Min Ah was thirsty.

Even though she had only had a piece of stale bread thrown at her it wasn't hunger that she felt. Mainly because after the things she had seen she didn't see the bread staying inside of her long. So she waited, but no water ever came. Instead she could feel the atmosphere tensing up around her in the handful of times that she had seen Min Guk come in and she wondered why no one had come for her yet. She quietly laughed at herself knowing that things like these never went by fast. Especially since she had the feeling that what had been asked in exchange for her was important.

Lack of sleep made her head pound fiercely. She didn't dare to close her eyes though. The few times she had drifted off she had been kicked awake although she thanked the stars that was it. Yet even as she went over the hundreds of reasons as to why she should never close her eyes, her body won out. With warning bells in her head she slowly felt herself drift away.

Waking up this time was different. There was a fierce slap to her face as her eyes shot open. She gasped as she saw the blood dripping from the hand that had just slapped her. She could feel it on her face, but instantly she knew it wasn't hers. She looked at the table and her body stiffened. The girl whose name she never did find out was dead. had been slashed open and she lied in a heap on the floor. Min Ah flinched as she was pulled into a standing position. Her mind whirled as the collar around her neck was released and without a second or a more strategic plan she jerked back so hard that all she did was fall backwards. The laugh that echoed around her was cruel as she was pulled back up and led over to that table.

She shook her head faintly as fatigue heavily impaired her ability to think. A small scream escaped her as she was flung onto the table on her side. In an instant he had a pair of scissors in his hand and he cut the tape around her ankles. Despite the cloud in her mind Min Ah kicked out and flipped off the table. She stared at Park Min Jun from across the table and wondered what had changed, what had made him finally kill the girl and come after her? Was he aware his father said he couldn't kill her? The smug look on his face told her that it wouldn't make much of a difference in the end.

She kicked the chair over onto him and ran for the door. Even before she had started running she knew he would catch her as he raced after her and grabbed her roughly by the arm. She screamed fully this time. It was a shrill sound as she kicked and flung her body away from him. He tightened his hold on her and dragged her across the room. Without a blink he reached for the damp cloth on the edge of the table and placed it over her face. She collapsed in his arms in less than a minute.

When she faded back into consciousness she tried to move, but she was flat on her back and fully restrained down to the table. With a sick feeling she finally realized he had his own makeshift operating table. She looked around her to find that she was alone, but she knew she wouldn't be for long. The body was gone so she imagined he must've been off getting rid of that. She stared up at the ceiling and felt useless. Maybe she deserved what was coming to her for silently praying that girl would hold on longer. It was impossible to not hope for that despite the gut wrenching guilt that would come over her once the girl was brought back to consciousness. Min Ah looked to her side to where she had been chained up. The metal collar still hung from the hook on the pole.

"You're awake? That's great" He said as he walked back in. She didn't ask how long she had been out.

"You killed her. You said I had until she died. It's not fair, you killed her" She said, her voice surprisingly steady.

"Are you really talking about the fairness of it all? With me?" Min Jun said in disbelief as he laughed, "You're hilarious. We're going to have some good times. Don't worry I like to ease you guys into this. Give you time to adjust and sort of come to terms with your reality" He said with a nod of his head and Min Ah stared at him.

"You're sick. Did your dad make you this way?" She asked as her rearranged his instruments quietly.

"My dad? No, my dad supports me no matter what. He wouldn't abandon me" He said and Min Ah felt the hatred in his voice and wonder if he was referring to his mother.

He hummed a small tune and she stared at him intently. She quietly tried the leather straps binding her down to the table and when they didn't even budge she decided to take a blind shot.

"She didn't want to leave. Your father would've killed her on the spot if she tried taking you" Min Ah said quietly, not sure if talking about his mommy issues was going to help, but as his body made the slightest of pauses she realized it wouldn't possibly make things worse.

"You've met her I suppose before she died?" He said calmly.

"She's not dead" She replied quickly.

"There was a fire—"

"She was under our protection before that. She's hidden away somewhere else. That fire had no deaths" Min ah said and examined his reaction before adding, "The only reason she went into protection was because she hoped to meet you once more" He went quiet, but didn't say a thing and she grew restless as she waited for some sort of reaction.

