(no subject)
Title: Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Chapters 2 & 3)
Authors: angelinaii, murasaki_plum, nemesis_cry (otherwise known as The Scorpions)
Characters/Pairings: All (kangteuk, shichul, kihae; potential kyuwook, eunkihae, shihanchul, yeshdong, yewook, minry)
Rating: PG-13 to R
Genre: AU, organized crime, postcyberpunk
Summary: In a world where money and crime go hand and hand, survival is not determined by the fittest, but the ones who will fight to live.
Warnings: violence, swearing, sexual situations
AN: Thank you so much for the warm response so far!
Introduction and Chapter 1
Banner by angelinaii
Chapter 2
Headaches. The side effect of Shindong being a bodyguard. He didn't mind being assigned to watch after SuperCop. Yesung was smart and more than capable of taking care of himself. It left Shindong with many long and boring days watching out from the distance. Very boring days. All of that complaining was probably what got him stuck in his current predicament. If there was anything worse than being a bored bodyguard, it was to be used as someone's decoy.
Shindong was being followed by the police. Again. As much as he hated to play decoy in Ryeowook's plans, he had to give the boy credit when it was due. The plans usually worked out in their favor. At least Ryeowook usually bothered to plan things out instead of acting on impulse like Kangin, or act on a whim like Eeteuk. Even though the kid's track record was good, sometimes his ideas simply sounded bad. Whenever Ryeowook decided something on a whim, it spelled trouble, because instead of being just as bad as the other two, he managed to be far worse.
"I need you to act suspiciously, and draw them out to the scrapyard tomorrow."
"Kangin told me I'm supposed to stay with you, SuperCop's in uniform so I don't have to tail him," Shindong tried to explain to the young man, watching him intently. "Which leaves me to babysit you."
"I need you to act suspiciously, and draw them out to the scrapyard tomorrow." Ryeowook repeated, his expression unchanged.
"Why?" Shindong was older, and was physically more imposing than Ryeowook would ever be. But it didn't stop Shindong from stamping his foot and whining like an oversized child.
"Because I need you to do it." On lesser matters, it was fairly easy for Shindong to talk Ryeowook down. But when the little guy made up his mind on something serious, it was set.
"Why me?" Shindong pouted and screwed up his face. He knew he was going to do exactly what he was told to do, but it didn't mean he was going to like it.
"It just has to be you. Trust me."
Shindong had been hanging around Ryeowook enough to know that this plan was in essence taking out two birds with one stone. The four undercover cops following him were out to find the guy who had been causing their associates' troubles recently. The men were getting too close to the truth. Yesung had begun to complain about them following him, and hassling him for info whenever he had to go to the precinct. If the police found out that Yesung was loyal to the wrong people, there would be more headaches for Shindong to deal with.
The other problem Ryeowook had with the four men was a problem only known to Ryeowook. The little guy tended to take it personal when someone caused trouble on his turf. Eeteuk and Kangin were more tolerant in their respective regions, but the youngest leader was a bit more touchy when it came to his territory. His people were left alone, everyone with common sense knew that.
Shindong didn't know what the four man did that was bad enough for Ryeowook to take such permanent measures to deal with them, and part of him was glad he probably never would.
His cellphone began to ring and he leaned against the fence near the entrance to the area.
"Yeah?" Shindong shifted and scanned his surroundings, making sure to pretend not to notice the unmarked car parked across the street.
"Still bored?" Kyuhyun's voice sounded through the cellphone's speaker, the distinctly artificial sound of each word making it clear the technophile wasn't speaking into a phone but making the phone speak for him. It was annoying, but it was the kid's style.
"Funny."
"You're the comedian. Walk straight into the yard, take a left, and then pretend to wait near the wrecked Crown Victoria."
"There's a joke to be made about that."
"Tell it to me later." The call was dropped, either Shindong's phone had a bad signal or Kyuhyun was bored with the conversation and moved on.
Five minutes went by and nothing happened as far as Shindong could tell. Then Henry appeared from between a nearby row of cars, so quiet and calm that he could have been taking a stroll. His gaze met Shindong and he nodded, before turning and walking back the way he came.
