(no subject)
Title: Apologia Pro Vita Sua (Chapter 10 )
Authors: Scorpions angelinaii, murasaki_plum, nemesis_cry
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
Introduction and Chapter 1 | Chapters 2 & 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9
Banner by angelinaii
Kibum rubbed sleep from his eyes, imagining the wet redness and knowing it couldn't be explained by another late night. He was used to the program, no surprises there. Staring into a computer screen was second nature, just as it was to pick up the phone and dial one of Kyuhyun's many untraceable numbers when he hit a piece of data that seemed interesting. Often, the other man wouldn't even pick up. His instincts were attuned to breaking into Judoh's databases, he simply found it tedious to do the work.
And Kibum got paid for it.
He never complained, but he felt the strain of its uselessness on days like these, when someone's fate was hanging in the balance and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. All the more so when he knew Donghae felt even worse.
What good was the security of a job in Judoh's inner district if it left him so utterly helpless?
"Working late?" Yesung asked once he opened the front door, although his question sounded more like a statement. He stepped into the penthouse-style apartment without waiting for an answer or invitation and made his way to the kitchen to grab an expensive bottle of water from the refrigerator. "You look like shit."
"You're no Miss Universe either," Kibum retorted from his desk, barely looking up. Every night it was the same ritual. Yesung showed up, Yesung asked questions. He pretended to mind it a lot more than he did. "What can I do for you, Officer?"
"There was a disturbance over at The Pavilion this afternoon." Yesung pulled up a chair next to Kibum's desk and sat, propping his feet up along the edge. He set Kibum's spare key next to his shoes, declining to comment again that the banker needed to find safer places to hide it. "The report says there was a suspected BCI hacking, but the victim was escorted away from the scene. Know anything about it?"
Kibum heaved a sigh, pressing his palms against his eyes and abandoning his work for the night. "Enough that I've been told to keep my mouth shut." A shrug, nudging Yesung's feet half-heartedly off his desk. "Higher powers than us are dealing with it."
Yesung kicked off his shoes and put his heels back where they were. "Dealing with or dealt with? As long as no one is dead, I don't care."
"Only my cellphone," Kibum retorted, determined not to be morbid. "Did the disturbance raise any eyebrows?" A report was one thing, interference another. "Should I be looking to stare into bright lights and answering questions anytime soon?"
"It's been closed, looked like a pair of Bottoms washouts and a good Samaritan." he shook his head and glanced over his shoulder. "Speaking of washouts, where are they?"
Kibum smirked, dragging himself to his feet. "I'd tell you, Officer, but then I'd have to kill you." Weariness clung to his bones, the finely pressed suit reduced to wrinkles after such an eventful day. "Lock the door behind you, will you? I've got a date with a washout and he hates to wait."
"Leaving me here all on my lonesome?" Yesung joked, swinging his feet to the floor and falling into step alongside his colleague. "How's the other one?" There was a nagging theory, something that slowly formed as he poured through the suspiciously closed files at the end of the day.
As a rule, Kibum tried not to lie anymore. The last time he had, it had gotten him into serious trouble with heavily armed goons wanting their money back. "He'll be fine," he nodded, hand on the doorknob because outside the apartment they couldn't talk business without risk and Yesung knew the drill.
***
It was a better place than any, Shindong reasoned, checking to make sure everything was in proper order before glancing at his watch. Yesung and Kibum usually kept their meetings short and to the point. He jogged away from the antique Mercedes-Benz 550, the sable frame newly waxed. Leaning against the wall of the high tower to find a comfortable spot amongst the shadows, Shindong briefly wondered out of all of the people to do this, why Kangin picked him. Heechul lived for these games and Ryeowook had it down to a precise science. Yet, here he was, about to produce a self-contained firework show. At least, he hoped.
Donghae's car would be somewhere on the other side of the building, windows down and smoking because the son of a bitch had an easier life, a comfortable life. Still, Shindong barely contained a smile. He had entertainment. And a boss who was far too vehement for his own good. After all, whatever their favorite copper did, it couldn't justify blowing up his car.
Orders were orders, though, and Shindong leaned his back into the wall, wondering if he should've started the countdown already.
It was the last thing he had time to worry about before the car went up in flames.
