Entering the hotel, some bolder people followed behind in an attempt to make more photos. However, the hotel staff’s security quickly intervened and asked those people to move out. A young bell boy quickly approached the group and asked if he needed to take care of any luggage. Following behind him was a middle-aged man in a white shirt with a name tag that made him out to be the manager..
“Thank you for choosing to have your event at our establishment, um….” The manager looked at all of those in the masks, trying to discern who exactly he should be addressing. Realising the issue, Kai pressed his hands on Gary's shoulders and lightly pushed him forward.
“This is our leader.” Kai clarified.
“Thank you so much for choosing us, sir.” The manager repeated as he bowed down respectfully. “If there is anything that we can do to make your visit here more enjoyable, please let me know. I will make sure that any and all of your requests will be fulfilled in a moment’s notice. Please don’t hesitate to ask.”
This time, the slightly balding man addressed Gary directly, and there was a creepy smile on his face every single time he finished his sentence.
‘This difference in treatment is truly crazy. Is this truly just because of my change of clothes? Or this because of the level of respect the Howlers have earned here’ Gary wondered, but just nodded towards the man. There wasn’t really anything he could think of, especially since this was his first time coming here.
“Actually, now that you mention it, we would have much preferred if there had been a separate area for us to walk through to avoid this kind attention. I assume it won’t pose a problem to make the necessary arrangement for our exit and for any future meetings.” Kai requested.
The manager looked nervous. For hotels, aside from offering rooms for guest to stay in, a good portion of their revenue came from hosting big events for companies, and for an area like Slough this was a first. Even the hotel knew how much a big deal this would be based on the guest list that would be arriving.
The group was directed downstairs into a area was much larger than they had expected. It was much bigger than the reception area, and there were several rooms that had primarily be designed for business meetings and more. Eventually they reached the room that they would be meeting in question.
“As instructed, me and my staff will keep out of the room and remain at the exit, in case… ‘anything’ were to happen that would result in a need to alert the authorities.” The manager bowed his head one more time and remained at his place.
“Gary.” Kai whispered as he put his hand around his friend’s shoulder. “As our leader, it would make the best impression if you are the first to enter. Just take a deep breath and remain confident. This is a formal meeting between us and a company, so there should be nothing to worry about. In the future, if we meet another gang, though, it might be best if you let one of us enter, just in case someone would dare to try and assassinate you.”
Gary gulped down hard after hearing this. Kai's words were just making him more nervous than before. Even if there was an assassination attempt on him, the Werewolf would prefer to walk in first anyway, that way he could stop any of the others getting hurt.
If his friends were to die because someone targeted his life, he wouldn’t be able to live with it. After taking a few deep breaths, Gary went ahead and pushed the double doors open. The room was large and grand with high ceilings and even a chandelier at the top. Then in the centre of the room there was a low table with coffee already having been prepared and several seats. Sitting at one end of the table was the person that had requested to meet with the true leader of the Howlers.
“Please take a seat.” Mr Cardenez spoke after he took a good look at the gang members.
‘So that’s him, the owner of the up and coming electronics company. According to Kai, their company is so big that even the gangs in the cities are willing to work with them. I have to admit, there is a certain air around him that’s different compared to others.’ Gary thought as he went over to take the seat opposite from the man.
Mr Cardenez was wearing a grey suit, which went well with his black hair. However, given his age, it was clear that it had to be dyed, yet it was not obvious at the first glance. He was very different from what Gary had pictured when he had been told that he would meet an old man. The aura alone made Gary hesitate in the way he should address him.
Kai was the only one who sat down next to their leader, while the others had already been instructed by him that it would be best if they remained standing. They went and leaned against one side of their side of the room, mimicking the group of people behind Mr Cardenez.
The clothing of his bodyguards was quite a strange choice, making them resemble a troup of clowns, being overly bright and large. Without a doubt those weren’t people from a corporation but had to be from a gang, though none of the Howlers knew which one it was.
