Welcome to the City of Dust (4)

Jin smiled confidently at the contractor before him.

"Money first," he said with the same confident smile on his face, waiting for the agent's reaction.

The man remained calm and composed, not uttering a single word as he stood up and walked closer to Jin. 

With a swift gesture, he pressed his watch three times, revealing the number "three thousand" on its display.

The man extended his hand forward, initiating the transaction with Jin. 

However, just as Jin reached out with his own watch, the man swiftly pulled his hand away, leaving Jin's hand grasping at empty air.

"The package then," said the contractor. 

Jin maintained his smile and reached under the table.

Pulling up the briefcase from under his chair, Jin handed the package to the contractor. But just as the contractor reached for it, Jin pulled it away, his composed demeanor unwavering.

"As I said before, money first," Jin reiterated, his nonchalant smile still intact.

The Contractor's gaze shifted down to the briefcase, scrutinizing it for something. His eyes locked onto a small inscription—Genesis—carved into the case. 

A barely visible satisfied smile played on his lips as he extended his watch once more, transferring the three thousand credits to Jin's account. 

'Finally.'

With a half-satisfied smile, Jin accepted the money and then passed the package to the contractor.

"Not a word to anyone." 

Said the Contractor before taking the briefcase and heading towards the exit of the inn and without even looking back, his words were an open threat.

'What a rude man… Well, at least I probably won't have to deal with him again,' Jin thought to himself as he rose from his seat, making his way toward the inn's exit. 

Despite the lingering stares from the patrons, he paid them no mind and departed.

"We have the money now, what's next?" Thirteen inquired over the earpiece.

"First, we get your meds, and then, I need to go and get myself a family-size pizza. I'm starving, man," Jin declared, his stomach grumbling again as his thoughts fixated solely on the cheesy pizza. 

Its cheesy pull was only inside his mind, only that and nothing else.

"Sometimes I just can't believe you… but get me a slice as well." 

"Don't worry, I'll get you one," said Jin, opening his account and checking its balance on his watch. A holographic screen displayed the number: 3402.

"We have a good amount, maybe we can afford meds for both of us," he chuckled, looking at the number with a proud expression.

"Man, I love money." Expressed Jin with a bright smile on his face.

"I love it too, I love spending it as well…" replied Thirteen. "Hate the part when they actually take the money."

Jin opened the holographic map on his watch once again, revealing an aerial view of the district. 

Thirteen had already marked the location of the nearest pharmacy for their meds. 

It was just two streets away, a journey Jin could complete in two minutes. Everywhere he went, eyes followed him; he simply stood out that much from the rest of the inhabitants of District Ten. 

"You should get treated for the gunshot wounds too. I know you can tough it out, but I don't want it to cause you an infection, so I don't care. You're going to the old bastard to get treated for it."

"Okay, but if you're forcing me to the doctor, at least let me get the pizza first," Jin chuckled, though the laughter caused him pain, the movement putting pressure on his stomach where he had been shot.

The two continued to bicker, making Jin look like a lunatic to the others who gazed at him from the street.

Finally, Jin reached the pharmacy, another broken-down building, its pavement was torn down over time, revealing the cracked cement underneath.

As Jin stood before the metal door of the pharmacy, it swung open on its own, engulfing him in the familiar scent of various medicines.

'I can never get used to this…' He walked into the pharmacy, greeted by shelves filled with pills, syringes, medical packs, and other health-related items behind a bulletproof glass.

Over time, the glass had become dirty, with a large crack spreading across its surface.

"What the hell managed to damage bulletproof glass to such a degree?" Jin wondered for a moment before pushing the futile thought from his mind and heading towards the counter.

There, an old man sat, his gaze fixed outward, almost as if he were sleeping with his eyes open.

"Good evening. I need to buy a packet of Med X," Jin asked, jolting the old man awake.

"What do you want?" Asked the old man rudely, after he was woken up from his slumber.

Jin maintained his composure. "As I said, good evening. I want to buy a pack of Med X," he repeated, ensuring the old man was fully awake this time. 

Jin's expression shifted instantly from friendly to disgusted as the old man spat out "Med X... Cypher freak."

Jin clenched his jaw.

"I asked for the Med X pack, you old fuck. Give it to me so I can stop looking at your wrinkled face," Jin retorted, stepping closer to the bulletproof glass with a livid expression on his face.

The old man recoiled in terror at the mere glance from Jin, whose expression was terrifying enough to make the old man forget about the existence of the bulletproof glass between them. 

As Jin stepped closer, it seemed like he could even break it down with his bare hands.

"I get you your damn Med X, just calm down!" shouted the old man from behind the counter. Jin took a step back and took a deep breath, trying to control his anger.

"You really need to work on your anger management issues, Jin," Remarked Thirteen.

Jin didn't respond to Thirteen, aware that it might make him appear even more unstable.

The old man retrieved the white pack with a simple red X on its cover and placed it in a tube, only handing over the Med X to Jin once the payment was received. 

"It's going to be 2120 credits," said the old man, causing Jin's expression to change once again.

"What the hell, it was 2080 last week," Jin exclaimed, furious at the price increase.

"Don't blame me, just hand over your credits and leave the store, you freak," the old man retorted, his words nearly breaking Jin's resolve to hold back this time.

He stared at the old man with a seemingly calm expression, but visible white electric currents began to envelop his body, and his eyes continued to glare intensely. Even his hair began to move as if it were traversing lightning.

"Jin, stop! You're going to ruin the earpiece again!" Thirteen shouted in worry. Neither of them wanted to lose more money on getting another one.

Taking a deep breath, Jin tried to control his anger.

Jin placed his watch against the counter and paid, then retrieved the Med X from the glass tube. As he held it in his hand, he pocketed it in his coat and turned towards the old man with an intense glare. 

"You're going to leave this shop, maybe to unwind a bit, or go home to your family... and once you leave, I'm going to wait for you... Right. Here," Jin said, his expression terrifying the old man behind the counter, sending shivers down his spine.

"You're not going to do that; you don't have the time or the patience for that."

"That's true, but he doesn't know that.