You Call Me Monster

“This is the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Nari hissed, snatching plates off of the table.

“It’s the only one we’ve got,” Sehun replied mildly, following behind her with a damp towel.

“Then we need to keep thinking!” she retorted, putting the dishes into the sink. “I refuse-”

“You refuse?” Sehun repeated. “You may be my sister, but I’m the one in charge here. This is my decision and it’s your job to make sure it works!”

“We’ve been trying to avoid jail, not go there willingly!” Nari persisted. “It’s my job as your lieutenant and your sister to keep you out of prison!”

There was a slight rustling and they both whirled around. Baekhyun stood frozen in the doorway, holding a half-eaten apple in one hand. He glanced between Sehun and Nari before slowly backing out of the room. Sehun sighed. “We've come too far to start fighting now,” he said, tossing the towel aside. “I need you to accept my decision.”

“What if Chul finds out?” Nari demanded. “What if he kills you before we can catch him? What if we're all walking into another trap?”

Sehun put his arms around her gently. “Things are different this time,” he said softly. “The mayor is on our side. I'll be perfectly safe.”

Nari hugged him tightly, burying her face into his jacket. “Okay,” she said, her voice muffled. Sehun kissed the top of her head. “This will be over before you know it,” he murmured.


******


“This is the worst idea ever,” D.O stated flatly.

“Actually when you think about it, it's pretty genius,” Chanyeol said, setting a box onto the table. “Sehun gets arrested, Chul shows up at the trial to gloat…”

“That's not what I meant!” D.O snapped. “A million things could go wrong and we could all die!”

“You sound like Nari,” Baekhyun commented, grabbing a broom. D.O paused. “Nari’s against this?” he asked incredulously.

Baekhyun began sweeping methodically. “She and Sehun were arguing about it this morning,” he replied. “I think he talked her down.”

D.O folded his arms. “There's just got to be a better way.”

“This is what we've been working towards for the past four years,” Chanyeol said, sorting through the contents of the box. “No one said this would be safe.”

“Forget safe, this is just stupid!” D.O insisted. A cloud of dust flew up around Baekhyun and he coughed loudly. “Some would say that everything we do stupid,” he reminded D.O, sweeping the dust into a corner.

Chanyeol moved the empty box to the floor. “This is our last chance,” he said quietly. “This is what Luhan and Kris and Tao died for. We can't let their deaths be meaningless.” He handed D.O a couple of jackets. “Toss these somewhere.”

“Why are we here again?” Baekhyun asked, leaning the broom against the table. “I thought this place wasn't safe anymore.”

“We have to make it look like we still use it,” Chanyeol replied, plugging a small television in across from the sagging couch. “That way Chul will think he's found our hideout.”

“You really think a television and some dishes will make a difference?” D.O asked, laying a jacket across the back of the couch.

“It'll be enough,” Chanyeol said, wiping his hands on his jeans. He looked around at the spacious room. “I haven't been here since Luhan died.”

A heavy silence fell as they remembered that terrible night. Baekhyun awakened first, shaking his head as if to dispel the memory. “Come on, there's more stuff in the car,” he said, leading the way outside.


******


Sehun pulled his jacket tighter around himself. “You're sure?”

Soonjin nodded. “At least three police cruisers are hidden around the building, and there's an officer on every exit. All you have to do is walk in.” Soonjin shivered and blew on his bare hands. He was one of Mayor Park’s most trusted aides, but he looked barely eighteen and was skinnier than a sapling. Sehun glanced at him. “Where are your gloves?” he asked, nodding at the aide's chapped hands.

“I forgot them at the mayor's office,” Soonjin confessed. “I'm not very good at remembering where I put things.”

Sehun pulled his gloves off and handed them to Soonjin. “Take these. And don't lose them,” he said emphatically.

“But… they're yours, sir,” Soonjin stuttered.

“I don't need them,” Sehun insisted, pressing them into Soonjin’s hands. “Put them on before you get frostbite or something.”

Soonjin pulled the thick gloves on, sighing with relief. “Thank you, sir,” he said, bowing.

Sehun looked down at the building again.“Report back to the mayor once it's over,” he instructed, ignoring Soonjin's gratitude.

“But what about…”

“Straight to the mayor,” Sehun repeated. “Do you understand?”

Soonjin nodded. “Yes sir.”

Sehun nodded in response and left, tucking his now-bare hands into his pockets. The night was clear and cold, the stars bright even through the haze of the city. Sehun gave them a long appreciative look before turning his attention back to their old hideout. In the darkness he could almost pretend the last four years had never happened, that everyone was alive and waiting for him inside that little building. Whatever happens now, this is our last mission, he realized as he approached the back door. The memory of the night Luhan died overwhelmed him as he gripped the doorknob, the smell of blood suddenly strong in his nostrils again. He rallied himself and opened the door, stepping into the dark building.

He could have walked the path to the main room in his sleep, but the knowledge that he was being watched made every shadow suspicious. He forced himself to walk casually, as though he was returning home at the end of a long day. Just a little farther, he told himself.

