“Comrades! The Party has many enemies that search to plot and deceive for our downfall! Yet there is no external enemy that we consider dangerous to us!”

The cement box that held nearly 20,000 spectators was decorated with the Party colors flowing down like streamers, perfectly positioned portraits of several leaders and generals that led into the largest portrait over the stadium, General Yang, the Party founder. The audience stood as the Terracotta warriors awaiting their orders and listening blindly as stone statues.

“Within the past year, one group has stood above the rest using terror as its main tactic to drive fear into the hearts of people, to dismantle the military that is here to protect the citizens, and spread lies to veil the public from their true intentions. They are no more than a group of rebels. They do not clothe, feed or nurture the people of the Party.  Instead they threaten to take away the governing structure that keep our citizens safe. Beware of the evils that lurk in the promise of a better life because this promise that they preach, is false. The Party is generous and has prevented wars and strife from entering their walls. There is no need to go back to the way our country was run before. There is no need to have more senseless deaths over power or unrealistic ideals. Our country is in peace! With the Party we stay at peace! The Party is good!”

“The Party is good!” The robotic crowd responded as if they were already programed to.

“We will take down those that oppose us because the Party is not weak! The Party is not one to bow down to senseless threats. Those that show treachery will be punished and groups that show resistance will be silenced!”

The crowd thundered with claps and a few stomps of the feet with the ending remark. To show the end of the meeting, the other leaders behind the speaker also stood and gave several acknowledgements in the form of a handshake to the man that was the face of propaganda for the Party. His voice was loud yet calm but his rigged shoulders and pressed clothing gave the appearance of an educated and honest man. With the handshakes exchanged, starting from the edge of the podium, the men exited through the side doors as ritual. Then the soldiers standing on the floor were to follow before the other people in the audience were to leave.

Standing behind the soldiers was an elite group of men from the Ministry of Security. The General was the leader of the Ministry of Security but like the other leaders of certain factions of the Party, he was seated above the rest on the stage. Therefore, the Lieutenants and other police were the ones standing behind the soldiers, including Lieutenant Ok Taecyeon.

After undergoing nearly 3 months of training, Taecyeon received several gold stars adorned on his shoulders, a pin stating his association with the Ministry of Security, and some very shiny black shoes. He was the leader of his division of men, their mentor to which he could manipulate from behind his desk. With people who had power like Taecyeon, they could do more with the power of a pen than the trigger of a gun.

Leading his men out of the building, the policemen were lined into the back of the caravans that brought them to the convention hall. It wasn’t out of the ordinary to get a note on his desk telling him about a mandatory National Status Meeting. The scripted lies were there to ensure the public that certain rumors were untrue or to gloat about how well the nation is running. However, Taecyeon was certain that this meeting was scheduled because of a recent disturbance in Sector 11 and the highly secret illness of their current leader Yang. Taecyeon was not one of the people who should know about Leader Yang’s illness but his giant ears overheard a meeting the General was having...and well now Taecyeon knows the Party may have one giant crack with the changing of leadership soon. Not really the best time as the 30^th year celebration of the Party founding was to be later this year.

Making his way into the office, Taecyeon was not thrilled to see the woman sitting at his desk, “Comrade Kim Wan-Sun why do I have the pleasure of seeing you here?”

The woman remained inclined on the chair with her legs cross while observing her manicured nails, “Well I assumed since we do favors for each other now and then, we should appear close.” Taecyeon sighed as he closed the door before walking up to his desk to grab the lamp, “Don’t worry dear, I turned off that listening device as soon as I walked through the door.”

“I should have hid that a bit better then,” Taecyeon said as he put the lamp down on the desk again, “I don’t think we should appear close.”

“Why is that? We are practically family.”

Taecyeon sneered before taking a seat opposite of the devilish woman at his desk, “You know why. We should all just stay in our assigned places and do what we are all assigned to do. I think you should go back to your prisoners.”

The woman stopped looking at her nails for a moment to catch the lock eyes with Taecyeon, “Don’t lecture me about how this is risky. You have balls for even asking me to let a prisoner go.”

Taecyeon raised his brow, “I don’t know what you are referring to.”

