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Chapter 18: Disquietude

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Min Yoongi

Suddenly barging into the room, Taehyung, Jimin and Namjoon were all startled by my presence.

"We have a problem." I stated firmly.

Namjoon motioned me to sit down - my hands placed the laptop down on the table, opening it up and logging back in.

A puzzled look remained on my face as I realised the article I was looking at had closed itself. Even though a simple 'restore tab' should've worked, it was like it had been erased from existence. This angered me.

"Where the fuck is it?!" I snapped, acting a little frantic. Feeling three pairs of eyes staring at me in concern, my maniacal typing filled the room.

Namjoon noticed the violent anxiety through my words and immediately took action. "Yoongi, calm down."

"But-!" I was cut off.

"Yoongi." He raised his voice slightly in retaliation, silencing me. "Calm. Down."

In a minor fit of frustration, I growled and slammed my laptop closed; my arms crossed defensively as I leaned back in the chair, growing sick of everything  associated with E.C.T.

"..What did you find?" Jimin mumbled in a low voice.

Sighing and tilting my head back momentarily, I looked back at everyone. 

"There was an article about E.C.T." I started, "Supposedly, foreign security advisers that visit their second base don't make it out alive." 

"Shit..." Taehyung exhaled, leaning back on his chair in defeat.

"Are we gonna risk it?" Jimin asked, we all looked to our leader for guidance.

 Before saying anything, Namjoon got up from his chair and began pacing, it was evident he was thinking very carefully.

He let out a sigh, staring out of the window in front of him. Turning to us, he put his hands in his pockets. I had never seen him so uncertain of our future.

"We.." Namjoon almost hesitated. "We have no choice.." 

"Are you serious??" Taehyung piped up swiftly.

"There's no other way, we have to risk it." He repeated, "Either we fail this one last mission and suffer the repercussions, or we go for it and at least stand a chance of completing it."

Jimin opened his mouth to talk but stopped himself and let out a minute scowl.

Mixed emotions swarmed inside of me, I didn't know what to think or what to do. Rubbing my forehead, endless possibilities flashed in and out of my mind - it was definite that my anxiety was through the roof.

"Best come up with a solid plan then." I commented, holding onto my last ounce of optimism. "I'll go and get everyone else."

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After remaking our plan, we checked that we were certain on every aspect of it.

"So.. What's the plan?"

"Hoseok and I are going to pose as Singaporean security advisers as planned, according to everyone else we're from ALPHA based in Pulau Ujong."

"Then you guys are going to travel to E.C.T headquarters where they'll escort you to their second base, right?"

"Correct."

"We'll follow along, keeping up but not completely holding ourselves out to them. And we can park in a secluded, more remote area near the base where we can sneak in with you on foot."

"Meanwhile, Namjoon and I will be making negotiations with E.C.T and advising them with what they can do to stay protected."

"As you guys are talking, we'll sneak in undetected for any backup necessary."

"And at the right moment, Hoseok will shoot Dalhwan, then everyone will join you and shoot every last E.C.T representative in the building."

"Once the main job is done, we can cover our tracks, act like nothing happened to begin with."

"Finally, we'll make our escape, jump into our getaway van and make a go for it through the nearby tunnel?"

With the plan in place, the mission had begun.

Jung Hoseok

Sat in the back of an intimidating, black limo, E.C.T's infamous head of security was in front of us. Namjoon was holding onto a fairly small suitcase, which contained contracts that we were hoping to get signed. His department members were scattered thoughtfully, including one person in the driver's seat. The tension surrounding us was minuscule  but it was enough to stop us speaking unless we were spoken to. 

Driving on the main streets of downtown Seoul, the air conditioning in the limo calmed all of us to a degree. For a Saturday evening in winter, it was fairly warm, certainly warmer than usual. No avoiding climate change I guess...

The gentle sound of music pushed delicately through the limo's speakers, creating a chilled ambience; yet something was off. Everything felt noxious. 

Cheon Dalhwan's first question was abrupt and unexpected.

"How are things over in Singapore?" He asked politely.

My heart beat quickened as I tried to act casual and think of a response, but Namjoon replied for us.

"Very well, our company recently retrieved weapons from a corporation down in Malaysia, so we're highly equipped." Namjoon explained, displaying a smile.

"Ah. I see." Dalhwan commented, a sense of slyness overtook his voice.

"How about you?" I blurted out, all while trying to maintain professionalism. 

"Pardon?" The head of security seemed a little taken back, not expecting a return of a question.

"How's business for you?" I asked, feeling a small surge of confidence and adrenaline run through me.

Dalhwan narrowed his eyes at me for a moment before conveying his reply. "Stable for now." He admitted, "Once we've gotten these security breaches under control and eliminated the threat, all will be well again." A smirk creeped onto his face, he clearly had the upper hand in this conversation and his arrogance was untouchable. It sent a shiver down my spine.

I nodded in acknowledgement, slowly dragging my gaze to the window beside me. The sun had dimmed down now and small rain drops began to flicker onto the glass, adding to the ambience of the vehicle. Light taps accentuated the drastic change in weather and I could see the dark clouds forming and looming above us. My thought process warped me into my subconscious, making me question everything.

Abruptly, this was stopped. The driver of the limo called out to his boss, taking me back to the situation we were in.

"We're here sir!" He announced.

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