People were suddenly rushing everywhere, like ants fleeing their nest. The compound became a blur of erratic movements with people shouting commands and other things Minho couldn't quite pick out.
"Hurry up, get yourselves in the gear. Clock's ticking." A voice cut through the chaos.
Minho was confused as he turned around like he was trying to get his bearings. Jae Hyun's men zipped past him, all in tactical gear as their boots kicked through the gravel. The sounds of engines revving up filled the place.
"Hey kid, over here!"
He turned towards Tsu Kai's voice who stood beside their sedan, the engine revving impulsively. Chan was leaning on the other side.
"Remember everything I told you, kid," Tsu Kai said as they got into the car.
"We're retrieving a package," Chan said flatly. "Jae Hyun's orders."
The boy just nodded. It wasn't like he had a choice of bargaining anything. He climbed into the backseat. He turned to Chan, who briskly nodded back at him.
"Let's roll," Chan said as he drove out of the compound, with the fleet of cars behind him. Headlights sliced into the dark as they rode through the backroads.
"So, what's the plan?" Chan asked, glancing at Tsu Kai through the rear-view mirror.
"Meeting with another crew, we're bringing the package back to Jae Hyun, no questions," he chuckled. "Easy peasy, no? Just another day on the office boys."
Minho pursed, a knot forming at the pit of his stomach. He knew better than to take on this dangerous mission with danger lurking at him from every angle, but with no choice left, he strapped in to see what hell he was being taken to next.
They drove further into the road that wound up to the designated destination when the car slowed to a halt. Tsu Kai snapped Minho's zip ties, and the boy rubbed his hands together to get his circulation going. His fingertips had begun to turn a faint purple.
How long had he been tied up?
Considerably, too long, especially for someone who hated being tied. But that was the least of his urgencies then.
Everything about this mission had Minho on the edge. Maybe it was because of the vague nature of the job. Or maybe it was because Chan was the one instructed to escort him. Not so long ago, he and Chan had a different relationship entirely―one that they couldn't have imagined would come to this.
And Tsu Kai's presence didn't make it any better. If anything, it only intensified the boy's mayhem. The man's antiques might have played exactly the way Jae Hyun wanted, but Minho saw them for what they were.
Chan pulled his gun off his holster, adjusting his knuckles tight around the grip as he scanned the area for any sign of movement. Beside him, Minho lurked, all nervous and fearful.
"Lighten up fellas," Tsu Kai's voice cut through the tension far too loud for Chan's liking as he sauntered into the clearing without a care in the world. "We're just here to make a simple trade. It's not like we're going into a warzone."
Chan shot back a frustrated look. "What's ever simple with this line of work?"
"Seriously though, you both need to tone down a notch." He wagged his brow suspiciously, turning to Chan "Maybe land a nice lady friend to help work out… the pent-up stress, you know?"
"Shut up"
"What? Cat got your tongue?" He grinned annoyingly. "Or are you undressing tall, dark and broody over here?"
Minho's stare could have melted steel, but that just got the man chuckling.
"Alright, alright… I'll lay off the jokes." Tsu Kai said, holding up his hands in mock surrender
Chan on the other hand forced himself to look away before he was tempted to wipe that grin off the man's face. It was strange how he managed to crack jokes in such situations. Chan's gaze caught Minho's instead, and the intensity at which those hazel eyes burned struck him. He looked away.
As they made their way into the clearing, Chan couldn't fight the feeling that something was about to go awry. His instincts screamed at him that something was wrong.
"Where are they now?" Chan muttered.
" Late as usual." Tsu Kai said, waving his hand dismissively. "You know how Renjun loves to make an entrance."
A branch cracked, and they all aimed their weapons towards that direction. Minho tensed as Chan readied himself for action.
"Easy there," Tsu Kai said. "It's likely the welcoming committee."
Tsu Kai's suspicion was true, as figures began to appear, their black, heavily calligraphed jackets distinguishing them as Renjun's crew.
Chan heaved a sigh of relief, but that only lasted until he picked out a greedy gaze from them. He was right, something was about to go terribly wrong.
"I knew something was off." He muttered, more to himself than Tsu Kai and Minho.
But classic Tsu Kai, maybe with intentions of showing his tough demeanour―probably a tactic he'd learnt over time, was already sauntering forward. "Well, well, what do we have here? I trust you have my package ready?"
The answer came differently―an earsplitting roar of gunfire. Minho hovered around, confused and not necessarily knowing what to do because he had never seen a shootout his entire life and didn't even know how to act, despite Tsu Kai's instructions earlier. Wasn't it easier said than done?
"Get down!" Chan shouted, using his free hand to pull the boy as bullets whipped past them with lethal intensity.
Minho's eyes went wide like saucers. This wasn't his life. He had thought of all the possible ways to die―this was definitely not one of them. The noise made him flinch.
"Shoot back!" Chan said, pulling out a gun and throwing it at the boy. Of course, the noise made Minho flinch, yet somehow, he managed to raise the rifle despite his now uncontrollably shaky hands, pulling the trigger wildly and firing rounds everywhere but the targets. Classic amateur.
There was gun smoke everywhere accompanied by the sound of bullets bouncing off. Minho couldn't fathom their escape chances, because their little convoy had diverged earlier, with everyone separating into their targeted missions. They were alone.
Tsu Kai's groan cut through the chaos, and they both watched in horror as the burly man came grunting onto the ground. What followed was a red blossom spreading from underneath his shirt.
"We're surrounded!" Chan panicked. "We need to get out of here, now!"
Minho couldn't raise his head. He was far too frightened to admit that these goons had managed to put one mastermind down―and that was like a sentence at his survival chances that were now almost nonexistent.
"Now!"
Minho shuffled a nod, with his face still fixed on the ground.
"Come on, we gotta go."
They both ran despite bullets still tearing behind them as they dived headlong into the woods. Branches whipped at their faces, but Minho got it worse. Given the way he was wheezing, it was clear that his lungs weren't made for this kind of pace.
They rummaged through the wood until Chan felt like his legs were giving up on him. He winced in pain and his stride faltered as he pressed a hand at his side, his fingers dripping slick with blood. It was then that Minho noticed that Chan too had been hit, and he dragged him into the shelter of some trees.
Chan fell against the tree, gasping for air. "You're good?"
The boy bent over, hands on his knees and nodded, still trying to catch his breath. His eyes went wide as he looked around, just to make sure they were far ahead for Renjun's men to catch up with them.
Chan roughly peeled his own shirt to check the extent of the hit. "Ah, shit. It's a through and through, I guess I got lucky."
Bleeding out in the middle of nowhere where they were being chased like animals. Yes, so much for luck.
Chan raised his gaze to meet Minho's. But then, he caught a desperate look. Minho furrowed, like he was struggling with something in his mind. Chan could practically see him struggle to weigh his options.
Minho was debating his choices. Should he stay back and help the man and risk going back to Jae Hyun's sick clique? Or take this chance, slim as it seemed and get away from that beast for good?
Chan's eyes widened. "What, you're gonna just ditch me in the middle of nowhere bleeding out?"
Minho recoiled at the accusation, knowing it was true. But that wasn't reason enough to give himself up for anyone again. Not this time. "I'm sorry, believe me, I am. But I gotta go."
"Minho, wait! You can't leave me here, don't do this. Minho―"