Over and Out

Chapter Seventeen

"- but if you do go in there, it's really at your own risk, I don't recommend it..." Barely acknowledging the stream of prose being conveyed to her, Lisa half-ran behind Jimin, as he led her through the marble maze that was Mr J's mansion. The man in question stalked on ahead, seemingly bored by the impromptu tour-bit that his companion was carrying out. Lisa's focus was on intel; while she didn't quite yet know what she was going to do with it, she took care to drink in every detail of the place, taking note of anything that could help her survive. Much of it was empty, as she had expected. From what she could remember of the briefings she had received before entering the house for the first time, most of the place was normally unused; she couldn't help but wonder why one man needed so much room, and what amount of loneliness he was used to that the echoing emptiness didn't faze him. The interior was stark, a cool world of marble, with very little embellishment; it appeared that only the areas used for entertaining, and hosting were considered important enough to decorate. She had never seen marble so militaristic, such luxurious elements used in such harsh ways. They had descended at some point, to the labyrinth-like subterranean quarters of the lot that she vaguely remembered from the blueprints, and the lack of the windows, paired with the cold interior reminded her of a large tomb – the thought exacerbated the chill already settled into her chest.

"..and look, I know this hallway looks fine, but if you walk too far down I swear your mind fucks with you and you end up there for hours trying to figure out which door you came in, once-"

Jimin trailed off, as Mr J turned to shoot him a scathing look, before pulling open a door. Shaking his head, Jimin followed him in, quirking his head for Lisa to also go in. The room was empty save for a long glass table and a large screen at one end. Sat around it were the two other men she had seen briefly the night before- the man who was always with Mr J, and the one who had claimed to be responsible for the damn necklace that she was sure now had cursed her.

 They were joined by another man; he looked slightly-tired, slightly-bored, and was slouched as far possible into his chair. Only he remained in place as they entered – the other two straightened up as Mr J walked around to take his place at the head of the table. She looked to Jimin, who shrugged, and flopped down on the nearest chair. She took caution, perching right on the edge of the table itself, shivering as the coldness of the glass bled through her thin dress. It was, she mused, the worse possible time to remember that she was still in last night's dress; her body caught up to her mind, as goosebumps sprung up her bare arms, and she fought with herself trying to prevent her teeth clattering together in shivers. Turning to face the head of the table, she raised an eyebrow at the man of her nightmares, who was monitoring her reactions unapologetically. Deciding he had seen what he needed, he cleared his throat, launching into what Lisa assumed was a debrief.

"So last night was very informative indeed. We all saw what happened to Loren, and the swift escape all of the agents made. Clearly, the relationship between them and him was slightly different to what we initially thought." Lisa narrowed her eyes – for one, she had no idea why she was being permitted to listen into this conversation, and further to that, she was caught off-guard by the blatant admission of weakness that came from the man, who in her eyes epitomised arrogance. She clearly wasn't the only one who was taken aback- both Jimin and the necklace man were throwing wary looks in her direction, as Mr J continued, either unaware or unbothered by them.

"But nevertheless, we got some valuable information, and now we've managed to gain an informant to boot." At this Lisa scoffed in disbelief, as they all turned to look at her.

"An informant? I'd love to meet them." She mocked, looking around in mock-curiosity. The bored-looking man snorted quietly.

"I'm sure you have some very interesting perspectives for us." Mr J continued paying her attitude no heed.