Chapter 33: REWIND 2 << [--:--am]

Code:Red?

Changsun’s mind swam muddily, the word buzzing in his brain like a swarm of bees but not actually penetrating his consciousness. That word had been mentioned so many times, by Byunghee, by the enforcers, by the BlackBeards, and yet Changsun still had no clue what it actually entailed.

“Yeah,” Byunghee nodded, “It was why my father was killed.”

Changsun looked up, heel of his hand to his forehead as if trying to banish the pounding headache. His mouth opened and closed several times before Changsun finally found the words he wanted to say. “What is Code:Red?”

Byunghee looked him in the eye. “A project to take down the government, started by my father and a ring of other co-conspirators. A coup d’état so to speak.”

“And how,” Changsun asked, his mouth feeling sticky and dry, “is Code:Red supposed to work?”

“The bottom line? It was a plan to hack into the mainframe of the government system and remove the most important pieces of information that could incriminate the government. With these red-hot pieces of data in their hand they would have enough motivation to rally the people into a boycott against the government. The beginnings of a revolution, that is what Code:Red is.”

Changsun tried to digest all of that. “So…what your father was convicted of… ‘espionage, government theft, the release of highly classified information and the attempt of overthrowing the government’…”

Byunghee nodded. “That was all Project Code:Red. It was to target the government’s weakness and exploit it.”

“But why do it in such a roundabout manner?” Changsun frowned. “There’s been so many revolutionists before, not like any of them succeeded-“ Byunghee’s face darkened and Changsun, realizing his slip-up hastened to apologize. “I didn’t mean it that way Byunghee!”

“I know,” Byunghee cut off his apologies in a heavy voice. “That’s why my father picked this method. He’s a hacker you know. It’s in our blood. We’re good with computers and the like and my father knew it was impossible to take down the government head on. So many people have tried and failed and so my father realized that one person alone cannot take down the government. Neither can two people or three or even a group. It needs to be everyone.”

“And so,” Changsun said realizing Jung Jong su’s ultimate plan. “He wanted to raise the entire mid-levelers to their feet. To make them oppose the government of their own will. Only then will there be a force mighty enough to go against them.”

“Not just the mid-levelers,” Byunghee added. “Those in the Graveyards and in the Peaks as well.”

“Even them?!”

“Even them,” Byunghee assented. “There are people in the Peaks who aren’t pleased with the government,” he said in response to Changsun’s shocked expression. “Even those living in luxury can feel antagonized by the iron-grip the government has on all of us.”

“Hey Byunghee…" Changsun said suddenly as the thought came to him. "How did you find out about Code:Red?" 

Byunghee his lips. “After my father died, I received a message. It was only to be sent if he died, and only after a period of time to make sure the government didn’t suspect anything.”

“And what was in that message?”

“Details of Code:Red. Details of what he had been doing, why he was never at home, what he trying to achieve. And details of what he wanted me to do next.”

“He wanted you to continue Code:Red,” Changsun said with finality.

Byunghee chuckled, “No Changsun,” and smiled when Changsun gave him a flabbergasted look in return. “My father would never ask that of me. He wanted me to know what exactly Code:Red was so that I would never go out looking for it. He asked me to never follow in his footsteps. To just live on and take care of my mother and sisters in his stead.”

“And so?”  

“I left it alone. I hated the government for killing my father, but I had to live for my mother, for my sisters. That all changed when the purge killed my sisters and my mother made me swear to get revenge for them and for father.”

Realization glittered in Changsun’s eyes. “Your mother asked that of you?”

“Don’t give me that look,” Byunghee chided him, knowing exactly what was running through his head. “My mother had just lost my father, and shortly after that both my sisters. It mentally unhinged her…”

“That’s no excuse-“ Changsun began heatedly, but the sudden thought of his father and those glassy eyes cut his stream of words. 

“It’s every excuse!” Byunghee continued without even realizing Changsun had stopped. “You didn't see how broke she was after the loss of father. To then lose both my sisters...even I don't know why i'm still functioning...”  

“And you’re going along with this?” Changsun raised his voice. “You’re continuing Code:Red because your mother wants revenge and she’s not strong enough to do it herself so she’s getting you to do her dirty work.”

“It’s not like that…” he winced. “I chose to do this.”

“And completing Code:Red requires the help of the BlackBeards?” Changsun stated coldly.

Byunghee sighed. “Yes Changsun. This is why I need them. Back then my father worked with the current boss’s father. In order to hack into the mainframe my father needed direct access to the Peak’s system and to do so he needed to be in the Peaks. So he got the BlackBeards to smuggle him over the harbor. I’m doing the same, just without mutual knowledge of what I’m going to do on the other side.”

“Are you an idiot?” Changsun said bluntly.

Byunghee leaned back in surprise.

“You’re going to smuggle yourself across the harbor with the goods? Into the Peaks, that has the highest level security around! To do what your father tried to do and failed?! Haven’t you thought of the thousands of things that could go wrong with that?!”

