42 - Nadine & David

The road from the operette to the secret address of Boss and her Firm employees wasn't very discreet. I could understand that; I couldn't change my electrified tutu dress. Still, I managed to reach the heart of the Parisian mob in one piece.

The difficulty was to stay in one piece.

Before me, they were the unlocking-system with a touchscreen. Did my ex-Boss already erase me from the computer files? I swallowed and approached my finger to the door.

I wasn't going to trigger an alarm, wasn't I? I approached my finger with the same speed as a damaged truck tractor.

I finally pressed my finger on the screen. The particular 'beep' was heard, then a light scanned my wet index from head to bottom.

The light became green, and my heart skipped a beat; the door opened.

I got inside the building, ignoring the employees that stared at me. They weren't surprised because of my dress, but because I wasn't supposed to be alive. However, they didn't dare to touch me. They had to look for the one ranked higher than me.

I could get in front of my ex-boss office without any problem. I opened it without knocking, "Miss Ndongo, I have to talk to you about urgent matters."

I never came to her office, but it was exactly as I imagined it: Boss was sitting on a leather seat in front of a desk. She was drinking her coffee and wrote important stuff on pieces of paper.

That day, she was holding a cup of coffee with one hand and held her forehead with another. My entrance didn't even make her jump.

David, meanwhile, jumped as soon as he heard my voice, "Song-ho!" His face frowned with sadness, "This means Jieung-yong is...."

I lowered my head and didn't answer. I was sorry. I couldn't let him beat me.

Miss Ndongo raised her face from the table and glanced at me, "I misjudged you; you should be ranked higher." She then glanced at a tear-eyed David. "You wouldn't be here if the Puma was your superior from the beginning," She snapped her fingers, "Get rid of the new number 3!"

David froze, as he was considering me. A drop of sweat flowed the length of his face, and I could feel his muscles contract. These muscles could crush my tiny skull. And I was a number 3? Just after David, the only one surviving to every single entry test?

Without thinking about it, I protected my chest.

David widened his eyes then turned to Boss, "My Boss...I beg you..."

She crushed her thumb on the table, in the way emperors allowed the execution of a gladiator, "I gave an order."

He swallowed his saliva, "In that case, erase his name from the register. Please."

"I don't have an order to receive from my employee."

"Miss! He must disappear from this company. I don't know how I would walk through his room as I just ki..."

"Come on, that wouldn't be the first time. You know the administration is slow as fuck," She said.

David glanced at me, "I can't do it anymore. It's too much." He took papers on Boss' desk. My name, my face, and my rank were on that paper. David grabbed it and tore it in half.

That was it. He was going to kill me.

He threw the bits of papers on the floor and came to me, "I won't kill you, because you're already dead. I'll silky update your state. You are dead...dead...dead!" He repeated his spell again and again. I thought he was praying for my body to be miraculously on the floor, so he wouldn't have to kill me himself. Maybe I shouldn't become his friend. That wouldn't be so hard for him, then.

"Dead. You are dead." When he composed himself from his frenzy, it wasn't the cute David I saw anymore. It wasn't the nice man who loved to listen to Edith Piaf and the man who loved Jieung-yong so much. He became the Puma, the one who almost stabbed Jieung-yong in the stomach during the first day.

Fuck.

He charged me and pinned me to the wall. He then punched me on the face, "You're dead."

"I'm not..."

One more punch again, "You're dead, so stop trying to imitate his voice."

I tasted blood on my mouth, "David! You're dissociating yourself from reality! Please, stop!"

"No. I don't have the power to decide. I never had the power!" He headed to my skull. I lowered myself and let him break the wall instead of my forehead. I was not sure he knew the difference,, "The Puma has no name, and the Puma can't say no. I can't have feelings." He poured tears on my forehead, "The Puma was made to obey only...but... Who should I obey?"

I could understand him. I went through that too. Zheng Tai put pressure on me so I would spare his life. Boss threatened me so I would kill him. My mother wanted me to be near me. Xiao would rather have me dead. The Opera of Paris would prefer me to be a girl born in France.

I took him in my arms, "It's normal you're stressed out like that. You never wanted a rebellion against Boss, even if you always hated this bloody entry test.

More tears.

Meanwhile, Boss kept silent. She was hidden at a dead angle from my field of vision.

"I can't...." Whispered David while he stabbed his saber on my sides.

The world was erased in the span of a moment. Everything became black, then blurred. Then, everything became sharper again. My wound bit me with it's boiling teeth. I remember shouting to the point I hurt my vocal cords. Then I cried. I fell to the ground.

From the floor, the lamp on the ceiling blinded me. I could only see silhouettes. David raised his saber to finish me off.

It could have been me. I was the same "I'm so sorry you suffered, David. I want to say that you shouldn't be doing this. But you're right to be mad at me. I'm the one who hurt Jieung-yong. I'm sorry."

"Hurt? Jieung-yong is simply wounded?" A laugh escaped from his mouth.

I took advantage of it to escape from him, but my freedom was short-lived. As soon as I was only two feet, he shouted at me.

"Where is he?"

"David, I don't know. I don't know anymore! The police must have discovered it..."

"You let him with the police?" He dashed to me. His steps sounded like those of an elephant, "Tell me where he is!" He jumped at me.

As for me, I threw myself on the ground. The ground shook at the sound of broken wood.

David hanged on the entranced door of the office, painting the rest of the door with his blood. His feet didn't touch the floor, and said nothing anymore.

My eyes filled themselves with tears, "David...no! I..." I panted.

"He's sleeping. I 'ever thought you'd win against my most loyal employee. Congratulations." Boss approached herself from the sleeping body of David. She was saying she was relaxed about him, but as soon as she checked he was still breathing, she stopped holding her breath. She then opened carefully the door. She napped her fingers at lots of employees that rushed to the infirmary.

When David was brought to the infirmary, Boss took me to her desk, unbothered by the broken wood and the blood, "What did you want to talk to le about ?"

She sounded less aggressive than earlier when she ordered my execution. Her hairstyle was less, her eyes tired, and her nails broken.

I stood, "I'm sure you can have an explanation with Henriette."

"I already told you, Song-ho, we can't make all our dreams a reality. Now, tell me about your request, or I'm calling the next one on the list."

"She'll wait for you at 8 PM at Trocadero."

If I didn't have a bad day, I would swear I saw her jump, "It's 7h30! Let's go. Just one last thing."

"What?"

"Get dressed up at once, Yoh Song-ho."