Soul's Requiem (Chapter 19 Part 1)
The sun was dipping low on the New York horizon, the dimming sky now displaying brilliant pinks and muted purples. While another long day was drawing to its close, the city was just springing to life. Lights began to shine brightly in the glowing darkness, promising nights full of good food, large amounts of alcohol and an escape from the rigors of everyday life.
The night life was unfurling, allowing people to throw off the masks of life and sink into a night where fun is the name of the game and pleasure is the ultimate gain.
High up in a loft that overlooked the bustling city of New York, there was a middle-aged man peering out the window. His hands fidgeted nervously, finger intertwining for a moment before he pulled them apart and clenched them into white-knuckled fists. In the dim lighting of his loft, a sheen of sweat could be seen across his forward and upper lip, displaying his emotional distress.
He appeared to be in his early thirties, though his hairline had already receded quite a bit, giving him a slightly older look. He stood at around 5’8, relatively short for a man, but he’d always been satisfied with his height. On the physical side, he was slightly overweight, his yellow polo hugging his round stomach, as if to remind him why his wife had been nagging him about getting on a diet.
The man pushed away from the window, his feet sinking into the carpet of his loft as he began to pace quickly, back and forth in front of the large window.
He was beginning to regret agreeing to meet them. He’d known it was a bad idea to agree to talk to them, in his own apartment, no less. When he’d gotten off the plane he’d been taken into a small, cramped room with the other passengers where men in dark suits had stood guard, their eyes hidden behind sinister sunglasses.
They had basically been told that what had happened on the plane was a government secret and that if they told anyone about it, there would be quick and firm repercussions.
He didn’t believe it. No he didn’t. Why in the world would the government use a public plane and then gas the people? What about the two men that had been taken off the plane? He had been sitting a few rows behind them. He’d seen the confrontation between the two men on the plane. His Korean was a bit shabby, but he’d been able to understand a majority of what he could hear. He’d caught something about fighting or a war, and then the sickly black-haired male had told the blonde one to shut up; a fight had nearly broken out between the larger, brown-haired male and the blonde one, before the taller male had pointed out that the other passengers. After that, things had ended.
None of it made sense to him, but that still didn’t stop him for being wary of talking to other people. All the passengers of the plane had been strictly forbidden to speak about it to anyone else. Family, friends or co-workers…no one.
He had no idea what was going on, but he felt as if he were involved in some kind of covert government plan.
A sudden knock on the door set his heart to hammering in his chest, making him feel slightly dizzy and nauseated. This was the moment of truth. He could open that door and tell the people there what he knew, or he could simply remain tucked away in his loft, go about his business and then return home to his family in Arizona.
He stood looking at the door for a moment be he took the few steps needed and slowly pulled the door open.
“Yes?” He questioned weakly, looking into the faces of two serious-faced men.
“Are you Lenard Ashe?” One of them questioned, his face smooth and emotionless as he stood there.
“Uh…yes, I am.” Lenard stuttered badly, taking a step back to clear the doorway. “P-please, come in.” He gestured into his loft with a slightly shaking hand, his eyes large as he watched the two men simply step into his room.
“You said that you had information about flight 509?” The second, dark-haired man questioned, nothing bothering to take more than a few steps into the loft.
“Why do you need to know?” He didn’t know what he was doing. He had no clue why in the world he was standing up to men that were twice his size with muscles that looked strong enough to break steel.
One of the men arched his eyebrows in a show of annoyance, his face quickly returning to its former state of indifference.
“There has been a kidnapping and we need the information on where the plan landed.” He responded simply as he folded his hand neatly behind his back.
So it was a kidnapping then? A government kidnapping? Lenard began to wring his hands slightly, his nerves kicking into high gear again. What the fuck was he doing messing around with the government? He was putting himself in danger for absolutely nothing.
“I…it…the plane landed in Italy.” He let the words spill from his mouth before quickly clamping his lips shut. He wasn’t going to say anything else…he’d given them the information they wanted.
