CRYPTO: Infidelity (Book 1)

CHAPTER 37: MEETING

I went back to the hotel room and crashed on the couch. I slept for a few hours and then was woken up by Rockie.

"Time to get up," he told me. "You have time to take a shower but then we gotta go."

"Alright." I was groggy but I got up.

Uncle Blade was on the balcony having a smoke. He would probably need a shower more than I did.

After taking a quick shower, we headed out.

"Do you know where we're going?" I asked Rockie.

"Marceau is gonna pick us up and take us to a nice restaurant. "We're gonna discuss a plan while we're there with his buddies. Please be on your best behavior. Your life depends on it."

"Okay. Don't worry about it. I'll try to stay quiet," I assured him.

"Good. Let's try to keep things positive from now on, okay?"

"Sure."

We arrived at a fancy restaurant with a view of the city. We already had reservations and a waiter brought us to our table. I noticed there were a lot of couples there.

"Too bad you didn't bring Birdie," I told Rockie. "Paris is the city of love after all."

"Yeah. She would've loved it here," Rockie said. "Unfortunately, we're not here for pleasure."

"Are we sure we want to discuss our plan in public?" Uncle Blade asked.

"Oh, yes," Marceau said. "We know the owner of this restaurant. They made sure there is no one we cannot trust here today."

"Oh, good. That makes me feel better," Uncle Blade said.

"We aren't amateurs, Blade. I can assure you of that," Marceau said. "Oh, look, here comes the crew. In case you don't know French customs, we greet each other with a kiss on both cheeks. It's disrespectful not to."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes, especially if you're greeting each other for the first time. Bastien is the boar. He doesn't speak English so it's important that you stick to French tradition with him."

Three guys came up to our table: a lynx, boar, and dog. I wanted to make a good first impression so I stood up.

"Bonjour," I said and kissed the boar on both cheeks.

Marceau burst into laughter.

"C'est qui ce cinglé ?" Bastien, the boar, asked him.

"Ça doit être un truc américain," Marceau said. "Ou peut-être qu'il est juste un monstre."

"Dites-lui que s'il recommence, il va perdre un œil." Bastien said. He looked displeased.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"He said not to do that again if you want to keep your sight," the lynx said.

"But Marceau said..." I looked at Marceau who was crying from laughing so hard.

"You've been had," Rockie told me.

I turned back to Bastien. "So sorry about that! Can you tell him I'm sorry? I didn't know that wasn't appropriate."

"Il veut que vous l'embrassiez en retour," Marceau told him.

"Stop messing with them, Marceau," the lynx said. He turned to the boar. "Marceau joue à des jeux. Le Beauceron s'est excusé. Il ne savait pas mieux."

"We all good now?" I asked.

"Oui," the lynx said.

"Quel est son nom?" Bastien asked.

"He wants to know your name," the lynx told me.

"Crypto," I said.

"Bastien," the boar said.

"Bonjour, Bastien," I said. I put my paw up for him to shake.

He shook my paw with his hoof.

I smiled politely.

"Shall we get to business?" the dog asked.

"Please," Rockie said.