Lee Haneul had never seen an ugly vampire before, but she supposed there was a first time for everything.

He smiled at her, baring teeth that would make any Englishman weep, and tilted his head questioningly when she grimaced in response.

“I’m usually a pacifist—strange considering I’m in the army, I know—but I honestly think I’d be doing the world a favor by blasting you to smithereens,” she told him blankly, one finger cocked on the raygun’s trigger as she kept it leveled at the creature’s pale forehead. “Isn’t your species dependent on being good-looking, ergo drawing in unsuspecting and girls into your bed so that you can chomp down on their jugulars?”

The vampire huffed, distinctly offended.

“Ethcuth me, thath wath rude!” he spat, his eyes venomous. “I wathn’t gonna kill you, buth now I have no—”

Splat!

Haneul blinked dispassionately, staring at the gooey remains of the vampire while letting the smoke from the raygun dissipate.

“Lieutenant, we good?” crackled Jackson’s voice over the comm. “I really need a shower.”

“All the soap in the world will never be able to wash away your sins,” intoned Kyungsoo, his words drowned out by the rumbling of an engine in the background.

“That was deep, bro, but I’m being serious here! I have werehyena guts on me, and it does not smell good. Can you drive fas—woah! NOT THAT FAST!”

Smothering a snigger, Haneul tucked her raygun into its holster and crouched down to place a tracker next to the pile of rancid vampire remains. The researchers would have a field day with this. It wasn’t very often that they got to poke and prod at vampire DNA, since most of them were smart enough to stay indoors when the sun was being obnoxiously bright.

Well, at least she contributed to Darwinism by eliminating the poor sod from the gene pool. That could be her good deed of the day, right?

The sound of a honk made her turn around, eyebrow cocked when she spotted a morose Jackson scowling at the state of his military-grade jacket, perched precariously on the back of the camo Wrangler.

Hauling herself into the shotgun seat, which had been allotted to her after a very aggressive game of rock-paper-scissors and a few death threats on her part, she peeled off her gloves and sighed in relief.

Kyungsoo, the designated driver (because Jackson got carsick and Haneul was banned from driving after the last jeep she’d wrecked), nodded towards the stash of cheap granola bars in the cup holder.

“Help yourself,” he smirked.

She made a face at him, but grabbed one of the bars anyway. Her stomach was rumbling loudly, and they didn’t have the option to stop and get take-out unless they wanted an entire battalion of pissed-off werehyenas to descend upon them.

“How far are we from the base?” she asked, chomping down on the wafer and immediately blanching.

“About twenty minutes,” Kyungsoo answered her, his eyes surveying the long stretch of road ahead of them. “Keep an eye out for dens, we’re on a mountain right now and—”

“I know, I’ve read up on them, remember?” she sighed, resting her chin on her arm as she peered out of the window. “Jackson, you alright back there?”

She received a muffled grunt in response.

The day had started off well enough. They had left their base in high spirits for the routine patrol, four teams of three heading off in separate directions. Fortunately, Colonel Kim’s operation in Jordan a few months ago had culled the number of rogues, but there were still radical organizations that lurked underground. The werehyenas and the ghouls were the most vocal minority, and the most aggressive as well. She supposed it couldn’t be helped; they weren’t even a natural species in the first place.

Technically, werehyenas were just an unlucky mutation made from combining a werewolf and a vampire’s DNA, discovered by complete accident. Poor Dr. Jung didn’t even see it coming. They found what was left of him, or at least they thought so, the next morning and the werehyena had escaped long since. That was five years ago, and the damn hybrids kept breeding like rabbits.

It was a small wonder that Colonel Kim even managed to make a dent in their population. They were a menace to society, and the colonel was being hailed as a hero for his success.

Anyway, things had gone south when one of the privates had poked at a den full of rabid werehyenas in heat. All Haneul knew after that was that Dr. Seokjin from the weapons development department needed a raise, because those rayguns were a work of art. What she didn't understand was how a vampire was lurking around in the scorching desert heat.

Contrary to popular belief, sunlight wasn't the equivalent of Kryptonite to vampires, but they were a lot slower, not to mention visually impaired, when the sun was up. So, it wasn't the brightest (giggle) idea for a vampire to be wandering around in daylight. That raised alarm bells in her mind, but she didn't have the energy to nitpick at the lifestyle choices of a now-dead vampire right now.

True to his word, Kyungsoo delivered a green-faced Jackson and a tired Haneul to the base within twenty minutes, waving them off as he spouted off some nonsense about how he needed to clean up the jeep. Haneul knew he was sneaking off to visit one of the cute nurses that she suspected he had a crush on, but she let it slide. The guy had it bad.

She saw three other Wranglers parked neatly near the canopy where the guards stood, and concluded that her team wasn't late, they were just extremely hardworking.

“If those mutants don’t kill me, Kyungsoo’s driving definitely will,” Jackson groaned, hanging onto a railing as he stumbled upstairs. “I’m gonna go puke, bye.”

Raising a brow at his retreating back, Haneul shrugged and headed towards the barracks. She’d deal with her dirty equipment later, she decided. First, a shower, and then she’d take a nice, long nap.

