The silence in the room swept over them like magical fairy dust. 

"All right," Donghae responded, "lets get a move on. I'll hand out specifics as we leave, there's no time."

Everyone shuffled out of the room in single file. Ahead of him was Donghae busily barking orders to Namjoo about what vehicle they should take and if extra ammunition should be required. 

"Anyway, stock up on some more Glock 27's and get me a M24," Donghae went on, "I'll be on the lookout in the outer ring. Victoria will lead the move-in. Lay, you know shoot-and-scoot?" 

"Yes sir." 

"You'll be in the frontlines. Kris, you'll be following by approaching from the opposite end. You ever done this before?" 

"I think I can handle it." He replied. 

"Ever had a shoot off? Standoff?" 

"I've had a fair share of brawls." 

A bemused smile crossed Donghae's face, "This'll be on the next level." Then turning his head, "Namjoo, we'll meet you outside."

Suho watched her disappear off into an intersecting hallway. Everything was suddenly moving so fast compared to that morning's parade. The day was just zipping by his eyes and in no time they'd be out on the battle field fighting with Hyukjae's men. Already he could hear shots being fired into the air; that high pitched scream fluttering with it before dying out in decibels. The struggle between men and men would ensue. 

He was nervous, yet not nervous. 

This would be his first time joining them officially at the frontlines under Donghae. Suho's palms were sweaty, but he couldn't back out now.  

The team needed him.  

Chorong needed him. 

"You're really going out there?" Tao's voice perked up from beside him as they stepped out of the elevator then into the lobby. "Didn't you say you haven't held a gun in a long time?"

"What do you think I've been doing recently?" Suho glanced at him, wondering if Tao was meaning to belittle him or if he was being genuinely concerned. 

"I bet you're nervous." 

The sunlight outside blinded Suho upon stepping outside and he stopped in step to stare into the parking lot where Namjoo would soon be arriving with that military van built from fireproof material. He'd only been in it once. It was like an office inside with a desk and a chair made available behind the driver's seat. Once computers were hooked up and communication gadgets wired in, it was as good as any military station anywhere, capable of sending out radio signals and scanning surroundings. 

It was dawning on him more and more that this was a high end mission that required a lot of arms and action. Unable to suppress the gulp going down his throat he tightened his hands into a slight fist; perhaps, in a small effort to maintain his cool. Memories of going readily into the field way before his days with the Military Intelligence Unit began to fluctuate into his head. Without consent, his mind began concocting the worst possible scenarios.   

"Yea," Suho confessed, "but I'll do what I have to do." 

~_____~

Namjoo would be driving the fireproof van with Tao while the rest were packed into a 12-seat van. They were already on envoy back to Yeongwol.  

Tao had been on numerous adventures of self-defense before, but this was the first time on one with tactics and heavy arms involved. He wasn't sure what to expect, but from the looks of how serious Donghae had been earlier he was sure this would become a new experience to him. With the numerous vocabulary Donghae had spit out one right after another, Tao had been unable to catch on.  

Again, it struck him about how large a gap existed between their worlds. Them, the educated and skilled. He, the uneducated and street fighter. Where laws and code existed in their world it didn't in his. Tao always did what he wanted, there was no boundary to keep him back. Here, there was always one consequence after another. 

He was finally nervous. What they'd been doing so far had been mere child's play in the dictionary. Now that he was really going to be doing real military work to ensure the others survived out there, he suddenly didn't know what to think about it. 

Tao never really worked in a team before.       

"What will I be doing?" Tao questioned, turning to look at Namjoo who was fully concentrated behind the wheel. 

"You'll be providing intel with me," she responded. 

"Intel? How?" 

Jutting her thumb to the back where he spotted a brown box with some robot airplanes, she went on to explain, "I'll be flying those over the area to keep security watch over the others and warn them if they're in danger."  

"Can't those be shot down?"  

"Not in my dictionary," Namjoo shook her head. "They can fly up to three-hundred-feet into the air. You can't expect to shoot a moving robot in the air."  

"Are we going to be contacting everyone at once with these?" Tao lifted up the ear piece with a dangling wire in the palm of his hand.  

"Everyone." 

