Page 52 of Brutal Surrender

“What were you doing on the third floor?” I ask.

“Jimena wanted a tour of the whole ship. I think she wanted someplace new to have sex. Anyway, this pussy of yours must be special.”

“Pussy is pussy,” I reply. “Best not to be too attached.”

Charlie nudges Yang Mi. “You hear that? You’re going to have to give up Darynaif you want to be head dragon someday.”

“If that’s what it takes,” Yang Mi says.

Charlie raises a brow. “I thought you ladies were in love.”

“It’s in her best interest.”

Charlie leans back to take in more of Yang Mi. “Hunh. I didn’t realize your interest in being head dragon would override Daryna.”

“You sound surprised.”

“You’ve been with Daryna for over two years now.”

“You’ve been banging Jimena for three years now. How are you any different?”

“It’s different. I’m a guy.”

Yang Mi shakes her head at his sexism. “Well, it’s kind of pointless to talk about it. Vincent isn’t going anywhere for a long while.”

Charlie settles into his seat and raises the martini the server hands him. “Cheers to that.”

Ming walks up to inform me that Santiago Vargas and Andrés Torres have arrived. Vargas, from Colombia, is the darker of the two with wavy hair. He wears a white suit and a sombrero vueltiao. Torres, from Argentina, could pass for Italian with his olive skin and European features. He also wears a well-tailored suit.

“Es a pleasure to meet you finally, Senor Xu,” Vargas says.

“Please sit,” I say, “and tell Zara what she can get you.”

“I would like to try the rum here and compare it to the rum in my country.”

Torres presents me with a bottle of Malbec wine. “The very best from our Mendoza region.”

“Shall we open it now?”

“Please.”

From a nearby bar, Zara retrieves wine glasses and a bottle opener. Charlie offers to open the bottle.

“I hope you will like it,” Torres says. “Have you ever been to Argentina?”

“I have. It’s a lovely country,” I say. “We have connections there.”

“Yes, we have a sizable Chinese community in Argentina, especially Buenos Aires and Rosario.”

Once Zara has provided a glass to everyone, Vargas proposes a toast. “To new friendships.”

I take a sip of the wine. Although it’s very good, I’m mindful that drinking alcohol is probably not the best mix with my headaches. Zara sets down a pot of tea beside me.

Vargas and Torres proceed to expound on the potential for omega blockers in their respective countries and why it would be in the Black Dragon’s interest to partner with them for distribution. They don’t tell me anything I don’t already know.

“The problem for Colombia and many others is price,” says Vargas. “If we could lower the price, there would be, for sure, a good market for the omega blockers.”

“We could lower the price a little,” I say, “but too much creates arbitrage opportunities.”

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