Kyungsoo tensed a bit as a soldier approached him with a little boy beside him. He bit his lip as he feared the man may try to shake him down for cash, as other soldiers would. In this city you were either the protectors or those being protected, and everyone that was protected had to pay for protection. Whether the money went to the gangs, the government, or the rebels was up to you. Although each was just as greedy as the others. He was a bit confused when all the pair seemed to want was some soup, but was relieved nonetheless. With a slight smile, Kyungsoo served them up each a bowl along with some bread. The man tried to warn him about staying out too late after dark, but Kyungsoo wasn't afraid of the dark. He nodded along with them, and then went on his way once the two had left.

Darkness approached suddenly as the streetlights shut off for the night to conserve power. Kyungsoo lit a candle and placed it on top of his cart so that he could see as he headed back to the mansion. He was stopped at the gate by a few guards though. The guards had told him there was a 'situation', and tried to grab him, but Kyungsoo quickly slipped from their grasp. "I'll go, but don't touch me...", he said as he glared at the two of them. Then he let them lead him away, since he knew how Jongin would be if he didn't have a babysitter every time there was a 'situation'. "Jongin owes me a new cart...", Kyungsoo mumbled, a little upset he had to leave his cart behind with his stuff stored away in the bottom drawer of it.

He heard the guards tell Jongin over the radio that he was fine as he got into their car. "What's going on?", Kyungsoo kept asking them curiously, but the guards seemed to be pretending that they couldn't hear through their respiratory masks. They tried to leave the city in a hurry, but never made it out. Before he could even see what they had hit, the car was sent into a tailspin. Kyungsoo tried his best to cling to the seat in front of him for support. The spinning made him dizzy, which made him grateful once the car had stopped moving. When it stopped his face slammed into the back of the seat in front of him. A bit of blood trickled down from his nose inside his mask, so he took it off. The mask had left a few marks on his face from the impact as well, but for the most part Kyungsoo seemed to be okay. Just after he unbuckled his seatbelt, someone yanked him out of the car forcefully. A damp cloth smothered his face. He tried not to breathe in the fumes from the cloth but it was inevitable. Kyungsoo slowly passed out as his mysterious captor threw him over his shoulder.

Hours later he woke up in a jail of sorts. There were many other cells, but they were all empty. Kyungsoo wondered how many people had been kept in these cells before. He kept looking around as he gathered his options in his head. It seemed that all he could do was wait for someone to come by though, so that he could talk to them. Eventually, a man with a tray of food came to his cell. The man opened the cell and took a few steps in. He placed the tray of food down in front of Kyungsoo, and then stepped back. "What do you want from me? I merely work for a soup kitchen.", Kyungsoo said calmly as he looked up at the man. Without a word, the man locked the cell again. "How long until someone will actually talk to me? There must be some sort of mistake. I don't have anything valuable, and neither do the people I hold dear. So if you're looking for a ransom there won't be any.", Kyungsoo hoped that maybe his words would be enough to free him. At the moment he was still dressed in beggar's clothes, so it probably wasn't too hard to assume he was poor. The man walked away though. Kyungsoo sighed and then looked down at the tray of food. He started eating slowly, and made sure to eat all of it in case his captors decided to starve him later.

The next day, Kyungsoo watched as three men holding another man that was violently thrashing about entered the cell area. They told him to stand back, so he did. The three men threw the fourth one into the cell, and then quickly locked the cell again before the fourth male could get up. When the fourth male got up he aggressively shook the bars of the cell, but his efforts turned up fruitless. Kyungsoo's new cellmate gave up finally when the other three men had left. Kyungsoo just sat on the bottom of the bunk-bed and waited until it had seemed like the other guy had settled. "Who is holding us?...." he asked.

Tao smirked bitterly,"The Seoul Snatchers, don't you know? If you don't then I guess you were probably kidnapped. You're in a cell with me though, so it doesn't seem like they're too concerned with your safety.... Maybe they'd thought it'd be funny to watch and see if I kill you. What did you do to piss them off then?", he asked back in a serious tone. It seemed like he was still very pissed beneath the surface about being thrown in here, which was justifiable.

Kyungsoo shrugged,"I don't know. I'm just a soup kitchen worker... I've never met a gangster up close as far as I know. I just give food to whoever asks and that's about it.", he said innocently, and used his big, round eyes for more effect. Tao didn't seem to be buying it though. The other wasn't even looking at him, so his expression was ineffective.

