RUSH <PART TWO> {EXO MAFIA-AU}

Sweet Lies.

There was only quiet chatter in the warehouse; most of the noise you could hear was rustled clothing or padding feet. They were all getting changed into outfits suitable to their role for the upcoming jail-break. Chanyeol had already changed; wearing comfortable black jeans and a jumper illustrated with flowered embroidery. Part of him was edging to walk up to Kyungsoo and beg for him to join in with the more 'exciting' job within this plan, but he stayed put where he was, sat at the end of his mattress playing with his mask. Though he felt fine, he didn't look it. His tired face ached in the most subtle ways that made the pain like torture; never leaving him and only getting worse when he tried to stop it. He didn't even have to bring up his hand to touch his face to feel the bruises pulsate around his skin, they were just appearing and disappearing as a constant reminder of Kyungsoo hidden inside of him.
"Chan?" Said a voice; small and unconfident. It didn't seem like the type of voice the owner would possess, seeing as the body it came from was D.O himself. Chanyeol didn't turn. He didn't look over his shoulder to see what his boss wanted or even flinch when he heard him take a step closer. He felt like he was on protest; stopping his body from wanting him. Detox. But what made things worse for him, was that he didn't have the guts to hate him. He wanted to; wanted to hurt him so bad that he could never do it back. But as much as he wished he despised him, he couldn't. Even though fury ran through his veins and his palms would sweat when he approached, part of his heart wished that things went back to how they used to be. Where they would need each other, seek one another for comfort. Where their only virtue, their only home, would be wherever the other was. He wished things were still like that; preyed that Kyungsoo needed him like he did.
"Chanyeol, can we talk for a moment?" The voice returned. Chanyeol clenched his teeth, his gums going cold.
"The last time you wanted to talk," he said bitterly, "you almost killed me."
D.O felt his heart drop; a heavy weight on his chest that didn't occur when he was punching Chanyeol in the face just hours ago. He felt all Chanyeol's respect disappear right before him; in that non-existent turn. He felt it flood out of his body and return to the ground, rush out of him like it had been held captive. As if he had kept him hostage and now, he was weak enough for him to escape. He decided to say no more; leave Chanyeol alone seeing as he didn't want to be with him at all. Those steps of retreat felt hopeless.
"Stop it." Baekhyun murmured into Kyungsoo's ear when he had passed him on his way back to his own mattress. He felt his eyes close and his throat tighten, being oddly threatened by receiving orders.
"Baekhyun," D.O said from the back of his throat, not sure on why he had even said his name in the first place. He didn't want this conversation to continue; he didn't want to be broken down by Baekhyun as well.
"Just don't talk to him; it's a simple instruction. Accept he doesn't need you and move on." He said in a low voice, talking as if it were a simple task to execute, not a challenge. Kyungsoo could feel Baekhyun mocking him, that bitterness in his voice and his casual body movements. He felt like this was some sort of payback. Some sort of evil plan to bring him down, overthrow him, hit the nail right on the head.
Baekhyun pushed into D.O's shoulder harshly, putting all his anger into denting that shoulder, causing him pain. He heard Kyungsoo grunt from behind him, smirking as he continued to pace towards Chanyeol. He reached out his hand to place it on his arm, murmuring a quiet greeting so Chanyeol knew it was Baekhyun who was there to keep him company, not the previous rodent.
"Are you going to be okay? Just you and him alone in the car worries me." He said, sitting himself on the mattress opposite, the one that belonged to Sehun and Kai, tucking up his knees to his chin.
"It worries me too." Chanyeol replied, his hand seeming to reach up to his face like he had no choice about it. He felt the hard blood across his sensitive skin, like armour on a rose. It felt strange for him to feel the foreign roads on his face, tracing the paths like he was following a map. Following Kyungsoo's navigations like his punches purposefully placed themselves in his cheeks so they would add up like a dot-to-dot. Lead him somewhere else, somewhere he hadn't explored.