"Guess it is time to follow the white rabbit." Shindong sighed to himself and ran a hand through his spiked hair. He knew that if the quiet one didn't want to be followed, he wouldn't have let Shindong see him. Henry was a strange one. Since Shindong rationalized excuses for why he tolerated most of the others, all he could come up with Henry was that Henry was just Henry.
Henry was also a master at what he did, and what Henry did was kill people. Whatever ruse was concocted to convince the men to follow Shindong that day was enough. Sure they were going to make the catch of a lifetime, they instead just caught a lot of death.
"What a way to go," Shindong shook his head as he peered inside the window of the car. From the looks on the corpses' faces, they knew they were dead before it was over. It made sense that they chose the scrapyard, easier to just push the car with the now messy interior into the compactor and let the machine do most of the work.
With Henry's silent assistance, the clean up was quick and easy. Shindong pulled out his cellphone to call Ryeowook to let him know that yet another of his plans worked out in his favor.
It didn't go through.
With anyone else, Shindong might have worried. With Ryeowook, it was just another strange habit of a strange man.
Chapter 3
The restaurant was the most popular within Judoh's financial district. During the mid-afternoon, each table would be occupied by bankers, brokers, and their clients. Soft-spoken conversations amid the sound of the use of fine silverware on expensive dishes were the norm. In his muted dark gray business suit and neatly parted hair, Kibum looked like he belonged there. As a broker at one of the more prominent brokerages, he was a regular. He had his favorite table, and the waitress already knew what he'd order depending on if he had a client with him or not. Kibum made the effort to blend in, to not stand out too much. Drawing all of the wrong attention to himself was what nearly got him killed when he was an intern.
It annoyed him that despite explicit instructions for how he expected them to meet him, they didn't listen. He would give Eunhyuk credit for wearing a collared shirt at least, but that wouldn't distract from the torn black jeans and the chains hanging in place of a proper belt. Donghae seemed to make an effort as well, an effort to look as much like a hoodlum as he could possibly manage. Kibum knew from the grin Donghae greeted him with that it was done on purpose.
"Sometimes I wish Kangin came into Judoh more often," Donghae noted, eying the suit. It was for show; it was pretty rare that one left before the other awoke in the morning and they usually made a point to cross paths as often as possible during the day.
With things as they were, you knew to make the most of what was given to you.
Mischievous grin in place, he had the nerve to wrap an arm around Kibum's shoulders, dragging him into a hug. "Long day?" he added, speaking against his cheek before drawing back as if he couldn't see the furtive glances thrown their way. Very inconspicuous.
"Are you done?" Kibum arched an eyebrow at Donghae, trying not to break into a grin. Even the slightest glimmer of amusement would encourage Donghae to act up even further. "You don't have to come back here tomorrow, I do."
"It was his idea," Eunhyuk said as he flipped over the menu, always eager to shift over any blame, "he said you wouldn't mind."
"I don't..."
"Yeah, you do," Donghae interrupted, taking a seat at Kibum's right. He shrugged noncommittally, looking around the restaurant. Security risks, escape routes, Kyuhyun and the plans were a phone call away. Didn't mean he couldn't worry. Instinct tended to be right more often than cold, mechanical thought. "I might have lied."
Eunhyuk looked up from the menu, wide-eyed and concerned. It didn't cross his mind that Donghae would lie and has lied to get them both in trouble before, but now that he thought about it he was immediately apologetic. "Oh, I really thought you wouldn't mind. I mean, he said it!"
Kibum reached for his glass of water and took a drink to hide the snickers that were bubbling up beyond his control when Eunhyuk stood from his chair to move himself in reach to smack Donghae properly across the back of the head.
"Jerk."
"Come on! It's funny!" Donghae exclaimed far too loudly, and slapped Eunhyuk's arm in retaliation while he gestured for him to sit back down.
Loathe to obey but loathe to cause even more trouble, Eunhyuk hesitated. "I'm never going to trust you again. Just so you know." And then, for emphasis, he repeated. "Jerk."
"You'll get over it," Donghae nodded with excess confidence. "Come on, sit your ass back down before we ruin Mr. Important's reputation even more."
"If my reputation ends up ruined, it'll be your fault," Kibum pointed out with a grin. "I know you don't care if I keep my day job."