This was...too new to him. It suddenly felt like he was being reintroduced into the wilderness. All his life he'd only known how to use fists, not his brains. 

Now that he had the chance to look at Namjoo he felt as if he was looking at a different person. This person was informative, focused, smart and intelligible. She didn't seem to have time to treat him warmly like she'd been doing so. He felt like a mask had been lifted from over his eyes; the world telling him "this is the you now, get focused."  

He'd left jail for this. 

In a world where everyone seemed to know how to play their role, Tao suddenly felt lost amongst the chaos. He was like a sitting duck in a family of penguins.  

The rest of the ride remained silent until they arrived at an empty highway surrounded by a thick forest on all sides. All he saw were thickets here and thickets there. Trees of all species seemed to be breeding life as birds shot off into the air when they pulled off to the side to stop their vehicles. Little rodents s through the high grass when the others filed out of the 12-seat van.

Clouds were settling in again and as they split apart a tiny ray of sunshine soaked through. Tao was trying to situate the ear piece into his ear when a loud knock sounded from Namjoo's window. 

"We're heading out in five," it was Victoria.  

"I'm going to pull up into the area between the trees so we're out from sight and range," Namjoo explained. "I'll notify you when I set the helicams off." 

Victoria nodded before running off to report back to Donghae. The others gathered outside of the van to listen in on further orders. Tao watched them gather in a small circle before Namjoo started the van off into the forest, away from view. The car rolled on for some long five minutes until she put the car into park. Surrounded by trees and shrubs, as if in the middle of nowhere, she opened the door and stepped out. 

"Come on, Tao."
 
Stepping outside he walked around back to watch her pull open the back doors and lift the box out. Setting it onto the forest floor he finally had the chance to look at the helicams they were about to put to use. They were a more modified form of robot helicopters scrapped from steel and metal.          
 
"Are you going to connect the cameras to the computers inside?" Tao wondered. 

"Yes. I'm borrowing the satellite for a while." 

"Is that what you do all the time?" 

"No," she shook her head. "We use tracking devices sometimes, but because I don't know the layout of this area I'm going to rely on camera for efficiency. I didn't have time to connect the better computers to the van, so we're going to have to go with this"

With the click of a button the helicam came to life, its blades spinning at the speed of light. It slowly shot off into the air and he watched it become a dot above him. His attention receded when Namjoo handed him one to turn on. 

"Come on, we have to hurry." Namjoo urged. 

Following her, he set the other three into the air before climbing back into the vehicle with her. Assembling a chair for himself he watched her type in a passcode before the six screens, connected to the wall of the van, came to life. The screens were green at first before various blurred images of the green trees outside took up at most five screens.

Tao jumped when static noise shot into his ear and Donghae's unclear voice became louder, stretching in volumes, his voice getting cut off at random times. He frowned and turned to Namjoo for help, wondering if it was just him experiencing problems. Without saying anything she pressed the ear piece deeper into his ear. 

"Y...yo...you....He...hel...hello? Namjoo?" Donghae's voice finally transitioned into clear decibels. 

"We're in," Namjoo replied while touching some buttons on her keyboard to locate the others through camera. 

Tao spotted a dot on the upper left screen before Namjoo zoomed in to spot Donghae walking up a hilly course of golden dirt. 

"Located," Namjoo informed. "See the others, Tao?" 

"Location; east," Lay's voice transmitted over. 

Namjoo's fingers moved at the speed of light, the sounds of the keyboard punching the air. Tao watched the screen sway from left to right unsteadily before spotting Lay standing behind a fat tree, currently checking his gear. 

"Gotcha," Namjoo answered. 

"I'm moving in with Kris from the west," Victoria's voice arrived. 

"Suho, where are you?" Namjoo asked. 

"Heading up south," Suho answered. "I see a building ahead of me." 

"How far?" 

"Maybe fifteen minutes from me." 

"Don't go in alone." Donghae's voice intercepted them. 

"Yes, I know." Suho replied. 

"Anything suspicious?" Donghae asked. "You see anything, Namjoo? Tao?" 

