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“Why?”
“A feeling.”
Eden frowned. She didn’t know how much she relied on Dante’s intuition, but the Tiger seemed rather relaxed... Moreover, she did notice no one tried to kill them on the way to Chicago’s Chinatown. They crossed each street without the shadow of a mafioso or sniper showing up, which surprised her. The Tiger’s cars were rather easily recognizable, but that day, the streets were unusually quiet, empty even.
She had been in that area several times, enough to know things were never that quiet. Was this really the Dragon’s influence? If the Zodiacs had all agreed to that meeting, it made sense no one would cause a ruckus on the way there. Instead, it was more likely they would brawl while leaving... which meant this was probably the calm before the storm. She sighed and leaned against Dante, who put an arm around her shoulders.
“...Are you going to be alright?” she asked. “The Dragon is...”
“He hated my father,” said Dante. “They could never see eye to eye on pretty much anything... but somehow, they both respected each other. They only wished they could overpower the other, although they never went against each other, and never met a second time after the Zodiac was created. They knew there was a need to keep the other alive. That’s why Long gave him the title of Tiger...”
“The Tiger?”
“The Dragon and the Tiger are the most powerful creatures amongst the Zodiac, like the Italian and Chinese Mafia are. They are also the only two animals of the Zodiac that don’t actually exist anymore... or never did. I guess the Old Man thought it was pretty ironic when he picked all the Zodiac’s names.”
Eden slowly nodded. She could easily see that happening. Indeed, it was known among the population of the Suburbs that the Chinese and Italian Mafias were the two longest-established organizations in a city that already had a long history with gangsters... Aside from the Yakuza perhaps, most of the others were small gangs who had emerged as a means to resist the Core’s strict regulation that made their populations outcasts. At first, things had been chaotic. Hundreds, if not, thousands of people pushed out of Chicago’s central area and labeled as criminals had caused restlessness and uncertainty among the population. Not only that, but the total lack of supervision from any form of authority, including the Core who simply rejected them, had left many people fearing for the future, leaving them to make extreme decisions. Hence, the Zodiac emerged. In the face of that reality, real criminals had become the rulers of those who were criminals in name only, and through fear, instated some sort of compromised system where everyone had to mind their own business and leave the others alone or be killed. A trial-free and expeditious system might have seemed extreme, but in the Suburbs, people had grown used to it. They hadn’t had a choice either. The Zodiacs were both their protectors and their executioners.
The cars finally parked in front of the large red door, symbolic of the Dragon’s Palace. Eden could already see the many, many cars gathered in front of the Dragon’s Palace. She was on edge all the way until Rolf parked, and the Italians all began coming out of the cars, unarmed. There must have been some rules passed along because even if the other mafiosos present glared at those newly arrived, no one moved or said a word. She let out a faint sigh.
Next to her, Dante smiled, his usual wry and scary business smile.
“Ready?” he asked, holding out his hand.
“...Ready.”
She took his hand, and they exited the car together.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Just like his men, Dante gathered the attention of the Zodiacs’ men already present. In fact, as soon as they stood outside of the car, pretty much all eyes were on them. With the bright sun above them and the large crowd of so many cars and people from different backgrounds gathered, the place looked like it was about to hold a festival of some sort. However, the action wasn’t bound to happen in that parking lot.
Eden turned around, facing the Dragon’s Palace. She had actually seen that place many times before, from afar, but never had she gotten so close. While she knew very little about Chinese architecture, this building was screaming Asian influence. It was a five-story building, the top three having been added in the last century. It had a yellow exterior with extra, decorative terracotta pieces, red clay roof tiles, and golden dragons guarding each large, red pillar. A completely different world from Dante’s thirties-inspired glass and marble lair…
The Tiger didn’t seem to have any intention to let go of her hand. After a quick glance around, he pulled her toward the building, Rolf walking ahead of them. Eden was trying to remind herself she was supposedly Dante’s bodyguard, but it didn’t seem like he cared much about that narrative anymore... Even Circé quickly followed along behind them, with a handful of Dante’s men. It looked like the others had instructions to remain on standby in the parking lot. She could only imagine all those henchmen would be glaring at each other for as long as the meeting would last...
The Dragon’s Palace had strangely very little modern security, and instead, several men were spread throughout the building. They were guided inside almost as if they had come to visit a museum or booked a table at a restaurant. Eden glanced around. This place felt completely different from the Red Temple. It was buzzing with people walking in and out freely, and she realized most of them weren’t even part of the Chinese gang. They were regular citizens coming here for different businesses...
