FALLING FOR YOU!!

The Price Of Freedom!!

*Taehyung stepped out of the sub-level elevator and into the operational room,his footsteps measured and light..The quiet strength surrounding him was almost unsettling against the background noise of ringing secure lines and tapping keyboards..
Jimin immediately pushed away from a terminal and hurried over, his face still marked with dark circles and worry..*

Jimin(softly): Tae!! Are you okay?? Come on, I will drive you back to the house right now..You need to lie down, rest, and let us__

Tae(interrupted softly,his voice perfectly level): No, Jimin-ah..

Tae(looked directly into jimin's eyes, his expression completely smooth): You need to stay here.. All of you need to stay right here and focus on clearing Jungkook's name..He needs every single one of your minds working on this right now..Don't waste time driving me back and forth..

Namjoon(firmly, stepping away from the main strategy board): Taehyung, we are not letting you go home alone in a cab..Luhan's operatives are still out there, and the media is surrounding the main gates..It's not safe..

Tae(gaze shifting to Namjoon with an unyielding calmness that took everyone aback): I am not taking a standard cab, Namjoon-hyung..I'll use the NSI's private civilian transport service from the subterranean bay..The driver is a vetted agent.. I just want to go home, wash my face, and wait for the good news.. Please.. let me do this.. You need to be here for Jungkook..

*His tone carried a quiet, undeniable authority that left no room for argument..After a heavy beat of silence, Namjoon reluctantly nodded to the guard at the door to clear a private transport vehicle for tae..*

Tae(offered them a small, elegant bow): Work hard. Bring him home..

*Tae whispered, turning on his heel and walking out into the corridor..
Yoongi didn't move..He stood near the tactical monitors, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his sharp eyes glued to tae's back until the heavy doors swept closed behind him..*

Yoongi(muttered, his voice dropping an octave as he turned to the team): Something is deeply wrong..I'm telling you, that is not the Taehyung we saw last night.. Where are the panic attacks??Where are the tears??
He was literally choking on his own breath twelve hours ago, and now he's strolling out of a maximum- security block looking like a ghost who just signed a treaty?? It makes zero sense..

Hobi(tried to reason, though his own brow was tightly furrowed): he's probably just exhausted..His body probably burned out all its adrenaline..he saw Jungkook, he knows kook is breathing__

Yoongi: No, Hobi, listen to me__

*Before Yoongi could finish his thought, the glass doors of the control center slammed open..Soobin burst into the room, his tactical comms headset hanging around his neck, his face pale and dripping with sweat..*

Soobin(shouted, breathless as he slammed a tablet down onto the central glass table): Hyung!!You need to see this right now!!

*Namjoon,Yoongi,Jimin and Hobi instantly crowded around the screen..*

Namjoon(demanded, his voice dropping back into full command mode): What did you find??

Soobin(explained rapidly, his fingers tapping the screen to bring up a satellite mapping interface): We finally bypassed the encrypted relay node that was bouncing Luhan's ghost signal!! Fifteen minutes ago, a satellite ping caught a clean, unmasked signal from Luhan's primary encrypted phone..He was traced directly to a private harbor sector in Incheon!!

Yoongi(leaned in, his eyes narrowing): Incheon??Did you lock his exact coordinates??

Soobin(shaking his head frustratingly): Only for a fifteen-minute window before the signal went completely untraceable again..He burned the SIM and swapped devices..But one thing is absolutely certain now, Hyung..he isn't overseas, anymore..and he isn't hiding in the shadows through proxies anymore.. He is right here in the country..