Year of the Tiger / [chapter 2 - Explanation]
by portisHeart
Rating: T
Fandom: Finder Series (VF)
Characters: Liu Fei Long, 1 OC
Summary chapter 2: A savory dinner, a breathtaking view... and an unusual conversation for Liu Fei Long.
Warnings: AU, OOC
Disclaimer: Viewfinder characters belong to Yamane Ayano - this fiction is written for fun, not profit.
As the glass door opened and the first guest entered the room in long strides, he was instantly recognized, and the headwaiter hurried to welcome him with all due respect. If he started inwardly and couldn't believe his eyes at the sight of the other guest of the party following immediately, his well-mannered and professional expression didn't show.
Because if it had, he would have opened wide eyes, lifted his eyebrows and probably looked down his nose.
Between the handsome and absolutely refined long haired man in his late twenties wearing a perfectly tailored black Shanghai Tang suit on a white silk shirt, and the completely underdressed youth in his more than casual streetwear, namely a quite formless hooded dark blue sweatshirt and jeans, the contrast was striking.
But as they walked in together, it was obvious the young man somehow belonged to their important guest, so nobody would have dared to make a comment. At least, thought the employee, even if his attire was really far from the dress code expected in the hotel, the clothes looked actually quite new and visibly clean.
A deferent smile plastered on his face, the headwaiter bowed and greeted the newcomers.
"Master Liu, such a wonderful surprise to see you tonight."
He then turned a little to face the unfitting young man, and uttered politely:
"Welcome as our guest, Mister. May I lead the way?"
Fei Long returned the greeting shortly but as graciously as his mood permitted, not bothering at all about the reaction his companion may cause. His young guest, intimidated and feeling completely out of place in these elite surroundings, smiled nervously and whispered a shy hello.
They were seated in a private modern, very comfortable bay windowed room with a breathtaking view on the harbor. The inviting table bore more crockery on top of it as the student actually could call his own. Fei Long ordered for them both, their drinks were brought in, and finally they were left alone.
The Triad leader relaxed on his chair, closed his eyes for a little while taking a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. Opening his eyes again, he observed calmly the young man sitting in front of him, busy staring at the luxury around him and the impressive view offered by the window taking one full side of the room.
"I listen."
The student started and looked back at the man who had first almost hurt then scolded him, forced him to come along in his car, and was now inviting him in a high standing hotel for a very expensive meal. Again he had to clear his voice to speak.
"What do you want? Why did you bring me here?"
"Your story."
"You… really want me to tell you…"
"Yes. I do. Somehow, I wonder what is so important to you that you dare trouble my peace. And I happen to be wanting some entertainment. So please proceed with your animal story."
"Oh. So you don't really care, do you?"
"I am not in the mood to argue about my deep convictions. You stomped over me with your request for attention, deeply annoying me, interrupting my relaxation, and I've been so kind to not even retaliate. I am going as far as to offer you an occasion to experience being part of a world where you will never set a foot again. So don't try my patience any further. I am doing what you wanted from me as you knocked on the car window. I am listening to you."
"Ok, ok, don't get upset, Mister."
While he was speaking those last words, the young man searched his pockets, and finally managed to pull out one of his flyers. This one was quite crumpled, but as the rest of them had been left on the sidewalk as the car drove away, it was the only one he had left.
"Look here. You see this picture? It's them."
In the middle of the creased bit of paper was a photograph of a grown up tiger and a cub to be seen. Obviously parent and child, both white with black stripes. Probably Siberian or Bengal. The adult quite a beautiful feline and the cub… well, sweet like a big kitten. A very big one.
Fei Long watched the picture for a while, then had a quick look at the rest of the leaflet, where the words 'zoo' and 'sponsor' were written a couple of times in big letters.
"So, what about them? I don't want to read… this. I want you to tell me", said Fei Long, looking back at the young activist and sweeping away the crumpled piece of paper.
As the student was ready to set forth with the story, there was a polite knock on the door and two waiters appeared, pushing a service table with their meal. Fei Long had opted for a choice of different dishes, varied but well assorted, easy to serve, so that after the first service had been done by the staff, they would be able to refill their plates by themselves. This was the distinguished guest's request to minimize the intrusion into his private sphere, he had seen enough people for today. If the earlier events had prevented him to enjoy his meal quietly by himself, he didn't wish to have anybody else than his improvised guest around him.
For a while, the room was quiet as they tasted their dinner, an the few sentences exchanged were comments and praise about the delicious meal. When they had tried from all the dishes and savored about half of the platters' contents, the student looked at the man sitting opposite him and started to fidget a little. Indulgent towards the boy's impatience, Fei Long told him he could go on with his story while they continued eating.
Actually, he enjoyed his evening much more than he had expected, and maybe more than he would have if he had been by himself. The young man's reactions to his surroundings and the food were interesting, his conversation quite different from what Fei Long had to hear during those business meetings. And there was no need to put up a mask, the youth didn't have a clue who he was dining with, probably thinking he was a model or the like. Quite refreshing.
"So, about the two tigers on the picture. They are white Bengal tigers with Siberian lineage. The big one is the cub's mother. She's beautiful, and quite tame, because she's born in captivity and has been used to people since she was a cub. Her son is only four weeks old, and..."
