Blaze

Rifts

Donghae glanced over at Suho somewhat lost and confused. Impatient with him, she grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"Why did you bring Suho with you!?" she raised her voice. "Why did you let him hold a gun!?"

"Namjoo, enough," Suho took a step forward.

Namjoo turned around to yell, "If I don't speak for you, who will! I at least have to remind Donghae, who's brain is dead at the mention of Eunhyuk, that he's not the only one hurt." Then she turned back to Donghae, "Didn't I say before to leave Suho out of the battlefield? What is wrong with you!?"

Then he understood. Namjoo was more upset with the fact that Suho had come than the fact that he was there. Donghae suddenly realized what he'd done.

"I'm taking her back first. You clean up here," Suho said before he pulled Namjoo by the shoulder.

"No, you let go of me. I'm not done here." Namjoo pushed out of his hand.

"Namjoo!" Suho had to struggle to drag her away and when they were far off Donghae was confronted by the confusion that had erupted on everyone's faces. Even Victoria was eying him suspiciously.

Donghae pursed his lips and slightly knitted his eyebrows only turning when a soldier jogged his way. The soldier saluted before reporting, "Sir, we've got them rounded up."

"Bring them to the detention center." Donghae ordered.

"Yes, sir!" the soldier saluted again before jogging away and called out to the others.

"Did Suho touch that gun?" Donghae turned to the others.

"Yes." Chorong was the one who answered.

Donghae let out a sigh as if he was disappointed and frustrated. "Suho has a fear of guns. He hasn't touched them for over five years." Donghae blinked and focused on a green leaf by his foot. "Suho worked for the military operations before he started working under me. He had a good friend on the squad. During a bomb threat, there was a big shoot off, and the buildings had been set on fire. It became really chaotic. In the confusion, Suho accidentally shot her killing her on the spot. It traumatized him for a long time and he had to go through three years of therapy after joining the military intelligence unit.

"I'm also going to have to ask you to be patient with Namjoo. She gets defensive when it gets to the people close to her. She's dealt with a lot of Suho's problems for him and it's also separated her from her family. If you've noticed, she doesn't want to cooperate with anyone from the police department. Namjoo's father was an officer before he died. After a homicide case had been cleared, he discovered he'd put the wrong guy behind bars and while trying to look for the right one; he was fired for doing what he'd been told not to. Her parents had raised her to get married early, but she wanted to overpower them by attending a Police Academy and climbing to a position higher than her father's. They didn't support her decision. Before graduation, her father died and the relationship with her mother instantly soured. Looking at it from her point of view, she sees the police as incompetent and weak.

"I don't expect you all to get along right away, but since we need to work together, I don't want us stepping on each other's mines." Donghae turned to look at Victoria as if warning her not to refute him.

~_____~

When Kris arrived toward the road where he'd left his car he didn't see Namjoo anywhere. He only turned when Suho drove up in a handsome black car and spotted her sitting in the front seat. Kris suddenly wondered if Suho had been the fault that caused her to drift away from her family or if it was because her mother blamed her for her father's death.