Folding up an unwieldy broadsheet newspaper that he was reading while sitting on a couch moments ago, Jonghyun stated, “I read an article in the newspaper about those crossbred dogs, it said that the cross between a Cocker Spaniel and a Poodle is called a Cockapoo and the cross between a Yorkshire Terrier and a Maltese is called a Yorkese. Then wouldn’t the cross between a Bulldog and a Shihtzu be Bullshihtz?”

That statement managed to crack a snicker if not a laugh out of everyone butNuri who was sitting by the windowsill reassembling his sniper rifle that was dismantled for cleaning. Noticing Nuri’s lacklustre reaction, Jonghyun said, “Why must you be so uptight about everything? Relax.” An attempt to take the rifle away from Nuri by Jonghyun was rewarded with a glare, a strong grip to the rifle and a stern, “Don’t.touch.my.rifle.”

“Whoa, okay, I’ll leave you alone.”  Jonghyun backed out slowly and then plopped himself on the couch. Nuri took his rifle with him and stomped out of the room to the back garden of the house they were living in, making a loud noise thanks to the ungreased sliding track of the sliding door and then a loud ‘thump’ as he pushed the sliding door to a close behind him.  Jonghyun yelled to Nuri a little too late, “Hey, you’re gonna scare the neighbours with your rifle!!”  Nichkhun told Jonghyun off with a slightly annoyed tone, “Just leave that man alone.”

The five men, or altogether six of them, including Han Jaesuk, are now living in a rented house on the outskirts of Osaka, Japan after the episode at the hotel in downtown Osaka earlier in the day.

Nuri did not stomp out of the house into the chilly winds of the night to get rid of Jonghyun, but to answer his phone that was vibrating in the back pocket of his pants. He was waiting for a chance to answer his phone in private without being too obvious about it. Now that the chance had presented itself, he might as well take advantage of it.

As soon as he pressed the ‘answer’ button on his cell phone, he was greeted by a man’s deep voice that was resonating with urgency, “Do you have the briefcase?”

“No sir. However the man who knows the location of the briefcase is here with me.”

“I need you to get the briefcase.”

“I--The Echelon wants it too. I can’t---“

“I want you to remember this; you work for us, not the Echelon. Understand?”

After a short pause, Nuri replied hesitatingly, “Understood. May I know---”

“No, you may not. We ask the questions here and you are expected to provide the answers. Are we clear here?”

Abruptly, the phone call ended.

Nuri knew that he needed to get the briefcase, but how?

_______

The next morning, they set out to the bank that Han Jaesuk claimed to be holding the briefcase in one of it’s safe.  After 30 minutes of circling the buildings in their car at the Yotsubashi area in Osaka, the driver, or Minho to be exact, was becoming impatient due to Han Jaesuk who couldn’t seem to settle with the direction he had given Minho. “I think you need to turn left here, errr, no no no, right right, yes, wait!! I think the bank is on the street next to this one.” Exasperated, Minho then stepped on the brake pedal with such force that the car stopped suddenly in the middle of the road, jerking everyone forward. With his hands still on the steering wheel, Minho scowled at Han Jaesuk on the passenger’s seat beside him, “You don’t even know where the bank is right? You never wanted to hand over the briefcase in the first place.”

“He kept it in a warehouse near here.” A sudden voice from the back said. It was Nuri.

Flabbergasted, Han Jaesuk stammered, “What? How did you know that? I mean no, of course not. Why would I put it in a warehouse?” Han Jaesuk then faked a nervous smile.

Nuri added, “You kept looking at this particular warehouse when we pass by it every time. I am sure there’s something there.”

Minho then stepped on the gas pedal and started driving to the warehouse. Han Jaesuk’s attempt to stop Minho from driving to the warehouse ended in vain as Minho ignored his pleas and continued their journey to the warehouse.

They arrived at the warehouse soon after and got out of their car. Taecyeon then approached the warehouse access. He jerked the lock on the door a little while looking right and left and started picking the door. Nichkhun asked him, “Is this illegal?” Taecyeon replied confidently, “Not if no one catches us.” Just then, Taecyeon managed to open the lock and all six of them went into the warehouse. The warehouse consisted of high shelves, some partially covered with huge white canvases, and cardboard boxes were stacked to the top.

Closing the door behind him, Jonghyun asked Han Jaesuk about the briefcase. Han Jaesuk kept quiet and refused to answer the question.  Suddenly, all of them heard a ‘twang’ from the back of the warehouse, the sound of something made of metal hitting the ground. They pulled out their guns and pointed to the back of the warehouse, while Jonghyun and Nichkhun walked quickly to the back of the warehouse but stopped short in their tracks when a metal bowl rolled out in front of them. Jonghyun then turned a sharp left into an aisle between two shelves, where the bowl came from, and saw two stacks of metal bowls, but no sign of anyone.

