While the three friends continued to talk, Johnny was filling Ben and Max in on what happened in Shanghai.
"So we were right," Max said, shaking his head.
Johnny nodded, "Zhou Bin was hesitant to give me the details until I could guarantee him of his family's safety."
"Which you did, of course," Ben said, knowing the answer.
"Of course," Johnny replied, "The budget on this will be worth it though once you hear what that scumbag has been up to."
They were all sitting in Johnny's living room for the debrief and when those words were uttered it was as if they all decided it was time to settle in for a story as they all leaned back on their respective seats.
"Go on," Ben said with a tilt of his head.
Johnny started, "Apparently, Drakos did fall for our trap with Hybrid. By the way, we need to secure Garrett on his end of the bargain to make sure once more that he's not going to betray us to his buddy."
Both Ben and Max nodded. Max offered, "I'm happy to send him little message from us, with flowers, of course."
They weren't kidding about this. The next day, the CEO of Hybrid received a nice bouquet of wildflowers with an accompanying card. The card read, "Dear Mr. President, Thank you for your continued collaboration with us. We truly appreciate the type of ethical businessman you are and know your continued good reputation will serve this partnership well. We look forward to receiving another assurance, however, of the stability of our work together, especially given outside influences that may be at work currently. Please respond as soon as convenient." The card was not signed but the delivery person knew that they were to deliver the flowers directly to Garrett and to tell him (and only him) that they were from "Mr. Liu." This was a florist they had used before, and shop that was "one of their own."
Johnny continued, "Sounds good. As far as the black mail, it really was pretty straightforward. As I suspected, Drakos had a spy in their company. That's the only reason I was there for so long. I had to root him out and it took a while. You'll never guess who it was."
Ben shrugged, "I don't know but I bet it was family."
"You guessed it. Their uncle," Johnny confirmed. "How did you know?"
"I just now remembered a few months ago, Zhou Bin was complaining to me about some family member wanting to become the managing director of their smaller factory," Ben answered. "But I was told he was fairly incompetent, so they didn't want to put him in the position. I told him to keep an eye on that guy because when people like that feel like they've lost face, they tend to get ugly. Especially if they're incompetent."
Johnny nodded, "And that's exactly what happened. Where were you when we needed you a few days ago?"
Ben shrugged again, "Like I said, I only remembered just now."
Johnny shook his head as he continued, "Of course, this uncle doesn't know he's been found out, which works in all of our advantages."
"This just keeps getting more complicated every day it seems," Max said. "What a web we have to navigate."
"And that's why we have to be on our A game," Ben agreed. "Then what happened?," he asked Johnny.
He responded, "The rest was fairly textbook. The brothers don't know everything, of course, but they're willing to work with us. Drakos left the contract with them, but they said they needed to have their lawyer look at it. For some reason, Drakos agreed to that."
Ben scoffed, "He's cocky, that's why. He thinks he has the upper hand."
"Yup," Johnny nodded, "And that's what's going to bring him down. The Zhous are going to drag it out for as long as they can. I gave them a cell phone to use to contact us to keep us in the loop, so we know as soon as Drakos has had it with the stalling. But, that should buy us some time."
"Good," Ben said and then sighed. He leaned forward, pulling one hand through his hair. "Seems like we need to move up our timeline again, though." He turned to Max, "I think you need to go Greece to follow-up on that lead about Drakos, and also connect with Lykaios Consolidated. We need to secure them asap."
Max thought about it and then said, "I have an idea about that. As we know, Lucy is planning her trip and she mentioned Greece as a place she wants to go to…." He trailed off with an expression that indicated this was a perfect opportunity.
"I hate to use her like this, but it's too good to pass up," Ben said. "Still, I don't want her in danger."
"Of course," Max said as his brows came together to match his frown, "Neither do I. But, it's the exact cover we need to go over there."
Ben asked, "But we can't do this without telling her the truth."
Johnny shook his head, "I don't know, man. The more people we bring into this, the more likely things are to leak."
"We can trust Lucy," Max argued.
Ben agreed, "I think so too. We don't have to tell her everything. Just as much as she needs to make an informed decision."
"Are you going to tell Selene about this, then?," Johnny asked him.
He sighed, "Good question. Maybe we need to rethink this."
They spent a few minutes discussing it and decided to ask Selene about it first. Since she knew her friend the best, she would be the best to judge Lucy's character and potential willingness/ability to help.