“Please leave?” It somehow came out sounding like a question, even though he had wanted it to come out as a kind of command.
The two men exchanged glances before the blonde-haired male turned and bow slightly, “Thank you for the help, I can assure you that it will be a big help.” His words were curt and simple, hardly containing any sort of emotion.
“Yes, glad to help.” Lenard bustled nervously, wanting nothing more than for the men to get out of his apartment so he could take a shower and simply forget about all the things that had happened in his hectic week.
The men nodded their heads again slightly before turning and making their way back towards the door, leaving Lenard breathing a sigh of relief.
The moment the door clicked shut behind the two men, Lenard let out a slight whimper as he strode further into his loft and peered out the large window, his eyes pinned to the bustling city beneath him. Maybe he would get out and have a few drinks, get his mind off of everything that had happened.
Just as he was about to turn from the window, there was a sharp crack as the glass of the window shattered and Lenard convulsed slightly from the impact of a bullet into his skull. He stumbled forward slightly and his body pitched out the window, sending him diving head-first towards the crowded street bellow.
It took hardly half a minute before the distant echoes of screams could be heard coming from the street bellow as people looked upon the broken body of Lenard Ashe.
=---------------------------------------------=
Meanwhile, back in South Korea:
“Changmin, where are the rest of Junsu’s pills?” Hankyung questioned as he came waltzing into the kitchen, a white pill bottle clutched in his hand. His outward appearance was haggard, showing forth how tired he was; however, there was a light in his eyes that offered a sort of distraction from the disheveled appearance of his clothes and hair.
Changmin glanced up from the reports he’d been looking over, his eye slightly distant as he pulled himself back to reality. “Huh?” He questioned dumbly, one eyebrow lifting as he sat back and removed his reading glasses. Yes, reading glasses. That was what he got for spending his life far too close to a computer screen.
“Junsu’s medication. What happened to it? There was seven pills left in here.” Hankyung shook the bottle to display the lack of pills in the container.
Changmin sighed and brushed a hand through his hair before he reached into his right pocket and pulled out a tattered piece of folded paper. “Let me see…” He trailed off and looked over the information written there. “I gave him two pills with dinner last night and I’m set to give him two this morning with breakfast.” Changmin responded before he refolded the paper and stuck it back in his pocket, his eyebrows lifting slightly as he returned his gaze to Hankyung. “Are you sure there were seven left?”
Hankyung seemed preoccupied by something, his drawn face seeming to pale slightly as he seemed to make some kind of correlation.
“Oh shit.” He growled before he spun around and quickly darted through the doorway, the pill bottle clattering to the floor in his wake.
“What’s going on?” Changmin questioned as he quickly stood from his seat and darted after Hankyung. Changmin wanted to know what it was that had the usually clam Hankyung looking so worried.
Spinning around a corner, Changmin just caught sight of Hankyung bursting through Junsu’s bedroom door.
“What the fuck?” He growled to the empty hallway as he trotted down the hall and moved into Junsu’s room.
“No, Junsu stop it!” Hankyung’s voice growled before a small cry of shock was heard from within the room.
Changmin walked in just in time to see Hankyung forcefully pushing Junsu away from the twin-sized bed. When he saw the look of confused pain on Junsu’s face, his immediate response was anger. What the hell was Hankyung doing to Junsu?
Junsu, upon spotting Changmin, gave a ragged sob and quickly latched onto the taller male’s body, his shoulders shaking slightly from fear. He was akin to a puppy that had just been yelled at.
“What the hell is going on, Hankyung?” Changmin growled, wrapping his arms protectively around Junsu’s small shoulders. He’d found that his urge to protect the smaller male was beginning to rear its head frequently, which was throwing Changmin for a slight loop. He kept telling himself that he felt this way because Jaejoong wasn’t here for him to baby, but he was beginning to doubt that more and more.
“He was trying to take all the pills, Changmin.” Hankyung responded sharply as he scooped something off of Junsu’s bed and held it out for Changmin to see.
