Jinki pressed the hidden button on the hilt of his pocket knife and the silver blade flashed out with a deadly gleam. He flicked his wrist and the blade snapped back into the hilt. Jinki pressed the button and flicked his wrist, repeating the cycle as he waited for Jonghyun to return.

The television was on; its audio turned to a low murmur and existed in the seedy motel room in lieu of some background music. There was an ad for a new fried chicken store in town. Jinki was won over by the cute animated chicken, voiced by a famous actress. Maybe he will visit and order some take away. His idle thoughts were interrupted by the opening theme music of the evening news; Jonghyun was now running late.

'Good evening, my name is Oh Soohyun and this is the 6PM news.'

Jinki stood up from the corner of the bed he had been sitting on, tucked his knife back into his pocket, and moved towards the curtained window. He lifted the edge of the mouldy fabric and peered out onto the poorly-lit parking lot.

'Japan's Prime Minister, Mr Yukatsuka, has arrived in Seoul as part of the continued negotiations with South Korea over the extradition of Mr Park, who is responsible for the deaths of 53 Japanese civilians in what has become known as The Circus Event.'

A white car pulled into the parking lot. He held his breath as he watched Jonghyun step out of the driver's seat. The young man gave a brief glance about the car park as he walked around to the other side of his car. He then pulled out a sports bag from the passenger seat when he was satisfied that no one was watching.

Jinki let the curtain fall back. They were nearly ready.

There then came a rapid series of knocks on the door. Jinki took out his pocket knife and held it lightly in his hand. He cautiously opened the door and peered through the crack.

Jonghyun wore a stained business suit; its long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. The strap of the sports bag had bunched his shirt at his shoulder and revealed the brown sweat stains within his collar.

"I don't like what you have done to your hair," Jinki said.

Jonghyun grimaced and ran a hand through his black hair. "Then you go undercover."

"Nope."

"Whatever,” huffed Jonghyun, “Let me in."

Jinki moved aside and Jonghyun pushed the door open with his shoulder. He had another sports bag in his other hand.

Jinki returned to his seat at the corner of the bed and played with his knife again. He watched Jonghyun struggle to the centre of the room and drop the bags with a relieved grunt. The sounds of things hitting upon each other came from both bags.

"The bastard wanted to argue about the price," Jonghyun started to explain his lateness.

"How did you end it?"

"With a few bullets."

Jinki raised an eyebrow and began to twirl the knife between his fingers. "Are you sure that was wise?" he asked. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."

Jonghyun shrugged, "It was super effective."

"No doubt," Jinki drawled.

The television blared out another advertisement, this time for the upcoming technology convention to be held in Seoul. Jinki and Jonghyun stayed silent as they watched the 30 second spot. It ended with the catchphrase to not miss out on the promise of a high-tech future.

Jinki scratched his cheek with the tip of his pocket knife. He then looked at the two sport bags at their feet. Indeed, Seoul and South Korea should not miss out on their future; what had happened in Japan will now happen here. And then the world panic will begin and everyone will fear their names.

"How long do you need to get them ready?" Jinki nodded towards the bags. Jonghyun crouched next to them and opened one up. He pulled out two short swords; both with a silky-black sheath and blood-red hilts. They were a pair and they were beautiful. Jonghyun unsheathed one of the swords and inspected the blade. Light reflected from its deadly edge.

"Once Taemin comes back with the vials, it shouldn't take too long to embed the swords with the bacteria. And then we will have 24 hours to work before the bugs become defective."

"24 hours is long enough," Jinki said in a bored tone.

Jonghyun sheathed the sword again and looked up at their leader with a concealed apprehension. He cleared his throat in a poor attempt to hide his nervousness. His fingers fidgeted when Jinki fixed a cool stare at the younger man.

"What is it?"

"Umm, it's about Chanyeol." Jonghyun hesitated and his lips, "What are we going to do without him?"

Jinki looked away and watched the news. He wasn't ignoring the question; he only pretended to so he could mess with Jonghyun's highly strung mind. Jonghyun coughed again and Jinki flicked his wrist to put away his pocket knife.

