Chapter 09
Zero Gravity
Chapter 9 will be divided into 2 parts.
PART I
"Come on. Get up."
Her fists were raised in front of her chest as she circled around a body sprawled on the cushioned floor. "Hey." Amber nudged Joon's side with her toe. "Stop wasting time." He turned to lay on his back as he glared at her. "Can't you treat me with a little teeny tiny bit of care?" He reached for her extended hand and pulled himself up. "I'm not a sandbag."
"Funny," She wiped the sweat off her forehead and threw the towel aside. "Your brother said we could use you as a sandbag." She threw a punch at him which was dodged by the latter. "Do you realise that you're always complaining, like a little kid. You're 28, grow up." Joon caught her off guard and she took a jab in the stomach. "Nice one. Been practising?"
"Kinda." He shrugged. "Want me to test you?" Amber asked as she knelt to tie her shoelaces.
"Nah." Joon took a sip of water. "Unless you want your leg to get busted by me." He was referring to her injured leg that had been out of action for a month. "It's alright now." She said as she stood up. "Anyway.."
"Haven't you learnt your lesson?" Amber smirked at him. "To not underestimate me?"
He stared at her with his arms crossed, his confidence taking over him. "Bring it on."
"Sure."
Both of them eyed each other, refusing to break eye contact as if trying to read each others mind when Joon struck first. He did a sweep to knock her off her feet but she jumped to avoid it and kicked him in the chest, toppling him backwards.
Amber acted quickly and punched him in the face and body while he shielded himself from the incoming blows with his arms in front of his face. With his vision obscured, he took his chances and randomly punches in front of him. His right hand collided with Amber's stomach and she backed away from him. As they circled each other, Joon studied her to see if anything betrayed her pain but there was none. "If you're wondering whether I'm in pain," Amber tapped the spot he had punched. "Let me tell you. I'm not."
"What?" Joon stood still and so did she. "I punched you and you don't feel a thing?! What are you, a robot?"
"No. I'm not a robot." She ran her hand through her hair. "I am trained to have high tolerance in pain. That is why, I, unlike you, don't start screaming my head off whenever pain is inflicted on me."
"Whatever." He ignored her insult. "Let's get back to business." Joon attacked her with continuous punches and kicks and she was doing well at blocking them until she accidentally slipped. He reached for her arm to steady her which she took and flipped him over. "I see. Doing good won't get you anything good in return, huh?"
"In my field of work," Amber walked away from him while drinking her bottle of water. "Any good you do to your opponent will just increase your chances of ending up dead." She put down the bottle on the floor and picked up the towel next to it before swiping it behind her as she turned around to face Joon, who had just crept up from behind. "It’s a bad idea to sneak up on me."
Joon grabbed the towel which indirectly pulled her closer to him. She let go of the towel and struck his face with her elbow but he leaned out of the way and his fist came in contact with her face. He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her, having her in a wrist lock. "How's that?"
"I see improvement." She faced him with her arms crossed after he let go of her. "You've really chang--" She went to retrieve her phone and held a finger up, mouthing 'a minute'. "Donghae." Joon went to practise his moves at the sandbag while keeping an ear out to listen to their conversation. "Hmm, yes. I'll be there soon."
"Hey," Amber was picking up her stuff along the way to the door when she stood next to him. "I have to meet your brother now. Keep up with the good work, 'kay?"
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"Yes, I've already seen the documents." Henry was talking on his phone while riding the elevator. "What do you mean it's not been approved?"
The elevator was almost filled to its full capacity but people kept rushing in until the elevator started beeping. No one volunteered to exit the elevator, resulting in a momentarily stop. "Hey! I'm in a hurry here so someone get the hell out of this elevator." A man in the back who's standing next to Henry shouted.
"I've already given the green light for the project. Ok, fine. We'll discuss about this after I get back to the office." Henry started pushing his way out of the crowded elevator while still on the phone. "No, I'm not back at the office yet. Why?" He finally reached the front of the crowd after some pushing and cursing. "Because I'm in an elevator full of selfish people that will not budge," Some of them stared at him as the elevator doors starts to close. "Never mind, you won't get it. See you later."
"Sheesh," Henry put his cell phone away as he walked towards the stairwell. "I hope she didn't forgot about our lunch date." He climbed two steps at a time until he reached the 25th floor. "Luckily, I was only two floors away." He straighten his coat while catching his breath as he approached the front desk.
"How may I help you, sir?" The wide eyed secretary with too much make up on, smiled at him. "I'm here to meet Amber, the HR executive." She nodded and typed something into the computer.
"I'm sorry, sir." The secretary looked at him suspiciously. "There's no one here by the name of Amber."
"Are you sure?" Henry was surprised by her answer. "This is the HR department, right?"
"Yes, this is the HR department and we do not have any records of this person you're looking for as the executive." He was just staring at her until he snapped out of it. "Hold on a second." He took out his Blackberry and scrolled down until he came across her name. He smiled nervously at the secretary before taking a few steps away from the desk while waiting for the other end to pick up. "Amber," He turned his back to the eavesdropping secretary. "Where are you? Are you in the office?"
"No, I'm out having a lunch meeting with my boss." Amber spoke softly as she was sitting before Donghae who allowed her to take her call outside the office. "Thanks." She mouthed to him before closing the door behind her. "Why?"
"You said you're a HR executive at Matsuuka's company right?" She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "That's right. What's the problem?" There was silence on the other end. "Hello? You still there?"
"Yeah. Uh.. I'll call you later." She sensed something was different in his voice but didn't press on. "Okay. I've gotta go. Bye."