The woman chuckled, “If you want it that way, then I will stay with my prisoners while you stay with these beef-heads. No more unassigned favors.” Pressing her hands on the desk, she lifted herself up to smooth out the navy skirt, “Remember your rank. Just because you are related doesn’t mean you hold the same power.” With one more glance at the boy unmoving from his seat, the woman finally left with the clacking of her heals echoing out of the Ministry of Security.

Rubbing his temples, Taecyeon stood up to go back to the rightful place behind his desk. Lifting up his lamp, he flipped the black switch before seeing the manila folder placed on his desk. Knowing the woman left it behind for him, Taecyeon folded it in half and stuffed it into his suit before going back to stack of reports on his desk.

The day ended like most for Taecyeon. In and out of meetings with various people from his department and mandatory training at the in-house shooting range to help destress and actually use his gun. When he finished, Taecyeon would stretch his muscles and flick the sleeve of his suit before taking his bag and leaving.

It was always dark by the time he left his office so it was like he never saw sunshine for most of the day since he came in earlier than sunrise. The mandatory meeting was a nice break to get out and see the sun shining for the 10 minutes he got outside. Of course Taecyeon wanted to be out in the field doing the “real” work but with his education, there was no way the Party would put him in such a position. He was an asset.

Stepping into his car, he revved the engine to back out and head home. Although his salary and position allowed him an apartment on his own, Taecyeon rarely ever went to that place. Instead, he sought the comforts of a certain bakery.

“Dad! I’m back.”

The elder man came out from the kitchen holding a ball of dough, “You should go shower first. I am almost done in the kitchen.”

Taecyeon nodded in agreement as he stripped his garments to allow the lukewarm water rush over his skin. Returning to his room after a shower, Taecyeon’s eyes remained glued onto the manila folder he received earlier.

Now that he was in the safety of his home without possible spyware the Party loved to use, Taecyeon sat on his bed to open the envelope. Unwinding the thread, Taecyeon carefully opened it and pulled out a white paper with instructions and a very familiar seal...an official assignment.

Seeing that he had work to do tonight, Taecyeon threw on a black shirt, a leather jacket and black cargo pants with boots. Going over to his suit, Taecyeon took his Ministry of Security badge and pocketed it if he needed as a backup.

Entering the kitchen again, Taecyeon took a seat at the table where his father prepared dinner, “Going out again tonight?”

Taking a huge bite of the bread, Taecyeon nodded, “She came in person this time.”

Mr. Ok sat down with his son and started eating, “You two should keep your distance. She is smart and careful but I am afraid that some eyes may be on you for associating with her.”

“I told her that.” Being hungry from work, Taecyeon dove into his rice and started eating like a man who hasn’t seen food in weeks, “I don’t think she will come by again though.”

Eating with a bit more finesse, Mr. Ok took slow bites, “If she does, I will...”

“Don’t worry about it dad. I will make sure. I know the risks.”

“Finish your meal. You have to get back here before daybreak.”

Gulping down the remaining water, Taecyeon wiped his face and stood up, “I always do.” Walking up to his father, Taecyeon patted him on the back, “You should rest tonight too.”

Mr. Ok laughed, “I will never stop worrying about you son.”

“I know dad but you need rest too.” Taecyeon walked over to get his gun and holster it into the back of his pants, “I will be careful.” Making his way out the back door, Taecyeon slipped into the night.

Not wanting to get caught doing something not assigned by the Party, Taecyeon chose not to take his car and went through the side streets. Unknown to most, there was one way in and out of the Party walls without the use of the main gate so Taecyeon made his way to the only house that was actually situated on the wall. Without knocking, Taecyeon entered the charcoal colored single home. The woman was knitting and noted Taecyeon’s presence but she didn’t greet him, she just went back to her hobby.

Taecyeon went to the farthest room back and pushed the bookshelf out of the away. On the other side, Taecyeon saw the cement and pushed forward to slip out. Greeted by the brisk night from the other side of the wall, Taecyeon carefully pushed the cement block into place and hopped out of the bushes. Looking up he saw the spot lamp scanning over the area so he waited until it passed so he could dash into the nearest village.