“This place used to be owned by the Chinese Trade Lords,” explained Circé. “They established themselves almost two centuries ago and were mostly helping the new immigrants while protecting their local businesses here... Although, the Zodiac is the one who made it what it is today.”
Eden was indeed a bit curious about the strange crowd around them. Although there were a few guards here and there, they were not many compared to the number of people freely walking around. Was that why the Dragon wasn’t worried about the Zodiac bringing so many men in each? The place was already crowded, which meant this would easily become an all-out war in this building with such complex architecture already... She was at a bit of a loss but kept following Dante while looking around for threats.
They were definitely getting a lot of side glances, but nothing unusual for a Zodiac walking into another’s territory... The response was even a bit flat compared to the tension she had witnessed in the previous meeting between just four of them. Now, all nine of the remaining Zodiacs were to show up, and it looked like they were just going to have a casual lunch together in the middle of a busy indoor market... A Chinese man wearing a dark changshan showed up among the crowd, with long, black hair, and introduced himself as their guide with a bow and a polite smile. He led them to the upper floor, where things were already much quieter. Eden was starting to understand: the first two floors were most likely open to the public, but the three above had a very different atmosphere and layout. Eden could guess those had indeed been added recently, as there were more hints of technology, such as cameras and automated doors that opened in front of them. She estimated they had been scanned at least three times before their guide stepped aside in front of large doors.
“Our master is waiting for you behind that door,” he said with another bow.
Then, he opened the doors himself. At this point, Eden felt a lot more nervous. She had been tense ever since they had left the ground floor, and she couldn’t believe how easily they had been let in, but now, they were really about to meet all of the other Zodiacs. All of them... She pulled her hand from Dante’s grasp, not to hide their relationship, but to be prepared in case anything happened. The Tiger didn’t seem to mind, either. Putting his hands in his pockets with a detached expression, he stepped into the large square room first.
“Ah, here he comes! The prodigal son!” exclaimed a loud male voice.
Eden had expected a lot of things, but not this.
A large round table was in the middle of the room, an antique with dark, varnished wood and superbly sculpted ends. Around the table, Eden counted eleven chairs, in a similar style, with dark green cushions and large backs. Half of those chairs were filled already. Eden immediately recognized A., who barely glanced at them upon their entrance, as apathetic as last time, and Tanya, who was twirling a long glass between her fingers. Thao was present too, visibly sulking with her arms crossed and her feet on the table. The other people present were complete strangers, but it wasn’t hard to guess their respective positions and titles. First, the Ox. It was a man with a golden skin tone and a thin, black mustache, a lot of hair, middle-aged, and wearing a very casual outfit. If he hadn’t been seated at the table with the others, Eden wouldn’t have thought this man was possibly a Mafia Lord from the way he looked. The only possible clues were the pieces of gold jewelry around his neck and on his fingers, but she didn’t have a good eye for those things; he was also the one who had spoken upon Dante’s arrival and was smiling wide at them. Next to Tanya was another man, very slender and wearing a motley outfit that gave a somewhat religious feeling, with a rosary around his neck. He had his eyes closed and his chin on his joined hands, elbows on the table as if he was daydreaming. He was also bald and wore a simple earring, which briefly reminded her of Loir. Most likely Lecky, the Goat... since only the Zebra and the Eagle didn’t seem to be there yet. Eden glanced at the emptiest side of the table. One of the chairs had a golden dragon sculpture on it, clearly stating who was supposed to sit there. Dante sighed, and silently took one of the seats, the one right in front of him. It made him sit opposite Thao, and right next to Sanyam.
“Long time no see, Tiger,” chuckled the Rat with a snicker.
He ignored her, and Circé and Eden exchanged a look, stepping back. All of the Zodiacs’ guards were standing against the wall behind their master, at least a few steps away from the table, so they naturally did the same, following Rolf. Although the room was surprisingly animated, Eden felt the tension in the air. Half the Zodiacs present were completely still and silent, the others were casually chatting and eating. Dante chose to act like the first category, his arms crossed and waiting. The Dragon had yet to make his entrance, and in fact, Eden noticed the two seats right next to his had been deliberately left empty. All of the Zodiacs had chosen to sit together elsewhere around the table, leaving two empty seats, one on either side of the Dragon’s chair, and two more on the opposite side of the table. Even if the Zebra and Eagle came, it would leave two seats empty. She wondered if the Dragon had added more seats than necessary on purpose, to see who would dare sit next to him, or to judge their characters beforehand...
“So,” said Tanya, grabbing a piece of meat between her chopsticks, “what do you think that old Dragon called us for?”
