“So Changmin is okay?

From across the room in his private cabin, Leeteuk paused brushing his teeth to spit into the tiny sink in front of him. He leaned back so that he could see Heechul’s face on the mostly clear screen of the data port. “Yeah,” he called out. He reached for a towel and wiped the rest of the toothpaste from his mouth.

“Are you okay?”

Leeteuk abandoned his toothbrush and moved closer to the screen. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Looking every bit the Companion that he was, posh and respectable and beautiful, Heechul had a suspicious look on his face. He reminded Leeteuk, “You love that kid as much as Yunho does. I’d be surprised if you weren’t still all worked up. I imagine Yunho still is.”

“But I wasn’t there,” Leeteuk said, sighing hard. “The second we realized Changmin was missing from the ship, Yunho went after him. I had to wait a few seconds to make sure Mi was going to stay with the ship. Those seconds cost me any chance at catching up with the Captain until he was already cradling Changmin’s body, bullet in him by that point. In fact I didn’t did get until they were already making a run for the ship. I didn’t have to see him get shot, not like Yunho.”

“But you had to wait to see if he’d live, just like Yunho. You had to put your faith in someone who could have been a hack.”

“Jaejoong saved Changmin’s life,” Leeteuk was quick to clarify. “The truth is, he could have disappeared into the crowd. He could have taken off. He didn’t owe us anything. But he stayed. He got back on a ship he had no plans to, and worked the entire night to save Changmin’s life. And he’s crew now, so you’ll get to meet him eventually.”

Heechul arched an eyebrow. “I didn’t know Yunho was in the habit of taking on crew members so suddenly.”

“He is,” Leeteuk chuckled, “when he’s making out with them.”

Heechul looked absolutely surprised, then said, “Alright. Fair enough. I look forward to meeting him, then.”

Leeteuk found himself grinning wider. “I have a good feeling about the both of them, Chul. I get it when I look at them. Jaejoong and Yoochun both, even if Yoochun is a little more ornery than I’d like.”

Heechul turned away on his end to say something to someone nearby and Leeteuk was intimately reminded that they weren’t alone. In fact, they were probably being monitored. He immediately vowed to be more careful with his words, and to certainly not mention any real names again. Neither of them could afford for Jaejoong or Yoochun to be linked to them.

Companions belonging to the Persephone House were much different from the kind that belonged to Helios. More than one he’d been utterly shocked by the amount of control the House on Persephone exhibited on its Companions. And Leeteuk very much doubted that Heechul could simply retire at the moment if he wanted it. Not like Changmin who’d fallen in love and wanted something different.

Leeteuk looked at Heechul at times and wondered if he didn’t want the same.

“Have to go soon?” Leetuek asked when Heechul’s attention came back to him.

“We’re fine,” Heechul insisted, an apprehensive pull to his face.

Of course there was. They hadn’t even begun to speak about the purpose of the call. And it would be tricky to get it all out in the right away. It always was.

“Anyway,” Leeteuk said, “I’m on a job right now.”

“Nothing too dangerous,” Heechul asked. “You know the Rim isn’t safe in some places.”

“Neither is the Core,” Leeteuk returned. “Especially for the next few months.”

The translation, he hoped, was simple enough. He wasn’t in Rim space, but any plans they wanted to make would have to wait a few more months. The Core wasn’t somewhere that a meeting could take place, either.

Heechul would have to be patient for him.

For Hankyung.

“Not getting into trouble, right?” Heechul pressed.

“Nothing more than usual,” Leeteuk said. “But if you wanted to tentatively lay some plans for us to meet up, I’d love to purchase the pleasure of your company in a few months. I think I’ll be out near New Beijing. I know, it’ll be a hassle for you to get out here …”

“It’s fine,” Heechul was quick to say.

Leeteuk had no doubt that Heechul would have been willing to travel to the Rim, if necessary. However his House would have been less willing. And New Beijing was a safe spot of sorts. It had a magnificent space port that Companions traveled to frequently, and it was such at the edge of Core space that the Alliance wouldn’t be hanging around in full force, looking for a certain wanted resistance fighter--for a Browncoat with a bounty on his head greater than Jaejoong and Yoochun combined.

