Conceal

2. Lair

In the most secluded parts of the city, in the darkest, deepest alleys, was a secret door that no one knew existed. No one, save for the 17 members who made up what was possibly the most notorious organization in the whole of Korea.

The gang named The Flaming Tongues.

The door was almost identical to the wall it was on and would be impossible to find if it wasn't for the guard who stood right beside it. Behind the door was The Flaming Tongues' lair, where all the meetings take place. These meetings always take place during a few hours after midnight, and even then this hideout wasn't used very often. This was most likely the reason why no one had ever uncovered the secret location yet, up till this very day.

At exactly 2:58 am, a young man wearing all black walked up to the guard. He faced the door and muttered "Enigma" to the tall man next to him, quickly followed by a long, unintelligible word. Only then did the guard open the door for the man, using the hand he had held up just seconds ago to block the doorway.

The door opened to a hallway that was just barely lighter than the narrow alley. Occasional candles flickered to indicate a turn, but other than that most of the path was pitch black, the floor covered with melted wax, the remnants of what were the light sources that once illuminated the area.

Despite the poorly lit walkway, the man, with the code name Enigma, strode confidently forwards, making turns at exactly the right moment. He blended into the darkness as if he was part of it, and was so familiar with the place he knew the tunnel structure like the back of his hand.

A few more turns later, Enigma arrived at another door, equally discreet as the main entrance, and yet again guarded by another member of the gang. The same two words were recited, and, at exactly 3 o'clock in the morning, he stepped into a still dimly lit, but extravagant, meeting room.

The whole room was cast in orange-red, the colour of flames. On the ground was a layer of thick carpet, deep red in colour, with an orange frame surrounding a logo. As a representation of their name, a tongue, on fire, was closed in by a flaming ring, which is then encircled with their name, evenly spaced, letter by letter. The walls were adorned with pointless grand curtains rimed with gold linings, all in variations of red or orange.

At the centre of the room, 16 chairs surrounded the logo to make another perfect circle. All of the chairs were covered with a piece of red cloth with unique intricate patterns on each one of them. Two of the chairs had been occupied by the two other most prominent members of The Flaming Tongues: Teal and Hex.

Enigma, who was the third most powerful member, walked toward his seat without greeting anyone and sat down. Together, the three of them made up three vertexes that would form an equilateral triangle if joined up.

Just before it turned 3:01 am, the speakers came to life and a husky, raucous voice, which belonged to another man, filled the room. No one knew if this was the speakers' doing or if it was his actual voice...because no one had ever met the owner of this voice before. Because the person speaking was Flame, the leader of The Flaming Tongues.

"First of all, thank you for coming at such short notice." Flame said with a flat tone such that it was impossible to tell whether he meant what he said.

No one said a thing, waiting reverently for the announcement to continue.

"I'm sure we all know that the less time we spend here, the better." There was a pause, as if to give the men time to show any form of acknowledgment. But none ever came. "Unfortunately, one of our most valued members was taken away by the police yesterday. However, we will get him back. At the moment our plans will carry out as usual-"

"Wait." One of the three men spoke up, but with their minimal, almost inexistent movements, and their nearly identical black, hooded figures, it was virtually impossible to tell whom the voice belonged to.

"Enigma? Do you have something to say?" Flame asked with a subtle hint of irritation in his voice.

"With all due respect," Enigma started, staying completely still as though the slightest movement would irritate the leader further. "I don't think we should continue doing this. We would be putting all of our members at risk of being arrested, especially since Lazarus is under police custody. The police will fi-"

"Are you implying that Lazarus will tell the police about us? About The Flaming Tongues?" Flame questioned. Enigma widened his eyes in horror at his leader's accusing tone, but no one noticed since they were too busy shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

"You misunderstood," Enigma said, tone rigid and volume low.

As if he never said it, Flame moved on, barely waiting for Enigma to finish his sentence. "Teal, what do you think?"

The attention was redirected so abruptly, Teal flinched slightly on his seat. However, as though he had prepared for this question for his whole life, Teal answered fluidly, "I think that proceeding with our original plan would bring us the greatest benefit."

Enigma made a snorting sound and glared at Teal, who coolly responded by pretending not to notice him. Hex remained silent the whole time, probably having realized it was best to let the situation solve itself.

Flame's voice filled the room once again, this time with a deep, resonating chuckle. The sound sent unwelcoming chills down Enigma's spine, and he had to resist the urge to shuffle.

"Of course Teal, of course. We will definitely continue with our plans. I can always trust you, can't I? After all, you're the oldest, most important member of our gang, aren't you?" Flame laughed again. "Now, since it seems like that someone has forgotten about why we are doing this in the first place, can you remind us of the whole purpose of this...activity?"

Teal cleared his throat and answered, as if reciting a passage from a book, "One week ago, a detective found part of our drug supply. Just to be on the safe side, we have to get rid of the drugs. And the easiest, cheapest way, is to make people think someone else owns those drugs."

"Good job." Flame said, again so devoid of emotions that no one would know what he really felt.

The meeting had gone for merely 15 minutes, but Enigma could sense that it was already coming to an end. He wanted nothing more than to leave the suffocating room because even though there were curtains, not one window hid behind them. Even if there were, it'd be sealed shut. But he couldn't leave. Not yet. If he couldn't persuade his leader to abandon this mission, so be it. He wanted to at least know what was going to happen to probably his favourite member of the group.

"I have another question to ask." Enigma didn't allow himself to feel afraid.

There was a pause before Flame answered. "Go on." It sounded, to Enigma, that he had to force it out of his mouth.

"How are we going to help Lazarus?"

As soon as he finished the sentence, laughter filled the room again. This time, it sounded way more piercing to Enigma than ever before. He gritted his teeth but didn't say anything. Not that he didn't want to, but because he couldn't. Not if he wanted even a slight chance of getting what he wanted.

"Listen, Enigma. Stop thinking I'm an idiot because I know everything that happens in my gang." Enigma stopped breathing. He could've probably seen this coming, but it still caught him off guard, and he hated that Flame could see him like this, all weak and useless.

"Lazarus made a mistake. He shouldn't have put so many drugs into one apartment, and he shouldn't have loitered around the crime scene. I understand though. It's stressful. So if you want to help get him out..."

Suddenly Enigma realized where this was going. Again, he should've expected it from the beginning. But it wasn't that easy to accept it. And he didn't like it at all.

"...you should help him out, right? Teal will get you the drugs before you leave."