NeoSeoul Δ-II, 2200.

On their second field operation, Changmin made sure he and his team were well prepared- both physically and mentally. His eyes searched the rear view mirror for his unit and behind him were a van, a car, and two motorcycle units in convoy. Taecyeon rode with Seulong, both acting as back-up units, the former a licensed medic, tactician, and analyst with a flare for firearms, and the latter a demolitions expert. Wooyoung drove alone; it seemed as if he preferred it that way. The boy kept to himself and Changmin was still wary of him regardless of his skill and merit as a Tactical Force Unit. The two rookies on the squad worried him somewhat. Mai and Junho both graduated from the Special Weapons and Tactical Operation Division of the academy, and the female went on to analysis while the other to the Sniper Unit. It was partly their skill he was concerned about, they both did not have as much experience as the other members of his squad- both Mai and Junho hadn’t even completed their patrol requirements yet when they were drafted into the special unit.

To Changmin, it appeared as if they were set up as a farce even though the matter was anything but a joke. There were more than enough capable members in the Police Headquarters to choose from, officers with much more experience for sure, yet here he rode now with a bunch of rookies and outcasts.

It only spurred him on to prove everyone wrong.

Tonight’s assignment was to infiltrate the house of a well-known neuroscientist, Dr. Andy Lee, upon reports of suspicious activity regarding his research programs at the local university. Several suicides had been linked to his sleep program, and the more he resisted interrogation, the more guilty he appeared to be.

It was the infiltration aspect of the operation that Changmin was suddenly anxious about. None of his team members were trained for stealth, not even he was made for it.

“Captain, you’re almost there, fifteen minutes,” came Fuu’s voice from the radio.

“Thanks, Fuu. Any more updates on the target?”

“Nothing new sir, the target arrived in his residence a quarter past eight tonight, he should be in his office inside his home.”

Then everything should go according to plan tonight, he thought. It would have been a standard drill had Changmin been given the liberty to choose his own squad- no, he wasn’t going to worry about it any longer. Deciding to trust in his team tonight, Changmin gave out the signal to standby for further instructions as they parked their vehicles a distance away from the target location.

He exited his car- it was a nondescript civilian vehicle, as with the others, and made his way towards the van where Taecyeon was going to be stationed. Wooyoung, Mai, and Junho were already inside getting briefed and equipped when Changmin arrived.

“Okay, so I’ve set up the spy cameras on the armored vests,” Taecyeon said, pulling one out from behind him and handing it to Wooyoung. “These things will feed back to my monitors so I can direct you to wherever- uh the target.”

Wooyoung stared blankly the the vest. The stab armor was made of a light weight titanium alloy padded with a medium density textile- it protected your chest area, but it also limited mobility in your torso. “I don’t need it,” he said, turning away to pick something up from the trunk of his car.

“It’s standard protocol,” Taecyeon answered, a slight whine to his voice as he pushed the vest closer to Wooyoung.

Changmin did not want to sport a headache for the rest of the night, and waved a hand at Taecyeon to put the vest away. “And what do you suppose you’ll do in the middle of an exchange Wooyoung?”

“Whatever it is, I won’t lose,” the younger officer answered, pulling out a long iaito and attaching it to his belt.

Changmin eyed the blade and shook his head. “That won’t do.”

“It’s a practice sword,” Wooyoung replied without even looking up to face his commanding officer, “it’s not going to slice through anyone if that’s what you’re worried about.”

What Changmin worried about was the fact that Wooyoung could very well kill a person even with a blunt edged practice sword. That matter worried him more than Wooyoung’s would be tendency for insubordination. Again, saving the matter for much later, Changmin turned to Taecyeon to collect his own set of armor. “Junho, have you found a good spot yet?”

The rookie officer looked surprised at the question. “As in a sniper’s nest, sir?”

This time Changmin was the one confused. “Yes, what is it?”

Junho pulled out a pistol-type crossbow. “As you can see, sir, I don’t require distance. I can assist you with tonight’s operation.”

Why this piece of information was not in the profiles given to him, Changmin could only wonder. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one who underestimated his own team. “Anything else I should know?”

