Kyungsoo ran after Minseok, hoping he could stop him before it was too late. Minseok all but ran down the stairs, alarming Jongin and his brothers.

“Stop him!” Kyungsoo shouted to the other men, two of whom were still quite inebriated and slow to react. Jongin however, was sober, and tried to stand in Minseok’s way. Jongin’s attempt was unsuccessful, Minseok pushing him aside with alarming force. The door to the hovel banged shut as Minseok left.

“We have to go after him.” Kyungsoo dashed down the stairs, grabbing onto Jongin’s arm. “Come on. Before it is too late.”

***

Jongdae and Junmyeon made it to the East End in a surprisingly small amount of time. Their short commute was in part due to Jongdae’s insistence that they pay the hackney driver a bit extra and let him know it was perfectly fine if he drove a bit dangerously if need be.

“The house is over there.” The hackney drive pointed to a rundown house matching the address Jongdae gave him, dropping Jongdae and Junmyeon off a little up the road from the home. After thanking the driver the duo alighted the carriage.

“Are we going to knock on the door?” Junmyeon asked, eyeing the dilapidated building. He had never been to the East End before and was experiencing culture shock to say the least.

“If we want to talk to my Uncle, yes. If we want to actually know what my Uncle is doing, than I suggest we approach this in a stealthier manner.” Jongdae scoped out the building. The road in front of them and behind them was congested with carts, pedestrians, horses, and stalls selling all manner of products. Minseok’s wanted poster was visibly tacked to every building and post available, flooding the streets with his image. Jongdae had seen the posters before, but not in these numbers. Yunho must have flooded this location in particular with the fliers.

“And how are we going to approach this in a stealthy manner, old boy?” Junmyeon glanced at the busy street and then to the house, trying to understand how they would garner any insight to what was occurring in the home without entering through the front door.

“Leave it to me.” Jongdae started walking towards the hovel, Junmyeon once again struggling to catch up.

Junmyeon would have to remember to remind Jongdae, once this was all done and over, that it was excessively impolite to walk ahead of a friend like that.

***

Minseok had never felt like this before. No, not like this – a burning sense of despair overwhelming him. Regret perhaps mixed in. The feeling that the man he loved, the man who was so stupid as to stand by him, was prepared to take everything on his shoulders. Minseok couldn’t let that happen. No, this wasn’t Luhan’s battle to fight. It was his.

If Yunho had set a trap using Sehun, Minseok would oblige. He would let himself be captured, let himself be taken to prison, in the hopes he could set Yunho straight. In the hopes no one else would think that his guilt or innocence was something they needed to prove.

Minseok noticed the fliers. It was hard not to. They were everywhere. He was certain it wouldn’t be long before someone shouted out his name- that is if one of the patrols that Taemin and Minho reported didn’t capture him first. He probably wouldn’t even make it to where Sehun was being held, wherever that was. Minseok only knew it had to be close because Kyungsoo had witnessed it. He wasn’t sure of the exact location.

Minseok walked quickly down the road, towards the life he had once known, in the direction of the side of the city he recognized. He walked, past his wanted fliers, ignoring the din around him, not bothering to acknowledge if anyone happened to be whispering or pointing at him. He had all the experience in the world at ignoring whispers, after all. He walked, not daring to stop, making progress while he waited for someone to approach him, put him in chains, and end this madness once and for all.

***

Jongin took Kyungsoo’s hand, guiding him as they traversed the crowded street. Kyungsoo would have pulled his hand away or blushed or fallen into another internal monologue about Jongin being too helpful if he wasn’t so fixated on finding Minseok.

Minseok had left less than a minute before Kyungsoo and Jongin, yet they were having a terrible time finding him amidst the crowd. The crowd seemed to surge as the street became even more congested. Kyungsoo found that holding Jongin’s hand was a good idea, lest they be separated amidst the swarming sea of people.

“That bloke looks like the flier!”

Kyungsoo and Jongin heard the shout, turning they witnessed a portly man pointing towards the crowd. Kyungsoo knew it must be Minseok, somewhere ahead of them, somewhere close by. Jongin quickened their pace, pushing through the crowd, not letting Kyungsoo’s hand go. Hopefully they would catch up with Minseok before more people loudly exclaimed his identity.

***

Jongdae edged closer to the house. There was a small alleyway on the side of the hovel, which he fully intended to duck down once he was certain no one from inside was watching. Junmyeon followed, thankfully remaining quiet as they slowed their footsteps.

If he could only sneak around to the back of the hovel there may be a way to see inside, or perhaps even eavesdrop on what was going on within. Jongdae knew his Uncle probably had people watching the place, so he would need to scope the place out thoroughly before making his move. He would have to ensure anyone guarding the hovel was looking the other way when they made their move.

Jongdae noticed a man watching from the house next to the hovel. He seemed to be very intently observing the comings and goings in front of the house. He was likely a guard, Jongdae decided. He nudged Junmyeon, using hand gestures to fill him in on his suspicions. Junmyeon nodded, confirming that he understood Jongdae’s meaning.