Meanwhile, Taecyeon was still trying to get Han Jaesuk to talk and Nichkhun and Nuri was rummaging through some of the cardboard boxes. Nuri held up a briefcase and shouted, “I found it!”

A masked man clad in black suddenly appeared behind Nuri and wrapped his right forearm around Nuri’s neck and tried to choke Nuri. Nuri countered the attack by swinging his elbow backwards into the man’s ribs. The masked man loosened his grip on Nuri and staggered backwards. Nuri turned around to see Jonghyun running towards him but just then, he felt a body ram into his, sending him head first to the floor. The masked man struggled with Nuri on the floor but nothing could loosen his iron grip on the briefcase until the seemingly mute masked man said, “I was sent by the master.”

The masked man then punched Nuri on his cheek and dragged Nuri into a far corner of the warehouse, out of everyone’s sights. Nuri loosened his grip on the briefcase and then used the masked man’s gun to shoot himself on the shoulder in a deliberate attempt to let the masked men get away with the briefcase. A little shocked, the man gave Nuri a nod and ran away with the briefcase. Nuri allowed himself to fall to the ground. They rushed to his side. Nichkhun pressed the palm of his hand onto Nuri’s gunshot wound to which Nuri responded by groaning in pain. Nuri passed out a few moments later.

_______

As the five men, minus Nuri but plus Han Jaesuk,  gathered in a meeting room during a teleconference with Mr. Kang inthe Japan branch of the Echelon, a pale Nuri walked in with his left arm in a sling and sat on one of the chairs. The whole room turned to stare at him, including Mr. Kang on the screen in front.

Taecyeon finally broke the silence by asking, “Are you okay? You should rest more.”

Nuri did not look up from the table in front of him but answered, “I am sorry.” The look and sound of guilt strongly emanated from his face and voice.  Even shooting himself did not alleviate his feeling of guilt.

I am sorry I had to lie like this.

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault. Maybe if Mr. Han here told us the real whereabouts of the briefcase, then Mr. Han might not lose the briefcase. “

Before Han Jaesuk could answer back, Mr. Kang asked Nuri, “You look really tired. Do you need some rest?”

Nuri lifted his head, albeit doing it slowly and said that he was fine and could carry on with the meeting.

Nichkhun who was sitting beside Nuri, put his hand on Nuri’s shoulder, seeking reassurance from Nuri that he was indeed okay. Nichkhun looked a little relieved when Nuri gave him a slight smile and nodded.

Mr. Kang continued, “Do you remember anything about the suspect Nuri?”

Nuri thought hard before answering, “No. He was wearing a mask and he was covered from head-to-toe.”

“What could be in the briefcase that everyone wants it so much? Mr. Han, you are the only one who saw the contents of the case. Can you please give a detailed description on the thing that you saw?”, queried Mr. Kang.

Mr. Han hung his head low and then smiled deviously, “It’s red mercury. Red mercury could be used to create a pure fusion bomb no larger than a softball, invisible to standard detection measures and packing enough lethal radiation to wipe out every living thing in a half-mile radius.”

Taecyeon flung the pen that he was holding off the table with rage, “What??!! You knew what it was all along and you never told us?! You even went as far as to say that-”

“The lost briefcase is empty though,” Han Jaesuk suddenly said. “The real briefcase is back in Korea, with Cerberus. It’s in safe hands.”

Han Jaesuk let out a loud sigh before admitting, “Cerberus wanted me to lead you guys here on this mad goose hunt, diverting your attention elsewhere so that, well, Cerberus can safe keep it, or so I was told.”

“Cerberus?!! Safe keeping it?! From what? How can we trust them?!” Taecyeon said before pounding his fist on the table.

Little did Taecyeon know that the seemingly emotionless Nuri was far more anguished than he was.  Anguished that Cerberus got the briefcase instead of the Echelon. Although circumstances would never allow Nuri to display it, he felt like beating the crap out of someone. On further thought, he felt relieved that the so-called ‘master’ did not get his hands on such dangerous substance.

“Maybe, it’s a good thing after all,” Nichkhun said. “At least it’s with Cerberus, not the masked men. So, Kan wasn’t trying to kill you, it was all acting?”

Han Jaesuk asserted a resounding, “Yes.” He further quipped, “And my boss did ask me to deliver the briefcase, but to Cerberus, not to someone in Japan. ”  

Mr. Kang responded, “If that’s the case, then come back to Korea as soon as possible. All of you. You too Jaesuk.”

Suddenly, they heard a loud growl. The growl came from none other than Minho’s stomach. Minho laughed embarrassedly and chirped, “Dinner anyone?”

The whole room howled with laughter after that, including Nuri.