“He has perfect aim?” Mai answered, shrugging on a vest and snapping the ends together.

“I don’t,” Junho said.

“Believe me, sir,” Mai countered, turning to Changmin. “He won’t miss.”

Nodding, Changmin snapped on his own armor as he watched Seulong get ready for his ‘big night’ as the taller one had coined it.  Because the house was loaded with full security and Fuu could only tap into the main computer up until a certain level, success was directly dependent on how well Seulong performed that night. That meant grunt work for all of them, with Seulong leading the front lines.

“What exactly do you have in that bag?” Changmin asked, gesturing to Seulong’s bag with a nod.

“Explosive X,” Seulong answered smugly, adjusting the backpack on his shoulders.

Changmin frowned; ever since Changmin could remember, everything Seulong concocted up he named ‘Explosive X’. It wasn’t very specific, and it wasn’t very reassuring. Nonetheless, Changmin nodded in approval, hoping deep down inside that his own unit prove him wrong.

With an inward sigh he regarded his team once more. “You all know what to do?” A collective nod. “Okay then. Seulong and Junho will take the front lines, Mai and I will back you up,” he turned to Wooyoung, “you take the rear flank.”

“Sir, if I may ask?”

“What is it Mai?”

“I don’t mean to question your judgment, sir, but would Junho be a good choice to be in the front lines when he’s a long range sniper?”

“Seulong needs someone who can take down enemies from a distance. Can’t have anyone too near him when he’s setting up...” Changmin answered, pressing his lips tight, hesitating somewhat, “Explosive X.”

Mai nodded in understanding, and Changmin took one last check on his team. “If there aren’t any more questions, then let’s get going.”

Changmin led the group towards the side of the house not facing the wall that separated Δ-II from the rest of NeoSeoul. It was enough that they gained clearance to enter the district itself, the rest of the work entailed a smooth entrance into the house and Changmin turned his attention to the two rookies, only to stop in amused surprise.

Mai walked in front of Junho, only to have the male match her pace, grabbing the back of her armor and readjusting the straps. “You always wear your armor too loose,” he said, only loud enough for Mai to hear, but Changmin heard them anyway.

“It’s not exactly easy to fight in this thing,” Mai replied, looking over her shoulder to try and watch what Junho was doing.

“But it’s supposed to keep you alive.”

“Mobility will keep me alive more than this armor.”

Changmin cleared his throat to direct their attention to him. “Sorry sir,” the two apologized, and the commanding officer dismissed it with ease.

“Are you two going to be okay, this is your first real field operation,” he asked.

“Don’t worry about us, sir,” Junho answered, glancing at Mai. “She fights good.”

“I don’t.”

“She’s good back-up, top of her class.”

Changmin wasn’t sure how to react to an instant replay with reversed roles of the scene in front of him. This was not what he was expecting for their first field assignment. The two rookies were much more silent during mock operations and training sessions, could this have been a sign of anxiety? Could it have been excitement instead?

Captain Lee Changmin’s list of ‘Things to Worry About Later’ was getting longer the more he tried to get to know his team.

They reached the corner of the house and they slowly sneaked their way into the open garden next to Dr. Lee’s office. As Fuu had predicted, he found the the doctor inside his office reading through his files. Three men stood outside the door that led to the garden, and Changmin suspected more inside the house and near the gates. He turned to Junho, signalling him to take out the three guards before they continued with the assault.

Kneeling against the cold dirt, Junho pulled out the pistol type cross-bow from its holster on his thigh. Unlike the conventional cross-bow, the pistol type was smaller by almost 60% and was easier to load with projectiles. Junho preferred four-sided tipped arrows, or quarrels, and he turned to Changmin for a question, “Sir, I’m only allowed to carry tranqs, I’m not cleared for full bolts just yet.”

Changmin was tempted to slap his hand across his own forehead. “It’s fine Junho, just knock them out long enough until we clear the area for back-up to arrive.”

