The three Ong brothers were waiting (rather impatiently) at the vast lobby of the Hotel Chalcedon. Their visitors were supposed to arrive an hour-and-a-half ago. Linus was pacing in circles, grumbling. Cyrus was fidgeting in his seat. Only Maximilian, also seated, seemed to keep calm but in reality he was losing his patience with the wait; a lot of ash had already piled up in the ashtray and he had lighted another cigar.
"Just how many of those have you burned up already?" Cyrus asked. Maximilian had acquired his smoking habit from their father but, unlike him, chose cigars instead of cigarettes.
The Hotel Chalcedon was a five-star hotel owned by the Zhang Group, a member of the EOGC. The Zhang Group was headed by Oliver Zhang, the Cardinal's younger brother. Both Oliver's sons, Paul and Andrew, worked there as management-level officers.
Maximilian glanced at his cigar case. There were only three left. "Want one?" he asked, holding the case out to Cyrus. The latter waved it away and shook his head.
"Want another coffee?" asked Maximilian.
"Nah," replied Cyrus. "One more and I'll get insomnia."
"We've been here for almost two hours and Laurie's been calling me for the past thirty minutes!" Linus exclaimed. Laurie was his girlfriend.
"Just who the hell was it who was sent to the airport to pick them up?" wondered Maximilian.
Presently, Cyrus' cell phone vibrated. It was a text message. "Alright," he said. They're here."
"Finally," muttered Maximilian, rising.
"I'll go bring them in," said Cyrus. He rose and made off to the door.
At first, it was just vehicles of the other guests passing by. Suddenly, an EOGC passenger van moving very erratically -at high speed in a busy street- blundered its way to the hotel entrance, coming to an abrupt stop in front of Cyrus. It narrowly missed him by six inches.
Cyrus froze. Who the heck is this maniac? he thought. He could have killed me!
"Sorry, Mr. Ong," mumbled the driver, who scampered out of the drivers seat and was now cringing in front of him.
Out of the van stepped Petrov, Hayashi and Onodera.
"What's wrong with you?" Onodera said to the driver. "Are you from Afghanistan?"
Anselmo stepped back, his arms raised over his head and whimpering.
Cyrus noticed a sadistic smirk on Petrov's face. "Stop picking on him," he said to Onodera, realizing that Petrov was behind this.
Anslemo hid himself behind Cyrus as the latter went on, "my brothers are waiting inside. Let's all go in."
Turning to Anselmo, he said, "Be back here by eleven o'clock."
Anselmo became paler than a corpse.
"My brothers and I didn't bring our cars, so you're going to bring us back," Cyrus finished.
Anselmo breathed a sigh of relief. On weekdays, the brothers lived separately from their parents and sister. It was only on weekends that they stayed at Ong Manor. Maximilian lived in an condominium in downtown Cagayan while Cyrus, in a villa in Pueblo de Oro, and Linus made his abode in a beach house in Opol and was a neighbor of Leon.
As Cyrus watched Anselmo get back in the van and drive happily away, he followed the three officers into the building.
"Just who the hell was it who was sent to the airport to pick them up?" wondered Maximilian.
Presently, Cyrus' cell phone vibrated. It was a text message. "Alright," he said. They're here."
"Finally," muttered Maximilian, rising.
"I'll go bring them in," said Cyrus. He rose and made off to the door.
At first, it was just vehicles of the other guests passing by. Suddenly, an EOGC passenger van moving very erratically -at high speed in a busy street- blundered its way to the hotel entrance, coming to an abrupt stop in front of Cyrus. It narrowly missed him by six inches.
Cyrus froze. Who the heck is this maniac? he thought. He could have killed me!
"Sorry, Mr. Ong," mumbled the driver, who scampered out of the drivers seat and was now cringing in front of him.
Out of the van stepped Petrov, Hayashi and Onodera.
"What's wrong with you?" Onodera said to the driver. "Are you from Afghanistan?"
Anselmo stepped back, his arms raised over his head and whimpering.
Cyrus noticed a sadistic smirk on Petrov's face. "Stop picking on him," he said to Onodera, realizing that Petrov was behind this.
Anslemo hid himself behind Cyrus as the latter went on, "my brothers are waiting inside. Let's all go in."
Turning to Anselmo, he said, "Be back here by eleven o'clock."
Anselmo became paler than a corpse.
"My brothers and I didn't bring our cars, so you're going to bring us back," Cyrus finished.
Anselmo breathed a sigh of relief. On weekdays, the brothers lived separately from their parents and sister. It was only on weekends that they stayed at Ong Manor. Maximilian lived in an condominium in downtown Cagayan while Cyrus, in a villa in Pueblo de Oro, and Linus made his abode in a beach house in Opol and was a neighbor of Leon.
As Cyrus watched Anselmo get back in the van and drive happily away, he followed the three officers into the building.
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