CHAPTER THIRTEEN: In the belly

Seulong, who lived in Uijeongbu and participated in underground fights regularly there, was on a 'hyung'-basis with a few Double Dragon members. He found one of the other people who had been kidnapped for Goldmoon Kim Jiwon's revenge. Kwanghee was a Double Dragoner, jailed for battery, who had helped kill Goldmoon's Jung Chanwoo. His younger brother, Kwangduk, was a high school student who had been kidnapped two weeks ago.

Kwanghee's older brother, Kwanghoon, owned a butcher shop in Uijeongbu. Jessica drove there with Nichkhun and Seulong.

The third kidnappee was apparently the only living family member of the other Double Dragon member who had beat Jung Chanwoo to death. 

"Kwanghee's buddy in Double Dragon helped me out. Last week we found the warehouse they're being held in. It's at a shipyard in Gimpo."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"What can I do by myself? Kwanghee's brethren ultimately can't help us. The Double Dragon higher ups don't want to ignite a full-scale gang war. It's gonna happen if they get involved. And the cops, I don't trust."

"I have the manpower," Jessica said.

She called Detective Kang.

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I've been pulled off the case. It's ridiculous and unfair. The section chief said one of my colleagues saw me getting personal with you. Like hell they did."

"What. So a cop being paid off by Goldmoon is going to handle this case now, and you're just going to let Taeyeon die? You watched the ing video, didn't you. You have no right to call yourself a policeman."

Detective Kang was just as angry. "You think I went out without a fight? I almost lost my badge."

"Try losing your life for a change." She cut the call.

Nichkhun was stunned. He had not heard what Detective Kang said, but he did not need to. "Did he drop the case?"

"Yes."

Kwanghoon sighed. "I told you we can't do anything about this."

"She still has manpower. A couple of weak cops doesn't change anything," Nichkhun said. Seulong nodded at him, and he turned to Jessica. "The guys have discussed this. You have four of us. Seulong and out of the cops, there's Junsu, Wooyoung and me. We won't be able to use our guns, but we can bring them. It'll be a huge advantage."

"Six of us is still too little," Jessica said. She asked Kwanghoon, "Do you know when's the best time to catch gangsters off guard?"

"Gangsters are like any other lazy men," Kwanghoon said. "Three in the morning, there will be the least people."

"Let's go tonight," Jessica said. She wanted Taeyeon out of that hellhole immediately.

They would meet at three just outside the shipyard. 

Jessica drove to Gimpo early. She went there straight from Uijeongbu, in fact. She found the address that Kwanghoon had given them and parked at the other end of the shipyard, where she would be able to see the warehouse a few docks over.

She lowered the windows a crack for ventilation, turned off the engine, and waited. She wasn't worried about being spotted. It was unlikely they would notice a dated sedan like hers, half a mile away, among the other cheap cars and forklifts here. She checked the map on her phone, memorizing the shortest route to Gimpo Woori Hospital.

Her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Jessica-ssi? This is Detective Kang."

"Hello."

"Look, I'm not the police officer I thought I was. Refusing bribes, not up to superiors, I thought that I had integrity. But just because I got kicked off this case, I decided not to do anything to help Taeyeon-ssi. It was stupid and selfish of me."

"So what do you want?"

"I wanted to apologize. And, I took the day off to try to find Kim Jiwon. You were right; the officers I sent out to find him are dirty. I was able to locate him in just three hours. If I follow him tonight, I might be able to find where he took Taeyeon-ssi. His build and mannerisms look similar to the man in the video- nothing we can prove in court, of course. And, he seems to have a for light-colored suit-"

"Detective," Jessica said. "Taeyeon is in a warehouse in Gimpo. My friends, some of them police officers, are going to help me retrieve her tonight. If you mean what you said, come tonight."

The detective stayed silent on the other end of the line, then he said, "I'm sorry, Jessica-ssi. I can't-"

She cut the call, and went back to staring at the warehouse. Taeyeon was inside. She could feel it. She waited.