Tao's eyes scrambled from screen to screen, uncertain about which one to keep his eyes on. He was nervous that he'd missed something crucial. As his hands tracked the pockets of his pants he finally felt the phone he'd tucked in earlier.  

Would that girl Jin Kyung be here?

"I don't see anything," Tao said. 

"Clear," Namjoo confirmed.

"All right, keep your eyes out," Donghae responded. "We're on offense. We clear?"

"Yes." All their voices replied in unison. 

~_____~

The land was as smooth as the floor in her apartment. Not a bump or incline could be seen in the opening. Wild barks, ferns, multiplying grass, and random sticks shooting out of the ground surrounded them. Her nerves would be on end whenever the weight of their feet snapped the sticks in half. No one behind them, no one in front of them.  

Were there really people here?  

Of course, of course. If they were in the right area, someone would be carefully awaiting them. After all they'd been through already, Victoria had no doubt in that.  

"There's something up ahead," Kris quietly spoke.  

Stepping further up to stand beside him she stared at a chipped brown building. The thick sturdy pieces of wood that had been nailed closely together back in the days was now falling apart. Windows were filled with holes and age had taken over. Part of the roof was dismantled, its metal counterpart hanging off the side of the ledge. It groaned and whined every time the wind swept by. Moss and wild vines had slowly taken over, crawling inside through whichever opening possible. It looked ghostly.  

The windows were so dirty, mobbed from spider webs, that from where she stood she could barely decipher what was inside.  

"Slowly," Victoria ushered in the quietest voice possible.  

Her eyes scrambled, taking their surroundings in for the umpteenth time. It was better to be aware of what everything looked like, even the pattern of the barks of the trees they'd bypassed. Even if something as little as a leaflet changed, there would always be a sign something was wrong. 

"You guard, I'll go see what's inside," Kris suggested. 

Victoria's eyes traced their surroundings again, thinking his offer through. It was better for one to be on the lookout while the other searched. Agreeing, she nodded her head. 

Gripping onto the handle of her gun with arms extended out ready for use, she sidestepped alongside Kris. Their surroundings were definitely clear, she was sure of it. Leaves swayed along with the wind and they stepped out into the open. Pivoting on her heel she slid around to stare back into the forest, eying every thicket, every grain of dirt. The grassy land weaved back and forth teasing her. 

They were very alone, which was very, very strange at the same time. 

Planting her back against the dirty building, never minding the cobwebs and grime that would stain her jacket, she glanced at Kris very quickly. 

"Door locked?"
 
"I can break it," he replied, hitting the golden doorknob now a shade of dull yellow with the of his gun. 

There was a clatter before the door inched open, the only noise there. 

"I'm going in," he told. 

"If there's anything, code is: Fire." 

He narrowed a brow, wondering if she really expected him to be screaming that word if he was attacked. 

"Do it," Victoria deepened her voice. 

She didn't know in how many situations that her men could have been saved if they'd screamed that random word, which was meant to sidetrack and surprise their predator. Once heard, she could move in for rescue and he'd have some extra time for escape. 

Nodding, he stepped inside and the moment the door slowly swung close Victoria turned to peer around. It was deathly silent. To further check her surroundings she slowly stepped away from the building to peer around the corner. Who knew if someone might be creeping up on her. 

"Victoria!" A voice shouted through her ear piece. She barely had time to recognize the voice before a bullet hit the ground by her feet, forcing her to jump back in surprise. 

Swinging her head to the left, she shifted with arms held out; ready to shoot. Her arms shifted from left to right simultaneously, her brain panicking at the same time whilst trying to calm down. Her heart was thrashing, she couldn't find the predator. In those few seconds, she heard something pound the wall from inside and through the window heard a struggle; someone groaning as if trying for breath. 

Alarmed, Victoria started toward it, but bullets roared through the air smashing into the building, forcing her back. Grains of dirt from the ground splashed up in millions. Every shot hit the ground by her feet propelling her away from the building. 

Left with no choice if she didn't want to get shot down now, she began backing up as forced.

"Kris! Kris! Come in! Kris! Do you hear me?!" She screamed, trying to get her voice heard through the earpiece.

Another shot hit the ground, barely missing her toe.  

"Kris!"