He gave the other man a cold smile. "We will rescue Park Chanyeol," Jinki finally answered him. Jonghyun gulped even though his mouth had gone dry. The changing light from the television transformed Jinki’s face into a terrifying image; "And then The Circus will begin again."

 

 

---

---

 

a·mor·al (adj.)

 

 

---

---

 

The morning sunlight gave the cloudy blue sky a metallic white appearance. It was as if the sun was unhappy and glared at the world, and Jinki could sympathise with its feelings. He was standing on the other side of the street of the detention centre where Chanyeol was held, and he thought that they really should not have to be here.

But then, they couldn’t leave Chanyeol by himself.

He’ll just ditch ‘Channie’ when they move onto the next country.

The stainless steel door handles gleamed back at Jinki.

Jonghyun stretched out his back. He was in another suit, this time it was a designer label and it cut him into a handsome figure. Minho was similarly dressed. He held a large day planner in his hands, paper with frayed edges poked out between the pages. Together, Jonghyun and Minho looked like lawyers, ready to meet their client before they go to court.

Jinki, on the other hand, was relaxed in his blue denim jeans and soft cotton shirt. Large brown sunglasses hid most of his face. With the iced coffee in his hand, he looked like an associate on his day off, chatting with the lawyers.

Jinki slurped on his coffee and watched a car pull up at the entrance. A group of real lawyers piled out and waved thanks to their driver. They did not loiter but pushed through the doors.

“Go,” Jinki gave the command. Minho silently nodded and Jonghyun clapped Jinki’s shoulder before he stepped onto the road. They left Jinki to stand alone on the sidewalk.

Jinki trusted the two to succeed, and so he strolled to their designated meeting place. He began to look forward to lunch. Maybe Taemin will be back to join him; he did enjoy eating as much as Jinki and was good company.

 

-- ** -- **-- ** -- **-- ** -- **--

 

Kibum slunk further into his chair as he stared at one of the television sets visible from his desk. It was on one of those inane morning shows that spoke gossip and ‘trendy’ topics only interesting to middle-aged mothers; and to Kibum... because the alternative programs were too serious and he had enough of the ‘serious stuff’ at work.

“What the hell?! Who is watching this ?” The curse sounded from one of the desks near Kibum’s television. Detective Lee waddled (because Kibum disliked the overweight man’s rolling gait) to the offending screen and switched it back to the 24 hour news channel.

“Oi!” Kibum yelled from his seat. Detective Lee glowered at him, flipped him the birdie, and rolled back to his desk.

Detective Kim Kibum sighed. He pulled himself into a proper seated position and picked up the printouts on his desk. It was of his current case. He had been assigned to help the Japanese ‘completely’ solve The Circus Events. Their reasoning was that since Park Chanyeol was a South Korean citizen, then the other criminals may be too. Kibum internally seethed at the accusation that more South Koreans would be part of this monstrosity. The Circus Events were horrible and dishonourable things to be part of. He suspected that Chanyeol was brainwashed into the terrorism.

That was what the Circus Events were: terrorist attacks.

Witness accounts and CCTV photographs were spread out on Kibum’s desk. The attack had been freakishly fast. Five minutes. Within five minutes, five masked men had stormed through the convention hall and killed 53 people and wounded more than 70 others.

But how that was achieved was odd.

Kibum had watched the CCTV footage. He saw the swiftness of the disguised criminals as they moved through the crowd. He saw them part the crowd of people with their swords, like each was Moses doing his magic on the Red Sea. And then like dominoes, the convention goers started to attack each other. It was as if the violence was a super-fast infectious disease. Kibum shuddered to think what would have happened if it had gone outside and onto the streets. Maybe it was a blessing that the convention halls were locked behind, after the escape of the five terrorists.

Kibum whistled his appreciation of the group. Japan was lucky to have nabbed Chanyeol.

As many times before, one of the grainy photographs caught Kibum’s attention. It was of a lean man, dressed in black from his top hat and polished shoes, with two short swords in each hand. The clown mask was staring up into the camera, as if he knew they were being recorded.

“That’s freaky.”

Kibum jumped in his seat and clutched at his chest. “God dammit, Woohyun! Don’t creep up on me while I am staring at the crazy killer clown, sweet jesus!”

