Chapter Three: The Purple Tavern

Fifteen minutes later,  Kevin arrived and entered the bar. Inside, he scanned the area while his eyes adjusted to the dim and the neon lights surrounding the walls and the ceiling. Kevin set his sights at the booth down at the far end of the bar. He made out the three silhouettes seated at the one on the far left. With ease, Kevin made out the oval shape eyewear of Mr. Fatou through the dark and smoke-filled room. Seated beside Mr. Fatou was someone familiar with whom Kevin reckoned with a couple of times at the science bureau. Not wanting to be seen, Kevin ducked and climbed in a hurry up the stairs to the second floor, where he stumbled and bumped onto a couple of tables in the process. As he steadied himself, he searched for a table which he can occupy to use and spy on the three gentlemen.  

With good fortune on his side, one empty table was positioned right above and opposite the booth occupied by the three Gentlemen downstairs. Kevin inquired from the hostess if he may occupy the table.

“Of course, Sir.” the lady hostess granted Kevin’s request and asked “May I get you a drink?”

"One moment, please? I’m still catching my breath. Would you be so nice as to come back later?"

Eyeing Kevin with suspicion, the hostess nodded, smiled and walked away. Kevin, turning his attention downstairs, observed the familiar bureaucrat talking animatedly as he gestured in excitement with his hands. Seated next to this man was Mr. Fatou,who looked directly across at the man in front of him, whom Kevin could barely see.

“Mr. Singh?” Kevin thought to himself, trying hard to catch a glimpse of the person seated in front of Mr. Fatou.  Kevin squinted through the smoke-filled bar, trying to read the bureaucrat’s lips while speaking. Not able to read his lips, he tried to listen to the conversation without success. Kevin was surprised as the hostess approached him from his blind side, asking him this time in a commanding voice.

“Sir, your order, please?” the lady hostess said.

 “Okay, I’ll have a single, malt scotch -- neat. Thanks.” Kevin, a little stunned, said

The hostess turned around and strutted to get his drink. A few minutes later, she returned    and placed the drink on the table in front of him.

“Here you go sir! Enjoy your drink.”

She threw a smile at Kevin, and turned to walk away when he called her attention,

“Miss, I’m sorry for being rude a while ago. I came from a late meeting, and I’m a little tired. By the way, my name is Kevin. And you are?”

“Carolina. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The hostess said, offering her hand to Kevin as they shook hands.

“My pleasure.” Kevin said, showing off his perfect smile, “You are the hostess and the manager of this place, right? And you’re here every night?

"That’s right, Sir -- I mean, Kevin. Sorry about that, we are so used to calling our patrons  as Sirs. You understand how it is, as we talk to a lot of gentlemen here every night." Carolina said, laughing and trying to hide her attraction to Kevin, who was still smiling at her.

“No, no need to apologize. I’m so used to be called Sir, sometimes I make the mistake of almost signing it as my name.” Kevin said.

“You are so funny! I like that. Now what else can I get you, Kevin? What about food?  You had your supper yet? We carry a good selection of wine and cheeses, sandwiches, and appetizers. Here, let me get the menu for you.”

As Carolina turned to go, Kevin touched her hand to keep her from going, and said,

“Thank you, Carolina. I had my dinner back at the hotel. I was curious if, by any chance, you recognize the three gentlemen seated downstairs in the booth at the far end of the bar?” Kevin stared hard into her eyes, trying to catch any hint of reaction to what he said.

“Well, let me check. I’m familiar with Mr. Fatou and Mr. Long, who works at the UN, and they’re here for some kind of conference with something to do with science. They frequent this place since they arrived. The other guy, I have no idea. I saw him for the first time tonight. Why do you ask? Do you also work with them?” Carolina said.

“Well, yes, I do work with them. The one you don’t recognize is my Boss. His name is Mr. Singh. We are all working on a project together with Mr. Fatou, and you’re right, we’re all here for a conference at the UN office.” Kevin said. Guilty for saying too much, he paused, took a sip of his scotch, and stared down hard at the three gentlemen with Mr. Long still going on and talking animatedly. Moments later, he shifted his attention back to Carolina and said,

“Could you do me a favor?”