"You're safer without it." Donghae clarified, even the joking tone in which he said it did little to mask his true feelings behind the statement. He covered it with a smirk, playing with the silverware like a child might. A child with a fondness for sharp objects and the know-how to use them efficiently. He glanced up at Eunhyuk expectantly. "Oh come on, just forget it, he's kidding. Sit down."
Eunhyuk clenched his jaw. "I can't."
Donghae laughed and was about to give Eunhyuk a playful shove when he looked up to see the stricken expression on his face. "What do you mean, you can't?"
"I can't move my legs."
"Another glitch?" Kibum wasn't as quick to reach a panic as the other two. After all, it wouldn't be the first time Eunhyuk's prosthetic limbs refused to move. "You just had them fixed."
Eunhyuk closed his eyes, and seemed to rock back and forth on his feet as if caught in a trance. "That's not it, I can feel it. It's not my legs, someone's trying to make me move."
"Are you sure?" Donghae stood, already reaching out a hand to stop any sudden movement from his companion. As if he could stop him, if Eunhyuk decided to give them the slip, he would.
Or if his legs did.
"Yes," he hissed, fingers clenching and unclenching in the tablecloth. "You need to... you need to knock me out." His left leg gave a spasm, some other source besides Eunhyuk controlling it. "Shit..."
"Quit joking," Donghae got to his feet anyway, placing both hands on Eunhyuk's shoulders. "Knock you out? Just stop!"
"I can't!" Eunhyuk shouted and looked across at Kibum plaintively. His left ankle and knee twisted unnaturally as his foot moved forward one jerking step. Whoever was trying to take control seemed to be doing a poor job at it. "Do it or I do it myself. Ah! Why does it hurt?"
Like something out of a horror movie, his leg turned a full 360 degrees, his hips protesting with the jolt of pain that traveled up his spine. If they had been his own, he'd have been crawling in pain. As it was, even hacked, his prosthetics had their limitations. Eunhyuk still had to bite down on his tongue to keep his screams to himself.
Kibum stood as well, aware of other people's eyes on them. It wasn't their questioning glances he minded but the certainty that more than two thirds had ties with the Dons and the police. With Donghae's tattoos so clearly on display, it would be a matter of time before word of mouth spread the news that Eeteuk's people were in trouble.
"We can't do it here," he reasoned, waving the waitress away when she asked if something was wrong. Who knew who payed her paycheck? "We have to get you out..."
"I can't move."
"I know you can't, just hang on." Kibum hooked one of Eunhyuk's arms over his shoulder and supported his waist with his arm. He met Donghae's gaze as the other mirrored his actions. "Lift on three."
"God, your legs weigh a ton," Donghae attempted to joke as the two began to mostly drag Eunhyuk toward the exit. It was true to form that he would rely on humor as a way to cope with the situation. "I don't know how you can even move...oh yeah, sorry."
"Shut up," Eunhyuk gritted out, half-laughing, half-moaning in pain. "Head... hurts."
They made it to the door with eyes boring into their backs. Like sharks, Kibum's co-workers were surprisingly apt at smelling blood. He winced as the heel of a foot dug into his calf. "Hang in there, come on."
"My car's across the street," Donghae winced this time as a heel came down on his instep. "Alright, twinkle-toes, this is really getting annoying."
"Mine's closer," Kibum said just as the automated valet had pulled his car to the door.
"I fucking hate rich people," Donghae muttered as he reached for the doors.
Eunhyuk gripped their shoulders for support, his lower half weighing low and useless. "When... did this become a popularity contest?" he managed to get out, his head feeling like it was about to split open. A flare of panic cut through him. What if whoever or whatever was doing this to him had the power to make the implant explode? Kyuhyun told him that was bullshit, that it couldn't happen, but what did he know? What did any of them know?
"Fuck, ow!" Donghae's pointed wince cut through his thoughts. "At least you're not wearing stilettos."
"Why?" he stuttered out. "Got much experience getting kicked by women?"
"Bite me, Sunshine. Who said anything about women?"
"Are you two finished?" Kibum angled Eunhyuk toward the open door. "I'm not getting anyone in the car by myself."
"So much for a romantic lunch date," Donghae muttered under his breath, wincing as he struggled to help Kibum get Eunhyuk into the car.
