“I’ll see you later Chansung.”

“Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it.” Chansung waved goodbye as Minji walked out the door. The day was far from over, but at least shop duties were closed for now.

“Hey Minji, looking cute today.”

Chansung rolled his eyes, now Junsu decided to show up? “Nice of you to drop by.”

Junsu shrugged and made his way straight down to the backroom, Kass following right behind him. He secured all the locks first before following after the pair- Jinwoon had already received Kwon’s update. Chansung took his seat next to Rai; he was the last to arrive. It wasn’t his fault though, and he was going to make sure everyone knew that.

Kwon and Min both stepped up front as the projector cast a light on the wide screen in front of them. “We’ve gathered the specs for Schatten, as well as evidence logs from last night’s operation.” He flashed a series of dead bodies on the screen. “The units Kass killed last night were actually plain-clothed officers, some of Rai’s victims were the same. This has turned into a high-profile case because of the slain officers, but they’re not looking like a threat.”

Threat? Chansung scoffed, there was no way the authorities, or even this Schatten, would ever find out about them. Rai was a messy assassin, but even she worked carefully enough not to leave any forms of evidence.

“Schatten’s main goal is to investigate the series of unsolved cases we’ve left behind. In other words, they’re after us. The unit is composed of four tactical units, and two support units.” Min flashed six photos on the screen. “Their unit leader, Captain Lee Changmin was from the army unit down south in the tropics. After all military units were pulled out, he was given this operation. The members were chosen for him.”

“Are we supposed to take them out?” Rai asked.

“No,” Kwon answered sternly, “Staunton’s orders are not to engage them under any circumstance.”

Chansung half-expected Rai to sulk in her corner, denying Rai a victim was like denying a child a piece of candy. Her bloodlust was simply inexplicable and insatiable.

“This is Inspector Jang Wooyoung, he served up north. He and Lee Changmin are the only ones with military experience, the only viable threats to your units.”

“He’s a master practitioner of Iaido, one of the very few in NeoSeoul PD with enough clearances to carry a full blade katana. Do not underestimate him or the captain,” Min warned.

“The remaining field units are first officers Lee Junho and Tran Mai-”

“First Officer? They sent rookies against us?” Chansung scoffed, clearly insulted that they were taken this lightly.

“Need I remind you that these rookies managed to secure your target before you,” Kwon snapped. “Do not underestimate your enemy.”

Chansung was taken aback by the sudden rise in Kwon’s voice. He couldn’t remember a time when Kwon was this agitated before. He focused instead on the remaining two units- both were involved in explosives and firearms, and Chansung now knew better to be prepared for them.

“Lee Junho carries a pistol-type cross bow,” Min said, turning to Junsu, “but he has yet to gain clearance for full assault bolts.”

Chansung heard Junsu laughing in his corner. “He’s just a kid,” he said, “can’t even handle the real thing. What does he carry? Tranqs?”

“He carries standard issue tranquilizer quarrels and he holds a record for perfect aim and range at the academy. You should watch your back.”

Chansung stared hard at both Kwon and Min. Both were clearly disturbed by this new unit- were they really even that dangerous?

“Tran Mai, standard jutte and sai.”

A sai, it’d been a while since Chansung saw the trident type weapon. It wasn’t easy maneuvering the dagger-type when you had two short prongs at the side. Still, what harm could a girl do?

“What about Lee’s experiments? What did they find inside the house?” Nichkhun asked.

“That’s not important at the moment, Nichkhun,” Kwon answered. “You move in tonight, we’ve received intelligence that Dr. Lee is going to be transported to a different facility. You are to strike him in transit.”

On the screen was the district VII schematic. “There are five main points of combat, one for each of you. Should the first strike fail, the others are to concentrate on taking the target out.”

~ ♗ ~

Junsu sat lazily on top of a low establishment. He was concealed behind the large signages, but he doubted that it even mattered. People never look up, he learned, and that was how he landed on being a nest sniper in the first place. The plan was simple enough, Schatten was not a part of this operation, and so Junsu would be dealing with regular class officers. He yawned- he hated being called out to be the first to strike.

At exactly 2200, the police surfaced from the main headquarters. It was supposed to be a secret transit, and Junsu commended the NeoSeoul Police Department for being discreet with their units tonight, but it wasn’t enough, not nearly enough, and Junsu cocked his arrows, loading five consecutive bolts ready to take out the guards assigned to Lee.