"Bye." Henry lowered his phone and stared at the caller ID. "Are you telling the truth?" The picture of Amber flashed before returning to the home menu.
"There must be some kind of misunderstanding," He turned back to secretary who pretended as if she wasn't listening to his conversation. "Could you check whether the HR executive is having a meeting with the boss?"
"I'm sorry, sir, I can't reveal information to non-employees," She said sternly. "All right," Henry gave her his best smile. "Then, could you tell me your name? I'd mostly likely not forget the help from a beautiful woman." He saw her softening a bit but still didn't reveal her name to him. "What about this?" He took a piece of paper from her desk and wrote down Siwon's number. "This is my number. Call me, Miss-I-Don't-Know-Your-Name." He winked at her before walking towards the elevator. "Come on, come on." He muttered under his breath, hoping that the trick he learnt from Siwon would work. He had entered the elevator and its doors were already closing. "Come on now."
"Hey!" Henry stopped the doors from closing, revealing the secretary standing on the other side of the doors. Bingo. "Yes?" He smiled pleasantly at her. "The executive is currently having a lunch meeting with the boss." She then pulled him closer to her, giving him a nose full of perfume. "My name is Christine," She shoved a piece of scribbled paper into his hand. "And this is my number." Henry looked at the numbers before facing her. "Thanks."
~~
Along the way down to the ground floor, he kept thinking about it. Was she lying to me? The secretary said there's no executive named Amber and the only fact that's correct is the lunch meeting with the boss. He stepped out of the elevator and followed the crowd towards the entrance.
Did I guessed it right? That she's no more than the low ranking clerk? Henry was handed the keys to his car by the valet when he saw a black BMW driving out from the basement car park. He caught a glimpse of the driver before the tinted window went up, preventing him from looking further but he need not to. Amber.
The car number plate further confirmed the driver's identity. "She lied."
He sat in his car and did a split second decision. He followed her.
~~
Henry was a few cars away from Amber's when they were at the red light as he fished out his phone and dialled her number. "Hello?"
"This is the second time you've called me today," Amber flipped the visor down to style her hair that was blown messy when her window was down. "Is there something wrong?"
"Are you still at the lunch meeting?" Henry said as he eyed the customised BMW 6 series. "You seemed to have forgotten about something."
"Lunch just ended and my boss is getting the bill as we speak," She changed the call to loudspeaker mode when the light turned green. "What did I- Oh! Our lunch date! I'm so sorry. I was too busy and I forgot about it."
"It's okay." He felt sad and somehow angrier by the moment. "Did you really?"
"What do you mean by that?" Amber turned into the lane leading towards the highway while trying to figure him out. "I've been wondering, what's up with you? You didn't sound right when you called earlier. Is there something you're not telling me?" She noticed a white Audi that's similar to Henry's but didn't give much thought about it.
"Is there something, you, are hiding from me?" Henry sped past a truck that was blocking his sight of her car.
"What?" She frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?" She looked at her rear view mirror, intending to switch lanes when she noticed the car is still following her. Is that Henry? "Where are you?" She switched to the fast lane and sped.
"I'm on my way back to the office," Henry shifted gear and stepped down on the gas pedal, trying to catch up with her. "You?"
She waited until the Audi was right behind her before switching back to her original lane abruptly. "Same here."
Henry had no choice but to drive ahead to avoid her suspecting anything but it’s all too late. He turned to look, hoping to see past the tinted window but found himself staring face to face with Amber. They stared at each other for a second before she looked away and the window went up. "Henry." Her car switched to another lane which brought her further away from him.
"Yeah?" He switched lanes and tried searching for her car. "I have to go. We'll talk the next time." He cursed when the line went dead before he could say anything. "Damn!" He gave up on his attempt of finding her car and took an exit, heading back to the city.
Amber ended the call before he could answer her as she waited at the emergency lane for time to pass before she could continue her journey. "Damn." She stared out of the window and thought about the new job they have been given. "Busy time ahead."
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"Who's the target this time?" Krystal spread her long limbs across the couch and yawned. "Finally, your maiden trip has arrived." Kibum said as he lifted Krystal's legs onto his knees when he sat down. "Move it, you're taking up a lot of space." She inched aside but it barely gave him any space. "Wow, huge difference." He said sarcastically and slapped her leg.
"Wait! Don't start without me." Victoria rushed into the room and sat next to Sulli. "Where's Joon?"
"Here." Joon came up from behind Amber and walked past her to settle next to Victoria. "Everyone's here? Good."
"This is the task we've been given," Amber's fingers ran across the laptop before she turned it around to face them. "This is Yoo Jungkook." A candid photo of a man that was taken in a club appeared on the screen. The man was in his mid-forties with a huge beer belly being surrounded by club hostess.
"He runs one of the major drug smuggling business in the country. He- Sorry," She struggled to reach for her phone while holding onto the laptop. "Here." She passed it to Joon while she flipped opened her phone and Henry's name appeared on the caller ID. She cancelled the call without thinking twice and took out the battery before continuing while the others looked on. "You can take the call if it’s important, we can wait." Kibum said while his fingers play on Krystal’s leg as if it’s a piano. "It's okay. Nothing important."
"Yoo Jungkook used to do business with Matsuka but something happened and they never contacted each other from then on." Amber took back the laptop and explained to them while searching for a file. "Donghae said Matsuka suspects that Jungkook hid something that belongs to him."
"Matsuka thinks that Jungkook had hidden his gold that was supposed to be brought back from Japan with Jungkook's help. Jungkook told Matsuuka that his men had stolen the gold and ran away with it."
"That is such a bad lie." Krystal said. "Tell me Matsuka wasn't that dumb to believe him."