 “Sure!  What do you need me to do?”

Kevin, having second thoughts, said, “Would you serve them another round of whatever they are having and put them on my tab, and would you please tell them that it’s a compliment of the house? Remember, charge them to me, but please, I do not want to be detected and be invited over to their table. Will this be alright with you? Please keep this between us. Thanks a lot, dear.” Kevin said, giving Carolina the sweet smile again.

Carolina then went downstairs to the main bar, where she took a bottle of the house’s most expensive champagne. She then approached the booth with a wide smile, and said,

“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Fatou, Mr. Long, and uugh --”

“... Singh. Mr. Singh.” Mr. Fatou stated, “He also works at the UN but with another bureau. We are all here for a conference.”

Carolina smiled at Mr. Singh, and offered the bottle of champagne as she said,

“Compliments of the house for you, my good gentlemen. Thank you for frequenting the Purple Tavern. Hope you are all enjoying the drinks, and of course, the ambiance. Here you go, from the Management.”

After Carolina had set their drinks on the table, and was about to leave, Mr. Singh, who had a little too much to drink since the cocktails and dinner with Kevin, invited the hostess.

“Why don’t you stay for a while and enjoy a drink with us?” The drunken man said. “It would really be a pleasure to be with a company as beautiful as you.”

Carolina said, “I’m sorry Sir, but my job here is to manage the place and to make sure everything is running smooth and well. I am not here to drink with the guests.”

“C’mon, Carolina, stay with us for a few moments. You don’t need to drink if you don’t want to.” Mr. Fatou said.

“Yes, yes, that’s right.”  said Mr. Long, and continued, “Let’s give Mr. Singh here a warm welcome as this is his first time to visit your bar.”

“Please, Carolina, only for a few moments?” Mr. Fatou said again.                   

“Okay, this request is only for now -- the first and the last time. Is that clear?” Carolina said, “I’ll be right back. I need to check with the other guests to make sure everything is fine and in order.”

Carolina turned and moved away from the booth as she went into the bar and behind the counter. After going through the rounds of each table, Carolina went up to the second floor and advised Kevin that all is well. At the same time, she checked up on him if he needed anything else.

Kevin said thank you and simply asked, “Would you like to go out for a coffee or a snack later with me after you get off work?”

Carolina said smiling, “Why not? Seems like the UN has gotten a lot of interest in me lately.” Carolina laughed as she turned to leave Kevin’s table, and headed down to where Mr. Fatou and company were seated.

Carolina positioned herself beside Mr. Singh, and sipped her cherry tequila as she watched Mr. Long went on and continued to talk as if she’s not present. Unconcerned, Mr. Singh was half-listening to Mr. Long and gave more attention to Carolina.

Mr. Singh said, “My dear, you are not engaged or married by any chance?”

“I used to have a fiancé. Unfortunately, he went to fight the rebels, and well, you know what happened next.” Carolina replied.

Mr. Singh apologetically said, “I’m sorry, my dear. I did not mean to go pry into your personal life. Please accept my apology.”

Carolina waved a hand and said, “Oh! It’s nothing. This happened two years ago. I am way over that episode now and have moved on since.”

Mr. Long interrupted, “Mr. Singh, did you hear what I said? I need your opinion on this. Come now, there’s not much time to execute the plan if we do not decide right now.”

“Okay, well, well, I had been a little busy with the beautiful lady here beside me. I did not catch everything you said. I am sorry. Now, if you can repeat the question, I would gladly answer it as you wish.” Mr. Singh said drunkenly. His attention was still on Carolina, who was sipping her drink with no care whatsoever to the three gentlemen.