In his palm were three circular pills, the glossy red surfaces gleaming softly.
Changmin was slightly horrorstruck by what he saw. Had Junsu been trying to kill himself? It was the first terrible thought that crossed his mind. The second was the realization that four pills were missing, which meant that Junsu had possibly taken a double dose of his medication.
“Is he in danger?” It took every ounce of Changmin’s control not to get angry and start yelling at Junsu. He had to constantly remind himself that Junsu was still sick, he still wasn’t able to comprehend the danger he was putting himself in.
“I don’t…I don’t know.” Hankyung responded after a small pause, his brows knitting together as he looked down at the pills in his hands. “This is an experimental drug, there haven’t been any overdose cases because the drug is given to carefully monitored patients by doctors.” He confessed softly, his fingers curling over the small pills in the palm of his hand.
“You mean to tell me that you gave Junsu a drug that hasn’t even been fucking approved yet?” Changmin growled as he detangled himself from Junsu’s grip and began to stalk towards Hankyung. “Where the fuck do you get off putting Junsu in danger like that?” He snapped as he reached out and fisted his hands in the material of Hankyung’s black shirt, jerking the older male forward harshly.
“I did what was best for him!” Hankyung snapped back, swiping his arm upwards and easily freeing himself from Changmin’s grip.
“Why the fuck do you care anyway? All you’re concerned about is getting Jaejoong back. You can’t stop to take the time and look at how everyone around here is falling apart!” Hankyung yelled, getting right up in Changmin’s face.
Changmin shifted back slightly, his eyebrows lifting at Hankyung’s wild accusation. What in the world made him that that he didn’t care about anything other than getting Jaejoong back. Of course he cared for the people around him!
“What the fuck are you talking about Hankyung! The whole reason that I’m here is to find Jaejoong! It’s not my responsibility to play daddy to all of the grown men here.” He snapped back as he shoved Hankyung out of his personal space.
“Mr. Kim died because of you, bastard, so why don’t you step up and take some of the responsibility?”
Changmin was thrown by that accusation, his eyes widening with shock at Hankyung’s fiery words. “How the hell was I responsible for his death? I didn’t do a fucking thing that I wasn’t told to do by the people back here!” He was yelling now, his words hot and angry.
“If you hadn’t been too busy sticking your dick up Donghae’s ass, you might have seen what was sitting right in front of you!” Hankyung growled, his eyes narrowing as he spat the words at Changmin.
“Oh yes, and I suppose that you knowing him for years and years doesn’t count? It only counts if I, the new guy, don’t spot the traitor? Huh? Is that how it works around here?”
“Yeah, that’s how it works, you fucking bastard!” Hankyung growled before he brought his first up and smashed it into Changmin’s left cheek, sending the taller male stumbling to the side slightly.
“Everything around here was fine until you and Jaejoong came running back into the pic-”
Changmin effectively silenced Hankyung by returning the punch that had been landed just seconds before.
It wasn’t really a surprise to Changmin that this was happening now. The tension around the base had been growing since the moment everyone had returned from the fight with the Jungs. The fact that Mr. Kim was dead had put everyone in a rather depressed mood. Things had just been getting worse and worse, even though everyone smiled and laughed with each other, trying to convince themselves that they weren’t really at their breaking point yet.
Changmin had been about to land a second punch to Hankyung’s stomach when he heard a broken sob fill the room. He stilled his hand mid-punch and let Hankyung fall to the ground as he turned and locked his eyes on Junsu.
The boy was sitting in the corner, his knees drawn up to his chest and his eyes opened wide and glistening with tears. Small whimpers and sobs escaped from his mouth from time to time as he rocked in the corner.
“Junsu…” Changmin trailed off and took a cautious step towards the smaller male, cringing slightly when Junsu flinched away from him, his eyes shutting tightly as if he thought Changmin was about to hit him.
