Chapter 18

Notes:

In which Yoongi finally gets to face the man who caused him so much pain...

Once they were certain that Hoseok had driven away, the trio circled the building until they found an unlocked door then crept inside, guns drawn.  They hadn't gone two meters down the hall when Yoongi stopped short and sniffed the air.

Seeing the look on the Alpha's face, Jin whispered, "What is it, Yoongi-ah?"

"Pups," growled Yoongi.  "Lots of pups."

"****....that complicates things," said Tae.

Yoongi nodded then motioned for the pair to follow him.  They made their way down a flight of crumbling concrete steps to a set of heavy double doors that were propped open just enough to catch a glimpse into the room beyond.

Inside was an space filled with two dozen or more frightened looking children being guarded by three large, lackadaisical Alphas who were far more interested in their phones than their jobs.

Tae's nose scrunched in disgust at the scene before them.

"Looks like that sick son of a *****'s business model hasn't changed any."

Yoongi nodded.  "We need to get them out of here before we confront Dae Hee or we'll be putting these little guys' lives even more at risk than they already are."

"Agreed but how?" asked Jin.  "Even if we get them outside those Alphas would just follow their scent."

"Not if they can't find it..." replied Yoongi, as he pulled two small, round objects from his inside jacket pocket.

Jin nodded approvingly.  "Scent neutralizers.  Good idea.  If they can't smell the pups then they can't track them..."

Yoongi took a quick peek through the crack in the door then ducked back into the hallway.

"These should be enough to create a suitable distraction.  TaeHyung...Once I set these off then I'm gonna need you to get the kids out safely."

The Omega shifted his feet as his gaze darted between his partners and the doors.

"But...I don't want to leave you guys..."

"We don't have a choice here, Tae.  Don't make me...."

Tae narrowed his eyes as he leaned in and hissed, "Don't make you what, hyung?  If I say no are you going to force me to submit like you did Hoseok-ah?"

The Alpha flinched at the accusation.

"You know I didn't want to do that, Tae-ah.  I just didn't have time to make him understand my reasons.  But you've been in this situation before.  You understand those kids are going to need guidance to get out of here safely.  Please...don't make this harder than it needs to be..."

Tae's expression softened as he recognized the truth of his hyung's words.

"Look that them, Tae Tae," pressed Yoongi.  "If they don't have a leader to focus on they're going to panic and you know better than anyone that's when people get hurt."

The Omega's shoulders slumped as the elder pleaded with him.

"C'mon.  You know I'm right."

"Just because you're right doesn't mean this doesn't suck, hyung."

The bodyguard nodded his understanding.

"I know, buddy.  I know."

TaeHyung sighed as he relented, then looked his old friend in the eye.

"Fine.  I get them a safe distance away then I'm coming back in after you.  But you have to promise to stay alive til I get back, got it?"

"Got it," said Yoongi, hoping he sounded more confident than he actually felt.  He then turned his attention back to situation in front of him.   "Now, let's take care of these pups, shall we?"

Tae nodded as he crouched down. He peeked through the doors until he managed to catch the eye of one of the older children then he held a finger to his lips and flashed his police badge.  The boy's eyes widened as he nodded his understanding.  Tae motioned for the child to cover his nose and mouth with his shirt and the youngster immediately complied.

The Omega gave the boy a thumbs up then pointed to a door on the other side of the room, indicating that the pups should head towards that exit.  The boy swallowed hard and grabbed the hand of a smaller child next to him and got ready to run as Tae held up five fingers and began counting down.

When he reached zero, Yoongi pulled the pin on both of the scent neutralizers and rolled them into the middle of the room. Within seconds the air filled with a thick, white smoke and all hell broke loose.

Jin and Yoongi took advantage of the ensuing chaos and quickly eliminated two of the guards.  As Tae ushered the last of the kids to safety, the third guard bolted after the pups, making a grab for the hoodie of a small boy being dragged along by an older girl.  The man's fingers were mere inches from snatching his prey when Yoongi took aim and fired two shots between the gangster's shoulder blades, dropping him instantly.

Once Jin and Yoongi were certain that Tae and the children were safely outside they quickly ascended the stairs and followed Yoongi's nose until they located the only other occupants of the building.

Knowing that the ruckus would have already revealed their presence, the pair didn't try to conceal themselves, instead opting to enter the large, open area at the end of the hallway with their weapons drawn as if they'd been invited.

