“Doubt , of whatever kind, can be ended by action alone.”

-Thomas Carlyle

Eric POV

“Surround the place.” I barked orders to the special force flown in from the headquarters.  I pulled out the indicator and made sure it flashed green before pointing it skywards. “You have been surrounded from all sides. Surrender peacefully or we won’t hesitate to shoot at sight.” The warning was issued as the pilots received my green signal. “Priority is saving the two of us inside. Shoot anyone who stands in the way.” I ordered one-fourth of them as they lay siege.

“Make sure no man escapes. I want each and every one of them captured.” I ordered the other half as they covered the perimeter. “Find B.D. Scotts. He should not make it out of here.” I informed the last lot as I led them from the back. ‘No one gets away with harassing my team Scotts.’ I thought as I gritted my teeth. As we entered through the back, a whole lot of men rushed in, chaos following. 

Bullets whizzed past in all directions, yet the team remained strong. When I noticed that the goons were outnumbered, I motioned for some of them men to follow as we had to move on to look for Scotts. ‘He isn’t going to be at this level so it’s either upstairs or the basement.’ I reasoned. “Heading upstairs; keep back clear.” I stated as half the force turned around to guard against an attack from the back. 

“Agent Eric I spot Agent Mike.” I heard someone yell as we were on our way up. “Basement.. Mia..” he panted and I held him by the shoulders. “ him to the ambulance waiting outside.” I ordered two men who gingerly lifted him up. The rest of us made our way to the Basement. We let the sounds of bullets guide us and a part of me was relieved that Mia was still alive. I had started to doubt that by now.

 The relief however drained away as I noticed Mia out to kill B.D.Scotts. “Mia! No! Don’t do it god damn it.” I called out, knowing what she had in mind.  He had to be accountable for what he had done; she couldn’t give him the easy way out. Mia turned to me, her face marred by several bruises and her eyes lifeless. Just then a fresh wave of bullets hit her as she staggered back and collided with the pillar.

“Get that bastard!” I yelled. Two men tackled down Scotts and restrained him while I lifted Mia up and carried her down to where another ambulance was waiting. As soon as I put her on the gurney, the paramedics started to work. Every minute was precious as they worked to control the damage done. ‘Please Mia, fight for your life. You’re too darn young..’ I prayed to anyone who was hearing me.

“Agent Eric? I need you to step out and come with the task force..” a local personnel said. “But I cannot leave her..” I pleaded. “I’m sorry but these are strict orders. She will be well taken care of..” he stated blankly. Reluctantly I climbed out and watched the ambulance go before I made my way to the designated van. “Well done Special Agent Eric.We appreciate all that you and your team has done for us. I wish them a speedy recovery.”

The Minister for International Affairs greeted me as I stepped into some sort of a government headquarters. ‘We don’t know if all idols are safe yet and he says well done. He doesn’t know if they’ll survive and he says speedy recovery. I was called back for a stupid handshake. Bull.’ I thought as I turned and left for the hospital.

Mia POV

Pain.

Slight at first and then too much all of a sudden.

That’s the only thing I could feel.

Darkness.

Clear yet muddled at the same time.

That’s all I could see.

Silence.

Complete and utter silence.

That’s all I could hear.

I struggled to find some sort of direction to find out where I was but it looked the same everywhere. I was now in a full panic mode, having found no way to escape. I could hear the pounding of the blood flowing through my veins. It seemed like the black walls were closing down on me as I struggled to breathe. “Clear.” I heard someone suddenly say and I tried to find the source of the sound through the haze.

A moment later shock waves ran through my body as it convulsed and trembled. Suddenly my eyes were wide and I in a breath through the oxygen mask. “Patient revived at 3:03 hours.” a nurse noted as a doctor looked on. “MH!” What I had meant as a loud exclamation came out as a raspy, broken whisper. “Take it easy. This is the absolute worst you’ve had. I’m surprised you pulled through.” he sighed.

“Kai?” I asked, wanting to confirm my doubts. “I wouldn’t happen to know who you’re talking about.  I’m assuming it’s a he? There are some people waiting outside. Should I let them in?” he enquired. I silently nodded my frazzled brain busy conjuring up worst case scenarios. “Mei-mei?” I looked up to find Tao lingering cautiously at the door with EXO behind him.

I managed to curl my fingers inward, indicating he could come forward. I took my oxygen mask and asked, “Kai?” “Don’t do that!” Their hands ready to keep mine at bay. “Kai?” I asked again, wanting answers. “Mia please take some rest. You’re not in a stable condition.” Kris cautioned, gently my cheek. “Please..” I whimpered, trying to get them to say something.

 I wanted to believe what I knew wasn’t true yet their actions said it all. My chest grew heavy as tears clouded my vision. I had failed, I had failed my mission and I failed him. Bile rose up my throat and I wanted my heart to stop breathing. “Doctor doctor! Get her back!” someone screamed and that was the last thing I heard before it ended.   

A\N: So finally this is the result..

Even though it’s almost the end with CheckMate, all of you my beloved readers will still look forward to my upcoming stories right?

Also the mission is to get CheckMate advertised (though god knows when I’ll have enough karma points) Hwaiting!

Comment! Happy reading! (: