Soon the person he had mentioned was standing behind him. Noel wasn't too surprised to finally meet Walther here, for it seemed as if the man was always there wherever Noel was.
Walther Zwick looked at them in turn, starting with Gregory Illéa.
"Yo Mr. Zwick! Long time no see," Gregory greeted first.
Walther returned the greeting with a smile. "Hmnn it's been a long time, how is your psychiatrist practice, Mr. Illéa?"
"As always, come visit once in a while!"
The next second Walther's gaze locked onto Noel-before Rebecca, who had been talking to Noel, turned her attention briefly to Walther.
"Nathaniel!"
Noel turned his head, his gaze meeting a familiar pair of authoritative eyes. However, this time he saw a different look from Walther's usual one. Noel merely flashed a smile in response. What's wrong with him? Unusual, Noel thought.
"It's been a while since I've seen you visit here." Rebecca struck up a conversation with Walther after the latter sat down next to Igor. Without Walther asking, the female bartender mixed the cucielo white vermouth, clement white rum and lime juice into a shaker. She then poured it into a glass with two cubed ice cubes. The sanguine cobbler cocktail was the drink Walther usually ordered every time he visited.
"Since I replaced the old man running the company, I rarely have any free time." he said, taking a cocktail with his hand.
"How does it feel to be a director of a big company? Do many beautiful women approach you?" Igor asked.
"Yes, lots of them." Walther confirmed.
Igor grinned. "You must have fucked a lot of them."
"None of them interest me," Walther said as he finished his drink, leaving two ice cubes in the glass.
Suddenly, the four people there were slightly taken aback. Gregory was quite sure of the man's confession through Walther's flat expression, the man's attention staring coldly at the empty glass.
"You have everything, but that face of yours is always so gloomy. Like a man whose wife died," Rebecca commented. Spontaneously, Noel looked at the woman. He knew Rebecca was joking to mock Walther, but the joke was a dark joke to Noel.
The music drowned out the silence as the four men seated at the bar stools enjoyed their drinks, while Rebecca was busy mixing drinks in shakers for other customers.
"Nate, so why did you call me?" Igor started the conversation.
The question made Noel realize his true purpose for coming to this bar. The corner of Noel's eye glanced at Gregory, immediately the man gave the code. In that instant Noel understood what he meant. Their plans were canceled.
"I just called to ask you out for a drink because I happened to be in Hong Kong." Noel looked for another reason for Igor's question.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Igor smiled broadly, he eagerly called Bartender Rebecca and ordered a drink for Noel, the matter of paying was still left to Nate, because the man still did not suspect that Nate who sat on the bar stool with him, was not his senior Nate.
While Walther ordered another drink like the first, Igor and Gregory asked for a Blackberry Gin Gimlet and Noel was ordered by Igor Apricot in the Act. It was Nate's usual cocktail, he knew better than Noel. The four of them toasted, from the left; Gregory, Noel, Igor and Walther.
Noel winced at the bitter and sour taste he saw. To his left, Gregory's tail of eyes watched intently. He hoped Noel wouldn't go down for a few more glasses, as the real Nate was a drinker with a high tolerance for alcohol, Igor was sure to have plenty tonight.
One comment came from Igor to Noel and Walther. "I see you've been keeping quiet about each other?"
"Not really, is it, my brother, Nate?" asked Walther, shaking the half-filled glass.
"Yeah," Noel replied, rubbing his temples briefly.
"Just don't have anything to talk about," Walther continued, downing the rest of his drink.
For Noel's part, he gave no response, while he felt like he had something to vomit. Raising his hand, signaling for the restroom, Noel left as soon as his drinking buddy understood. Unbeknownst to Noel, his departure was being stalked by Walther through a meaningful glance.
*
When he reached the restroom Noel spit out all the liquid he had drunk and the food that had entered his stomach. It wasn't until he had drained everything that he leaned back against the toilet wall. His head was dizzy, his body just limp. Clutching his aching stomach, with trembling hands Noel reached for the cell phone in his pocket and sent a text message to someone ...
The effects of his headache causing his vision to blur, Noel staggered out of the restroom.
"Nathaniel!" A baritone called out to him.
Noel spontaneously turned his head, only to find Walther standing next to him. With no intention of returning the man's call, Noel continued walking. Just after two steps, his vision became increasingly blurry, gradually losing his balance. Just as Noel thought his body was about to fall, without realizing it a pair of hands held him from behind by hugging his waist tightly.
Noel moaned softly, feeling the hands of the man behind him hugging his waist tightly.
"You're drunk," Walther whispered right in Noel's ear, bringing Noel back to his senses. He immediately grabbed both of the man's hands, trying to get them off his body.
Noel laughed softly when he felt Walther's embrace tighten as he tried to remove the man's hands. He said flatly, "Let me go, Walt ... Buddy!"
Hearing Noel call him 'Walt Buddy' the smirk that had been on Walther's lips vanished in an instant.
*
The sound of a cell phone in his pocket caught Gregory's attention. He checked his phone reluctantly. An incoming message from Noel managed to turn Gregory's expression serious. Without waiting long, Gregory rushed to the restroom, leaving two people with confused expressions.
Once in the men's restroom, Gregory was surprised to find Noel already unconscious, carried on Walther's back.
"What happened to him?" Gregory asked while overcoming the shock. Had Noel's identity been discovered? Or not.
"He fainted," Walther answered straightforwardly. He took five steps closer to Gregory. "Where's the hotel?"
Gregory frowned, not understanding. "You mean?"
"While in Hong Kong, you stayed at a hotel, right? Tell me where it is, and I'll take you home." Walther clarified his question.
Gregory understood, and declined as politely as possible. "I'm very, very grateful to Mr. Zwick, but you don't need to bother with that."
Mr. Zwick did not take no for an answer. "Mr. Illéa, I feel like Nathaniel and you have been trying to avoid me for the past fifteen years. Is there something you're hiding?" One eyebrow raised, looking suspiciously at the brown-haired man.
At that Gregory laughed sarcastically. "Does it look like Nate and I are hiding something from you?" Gregory asked back, looking at Walther with a calm expression. "I'm sure Nate doesn't want to trouble you."
Walther smiled wryly. "To be honest, I'm not bothered at all." He glanced at Noel's face who was leaning on his shoulder. "Besides, when you use the inconvenience excuse to refuse my help, doesn't that make me even more suspicious?"
Gregory sighed softly. "Alright you can take him." He gave in and let Walther drop off Nate who was none other than Noel.
Gregory was a little wary of what might happen if Noel woke up and he forgot to act like Nate. He didn't know what would happen, but it would instantly change all the plans they had put together from the start.
Walther exited the restroom first while carrying the unconscious Noel on his back, paying no heed to the several pairs of eyes staring at the three of them. Gregory followed behind, meeting someone who was waiting for them in the bar's private room.
"I'm going home first," Gregory said to Igor and Becca.
"Why so sudden?" Rebecca asked, while Igor narrowed his eyes as he turned to Noel who looked pale in Walther's arms.
"We have some business to take care of," Walther replied, following Gregory one step behind into the parking lot.
[]