CHAPTER FIVE

1 Week Before

Middle of the Ocean

“I don’t like the thought of us splitting up,” B-Bomb argued.  “Why can’t we just all meet up together and go out the same way?  That way we have more man power to deal with any issues we run into.”

He and Zico sat at the table below deck of the boat they had commandeered at the boating event in Busan looking over the all the intelligence they had on the job and going over their plan of attack. 

“Splitting up is safety precaution,” Zico explained.

“Precaution against what?”  B-Bomb asked.  “If a few of us get caught, at least it’s only a few and not all of us?” 

Zico glared.  “In case something goes wrong, we’ll add to the confusion if we meet then split and switch partners.  We’re not leaving anyone behind on this mission.”

“Alright,” B-Bomb said leaning forward to bend over the map again.  “So, P.O and I will meet up with you and Taeil here.”  He pointed to a spot on the map of the building.  “But then we split up again at this point.  P.O and Taeil will head left to meet up with Kyung.  You and I will head right to meet up with Jaehyo and U-Kwon.”

“Correct.”

“Run it by me again what Kyung, Jaehyo, and U-Kwon are doing before they meet us at these points and why they aren’t going to be helping us before then.”

Zico ran a hand down his face.  The plan had seemed simple when he planned it out.  Now, he wasn’t sure why he had expected his team to just go along with it. 

“U-Kwon wants his gun back,” Zico started.  “According to the intel I was given, PD Tran has it on display in his ‘trophy’ room.  Jaehyo and U-Kwon will apprehend the gun, then head to secure the meeting point.  They need to do this at the same time I’m getting the diamonds.  This needs to be done in one swoop, once Tran knows we’re there, we’re not going to get a second chance.”

B-Bomb ran a hand over his face.  “Talk about taking our game to the next level,” he muttered under his breath.  “So what about Kyung?” 

Zico sighed.  “Kyung’s job is to get you and P.O into the Mahjong game.  According to him, he’s got a friend that can help.  He’s going to see to that, then secure his meeting point, because I don’t need him anywhere near anything else until we have the prizes.”

B-Bomb nodded in absolute agreement.  “So, who did you get the intel from?”

Zico slammed a hand down on the table.  “Do you not trust me at all?”

“Don’t answer that,” Jaehyo ordered quickly.  Zico and B-Bomb both looked up at him.  B-Bomb, who had been about to answer, closed his mouth.  Jaehyo stood in the boat’s small kitchen, wearing an full-length apron, in front of the stove with a pan in one hand and a spatula in the other.  He was cooking.  “Do you really not know the answer to that question, Zico?” Jaehyo asked.  He didn’t even turn around.  “Have you forgotten that we all ended up in jail the last time we were in Vietnam?”

“It’s not like that’s the first time you’ve ever landed yourself in a jail cell, Jaehyo,” Zico shot back.

Now Jaehyo did turn around.  “You’re right it wasn’t.  And it won’t be the last.  That’s the consequences of the lifestyle we lead.  But your actions since we became Block B haven’t exactly made us think that you’d be willing to fly in and save the day again. 

“What have you done as leader of Block B?  You’re the notorious leader that everyone talks about behind closed doors, but even your own crew members rarely see you.  I’m not Kyung and Taeil.  I’m not a childhood friend that will willingly follow you into battle.  I made my decision to accept you as my leader because once upon a time I trusted you not only with my life, but with the lives of my friends as well.” 

He means P.O, B-Bomb, and U-Kwon, Zico thought and tried to take Jaehyo seriously while he was wearing that apron. 

“But it’s not like that anymore,” Jaehyo continued.  “You’ve done nothing to help with day to day operations of Block B.  You’ve forbidden us from doing outside jobs until now.  Tell me what exactly have you done to prove your worth as Leader? Since you became Leader of Block B, what have you done to give us reason to trust you?”

“Watch it, Jaehyo.”  U-Kwon had come down the stairs from the deck to stand at the foot of the stairs.  “You have no idea what kind of-“

“That’s enough,” Zico cut him off before U-Kwon could finish defending him.  His icy tone made everyone freeze.  “Then why take this job?” He asked Jaehyo.  “If you can’t trust me, why follow me back to Vietnam?”

Jaehyo stared for a moment before turning back to the stove.

“Because he wants to be able to trust you.” The new voice came from the stairs.  Zico turned to see P.O and Taeil who had joined U-Kwon by the stairs.  “He’s tired of playing acting-leader and he wants you to come back so he doesn’t have to do all the work himself anymore.”

“Hey,” Jaehyo turned and brandished his spatula at P.O.  “You have no idea what a pain it is to keep track of everything for an entire section of The Block…”

Zico smiled as Jaehyo rumbled on complaining about what his job had become without Zico there.  Zico briefly considered taking over some of those responsibilities when they returned and quickly decided Block B was running just fine with everything in Jaehyo’s hands and it wasn’t like Zico wanted to do any of that.

A thought stuck him and he frowned.  He looked from B-Bomb sitting with him at the table to Jaehyo at the stove to P.O, Taeil, and U-Kwon standing at the stairs.  If the six of them were all down here…  “Who’s steering this thing?” He asked, harshly cutting off Jaehyo’s rant.  “Please don’t tell me you gave Kyung the wheel.”

“We’re in the middle of the wide open ocean,” P.O said spreading his arms in the small space.  “There’s nothing for him to hit.”

“Well, if there is something, he’ll manage to find it,” U-Kwon said then hurried up the stairs to save the boat from almost certain disaster at Kyung’s hands.