"We're now leaving." An announcement was made by D.O who was stood at the front door with Suho at his side, standing like royalty. Suho had gelled up his hair like he would every morning, combing his light ginger mane so it would whip over his head and settle at height, lose strands hanging in his eyes, at his ears, like they were threatening you. A short-necked top laid upon him as if it were a second skin, the only separation between him and the material was the difference in colour: hazelnut and coal. A layer above that was a dim, purple suit jacket which he had neatly buttoned up. For someone who was supposed to be loitering in the waiting room of a police station, he had certainly made the audacity to be bold. Kyungsoo however was still wearing the off grey joggers he was relaxing in that morning, only changing the matching jumper for a casual t-shirt. His hair too was gelled up to heighten him, though it wasn't long enough to swirl into a wave like Suho's, it shot away from his forehead like a hairdryer had blew into his face.
The boys gradually followed them out of the warehouse, flooding out one by one, slowly and casually until Chanyeol was left to lock the door. He turned the key confidently, checking the door with a strong pull at the handle before following Baekhyun to the car, admiring his lover's figure as he walked at a metre's distance. He loved the way his dark jeans hugged at his legs, smooth against him like they were made to show off the curves of his body. His light denim jacket rose and fell as he walked, swaying his arms so they would knock the coat and present a cream fur which looked comforting just at sight. Chanyeol felt jealousy simmer at his stomach, jealousy for the material to be touching him every second.
Every member took their place in the car, mixing up their usual seating arrangement though Kyungsoo still took the driver's seat.
"Are you alright to load guns, Baek and Sehun?" Kyungsoo asked. Baekhyun felt his throat tighten hearing D.O use his nickname like they were still friends.
"We'll figure it out." Sehun replied, fidgeting around to find the type of gun he wanted. He came to a stand-still after opening a suitcase containing nine, neatly arranged USAS-12's. Each gun measured just more than Sehun's arm, and he could already sense the weight before even taking one into his hands. They had a black base, a sharp silver middle, almost new from the way Sehun could depict his own face in the reflection. They seemed untouched.
"Are the Daewoo Precisions okay, boss? They look new." Sehun asked, not noticing that the vehicle had already began moving whilst he had lost himself in the weaponry.
"Yes, they're the ones. Load them and we'll hand them out when we arrive." D.O answered, his hands tight on the wheel, missing the instructing he was so used to before leaving.
"How are we supposed to get through with them?" Suho asked, startled that they were his choice of gun when they weighed over a kilogram and were bigger than a pocket.
"Don't worry, I've sorted it." He said confidently, smirking at the road in front of him. Suho could sense he was up to no good, feeling the energy Kyungsoo always gave off when he had a plan that he knew was fall-proof. He could see the flicker of excitement flourish from within his eyes, sparks of green like lightning in a sand storm. It thrilled him to know he was back in D.O's safe hands, rather than Chanyeol's unsteady grip.
Baekhyun took a small case from the wall of the van, opening to be presented with around twenty black 10-round box magazines, all with the letters E.X.O engraved into the side. He smiled, placing the box on the floor and taking one of the guns Sehun was admiring into his hands.
"You know how to load one of these?" He asked casually, opening the compartment at the bottom of the handle and sliding out the casing. He selected a magazine and pushed it into the gun, hitting it so it clicked in response. He looked up at Sehun observing him, seeing him nod nervously.
"Change all the magazines like I just did and make a pile of the empty ones." He explained, placing the gun beside Sehun. He took ahold of the empty magazine he had removed from the weapon and sat with it. Baekhyun reached for a slightly larger case, one that was a deep ocean blue rather than black leather, and brought it to himself. When opening it he was not surprised to be presented with hundreds, if not thousands, of shining golden bullets. He began pushing the metal into the casing he held in his hand, pressing each bullet inside the magazine like he had done this job a thousand times before.
Sehun had taken his first rifle from the suitcase, gradually inching his fingertips to open the gun and remove the magazine. He felt his palms sweat, unsure why he was getting so nervous about such a subtle job. He had watched Kai do this very task so many times, observing his rapid movements of loading gun after gun, almost like the choreography was built into his body. And yet he couldn't even open the latch. Sehun mentally hit himself, blinking harshly so his vision went blue before clicking open the handle and tipping the gun for the magazine to slide from its captivity. He held it, held it tightly before pushing it to Baekhyun. They shared a glance, one that came with no expression, as Baekhyun dropped the freshly filled magazine into the handle of the gun, pulling back the hammer so two clicks sounded. Sehun felt his throat tighten as a sudden wave of fear flood through him from Baekhyun, nerves simmering at the pit of his stomach as a warning. Why did he feel a threat from him when he knew no harm would be committed?
