CHAPTER 31: EMBARKMENT
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NAME: KIM JUNSU
CODENAME: XIAH
AGENCY: NJC
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The entire room was empty save for the single cot sitting in the corner: the cot I was currently laying in. The basement of the Japanese Embassy located in South Korea was cleaned and little evidence of the NJC’s presence remained.

I was of little use due to the injury that I received from Yunho-san. Yunho-san was able to fire two point blank shot directly at my chest. One bullet breaking a rib and the other punctured my lung. I was unconscious for three days and upon my awakening Seungri-kun, told me about Styx’s…fit? No, Styx apparently lost it and screamed at Eos for being the ‘cause of my death.’

I didn’t know how to react. Seungri-kun wasn’t very helpful either. He kept teasing me, and mocking me. But I didn’t mind it; his teasing proved that this was reality. Right?

Was this real? Is it true that Styx, the heartless leader of the notorious NJC, cares…about…me?

No.

Impossible.

This is purely a one-sided attraction: a stupid one on my part. And yet…the night before, Styx had come to visit me. And during that visit, I was stupid enough to confess.

My eyes were glued onto the plain, white, ceiling as my thoughts turned and drove in circles around a single moment.

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My hands found home in the deep pits of my hoodie as I trudged home late at night. Gnawing my lip, I quickened my pace as the freak show of night crept up on me.

“The night's always so freaky around here...” I muttered to myself: even the crunch of the gravel scares me at times. “I guess I'm just another cowardly nerd after all."

However, it wasn’t just the night that was worrying me, it was the fact that there had been some strange people stalking my neighbourhood as of late. It wasn’t that my area was run down or shabby, but the sight of the same black car with tinted windows made me furrow my eyebrows in suspicion every time. The car simply didn’t belong here. And every night, the car would park in front of the same store, and every morning, the car was gone.

I held my breath as I turned the corner, silently praying that it wouldn’t be there tonight: that car unnerved me.

What I saw instead made me press back against the wall.

Wait, why was I hiding?

I slowly inch my way back to peer around the corner of the building.

There, drowning the foreboding car's aura were two men conversing quietly under the breaths. I took another cautious step forward in attempts to try and hear their words. However, my effort of caution failed horribly as I tripped over a rock and tumbled to the ground. My heart leapt inside my chest as the thought of getting caught ripped through. I skid around the block and fled.

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A sudden crashing sound caused a jolt to run up my spine.

I breathed slowly trying to calm my heart, even now the black cars and men seem to terrify me I guess, how pitiful.

The door leading into the infirmary had hit the wall, announcing Seungri and G-dragon's entrance.
"Hey, Xiah. We're here to get you into the car alright?"

"On the count of three, we'll lift you and transfer you into a bed that's more mobile. Ready? On the count of three..."

I stared at the ceiling in anticipation.

Just as how I stared at the ceiling in desperation while looking for an answer all those years ago...

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Who were those people? No doubt about it, they didn’t belong here. I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Other people complained of their presence to the police too, but the police didn’t do anything. My eyes searched the ceiling, as if the strange patterns held the answer if I only stared long enough. Suddenly, an idea came.

What if, I hacked into the store’s computer files? It wouldn’t be hard; I had most of the files belonging to the stores around the neighbourhood. I flipped off my bed and rushed over to my computer.

The store had a camera, I knew that much. And those video had to feed into to somewhere. If I could hack into the video's destination, then I might be able to get a clue about those men.

I let my fingers glide over the keys of the computer, typing in code after code.

Most people think that computer geeks are nerds: that they have no life, but to me, the keys of the computer are the same as those of a piano. I am speaking a foreign language in order to seduce the secrets out of the store's computer.

The tap of the last button echoed in the silent room.

It paced way for a much more sinister world that opened up to me

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“Gah!” I yelped. The sudden jerk of being lifted aggravated my wounds shook me out of my reverie.

I groaned as I was set back down into the new bed.

"Sorry Xiah, don’t know how we could of made any better." Seungri said.

I simply waved my hand in attempt to dismiss both the pain and their useless apology.

“Okay, let’s go.” G-dragon said, as he begun to move my new bed.

“Will you two me escorting me?” I questioned.

“Yep.” Seungri said, following alongside G-dragon and lightly helping him move the bed.

“What of the others?” I asked.

“Taeyang-hyung is with Eos and Jaejoong.” Seungri started as they wheeled the bed into the black van. “They are going to be at the center of the formation along with us.”

“Then what about Styx-sama, Nesoi-sama, and Micky?”

“They form the triangle of the scouting team.” G-dragon filled in as he started the engine and headed off to the harbour. “T.O.P-hyung is with Styx-sama and Daesung is with Nesoi-sama.”

“Here,” Seungri said, tossing something into my lap, “put it on, even if you are useless, you should be informed.” I ignored his remark then placed the radio in my ear and clipped the microphone to the collar of my shirt. As soon as I put it in, Styx’s voice came.

“This is Cerberus’ first head to Achilles, what is your position?” she asked.

“Achilles to first head,” Seungri radioed back, “we just left the parameters.”

“Alright, second head, do you copy?”

“Loud and clear,” Micky’s voice called, “I’m in position and biding.” The commands continued coming from Styx, of course in a manner unique only to her. However, a question formed on my lips before thought:

“Achilles, Cerberus?”

“Come on Xiah, you know that the NIS knows half of you guys. Naming the groups helps keep us undercover, not to mention it’s efficient.”

I nodded my understanding, "so which group is which?"

“The three heads are those at the point of our triangle formation: Cerberus. Makes sense doesn’t it?”

“Styx is the first head. Mickey, who’s to be the very back if you remember, is the second, and Nesoi is the third." G-dragon put it.

"Alright, so Tartarus is Eos and Jaejoong then?" I asked.