“My contract price has gone up,” Heechul eased out, eyes narrowing in such a way that Leeteuk was able to easily discern that it wasn’t Heechul’s decision for such a thing. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Why don’t I check on that,” Leeteuk said. How much more could Hankyung afford to pay? Leeteuk wasn’t sure. Fighting the Alliance didn’t exactly pay, and Leeteuk himself was running short of funds to contribute to their meeting. But if they got any sort of payoff from this Eye job … Leeteuk might actually have enough money to get the monitoring chip cut out of Heechul and smuggle him off Persephone for a better, happier life.

Heechul said calmly, “Please do that,” but there was so much pleading in his eyes that Leeteuk knew he’d do anything to make it happen.

The truth was he wasn’t even sure how Hankyung and Heechul had first met. Leeteuk had known them separately through different means for countless years, and it was only when their back stories had slowly come out, that Leeteuk had started to put the pieces together.

And they were a funny pair. A Browncoat resistance fighter and a Companion. An impossible combination, and a dangerous one at that. Both of them were shrouded in mystery, no matter how well Leeteuk knew them, and they kept their secrets well.

What he did know was that they were desperately in love.

And that apparently the ‘verse seemed determined to keep them apart. After all, how else would it be that Heechul had ended up essentially an Alliance controlled Companion and Hankyung was the man who’d helped start a new rebel force after the previous Browncoats were smothered out of existence at the battle of Serenity.

Leeteuk as absolutely a er for love stories. That was what he told himself. That was why he acted as a liaison between the two of them, negotiating Heechul’s contract for time whenever possible, arranging meetings between the two of them, and keeping an eye out to make sure there were no unwanted attention directed towards their meetings. It was something that, if caught, could put Leeteuk in an Alliance work camp for years. Or worse.

But it was worth it.

It was worth it each and every time Leeteuk got to see Hankyung hold Heechul tightly and whisper at him how much he loved him and how things wouldn’t always be as they were.

No, Leeteuk assumed eventually they’d be worse. Heechul was being run into the ground at the moment, losing his way within the Companion Guild, losing his connection to the purpose of his work. And Hankyung was coming ever closer to being caught. Leeteuk hated that he could see how things would end for them. They saw each other fewer and fewer times a year, and eventually they’d stop completely.

Leeteuk could hardly bear to think what that would do to either of them.

“I’ll contact you again,” Leeteuk said. Getting a message to Hankyung wasn’t going to be easy. Especially with how deep they were in Alliance Core space at the moment. But he needed to know Heechul’s price had gone up, and that meeting in the near future was too dangerous.

“Thank you,” Heechul said. “And give my best to Chamgmin. I hear he’s getting married. That’s quite an accomplishment for a Companion. Few go down that path.”

“We’ll see about there being a wedding,” Leeteuk laughed out. “Yunho’s pretty much convinced that the second he brings Changmin back to Helios that fiancé of his is going to freak out. If he’d stop worrying he’d realize that Minho is about to become his best friend with the way they both worry over Changmin.”

“I can’t imagine I’d be pleased if Yunho brought my fiancé back to me with a bullet in him.”

Leeteuk reported, “It’s certainly not in him anymore.” Then he paused with a frown.

“What is it?” Heechul asked.

Leeteuk perched himself on the edge of his bed so he could rest his elbows on his knees. He told Heechul, “There’s something weird about the bullet that ended up in Changmin. It’s bothering Onew and Ryeowook. And truthfully, it’s bothering me, too.” He explained the odd markings on the bullet to Heechul and wondered if he could give any insight.

“You have a problem, Leeteuk,” was what Heechul replied with, and Leeteuk leaned forward towards the screen.

“I don’t like the sound of that. Do you know what the markings on the bullet mean?”

“Not in particular,” Heechul said, voice lowering. “But in general, yes. Leeteuk, it’s a tradition of sorts within the more established and family operated bounty hunting rings to engrave their bullets with their family emblem. It’s a calling card. It’s proof that a certain family can claim responsibility for the kill, and it’s proof that the bounty hunter in general fired the bullet with the utmost confidence that they’ve got the authority to do so. I’m not surprised you don’t know about this. bounty hunters don’t advertise this for a reason.”

Shakily, Leeteuk asked, “Why would a bounty hunter put a bullet into Changmin? He’s a Companion, Heechul. You guys are practically untouchable.”

Heechul shrugged. “It depends on the bounty, Leeteuk. Some bounty contracts allow bounty hunters the right to take out anyone in their way of recovering the target. Companions aren’t untouchable in those situations, especially if the bounty hunter thinks he or she can make a claim that the Companion was prohibiting the recovery.” Heechul pursed his lips and then asked concerned, “Is there anyone that Changmin was around recently with a bounty out on them? The bounty hunter could have tried to take him out simply for association, or maybe even to cause a distraction.”

