The man gestured for them to enter. Zoey's confident front faltered slightly, contemplating if he should play the fool or the soldier.
Zoey was currently hearing Peter 's reaction. Inside, Zoey himself was a storm of emotions, but two things were clearly shown on his contorted face and shaking body, fear and utter hatred.
Yet Peter… his hatred was purer. Colder. More absolute. Zoey didn't know why, but he could feel it coiled like a blade inside him, vibrating against his own rage until the two nearly became one.
Zoey was giving the man a dark glance. The man reciprocated the feeling with a cold smile as he looked on and spoke.
"B12, close the door behind you and give us seats."
Li quickly went ahead and closed the door and produced plastic seats with the touch of a glass panel on the side of the doors.
The man slowly sat on the chair in front of the cascading blue monitors. As he turned around, the glow painted his scars in the shifting blue light.
With a relaxed gesture from Coin's hand, a table formed in the blue light in front of him and solidified. The man leaned back on his soft rubber like chair and let out a sigh.
"It seems you have brought back the target. Alive, no less."
Li grimaced as the man clapped his hands softly. The mocking applause sounded disturbingly genuine.
"Congratulations! You really outdid yourself this time."
Zoey scoffed and looked the man dead in the eye. He leaned forward and responded in an even tone.
"Skip to the part where you give us the rewards."
There was a long pause... As Li was about to say something, Coin burst into laughter. His laughter echoed in the small room, reverberating through Zoey's bones. Too loud. Too long. After it finally died, he wiped his eye, though Zoey saw no tear.
"Right... your completion rewards."
He slid his finger across the smooth edge of his desk, and a small cut appeared on it. He looked at it for a while, and then the bleeding seemed to stop suddenly.
"Ah... what was it again? 2 rest cycles, 5 nutrient bars, 3 med-"
"six"
Coin raised an eyebrow at Zoey, while Zoey slowly raised his chin.
"We want six rest cycles. Three back-to-back."
Li looked up indignantly and snarled at Zoey. "How outrageous! There's no way he would accept that. Aftera-"
"Did I ask for your opinion in this matter B12?" Coin's voice was cold and precise.
Li stammered and looked around in confusion. "B-but sir I..."
The man interrupted him with a sigh. "Haah... B12, could you leave the room for a while?"
Li lingered a bit, and then with a defeated look, he left the room. Not before giving Zoey a look of anger.
After the interruption was gone, the man then slowly turned his head towards the direction of Peter. He then asked him curiously.
"What do you think, Peter? Do you guys deserve six rest cycles?"
Peter scratched the back of his head with a carefree look on his face. Although, deep inside he was anything but carefree and relaxed.
"Why not? We did more than we were told to do, so we deserve more."
The man was amused by his answer to the question. Maybe not for the reason Zoey and Peter thought, but surprised nonetheless. The corner of the man's lips curled upwards. He looked up and scratched his stubble.
Zoey couldn't help but laugh inwardly.
'What a sorry excuse for a beard.'
The man seemed to have trouble growing facial hair. Or any hair for the matter.
Zoey tried to imagine the man with some hair on top of his bald head, and regretted his mistake almost immediately.
'Focus!...'
Zoey was immeasurably relieved that the room was lit dimly. He quickly straightened himself.
"I see your reasoning, but what exactly do you boys want to do? Even a veteran miner here usually has only two cycles of rest units."
Zoey glared at him defiantly.
"Why do you care? It's our business what we do with it."
After a short pause, Coin placed both of his hands in the air. He replied in a relaxing tone.
"Alright, alright. I give. So rest hours, nutrient bars, medical kits and... what was it.. a pocket watch?"
Zoey made a thoughtful expression and then grinned.
"Hmm? Oh yes. You see, recently I've been fascinated with shiny things. I always see rich people carrying one around aswell, so I've decided to have my very own pocket watch aswell."
The man chuckled. His chair shook with his body, as if laughing alongside him.
Peter grimaced. He always hated seeing Coin show any form of emotion. It seemed eerily disturbing to associate the man with happiness.
The man slowly stopped laughing, a smile still lingering on his face.
"I see. Well, sure that can be arranged. But will Peter be happy with only you getting these special rewards? Where's his pocket watch?"
Peter shrugged. "It doesn't really concern me if Zoey has a sudden obsession with being rich and all."
The man chuckled lightly and then contemplated for a while.
"Hmmm, but the six rest cycles... I think you two might be asking for too much there."
Zoey considered the words of the man for a while, then looked at Peter questioningly.
Peter was okay with the results of their bargaining, so he gave a nod of approval. And so, Zoey responded disheartenly.
"Fine. We'll settle for four rest cycles instead. But you still nee-"
"No no. I will still be giving you guys six cycles, since you both need to rest up and recuperate after this."
Peter tensed up after hearing Coin's interruption.
'...What? Why? What does he mean by 'after this'? Why is he being so nice?'
Zoey smiled lightly. Peter could swear that he saw his eyes dull and loose colour for a moment.
Zoey inhaled deeply, steeling himself for what was to come.
"... I see. Well then, we will be taking our leave now. Pleasure doing business with you, Coin."
As Zoey got up to leave, Coin interrupted him with a question.
"Who said you can leave just yet?"
Turning around questioningly, Zoey looked at the man with a questioning look in his eyes.
"Sorry? I thought we were done here."
Coin sighed and looked at Zoey. He almost showed a hint of sadness and regret in his face... Almost.
"His jewelry, give them to me."
Zoey shrugged and held both his empty hands out. As if trying to show he had nothing on him.
"What jewelry? I don't have anything with me. I can't even hide anything since none of my clothes have pockets or anything."
There was a long pause. Coin responded, breaking the heavy silence.
"Just give them to me, Zoey. Don't make this harder for yourself."
"I just told you that I don't have anything on me. The only..."
The world slowed down for Peter for a split second. Zoey's voice became slow and low pitched. In that fleeting moment, Peter's eyes widened as he saw Coin move from his chair straight towards Zoey.