This wasn’t a transit to a different holding cell- Lee was getting special treatment because of his connections with the government, and that was just unacceptable. Junsu smirked, maybe he’ll just take out the guards, no one ever said anything about not being allowed to play with their victims. Besides, Junsu mused, I don’t think Chansung would like it too much if I took them all down without even giving him a chance. It is his target after all.

Junsu pulled the trigger, and five arrows shot through the air, each piercing straight into each guard’s heart. “Oops,” he said nonchalantly into the receiver, “looks like I missed a few targets, your turn Kass.”

~ ♙ ~

Kass smirked as she stepped out from behind the tall columns she hid in. She raised a brow at the poison darts in her hands- she would have much preferred her usual method, but tonight was a special case. She wound her wires around one dart, glancing at both directions before running across the street and flinging her arm forwards. The dart spun at high speed as the wire stretched out, driving straight into one police ’s arm. Kass counted the seconds before the neurotoxin would take effect. First would be paralysis, the muscles go first, followed by the diaphragm, and when the diaphragm stops contracting, your victim stops breathing.

By the time the other guards would even notice anything was wrong, it would be too late, and Kass sprinted across the perimeter, firing darts one after the other, leaving a trail of convulsing bodies on the ground.

“I wonder,” Kass said, catching her breath, “If they know that we know that this is a decoy?”

~ ♘ | ♖ ~

Rai and Chansung waited patiently for the real transit unit to emerge from the corners of the back streets of the district. There was one narrow passage that led directly to district I, and really, even Chansung and Rai knew they would take this path even without Kwon or Jinwoon telling them about it.

Rai easily blended into the shadows, and Chansung jumped up, pulling himself on top of a large crate as soon as they both sensed the police coming. Both were already itching in anticipation, both hoping that Schatten would be there, but there were only the tell-tale signs of a regular unit.

Only six men made up the security convoy, and Chansung stood up from the crate as the smell of their would-be-deaths drew nearer. Rai crouched lower behind a large dumpster, each footfall sending a rush of adrenaline through her veins. They waited until the whole unit was in between them, and at that sweet spot, both of them charged at full force. Rai struck with both her claws, a frenzy of leaps and slashes, spattering blood everywhere. Chansung took a neater approach, wielding a longer than average katana, smirking as one strike easily sliced through two men. Dumbfounded, Andy Lee fell to the floor, the glint of a silver blade the last image blazed in his mind.

~ ♕ ~

Nichkhun gripped the handle of his sword tighter, the metal chain shaking with the force it received. Before they left for the assignment, Jinwoon had pulled him aside to tell him about his new findings on Dr. Lee’s connections and on the Fortuna Project.

It seemed as if the good doctor was up to something grander than a simple coercive persuasion experiment. Aside from the neurological data they had collected, several genetic samples of certain traits had been preserved- that was what Lee’s men were searching for at his home. They weren’t just creating zombies, the Fortuna project was looking into creating armies of genetically modified humans.

One by one, Nichkhun read the names off the list Jinwoon gave him: Yegor Alexeivich Bulatov, Renzaki Mamoru, Hu Fengmin, and Choi Zara.

His eyes flashed, linking each scientist to the other, and it was only a matter of time until he found him, only a matter of time until he exacted his revenge. He was certain that Fortuna held all the answers to his questions, and once he found out all that he needed to know, the whole institution would crumble under his hands.

He tossed the files carelessly on top of the table, the topmost papers dropping off to the floor revealing the last file Nichkhun kept underneath his stack.

Insp. Jang Wooyoung, NeoSeoul PD Einheit: Schatten.

[B/N]: Hey everyone. Hope you guys liked this update. Unfortunately, the most awesome static.dream is on a mini hiatus, and won't be on for a while. At the moment, I'm still cleared to update with the extra chapters she has to not let you readers hanging, but be warned. My updates are a lot more sporadic, so they will come slower- but come they shall.

For those of you who don't know, Alex is taking some time off to clear her mind, and it'd be great as a reader if you guys can leave some feedback on the updates... cause I know how much she loves how her readers analyze things, because honestly... when she/we write... it's really all in the details ;)

-oxygenbubble