The new day at the G7 organisation began with important updates from the research team. After the arduous effort they had put into their research, it was not the least unexpected that they would come up with satisfying results. Both researchers had wearied looks on their faces with dark circles beneath each eye and were constantly yawning during their gatherings.  

“I have both good and bad news, folks.” Seohyun announced fighting back another yawn, with Tiffany, her senior researcher by her side.

“Oh, come on,” Hyoyeon groaned dreading what was about to come.

“Bad news first please,” Yoona pleaded, her eyes going round with interests. 

Seohyun sighed before continuing, constantly referring to a stack of notes which she held in her hands and looking to Tiffany for confirmation. “The bad news is that during the past four years, Black Mamba has been eagerly researching on something, possibly a serum that was similar to S101. They had called it S301.”

This information had caught all the members’ full attention as their curiosities as well as fear surged in tandem.

“What is S301?” Yuri asked worriedly, the already fine lines by the sides of her eyes deepened with the many years of tactical planning with her co-captain Hyomin.  

“We cannot know for certain what it is but we our best guess is an experiment that would reverse the effects of S201 since Jessica had hated Hyomin more than anything. I mean no offense to you Hyomin, just stating facts.”

Hyomin nodded understandingly and beckoned Seohyun to continue in her explanations.

“As of now, we cannot be certain in what stage the research is in but with this research having been underway for four years, there is a good chance that it is near completion or has already been completed.”

Even though Seohyun’s fellow researcher wore a mask of calm, Taeyeon could not help but notice that Tiffany’s grips on the armrest of her wheelchair had been exceptionally tight that day and that Tiffany was perpetually looking in Hyomin’s direction.

Does S301 have something to do with Hyomin? Taeyeon questioned herself. When she glanced over to Hyomin, she saw that same look of impassive calmness on Hyomin’s face as both Tiffany and Hyomin locked their gazes on each other, some understanding seemed to be passing within only the two.

Taeyeon’s attention returned following a nudge from Yuri who had been standing beside the leader. Yuri saw that her leader had once again been distracted with Tiffany’s affairs. The leader nodded in equal parts of appreciation and embarrassment to the captain of the siege team.

“What is the good news then?” Yoona asked, now with her large round eyes hopeful.

Seohyun allowed a moment to pass, felt pride swelling within herself and announced the happier news with a huge grin on her face. “We found out that Hyomin’s blood had a special compound that might be able to neutralise the effects of S101. It does not actually act on a person itself but rather it reacts with any S101 that is in the air and forms a neutral compound. It was as basic as that, we could have discovered this earlier if we had all the equipment we needed.”

“S-So what are we going to do about that?” Sooyoung asked with caution in her voice.

Seohyun shrugged. “Well, more research and testing is underway. As of now we will just identify people who have been more affected by the S101 drug and kindly ask them for their assistance.”  

Hyoyeon heaved a sigh of relief. “For a moment I thought we were going to gas the entire world all over again.”

“By the way, isn’t it about time for Yuri and Hyomin to divulge the siege plans to us?” Sooyoung asked suddenly and that had gotten the attention of all once again.

Silence hung in the air. The stares passed between Hyomin and Taeyeon had not gone unnoticed however and the others was growing more uneasy by the moment. Yuri looked warily to the both of them before she broke the palpable silence. “Well actually, there has been a slight difference of opinions in our plans.” 

There was no reply from others as they could still feel tension in the air but the inquisitive looks on their faces had shown their eagerness to learn about the conflict.

“Tiffany, would you be willing to infiltrate the Black Mamba’s control rooms once more?” The pink-haired captain asked daringly and that earned surprised gasps from the other members. They now knew why had there been disagreements between their leader and the captain.

“Hyomin, as I have already said…” Taeyeon started exasperatedly but was suddenly interrupted by another.

“I am willing to do so.”

All heads turned towards the Tiffany when she had spoken up.

Taeyeon, seemingly flustered by Tiffany’s response added. “You don’t have to force yourself to do it if you are uncomfortable with it.”

“I want to do it.” Tiffany spoke with so much resolution in her voice that the leader knew that her cause was lost. Tiffany would not relent.

Taeyeon then nodded her head in defeat. “Very well then. Then there would no longer be any oppositions from me but as we have discussed with the captains and the other lieutenants, I will be leading the assault team to the control room, with Tiffany.” The leader caught the icy stare from Tiffany and shrugged in response to it. I won’t relent on this either.

The captains then ordered the presence of their lieutenants and together, they briefed the main members of the siege plans which was to be held in half a years’ time.

