UNDERWORLD QUEENS TWO(2)

Chap 53

Abroad the Jet... 37,000 Feet Above Ground

The cabin hummed with a low, calculated silence. It wasn't exhaustion-it was the quiet before a kill. That razor-sharp stillness when trained minds synchronize, each thought a weapon, each breath deliberate.

No one fidgeted. No one spoke idly.

Yoongi sat reclined, one leg crossed over the other, head tilted slightly back. In front of him, his pistol lay dismantled across the polished table. With silent precision, he pieced it back together-click, slide, lock-like muscle memory forged in war. His eyes remained half-lidded, but sharp. Calculating. Ready.

Jieun stood at the front of the cabin, draped in black like a general before the bloodshed. "We don't just kill her," she said, voice as cold as frost. "We erase everything she's built. We take her down brick by brick until even her name's a ghost."

"She sent death threats to our kids," Jennie added from the couch, legs crossed, heels clicking on the glass tabletop. "So now we play. But we don't play fair."

Across from her, Taehyung lit a cigarette with quiet intent. He exhaled slowly, handed it to Jennie. She took it and stubbed it in the ash tray, she glanced at him, no words exchanged. Their silence said enough.

Namjoon leaned forward, elbows on knees, knuckles pressed against his lips. "We cracked Alex. He held out on us, but our people found it-Irina moved the vault. She's got seismic frequency sensors embedded in her third Prague penthouse. Buried so deep it takes a damn molecular reader to detect."

Jungkook whistled under his breath.

Jisoo and Chaeyoung's absence hung unspoken in the air-pregnant and now back home under tight protection. It was a hard call, but the right one.

"They're safe," Jimin had said before takeoff. "That's all that matters."

Back in the jet, Hoseok broke the tension with a grunt. "Irina thinks she's clever. But she's not us clever."

Lisa froze a frame on her monitor. "Wait," she murmured. "Pause. Right there-look. That guy with her? Not just a bodyguard. If you look closely you'll see that Irina's hand brushed his, the footage has most likely been cut but it's obvious that there was exchange right here."

"A handler," Jungkook muttered. "Someone she trusts."

Jieun nodded slowly. "Then we make him scream first."

Another beat of silence passed. Then turbulence-sharp and sudden,x

Not a single flinch.

"She thinks we're soft because we have a family," Jieun said, gaze cold. "She has no idea what we become when someone threatens them."

"She'll learn," Yoongi murmured.

Jieun walked forward, eyes burning. "We go over the plan again. From the top."

The lights dimmed further. A low hum buzzed as the holographic map unfolded across the room-blueprints, coded routes, escape lines. Every target traced in red.

Three days. One gala. One woman.

And only one ending.

This wasn't revenge.

This was war.

Prague - Midnight Arrival
Private Jet Hangar, Restricted Access Zone

The plane touched down like a whisper on the tarmac. By the time customs blinked, they were already ghosts moving through it-disguises flawless, identities locked and rehearsed to the second.

Jieun was now Min-seo Han, a South Korean cultural attaché attending a "global diplomacy gala."

Yoongi, her husband Seung-woo Han, a reclusive tech mogul investing in cross-continental art restoration.

The rest followed suit-stylists, advisors, interpreters, bodyguards.

Real weapons under fake names.

Four blacked-out vans waited by the hangar, idling under floodlights. The team slipped inside, doors shutting like a vault. Through the streets of Prague, they moved like wolves under silk, silent and alert. Taehyung scanned rooftops.

The Lioncourt Hotel
5-Star Fortress Disguised as Luxury

The hotel looked like it had been carved out of a royal jewel box-gilded fixtures, velvet staircases, and hallways that whispered secrets. Twelve suites total. All booked under aliases. The entire top floor? Theirs.

Jennie entered first, checking her mirrored reflection in every polished surface-always watching for shadows.

Lisa followed, heels silent, eyes already scanning for blind spots. "Elevator's private. Six exits. We'll rotate guards in four-hour shifts."

Jimin dropped his bag inside one suite, already attaching his magnetic camera to the chandelier. "Biometric security's on. No unexpected guests."

In the center suite, a circular operations table flickered to life-satellite views, blueprint overlays, updated feeds. Namjoon stood at the head. "Gala's in three days. Irina's hosting it under a false identity, a famous designer and she's looking to collaborate with rising designers. They even have fake interviews, news outlets and pictures just to back up her identity, Security is thicker than her lies. According to Alex, she's been planning this gala for weeks, Ruolan, a rising designer offended them a while back and no one would want to miss this kind of opportunity so this is where they plan to capture her."

"But we've already ghosted the floor plans," Jungkook said. "We're getting in."

"And out," Taehyung added, his voice low, "after making her bleed."

Yoongi stood near the window, gazing out at Prague's quiet skyline. "Jisoo and Chaeyoung made the right call staying back," he said quietly. "If she knew they were here..."

"She'd target them first," Jieun finished. "But she won't get the chance."

Lisa tapped the monitor. "Look here. Two nights ago, Irina visited the gala hall. She left something behind."

"What?" Yoongi asked.

"A trigger," Lisa replied. "Not a bomb. A signal. She's waiting for someone to step into her trap."

Jennie leaned against the door. "Then let's spring it. On our terms."

Somewhere in Prague...
A Hidden Room. Surveillance in Red Light.

Irina watched the screen like a snake studying prey. Footage of the gang entering the Lioncourt played on a loop-each face captured in shadows.

"They came," she whispered. Her fingers grazed a glass of black wine.

She smiled.

"They always do."

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Dun-Dun-Dun!!!!
Who left you guys hanging for so long, cos it isn't me...
Anyways, we have a surprise in the next chapter...