CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: Purple heart

The next morning, Sooyoung woke her up at the crack of dawn. Taeyeon roused slowly, eyes tired but not swollen. Her chest twinged, but the sharp pains had receded. She would have appreciated aftereffects from yesterday's grieving, but her body trivialized everything as it always did. She saw the blanket covering Yoona and tears spilled down her face.

"Stop crying," Sooyoung said. "We have a job ahead of us."

"I'm sorry," Taeyeon said. Sooyoung raised an eyebrow, so she said, "this is the last time I'll apologize. I promise."

"It better be," Sooyoung said. "She wouldn't want you to get yourself killed."

"Don't worry about me."

Sooyoung sighed. "You know, I can see why you made the shot you did. It was a high pressure situation. And you'd been forced to a position with a poor angle. A little to the left and you might have hit Yoong. So you overcompensated."

Taeyeon dropped her eyes. "I wasn't thinking when I fired my Beretta. That's it."

"Look, this is the most reasonable explanation I can think of, Taeyeon. You're young, but we relied on your combat IQ every mission. We trusted you to take point every single time," Sooyoung said. "And I always observed you from behind. I know that you act on instinct, and that there's always a natural logic to everything. So I asked myself all night, why did you miss- don't cry, now- and came to that conclusion."

"That's just an excuse for me."

"It's not an excuse. I'm not saying that you didn't make a bad shot. You were too rash. Impulsive, as usual. But I'm just telling you that I understand what you did."

"I missed," she said, tearing up again. "I'm sorry I missed."

Sooyoung took Taeyeon's Colt Modular from atop her assault pack and checked the assembly. She handed it to Taeyeon. The Colt Modular was the only gun she had left. The M4 and Beretta had been lost at Mansudae Hall. She had also lost her night vision goggles and all of her grenades. But she still had her combat knife and the field tanto. The tanto was new gear she had selected for this mission. "And what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm aiming for the target areas, not the money shots," she replied. "I'm going to consider every bullet and make them count. I won't miss again."

Sooyoung nodded. "Good, but don't overthink it. Like I said, your instincts are good, so don't think too hard about how you're going to fight either."

"I'll try."

"I still trust you with my life, got that? Today, you're still going to be in front. You have to get Jessica to a secure vantage point. You have the Great Successor to yourself. There are no concessions in our strategy for you."

She wiped her tears. Her eyes were clear and hard even with the tear tracks staining her face. "Thank you."

"Come on."

They got off the back of the van. Taeyeon dissolved a tablet on her tongue and rinsed . Jessica came out of the tent and deliberately gave her a hug before helping with breakfast. They got an electric minipot going and cooked ramen. It was the big-day breakfast that Yoona the maknae had prepared. Now, there were two extra packets. They prayed for Yoona and Seunggi, and ate everything.

After half an hour to digest the food, they ran to the mountain opening. There was a security camera pointing at the entrance. Sooyoung ordered Taeyeon to take it out. She assembled the marksman rifle version of her Modular and looked through the scope. She took one long breath to steady her hand and pulled the trigger. The camera broke before the boom of the gunshot.

Sooyoung and Hyoyeon ran forward as Taeyeon converted her Colt Modular back to an assault rifle. Jessica followed closely behind her as they got to the cave. She was going to kill every Northern that Yoona would have killed if she were here. Sooyoung broke down the metal door and popped a grenade. They waited for the explosion before running in. Ten male soldiers had been waiting inside. Now, three were dead and four were critically injured. Taeyeon downed the closest in the chest.

They advanced through the entrance area, which was a loading bay, and went through the corridor. They made it a third of the way in when four women blocked the end of their path. Each woman was carrying a full-body police shield and wearing an air mask. Bullets ricocheted off the shields as the four Chimeras closed in on them. Taeyeon backed up, but Jessica pushed back, tugging her shirt. She turned around. Four other shields stood at the entrance. The doors closed, and canisters spewing smoke rolled towards them. The smoke was a dull yellow-green and more translucent then regular smoke bomb discharge. The gas was some kind of poison.

Taeyeon was not going to stick around to find out what it did. She rushed forward, taking point, as Sooyoung, Hyoyeon and Jessica followed her. The four Chimeras ahead of them started charging at them. They could not attack her since they were busy holding their full-body shields. She jumped over them, anticipating that they would track her with their shields. Two did. Sooyoung and Hyoyeon took out their legs.

Meanwhile, she had skimmed the ceiling and was now on the unprotected side of the Chimeras. She shot at them, backpedaling, and kicked the exit open. She needed air. She took a deep breath before returning to the corridor. She grabbed Jessica first and shoved her out the exit. Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were right behind her.