"You're lying. I can tell by a person's voice if they're telling the truth or not, because I can hear better than the average man...", Tao said calmly and then stretched a bit before getting up. He got up on the top bunk and laid down on the bed. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me what you did, but if you want to get out of here then it would be best not to lie to me again.", Tao said, which made Kyungsoo hesitantly nod.

"How are you getting us out of here?", the smaller male asked curiously, a bit doubtful of this stranger though.

"Wake me up when someone comes around to check on us...", Tao went to sleep after that, keeping his black shades on as always.

A few hours later, Sehun came in and leaned against the bars of the cell. "Crazy night last night, huh? I didn't think you were THAT flexible...", Sehun chuckled as he talked to Tao's back, since it was facing him. "Sorry I had to take you in at the last minute. I gotta cover my own first, you know how it is. I sure as hell didn't call them though. Someone must've spotted you while you were running away from the police, and followed you. I'm surprised they were dumb enough to believe that I lured you back to my place to turn you over. You really should've taken me up on my offer when it stood though. Now there's nothing I can do to help you really. The Boss has set his sights on that bounty on your head. Even though the money is small potatoes to what he makes operating the gang, he figures if he turns you over to the government, then he has the governor owing him a favor. With the governor in his pocket, there wouldn't really be anything to stop him from taking over Seoul.", He explained while twirling around a keyring on his finger. Sehun let the keys jangle, so that Tao knew that he had them.

After hearing the keys, Tao got up and hopped off the top bunk. Meanwhile, Kyungsoo laid awake in the bottom bunk, listening intently. "You can do something to help me though... You can let me out, and then I can do something for you...", Tao's voice became sultry as he spoke softly. He somewhat strutted over to the bars, and leaned against them in such a fashion that it made his protrude. His hands slipped between the cast iron bars to grasp Sehun's hands. Then slowly, he guided them to his . For a final touch to get his point across, Tao kissed the corner of Sehun's lips through the bars while wiggling his hips provocatively in the man's hands. "Isn't this what you've always wanted? For me to give in...? Well my luck has run out, so you're all I have left to turn to... I've realized now that you were right. I can't do this kind of thing all on my own. So let's work together. We can start our own gang in another city, you and me. We're both two of the best fighters around here, and you know it. We can do this. All you have to do is let me out, and we'll run far away from this place.", Tao kept that soft tone the whole time as he spoke, which confused and shocked the hell out of Sehun. He had never seen Tao act or talk like this before, ever.

"Wow you sure are stubborn. You're only just now realizing I've been right all this time?", Sehun sighed as he contemplated the pros and cons of running away with Tao for a few minutes. He gave Tao's a good squeeze on both cheeks to help with his concentration. As he thought more about it though, he realized he really didn't know all that much about Tao personally. He had always seemed to keep his life on a need-to-know basis, and no one seemed to have the need-to-know. This could be a trick of some sort, and honestly, it seemed likely. "I think I'll pass on that offer though. It's just not fun if you throw yourself at me. I prefer genuine mutual attraction.", Sehun said and then stuck his tongue out childishly.

Tao pouted a bit and brought his hand up to Sehun's cheek. "You'll still let me out though, right? Even if you don't want my body in one way you must want it in another. You've been chasing after me for five years now after all, trying to get me to join you.", he said as he caressed the other's cheek lovingly with his thumb. "Are you really gonna let me slip away from your grasp and into the government's? Who knows what they've got in store for me? Maybe they'll try to use me to get back at the gang? The walls might as well come tumbling down now if you let them throw me at the governor's feet, because the Snatchers surely will fall. You don't want to be caught in the crossfire do you? Then let's run away together.", his tone never changed, still soft, and almost innocent sounding if it weren't for the words that were being said.

Sehun's eyes scanned over Tao with slight disbelief, but what the other was saying wasn't entirely a lie. Even if it was mostly just speculation, there was a bit of reason behind it. "Take off your sunglasses.... I want to see your eyes. You never let anyone see them.", He took on a more serious tone as he placed his hand on top of Tao's that cupped his cheek. Tao flinched away the second Sehun reached for his sunglasses with his other hand.

"N-No...", Tao choked on the word and quickly took a few steps back away from bars. Sehun was astounded when he saw the way Tao reacted. Not once for even the slightest second in the five years that he's known him has Tao ever shown fear in any form. Usually, nothing could break through his ice-cold, tough outer shell, but Tao definitely seemed a little afraid when he mentioned the glasses. This made Sehun more curious.