Feeling giddy at the prospect of being able to relax after two weeks of action, Haneul was about to take a step forward when her comm pinged.

Groaning (because she just really couldn’t catch a break, could she?), Haneul swiped up the dangling earpiece as she continued her trek towards the shared baths.

“Lieutenant Lee speaking,” she droned.

“Haneul, there isn't any water in the tanks!” came Nayoung’s voice, and Haneul stamped down the urge to cry. “I'm stuck in the shower and I have soap all over me, can you get the backup plumbing working?”

Today was just not her day, Haneul decided somberly.

With a muted 'sure’, she trudged back outside with mumbled curses trapped in her lips. The bright, piercing sun glared down at her, toasting her into a decidedly inedible human sandwich as she tried to figure out which tap was the backup and which tap held the drinking water.

“Are you sure you've got it?” hissed a raspy voice.

Ears pricking up immediately at the blatant shadiness of the words, Haneul ducked down and peered around the opaque water tank, Nayoung’s plight forgotten.

The base was large enough to have multiple entry points, and there weren't many personnel stationed there because of the civil unrest in other parts of the Middle East, hence dividing the platoon into smaller divisions. Haneul supposed a few rats might've slipped in without them noticing.

Time to fix that.

At first glance of the back of his head, she could only make out that he had ordinary black hair, wore a standard issue uniform, and loosely gripped a shiny rifle in his left hand.

No signs of scarring or any physical handicaps. He slouched a little, and had a disinterested aura as he conversed with another person that was out of her view.

Not a combatant, then. Just a measly little spy.

This wouldn't be too difficult.

“Yes, I'm sure! Everything's in the USB, just get me out of here before they realize I hacked into their system, alright?” the man snapped back in a low voice, shoulders taut.

Haneul creeped closer, sticking to the walls of the tank, simultaneously checking her belt for her gun.

Drat. Hand-to-hand it is.

“Dr. Jung will be pleased,” the other man intoned, and she froze.

She had assumed they were spies from one of the radical branches of Jordan’s terror cells. Things would be much simpler if that was the case.

But this was unexpected.

There was only one Dr. Jung that she knew of, and he had died five years ago.

Interest piqued and heart hammering, she tried to get a glance of the man with the raspy voice. It proved to be a futile venture, as the spy was ridiculously tall.

“Get to the southern gates, a car will be waiting for you and will drop you at HQ. And remember, this is confidential.”

He received a grunt in response, and Haneul saw a pale, slender hand receive an innocuous USB before she ducked back into the security of the water tank’s cover.

She had two options and maybe a minute to decide.

One, inform her commanding officer and possibly get brushed to the sidelines, never finding out how and why a dead man was championing the infiltration of a military base, or two, recklessly squirm into the aforementioned car’s trunk and potentially get suspended for disobeying protocol, but ultimately satiating her curiosity.

It was to no surprise that a few moments later, Haneul found herself uncomfortably contorted into a fetal position while the car almost flew over the rocky path that led them away from the military base and towards town.

Her comm crackled and she turned it off.

Poor Nayoung, she didn't even switch on the backup plumbing before committing herself to this insane plan.

She didn't know how long it was until they reached their destination, but she was glad for it. It wasn't very fun being knocked against the hard ridges of the trunk whenever they went over a pothole. Clearly, they needed a better driver.

Then again, she wasn't one to talk about driving, not after having crashed an SUV into a gas station.

Haneul could distinctly make out the sound of doors slamming and the whirring of an engine.

Cracking open the unlocked trunk (she wasn't dumb enough to lock herself in, thanks), she could see that they were parked in a dimly lit basement.

The spy had changed into black clothing, a cap fitted over his head and casting shadows on his face as he made his way to a pair of glass doors, where a pair of security guards stood with their arms folded.

Think fast.

She didn't have a gun on her. Her jacket and vest were good enough for withstanding a physical altercation, but if they had guns, she wouldn't last very long unless she swiped them or knocked out both the guards before they had a chance to shoot or call for backup.

She had already deduced that her spy wasn't a fighter, and the only other person unaccounted for was the car's driver, who was already on his way out.

So she could either grab the spy, who may or may not have what she needed, or she could knock out the guards and attempt to infiltrate the building. The former would be pretty difficult to pull off, seeing as the guards would definitely notice her dragging away the freakishly tall man.

Haneul was regretting not leaving behind a message.

The trunk rose a bit higher as she sneakily slid out, keeping an eye on the guards as her body slithered to rest in the shadows the car was casting. She tightened the cloth around her lower face, torn from the edge of her black tee.

The guard on the right twitched, turning his head to slap at a mosquito.

Now.

Springing from her spot, Haneul covered the relatively short distance with ease, locking her leg around the gobsmacked guard’s knees and bringing him down, slamming his head against the harsh gravel with her right hand. A sickening crunch followed, and the only indicator that he was alive was his stuttered breathing.

The other guard shouted something unintelligible, and made a move to touch his comm, but sadly ended up with a bloody mouth before he could utter anything. He reeled back, clutching his jaw, and Haneul took the opportunity to slip the first guard's gun into her hand.