The Chimeras had dropped their stupid shields and were set to engage. The first one out the door fired at her with a bullpup. Taeyeon fired back until her Modular ran out of bullets. She ducked and got close, swiping the bullpup aside before grabbing the Chimera by the neck. She twisted around, hooking her elbow under the Chimera's chin, and started squeezing. She ripped out the oxygen tube connected to the Chimera's mask.

The Chimera wrestled for control. They both fell to the floor. The Chimera dug her nails deep into Taeyeon's forearms and drew blood. Taeyeon squeezed harder. Then another woman kicked Taeyeon in the face. Blood spurted out of her nose, and the Chimera in her arms broke out of her grip.

The two women cornered her in the crook of two walls and drew their combat knives. Their daggers had serrated edges. She pulled out her field tanto, with its straight and smooth edge. Although not as deadly as the combat knife, it was more flexible. Up against two, she would need the speed.

Dodging and weaving, she landed minor cuts on them, wearing them down. But she was slowly tiring, as well. ached for water. She wished she had hydrated more before they started the skirmish. She yelled in frustration and finally slashed one in the neck. The other ran away. She was a ing champ.

The Chimera on the floor gurgled, spraying a fountain of wet blood. Taeyeon bent down, switching the tanto out for her combat knife, and plunged it into the woman's lower left stomach. She dragged it up to the woman's right chest. 

Slowly, people noticed what she was doing. Everyone in the room paused to look at her. She grabbed the back of the dying woman's shirt, at the collar and the other end, and lifted the woman up. Intestines and guts spilled out. Bright red blood splattered on the floor. She glared at every soldier, regular or Chimera, locking eyes with all of them, dismissing their fear and anger.

Sooyoung and Hyoyeon took the opportunity to gun down a line of enemies before the fight started again. Then Hyoyeon was struggling with three soldiers. She dropped the woman in her hands and jumped into the fray. The soldiers saw her and were flustered. Hyoyeon killed them. "Just take Jessica and go!"

She nodded and grabbed Jessica. They ran. The other hallway was empty. The floor was covered with red carpet and there were portraits of the Supreme Leader and his father lining the walls. Occasionally, the Great Successor's face would be framed in a third photo. 

She reloaded her Modular and pulled Jessica along as they escaped further into the hideout. She shot down any cameras. It was an annoying task that was borderline retarded. Destroying each one individually was just curing symptoms. The real solution would be to takeover the security station. It would be a room at a central, accessible area. She found emergency floor plans at the stairwells, and used them to coordinate her direction.

There were roughly three floors in this mountain hideout. The bottommost one was the most mysterious. A third of it was grayed out and unmarked. They had arrived at the topmost floor. Taeyeon went to the second one and did not shoot any cameras.

She found a restroom and let Jessica inside.

"Wait here," Taeyeon said.

Jessica tightened her grip on her unused Glock and nodded. Taeyeon ran towards the middle of the second floor and skidded past the security station. She pivoted and kicked its door down. The three personnel sitting inside had seen her barreling down through the cameras and were expecting her. She dived as two bullets passed overhead. She shot them in the legs. One wall of the room was a grid of TV screens. Security camera feeds were playing in real-time. Below that was a touch screen control panel for doors, lights, sprinklers and alarms. Very useful, but they had already taken the appropriate precautions against her. The screen was password protected.

She was glad that she had not killed them immediately. She raised her Modular and pointed it at the tallest man's forehead. "Look at this."

And she pulled the trigger. She pointed at the next man. She grabbed him by the arm and hauled him to the panel. She jabbed her gun into his lower back. "Put in the passcode. No funny business, or I will shoot you in the kidneys." 

A direct shot would surely blow through his own bulletproof vest. She could smell his fear as he wet his pants. He tapped in a code, and the system rejected the input. She pulled the trigger. The man screamed as his kidneys burst in a spray of blood.

She grabbed the third man. "You saw what happened to them. Key in the right one this time. Next round, I kneecap the both of you. Third, I dig out your eyeballs. Fourth, I make you eat them."

The third man nodded profusely and jabbed in a ten character password. A loading bar buffered, and Taeyeon smiled. Then a popup appeared and the system had been locked down. Her grin dropped. She took out her combat knife and cut their throats to save bullets. She sheathed the blade back next to the tanto.

She returned to the restroom with the three dead bodies, one under each arm and the third slung over her shoulders, and dumped them in. Jessica followed her back to the security station.

"You should be good here," Taeyeon said. She pointed at the video grid. "You'll see anyone coming from a mile away, and for the cameras we haven't touched, you'll see us. Remember, this room is not worth defending. As soon as you see anyone come, you leave."

"Got it," Jessica said.

"I'll clear everyone I can find on this floor before proceeding. The targets might be here anyway."

Jessica nodded. Then she tapped her mic. They were using microphones and earpieces instead of radios for stealth. It would be bull if they were sneaking up on a target when their radios crackled. Now, no one but themselves could listen in on the conversations. "Sound check."