“,” Leeteuk eased out, shoulders slumping.

“Leeteuk?”

“I need to go,” Leeteuk said, standing wearily.

There was no mistaking the fact that both Jaejoong and Yoochun had bounties out for their return. Changmin had gone after them on the space station, probably caught up to them, too, or damn near, and if there’d been a bounty hunter laying in wait …

Did that mean they had one on their tail right now? This was the last thing they needed at the moment, especially with a job to pull.

And how was he going to tell the Captain? Would that make him look at Jaejoong any different? For him to know there was a strong possibility that Changmin had been hurt because of the bounty out on Jaejoong? How could Leeteuk knowingly sabotage the best relationship the Captain had ever had with anyone, especially since it was in such a budding stage?

Heechul broke in, “Look, I have to go too, Leeteuk. But you have the bullet don’t you?”

Mouth dry, Leeteuk couldn’t answer. He could only nod.

“Send me a scan of it,” Heechul offered.

“A scan?”

Heechul nodded. “I’ve got quite a few contacts on Persephone of the bounty hunter variety. If you send me a scan of it, I may be able to ask around. It won’t be much to know which bounty hunter is after you, because if there’s one, there’s probably more, but you never know. At the very least I could give you a face to watch out for. That’s something, right?”

“Thank you,” Leeteuk said, giving his old friend a smile of appreciation. “It is something. And I’ll make sure to check on that new price. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Heechul gave him a nod and ended the transmission.

Standing there alone in his cabin, toothbrush forgotten, Leeteuk desperately hoped that he was wrong about there being any tie to Jaejoong. And it was entirely possible that it was a mere fluke. There was nothing in the entire incident that said the bounty hunter bullet which had ended up in Changmin, had meant to be there from the start.

A sharp knock on his door startled him and Zhou Mi poked his head in. “Ready?”

The meeting. Of course.

Leeteuk forced himself to offer Zhou Mi an encouraging smile. “Of course. Give me a second?”

“Sure.” Zhou Mi ducked out of the room and Leeteuk decided in that moment he’d say nothing to the Captain. He’d say nothing to anyone, other than maybe Onew who likely still had the bullet. Until he heard from Heechul again, or had some kind of definitive answer, what he’d learned would only cause problems. And distractions. This wasn’t the time to have distractions.

The long awaited meeting, something that Leeteuk was terrified wouldn’t go over well with the crew, was held in the same room they used for their meals. It was a room easy to lock off, but also offered them enough room so they weren’t crawling over each other like the group of them would have been in some of the smaller rooms on the ship.

“Go ahead, Changmin,” Yunho said, after Leeteuk had finished securing the door behind him and they were all present and accounted for.

Front and center, Changmin leveled up a larger than normal data pad so they could all see the blueprints displayed on it. Maybe it was just the lighting in the room, or the fact that he was still recovering, but to Leeteuk Changmin still looked quite pale. But it was something notable that he was out of the infirmary and had even made the walk from his bunk to the dinning area. It had probably been at a snail’s pace, but he’d managed it.

“If I can have your attention,” Changmin requested. “Now, I’ve had the pleasure of being hosted by Choi Siwon before. And per Guild law, he was required to provide me with information of where I’d be staying for the duration of my visit. I’ll note here that Siwon was all too quick to forward me the blueprints to what we’ll be calling his sprawling estate, not castle--Kyuhyun.”

“It looks like a castle to me,” Kyuhyun defended.

“Estate,” Changmin said firmly. “These are from around two years previous, but I seriously doubt there have been major renovation made in the duration between then and now.” He slid his fingers across the screen to a new, enhanced view of the blueprints and said, “The Choi family is known for their decadence. They’re certainly front runners in terms of power and money, and naturally they’re prolific enough to reflect that in their home. That’s very good for us.”

“Why?” Ryeowook spoke up.

“It means several things,” Yunho answered for him. “Like there’s more of a chance of us moving undetected, and if this party is supposed to be as big as Changmin says it’s going to be, they’ll have to hire an outside security force for it. That means a lot of faces passing through those doors, and with any luck, ours will blend in perfectly.”