"Yeah, he didn't buy it and sent people to ransack the place to search for it. They came back, empty handed and bruised because Jungkook's men had attacked them for trespassing. Jungkook made a huge fuss about Matsuka not believing in him and something about betraying his trust. He even threaten Matsuka with information that could land him in jail if it were ever to get out."
Victoria leaned across the table and turned the laptop around. "What's this?"
"This is Jungkook's new home," Pictures of the bungalow's was in slide-show mode, revealing it’s huge compound and the security that was hired. "There are bodyguards in every picture." Joon whistled when they came across another picture, a suit clad bodyguard was walking two big black Rottweilers. "Guard dogs. Looks like the dogs are taking him for a walk rather than him."
"Anyway, Matsuka had confirmation that Jungkook had indeed stolen his gold which is stored inside that bungalow," Amber looked up from the laptop and leaned on her hand. "In my opinion, that's a bit stupid of him. Crossing Matsuuka, I mean."
"Yeah, it's like signing his own death sentence." Kibum stretched his body. "Well, it's his problem, not ours."
"So what does he wants us to do?" Sulli had a bored expression on as she buff her nails. "Besides finishing off Jungkook."
"We are to bring back his gold and destroy the proof of business dealings between him and Jungkook." Amber said. "We'll be observing the situation for a few days and someone has to be inside to spy on him." She looked at Sulli. “You up for it?”
“Yeah. I’ve done it before.” Sulli shrugged her shoulders. “Easy.”
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"So, this is the place where you keep the stuff, huh?" Joon followed Amber into the walk-in gun vault. There were rows and rows of different collections of firearms ranging from semi-automatic pistols to shotguns to grenade launches, anything useful to the team. "Impressive."
"Okay, here's what we need." She gave him a list of things to pick out while she ran checks and loaded them. "How many us are going?" He went through the list and walked around the neatly arranged gun ranks.
"All of us." Amber assembled a gun and loaded it but stopped midway when he picked the wrong firearm. "Hey, this is not the one. It's that one next to the box."
"Including Miss Newbie?" Joon sat next to her and helped with loading them. "Don't forget, you're a newbie too." She fitted a full magazine onto the semi-automatic pistol she was handling. "At least, I've had experience from before." She gave him a sceptical look. "Don't look at me like that. I'm telling the truth!"
"Uh-huh," She scoffed and placed the gun into a box. "If I remembered correctly, the last time you handled a gun, it only met its target 4 out of 10 times. Bring this box upstairs." She put the last gun into the box and handed it to him.
"They were running, we were running," His voice was growing fainter as he left the room with the box while Amber remained sited. "Of course, I can't get them."
"Yeah, whatever." She got up and stood in front of a neatly arranged rack of guns, muttering to herself. "Which one?" She tapped a finger on her chin while making her choice. "Let's use this."
"Hey," Joon came back into a room with her ringing phone. "Sulli said your phone has been ringing non-stop." He offered her phone to her. "Don't you want to answer the call?" Amber stared at the phone a while longer before taking it from him. "Hello." She turned her back to Joon.
"Finally. How long do you think you can keep dodging my calls?" Henry sounded quite agitated over the phone.
"I'm not ignoring your calls. I'm actually very busy at the moment." She made herself sound busy by shuffling some papers on the table loudly. "I've got to end the call right here."
"It's all right." He said sarcastically. "I have the whole day to keep calling you until you pick up your phone."
"Fine, be my guest." Amber ended the call and stuffed her phone into her jeans pocket. "Who's that?" Joon looked at her curiously. "Mind your own business." She snapped and gave him the gun to hold while she locks the vault. "Okay. No need to be snappy." He said quietly but Amber didn't even hear what he said when her phone rang again. He looked at her reaching for the phone and noticed a reluctant expression etched on her face.
She cancelled the call but it rang again a few seconds after that. "I guess, I'm going up first." Joon left her standing in the room outside the vault as he sprinted up the stairs.
Amber only answered the call after Joon's legs disappeared up the stairs and the distant sound of the door closing.
"Hello Henry." She walked towards the wall and sat down, leaning against it. "Am I going to be cut off again?" His voice was serious and calm.
"No," She looked up and stared at the stark white ceiling. "I'm listening." Silence came over both of them as Henry thought of what to say.
"I'm loss for words." He laughed awkwardly as he walked to his kitchen. "Now that I've got through you, I have no idea on what to say."
Amber heard his sharp intake of breath over the phone and leaned forward, resting her chin on her knees. "Let's get straight to the point." She spoke so softly which made her wonder whether he could hear her.
"What happened yesterday?" He poured himself a small amount of whiskey and pulled out a chair to sit. "You said you were at lunch with your boss but you were lying. And.. and.. your secr- no," He corrected himself. "The secretary at the HR department desk said there's no executive named Amber."
She turned her face to lean on her knee, talking calmly. "There must have been some kind of mistake."
"No. There has been no mistake." Henry slammed his glass down on the table, his voice raised. "You are lying to me about something! Obviously unless you're having lunch with your boss in the car which unlikely."
"I can't believe you followed me!" Amber retorted by sounding mad herself. "And I'm not lying!
"Okay," His patience was wavering as every minute tick by. "If you’re telling me the truth, what's the name of the secretary?" S.hit. She didn't answer him.
"Her name is Christine if you're racking your brain for names." He said without a hint of sarcasm and took a sip of his drink. "Amber?"
"Why are you lying to me?" She was playing with the loose thread from her jeans while in deep thought, why is he concerned? "Is there something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong." She stood up and walked to the staircase.
"Then why are you lying to me?" Henry swirled the contents of his drink while staring at the seat before him. "Aren't we friends? You can tell me anything."
