Taecyeon stared silently at his fellow Rank 1 Warriors, his breathing measured, but his eyes infinitely serious.

Jun.K was whistling a happy tune as he sharpened his fingernails with a razor. Chansung held a bottle of soju in his hands, taking gulps from it every few seconds, even though his eyes already looked dazed and inebriated. Nickhun was cradling his broken arm, his eyes cold and brutal as he gazed down at the dagger he was flipping in his free hand. JB and JR were both staring vacantly out of the window; anyone else would have thought they were daydreaming, but Taecyeon noticed JB’s clenched fists, and JR turned back periodically to glance worriedly at his brother.

After a minute, Taecyeon asked wearily, “Where are the others?”

JB straightened up. He cleared his throat, “Junho-hyung is still on assignment in France, he should be back latest by next week. Siwoo’s having an important exam, I told him he didn’t have to skip it cos I’ll brief him later. As for Wooyoung-hyung, I’m not sure where he is. I haven’t seen him in the past two weeks, but I spoke to his manager, and I think he’s busy chasing some new girl now.”

Taecyeon would have rolled his eyes in exasperation, except for the fact that he was too upset to feel anything else, “All right. Let’s start then.”

The Warriors all turned to face Taecyeon; Chansung stumbled a little, but managed to sit upright to listen.

“We have apprehended a member of T-ara. JB and Jun.K were involved; JB was the one who overpowered her. She was taken into interrogation by Elder Yoochun two days ago, but has yet to divulge any information. However, I think some of us already know who her compatriots are.”

Jun.K grinned, a gruesome grin of anticipation. JB’s fists tightened.

“Her name is Park Soyeon. Her fellow members are her alleged ‘sisters’, who live in the same house as her. A few of us have already interacted with them previously; JB and JR are both classmates of the youngest assassin, Park Jiyeon. Chansung is Soyeon’s coworker, and Nickhun has encountered Lee Qri on several occasions. His arm was broken because of her; he nearly ran into her during the Kwon Yuri assignment and had to use drastic measures to escape her notice. And I myself have spoken several times with Ham Eunjung.”

Nickhun grimaced, cradling his arm gently at his leader’s words. JR managed a weak smile.

“We have received our orders.”

There was a long silence as the members stared at Taecyeon. Chansung whispered in dismay, “So fast?”

“Elimination. We will work as a team this time, and go after the assassins one by one. Our first target is the oldest assassin, Jeon Boram. Our resources say that she’s not the best of the assassins-Hyomin is- but she’s the most experienced and supposedly the most level-headed. We must work carefully. Jun.K and Chansung will track her for a week first, find out her schedule and work out the best time of assault. When Junho joins us, we’ll take her down. Capture only, no deaths. Once we have all of them, there will be a public execution, a warning to other aspiring assassins that the Creed will not be so easily defeated.” Taecyeon recited the orders he had memorized, his expression almost lifeless. JR patted his brother on the back.

There was a sudden laugh and a whoop; Jun.K leapt to his feet, clapping his hands together in glee, “Finally, we can get rid of those filthy assassins and show them who’s the boss!”

Taecyeon’s face twisted in anger for a moment; Chansung’s hands rippled unconsciously, and Taecyeon knew that, in Chansung’s mind, he had just grabbed Jun.K and snapped his neck.

Jun.K, oblivious to all this, hurried to the door, “Well, better start work quickly!” With a cheery wave at his teammates, he hurried out of the door.

The other members followed, more slowly. JB’s eyes met Taecyeon’s; the leader gave a curt nod and headed out of the room, with the vice-leader following him more slowly.

Nickhun’s eyes narrowed slightly at the exchange. What was that about?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Eunjung told me you’re dating Park Jiyeon. Is it true?” Taecyeon asked quietly as he leaned against the wall.

JB leaned against the wall beside his leader, “Jiyeon told me you’re dating Ham Eunjung. Is it true?”

There was a pause as both members stared at each other challengingly, before Taecyeon relaxed with a deep sigh, “I guess we both know the answers to our questions.”

JB shrugged nonchalantly, but his eyes betrayed his frustration.

Taecyeon folded his hands, “You know, sometimes I think you really have it hardest out of all of us. What with you being Elder Yunho’s oldest son and everything. The pressure’s on you and JR, of course, to prove yourselves to be Warriors as good as Elder Yunho is. But you’re his oldest, and you’re the one expected to take over his place in the Creed.”

