The Supreme Soldier in the City
Chapter 324 - 332 James Brown Has Disappeared

Chapter 324: Chapter 332 James Brown Has Disappeared

"Old lady, look who’s here." Jonathan Lopez was still unaware that during the brief time he was out, the three women at home had somehow misunderstood him. He excitedly pulled Charles Lewis inside, calling out loudly.

"Sister-in-law, long time no see, you’re still so beautiful. Mr. Lopez is truly a lucky man," Charles Lewis laughed heartily as he greeted Mrs. Lopez.

When Mrs. Lopez saw the two men come in, with no one following behind them, she was a bit puzzled. She had met Charles Lewis before, even though it had been over a decade, but because Jonathan Lopez often showed her photos of his comrade-in-arms, she recognized him immediately.

Standing up, Mrs. Lopez said with a smile, "I’m over fifty now, and my daughter is already married. No need to mention whether I’m still beautiful or not, you’re just teasing me."

"Here are our daughters, Gina, Sandra, hurry and greet the guests," Jonathan Lopez called to his two daughters.

"Hello, Uncle Lewis!" Gina Lopez and Grace Lopez quickly greeted politely.

Seeing Gina and Sandra, even Charles Lewis’s gaze faltered, not because of any improper thoughts, but encountering such identical twin sisters would astound anyone, "Very good, I knew you had twin daughters, but I didn’t expect them to be this grown up and still look so alike. It’s indeed a delightful sight."

"This is... Eh, where did James go?" Jonathan Lopez was about to introduce James Brown to Charles Lewis, but when he turned around, he found that James Brown had disappeared.

Mrs. Lopez also turned around to look and was equally baffled. Just moments ago, James Brown had been sitting next to Gina, but now he had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Gina was stunned for a moment, and Grace was also confused. How could someone who was just inside the house have disappeared?

"Maybe he just stepped out," Gina could only offer an indistinct explanation.

Jonathan Lopez didn’t think much of it, saying with a laugh, "James is my son-in-law. He just stepped out and will be back in a bit."

Charles Lewis laughed and said, "Your son-in-law is named James? Ha, what a coincidence, my son-in-law is also named James Brown."

Jonathan Lopez exclaimed in surprise, "Really? My son-in-law is also called James Brown, could it really be such a coincidence?"

This time even Charles Lewis was surprised, and said, "Yes, yes, James Brown. What a coincidence, as old comrades-at-arms, our sons-in-law even share the same name."

At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and everyone turned to look. Standing at the doorway were two women, one in her fifties and one, a spirited beauty in her twenties – none other than Helen Wilson and her mother.

"Helen Wilson!"

"Gina Lopez!"

At this encounter, both Helen and Gina exclaimed in shock. Neither expected to meet each other here, and certainly not with such surprise and panic.

Suddenly, Gina understood why James Brown had looked so odd just now and why he had disappeared so abruptly. He was obviously avoiding Helen’s family.

"You know each other?" Charles Lewis and Jonathan Lopez were both surprised looking at their daughters.

Gina, who after all is a company president, was quicker to respond than Helen, immediately saying with a smile, "Yes, we both work in YODC City and have had some interactions."

With Gina leading the way, Helen also managed to regain her composure, adding, "Mhm, we’re quite acquainted with each other."

Jonathan Lopez and Charles Lewis exchanged glances, then burst into hearty laughter.

Giving Charles Lewis a pat on the shoulder, Jonathan Lopez said, "Mr. Davis, this is truly a coincidence. But it’s also our fault. As old comrades, we should’ve kept in touch. If our children also kept in touch, our bond would grow even stronger, wouldn’t it?"

Charles Lewis nodded repeatedly, "That’s right, our children know each other, but didn’t know that their fathers are comrades-in-arms."

After exchanging a few words, Charles Lewis introduced his wife to Gina, and Jonathan Lopez introduced his wife to Helen.

"Today is your sister-in-law’s birthday. We’re here celebrating her birthday," Jonathan said.

Upon hearing this, Charles Lewis immediately exclaimed, "That’s such a coincidence! This is a rare opportunity. We must stay and have a few more drinks with you all here."

"Alright, alright, it’s about time we old buddies had a reunion. Let’s have a few more drinks."

Seeing that Jonathan Lopez and Charles Lewis intended to continue drinking right here, the shock on the faces of the sisters, Gina Lopez and Emily Lopez, as well as Helen Wilson was palpable. If they started drinking and James Brown stumbled in by mistake, it would spoil everything. Even if James had slipped out and wouldn’t come back, there was a good chance they would end up talking about him, and that would surely give the game away.

Besides, James Brown’s sudden departure needed some explanation. After all, it would be extremely rude for a son-in-law to sneak away during his mother-in-law’s birthday celebration.

