CHAPTER THIRTY: Defeat

Seunggi let the Successor be a and hold his hand tightly. With his free hand, Seunggi lifted his handgun up again for emphasis. "The second can. One or both of you, I don’t care. Drink that. All of it. Or I’ll shoot the both of you right in the face."

Neither Jessica nor Taeyeon moved. He waved his gun. “I really don’t care.”

Jessica picked the bottle of degreaser up and broke the seal as she unscrewed the cap. Taeyeon could see her steeling herself.

Taeyeon closed her eyes, remembering how much the first bottle had burned. She did not want to drink any more. There were few things worse than drowning in caustic alkali. But Jessica would die. She would not. There was no question who should drink it. 

"Jessica," she said, panting, "it'll taste good to me... like alcohol."

"Don't be stupid. I saw you earlier, and look at you now."

"I'm... not the one who's gonna... die from a bit of soap."

Jessica looked at her, knowing that she was right. She was the minimum risk option. It was the only way they could buy time for an opening. A sick like Seunggi was going to trip up sooner or later, and the Successor seemed hopeless with a gun. Jessica would get to kill them. So if they wanted to survive, Jessica had no choice but to play into Seunggi's hands.

"No."

"Trust me..." She wished Jessica would just listen, because talking hurt so bad. "Don't-"

"They're not going to make me do this," Jessica said, putting down the bottle. She turned to Seunggi and the Successor, who looked livid. "I'm not going to kill her for you."

The Successor raised his Sig Sauer, which was dangerous because he was such a bad shot. All at once, Jessica moved in front of Taeyeon while Seunggi put a hand on the Sig Sauer's barrel and pointed it down. Although Taeyeon was relieved that the Successor was not going to be shooting for as long as Seunggi was with him, it was clear that Seunggi had his head screwed on tight. She wished she knew how to rile him up.

"You're convincing," Seunggi said, "but did you really think that I'd forget that we're in control? Think you're real smart, don't you? Stupid American. Only a third-rate amateur would let things go like that."

Without a second warning, his handgun went off with a bang and Jessica screamed. She clutched her arm right where she had shot the Successor. Blood spurted through her fingers.

"Shoot her again," the Successor said.

Another bang went off as Jessica twisted to the side. The bullet grazed her bloody arm. She curled up on the ground beside Taeyeon's outstretched legs, cradling her arm. She whimpered.

"Just kill her," the Successor said to Seunggi. "I don't care about her when we have something much more interesting on our hands. Besides, she nearly killed me. Get rid of her already."

Seunggi glanced at Taeyeon, watching her widening eyes. His finger was on the trigger, but he did not shoot. Seconds passed as he waited. Taeyeon finally got it. He still wanted to play his little game.

She swallowed hard, which felt like running a razor down . "Jessica... Get up."

Jessica's eyes slid up to meet hers, then looked away.

"I'll ing kill you if I die here," Taeyeon said in a low voice. Jessica was willing to sacrifice her own life, but Taeyeon knew that Jessica would never decide for hers. She could hear Jessica's breath hitch with every spike of pain, and she struggled to ignore that. "So... get the up... Give me the bottle."

Jessica got on her knees, squeezing her arm tight. She got beside Taeyeon and raised the can. She was using one hand, and the full gallon was too heavy for her. Some of the degreaser splashed onto Taeyeon's face and chest. Taeyeon found the mouth of the can and chugged. The fire rekindled and the locusts woke up. She drank faster.

She heard the Successor laughing. Then tightened, and she involuntarily coughed. It seared her lungs. She started choking. That was pure hell. Jessica set the bottle down. It was still two-thirds full.

Taeyeon wanted to somehow breathe without taking in air, which was impossible. Her insides felt like they had been stripped raw, each molecule of oxygen grating against exposed flesh. It burned. Every breath burned. She threw up into her lap, purple liquid staining her chest and stomach.

The Successor clapped in glee. Taeyeon ignored him and eyed the bottle, trying not to vomit.

"You asked me who I was," Seunggi said. "I'll tell you something about me."

She raised her head.

"You thought I was Hodong." And it was strange not hearing him follow up with a 'hyung'. She hated him even more. "Do you remember what it was like strangling him?"

She saw herself back on the rooftop, vindicated as she tightened the cables squeezing Hodong's thick neck. He clawed behind him at her. To kill him faster, she put a foot between his shoulder blades and yanked harder. He-

"Does it feel different knowing that he was innocent?" Seunggi asked. "He has a big mouth. It wasn't hard finding out what I needed to know. All I had to do was ask."

She opened and bared bloody teeth and cut lips, forcing a smirk. "So, what?"

"Look at her," the Successor said. "Trying to pretend like nothing's the matter."

Taeyeon scoffed. She strained to speak louder than a whisper. was shredding apart with each word, but her voice was not shaking because of that. "The two of you... are just neighborhood tools. You had a million more soldiers than us... but with people like you on top... no wonder we're winning."

The smile slipped off the Successor's face. His Sig Sauer was tight in his hand. "Did we say you could stop drinking?"

