Chapter Text
Chapter One
“ Does anyone have any lead on what’s going on?”
His voice sounded more desperate than he intended, quickly forcing himself to take a deep breath and calm down.
Static was his only answer for a few seconds before multiple voices raised up all at once.
“No…”
“Nothing from up here, sorry.”
“I didn’t see shit.”
He sighed, rubbing his tired eyes harshly, the burn grounding him.
In any other circumstances, he might have found the exclamation worth a laugh, might even have commented to watch their language, but at this very specific moment he was far from cracking a joke with his team and more like a second away from hopping into a chopper and heading over himself.
It was supposed to be an easy job.
That’s what they said.
That’s what they always said.
It’ll be quick, in and out, nothing to worry about.
A routine job.
And everything had been going smoothly, surprisingly, until they’d suddenly lost contact with two of their team members.
“I’m on the move now. I’m heading over to Jisung’s last check in. Seungmin, guide me?”
Chan looked over at the younger man sitting next to him in the command center, thick glasses perched on his nose as he leaned towards his screens, watching Changbin through the cameras he easily borrowed the access to.
“ You’re almost there, take a right on the next corridor.”
Through the CCTV feed, Chan watched his teammate advance over the multiple angles, pulling at his bowtie harshly to loosen it up and ditching his serving tray on a nearby table. He couldn’t see his expression, the quality not good enough for that, but he could only assume it was as grim as his.
They were all worried right now.
“Ok good, take a left and it should be the second door on your left. That’s where he last signed in.”
Chan leaned some of his weight on Seungmin’s chair, eyes glued to the screens as he ran a hand through his already disheveled hair.
He was still trying to wrap his head around everything, and not let panic take over. He needed to stay calm for the sake of the team, and take control of the situation before it spirals down.
It just all happened so fast.
One moment everyone had been getting into position, ready to move on to phase two of their plan, and the next, a commotion erupted and two of his agents were MIA.
Their attention had been elsewhere, watching Felix carefully as he finished his crucial part of the plan, that by the time they asked what was going on it was too late.
Seungmin had tried to go back on the footage when their calls went unanswered, fingers jumping over the keys of his computer at lightning speed as he went from screen to screen. His eyes danced all over, images of empty rooms reflecting back onto his glasses.
They’d found a video of Hyunjin coming out of the main ballroom, turning a corner into a side corridor and through a door, heading for his next position, but never coming out on the other side. The hallway remained eerily empty.
That was the best lead they had for him, which in itself was barely anything at all.
As for Jisung…
No trace, no visuals, no sounds.
As if he’d vanished into thin air.
No matter how much Seungmin went back on the footage, even going frame by frame, he couldn’t find the moment it happened. One second the boy was there, the next he was gone.
The only logical conclusion was that someone else had tempered with the cameras, aware that they were watching.
Both of course had their trackers disabled, making it impossible to even pinpoint a location.
That was ten minutes ago.
Five minutes too much if you were to ask their leader.
Chan glanced over at the large clock to his right, watching the needle move for a few seconds.
“Changbin, anything?”
“Wait, I’m moving in.”
He brought his eyes back to the screens, tracking the shorter man as he pushed the door open and quickly stepped inside.
Standing still for a moment, back against the closed door and holding on to the handle tightly, Changbin didn’t move an inch as his eyes traveled all over the room.
Mentally, Chan had to pat the other on the back as he saw him take his time. The enforcer was known among the team, and the organization, for his hot temper. He was the exact definition of ‘ shoot first ask question later’, which had gotten him in trouble more times than he could remember.
Changbin would always counter that it also got them out of trouble more times than HE could think of, but that was beside the point right now.
Seeing him take a tentative step in, eyes still roaming around as he pulled out a concealed knife from his ankle put the leader at ease a bit.
Everything was possible right now.
This could be a trap made to lure more of his agents in, as it seemed evident by now they knew they were coming. And although he wanted to know what had happened and have his agents back as soon as possible, recklessness would lead them nowhere.
Which was also the reason Minho hadn’t been informed of the situation yet.
Glancing at the clock again, he let out a swear under his breath as Changbin crouched down to examine the floor.
He could see Seungmin throwing him a sideways look.
“ I’m assuming you didn’t tell him yet?”
The younger man was always so perceptive.
“ No.”
Minho was his second in command.
Usually, and under normal circumstances, if Chan himself wasn’t on the terrain with the team, Minho was the one in charge of the mission and all members relied on him.
The man was quick, deadly efficient and highly analytical, making him a great asset to have.
That is when he could reign in that stubbornness of his.
What saved him each and every single time was Chan, and the rest of the members, vouching for him, and his incredible set of skills.
More than once had he been disciplined for his reckless actions and inability to listen to direct orders. Which often happened when the members were in a dangerous situation.
Minho would always state that he had no regrets or care for the mission and would do it again if it meant all eight of them were coming back to base alive.
That certainly didn’t please their superiors when they heard that.
The mission should always come first, that’s what the organization always said. That was one of the first things they taught all recruits.
Agents are casualties and replaceable, the mission is not.
Just the thought of that had always made Chan’s blood boil, and he was forced to take a deep breath again and focus.