Night came, and they convened. Of the police officers, there were Nichkhun, Junsu, and Wooyoung. Seulong came, as promised. Kwanghoon also arrived on time. Nichkhun had bought them all black ski masks from a sports shop, and they pulled it on. Even if they weren't going to fire any guns, the whole rescue was still illegal for the police officers. Waving their guns was a necessary risk, voluntarily revealing their faces was not.

The police officers were going to enter the warehouse first, since they were trained and armed. The seven of them padded over to the warehouse, and slipped in. 

There was a man sleeping on a mattress tucked to the side. A boy in a ratty school uniform was tied to a chair, half his face caked with blood and his knee busted. It was Kwangduk. Standing around him were two men, puffing cigarettes. On closer inspection, Kwangduk had penny-sized burn marks all over.

"Put your hands in the air!" Junsu shouted. Nichkhun, Wooyoung and Heegun followed suit. Loud sounds were intimidating. 

The sleeping man jumped out of his mattress and raised his hands. One of the cigarette puffers stumbled and surrendered as well. The other puffer was shrewd. In a flash he flicked out his switchblade and held it to Kwangduk's neck.

"Drop your weapon!" Junsu said.

"You're here to rescue them," the Goldmoon gangster said. "You are in no position to bargain with me. Jaebum, go get the girl. YUGYEOM, WAKE THE UP. Go get the fatty."

"Stop, or I'll shoot all three of you. Go ahead, kill the boy. See how you enjoy life in hell."

Beside her, Kwanghoon was breathing hard. Jessica hoped he would calm down. Nichkhun and the others were trained for this. They would know what to do. If Kwanghoon did anything stupid now, she just hoped it was Kwangduk who got hurt instead of Taeyeon.

"I swear I'll slice his throat open."

"Go ahead."

"No!" Kwanghoon lurched forward. Jessica reached out to grab his arm. It seemed that Nichkhun had expected the outburst as well, because he tackled Kwanghoon to the ground.

"And that, was the only soul in this warehouse who gives a about Master Kwangduk," Junsu said. "Now drop that knife."

The Goldmoon glared at them for a long while, then the blade clicked back into it's holster. The gangster let it fall to the ground, then kicked it over to Junsu. While the police officers had their guns trained on the Goldmoons, Seulong went forward with cable ties and trussed them up. Wooyoung knocked them out with the of his revolver. Jessica had already made it clear that they were not going to turn anyone in to the police. Provoking Goldmoon was a bad idea. Better to let the higher ups get angry at these incompetent juniors stuck with jailure duty and let the organization explode internally.

Kwanghoon shoved Nichkhun off himself and ran to Kwangduk. Jessica was running too. She turned to look down every row as she sprinted past. Any one of these looked like the backdrop in the video. Then she saw Taeyeon.

Jessica pulled up her ski mask to expose her face and ran in. "Taeyeon."

Taeyeon squinted up at her through one eye. She cracked her lips open and tried to say something, but no sound came out. She swallowed and tried again. "Sica..."

"Shh. I'm going to get you out." 

Taeyeon's wrists were tied to the chair arms. Jessica found a scalpel on the shelf beside her. She used it cut the cable ties. She saw a clotted stump where Taeyeon's left ring finger should have been. There was a dried pool of blood on the ground. 

Jessica stared at the missing finger until she managed to tear her eyes away from it. "Can you stand?"

Taeyeon didn't reply. She had passed out.

Jessica scooped her up in both arms. Taeyeon's shirt was split at the back, and her skin was cold and sticky. The stench of blood and sweat was making Jessica nauseous. She started running for her car. She heard Nichkhun call out and follow her, but she ignored him. He caught up and grabbed her car keys to open the passenger door for her. He got into the back with Taeyeon because Jessica wanted to drive. They flew out of the shipyard and onto the road. Each street seemed unnecessarily long.