All this time she had not been able to create an opening for Jessica. She was doing nothing but killing herself. She could do nothing. She readied herself to withstand another round for their next chance. But her body betrayed her. She gagged as soon as she tasted the bitter fire. The fear was so overwhelming that when she tried to take a second drink, she only managed a sip before turning away.

Jessica set down the can a second time, tears spilling down her face. Taeyeon could see her giving up, because what was the point of doing this, if Seunggi was just going to shoot them at the end of it?

Jessica was on her knees, clutching her blood drenched arm. "Please, just stop this. We can't do anything to you."

Seunggi's face was stone.

"Please, I beg you! I'll do anything else."

No, Taeyeon thought. You're not being useful. He's going to kill you. She did not want him looking at Jessica for any longer. She did not understand why Seunggi was tormenting them so deliberately. It was cleaner to just shoot them in the head and kiss his pompous prince if they were going to be such fags for each other. He was supposed to be just a sick tactician. She had decided that he was no sociopath. It made no sense. Unless... She laughed twice, hollowly, catching everyone's attention.

"You actually... felt something for Yoona," Taeyeon said. She smiled, tightening her feeble grasp on his attention and dragging it away from Jessica. "It ... doesn't it? You could betray her so easily, but you can't break us..."

"What is she saying, Seunggi?"

"I don't know either." Seunggi's face gave nothing away. "Sir, you're bored, aren't you?"

Seunggi walked to them. The Successor slid off the Cherokee hood and followed him. Jessica, still on her knees, tried to get in their way. Seunggi struck her so hard over the head with his handgun that she went limp instantly and slumped to the ground.

Seunggi lowered the car lift to base height, then grabbed Taeyeon's ankle and dragged her flat out. She struggled as he squeezed her cheeks to open . The Successor picked up the can of degreaser and poured it down . She did not swallow, and the degreaser spilled out of , then Seunggi covered her nose, and she was gulping down the corrosive solvent again. The stream of purple liquid was infinite until it petered out.

Seunggi looked down at her, eyes hard and cold. He pushed her jaw shut, stretching her neck into a taut arch until she swallowed convulsively, every last drop swarming in her belly. 

"We still have a lot more where that came from. I'm feeling real good right now. What I want to know is, are you going to drink the next bottle, or do you want me to give it to Jessica instead? She's not going to feel it for long. She's going to die and that'll be it. On the other hand, it's going to get even worse for you. You think this is hell? We're haven't even reached the gates. When the Supreme Leader comes, I'm taking you with us."

He let go of . She struggled to regain her breath. "F- off..."

He nodded and shuffled back, holding on to the ankle of her broken leg, while the Successor set down the bottle and stood over her. Degreaser was already welling into . 

The Successor raised a boot and stomped on her exposed stomach. The explosion of pain was worse than when he hit her with the wrench. He stamped hard into her over and over again until she was a quivering mess, covered with blood, bile and degreaser.

He did not stop there. He took a few steps back, then jumped onto her gut. She vomited more black than purple.

"You're going to kill her with that enthusiasm," Seunggi said.

The Successor blanched and backed off immediately.

Taeyeon wheezed, copper filled and she turned her head so that it would leak out and not choke her. Her gut was a white hot abyss, a black hole expanding and ripping her body apart from the middle. She could not even want to scream. The locusts inside were tearing at her insides, pulling flesh from flesh.

Seunggi drew near to her again. "I think you have more space for another bottle now. What do you think?"

Her whole body was trembling in pain. She wanted Seunggi and the Successor to get away from her. She wanted it so bad but she could not do anything about it.

He touched the side of her face and she shuddered, gasping intermittently. It was going to get worse. He had promised that it would.

"What was that? Yes, you really want the next bottle?"

"Nnghh..."

"Should I give it to Jessica or you? Be clear about this."

Tears escaped down her face. Jessica. She opened , but no sound came out. 

"I'm impressed, you really want it. Let's see what you say the next round," Seunggi said.

No! Taeyeon worked uselessly. Jessica, please!

Taeyeon just needed a break, then she would drink the fourth, fifth, sixth- however many bottles the serums in her veins would let her handle. She just needed one break.

She cried harder, stomach throbbing. She looked at Jessica for help, but the woman's eyes were still shut, blood dripping from the gash in her forehead. Jessica's face was pale and her lips were blue.

Taeyeon stared. Jessica had not moved. Wait. 

"Get the next bottle, quickly," the Successor said. "I want to see how many she can take in a row."

Seunggi let go of her ankle, and she involuntarily folded on one side to alleviate the excruciating agony in her gut. The Successor kicked her hard. The pain blinded her for two seconds, then she could see Jessica again.

Seunggi walked away. Taeyeon continued staring. I didn't mean it. I'll drink all of it. Don't be dead. Get up.

Then Jessica shifted. She cracked open one eye and peered out at Taeyeon. She reached into her pocket, and when she withdrew her hand, a scalpel glinted under the ceiling lights. Taeyeon looked up at the Successor.

