Axel was in the living room of his cobblestone mansion, slouched on the black leather couch. Heads of lions, bears and tigers hung on the walls. Trophy hunting was his favourite hobby. Neverland is a place to stay young forever, whereas his mansion is a place to stay forever rich.
Axel was jet-lagged from his trip to Cascadia. He wished they'd visited the beach and relaxed, sipping away at cola with scotch. However, he was there strictly for diplomatic reasons, and Lolita wanted to leave immediately to return to the castle. If he had a choice, he would also stay in the castle with Lolita. With a buzzing inside his black pants, he pulled his cellphone to look at the caller ID. Artemis.
"Axel, can you please tell me what happened between the meeting with Lolita and Osa? Please tell me, Lolita didn't insult him. His list of crimes against humanity is a paper trail long enough to wrap a corpse into a mummy." Artemis sounded distraught.
Axel shallowed hard. Lolita had poked the bear, and Osa wasn't a cuddly teddy bear. He was brutal as a grizzly bear and would pulverize his enemies.
"The meeting went fine." Axel lied through his teeth. "I've been watching The World's Top Drag Racers. Ten contestants are competing against each other for the grand prize of a million dollars!"
"Axel, I need you to tell me what happened during the meeting with Osa."
"I don't remember what they were talking about. I want to buy a car that has a manual transmission, so I can practice doing donuts. Maybe I'll buy a sports car from Catwerp and have it shipped to Intermarium."
"Axel, I don't want you to talk about cars! I want to hear about the meeting with Osa."
Axel shrugged. "I've already told you the meeting was fine. You worry too much, Artemis. I've to go; The World Top Drag Racer is going to start soon."
He hung up.