With a nod, Junho cocked three tranquilizer quarrels on the quiver of the main alloy stock and aimed directly for the chest and fired. The guards dropped down one after the other, and Changmin was impressed with the younger one’s aim- he was about to question the lack of a reticle and telescopic sight on the pistol, but now he understood what Mai had meant by perfect aim.

Seulong moved out into the garden followed by Junho, and towards the office door. It was a glass sliding door with a set of thick blinds behind it, and the only visual they had was from a window to the side. As Fuu had informed them, the electronic lock consisted of a complex biometric system, and the only way to open them was with both a handprint and a retinal scan.

Seulong kneeled down and rummaged through his bag. He pulled out a small box- a blast load, and tacked a blob of putty at the bottom before slapping it against the door. With a push of a button on his remote, the box emitted a light puff of smoke as it broke through the lock. He sent Changmin a thumbs up, and immediately backed away as their leader and Mai went in for the capture.

“Mai, Wooyoung,” Changmin said, as he stopped next to the door. “Take out the guards, I’ll talk to the good Dr. Lee.”

He heard Mai respond, and while Changmin did not expect Wooyoung to answer, he at least hoped for some indication that Wooyoung heard him. He turned around to say just that only to find the space where Wooyoung should be, empty. “Where’s Wooyoung?!”

Mai looked behind her, and her eyes grew wide as she shrugged. “He was here a while ago.”

A loud scream from inside the house became Changmin’s answer, and he shook his head in dismay. “Mai, go find him. I think he’s already inside.”

With another item on his ‘To Worry About’ list, Changmin watched Mai disappear into the shadows to follow Wooyoung, he then turned to Junho and cocked his head towards the direction Mai went. “Maybe you should go too.”

…

Mai crossed the garden and into the front entrance, following the source of the screaming. She crouched down low as she reached a corner, furtively glancing over to make sure she wouldn’t get attacked by surprise. But surprised she was as she took in the scene before her. Bodies lay all over the open driveway, no blood was visibly spilled- at least not from the blade of a sword, but Mai had no doubts that these men were dead.

She stood up and walked towards them, slightly shuddering at the empty stares the corpses had. She knew they weren’t looking at her, but knowing didn’t relieve the growing knots at the pit of her stomach. Perhaps if there had been a bloodbath, she would have somehow understood how these men could be dead, but all there was, was a cold ruthless air- not knowing how exactly they died unnerved her.

She followed the trail of dead bodies on the floor into the house. Mai had counted twelve bodies so far, and she looked up to see number thirteen dropping down dead as Wooyoung sheathed his sword.

“Stop! You weren’t supposed to kill them.”

Wooyoung looked up, and a cold chill ran up Mai’s spine. There was something about how Mai could only see his one eye, the other hidden underneath his jet black hair, that froze her on the spot. It was the intensity and the cold-blooded stare he gave her with his one exposed eye that had her knowing he wasn’t to be taken lightly. Not that Mai wasn’t peripherally aware of that fact, she just had never seen him in this kind of action prior to this night. She’d heard of him, of course. Inspector Jang Wooyoung was known throughout the station because of his participation in the previous war which earned him his current position- the youngest in the station to be granted that rank. Mai had heard many rumors about him, but most of them she ignored, except for the one that seemed to most likely be true: that he never got redrafted into another unit because of his unpredictable nature- that he had killed his last and only partner.

“Captain is looking for you,” she said, taking a step forward.

Somehow, Mai wasn’t all that shocked when Wooyoung ignored her and turned around to leave. With an exasperated sigh she followed him further into the house, keeping her distance. As much as Mai wanted to refer to the both of them in the collective sense inside her head, it was something she couldn’t be able to do at all. It was always Inspector Jang Wooyoung and her, or, more often than not, that guy and herself.

She didn’t pay any attention to the house itself- she didn’t find a reason to as Wooyoung walked with long determined strides towards the main office in the western wing of the house. So far, there hadn’t been any more incidents with more guards coming towards them, but Mai kept her guard up. It should be obvious by now that the house was under attack.

