Part 28 (1/2)
”I can see you're very impatient tonight. I shall take you to see Elena,” Tsung grinned, displaying his grizzly yellow teeth.
”I'm sure you will.”
”Man, you don't need to jam that thing so hard into my back,” Cairo moaned, cursing the other Triad guard.
”The Black Devil cost me a lot of money in the fighting pits,” the gangster replied.
”Not my fault you made a dumb bet.”
At the end of the kitchen, there was another door.
Nathan was standing in front of it.
”Everything's going according to plan,” he said.
”Who's plan?” I asked. ”And are the guns really necessary?”
Nathan smiled. ”Authenticity is important. Otherwise, she may grow suspicious.”
”I'm growing suspicious,” I pointed out.
”You don't trust me?”
”No.”
Nathan laughed. ”I wouldn't trust me either.”
”If you backstab us, I'm going to eat your heart with a spoon,” Cairo cursed, which elicited nothing more than a shrug from Nathan.
”Well, there's only one way to find out now, isn't there.” He opened the door and gestured for us to enter.
It was another room, a private dining room from the looks of it. The walls were adorned with bright red wallpaper, symbolizing wealth for the Chinese.
It reminded me of the pools of blood, flowing out of my parent's dead bodies.
We were concealed behind an onyx room divider, ivory white storks decorating it. On the other side of the divider, I heard Elena having a one-sided conversation. She was on the phone with someone.
”He'll be here any second now,” she said, in a sweet voice laced with silk.
Was that Calisto on the other end?
”The big dumb mule is with him...No Lincoln and no Golden Virgin from what I can tell...Can I scratch him just a little?...He called me a wh.o.r.e in front of everyone...I am not...b.i.t.c.h, please... Fine, I'll handle it...Bye.”
Silence followed.
”Shall we?” Nathan asked, just as the conversation ended.
Before I could reply, Tsung pushed me forward, revealing us to Elena.
It was only her in the room. None of her men were in sight, which was a good sign.
She sat in front of a large circular table, plates of steaming food laid out before her. My stomach rumbled from the wonderful smells of the barbecued pork, baked fresh fish, crisp duck, and steaming hot pots.
Elena leaned back in her chair and grinned at the sight of me. ”Shadow,” she said with a smug look on her face. ”You look like s.h.i.+t.”
”And you still look like a wh.o.r.e,” I replied. Nathan gestured for me to take a seat at the table, which I did.
”I hope the food is prepared to your liking,” Nathan said. ”Only the finest dishes were cooked. Tonight is a special night with the old society meeting the new.”
”Cut the c.r.a.p Nathan,” Elena said.
”I agree,” I replied, my eyes remaining fixated on Elena.
Nathan sighed. ”Very well. I imagine there's a lot for the two of you to discuss. I shall be waiting outside with my men, when you are finished.”
He motioned for Tsung to head back into the kitchen, and then pointed a gun at Cairo. ”Let's leave these two alone, shall we Black Devil?”
”Suck on a d.i.c.k,” he spat, his eyes lit ablaze. He, no doubt, believed that we had been betrayed. I was sitting on the fence on this one. Nathan stood to gain far more financially siding with me than with Elena-unless it wasn't financial gain he was seeking.
Her p.u.s.s.y was the x-factor in all of this.
”Let's go,” Nathan said.
Cairo continued to mutter profanities all the way out room. Even when the door was closed behind them, I could still hear him.
We sat alone at the table, Elena and I.
”Are you going to eat?” I asked.
”No. Do you actually trust the food?”
I shook my head. ”It looks good though.”
”It does,” she replied, pausing. ”So Shadow, did you enjoy your time with the Golden Virgin?”
”It was wonderful. Thanks for asking.”
”You know, after Calisto told me about your brainwas.h.i.+ng, I understood why you didn't choose me that night.” Elena replied. ”But what I don't understand was why you needed to humiliate me in front of everyone. You took my dad's name and dragged it in the mud.”
I shrugged. ”Sorry,” I replied.
She looked at me and frowned while her eyes spewed venom. ”You always were an a.s.shole.”
”Where's Calisto?” I asked.
She laughed. ”You're kidding, right?”
”Where is she?” I repeated.
”You're unbelievable, Shadow. You're my prisoner, and you're trying to interrogate me?”