Taeyeon switched channels from the group frequency to Jessica's. Sound was good. She switched it back. "I'll call you if I need anything."

"And I'll come running," Jessica said. "Good luck."

Taeyeon lingered at the doorway. "Take care of yourself."

On the middle floor, Taeyeon killed three more soldiers and fought a Chimera who then retreated. She came across two cleaning ladies who seemed genuinely harmless. She hardened her heart and killed them as well. Unknowns were the most dangerous.

She still hadn't caught a glimpse of the Great Successor yet. She really thought he would be on the same floor as the security team.

In the propaganda murals around Pyongyang, the Great Successor had a firm, meaty face with dark eyebrows and neat hair. The POWs who cracked under interrogation had corroborated with similar descriptions, but Taeyeon didn’t think he looked that good in person. He was probably a lumpy who stank of spoilt milk. She’d give the painter the benefit of the doubt that he had kept some resemblance to the actual man, wracking his imagination to make the Successor resemble a nation’s future leader.

Nonetheless, by his dress, she would be able to identify his rank, and therefore his identity. From the way things were going, he had anywhere from two to four bodyguards left. That was still unknown.

Then Sooyoung spoke, and she heard her in her earpiece. "Taeyeon, get to the west side of the bottommost floor. We found the Leader and the Successor. ASAP."

"Coming."

She pelted down the stairs. 

She heard gunshots. Her heart was racing in overdrive and she craved water, but Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were in the same boat, so she just ran faster.

"Taeng," Hyoyeon said. "We have them locked into a room. It's at an impasse. They're sending Chimeras out now on offensive. Hurry up."

"Hold on!"

She followed the sound of gunfire. She rounded a corner and crashed into the midst of the fight. Five women twice their size were here to finish the job.

She flung herself at one of the women from behind and bashed the of her Modular into the woman's head. Normally, it would have been enough to split the woman's skull, but the woman had great instincts, and bent forward to cushion the blow.

Taeyeon flipped the gun around to shoot the woman, but another Chimera kicked the Modular out of her hands. She jumped forward and wrestled for the Chimera's gun. Then the woman on the ground turned around and slung her to the ground. She rolled over, picked up her Modular. She pumped it and pulled off a shot just as the Chimera aimed at her. Three bullets fired almost simultaneously from the Chimera's gun and missed her head. Meanwhile, the Chimera had dropped to the floor, brains leaking out of her broken skull. Shoot the chest. Remember to shoot the chest.

The woman on the ground locked Taeyeon's leg into legbar. Taeyeon rolled over and on top of the woman, getting too close for the woman to snap her right leg in the knee. She smashed her fist rapidly into the woman's face until the woman let go.

Taeyeon got to her feet. Shots were fired and she scrambled behind the wall closest to her. She checked her cartridge. Two bullets left. She swapped out for a full magazine. It was her third last mag.

She waited for a break in the fire, then ran back in. She sprayed bullets as she ran, and made it to Hyoyeon and Sooyoung. Sooyoung had a bullet embedded in her upper arm. There was one Chimera, hiding behind a wall.

Then the Chimera ran out, the only one left, unable to leave this place alive, with nothing to lose. She had two grenades in one hand. The fingers of her other hand was hooked into the pin rings, and she ripped them out as she charged towards the three of them.

Taeyeon felt such rage at the audacity that she ran straight towards the Chimera, emptying her Modular into the Chimera's chest, not caring that there were four seconds until the grenades exploded. The woman fell, and Taeyeon kicked her so hard that she flew backwards into the door where the Leader and Successor were supposed to be. She kicked the woman again, and the woman crashed through the door. Then Taeyeon turned and ran. Hyoyeon reached out with two hands and grabbed her as she shot past a corner.

The grenades exploded. The shockwave sent Taeyeon flying. If not for Hyoyeon pulling her in round the bend, she might have splattered against the wall straight ahead.

"You crazy idiot," Sooyoung said.

Taeyeon grinned. She slotted her second last magazine into the Modular. She looked at Sooyoung. They were all tired, but unwilling to show it on their faces. That was the Sierra way. It was also Firefly's. Adrenaline was going to be their best friend for the next hour or however long it took.

"I've killed three, not counting the regulars," Sooyoung said.

"Two," Hyoyeon said.

"Three," Taeyeon said.

"Only four left," Sooyoung said, her face pale and slick with sweat. Her arm was drenched with dark blood. "We're on track."

"Let's call Jessica to get that arm fixed," Hyoyeon said. "We can wait here. They're not going to go anywhere without us knowing."

Sooyoung nodded, so Hyoyeon switched on her mic. Taeyeon unhooked Sooyoung's water tin and unscrewed the cap for her. From her own water, she drained the bottle to its last drop. She kept pressure against Sooyoung's shoulder wound. Hyoyeon checked the corner every so often. They were all panting heavily, but otherwise kept silent to listen into the room. They heard indeterminate movement and words, but the occupants stayed put.