Authors: angelinaii, murasaki_plum, nemesis_cry (otherwise known as The Scorpions)
Characters/Pairings: All (kangteuk, shichul, kihae; potential kyuwook, eunkihae, shihanchul, yeshdong, yewook, minry)
Rating: PG-13 to R
Genre: AU, organized crime, postcyberpunk
Summary: In a world where money and crime go hand and hand, survival is not determined by the fittest, but the ones who will fight to live.
Warnings: violence, swearing, sexual situations
AN: Thank you so much for the warm response so far!
Introduction and Chapter 1
Banner by angelinaii
Chapter 2
Headaches. The side effect of Shindong being a bodyguard. He didn't mind being assigned to watch after SuperCop. Yesung was smart and more than capable of taking care of himself. It left Shindong with many long and boring days watching out from the distance. Very boring days. All of that complaining was probably what got him stuck in his current predicament. If there was anything worse than being a bored bodyguard, it was to be used as someone's decoy.
Shindong was being followed by the police. Again. As much as he hated to play decoy in Ryeowook's plans, he had to give the boy credit when it was due. The plans usually worked out in their favor. At least Ryeowook usually bothered to plan things out instead of acting on impulse like Kangin, or act on a whim like Eeteuk. Even though the kid's track record was good, sometimes his ideas simply sounded bad. Whenever Ryeowook decided something on a whim, it spelled trouble, because instead of being just as bad as the other two, he managed to be far worse.
"I need you to act suspiciously, and draw them out to the scrapyard tomorrow."
"Kangin told me I'm supposed to stay with you, SuperCop's in uniform so I don't have to tail him," Shindong tried to explain to the young man, watching him intently. "Which leaves me to babysit you."
"I need you to act suspiciously, and draw them out to the scrapyard tomorrow." Ryeowook repeated, his expression unchanged.
"Why?" Shindong was older, and was physically more imposing than Ryeowook would ever be. But it didn't stop Shindong from stamping his foot and whining like an oversized child.
"Because I need you to do it." On lesser matters, it was fairly easy for Shindong to talk Ryeowook down. But when the little guy made up his mind on something serious, it was set.
"Why me?" Shindong pouted and screwed up his face. He knew he was going to do exactly what he was told to do, but it didn't mean he was going to like it.
"It just has to be you. Trust me."
Shindong had been hanging around Ryeowook enough to know that this plan was in essence taking out two birds with one stone. The four undercover cops following him were out to find the guy who had been causing their associates' troubles recently. The men were getting too close to the truth. Yesung had begun to complain about them following him, and hassling him for info whenever he had to go to the precinct. If the police found out that Yesung was loyal to the wrong people, there would be more headaches for Shindong to deal with.
The other problem Ryeowook had with the four men was a problem only known to Ryeowook. The little guy tended to take it personal when someone caused trouble on his turf. Eeteuk and Kangin were more tolerant in their respective regions, but the youngest leader was a bit more touchy when it came to his territory. His people were left alone, everyone with common sense knew that.
Shindong didn't know what the four man did that was bad enough for Ryeowook to take such permanent measures to deal with them, and part of him was glad he probably never would.
His cellphone began to ring and he leaned against the fence near the entrance to the area.
"Yeah?" Shindong shifted and scanned his surroundings, making sure to pretend not to notice the unmarked car parked across the street.
"Still bored?" Kyuhyun's voice sounded through the cellphone's speaker, the distinctly artificial sound of each word making it clear the technophile wasn't speaking into a phone but making the phone speak for him. It was annoying, but it was the kid's style.
"Funny."
"You're the comedian. Walk straight into the yard, take a left, and then pretend to wait near the wrecked Crown Victoria."
"There's a joke to be made about that."
"Tell it to me later." The call was dropped, either Shindong's phone had a bad signal or Kyuhyun was bored with the conversation and moved on.
Five minutes went by and nothing happened as far as Shindong could tell. Then Henry appeared from between a nearby row of cars, so quiet and calm that he could have been taking a stroll. His gaze met Shindong and he nodded, before turning and walking back the way he came.