Then he waited. Waited until the double doors opened and spectators appeared from their condos, waited for them to realize their property was safe and disappear back into their homes. He waited and watched as the sole person remaining paced in front of his blazing vehicle, listened with amusement at the profane telephone-call in to his superiors and tried his best not to laugh at the frustration on Yesung's face as he was told he wasn't to retaliate, that he got off lucky for his gaff earlier in the day. When would the rookie learn to leave the Bottoms alone to destroy itself? He waited until Yesung sat on the curb of the building to make his presence known.
"You need a ride?"
Yesung glared, putting two and two together and ending up with a single conclusion. No point in killing the messenger. Not that it made him feel any better. Even if he hadn't bought the car with his own money, it was still his property.
"Your boss is a dick, you know that?"
***
Heechul often wondered why they bothered with locks. It wasn't like anyone had ever tried to break in and he looked forward to the day when someone would. Even the police failed to give him trouble--which was probably why he always went looking for it in the darkened streets of the Bottoms.
Pushing the door to the loft open, he stepped inside with a smirk, seeing the light in the bedroom and knowing he wasn't alone. It was to Siwon's credit that he failed so thoroughly at being inconspicuous, but just once, Heechul wanted to be surprised.
"Honey, I'm home!" he called out, grabbing Hankyung's sleeve to pull him along. "You were so depressing earlier, that I just had to bring you a present to cheer you up..."
Legs crossed at the ankles on their bed, Siwon looked up with a frown.
Heechul grinned in response, dragging the other man behind him. "Straight from China. Cost me a fortune."
Instead of a smile for his efforts, the other man turned a black and white photograph to face him. It was a poor shot of a small figure carrying a briefcase, a far cry from the mug shot Heechul left at the precinct when they brought him in last year. From Siwon's dark expression, though, it wasn't the artistic merit that mattered here.
"Who's that? Dr Jeckyll?"
A shake of the head. "Eeteuk sent it."
Uncharacteristically, Hankyung brushed past him before Heechul could speak, shrugging off his coat. "Why?"
"Because there's been another murder," Siwon answered softly, dimming the lights. Hesitating only briefly before advancing into the room, Heechul imagined it was because he didn't want them to see his brimming eyes. Absurd idea. Siwon couldn't really care about this. It wasn't worth it.
Just another murder. Just another prostitute.
***
Even Enforcers could not escape the tedious things that made a career work. Kangin slouched over his desk as he thumbed through the papers scattered across it's surface. Sungmin tried his best to keep his workspace organized, and most of the important tasks had been computerized, but that still left a torrent of paper at the end of the day.
"Hey, Boss, looks like Sierra's boys are going to mark up LB's place. Want me to stop 'em?" a tinny voice sounded from his earpiece. Kangin rolled his chair and pushed the stack of folders he left on top of his laptop. After he punched in a few keys, he repositioned his mic.
Deliberating for a moment, more out of boredom than strategy, he laid out an order. "That is a negative, Sierra's got his dues paid for another week. Just say hello."
Most nights were uneventful. The only sounds that Kangin would hear over the radio lines would be Otto's last lay or inane chatter as his people wandered along the streets. Other nights would have him and anyone available running up and down the Bottoms' darkest alleys.
After organizing his mess into something he could deal with in the morning, Kangin gathered up his ledger and envelopes of cash and slid into the larger office next door to his. "Here to make a deposit."
An eyebrow raised in question, blonde hair obscuring the delicate movement even as Eeteuk's eyes rose to meet his own. "Should I be worried that you're confusing me with a bank clerk?" He pushed away from the desk, lips twisting into a smile against his better judgment. "Take it you've had a good night?"
"If you mean we got some deadbeats to pass their dues, I did." Kangin walked over to the desk and set everything down in a neat little pile in the center. "Almost done here?"
Arms folded over his chest, the other man shrugged. "Night's still young." He wouldn't count the money himself nor least of all with Kangin glaring over his shoulder. Last thing any of them needed was doubt. "Make sure your mic is off," he added, standing from the creaking chair and trying to ignore the suggestive smile thrown his way.
In the fax machine tray he found the photograph that had been sent earlier, the one he'd tried not to stare at for too long because he knew that if he did, he'd never get any work done at all. "We've got a problem."
Kangin frowned and took the black and white from Eeteuk's hand. He was more than familiar with surveillance photos, heavily pixellated and of low quality even after they were cleaned up. The lights from the love hotel could be seen over the shoulder of the person exiting the place, though he knew they were only interested in the man's face. Only there wasn't one. "Tell me Tab's system is down."