“What do you know that I don’t, Changsun?” Byunghee gave him a sharp look.

“The current boss. The one you’re trying to use, he’s using you as well. Those goods in there aren’t your typical neighborhood food delivery. They’re viruses.”

“You looked,” Byunghee said flatly, accusatory.

“I did.” Changsun met his stare. “I did it because you didn’t.”

“Don’t you know how much trouble I’ll get into-“

“You’re already in a load of trouble Byunghee!” Changsun snapped. “Neck deep and you don’t even realize it! Viruses! Don’t you get the implications of that! If the enforcers got a sniff of you transporting the stuff you could-“

A siren wail.

Two heads swiveled violently in the direction of the noise. For two heartbeats they stood still, minds calculating what this meant.

“You,” Byunghee hissed in a voice barely louder than the rushing wind. “You did this.”

The stark yellow-white lights of the enforcer bikes were growing brighter and Changsun opened his mouth, his head stuffed full of what he wanted to say – it wasn’t me. I would never sell you out. I have no clue why they’re here. PleasepleasepleasebelievemeByunghee – but it was too late. Changsun could see it in Byunghee’s eyes that there would be no more listening.

“What exactly did you do Changsun?”

“I didn’t call them!” Changsun blurted out, staring wide-eyed at the encroaching enforcers. “Believe me! Once I saw what was in the cargo I knew I had to prevent you from transporting the stuff. So I came to stop you, that’s all, I swear!”

“Really?” Byunghee asked bitterly. “Why? Why did you do even that? You should know trying to stop me when I've made up my mind is a fool's goal." 

And Changsun knew that. 

In the background a storm was growing, cold whips circulating and growing over the harbor. A cold night for a cold mood.

“Why interfere?  It was my first job. You know I needed it, and now I’ve failed now, no thanks to you, brother.”

Changsun flinched at the cold mockery of the word. “I did it for you!” he wailed, wanting Byunghee to understand so badly but the time and the place were wrong, wrong, wrong and everything was sliding down in a deep black hole.

“For me? Then you should have just left me alone like I asked,” Byunghee snapped. “I could have done this job, virus or no virus.”

“You don’t understand!” How could he make Byunghee realize this was more than just the cargo, that this was a story about an eye for an eye, a throat for a throat, a bloodthirsty brother who had lost too much in a world lacking far too much and his plot for vengeance in the wrongest of ways. But how could he tell Byunghee the truth when his brother was opposing anything and everything he was saying? How could he tell him anything with the beast breathing down his neck and the midnight clock chiming a countdown towards the end of it all? All he could do was try. “You don’t know what the BlackBeards had in store for you. It was all a-“

But the wind stole his words, snatching it out of his mouth and throwing it far across the harbor.

And then the enforcers were there, five sleek bikes of matt black chrome with five sleek humans of matt black visors and uniform. They dismounted with cold sobriety and Changsun shivered. How had the enforcers known to be here? Why now?

Then it hit Changsun. Eunhyuk the Boss. Changsun had said the words himself. If the enforcers caught wind of any dealings with viruses then it was a lifetime sentence for sure. This was how the Blackbeard’s boss was going to inflict revenge upon Byunghee.

Byunghee glared at the enforcers, but his words were directed at Changsun. “You sold me out,” he snarled, the pain of betrayal and crumbling plans blinding him to the truth. 

“No, no brother! I didn’t call them-“

“Lies!” Byunghee hissed and threw out his hand, cutting off whatever Changsun had to say.

“PUT YOUR HANDS UP!” came a computerized command from one enforcer. Changsun’s knees trembled.  

“Let’s get out of here,” he begged, grabbing Byunghee’s arm, but Byunghee threw it off with an expression akin to disgust plastered on his face. And that was it. He’d lost him, hadn’t he? Changsun let his hand fall to his side as bright lights illuminated them and a storm raged behind him.

How had it ended up like this? Brothers not by blood broken by blood.

Changsun staggered backwards and the world felt removed, like it wasn’t his body being forced to its knees or his hands being roughly cuffed. He faintly heard the words of ‘Lee Changsun, you are under arrest for the possession of the Christmas virus’ and his brain sluggishly churning out a protest, but then the lightning realization hit him. They thought it was him. He who was dealing with the virus. Not Byunghee. Him, Him, Him.

And he couldn’t protest and tell the truth that he wasn't the one involved with the virus because that would get Byunghee into trouble.

And he couldn’t tell the even bigger truth that it was the boss of the Blackbeards who was the real mastermind because that would reveal who Byunghee’s father was, and that would be the end of that. 

Changsun couldn’t say anything and as he looked up into Byunghee’s dark expression, he realized the worst part of it all was that he couldn’t tell Byunghee that he was sorry, that if anything, he would have wanted it to turn out differently, that everything he had done was for Byunghee and everything he would do from now onwards would be for him as well.

If he had any last words, it would be those.

But as he opened his mouth, there was an ear-shattering explosion and without even being able to say a word, the world went white.