“We should walk past the house for now.” Jongdae whispered. Staying on the far side of the road, they walked slowly past the hovel, hoping that the crowd would keep their presence nearly invisible to the guard. Hopefully they would not be noticed before they had any idea of why Yunho and Sehun were holed up in a shack in the worse part of town.

***

Sehun was bored. Very bored. He never remembered being this bored. Or this uncomfortable. Ever. Not even when he volunteered for charity this or that per his Great Aunt’s insistence.

Sehun glared at Yunho, trying to figure out why the man was still there. Couldn’t he leave? Wouldn’t his men capture Minseok if he showed up? Did he really need to be there himself?

Yunho had taken it upon himself to monitor the bait. Yunho had arrived at the hovel early that morning, after only a few hours away. Sitting in the small wooden chair in the room where Sehun was being held, he waited and watched. And Sehun bristled under the surveillance.

“Don’t you have important things to do? Things that do not involve staring at me?” Sehun finally voiced his frustrations.

“Hm.” Yunho snorted, not bothering to offer a conclusive answer one way or another.

“Isn’t it boring, watching me?” Sehun stood up, cracking his back as he stretched. He hadn’t slept at all the night before. He was too afraid to get near the disgusting mattress and he wasn’t keen on sleeping on the hard floor so he had sat with his back against the wall, his hands hugging his knees. The effect of sitting like that was killing his back.

“Not really.” Yunho pulled out his pocket watch, checking the time.

Sehun’s frustrations grew. Yunho had to be the worst company he had ever been in, hands down. Sehun wondered if he could possibly make a run for it. Looking around the room he quickly decided that was not a possibility. The door to the room was locked and there were men outside – how many Sehun was unsure of. Sehun wouldn’t indulge fantasies about his own ability to fight, knowing full well he couldn’t even get through Yunho on his own.

Sighing he sat back down with a thud. He began drumming on the floor with his fingers, tapping out an upbeat rhythm. And then a loud crash was heard. Yunho’s attention was immediately directed towards the door. He stood up in a flash, walking towards it.

Sehun grew tense as he listened to shouts. It sounded like they were coming from downstairs. Had Minseok arrived? Had he taken the bait after all?

***

Junmyeon was the first to notice him. Junmyeon had always had a rather difficult time keeping quiet when he was surprised, so he practically squawked out “Minseok!”

Jongdae stilled, looking to where Junmyeon was pointing. Sure enough his dear friend, The Viscount D’Adderleigh, was currently stalking up the road, as if he had no care in the world. Jongdae bolted, rushing towards his friend. He wasn’t sure what had happened or what was about to happen, but he was overjoyed he had found his best friend first, before Yunho did.

***

Jongin’s hand found Minseok’s shoulder, whipping him around. “Sir! Please, come back!” Kyungsoo whined as soon as Minseok was facing him.

“Kyungsoo, I can’t.” Minseok answered, trying to wrench himself free of Jongin’s grasp. The valet was surprisingly strong, however, and Minseok had to grab his arm and all but throw it from him in order to resume his walk. As he flung Jongin’s arm from his shoulder he jumped at sudden contact, surprised as Kyungsoo threw himself forward and hugged onto Minseok with all his strength.

“I am not going to let you do this, Sir.” Kyungsoo squeezed, attaching himself to Minseok in a way that made it impossible for the other man to move.

“Kyungsoo, get off me!” Minseok roared, trying to pry Kyungsoo’s arms off of him. It didn’t help that Kyungsoo had wrapped his legs around Minseok too, effectively imprisoning him in a full body hug.

“Sir, I won’t let you go.” Kyungsoo buried his head in Minseok’s chest and held on for dear life, ready to be flung aside or shoved. Or hopefully none of those things, hopefully Minseok would realize the err of his ways and agree to return with them.

“It is the wanted man!”

Jongin started to feel panicked. Minseok was not moving and Kyungsoo was all but melded into him – and as they stood there more than one person was pointing at them and remarking on the Minseok’s likeness to the fliers. He wanted desperately to grab Minseok and Kyungsoo and drag them back, but he was certain he didn’t have the muscle strength to do so.

And then came a saving grace.

“Minseok. Thank god we found you.” It was filled with emotion. Minseok recognized the voice immediately.

“Jongdae?” Minseok wanted to cheer. It was over then, Jongdae would be the one to arrest him. He would take him away, after peeling Kyungsoo off of him of course.

“We need to go, come on.” Jongdae decided it was best to not remark on the fact that Minseok’s valet was currently hugging the life out of the man.

“Kyungsoo, let go. I am being arrested.” Minseok tried to pry Kyungsoo off of him again, but the smaller man would still not budge.

“No! They will have to arrest me too, Sir!” Kyungsoo screeched.

“Arrest?! I am not here to arrest you.” Jongdae shook his head “We need to run, come on, people are recognizing you.”

Minseok wasn’t sure he understood what was going on. Jongdae was there, but not to arrest him? How was that possible? Jongdae was working for the Home Office and the last time Minseok glanced to his left or right he could tell he was very much wanted by the Home Office at the moment.