He knelt on one knee beside her, waiting for Seunggi's next bottle. She mustered all her hope and spat at him. It was pathetic, but he was distracted enough. The Successor raised a fist at her, wasting seconds he could have used to react to the sound of Jessica's foot steps.

Jessica ran at the man as he fumbled for his Sig Sauer. He fired, but missed at point blank. She sliced his forearm and stole the gun.

She forced him to stand up and back away from Taeyeon. Seunggi came hobbling out, and stopped. His handgun was up. Jessica sidestepped to the Glock she had left on the floor and swiped it over to Taeyeon with her foot.

Taeyeon stared dumbly at the gun, her hands tied up beyond her head.

The Successor focused on the Glock, equally perplexed by the move. Jessica fired the Sig Sauer and threw herself out of the way. The bullet blew through Seunggi's injured thigh and he fell on one knee. His own shot went wide. The Successor screamed, then the upper half of his head peeled off in a gust of blood. Seunggi yelled, but Jessica was still moving. She shot at him. She did not miss.

Jessica dropped the Sig Sauer and stumbled into the ground. She pressed a hand against her head and got to her feet. She made her way to the pair of scissors she had pointed out earlier and cut Taeyeon loose from the car lift rail. She then used the scissors to make strips of cloth from the Successor's clothes. She bandaged her head and her arm, and used the remaining cloth for Taeyeon. She used the final strips to knot a metal bar to Taeyeon's broken leg as a splint.

She felt around Taeyeon's stomach. Internally, it had been kicked open. Blood, stomach acid and corrosive solvent sloshed around inside, seeping to other organs. There was nothing they could do until they reached a surgeon. Then Jessica pressed an ear against Taeyeon's chest and listened to the breathing. 

“I think you lost your mind... No way I could’ve picked up the Glock,” Taeyeon whispered, staring at the ceiling.

“Shut up, I can't believe how dumb I was,” Jessica said. "And don't speak. You shouldn't be talking. One of your lungs collapsed."

The cars sitting in the garage all had their keys in the ignition. Jessica selected a navy blue Maserati and drove it up to Taeyeon. She managed to pull Taeyeon onto the backseat. She went to the driver’s side and adjusted the seat, the rearview mirror, and the side mirrors.

Jessica went to get her radio, mic and earpiece off the floor. She returned to the Maserati. She checked Taeyeon's empty left ear before turning up the volume of her earpiece. She held it between them like a speaker. She the microphone clipped to her collar. “Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, your status, please.”

“Jessica, finally,” Hyoyeon’s voice sounded. “Are you okay? Are you with Taeng?"

"Yes, and yes, she's here."

"Come up to the entrance floor. Sooyoung’s injured pretty bad. The Chimeras and the Leader is dead, but there are other soldiers and I don't think I can move her without you guys.”

“I'm going there now. We’re wrapped up here with the Successor, but Taeyeon can't go.”

"." Hyoyeon was silent for a while. “Is she okay?"

"Essentially, if we hurry."

"Sooyoung needs that too. Well, be careful.”

“Yeah,” Jessica said. She switched her mic off, and looked at Taeyeon while she tapped it. “It’s a good thing you didn’t turn off your mic when you had it. Sooyoung and Hyoyeon heard things going south for you and got worried when you didn't answer. They told me to check it out.”

Taeyeon thought back to when she last used the mic. She had only switched broadcasting channels. She wondered why Sooyoung and Hyoyeon had not said a word about the redundant noise when they were running the skirmish earlier on. On another day she might have smiled. She nodded fractionally.

Jessica fit the Successor's Sig Sauer into Taeyeon’s hands. "You were amazing. Now, I know it hurts, but I need you to hold out until we come back."

Taeyeon did not think she would even be able to lift the gun. She looked up at Jessica weakly.

Jessica checked her Glock, her tear-stained cheeks pale and drawn.  She bent down and brushed her lips against Taeyeon's cheek. "You were really, really amazing. We'll be back soon. So hold out, okay?"

Jessica ran off. Taeyeon watched the two dead men on the granite. She looked at the empty bottles, and slumped to the side, facing the carpet floor. Her stomach churned a fire up her gullet into . Heavy globules of blood splattered onto the dark carpet. She hung over the side of the seat, but kept a grip on the Sig Sauer. 

The inside of the car was spinning. The Sig Sauer slipped out of her fingers. She looked at it, five inches away, with no desire to pick it up. Her focus turned to the red welt encircling her wrist. The broken skin was clotting up. Did the serums not know that her stomach needed more mending? She simply stared.

An eternity later, she had fallen asleep when people came running. Hyoyeon pushed Taeyeon upright and dumped Sooyoung beside her. The door slammed shut. Jessica ran around to the driver’s side. She got in and fired up the ignition.

The garage door lifted as the Maserati neared it. Soldiers came running out, their guns blazing. Jessica stomped on the gas. The garage door scraped the top of the Maserati in one long screech, then the car shot out of the mountain, where it was dawn outside.

A/N: Thanks for the feedback last chapter, really. Good or bad, how was this one? And, Taeyeon's album is so good it's crazy... I hope she wins as many awards as Sooyoung wants her to > [