Chapter 131: Car Seizure Case
They couldn't stay at the restaurant. After Rajesh's arrogance finally reached an unbearable level, Leonard decisively gave the signal to bail.
As a result, he had to go pick up takeout for everyone.
"Hey! Good news, you don't have to mope about Penny anymore." Howard greeted Leonard enthusiastically as soon as he walked in with the food.
"There are thousands of Romanian or Ukrainian women just waiting for you to find them."
"www.forgreencarddoesanything.com?" Leonard read the website Howard was browsing in disbelief, then turned to look at Ron. His expression clearly said, Howard's lost his mind, and you're not going to do anything about it?
"What can I do? I just didn't want to talk about Hollywood gossip anymore," Ron shrugged. Ever since he'd gotten back, Howard had been pestering him with celebrity rumors.
To avoid being bothered, he'd strategically recommended the website to Howard. The plan worked perfectly. Howard sat glued to his computer, eyes blazing as he stared at the screen without blinking, and hadn't said another word to Ron since.
"I can lend you my username: RichBigStud," Howard continued promoting his new obsession.
"Are you serious?"
"Oh, you have to keep it simple for them to understand. They're just learning English." Howard kept glancing at the screen, filtering through potential dates.
"The 'BigStud' part is overkill. 'Rich' is plenty," Ron looked up. "Women usually only care about two things: money or looks. If you're good-looking enough, they'll be happy to overlook everything else."
"Uh," Ron paused, remembering it was 2007. "Never mind, that's not important right now."
"Whatever." Leonard set the food on the table with zero enthusiasm.
"You're just sitting here feeling sorry for yourself while Penny's out with Dr. Raj, who's probably as loaded as Tony Stark?" Howard asked.
Ron winced slightly at Howard's comparison, knowing the Iron Man reference might be lost on them in 2007, but the sentiment was clear enough.
"That wasn't a date, and you're definitely being culturally insensitive," Leonard said dejectedly, slumping down next to Ron. "Let's just eat so I can go to sleep. With any luck, I'll die of sleep apnea tonight."
"Don't be so dramatic," Ron said, seeing Leonard's despair. "You know Penny's personality. Do you really think she agreed to go out with Rajesh because she's interested?"
A spark of hope flickered in Leonard's eyes as he stared intently at Ron's face.
"Trust me, she definitely went to that dinner just for the free food and drinks," Ron said, completely exasperated with this lovesick fool. "Penny's probably having money troubles lately. She hasn't even paid me her share of utilities this month."
"How much is it? I'll cover it for now. Consider it a loan to Penny," Leonard said eagerly.
"Whoa, easy there," Ron pushed Leonard back onto the couch. His stern look stopped Sheldon, who was about to interrupt with questions, and he gestured for Sheldon to just grab some food.
"Actually, there's no point in chasing after Penny like this. Why don't you just have some fun for a while? Like, maybe try that dating website with Howard? If that site doesn't work out, I know another one where you can basically order Ukrainian mail-order brides."
"Really?!" Howard exclaimed. "There's such a thing? How much do they cost?"
"If you can help them get green cards, it'll run you about as much as a decent car. Of course, I can't guarantee they won't divorce you later and take half your stuff, so I wouldn't recommend it."
Ron shot him a warning look, and Howard immediately backed down.
Howard might be desperate, but as a smart Jewish guy, he wouldn't mess around with something that serious.
"Forget it, I don't want to date anyone except Penny."
Leonard shook his head, and Ron didn't bother trying to change his mind. Maybe it was destiny. Even though Penny was a party girl with an active dating life, in America, she was still considered a catch. If Leonard liked her, that was his choice.
"You guys start eating. I need to take this call." Ron was mid-bite when his phone started buzzing. Glancing at the caller ID, he put down his food and stepped into the hallway to answer.
"Hey there, old buddy, how's life treating you?" The caller was Hobbs, whom he'd worked with recently.
"I was doing great until you called and bothered me," Ron rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Alright, what do you want this time?"
"Hey, we're friends. Can't I just call to chat?"
"Yeah right," Ron snorted. "If you had time to chat with me, I think you'd rather be flirting with your new rookie partner. How's your old academy buddy's backside? You being too rough with him?"
"I'm telling you again, our friendship is completely professional," Hobbs wanted to get mad but couldn't, since he needed Ron's help. "I've arranged for him to go to advanced tactical training. When he gets back, he'll definitely impress you."
"I'll believe it when I see it. Anything else? If not, I'm hanging up."
"Wait!" Hearing that Ron was about to end the call, Hobbs quickly stopped him. "There's one more little thing. You free to take a trip to Brazil with me?"
"Brazil? What's in Brazil for you? Planning to dance samba in a tiny bikini? If that's the case, count me in. Carnival's still months away, plenty of time for you to practice."
"No!" Hobbs was furious, but he needed the help. After his outburst, he had to swallow his anger and keep talking to Ron. "Recently, a group of international fugitives fled to Brazil, stole an impounded vehicle from the DEA, and killed several cops. I've been ordered to bring those bastards back."
Is this the beginning of Fast & Furious 5? Ron's mind raced.
Wait! Ron suddenly sensed something was off. From what Hobbs was saying, it seemed like he didn't know about Ron's connection to Toretto's crew. Otherwise, with his personality, he would never have told him about this case.
"Why don't you take your own team? I remember Old Jack left behind a bunch of well-trained agents. They might be weak on investigation, but at least they can handle themselves in a firefight."
Ron continued fishing for information.
"I only found out after I took over that the FBI offices in other cities had taken advantage of Old Jack's retirement to poach all those people, leaving me with nothing but a bunch of rookies."
Hobbs sounded so frustrated he was ready to cry, and could only turn to Ron for help. "Right now, you're the only one who can help me out."
(End of chapter)
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