Page 38 of Damian & Jun: Episodes 1-4
He left it at that and just sent it. Inside his head, thoughts ran around like hamsters in a hamster wheel surrounded by two rats chasing each other and a parrot observing it all from above, yelling encouragement to stir up more confusion.
He dropped his forehead to the bed and groaned. But since his hand kept moving, BoBo was not disturbed. If anything, he purred back and stretched out one leg, resting his hind paw against Jun’s ear.
It took him way too long to remember he could safely use Mi Hi’s phone for whatever he wanted. He jumped over to a browser and searched Richard Reevesworth’s name. The entire first page of results were recent newspaper articles about a double kidnapping, a shooting with a Russian operative, and a triple hospitalization.
He shook himself, shivered, and then did another full-body shake before going back to a comforting rocking back and forth.
BoBo tapped him with a paw: Seriously, human, settle down and pet me. There is nothing that petting me cannot fix.
Jun narrowed his eyes at the cat. I don’t agree.
BoBo blinked once. When Jun’s hand continued with the petting, he let his head flop back onto the blankets.
Jun:
Damian responded immediately.
Jun scowled.
Damian’s typing dots bounced along merrily.
Jun thumped his head against the bed in between punching in his reply.
Damian’s reply came back so fast the little bouncing dots didn’t get to do any dancing at all.
How could he be so glad and so scared all at the same time that Damian was going to such extremes to help? Why did it feel like such a threat?
Part of him wanted to run to somewhere Damian could never find him, and the other part of him wanted to throw himself in Damian’s arms.
Damian
Local security met Damian and Richard curbside at the airport with two cars and an interpreter sent out from the local branch office of Reevesworth Industries. The middle-aged woman, Mung, smiled and bowed toward Damian, greeting him in Korean. “It’s been a while.”
Damian grinned back and bowed just a fraction lower. He outranked her now, but she had had a small part in his education years previous, and he was younger than her by at least a decade. She was a consummate professional; Richard would be in good hands if Damian was not at his side. “Every time I’ve visited, you’ve been elsewhere.”
She smiled and nodded to the side. “Many trips. Saudi Arabia last week.”
“They’re keeping you on the road.”
She smiled a little wryly. “Perhaps I enjoy being on the road.”
They all entered the SUVs. Damian texted Jun.
Mung sat in the back seat of the seven-seat SUV. She leaned forward to Damian but spoke in English. “There is media presence at the hotel.”
Damian rubbed his forehead with the knuckle of his thumb. “How intense?”
“Maybe twenty people right now.”
“We can handle twenty.” Damian glanced at Richard.
Richard nodded in agreement. They’d handled worse.
Bryce texted.
Damian grimaced. It was a move he’d seen as a possible response, but still, it eliminated a range of options. If Bryce pushed, then he’d reveal that he knew Jun did not have his passport. And that would put Bryce at risk.
There were two next logical steps: breaking into BBB3 and searching the premises or, secondly, and more legally, having Jun report his passport as lost or stolen. Though then he would be at the whims of the Korean government for a reissue.
