Tesar pushed the door to Shen Wa’s open and Zeleny walked in, he then waited for Praza to walk in then he followed. Zeleny stood at the podium and waited as the brothers entered and the hostess walked up, her almond complexion and flowing black hair complimented her strikingly beautiful features.
”Table for three?” she asked with a noticeable accent.
Zeleny just nodded and she grabbed a stack of menus and motioned them to follow. Praza walked next to Tesar as they followed behind her and elbowed Tesar’s side and motioned towards her back with wide eyes. She sat them at a table against one wall, set the menus on the table and said, “your server will be right here,” then quickly walked back to the front podium.
The brothers sat on one side of the table and Zeleny the other.
“She’s finer each time we come in here,” Praza grabbed a menu and flipped it over to the drinks list then grumbled, “still have shit beer though.”
Tesar shook his head at Praza’s annoyance, “just get what they have you baby.”
Zeleny chuckled as Praza turned to glare at Tesar, “why would they change their beer? It’s an Asian restaurant not a pub.”
Praza growled to himself in frustration then said , “I’ve told them every time I’ve been here they’d get more customers if they had better beer.”
Tesar looked around the restaurant and the many filled tables as he said, “doesn’t look like they need any help with that you business mogul.”
“Fuck off,” Praza spat at him, “I just want good beer. Is that too much to ask?”
Zeleny shook his head at them, “you two are like children.”
“Just because you don’t like good beer…” Praza shot back.
“I like it but it’s not everything,” Zeleny replied as the server approached the table.
“Good evening, I’m Shen, can I get you drinks?” the thin round faced Asian woman asked as she stood by the table, notepad and pen in hand.
“Tsing-Tao,” Zeleny said which Tesar held up his hand in agreement.
Shen looked at Praza who stared at the list then said without looking up, “Snow.”
She nodded then asked, “buffet tonight?”
Zeleny replied, “yeah all of us.”
“Okay, you can go up whenever you like and I’ll have your drinks here shortly,” she said then walked off.
Praza stood up and looked to the buffet bars and said, “I’m starving, they better have the crab,” then walked purposefully through the restaurant.
Tesar and Zeleny followed and soon were filling their plates with food.
Denise walked into the restaurant with Will close behind and stopped at the podium where the hostess stood looking down. Denise waited until she looked up at them then her voice caught in her throat and she stared at the hostess in mute silence.
“Table for two?” she asked.
Denise stood staring and Will glanced over at her then replied quickly, “yes please.”
The hostess pulled two menus from the podium and ,motioned for them to follow. Will nudged Denise in the side who shook her head slightly as she returned to the present. They followed behind her as she led them across the room to a table by a window.
Will and Denise sat at the table as the hostess set the menus down, “your server will be here shortly.”
Denise glanced at Will and then back to her, “Excuse me, what’s your name?”
“Mine?” the hostess was a little bit stunned, “my name’s Kathleen,” she said quietly then turned quickly and walked back to her podium to await another customer.
“What was that about?” Will asked.
Denise stared at him, looked towards the hostess then back and said, “did you not see her?”
“Of course I did, she’s gorgeous.”
“And?” she pressed.
“And what?” his confusion grew.
“We agreed the next time would by my turn. Last time was fun and she was awesome but this feels very right.”
Will nodded in realization and memory, “true. So does that mean that you’ll be doing the talking and arranging of this encounter?”
“What do you want to drink? Check out the drinks menu.” Denise flipped the menu from one side to another trying to decide what she wanted.
“I just want a beer. Tsing-tao if they have it.”
“I think I’ll just have a soda from the fountain.”
Their waitress stepped to their table, “ Good evening, my name’s Shen, can I get you anything to drink?”
Will looked to her and said, “I want a Tsing-tao, and we’re both having the buffet.”
“Yes sir, I’ll have it waiting for you at the table when you return. You may go to the buffet now if you like.”
“Thank you,” he replied.
Brent stepped to the podium and the hostess greeted him, “just one?”
“Yes just me,” he replied.
She pulled a menu from the podium and motioned for him to follow. He walked behind her and couldn’t keep from watching her form move as they crossed the Restaurant, then felt the warmth growing up his neck. She stopped a two seat table along a short wall in the middle of the room and set the menu down.
“Your server will be here shortly,” she said quickly then walked back towards the podium.
Brent stood by the table and watched her walk away for a while before averting his eyes and sitting at one of the chairs. He flipped the menu over for the drinks list and quickly found what he wanted then threw the menu on the table.
After a couple minutes the server walked up to his table, “Good evening, I’m Shen, can I get you any drink tonight?”
Brent smiled then asked, “Shen? Like Shen Wa Shen or?”
Shen smiled politely and said, “no, it is a common name.”
“Oh okay, just curious. I’d like a Tsing-tao please and I’m doing the buffet,” he replied.
“Okay, you can go up whenever you like and I will have your drink here shortly,” Shen said before turning and walking across the room to another table.
Praza pulled two plates from the stack at the end of the buffet bar and waited to fill one with crab legs. The two people before him did the same and he soon had stacked them on the plate so he had a large mound. He went to the beef bar and scooped various dishes onto the other plate until it was full then walked back to their table.
Tesar and Zeleny each walked around the various bars and filled a plate each then walked back to the table. Their beers were sitting on the table at their respective seats and Praza slid the table clear to the wall as he set his plates down.
“What the fuck?” Tesar barked at him as he walked up behind.
“I need room for my crab legs,” Praza shot back.
“We need room to shit head,” Tesar said as he sat down, set his plate in front of him and pulled his beer back next to him.
