Love Shot - Exo Mafia AU (1/4)

33

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Kim Yeo-Reom's Pov.

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"Good morning. Thank you for arriving so promptly," Ma-Ra spoke over the hubbub in the room, her voice travelling cleanly, cutting into the tension.

I stood on the left side of the table with Ri-Ya, Día and a handful of other outer circle members of Lotus, Ma-Ra's most trusted. 

The EXO members stood on the right side of the table with Suho standing at the end of the dining table and Ma-Ra standing at the head.

"I have received word from my spy within the Black Aces. He has revealed that the Black Aces intend to act tonight for one final attack."

Murmurs propped up amongst members from both gangs as the realisation dawned on us that the fight was nearly upon us.

Suho slammed his palm down on the desk twice, "Quiet! Miss Kim, if you would continue. I apologise for the interruption."

Ma-Ra nodded once in thanks before straightening her back, "I know you're feeling hesitant, trust me, I am too. I know we've been fighting for a very long time, and we're all exhausted; now we're reaching what could be our last fight," She paused, to draw in a sharp breath before continuing, "But we are not weak gangs, and we are most certainly not a group of rookies. As long as we keep our heads on straight, act smart and preserve we can win this; but I need all of you to work with me."

Beside me, Ri-Ya shifted and then moved to place her gun on the table, "You have my gun, Ma-Ra, always."

They exchanged small smiles, but I could tell Ma-Ra was incredibly grateful. Giving your gun is like giving your life, you pledge your loyalty and choose to trust the person that has your gun to keep you safe and victorious.

Día followed Ri-Ya's suit, placing her gun down as well, prompting the other Lotus members in the room to do so as well, each one facing Ma-Ra, until I was the last one left. 

Ma-Ra crossed her wrists across her stomach, eyeing me hesitantly, "I can't ask you to trust me as a leader because I never officially initiated you a Lotus member but having you on my side would make this fight a lot easier to win," She forced a smile for me, "And I'd appreciate your support."

I bowed my head slightly, reaching for the gun resting in the waistband of my pants and slowly placing it on the table beside Ri-Ya's, "You have my gun."

I felt Día's hand brush mine in a sort of reassurance, it seemed many of them still saw me as the girl from two years ago rather than the person I had tried to rebuild myself into.

I wasn't offering my gun to Ma-Ra because I particularly wanted to fight beside her, joining her just meant that I could get to Kim Re-Won. 

"What about you idiots? Can I trust you to fight?" Suho suddenly drawled, glancing at the EXO members around him and nervous laughter rung out from between them.

Then, Kyung-Soo stepped forward, "If my wife fights, then so will I." He placed his gun down but rather than turning it to face Suho or Ma-Ra, the way gang members usually would do to signal who they were loyal to, he turned it to Día.

"Wow Do Kyung-Soo! That's quite cool of you!" Teased Jong-Dae placing his gun down facing Suho with a curt nod. 

The other EXO members followed, though Min-Seok, like Kyung-Soo, opted out of pledging his loyalty to Suho instead pledging it to Ri-Ya, his face stern and his decision final.

"Thank you for your cooperation. Tonight, there will be two attacks; one will take place in a scrap yard which is where we will go and another will take place on the border line, this will be taken care of by the outer circle members. Arm yourselves with more than one weapon. Eat well, stay hydrated, rest. Be ready. Once the message is sent, we drive." Ma-Ra ordered, her voice dripping authority.

"Meeting concluded," Suho finished, turning on his heels and making his way to the exit of the room, only pausing so Ma-Ra could catch up to him, so the two of them could head to her office together.

"There's a lot to prepare," Ri-Ya piped up, drawing the attention of the people around us, "Día, I need you to get in contact with the people leading the outer circle attack and track their movements, we need to be aware of what they're doing so we don't get into shit if they act too soon," She turned to the EXO members pointing at those she was talking to, "Kris Wu, Zhang Lay, I need you to head to the port on our territory and collect all the weapons and ammunition you can find—"

"Since when did you become the boss?" Kris spat, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his face completely unimpressed by Ri-Ya's ordering about. 

Baek-Hyun moved to scold him, but Ri-Ya gestured to him calmly, making her face as impassive as possible, "Since the moment you walked into my home. I don't know how things are run on your side but in Red Lotus territory we live and bleed two things: respect and loyalty. While you are here you will follow our hierarchy, our rules and our decisions; if you don't like that then you can leave, the door is over there."

A silence fell over the EXO members as they anticipated Kris's next move, "I used to be the second-in-command of EXO, I would never have dared to act like the leader back then." He growled angrily, glaring at Min-Seok who started forward.

"Well maybe you should have. Maybe that way you could have kept your position," Ri-Ya didn't hesitate, sniffing at him, unfazed by his behaviour.

Chuckles ruffled the room as EXO and Lotus members alike tried to stifle their discomfort and amusement. 

Kris seemed to have nothing more to say after that and went along with the rest of Ri-Ya's orders although somewhat reluctantly, dropping snarky comments every time anyone would stop and listen to him.

"Do you need to brush up on your skills?" Ri-Ya asked offhandedly, flitting through some files Ma-Ra had left on the table,

"No, I'm good," I responded curtly, skimming the room, trying to figure out what to do next.

"You sure? It's been a few weeks since I've seen you practising." Ri-Ya pushed, briefly casting her eyes up at me, her face doubtful.

I scoffed, a sting of annoyance crossing through me, "I trained every day for two years in China. I'm fine, worry about yourself."

"I seem to have struck a nerve..." Ri-Ya noted, her brow raised carefully as she placed the files down to pass them along to Baek-Hyun who tried his best to ignore the ongoing conversation.

"My bad, I just happen to be done with every person here doubting me," I lowered my voice as Min-Seok and Kai turned to us, "I worked my ass off for two years with complete strangers. I trained and I fought, and I collected debts and fees, and I chased assholes all over the country. I killed people just to prove I was one of you but still...still you keep doubting my abilities as well as my loyalty," anger pricked my chest and I added a final part, my tone harsh, "and then you wonder why I can't fully trust you again. It's not that I can't, 'big sis'," I air-quoted the nick name as Min-Seok came to stand by Ri-Ya staring between us cautiously.

Ri-Ya's face remained blank as other members started listening in. 

I scoffed again, more bitterly this time, "It's not that I can't, I don't want to. You'll just let me down again."

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