Britney agreed immediately when she heard where they were going to eat. She said, "Yellow Garden? That's a really famous restaurant. I've heard that it's really fancy. Let's go."
Carl pulled Alex toward him and whispered anxiously, "What are you doing to Ben? He's only got a little over two hundred dollars left to pay for dinner and their hotel. It will be terrible if he takes the girls to Yellow Garden and can't pay the bill. What do you want him to do? He'll be so embarrassed in front of his sister and her friend."
"I know, don't worry. Do you really think I would do anything to hurt Ben?" Alex comforted Carl.
To him, Yellow Garden was only a mediocre restaurant. He originally wanted to take everyone to De Luca's or Chez Laurent as a treat, but he realized that these were too exclusive and places that Ben could never afford. He felt the best choice was Yellow Garden.
"It's fine. Let's go," he reassured Ben as he patted his shoulder.
"Ben, are you going to treat us at Yellow Garden?" Tanya asked. She was his sister, and she could tell something was worrying him.
He pretended to be relaxed as he smiled and replied, "Of course. Yellow Garden is really good. I'll take you guys, and you can see what you think."
Inside, he was panicking. How can I refuse now? I've got to pretend everything's all right, but I've only got two hundred dollars on me. What the hell am I going to do when we get there?
The girls jumped into one cab, and the boys into another. They all headed to the restaurant.
Without the girls present, Ben could stop pretending. He could be honest with his friends. "Alex, what are you trying to do to me? You know I don't have enough money," he said in a panic.
"This is my card and there's still five hundred dollars on it. It's yours," Carl said, handing a bank card to Ben. The money on it was for his living expenses, but his friend was in trouble, so he was happy for him to have it.
"No need. Both of you listen. I've told you I've got a plan. Ben won't be embarrassed in front of the girls." Alex smiled and continued, "Ben, let everyone order whatever they want. When we settle the bill, we'll go together to pay, and we'll use my bank card."
He took out his Supreme Sky Metro bank card, waved it in front of them quickly, and then put it into his pocket.
He didn't want his friends to look too carefully at the card and recognize it. Everyone knew that to have an account there you needed a million dollars and that three million was needed to open a supreme account.
Ben and Carl looked at Alex in confusion. Carl asked, "Alex, how much money have you got on your card? Where's the money from? You're usually struggling for money even more than us." Deep down, they didn't believe him.
He rubbed his nose and said, "I've got around eight thousand in the account. I was really lucky recently. I bought ten lottery tickets and won eight thousand dollars."
He still didn't want his friends to know his real identity. Even if he told them, they might not believe him.
Hearing that Alex had eight thousand dollars, his friends were relieved. They teased him a little for not telling them about the lottery win.
Soon, they arrived at Yellow Garden. It was a beautiful old building. There were a lot of luxury cars parked in front and its clientele were from the upper echelons of New York society.
Ben and Carl had never been to such a high-class establishment. When they saw a group of well-dressed people walk past them, they were bewildered for a moment. Luckily, Alex took control and led them into the restaurant.
Once seated, under Alex's reassuring gaze, Ben mustered up his courage and ordered ten different specialities and ordered two expensive bottles of red wine. According to the menu, he had already spent six hundred dollars.
Britney was very happy when she looked at the dishes on the table.
She looked at Tanya and said, "See, I knew that Ben was going to treat us to a good meal tonight. This place is way more luxurious than any restaurant at home."
"Of course. He's my brother. Let's take some photos for Instagram. Our friends will be so jealous," Tanya said as she held up her cell phone to take a picture of the restaurant.
Everyone relaxed and smiled at the photo.
The meal went very well. They all enjoyed their food and chatted amicably. Happy laughs were heard from time to time.
After the main course, Alex stood up and said to everyone, "You guys carry on. I need to go to the bathroom." He walked toward the restrooms.
As he walked, Vivian and Monica popped into his mind. Sam had reported that the Flag Sect were still looking for Dale Granger, and he was worried that they would go to Vivian's home.
He was relieved that he had ordered Sam to send someone to collect Vivian and Monica and take them to stay in a safe place. They probably took them to either the Azalea Guest House or the Berkeley Hotel.
While Alex was in the bathroom, a group of rowdy youths entered Yellow Garden. The leader was a young man with his hair shaved on both sides and a tattoo on his head. He was hugging a pretty girl.
The young man was called Cory Davis, and his father was another one of the Flag Sect's leaders.
Because the Flag Sect had taken control of New York's underworld, Cory's status had risen along with it, and everyone wanted to befriend him.
"Cory, thanks for treating us today. Are many people coming?"
"I only called Henry. He said he was nearby and would be here soon. It's good if there's less people. I can't stand all those ass-lickers."
"You're right, of course. Right now, everyone in New York wants to be seen with you. We feel very honored that you chose us."
They spoke in very loud and brash voices and didn't care at all if they upset the other diners. None of the customers or waiters dared to say anything. Finally, the manager went up to them with a smile to take their orders.