Woohyun held up both of his hands in the air, laughing as he apologised for frightening Kibum. He then settled on a nearby empty chair. It creaked a little from the new weight set upon it.

“That is freaky,” Woohyun repeated and nodded at the photo Kibum was holding in his hands. “What would drive a man to wear a clown mask and a top hat, and kill innocent people with a sword? It is so dance macabre. Religion?”

Kibum ignored Woohyun’s attempt to be the more cultured cop in the room. He shrugged and threw the photo back onto his desk. “Maybe it’s because of a religious cause; but no group has claimed responsibility and they usually would by now. Besides, Park Chanyeol does not seem to be the zealous type.”

“Childhood tragedy, then?”

Kibum shrugged again. “I’m not a psychiatrist or whatever and who cares? There are five of them -- would all of them be tragic heroes? Pfft,” and he carelessly waved at the photos of the masked men in question, one of them was Park Chanyeol. “I doubt it. Maybe they’re just bored? Maybe they’re more predisposed towards the devil’s cause, like how some people are so nice, angelic, pure and sweet? I mean why not? Lucifer was once an angel.”

Woohyun stared at Kibum. He dropped the pencil he had been playing with and it clattered on the floor. Kibum hoped that the lead did not break, or he would force Woohyun to sharpen it so he could stab it into his hand for breaking it in the first place. It was his lucky pencil.

“Dude,” Woohyun finally breathed, “That was deep.”

“Shut up and pick up my pencil.”

Woohyun grinned and bent down to retrieve the other’s lucky pencil. Just then, there came a shout near the television sets.

“Yo, Kibum! This is yours!”

Both Kibum and Woohyun stood up and peered towards the television. Another police officer was increasing its volume so they could hear the breaking news.

‘Prime suspect of The Circus Events, Park Chanyeol, has mysteriously escaped from police custody and his current whereabouts is unknown.’

Kibum swore and ran out to his car before the news announcer finished her sentence.

 

-- ** -- **-- ** -- **-- ** -- **--

 

Taemin readjusted his glasses upon his nose. He casually nodded to the passing people in the hallway. It was surprisingly busy for a university department. The School of Disease and Microbiology were normally a quiet group of people, tight-knitted and self-sufficient. Kind of like the small colonies of bugs they studied.

Finally, after what had felt like forever, the office door finally opened behind him. “Here,” Eunji sullenly handed over Naeun’s laboratory pass.

Taemin gave her over-enthusiastic thanks, “You’re a lifesaver!”

She glared at him and muttered her bafflement over Naeun’s choice of boyfriends. “You better give that back to her too!” she warned him before she closed the door in his face.

Taemin rocked on his heels as he digested Eunji’s dislike of him. She used to be so bubbly and playful... maybe it was the birthday present? He could never get things like that right.

Taemin shrugged, swung on his left heel, and quickly walked down the hallway. He carefully tucked Naeun’s lab pass into his pocket. It had taken a lot of work to get him to this stage. It would be unfair if he stuffed it all up by accidentally losing the key, like with almost everything else.

Also, he was absolutely terrified of what Jinki would do to him if he ruined the second act of The Circus. He did not want to be there when Jinki decides to punish Chanyeol for getting caught. Or maybe, Taemin thought as he reached the lab in which Naeun stored her project samples, Chanyeol wouldn’t be punished at all. Jinki was actually quite forgiving, especially if he was in a good mood.  

Taemin swiped the lab pass through the access panel and pushed open the door. He switched on the lights and moved towards the anteroom that stored the biohazard protection suits. Naeun’s words came back to him as he began to organise himself to be suited up. She had been ignoring his requests for her to come into bed. Taemin had felt a bit betrayed that she had chosen her research project over a cuddling session with him.

‘What is that?’ Taemin asked. He had walked up from the bed and draped himself and the blanket over her back.

‘It’s my baby.’ Taemin stared at the photos of the small pink rods. ‘S. timortheylla,’ Naeun proudly announced the bacteria’s name. ‘It is going to be the highlight of my thesis. It was discovered by accident; part of the cultures taken from a patient with TB. We know it can survive dormant on surfaces for a few days, like a virus. It also has some other properties like viruses -- it could be the missing link in the evolution of viruses!’