Finally he seemed to snap back into it as he went back to his instruments and held up a small surgical blade. With a steady hand and no hesitation he cut her shirt open and made a shallow cut across her collarbone. She hissed in pain and tried to not move. He seemed lost in another world as he pulled back and made another shallow cut across her abdomen. She could feel the small trickle of blood run off the sides of her body and she tried to blink back the tears and she imagined all the things that were going to happen.

"" He murmured quietly and she dared to open her eyes, ", !" He screamed as he threw the blade aside and screamed once again. He kicked the base of table, which had been bolted to the ground and suddenly put his hands around her neck. She tried to scream, but she could do absolutely nothing as he tightened his hold and finally let go. She coughed as tears fell down her face and the once calm man paced back and forth.

"I'll cut you pretty little head off if you ever mention that once again. I don't care about your lies ok? I can't even enjoy this right now" He hissed as he grabbed her chin with enough force to break a bone and she felt like one more second more and he would've.

She knew at once she wasn't going to be ok. She was going to die here she realized as he let go and she watched the unstable man punch the wall and practically stomp out. She swallowed and vowed to never again dismiss a psychologist as useless again.

~~~~~~

"Are we really going to give him what he wants? All records of his son deleted and his wife turned over? Can we even do that?!" Hoya asked nervously.

"We can. It's not legal, but we could get it done and if all else fails that's what we're going to do. Min Ah is our priority nothing else unless you're alright seeing her end up like those women?" Myungsoo asked.

"No of course not"

"Good. Now get everything ready for tonight. No matter what happens we have to keep this between our team and we need to make sure everything ends up the way we need it to if we're going to find out where she is and get her out safely" He explained as he sent out the text message to the untraceable number that had been provided in the letter, "This time we're not worrying about arrests. You shoot to kill and above all secure Min Ah and get her out as soon as possible"

A knock on the door interrupted them. Myungsoo gave his team a dismissive nod as his father walked through. They waited until everyone had left before either of them regarded the other.

"I heard you've got a missing team member?" His father asked in the authoritative tone Myungsoo had learned to hate.

"It's being handled" He said wondering why on earth his father was making a visit when even with a missing team member his father wasn't the type to concern himself with little things like this.

"How so?"

"We're taking the necessary steps" Myungsoo replied uneasily.

"And those steps would be?" His father asked, his eyebrow raising in that way that Myungsoo had hated down to his bones because it was the look that he gave him when he wanted him to know that whatever he was doing, he was doing it wrong.

"With all due respect sir, I'm handling this investigation with my team and in order to ensure the most success we're keeping details of our plans within our team" Myungsoo said.

"I'm your boss" His father replied simply.

"If you're ordering me to break confidentiality, which is key in our success, then I suggest you be prepared to shoulder part of the blame if a person under your supervision is found dead" Myungsoo shot back quickly.

"You're bordering on insolence Myungsoo"

"I'm merely explaining to you my reasons for refusing your request sir"

"What demands were made?" His father asked.

"As stated in my report we've gotten no signs of any sort of ransom note" Myungsoo lied, "We 're treating this as a disappearance which  realistically will either end up as her running away voluntarily or something more sinister"

"It's not an abduction?"

"We've got no ransom, but it could be"

"Are you purposefully trying to be infuriating?" His father asked and Myungsoo almost let it show the momentary joy at getting the best of his father even for a moment.

"No sir"

"Good luck. Do what you must" He finally said and after getting a good look around he went for the door, "Your mother is worried about you. She wants to know when you're coming to visit so call her soon" He said and walked out.

Myungsoo was left with a strange feeling of weariness as he went to the door and swiftly locked it. Why had his father come by? Had it been professional courtesy or at his mother's insistence to check up on him? He glanced at the board where Min Ah's picture hung in the middle and frowned, it couldn't possibly have anything to do with Min Ah? He went over his father's words? 'Do what you must'... those words could almost be interpreted to follow that man's demands. Had his father known that the extent of those demands went past money Myungsoo was sure his words would be the opposite.

