Chapter Text
“Are you sure I can’t do anything else to help?” Xiao Zhan says, low enough not to carry. This floor is theoretically deserted, but he doesn’t want to tempt fate.
Xuan Lu’s lips curve but she doesn’t look up from where she’s molding Semtex to the vault door. “You’re doing a great job holding the flashlight.”
“Yeah, but.” Xiao Zhan glances around out of habit, but the hallway is still clear. “I kind of thought I’d be, you know, contributing.”
“You are contributing,” Xuan Lu murmurs as she picks up the blowbox and starts unspooling wiring, backing toward the corner. “My headlamp broke and I haven’t had time to get it replaced.”
Xiao Zhan sighs, following. “It’s great to feel useful.” He checks the camera as they round the corner; the blind splice is still in place, showing Security an empty corridor. They’ve got–he checks his watch–thirty-seven minutes before the next floor sweep. Plenty of time.
“Xiao Zhan. Honey.” Xuan Lu sounds amused as she checks a configuration on the blow box. “You need a partner.”
Xiao Zhan blinks. “I thought we were partners,” he says, taking a casual step back.
“Relax. For this job, we are,” she says, looking up and wiping the back of her hand over her forehead. “But I usually work alone, and I like it that way. You don’t.”
He doesn’t. What’s the point of a skillful operation if there’s no one to appreciate it? “I’d thought that maybe–”
Xuan Lu shakes her head. “You’re sweet, and I like to think that I can trust you, but once this job is done we’re going our separate ways. Hold that thought,” she says, and presses the single button on the blowbox.
There’s a muffled boom from around the corner, and as smoke starts to drift down the hallway Xiao Zhan can hear the hinges of the vault door squeak as the door swings open.
“Perfection,” Xuan Lu says to herself, eyes shining, and then she starts rolling up the cabling again. “You’ll find someone. You’ll land on your feet; you always do.”