The bag was lifted off his head and as soon as it was gone, Suk Jin wished it was back on.  Standing in front of him was a monster the likes of which only Dr. Frankenstein could have made.  His skin was cracked, scarred and burned.  Muscles bulged over his entire body.  Veins and blood vessels s across his face and down his neck, like pipes.  He hunched over; if he stood straight he would be close to 7 feet tall.  His left side was grotesquely misshapen.   His shoulder had slid back as if dislocated and it looked like several of his ribs were broken.  He's like Bane.  No.  He's like the Incredible Hulk.  No.  He's like...like...  The monstrous man bent down to stare at him in the face.  My worst nightmare...

The monster stepped back and Suk Jin felt his heart rate gradually start to return to normal.  He was sitting in a chair.  His hands were tied behind his back.  His feet were tied together at the ankles.  He tried shifting his weight and found he could rock the chair.  I'm tied to a chair and there is an abomination watching me.  I must be dreaming.  He started rocking urgently, trying to tip himself over.  It took a minute, but he succeeded in tipping the chair over.  He fell to the floor with a crash.  Looking up, he half expected to be in bed, in his room, but one quick look confirmed he was still trapped in a room with a monster and tied to a chair.  Only now, he wasn't sitting in the chair, but lying on the floor.  

From a distance, Ji Hyo watched as Jong Kook exited the room and made his to Jae Suk's side.  She watched, focused on his every move.  Something about him didn't add up.  For someone who was supposed to be scarred and damaged, he moved with surprising grace and agility.  Something about the way he moved bothered Ji Hyo.  It was...unnatural.  As a trained assassin, Ji Hyo had been trained to observe mannerisms and understand what they indicated.  She couldn't quite figure him out though.  It bothered her.  It's not that I don't trust him.  It's that I don't trust him.  After all, all she had was Jae Suk's word that they really were who they said they were.  She knew they weren't a true danger to her. If they wanted me dead, I would be.  They certainly were skilled enough to do that.  But Ji Hyo couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.  Until then, I will watch and make sure that if I have to, I'm prepared to take them all down.  

Her concentration was broken by Joong Ki, who came skipping up besides her.  He looked out towards Jong Kook and Jae Suk but found them uninteresting.  So he tried starting a conversation with Ji Hyo.  "Noona?  What are you doing?" he asked, voice friendly but curious.  

"Oh nothing" said Ji Hyo, which wasn't that far from the truth.  She kept her face blank as she watched Jong Kook return into the room with Ji Suk Jin.  I'm keeping my eyes on you.  "So" she said, turning to face Joong Ki.  "What is it you wanted to ask me?"  

Joong Ki's face flushed.  This noona was like a mind reader.  "Wha..nothing." he stammered, flustered.  Ji Hyo cocked her head to the side and just looked at him.  Joong Ki knew he was caught.  "Ok...Noona..."

This kid likes me.  His face is flushed.  The slight movement in his neck shows his heart rate is up.  Classic signs of a crush.  He's cute.  Too bad it's not going to happen.  It could be a lot of fun.  "Joong Ki shi" she cut him off.  He looked surprised at her raised speech "The answer is no.  It's just not a good idea."  She could see the effect her words were having on him.  He's crushed. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Gary watching them.  His hands were fiddling with something but his frequent glances in their direction gave him away.  Interesting.  She locked that up in her mind, thinking it might be useful later.  She turned her attention back to Joong Ki.  "You're a good boy, Joong Ki. But I can't."  You cannot have a weakness.  Your enemies will try anything to break you.  They will threaten innocent people, your friends and family if they think they can break you.  Give them up.  If you are unwilling to give them up, then give up being an assassin.  Because there is no room for mistakes in this business.  Every moment could be your last.  It is a huge sacrifice you are making for your country.  If you can't do it, walk out that door. There is no shame in giving up now.  Only a few have ever made it even this far.  It is something to be proud of.  But to take the next step will require commitment beyond anything you've ever done before.  So chose wisely.  Because from this point on, there is no turning back.  Commander Myuk's words from her first day of advanced training still resonated in her mind.  There was no room for Joong Ki.  "I'm sorry" she said.  She turned and walked away so he wouldn't have to try and hide his emotions. 

Though she didn't want to admit it, Joong Ki had gotten to her.  His sincerity and youthful optimism had touched her.  Maybe it was because she was so jaded with her life as a spy/assassin.  Her life was a giant web of lies, designed to conceal and deceive but Joong Ki was too young to know any of that.  And being around him made her remember that life wasn't supposed to be an illusion full of deceit.  There was beauty in the truth, in the living honestly.  There was a normal life, a life she couldn't have.  

