The waiter arrived with a wireless phone. “I’m terribly sorry to interrupt but you have a call.”
Ben and Margaux sat up and he took the phone. “Ben Shepherd.”
“Ah, Mr. Shepherd. This is Marcus from the front desk. You have visitors. The Noskov family? They say you rescued their twin daughters. Shall I send them up?”
“To the rooftop patio?” Ben asked.
“Yes sir, they could meet you in the restaurant,” Marcus indicated.
“Uh, sure, ok.”
“Very good sir. They will be right up.” The phone went dead. He handed it back to the waiter who nodded and left.
“Uh, I have to go greet the family of the twins I… found the other night. Could you give me a moment?” he asked. She nodded with a smile and Ben walked over to the elevator doors.
When they opened four people were inside. First was a shorter man, maybe 5′ 4″ but broad in the shoulders and fit. His hair was either prematurely greying or he was slightly older than Ben. He had a square jaw and sharp blue eyes which took in the surroundings before he stepped out and allowed his family to follow.
His wife was tall and slim. A good twenty years younger than her husband and at least four inches on him. She was lovely and had lips made for smiling though she looked a little strained and tired now. Then came the two lovely girls, blond like their mother and likely to inherit her height and looks. Their eyes were currently scanning everywhere but stopped when they spotted him. The two began to chatter immediately and point excitedly towards him.
Ben stepped forward awkwardly and smiled. “Hello, I’m Ben Shepherd.” He held his hand out.
The man stopped and looked up at him. Something passed across his face and the man’s jaw flexed. He shook Ben’s hand then he pulled him into a fierce hug which caught Ben by surprise. Then the wife joined the hug and the kids right after. Ben was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. The man was the first to recover and pulled back. He dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief. His wife stepped back and Ben patted the two girl’s heads then with a word from their father they joined their mother.
“I am Nikolai Noskov. This is my wife Galena and our girls Mika and Roza. They are our miracle children and more precious to us than anything in the world. We had almost lost hope of ever finding them again. I cannot express the gratitude we feel for your rescuing them and bring them back to us.”
Ben was squirming under their admiring looks so he tried to deflect. “It was the police who really rescued them and brought them to you. They deserve your praise more than me.”
“Your modesty proves your quality of character!” Nikolai gushed. “It is almost lunch time, please let me buy you lunch!”
“Oh! Uh, sure but I should bring my companions if we are going to have lunch,” Ben said.
“Please bring them!” the man said with a smile. They walked to the entrance of the restaurant and Ben asked for a large table. The host nodded and led the Noskov family to the table while Ben went to gather his people. He got Daniel out of the pool and let the two ladies know it was lunch time.
“Margaux, would you please join us for lunch. This family is very nice and wants to show their gratitude by buying lunch. They invited all of us,” Ben asked.
She saw the need in his eyes so she nodded and he relaxed. She wondered what caused his discomfort.
The group followed Ben to the restaurant and over to the table. Nikolai and Galena stood and tried not to gawk at Karen and Penny and everyone shook hands and said their hellos as introductions were made.
Ben leaned forward to address the parents. “Karen and Penny were captives of Rachid Shakir since their early teens. I found them locked in a bedroom off the room your children were kept in.” Nikolai’s and Galena’s faces went white. They were looking at the potential, eventual end result of their children’s abduction.
Karen looked upset. “Why are they looking at us like that?”
“They don’t mean to upset you, it’s just that the idea of losing your children for such a long time is horrifying to a parent. I should have found a better way to make that introduction. My apologies.” Ben felt terrible for making everyone feel bad.
“Mr. Shepherd is right. We would have missed our daughters very much and are so grateful this was prevented!” Galena said diplomatically. Karen felt better but Ben saw worry in Penny’s eyes.
Talk quickly made its way to occupations and Ben learned that Nikolai’s company, which he ran with his brother Andrei, touched on a lot of different industries. Ben realized that he’d done work with the Noskovs before.
“I designed a new drill bit for one of your mining companies. Reduced the creation of dust which meant less water needed to control the dust, less pollution, less energy consumption for pumping, less cost.” Ben smiled.
“That was you?” Nikolai said incredulously.
“Yes! I saw the request on the engineering boards and thought it looked like a good challenge!” Ben beamed and Margaux finally, truly got what Ben did for a living.
They ate lunch and talked about travel, Ben having only France to mention but Margaux and the Noskovs had travelled far more extensively.
When lunch was done everyone stood to say their goodbyes and Ben noticed Nikolai was still nervously scanning the room.