Amber looked down and slipped a hand inside a pocket while swaying her body. "Let's meet up next week." She sighed.
"I'll tell you the truth."
PART II
"Good morning sir."
The man looked up from his work as a maid came in and bowed at him. He noticed she was carrying a feather duster and a vacuum cleaner when she entered. "Good morning," He nodded as he got up from his desk and took large steps to reach her. "You're not supposed to come in here." He said with an edge to his voice as he ushered her out of the study. "This is strictly off-limits to anyone except me."
"Oh! I'm so sorry sir!" The maid exclaimed in surprise while fumbling to get the vacuum cleaner out of the room, dropping her feather duster along the way. "I didn’t know anything of this sort.”
"Didn't they tell you?" She shook her head, looking on at him innocently. "I'm afraid not, sir. You see, I'm actually new here."
"Oh, that explains it." He closed the door behind them once she got the cleaner out of the door. "Anyway, now you know."
"Yes sir. I'm so sorry." The maid looked frighten and bowed again. "I promise this will never happen again." He checked her out as she took her cleaning equipment and walked into another room when he called out.
"What's your name?" He said and the maid came back out of the room. "I'm Sulli, sir." She stared wide eyed at him as he held out his hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you Sulli." He took her hand she placed on his and brought it to his lips. "I hope to see more of you around." He continued to hold her hand and caressed the back of her palm with his thumb.
"Nice to meet you too, sir." Sulli gave him a forced smile, hissing through her teeth and took her hand back. "I have work to do so.."
"Yes. Yes." He waved his hand at her. "You should get on with your work." Sulli bowed and disappeared into the room, locking the door before taking out her phone.
"So what do you have?" She kicked the feather duster out of her way and stood next to the window. "Well, for one. He's a creep."
Kibum and Amber laughed as they observed the bungalow at a safe distance away from the house. "What did he do?"
"He was checking me out and he kissed my hand too!" Sulli pressed the phone against her shoulder and took out a hand disinfectant. "Disgusting."
"Yeah, we see your disgusted face." Kibum said while looking at her through a binocular as she looked around outside the window. "I can't see you."
"We're near the large tree on the hill behind the bungalow," Amber was scanning the area with her binoculars while on a lollipop. "It's to your right."
"Yeah, I see you." Sulli squinted at the direction and noticed some movement among the shadows. "Anyway, I've checked out the whole house and can't seem to find anything that might give away some sort of vault or hiding place." She fell onto the chair behind her and put her feet on the window sill. "The only place I've not been able to access is Jungkook's study room."
"So, you're suspecting that he's hiding the gold in there?" Kibum adjusted the binoculars as he focused it at the study room. "It must be there unless he dug a pit in his garden to hide it."
"Okay." Amber looked away from her binoculars and noted something in her notepad. "We're breaking in tonight."
"You can't," Sulli got up and walked away from the window. "Jungkook's is having a small party tonight." Amber checked her watch. "Then we'll do it tomorrow."
The man looked up from his work as a maid came in and bowed at him. He noticed she was carrying a feather duster and a vacuum cleaner when she entered. "Good morning," He nodded as he got up from his desk and took large steps to reach her. "You're not supposed to come in here." He said with an edge to his voice as he ushered her out of the study. "This is strictly off-limits to anyone except me."
"Oh! I'm so sorry sir!" The maid exclaimed in surprise while fumbling to get the vacuum cleaner out of the room, dropping her feather duster along the way. "I didn’t know anything of this sort.”
"Didn't they tell you?" She shook her head, looking on at him innocently. "I'm afraid not, sir. You see, I'm actually new here."
"Oh, that explains it." He closed the door behind them once she got the cleaner out of the door. "Anyway, now you know."
"Yes sir. I'm so sorry." The maid looked frighten and bowed again. "I promise this will never happen again." He checked her out as she took her cleaning equipment and walked into another room when he called out.
"What's your name?" He said and the maid came back out of the room. "I'm Sulli, sir." She stared wide eyed at him as he held out his hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you Sulli." He took her hand she placed on his and brought it to his lips. "I hope to see more of you around." He continued to hold her hand and caressed the back of her palm with his thumb.
"Nice to meet you too, sir." Sulli gave him a forced smile, hissing through her teeth and took her hand back. "I have work to do so.."
"Yes. Yes." He waved his hand at her. "You should get on with your work." Sulli bowed and disappeared into the room, locking the door before taking out her phone.
"So what do you have?" She kicked the feather duster out of her way and stood next to the window. "Well, for one. He's a creep."
Kibum and Amber laughed as they observed the bungalow at a safe distance away from the house. "What did he do?"
"He was checking me out and he kissed my hand too!" Sulli pressed the phone against her shoulder and took out a hand disinfectant. "Disgusting."
"Yeah, we see your disgusted face." Kibum said while looking at her through a binocular as she looked around outside the window. "I can't see you."
"We're near the large tree on the hill behind the bungalow," Amber was scanning the area with her binoculars while on a lollipop. "It's to your right."
"Yeah, I see you." Sulli squinted at the direction and noticed some movement among the shadows. "Anyway, I've checked out the whole house and can't seem to find anything that might give away some sort of vault or hiding place." She fell onto the chair behind her and put her feet on the window sill. "The only place I've not been able to access is Jungkook's study room."
"So, you're suspecting that he's hiding the gold in there?" Kibum adjusted the binoculars as he focused it at the study room. "It must be there unless he dug a pit in his garden to hide it."
"Okay." Amber looked away from her binoculars and noted something in her notepad. "We're breaking in tonight."