‘He seems to be quite confident in his protection, seeing as none of his men are sitting next to him. Me or Gary could just leap from here and take him out in one hit. Unfortunately there is no point in doing that. Companies work different than gangs, his second in command would just take over, and we would have made an unnecessary enemy.’ Kai mused, before deciding to officially greet their potential partner.
“I’m happy to see you again, Mr Cardenez. You might have already heard that the problems you’ve mentioned during our last meeting have already been successfully taken care As such, the Howlers have the final say as to what happens in Slough.
“Now, if there aren’t anymore reservations from your side, the Howlers would be more than happy to work together with the Cardenez group. We have even prepared some plans, which should make things easy for you. Of course these are all just suggestions, so everything is subject to change.”
Kai handed over a big file of papers. Mr Cardenez picked them up and flicked through them but didn’t look at any individual file for a long time, before putting the file down. The blonde teenager had to admit that this meeting was nervewrecking even for him. Despite literally being the one behind a mask, he was unable to read the person in front of him.
Were they happy? Angry? What was it that they wanted?
Placing both of his hands together in front of his face, the old man leaned forward.
“I have to say that I am quite disappointed.” Mr Cardenez eventually spoke up. “When I first met you, fox mask, I was quite curious about your group. I’ve done my due diligence and had studied up on the Howlers and Slough. On top of that, you yourself acted quite impressive to the point that I was intrigued about what kind of leader someone as capable of you would follow. And yet… what about great leader? How is this meeting any different from our last one?”
Gary’s ears perked up as soon as he heard this.
“You talk about wanting to strike a deal, to work as equal partners, yet all of you sit in front of me, all wearing masks to hide your identity, including this leader of yours. Speaking of, I have yet to hear him mention a single word.
“It appears that I have wasted my time coming here again. One piece of advice, next time you plan on meeting someone, learn some manners beforehand.”
Kai had been prepared that this meeting could end badly, but he had been prepared to offer solutions for most concerns the other party might have. He had considered showing up without a mask, perhaps using his Werewolf powers to change his face. Unfortunately, there would be many problems if Gary revealed his true face, and not just because he still had the look of a teenager.
Even with makeup it would be very hard to age him beyond a university student. These older folks, they liked experienced people in the field, and one look at Gary would most likely have been enough to steer him away. In that case, they would have given away valuable information about their identity without gaining anything in return.
“It’s truly a shame, I had hoped that the Howlers gang were something impressive, but it appears that you are nothing but a bunch of wild dogs with no idea of where to go or what to do next, no different from all the others who wish to piggyback on our company.”
There were a few words that Gary extremely disliked and one of them, was being called dogs, with a tensed fist, he stood up from his seat.
“Well, Mr leader, if violence is your first reaction after seeing that you won’t get your way, then there is truly nothing that makes me regret my decision. Our group won’t be working with the Howlers. I’ll just focus on the Tier-2 city instead.”
After saying those words, the old man stood up, and started to walk out of the room. Gary just stood there in place not saying a word. All of the hard work that Kai had put into teaching him terms and more, it was all for nothing.
And, Gary couldn’t help but feel that it was all because he had appeared.
‘Maybe they should have used a stand in, or Olivia should have pretended to be the leader instead?’ Gary thought until he felt a hand once more on his shoulder.
“Gary, you did nothing wrong. This was a learning experience for all of us, and I know what you're thinking. You’re our leader, we all chose to follow you for a reason so if he can’t see that well that’s his lost cause.” Kai said in a low tone, so that his friend was the only one who would be able to hear him.
The old man was just about to leave, his group of bodyguards following behind, yet Kai had a few choice words for him.
“Mr Cardenez, we thank you for your words of advice, and as such we would like to offer you something in return. If at any point and time you find yourself confronted with a problem that neither your money nor power is able to solve, please remember us. Even if you can’t see it now, but we Howlers are more than meets the eye, and all we need to convince you, will be that one chance.”
*****
My Werewolf System Webtoon is out! You can read now in the BILI BILI COMICS APP. Weekly Webtoon chapters. Check it out, help it grow, and there might be news of an official My Vampire System webtoon someday.