They had attracted the attention of the entire restaurant the moment they entered the door. When they saw this group of people, Ben and Carl were dismayed.
"What are they doing here?" Ben complained. He recognized two of the young men as the two hooligans who had harassed Tanya at the airport.
Ben put his head in his hands. Carl also lowered his head. He felt uneasy and didn't want the men to see them.
There were six or seven thugs in the group. The young man with the shaved head seemed to be their leader, and he looked formidable. Ben and Carl prayed that they would not recognize them as they passed.
Then they heard, "Hang on, Cory, I think I saw two familiar faces."
When they got closer and saw Ben, the two hoodlums recognized him.
Then Ben heard a familiar voice saying, "Steve, Rich, are they the ones that beat you up?" He saw another youth walking over, and a chill went up to his spine.
Although Darren Rogers was a university student, he had no interest in studying at all. He often hung out outside the school, and after a chance encounter, he befriended Cory and became one of his followers. Under the influence of her mother, his girlfriend Donna had dumped him.
Darren turned his gaze toward Ben. For a moment the two of them locked eyes. It was the first time that Darren had ever looked directly at any of them.
He said, "I know these guys. Cory, Steve, Rich, let me introduce them to you."
"They're in my class. They're nobodies, just a couple of losers. They're so poor, they can hardly afford to eat. Once when my class went on a trip to Staten Island, we all decided to go out for dinner. These two punks and their buddy, Alex, couldn't even afford a meal. They sat outside on a bench eating fries. They didn't like it when I took a photo of them for Instagram."
"Ha ha—" laughed one of his companions.
"They're that poor?" asked another.
The first said, "That's not that much better than the people on the street begging for food."
Cory and his lackeys laughed loudly.
Listening to Darren, Tanya and Britney were shocked. Ben was doing very well in New York. Why did this man say that he was a loser who couldn't afford to eat? Was Ben lying, or was this boy making it up?
"But he's wearing designer clothes right now, and he's eating at here," Steve said. Then he pointed toward Tanya and Britney and continued, "And these two pretty girls are keeping him company."
"My guess is that he spent a month's worth of living expenses on the clothes he's wearing." Darren didn't believe that Ben had the money to buy decent clothes. "I'm amazed he found the money to bring a date here. He must be planning to spend every cent he has tonight, then live on dirt next semester."
His words caused another wave of laughter.
"Ladies, what are you doing with worthless trash like Ben?" one of his friends joked.
Darren smiled at Tanya and Britney and said, "Maybe he tricked you with his romantic words? Do you actually believe he's wealthy or could it all just be an act?"
Ben felt so ashamed to be insulted by Darren in front of his sister. To be called worthless. He wanted to beat him up, but there were too many of Darren's friends there, so he stayed quiet. He felt so ashamed that he clenched his fists and wanted to find a hole to hide in.
"Have you got anything to say? Aren't you two even going to stick up for yourselves? You worthless pieces of crap," Steve spat out and started walking toward them with Rich.
Ben and Carl were both frightened when they saw them approaching. They didn't dare to move but just sat on their chairs with their heads lowered.
"What are you talking about with these two pieces of scum?" Rich said as he kicked Ben's and Carl's seats so they both fell onto the ground.
"Stand up," Steve shouted, and Ben and Carl stood up.
"Rich, these clothes would look good on you." Steve pulled out a knife and grabbed Ben's shirt, ready to cut it open.
Ben tried to back off. These were the most expensive and best clothes he had ever worn in his life. He cherished them greatly and didn't want to lose them.
"You little shit, if you keep moving, I'll cut you into pieces," Steve roared. With a single slash, a big hole appeared in Ben's shirt.
Ben looked at his cut shirt and felt his heartache. He was hoping he could wear it if he attended any important events over the next few years. Now, he could never wear it again.
"Ha ha, look at how weak that guy is. He's not even standing up for himself. What a loser," Darren laughed.
Steve kicked Ben's chest. He fell back, knocked over their table, and fell onto the ground. At the same time, Carl was kicked to the ground by Rich.
Britney, like most of the other girls in the restaurant, was screaming loudly. Tanya, on the other hand, rushed to help Ben up.
"These two girls are pretty good-looking." Cory let go of his girlfriend and looked at Tanya. He reached out his hand to pinch her butt.
"Don't—" Tanya backed off in fright. She could sense how dangerous this group of men was.
"Come to me, pretty girl." Cory wrapped his arms around Tanya's neck and was about to pull her into his embrace. She screamed, "Ahhh!"
At that moment, they all heard a shout, "Don't touch her."
At the same moment, Cory let out a blood-curdling howl. "Aaargh—" Something had slammed into the back of his head. He bent down with his head in his hands and took a few steps back. He finally let go of Tanya.
"Are you okay?" Ben asked with concern as he hugged Tanya. When he had seen Cory grabbing her, he hadn't hesitated. He had rushed over and thumped him over the head. He could tolerate being humiliated himself, but there was no way he could let someone threaten his sister.
No, not even the president would be allowed to touch his sister.