He couldn’t afford the distraction now.
They needed this solved quickly before the head command got involved.
And Minho came back.
Chan wasn’t too sure which one was the worst option.
That had been one of the many things that had bugged him since they received that particular mission.
During the briefing, Chan had been told he would stay at the base to oversee everything, which in itself hadn’t been too out of the ordinary. It happened often that he would be everyone’s eyes, and guide them with Seungmin from afar, making sure every part of the plan was running smoothly.
What had raised a red flag in his mind however was when they told him Minho had been put on a separate assignment and wouldn’t be joining them for this mission. That he was staying at the base as well and could join Chan in the command room once he was done with his own assignment.
The leader didn't like that at all.
Of course he trusted his team and knew they were all professionals that could operate on their own, they didn’t need a babysitter, but they were a well oiled machine. Each member complemented one another. Where there was a weakness, someone else’s strength came into play and balanced it out.
Removing two pieces of their established workflow felt like working with an amputated limb.
Not impossible, but more difficult.
Chan, as much as he was grateful for the organization, didn’t trust them more than necessary.
He didn’t think they would sabotage a mission on purpose, but he didn’t believe they would put the wellbeing of his people as a priority either. They didn't and couldn't understand the dynamic they had.
To say that Minho had been furious when he learned he’d been put on a routine mission instead of this one was an understatement.
If eyes could kill on their own, half of their bosses would be dead by now.
But no matter how much arguing they both put in they wouldn’t budge.
The mission was deemed a Class 2, which in itself shouldn’t require a full team to execute. Chan was told he should even be grateful that they allowed the rest of the members to participate and not send only a few of them.
Seeing the plans of the mansion they had to infiltrate and navigate, plus the amount of security and armed guards, the leader wouldn’t say this was a walk in the park.
Especially that it left them with less than 24 hours to come up with a solid plan to get the field team in and out safely, grab what they needed, and avoid the unnecessary attention.
But what the organization wants is what the organization gets, and just like that they’d sent Minho on his merry way while they divided the roles among themselves and planned as best as they could.
Chan loved knowing every single detail there was to know about the mission. The layout of the building, their target and all possible associates as well as any information, remote or not, that could come in handy to his team. Any bit of knowledge could be a life-safer in their line of work, and he’d rather shoot himself in the foot than putting any of them in danger.
In the end there were just too many variables.
Too many loose threads they didn’t have the time to go over and tidy up.
He couldn’t help to feel as if it was his fault he’d lost two members of this squad.
If only he’d look more, search more… Maybe there were some details in there he just didn’t see. Something that was right there and didn’t catch on…
The leader shook his head vigorously as he focused back on the camera.
There would be time later for a self pity party, but right now he wasn’t leaving any man behind tonight.
“Felix?”
“ I’m heading to the party now.”
Before he could ask, Seungmin zoomed in on one of the screens, now fully displaying the blonde boy as he headed toward the crowded ballroom. He was wearing an outfit similar to what Changbin had, easily carrying a tray full of champagne flutes in one hand.
“Be careful, we don’t know what happened to Hyunjin either.”
“ I will.”
While Changbin had been making his way over to investigate Jisung’s disappearance, Felix had been doing the same, quickly changing to blend in with the crowd of waiters. He leisurely made his way down the busy hallway, offering glasses to every group he encountered with an easy going smile, ears fully open to any information that could be relevant to them.
The unspoken agreement between all members seemed to be that the mission was now on hold until further notice.
Chan couldn’t find it in him to tell his squad to go back to the assignment anyway.
The worry that had been clawing its way down his throat was now wrapped in a vice-like grip around his heart, making it hard to breathe. He rubbed his two left fingers against his temple, trying to release some of the pressure.
As much as the agency hated it, this was his family out there. And two of them were missing.
“ Be careful and alert please. I want all your comms open, they definitely knew we were coming tonight and planned for it.”
“ Got it. Changbin Hyung, I'll come and join you.”
Jeongin's voice popped up on their feed, the sound of rustling clothes indicating he was already on the move.
A few seconds later, Chan could see their youngest member appear through the cameras, hair quickly combed back and bowtie askew as he walked out of the kitchen and into the action.
“ I’ll guide you to the right room Innie, take a left.”
While he watched his team move around to regroup, effortlessly shifting their focus to a rescue mission, Chan couldn’t help but let his mind wander for a moment to the past.
The leader loved every single one of his members fiercely. They often said that he saved them in some ways by bringing them together, but the truth was they had saved him just as much.
He was nothing without them, and couldn’t be more grateful and proud to call them his team.
His family.
It hadn’t always been easy however, especially with his first member. His first kid, as they all affectionately liked to refer to the boy.
Four years ago, when a scrawny little thing going by the name of Han Jisung had been introduced to him, dumped on his lap basically, Chan didn’t think much of it.
The moment the organization told him he was ready and finally getting his own team, the boy was the last recruit he expected to potentially have by his side and on his team.
He’d seen many trainees come and go over the years, and this one didn’t seem like he’d be among the ones that last.
Chan would be surprised if he even lasted a week at best.