Taeyeon doubted that the Leader or the Successor would have been hurt by the grenades. Either they had been shielded, or the grenade had not exploded far in enough. Regardless, the shockwave told her that no one had jumped onto the grenades, which was good. The Chimeras were good bodyguards, but not desperately loyal, which was too bad for them. They would not have as much conviction to protect their principals as much as the Fireflies wanted to kill them. Such losers put together were not worth even half of Yoona, so they all had to die.

Jessica arrived five minutes later. She pulled out Sooyoung's bullet with tweezers and disinfected the wound before patching it up with gauze and tape.  

"We've had enough rest. Jessica, stay here until we call you again," Sooyoung said. "If they're not making a move, let's flush them out. Lob grenades in until they scurry out like rats."

Hyoyeon and Taeyeon nodded. Hyoyeon still had four grenades. She hefted one, finger hooked on a ring.

She ran out, and they covered her.

One Chimera jumped out of the room, submachine gun blazing. Hyoyeon rolled to the side. Taeyeon and Sooyoung fired back, retreating. Taeyeon had to save her bullets, while Sooyoung was injured in her dominant hand. They dived out of the way. Sooyoung had been hit again, in the leg. Taeyeon motioned for Jessica to come over and help. She stood up and covered Jessica as the medic ran to them.

Behind the Chimera, two men ran out. They were shielded by three women. The younger man had to be the Great Successor. He split off from the Supreme Leader, with a bodyguard in tow. Taeyeon could not shoot at them with the Chimera's submachine gun in the way.

"We have to go," Sooyoung said. "This is our best chance!"

Hyoyeon skidded a grenade forward. The Chimera kicked it far into the room the Northerners had hid in. The grenade went off and the shockwave threw all of them onto their backs.

Hyoyeon was first to her feet. With her assault rifle, she gunned down the Chimera.

Taeyeon hauled Sooyoung up, and that simple motion drained her. She wanted to bend over and rest her hands on her knees. Instead, she sprinted to the door she last saw the Successor enter and kicked it in.

The Chimera was waiting for her. The Successor was not here, but there was an attached door on the opposite wall. She exchanged fire with the Chimera. Then a dog out of nowhere was bounding towards her from the side, its mouth open like a shark's jaw.

She didn't know what to do with it. She kicked it away as it neared her, and it snarled as it got to its feet. She noticed how lean it was and realized that it had been starved.

The dog charged at her. This time, Taeyeon kicked harder, but it darted out of the way and bounded back, latching onto her ankle. She shook her leg, but it only clamped down harder, scraping fangs against bone. She cried out.

As the dog gnawed at her leg, the Chimera came upon her like a ghost, batting away the Colt Modular. The woman stabbed at , but she twisted at the last moment and the knife sank into the back of her shoulder. The Modular clattered to the floor. The woman started dragging the serrated blade towards Taeyeon's neck, but Taeyeon pushed back, grabbing the woman's arm and twisting her wrist until she let go of the knife handle. Taeyeon continued bending the wrist until it broke. She yanked out the blade in her shoulder and stabbed the woman through the eye.

Once the woman fell away with the knife in her head, Taeyeon fully felt the bite of the canine chewing at her leg. She dropped to her knees and fumbled for her combat knife. She stuck it into the dog's throat, angled away from her leg, and sawed an opening. The dog bled out in under a minute. She pried the dog's jaw apart like it was a hunting clamp. Her lower leg was mangled.

She limped towards the other door, dragging her leg behind her. When she opened the door, there was a half-flight of metal stairs leading to a higher floor. This must be the gray, unmarked area in the floor plans she had seen earlier.

She was not worried. The Great Successor was out of options. He had no more Chimeras to cover his pompous . That made him a dead man. She leaned heavily against the railings as she pulled herself up the stairs. She used one hand because the other arm attached to her torn shoulder was useless. The bastard should have stayed put. He was going to die anyway.

She dragged herself up the stairs one-handed. She opened the door. was parched, but the view made here forget her thirst for half a second. There were rows of gleaming automobiles and state-of-the-art maintenance equipment. The sole vehicle exit was blocked by a drop down garage door at the end.

The Great Successor was waiting at the other end of the garage. Surprisingly, he was not a fat but a skinny . He looked like the ambitious type who could eat ten cows without getting wide. Every strand of his black hair was slicked to the side with a fine-toothed comb and gelled down. 

He was holding his Sig Sauer up, aiming at the door. She flinched when the gun went off. Even at this distance, he missed. He dived behind a car. She shot at him and followed him as she stepped closer.

A/N: Thanks for the comments/upvotes last chapter. Many people like Yoona... How was this one?