Fighting a brother

If the War Goes On
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Chen pulled the car over to the side of the road in front of the nightclub with a screech of tyres and flung the car door open. Usually he would be a lot more careful than this, taking his time to scout out his surroundings, plan exit routes and make sure he wasn’t being watched or followed, but there wasn't much point in doing that now. He was knowingly walking straight into a trap, and there was little chance of him coming out alive.

He knew it, but he couldn’t completely accept it. He’d escaped death so many times, had so many close calls. And a small, secret, childish part of him refused to believe that Suho wanted to kill him. Suho, who had known him his whole life, who had been an older brother to him, taught him everything he knew. He'd betrayed Chen countless times - but kill him?

Chen pushed it all away. The only thing that mattered right now was Xiumin. Get Xiumin out, and he would deal with the rest of the situation as it happened. Dying here would be better than living through losing another person he loved.

He glanced up at the front of the building, but it showed him nothing more than a dirty city façade, six stories high, each level displaying a sign or banner for different small businesses – a restaurant, a pawnbroker, a travel agent, a massage parlour. The sign above the steps that led down into the basement was a neon sign, not yet lit up for the night’s business, as it was still only late afternoon. Calendar Girls, the unlit sign read, and the silhouette of a curvaceous woman in high heels pranced beside the words. The heavy glass door to the basement level was closed, but not locked or guarded. Chen pushed through it and descended a dark stairwell.

His eyes quickly adjusted to the dim lighting as he reached the sub-level, showing him a wide, open dance floor, with a stage with two fixed silver poles at one end and a bar at the other. Low tables surrounded by vinyl couches were set in clusters around the edges. The ceiling was a mess of lighting equipment, lasers and disco balls, all unused at the moment. Quiet, pulsing music played in the background, and staff members moved unobtrusively around the edges of the room, cleaning and preparing to open. An open doorway near the stage caught his attention, and when he went through it, he found himself in a long, tackily decorated corridor that probably looked a lot more glamorous under the influence of alcohol. The doorways he passed were all open, and though he glanced into each one, he knew they would all be empty. The nightclub was one affiliated with the gang, but it still wasn’t a good idea to do business out in the open.

He cursed Jeongsu. If his handler had listened to him and sent a force in, it would have been so easy to capture Suho here. They’d only have to cover the stairs at the front and any back exits that might lead up from the basement. But Jeongsu didn’t want to capture Suho, at least not yet. His sights were set on bigger fish. Chen understood that, but he couldn’t help the anger and frustration that burned him up inside. It felt like a betrayal. Jeongsu had promised to help him protect his people in exchange for Chen’s work undercover, and now he had failed him for the second time. First Baekhyun, now Xiumin. Did Jeongsu care how many times Chen had nearly died, how many beatings he’d taken, how many scars he had, both physical and emotional? Probably not, he thought bitterly. All Jeongsu cared about was getting Gwangju, and too bad if people got in the way of that. Chen’s value to Jeongsu was because he was so deep in the gang. As a person, he counted for nothing.

He turned a corner at the end of the corridor and was immediately blocked by a couple of Suho’s men. He recognized them both. They'd originally worked for Bakwi. They must be some of the few Xiumin hadn’t managed to lure over to his own crew. They were large and menacing, and they stared at Chen as he passed. He kept his face cold and walked between them as if they weren’t there, though every nerve in his body was on edge, ready to react should they attack him. But they didn’t. Suho was expecting him, after all.

A door to a private room halfway down this second corridor was guarded by two men in dark suits Chen had never seen before. The taller one, young and broad-shouldered with knife-blade eyes, stepped in front of him and held up a hand.

“Weapons,” he said in a cold voice. It was very slightly accented, and Chen placed the accent as mainland Chinese. Even the slight movement he made to stop Chen moving forward sang to him of skilled, deadly grace. This was no mere thug, easily outmanoeuvred by someone well-trained. This was someone who could back up his words with lethal consequence, and he had the reach on Chen by far.

All the same, there was no way Chen was going into that room weaponless. He moved his hand towards his jacket, as if intending to take out his knife. The man tracked his hand with his eyes, and Chen burst into motion. He punched towards the first man’s ribs at the same time as his leg snapped up and kicked the second man in the face. Cartilage crunched as a nose broke under his shoe, and the second man dropped like a stone. The first man slipped past his punch and spun, and then they were locked in, trading blows and blocks, the movements coming faster than thought as years of training took over. The Chinese man was much taller than Chen and more muscular, neither of which was unusual, but he was also lithe enough that Chen’s speed wasn’t enough to give him the edge he usually had over bigger foes. Chen's breath started to come harder as he was slowly forced backwards down the corridor. Feinting, he slipped under his opponent's arm and got behind him. Immediately he lashed out with a powerful back kick that caught the back of his opponent’s knee. The man stumbled, and Chen sprang into the air, twisting as he did. The torque of his body whipped his leg around and his heel met his opponent’s temple with a hard crack. He staggered forward, and Chen finished the job with a second kick to the back of the head as he landed. The man slumped face down onto the dirty carpet, unconscious. The first two guards at the far end of the corridor were coming towards him now. Chen spun and ran towards the door of the private room. He took his switchblade out and flipped it open as he burst through the door and into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. The lock flipped, and the two thugs in the corridor were shut out.

Chen’s eyes darted around the room, taking in the scene before him. Xiumin was lying on his side on the floor beneath the table, still in the same position as he had been in the video Suho had sent. He hadn’t woken up in the time it had taken Chen to get here, and Chen's heart went cold. The head injury could be serious. His instinct was to run to his friend immediately, but he forced himself to be still and understand his situation. He couldn’t help Xiumin if he got himself killed too quickly.