Mr. Long sighed, “Okay here’s the deal, as the Bureau Chief of the EWB, you do get the priority of the resource budget from the UN. Mr. Fatou and I decided to maintain our original position of the year 2030. As you need to understand, all of our ongoing projects are way lagging behind because of the budget constraints. This is the golden opportunity I have always been hoping for. Now, as you already know, there is no real guarantee the ‘thing’ might occur in 2015 or much earlier. So you see extending the deadline for the project would not only benefit our bureau, but also yourself. Remember, the other project you are also involved in, like the discovery of the Red Giant, is in collaboration with our bureau, which we decided to keep mum for now. The best thing is, and to save us all the inconvenience of having to defend the budget with the committee, is to let Kevin take account and let him go through the process.” Mr. Long finished.

 Carolina shivered and all of a sudden felt chills on her spine upon hearing Kevin’s name. Holding her breath, she wanted to excuse herself and talk to Kevin. However, curiosity got the best of her, and she opted to stay in her seat beside Mr. Singh.

Now paying more attention, Mr. Singh said. “How many times do I need to tell you, Keith and Mike, for me to be able to execute this plan, I need Kevin to stay close to me as much as possible. And you keep preventing this from happening. I will need an alibi and a witness when I fall ill right before the budget hearing, now Kevin needs to take my place. Do you gentlemen understand and agree with me on this? Now Mike, I will formally introduce you to him, and you will discuss and explain some matters which he’s concerned about. After which, you will treat him to a luxurious dinner with a beautiful woman. Is this clear? Be sure to pick out a chic one and don’t forget to make a reservation. Maybe the lady here might suggest an elegant restaurant?” Turning his attention back to Carolina, Mr. Singh waited for her to respond, to which she ignored as she took a sip from her drink.

“Why don’t we enjoy the evening gentlemen? C’mon, no need to worry about anything. Right, my lady?” Mr. Singh said, who was now becoming more obnoxious as he continued to hit on Carolina.

“But sir, we still have a lot of --” Mr. Mike Long said.         

“Enough! Mike. I’m having a good time here.” Mr. Singh said.

Mr. Fatou considered  the thirty billon US Dollar UN-IMF fund and the-now drunken and absent-minded Mr. Singh who was now too wasted and seemed to have lost his focus, and signaled to Mr. Long not to push the matter any further and settle down to enjoy the night. And so they did.

Later, after the bar had closed, Kevin came down and went straight to the counter where Carolina was cleaning up and auditing the cashiers’ report of the day’s sales and expenses.

Kevin reached into his wallet and pulled out five hundred dollar bills and said,

“Hi, sorry to bother you like this. Here, keep the change, and let’s go, I’m famished. Do you know of any after-hours place serving hot Chinese noodles?”

“Sure. The best noodle is two blocks from here in Chinatown. Hope you’re still up and about.  It’s already two in the morning.” Carolina said.

“Thanks, I’m okay. How about you? You still up for this?” Kevin said.

“Sure, except for the little buzz in my head from all the drinks Mr. Singh offered me, I’m fine, but a little tipsy. I already had two black coffees while working here at the counter, and I’m much better now. Yeah! Warm noodles would do the trick. Let me finish this first. Would you like coffee, tea, or anything?”

“No thanks, I’m fine. Right now, all I’m craving for are those noodles. I’ll sit here and wait for you to finish, okay?” Kevin replied as he set himself down on the chair in front of Carolina, and regarded her perfectly tanned face while she focused on the pile of papers on the counter. Her brows furrowed as she computed the day’s sales. After about twenty minutes, Carolina tidied, locked up, rung out the cash from the register, counted, and placed it inside the vault.

“Okay, I’m done. Let’s go for that good hot Chinese noodles.” Carolina said, as she and Kevin walked out of the bar.

Outside, walking side by side, Carolina linked her arm to Kevin’s and asked,

“Are you by any chance not in good terms with Mr. Fatou? I overheard them talking while I sat with them, and seems like he’s not fond of you.” She stared up, searching Kevin’s face for any negative sign and reaction. When she saw a slight movement across his lips, Carolina said, “I’m sorry, dear. I didn’t mean to pry into your business, but there were a lot of things said tonight, which is not my cup of tea, and I thought that I needed to tell you.” She stroked the inside of Kevin’s arm, showing concern.

 Kevin again showed his trademark smile, and assured her everything was fine. Walking shoulder to shoulder, they both held hands as they headed towards Chinatown.