"Keep going, the station isn't far from here." He instructed - the same as his expression - with no emotion. It sent a chill down Sehun's spine as he followed the order and took ahold of another gun. He repeated the steps one-by-one, cautiously, slowly. Steadily removing the magazine and handing it to Baekhyun when he'd reach for it to be refilled. Two guns become four, and four became eight, as they were all filled with a new magazine and replaced back into the suitcase as neat as they were positioned before they had taken them out. Baekhyun took a smaller gun from the van wall, unhooking it from the metal supports and examining it finely. He watched it like it was speaking to him, whispering in the faintest voice so he could barely hear the words it was saying. His fingers traced the shined steel, following the craftsman's work like he knew the order of which he had put it together, as if he were there.
"That's Kai's" Sehun interrupted, a sudden tone of annoyance subtle in his voice. He felt the urge to snatch the weaponry off Baekhyun, push him away and put the gun back where it belonged. Though he didn't and the thought only remained within his mind, he glared at Baekhyun as if he was commanding him to replace the firearm back onto the metal hooks. They shared this threatening stare until Baekhyun returned to touching and feeling the metal, as if Sehun didn't hint that he wanted it out of his possession.
"Put it back." He spoke louder, clearer, well pronounced. Sehun could feel his top lip quiver with anger, like it wanted to spit. He was positioned in-between the two chairs that himself and Chanyeol used to sit at before Kyungsoo left, knelt exactly where and how Kai would when he wanted to join in conversation out of fear of being left out. The light, casual jacket that he was wearing reflected the low-lit lighting around the van's boot, shining the off cream just the same as the bulbs did in his liquid eyes.
"Do you know what prison is like, Sehun?" Baekhyun queried, a tone in his voice that made Sehun's stomach turn inside of him. It was the way he had said his name: slimey and slow, like a snake hidden in the tall grass, at the ready.
"Cause that's where we'll be in the next few hours." He slurred, like he was drunk out of his mind. Sehun couldn't remember seeing him take any alcohol from the kitchen before they left, though it seemed that he had indulged in some fine wine just as the party was exiting the warehouse.
"Don't be stupid." Sehun said quietly, almost forgetting what Baekhyun had said previously due to his tangent of thinking. He could feel the back of his knees begin to sting from crouching for so long, fidgeting to kneel on his shins. He stretched his spine, sitting tall to appear bold. Baekhyun was staring at him, dead, a guttered smirk quivering at his lips. He looked intelligently evil, Sehun thought.
"I'm not being stupid, I'm being reasonable." He spoke, thick like syrup. So heavy that Sehun could feel the sticky mess heave over his body like the muscle of an albino python. "Think about it; Kyungsoo left, he didn't care about you or Kai. So why is he helping him out of jail?" Baekhyun pushed the gun back into its metal carriers, turning his body to his younger. Sehun saw in his eyes that there was nothing, not a single glimmer of an emotion hidden behind his pupil. There was just a deep and endless abyss of black. Sombre.
"Truth is Sehun, this whole masterful plan he has, is just a way to get us all locked up so he can enjoy the rest of his life without us bothering him. Why else would he stay in the car while we all go along with his plan?"
Nobody had turned to listen in in their conversation, argument per se, although it felt like yelling in Sehun's ears. He wasn't surprised, it felt as if it were only the two of them anyway: an angered battle of two. The contrast from this moment and just one night ago pained him, stung him. Though Sehun knew this scenario would occur, he had hoped it didn't; back to nothing.
"Boss wouldn't." Sehun spoke sternly, staring Baekhyun down.
