Zero Encounters

Monsters

        The tense atmosphere only grew when Ilwan said nothing else and turned his attention to the guns on the table. Captain Lee watched closely, preparing himself for any sudden movements, but without looking back, Ilwan gestured for his subordinate to engage. His lanky build and gaunt, lifeless eyes made Captain Lee wonder if he had been using too. At one glance, he didn't seem too threatening, but the immense speed he picked up with a few steps, alarmed Captain Lee.

"Rough him up a bit before I play some more." Ilwan yawned and sat on the table, carelessly kicking his feet back and forth. Captain Lee dodged his initial strike, but couldn't brace himself for the second. He turned just in time for the man to swing and hit his shoulder blade and the contact knocked the air out of him. The man had put on brass knuckles without his knowledge and he knew he underestimated him. They exchanged a few more strikes and almost tied, but Captain Lee was taking the most damage. He knew he needed to end it quickly to not play into anymore of Ilwan's games.

Zero forced herself to stay put. Captain Lee had made it clear that her working on this case is a privilege that he can take away. She leapt onto a platform to hide from the henchmen and before she knew it, they were directly below her. She tried to keep still, but the platform she laid on, swayed each time she adjusted her balance.

"What the hell?" One of the men pointed to the moving shadow on the ground. They both looked up, but Zero had already jumped on top of them. She wrapped her legs around one of their necks and tossed him aside, but dove quickly to use him as a human shield. The other had just pulled out a gun and shakily aimed to not harm his friend, but it was too late. Shots fired and it worried Captain Lee in the midst of fighting. It took everything in him to not run towards it, but thanks to his vicious opponent he kept him where he was. All he had left was faith in Zero that she would handle herself. She eventually knocked the gun away from the man and subdued him with ease.

"Do we have a rat in here?!" Ilwan groaned in frustration. Captain Lee's opponent ran off with the shotgun and fired aimlessly in the dark. Ilwan took Captain Lee by surprise and locked his arm around his neck, backing themselves towards the table. Zero ran along the sides of the wall, dodging the stray bullets and made her way around. She tackled the shooter to the ground and kicked him until he became unconscious. She walked into the light to see the panicked look on Ilwan's face. His pale, sweaty face looked as if he had seen a ghost. She pulled out the gun she had taken and felt the weight of it in her hands. "S-Shoot. If I die, he dies. Our deaths won't mean anything." He said recklessly. All he had thought about were the rumors everyone had planted in his head. He couldn't count how many times he had punished his men for even speaking of Zero. He truly believed it was all make believe until Seller's death was known.

"Drop the gun." She said, trying to hide the fear behind her voice. Her voice modulator came in handy at moments like this. She pointed the gun halfway at them and Ilwan only grew agitated.

"The hell is with that voice?!" He exclaimed and held the Captain tighter around the neck. He remembered one of his men trying to describe it back then, but he only ended up beating him for making weird sounds. 

"Why are you making this so much harder for yourself? Drop the gun and let the cop go."

"Don't care!" He shouted, "Shoot. Low lives should stick together. I don't get why you're kissing up to these assholes. Pick a side already, Zero."

A cold, tingling sensation washed over her and she felt the panic bubble to the surface. She clenched her teeth to help with the pounding in her head. The sound of heavy rain filled her ears and the stench of blood burned her nostrils and she didn't understand why. Snippets of a vision she once had in her dreams appeared in her mind. She gripped the gun tighter and tried to ground herself with the Captain's eyes. She knew she had to stay calm. She fired a warning shot and it made her queasy. She forcefully swallowed the urge to dry heave. Ilwan pushed the gun to the Captain's head and lets out a scream.

"I should've known you'd show up. A rat like you would be anywhere." Ilwan shook his head, "I just wanted to have a little conversation with this Captain. Seems like the two of you have built a rapport with each other. Shouldn't you be siding with whoever is winning? Like how you used to when it came to the scumbags on the streets? I heard stories. I know what you do."

"Aren't you the biggest fan?" Captain Lee scoffed and Ilwan choked him.

"Tell your men to back off and we can continue this another day. Like you said, I wouldn't be able to run away."

Captain Lee dug his hands in between his neck and Ilwan's arm to create some breathing room. "Stand down." He said as calmly as possible to not alert the others. She knew he directed those words towards her as well, but she refused.

"Then again, with the great Zero in front of me, I wouldn't be upset if I blew some holes into him for all the years of annoyance. Tell me, right or left? Arm or leg?" He took aim at each and the Captain tried to fight him off. "Stop moving or I'll accidentally miss and blow his head off!"

Captain Lee elbowed the man's stomach and felt the weight off his neck. A shot was fired before the Captain could react. Blood splattered in all direction and turned his white shirt, red. It took him a split second to realize it had not been him who was hit. Zero shakily turned her head to see Jisung had fired his gun in the perfect stance. Ilwan stumbled before stiffening and falling faced first. Jisung had shot him in between the shoulder blade after making eye contact with the Captain. The two orchestrated the perfect exchange so that everyone was safe. Jisung pulled Zero towards some heavy duty bins and hid her behind them while SWAT and the rest of the team flooded the place to secure the area. Seeing the team in action and hearing the sounds of walkies echoing the building brought relief to everyone. Their team arrested those on site and secured Ilwan on a gurney.

"What are you doing here?" Zero asked, drenched in cold sweat. She wanted to praise him for making the perfect shot, but her mind went blank.

"Ten minutes passed." Jisung smiled while keeping watch. Her legs gave out and he caught her in time before she made any noise.

"Thank you." She said, resting her head on his chest.

"You should get going." He patted her back, "Will you be okay?"

"Y-Yeah."

Later that night, Jisung went to pay Nana a visit before he returned to interrogate Ilwan with Inspector Choi. He wanted to give her the good news before anyone else.

"Nana~ Guess who came to visit?" Her grandmother led the way to her room. "W-Why are you crying? What's wrong? Are you in pain?" She held the girl tightly. "I'll go get the nurse - "

Jisung sat at the foot of the bed and continued to wipe her tears away. "What is it?" He asked, taking the slip of paper from her hand.

"Zero.. Zero is.." She cried some more and clutched her coin tightly. "Big sis." She sniffled. He opened the folded sheet and read the neat hand writing.

"Nana,

Like you asked, the monsters are gone now. There is nothing to be afraid of anymore. Grow up prettily and remember how brave you are. Thank that big brother because he worked very hard to keep you safe.

I will always watch over you - Zero."