SATURDAY

Small lights glinted along Roanapur Harbor, reflections of the bright gleams dancing across the surface of the water.

Off in the distance, two bodies stood side-by-side in front of the large doors that closed off the Blue Sky Yacht Club from the rest of the city. One of the bodies belonged to a tall, impressive bulk of a Russian man wearing a dark green suit with a diagonal scar running across his face, Boris. The other was Biu, a slender, lithe Chinese man with black hair cut in a long A-line and sharp cheekbones, wearing a sleek black suit and tie while square-shaped sunglasses hid his eyes from view. They silently observed the shadows of their respective leaders at the end of the pier. Balalaika and Mr. Chang were having another one of their private "chats". The loyal subordinates and body guards couldn't hear what their leaders were saying due to the distance between them, but they were ready to take action if anything... unfortunate were to take place.

Boris and Biu stood stiffly, their eyes tightly focused ahead on their leaders. It was always a tense situation whenever there was a meeting at this place, the memory of a bloodbath between the Russians and the Triads back in '93 still fresh in their heads. Despite the "treaty" between both parties since that day, Boris and Biu still never wholly trusted the bosses who headed the opposing faction. That said, while their knowledge of the bosses was extensive, they knew very little about the top subordinate they were standing beside at the moment.

That didn't mean Boris and Biu harbored no condescending opinions and preconceptions about each other.

"So, Borscht, how did you get that scar?" Biu asked snidely out the corner of his mouth, purposefully emphasizing the name error of the former platoon sergeant. Boris' eyebrow rose a fraction of millimeter. He didn't bother to look at the Chinese man, but spoke.

"Afghanistan," Boris said simply. He decided that Biu wasn't worth the explicit details.

"Did Baba Yaga curse the Soviets?" Biu said. "One would think if you didn't mention that country every five minutes, your heads would cave in as a consequence."

"If you wish not to hear of it, I suggest you refrain from going to a topic that would bring it up," Boris spoke with stern discipline.

"No need to get so wound up, now. It was just a question," Biu shrugged, his teeth showing in a small, smirk-like grin. Boris could feel a sudden smugness radiating from him. Was Biu contented solely because he managed to annoy him? If so, Biu's sense of humor was more irritating and ridiculous than that of Mr. Chang's.

Their eyes were still trained ahead.

"If you want, you can try to take a verbal shot at me," Biu said, challenging the buff Russian.

"Hn." Boris' jaw tightened.

"'Hn'? Is that it?" Biu asked. His grin was still there. "With the history between our organizations, I thought you'd have enough information to make a decent jab. Is Hotel Moscow not as good with words as they are with guns?"

"Perhaps if the Triads weren't so occupied with talking, Mr. Chang would have done better than the 3 bullets he placed in the Kapitan in '93."

"Ah, so you are good with words," Biu said, his grin suddenly turning sour. "Then perhaps you can give me a clear answer. If your Kapitan was really the great war goddess you think she is, why couldn't she avoid the bullets in the first place? Or does that scar affect her depth perception?"

Boris still maintained a disciplined stance and looked ahead at Mr. Chang and the Kapitan's shadows.

His knuckles cracked at his sides, but he controlled himself.

"If eye sight is being called into question, you should look no further than a mirror. What breed of self-respecting gunmen would wear sunglasses at night?"

Well, mostly controlled himself.

Biu brought up his right hand and pinched the lens of his shades.

"It dulls the light of gunfire. It does no good going into a fight blind," Biu said, his tone serious.

For the first time that night, Boris looked at the man out the corner of his eye. He had always assumed it was done for vanity, not practicality.

Biu smirked again.

"And it makes the Triad look cool."

Boris immediately took his eyes off the man. Vain idiot.

They stayed silent for a few more minutes, before Biu spoke again.

"You'd follow her to the grave, wouldn't you?"

"I already have," Boris said steadily, instantly. Biu nodded in acknowledgment.

"What of yours?" Boris asked.

"Chang da ge, you mean?"

"Yes."

"We all know Chang da ge is not the type to go rushing into a war if there is a way to negotiate," Biu started. "But if it came to that, I would fight to the death. He is a great leader; I trust him fully." Biu's voice was honest.

Boris hummed. So, there was common ground between them.

"We must stand by our brothers, or else be struck by a bolt of lightning and cut apart," Biu added thoughtfully.

Boris looked at Biu and raised his eyebrow again.

"It's a Triad thing," Biu explained. Boris silently accepted the answer and turned his attention back to the pier.

Suddenly, Biu leaned over and lowered his sunglasses below his eyes, squinting at the shadows at the end of the pier as though he was confused.

"Scarface, you're Balalaika's right-hand man. You know more about her than anyone else in your organization, correct?"

Ignoring the crude nickname bestowed upon him, Boris responded with a gruff, "As you probably do with Mr. Chang."

"Then please, tell me..." Biu said as he squinted more. "Why has she been smoking two cigars for the past hour?"

"Those are her eyes," Boris said, his voice swelling with pride. Biu pushed his sunglasses back up, hiding his eyes from view yet again, rolling them at the rather corny, yet unsettling and probably true, answer.

"May I ask you a question about Mr. Chang?" Boris said. There was something that had been tugging at the back of his head for a long time.

"Shoot," Biu said, straightening his posture against the door and crossing his arms.

"... Is he a fan of Chow Yun-Fat?"

Biu exhaled heavily and shook his head incredulously.

"Scarface, you have no idea."

A/N: "And then Boris and Biu became best friends. THE END."

Okay, maybe not, but they didn't kill each other that night. Close enough.