A Student of Internal Energy"The ambulance will be here soon," Kevin said as he slowly put away his phone.Officer Emmett looked at the six men lying on the asphalt, tied up with their own belts.Then she stared at Kevin and hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "Why are you here?"Kevin pointed to one of the men lying on the ground and explained, "This guy sold a seventeenth-century Dutch landscape to Anderson Antiques. I had my suspicions, so I followed him here."Officer Emmett believed him and didn't ask any more questions.After an awkward silence, Kevin asked her, "I keep running into you, but I still don't know your name."Most people just call me Officer Emmett," she replied quietly. Then she added, "Kelly Emmett."Kevin was surprised at this softer side that she was showing.Then Officer Emmett looked at Kevin with a serious expression and said, "Tell me honestly, who are you really?"Kevin didn't answer right away. He wasn't exactly sure what she meant.After thinking for a while, Officer Emmett rephrased her question, "What I mean is, what school of martial arts are you from?"Kevin was speechless. It sounded like she was talking about something from the movies."I'm sorry, I don't understand your question," he answered candidly."I know what I saw," Officer Emmett said seriously, "When you defeated these men, your moves looked spontaneous. But I saw something deeper in your movements. I've studied martial arts for years and I studied Eastern Philosophy in college. You're keeping something from me."Kevin really didn't know how to respond, "Officer Emmett, you stream a lot of kung fu movies in your off time, don't you?"Do you still want to play dumb?" she said sternly, "Didn't you take an oath not to let outsiders see you using your techniques?"I have no idea what you're talking about," he assured her. "I used to practice some Taekwondo when I was a kid. Everything I just did was entirely subconscious."Officer Emmett wasn't buying his explanation."So, you really think I'm mistaken?" she muttered to herself.She was so convinced that Kevin started to get curious."Officer Emmett, what did you mean by what you said earlier?" Kevin asked."Of course I'm talking about developing your inner power. Don't tell me you really don't know about this?" Officer Emmett stared at Kevin while they waited for help to arrive.She continued explaining to Kevin, "I've studied a few different martial arts. You saw me use them a little while ago. What's even more interesting to me is the study and development of life energy."A lot of people spend years working on this. You seem to be tapping into it without even trying. But you really should be careful. Without guidance, this can be very dangerous.""It's even more important to avoid getting the attention of the people who want to keep all this a secret."This sounds like a comic book or something. Are you kidding me?" Kevin asked in disbelief."Trust me. I'm deadly serious," Officer Emmett replied gravely."So, are you one of these people?" Kevin asked with a faint smile. "The ones who are into all this stuff?"Officer Emmett didn't answer Kevin's question right away.Her eyes were half closed, but she managed to talk some more, "There's a lot going on that the average person doesn't know about. And there are some very powerful people who have decided to put their energy into developing businesses, believe it or not. They've become wealthy entrepreneurs, and some of them have very powerful families." Her voice took on a very solemn tone and she took a deep breath. Even with all her training, the few pills that she'd taken were starting to make her sleepy.They heard sirens approaching. Help was just a few blocks away now.Kevin counted five or six police cars heading towards them."It looks like the cavalry is here," Kevin said with a smile. "Time for me to go.""Wait," Officer Emmett said as she struggled to stand up. But she was feeling too sleepy."You're safe and the grave robbery case has been solved. You know how to reach me if you need a statement. Do I really need to stay?" Kevin asked."I'm not asking you to make a statement, I'm asking you to take me home," Officer Emmett said slowly. She wasn't feeling much like talking anymore."Why me? Help just arrived. Don't you want to go with them?" Kevin asked in confusion."Don't worry about it. Can you please do this for me?" she asked quietly.She didn't want to admit to Kevin that she was embarrassed for letting the gang of robbers get the best of her. She'd never be able to live it down and it could undermine her authority at the precinct. "I guess I could take you home. Do you think you can walk?" Kevin asked her."Do you think you could carry me?" Emmett asked him. Her voice was barely audible.Kevin nodded and waited for the officers to arrive.Officer Emmett mustered enough strength to give them their orders so they could take the men to the station for processing. Kevin supported her as they walked slowly to her car, which was parked on the street above this underground loading dock. She wasn't very heavy, so nobody suspected just how much Kevin was actually helping her.