~~~~~~

Luhan waited in the cramped cell and stared at the tips of his shoes. The man was smaller in nature which was something that he had always hated yet it naturally made him look defenseless which came in handy in quite a few situations. If he was ever caught doing something wrong he could simply feign innocence and for the most part things would be alright. He'd been told it was a combination of his stature and boyish face. At this point in his life, being cute would be of no help. In less than a year his whole life had gone to hell. He was on the verge of losing everything and it hit him with surprise every single time. Almost as if he was waiting for things to snap back to normal. Which he sort of was clinging on to a delusion that after he got her back then things would settle down and he would be forgiven. It made no sense though, he knew that was he was doing was unforgivable in the eyes of his friends.

He leaned his head against the wall and listened for the sounds of the other two people he considered as some of his closest friends. There was nothing, but they had been purposefully trying to not talk at all. After all everything was most likely monitored in here and it wouldn't help in the least. Footsteps echoed as a man came down the stairs and Luhan straightened out. The man was followed by two more as they went for the cells on either side of him. Baekhyun and Jongdae were pulled out and handcuffed immediately. Luhan stood up as he watched them be pulled away. The men taking them away said something about formal charges and they both stared at Luhan wondering why he wasn't being taken along with them. The last thing he saw in their eyes was the glimmer of distrust in him.

Luhan met their eyes and he wanted nothing more than to reach out for his friends, but he could only walk up to the bars and watch as they were taken away. The third man left murmured about something with the watch guard before coming over and unlocking Luhan's cell. He stepped out cautiously expecting his own set of handcuffs.

"You're set to go" The man said with a glare.

"Go? What about them?" Luhan asked quietly.

"Charges are being filed, clearly you did something right" The man said as he beckoned Luhan to follow him until he led him out of the building.

Luhan had never thought freedom would taste so bitter. It was because as he was being let out, his friends were going in the opposite direction. He frowned as he took a few steps outside and took a deep breath. He supposed Myungsoo would contact him soon enough if he needed more information. The man was infuriating to have to deal with and he wished he had known to contact someone else. There was something so arrogant about him that just got under Luhan's skin. Regardless, his instructions had been simple, make sure EXO goes down... this had been the only way Luhan could make sure that happened that didn't involve directly murdering his friends. It was all so those bastards would let her go.

He thought about her for the millionth time since she was taken from him. She had been the only girl who had actually stayed by his side despite all the that happened around them and when she had insisted on coming with him from China he had foolishly thought it was a good idea. They had both been playing with the idea of starting a new life, especially after what had happened with Sehun. The memory of that day still caused a deep ache in his heart, but it was also a wakeup call. So after all her insistence he had agreed to leave EXO behind. He was going to make his intentions clear to Kris when she had been taken. It had been over a month that she had been taken and he had considered the possibility that she might be dead, but he got weekly photographs to ensure that she was alive and had even received an audio file two weeks ago so even though it killed him to betray his friends he was physically unable to let her die like that. He wouldn't lose another important person to him. It was almost as if Sehun was the last straw. After he was gone his mind focused on her and when even she was taken he felt like he might go insane for a moment. He wondered if he hadn't lost his best friend would he be risking his girlfriend's life instead by telling them the truth?

Suddenly he realized he had been walking in random directions and that he wasn't quite sure where he was. A sudden wind blew past and he got chills as he looked around and tried to find a payphone to make a call. He wondered if the rest of them were staying in the same place and at the same time wondered what he was going to say as to why he was let go when the other two weren't? Maybe he could make up something like he fed them false information and even to him that sounded weak. As he turned to cross the street a hand shot out from behind him and pulled him back.

Luhan saw him, face flushed with fury, and immediately tried to defend himself. He was just a second too late as he got a punch straight to the face that sent him staggering back into the alley between the two apartment buildings. He tried to pick himself up, but his moves were once again too slow as a foot stomped on his chest and made his vision black out for a second.

"Why... are you doing this?!" Luhan asked knowing why already.

"You little what the did you do?!" He snarled as he punched him in the abdomen so hard organs might've been rearranged.

"I'm sorry! They took—" Was all Luhan was able to say before he felt his head be lifted up and slammed back onto the concrete. He was completely knocked out and honestly, it was as if Luhan had given in to begin with.

With another string of swears he grabbed Luhan and much like what had happened to Min Ah, threw him in the back of the black SUV.

"Is he... alive?" Lay asked from the passenger seat.

"For now"

"Do you think he's going to be any help for tonight?"

"He better be"

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Thanks for reading!