Taemin gave her a kiss on her cheek; she was too cute when she was really excited about something and anything.

‘Is there a cure?’ he then asked.

‘Oh, there are a handful of antibiotics that can destroy it... but the clinical symptoms are often too fast in the test animals to administer them.’ She hesitated, ‘And they can’t be aerosolised. We have to be very, very careful with it when we study it.’

Once Taemin was finally fully suited up in the pale blue thick plastic suit, he pressed the green button between the anteroom and the actual laboratory. The air barrier activated and the glass doors opened. Blue-white fluorescent lights also flickered on within the BSL-3 lab.

Although this was not his first time in the protective laboratory, Taemin was still incredibly nervous. There was no real cure if he was careless to infect himself.

‘There is no need to be so careful, silly.’ Naeun laughed at him. ‘It is blood-to-blood transfer.’

Taemin reached one of the incubator ovens and ran a gloved finger over the list of names. He tapped the glass a few times at Naeun’s label on the second-last shelf. Six sealed petri dishes were neatly organised on the shelf; the blood agar glowed pink in the dull yellow oven light.

Taemin quickly pulled open the glass door and moved the petri dishes to the esky he had pinched from someone’s work space within the lab. Adrenaline coursed through him now that his solo part in the mission was almost done.

‘Is there a cure?’ he then asked.

‘Oh, there are a handful of antibiotics that can destroy it... but the clinical symptoms are often too fast in the test animals to administer them.’ She hesitated, ‘And they can’t be aerosolised. We have to be very, very careful with it when we study it.’

‘What do you mean?’

She minimised the window on the computer and opened a folder with video files in them. The thumbnails showed that they were of different apes and monkeys. Naeun played one. The monkey had gone berserk.

‘The bacteria invade the brain stem and trigger this aggressive behaviour. We can’t get to the animals to administer the antibiotics without getting hurt.’

Taemin went through the decontamination procedures and hastily made his way back to Eunji. He weaved through passing people, careful to protect the esky with the deadly bacteria cultures. He rapidly knocked on the office door and practically threw Naeun’s lab pass into the girl’s face.

“Thanks! Naeun’s waiting for me outside and asked me to put it back on her desk,” he lied to Eunji. He gave her a wave and almost ran to the nearest elevator. The esky bumped against his leg.

‘What happened to the human patient?’ Taemin asked in a hushed voice.

‘The human patient?’ Naeun repeated, ‘She died soon after we detected the bacteria in her blood. She had an episode of aggression, like the monkeys, and was screaming about these hallucinations she was having. It was horrible.’

 

 

---

---

 

cir·cus  (n.)

 

Kibum dunked his head under the cold water tap and allowed the rivets of water to wash away the frustrations he had accumulated during the day. He knew that he'll be grilled to the bone by the higher-uppers, especially for having found out of the prison break via SBS news. There were also his Japanese counterparts, who would be demanding answers on how it was possible for a terrorist to have escaped. It had Kibum's suggestion to use that particular detention centre! Kibum had no real answers to both questions.

"Tough day, hey?" Woohyun commented from behind him.

"Go away." Kibum hid his sigh and pulled away from the faucet. He said nothing when Woohyun threw a towel into his face.

"So what's next?" Woohyun asked.

Kibum shrugged.

"I've got a call on a homicide," Woohyun continued. "Do you want to join me?"

Kibum tossed the towel into a basket and gestured for his friend to lead the way.

 

The apartment was guarded by a uniformed police officer. Both Woohyun and Kibum flashed their ID badges and stepped through the entrance. They were wearing the plastic shoe covers because the forensic team were still collecting samples for their analyses.

The blood splatter on the walls and floor of the small sitting room was intense and extensive. Kibum paled at the ferocity of the girl's death. He was forever amazed by the sheer quantity of blood the human body carried within itself.

The girl's body was in a foetal position, up on one of the chairs. Her blood had also created a thick pool on the floor about the chair. Kibum could not help but think that the blood was like a moat about the princess and her castle. And that the dragon had attacked instead of protected the girl. Gashes ran across her arms and legs, torn hair - her hair - was scattered in clumps about the room. An officer was collecting tissue samples from beneath her fingernails.