*Kevin managed to get Officer Emmett home safely. He eased her into a recliner in her living room, then he sat down on the sofa and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He looked around and wondered out loud, "What's the average salary in the police department these days?"He knew that a house in this neighborhood cost at least a half a million. "My mom bought it for me," Officer Emmett said sleepily. She paused for a moment and then asked him, "I'm really curious. How did you get your strength? I could feel your power as you carried me in."Before Kevin could reply, she asked him, "If you haven't gotten it through any special training, did you have any help from someone?"Help?" Kevin frowned.He thought of the two pills Cook had given him. They were supposed to help him restore his strength. Maybe they did something more."What have those pills done to me?" Kevin wondered."If you don't want to tell me, I won't force you. But remember one thing, try not to let anyone see just how much power you have. Otherwise." Officer Emmett yawned and changed the subject, "Sit down and rest for a while. I'm a little tired."Then she closed her eyes and fell asleep."I can't believe she trusts me enough to let me in her home like this," Kevin thought to himself.Then he thought again about what Emmett had said. Kevin wondered about the two pills Cook had given him and he quickly took out his phone and called his friend.Cook answered in his deep voice, "Hi, Kevin. What's up?"Mitch, I want to know what was in those pills you gave me," Kevin said directly."Let me think about it. One of them was supposed to help boost your energy levels and the other was supposed to help with your focus," he replied. Then he asked, "Why are you suddenly asking me about this? Are you having a problem because of the pills?"No, don't worry, I'm fine!" Kevin smiled before adding, "Just curious. I'll let you get back to work!"Then he sent a quick text to his office to have his car dropped off around the corner from Officer Emmett's house. No explanations necessary. It's good to be the CEO, he thought.Kevin put his phone back in his pocket and looked back at Officer Emmett, who was sleeping soundly in her recliner. He sat back and looked around the room while he wondered what was going on in his body. His eyes fell on the top shelf of her bookcase. There were a lot of martial arts books, guides to natural health, but there were also a couple of old books with tattered spines.Kevin walked over and took them down. The first one he opened was a very old translation of an ancient book on training your qi, your inner power.He was surprised to find that it talked a lot about what Officer Emmett had been saying about training your internal energy. It was a quick read, maybe because of the recent improvement in his focus.Kevin put that book aside and flipped open another one. It talked about Yin and Yang, negative and positive energy, and harmony, as well as some ways to make natural medications.Kevin lost track of time and read throughout the night. When Officer Emmett woke up and saw that Kevin was still there, she immediately jumped up from her chair, "Why haven't you left yet?"Well, you asked me to bring you back here, and then you fell asleep. How could I let you sleep alone in the living room? What if those guys have accomplices and they want to harm you?" Kevin explained."Even so, it wasn't appropriate" she said, looking slightly embarrassed."It can be our little secret," Kevin said while leaning back on the sofa.He didn't look like someone who had been up all night. On the contrary, he looked very energetic.Kevin suddenly remembered the pills that Officer Emmett had been forced to swallow the day before and he asked her, with the concern showing in his voice, "How are you doing now?" "It was only a couple of them. I keep myself in pretty good shape, so I think I'm getting over it," she replied."I just wish I could have developed my internal energy more, like in those books you've been reading," she said as she nodded at the pile of old books that Kevin had taken down from her shelf."Oh, I'm sure it isn't all that hard," Kevin teased her.Officer Emmett raised an eyebrow. She felt that he didn't know just how long that kind of training can take."You wouldn't understand if I told you. Anyway, I think it's time for you to leave," she said impatiently, "I have to get to work."Kevin just sat there with a cryptic smile on his face ."Why aren't you leaving yet? Do you want me to call a squad car for you or something?" Her annoyance was starting to show."I've got something here and I hope it can help you," Kevin said as he slowly took a reddish-brown pill from his pocket.Last night, Kevin had followed the instructions in the book on alternative medicine to come up with something he thought could help Officer Emmett recover more quickly."Did you use one of the herbal recipes in that book? What's it supposed to do?" Officer Emmett asked. You could tell she had her doubts, but for some reason she trusted Kevin. She was tempted to try it.