Rule #12: Don’t make a scene.  Unless you’re an actor…

            Kyuhyun cringed as he heard the gunfire in the background.  He’d thought it was all over when there was a good, long, thirty-second pause, but apparently Ryeowook was just reloading again.  Even from safely in the house, drinking coffee at the kitchen table with Agent Y, Kyuhyun still jumped when he heard the gun start going off again. 

            Agent Y leaned back in his chair, casually sipping his coffee.  It was hard to hold a discussion over the background noise.  Kyuhyun found it too distracting, even if the NIS agent didn’t.  So Kyuhyun looked up at the clock hanging on the wall again.  Twenty-seven minutes.  That’s how long it had been since Agent Y had broken the news to Ryeowook that the spy at headquarters was Qian all along.  That’s when he realized that the person who helped him get out of China alive had purposely done so to gain his trust so she could join the ranks of NIS and infiltrate their group.  All this time, he’d trusted her completely—more than almost anyone else—and she was the one who’d killed Zhou Mi and given away his position to the Omega Operation.  It was sufficient to say that he was pissed off. 

            “How…um…how long do you think it will be…until he calms down?” Kyuhyun finally asked.

            Agent Y shrugged his shoulders.  “Depends on what you mean by that.  Completely or enough to stop shooting up the forest outside his house?”

            “Ah…enough to stop shooting.”

            “Maybe another five or ten minutes.  But it will probably be years before he gets over the breach of trust.  R doesn’t trust people easily,” he pointed out.

            “No ,” Kyuhyun mumbled under his breath, taking a sip of his coffee before standing up.  He began to head out the kitchen door.

            Agent Y jumped to his feet.  “Where are you going?”

            “Outside.”

            “Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no,” he insisted, shaking his head.  “That’s not a safe plan.”

            “He’s not going to shoot me.”

            Agent Y waved his hands.  “Very bad idea.  I think you should wait until he returns.  Trust me!  I’ve known him a hell of a lot longer than you have.”

            Kyuhyun kept walking to the front door.  “I’m just going to peek my head outside and if he looks manic and crazed, I’ll run back in.  I’ve got some experience in this now.  People have been trying to kill me for the last few days.”

            “I’m supposed to make sure you’re alive and well!” the desperate agent called after him, but Kyuhyun quickly slipped on his shoes and rushed out the door.  He jogged across the yard and headed out of the walled area, stopping just outside it to look around.  The gunfire had abruptly stopped and he couldn’t see Ryeowook nearby.  He cautiously began to head into the woods, calling Ryeowook’s name so that he didn’t get shot accidentally.

            Ryeowook shot off another round of bullets into one of the dead trees on the property.  The neighbors were probably going to hear the commotion if he didn’t stop soon, but thankfully there was a large area of undeveloped land around his property.  Maybe only one or two would hear him at all, if they were even home.  Perhaps he could convince them it was fireworks, if they asked. 

            After depleting most of his bullets, he lowered his gun.  He had to actually reserve some for if he needed them.  And although he was angry—angrier than he had ever been in his life—this wasn’t the way to get rid of that anger productively and he knew it.  He just couldn’t help but have a little bit of a nervous breakdown after hearing what Yesung had told him.

            “I’m not losing my touch.  I could sense your ego the minute you pulled up on the main road.  I just didn’t want to quit kissing my boyfriend,” Ryeowook informed the agent dressed in black. 

            The man’s brows rose as he looked over the computer hacker.  “Of all the men who’ve gone after you?  This is the one who finally snags you?” he questioned.  “Interesting.”

            Ryeowook grinned and grabbed onto Kyuhyun’s hand, dragging him over towards his partner.  “Kyuhyun, this is Agent Y, my partner.  Y, Cho Kyuhyun, the computer genius.  Please tell me your arrival means that you’ve found the missing disc.”

            Yesung pulled a case from his pocket and waved it in the air.  “You mean this?”

            “I knew you wouldn’t let me down,” Ryeowook said, grabbing the disc and looking it over.  “And it looks identical to the other one.”

            “Discs don’t vary much,” Kyuhyun said, stealing it from Ryeowook.

            “What did you find on your disc?” Yesung asked.  “I take it you didn’t have much trouble breaking the code.”

            “Recipes,” Ryeowook explained.  “But the one for strawberry crepes was wonderful.  I made it for breakfast.  You liked it, didn’t you, Kyu?”

            “Loved,” Kyuhyun corrected him.  “I loved it.  You cook like a chef.”

            Agent Y nodded.  “He is superb, isn’t he?  Between him and Sungmin.”

            “I’m better than Min.”

            “Of course,” Yesung quickly agreed.

            Ryeowook smiled to himself and looked over the disc that Kyuhyun was holding.  “By the way, since you have the disc, I assume you figured out who the traitor was at NIS.  Who did it end up being?  Henry?  Amber?”

            When there was no answer, Ryeowook looked over at Yesung.  His partner was looking down at his feet, avoiding his gaze. 

            “Hey!  Who…who was it?”

            Yesung shook his head.  “Maybe it would be best if I didn’t tell you until later.”

            Ryeowook gripped his arm, tight.  “Who?” he demanded.

            “I’m still recovering,” Yesung pointed out.

            Ryeowook released him and backed up.  He ran his hand through his hair and began to pace.  “You need to just tell me!  It’s too late to pretend you don’t know.”

            “Wook.”

            “Now!”

            Yesung sighed heavily and then said, almost in a whisper, “Victoria.”

            Ryeowook shook his head.  “It can’t be.  There must be some mistake.”

            “She nearly killed Amber to get out of the apartment with the disc.  Amber’s in intensive care recovering from gas poisoning, but she should make a full recovery.  Changmin apprehended Victoria trying to escape with the disc in her purse and brought her in for questioning.  She confessed to a number of crimes, including killing Zhou Mi in China.  Then she aided your escape from China so that she could earn our trust and join NIS.  She was working for Omega from the very beginning.  I’m sorry.”

            Ryeowook fell to his knees and his vision grew blurry.  After a moment, he realized it was due to his eyes watering up and he finally blinked and let the tears fall down his cheeks.  Alone in the woods, he allowed himself to succumb to his torn emotions. 

            Qian had been like a sister to him.  Since neither of them had family they spoke to, they often celebrated holidays together since coming back to Korea from China.  He’d even written her in as the beneficiary in his will, in case he died.  Little did he know that he could have been offed by her. 

            “Ryeowook!”

            Ryeowook peered over his shoulder at the sound of Kyuhyun’s voice in the near distance.  He sniffled and wiped his cheeks with his hand, trying to dry them.  Before he could get up, Kyuhyun located him and knelt down beside him. 

            “Ryeong…I’m sorry about your friend.”

            Ryeowook nodded. 

            “Do you want to talk about it?” Kyuhyun asked, glancing at Ryeowook’s gun, lying on the ground beside him.

            Ryeowook shook his head.  “Maybe later, but not right now.”

            “Are you done shooting?”

            “Yeah.”

            “Did that…help…at all?”

            Ryeowook crawled over towards Kyuhyun and wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun’s neck and hugged him.  “Not really.”

            When Kyuhyun hugged him back, Ryeowook finally felt some measure of relief.  He realized that he’d been trembling, out of anger or anxiety, he wasn’t sure, but he felt his body still when pressed against Kyuhyun’s