Poo bowed to his students, and then made his way to his office in the back of the Mu Kwon Do training center. He entered his tightly cramped work space and sat down at his desk. He stared at the giant stacks of papers piled in front of him, and sighed. He rested his head on a pile of bills. As he put his head on his desk, the phone rang. With his head still resting on the desk, he grabbed the receiver and held it up to his ear.

"Hello," mumbled Poo, "Mu Kwon Do training center."

For several seconds, all Poo could hear was static. Then, a raspy voice spoke, almost inaudibly.

"Is this Poo?" asked the voice.

"Yes, this is him. May I help you?"

"Yes. Yes, I think you can," the voice said eagerly. "I suspose you know who Ness is."

"Yeah, I know Ness," replied Poo. "He's a good buddy of mine. Why?"

"Well," the voice paused. "I have a small proposition to make."

"What's that?" asked Poo, suspiciously.

"Well, if you want to see your 'good buddy' again, meet me in the lobby of the Fourside hotel at two o'clock tomorrow. I'll be waiting."

With that, the line went dead, and all Poo heard was dial tone. He hung up the receiver and stared in front of him at the Sword of Kings hanging on the wall. He wondered what exactly just happened, and, what exactly he was going to do. He decided that he would go to the Fourside hotel tomorrow. Poo got up from his desk, shut off the light, and walked out the office door. He turned to lock the door, and then paused. He went back inside and walked to the Sword of Kings hanging on the wall.

"I'd better take this. Just in case," he said to himself.

He locked the door, walked to the front of the training center, turned off the main lights, and stepped outside. He locked the front door and walked toward his home, preparing himself for the next day.
TO BE CONTINUED...