"You can't," Sulli got up and walked away from the window. "Jungkook's is having a small party tonight." Amber checked her watch. "Then we'll do it tomorrow."
~~
"This is how it is," Kibum stood at the head of the table while his audience listened tentatively. "The break-in would happen at around 9. It's this time when the guards at the entrance of the property would change shifts, which gives us about five minutes or so to enter the compound."
"The property is very strictly guarded," Amber said as she joined Kibum. "That means we have to act quickly and precisely with, hopefully, no interruptions."
"We will go in two cars," Victoria spun around in her seat. "The amount of gold we're transporting will weigh down the car if it's loaded only into one car and that's not even including the weight of all of us." She stopped spinning and leaned her elbows on the table. "I suggest we split ways if there's any company. I'll try my best to lead them away from the other car as it returns to base."
"But we still don't know where the gold is kept." Joon was drawing a cartoon version of himself as he looked up. "Like you said, we don't have much time to over turn the whole study to find it."
"Yes, we still do not know as to where the gold is," Sulli leaned back on her chair, smirking. "But I assure you we'll know it when you enter the room tonight. I have my ways."
~~
"What does she mean when she said she have her ways?" Joon asked. "Like seducing that disgusting bastard?"
"NO! Eeww!" They could hear her gagging. "What do you think I am? A ?"
"What!" His eyebrows shot up as he turned to look at Amber. "She can hear us?!"
"Duh, you . I can hear you loud and clear through the earpiece." Sulli hissed. "You better not let me catch you saying anything revolting like that again or else you'll never guess what I'll do to your skinny chicken neck." Victoria, who's in the driver seat, tried to contain her laughter when she saw him reaching for his neck with a bewildered look. "She's not kidding. You don't want to be on her bad side."
"Okay, quiet now." Amber said, looking away from her binoculars and glancing at her watch. "Anytime now."
"Change of plans, ladies and gentleman." Sulli informed them in hushed tones. "I just overheard one of the security guys saying that the guard that's supposed to take over now is running late. They said he'll be here in another 15 minutes."
"Damn." Kibum cursed as he sat in the other car with Krystal. "We should abort the plan. The guard would arrive 15 minutes later and realise something is wrong when he finds out the guard post is empty and that's when trouble sets in. 15 minutes is not enough for us."
"We can't abort it." Sulli told them. "I had just drugged all the employees in the house including the two security guys I was talking about. If we do abort, we won't have another chance to break-in again."
"Amber," Victoria turned to look at her. "It's your call."
Amber was quiet and she sat so still, you'd thought she was a statue. "Amber?"
"We'll proceed. Like Sulli said, we won't have another chance if we blow this one." She looked at Victoria and Joon, who nodded understandingly. "So 15 minutes is the time limit. We have to work faster and no mistakes, people." Amber put on her black mask. "Alright, let's go."
~~
"Help! Help!" The guard looked up from his magazine and saw a girl wandering outside, in the middle of the road. "Help!" He got out of the guard post and flashed his light at the girl. "Miss?"
"Oh my god! Sir! Help me!" She saw him and staggered up to him, clutching his outstretched hand. "Sir, you have to help me! There's a man who tried to me, chasing after me!" He saw her tear stained face as she pointed in the direction where she had came from. "I kept running until you found me. I'm not sure whether or not I've lost him. Could you check it out for me please?" She said, shaking uncontrollably while running her hand through her messy hair. "Okay, miss." He patted her back. "You just stay here while I go check okay? Stay where you are. I'll be back in a moment."
The guard turned his back and rushed to the guard post, intending to call for back-up when he saw the reflection of the mirror inside the guard post. "What the--" He turned around just as the girl grabbed his arm, pulling him towards her with her arm around his neck. "Hey! What ar--" He struggled as she jabbed a needle into his neck, releasing the contents of the syringe into him.
"Not bad." Joon came up from behind of her and helped her carry the unconscious guard into the guard post. "You managed to do that in your first attempt. I've gotta to say I'm impressed." They dragged the body behind the door and Joon took a jacket from the clothes hook, covering the man's face.
"Told 'ya I could do it." She said as she opened the gates to the property. "Come on. Let's go." They got into their respective vehicles and entered the property with the gates automatically closing behind them.
"Hurry!" Sulli's voice flooded their earpiece. "I've just distracted the security that's outside the house. Turn right after the bend." Sulli was by the side of the house, waiting for them with the garage door opened.
The two Range Rovers entered the garage and Sulli threw car covers over them once they exited the cars. They were all dressed identically - black outfits, a mask and leather gloves.
"Jungkook is asleep in his bedroom which is opposite the study so move silently." Sulli told them as they entered the interior of the house while carrying metal suitcases with rollers, following after her. Kibum, Joon and Krystal entered the dark study as Sulli held open the door for them while staring at the bedroom door. "We've gotta work without the lights on or else the security guys would noticed something is off."
"Okay, I'm here." Amber entered the room with a small case which she passed it to Sulli. "Victoria decided to stay in the car with the engine off. She said she'll inform us in case of anyone is entering the house. What now?" She looked around the dark room.
"Wait and see." Sulli said as she the gadget in her hand, showering them with a bluish glow while she passed them protective eyewear like the one she has on. "Put that on and search for fingerprints on the wall. I'm guessing the place he hid the gold is behind these cupboards."
True enough, when the UV light shone on the wall behind the desk, many sets of fingerprints were all over the place. "What's this?" Krystal pointed to the fingerprints on the cupboard edges as if someone had or tried to push it aside. After that, the trail of fingerprints disappeared. "This is it then?"
