“What have they been doing to her?” Bom asked from the doorway where she stood after receiving word about the call button being pressed in Seungri and Sandara’s room. 

She heard Sandara’s cries and while a part of her knows that it could be the withdrawal talking, the pain and anguish in Sandara’s voice tells her that the it is coming from something real. She held back her tears as she approached Sandara’s bed. She carefully pushed aside the hair that was covering part of Sandara’s face as she visually checked on the girl. “You okay, Jiyong?”

“Yeah.” Jiyong answered tightly. Neither Bom nor Youngbae commented that since Sandara was already asleep, Jiyong could have let her go now.

“She’ll get more episodes like this.” Bom warned. “It will get worse before it gets better.”

“She said she won’t cry anymore..” Once again Seungri surprised them all. They turned to look at him and found him staring at the ceiling.

“Sorry, she woke you, man.” Youngbae commented, unsure of what else to say. 

“When I picked her up after her session with Hyesun noona, I asked her why she cried.” He recalled the scene and he could clearly see the panic in her face. “She was so insistent that she didn’t cry. Same thing when Jiyong hyung asked her about crying in my room. She was tripping over herself to assure us that she didn’t cry.. Now this..”

“Don’t think about it too much.” Jiyong advised. “It’ll make you go crazy. Or in your case crazier.”

Seungri gave a hollow chuckle. “I don’t know all the details yet and I already hurt for her. What more when we finally know the truth?” He twisted his head so that he was facing them. “You know why I got shot? Okay, not really why.. But we were walking to the milk tea shop and we stopped in front of the pet shop.”

Youngbae and Jiyong exchanged glances because Seungri’s words verified their earlier suspicions about the blood.

“Sandara was gushing over some kittens.” Seungri continued. “And then she turns to me, all wide eyes and sad faced. She says something like she feels sorry for the kittens because she was like them before. She was trapped and then we found her.” He sighed. “Just about broke my ing heart, let me tell you. In that moment I wanted to give her all the kittens she wanted. I was so distracted that I didn’t feel the bullet until it was too late.”

“Seungri..”

Seungri paid no attention to Youngbae. He was frowning so severely Bom touched his arm to check on him. “Yeah. I just.. There’s something nagging me.. Something I can’t remember.”

“Don’t force yourself.” Youngbae cautioned.
“But it might be important..” Seungri stared at the ceiling as he tried to jog his memory. Sighing in frustration when nothing comes to mind.

_________________________

“Come here, princess.”  A man called out to her, reaching out his hand and patiently waiting for her take it. “I’m going to show you something amazing.”

“Is it a present?”

“It’s better than a present.” The man told her, grinning widely at her. “This will change our lives. All our lives.”

She grinned back at him, his excitement catching on. 

“I just need you to do one thing for me..”

Sandara’s body jerked and her eyes shot open. Clutching a hand to her chest, she could feel the rapid beating of her heart. She looked around the dimly lit room as she tried to breathe.

She scanned the unfamiliar room and wondered if she got kidnapped. Tears were already forming, when she spotted someone on the other bed. She threw the blankets of her body and gingerly approached the other bed.

“Seungri.” She whispered. Relief flooding her at seeing her friend alive and with her. She could see that his arm was in some sort of sling so she was thankful that he got medical attention. She studied his face and her heart ached at the bruises and cuts he was sporting.

Looking away, she studied the door and approached it. She put her ear against the door and listened for sounds. Hearing nothing, she twisted the knob and let out a relieved sigh when it turned. She carefully opened the door and scanned the room but the hallway was empty. She closed it again and returned to Seungri’s bedside.

Could Jiyong have saved her? She wondered as she pulled up a chair next to Seungri’s bed and sat on it. If he hasn’t, she and Seungri will figure out a way to get out of her when he wakes up. She knows Seungri is good at his job because he told her so. Even if he didn’t, she knows that he won’t want to be locked up and she also knows that he wouldn’t just leave her.

She laid her head on the bed next to Seungri’s arm. “Wake up soon.”

___________________________

Sometime later, Sandara woke up when she felt a presence in the room. Jerking upright, she looked towards the door fearfully. There was a man there. felt dry and she worried about Seungri. How were they supposed -

The man broke her internal freak-out. “Sandara.”

At the sound of his voice, she burst into tears. 

“Hey.” Jiyong rushed towards her and gathered her into his arms. “You’re okay now.”

“Jiyong. Jiyong.” She cried. “I knew you’d find us.”

Jiyong didn’t say anything but the certainty and relief in her voice caused him to wrap his arms around her a little tighter.

Sandara continued crying, the events of the past few hours catching up with her. Jiyong rocked her in his arms and ran his hand up and down her back.

“Ssssh..” He whispered to her. “It’s okay now. You’re safe. So is Seungri.”

She shook her head. “I was so scared.”

“I promised you I’d find you right?” Jiyong asked. He maneuvered them so that she could take a seat. He worried that she’d deplete her strength. But Sandara wasn’t letting him go. “You need to take a seat. Bom said you need your strength..”

“I don’t wanna.” She protested. A small part of her was still worried that if she let Jiyong go, something bad would happen. “Don’t make me. Please don’t make me.”

He sighed. “Alright then.” He twisted so that he could take a seat. Sandara promptly sat on his lap sideways and wrapped an arm around his neck. He continued rubbing her back as her tears receded.

“I’m sorry.” she whispered.

“For what?”

“If we didn’t run away from you, this wouldn’t have happened.” She looked at him guiltily. “Seungri and I were just playing..”

“Sandara..” Jiyong tried to think of what to say. He doesn’t want to scare her needlessly but he also doesn’t want her thinking it was her fault. If anything, that burden is his.