**

After numerous months of preparation, the much anticipated day had finally arrived. There were finally going to infiltrate Black Mamba and bring down the organisation for good. It was already approaching winter by then and the organisation made sure that their men were all properly-fed before to withstand the cold. 

The G7 organisation had decided to go all out for this mission, leaving behind only Seohyun and a small number of people to guard the fortress. Some would say it was a very reckless move but Seohyun’s statistics had proved otherwise. They had a huge chance of success and with S301 underway, they could not afford to wait and leave out any of the members’ much needed skills.

They would follow the infiltration strategies that Yuri and Hyomin came up with. There would be two waves of attack. The first wave would be a feinted all-out attack on the main compound while actually aiming for the peripheral buildings. When those minor compounds had fallen, they would gather and focus their assault on the main compound in the second wave.

The reason for their plans were that the attack on the peripheral buildings would buy them time for Tiffany to disable the defence mechanisms that would have been more numerous in the main compound. Additionally, the control rooms was in one of the buildings west of the main compound and so the attack was meant to clear the path for Tiffany’s team to enter with ease.

In the first wave, Hyomin would lead and holdout the feint while Yuri will be in charge of the main forces, plundering the buildings. The two captains will then join their forces at the main compound in the second wave of attack.

Before these two main waves however, the strongest infiltration team Black Mamba has ever had, led by Lieutenant Jiyeon, would sneak into Black Mamba’s territory ahead of others and get rid of their sentries.

**

Three knocks came on her door as the lieutenant fastened her midnight black cape on herself.

“Come in.” Those words sounded more authoritative than Jiyeon had intended them to. In fact, the lieutenant had begun to take pride in her position in this organisation.  

Jiyeon’s eyes brightened up when she saw it was the pink-headed captain. It was rare that Hyomin had visited her room but knew that it was not uncommon for her to do so especially on that day of the infiltration.

The pink-haired captain sat herself in a chair and pondered for a moment before popping a question. “Confident?”

Jiyeon then gave the captain an impish grin. “Worried about me?”

Hyomin gave a half-shrug and later nodded. “Be careful at all times. Don’t act rashly.”

The impish grin grew on the lieutenant’s face grew wider. “Or else what?” Jiyeon challenged and she received a flick on her forehead from the captain. Chuckles escaped from Jiyeon as she saw that look of disapproval on Hyomin’s face.

“I promise I won’t act rashly.” Jiyeon’s impish grin then faded to a more serious smile as she rubbed her forehead. “By the way, you really did hit me hard you know,” the lieutenant complained and that elicited laughter from the captain which greatly pleased Jiyeon’s ears.

After a bout of jokes and teases on one another, Jiyeon finally dropped a serious question for Hyomin. “Captain, will you really be able to go all out against Black Mamba? They were after all men who had once fought alongside you and besides, Jessica is your twin sister.”

“I will be able to.” There was no hesitation in Hyomin’s voice and Jiyeon knew she had meant it.

Even though she had long already known that her captain had always been trying to play the part of a tough person and had pulled it off pretty well, Jiyeon still wondered how Hyomin could have been so strong yet vulnerable at the same time. Those tears in Hyomin’s eyes during those late night conversations kept coming up to her mind and a large part of Jiyeon wished that those tears would eventually stop coming.

“I trust you will be able to.” Jiyeon said in all seriousness.

They nodded to each other in silent understanding.

“Jiyeon…” Hyomin started speaking, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. “After this siege, if everything goes well... let’s do some things together.”

The lieutenant did not even bother to conceal her elation at those words and she threw her arms around her captain. “Yes, let’s do it!” She found herself so happy that tears threatened to form in her eyes but she willed it back. “We will leave this Black Mamba unscathed. You and I.”

“I am not too worried about myself. You better stick to your promise, you imp,” Hyomin chided the girl lightly as she returned her embrace.  

**

The sneak attack led by Jiyeon had gone so well that it had completely caught the Black Mambas unawares when the G7’s armoured trucks had rammed into their buildings. Even as the G7 men had spilled out from their armoured trucks by the hundreds and the first wave of attack had commenced, the Black Mambas were still fumbling for their weapons and relaying whatever message they could to their leader. 

As the lieutenant saw the pink-haired captain emerge from within the vehicle, she flashed Hyomin her usual wide grin which Hyomin returned with an appreciative nod before they both led their teams and disappeared into the siege.

The men led by Yuri had cleared two main paths, one leading to Black Mamba’s control room and the other into Black Mamba’s main compound. That made it easier for Tiffany and Taeyeon who would arrive later in a separate armoured vehicle to enter their control room.