Joon and Kibum looked at each other and then worked together to push the cupboard aside which revealed a vault door like Sulli suspected. "How did you get his fingerprints to glow in the dark?" Joon sounded awed as they opened the metal suitcases. "That bastard uses the tub to bathe so I just added some UV dye into the water in his morning bath. It doesn't fade off until a few days later."
"Um, guys." Krystal stood next to the vault examining it with the limited light source in the room. "I think we have another problem."
"Why? What is it?" Amber stepped away from Jungkook's computer that she was starting up. "I think you have to passed some thumb scanner and a speaker before we could open it." She directed her flash light at it to get a better look. "Damn, you're right. I guess we need a little help here from the man himself."
~~
Amber looked up when the guys brought Jungkook into the room, bounded and gagged. His eyes were frantically looking at each one of them while making odd noises.
"Look, let's do this the easy way." She said as Jungkook was pushed into a chair and wheeled in front of the vault. "I want to get that vault open and you are going to help me." She swirled the chair and made him face her. "Do you understand?" She said before taking away the cloth that prevented him from making any noise.
"HEL--" Jungkook shouted the moment the moment he was able to but stopped midway when Sulli punched him. "I knew you were going to do that," She sighed. "And I thought I could trust you." Amber shook her head as she took her gun from her back pocket, waving Sulli away. "This time I'm serious. You will open that vault or else," He was staring at her screwing on the silencer. "A shot for each time you fail to do it." The safety of the gun was lifted.
"Do it." Joon grabbed his shoulder and forced him towards the front of the vault. Krystal stood next to them and pressed her finger with Jungkook's finger print on it. "Y-Yoo Jungkook." He stammered after Joon punched him when he refused to do it. "The code?"
"9-6-7-8." Krystal entered the code but the screen above the keypad flashed INCORRECT PASSWORD. "He's lying." She shook her head.
"Argh!" Jungkook let out a cry of pain when a bullet pierced into the back of his knee and fell onto the floor. "What the f--" Amber shot his other leg. "ARGHH!"
"Buddy, she can go on and on." Kibum said as he was clearing files and downloading viruses into the computer behind them. "You'll just gonna suffer."
"Now you know I'm not joking," Amber came around and pulled him onto his feet. "Every shot for every time you fail." She hissed at him. "I have no problem with it." He trembled as his tear filled eyes stared into her cold expressionless ones. "Now."
"9-4-8-9." The screen flashed a red again. "You never learn do you?" She stuffs the cloth back into his mouth and shot at his thigh, producing another painful scream from Jungkook. "Maybe third time lucky?" She bent down next to his slumped figure. "Or maybe not?" He whimpered when he felt the tip of the gun on his head. "Your last chance." She warned him and took away the cloth. "9-7-3-0." He whispered.
"Are you sure this time?" Amber tapped his head with the gun. "Because the last two times, you were totally off it. What? I can't hear."
"9-7-3-1." The screen flashed green after Krystal entered the last digit, followed by the sound of clicks. "Wasn't that hard isn't it?" Joon pulled Jungkook aside and dropped him next to the desk where Kibum was working. "We're in." Amber informed Victoria as she walked in after Sulli, wheeling in the suitcase. "Holy cow." Joon exclaimed when he entered the vault with Kibum. "Look at the gold."
There were trays and trays of gold lining along both sides of the room and also cash and jewelry. He just stared at it while Amber and Krystal were busying loading the suitcases with gold. "Amber, ar-e you guy-s a-lm-ost done?" Victoria's voice cackled into her ear piece. "No, why?" She gestured at Joon to quit staring and load her suitcase while she exits the vault to get better connection. "You might want to hurry. The security guards outside are rushing into the bungalow as we speak." She saw Jungkook moving weirdly under the desk as she approached it. "I think they know what's going on."
"What the hell are you doing?" She noticed him smiling as she pulled him out from it and looked under the desk. "!" She rushed back into the vault and alerted the others. "People, we need to move faster. As you heard from Victoria, the guards are now inside the house because that as.shole pressed the security button." They looked a little panic and stared at one another. "More security is expected along the way." She loaded her gun and took out another, switching off the safety. "I'll buy us some time and set the charges. Come down only when I say so." She left them to pack the gold and turned her attention to Jungkook.
"It's back to square one isn't it?" She said to him while setting the charges underneath the desk which emitted a blinking red light when switched on. "Too bad, I'm still the winner in the end." She left him behind with a red gaping hole through the forehead.
~~
Amber heard shuffling noises and jumped off the last step of the staircase, moving against the wall. Her eyes darted from one man to another as she counted them. She leaned back just in time when a man turned in her direction and she took a few deep breaths before running across the space between the staircase and the hall leading towards the kitchen. "There!"
The bungalow rang with gun shots as they fired at her before she took cover. She knelt on the floor and peered out from behind the wall, gunning down a few of them before leaning back against the wall, reloading her gun. "Sulli, where is the security room?" Amber turned back and returned fire while straining to hear her earpiece. "It's at the back room after you passed the kitchen." She leaned back and braced herself as the wall she was hiding behind is being penetrated by bullets.
"We have so many people up against you. Give up. You can't get away from us." A man called out as gunfire ceased. "Really? I've noticed that I've taken down almost half of your men back there." A vein twitched from the man's clenched jaw while he acknowledged the truth. "That's true but we've more arriving. You won't be able to get away," He walked closer to the wall she was hiding behind and motioned the others to follow him. "You might as well give up now." At the count of three, he jumped in front of the hallway while his men surrounded around him, aiming at her but confusion spread among them. "What the --" He cursed as they were aiming at a blank wall where she was supposed to be hiding. "Where is she?"