“This is the main ballroom,” Changmin said, directing their attention to one large room on the screen. “This is where the gala will take place. I’ll arrive shortly before the gala begins and it’s doubtful that I’ll see Siwon for much time before that. Yunho, don’t give me that look. He won’t have time to do to me whatever you’re imagining.”

Leeteuk found himself frowning. “Something you want to share with the rest of us?”

Changmin shook his head. “As I said, this is the ballroom. The gala will be held here, and most of the guests will be here. I estimate there’ll be between two hundred and three hundred guests. Now, pay attention all of you, this is the hallway that you have to take down to where the vault entrance is. Attached to the vault is a viewing room, and that’s the real prize here.”

“Because,” Leeteuk guessed, “you think Choi is going to have the Eye on display.”

“If he has it like you claim he does,” Changmin agreed. “I know Siwon’s type well. This is his gala. Next to his wedding, this will be the most important gathering of his life. This is the gala not just for his birthday, but his ascension to his father’s position. He’ll want to show off to everyone his wealth, not just his power, and that Eye represents both. To have the real deal … he won’t be able to resist. So for at least a portion of the gala, it’ll be located here.”

Yunho cleared his throat. “If it isn’t, we’re scrapping this entire thing. If, for whatever reason, Choi decides to keep the Eye locked away in the vault, we don’t have the time, preparation or manpower to take it.”

In total agreement, Leeteuk said, “If the Eye isn’t present and accounted for, there’s absolutely no compromise on this. No distraction in the world is going to cover up the size of the blast we’d have to create to get into that vault, and cracking it isn’t an option either.”

Changmin held up two fingers, looking a little sweaty and out of breath already. Leeteuk didn’t think it boded well for Changmin, considering he was merely sitting now. In two days he’d have to be on his feet.

“I managed to talk Siwon into allowing two companions down onto the planet under the guise of them being my personal security. This gives us some wiggle room, to say the least. Yunho, I assume you’ll be one of the warm bodies accompanying me?”

Yunho gave Changmin an impossible look that Leeteuk almost laughed from.

“Of course,” Yunho said. “And Mi’s coming with me.”

The explosion that Leeteuk had half expected from Kyuyhun wasn’t there. Instead he sunk down a bit in his seat, arms crossed over his chest in a way that radiated anger, but also the indication that he’d known the decision was coming. It was awfully mature of him, but also hinted that maybe Kyuhyun was merely biding his time. There was room for protest yet.

Leeteuk agreed with the Captain’s choice. Leeteuk desperately wanted to be down there watching his Captain’s back, but he understood the choice of having him remain on the ship instead. Next to Yunho, Leeteuk knew her the best. And he, in Yunho’s absence, could keep her going.

“One of you will have to remain with me at all times,” Changmin said, bringing Leeteuk back to the conversation at hand. “What I mean, of course, is that one of you will hover in the corner of the room threateningly, not get distracted by the food or the opulence or anything other than the fact that Siwon can smell trouble for a mile away. Now, for the second of you, we can excuse your absence as space sickness or something dismissible.”

Zhou Mi asked, “What will the second of us be doing?”

“Stealing a couple of the security uniforms,” Yunho said. “Those uniforms will allow either of us to move through the estate without anyone looking twice, and we will need that invisibility. Mi, I was thinking I’d stay with Changmin initially, because I need you to check out the security on the viewing room.”

Leeteuk told Zhou Mi who was listening carefully, “We know what kind of security system he’s using to protect his vault, and probably even the viewing room, and we know that’s not going to be a problem with your … ah … select skills. But we need eyes on the patrol patterns, where the checkpoints are, how many men are in the area at any given time and things of that sort.”

Zhou Mi, who Leeteuk had originally assumed was a mere bank security guard before taking on with them, had turned out to be quite savvy in terms of hacking. He wasn’t prolific in any way, but he was far better than the average kid who tried his hand at hacking. Leeteuk had never gotten around to asking him about how he’d managed such a skill, but he was never more thankful for it.

“You want me to take down the security system?” Zhuomi asked.

Yunho raised an eyebrow. “You could take it down completely?”

Zhou Mi considered for a second, then said, “Most likely.”

Appreciatively, the Captain said, “That’s good to know, but no, we don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves. I want you to make us invisible to the cameras, but nothing else, and even that shouldn’t be obvious. If Choi’s security team notices anything wonky about the system they could shut us down in a second, and I don’t think I need to remind you all that this can’t be a smash and grab job.”