"Guess it is time to follow the white rabbit." Shindong sighed to himself and ran a hand through his spiked hair. He knew that if the quiet one didn't want to be followed, he wouldn't have let Shindong see him. Henry was a strange one. Since Shindong rationalized excuses for why he tolerated most of the others, all he could come up with Henry was that Henry was just Henry.
Henry was also a master at what he did, and what Henry did was kill people. Whatever ruse was concocted to convince the men to follow Shindong that day was enough. Sure they were going to make the catch of a lifetime, they instead just caught a lot of death.
"What a way to go," Shindong shook his head as he peered inside the window of the car. From the looks on the corpses' faces, they knew they were dead before it was over. It made sense that they chose the scrapyard, easier to just push the car with the now messy interior into the compactor and let the machine do most of the work.
With Henry's silent assistance, the clean up was quick and easy. Shindong pulled out his cellphone to call Ryeowook to let him know that yet another of his plans worked out in his favor.
It didn't go through.
With anyone else, Shindong might have worried. With Ryeowook, it was just another strange habit of a strange man.
Chapter 3
The restaurant was the most popular within Judoh's financial district. During the mid-afternoon, each table would be occupied by bankers, brokers, and their clients. Soft-spoken conversations amid the sound of the use of fine silverware on expensive dishes were the norm. In his muted dark gray business suit and neatly parted hair, Kibum looked like he belonged there. As a broker at one of the more prominent brokerages, he was a regular. He had his favorite table, and the waitress already knew what he'd order depending on if he had a client with him or not. Kibum made the effort to blend in, to not stand out too much. Drawing all of the wrong attention to himself was what nearly got him killed when he was an intern.
It annoyed him that despite explicit instructions for how he expected them to meet him, they didn't listen. He would give Eunhyuk credit for wearing a collared shirt at least, but that wouldn't distract from the torn black jeans and the chains hanging in place of a proper belt. Donghae seemed to make an effort as well, an effort to look as much like a hoodlum as he could possibly manage. Kibum knew from the grin Donghae greeted him with that it was done on purpose.
"Sometimes I wish Kangin came into Judoh more often," Donghae noted, eying the suit. It was for show; it was pretty rare that one left before the other awoke in the morning and they usually made a point to cross paths as often as possible during the day.
With things as they were, you knew to make the most of what was given to you.
Mischievous grin in place, he had the nerve to wrap an arm around Kibum's shoulders, dragging him into a hug. "Long day?" he added, speaking against his cheek before drawing back as if he couldn't see the furtive glances thrown their way. Very inconspicuous.
"Are you done?" Kibum arched an eyebrow at Donghae, trying not to break into a grin. Even the slightest glimmer of amusement would encourage Donghae to act up even further. "You don't have to come back here tomorrow, I do."
"It was his idea," Eunhyuk said as he flipped over the menu, always eager to shift over any blame, "he said you wouldn't mind."
"I don't..."
"Yeah, you do," Donghae interrupted, taking a seat at Kibum's right. He shrugged noncommittally, looking around the restaurant. Security risks, escape routes, Kyuhyun and the plans were a phone call away. Didn't mean he couldn't worry. Instinct tended to be right more often than cold, mechanical thought. "I might have lied."
Eunhyuk looked up from the menu, wide-eyed and concerned. It didn't cross his mind that Donghae would lie and has lied to get them both in trouble before, but now that he thought about it he was immediately apologetic. "Oh, I really thought you wouldn't mind. I mean, he said it!"
Kibum reached for his glass of water and took a drink to hide the snickers that were bubbling up beyond his control when Eunhyuk stood from his chair to move himself in reach to smack Donghae properly across the back of the head.
"Jerk."
"Come on! It's funny!" Donghae exclaimed far too loudly, and slapped Eunhyuk's arm in retaliation while he gestured for him to sit back down.
Loathe to obey but loathe to cause even more trouble, Eunhyuk hesitated. "I'm never going to trust you again. Just so you know." And then, for emphasis, he repeated. "Jerk."
"You'll get over it," Donghae nodded with excess confidence. "Come on, sit your ass back down before we ruin Mr. Important's reputation even more."
"If my reputation ends up ruined, it'll be your fault," Kibum pointed out with a grin. "I know you don't care if I keep my day job."
