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“We all know why,” sighed Thao. “The question is what does he want us to do about it.”
“I hear you’ve been quite busy already, Tanya!” exclaimed Sanyam. “Didn’t you and Michael already decide to blow up a few walls? Good for you!”
“They pissed us off, we sent a warning,” scoffed the woman with her strong Russian accent. “King and I do get along when times call for it...”
“That’s cold, Tanya.”
They turned their heads. Michael King had arrived, with his own party of two men and one woman. The Zebra was very different from what Eden had imagined, but she immediately realized where his name had come from. He had random patches of white skin all over his naturally brown skin color. She had never seen it before, and she realized she was staring a second too late. Michael King felt her stare and glanced at her. However, he simply smiled gently at her and turned to the rest of the Zodiacs with that same smile on. Eden was intrigued. If he was named the Zebra because of this, did his predecessor have the same characteristic? She vaguely remembered he had taken after his father... unless this was only a coincidence? Other than his unique skin, he looked like a very average young man, wearing his glasses, a blue shirt, and his hair and beard perfectly shaped. He was probably one of the youngest Zodiacs in the room, perhaps around Dante’s age, unless she was mistaken by his appearance. Yet, he casually walked to the table and picked the chair next to the Dragon’s, the one on his left.
“Good day, everyone,” he said politely. “How have you been?”
“Try the wine!” exclaimed Sanyam with a large smile. “It’s great!”
“Thank you, Sanyam, but I don’t drink. I’ll have a bit of that rice, though, thank you, I’m starving and I have never had the chance to eat here...”
Eden was a bit stunned. She had expected a room full of mafiosos ready to murder each other, not all of them politely chatting around a meal like some corporate business lunch... This was most likely a facade for them all, though. None of them wanted to be the one acting scared, or ready to pull out a gun. Instead, all the Zodiacs were cordial to each other, friendly even for some, while their bodyguards were left behind to all glare at each other. Eden could almost gauge their skills from the way they stood, how they showed their tension, and how much they glared. Each Zodiac had brought up to five people, most of them only three, but there was such a large space between the table they sat at and their respective bodyguards, it felt like they were just some mismatched crowd in the background.
“We’re only missing Joaquin now!” exclaimed Sanyam with his loud laugh.
“No one is missing that crazy punk,” grunted Tanya, before biting a large piece of meat.
“He’s on his way,” suddenly said A., his voice so low Eden barely heard him.
Tanya grimaced but didn’t add anything.
Suddenly, a knock was heard, but from the opposite side of the room this time. All of the Zodiacs turned their heads and went completely silent. Double doors were opened, and a very old man stepped in. He walked with the help of a cane, and a young lady wearing a green cheongsam. The atmosphere of the room had changed in the blink of an eye, and Eden felt Rolf and Circé straighten up next to her. She could feel it too. The Dragon didn’t own his name by chance. Despite looking very old, the leader of the Chinese triad couldn’t be taken lightly. His small, dark eyes were circling the room, spending a second staring at each of his peers. They were all staring back, none of them shying away from it. It felt like they also considered him like the elder, and perhaps some sort of spiritual leader among them. The best proof was that they were all here and abiding by the rules he had set. Eden tried to breathe, but she felt like any sound could be heard right now, even the smallest movement.
“Welcome,” he finally said, with a surprisingly clear voice.
No one answered, and he didn’t seem to expect them to. His eyes lingered a second on the empty seats, and the young lady pulled out his chair for him, helping him to sit. All the Zodiacs seemed a bit tense, waiting for him to speak up. However, the Dragon was clearly in no hurry. He waited for the young woman to pour him a glass of wine, and took a sip before putting it down, then taking another look around the table.
“I see most of you came,” he said.
His tone was like a classroom teacher giving a compliment to his most rebellious students. Eden glanced at Dante, but the Tiger was still in the exact same position, his expressionless golden eyes on the old Dragon.
“Wooo, sounds like a fun party in there,” chuckled Loir’s voice in her ear.
Eden tried to repress her rolling-eyes reflex and ignore the hacker, who wasn’t missing a second of this. He couldn’t see what was going on, but no doubt he was listening to all of it through her SIN. Eden was a bit glad to have him on board too, for she always felt a bit safer knowing Loir could help if needed. Even now, she could hear him playing around on his keyboards as if he was right next to her.
“This place is so old-fashioned, my poor Kitty,” he grunted. “Their security tech isn’t even fun enough for me to play around with! That old geezer... They literally have zero circuits available in the Dark Reality, what am I supposed to play around with?! Ah, so not fun... Please tell me you’ll bring me back some food at least. I am starving and bored, it’s the worst!”
She let out a faint sigh. She had expected this much from what she could see in the building... The old Dragon was smart. He had given up on modern technology and preferred the older methods, which were about as efficient in this day and age. At least, enough to keep hackers at bay.
“Everything is electric, the best I could do is a complete black-out,” sighed Loir. “I don’t want all of Chinatown on my scrawny butt!”
She hoped there really wouldn’t be any need for that. Aside from Dante, a black-out would help no one here. Plus, with the room configuration, he would most likely be taken in the crossfire if there was one... which was probably one of the reasons the Dragon didn’t mind gathering all of them around a round table without even checking for weapons. If one began to shoot, chances were high they would all die here.
“I see we are still missing a few guests,” said the Dragon, his eyes going to the empty seats once again.
“Joaquin is downstairs,” said A.
Eden realized he was probably tracking the Mexican Mafia Lord in real-time. She felt a bit more tense, imagining the Eagle on his way there... Among the Zodiac, he was probably the one she was most biased toward, mostly because he barely managed his territory and his men. Eden had only experienced a few territories, but the Eagle’s was the most violent one she knew.
Following the news, a ruckus was heard outside, and loud voices. Aside from the Zodiacs, who didn’t move nor react, all eyes went to the doors a second before they opened again.
“Good morning, friends!”
The Eagle wore a multi-colored shirt, black pants, and two very visible guns by his sides. The tension rose by a sensible inch in the room, and Eden moved her legs slightly to be ready for action.
