Chapter 6 - Two years, six months after the key is found

In the movies, masks are only on for so long. I guess not Batman's. When Batman's doing his thing right he never takes his mask off or puts it on, he just changes, off screen, from one thing to something else.
The first time I saw Saul wearing his mask it wasn't like he had changed, it was more like seeing your uncle wearing a hairpiece for the first time. The first moment I opened my hotel door I ended up spitting tea out my nose from laughing, it was just too ridiculous.
The carpet in the hallway was red, the lush, prosperous look favored by the middling hotels of Beijing.
Hey we're gonna get breakfast, they do a buffet thing down here for like-
What is that?
He tried it on for just a moment, not knowing what I was talking about, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to say 'oh this?' or any other coy bullshit
Yeah, the mask? What do you think of it?
Can you see out of it?
yeah it's molded down close to the orbital so we don't lose our peripheral vision and there's make-
Makeup, I can see that, like Batman.
In the new movies.
He was chuffed about the Batman comparison, but it's impossible to let someone you've known for ten years off the hook so easily.
So you're gonna wear that down to breakfast?
Yeah they do western food it turns out, so no baozi for us today, even coffee?
Nescafe?
I dunno it seems like they've got the stuff to make drip.
Is it crazy expensive?
No it's like twenty kuai.
Did anton make you wear that? I pointed one finger towards my cheek.
No. he said, his brow knitting up.
For a moment we were quiet, me sitting on my too-hard bed, him standing in the middle of the little room, his boots pressing deep into my grey carpet.
We're all going to be wearing them.
We?
All of us, the key men.
And Anton's not making you? You just decided to all wear masks.
It was his idea, but we all decided.
And you're gonna wear it all the time?
We'll take it off to sleep if we want to, I slept in it last night to get the fit right. he said
The mouth is so important when ever you talk to one of the key men. They get in the habit, after a while, of showing everything with lips and little pulls around the chin. At this early date, though, anton showed me only a little half smile as he fiddled with my electric kettle.
I figure I'll probably wear mine all the time, just taking it off to get clean, and I'll have it on forever, from now on.

Even after everything went bad, he kept his on, and wore it until I took it from his body. I still have it around somewhere.

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