“Now,” Leeteuk said, hefting up on the table the object he’d brought with him to the meeting, “I think it should be pretty obvious that we can’t simply waltz out the front door with the Eye, no matter how stealthy we do it. We need a alternate way to move the Eye from the Choi estate, and recover it later. That’s what this is for.”

Onew’s head cocked. “Pandora’s box.”

“What?” Kyuhyun questioned.

“They call it Pandora’s box,” Onew said. “It’s … it would take too long to explain Pandora’s box, but what you need to know is that it’s practically indestructible and it’s meant for keepings things safe from unexpected accidents. Short of getting launched into a collapsing star, this thing will remain structurally sound enough to protect whatever is inside. Leeteuk, this didn’t come cheap.”

“No,” Leeteuk nodded. “It was damn expensive.”

“What are we going to do with it?” Ryeowook asked.

“When we make the snatch,” Yunho said, “after gassing the surrounding area, ghosting ourselves on the cameras, and covering our bases, the Eye will go in here. And this box? It’s going in the one place no one will look for it, or think it out of place when covered with the other things that’ll be with it.”

“Which is?” Changmin asked, curiosity written across his blanched face.

“The waste disposal,” Yunho said with a grin. “We’re going to dump the most priceless gem this side of the ‘verse in the waste disposal. It’ll get sorted for incineration, which doesn’t happen until the end of the week, and no one but us will have a clue what’s in it.”

Leeteuk interjected for the rest of them, “The box will broadcast its location to us and we’ll pick it up without attracting any attention.”

“I’m impressed,” Kyuhyun remarked. “This is a pretty sound plan for getting in and out without causing a commotion.” His eyes narrowed and Leeteuk felt a spike of fear. There was a reason Kyuyhun could be feared all too easily. “But what happens if it doesn’t stay quiet? What happens if you drag my brand new husband into a firefight?”

The truth was, the truth that Leeteuk didn’t think Yunho would tell the crew, if they got caught in a firefight, there wasn’t much that could be done. Choi’s security forces would run them into the ground all too easily, and that was if they were lucky. If they were stubborn enough to last long enough to get Alliance soldiers deployed to their position, it would be even worse. Being discovered wasn’t an option in the least bit.

“Kyuhyun,” Yunho eased out, “the plan is for everything to say quiet. If it does, and Mi and I will be doing everything in our power to keep it that way, we’ll wait the gala out while the Eye goes down the garbage disposal. But if things do get loud, that’s why you’re my pilot, and that’s why Onew, you’re my engineer. If we’re coming in hot, it’s all up to you two.”

Leeteuk didn’t think, if things went bad, they’d even make it to the ship. But Kyuyhun didn’t need to know that.

“If things go south,” Changmin said, surprising them all, “leave me behind.”

“What?” Yunho demanded. “You want me to do what?”

“Leave me behind,” Changmin enunciated slowly. “I’m a legitimately contracted Companion. And for all intents and purposes, I will have been exactly where I was expected to be the whole night--on Choi Siwon’s arm. There won’t be any fingers pointed at me, and I guarantee you, I’ll be the last thing Siwon is thinking about at the moment. I’ll find a way to meet up with you later on, or contract you at the least. But if it comes down to your life being in danger because you’ve been discovered, I want you and Mi to get out of there.”

“I don’t like it,” Yunho said, but his tone said he accepted the logic of it.

“But we need to talk about how we’re going to get Changmin out of there if everything goes accoding to plan,” Ryeowook spoke up. “He’s not going to …”

“No,” Yunho said sharply, leaving no room for any interpretation. “The most Changmin is going to have to do is stand there and smile and look very handsome. He isn’t doing anything else.”

Changmin gave a weak smile. “I certainly don’t think I’m up to much, Ryeowook.”

“Still,” Zhou Mi said, “We do need a valid reason for Changmin to be able to withdraw from the gala.”

Feeing as if Changmin was his own little brother, Leeteuk said, “You don’t exactly look at your best, Changmin. What if you simply let Choi get a good look at you underneath all the makeup I assume you’re going to put on?”

Changmin gave an unattractive snort. “You’re thinking too much of him if you even consider for a moment that he’ll care about my health.”

“Then what are we going to do?” Kyuhyun asked. “Changmin can’t just leave without a reason, but if we leave him there the Captain is going to kill this Choi guy for trying something on Changmin, and then we’re all going to go to a penal colony.”

