A/N: Thanks for the encouragement last week! Didn't expect you guys to be so nice about stuff. Don't know how else to respond other than with the rest of the story.. Let me know how this chapter was, good or bad~

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Escape

Taeyeon wished she had insisted on taking the Nation Marshal. The Vice Marshal had been so easy. Yoona had reasoned that she had two months more experience fighting in the North, and it had seemed to make so much sense at the time. But was Taeyeon ing stupid? She had a year more of fighting than Yoona. She had been so eager to agree because it meant she’d get to stay with Jessica.

She stacked C4 packages against the whirring power generators and duct taped them. Sooyoung set timed explosives against the charges. They were set to go off in sixty minutes. When Hyoyeon and Jessica came sooner, Hyoyeon could turn the timer down to twenty, as stated in Sooyoung's instruction letter.

The other entrance of the power generator room was to Mansudae Hall. The corridor was lined with red carpet and was air-conditioned at a precisely comfortable temperature. There were other maintenance rooms. Sooyoung broke the knob to the janitor's and they disguised themselves in cleaning uniforms.

“Think it’s a trap?” Taeyeon asked.

“No. They could have just waited for us to enter the generator room, instead of leaving all that equipment in Yoona’s bag there. They genuinely don’t know how she got in,” Sooyoung said. "Now, pretend to clean, and we take alternate levels. If you see her, wait for me, and vice versa."

Taeyeon nodded. She stuck her weapons in a white garbage bag, and left the room first. 

She made it one level up. The floor started with a large kitchen with a dozen cooks and assistants working at full tilt. She passed by through rows of steaming pots and chopping boards. Nobody stopped her. There was a single entrance on the other side. She pushed open the metal doors to the corridor outside. The air was cooler. The floor was carpeted with the same lush magenta. There were security cameras.

The other rooms on this level were filled with suitcases, delivery packages and laundered clothes. She stuffed trash from wastepaper bins into her trash bag full of weapons, looking like a damn janitor.

One room the size of a basketball court was crammed with cages full of large, clean-shaven dogs. She peeked into the room from outside, but didn’t enter. No need to alarm animals with good noses and sharp teeth.

“Basement five, all clear,” Taeyeon said softly.

“Basement four is not clear. Prisoners on this level. She might be here. Join me,” Sooyoung said. Taeyeon heard her from her earpiece.

“Roger that. Going up now.”

Taeyeon found the emergency stairs and skulked up quickly. There were two dead guards on the floor. Sooyoung was standing twenty meters of solid metal cell doors down, peeking through a door. She noticed Taeyeon and shook her head. Taeyeon immediately went to the next door. Eight sleeping, half- men were crammed inside, skin hanging off their bones.

Sooyoung went to the next door. Taeyeon heard a sharp intake of breath, and the next moment, Sooyoung had kicked the door down. Taeyeon drew her Beretta and dashed in after Sooyoung.

There was a stout man holding a machete. The blade was stuck through Yoona’s stomach. There were two bullet holes in her leg. Yoona's hands were chained together to the wall behind her. The height of the manacles were higher than her waist so that she was still standing but bending forward awkwardly.

“Let go of the weapon,” Sooyoung said.

The interrogator didn't move. Yoona twitched and groaned. The man’s hand was still on the handle.

“Step away from her, right now,” Taeyeon said, finger itching to pull the trigger. His face was at the end of her gun barrel.

Then many sets of feet pounded the floor behind them. Taeyeon retreated to the walls, facing Yoona and the interrogator, and the fifteen soldiers that had entered the room. If their bullpups weren't pointing at her, they were pointing at Sooyoung. From the footsteps outside, there were maybe fifty soldiers waiting outside the door.

Taeyeon didn't put down her gun. Once she did, it was game over. She stared hard at the interrogator. With the blade twitching through her gut, Yoona was fighting a scream that threatened to rip her body into two.

"I said, step away from her!"

“Okay, okay. Everyone just stay calm,” the man said. He jerked the machete out as he stepped back. Yoona screamed.

Taeyeon squeezed the trigger. The bullet grazed the man’s neck in a gust of blood. He swung the machete up and cleaved up Yoona’s left hip towards her right shoulder. Sooyoung shot him, riddling a pattern into his chest. His hand fell from the machete, stuck deep in Yoona’s chest, then he dropped to the floor.

Taeyeon covered Sooyoung just as Sooyoung rushed to Yoona. The fifteen soldiers stared at them. They should be absolutely confident in their advantage, but their gun barrels were shaking lightly. A boom, then Taeyeon stumbled back as a bullet barreled to a stop in her bulletproof vest.