The crowd seemed to close in on the five men, pushing forward as some people yelled about catching the criminal. “We don’t have time, come on!” Jongdae grabbed Minseok’s arm and pulled, hoping they could still get out of this mess before Yunho noticed. Kyungsoo finally let go, once he heard Jongdae state clearly that he was not going to arrest Minseok.

“A cab!” Junmyeon pointed up the road to where a Hackney carriage was stopped. “Come on!”

It was exceedingly difficult to move. Minseok knew he pushed and elbowed and shoved more than one person as they attempted to grab at him, a sea of faces, some angry, some oblivious, a nightmare come to life. The other men were no less calm about the matter, he watched as Jongdae knocked a man off his feet as he rushed at them. As the physical altercations escalated the situation became more dire. Minseok felt a hand reach out and grab his side, pulling him. He tried to move out of the person’s grasp, but found himself being torn away from Jongdae.

Jongdae noticed Minseok’s predicament. He reached into his coat pocket, exclaiming “I didn’t want to have to do this.” Pulling out a revolver he raised it, shooting towards the sky. The shot rang out, causing panic.

“He has a gun!”

“Run!”

The shot had the desired effect as Minseok was able to free himself, rushing forward he made it to the hackney cab.

“Sorry, old boy. I truly am.” Jongdae felt bad about what he had to do, but desperate times called for desperate measures. As the cab driver watched, his eyes wide and his face pale, Jongdae reached over and knocked him out with the of his gun.

“Get in!” Junmyeon opened the carriage doors, holding them open as Minseok, Kyungsoo, and Jongin scurried inside. Slamming the door shut he jumped into the driver’s box.

“I hope you know how to drive one of these things.” Junmyeon remarked as Jongdae snapped the reins, lurching the team of horses into motion.

***

“Was that a gun shot?” Sehun paled at the loud noise. He could hear a commotion outside. What was going on?

Yunho fetched the key from his pocket, fumbling a bit he approached the door. He didn’t have a chance to unlock the door before it was quite literally kicked down. Sehun plastered himself against the wall, as if he could meld into the woodwork lest anyone with ill intent had burst down the door.

Yunho was taken by surprised when the door was kicked in. He was even more surprised to see who had done so. It wasn’t Minseok, or even anyone he recognized. It was tall man, with a killer look in his eyes.

“Who are you?” Yunho spat, readying himself for a fight.

“None of your business.” The man answered before launching a very well-coordinated attack on Yunho.

Sehun watched as the two men struggled, too shocked to move. Too shocked to scream or join in or…

Yunho fell to the floor, apparently knocked out.

“Come on, let’s go.” Tao held his hand out, asking Sehun to take it.

“Ttt…ao?” Sehun couldn’t believe his eyes. “How did you know I was here?”

“I followed you when you left. I can’t believe you were so stupid as to get yourself kidnapped.” Tao scolded him.

“Hey! I am not stupid!” Sehun started to protest when the distinct sound of footsteps rushing up the stairs could be heard. Tao moved swiftly, quickly making short work of the agent who had rushed towards them.

Sehun didn’t think twice about taking Tao’s hand. He ran, letting Tao lead him out of the hovel, a very unconscious Yunho left behind.

***

A gunshot and a fast approaching hackney carriage did wonders with crowd control. Pedestrians leapt out of the way of the carriage, no longer intent on catching the man in the fliers and claiming the handsome reward. Fear for their own safety had taken over, leading the residents of the street to favor self-preservation over reward money.

Jongdae raised the reins, about to whip them again, when he was forced to hold them back. Two men stood in the middle of the road, apparently not about to move in the face of the speeding carriage. It was almost too late when the horses slid to a halt, only a few feet from the men.

“Sehun? Tao?” Jongdae couldn’t believe his eyes.

“We need a ride.” Tao stated as though he was asking for a simple favor not stopping a getaway in the middle of utter chaos.

Jongdae had only a split second to consider. He didn’t know why Sehun was standing in the road, or why Tao was there. He didn’t know if Sehun was working with Yunho. He didn’t know if letting Sehun on the carriage would doom them all. He didn’t know at all – until he heard the unmistakable voice of his Uncle.

“Get them!” Yunho emerged from the hovel, holding a hand to his head as a trickle of blood made its way down his cheek. It was all Jongdae needed to verify he could trust Sehun.

“Get in! Now!” Jongdae shouted. Sehun and Tao scurried into the carriage. Before the door was all the way shut Jongdae whipped the reins, the horses jerking into a gallop. He didn’t turn around to see if his Uncle was chasing them, of if anyone was following. He was sure they would be and he would need to do everything in his power to make sure they were not captured.

***

Yunho was angry. Angry that Minseok had likely escaped. Angry Sehun was gone. Angry his head had a nasty gash in it. Angry that Jongdae appeared to be aiding and abetting a fugitive. Angry that he had to write the letter.

As valuable as our relationship may be, I warn you I cannot keep this up for much longer lest everything deteriorate before our eyes. I am not sure that my actions are any longer to your benefit.

He sealed the note with his wax seal, angry that it had to be written at all.

-----------------------------------

a/n- I went on a writing spree today – 18k words. I finished up the story! Yay! So get ready for a mega blast of updates and the ending to the story! I will leave a final note on the epilogue :)