Eyes narrowing in thought, Changmin suggested, “I might have something. All of you are familiar with the good night kiss?”

“Not intimately,” Leeteuk said dryly, but everyone had heard of a good night kiss. It was a topical concoction, typically transferred through a kiss, that rendered the recipient either temporary paralyzed or unconscious. It was used in theft for the most part, and by attractive es who weren’t interested in a fair sale. “But yes. You want to give Choi the good night kiss?”

Changmin made a face, “I’ll certainly have to kiss Siwon throughout the night, and it’s not something I’m looking forward to, but giving him a good night kiss wouldn’t be advisable. The properties contained in it are illegal within the Guild, easily traceable and would only arise suspicion. But I’m certainly not the first Companion to need a quick way away from an unwanted patron. A friend of mine has been working on something. It can still be applied through a kiss, which Choi will accepted all too freely, and the effects will work in our favor.”

“And they are?” Onew asked.

Changmin looked all too pleased as he said, “My friend assures me that within minutes of being kissed with this mixture, Siwon will start to experience nausea, followed by uncomfortable cramping, a sudden and frantic need to use the bathroom, and all the other signs of onset food poisoning. The ingredients are all natural and shouldn’t set off an red flags if Siwon starts to get suspicious about his own health declining in tandem with his prized treasure going missing at the same time.”

In disbelief Kyuhyun asked, “You’re going to kiss Choi with something on your lips that gives him the runs?”

Leeteuk threw his head back and laughed deeply as the others joined in.

“Essentially,” Changmin said a bit helplessly. “I know, it sounds horrible, but it’s all I can think that’ll make Siwon send me away extremely fast, and still look like mere bad timing on his part.”

“Horrible?” Kyuhyun demanded through his laughter, nearly needing Zhou Mi to support him. “That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard of in my life! Can you get me some of this? I really need some of this.”

“You do not need any of that,” Zhuomi said quickly, and Leeteuk was pretty sure he saw fear flash across Zhou Mi’s face.

When the laughter died down, Yunho said, “I like this. It gives us an excuse to leave quickly.”

“Wait,” Kyuhyun said sharply, looking between Leeteuk and Yunho. “I know we’re going for absolute secrecy here, and it’s supposed to be an in and out job without anyone ever knowing until we’re three systems away, but what if it does go bad? How are you going to get guns on that planet?”

“That is a problem,” Yunho admitted.

Hands gripping the table for support, Changmin said, “You can bet that all of the guns belonging to the security force that Siwon hires will be palm coded. And Yunho, both you and Leeteuk will be checked thoroughly before being let through.”

“But you won’t,” Leeteuk pondered.

“I’m a Companion.” Realization was dawning on Changmin’s face. “I’m a Companion, and they know that we don’t carry weapons. They won’t check me or my belongings, and it’ll be considered a disrespectful action if they even try. Siwon won’t allow something like that, especially considering I’ve never had so much as a blemish on my record before this.”

Yunho gave him a quizzical look. “You say that like this is going to earn you some kind of mark.”

“The point is,” Leeteuk said, cutting between them, “that Changmin is our way to smuggle our pistols in. Of course getting to them afterwards is going to be challenging.”

Changmin shook his head. “You don’t know what I’ll be wearing, but trust me, I’ll be able to hide a few pistols underneath my layers. I’ll pass them off to you the first chance I get.”

Leeteuk really hoped that he wasn’t getting his hopes up for nothing, but he was starting to feel good about their upcoming job. Certainly the hardest part was going to be sitting up on the ship, monitoring his Captain’s frequency for any kind of SOS, but for the moment, everything seemed to be falling into place.

“And now,” Yunho announced, “for the plat de ré sistance.”

“The what?” Ryeowook asked, eyebrows high.

“The cherry on the top,” Leeteuk told him. “Essentially.”

Yunho pressed on, “If, and that’s a huge if, the gas we’re going to smuggle in doesn’t do the trick, and someone sees that the Eye is missing before Changmin has a chance to reassign Choi’s new residence to the bathroom, I’ve got that covered as well.”

“How?” Leeteuk asked before he could help himself.

“This,” Yunho said, setting a pouch on the table in front of them and pulling from it a blood red gem.

The Eye.

Only obviously it wasn’t, because credible information placed the Eye with Siwon. No, this was clearly a replica, but it was perfect enough that no one would ever know the difference without truly giving it a look over.

