Chapter III

Let's Make a Deal

“You could say we're in a pretty pickle, hm?” Jennie comments in a humorless tone.

Lisa furrows her eyebrows. “Pickle?”

“Never mind,” Jennie says, rolling her eyes. “Any ideas? Plan A, or B?”

“I tried to convince them to let you go, but they won't listen. Sorn says you know too much.”

Jennie heaves a sigh that ends with a quiet ''.

How ironic, considering that she has no ing clue what's going on.

Well, okay, she knows that Lisa has stolen money. A lot money. But that's pretty much it. Does she really deserve to be bound with a rope and hang from a ceiling of some abandoned plane hangar like an animal about to be slaughtered? Just because she knows this useless piece of information? No. But of course, the mafia must have its own set of merciless rules.

“I appreciate the sentiment,” she tells Lisa, forcing a crooked smile to her lips.

But the girl doesn't meet her gaze. After struggling against her restraints for good fifteen minutes, Lisa is swaying now like a giant pendulum, counting down seconds to their final downfall. And it becomes painfully obvious that she has resigned herself to whatever is about to come.

Jennie lets out another sigh.

She spent the whole drive here trying to come up with some escape plan. But being stuck between two people who have their hands ready on their guns doesn't exactly encourage creative thinking.

This brings them to their current predicament. Hands and ankles tied up with a thick rope and a dusty floor beneath their heads. Jennie isn't one to give up easily, but right now, it really does feel like the final chapter of her life has just began. It big time, and she cannot help but to think about Jisoo and Rosé swooping in any second to save her.

“What are we waiting for, anyway?” Jennie asks, staring at the goth jogger, or Sorn how Lisa calls her, and the lanky boy, otherwise known as Ten.

With arms folded at their chests, they stand like a couple of statues throwing them menacing glares. Cute.

“I guess for BamBam.”

As though hailed by Lisa's words, the doors of the hangar lift and in saunters the man himself. In his right hand a baseball bat adorned with wicked spikes.

Jennie feels stupid that she hasn't realized it earlier. BamBam. Baseball bat. Makes perfect sense.

“I'm sorry I've kept you waiting,” he announces as he approaches them with an evil smirk plastered on his face. “By the way, thank you for leading us to her.” His icy blue eyes zero on Jennie, and it finally hits her.

They were following her, not Lisa. They must have predicted that Lisa would want to meet her.

“. Sorry,” she mutters apologetically, glancing at Lisa.

The girl offers a weak smile. “It's okay. They would find me one way or another.”

“Okay, enough of this chit-chat my cute piñatas,” BamBam says as he lifts his bat, preparing for a strike. “Where is the money, Lisa?”

Jennie swallows hard. She cannot believe this is happening. They are about to be beaten into a pulp by this maniac. ! There must be something they can do.

“Just tell him, Lisa,” Jennie mutters, her heartbeat quickens and so does her breathing.

But the stubborn girl shakes her head.

“I'll ask again,” BamBam intones menacingly, narrowing his eyes. “Where's the money, Lisa?”

“Goddammit, give him the ing money!” Jennie shouts, beads of sweat rolling down her temples when BamBam grips his bat tighter.

“I don't have it!” Lisa yells back.

“Then what did you do with it?!”

“I lost it playing at the casino!”

An eerie silence follows Lisa's words. Everyone's staring at her in disbelief.

An incredulous 'what?' leaves BamBam's and Jennie's mouth at the exact same time.

“I lost it. All of it,” Lisa repeats, voice quiet in shame and fear.

“Jesus ing Christ,” Jennie curses under her breath. She would face-palm if not for her tied up hands.

That's it. They are dead.

“Well, that's a shame. So who goes first?” BamBam smirks in a display of some kind of sick, morbid glee.

Jennie and Lisa meet in a gaze lock but neither of them says anything.

“How touching,” BamBam drawls mockingly. “Fine. Let's the fate decide.”

“Eeny, meeny, miny, moe,” BamBam starts counting out, pointing his finger between them.

“, , . Think Jennie. Think.”

To be perfectly honest, she didn't expect BamBam to let them off the hook, even if Lisa told him where the money was.

"Catch a tiger by the toe."

At best, it would buy them some more time.

"If he hollers, let him go."

Right now, however, he has no reason to keep them alive any longer... or does he?

Jennie's eyes widen in realization as a crazy idea pops up in her head.

"Eeny...meeny...miny...moe..."

BamBam stops.

His finger points to Lisa.

He swings his bat... 

“Wait!” Jennie hollers, her voice bouncing off the hangar walls.

BamBam stops mid-swing and side-eyes Jennie in annoyance.

“You won't get anything from killing us,” Jennie rushes her words, fearing to lose the man's attention any second. “Look, let's make a deal. I used to be a thief. A very successful one. Give us two weeks, and I promise to return the money to you.”

