rendezvous • johnten

3.

all went quiet as kun pulled into an alley, 2 blocks down from the alleged 127 headquarters. ten felt a pit in his stomach— a gut-wrenching feeling as the team approached, but brushed it off as nerves and his tired state.

the plan was to enter and avoid detection, while finding as much information as possible. most of the members were likely absent on dealing missions or errands, and as it was 9pm, the nightlife was entering its prime.

ten and winwin were to enter through the roof, hopefully through a hatch or window— but through the air ducts if they had to. they were then to report to yangyang and hendery if all was clear— and if it was, they too would enter through the roof.

luckily for ten and winwin, there was a small hatch on the roof leading to a steep set of stairs. the building was what appeared to be an unassuming townhome complex, but upon further inspection, was a large, renovated hidden mansion space.

"all clear." ten whispered into his earpiece, giving yangyang and hendery clearance to enter. ten and winwin descended through the spacious corridor, noting every door and potential hiding place, may they be discovered.

the mansion seemed quiet, and it appeared that nobody was present, as there were no cars parked outside the mansion and no lights on inside.

"camera, 12:00" winwin warned ten, and the two slinked against the wall, undetected by the camera as they were moving in a blindspot. still, ten couldn't shake the gut-wrenching feeling that he had felt since his first descent into the headquarters.

it was definitely 127. the top floor looked almost like a hotel hallway, filled with what ten could only assume were bedrooms. there were about 12, each likely housed one 127 member with room to spare. the second highest floor, ten and winwin discovered, was filled with a large lounge space, with items like couches, a pool table, and even a miniature bar. the ground floor, ten reported, was a shared garage/kitchen/living space. there were no cars in the garage, further proving the thought that nobody was home.

this seemed abnormally lucky, however— ten realized. no 127 member had any way of knowing wayv's plan, and they just happened to be unguarded and empty?

ten didn't realize that his luck was just about to run out.

the basement floor, ten and winwin discovered, was an expansive training ground, with shooting ranges, boxing rings, and gym equipment. ten made his way down, while winwin stayed on the ground floor to inspect the garage.

it had been around 10 minutes since ten had last heard from any member— including winwin, which worried him greatly. he still had his gut feeling, and just couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched, no matter what he did.

ten had a history of paranoia, which naturally comes with being in a mafia— but he noticed that he had it worse than most of his other teammates. he tended to constantly feel other presences which scared the shit out of him, but he had learned to deal with it, as his painkillers also helped a bit.

speaking of, he was starting to develop a headache. ten had discovered multiple weapons in this basement, all with the numbers '127' engraved on them. he reported this to kun but— no response? ten decided to head back up the stairwell to winwin.

the dull pounding began to return. in the moment it was bearable, but ten knew that soon his head would feel like it was about to explode.

there was no sign of winwin in the garage, and this is when he began to panic. he tapped his ear-in and paged yangyang asking about his position, but also— no response. ten was alone.

ten should've taken this as his sign to get the hell out of there, but his hand was on his gun as he tiptoed through the garage. more weapon cases and duffel bags filled with money and drugs were piled in corners, as well as mechanical equipment such as scrap metal, drills, welding equipment, tires, and various car parts.