Faust

Why him?

           The weight on my shoulder seems a bit off. I raise my right arm and check my holster with my left hand, the action alarms Xiao immediately. Her right foot is slightly above the ground, her right hand is below her chin, and left hand has five fingers together. Ready to strike.

     It's so strange seeing someone more stressed than me.

     I ignored her and starts pulling my adjustment belt until the pistol is back where it was supposed to be. After it's done, I run a quick check-up on my items to make sure nothing was lost in the break room.

My phone and wallet were still in my back pocket, my pack of smoke and inhaler in my jacket's left inner pocket. A spare magazine for each of my guns is still on the slots. Both guns are still in place as the familiar weight reassures. And the matchbox from Ivan is in my jacket pocket. Next to a brass knuckle which is also a gift from Ivan.

I was about to check the knives too but decides not to when I noticed Xiao is still in the same position. Nan remains motionless. I sign.

          "Rest easy now. Trust and honesty, right Nan?" I raise my eyebrow. Nan grins.
"Certainly, Mr.Lee."
"Which reminds me, how's it going with June? Making any progress while I'm away?" I lean against the elevator door and put on a grin myself too. Xiao lets her guard down a bit and makes nothing out of this topic.

"Slowly but surely, Mr.Lee. Slowly but surely." I catch Xiao rolling her eyes. "And...... I appreciate your blessings too." He says in a sarcastic tone.

"Least I can do. Oh. And a word of advice, stop taking her to that break room. She looks like a cat among starving hounds." Nan laughs and puts a hand on the wall to support himself.

"I wouldn't worry about that. I've known June for a while, she's braver than she looks."

The number on the display screen hits six. I'm greeted by the same dark storage room and green lights from the exit sign as the door opens. Nan and Xiao move in sync, stepping out of the elevator. I followed them to the emergency stairs.

"Truly, She even commanded me, with a stern impression, to put off my cigarette or she's going to call you guys in there to deal with me." Nan lets out a dry laugh.
          "And did you comply?"
          "Not really.......but then. She tries to scare me, with your name." I turned around and stare at Xiao. The green light momentarily shines on her face, showing an unflustered expression.
          "I have a reputation." She says in a plain tone. Nan lets out a small hum. I see his grin disappears and his eyes dart at me before quickly returning back to normal.
          Strange.
          As we reach the top floor, Nan opens the camouflaged door for me. I noticed when Xiao passed by him, the two exchanged a look.
          I take out my inhaler as we approach Qin Yen's room.

The meter by the side shows it's about to run out of substance, it can probably produce another puff with one push on the string. It's truly magnificent engineering, but there's a small flaw. I can't refill it without emptying the container first.
I push the string on top twice, the second time it stuck and lets out a squeaky sound. Guess that's all. I noticed Xiao's peaking at me with no effort in hiding it when I'm about to take a puff.

"Want a try?" I extended my palm to her. Nan watches Xiao with interest and a knowing smile on his face.
"What the hell is that?" Xiao frowns but it piqued her interests.
"Opium and marijuana," I say with a straight face. Nan seems suddenly very interested too. Xiao blinks twice when she hears my answer.
"No." I shrug and take a puff.