The expression on the youth's face changed, and he looked at Fei Long with quite sad eyes.
"That's why we were distributing the flyers... Now, the mother and her cub are still living in a little zoo, which happens to have serious financial difficulties. They're about to close, and had to somehow find new places for all their animals in the year to come. Lots of them have already been placed. The zoo has decided to give the little male away as soon as he's barely old enough to quit his mother. This means the buyer may have to nurse him for a while. They say they have more chances to get a good offer for him alone while he's still young, and were searching for another place to translocate his mother and his two sisters."
The young man's expression changed from sad to bitter, and he shook his head.
"It's mainly about their budget. Those tigers are sought for, unlike the other animals belonging to this zoo, and he is a male, an interesting point regards to eventual breeding. Whoever takes him will need to offer a nice sum. As far as we know, there are a couple of interested parties already, some parks and some sponsors. The donors are mainly multinational companies. So it's not excluded that they have some ideas of promoting their image using the little tiger for publicity, while his well-being isn't priority. Naturally, this isn't proved, only gossip."
Recognizing the laws of the world of affairs, Fei Long only murmured "Business…", and the youth nodded.
"Back to the wild is not an option – the mother has always lived in captivity, and there's no time to put up a reinsertion program for the cubs. Even if this could be organized, tiger hunters are a danger that can't be excluded. What is needed is a really big reserve, a wild life park, something similar."
"The highest bidder will control where and in which conditions the tigers will spend the rest of their lives. And as it looks like the faster better competitor will obtain the approval from the zoo, the solution they can offer won't probably be half as nice as the tigers deserve."
"Only a really mighty financial help could ensure a good party has the upper hand on whatever offers the other candidates may make. With this funds as a back-up, our action group could negotiate with the zoo direction. The money would be used to complete the most decent party's bidden amount, so the zoo may be inclined to consider selling the cub to them. Ideally, we even wish the whole family to be kept together. That's why we were trying to collect money, organize bigger donations and sensibilize both the media and private people. Up to now, the amount we have gathered is minimal."
His face serious and looking more grown up than a while ago, the student verified if he still had Fei Long's full attention. He took a couple of sips from his drink, drew a deep breath and went on.
"The decision will probably be taken soon, we're talking two months a the best. The time they will allow the cub to stay with his mother after this will be the absolute minimum they have to respect. Once the deal has been concluded and contracts signed, no further offer will be taken into consideration any more. His fate will be sealed. Worse, if this scheme is successful, they may do the same to the other two cubs... his sisters. They're not on the picture. With them, no official planning as been started yet, the little male being more fussed upon. The tigress may be sold to whoever wants her too. So who knows where they'll all end up…"
"I... I only wish we could have moved more people, pressured the media... made them change their policy and forget about selling the cub away like this... allowing them to be together in a good setting, at least until the cubs reach the age to be independent. Find the best solution, not only based on profit..."
His fork playing with the food on his plate, the student had stopped talking for a while, and on his face Fei Long could see his sadness and his disappointment at the adult world. The youth raised his head, chuckled and added in a cynical tone:
"You know what's funny? The year of the tiger is about to begin... talk about luck for them four."
Somehow, to his greatest surprise, Fei Long noticed that he had been listening all along, captivated, feeling upset in sync with the student.
He shook his head, not believing himself that his attention would be caught by such a subject. And not only his attention. His emotions too. He actually wished the cub to have a peaceful life there where he would feel well, in a large and suited space.
"Oh my... since when do I have an interest in... animal babies? This kid's softness and naivety is affecting me in a way I don't appreciate", Fei Long reflected and frowned. Maybe it hadn't been a good idea to pick up the little punk after all. What a stupid whimsical idea to drag him to the hotel.
Misunderstanding Fei Long's facial expression for disgust about the zoo leadership and the other involved parties, the young man nodded and showed his appreciation with a thumb up movement.
"See, even you being a rich ba... erh man, you think their deal is crap, right? I wouldn't have thought you'd care."
Great. Now this tactless young twit was calling him names as well. Though, the student was quite accurate, three times in a row. Fei Long was rich. The title 'bastard' was not only true but actually a major understatement, taken his reputation in the underworld. And normally, he wouldn't have given a damn about either cubs or how fair other people's business attitudes were. Add a fourth time to the row, he really did think the deal was crap.
The mere fact that his mind was dwelling on this issue was alarming enough.
Fei Long was starting to brood about the way he had been distracted from a relaxing, mind-soothing meal to plunge into youthful turmoil and zoological depths. Short of telling the student to shove it and get the hell out of the place, he was distracted by a polite knock on the door announcing the staff.
He answered with a dry "Yes", the two waiters came in mannerly, cleaned the table, offered fresh tea and desserts, asking if their honorable guest had any more requests.
As Fei Long informed them he'd call later if this was the case, the waiters left.
Silence came back into the room, but this little interruption had nonetheless calmed down his almost boiling mood a little... While the student smiled broadly at the sweets brought and started to dig in, Fei Long grabbed a cup of tea and walked over to a more comfortable chair in front of the large window. As he sat down, he noticed the crumpled piece of paper on the floor. He picked it and had another look at the picture.
(End of chapter 2)