Narrowing his eyes, BamBam once again prepares for a swing.

“One week!” Jennie shouts in panic and screws her eyes shut.

Silence.

No screams of pain.

No sound of shattering bones.

Just the rapid heartbeat echoing in Jennie's ears.

She cracks one eye open and sees that BamBam lowered his bat. A sigh of relief escapes her lips as beads of perspiration trickle down her temples, crashing on the dusty floor.

“Successful you say? Then why don't you buy your way out of this?” BamBam asks with a sneer, as if he was proud to catch her on a lie.

Jennie avoids his gaze. This is the part that hurts more than being bashed with a baseball bat.

“I've been double-crossed,” she mutters through gritted teeth.

She still doesn't believe it. Jisoo had to have some reason for taking all of their money and disappearing. She would have never betrayed them. Never. Not like that. All of a sudden, she feels sick. But she blames it on hanging upside down for a good half an hour.

Her attention diverts to Sorn when the girl comes closer to BamBam and whispers something into his ear. The man eyes her then Lisa for a moment before speaking up again.

“Fine. You have one week,” he declares and smooths out his suit. “Sorn will keep an eye on you. If I don't hear from her, consider the deal over.”

He turns on his heel and starts walking away. Jennie deflates as tension leaves her body.

“Untie them,” BamBam says with a flick of his wrist.

Ten is quick to follow his order. Armed with a pocket knife, he approaches Lisa and cuts off her rope. Despite having her wrists still bound, the girl somehow manages to land gracefully on the floor like a cat. Then he moves to do the same with Jennie.

“Wait, no.” The thief shakes her head when the man starts cutting off the rope not bothering to free her wrists first. “Wait!” she yells but it's too late.

The rope rips, and Jennie falls onto her face with a thud. Groaning in pain, she rolls onto her back and sees an angel and a demon above her.

“Are you okay?” The angel asks, but her voice comes muffled like from underwater.

She helps Jennie to stand up, and when the haze lifts from Jennie's mind, she finally realizes it is no angel, just Lisa. And she may as well be the devil, considering what she is putting her through. Sorn stands beside them, expression impassive.

“Let's get out of here,” Lisa says and throws Jennie's arm over her shoulder, supporting her body when they walk outside.

Shielding her eyes from the sun once they leave the hangar, Jennie fishes her phone out of her jacket to call a taxi, because they are ing miles away from civilization.

“,” she curses when she realizes that her phone is in fact dead. “Okay, does anyone else has a phone?”

Lisa offers an apologetic smile while Sorn stands, arms folded at her chest, and says nothing. Jennie takes it as a no.

“Great,” she groans. “So I guess we are walking.”

She starts shuffling her feet down the dusty road thinking how much more unlucky she can get.

* * *

Apparently, a lot more.

As they walk back to the city, they try to hitch a ride. But no one dares to stop for them. Jennie assumes it's because of Miss 'I like to chew on bats' heads but also take part in marathons'. So she convinces Sorn to hide behind a bush, while she and Lisa try to stop a car.

Finally, after what feels like forever, a truck pulls over. Unfortunately, the moment the driver catches a glimpse of Sorn, he speeds off with a screech of tires. Jennie makes sure to throw a few profanities at him along with a pebble.

Needless to say, they give up on hitching a ride and walk to the city on foot. Throughout their walk not a single word passes between them. Jennie is too tired to talk. Lisa seems to respect it. While Sorn doesn't seem like a talkative type altogether.

It's late evening when they reach the city and manage to hail a taxi to Seulgi's place. Because yes, Jennie needs a drink. Again. Also, she needs an icepack. Again.

When they arrive at Seulgi's bar, it turns out it's closed, although it's around eight o'clock. Jennie figures that after what has happened today, the woman must have closed it earlier. Thankfully, she lives in the same building, so Jennie calls her on the interphone.

In less than a minute, Seulgi goes down to them and throws her arms around Jennie in a bone crushing hug.

“God, I thought they've killed you,” she says while Jennie fights to catch a breath. Luckily, the bartender soon lets go of her. “. What happened to your eye?”

“Long story,” Jennie answers, after catching a lungful of air. “Can you open the bar? I could really use a drink. And some ice.”

“Sure, of course.”

* * *

They all gather at one of the tables inside the pub. Seulgi on Jennie's right making sure she never runs out of whiskey. Lisa on her left sipping her plain OJ. And Sorn opposite of Jennie with that permanent frown stuck on her face.

Jennie tips her head back and downs her drink while holding an icepack to her swollen eye. Just then a cheerful melody resounds.

“Is that A-ing by Oh My Girl?” Seulgi remarks in confusion.

The melody stops once Sorn pulls a phone out of h