The Ultimate Client

Early the next morning, Halia headed towards the hutongs again to meet with Sean. But, just as she reached the beginning of one of the alleyways, she smelled some chestnuts being roasted on the side of the street.

The smell felt oddly nostalgic...even though she barely bought roasted chestnuts.

As Halia closed her eyes to breathe in the warm fragrance, she suddenly felt a a shiver down her spine. It was meant to be Spring, but an icy breeze suddenly brushed past her nose.

She opened her eyes in confusion.

As she looked around, she was shocked to find that the floor was covered...in snow! One moment ago, it was still a warm spring day, where did this snow come from?

She then realized that her t-shirt and jeans was now covered in a thick down jacket, she had a scarf around her neck and a beanie on her head. She rubbed her hands together, desperately trying to warm them up. "I forgot my gloves," she said.

Halia was surprised by her own voice for a minute. It had been roughly a week since she last heard this voice. It was Sara's. She had almost forgotten that she still had Sara's memories in her mind since nothing had triggered them for a while.

"Wait here, I'll be right back," a man's voice said beside her.

She then watched as a man ran across the road and stood in front of a little stall with a huge wok of chestnuts being roasted on a fire. She couldn't see the man's face, but from the back, he looked oddly familiar.

After a few minutes, the man handed some money to the stall owner and received a bag of roasted chestnuts. As he turned around, she saw a warm smile. The smile released a swarm of butterflies in her stomach and she suddenly felt a little hot.

Halia recognized the man. It was her handler, Sean Qin. The smile on his face; Halia had yet to see him smile so happily. He always seemed so serious. Was it because he was still upset from Sara's death?

As the man walked towards her, she felt her heart race. She could tell from the look on Sean's face that he loved Sara...a lot!

Sean placed the bag of hot roasted chestnuts in her hands and said gently, "Here, this will keep you warm." Her heart melted. As she looked down at the roasted chestnuts, she suddenly felt the urge to kiss the man. Stretching her neck, she began to lean forward. The man realized what was happening, so he quickly wrapped his arms around her waist. Just as their lips were about to touch...

"Beep!"

A beep from a car brought Halia back to reality.

Halia fanned herself a little. These memories were getting quite vivid.

At that moment, she heard an old man call out, "Chestnuts! Roasted chestnuts! 10 yuan for 500g."

Halia smiled and went to buy a bag.

...

Meanwhile, not too far away, inside a luxurious apartment, Jackson was preparing himself for the next day.

The other night, when he first saw Halia at the club, he had dragged her out without saying goodbye to Remy Durand's henchman. Luckily, the man was so occupied with the fake goldigger he met, that he didn't mind. But, he did slip Jackson a napkin as he walked past.

The word 'Vendredi' was written on it. "Friday," Jackson whispered to himself. Tomorrow was Friday...

Was the man finally introducing him to Remy Durand tomorrow?

Remy was like the ultimate client for Jackson. Like a Boss in a video game that he had been working hard to reach.

Ever since he arrived in Beijing, Marcus was Jackson's biggest client. They had first met in Marseille about 5 years ago, when Jackson was just a mere underling for one of France's biggest criminals. At that time, Jackson simply helped the man manage his inventory of weapons. The first time he met Marcus, Marcus had flown all the way from Beijing to meet with Jackson's boss and Jackson's boss asked him to help interpret. Obviously, Marcus didn't know French and Jackson's boss didn't know Chinese.

In the end, Marcus developed a fondness of Jackson and they became good friends. Every time Marcus visited France, Jackson would meet with him and show him around when he wasn't busy with business.

So, when Jackson's boss died at the end of last year and he decided to return to Beijing, Marcus immediately offered to help. He even helped him build his reputation when Jackson mentioned that he wanted to work with Remy Durand, a famous criminal from France.

If not for Marcus, Jackson wouldn't have gotten to Remy Durand so quickly.

Yet, this friend died...right in front of his eyes...

That night, he had indeed remained in the club after Marcus left. Afterwards, he sat in a quiet corner and watched as Halia worked, making sure she was safe. But, half and hour before she finished work, he suddenly received a phone call, "Jackson, are you still at the club? I'm heading back there now. I've got some important information in my hands, but I think I'm being followed..."