"Eight o'clock tonight. Book a hotel and tell him to come over," Morin said, waving his hand. "You guys go and set it up."
"Yes!" A subordinate nodded and quickly left to make the arrangements.
Gisele asked curiously, "Why not have him come now?"
"When you're doing business, even fake business, you can't be too hasty," Morin said, not showing any impatience. He had nothing else to do anyway, so he explained to her slowly, "Although I have no intention of doing any real business with this drug lord, since we need this as a pretext, we have to make it look believable."
"So, we need a formal location and a proper, official meeting to have a very official discussion," Morin paused, then smiled. "Of course, the final outcome naturally won't be a friendly collaboration."
"After all, you only need Reyes's palm print. Once you have that, you can take action. And after the mission succeeds... it remains to be seen if Reyes will even have the time to bother me. If he's really banking on me as a last resort, he'll be sorely disappointed, because by that time, I'll probably be gone."
"...Did you have all this planned out from the beginning, or did you just think of it now?" Gisele asked.
"I just thought of it," Morin yawned. "Yawn... If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have had any interest in dealing with a drug lord."
Morin wasn't lying to Gisele. Although it only took him a few years to go from an ordinary person to a rich man, the good family and school education he received in his previous life gave him the upbringing to never consider doing anything illegal. Almost everything he did was within the rules and allowed him to have a clear conscience.
The "almost" referred to the rare occasions, like helping the Toretto crew and getting them acquitted. After all, when he first arrived, he got his start with Toretto's help and was looked after for a long time afterward. If he were to turn his back on them, Morin himself wouldn't be able to live with it.
"So, what should we do now?" Gisele asked. She had entered a field completely unfamiliar to her and was utterly clueless.
"Do what you want," Morin said with the most serious expression, though the words were a little ambiguous.
"..." Gisele rolled her eyes. "Don't talk in riddles, okay?"
"I usually call this a fabric replacement and conditioning coordination activity," Morin said earnestly. "Basically, it's something everyone needs to do every day."
"In words I can understand, what is it?"
"Change clothes."
...
That evening.
"Honestly, do you think I look weird in this suit?" Gisele twisted her body a little, not quite used to it.
"It's not bad," Morin said with a laugh. "If you ask me, you should try wearing a full suit of armor."
"Armor?" Gisele looked at Morin with a face that said, "I can't believe you have a fetish for that." "Do you mean that thick, full-coverage kind of armor?"
"No, no, your arms and legs still have to be exposed."
"Isn't that a bikini?"
"Well... a little more than a bikini."
"A regular swimsuit-type... armor?"
"With long boots and greaves."
"What kind of weird outfit is that?"
"Ah, you think it's weird too, right?"
"Of course, who would be silly enough to wear something like that... Wait, is that a camera you're holding? What are you doing with a camera?"
"Nothing," Morin said, nodding with satisfaction and putting the camera away. "Just filming some fun little short videos."
"...Something just doesn't feel right." Gisele was a bit confused. Of course, she had no idea what Morin was up to, but that didn't stop her from wanting to get to the bottom of it. Just as she was about to act on that impulse, one of Morin's subordinates knocked on the door.
"Mr. Reyes has arrived."
Gisele's suit was naturally prepared specifically for this unconventional "Banquet." Morin was also wearing a suit, but his had been custom-made and fit him perfectly.
Gisele's... her body proportions were such that it was impossible to find a suitable one in a suit shop, and there wasn't enough time to have one made, so they had to buy a set that was barely wearable.
The kind of figure where her legs were said to start from her neck made it hard to find a suitable size in a standard suit.
As a result, when Gisele sat down, a section of her lower leg was exposed, and only when she stood up was it barely covered down to her ankles.
But it was good that Reyes had finally arrived. This meant their plan could officially begin.
Reyes came in after being frisked. His subordinates had originally tried to stop Morin's men from frisking them, but they quickly froze under the intense gaze of Morin's security team and gave up their resistance at Reyes's gesture.
One was a security captain for a drug lord, a position he'd gotten through petty crime. The other was a retired soldier hired by Morin at a high salary from a professional security company.
Who was stronger was hardly a question. Reyes had no choice; he knew what kind of people his subordinates were. They were good at bullying civilians, but against these professionals...
they were dead on arrival.
Furthermore, Reyes had come hoping to get a huge order from Morin, so he was definitely unwilling to cause a conflict.
After some routine commercial pleasantries... (not because I can't write them, but because I don't want you to say I'm padding the word count, you have to believe me!)
"Regardless, Mr. Reyes, I do want to do business with you, but the prerequisite for that is, of course, that you can ensure the security of our business dealings." Morin swirled the cup in his hand. This time it wasn't the plain boiled water of long tradition, but genuine red wine.
"I can guarantee that," Reyes laughed. "I can't speak for other places, but in Rio, I can absolutely guarantee your safety!"
"..."
Morin put down his wine glass and shook his head helplessly. "Mr. Reyes, although this is my first time here, I'm not blind or deaf. I've heard about some recent events. So, until you've completely resolved those matters... I'm very sorry."
With that, Morin stood up. The implied meaning was, "It's time for you to leave."
~~~~~
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