"What the hell..." Nichkhun muttered.

"What is it?"

Through the rear view mirror, she watched the passing road lights intermittently illuminate his face. He was staring at Taeyeon's back.

"This is sick," he said. 

She did not want to ask, but, "What's wrong?"

"Just drive, Jessica."

She swerved through turns and broke past red lights. The streets were quite empty at this time. As soon as they reached the 24-hour emergency landing area of Gimpo Woori Hospital, he jumped out of the car and practically forced the nurses to take charge by dumping Taeyeon on an emergency cot. The nurses wheeled Taeyeon into the operating theater, and all there was left was to wait.

Jessica put her head in her hands. She tried not to think. Nichkhun put an arm around her shoulders. Jessica took out her phone and unlocked it for him. "Could you call Choi Sooyoung? She's Taeyeon's friend. Tell her where we are."

"Alright."

"Thanks... I can't handle talking to that woman right now."

Minutes later, Kwanghoon came in with Kwangduk limping, half his face decimated. Kwangduk was sent to the operating rooms as well. Kwanghoon stood at the side with a cup of black coffee from the dispenser. 

Sooyoung came with Hayeon. Jessica ignored them while she sat at the end of the row of plastic chairs. Nichkhun became the man who used to be Tiffany's gentlemen and fielded their questions. The emergency doctor on duty came out an hour later. Sooyoung and Hayeon rushed up to him. Jessica stayed in her seat, listening.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much," Sooyoung said. She hugged Hayeon and they shed tears.

Nichkhun sat next to Jessica again. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Jessica said. "You must be really tired. Thank you for helping us, for everything, and for being here. You should go home and sleep."

"Okay, I'll do that," Nichkhun said. "Call me if you need anything. See you later."

"Later."

Then Kwangduk's doctor came out. He reported, among other injuries, a fractured ankle, broken nose, fifteen stiches to the head, and a crushed right eyeball. They would have a specialist in tomorrow to see what could be done to fix Kwangduk's eye. 

Kwangduk, Jessica, Sooyoung and Hayeon waited for the nurses to get them. Taeyeon was ready first. Jessica walked over to Kwanghoon, who looked more morose after the doctor's assessment. "I'm sorry about Kwangduk. Thank you for your help."

"Yeah, thanks for getting the cops," Kwanghoon said. "Go and see your friend."

Jessica nodded and went. She found Taeyeon's ward, which was shared with five other people. All the beds were separated by draw curtains for privacy. Taeyeon was numb with meds and falling asleep. A smile ghosted her lips while she looked at Hayeon, who was crying.

"I love you, unnie," Hayeon said.

"Love you too," Taeyeon whispered back. "And Soo, Sica, too. Thought I'd never see you guys again."

Tears slipped down Sooyoung's face. "We love you. Just rest."

After Taeyeon had fallen asleep, Sooyoung drove Hayeon back to school after charging Jessica to stay with Taeyeon. Jessica had been surprised that Sooyoung would ask her, but she had been planning to insist on it in the first place.

Jessica sat beside the ward bed. Taeyeon had said 'saranghae' to her for the first time. Jessica had said 'I love you' to her exes early and easily, but Taeyeon was so Korean that they never exchanged sentiments like that. Jessica wanted to say it back when Taeyeon woke up.

Two men entered through the curtains. They were plainclothes officers, and showed their badges. "Detective Kang sent us on guard duty. We'll be right outside. Call us if you need anything."

"I thought he was pulled off the case."

"They put him back on."

"Oh, that's convenient. Thanks."

When they were gone, Jessica folded her arms and closed her eyes.

She was about to sleep, when something hard struck the base of her neck. Jessica sprang out of the chair. Whoever had hit her had been aiming for a critical pressure point but missed. 