“No, I’m not going to hurt you, Junsu.” He stated in a placating tone as he dropped to his knees and reached out his left hand to Junsu, “It’s alright.” He assured wiggling his fingers slightly as if this would draw the boy closer.
“Why does everyone have to be so violent?”
Changmin blinked slightly, his hand dropping back to his side as he tried to process what he’d just heard from Junsu. When Junsu spoke, his words were usually child-like and simplistic; his sentences were short and he didn’t usually express disapproval of peoples’ behavior. What Junsu had just said seemed so different. He was serious and his voice was tinged with the stress of sadness, as if he were lamenting over the downfall of man’s morals.
“The world is bad enough without the few good people trying to kill each other off.” Junsu sobbed softly, bringing his left hand up to swipe it across his eyes, as if that would somehow stop the abundant flow of tears.
“Are you alright, Junsu?” Changmin breathed, his eyes still wide with shock. He couldn’t’ seem to wrap his mind around the fact that Junsu was talking like a normal person, as if he’d never conversed with rats or held long conversations with walls and other inanimate objects. What the hell was going on?
“I should be asking you that question.” Junsu sniffed as he lifted his gaze to look at Changmin. “How can you be such a monster?”
Well that stung. Changmin nearly found himself flinching at Junsu’s words. How was he being a monster? He had just lost his temper. He was perfectly innocent in his actions.
“I’m sorry, Junsu, I didn’t mean to upset you.” That was true. He’d never meant to cause Junsu anymore distress, but then he hadn’t expected Junsu to suddenly make a return trip to sanity.
“Maybe this has something to do with how much medication he took.” Hankyung breathed as he moved to sit next to Changmin on the floor, his eyes slightly wide as he contemplated Junsu’s form. “I mean, if the dosage was calculated wrong, then it might make sense for him to need more than two pills.”
Changmin could do nothing but nod his head dumbly, not really understand what Hankyung was going on about. All that mattered to him was that there was a possibility of fully grounding Junsu’s sanity. The sudden butterflies in his stomach were slightly confusing him.
“Would it be safe for him to take four on a regular bases?” Changmin questioned as he stood up and crept closer to where Junsu was sitting.
“I’ll have to do some research.” Hankyung breathed softly as he stood from the ground and gently pressed at the swollen skin around the corner of his mouth. “You have a mean right-hook, by the by.” He muttered as he winced slightly and dropped his hand back to his side.
“You okay, Junsu?”
“Just leave me alone, Changmin. I don’t really want to talk to you.” Junsu snapped slightly as he stood from his spot on the ground and brushed off the back of his jeans. “You two are such animals.” He stated before he strode from the room.
“Oh, hi, Junsu.” Eunhyuk’s voice floated down the hall, the silence that followed indicating that Junsu hadn’t responded.
“Okay…what’s with him?” The man questioned as he stepped into the room looking slightly confused. “He looked like he’d just had a total bitch fit.”
“I’m not really sure what happened…” Changmin trailed off, blinking a few times as if that would somehow make things more clear.
“What are you up to?” He questioned Eunhyuk after a moment, his eyes pinned onto the paper the other male was clutching in his left hand.”
“Oh!” Eunhyuk’s face suddenly grew brighter as he waved the paper in a triumphant manner. “We got a report from one of the passengers that the plane set down in Italy.”
Changmin felt his heart begin to hammer within his chest as he realized what Eunhyuk was telling him. They knew where Jaejoong was.
“Did they getting anything else?” He asked as he moved forward and pulled the paper from Eunhyuk’s grasp.
The paper was completely blank, save for two words. In Italy. That was all that was printed on the crisp sheet of paper. That was it? They didn’t get any information on where they were being kept, of if they were even still alive? He tried not to let his hopes sag, but it was rather hard in the face of how much more information they were going to need before they would really make a decisive move.
“Okay, we need to get men in Italy to start questioning. Start within a twenty mile radius of the airports. Look for any records of a an American-bound flight setting down. Once you find that, get me the information on Organizations that hold power in Italy.” He snapped of the commands to Eunhyuk and Hankyung before he began to move from the room. “Be ready to leave for Italy the moment we find useful information on Jaejoong’s whereabouts.” Now they were making ground.