"Who was she?" Woohyun asked.

A uniformed police woman stepped up to him and pointed at a graduation plaque on the wall. She also consulted her notepad for details; "Her name is Son Naeun. 21 years old and a PhD student at Seoul University."

Kibum whistled. "She must have been very smart - 21 years old and already a PhD student? What would have happened to a genius like her?"

"Kibum, you're asking the unhelpful obvious," Woohyun dryly commented.

"Ok," and he tried again, "What was her research project?"

Woohyun did not even try to hide his sigh and the female officer looked at them with amusement. "You're not going to be like this, are you?" he asked Kibum. "Why did I even bring you?"

Kibum scowled. "It could be very important."

"I'll make a note to look into it," the female officer tactfully offered. Kibum pulled a face behind Woohyun's back and followed to listen to the reporting of the event. The neighbours had called the police about her screaming; they thought it was a domestic violence but no one saw anyone else leave her apartment. The guard down in the lobby mentioned that she had a boyfriend but he had not seen him visit since yesterday.

"It can't have been him then," Kibum deduced.

"How did you even become a detective?" Woohyun asked.

"I am quite smart," Kibum defended himself.

"But not a PhD student," jibed Woohyun.

"Shut up. Don't have to be one. Be careful of the blood," he then advised the technicians that had arrived with a black body bag. They were ready to transfer her to the morgue for the post-mortem examination. All officers in the room silently watched as the final zipper was closed before returning to their duties.

 

-- ** -- **-- ** -- **-- ** -- **--

 

Jinki thanked the caller and hung up the phone. He then weaved through the others, scattered about the floor and busy with their assigned tasks; knocked on one of the bedroom doors and opened it without waiting for a response. He did not need to ask permission; he was only giving warning so not to startle the boy on the other side.

"They found Nauen's body," he said without preamble.

Taemin went still and then nodded. He returned his attention to the petri dishes laid out on the table. An unsheathed sword was also placed in front of him, the deadly edge facing away. Jinki watched as the younger boy carefully picked up a moist colony with a cotton bud and smear it upon the blade.

"24 hours?" he asked. Taemin silently nodded again, his concentration focused upon returning the inoculated sword to its black sheath.

"Say, as a reward - or consolation for your loss - you can choose when we start tomorrow."

This time, Taemin looked up and met Jinki's eyes. "Do you mean it?" he asked, his face lit up with happiness and honour. 

"Sure," and Jinki returned his smile, "Whatever you want."

 

-- ** -- **-- ** -- **-- ** -- **--

 

Kibum stared at the corkboard where all of the evidence for his case was pinned upon. In the corner were the five masked men; near the centre were images of their movements within the hall and of the mayhem amongst the crowd. Everyone was in fear that another attack could be made. Kibum had come out of the expected grilling from the Chief. No terrorist group has yet announced ownership of the attack (as if he had control of that!) and the silence was frightening.

Kibum rubbed a hand over his face as a physical gesture to clear out his brain, so he could begin again from a new angle. That was when he noticed the A4 document envelope thrown on top of his desk. He studied it: seven postage stamps were neatly arranged on the top right hand corner and Kibum's name and address were written by a woman's hand. Kibum frowned. He must've been so intense in his thinking that he had failed to notice the person that delivered his mail. That was a first.

He rummaged through his stationery drawer and found the letter opener. He carefully cut through one of the edges of the envelope; mindful that it could contain something sinister. There were seven stamps on the envelope after all - more than what was necessary. Inside were some photos of what looked like a very ill hospital patient. Kibum stared at one of the photos until he realised what was odd. The lady was strapped down onto the bed and red welts marred her pale arms and face. He flicked a frantic glance back at his corkboard. Beneath a CCTV image of people clawing at their own faces was a witness statement recounting the hysteria of the cut people. Images of Nauen’s body also flashed through his mind.

Kibum quickly read the letter that came with the photos and cursed when he reached its end. It was signed off by Son Naeun. She had been worried by the similarities of the accounts of the Japanese Circus Events and her research of a newly discovered bacterium.

But she was just murdered... What was going on?

 

 

---

---

 

an·ti·he·ro (n.)

