Chapter 425: Danny XVLV—Of Triads and Favors
The cold sweat of fear dotted prickled Dan’s skin as they entered that room in the farthest corners of the restaurant, followed by a gang of men. Gang had to be the most appropriate word, and he kicked himself for getting into a situation like this. But how could he have known? The woman had been in deep trouble, and he’d help her again in an instant. But that did little to help them right now.
When everyone filed into the room, someone closed the door, firmly, heavily. Dan gulped and he felt Alex press in next to him, at the other end of the room sat a wizened Chinese man, with long white mustaches and spectacle small glasses. He wore a dark formal suit, and smoked a long cigarette in an old fashioned holder. He said something in Chinese and a young man standing near Dan answered, they sounded serious, the old man sounded aggravated, something had to be done.
“Sir, we didn’t do anything wrong, we just tried to help the lady….”
“Be quiet!” One of the men in black snapped in perfect English and Dan cried out as something hard and thin whacked into the small of his back, doubling him forward. His eyes watered with pain fear and anger. “Do not speak unless spoken to; the Father of the Crimson Triad deserves respect not presumption!”
“Don’t hurt Danny!” Alex snapped and he shook his fist at the man who had hit him, only to be whacked by someone else. “OUCH!” Alex bent forward hugging himself.
“The same goes for you!” The man in black growled.
Eyes still
watering, Dan rubbed his back and squinted at the old man, and he nodded to
show him he would obey and would cause no more trouble. Triad! The Crimson
Triad! He had heard about this gang on the news, one of the oldest and most
powerful Asian Triad gangs in
Dan grimaced and looked at Alex, do they speak now? Alex shrugged, he didn’t know. Swallowing, he nodded. “Yes… Mr… Sir…uh… yes?”
“Yes?” the old man said, “Yes? You mean you do not know?” he chuckled. “You young people never know what you do these days hm?” His eyes crinkled, and for a moment Dan felt comforted, he looked so friendly. “Mei-Lin!”
A door opened to the right of the old man and the young woman who they’d rescued entered the room. Taken away from the dark alley, Dan could see how breathtakingly pretty she was, with her delicate frame and waist length sparkling black hair and besides himself he gasped. She smirked, and raised her eyebrows. “Yes Grandfather,” she said in English and Dan assumed for his and Alex’s benefit.
The old man looked at Dan and Alex but he turned to his granddaughter, Mei-Lin and spoke with her in Chinese. Neither of them looked at anyone else but each other and Dan looked at his hands, not feeling worried so much as he was curious and faintly bored. By the lilt in their voices, he could tell that the conversation had changed. The old man nodded and took an inhale of his cigarette. “Well then, from what my granddaughter says, she owe her honor to you young men.”
Alex sighed and Dan smiled, “Sir, we only did what any decent man woulda done. Really it was nothing.”
The old man narrowed his eyes. “You say my granddaughter is nothing?”
Oops!
“Now you did it!” Alex hissed.
“No I didn’t mean that!” Dan exclaimed. Wondering if punishment for disgracing his granddaughter would involve losing various important body parts or just his life completely, it didn’t do good for the food still digesting in his stomach. In fact now he felt completely nauseated.
“You are stupid!” The old man snapped, “A waste of time.”
“Talk to the other one,” Mei-Linn said in a calm voice, but soft as a child’s and silky as a kitten. Somewhere, deep inside, Dan could feel his senses tickled, he could feel his body warm in that way that had never left him since that time with Michele. He thought of Cecile, and felt ashamed. “He has more fire.”
Dan widened his eyes and looked at Alex who paled.
“I talk to you then!” the old man said. “First young men introduce yourselves. I want to know who I speak with.” His eyes glinted again, and he smiled with blackened teeth before closing his mouth.
“Well, I’m Alex, and this is Danny and we’re hockey players and we saw your granddaughter needed help so we….”
“I already know this!” the old man snipped. “I just wanted your names. Since my granddaughter insists that I mark your names down as friends.”
Friends of the Crimson Triad? Dan almost laughed, not that did sound funny.
“Oo in that
case my name is Alex Tanguay and I play for the Colorado Avalanche and I’m from
“Ooo French,” Mei-Lin grinned.
Alex
reddened. “…and this is my friend Danny Hinote and he also plays for the
Avalanche and he’s from
Jeezers Alex! Dan thought, just pour it all out for them. Sure it did sound nice to be on a “good list” when it came to something as mysterious and powerful as an Asian Triad, but did anyone really want to be on a list period with one of these groups? Did it mean they could possibly be recruited or required to witness or do things that they would be barred from ever talking about on pain of death?
The old man laughed his voice nasal and piercing with raucous glee. “See you are smart one, Alex, you like being on list with the most powerful Triad since the days of the Original Seven, but of course being monkey faced savage you would not know of the Original Seven but you can feel the importance yes? Ahahaha, yes, it is good to be a friend of ours, you have brought upon yourself a mighty and rare blessing.”