She breathed, air filling her lungs again. "How does the bounty system work, hmm? If you kill us, do each of you get ten million won, or do all of you have to split it?"

"We will each get rewarded." The oldest of the bunch replied. "We would rather get the fifteen, but at the slightest provocation, we won't hesitate to go with ten. It is a handsome sum."

The fifteen soldiers tightened the circle, breaking up into two rings. Eight more from outside crammed in, wanting a chance at the bounty. The inner circle was within arm's reach of her. She could hear Sooyoung struggling with Yoona's cuffs. Yoona was groaning, which was good. She was going to make it.

Taeyeon refocused on the enemies surrounding them. The odds were bad. A stray shot might hit Sooyoung or Yoona. No sudden movements.

"How do you want me to do this?" she asked. "Should I put down my gun, give it to you, or...?"

"Turn on the safety and slowly-"

She deliberately waded towards the enemy in front of her, so that the others would track her movements. No surprises. Once they anticipated her trajectory, she dived into the crowd. They wouldn't shoot blindly at her team, and they wouldn't shoot each other. The only ty aspect of her strategy was having no space to move. It was easy for them to grab onto her from all directions. Her gun was ripped from her hands. A man locked his arms around her waist from the back. She bucked and backpedaled until he slammed into the wall. Immediately, five other men replaced him. She felt for someone's face and crunched his nose into his brain. She splintered someon's neck with her elbow.

A hard fist crashed into her face, and her head snapped back against the wall. She crumpled as enemies, normal human soldiers, plastered her flat against the wall. Even more soldiers squeezed in, until no one could move.

"We're all going to get fifteen million!"

The crowd of men cheered.

"To those waiting outside, don't worry, I mean everybody!"

More cheers. Some men filed out to make more space.

They carried her out, one man grabbing her left arm, another holding her right, and two others in charge of either leg. She didn't have any leverage to twist out of their grasp. A circle of guns surrounded them.

The procession ascended several flights of stairs until they were above ground. A stately commander was waiting with his two Chimera bodyguards standing on either side. The Nation Marshall.

She was dropped on the floor. She stood up, slowly. Sooyoung stopped beside her, carrying Yoona, who was very pale, in her arms. Sooyoung had taken off her shirt so that she was only wearing her bulletproof vest and undershirt. The shirt was soaking up blood over Yoona's stomach. Yoona's face was twisted in agony. Taeyeon slipped off her own shirt and swiped Sooyoung's drenched one to the floor. She saw Yoona's insides for a hot second before covering it.

Taeyeon swallowed the surging bile and clenched her fists as she glared at the Nation Marshall.

"As promised," he said, pulling a fine handgun from his leather weapon holster, "anyone involved in their live capture will be rewarded by the Supreme Leader. Thanks to his immense generoisty, each of you will receive fifteen million won."

"Thank you, sir!"

"As for the three of you," he said to the Fireflies, "I would normally entreat you with our welcome program, but new orders are still orders."

He cocked his gun, a Makarov, and fired it at Taeyeon's chest. It knocked the wind out of her, like the previous bullet, but nothing more. He fired again, at the same spot. This time, the bullet penetrated her vest and she fell like a rice sack.

He pointed his Makarov at Sooyoung, cocked it.

Then an explosion rocked their feet. A loud boom, then concrete slamming together. Another rumble. Then they were falling. The whole floor was dropping on the one below like a successive hammer. That would be the C4 they planted taking out Mansudae Hall's foundations thanks to the power generator. Once their floor hit the ground, the ceiling would crumble and they would be crushed by the level above.

The building shook and everyone went off balance. The Nation Marshall stumbled into the ground, his two Chimera bodyguards had fallen down as well. Taeyeon got to her knees, one hand pressing against the welling hole in her vest. She crawled after Sooyoung, who had slung Yoona over her back. Her blood drenched shirt was on the floor.

A hand clamped around her ankle and dragged her backwards. She turned around to the Nation Marshall. He raised his Makarov at her, but the building shook again as they crashed down another level. She kicked the gun out of his hand and caught it. Yoona can read your obituary in the paper next week. She shot him and fired at the other soldiers to distract them.

The ceiling above them would fall at any moment now. Sooyoung was already near the window. Taeyeon scrambled to her feet and sprinted after her as the enemies shot at them. She fell down several times as the building was shaking so bad. She covered Sooyoung as they crashed through the window pane, shattering all the glass, Yoona still in tow. They fell two floors to the ground below. Sooyoung landed awkwardly. Taeyeon grabbed her and Yoona close and caught them in a tumble.