Tiffany had known that Yuri and Hyomin could possibly be the best captains’ duo the world possibly ever had but the strategy had worked so perfectly that the lead researcher was beginning to feel slightly envious as she watched the assaults from within her vehicle. It had taken only seven minutes for Yuri’s forces to capture all of the buildings. 

It was the first time ever since that rescue mission that Tiffany was allowed to take part in another. Even though she was not in charge of the actual fighting but rather of infiltrating and crippling Black Mamba’s machines, it was enough to recharge her thrill for living. 

What troubled the researcher was that her partner was the leader of G7 herself, Taeyeon. When the leader had caught Tiffany’s uncomfortable looks, she had concluded that she would not suffer any more silent discomforts from the researcher. “What? You think I am not worthy enough to be your partner? I can fight too you know? Remember, we used to fight together?”

In these times of turmoil, Tiffany could not resist smiling as those fond memories came back to her.  

“That is the sweetest smile I have seen on you ever since that incident six years ago,” Taeyeon said and in that moment she had wanted to do nothing more than to hold Tiffany in her arms, shamelessly. Taeyeon had wished with all her heart that both of them would return from this assaults mission to their comrades, safe and sound.

The smile on the researcher’s face melted away and was replaced by her usual stoic expression and she wheeled more earnestly towards the control rooms that lay beyond them.

“Whatever happens, promise me you will get out of here alive,” Tiffany told Taeyeon in her commandeering tone.

“We will get out of here together, no more no less,” Taeyeon replied unrelentingly.

Tiffany pursed her lips and looked away from Taeyeon’s eyes. The technologist tried stilling herself to focus her mind entirely on her mission. Tiffany flexed her fingers before she began her task at hand, leaving Taeyeon to be in charge of organising their men.

Undistracted by her partner’s prowling about the room and the fights that was happening all about them, the researcher wasted no time in crippling Black Mamba’s defence mechanism and had begun working on pulling out relevant databases and sending them back to headquarters, exchanging information with Seohyun every few seconds. Her fingers flew over the multiple computer systems so quickly that Taeyeon was beginning to feel giddy looking at her work.

Nearly half an hour into her hacking work, Tiffany was beginning to feel the strain as the encryptions of the Black Mamba’s systems became more intricately webbed. Beads of sweat began to form on Tiffany’s forehead and she was partially glad that she was personally sent down to do this work. Seohyun, no matter how good she was at cracking codes, would have been befuddled by this unfamiliar security system of Black Mamba’s. Even with Tiffany’s well-gained experience, she still had to tread carefully for fear of history repeating itself. Yet, no matter how careful she was, the technologist still stumbled upon a most complicated system and that was when she knew it was over for her, she screamed to her comrades for clear out.

As if angered by her intrusions, the ground of the compound suddenly shook. Even though it had not been violent enough, Taeyeon also knew what was coming for them.

“Move out! Move out! We are leaving this place!” The leader shouted commands to her men who were standing guard by the door. Too late, a giant slab of concrete had fallen and landed on the spot where they had been standing. Blood streamed out from beneath the slab within seconds. Panic rose within the leader and she felt the dizzying effect from the adrenaline rush. More debris fell and Taeyeon got her legs knocked out from under her when she had narrowly dodged from one.

The loud crash and crunching sound, accompanied by the frozen look on the leader when she had returned told Tiffany all she had needed to know.

“Don’t bother about me! Get out of here, Taeyeon! Now!” Tiffany shouted desperately at her partner but when Tiffany saw that steeled look in Taeyeon’s eyes, she knew her cause was lost and fear gripped her soul. Taeyeon was determined to perish with her regardless.

This time, I am not going to let you face this alone, Tiffany.

My efforts would have been in vain if you do not leave me now, Taeyeon. 

**

A/N: 

Aish... I almost made the mistake of uploading a chapter to the wrong fiction. orz. Pardon me since I am also concurrently editing another fiction xD

>< Around 2 more chapters to the end of the story now and finally we see TaeNy having meaningful interactions >< even though it might be a shortlived one. 

Also, let's not forget that MinYeon moment... After so many months... Hyomin might finally be reciprocating Jiyeon's feelings...

Well... I guess this is one of the rare cliffhangers in this fiction and a frustrating one at that... 

Next chapter will be the of the battle and of course... the reunion of the SunByung couple... to be or not to be...

:) We'll see.

Here comes the usual, thank you for all the subs and comments :) Hang on tough, we're nearing the end :)