“Free food for a year?” Dan quipped, trying to lighten the mood but he only got a few sour looks, a few blank ones and a groan from Alex. He felt his cheeks flush and he shoved his hands into his pockets. Well that one fell flat.
The old man sniffed and looked at Alex. “The stupid one does speak truth. As a show of gratitude for protecting the virginity of…”
“GRANDPA!” Mei-Lin cried in horror losing her placid, pretty demeanor for an insulted, surprised one that made her look just like any young woman dealing with her family business that she’d rather not.
The old man chuckled, “Yes, well, favors are owed and many favors perhaps. I will allow you to choose your first now, name it within reason and you shall have it. And I say Alex picks favor for the both of you, because he will choose wisely.”
Danny looked at Alex and now he felt somewhat excited, this couldn’t be bad!
“Oo get us Rolex’s!” Alex exclaimed.
Mei-Lin laughed and the old man closed his eyes and chuckled. “Pang, Tan give these boys your watches!” Two of the men in black stepped forward, and not showing the slightest bit of reluctance, they began to unfasten their Rolex watches.
“Nooo!” Alex protested in that typical petulant way of his and Dan wanted to roll his eyes and kick him. “We want new ones!”
The old man grinned with his blackened teeth, “And new ones you shall have Alex Tan-gee of the Colorado Avalanche and Dan Hinote. You have taste, I like this, yes I like. And your names in our books will insure free dining from my establishment for as long as your names stay there, to make Dan Hinote the Stupid One happy.”
Danny had to grin. Free run of that menu, life was indeed good!
“Grand daughter, do you have anything else to say to your men before we let them go?”
Mei-Lin smiled and pointed to Alex, “I want him.”
“Jesus Christ!” Dan exclaimed.
“Oof!” Alex replied.
The old man narrowed his eyes. “You speak like a whore after you’re honor is saved? You cannot ‘have’ this man Alex Tan-gee.”
She crossed her arms. “I am not a whore, Grandfather, I want to marry him. He will take good care of me, and he’s cute and since he’s a hockey player I won’t have to worry about him wanting my money. I will die of sadness if I can’t have him.”
“AYE!” the old man threw his hands in the air, and Dan expected he’d just chide Mei-Lin and let them go. Instead he looked straight at Alex, seriously. “I make dying promise to her parents as they lad riddled with bullet on sidewalk that I would do Mei-Lin’s wishes to make her happy as long as they are honorable. I cannot break this vow, if she want to marry you Alex Tan-gee then she shall, you would not break this vow of mine would you? You are now in the books of the Crimson Triad and therefore bound to the family wishes, upon pain of death!”
Oh I knew it was too good to be true! Dan groaned inwardly.
“Noo I won’t marry you!” Alex exclaimed with righteous indignation. “I hardly even know you, what if we don’t like each other.”
“We’ll get past it,” Mei-Lin purred.
“Would you condemn you and your friend to a most painful trip to the meat locker?” The old man pointed out.
Dan had a feeling Alex most certainly would and he spoke before Alex could. “No Alex can’t marry your grand daughter because…” his heart stopped, “Because he’s gay and so am I and… and we’re gay together!”
Everyone in the room reacted in some way, whether it was a snort, a gasp, a choke or a laugh. Alex did some of all. “Gay!” he recovered quickly. “Gay I’m gay.”
Danny nodded, grateful Alex had caught onto that. He pressed into Tangs and put his arm over his shoulder. “We’re gay!”
“We have the sex!” Alex nodded. “All the time we can’t have enough.”
“Mm-mmm blow jobs!” Dan added.
“You’re not gay!” Mei-Lin sneered, but she didn’t sound cruel, only amused.
“Gay?” the old man asked. “Gay. What?”
Mei-Lin conversed with him in Chinese, presumably explaining to her grandfather this whole business of gay. The man’s eyes widened and he gasped, “Aye-yah. I do not think we’ve had ‘the gay’ on our books before. This is new.”
Mei-Lin laughed. “You still don’t grandpa, they’re not gay. Alex just doesn’t want to marry me.” She winked and Danny began to wonder if she actually did want to marry Alex after all or if she were just teasing everyone.
“Oh we’re gay,” Dan said, “Totally gay.”
“Really?” Mei-Lin said softly.
“Yup,” Tanguay replied.
Mei-Lin laughed when her grandfather spoke to her in Chinese, with a request. She grinned. “Alex,” she said, “My grandfather wants to see the two of you kiss, and really kiss just to prove you two are gay. If he’s convinced then the both of you can go free and no one has to marry me.” Yeah she looked as if she were having a lot of fun.
Dan’s stomach skipped, how the hell was he gonna pull this off? Poor Alex, he was so high strung he probably couldn’t even begin to fake... Dan jumped and looked in surprise as Alex took a small canister of breath spray and squirted it into his mouth. “All right Danny, pucker up!”