The kid looked so young, with twig like legs and big doe eyes that sparkled under the bright neon lights of the training room he was brought in. The sweater he was wearing was about to fall off his frame for how skinny he was, hands completely covered by the sleeves.
From one of the corner of the room, Chan could see some of the other recruits watching the poor boy, smirking and laughing behind their hands as they mocked him already.
Everything about that boy screamed prey, not hunter.
It was an unforgiving world, the one he worked in, and no matter how much it hurt him to break someone’s spirit, it wasn’t a place for the weak. Not when his, and other people’s lives were on the line.
He’d be gone soon, he remembered thinking when he stepped up to him and shook his hand, almost ripping his noodle arm out.
Hindsight twenty-twenty, he should have known not to judge so quickly.
Because Jisung was nothing if not a smart and persistent little shit that didn’t know when to quit it.
Everything he lacked physically he made up for it ten times over with his outside the box and quick thinking.
He was absolutely brilliant, and Chan who praised himself on never playing favourite with the trainees, couldn’t help but have a soft spot for him.
The weeks went by, and Jisung was still there.
Where many had failed, the gawky 17 year-old was still standing, besting some of their most promising recruits in ways Chan had never seen before.
Truly, he should have seen in coming that he would become so protective of him. He just couldn’t help himself; he wanted, needed, to get to know the boy and get closer to him, understand him.
He always had a thing for the underdog.
But it was hard at first, trying to get through to Jisung.
The boy refused to let anyone near him, and even more so close to him.
If he wasn’t attending his mandatory training and classes, no one would see him. He’d be held up and hidden somewhere until it was meal time. And even when he was present for those, trying to break the surface of his walls was impossible.
He refused to look anyone head on, eyes always trained on his hands or feet, fidgeting. Getting him to mutter a full sentence was a miracle on its own and a true accomplishment. Some instructors didn’t even get that privilege.
He had an aloof attitude that deterred many after he’d settled in to try and befriend him.
Chan had tried multiple times to track him once they were released from training, but no matter what he did and the amount of skills he put into it he couldn’t find him. It was as if the boy would just teleport somewhere as soon as he rounded a corner.
He’d be utterly impressed if he wasn’t so frustrated.
Progresses were made, but definitely now as fast as the elder would have wanted.
They would sit together sometimes during lunch or dinner, and on days where he was particularly blessed, Jisung would even reply to a few of his commentaries.
The rest of the time, the boy was a ghost.
One night, when he couldn’t sleep after lights out, he roamed down the corridor to one of the kitchens in their dorm. He caught some lights moving through the thin crack under a closed door that tickled his curiosity, glass of water and midnight snack completely forgotten as he stepped closer.
Pushing the door open as gently as he could, he peeked inside only to stare in shock at the boy he’d so desperately tried to get a hold of all this time.
Quickly glancing around, Chan realized the room was probably only ever used as storage for cleaning supplies until the recruit started coming there. It was evident the boy was in here often, water bottles stacked on one shelf along with some snacks and mismatched towels. Boxes and crates had been pushed to the side to leave the middle of the room free.
That’s where Jisung was standing.
Back to him, his thin frame was illuminated by the glow of the laptop he had perched up on a shelf, screen playing a video silently.
The younger boy had earphones in he then noticed, all his attention it seemed was concentrated on what was being played to him. He moved to grab some papers Chan hadn't even noticed off one nearby crate, seemingly glancing over them quickly before putting them back down.
Chan watched, in utter awe, as the boy went through a series of moves and combinations he himself never imagined putting together. He recognized stunts from many martial arts they were taught during training, and some he had no idea of, looking more like dance movements to him than anything else.
It finally clicked in his mind after watching for a few minutes that Jisung on his own was developing a completely new style of selfdefense to work with his weaknesses.
No matter how much he trained, it was evident by now that the boy had a natural thin frame that wasn’t meant to bulk up. Which meant he was at a disadvantage for the fighting style they were taught by the organization that most of the time required physical force.
Jisung might be smaller and weaker than the other trainees, but on the bright side, that also made him lighter on his feet and more agile to move around quickly.
Instead of using brute force, Chan noticed he was using his momentum from the previous move to push himself through the next one, everything connecting fluidly and with minimal effort.
Genius.
He couldn’t help but step into the small room, a soft smile spreading in his lips as he closed the door behind him to watch some more and analyze what he was doing.
It was absolutely mesmerizing.
However, the second Jisung twisted around and their eyes connected, the moment was broken. Legs tangling up with each other, the boy let out a yelp and fell down on his ass, not expecting to have an audience.
Wrenching his earphones out quickly, the youngest looked at him with wide fearful eyes, mouth opening and closing as if he’d been caught committing a crime.
“Chan!”
The sudden shout pulled him from his thoughts, whipping his head around to see who’d called his name, heart racing.
Now really wasn’t the time for any more bad news.
He could see Seungmin do the same, conversation interrupted with one of the members as he turned in his chair.
What greeted them was the sight of a man standing in the doorway of the command room, most of his gear still attached to him and a deep frown marring his face.
“What the hell is going on??”
Minho was back.