He aimed his gun in front of him as he and his team advanced down the hallway, momentarily stopping to check the rooms along the hallway. "This is your last chance." He said loudly as they reached the end of the hallway which led to the kitchen. "Come out now and you won't get hurt."
"You're wrong. This is your last chance." Her voice came from the kitchen. "One more step and you'll regret it."
"Threatening me aren't you?" He held the gun before him, walking towards the direction of her voice and he fired at a black object when it flew at him. "No," He stared at the jacket lying on the floor before him with bullet holes through it while she spoke again. "That was a warning." Amber ran across the kitchen door and threw something into the hallway which exploded the moment it touched the ground.
"What was that?" Joon asked as they felt the shock waves vibrating throughout the house. "She must have set off a grenade." Sulli placed the last block of gold into the suitcase and closed it shut. "Unni," Krystal whispered as the other three exited the vault. "I think there's someone outside the room." The light seeping under the door from the outside was dancing with shadows. "Amber, where are you?" Kibum whispered. "I'm heading to the back room and I'm covered in dust. Why?" He guided the others behind a wall and pulled out a computer cable, walking slowly towards the door. "Nothing."
"One two THREE!" The man gave his partner the signal to kicked open the door and rushed inside after him. It was dark inside as one of them d the wall for the switch. "Hey, what is that against the comp--" Behind them, Kibum came out from the shadows and wrapped the cable around the one of the man's neck while kicking the other one's gun away from him. He tightened his grip on the cable around the neck while fending off the other man, kicking him in the face.
Kibum finally loosen his grip on the cable when the man had stopped struggling and his body crumpled onto the floor as Kibum shove him off. The man that Kibum had kicked slowly got up from the floor and swayed a little as he tried to get his bearings before Kibum took out his gun and shot him. "You guys are clear to move." Amber's voice filled their earpieces. "I'll join you in a bit."
"Okay, let's go." Kibum ushered them out of the study as he stayed behind to set the charges by the vault and the door.
~~
"Everything set?" Amber dashed into the garage and helped Victoria lift the last suitcase into the back of the Range Rover. "Yeah, we're good to go."
"Good because I think we have some company outside the gates." She entered the car and sat next to Joon while Sulli sat at the front passenger seat. Victoria got into the driver seat and drove out of the garage, followed by Kibum in the other car.
They reached the front gates and found it, unsurprisingly to be barricaded by two SUVs and some men carrying rifles. "Here it comes," Victoria stopped the car a distance away while Amber turned behind her seat to reach for something. "I-Is that a bazooka?" Joon sounded alarmed when he saw her doing final arrangements to the weapon she was holding. "Yeah. It is." Victoria pressed a button and the open rooftop above them slide open. "The one and only." She hitched the tube on her right shoulder and she stood up, the upper half of her body disappeared above the rooftop. She aimed at the gates and pulled the trigger.
The rocket exploded on impact and a huge ball of flame engulfed around it before the smoke faded away to show the damage. Amber got back into the car and shut the rooftop, placing the bazooka behind of her while Victoria drove past the wreckage. She felt the pocket of her jeans and took out a small remote control and pressed the red button. Immediately, all of them in the car heard the loud explosion Amber had set off. Joon turned behind to take a look and saw the room on the first floor where they were a few minutes ago had its windows shattered from the impact and smoke billowing from it.
Just as they had to the main road, three SUVs had caught up with them and were currently firing at both of the cars. "Kibum," Victoria looked at the car behind of theirs. "You should drive ahead of me. I'll distract them and you get home on the safest and fastest route." She slowed a little to allow the car behind to overtake them. Once ahead of them, Victoria took another turn and the three SUVs followed. "Now what?" Joon sat nervously in the car. "We'll finish them off." Victoria stepped down on the gas pedal. "But they're shooting at us. Aren't you worried a bullet would go through your head?"
"This is a bullet proof car," Sulli said in a matter of fact tone while loading her gun before sticking out of her window and fired at their pursuers. "Why don't you be helpful and reload my gun? As you can see I'm kinda busy."
Victoria had driven away from the town center and they were now on an empty road. She sped the powerful car and made abrupt turns in hope of losing them but the three cars on their tail seem to prove it was impossible.
Amber tried to keep herself steady as the car was swaying while aiming at the driver of the first SUV. She fired the shotgun but it missed him when the car took a sharp right turn. Sulli was aiming for the tires and she managed to burst one of them, sending the second car into a dangerous spin before flipping over on its hood. "One down." Sulli said breathlessly as she leaned back into her seat while she high fived Joon, who passed her another loaded gun.
Wind was whistling furiously as the Range Rover gained speed as Amber tried to ignore her hair whipping around her face. She took advantage that now they were on a straight road and fired the shotgun at her target. The man next to the dead driver stopped firing at the Range Rover and tried to steer the SUV into safety but Amber fired another shot at the engine which blew up and caught fire. "One left to go." She settled in the car and pushed aside her wind blown hair. "That is mine." Victoria smirked as she glanced at the car through the rearview mirror.
Victoria had now driven back into the city and the SUV had trouble trying to catch up with them because they kept weaving in and out of traffic. The SUV finally caught up with them as they were nearing the traffic lights which had just turned red but Victoria suddenly turned left and the SUV hadn't managed to stop in time, drove straight ahead. They heard the sickening crash of metal against metal when the SUV was ran into by a car at the side from the ongoing traffic on the opposite lane, sending it flipping twice before landing on its side.
"Good because I think we have some company outside the gates." She entered the car and sat next to Joon while Sulli sat at the front passenger seat. Victoria got into the driver seat and drove out of the garage, followed by Kibum in the other car.