They found themselves in a space apparently being used as a loading dock that was occupied by three men - two with weapons already drawn and another cowering under a table along the far wall.

The older of the two gunmen had salt and pepper hair and looked utterly unfazed by the interruption.  He was dressed in an impeccably tailored three piece ensemble and held a pearl handled 9mm in his well manicured hands.

The other man had bad skin, squinty eyes and a nose that looked as if it had been broken far  too many times.  He wore an ill fitting, off the rack suit and his thick fingers were wrapped around an ominous looking Smith & Wesson.

Yoongi and Jin eased into the room, slowly circling the space, each keeping a close eye on their targets as they moved.

"Well, well..." drawled Yoongi.  "Look who it is....Jang Dae Hee and his lap dog, JunKyu."

As the burly man let out a low growl, the man under the table began whimpering loudly.

"Oh, do stop sniveling, MoonJo..." snapped the man in the expensive suit.  "I can't spare a bullet on you just at the moment.  You'll just have to wait your turn."

As the man then began crying softly, the mob boss returned his attention to Yoongi.

"Sorry...it's so hard to get good help these days,"  he said with a long-suffering sigh.   "So....You obviously know who we are but I'm afraid I don't know who you are..."

Before either Jin or Yoongi could answer the man smirked. "No...wait...don't tell me.  I'm responsible for the death of someone you love and you've come to avenge their untimely demise."

"Right in one..." Yoongi replied.  "I take it this isn't an unusual occurrence."

The gangster smiled a cold, hard smile.

"You certainly aren't my first."

"Maybe not..." conceded Yoongi.  "But I plan on being the last."

"Oh...You'd be surprised how many have said that as well."

The foursome were now standing a few feet apart, each with a gun trained squarely on another's head in a tense standoff.  It was now painfully obvious that there was no way anyone could fire on another party without injuring themselves or their partner in the process.

"Ah....but I mean it," countered Yoongi.  "You aren't walking out of this room alive, Dae Hee."

"Your threat would be a lot more convincing if you didn't have to worry about your friend there,"  the gangster said with a brief nod in Jin's direction. "See, on the off chance that you did shoot me before I shot you, JunKyu will have already put a bullet through your friend's pretty face."

"Oh...my partner can take care of himself," said Yoongi.  "I'm not so sure about your goon however.  No matter what happens he's definitely not coming out of this in any shape to be of any use to you... or anyone else for that matter."

"I wish I could say that I cared one way or the other," said the mobster with a nonchalant shrug. "But at times like this I find lying to be counterproductive."

"Really?  That's unusual coming from the likes of you."

"It doesn't matter if I tell the truth or not seeing as how neither of you is getting out of this alive."

Yoongi smiled as he adjusted the grip on his weapon.  "As long as I'm taking you to Hell along with me then I'm fine with that."

Dae Hee waited a moment then raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.

"What?  That's it?  You aren't going to launch into some lengthy sermon where you enumerate my many sins, culminating in whatever particular atrocity caused you to hunt me down in this pointless act of vengeance?"

"Would doing that bring about some sort of epiphany where you turn from your evil ways and swear to live a redeemed life from this point forward?" asked Yoongi.

"Not in the slightest," the older man scoffed.

"Then why bother?  I'd rather just ******* shoot you."

"Huh...Very efficient.  I like that."  Dae Hee nodded appreciatively. "You've got more bravado than most, so I'll tell you what.  Since I find your approach refreshing, I'm going to make you a special offer.  You tell me the name of the person I killed and I'll pretend to remember them.   I'll even make up a heart rending story about how noble their last moments were and how they swore their eternal love for you with their dying breath."

The muscles in Yoongi's face twitched almost imperceptivity. "Not necessary.  I was there."

"Hmmmph...." snorted the gangster.  "I don't remember you either.  But then again, I've killed a lot of people so I suppose that shouldn't really surprise either of us.  Are you sure you still don't want the speech?  It seems to make most people feel better before they die."

"The  only thing I want to hear from you is a dull thud as your lifeless body hits the pavement."

"Ohh....I'm so sorry to have to disappoint you.  Of course, I do that to a lot of people as well."  The man casually flexed his neck and took aim.  "Well, if we're going to skip the gratuitous speechmaking and the tedious begging for one's life then I suppose we should just get on with the business of shooting each other."

Yoongi shifted his weight as he gazed down the sight of his weapon.