She was so wrapped up in her self analysis that she didn't hear the footsteps until they were right behind her.  Rattled, she spun quickly, reacting immediately to the outstretched arm.  She grabbed the inside of the elbow and spun into the reach, her back facing whoever it was.  Pulling the arm over her right shoulder, she hunched over to create better leverage and pulled down, executing a classic judo flip.  With the person on the ground, she quickly tried to find his arms and pin them but before she could continue, she heard a slightly familiar gasp of surprise and pain.  Against her instincts, she looked where the face should be and saw Gary, lying on his back.  

"Ahh" he moaned, rolling to avoid the sensitive spot on his back that had taken the brunt of the throw.  When the pain subsided a little, he sat up.  Ji Hyo was kneeling nearby, taken aback by what she had done on instinct.  

"Yah" they said together, at the same time.  There eyes met and all the tension in the room vanished.  They both broke out in muffled laughter, amused by the serendipity of what had just happened.  

As she laughed, Ji Hyo could feel an emotional weight lift off her shoulders.  For a moment, all her worries about who to trust and what she was doing were forgotten as she enjoyed a stolen moment with Gary.  

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"ARGHHHHHHH" screamed Suk Jin.  The pressure released on his neck and he struggled to breath and talk before she grabbed him again.  "I told you everything I know" he cried, tears of pain welling in his eyes.  He was back in the chair, hands and legs tied together but this time, the woman was doing unbelievable painful things to his neck and shoulders.  It was almost enough to make him wish the monster would get out of his seat and start his turn.  He didn't know what that thing could do, but it probably couldn't be any worse than what she was doing to him.  

Outside, Gary watched through the reflective glass as Ji Hyo grabbed various pressure points.  Suk Jin's screams echoed through the empty station and Gary was absolutely fascinated at how Ji Hyo could inflict such pain with such efficiency.  Gone was the woman with whom he'd shared a laugh with.  In her place was a trained killer, a professional who showed no mercy.  

While Suk Jin sobbed in the chair, Jae Suk mused aloud to Jong Kook.  "We always knew it was a possibility.  But if it's true, we need to find out as soon as possible, as quietly as possible."  Jong Kook only nodded in agreement.  Jae Suk continued musing, "There's you, me, Gary, Haha, Gwang Soo, and Joong Ki.  And Ji Hyo.  But it can't be Ji Hyo.  She just joined the team a few days ago....But she could still be the spy.  We'll have to watch out and be more careful.  I want you to handle this.  Watch everyone.  It may not be one of us.  It could be that we are being spied on.  But until we find the leak, I want you to be watching everyone to make sure it isn't us."  As usual, Jong Kook didn't say a word, but Jae Suk trusted that he understood.  It wouldn't surprise me if he's already 2 steps ahead.  

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What does this mean?  Ji Hyo sat, alone, going through the interrogation in her mind.  Suk Jin had confessed that there was a traitor.  Someone had tried to steal his research.  Someone from their side.   So he ran, hiding from everyone, afraid that his work might fall into the wrong hands.  Is the traitor here, among us?  Or maybe higher up.  The people who gave Jae Suk his orders, could one of them be the traitor?  "Aish *#$!#**!#$" she cursed, mind burning with possibilities, all of which seemed equally plausible.  I don't know what you've gotten yourself into, but watch your back.  Trust no one.  

Late that night, Ji Hyo pretended to sleep.  The knowledge of the traitor was confined to three individuals.  Jae Suk, Jong Kook, and herself.  Unless their really was a traitor amongst them.  Then there would be four.  Thinking about it, if there were a traitor amongst them, he would probably be able to guess that Suk Jin would crack under pressure and reveal that secret.  So the traitor, whoever it was, would have to act quickly before Suk Jin tattled.  Except Suk Jin had already cracked.  But the traitor wouldn't know that yet.  So Ji Hyo waited, alert, looking out for anything suspicious.  