Gina Lopez was the first to stand up and suggest, "Dad, look, we’re almost done eating here. We can’t let Uncle Lewis and his family have leftovers. Let’s change locations, maybe to a bar or karaoke place. We could have fun and sing at the same time; wouldn’t that be better?"

Jonathan Lopez clapped his hands in agreement, saying, "Right, right. If it were just Mr. Lewis alone, eating leftovers would be fine, but we’ve also got your aunt and cousin here. We can’t be eating this stuff. Let’s move somewhere else to drink."

Charles Lewis immediately responded, "No need, no need. We’ve just finished eating and don’t need more food. We’ll order a couple more dishes later, and that will do. The most important thing is for us to chat and have a few drinks together. The rest doesn’t matter."

Gina Lopez insisted, "Uncle Lewis, how could we? That would be so impolite of us."

Charles Lewis laughed heartily and replied, "My dear niece, if anyone’s being impolite, it’s us. Coming empty-handed to your mother’s birthday party – isn’t that even more impolite? What matters most is that our flight is in three hours. If we head to the airport and all, we’ll only have an hour left. If we change places now, we’ll spend all that time on the road."

Hearing Charles Lewis’s reasoning, Jonathan Lopez then said, "If you’re not picky, Mr. Davis, let’s just stay here for drinks. But why the rush? Can’t you stay one more day?"

Charles Lewis grinned and replied, "I just didn’t expect to see you here. It’s been more than ten years, and I had no idea you were in this city. If I had known you were here, I would definitely have stayed a couple more days."

Jonathan Lopez laughed, "Then just cancel your flight tickets. You’re not so short on cash, are you, Mr. Davis?"

Benjamin Woods laughed boisterously, "It’s not about the money; we really do have something urgent tomorrow and must rush back. Anyway, I know where you are now. I’ll leave my number, and in the future, even if you don’t want me to come, I’ll make myself at home at your place."

"Well, since that’s the case, let’s have some drinks and chat here." Jonathan Lopez motioned for everyone to sit down again.

The table in the private room wasn’t very large, just a standard one for eight people, covered with a red velvet cloth that almost touched the ground, with a rotating glass top sitting above it.

Now seven people sat down, with the old comrades-in-arms Jonathan Lopez and Charles Lewis sitting together. Their wives chatted nearby, and the sisters Gina and Emily sat one on each side of Helen Wilson.

But just as Emily Lopez sat down, she suddenly sprang up, letting out a yelp, as if she had been startled by something.

"What’s wrong?" Everyone looked quizzically at Emily Lopez.

Emily Lopez then stuck out her tongue sheepishly and said apologetically, "Sorry, there was a fishbone on my chair, and it pricked me."

Mrs. Lopez glared at her daughter, saying with displeasure, "You’re such a grown girl, yet still so jumpy. You’re making us a laughing stock."

Joan Wilson immediately chuckled and said, "What’s there to laugh about? I’m envious of you having such lovely daughters."

Emily Lopez giggled and then sat down again, lifting the velvet cloth over her legs. In that brief moment, she saw someone under the table – it was the missing brother-in-law, James Brown.

The underside of the table wasn’t entirely empty. The supports consisted of six wooden posts, and since the hotel was upscale, these table legs were quite thick and sturdy, so the top didn’t wobble. But because of this construction, the space under the table was reduced. With everyone naturally stretching their feet under the table, James Brown had even less room to hide.

Fortunately, when James Brown had sneaked in earlier, he had guessed that Emily Lopez and the others would likely sit on the side near the door, so he deliberately hid there, right under where Emily Lopez was seated.

As soon as Emily Lopez sat down, she inadvertently kicked James Brown’s leg. Feeling someone under the table, her immediate instinct was to cry out in surprise, but she reacted quickly, surmising that it could very well be her missing brother-in-law hiding underneath. She quickly covered it up.

Nudging James’s foot gently with hers, Emily Lopez really felt like laughing. The formidable brother-in-law was hiding under the table at that moment, which was simply too amusing.

James Brown, wedged between two table legs and shielded by Emily Lopez in front, had nowhere to hide and had to tolerate the kick. Emily, seemingly up to mischief, kept nudging him with her foot from time to time, and bursts of laughter could be heard as she spoke above, clearly enjoying herself.

Being concealed under the table was already a frustrating experience for James Brown. If he had actually been playing the field, hiding there wouldn’t have been unjustified. But given that his dual identity as a son-in-law was all an act, it was truly an undeserved circumstance.

Suddenly, James felt a jab of pain in his lower abdomen as Emily Lopez’s foot intruded further, striking right between his legs at a sensitive spot.