"You're safer without it." Donghae clarified, even the joking tone in which he said it did little to mask his true feelings behind the statement. He covered it with a smirk, playing with the silverware like a child might. A child with a fondness for sharp objects and the know-how to use them efficiently. He glanced up at Eunhyuk expectantly. "Oh come on, just forget it, he's kidding. Sit down."
Eunhyuk clenched his jaw. "I can't."
Donghae laughed and was about to give Eunhyuk a playful shove when he looked up to see the stricken expression on his face. "What do you mean, you can't?"
"I can't move my legs."
"Another glitch?" Kibum wasn't as quick to reach a panic as the other two. After all, it wouldn't be the first time Eunhyuk's prosthetic limbs refused to move. "You just had them fixed."
Eunhyuk closed his eyes, and seemed to rock back and forth on his feet as if caught in a trance. "That's not it, I can feel it. It's not my legs, someone's trying to make me move."
"Are you sure?" Donghae stood, already reaching out a hand to stop any sudden movement from his companion. As if he could stop him, if Eunhyuk decided to give them the slip, he would.
Or if his legs did.
"Yes," he hissed, fingers clenching and unclenching in the tablecloth. "You need to... you need to knock me out." His left leg gave a spasm, some other source besides Eunhyuk controlling it. "Shit..."
"Quit joking," Donghae got to his feet anyway, placing both hands on Eunhyuk's shoulders. "Knock you out? Just stop!"
"I can't!" Eunhyuk shouted and looked across at Kibum plaintively. His left ankle and knee twisted unnaturally as his foot moved forward one jerking step. Whoever was trying to take control seemed to be doing a poor job at it. "Do it or I do it myself. Ah! Why does it hurt?"
Like something out of a horror movie, his leg turned a full 360 degrees, his hips protesting with the jolt of pain that traveled up his spine. If they had been his own, he'd have been crawling in pain. As it was, even hacked, his prosthetics had their limitations. Eunhyuk still had to bite down on his tongue to keep his screams to himself.
Kibum stood as well, aware of other people's eyes on them. It wasn't their questioning glances he minded but the certainty that more than two thirds had ties with the Dons and the police. With Donghae's tattoos so clearly on display, it would be a matter of time before word of mouth spread the news that Eeteuk's people were in trouble.
"We can't do it here," he reasoned, waving the waitress away when she asked if something was wrong. Who knew who payed her paycheck? "We have to get you out..."
"I can't move."
"I know you can't, just hang on." Kibum hooked one of Eunhyuk's arms over his shoulder and supported his waist with his arm. He met Donghae's gaze as the other mirrored his actions. "Lift on three."
"God, your legs weigh a ton," Donghae attempted to joke as the two began to mostly drag Eunhyuk toward the exit. It was true to form that he would rely on humor as a way to cope with the situation. "I don't know how you can even move...oh yeah, sorry."
"Shut up," Eunhyuk gritted out, half-laughing, half-moaning in pain. "Head... hurts."
They made it to the door with eyes boring into their backs. Like sharks, Kibum's co-workers were surprisingly apt at smelling blood. He winced as the heel of a foot dug into his calf. "Hang in there, come on."
"My car's across the street," Donghae winced this time as a heel came down on his instep. "Alright, twinkle-toes, this is really getting annoying."
"Mine's closer," Kibum said just as the automated valet had pulled his car to the door.
"I fucking hate rich people," Donghae muttered as he reached for the doors.
Eunhyuk gripped their shoulders for support, his lower half weighing low and useless. "When... did this become a popularity contest?" he managed to get out, his head feeling like it was about to split open. A flare of panic cut through him. What if whoever or whatever was doing this to him had the power to make the implant explode? Kyuhyun told him that was bullshit, that it couldn't happen, but what did he know? What did any of them know?
"Fuck, ow!" Donghae's pointed wince cut through his thoughts. "At least you're not wearing stilettos."
"Why?" he stuttered out. "Got much experience getting kicked by women?"
"Bite me, Sunshine. Who said anything about women?"
"Are you two finished?" Kibum angled Eunhyuk toward the open door. "I'm not getting anyone in the car by myself."
"So much for a romantic lunch date," Donghae muttered under his breath, wincing as he struggled to help Kibum get Eunhyuk into the car.