"You'll be wishing you'd believed me when you end up in a prison cell with nobody to get you out." He said casually, moving to analyze the guns that the two of them had loaded, pulling the latches down so the case was held shut with the metal that Baekhyun had moved. There was a deep silence, and all they could hear was the moving road underneath them, the gravel scraping at the tires and the wind hitting at the car. Sehun could feel his anger bubble up inside him, feeling like he was ready to explode into thin air. He thought for a moment how wonderful it would feel to be air, to be something and nothing at the same time, to be giving so much importance yet be so easily forgotten. He wouldn't be played with like Baekhyun had done with him, let him in then kick him out. He focused on that thought, focused on the feeling, deeply, when he spoke.
"Look, we're getting Kai out no matter what. I don't care if you hate him, I don't care if you don't want to save Kai. But I love him and I'm not leaving here without him." He said truthfully, speaking from not only his head, but from his soul. Baekhyun was staring blankly at him, the same nothingness trapped in his eyes. He began to wonder if he looked at Chanyeol like that, with a dead glance that just seemed to make the blood in any body run cold. He couldn't fathom why Chanyeol would fall for a man like him, a corrupted being, a fallen soul.
"Sehun, you're picking the wrong side here." He stood in an awkward crouch; his back bent to avoid hitting his head against the metal ceiling. Walking towards him with his feet stumbling in perpetual stutters. It was like he had aged thirty years, his body contortioned and twisted, his feet spending minutes to complete each delicate step. His eyes.
"There are no side, we're all the bad guys." Sehun said, his voice low and frightened as the crippled figure approached him.
"Trust me sehun, you trust me, right?" Baekhyun asked, his hands reaching to Sehun's face to hold at his cheeks. He could feel a metallic twang on his tongue, as if he had begun to bleed as soon as Baekhyun's pale hands had reached the sides of his face. His heart sunk, falling deeper, deeper into his stomach the longer he stared into those pitch eyes. He didn't understand why Baekhyun had his way with him, that every time he thinks he's got over him, he comes striding back to take ahold: he felt like an addict. He felt weak, his knees close to giving in, letting go, falling. He gave a final hopeless begging to Baekhyun's eyes before he let go.
"I don't." He spat, pushing Baekhyun's hands off his cheeks for them to fall to his thighs. Sehun felt powerful, like a warrior. As if all the hopes and wonders of the universe seeped into his skin and soaked into his heart. He turned, back to Baekhyun. Smiling, he began to shuffle away from his monster.
"This is your loss." He heard from behind him, yet he did not turn. He simply took his seat, the one he would choose to never replace, and focused on the roads and trees that blurred by. He could feel Baekhyun sighing, the same hopeless suffering he felt when he lost Kai. He knew that Baekhyun was trying to get back to sorting the guns, attempting to put his loss in the past, but could sense this tension around him. Like his heat and disappointment was radiating off him. Sehun thought for a second, a slow second, that he had made the wrong decision. He wondered why Baekhyun would believe so deeply that their escape plan would go to dust, that they would all end up dead or locked away. He questioned his reasoning, his gut, his nudge. He questioned Kyungsoo more than he had ever questioned him before. A harsh blink gave him the image of Baekhyun wrapped by Chanyeol, ruled by him like he was a snake charmer. Chanyeol's long body slugged thick over Baekhyun, his skin green and sick, his eyes white. In his thoughts Baekhyun was dead, pale and corse with his head breaking back and his limbs hung numb. Together, they were a decaying cocoon, dying too soon to be birthed as a butterfly. Horrid grey sludge sticking them together. It made him sick. When he opened his eyes, he saw Chanyeol in front of him, his hair coated in the same grey mush and the tips of his ears a sickly green. Sehun watched his face turn, more and more pickle skin being shown. His lips hung open in a dead and horrid way, displaying his rotten and yellow teeth as if they belonged to a zombie. His eyes were blurred, his iris's a muggy white thanks to the layer of fog that covered each hazelnut. Small yellow orbs popped out from his skin; spots full of puss almost falling from his head. Sehun could feel himself gag, his heart racing from fear. His hands tightened and grabbed for the chair as Chanyeol's long and boney fingers reached from below him. His corpse hand came closer and closer to Sehun's ankle as he tried to fidget out the way, breathing rapidly as he couldn't get his body to move from when it sat. He could hear a deep movement of laughter from the centre of his brain, going dizzy as it got louder and louder. And louder. And louder. Until echo.