1. a protagonist who lacks the attributes that make a heroic figure, as nobility of mind and spirit, a life or attitude marked by action or purpose, and the like.

 

vil·lain (n.)

 

 

---

---

 

Five men in black: in long trench coats or with black jeans and a tight-fitting top, and accessorised with leather bindings about their wrists, ankles and hips; patiently waited in the various lines to the ticket counters. Jonghyun adjusted the bindings of the swords hanging from his hip. Minho, from behind him, tapped his shoulder and Jonghyun kicked his knapsack forward. He had dropped it to the ground so he could free his hands to fiddle with the binding. They shuffled along the queue.

The entrance to the convention hall was not crowded. Taemin had chosen the mid-afternoon to begin their activities; so most of the hard-core fans were already inside.

"That's an awesome costume," the guy behind the counter complimented when Jonghyun and Minho stepped up and handed over their printed tickets. "Which anime are you from? Or is it a tv show? I am always on the lookout for a good shounen!" The guy grinned and listened to the name Minho made up. He nodded and told Minho that he would look it up. He then gave them the wrist strap as proof of their entry and waved them through the doors. Minho politely thanked him and pulled Jonghyun along. Together, they joined the others, already waiting for them.

"Any troubles?" Jinki asked when they arrived.

"None," Minho answered.

"Good. Let's go."

Jinki, Jonghyun, Minho, Taemin and Chanyeol carefully moved through the open-spaced hall. It was a converted railway hanger, a little dusty with vaulting open spaces above them. Groups of adults and kids moved excitedly to and from stalls and the various events. Peppered throughout the crowd were also other cosplayers. The five men had no trouble blending in with the others; especially when, in unison, Jinki and Taemin stared longingly at the food stalls.

There were sausages, chips, pies, noodles and rice dishes, and cake and ice-cream. Taemin his lips and turned to Jonghyun with pleading eyes. He did not protest when Jinki pushed him forwards, towards the food stalls, and was practically running with him to the nearest line.

"Look, they have bubble-gum ice-cream!" Jinki pointed to the banner. "We'll get fries too and dunk them in the ice-cream, deal?"

"Deal!" Taemin grinned. He craned his neck about the person in front of them so he could see what else they could eat.

Jinki and Taemin were waiting for their order to be filled when Jinki felt a tugging on his coat. He looked down and discovered a small boy. Jinki figured he was about 5 years old, complete with a monkey walking bag upon his shoulders. The brown monkey tail trailed upon the ground. He watched the little kid drop his hand to his side when he realised that he had pulled the wrong person's coat.

"Hey," Jinki softly reached out for the boy with the monkey bag. He crouched down to be at his height and asked if he was looking for his mom or dad. The boy's eyes were red and his chin trembled.

"It’s okay if you want to cry," Jinki reassured him, "I'll help you find them and it will be alright."

"Jinki?" Taemin had come to his side with the ice-cream and bucket of fries. Jinki carefully took the ice-cream and pulled it apart. It was one of those double-handle varieties. He gave one to the now-crying kid and returned the other to Taemin, who took it without comment. Jinki then gently lead them towards the customer-service desk, his hand behind the boy's shoulder.

Taemin quietly followed Jinki and the small boy. The visual gave Taemin a surreal light-headiness. Jinki, tall and dressed in a deathly black trench coat, a man capable of great violence and horror, was helping a lost boy back to his parents. The contrast clashed and Taemin felt an irrational panic for the kid's safety.

He bit down onto the ice-cream and told his brain to be quiet. He was just nervous before the job.

"Aki!" Both Jinki and Taemin turned at the woman's cry of relief. At the sound of her voice, the boy bolted forwards and immediately latched his tiny hand in her own. A frantic lady ran up and thanked them for helping find her son. Jinki gave her a sincere smile and said that it wasn't a problem, he was glad to help. He also returned Aki's wave of goodbye. He stopped when he noticed Taemin's stares.

"Don't hesitate to do a good deed when you can, Taemin," Jinki told him.

Taemin mutely nodded his reply.

