said, you can tell me, I won’t hold it against you.”
Cammy said nothing. She simply reached her hand over and touched Chun Li on the shoulder, smiling. Chun Li smiled and held Cammy’s hand gently.
“You’re my friend, Chun Li. I won’t ever think anything bad about you.”
“Thank you.”

One week later…
“So, what satellite photos do we have of the facility?”
The meeting with the USAF had been going on for a few hours now. Chun Li sat down next to one of the senior officers, a large, muscular man that Chun Li was familiar with, but never really spoke to before. The file read him as Major William F. Guile. She was amazed they were able to make a formal military uniform to fit a man that size. The file read that he was not really one to follow military dress sense, but he obviously didn’t have any say in the matter for a meeting such as this. The Air-force obviously wanted him to make an impression. He was after all the one who would lead the squadron that would make any aerial attacks on Shadowloo if and when it was necessary.

So far it was going well. They’d managed to agree on the terms of the alliance and the different roles the organization would play. Interpol led the investigative side. With the help of intelligence agencies such as CIA, Interpol was to track down and locate any Shadowloo training camps, drug fields and other assets that were vital to Shadowloo’s operations, as well as arrest (or kill if necessary) and Shadowloo operatives. Once they had acquired the targets, it would be the Air Force’s job to destroy them. Guile would be leading any attacks that the USAF launched against Shadowloo.
Right now, they were trading information on what they had gathered so far, most importantly, the discovery of the Shadowloo assassin training camp that was obtained by Chun Li.

“Right now, one of our GPS ‘Dark Star’ drones are hovering over the compound. The images are being transmitted to communication satellites and are being distributed to us from Fort Belvoir. We’re uploading the image right now.”
The Internet-Explorer window on the computer that was transmitting to a projection screen displayed the image of the compound onto the screen. Two images showed up, one displayed in a light grey glow, and one displayed in multiple single-tone colours. As the drone was flying at night, the colour images displayed heat readings of the compound, instead of heat readings of the desert floor.
“So far, Grace is displaying two images, night-vision and thermal. We’ve managed to point out several features of the outside of the compound, the inside has too many layers to display any information.”
“Grace?” Chun Li asked in a whisper to Guile.
“Grace Kelly. We named those drones after movie stars. The Dark Star is an unmanned aerial vehicle, a reconnaissance drone used to collect tactical intelligence.”
“And Shadowloo hasn’t picked them off with missiles yet?”
“They’re stealth-drones. They can’t be picked up on radar.”
Chun Li didn’t reply, but simply smiled with a small chuckle.

The Colonel pointed out locations of important features. The compound’s entrances, including the front door and a small entrance bunker on the top of the mountain the compound was built in. The bunker was surrounded by four SAM sites, and there were two more SAM sites near the main entrance, as well as a perimeter fence encasing a small barracks.
“With those SAM sites located, it will be difficult to conduct an aerial bombardment without sustaining casualties. Not only that, but Shadowloo soldiers will have Stinger weapons to back them up. A bombardment from the air is impossible without the removal of those sites.”
“What do you suggest?” One of the air-force generals asked.
“We have a SEAL team on loan from the Navy for this task. They will drop into the site, disable the SAMs on the outside and then keep the doors open for the bombs to drop in from above. That should take out the base.”
“And what about inside the compound?”
That question came from Chun Li. Several people turned their heads to see her sit with her arm raised. The heads of both organisations shuffled nervously.
“There won’t be any need to enter the compound itself, ma’am. The bombs should destroy the target efficiently enough once the SAMs are neutralized.”
“With all due respect sir, I disagree…”

“Chun Li…”, said the head of Chun Li’s Interpol division.
“Sir, I know I’m a detective and not a military soldier, but surely we have a better use for this compound instead of simply blowing it up. Bison doesn’t care about the resources he has, as long as he uses them to achieve his objectives. If we simply destroy this compound, what’s to stop him from simply building another one. Shadowloo certainly have the resources available to do this.”
“Ma’am, I’m sure we will have the ability to detect any new bases that appear…”
“That’s just it, you don’t! We’ve never been able to stop Shadowloo from building these facilities because we don’t know how their global organization operates. That compound is one of Shadowloo’s important facilities. Surely we should be able to extract a substantial amount of information from that compound that we could use against them?”
“Miss Li, how exactly do you propose that we do this? We do not know nearly enough about Shadowloo’s abilities as you do. Once they go inside, communication between us and the Seals would be cut off. How exactly would they be able to cope with that situation to complete that objective?”
”Sir, I could go with them. I’m the best operative with the knowledge and experience necessary to be able to help your men acquire the necessary information.”

“Rediculous, you expect me to place a simple policewoman amongst a group of experienced soldiers?”
“I won’t get in anyone’s way, sir. I know how to handle a situation such as this, both as a solo operative and as part of a team. I’m sure we’ll be able to enter the building and disrupt the SAM sites from the inside as well as extract any important information from the main computer before your bombers destroy the place.”
“Is that the only reason, you want to do this, Miss Li? Or are you more concerned about those assassins, like that friend of yours? You do remember what people like her have done, right?”
Chun Li turned her head in anger at the general who spoke. “Let me tell you something, sir, those assassins did not become what they are by their own choice. They were brainwashed, just like Cammy was, they were made that way against their own will. Cammy’s making a full recovery, and I’m sure she will no longer be a threat to us. If we rescue them, I’m sure we can help them just like I helped her.”
“Your concern is touching, Miss Li, but right now, we cannot afford to send people into danger to rescue a potential threat.”
“But sir…!”
“That is enough Detective Li. You may leave now.”
Chun Li said nothing. She simply stood up and left, anger clearly shown on her face.
Once she had left, Guile stood up.
“Sir, with all due respect, I agree with the detective…”

Sitting in the Interpol offices while the meeting took place, Cammy felt unclean.
It had nothing to do with her physical state, though she could have used a long rest and a bath. She had settled, instead, for a quick shower after she woke up early that morning.
The feeling she had was the result of the fact that she herself was one of the very agents of the syndicate that the JIA agreement was created to destroy. Though she hadn't been able to control herself, she was still responsible for bloodshed. But she wasn’t the only one, there were dozens of people like her, people who had their minds wiped out to become the mindless killers that they had turned into. And although she had recovered, it was heartbreaking to feel that she would be the only one. She hoped that Chun Li would try and convince her superiors that the other assassins had a chance as well.
If not, Cammy wasn’t sure how she would take it…
She looked up and saw Chun Li walk out of the room, anger clearly visible on her face.
“What happened.”
”Cammy, I’m so sorry. I don’t know if we’ll be able to save anyone else…”
“No…”

It had been several minutes as they waited outside the meeting room. Finally, the door opened, and the Interpol chief stepped out.
“You were out of line there, detective.”
“Sir, I simply tried to…”
“Miss Li, we are trying to organize an alliance that could very well help our fight against Shadowloo. Are you trying to cause arguments amongst ourselves before this alliance has even started?”
“No Sir, I was…” she hung her head in shame.
“Good. Because were it not for Major Guile, you would have lost any chance we would’ve had for maximizing the benefit of this operation.”
“Major Guile?”
”He seemed to be quite impressed with you. He’s managed to convince his superiors to go along with your plan. Get your equipment ready, detective, you’re going to Malaysia.”
Cammy looked at Chun Li with a grin. Chun Li simply sat down, stunned…