The night life was unfurling, allowing people to throw off the masks of life and sink into a night where fun is the name of the game and pleasure is the ultimate gain.
High up in a loft that overlooked the bustling city of New York, there was a middle-aged man peering out the window. His hands fidgeted nervously, finger intertwining for a moment before he pulled them apart and clenched them into white-knuckled fists. In the dim lighting of his loft, a sheen of sweat could be seen across his forward and upper lip, displaying his emotional distress.
He appeared to be in his early thirties, though his hairline had already receded quite a bit, giving him a slightly older look. He stood at around 5’8, relatively short for a man, but he’d always been satisfied with his height. On the physical side, he was slightly overweight, his yellow polo hugging his round stomach, as if to remind him why his wife had been nagging him about getting on a diet.
The man pushed away from the window, his feet sinking into the carpet of his loft as he began to pace quickly, back and forth in front of the large window.
He was beginning to regret agreeing to meet them. He’d known it was a bad idea to agree to talk to them, in his own apartment, no less. When he’d gotten off the plane he’d been taken into a small, cramped room with the other passengers where men in dark suits had stood guard, their eyes hidden behind sinister sunglasses.
They had basically been told that what had happened on the plane was a government secret and that if they told anyone about it, there would be quick and firm repercussions.
He didn’t believe it. No he didn’t. Why in the world would the government use a public plane and then gas the people? What about the two men that had been taken off the plane? He had been sitting a few rows behind them. He’d seen the confrontation between the two men on the plane. His Korean was a bit shabby, but he’d been able to understand a majority of what he could hear. He’d caught something about fighting or a war, and then the sickly black-haired male had told the blonde one to shut up; a fight had nearly broken out between the larger, brown-haired male and the blonde one, before the taller male had pointed out that the other passengers. After that, things had ended.
None of it made sense to him, but that still didn’t stop him for being wary of talking to other people. All the passengers of the plane had been strictly forbidden to speak about it to anyone else. Family, friends or co-workers…no one.
He had no idea what was going on, but he felt as if he were involved in some kind of covert government plan.
A sudden knock on the door set his heart to hammering in his chest, making him feel slightly dizzy and nauseated. This was the moment of truth. He could open that door and tell the people there what he knew, or he could simply remain tucked away in his loft, go about his business and then return home to his family in Arizona.
He stood looking at the door for a moment be he took the few steps needed and slowly pulled the door open.
“Yes?” He questioned weakly, looking into the faces of two serious-faced men.
“Are you Lenard Ashe?” One of them questioned, his face smooth and emotionless as he stood there.
“Uh…yes, I am.” Lenard stuttered badly, taking a step back to clear the doorway. “P-please, come in.” He gestured into his loft with a slightly shaking hand, his eyes large as he watched the two men simply step into his room.
“You said that you had information about flight 509?” The second, dark-haired man questioned, nothing bothering to take more than a few steps into the loft.
“Why do you need to know?” He didn’t know what he was doing. He had no clue why in the world he was standing up to men that were twice his size with muscles that looked strong enough to break steel.
One of the men arched his eyebrows in a show of annoyance, his face quickly returning to its former state of indifference.
“There has been a kidnapping and we need the information on where the plan landed.” He responded simply as he folded his hand neatly behind his back.
So it was a kidnapping then? A government kidnapping? Lenard began to wring his hands slightly, his nerves kicking into high gear again. What the fuck was he doing messing around with the government? He was putting himself in danger for absolutely nothing.
“I…it…the plane landed in Italy.” He let the words spill from his mouth before quickly clamping his lips shut. He wasn’t going to say anything else…he’d given them the information they wanted.
“Please leave?” It somehow came out sounding like a question, even though he had wanted it to come out as a kind of command.
