The beginnings of the typhoon hitting Busan had resulted in weather so foul that Jongdae and Yixing looked like they’d walked in after being dunked fully clothed in the ocean.  Minseok raised an eyebrow at them both before calling for Jaehwan to get a couple of towels and put the kettle on.

Thunder was rumbling as they settled in the living room, the conservatory not a comforting place to be in the middle of a storm.  Semi looked on the brink of joining them, but a second rumble of thunder triggered wails of fear from the youngest member of the household and she immediately turned to leave the room, only for Luhan to show up moments later, gingerly trying to settle Jaera on his hip and looking like he was trying to comfort a fire-breathing tiger.  Minseok had never seen somebody so awkward about trying to pet another person’s hair.

Luhan’s expression changed to relief the moment he saw Semi and Minseok and he almost threw Jaera into her mother’s arms, but the sight of Jongdae and Yixing was enough to have him tensing up again and retreating towards the doorway.  He was blocked by the sudden reappearance of Jaehwan with the towels.

“Dad, the fuses in the kitchen have gone,” he said as Jongdae took the towels and Semi tried to hush Jaera as she started to cry again.  Minseok pulled a face and muttered something about dealing with it later.  Quietly, Luhan stepped around the boy, intending to sort out the lights and generally make himself scarce whilst the other talked, but Yixing called him back.

“Luhan, we need to talk to you as well.”  He scrubbed the towel vigorously through his hair and then shook his damp hair, attracting Jaera’s attention.  Still looking a little shaken up at the storm, the toddler reached a pudgy hand toward Yixing and made grabbing motions.  Semi was standing close enough to the sofa for Yixing to reached up and absently waggle his fingers at Jaera.  She latched onto two of them and stuck her other hand in , apparently now happy.

With reluctance, Luhan moved away from the doorway and sat gingerly on the piano stool.  He couldn’t help a glance at Semi as he did, but she did no more than throw a quick, ambivalent look in his direction before all eyes returned to Yixing.  Jaehwan, either oblivious to or ignoring the solemn atmosphere, bounced over to one of the armchairs and flung himself into it, piling cushions onto his lap to make himself comfortable.  He looked around expectantly for somebody to say something.

Jongdae took up the baton, setting his towel aside.

“Sungjong and our remaining sources in the SDP have told us that they’re planning to step things up,” he said.  “Sangchu’s been sighted in Korea and whether or not the police get involved, Minseok could have thugs knocking on his door soon, so we need a contingency plan.”

Luhan’s eyes flickered guiltily over to Minseok, who just shrugged and shook his head minutely at him as if to say that it was nothing to worry about.

“Sangchu’s operation in China is about to implode big time,” Jongdae went on.  “We’ve got him nailed down there, but it’s here that’s the problem.  His men are still after Weiyi and Sehun on Jeju, but movements of the gang over here on the mainland suggests that whatever information Weiyi had on him, Sangchu probably thinks has come to Minseok via Sehun.  That or he wants Weiyi back and thinks that if his own men can’t get her, the best bet is to stay here where she and Sehun are most likely to come.”

Yixing took over.  “As things currently stand, Jongin and Kyungsoo are currently flying back to Korea.  Kyungsoo will murder me if I try to get him to do anything else crazy, but Jongin’s spent the past eight years neck deep in this stuff with Sangchu, so he’ll help us get Weiyi, no questions asked.”

“Jongin?” Luhan interrupted, looking from Yixing to Minseok to Semi and back again.  “Jongin as… as in… Kim… Jongin?”

Yixing nodded.  Luhan’s expression betrayed nothing, but his posture looked marginally more relaxed.  Given Jongin’s reputation when Luhan had sent Byun Baekhyun after Semi nearly a decade ago, it looked like he felt Weiyi would be safe in Jongin’s hands if the man managed to get there.

“When Jongin arrives, Luhan, you have a choice.”

That had Luhan tensing up at once.

“You’re not giving me much time,” he snapped.

Yixing ignored the interjection.  “At this stage, I think our best bet of getting Weiyi and Sehun safely off Jeju is to send Jongin over there.  Option one is you accompany him over there – we’ll send Sungjong with you – and I hand the operation over to Jongin.  You’ll be out of my jurisdiction there; if you decide to slip off, nothing more will be said or done.”

There was silence for several long moments.  Luhan eyed him warily, as if trying to work out whether Yixing was serious and if there was some kind of catch.  Yixing gazed at him impassively.  Jaera took a slobbery hand out of and wrapped it around two more of his fingers, but he barely seemed to notice.

“What are the other options?” Luhan asked eventually, his voice a little raspy.  “You said there was a choice.”

“The other option is I send Jongin over to Jeju to bring Weiyi back to the mainland and we launch a trap.  You and Weiyi will go on the run, protected by Jongin, and we will utilise the capabilities of him and Sungjong to find a time and place as soon as possible to set up a confrontation with Sangchu, at which point we will probably have China extradite him to face criminal charges which are currently waiting to be put on him.  Unfortunately, whether we put Sangchu up for charges here or in China, if you’re anywhere near him when we catch him, I have no footing to get you any leniency.  I can try, but I can’t guarantee anything and I’m also putting my job and department’s reputation on the line if I try, which will have repercussions for others.”

Luhan slumped with a weary sigh.  “So that’s the catch.  A risky option where I’ll end up on the run for the rest of my life and nothing secure for my sister, or a safer option with support that puts me back in the slammer.”

“More or less,” Jongdae agreed.

Thunder boomed overhead again and the lights in the room flickered.  With a whimper, Jaera tucked her head away against her mother’s shoulder.

“What about us?” asked Jaehwan, his eyes on Yixing.  “You said Sangchu might come for us.”

“We think – we hope – that Luhan and Weiyi will be his priority,” Yixing said.  “Not to mention that any information we might have had on him we can’t use until we actually catch him.  He won’t pick a fight with you unless he has to, which he’s probably going to do if he thinks that Luhan’s still here, or if Luhan vanishes without a trace and he thinks your father is the best way to find out where he went.  What he most likely wants is to get Luhan and Weiyi, possibly kill one or both of them, and then skedaddle back off to China, because that’s where his power base is and he thinks that’s where he’ll be safe.  Which he won’t be, of course, but that’s another matter.”

Jaehwan looked like he didn’t quite understand it, but he nodded anyway, hugging a cushion to him.

“We’ll have people with you for security until he’s caught,” Jongdae assured him.  “Don’t worry.”

The lights flickered again.

Jaehwan nodded a second time.

Bitterness twisting his expression, Luhan leant back on the piano lid.  “So when do I have to decide by?  Before Jongin’s plane lands?  And how do you plan to get me out of the house when there are watchers?”

Minseok exchanged glances with Yixing and took it upon himself to speak up.  “The storm’s set to last a while; so long as it’s still going on like this and visibility is almost nonexistent, we can get you out of the house during it, I’d assume.”

“How is before the storm calms a deadline?” Luhan bit out.

“We’ll give you until tomorrow morning.”  Yixing didn’t seem bothered by the sudden animosity.  “We’ll need time to discuss with Jongin once he l