The Cantonesia Caper [Bauhinia Legacy Series, Book 4.0]

Epilogue

Five years later...

Amelia Yeung and Elise Lau were on the run.

The security guards at the National Museum of History in Cantonesia were no match for the notorious vigilantes. The duo sprinted to the edge of the hallway and bolted down the stairs like lightning. Their black jumpsuits were a blur as they continued to descend the stairs at top speed.

"There will be more guards waiting for us at the bottom," Amelia said as she furrowed her brows.

Elise simply nodded, her expression unreadable behind her white face mask. "Get your shield and your blaster."

"Why wouldn't I? Those are our default weapons—and the shield is mandatory," Amelia muttered breathlessly, her voice muffled by her black mask. She jumped over the last three steps and landed silently on the ground floor.

It was the perfect timing. Five guards advanced toward the duo, gaining curious looks from civilians passing through the museum's front doors. Amelia knew there would be reinforcements, but she couldn't let the guards continue to outnumber her and Elise.

"Deploy the shields!" Amelia shouted to Elise. The pair slapped the black wristwatches on their left arms, and two pink force fields bounced out of the device. The magnetic forces enclosed the five guards and the duo inside a pink bubble, and Elise began to advance toward them.

Ah Kan, the weapons expert of the Bauhinias, had spent over a year perfecting the design of the protective shields before Elise and Amelia's five-year expedition all over China. The magnetic forces would ensure no weapons could travel through the enclosed space and not hurt anyone innocent. Amelia and Elise tried their best to leave their opponents as unscathed as possible. The women had returned all but one of the artifacts the former Governor Lau had stolen.

It didn't mean the Bauhinias didn't need to tread lightly, though—Darling had become the Governess of Cantonesia. Amelia had considered moving the Bauhinias' headquarters to Shanghai to evade her former friend's watchful eye, but Cantonesia was home. She wouldn't leave it for the world. Besides, it would take time for the organization to become accustomed to another city—after all, they'd been in the south side of China for almost a hundred years.

Elise kicked one of the guards in the stomach and punched another one on her left. Amelia shot a tranquilizer blast toward the two women, and they instantly fell to the floor. The white blaster (shaped like an electric shaver) was another weapon that Ah Kan had painstakingly designed, and the Bauhinias were forever indebted to him.

Amelia took aim and fired two more blasts to her right, and they collapsed with a groan. The last guard held a pistol in his hand and stepped toward them menacingly. Amelia and Elise aimed their blasters at the man.

"Surrender, or I'll shoot—" the guard began, but Amelia and Elise were faster. They shot a tranquilizer blast at the guard simultaneously, then ducked and rolled sideways in sync. The man shot a bullet toward the top of the shield before crumbling to the floor, but the shell dissolved as it touched the pink magnetic field.

Amelia glanced at the five guards sprawled on the floor, then at the gaping civilians, and nonchalantly tapped her watch. The shield dissolved into a bauhinia and zoomed into the device. 

Then, the pair pulled their hoods over their shoulders and ran behind a wall. Amelia opened the door to the storage cabinet and ushered Elise inside.

"Are the uniforms inside?" Elise whispered in the darkness.

Amelia turned on the light with a snap of her fingers and gestured to the blue pile above the sink.

Three minutes later, two unsuspecting janitors wheeled a cleaning cart out of the storage. They took the elevator up to the fifth floor and disappeared inside another room near the staircases to the roof. A few moments passed, and two women emerged from the room and traipsed down the stairs.