The two men exchanged glances before the blonde-haired male turned and bow slightly, “Thank you for the help, I can assure you that it will be a big help.” His words were curt and simple, hardly containing any sort of emotion.
“Yes, glad to help.” Lenard bustled nervously, wanting nothing more than for the men to get out of his apartment so he could take a shower and simply forget about all the things that had happened in his hectic week.
The men nodded their heads again slightly before turning and making their way back towards the door, leaving Lenard breathing a sigh of relief.
The moment the door clicked shut behind the two men, Lenard let out a slight whimper as he strode further into his loft and peered out the large window, his eyes pinned to the bustling city beneath him. Maybe he would get out and have a few drinks, get his mind off of everything that had happened.
Just as he was about to turn from the window, there was a sharp crack as the glass of the window shattered and Lenard convulsed slightly from the impact of a bullet into his skull. He stumbled forward slightly and his body pitched out the window, sending him diving head-first towards the crowded street bellow.
It took hardly half a minute before the distant echoes of screams could be heard coming from the street bellow as people looked upon the broken body of Lenard Ashe.
=---------------------------------------------=
Meanwhile, back in South Korea:
“Changmin, where are the rest of Junsu’s pills?” Hankyung questioned as he came waltzing into the kitchen, a white pill bottle clutched in his hand. His outward appearance was haggard, showing forth how tired he was; however, there was a light in his eyes that offered a sort of distraction from the disheveled appearance of his clothes and hair.
Changmin glanced up from the reports he’d been looking over, his eye slightly distant as he pulled himself back to reality. “Huh?” He questioned dumbly, one eyebrow lifting as he sat back and removed his reading glasses. Yes, reading glasses. That was what he got for spending his life far too close to a computer screen.
“Junsu’s medication. What happened to it? There was seven pills left in here.” Hankyung shook the bottle to display the lack of pills in the container.
Changmin sighed and brushed a hand through his hair before he reached into his right pocket and pulled out a tattered piece of folded paper. “Let me see…” He trailed off and looked over the information written there. “I gave him two pills with dinner last night and I’m set to give him two this morning with breakfast.” Changmin responded before he refolded the paper and stuck it back in his pocket, his eyebrows lifting slightly as he returned his gaze to Hankyung. “Are you sure there were seven left?”
Hankyung seemed preoccupied by something, his drawn face seeming to pale slightly as he seemed to make some kind of correlation.
“Oh shit.” He growled before he spun around and quickly darted through the doorway, the pill bottle clattering to the floor in his wake.
“What’s going on?” Changmin questioned as he quickly stood from his seat and darted after Hankyung. Changmin wanted to know what it was that had the usually clam Hankyung looking so worried.
Spinning around a corner, Changmin just caught sight of Hankyung bursting through Junsu’s bedroom door.
“What the fuck?” He growled to the empty hallway as he trotted down the hall and moved into Junsu’s room.
“No, Junsu stop it!” Hankyung’s voice growled before a small cry of shock was heard from within the room.
Changmin walked in just in time to see Hankyung forcefully pushing Junsu away from the twin-sized bed. When he saw the look of confused pain on Junsu’s face, his immediate response was anger. What the hell was Hankyung doing to Junsu?
Junsu, upon spotting Changmin, gave a ragged sob and quickly latched onto the taller male’s body, his shoulders shaking slightly from fear. He was akin to a puppy that had just been yelled at.
“What the hell is going on, Hankyung?” Changmin growled, wrapping his arms protectively around Junsu’s small shoulders. He’d found that his urge to protect the smaller male was beginning to rear its head frequently, which was throwing Changmin for a slight loop. He kept telling himself that he felt this way because Jaejoong wasn’t here for him to baby, but he was beginning to doubt that more and more.
“He was trying to take all the pills, Changmin.” Hankyung responded sharply as he scooped something off of Junsu’s bed and held it out for Changmin to see.
In his palm were three circular pills, the glossy red surfaces gleaming softly.