And attack there was, as three men armed with swords materialized from the staircase to the left. Mai was left to watch in morbid fascination as Wooyoung darted across the hallway with his right hand poised at his belt. He drew the sword in one quick motion as he slashed horizontally through the enemy. He sheathed his sword quickly as one man dropped to his knees vomiting blood, and Wooyoung faced the other guard about to attack him. It took a swift pivot on his knee, and Wooyoung struck again. With both men on the floor, Wooyoung plunged the handle end of his sword, the buttcap, against their heads, leaving them unconscious on the floor.

Three. Alarmed, Mai refocused her attention to the last of the guards that was running towards her. In one rapid movement, Mai drew out her jutte*, a two-pronged weapon, holstered on her thigh right as the man swung his blade down.

Mai made a sound through her teeth at the heavy impact, blocking the sword horizontally with the much longer main shaft of her jutte. Metal on metal, the loud clanking sound turned into a shrill cry as Mai slid her weapon in an arc, catching the blade in between the main shaft and the hook of her weapon and pulling the sword out of the man’s hands. She pivoted on her knee and spun around, landing a hook kick and slapping the man’s face with the flat side of her back foot.

With the man down, Mai tugged at her armor, its sheer size and weight was cumbersome for fighting. She reached behind her to tug it off, only to look back up as she heard the man scream again. He was coming right at her with a dagger in his hands.

…

Changmin slowly stepped into the narrow porch that lead to the office doors. Seulong had already disarmed the electronic locks, and Changmin slid the doors open and pushed the drapes away. He was immediately greeted by two large men carrying metal batons.

He wanted to say hello first, but the two men attacked and Changmin sprung forwards, jumping in between them and rolling on the floor with his shoulders. Once he was behind them, he kicked one man towards the glass doors, the impact causing the guard to go right through the glass. Outside Seulong was waiting, and when the man rolled towards his direction, Seulong pounded his head with a heavy blast box before running away.

Changmin rolled his eyes before facing the other man, though the guard still didn’t seem to know any better than to underestimate a man without a weapon. The burly guard raised his weapon overhead and before he could swing his weapon down, Changmin lunged forward into a sideways horse stance and drove his fist hard into the man’s solar plexus.

Changmin felt the bundle of nerves at the center of the man’s abdomen groan under the pressure. A direct hit to this area would upset the region and cause the diaphragm to spasm, giving the victim difficulty in breathing and most importantly causing great pain. The guard stumbled forward, and Changmin delivered a sharp blow to the side of his neck, leaving the man to drop unconscious on the floor.

Dr. Andy Lee cowered at the corner of the room as Changmin’s figure loomed over him. “Dr. Lee, you’re wanted at the station for questioning,” he stated before he landed a knife-hand strike on the doctor’s temple.

Changmin lifted Dr. Lee into a fireman’s carry and exited through the door that led inside the house. He still needed to find the rest of his team, and while he could radio them, he doubted Wooyoung even had his on him. He turned the corner just in time to see Wooyoung sheathe his sword, and Mai being attacked by one of the larger guards.

“Mai!” he called out to her, one hand extended to warn the younger woman who was busy trying to get out of her armor. Mai looked up, and Changmin was afraid that the alarm in her eyes would be his last memory of her.

Mai raised her arms in defense, and the man limply dropped on top of her, a bolt lodged in the back of his neck. Changmin breathed a heavy sigh of relief- Mai was right, Junho was a perfect shot.

“Dammit Junho, what took you so long?” Mai groaned as she tried to wriggle herself free from under the large and heavy guard.

Junho rolled his eyes as he walked towards her, grunting as he pushed the man off her with his foot and offering her his hand. Mai gladly took it and she heaved herself to a standing position. “You’re welcome. Next time, try to keep your armor on.”

Still winded from the night’s events, Changmin strode into the middle of the mess, and pulled out his radio. “This is Captain Lee Changmin of Schatten. Operation is complete, we’ve extracted the doctor. Requesting back-up.”

*pronounced jyu-te

[B/N]: Since static here is crazy with schedules, our beloved readers get another timely update.

Anyway, authorities are boring aren't they? =P