Jessica spun around, fists up. Her eyes barely had time to register that her attacker was one of the plainclothes officers. Her training kicked in as she ducked under his hook and came back with a shot to the face. The officer blocked, but Jessica followed up with two fast slugs to the gut and smashed the man in the ear with the base of her palm. He fell to the ground in a daze.

The curtains were flung apart, and she turned to meet the other officer. He punched her in the face, and she tripped over the chair she had been sitting on. He took advantage of the situation by socking her in the gut and then grabbed the back of her head, slamming her face first towards the railings of Taeyeon's bed. Jessica managed to grab the rails in time to save her precious face, and the jolt woke Taeyeon. Jessica twisted out from under the man and kicked him in the shin, and then the jaw. She flipped him over her and slammed his right temple into the corner of the chair. He dropped too.

Jessica was breathing hard and all her senses were cranked up. She didn't have to, but she stomped on their and then kicked them in the mouth.

By now, the nurses had heard the commotion and came rushing in. They called the police and took the two officers away. 

Detective Kang came. "They put me back on the case once you people closed it. The s who took over me didn't want to deal with the paperwork. I'll have to ask you and your friends what you were doing at the scene. Off the record, my advice is to not incriminate yourselves."

"I don't care about that right now," Jessica said. "Who were those two?"

Detective Kang had not sent them to the hospital; he had not had the oversight to send them in the first place. It turned out that the two were real cops, just dirty.

It was confusing. There was no way Goldmoon could have found out that Taeyeon and Kwangduk had come to this hospital so fast. This side of Gimpo was Seven Star Mob territory. Detective Kang transferred Taeyeon to a private ward and placed a night shift rookie cop outside.

"Where's Kwanghoon and Kwangduk?" Jessica asked him. "Are they okay?"

A nurse was summoned, and she found that Kwangduk had never checked in. Jessica could not believe it. That bald lizard Kwanghoon had snitched on them. Detective Kang put two and two together just as fast. He went to the injured, corrupt officers and rifled through their phones. Then he went back to the ward.

"Taeyeon-ssi," he said. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but could you identify a voice for me?"

"Yes, sir.".

"Anyone you recognize. Just a nod will do." He started returning calls connected in the last four hours and put the phone on speaker.

"Noryangjin seafood restaurant. How can I help you?"

Detective Kang cut the call when Taeyeon shook her head. He went to the next contact.

"What is it, imma?"

Taeyeon jerked visibly at the voice and nodded. Detective Kang turned off the speakerphone and continued the coversation.

"Now listen to me, you stupid bastard. And relay this to your boss. You've been duped by Double Dragon and you don't even know it. Pushing around two women is easier, isn't it? Meanwhile, the gang that actually killed your men walk away scot free? Take care of your stupid politics instead of getting civilians into this. Got that?"

He listened to the other end, and then said, "This is Detective Kang of the Seoul Met Police.

"Those terms sound fine.

"No, I have no interest in your blood money. 

"Just lay off Jung Sooyeon and Kim Taeyeon and chase after the Double Dragon s to your heart's content. Do we have an agreement?

"Good. You have my word so long as you keep yours," Detective Kang said. He put down the phone and looked at Jessica and Taeyeon. "Heard that? You should be safe now."

Jessica stared.

"At the moment," Detective Kang said, "I'll keep a guard on duty at all times until you are discharged. I'll be back tomorrow to get your statements, Taeyeon-ssi, Jessica-ssi. Have a good night."

"Night."

Detective Kang smiled wanely. He hadn't expected thanks. He had been an incompetent greenhorn and he knew it. He bowed out of the room.

Jessica turned back to Taeyeon. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

Jessica was just relieved that they were safe now. "I'm fine. You look really tired. Go back to sleep."

A/N: Finally, the kidnapping is over~ Thanks so much for the comments/subscriptions last chapter, will try to get the next one up soon:) I haven't been doing well but thanks for telling me what's working and what's weird... Please let me know what you thought about this chapter!