“I was so scared.” She continued oblivious to his internal turmoil. “Seungri was bleeding so badly and then he was there..” She paused as she tried to control the tears. “He was so brave.”

“You both were.” Jiyong whispered. 

She shook her head. “It was Seungri.” She turned her tear-stained face towards him. “Why would anybody want to hurt Seungri? Is it because you took me away?”

Jiyong swallowed. “I.. We’re not yet sure.. But we’ll find out. We’ll keep you safe.”

Sandara  looked at the sleeping Seungri. His breathing was even and he still looked handsome even if he was battered and bruised. She could still remember the first time she saw Seungri. He sat with her and spoke with her and joked with her. 

She reached out to run her fingers gently up his arm.

She hates seeing him like this. Hated seeing him try to protect her even when they both knew he was injured.

“Maybe..” She trailed off and tried to collect herself before attempting to speak again. “Maybe I should just go back..”

_________________________________

In one of the offices two floors above the room where Jiyong and Sandara were keeping Seungri company, Kang Seungyoon was watching his monitors with bated breath. 

He thinks he finally cracked it!

Thanks to the code Daesung suggested early this morning, he was able to work from that and create his own program. He’s been running on coffee and adrenaline since the hard drives were delivered to him last night.

He knew Daesung was coming back to work on the files himself in a while but he wanted to be the one to decrypt them. 

For some reason, these hard drives were important to his hyungs and employers. More important than anything they’ve asked his help for since he joined the company. He didn’t want to let them down.

Big Bang saved him and his friends after they got out of the military. He and his unit went through some pretty unpleasant things when they were stationed overseas. Once they got out, it’s like they forgot how to function in normal society. Mino was getting into fights, Seunghoon wouldn’t go out of his room and Jinwoo just kept spacing out becoming even more of a lost boy than he already was. He, himself, was lost. He used to love playing his guitar but after a particularly bad day, he smashed his guitar sending him further into a spiral of depression.

Thankfully, he heard about Kwon Jiyong and Big Bang Securities Inc. 

He rounded up his ragtag group of friends, prepared themselves for a job interview and the rest is history. Now, he is considered an expert in his field, second only to Daesung. Mino is working his way up the ranks as a security officer and helps train the new recruits. Jinwoo and Seunghoon have decided that they wanted to help heal and save, so they’ve become licensed EMTs and are considering continuing their education to become doctors.

Yes, they’ve done pretty well. He thought as he turned to pour himself another cup of coffee.

DING

He turned slowly at the sound from his computer and he gave a quiet cheer as the files started popping up on his screens, soon filling them up.

Now he just needs to analyze the data and cross check as much info as possible.

Drinking a huge gulp of his coffee, he flexed his fingers and dove right back into work with an eager smile on his face. 

___________________

Choi Seunghyun shook Eun Jiwon’s hand as soon as he entered the older guy’s office. “Hyung. Thanks for the assist.”

Eun Jiwon studied the man before him offering a smirk. “You’re here hours after I took your man. Doesn’t seem like your usual MO. Did you take a nap? What’s going on TOP?”

Seunghyun sighed, unsure how much to tell him. He knows that Jiyong wants to protect Sandara at all costs but they need to know who she is in order to protect her. “Jiyong will give you the details but Seungri and a friend of ours was attacked by the man in your custody earlier. We want to know why.”

“And why involve Interpol?”

“We’re not officially involving Interpol.” Seunghyun hedged but Jiwon just gave him another one of his infamous smirks. The man was annoying as Jiyong when it comes to hardballing. “Okay.. We’re not yet involving Interpol. We’re just involving you. For now.”

“I can’t keep him detained without reason.” Jiwon pointed out.

“I know. We know.” Seunghyun answered. “And Jiyong will explain.” He promised. “I just want to see if I can get him to talk.”

Jiwon stared at him for what felt like an eternity. 

Ultimately, Jiwon trusted Big Bang. He has seen first hand how good they are at their jobs, both official and unofficial. He has also seen their characters from their long friendship and knows them well enough to be sure that they wouldn’t play around with something destructive. He eventually nodded and led the way to the holding room where they were keeping the man. “Daesung is already with Suwon. They’re trying to identify our new friend.”

“Any luck?” Seunghyun asked as he kept pace.

“Nope.” Jiwon answered. “No trace of him anywhere. At least none yet. Give them time. If he exists, they’ll find him. As for the guy himself.. Well, he’s been as quiet as mouse.”

“Maybe he just hasn’t found someone he want to get to know better yet.” Seunghyun threw a smoldering look towards Jiwon who rolled his eyes.

“I'm watching you Choi Seunghyun.” He reminded needlessly as Seunghyun gave a jaunty wave before entering the room.

Jiwon stationed himself in front of the one way mirror and near the intercom and listened as Seunghyun greeted the man in perfect Japanese.

“Nice tattoos.” Seunghyun commented as he sat down across the glaring man. “Do they mean anything or did you just think the colors were pretty?”

Unperturbed, he continued. “Want to tell me why we’re here?” He paused, then switched to English. “Why did you shoot at my friends?”

“What language do you speak? Do you even know how to speak?” He reverted to Japanese as he taunted the stoic man. “You know, you should save us both the trouble and just say your piece. You’re not getting out of here until you do.”

The man in front of him slowly gave a sinister smile at his words.

“Oh, so you do have something to say, huh?” Seunghyun pressed. “Tell me what you want. Maybe we can come to an understanding.”

“Two things.” The man hissed at Seunghyun. “One: We are always prepared.”

Seunghyun frowned but his gaze never left the man in front of him.

The man chuckled. Seunghyun felt prickles run through the back of his neck. “Two: Tainted legacy it may be. It is ours and we will not stop until it is rightfully returned to us.

With those words, he st