“And instead, I fall in love with a member of T-ara, one of the highest members of Masquerade, and the one who is reportedly the best assassin too. What a disappointment I must be.” JB answered with  bitter laugh. Taecyeon glanced over at his younger vice-leader, his eyes filled with pity, “You want to help Park Soyeon.”

It wasn’t a question.

JB exhaled deeply, “I know. It’s stupid. It’s traitorous. But I’ve seen Jiyeon walk into class the past two days, listless and exhausted, and I see how red her eyes are from crying. I just want to lessen her suffering. And the only way to do that is to return Park Soyeon to them.”

“You will be deemed a traitor if you’re discovered.” Taecyeon spoke quietly, “Elder Yunho won’t give you a second chance, even if you are his son. He’ll order your death immediately.”

“Maybe I could join the Masquerade.” JB answered with a weak chuckle. Taecyeon didn’t laugh.

“I know what I’m doing, hyung.” JB finally said, under Taecyeon’s iron stare. Taecyeon raised an eye, “You do? You’re going to help her?”

JB hesitated for a moment. Then he smiled, a smile that did not reach his eyes, “I don’t know if my plan will succeed. But I hope it will. If it doesn’t…then I can only just ask you to make it a quick death for me.” He pushed himself off the wall and turned to leave.

Taecyeon stared after him, stunned, for a moment. Then, barely regaining his composure, he called, “Hey, JB! You probably want to get those hands bandaged before they get infected!”

JB’s fists unclenched. He stared down at his red-marked hands, the deep cuts his fingernails had made in his skin. And he smiled, a bitter smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee Junho swung himself out of the window, landing lightly on the hard ground below. He glanced up, and a small smirk crossed his face. As he hurried out of the small alley, he pulled off his fake moustache and white hair, tossing it quickly into the nearby dustbin.

Behind him, in the room he had just left behind, he heard a scream of shock.

He didn’t bother to stop. They must have found the body.

As he rounded the corner, he began to run all out, his athletics legs bringing him so fast he was almost like lightning as he raced back to his hotel room.

All of a sudden, a woman turned the corner in front of him; he yelped, trying to dodge to the side, but nearly lost his balance, coming to an ungraceful halt before the woman. She too, stopped abruptly, nearly falling over at the sight of him.

Junho glared at the unfamiliar woman, “Do you mind? Watch where you’re going, you blind bat!”

The woman looked outraged, “What blind bat? You’re the one that was rushing around like a mad chicken!”

Junho gave a ‘che’ and tried to push his way past the woman, but she grabbed his hand with an iron grip, “Hey, where do you think you’re going.”

Junho shot her a look, “I’m going home. Now what’s your problem?”

“Apologise!” The woman demanded furiously. Junho rolled his eyes, “No way in hell, kiddo.”

“You…you rude danshin!”

There was a moment of silence. Then Junho turned around abruptly, “What did you just call me?”

“Danshin!” The woman repeated, shaking her fist.

Junho frowned, eying the woman. He wasn’t so much upset by being called a shortie as he was startled by the fact that the woman before him was Korean. He had thought she looked more like some exotic Eurasian or something, “What’s your name.”

The woman looked at him warily, “Why do you want to know? Are you going to stalk me or something?”

Junho rolled his eyes, “I’ve got better taste, weirdo.”

“So why do you want to know my name?”

Junho huffed, “Look, if you don’t want to tell me, just say so.” He pushed past her again, and this time she let him go, striding his way back to the hotel.

There was a moment of silence as the woman stared after Junho. Then she frowned, feeling for her wallet…

“!”

Junho grinned as he glanced down at the expensive looking wallet he held in his hands. He flipped it open to look at the identity card, “Lee Areum?”

“You bastard danshin! Return me my wallet!”

Junho shot a look over his shoulder, only to see Lee Areum running after him with his long legs. He gave a grin, and he started to run as well. 

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The plot thickens! The Warriors are finally going after the assassins, and Boram is their first target? Will she escape, or fall into their clutches like Soyeon? I know there wasn't much on the assassins in this chapter; next chapter will be more focused on them and their search for their missing member. Is anyone else hoping that JB will help Soyeon escape? XD

Areum and Junho both finally make an appearance. Junho's the playful guy who loves to piss people off, and he's obviously a Warrior, but can anyone guess Areum's role in this messy war between Warriors and assassins? BTW Dani will be appearing too, but in a smaller capacity.

So guys, remember, comment and subscribe!