Nearly out of breath, Taecyeon leaned on an old building for a few seconds, however his rest period was short lived as he heard vehicles approaching. Slipping behind the wall of the building, Taecyeon hid until the headlamps of the cars passed into the darkness again.

Looking around, Taecyeon didn’t see anyone or vehicles so he continued on his way through the town. This town was an older sector that was almost completely abandoned except for a few homeless people that didn’t mind the buildings decrepit state or the fact that they could fall down completely. The Party chose to destroy the buildings in this area because it was too close to the walls of the government sector but the cleanup of the buildings was never fully finished and around twenty buildings remained completely unfazed.

Seeing a familiar garage, Taecyeon stopped and pulled out a key from his pocket to unlock the deadbolt and remove the chains. Pulling up the garage, Taecyeon saw several vehicles but Taecyeon wasn’t interested in the cars or trucks that were hidden in there. His eyes were glued to the black sports bike in the back. Walking towards the bike, Taecyeon reached behind the wheel of the back tire to get the key and turn on the bike. The engine was muffled to not make much more than a low grumble. Kicking up the stand, Taecyeon rode the bike out of the garage before getting off and locking up the garage once again.

The area Taecyeon needed to get to was rather far away, so Taecyeon increased the speed on his bike and weaved through the streets and a few fields to make it there with enough time to return to his home by daybreak.

Wanting to manage his time well, Taecyeon looked at his watch after spotting the sign for Sector 11, “2:50am...” Not wanting to enter Sector 11, Taecyeon turned his bike hard to the left to go around but he slammed on the breaks as he saw a black jeep, “Someone else is here?” Cutting off his engine, Taecyeon pushed his bike towards the wall to hide it in the brush.

Already wearing his green glasses that made it easier to see in the dark, Taecyeon looked around for people but didn’t see any. Still needing to finish his assignment, Taecyeon decided to run the rest of the way to the location. Using the wall of Sector 11, Taecyeon ran close to it just in case he needed to use the brush to hide in.

As he ran along the wall, Taecyeon could see the light of flashlights ahead so he slowed down to see who it could be, “Two girls and boy.” Although he could take out the three people, Taecyeon decided to ignore them and head towards the place he was assigned without being caught but this would waste some more time since he had to move more carefully to not draw attention to himself.

He watched the three people carefully as he tried to past by them, but the boy seemed to have ears of a bat as he turned to look straight at Taecyeon that was now on the ground to blend in with the darkness. It must have worked since the boy’s flashlight only grazed over his body and the team turned their backs to head another direction. Noticing them heading towards the Party wall instead of sector 11, Taecyeon got up and started to run away into the woods that would shield him.

Digging around in his pockets, Taecyeon pulled out an old compass and turned around until he was going South-West.  Continuing in that direction, Taecyeon counted his paces and stopped near an older tree, “what is here?” Looking around Taecyeon saw nothing so he knelt down to remove the leaves and dirt in the area but there was nothing, “If that woman is playing with me…” Taecyeon whispered angrily.

“Where are the keys?”

Taecyeon ducked down immediately with the sound of other people practically right next to him. Using the tree as cover, Taecyeon peeked around it to see two uniformed men with slaves? Trying to take a closer look he noticed the number 11 on their arms. Where are they being taken?

The taller man handed the keys to the other man who knelt down and opened a latch that was under camouflage netting, “Go down.”

Taecyeon watched as the men untied the people one by one to make sure they went down the ladder. With the last prisoner entering the latch, the one guard followed while the other quickly closed the latch and covered it again. Thinking he should maybe take out the man and interrogate him or follow the others but going into an unknown place could be risky during this time since they are moving people at night. Information would be better to have first so Taecyeon decided he should take out the man that was heading back to the gates of Sector 11, but as he was to leave his spot from behind the tree, Taecyeon heard a huge blast coming from an area near the Party wall.

The uniformed man looked near Taecyeon’s direction causing the boy to hide again, “Code 122. Officer 594034 near the blast. Wait assistance to the blast.”