Changmin was slightly horrorstruck by what he saw. Had Junsu been trying to kill himself? It was the first terrible thought that crossed his mind. The second was the realization that four pills were missing, which meant that Junsu had possibly taken a double dose of his medication.
“Is he in danger?” It took every ounce of Changmin’s control not to get angry and start yelling at Junsu. He had to constantly remind himself that Junsu was still sick, he still wasn’t able to comprehend the danger he was putting himself in.
“I don’t…I don’t know.” Hankyung responded after a small pause, his brows knitting together as he looked down at the pills in his hands. “This is an experimental drug, there haven’t been any overdose cases because the drug is given to carefully monitored patients by doctors.” He confessed softly, his fingers curling over the small pills in the palm of his hand.
“You mean to tell me that you gave Junsu a drug that hasn’t even been fucking approved yet?” Changmin growled as he detangled himself from Junsu’s grip and began to stalk towards Hankyung. “Where the fuck do you get off putting Junsu in danger like that?” He snapped as he reached out and fisted his hands in the material of Hankyung’s black shirt, jerking the older male forward harshly.
“I did what was best for him!” Hankyung snapped back, swiping his arm upwards and easily freeing himself from Changmin’s grip.
“Why the fuck do you care anyway? All you’re concerned about is getting Jaejoong back. You can’t stop to take the time and look at how everyone around here is falling apart!” Hankyung yelled, getting right up in Changmin’s face.
Changmin shifted back slightly, his eyebrows lifting at Hankyung’s wild accusation. What in the world made him that that he didn’t care about anything other than getting Jaejoong back. Of course he cared for the people around him!
“What the fuck are you talking about Hankyung! The whole reason that I’m here is to find Jaejoong! It’s not my responsibility to play daddy to all of the grown men here.” He snapped back as he shoved Hankyung out of his personal space.
“Mr. Kim died because of you, bastard, so why don’t you step up and take some of the responsibility?”
Changmin was thrown by that accusation, his eyes widening with shock at Hankyung’s fiery words. “How the hell was I responsible for his death? I didn’t do a fucking thing that I wasn’t told to do by the people back here!” He was yelling now, his words hot and angry.
“If you hadn’t been too busy sticking your dick up Donghae’s ass, you might have seen what was sitting right in front of you!” Hankyung growled, his eyes narrowing as he spat the words at Changmin.
“Oh yes, and I suppose that you knowing him for years and years doesn’t count? It only counts if I, the new guy, don’t spot the traitor? Huh? Is that how it works around here?”
“Yeah, that’s how it works, you fucking bastard!” Hankyung growled before he brought his first up and smashed it into Changmin’s left cheek, sending the taller male stumbling to the side slightly.
“Everything around here was fine until you and Jaejoong came running back into the pic-”
Changmin effectively silenced Hankyung by returning the punch that had been landed just seconds before.
It wasn’t really a surprise to Changmin that this was happening now. The tension around the base had been growing since the moment everyone had returned from the fight with the Jungs. The fact that Mr. Kim was dead had put everyone in a rather depressed mood. Things had just been getting worse and worse, even though everyone smiled and laughed with each other, trying to convince themselves that they weren’t really at their breaking point yet.
Changmin had been about to land a second punch to Hankyung’s stomach when he heard a broken sob fill the room. He stilled his hand mid-punch and let Hankyung fall to the ground as he turned and locked his eyes on Junsu.
The boy was sitting in the corner, his knees drawn up to his chest and his eyes opened wide and glistening with tears. Small whimpers and sobs escaped from his mouth from time to time as he rocked in the corner.
“Junsu…” Changmin trailed off and took a cautious step towards the smaller male, cringing slightly when Junsu flinched away from him, his eyes shutting tightly as if he thought Changmin was about to hit him.
“No, I’m not going to hurt you, Junsu.” He stated in a placating tone as he dropped to his knees and reached out his left hand to Junsu, “It’s alright.” He assured wiggling his fingers slightly as if this would draw the boy closer.
“Why does everyone have to be so violent?”