Suho was leaning against a drinks counter to his right, a mocking smile on his lips as he looked at Chen. He toyed with a black-bladed tanto knife in one hand, spinning it expertly around his fingers. Jwi was standing to Chen’s right. The rat-faced gangster wasn’t looking at Chen. Instead, he watched the other two people in the room, his body tense and uneasy.

Chen looked at the other two people. They were on the cushioned bench behind the table, close to where Xiumin lay beneath them. A man, aged in his mid-thirties, with blonde waves of hair framing his face. His features were fine, skin porcelain, but his beauty was somehow spoiled. There was something about the way his eyes gleamed that spoke to Chen of madness. In his lap he held a younger, slighter man, and Chen was startled and dismayed to recognise Luhan. He’d last seen the youth when he’d tossed him into the back of his car after dragging him off the highway. He’d almost forgotten about Luhan’s existence. He must have escaped from Tao in the confusion and gone back to Suho, but Chen could see immediately his escape had put the runner in a far worse situation than if Tao had managed to hang onto him.

Luhan was sitting limply where he was held, the blonde man’s arm curled loosely around his waist. His pretty face was paler and thinner than when Chen had seen him last. His body trembled slightly when the blond-haired man leaned his head closer towards him and breathed onto his neck, but his expression didn’t change. The huge brown eyes stared emptily into the distance. It was a look Chen had seen before, in the eyes of girls who had been cruelly used by men. Though Luhan had attacked him, he was saddened to see that look on him, so different from the fire that had burned in his eyes when he’d stabbed Chen in the car that night. Another child broken and brutalized. Another victim he couldn’t save.

“My, if it isn't the infamous Chen,” the blonde man said. He smiled too widely when he spoke, and his eyes glittered. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Who are you?” Chen asked guardedly. He kept his switchblade ready in his hand. This man knew who he was, and he must be above Suho, because it was obvious he was in charge of this little party. That meant he was from Gwangju, because there was nobody above himself and Suho in Seoul now. Despite his less than ideal situation, a tiny flare of triumph leapt in his chest. After all these years of working his way slowly up the ladder, he was finally meeting someone from the Gwangju line.

“I’m Kim Heechul,” the man said. “I’m here to represent my father. Business in Seoul has gotten a little stagnant lately, and he’d like to see things move smoothly again.” As he spoke, he slipped a hand up inside Luhan’s shirt, and Luhan gave an almost inaudible whimper. Chen, aware of every movement and every dynamic in the room, caught the way Suho’s jaw tightened, though he kept playing nonchalantly with his blade.

Chen guessed Heechul was here to confirm his death and to instate Suho as head of the Seoul distribution ring. But that couldn’t happen. Chen had come here ready to die, but this changed everything. He couldn’t die now, not with the long-locked doorway to Gwangju finally cracked open. If he let Suho take over Seoul, the eight years of work he’d done to get to this point would all come crashing down, and the drug cartel would be a stronger power in the city than ever. However, not dying now was going to be a serious challenge.

“I came, Suho,” Chen said. “Let Xiumin go.”

“You did,” Suho agreed cheerful

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midaexiu
Dear readers, can just say that I had Chanyeol zoom in on Xiumin and I both love and hate myself XD

Comments

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areytrea #1
Chapter 23: story seemed pretty good to me when i last read it, but now when i just read the seungwan and jongdae scene it seems too weird and like out of nowhere? Knowing seungwan is baekhyun's little sister, it's just insanely weird that they kissed idk but whatever it is i am just gonna pretend it didn't happen (maybe it's also my bias cause i came for wenrene) but the plot is good really cool
Rshinichi
#2
Chapter 28: I've been wanting to say this but... unnie, can i marry your brain? can i? can i? can i?
Rshinichi
#3
Chapter 1: re-reading, AGAIN! this masterpiece needs to be turned into a movie!!!
maryam411 #4
hellooo, just stopping by to say how much of a masterpiece this is
dusktide #5
Chapter 28: i haven’t read a fanfic in years and only came across this fic when it got promoted.
i have to say i’m so glad i did. this was a wonderful read and it was extremely difficult to put down. i’ve been screaming at my s/o all my predictions and i really thought i figured out who the sniper was… only to be proven wrong. amazing work, author! thank you for writing and sharing!
ashtrielles
#6
❤️❤️❤️
robin5
#7
Chapter 28: Wow - I’m so impressed by this story! It really drew me in and kept me on the edge of my seat a few times worrying about the characters. I’m so glad I’ve discovered your work - I’m off to read another. Thanks for sharing your wonderful stories with your readers. I can’t wait to see where you’ll take me next. XOXO <3
Rshinichi
#8
Chapter 8: im re-reading this. i just love to torture my poor soul 😭 also because everytime i read a fic i find my self comming back here cuz this jist set the bar waaay too high for me!!!
Rshinichi
#9
Chapter 28: I just finished reading it... after staying up all night... a-and... im at loss of words... BUT IM FULLLLLLL OR TEARS OMG THAT WAS AN EMOTIONAL ROLERCOASTER!!!!.
But I'll talk abou the story more professionally,
the au you created was not only very VERY well written, but moooost importantly you choice of words. YOUR CHOICE OF WORDS!!! some of the lines literally made me want to stand up and so a slow clap.
then the plot. its extremely well planned and its evident how much effor you put into this.
the characters all have stories, emotions of their own.
The theme. THE THEME! is just MIND BLOWING! veeeery realistic. this whole contrast between good and bad which just made me realise that there is a very thin line between them. no one can truly be good or evil. most of us have one foot on each side. which leaves us to the fact that you cant really categorise people at all. everyone is human and every deserves to be acknowledged as human being.

ps. this is my first time reading any other fic besides kaisoo. and chen is my bias wrecker❤️
i just dont have words to describe how much i loved it!!!!!