They reached the front gates and found it, unsurprisingly to be barricaded by two SUVs and some men carrying rifles. "Here it comes," Victoria stopped the car a distance away while Amber turned behind her seat to reach for something. "I-Is that a bazooka?" Joon sounded alarmed when he saw her doing final arrangements to the weapon she was holding. "Yeah. It is." Victoria pressed a button and the open rooftop above them slide open. "The one and only." She hitched the tube on her right shoulder and she stood up, the upper half of her body disappeared above the rooftop. She aimed at the gates and pulled the trigger.
The rocket exploded on impact and a huge ball of flame engulfed around it before the smoke faded away to show the damage. Amber got back into the car and shut the rooftop, placing the bazooka behind of her while Victoria drove past the wreckage. She felt the pocket of her jeans and took out a small remote control and pressed the red button. Immediately, all of them in the car heard the loud explosion Amber had set off. Joon turned behind to take a look and saw the room on the first floor where they were a few minutes ago had its windows shattered from the impact and smoke billowing from it.
Just as they had to the main road, three SUVs had caught up with them and were currently firing at both of the cars. "Kibum," Victoria looked at the car behind of theirs. "You should drive ahead of me. I'll distract them and you get home on the safest and fastest route." She slowed a little to allow the car behind to overtake them. Once ahead of them, Victoria took another turn and the three SUVs followed. "Now what?" Joon sat nervously in the car. "We'll finish them off." Victoria stepped down on the gas pedal. "But they're shooting at us. Aren't you worried a bullet would go through your head?"
"This is a bullet proof car," Sulli said in a matter of fact tone while loading her gun before sticking out of her window and fired at their pursuers. "Why don't you be helpful and reload my gun? As you can see I'm kinda busy."
Victoria had driven away from the town center and they were now on an empty road. She sped the powerful car and made abrupt turns in hope of losing them but the three cars on their tail seem to prove it was impossible.
Amber tried to keep herself steady as the car was swaying while aiming at the driver of the first SUV. She fired the shotgun but it missed him when the car took a sharp right turn. Sulli was aiming for the tires and she managed to burst one of them, sending the second car into a dangerous spin before flipping over on its hood. "One down." Sulli said breathlessly as she leaned back into her seat while she high fived Joon, who passed her another loaded gun.
Wind was whistling furiously as the Range Rover gained speed as Amber tried to ignore her hair whipping around her face. She took advantage that now they were on a straight road and fired the shotgun at her target. The man next to the dead driver stopped firing at the Range Rover and tried to steer the SUV into safety but Amber fired another shot at the engine which blew up and caught fire. "One left to go." She settled in the car and pushed aside her wind blown hair. "That is mine." Victoria smirked as she glanced at the car through the rearview mirror.
Victoria had now driven back into the city and the SUV had trouble trying to catch up with them because they kept weaving in and out of traffic. The SUV finally caught up with them as they were nearing the traffic lights which had just turned red but Victoria suddenly turned left and the SUV hadn't managed to stop in time, drove straight ahead. They heard the sickening crash of metal against metal when the SUV was ran into by a car at the side from the ongoing traffic on the opposite lane, sending it flipping twice before landing on its side.
~~
"Oh my god, you guys have me worried sick." Krystal came out of the mansion with Kibum when they heard the crunch of gravel on the drive way. "Let's talk inside." Victoria ushered them inside while the other three wheeled the suitcases in.
"It's not that easy to shake off three cars in such a short time," Victoria concluded after she had told the other two what had happened while they were all relaxing in the living room. "Who's picking these?" Joon gestured behind his shoulder at the ten suitcases. "I'm retrieving them." A soft voice filled with authority said as they turned to look at the person standing by the front door. "Who are you?" He stood up but Amber held out her hand to stop him from approaching the woman. "Sunbae." He looked at her and the woman, puzzled before Kibum pulled him back down onto the couch.
"Come here." The woman motioned Amber to her. She walked cautiously towards her and jumped out of the way just time before the woman did a flip, her high heeled boot missing Amber's face by inches. They stared at one another wordlessly as they circled each other. The woman blocked Amber's kick expertly and had a disappointed look. "You're not trying your best, Amber." She blocked Amber's advances lazily and crouched low, jabbing the back of Amber's leg. Amber knelt on the floor, trying to hide her discomfort.
"Why are you guys not doing anything?" Joon whispered urgently, noticing that the others had done nothing to stop the two women from fighting each other, in fact they were all relax as if watching some TV show. "I'm helping her if you guys won’t." Kibum grabbed his arm, pulling him back into his seat. "Keep out of their way. We know each other." Joon did a double take and stared at him. "What? Then why are they.." He gestured at Amber defending herself from the woman. "This is normal," Kibum waved his hand lazily. "She is Amber's mentor." Joon just stared at them, speechless. "Huh.."
All of a sudden, Amber caught the woman's arm and swung it behind her, holding her wrist in an awkward angle and the fight ended. "You've done well." The woman turned around and held her arms open which Amber gladly went into, hugging her tightly. "Unni." The woman ruffled her hair and pulled away. The others had approached them and took turns greeting her.
Joon was staring at the woman hugging Kibum and she noticed him too. She pulled away and walked towards him, making him realised how small she is but not to be messed with. "Hello," The pint sized woman brought out her hand to shake his. "Who are you?" Joon ignored her outstretched hand. She dropped her hand to her side, chuckling when she heard soft noises from behind of her. Krystal and Amber were motioning to him to shake her hand and introduce himself which he shook his head at them but immediately did so when Amber gave him a threatening look. "I'm Joon."
He held out his right hand gingerly. "Nice to meet you, Joon." She flipped her shoulder length blond hair out of her face.
"I'm Boa."
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