Changmin blinked slightly, his hand dropping back to his side as he tried to process what he’d just heard from Junsu. When Junsu spoke, his words were usually child-like and simplistic; his sentences were short and he didn’t usually express disapproval of peoples’ behavior. What Junsu had just said seemed so different. He was serious and his voice was tinged with the stress of sadness, as if he were lamenting over the downfall of man’s morals.
“The world is bad enough without the few good people trying to kill each other off.” Junsu sobbed softly, bringing his left hand up to swipe it across his eyes, as if that would somehow stop the abundant flow of tears.
“Are you alright, Junsu?” Changmin breathed, his eyes still wide with shock. He couldn’t’ seem to wrap his mind around the fact that Junsu was talking like a normal person, as if he’d never conversed with rats or held long conversations with walls and other inanimate objects. What the hell was going on?
“I should be asking you that question.” Junsu sniffed as he lifted his gaze to look at Changmin. “How can you be such a monster?”
Well that stung. Changmin nearly found himself flinching at Junsu’s words. How was he being a monster? He had just lost his temper. He was perfectly innocent in his actions.
“I’m sorry, Junsu, I didn’t mean to upset you.” That was true. He’d never meant to cause Junsu anymore distress, but then he hadn’t expected Junsu to suddenly make a return trip to sanity.
“Maybe this has something to do with how much medication he took.” Hankyung breathed as he moved to sit next to Changmin on the floor, his eyes slightly wide as he contemplated Junsu’s form. “I mean, if the dosage was calculated wrong, then it might make sense for him to need more than two pills.”
Changmin could do nothing but nod his head dumbly, not really understand what Hankyung was going on about. All that mattered to him was that there was a possibility of fully grounding Junsu’s sanity. The sudden butterflies in his stomach were slightly confusing him.
“Would it be safe for him to take four on a regular bases?” Changmin questioned as he stood up and crept closer to where Junsu was sitting.
“I’ll have to do some research.” Hankyung breathed softly as he stood from the ground and gently pressed at the swollen skin around the corner of his mouth. “You have a mean right-hook, by the by.” He muttered as he winced slightly and dropped his hand back to his side.
“You okay, Junsu?”
“Just leave me alone, Changmin. I don’t really want to talk to you.” Junsu snapped slightly as he stood from his spot on the ground and brushed off the back of his jeans. “You two are such animals.” He stated before he strode from the room.
“Oh, hi, Junsu.” Eunhyuk’s voice floated down the hall, the silence that followed indicating that Junsu hadn’t responded.
“Okay…what’s with him?” The man questioned as he stepped into the room looking slightly confused. “He looked like he’d just had a total bitch fit.”
“I’m not really sure what happened…” Changmin trailed off, blinking a few times as if that would somehow make things more clear.
“What are you up to?” He questioned Eunhyuk after a moment, his eyes pinned onto the paper the other male was clutching in his left hand.”
“Oh!” Eunhyuk’s face suddenly grew brighter as he waved the paper in a triumphant manner. “We got a report from one of the passengers that the plane set down in Italy.”
Changmin felt his heart begin to hammer within his chest as he realized what Eunhyuk was telling him. They knew where Jaejoong was.
“Did they getting anything else?” He asked as he moved forward and pulled the paper from Eunhyuk’s grasp.
The paper was completely blank, save for two words. In Italy. That was all that was printed on the crisp sheet of paper. That was it? They didn’t get any information on where they were being kept, of if they were even still alive? He tried not to let his hopes sag, but it was rather hard in the face of how much more information they were going to need before they would really make a decisive move.
“Okay, we need to get men in Italy to start questioning. Start within a twenty mile radius of the airports. Look for any records of a an American-bound flight setting down. Once you find that, get me the information on Organizations that hold power in Italy.” He snapped of the commands to Eunhyuk and Hankyung before he began to move from the room. “Be ready to leave for Italy the moment we find useful information on Jaejoong’s whereabouts.” Now they were making ground.