"Sounds like a plan to me..."

Suddenly a burst of gunfire could be heard in the alleyway outside and in a split second, all parties in the room tried to use the distraction to their advantage, everyone firing their weapon while simultaneously trying to avoid being shot in the process.

Just as Yoongi was diving for cover and firing on his target he felt the searing pain of a bullet as it pierced the outside of his arm just below the shoulder causing him to drop his gun.  He hit the ground hard and rolled a few feet before coming to a stop.  He caught sight of his weapon and was scrambling towards it when Dae Hee took two quick steps forward and kicked it out of his reach.

 The mobster smirked as he pointed his gun at Yoongi.

"Nice try but it seems as if the balance of power is now firmly in my favor."

Dae Hee gestured to his right, where Jin and JunKyu were now both on the floor, guns still trained on each other.

"So, it looks like I get to make a speech after all.  I think this time I'll use the one where I make you decide whether you or your friend dies first.  It's a classic but it still works well. So what will it be..."

The man looked down at Yoongi, his eyes glinting with malicious glee.

"Will you choose..."

Before he could finish the thought, however, a loud boom echoed through the room, causing  Yoongi to instinctively duck his head  and shut his eyes.  He tensed in anticipation of another bullet tearing through his body...

But nothing happened. In confusion, he looked up and struggled to process the scene before him.

A stunned Dae Hee stood as if frozen in time, a single bullet wound piercing his forehead.  He staggered forward then fell in slow motion to reveal a stone-faced Hoseok standing behind him, Yoongi's smoking pistol still clutched in his raised hand.

Seconds later Tae charged in behind him and out of the corner of his eye, Yoongi saw that Jin had shot JunKyu and was taking MoonJo into custody, while Tae made sure the room was secure.

Before Yoongi knew what was happening Hoseok was kneeling beside him.  The Beta roughly tugged the bodyguard's jacket off, pulled a roll of bandage out of his pocket and silently began tending to the wound on his arm.

The Alpha stared at him for a long minute before finally stammering,  “I-I told you to leave.”

Hoseok didn't look up as he answered.

"No...what you said was 'go to Namjoon's'.  You didn't specify the destination was Joonie's apartment. His office is just a short drive from here.  So, I went there, circled the parking lot then headed back. I obeyed all the traffic laws so that satisfied your command to 'stay safe'."

The Beta began tying off the bandage in an attempt to stem the bleeding.

"But I told you not to follow me," insisted Yoongi.

"And I didn't," snapped Hoseok.  "When I got back from my mandatory joy ride, I saw a bunch of kids running from this building. While I was looking for an entry point, I spotted TaeHyung shooting a couple of guys out in the alley.  Once I got inside I heard a bad guy starting to prattle on about his plans.  So, per Jin-hyung's instructions I shot the bastard in the head.  At no point during that process was I following you."

He pulled the fabric of the bandage a bit tighter than necessary for emphasis, causing the Alpha to wince in pain.

"You just happened to be on the wrong side of the bastard's gun when I got here," he added.

"You and your damn loopholes," Yoongi muttered as he shook his head in disbelief then sighed,   "I suppose it's a good thing you never listen.”

“Yeah, well… I figured I’d already established a pattern.  Why change now?” huffed the Beta.

Yoongi managed to stand on his own then offered his good hand to Hoseok who pointedly refused the assistance.  As the Beta was pulling himself up, the Alpha launched into an apology.

"Listen, Hob-ah....I'm really sorry about what I did earlier.  I just..."

Hoseok glared as he lurched to his feet.

"Stop.  I'm not ready to hear it right now, you sanctimonious super..."

Before he could finish the insult, however, Hoseok paused and swayed precariously. Yoongi was just noticing how pale the man seemed when suddenly the Beta's eyes began to roll back in his head.

The Alpha managed to catch him as he started to collapse, catching hold of Hoseok's waist just as he noticed the growing blood stain on the Beta's jeans which indicated he'd taken a bullet to the leg.

Ignoring the searing pain in his arm, a panic-stricken Yoongi scooped Hoseok up and began shouting as he charged towards the exit.

 "Jin-hyung! Tae!  We need a medic!  NOW!"

Notes:

Okay...before people come at me with pitchforks and torches, may I remind you that [spoiler alert] this story is  angst with a happy ending...

Stayed tuned for the next chapter, please! :)

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***