The Meeting

When Johnny came back to the group, all he said was, "Let's go," and started walking toward the door.

"Hold up," Ben called out, "What is going on?"

"I'll tell you on the way," Johnny replied. "Just let the ladies know we'll be back soon. Adam, it's probably best for you to stay here with them."

Adam nodded.

Once in the elevator, Johnny said, "I called a meeting with Demitrius."

"And?," Ben probed, gesturing for Johnny to continue.

"And he said yes as I knew he would because I told him it was about his daughter," Johnny smirked.

Ben glared at Johnny, silently telling him to hurry up with the details before he strangled his friend.

Johnny continued, "I'm getting there. I realized when we were talking that Drakos must be feeling pretty desperate to resort to this type of thing—especially since he's already pulled something like this. That got me thinking about why he might be so desperate, and then it hit me that it could only be because daddy rich pockets must not be supporting him as he would have thought." Seeing the confused looks on Ben's and Peter's faces, he explained, "Think about it. Every other time he's been charged with something, his team of lawyers were able to get him off within hours. But not this time. In Drakos time, a week or so might as well be years. So, I got a call through to him and asked to meet to go over all this."

"I assume he knew about Selene's mom already?," Ben asked.

"Of course," Johnny answered. "But I didn't tell him that that was the reason or the meeting. I wasn't sure if that would be enough for him to agree to it."

Ben nodded, "Good thinking."

Marco was waiting downstairs to drive the four men to the Drakos mansion. Several bodyguards followed. Once there, everyone was ushered into a waiting room that was lavishly decorated with ancient Greek vases and similar ornamentation.

"I feel like I'm on Mount Olympus," Peter said dryly.

"As long as this guy doesn't think he's Zeus and is running the show, everything will go according to plan," Ben replied.

A couple minutes later, Demitrius and Lyra entered the room and sat on a two-seater sofa that was facing the couch on which Peter, Johnny, and Max sat. Ben was seated on an arm-chair perpendicular to the couch.

"How is Selene?," Demitrius asked first thing.

"How do you think she is with her mother abducted by your son?," Ben asked, trying not to clench his jaw in anger.

Lyra's hand went quickly over her mouth as she let out a little gasp.

Demitrius sighed, "I can imagine. Alas, that son of mine. I guess what they say is right about the sins of the father being visited upon his children." He leaned back on the couch and let out another deep breath.

Lyra looked at her father with concern and then turned to Ben, "Just so you know, I didn't know about this, I swear." She looked at her father, "I can't believe you didn't tell me about this."

"I was trying to protect you, dear daughter," he replied.

Looking back at Ben, Lyra said, "I think you should also know that my father is not helping Victor out of this mess."

Demitrius hushed his daughter, "They don't need to know our family business!"

But, Lyra would not be deterred, "Selene *is* family! And what happens to her is important to me!" Looking at the four men, she continued, "I'm not sure if I can be of any help, but I will do whatever you need to help Selene." Then, looking down at her hands that were firmly clasped in front of her, she added, "It's the least *we* can do for her."

Johnny gave Ben a look as if to say, "This is too easy." They were naturally skeptical. In fact, they had come up with a whole script to get Demitrius's help, but it looked like Lyra was paving the road for them.

"I'm glad to hear you offering help, but I'm sure you must know that we would be wary of something given so easily by the Drakos clan," Johnny hedged.

"I understand," Lyra responded. "But please rest assured that if I have any ulterior motive, it's to just get to know my sister. If helping her mother makes Selene think kindly toward me, then that would be wonderful. But I'm really not doing it for that reason. This is the right thing to do."

All the intelligence that they had on Lyra Drakos indicated that she had been sheltered from an early age as to the goings on of the Drakos family. She had been sent to boarding school in Greece from the age of 10 and had also studied abroad for college. There wasn't a lot to know about her as she seemed to have led a quiet life.

Deciding to go along for now, Johnny nodded, "Alright. If you want to help, we have a way." He looked at Peter.

"Your brother took Selene's mother to use as leverage against my office—to get us to drop charges," Peter began. "But there is no way the DA is going to drop charges when the evidence is stacked so high against him." He turned to Demitrius, "So we think our best shot at getting Ms. Serian back is you."

"Me?," Demitrius asked, looking confused. "I want nothing to do with this."

Lyra sighed as Ben said, "You said you were concerned about Selene. Don't you think getting her mother back for her would be what is best for her? After all that you have pulled over the years, don't you think you owe her this?"

Demitrius had the decency to look chagrined. "Of course, you are right. But, what do we get if we help you?"

"Father!," Lyra exclaimed.

Demitrius gave a sharp look to his daughter, "Let me handle this. You know that they are bankrupting us as we speak! How do you expect to survive if we don't use our assets to the best advantage?"

"And a kidnapped older woman is your asset? Unbelievable," Peter muttered, clenching his fists. Johnny tried giving him a look to keep him calm.

"One has to do what one has to do for their family," Demitrius stated with a haughty look.

Ben retorted, "We don't negotiate with kidnappers or the fathers of kidnappers as the case may be. Actually, how do we know that you didn't have something to do with this?"

"You don't. But I didn't," Demitrius replied, maintaining his snobbish exterior.

"Father, please," Lyra pleaded, but Demitrius seemed unmoved.

Ben stood up, "We may or may not be in touch." The other three men stood up as well and they were all ushered out the door.

Before the door shut, Lyra came running up to Ben and took his hand in hers as she said, "Please know that I will try to help in whatever way I can." Then she rushed back inside.

When the men were inside their car and well on their way, Ben took out a tiny piece of paper that he had placed in his pocket. Peter, who was sitting next to him, looked at him with a questioning look.

"Lyra placed this in my hand when we were leaving," Ben explained and then showed it to Johnny.

Johnny read it out loud, "I can help. Please provide an untraceable line at this number…"

"What do you think," Ben asked the group.

"I'm pretty good at reading people and she did seem to sincerely want to help," Peter responded.

Johnny agreed, "I think so too. It may be our only shot right now, especially since I can now pretty much guarantee that Father Drakos isn't helping his son not because he doesn't want to but because he can't."

"What do you mean?," Max asked.

"The way he was hard-lining about 'negotiating' since our noose around their businesses is tightening. I bet he doesn't have the resources to help his son. Who knows? Maybe he's also trying to teach his son a lesson, but I can almost 100% guarantee that if they had the money, Victor would be out by now," Johnny explained.

Ben nodded, "Then I'll give her a call."