"Take off the glasses and I'll let you out...", Sehun said and stopped leaning against the bars. Tao held the keys by the keyring and shook them so that they'd jangle. "You really don't give me enough credit babe. I'm not as stupid as you seem to think...", Sehun smirked as Tao hesitantly felt over the keys. Then he took a quick sidestep to avoid getting hit when Tao threw the keys at him. They had been smooth, uncut keys. "So, were you planning on luring me in with your charms to steal the keys while I was distracted? Maybe get rid of me once you've got the keys? I'm a bit hurt that you would try to pull one over on me like this. Do I really mean nothing to you? I haven't rubbed off on you even slightly all this time? Ah, well I'll see you again in hell. Maybe the eternal flames will melt the ice in your heart. ", Sehun says and then leaves.

Right after he leaves, a group of six men enters. Three men grab Tao, two grab Kyungsoo, and the sixth man leads the way as they are forcibly escorted out. They're led down a long, dimly lit hallway. There's muffled chanting in the distance, which gets gradually louder the closer they get. "The Boss wants to make a demonstration out of the feisty one, and wants everyone to watch.", The one leading them spoke briefly before opening the door at the end of the hall. The chanting was clear to them now.

"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

The entire gang packed the concert hall sized room from wall to wall. A stage was set up along one wall. The more enthusiastic members crowded around the stage. Everyone watched as Tao was forced onstage. A man in a light gray suit arose from a throne in the center of the stage. Tao's hands were cuffed at the back by the men holding him. "Kneel.", he ordered, but Tao just ignored him. So, the man in the suit kicked him hard in the back of the knee. It only took once for Tao to be brought to a kneeling position. Then the man smirked slightly and looked towards the audience. "This is what happens to those that dare to steal from me!", in a flash of rage the man pistol-whipped Tao across the side of his head. His shades fell off of his head because of it, so Tao closed his eyes. Then he heard as the glasses crunched beneath the stomp of a boot.

"Ah, so that's what you really want with me... Still crying over that handful of diamonds?", Tao smirked as he spoke unphased. Taemin hit him again, but Tao didn't flinch. He didn't show any sign at all that the blows hurt. If it wasn't for the blood running down from the site of impact, no one could really tell if he had been hit as hard as it sounded. "You just gonna lash out with temper tantrums in front of Daddy's gang, or are you gonna fight me like a real man would?", Tao spat on Taemin's shoes, which earned him another strike.

Sehun entered the room just in time to see Tao getting struck with the of a gun a few times, courtesy of Lee Taemin. He pushed his way through the crowd to the front of the stage once the first drop of Tao's blood hit the floor. Time came to a sudden slow, along with his heart. His brain took some time to process everything, coming to the conclusion that he didn't like what he saw. In the next instant, time started up again, and Sehun found himself onstage as well. In the time it had taken his brain to figure out what was going on, his body had already got onstage and grabbed Taemin's wrist as he had pulled back for another strike. "...", he muttered with a sigh, and that was all he could really say right now.

The man who had led the prisoners to the Demonstration Room pulled out his gun. He fired at Sehun, but Sehun was quick to try and block with his arm. Luckily, the few bullets fired ricocheted off his metal arm. Unluckily however, one of those bullets hit Taemin in the side. The others went off in random directions. Taemin quickly shot the man that had drawn his gun until he was human Swiss cheese with the amount of holes in his body. Kyungsoo took this distraction as his chance to escape. He elbowed his two handlers in the each, and then ran for it. No one really noticed him, since he hadn't been onstage, which was where everyone's focus was.

Taemin fell to his knees, clutching his side as his blood begun slowly soaking his shirt. Sehun scooped Tao up in his arms, and ran off while people rushed to Taemin's aid. Tao didn't resist at all when he was whisked away by Sehun, which was strange, because usually Tao struggle and curse at him. This worried Sehun slightly, because it meant Tao must really be hurting bad. He would never admit that he really cared though, just as Tao would never admit that he was scared earlier or that he was hurting now. The two of them were just born the most obstinate of fools. Now here they were on the run again, but this time from police and the Snatchers. No rival gang would dare ever give them the scraps from their dinner. They were untouchable now, and not in the protected sense. "Spoiled brat...", Tao muttered before passing out.