"Oh, it gets worse." Eeteuk sighed, gathering the envelopes one by one in his hand and locking them in the safe. Even if they were in the Bottoms, he could probably leave them right there on the desk and have nothing to fear. He had to do something as he talked, though, he couldn't just let the words wash through him cold and sinister as they were. "Eunhyuk got hacked in Judoh today. Kyuhyun traced the connection to what he called a faceless man. Said there was a pro behind it. Of course, it could all be just one big coincidence..."
"I fucking hate coincidences." Kangin tossed the photo on the desk, the image already stuck in the back of his mind. Coincidences didn't exist in the Bottoms, but whenever they did, it meant there was a trail to follow. "Did the girl at the morgue have a BCI?" He wasn't going to ask about Eunhyuk, if he wasn't alive Eeteuk would have already let him know.
Eeteuk shook his head slowly. "She didn't have to be hacked to follow him. She was just doing her job. Probably didn't realize anything was wrong until he tied her up and started cutting." He raised his eyes, as if just remembering himself. "Sorry, I forget you're not into the gory details. The long and short of it is he killed her with purpose. Lungs, heart, kidneys, all removed."
"You think he's planning on killing again." Kangin took a seat in Eeteuk's chair. Eeteuk wouldn't consider this to be a problem if it was an isolated event. Killers and dangerous criminals made pit stops in the Bottoms all of the time.
"Look at the time on that photograph," the other man advised. "First murder was reported at three fifteen last night. This was taken after four PM today." With his back against the wall, he closed his eyes. "Same love hotel. Taboo was waiting for me at the morgue. Police were late as usual."
"Think Eunhyuk's hacking was meant to be a distraction?" he asked, even though he doubted it. Judoh wouldn't spare a second for a Bottoms dweller, even if he was visiting the city.
"I don't know what it was. Kyuhyun is sure it wasn't an accident." And what the other man said when it came to cybernetics was law. "He's also flipping out, not that you can tell by looking at him." Another sigh, this time meant to rouse them. "Anyway, it doesn't matter what the deal is with all of this. We're all on standby until he has a lead. This has to be handled quickly and quietly. If there's a panic, there'll be echoes all the way into Judoh. Last thing we need on our doorstep is the Heaven and Earth boys."
"About H & E," Kangin canted his eyes in Eeteuk's direction. "they wouldn't have anything to do with the dent in the car, right?"
"Sungmin took care of it," he retorted with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Bunch of thugs with too much time on their hands. Nothing to worry about." And it wasn't, even though Eeteuk knew that in Kangin's shoes he'd be ignoring the afterthought completely.
Kangin nodded, a proud smirk crossing his features. "I'd like to see them retaliate." He turned on his mic and promptly added two additional hours to the men's patrol before turning off his radio for the evening. "Any chance of not talking about work tonight, or should I start on my rounds?"
"And miss tucking me in?" Eeteuk found it in him to quirk a smile. "Come on, I could use a bodyguard back to our place and I just gave Sungmin the rest of the night off."
"You're the boss." Kangin nodded. His suggestive grin returned as he caught Eeteuk's waist and pulled him onto his lap.
***
The faceless man was waiting for him, Kyuhyun could sense the lingering foreign presence as he watched Ryeowook sleep at his side. It was a taunting, almost playful feeling that would rush over him and fade in waves. It had been a risk staying online as long as he had, but Kyuhyun knew that it was his interference that was keeping the hacker from permanently severing Eunhyuk's ability to use his legs.
It was a game of cat and mouse, and for once it felt as though Kyuhyun was the mouse. This hacker, whoever it was, had plenty of chances to hack into Kyuhyun's brain. Even more frightening, Kyuhyun was beginning to realize that if the faceless man wished to take him over, he one might be able to succeed. It was another puzzle left for him to solve, not only for Eunhyuk's sake, but for his own survival.
The image of Ryeowook smiling faintly as he shifted in his sleep faded as Kyuhyun dived deeper into the data streams. His vision filled with white while his mind transfered from processing physical input to the incorporeal. A disjointed and rapidly twisting line cut through the haze of data, it was a signal he recognized. The faceless man was leaving him a trail of crumbs to follow, almost as if playing a game. Either this was a distraction, or an open invitation.
Tag, you're it.