The main room was dark and cold, the only light coming from the windows on his right. He slowly walked past the table to the middle of the room, stretching his arms out slowly. He leaned against the couch, pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips. Nari would kill me for smoking, he thought, lighting it carefully. He inhaled deeply and breathed out the familiar cloud, the pungent aroma swirling around him as he waited.

Someone kicked the door in and he dropped the cigarette, grinding it out with his shoe. Showtime, he thought, grabbing his gun. The first officer came around the corner and Sehun fired, hitting his leg. The officer went down and the next one shot at Sehun wildly. Sehun leapt behind the couch, avoiding the bullets easily.

“Don't shoot him, you idiot!” he heard someone shout.

“He shot Jong!” another one shouted back.

“We're supposed to bring him in alive!”

Sehun sat up and fired again, but the officers were prepared this time and his bullets bounced off of their shields harmlessly. They'll expect me to try and escape, he thought, glancing around quickly. He made a dash for the other door, dodging shots from the other officers. He flung the door open and made it outside where more officers were waiting for him. He ran around the side of the building only to see another group blocking the way. The lead officer charged at him and Sehun got in one good punch before the officer began pummeling him. Sehun shoved him away and kicked him savagely. The officer lunged at him and slammed him against the wall. Sehun heard glass shatter as they both flew through the window and landed hard on the floor. “Surrender!” the officer barked, pinning Sehun down firmly. Sehun stopped struggling, the room spinning madly as he lay there. He felt handcuffs on his wrists and he laughed, confident he had put on a convincing show.

“Stop laughing!” the officer ordered, yanking him to his feet.

“Why, afraid everyone else will join in?” Sehun grinned. Someone backhanded him and he stumbled, glass shards flying off of him in all directions.

“Enjoy your joke,” the other officer said, flexing his hand. “I doubt you'll have much to laugh about from now on.”

They dragged Sehun out of the building and shoved him into the back of a cruiser. Sehun looked out the window at the building, now swarming with police, and leaned back against the seat. Now it begins.


******


Nari sat on the floor in front of the television, her knees pulled tightly against her chest. The evening news was ending and there was still no hint of Sehun's arrest. Nari rested her chin on her knees, her eyes glued to the screen.

“I wish you wouldn't torture yourself like this,” Lay said, opening a new box of bullets. Several guns lay in a row on the table in front of him, waiting to be reloaded.

“I wish you would stay in bed longer. I guess neither of us are getting what we want,” Nari replied.

“Hearing about it on the news isn't going to make it any easier,” Lay continued, filling magazines deftly. Nari ignored him as another commercial break started. She squeezed her eyes shut, relieving the ache from staring for so long. Please be alive, she thought desperately, repeating the phrase over and over like a mantra.

Chanyeol sat down next to her, crossing his long legs comfortably. Neither of them spoke as they waited, the minutes ticking by at an agonizing pace.

“This is torture,” Xiumin groaned, sitting on the couch.

“Won't someone from the mayor's office just call once it's over?” Suho asked. “Like that intern?”

“Soonjin isn't an intern, he's one of Mayor Park's aides,” Chen reminded him. “He can't risk calling us, remember? We'll know soon.” He looked around the room. “Where are the others?” he asked.

“D.O’s working on his bike, Kai's asleep and I haven't seen Baekhyun in a while,” Lay replied, sliding a magazine into the last gun.

Nari stirred a little. “What do you mean, you haven't seen him?” she asked, looking back at Lay.

“I just haven't,” Lay replied, picking up a cloth. “I assumed he was sleeping too.”

Nari got up, ignoring Chanyeol's protests, and ran down the hallway. “Baek?” she called, peeking into rooms as she passed. “Baekhyun, where are you?”

She went into the last room and sighed. “Why didn't you answer?” she asked, closing the door behind her.

Baekhyun looked up, confused. “I was just rebuilding my inventory,” he said, nodding at the bomb materials scattered around him. “We've gone through a lot of explosives over the last few days.”

“Oh,” Nari stammered, feeling stupid. “Sorry, I just-”

“Thought I was drinking,” Baekhyun finished, tearing off a length of black tape. Nari bit her lip. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be,” he said, expertly wrapping the tape around a bundle of explosives. “I'm usually drinking. I can't get upset with you for assuming it.” He glanced up at her. “But I can't afford to be drunk tonight.”

Before Nari could think of a reply Suho burst into the room. “It's on the news,” he said breathlessly, beckoning them to follow him.

They joined the others crowded around the television as the pretty news anchor began her report.

“... arrested notorious gang leader Oh Sehun after receiving a tip from an anonymous source. Oh Sehun was assumed dead in a power plant fire following his escape from the downtown police station. While we have yet to hear of plans for a trial, the search continues for the rest of his gang, but authorities assure us they're hot on their trail. Reporting live from central Busan-”

Chanyeol turned the television off and straightened up slowly. No one spoke for a few minutes, the finality of Sehun's plan overwhelming them.

“Well then,” a voice said, and everyone looked up. Kai stood in the doorway, wincing slightly as he cradled his side. “Let's see if he takes the bait.”

Notes