There!  A slight flicker. Barely noticeable.  Ji Hyo's eyes scanned the floor.  There it was again.  A shadow, moving in the soft glow of the tunnel.  There was so little light, you could barely tell, but the slight shading told Ji Hyo that something was indeed moving.  Quietly, she got up and started to follow.  As she stalked the mysterious shadow, her mind buzzed with possibilities.  Haha?  No, too quick and shifty.  Joong Ki?  No, he's too young and inexperienced.  This guy's good.  Jong Koo----.  She realized too late that she had lost track of the shadow on the ground.  Before she could recover, she sensed something behind her.  There was hardly a sound, but Ji Hyo's instincts were sharp enough to pick up on it.  But they weren't good enough to overcome her distraction  She tensed as she anticipated a blow.  A timer in her mind counted the milliseconds.  When she was sure he/she was close enough, she spun on one leg and snapped a kick towards where the head should be.  The kick never landed.  As she spun, the shadow ducked beneath her kicking leg and before she could react, sprang forward into her core, driving her back.  She slammed against a wall and immediately felt a hand clamp down over .  A giant hand.  Jong Kook.  I should have known.

As quickly as she had been beaten, anger still burned in her. She struggled against him for a minute before finally giving in.  He waited a few seconds before releasing her, gingerly. As soon as he did, Ji Hyo sprang forward, pushing off the wall for more momentum.  Her shoulder collided with his gut, and she dropped to one knee and swept her leg out to try and knock him off balance.  But he turned into her leg and fell forward in a controlled roll that ended with him facing her flank.  Ji Hyo hurried up into a defensive position, expecting a strike at her side but he was already moving, this time driving towards her newly exposed left side.  As Ji Hyo spun to meet the threat, he moved again, setting up for a strike on her right.  Ji Hyo countered again by switching her stance but again he anticipated her move and had already positioned himself to threaten her newly exposed flank.   he's fast.  I can't keep up.  If I don't take the initiative soon...  She made one move too many and tripped up on her own feet.  She stumbled for just a fraction of a second but it was all the opening he needed.  He closed in a step and blocked her weak attempt to knock him back and before shoving a forearm into her chest and pinning her against the wall.  For a long moment, they stood there, her back against the wall, his arm pinning her to it.  She stared into his eyes for what seemed like minutes, when in reality it was maybe 20 seconds.  Then he pulled back his arm and walked into the darkness.  Ji Hyo didn't follow.  She'd been beaten.

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Sweat poured down Ji Hyo's face as she circled the bag.  She unleashed a quick flurry of punches and kicks into the bag before spinning out of reach again.  It's not a bag.  It's an enemy.  An enemy who is will kill you if you don't kill it first.  She spun back and unleashed a vicious snap kick that knocked the bag off its chain.  It fell with a satisfying thump.  Ji Hyo turned and reached for a towel to wipe the sweat away.  The details of her fight with Jong Kook last night were still fresh in her mind.  It was embarrassing how quickly he'd turned her own momentum against herself.  The way he set her up without ever compromising his own position. The way he had forced her into one mistake after another until she couldn't recover.  

From behind, she heard the sound of chains clinking.  She turned and saw Joong Ki, smiling, leaning against the bag, now hanging from the chain again.  

"You know, the bag is great for working on technique but if you want real practice, you need something that'll fight back" he said.  

"Yeah" she said, walking closer.  She punched the bag hard, knocking it into him causing him to take an inadvertent step back.  "You know where I can find one of those?" she asked, humoring him.  Leading him on.  Flirting with him.  His wide, innocent smile knocked her back to earth.  But the damage was done.  "You could try me" he said, gesturing at his slim physique.  "I'll spar with you." Ji Hyo walked back and took a drink of water.  When she was done, she tossed him some tape.  "Alright" she said.  "Lets see what you got."

As soon as he finished taping his hands, Ji Hyo unloaded on him.  She held back only a little.  She didn't want to hurt him but she was regretting her earlier flirtations manner.  It was stupid, she knew but she went at him hard in order to beat out his lust for her.  So she unleashed her full repertoire of moves.  She attacked every exposed weakness, exploited every flaw in his technique and held back only enough to make sure he wouldn't get too hurt.  After 5 minutes, he was breathing hard, and battered and bruised all over.  She circled in again and dodged his weak defense, spinning into his reach and flipping him over her shoulder, slamming him to the ground.  The wind knocked out of him, he lay there, trying to catch his breath.  "Sorry kid" she said, looking down at him, feeling a little bad about what she had done to him.  It's nothing personal.  But deep down, she knew it was.  In 5 minutes, he hadn't been able to lay a finger on her.  Meanwhile, she'd beaten up on him like an old rag.  Sure, she justified it to herself that she was being hard on him to get him to drop his feelings for her but that wasn't the real reason she'd been so intent on beating him.  She had been beaten so easily by Jong Kook that she needed to feel in control again.  She needed confidence in her abilities as a fighter.  She needed to know that she was the best at hand to hand combat again.  She needed not just to win, but to dominate.  Like he'd dominated her.  I have to prove to myself that I belong.  