This time it would be the faceless man who would play the mouse.
Authors: Scorpions angelinaii, murasaki_plum, nemesis_cry
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
Introduction and Chapter 1 | Chapters 2 & 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9
Banner by angelinaii
Kibum rubbed sleep from his eyes, imagining the wet redness and knowing it couldn't be explained by another late night. He was used to the program, no surprises there. Staring into a computer screen was second nature, just as it was to pick up the phone and dial one of Kyuhyun's many untraceable numbers when he hit a piece of data that seemed interesting. Often, the other man wouldn't even pick up. His instincts were attuned to breaking into Judoh's databases, he simply found it tedious to do the work.
And Kibum got paid for it.
He never complained, but he felt the strain of its uselessness on days like these, when someone's fate was hanging in the balance and he couldn't do a damn thing about it. All the more so when he knew Donghae felt even worse.
What good was the security of a job in Judoh's inner district if it left him so utterly helpless?
"Working late?" Yesung asked once he opened the front door, although his question sounded more like a statement. He stepped into the penthouse-style apartment without waiting for an answer or invitation and made his way to the kitchen to grab an expensive bottle of water from the refrigerator. "You look like shit."
"You're no Miss Universe either," Kibum retorted from his desk, barely looking up. Every night it was the same ritual. Yesung showed up, Yesung asked questions. He pretended to mind it a lot more than he did. "What can I do for you, Officer?"
"There was a disturbance over at The Pavilion this afternoon." Yesung pulled up a chair next to Kibum's desk and sat, propping his feet up along the edge. He set Kibum's spare key next to his shoes, declining to comment again that the banker needed to find safer places to hide it. "The report says there was a suspected BCI hacking, but the victim was escorted away from the scene. Know anything about it?"
Kibum heaved a sigh, pressing his palms against his eyes and abandoning his work for the night. "Enough that I've been told to keep my mouth shut." A shrug, nudging Yesung's feet half-heartedly off his desk. "Higher powers than us are dealing with it."
Yesung kicked off his shoes and put his heels back where they were. "Dealing with or dealt with? As long as no one is dead, I don't care."
"Only my cellphone," Kibum retorted, determined not to be morbid. "Did the disturbance raise any eyebrows?" A report was one thing, interference another. "Should I be looking to stare into bright lights and answering questions anytime soon?"
"It's been closed, looked like a pair of Bottoms washouts and a good Samaritan." he shook his head and glanced over his shoulder. "Speaking of washouts, where are they?"
Kibum smirked, dragging himself to his feet. "I'd tell you, Officer, but then I'd have to kill you." Weariness clung to his bones, the finely pressed suit reduced to wrinkles after such an eventful day. "Lock the door behind you, will you? I've got a date with a washout and he hates to wait."
"Leaving me here all on my lonesome?" Yesung joked, swinging his feet to the floor and falling into step alongside his colleague. "How's the other one?" There was a nagging theory, something that slowly formed as he poured through the suspiciously closed files at the end of the day.
As a rule, Kibum tried not to lie anymore. The last time he had, it had gotten him into serious trouble with heavily armed goons wanting their money back. "He'll be fine," he nodded, hand on the doorknob because outside the apartment they couldn't talk business without risk and Yesung knew the drill.
***
It was a better place than any, Shindong reasoned, checking to make sure everything was in proper order before glancing at his watch. Yesung and Kibum usually kept their meetings short and to the point. He jogged away from the antique Mercedes-Benz 550, the sable frame newly waxed. Leaning against the wall of the high tower to find a comfortable spot amongst the shadows, Shindong briefly wondered out of all of the people to do this, why Kangin picked him. Heechul lived for these games and Ryeowook had it down to a precise science. Yet, here he was, about to produce a self-contained firework show. At least, he hoped.
Donghae's car would be somewhere on the other side of the building, windows down and smoking because the son of a bitch had an easier life, a comfortable life. Still, Shindong barely contained a smile. He had entertainment. And a boss who was far too vehement for his own good. After all, whatever their favorite copper did, it couldn't justify blowing up his car.
Orders were orders, though, and Shindong leaned his back into the wall, wondering if he should've started the countdown already.
It was the last thing he had time to worry about before the car went up in flames.
