Chapter 2 Our surroundings
I look inquisitively at the girl sitting opposite me and repeated her name.
"Zar...rina?"
"Yes, that's right" she confirmed, still looking at me with those penetrating eyes.
I contemplated for a moment to see if there was any truth in her name. It was indeed irregular but not unknown. I tried to confused her with some questions to make sure that Wang had not sent me another one of those commie agents:
"And Mr. Wang told you to come to me about some problem getting out of the state, didn't he?"
"Yes, sir,"
"I do apologise if his daughter tried to make unwanted physical contact with you Miss Zarina" I paused a bit "you see depression and poverty can drive good men and women to insanity making them highly vulnerable to lies and deceits of this system, that little pervert was once a respectable young girl you see, and now she is obstinately enthusiastic about passionate relationships with two females" I looked at her for a while, she seemed quite shaken up at the fact that she may have been molested by another female.
"I thank you for your concern good sir and I assure you I didn't take any personal offence towards your friend Mr. Wang or his daughter,"
"Yes, well Mary can be a bit of a handful"
I said swiftly while snickering slightly under my breath. Turning myself away from her, I observe her through a mirror I placed on the wall next to the door specifically to monitor my guests.
"Mary?" she asked, looking rather shy,
"But I thought she was March?"
"Oh yes, how could I have forgotten, my mind is rotting away as each day passes by" I said cheerfully to hide the fact that I was challenging her.
"I don't mean to intrude but your title is quite fascinating, from where did you get that?"
Her manners and speech just happened to change from energetic to melancholic for a moment as she spoke:
"I was made captain of the Love of Christ vessel a long time ago because of my knowledge of alchemy, and..."
"Alchemy? I thought such things didn't exist" I exclaimed suddenly at her.
She hit her forehead loudly and hissed something at the three-legged table in front of her. I stared at her in disbelief with anxiety for, assuming my instincts were correct, she was probably a spy and it wouldn't be long until the DCs' men charge in here. To my consternation, this captain managed to compose herself as fast as her mood change, indicating instability, a dangerous and deadly trait of an agent. She then explained:
" 'Alchemy is really just a name I use to refer to it, it's not precisely... it's sort of like a mixture...no wait...a combination of chemistry and alchemy..."
As she spoke stammeringly I took the chance of her being distracted to analyse the situation. Although my two-roomed apartment was small and the only window was in the bedroom, it was nearly unfurnished, which means I could easily make my way through the girl, the table and the slide door to it. Since the slide door is made out of paper I could easily break through it and squeeze my way out of the window. As for the girl she is small but relatively well-built so I have to keep one eye one her and the other on the front door. Unfortunately the entrance is opposite her which meant that I had to depend on my hearing so if any suspicious movement or sound is made, I will definitely run like hell. And how much time do I have left? If she is here to kill me alone then I can take her out myself then hide the body in the gutters, then I won't need to pay any attention to the time and be cautious. Nevertheless, one must always consider the possibility of her having some assistance. Provided they were agents such as herself, I will have to disorientate them marginally before making my dash to safety. Another possible scenario is they could likely be soldiers which gives me an advantage since they WILL hesitate shooting down an insurgent at the risk of killing their own officer because I will be holding her hostage, whereas agents are known for their cruelty and mercilessness. The only draw back is she could possibly still be a notable threat even with a knife pressing against her throat and a pistol on her back. In conclusion, I have at least one minute.
Now that I have prepared for the typical break-in, I decided to walk toward the slide door a bit, pretending to be listening to her story with the occasional nod and hum and sometimes a 'go on'. Reaching the slide, I then pace to and fro in front of the sleeping chamber, drawing half of my attention to her once more.
"...into dust and vice versa. The 'Lady' is a part that just stuck, it was quite queer for a lady to be on a frigate at that time let alone be captain so they call me that out of humour really, there's nothing special about it," her pair of lips curved into a amiable smile after finishing this odd explanation while shrugging flatteringly.
I took a seat beside the Lady and kept my eyes on hers, for a moment I was entranced with those deep loving hazel eyes. But I must not be distracted or else it would be the end of me.