When the meeting ended, Ben and Max headed back to Ben's place, while Johnny texted Peter to let him know he could stop by whenever he was ready.
Peter arrived at Johnny's a few minutes later and was welcomed inside. It was a little awkward at first with Johnny apologizing for not being dressed for their date yet. Peter said, "Oh please. You just got back from plane ride that took what, 50 hours or something crazy like that? No need to apologize. I'm just happy you could see me tonight."
Johnny said, "Of course, I wanted to see you," as he led him inside the house. Then he stopped and turned around to face Peter. "In fact, all I've wanted to do since I got back was this." He pulled Peter in for an embrace and lowered his lips so that they met in a jolt of hot energy.
Peter responded to the kiss with the same level of passion, indulging in the intoxication that came with Johnny's tongue inside his mouth. But then he quickly pulled away and said, "I guess that means you missed me?," Peter asked.
"I'd guess so," Johnny replied with a lopsided smile. He went in for another kiss, but Peter stopped him.
"Hey, don't you owe me a date?," he asked.
Johnny chuckled, "Yes, of course. But do you mind if we order in? I'm really tired." They started walking toward the living room.
"Sounds good to me," Peter answered.
When they entered the living room, Johnny asked, "Can I get you anything?"
"Just you," Peter flirted.
Johnny took that to mean something else and pulled him in for another kiss. "Anytime," he said as they broke for air.
"Why don't we order the food before we get carried away and it gets too late?," Peter suggested.
"Sounds reasonable," Johnny responded but could not hide his disappointment. "Anything in particular you in the mood for?"
They discussed it for a couple minutes and decided on Italian food. Once it was ordered, Peter said, "So tell me about your trip."
Johnny gave him a quizzical look and asked, "Is that really what you want to talk about right now?"
"Why not?," Peter responded with confusion. "I mean, I'm dying to know. I mean, now that I'm in the know, you know?" He laughed at his own joke, but Johnny just chuckled more in amusement at Peter's cuteness rather than the actual joke.
"First, why don't you tell me about what you've been up to the past few days," Johnny suggested.
After Peter told him about his days, Johnny filled him in on the bare bones of everything that happened in Shanghai. Then mentioned Max's idea about Lucy.
"She can 100% be trusted," Peter said without hesitation. "She may be tiny, but she has a backbone. I would trust her with my life."
"That's good to know," Johnny said with a nod.
Peter breathed out and continued, "Buut, I don't I want my friend to be put in harm's way. So I'm not sure about this plan."
"We don't want that either, naturally," Johnny countered with a little defensiveness.
Peter said, "I'm not saying you do. But, how dangerous would all this be anyway?"
"With Drakos, you never know," Johnny answered truthfully. "But, there would be sufficient security. Plus, the whole reason we'd be doing this would be so Drakos doesn't suspect anything is happening, which means he wouldn't try anything in the first place."
"Good point," Peter concurred. "Well, it's up to her, but if it were me, I'd do it."
Johnny gave a small smile and asked, "You'd do anything for Selene, huh?"
"And you," Peter said shyly, which surprised both of them because he was not usually shy like that. "Okay, sorry for the cringe just now. I can't believe I said that out loud."
Johnny chuckled, "No need to apologize. It was cute and I appreciate it." Just as he leaned in for a kiss, the doorbell rang.
It was the guard outside, with their food. Peter's heart was beating loudly in his head, and he was grateful for the reprieve.
They spent the next hour or so talking about various things to get to know each other better while they ate their dinner and drank some wine. They were both witty men, so they had several moments of humor and enjoyed each other's company. After dessert was finished, and the dishes put away in the dishwasher, Johnny asked, "Do you want some more wine?"
Peter considered but then answered, "I know it's not super late, but you did just get back from a long trip, so maybe it's best if I head back."
Johnny seemed surprised at first and then disappointed. "Are you sure?," he asked.
"I think it's best," he replied. "Maybe we can get together tomorrow?"
Johnny nodded and said with a smile, "Alright. I'll look forward to it." Then he walked with Peter back to the foyer.
Before they got to the door, Peter gave him a hug and said, "I had a lot of fun, thank you."
"I did too," Johnny said and then they shared a brief good night kiss before Peter left. Johnny would have preferred a longer one, but Peter was afraid of what it might lead to. He was having a hard time stopping himself. Much harder than ever before in the past and that scared him.
As soon as Peter got inside the elevator, he texted Selene, "Help! I'm done for."