Then he waited. Waited until the double doors opened and spectators appeared from their condos, waited for them to realize their property was safe and disappear back into their homes. He waited and watched as the sole person remaining paced in front of his blazing vehicle, listened with amusement at the profane telephone-call in to his superiors and tried his best not to laugh at the frustration on Yesung's face as he was told he wasn't to retaliate, that he got off lucky for his gaff earlier in the day. When would the rookie learn to leave the Bottoms alone to destroy itself? He waited until Yesung sat on the curb of the building to make his presence known.
"You need a ride?"
Yesung glared, putting two and two together and ending up with a single conclusion. No point in killing the messenger. Not that it made him feel any better. Even if he hadn't bought the car with his own money, it was still his property.
"Your boss is a dick, you know that?"
***
Heechul often wondered why they bothered with locks. It wasn't like anyone had ever tried to break in and he looked forward to the day when someone would. Even the police failed to give him trouble--which was probably why he always went looking for it in the darkened streets of the Bottoms.
Pushing the door to the loft open, he stepped inside with a smirk, seeing the light in the bedroom and knowing he wasn't alone. It was to Siwon's credit that he failed so thoroughly at being inconspicuous, but just once, Heechul wanted to be surprised.
"Honey, I'm home!" he called out, grabbing Hankyung's sleeve to pull him along. "You were so depressing earlier, that I just had to bring you a present to cheer you up..."
Legs crossed at the ankles on their bed, Siwon looked up with a frown.
Heechul grinned in response, dragging the other man behind him. "Straight from China. Cost me a fortune."
Instead of a smile for his efforts, the other man turned a black and white photograph to face him. It was a poor shot of a small figure carrying a briefcase, a far cry from the mug shot Heechul left at the precinct when they brought him in last year. From Siwon's dark expression, though, it wasn't the artistic merit that mattered here.
"Who's that? Dr Jeckyll?"
A shake of the head. "Eeteuk sent it."
Uncharacteristically, Hankyung brushed past him before Heechul could speak, shrugging off his coat. "Why?"
"Because there's been another murder," Siwon answered softly, dimming the lights. Hesitating only briefly before advancing into the room, Heechul imagined it was because he didn't want them to see his brimming eyes. Absurd idea. Siwon couldn't really care about this. It wasn't worth it.
Just another murder. Just another prostitute.
***
Even Enforcers could not escape the tedious things that made a career work. Kangin slouched over his desk as he thumbed through the papers scattered across it's surface. Sungmin tried his best to keep his workspace organized, and most of the important tasks had been computerized, but that still left a torrent of paper at the end of the day.
"Hey, Boss, looks like Sierra's boys are going to mark up LB's place. Want me to stop 'em?" a tinny voice sounded from his earpiece. Kangin rolled his chair and pushed the stack of folders he left on top of his laptop. After he punched in a few keys, he repositioned his mic.
Deliberating for a moment, more out of boredom than strategy, he laid out an order. "That is a negative, Sierra's got his dues paid for another week. Just say hello."
Most nights were uneventful. The only sounds that Kangin would hear over the radio lines would be Otto's last lay or inane chatter as his people wandered along the streets. Other nights would have him and anyone available running up and down the Bottoms' darkest alleys.
After organizing his mess into something he could deal with in the morning, Kangin gathered up his ledger and envelopes of cash and slid into the larger office next door to his. "Here to make a deposit."
An eyebrow raised in question, blonde hair obscuring the delicate movement even as Eeteuk's eyes rose to meet his own. "Should I be worried that you're confusing me with a bank clerk?" He pushed away from the desk, lips twisting into a smile against his better judgment. "Take it you've had a good night?"
"If you mean we got some deadbeats to pass their dues, I did." Kangin walked over to the desk and set everything down in a neat little pile in the center. "Almost done here?"
Arms folded over his chest, the other man shrugged. "Night's still young." He wouldn't count the money himself nor least of all with Kangin glaring over his shoulder. Last thing any of them needed was doubt. "Make sure your mic is off," he added, standing from the creaking chair and trying to ignore the suggestive smile thrown his way.
In the fax machine tray he found the photograph that had been sent earlier, the one he'd tried not to stare at for too long because he knew that if he did, he'd never get any work done at all. "We've got a problem."
Kangin frowned and took the black and white from Eeteuk's hand. He was more than familiar with surveillance photos, heavily pixellated and of low quality even after they were cleaned up. The lights from the love hotel could be seen over the shoulder of the person exiting the place, though he knew they were only interested in the man's face. Only there wasn't one. "Tell me Tab's system is down."