G-dragon shook his head in agreement, "Yeah, Taeyang's with them too. Mickey's also going to be considered part of that group.”

"And the Achilles," Seungri began with a smirk, "is the perfect name for the weak link."

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion before understanding what he meant.

"Me? I’m Achilles' heel?"

"No duh, genius. How did such a weakling manage to become part of the NJC anyway? The rest of them are just plain intimidating, even Mickey can be pretty freaky if he wants to be!"

"Hah," I muttered: Seungri had unwittingly called back the memories that were haunting me before, “that's a good question...”

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I slammed my hand down on the keyboard in frustration. This was the second time I tried hacking into their system. What are they hiding that requires this much security? The first time I tried, something (or someone) was protecting it from the other end. However, the second time, I tried a different method; a method that I was positive will let me through the security. But, nevertheless, I was met with more difficult problems. My computer got a virus.

From what little I was able to extract, I came to a few conclusions: First: these men had secrets. Secondly, those secrets are heavily protected, and finally: they know I am on to them.

The anti hacker on the other end, he played a game with me. It took me everything I had to just stay in the system and even that backfired. Now I’ve been discovered and my weapon – my computer – has been trashed. The only option left, is for me to uncover the truth by foot. Good ol’fashioned man power as they say.

A nervous tremble set my heart racing, whatever I find, I’m not supposed to know, that much is obvious. But the question is, how far are they willing to go to stop me from knowing?

I chocked back my fears in a gulp.

Well, I can’t leave the guy who trashed my computer be, now can I?

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“Well?” Seungri persisted.

“I hacked into the NJC’s files.”

“What!?” Seungri yelled.

“Well, they lured me into it though, knowing that I had some skill. So they set up a separate system with nothing in it, just to test me.” I said.

“Actually, the only thing they had in the files was a virus. I remember back then, I thought I had only managed to fall into a trap. I hadn’t the slightest idea that I did break through the pan just to fall into the fire.”
“So, did they accept you?” Seungri asked, “Just like that?”

“Not quite…I was so frustrated that I went the store where I thought the files originated from. Course, I was wrong and ended up getting arrested for breaking and entering, and, of course, invasion of privacy. Even now, I’m technically in jail. After all, breaking into the Japanese Intelligence Agency computer system is a federal crime. Hades made a deal with me. He got me out of jail in return for working for him.”

“So, you shouldn’t be on the field to begin with.” Seungri said, pulling the vehicle to a gentle stop behind a building.

“No…not exactly…” I muttered sheepishly.

“We’re here, first head.” G-dragon said into the radio. Both of them quickly got out of the van and wheeled me out of the back.

“Good.” Styx said.

“Tartarus is stable.” Micky called.

I winced and bit my lip as G-dragon helped me off the stretcher and onto a wheelchair. I took the time to survey my surroundings while G-dragon and Seungri relayed information back to Styx.

It was a moonless night due to the overcast of heavy clouds. It was almost impossible to see. Despite the pain in my chest, I took a deep breath of the humid, salty air. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see G-dragon and Seungri evaluate their surroundings as well.

"Tch, there are building littering this entire area. Too far apart to be completely unseen, too close to be able to see anybody else." Seungri started.

"The heights unnerving too,” G-dragon remarked, “they're much too high for us to climb easily, but still low enough for it to be perfect for an ambush."

“Alright, we are ready to go.” Seungri said, anxious to leave the area.

“Second head is clear.” Micky said.

“Third, clear.” Nesoi said.

“Start moving.” Styx commanded.

“Here,” Seungri said, tossing a gun into my lap. “Try and defend yourself if we can’t.”

“Are there bullets in it?” I asked cautiously. Seungri whipped around and stared at me incredulously before bursting out in laughter. G-dragon joined in behind me.

“Do you think you are so bad that you might friendly fire?”

“And to think, we are the street kids and he is the spy!”

I looked away in embarrassment.

“Tartarus is on the move.” Micky’s voice said, calling us back into seriousness. The once teasing aura suddenly collapsed underneath a nearly suffocating atmosphere of gravity and extreme vigilance.

G-Dragon begun to cautiously wheel me closer to the harbour as Seungri scouted the area ahead. I also held the gun ready in front of me.

“Third head is in position.” Nesoi’s voice called.

“Hault!” Styx suddenly yelled. My hand flew to my ear in shock. G-dragon stopped in his step. Seungri snapped around ran beside me defensively. “Second head, move to protect the heel!” Styx called.

Damn, something has gone amiss, are the –

“The NIS have arrived.”
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*Cerberus: in Greek mythology, the fierce dog that guards the entrance to Hades, usually represented as having three heads
*Achilles: in Greek mythology, the principal hero of the Trojan War, made invulnerable by being dipped in the river Styx as a baby, except for the heel he was held by. He killed the Trojan hero Hector before being fatally wounded in the heel with an arrow fired by Paris.
*Tartarus: in Greek mythology, the lowest part of the underworld, where the worst evildoers were imprisoned
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Author's Note: No, on contrary belief, we haven't given up on the story yet. We will see Deceiving the Gods through till the end. We do apologize for the length of time between updates, (we have been apologizing quite often now haven't we?) but we are trying our best to update as often as we can. We hope that you do enjoy each instalment of Deceiving the Gods and think the story is good enough to put up with the long delays. We thank everyone for your support both on Winglin and on Asian Fanfics. We also would like to thank our 32 subscribers on Asianfanfics, and our faithful reader, gloom, on Winglin. We would also like to thank, last but definitely not the least, our applicants: Ava_Lava, MoMo, and babeyelmo; this story would not be possible if not for your contributions as characters! Thank you! 

I feel like a television ad… 

Hisoka
Of
ObsidianTheatre   

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