Zeleny sat and began to eat as Praza started cracking crab legs. The sound of the snaps and cracks was so loud they could be heard coming from all over the restaurant. He hammered and pried on the legs and yanked meat from inside where he piled it on the plate. He looked around the table then shook his head.
“What’d you forget?” Zeleny asked.
“Butter,” he mumbled as he stood and walked back to the bars.
Will and Denise both stood and walked to the buffet line. Each piling their plate with a variety of food. They went to the table and Will sat down and moved his beer aside. Denise set her plate on the table and walked over to get a drink at the soda fountain then returned as Will had begun to eat.
“This place is pretty nice. The food is great so far,” the words muffled by the food in his mouth.
“I only caught part of that, but I assume that it’s good.”
Will gave her a thumbs up in agreement. They both finished off their first plates and were readying for a second, “Crab puffs and crab legs is all I want next,” he said.
“That was great watching your eyes glaze over as you said that. And your right too. That does sound good. Let’s see if we can clean ‘em out.” Denise chuckled and smiled as they rose to get more food.
As they raided the crab legs, other customers stood in line watching the two take large plates of crab. Legs spilled off of their plates as they carefully maneuvered their way back to their table.
“You wanna get butter or you want me to?” Will asked Denise as they set their plates on the table.
“I’ll get it. Go ahead and start cracking those legs open. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Works for me,” he said.
Denise walked to the buffet area again and Will started nimbly cracking the crab legs and piling the meat on one plate and the shells on another.
Brent made his way to the buffet bars and walked around each and put small portions of numerous dishes on a plate. He waited behind a man and woman who piled their plates high with crab legs then moved off and let him have access. He glanced at them as they walked across the room then pulled three legs from the bar and put them atop his plate.
He stepped up to one side of the bar with butter and was reaching for a ladle when he looked up to see Praza walking towards the bar. His hand froze holding the ladle in the butter pot as he watched him approach the opposite side. He leaned down to grab the ladle and looked up to see Brent through the glass guards. Their eyes met and they stood up and looked at each other over the top of the bar.
They stood staring at each other for a long pause before Brent acknowledged with a slight nod, “Praza.”
Praza glanced quickly around the bar area then said quietly, “agent Monroe.”
Brent eyed him a moment longer then looked back down to the butter and ladled out a cup full, turned and walked back to his seat with his plate and cup. Praza stood staring after him then turned back to the butter and filled two cups then walked back to the table. He set the cups of butter down then as he slid into his seat he paused near Tesar’s ear and whispered, “agent Monroe is here.”
Tesar was in mid chew and stopped for a long pause then continued as Zeleny continued talking without noticing, “have to be there tomorrow. I guess we meet a doc part way to pull it out.”
Praza listened to Zeleny then asked, “so when are you leaving? Tonight or tomorrow?”
Zeleny took a drink of his beer then thought for a moment before he said, “tomorrow morning. We have a driver.”
Brent sat at his table as he cracked the crab legs and he was lost in his thoughts so he did not see the woman walk in the front door and up to the podium. He was too deep to watch her talk to the hostess who then had the woman follow her towards his table. He didn’t see the hostess point at his table and the woman walk up to it and stand in front of him until she spoke.
“Agent Monroe.”
The sound of his name snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked up to see, “Emma? What are you doing here?”
“Can I?” she asked as she looked down at the empty chair.
“Sure,” he nodded towards it.
Zeleny had set his beer down and his gaze landed on the entrance where he saw Emma walk by and his eyes got big. He stared after her and Tesar noticed his gaze and asked, “who’s there?”
He shook his head with a deep chuckle then looked at Praza and said flatly, “Emma.”
Praza and Tesar looked at each other’s furrowed brows then back at Zeleny. Praza stuffed a pile of crab meat in the butter then into his mouth and chewed as they sat in silence. After the long pause he swallowed and said, “yeah. We saw her earlier today.”
Zeleny looked between the two then shook his head and put a fork full of food into his mouth. He chewed and thought then swallowed and looked back at Praza, “if she knows you are in town then who is she here to see?”
Praza blinked at him as he chewed then gave a shrug and looked back to his plate of crab legs.
Denise stepped into the bar area and began to walk to the butter bar when she saw two men standing one on either side. She looked closer at the one closer to her and the dawning recognition hit her. She stopped in her tracks then looked around at the other bars and quickly walked over to one with fruit salads and jellos. She grabbed a bowl and slowly scooped some of the white fluffy fruit salad into it, a little at a time.
She stood filling the bowl and it was nearly overflowing when the men walked away from the butter bar. She dropped the scoop into the salad, tipped the bowl and sloughed half the bowl back into the bar and walked to the butter bar. She quickly filled a cup and walked back to their table where she set the cups down and slid into her seat with wide eyes staring at Will.
“What?” he asked through a mouthful of crab.
“They’re here!” her hushed exclamation came out hissed.
“Who?”
Will’s confused shake of his head made her quickly respond, “them! From the restaurant this morning, the one who broke our door.”
The words took a moment to register before he realized hat she was saying, “oh shit. What? How the hell are we in the same place in this big of a city? Shit.”
“They don’t know we’re here so just sit there and eat. We’ll be fine,” she tried to reassure herself as much as him.
Brent stared at Emma as she sat across from him, his mouth chewed a large piece of crab meat and his hands held a leg over the plate in front of him. She stared back and watched him chew then said, “you aren’t exactly easy to get a hold of.”
He swallowed then asked, “how’d you know I was here?”
“Lennie likes to talk,” she replied with a sly smile.
“Figures,” Brent mumbled, “what do you want? I’m eating,” he continued.
I'm going climbing tomorrow so won't be getting much written. I've got this chapter on my phone so can work on it while waiting at a belay. I have more than enough time to get past the 50k before the end of the month.
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