"Oh, it gets worse." Eeteuk sighed, gathering the envelopes one by one in his hand and locking them in the safe. Even if they were in the Bottoms, he could probably leave them right there on the desk and have nothing to fear. He had to do something as he talked, though, he couldn't just let the words wash through him cold and sinister as they were. "Eunhyuk got hacked in Judoh today. Kyuhyun traced the connection to what he called a faceless man. Said there was a pro behind it. Of course, it could all be just one big coincidence..."
"I fucking hate coincidences." Kangin tossed the photo on the desk, the image already stuck in the back of his mind. Coincidences didn't exist in the Bottoms, but whenever they did, it meant there was a trail to follow. "Did the girl at the morgue have a BCI?" He wasn't going to ask about Eunhyuk, if he wasn't alive Eeteuk would have already let him know.
Eeteuk shook his head slowly. "She didn't have to be hacked to follow him. She was just doing her job. Probably didn't realize anything was wrong until he tied her up and started cutting." He raised his eyes, as if just remembering himself. "Sorry, I forget you're not into the gory details. The long and short of it is he killed her with purpose. Lungs, heart, kidneys, all removed."
"You think he's planning on killing again." Kangin took a seat in Eeteuk's chair. Eeteuk wouldn't consider this to be a problem if it was an isolated event. Killers and dangerous criminals made pit stops in the Bottoms all of the time.
"Look at the time on that photograph," the other man advised. "First murder was reported at three fifteen last night. This was taken after four PM today." With his back against the wall, he closed his eyes. "Same love hotel. Taboo was waiting for me at the morgue. Police were late as usual."
"Think Eunhyuk's hacking was meant to be a distraction?" he asked, even though he doubted it. Judoh wouldn't spare a second for a Bottoms dweller, even if he was visiting the city.
"I don't know what it was. Kyuhyun is sure it wasn't an accident." And what the other man said when it came to cybernetics was law. "He's also flipping out, not that you can tell by looking at him." Another sigh, this time meant to rouse them. "Anyway, it doesn't matter what the deal is with all of this. We're all on standby until he has a lead. This has to be handled quickly and quietly. If there's a panic, there'll be echoes all the way into Judoh. Last thing we need on our doorstep is the Heaven and Earth boys."
"About H & E," Kangin canted his eyes in Eeteuk's direction. "they wouldn't have anything to do with the dent in the car, right?"
"Sungmin took care of it," he retorted with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Bunch of thugs with too much time on their hands. Nothing to worry about." And it wasn't, even though Eeteuk knew that in Kangin's shoes he'd be ignoring the afterthought completely.
Kangin nodded, a proud smirk crossing his features. "I'd like to see them retaliate." He turned on his mic and promptly added two additional hours to the men's patrol before turning off his radio for the evening. "Any chance of not talking about work tonight, or should I start on my rounds?"
"And miss tucking me in?" Eeteuk found it in him to quirk a smile. "Come on, I could use a bodyguard back to our place and I just gave Sungmin the rest of the night off."
"You're the boss." Kangin nodded. His suggestive grin returned as he caught Eeteuk's waist and pulled him onto his lap.
***
The faceless man was waiting for him, Kyuhyun could sense the lingering foreign presence as he watched Ryeowook sleep at his side. It was a taunting, almost playful feeling that would rush over him and fade in waves. It had been a risk staying online as long as he had, but Kyuhyun knew that it was his interference that was keeping the hacker from permanently severing Eunhyuk's ability to use his legs.
It was a game of cat and mouse, and for once it felt as though Kyuhyun was the mouse. This hacker, whoever it was, had plenty of chances to hack into Kyuhyun's brain. Even more frightening, Kyuhyun was beginning to realize that if the faceless man wished to take him over, he one might be able to succeed. It was another puzzle left for him to solve, not only for Eunhyuk's sake, but for his own survival.
The image of Ryeowook smiling faintly as he shifted in his sleep faded as Kyuhyun dived deeper into the data streams. His vision filled with white while his mind transfered from processing physical input to the incorporeal. A disjointed and rapidly twisting line cut through the haze of data, it was a signal he recognized. The faceless man was leaving him a trail of crumbs to follow, almost as if playing a game. Either this was a distraction, or an open invitation.
Tag, you're it.
This time it would be the faceless man who would play the mouse.