“Is that what it really looks like?” Onew asked, craning for a better look. “Really?”

“Really?” the Captain confirmed.

“How?” Kyuhyun demanded.

That was the better question, and now Leeteuk was wondering the same thing.

“That’s not important,” Yunho said.

Leeteuk watched as a subtle but visible look passed between Yunho and Changmin. They knew something. They were hiding something. It certainly wasn’t uncommon for siblings as close as they were to have such secrets. But this was clearly something about the Eye, and Leeteuk didn’t like the idea of Changmin knowing something that he didn’t. Changmin, for as beloved as he was, wasn’t the Captain’s first mate. Changmin wasn’t the one Yunho was about to entrust his ship with.

“I agree,” Changmin said so flawlessly that if Leeteuk hadn’t caught the look between brothers, he wouldn’t have thought twice about it. “The important part is that we have a perfect replica of it. Which means a switch can be made and that buys Yunho and Leeteuk some extra time.”

A bit of silence washed over them, and Leeteuk found it almost suffocating. Even the accusations from Kyuhyun had been better.

“We’re really doing this?” Onew asked in awe. “We’re going to go get the Eye? The Eye that’s going to lead us to the vault?”

“We’re doing it,” Leeteuk told him. “This is it.”

Yunho gathered the replica Eye back up and said, “We arrive at New Haven in less than two days. This is it. The final push. Everyone needs to be ready.”

Leeteuk clamored up out of his seat the second it was clear the meeting was over. The air in the room ha gone stale with so many people in the same space and the doors shut. He left Yunho and Zhou Mi to hash over the more detailed points to the roles they’d play with Changmin down on the planet, and instead rushed to catch up with Onew who was all but running back to the safety of his engine room.

“I need to talk to you later on,” Leeteuk told him.

“About what?” Onew asked.

Leeteuk didn’t think he could very well come out and say that Heechul was offering to look into the design on the bullet, not where anyone could overhear them, but he did manage quietly, “The bullet. I might have found a way to get a little more information out of it.”

Onew nearly skidded to a stop. “Yeah?”

Leeteuk nodded. “I have a friend and he--”

Leeteuk’s careful words were completely cut off by Yunho’s frantic calls for someone to get Jaejoong.

“Go!” Leeteuk told Onew, almost pushing at him no matter whoever else might be going for the doctor. And Leeteuk himself ran for the Captain.

“What happened?” he demanded the second he was back in the dinning area.

It was a terrifying sight to see, probably too much like what it had looked like when Changmin had been initially shot. And all Leeteuk could see was Changmin curled up on the cold floor, gasping for air that seemed to be in short supply for him.

“He fell!” Yunho snapped, then he was bending over Changmin, promising him, “Jaejoong’s on his way, Minnie. I promise, you’re okay.”

Moving to Yunho’s side, Leeteuk was startled by the heat he could feel coming off Changmin. “He’s got a fever, Yunho.”

Yunho glanced over at Leeteuk with wild eyes. “I knew he was a little warm earlier, but he promised me he was just worked up. He didn’t look that bad and I let it pass. What the hell was I thinking?”

“I’m okay,” Changmin promised as he in short breaths, eyes unfocused and body shivering. “Yunho. I swear.”

“You’re not okay!” Yunho snapped.

“Yunho!”

Less than a minuet Jaejoong was barreling through the door towards the brothers, and Leeteuk took a step back to let him work.

“Tell me what happened,” Jaejoong asked quickly but calmly, taking Changmin’s temperature immediately. The look on his face was poor enough to tell Leeteuk that he was more than just concerned about Changmin’s state. No, this went far beyond mere worry.

“What’s wrong with him?” Yunho asked, his fingers through Changmin’s hair in a way that was probably more soothing for him than Changmin.

Jaejoong flashed a penlight into each of Changmin’s eyes and called out, “Leeteuk. I need you and Mi to help me move Changmin to the infirmary immediately. His temperature is dangerously high. We have to bring it down right now.”

Leeteuk dashed forward, Zhou Mi at his side. Together they lifted Changmin easily enough and then they were running for the infirmary, Yunho hot on their heels.

Between them Changmin twisted a bit, still swearing his was fine while the heat from his skin burned into Leeteuk’s.

He most certainly wasn’t fine.

And there was no way he was going to be fine enough to play his part in two days time.

The plan was ruined. It was absolutely ruined and there was no salvaging it.