"Can I at least have the fries?" Jinki pouted. He gave a whoop of delight when Taemin handed him the bucket and he bit into the fried potato; "This is what I live for - yum!" He studied the confused tension in Taemin’s face and burst out with laughter. He nudged the younger boy’s shoulder. “Relax, Taemin! There’s nothing to be afraid of. We’ll go out for drinks later, ok?”

Taemin chewed his lips, a habit when he was embarrassed, and nodded. He then pretended to be focused on finding the others.

Jinki gave another chuckle of amusement. “You’re so cute, Taemin.”

It didn’t take them long to find the others. They were sitting about a table in the food court; Chanyeol was sipping on a drink and Minho and Jonghyun were also sharing a bucket of fries.

"About time!" Jonghyun exclaimed around his mouthful of fries. "Did you guys get lost or something?"

"Not us," Jinki answered.

"What?" But he was ignored and their leader proceeded to talk to Chanyeol about the next stage of their plans. Jonghyun gave Minho a shrug of his shoulders. Now wasn’t a time to sulk; he needed to dampen his highly strung nerves. Minho pushed forward the bucket of fries they had been sharing and he gratefully scooped up a few.

The minutes passed like water down a cliff. The five were strangely accustomed to waiting. They shared small chatter as they commented about some of the other cosplayers or a show they saw. Anyone nearby would not suspect their purposes; they would assume that they were probably waiting for the featured event at the end of the day.

Eventually, Jinki glanced at his watch and then tapped the table with his fingers. The group’s attention re him. He gave them a smile of thanks. He was truly thankful for their support.

He indicated that the moment they had been patiently waiting for had come. They held each other's gazes, silently wishing the each other luck, and then they took turns to discreetly leave the table. The night before Chanyeol had drilled in their memory where the blind spots of the CCTV cameras were. There, they would wait for the final signal.

And then The Circus would begin again.

Chanyeol and Jinki were the last to leave. The two men moved to loiter in the shadow of the felt stall wall, pinned with posters of neko fanart and t-shirts. Jinki felt a small smile form in the corner of his lips when he caught sight of Aki, staring at a mecha cosplayer. The poor kid...

His thoughts were interrupted by the generic ringtone of his phone. He gave the caller ID a quick glance and answered it without a greeting. He listened to the brief words said to him on the other side. "Good; Taemin would be relieved." He praised the caller before he hung up.

“Kibum’s ready,” Jinki told Chanyeol, “Are you?”

“Yes,” and he unlocked his mobile phone as proof.

“Good.”

Then the overhead lights of the converted hanger flickered.

The hundreds of people within the hanger collectively froze and looked up at the lights. There was a heavy stillness as their anxious silence thickened, anxious, and became palpable; even to the five men who were rapidly rummaging through their knapsacks. Jinki, Jonghyun, Minho, Taemin and Chanyeol pulled out grotesque clown masks and the collapsable top hats. Within 5 seconds they were transformed in their disguises. Jinki also strapped onto his back the twin short swords he favoured. He was sure that his image should now be familiar to the police and other authorities - the mad clown in the top hat with the cross of swords behind his back.

Murmurs from the crowd began to rise as the flickering lights suddenly stopped and the lights stayed on. But the convention-goer's relief was short-lived.

The hanger plunged into darkness. There came a single scream from somewhere; the panic of a woman who did not like the dark.

Chanyeol, ready for this moment, pressed the app on his phone and was satisfied with the resounding echo of the emergency doors locking. There was only one entrance they had a risky control of - the entrance which they had come through - but Minho was nearby and he had kicked it closed when the woman screamed.

The lights began to flicker.

With a deadly calmness, the five black men, now in clown masks and top hats, drew out their weapons and entered the crowd. They moved with a hypnotic grace, slashing through flesh and cloth with a horrific ease. It was a full 30 seconds before the crowd realised their danger. Mayhem erupted.

Jinki and the others aimed to wound, not kill: the bacteria could only infect living humans. The panic and adrenaline of the wounded sped up their infection process; and so the aggressive behaviour, symptomatic of the disease, came quite rapidly. People began to scream, about monsters in the dark, and each other.

The masks protected them from any stray blood splatter that may enter through their eyes or mouth; but it also hampered their sight. The flickering lights added to their visual impairment. And so it was almost as if it was a miracle that he saw Aki, frozen in terror, in the middle of the room.