She turned, ready to help Joong Ki back up but found herself looking at Jong Kook, back from wherever he'd gone.  Boxing pads were attached to his hands.  He held his hands up in the classic defensive posture and nodded, as if to say, "come on."  So Ji Hyo did.  She unleashed volley after volley at him, determined to show her skill and maybe knock him down a few pegs, as if to say, "last night you got lucky.  This is what I can really do."  She drove him back with the fury of her attack but he still managed to block everything she threw at him. Exhaustion set in and she let up on him, bending over and in air.  He gave her a minute, then held up the pads again.  "Bring it" his eyes said.   So she did.  She unleashed everything she had, reaching deep to draw on reserves of strength she didn't even know existed.  And though he was blocking everything again, she could see that he was struggling to keep up with her.  She cornered him against the wall and kept at it, raining fists and feet at him from all angles.  And just when she thought she had nothing left, her left hand slipped past the pad in his hand and nailed him right in the face, just under his right eye.  

He grunted and stopped for a moment.  His hand reached out and touched where she had punched him.  He studied his hand for a second, as if his hand could tell him how hard she had hit him and then nodded at her and grunted again.  It sounded like he was talking to her.  Like he said, "good."  His hands, now covered with the pads again, came up.  And Ji Hyo lashed out again, driving him back.  Another grunt.  He clapped the pads together and held them up again.  Ji Hyo punched, hard.  The sound of her fists hitting the pads echoed through the tunnel. Another grunt.  "Good.  Again."  The pads came up again and Ji Hyo started again.  "Again" he grunted.  

Something was happening to Ji Hyo.  She could feel it.  The aches and pains in her body suddenly disappeared.  She had a newfound strength in her fists.  It was like she'd just unleashed a new power source for herself.  She wasn't tired anymore.  There was an extra bounce in her step, an extra pop in her punch.  She launched another set of punches and heard the gratifying pop sound of fist meeting pad.  It sounded different.  More crisp.  Sharper.  Less like a thud and more like smack, like an open handed slap.  The feeling was intoxicating.  She felt like a whole new person.  The best version of herself she could be.  No more doubt.  No more insecurities.  Just the perfection in this moment.  She kept pressing, kept attacking but there was no fatigue, no let up.  And again, one of her fists slipped through his iron defense and popped him in the chest, knocking him back.  He clapped his padded hands together and smiled.  And Ji Hyo smiled back.  His hands came back up.  "Bring it on" his eyes said.  She didn't hold back.

An hour later, he finally dropped the pads.  Though he had blocked just about everything she'd thrown his way, she'd managed to land a few.  Bruises marked the spots she'd gotten through to him.  As they untangled themselves from the tape and gloves etc. he smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up.  She smiled back before turning to get a drink of water.  She turned back to offer him some but he was already walking away.  You're good.  But I'm getting better.  Next time, I'll hit you more times than you'd like.  

The sudden happiness and joy of camaraderie quickly faded, however, as she saw Suk Jin walking, being escorted by Gary.  She ran quickly to catch up.

As soon as Gary had locked the door on Suk Jin's makeshift cell/room, Ji Hyo cornered him.  "Jesus, you scared me!" he said, shocked by her sudden appearance.  "Sorry...old habits die hard" she said, trying to make conversation.  She dropped in step with him, matching his pace.  "So, how're you doing?" she asked.  "I'm fine" he answered.  "How's your training going?"  "Training?" she asked, confused.  "Weren't you training with Jong Kook?" he asked.  "Oh that" she said.  "I just needed a sparring partner."  

"Well" he said.  "If you want to spar, gimme a call sometime.  I.." he noticed her chuckle.  He waited until she was done.  "Something funny?" he asked.  "Oh no" said Ji Hyo, still laughing.  "It's just that I thought you said I should spar with you."  His eyes didn't waver.  "I did."  "Really" she said.  "Because I seem to remember flipping you over really easily just the other day."  

"You did" he admitted.  "But I got a few tricks up my sleeve.  You aint seen nothing yet."  There was a lightness in his voice that suggested he was joking but Ji Hyo could see the seriousness in his eyes.  "Alright" she said.  "Next time."