Bridging Destinies

Chapter 47: Building to Folly

Young-Soo had heard the sirens but didn't think anything of it, until the sound slowly seemed to be growing closer and more distinct. It made him nervous and he looked back towards where he knew the van was parked, but could not see it. He stubbed out his second cigarette as he considered his options. He could check with the men in the van, to see what his next move should be, or he could act. Acting could single him out as a major player, if he was successful. He could capture the inhuman woman and bring her back to headquarters, and he would be the hero of the hour. Sure, he may be in trouble for acting alone, but it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission, wasn't it? In the split second of his previous thought, he had made his decision, only seeing the glory he could achieve.

He thought two things during his decision process, jumping ahead of himself. One, the woman and idol would have to leave either through the front door or the garage. If they had a car in the garage, or someone came to pick them up, they would most likely be in the garage waiting for their ride, as it was safer as well as more private. It wasn't likely they would get a taxi this late at night, so it was less probable that they would exit through the front of the building.

Having already made his decision, Young-Soo entered through the compromised lock at the front entrance, snuck past the sleeping guard, finding his way down to the garage from an interior entrance. CCTVs in the garage were not a concern for him, as they should have been scrambled, and his face was masked with a baseball cap on his head, obscuring his features. The other three men on the floor above were not down yet, but he assumed they would be and when they did, leaving with the others, he would be hiding in the garage, ready.

~~~

Namjoon paced the living room near the kitchen with his phone in hand, placed at his ear. The first person he had called, before the police had arrived, had been Sejin, who responded almost right away. Sejin stated that he would send a bodyguard over, as well as arrange a ride to the dorm, but later called telling us to sit tight, as he was unable to establish anything immediately. Two of the usual drivers were out of town and it would take them hours to get to the apartment. The third driver, that Namjoon could usually depend on, was not answering his phone, and we were at odds. The last we had heard from Sejin had been over half an hour ago and now his line was busy. Too much time had passed, and our location was far from secure. Trusting a random taxi did not seem a viable option, either. I did not know if it would be safe, and there was no guarantee one would be available at this time of the night.

The police had come and gone, advising us to leave the apartment and find another place to stay. Before they had arrived, I had secured the area and erased any indication that the assault was more than a simple break in with an attempt at theft, and the police took it as it appeared with a little push from me. I knew they would investigate, and likely find the cameras that would show the perpetrators, but I knew the men had been masked, and it wouldn't be easy to tell who they were. My instinct was that the attack had been well organized and not much evidence would be found. I had been concerned earlier, not wishing to involve the police, but as they were already involved, I had adjusted my plans. I knew that I risked exposing myself to them, but most humans only saw what they expected to see. With my glamour and a few maneuvers, I could hide well enough. I simply did not like to risk it.

My mind had been investigative, fully delving into the thoughts and energies around me, including Namjoon's, who was wide open to me. The police were easy to manipulate to give them exactly what they expected to see and Namjoon's mind told me enough to know the situation intimately, from his perspective. I knew he'd been in contact with Yoongi, and I knew that it was likely Yoongi that had been the one to call the police, though it may have also been possible that the alarm to Namjoon's apartment was triggered during the break in. However, the alarm company had not contacted Namjoon, and I suspected they were unaware of the infraction.

I sat on the couch, lost in the paths, but unable to see much as figures moved in shadow, hidden as if in a deep fog. I was frustrated, because the Mother still shielded the paths, and I could not discern the best next step. It occurred to me that I would need to use a different kind of reasoning that was based on simple problem solving, rather than what paths were the most open to take. Remembering the thoughts I had seen in Namjoon's mind earlier, I opened my eyes and softly spoke as I heard him swear behind me in frustration, "Didn't you talk to Yoongi?"

The man stopped and looked at me with a blank expression, then frowned, and I half turned to look at him. I stood and walked to stand next to him, touching his arm as if to soothe him, "You spoke with him, or rather you sent him texts. Is he still up?  Could he take us to the dorm?"

"Oh my god." Namjoon breathed, "I totally forgot about him." He opened his texts and looked at the slough of messages his friend had sent him and then the last message was terse, "Fuck this." He had said. "I'm coming to get you."

Namjoon licked his lips nervously and looked at the time stamp on the message, then showed it to me, "That was thirty minutes ago. He should be here soon."

I looked at the message and gently squeezed Namjoon's arm with a nod, "Good." I closed my eyes and nibbled on my lip restlessly, taking several deep breaths to calm myself.

I sensed, instead of saw, Namjoon's frown deepen and he took me into his arms, holding me to him. "It's going to be okay, Lina. It's got to be." He told me as he moved his hands along my back soothingly. I was normally emotionally collected and very steady, and I could tell that my emotions unnerved him. He kissed my temple, "Should we get our things?" He suggested, trying to distract me, as he pulled away from the embrace to look into my eyes with a steady reassuring expression. With a nod, I broke away from his hold and we began to prepare to meet Yoongi.

Namjoon called his friend to confirm, as we primed ourselves to leave, speaking into the phone, "Hi, Yoongiah." He said and appeared to listen to the other man. I could hear Yoongi's strident voice cussing Namjoon and myself out through the speaker, and Namjoon pulled the phone away from his ear a little, then put it back to his ear when Yoongi appeared to grow quieter.

Namjoon responded to an apparent question that I had not paid mind to as I packed my clothes into my bag, "No. Yes, we are okay. Lina scared them off."

He listened again for a moment as Yoongi spoke at the other end of the line. His voice was not coming through as clearly, though I could still hear some words through the phone, and I assumed he was calmer. Namjoon responded with a simple, "Yes. I know. I'm sorry. We will meet you downstairs." He agreed.