He paused, warily eyeing the gun and then looked up at her unreadable gaze.

His body crumpled like a house of cards when the barrel slammed into the side of head.

Haneul discovered that enemy bases were much easier to sneak into when you were wearing the correct uniform.

She felt a bit dirty wearing a used uniform, the thick material a little too big for her small and athletic frame, but nobody really took a close enough look at her to object.

Keeping the identity card flipped so that the photo wasn't visible, she strode through the upper levels with ease, the interior surprisingly luxurious and sun-lit thanks to the clear glass walls.

Haneul found that the tower consisted of forty floors once she stepped inside the elevator, and she internally screamed.

How was she supposed to find dirt on the supposedly-alive Dr. Jung when the building was so freaking huge?

It looked more like a corporation than an HQ, honestly. There were people in suits of varying depressing colors scurrying around on all floors, cubicles stacked high with folders, and a harried looking supervisor herding the employees every now and then.

Upon reaching the thirty-eighth floor with no progress, Haneul was beginning to regret not pinning down the spy. It would've at least given her a scapegoat to present to her commanding officer.

Right now, she had no proof of anything. If she went back to base like this, especially after deliberately disobeying protocol and sneaking into an organisation that wasn't even confirmed to be a threat, she'd risk losing her position as first lieutenant.

She hadn't even gotten to shower yet, dammit.

But she couldn't do that. Not without figuring out what the deal with Dr. Jung was.

She had to know what happened to him. If he was still alive. It would be earth-shattering news if he was.

After all, Dr. Jung had been one of the best researchers the military had ever had. Why would he be in hiding, and why would he be sending people to steal data from the army?

The doors of the elevator slid open, and she stepped inside with a growing sense of doom. Two men were present within, whom she originally ignored.

“Sir, we found some reports—”

“In my office.”

“Ah, y-yes.”

She pretended to be busy on her (well, not really, it belonged to one of the guards) phone as she stood beside the taller of the two men, not daring to look up as the elevator's doors slid shut.

He smelled heavenly. Was that cologne?

The man, a good few inches taller than her, seemed to be preoccupied with the folder he was perusing. His skin was smooth and slightly tanned, lips pursed and brows set heavy and straight over his dark eyes. The suit clung to his frame and screamed of money and power.

Haneul immediately disliked him.

His assistant looked nervous, and her sights narrowed down to him.

Maybe what she was looking for was on the topmost floor?

“You. Security.”

The suit-clad man, whom she'd lamely dubbed as Brows, was looking at her how one would look at a particularly persistent housefly. Chagrin laced his voice, and he appeared to be quite tired, as gathered by the bags underneath his eyes.

“Why are you still here?” he continued.

Sweat formed on her forehead.

“I was told to inspect the area for a suspicious character,” Haneul blurted, praying that no one had discovered the unconscious bodies of the guards she'd shoved under a car. “Sir,” she added helpfully.

Brows looked a little disbelieving, but his assistant managed to distract him when the doors slid open yet again on the fortieth floor.

“Sir, please, this is very urgent!” he practically wailed.

It seemed that Brows took mercy on the red-faced man, because he shot her one last unreadable look before stepping out.

Haneul waited for him to disappear behind a large set of tinted doors before following suit.

There were only three offices on this floor, and the other two didn't look like they were occupied, since they were locked from the outside.

Connecting her comm to the stolen phone’s earphone jack, Haneul slipped the bottom of the phone through the inch-tall gap under the door, switching on the earpiece once it was in.

“...just returned with the USB, says that he didn't notice anyone acting strange. Ultimately, he doesn't think anyone knows about it yet.”

“It needs to be kept that way. Make sure nothing else slips, understood?”

“Yes, sir. And…”

“What else?”

“The good doctor wanted to let you know that he's found her.”

There was a moment of silence. Haneul held her breath, straining her ears so as to not miss a word. Clearly, this was important. And confidential.

“How?”

“He says it was a of luck. Someone brought back a few… samples and when processing those, he found a perfect match.”

“I don't believe in coincidences, Luhan.”

“I suppose so, sir. You might want to talk to him yourself.”

Haneul grimaced.

Just say his name already! I didn't risk suspension and a possible lawsuit for assaulting two employees just for this!

“What, exactly, are you doing there?” asked an indignant voice.

Jolting up from her crouch, Haneul plastered a smile on her face, facing the unamused janitor while covering the black wire with her body as she tucked the still-recording phone into one of her bulky pockets.

“I thought I saw something blink. You know, microphones and trackers can be really easy to miss,” she remarked casually, slipping past the man with feline grace. “I suppose I'll check the other floors now, have a good day!”

Rushing into the elevator before he could muster up a reply, Haneul slammed the button for the ground floor and sagged against the wall in relief when the doors closed.

Well, she hadn't found anything, but at least she had a recording of… whatever it was that those two were blathering about.

Maybe Kyungsoo would be able to make sense of it.

“Oh, ,” she whispered, freezing.

She still had to report back and explain why she'd been missing for the past four hours.

The elevator dinged happily in reply.