Taecyeon silently cursed as the area would soon be flooding with armed Party soldiers. There was no other option than to abandon his mission and go home. No use staying here any longer so Taecyeon quickly went behind the man busy on his radio to lock him into a powerful chokehold and render him unconscious. Taking the radio, Taecyeon ran out of the woods to get a better look at the blast, “A government building? Even worse.”

“Sector 11 units heading out.”

Taecyeon knew he was screwed if Sector 11 got involved since his bike was dangerously close to the gate, “Negative. Lieutenant Ok gives orders for civilian sectors to stand down. Government area 5 has all the support needed.”

“Lieutenant verify your number.”

“881139.”

Taecyeon looked at the radio while he waited a response, “Verified.” Knowing he was in the clear, Taecyeon turned the radio off and threw it next to the unconscious man.

Using all the strength he had left, Taecyeon ran as fast as he could back to his bike. While he ran, he noticed the group near the area had disappeared and the jeep near his bike was also gone, “Perfect.”

Kicking up his bike, Taecyeon got on and took off at full speed. If all the civilian sectors obeyed orders and didn’t intervene with the bombing, getting around the roads should be simple but to be careful, Taecyeon drove his bike into the back roads, but luck wasn’t on his side as his bike suddenly died. Looking at the temperature, Taecyeon realized he overheated the engine.

With no other choice, Taecyeon pushed his bike to the nearest alley and looked around for any possible cars. Seeing one in the distance, Taecyeon tried to cover his bike up and looked around for anything like a hose and bucket. After finding a large can and a hose, Taecyeon pulled out his knife and broke into the car cutting off the coolant line. With the can filled with coolant, Taecyeon made his way back to the motorcycle. Thinking thirty minutes was enough time, Taecyeon used a rag to open the coolant and poured in the liquid.

Turing on his engine, Taecyeon revved it a few times to warm it up and observe the temperature level again. “A bit high still but it will have to do.” Hopping on the bike, Taecyeon started off slowly back to the abandoned town to dump his bike. Going around one sector, Taecyeon wasn’t stopped but the Sector right before his location, Taecyeon saw a large blockade. Looking around he noticed that the police and soldiers cornered all the cars. With no other options, Taecyeon went around the cars to the front of the line, “Hold it! Or we will shoot!”

Taecyeon kicked is bike and got off to pull out his badge, “I need to pass.”

The soldier read the number and immediately straightened up, “Sir! Please pass. Sorry for the problem.”

Taecyeon smiled and was about to put his glasses back but he heard a disturbance in the line, “Open the back now!”

Thinking it was none of his business, Taecyeon was going to get out quickly and let these guards take care of it but stupid inexperienced soldier had the nerve to ask, “Lieutenant do you mind helping?”

In normal situations, Taecyeon would be happy to assist his team with problems but it wasn’t normal. He was off duty in a civilian sector without authorization, “I am sure you can take care of it.”

“Let us go! T-there was an accident and we have to get through! We need a doctor now!”

“Calm down. You are not allowed to leave until the vehicle is inspected.”

“Can’t you see that they need treatment?”

Getting a headache, Taecyeon got off his bike and walked towards the very familiar black jeep to help out the soldiers. Going around to the back, Taecyeon noticed a very familiar girl detained, “Jessica?”

Taking a further look into the jeep, Taecyeon saw a man and woman with their faces covered with bandages but it was no mistaking it, Resistance. Reaching for the gun out of his back pocket, Taecyeon pointed it straight at Jessica, “You are under arrest and coming with me. Everyone here.”

Author's Note

I think I should appologize to all the readers here. I did have a vision for this story and I would say the past 4-6 chapters maybe got too far away from that vision as I wanted to give you more TaengSic interactions and a bit more of what Taeyeon and Jessica were doing in the Resistance. I feel like I got stuck in a void of filler chapters than giving you the actual storyline. Although I have been aluding to many things in the filler chapters, I think we should get back into the reality of the story. I didn't realize I was doing this to you readers until two readers brought this to my attention so i thank those who were brave enough to tell me that they were losing interest so your author can rework the storyline again.

I hope you readers dont give up on the story. Thanks for the 500+ subscribers so far. 

Catch Jessica if You Can!