Jinki strode towards the child, sheathed one of his swords and turned the blade of the other so it would not cut him if he was foolish enough to be clumsy. He was leaving a trail of blood drops in his wake.

Aki caught sight of him.  The boy screamed in terror. He made to take a step backwards, as if to run away; but his steps tripped upon the monkey's tail. He staggered to stay upright.

Jinki moved faster and broke into a run; leant forwards and lifted the boy into his arms. He turned his blade back around and ran it through the infected man who had been on a collision course with Aki.

Jinki looked about for Aki's mother. He found her: her eyes were bloodied, gouged with her own fingers. The bite from another was raw on her arm. Jinki tucked the child's head under his, and away from what was left of his mother.

With Aki in his arm and his sword in the other, Jinki swiftly moved through the hysterical crowd and towards their escape exit. Chanyeol was there; ready to unlock the electronic controls. Jinki had arrived at the same time as the other three, like a well-executed dance routine. No one mentioned the young boy, sobbing into Jinki's shoulder and about to faint from fear and exhaustion. Only Taemin reached out and patted Aki’s head. Chanyeol pushed open the fire exit door and led them out into the sunny afternoon. He made sure to lock the door behind them too.

It had only been seven minutes since that first woman’s scream, in fear of that sudden darkness.

 

-- ** -- **-- ** -- **-- ** -- **--

 

'There is breaking news of a terrorist attack in Seoul. There are reports of fatalities of at least 40 people. We cross to Park Sanyeol, who is at the scene...'

 

-- ** -- **-- ** -- **-- ** -- **--

 

Jinki thanked the barista and pushed down the plastic lid over his coffee. He made an experimental sip and grimaced; maybe they’ll avoid this place in the future. His stomach growled a little and he thought longingly of that advertised fried chicken store. If anything, Jinki figured they should try it before they leave the country.

"Jinki!"

He turned at the sound of his name and warmly smiled. "Ah, finally! It's been so long since I got to see your pretty face, Kibum. I was worried that I would forget what you looked like."

Kibum laughed and pushed at Jinki's shoulder, "As if anyone could forget me." Then, with all seriousness, Kibum asked about Chanyeol; “I can't be seen with him."

"Don't worry,” Jinki reassured him. “I sent him away with Minho to organise our flights." He led the way and shouted their arrival to Jonghyun and Taemin.

The four settled to the familiar chatter shared only between old friends. They swapped news and anecdotes: Taemin told Kibum of Aki and how Jinki had saved him. Kibum cooed and teased until their leader finally blushed and told him to shut up.

After a while, Taemin coughed in one of the long silences.

"What is it Taemin?" Jinki asked.

Taemin fidgeted some more and finally looked up at Kibum; "Is the matter with Naeun settled?"

The detective wiped his lips with a napkin. He nodded and gave the younger boy a reassuring smile. "I destroyed the letter and photos she had sent," he said. "Seriously, Taemin - get your act together because I may not be able to save your the next time. You’re lucky that Woohyun doesn't suspect you in her murder too. Your alibi checked out alright."

Taemin released the tension he had been holding in, relieved that he had not stuffed up. Jonghyun playfully punched his arm and he gave him a sheepish grin.

"Well done, Kibum," praised Jinki.

Kibum preened; "Congratulations on a successful circus. The police department is in turmoil and there are few leads because it seems as if the killer clowns had materialised from the blind spots in the CCTV. No one has claimed responsibility of the attacks.”

“Do you think we should?” Jinki teased, “Claim responsibility?”

The other three stared incredulously at him; their leader and ring master of their circus act. “You’re kidding right?” Jonghyun spluttered.

Jinki laughed. “Of course, of course!” he reassured them. Kibum carefully cleared his throat. Jinki’s grin reached his eyes, turning them into like crescent moons. He was in quite a happy mood.

"So, what's next?" Kibum hesitatingly asked.

“Well, you’ve always wanted to visit London, right?”

“I think Minho wanted to go to some soccer matches, too.”

“Sure,” and Jinki leant forwards, whispering as if he was divulging big secrets. “Whatever you guys want.”

 

-- ** -- **-- ** END ** -- **-- ** --