The pain was crippling. A minivan honked at them. Sooyoung left with Yoona, but Taeyeon lay on the grass. Hyoyeon got out of the driver's side of the van, ran to her and picked her up, before running back. The building behind them collapsed in a plume of dust, and they were coated with white powder.

Jessica flung the backdoors open of the van open. Hyoyeon climbed in after Sooyoung, put Taeyeon down, and hopped to the driver's seat. They were off before the doors swung shut.

Sooyoung carefully placed Yoona on the floor. Taeyeon sank back, her hand against her chest smeared with blood. She was breathing hard and sweating. Sooyoung helped her remove her bulletproof vest and sports bra. 

Meanwhile, Jessica positioned herself at Yoona's side, with her emergency kit beside her. For half a moment, she glanced up at Taeyeon, eyes not unreadable, and Taeyeon stopped breathing.

She took all of another five seconds to examine Yoona before turning to Taeyeon, who started crying immediately. 

Hyoyeon continued driving. They would pick Seunggi up and go straight for the Palace. The Supreme Leader and Great Successor knew of them by now, for sure, and would be making their move. They might not even stay at the Palace. If they lost their lead now, they would be out of the game forever. They weren't going to be able to attack immediately, but they needed to know where their targets were. So Hyoyeon drove on.

Amidst Jessica's emergency treatment, Taeyeon fell asleep and woke up in the middle of the night. She was covered by an army issue blanket. A thick wad of gauze was taped over her chest wound. She saw the dark ceiling of the van. The car engine was still.

She shouldn’t have shot the interrogator. If she was going to shoot, then she should have shot him clean through the chest, the largest target area. She'd given him the chance to react. She wished so ing hard that she could turn back time and trade places with Yoona. 

Beside her, a body was covered up by another blanket, from the top of the head down, exposing two feet. She slowly tugged the blanket down to see Yoona’s pale, frozen face, and put it back up. She sat up and tried not to cry.

She got out of the van, and found that they were among a sheave of trees. It was cold. There was a dimly lit tent. She ped the front and went inside, where a heater sitting in the center kept it warm. The three figures lying inside sat up from their sleeping bags.

“How are you feeling?” Jessica asked.

The bullet hole had mostly closed up, because there was the sharp pain of only an ant bite when she moved. The back of her head was aching dully. “Ready. What’s next? Where are we?”

"Looks like they have a secret hideout here in Hamgyeong Mountain Range," Hyoyeon said. "It was a four hour drive. They probably think they lost us."

“Hyoyeon did a lot more work that we expected today, she doesn’t have much juice left,” Sooyoung said. “She and I will take the Supreme Leader. You will go after the Great Successor. Get Jessica inside and she'll stay hidden on standby for anyone who needs medical attention. We attack in eight hours, before they can organize themselves any further.”

"We counted the people they brought with them," Hyoyeon said. "All twelve Chimera bodyguards, about four servants, and twenty infantrymen. They brought a lot of food and water supplies, so it doesn't seem like there were a lot of people staying inside."

“Okay,” Taeyeon said. “Where’s Seunggi?”

“Dead. ed up dead,” Hyoyeon said. She shuddered. “We arrived at the pickup only to see it blown up. His body was so charred it was nigh unrecognizable, but we found his lapels."

Taeyeon kneaded her knuckles against her eyes. “.”

“Go back to sleep,” Sooyoung said, “You don't have a lot of time to close that bullet hole, and a lot happened today.”

Taeyeon nodded, tears welling up in her eyes again. She turned around before they slipped down her face and left the tent. The sharp wind stung her face. She got into the van again, shivering slightly, and knelt beside Yoona. Tears streamed down her face. She covered to stifle her sobs. 

The van door opened. Taeyeon wiped her eyes hurriedly, then gentle hands firmly pulled her into a hug, and she smelled Jessica.

“Do you want to sleep in the tent instead?”

She shook her head.

“You have to sleep though. Do it for Yoona,” Jessica said. She released Taeyeon and let her see the shot in her hand. “I’m going to give you this, and then you’re going to sleep, alright?”

Taeyeon pushed up her sleeve and let Jessica do the injection. She lay down and closed her eyes. Jessica shut the van door and she opened her eyes again. Tomorrow, she was going to do Yoona justice and rip every single one of them to pieces. She took one last look under the blanket. A dead body wasn’t going to stay presentable for long. Then her body relaxed unnaturally, and she closed her eyes.