#

“Wow! Is it always like this? Where did these people come from?” Kevin said, surprised at the queue when they arrived at Chow’s Noodles Place. “Must be at least twenty people here waiting for a table.”

“Not to worry,” Carolina said, raising and waving her hand at the owner.  ”The owner’s name is Sam. He frequents the bar when he’s not busy or entertaining guests. These people are also regulars and Chow’s is a well-known after-party place.

Sam saw Carolina, and waved at her to come along in front of the queue. He kissed her on both cheeks, took her hand, and opened the door into his restaurant.

“Sorry guys for the inconvenience, this is a common scene, quite chaotic during the rush hour. Let me make you comfortable down here in my private kitchen, where you can see while I cook everything you desire. Come, follow me!” Sam said.

A few steps down, was the open and immaculate kitchen counter, along with the tables where he entertains his VIP guests. Kevin was seated beside Carolina.

Still holding Carolina’s hand, Sam asked, “What would my lady and her gentleman like to start with?”

Carolina said, “Sam, this is Kevin. He works for the UN. Kevin, this is Sam, the owner of this fantastic restaurant.”

Kevin offered his hand, while Sam, who was still holding on to Carolina’s , had to let go and shook Kevin’s hand.

“Pleasure to meet you, Sam. I’m here for a warm noodle soup, maybe with chicken and some mushrooms.” Kevin said.

“I’ll have the same!” Carolina echoed.

“Are you sure? Why not let me make you my famous cream of hot-and-sour seafood noodle soup? Or my abalone, corn-and-crab meat in egg white soup?” Sam asked.

“Thanks, Sam, but the chicken and mushroom noodles would be fine.” Kevin said, cutting him off.

“Anyways, let me get you my special green tea first, also with some quail and thousand-year eggs for your appetizer. I’m sure you must be starving.” Sam insisted, trudging along the wide aluminum mirror-like kitchen counter. Sam pulled out several quail eggs and a couple of the thousand year eggs, sliced them, and poured some ginger soy sauce on them. He got the steaming pot of green tea as he walked back to the table and placed them in front of Kevin and Carolina.

“Here you go, enjoy! I’ll be back with your warm soups.” Sam said, as he served the tea and the appetizers.

Sam winked at Carolina as he went back to the counter and shouted some instructions in Mandarin to one of his assistant chefs, who ran and got some dough, and began kneading them into strips of smooth thin noodles.

Still silent while sipping his tea, Kevin was staring far off into the kitchen counter where all the action was going on. Carolina noticed the blank look on Kevin’s face, and nudged him and placed her hand over his.

“A dollar for your thoughts.” Carolina said.

“Umm, something you mentioned while we were walking, and it got the best of my curiosity, why in the world would you think Mr. Fatou and I are not in good terms? Did he mention my name in their discussions?” Kevin said. His gaze then turned to Carolina’s pretty face. He looked deep into her eyes in search of some mysterious hidden secrets from afar, locked away forever, and beyond his reach.

“Well, yes, when both Mr. Long and Mr. Fatou were hard on your Boss convincing him about a certain project and the budget needed from the committee or something of the sort.” Carolina said.

“And? What did Mr. Singh, my Boss, say?”

“Wait, wait! I was a little drunk and tired at that time. Let me try to recall their conversation.” Carolina said, pausing, as she took a sip from her cup of tea, and thought hard as her brows furrowed into a deep concentration.

Carolina sighed and said, “Okay, I learned that  Mr. Singh is about to go to a committee meeting, and he won’t be able to attend and will ask you to go instead. He will even arrange to get hospitalized so he can provide an alibi as to his absence. They all agreed you should make the meeting. Kevin, is everything okay? Are you in any kind of trouble?”

The look on Carolina’s face showed real concern. Kevin squeezed her hand and assured her.

“No Carolina, I am not in any danger or in harm’s way. But I know these people, and they can play hardball. I suggest right after this conversation with me, you must forget all what you’ve listened to and said. Do you understand? Please do it, okay?”

Feeling a little lost and uncertain, Carolina nodded her head.