Where the sea sleeps [HoonHao] ✔

28

Scoups and Minghao haven't returned yet. While it hasn't been that long, they've been out in the open for far longer than he's able to recall them ever being. The fact that it's only been a few hours has the crew antsy. Not knowing how the deal is going. Vernon's been pacing, still standing beside him up top. From here, he could see how Dino walked back and forth from one point of the ship to another, clear worry written across his face. Mingyu disappeared with Hoshi to lower deck an hour ago, but when Hoshi resurfaced, Mingyu hadn't followed. Nobody asked where he was, though. They all kept silent. 

So far, they'd managed to avoid any contact with people. Of course, it could only be kept up for so long. 

"Good day, there!" someone yells from below. Peeking down, he makes out a guy of average height, dressed head to toe in the same armour and clothing that he's seen other guards wear. Unlike the others, his sword is more noticeable, pushed through a loop near his waist. His hair sticks out, a fluffy brown that reminds Woozi of a poodle. "Who are you all?"

"Delivery men," Vernon responds, amplifying his voice to be heard over the noise of the city.

"I presume the reason behind your arrival is then a delivery?" the guy queries, eyes raking over the entirety of the ship. He stands alone, no other guards by his side. With a tilt of his head, he considers Vernon for a moment. "And how long will you be here in the city?"

"Not long. Just doing the delivery," Vernon assures. He speaks in a way as if he's lying despite the fact that those words could not be more true than ever. The guard clearly appears suspicious, with the way his eyes take in the ship immediately after Vernon's finished speaking. Occasionally, he'll glance up at them in wonder, but he won't say anything. Woozi wants to know, more than anything, what the guard is thinking. But that requires speaking and right now, he doesn't think he should be speaking to a guard. Especially with the way they could start asking questions. He wasn't confident in being able to lie through his teeth.

"If you are a delivery ship as you claim to be" The way he says this has Vernon's entire face shifting; annoyance rings clear in his eyes. The guard, of course, doesn't really notice this, continuing to speak. "Then you must have a cargo license. May I see it?"

"Cargo license?" Vernon scrambles to think of something. He'd help, but if Vernon doesn't know what he's talking about, how could Woozi possibly know?

"A permit, if you will," the guard suggests.

Lost. It's the first thing that comes to his mind when he looks at Vernon this time around. His eyes are flickering around as he tries to figure out how to respond.

"We've got a permit," a voice says from below, shattering the distraughtness Vernon found himself in. Minghao and Scoups approach, wide smiles across their faces. It must have gone well, he thinks, as a bunch of men make their way onto the ship and start loading the box off. The guard stands by, despite his previous attempts in getting the permit. He would have assumed the guard wouldn't let them take it without them flashing their permit, but he supposes he's wrong.

"Show it to me," the guard says finally, once the group has hauled the box onto something akin to a travelling cart. It's a lot bigger, of course and seems able to carry the large box and whatever contents it held. He watches as they leave.

"I have it on the ship. Give me a moment and I'll bring it to you," Minghao says, voice pulling Woozi out of his state.

Minghao disappears into the little room and a moment later, reappears with papers in hand. Scoups hasn't moved from his spot beside the guard and soon, Minghao joins them, passing the papers to him.

It's a nerve-wrecking moment of silence. All they can do is watch as the guard flips through the papers, eyes skimming over the words as he assesses the permit. As if he doesn't believe them, which Woozi can understand. He's almost sure the permit's a fake. They weren't a delivery ship after all.

The sound of the paper slapping together surprises him; he didn't expect it to be that loud, but when he looks at the guard, he can tell the sound was made on purpose. There's this knowing look in his eyes, a smile curving onto his face. It's unsettling. It felt like there was something behind the smile; something that wasn't being said. Like an inside joke that all of them were about to be let in on if only they were that lucky.

"Well done," the guard says. Looking up, his eyes have turned fierce. With a hand, he signals and a few other guards start to approach. "Almost had us fooled."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Minghao says, even as a guard grabs his arm and pulls it until his hand is touching his back. He tries to fight the guard off, but that only has the guard adding extra force onto him.

"The Drifters, right?" That same smile suddenly has him feeling sickly. An unsettling feeling churns his stomach. In the blink of an eye, a guard is placing their hands on him, forcing him to turn around. The guard smiles as he makes eye contact with him. "Nice name. Has a nice ring to it."

They're being forced to walk. Being taken off the ship. He wants to fight the guard off, but he knows it won't end well. His bandages are already coming undone with the way they've been pulling. When the one completely comes off and the guard that has practically tied down sees that there isn't anything particularly wrong with him, he asks Woozi to take the other one off. Not having another choice (seeing as he didn't want them taking it off by force), he removes it. Right as he does, the guard grabs both wrists behind his back and cuffs him. The rest of the crew have already been cuffed. Occasionally, Hoshi and Joshua glance at him, concern in their eyes, but he pretends not to notice. Not even when Dino, who was beside him, tried to say something—the guard didn't like that very much as he shoved Dino forward.

He was shaking as they walked, and it made him a little glad that everyone was too preoccupied with their own guard to pay any attention; nobody noticed he was shaking. Whether it was out of fear or something else, he wasn't sure.

"Do we get a hearing?" Minghao asks, somewhere near the back. Woozi looks at him and in the brief moment of silence, they lock eyes and Minghao flashes him a reassuring smile. His heart tugs.

"No," the guard (who kindly informed them as they were being led off the ship went by the name of Seokmin) says firmly. He's right in front, leading the guards. He isn't keeping hold of any of the crew mates. Woozi has to wonder why he's here then, if not for that. A set of keys jingles across his hip. "You're going straight to the prison."

That same unsettling feeling stirs inside of him, but this time, there's the unmistakable chill and the prickly feeling flowing through him as fear makes himself known. He feels cold.

While he'd like to hold onto any ounce of hope, all he can feel is the impending sense of doom. He doesn't like it. 

A/N 

Sorry for not being all that active lately. Guess you could say I took my little Christmas break. 

I just wanted to write this little author's note to say that to any readers who celebrated Christmas, I hope you guys had a wonderful day and I especially hope you all are keeping safe. To everyone, I wish you happy holidays and I'll see you for the next 2 chapters <3