OPERATION: YOUNGBLOOD | Peterick

Chapter 12

Jet lag hit Patrick hard and it was almost impossible for him to get up the next morning. He tapped snooze on his alarm at least three times, but knew he would screw himself over even more than he already had if he made it four.

The other side of the bed was empty again, thankfully, although there were faint sounds coming from the bathroom. Patrick groaned when he remembered he wasn't alone.

Pete stepped out from behind the closed door just as Patrick was getting out of bed. The two looked at each other but neither said a word. Patrick was thankful because he still didn't want to speak to him.

He didn't bother getting dressed yet, just pulled out the location information. It was a bit away, and Patrick knew he would have to scrap together some more Yen for another ride. And one for the way back too.

Patrick didn't realize what time it was until he truly looked at his phone.

One in the afternoon.

"What the fuck? " He muttered. "How did it get this late?"

He looked up at Pete who was digging through his suitcase and felt a fire burning in his throat.

"Did you turn off my alarm this morning?" Patrick asked carefully, keeping his voice even. They haven't spoken in over twenty-four hours. 

Pete turned around to look at his ex-partner. "Uhh, yeah. Why?"

"Why would you do that?" Patrick was getting stupidly angry again. He knew it. He didn't know how to stop it.

"We had time to kill today. I didn't want you to be tired." Pete turned around again as if he thought it was the end of the conversation. Patrick laughed bitterly in his head.

"Well thanks to you, my sleeping schedule is going to be fucked up." Patrick stood up, stormed off into the bathroom, and slammed the door dramatically behind him. He could almost hear Pete roll his eyes.

Patrick leaned over the counter and looked at himself in the mirror. He dropped his head at the sight of his burning red face and cursed himself for for being so pissy.

He turned on the faucet and splashed his face with the cold water that poured out. It cooled him off just a little bit, but the concerns of why he was so easy to set off still flooded his mind. It was like he was fucking pregnant or something.

Patrick took advantage of the time locking himself in the bathroom by hopping in the shower. It took him a good bit of the time just to figure out how to use the Japanese controls, but soon he was stepping out and cursing himself once again for not bringing clean clothes in with him.

Patrick knew he couldn't stay wrapped in a towel forever, so he rested his hand on the doorknob for a few minutes, then finally opened the door and making a beeline for his suitcase. He could immediately feel a pair of eyes bearing down on him as he grabbed aimlessly for clothes and shut himself back in the bathroom.

He was fighting like a little kid and he couldn't stand it.

But that didn't mean he was going to give in.

•••

"Are you ready?" Pete asked somewhere around eight o'clock. Patrick had spent the afternoon as far away as him from possible and only spoke to him when he muttered a 'thank you' for Pete bringing him lunch.

"Yeah," Patrick muttered again. His attitude was just enough to put Pete over the edge.

"You know what?" He slammed the vests that were in his hands down on the bed. Patrick jumped "I apologized for what happened. I told you how sorry I was. I can't even begin to describe how awful I feel for you being suspended. I dropped everything when Joe asked me to come out here with you because I couldn't just let you do all of this by yourself. I know you think you're angry at me, but honestly I think you're just angry at yourself."

Patrick was frozen. Pete was staring at him with an with a look that could be best described as disappointment. He looked away after a few moments, picked the vests back up, and walked out the door.

Patrick took that as his cue to follow.

They obviously didn't speak on the taxi ride. Patrick took interest in staring out the window and admiring the new country. It was significantly dark out, but the giant billboards and advertisements kept the city bright and alive.

The driver dropped them off fairly close to the location, considering the rural area it was in. Pete and Patrick had to walk the rest of the way, thankful for the forest line to keep them hidden.

It wasn't very long before Patrick spotted an old, rustic, deteriorating, building. It looked just like the one in the pictures.

"There," he whispered, pointing out the crumbling stone to Pete. Patrick was suddenly put in business mode, focusing on the mission and not even remembering that they were mad at each other.

"That's it?" Pete asked.

"Yes. That's it."

They moved carefully towards the building, staying behind different structures to keep themselves hidden. They didn't have any weapons on them since it was only a search mission, so both were extra cautious not to be seen.

"The building looks way too destroyed for something to be inhabiting it on the interior. There must be a basement of some kind," Patrick whispered to Pete as they moved along the dirt and cracked pavement.

They reached the side of the building and pushed themselves up against it. Patrick slid with his back to the wall around the perimeter, Pete following close behind. He stumbled across a small hole about halfway around, and his gut told him that was it.

"Is that the entrance?" Pete whispered as quietly as possible.

"I think so."

Patrick peered down the dirt opening and spotted a small staircase. He looked around them just to be safe before silently dropping down onto the first step. He motioned for Pete to follow.

They stepped quietly down the stairs and walked through the dirt tunnel until there were faint sounds of voices. Both stopped immediately and tried to listen in. Everything, of course, was in Japanese.

"This has got to be it," Patrick whispered. Pete looked down at him but didn't say anything. "We need to find out what they're doing in there."

"Patrick, we don't have any protection. They could probably take us out in a snap."

"But what if we're not prepared enough tomorrow?"

The concerned expression on Patrick's face must have pushed Pete over the edge. He finally agreed and tugged on Patrick's bulletproof vest to make sure it was complete in place. They couldn't risk anything.

Patrick went first, stepping quietly through the dirt to make sure it would not crackle under his feet. They followed the path of footprints until the sound of speaking was loud enough to be heard just around the corner. Patrick peeked his head around carefully.

There were so many of them. So. Many. They were all lined up in front of tall tables, constructing different objects and putting the finished ones on the end. It almost looked like a warehouse, the way everyone was working in order and the supervisor was walking up and down the lines, shouting orders. It was nothing Patrick had expected.

"We have to go," Patrick whispered when he tuned back around. "It's too dangerous to be here."

They filed back out through the tunnel quickly and jumped up and out of the hole at the top of the stairs. The search mission was a success, but neither of them had any idea of what was to come.