Rush

file three: kth + pjy

He fell from the top, dropping to the floor in a crouch.

Taehyung let his eyes get adjusted to the dim lighting first, the interior of the room completely hidden away from even the soft light from the moon. When he had made sure that the place was unoccupied, he slowly rose to his feet, pulling the gun out of its holster at his thigh.

Thump.

He whipped around at that sound, gun already loaded and his ready in his hands by the time he turned fully. It ended up with him coming face-to-face with another gun, the gaping hole of its mouth pointing straight towards his face.

"Oh. It's you," he grunted, straightening his slightly bent knees and lowering his gun. "She didn't tell me you would be here too."

"Well, if it isn't obvious already, I didn't know about you either," Jinyoung said, dropping his arms to his side as he rose to his full height. "Jennie sent you?"

"Not exactly," Taehyung answered, glancing around the empty room. The shape of the furniture was hard to make out in the darkness, especially as they couldn't use flashlights in case they alerted the neighboring apartments. The room was bare apart from a bed, a table and chair, and a long closet lining the wall next to the window.

"I don't really think we'll find anything," Jinyoung spoke up, walking before him and pulling open the drawers underneath the table. "If she's left, there's no point thinking that she's going to leave something behind for us to trail."

"It's not about a trail." Taehyung's dark eyes followed his movements as Jinyoung rummaged about the contents of the drawers, which seemed to be full of newspaper clippings and random stationery items. "They think she might have been killed."

Jinyoung froze, then turned around slowly, a frown resting in his face. "Killed? By whom? The Lees?"

Taehyung only shrugged, turning away from him to inspect the closet. "It could be anyone, but we do have special cause to suspect them." He shook the closet, but the door didn't budge. "The damn door's locked."

"Well, shoot it open, then. That's what you have a gun for."

"And alert everyone in the area?" The man rolled his eyes. "Sure. Let's wake up everyone in the perimeter and get a blue on our tail."

"Shut up," Jinyoung muttered, a scowl marring his features which had been unbothered just moments ago. "It's not like they'll actually manage to make a scratch on us."

"It's still going to make what was supposed to be a simple job messy and unnecessarily long," Taehyung retorted, kicking the door to the closet anyway. "If the closet's locked, then there's something worth locking away in there. And if she's left something important behind, then she's probably dead."

Even before he had finished speaking, the door to the room swung open. A young woman stepped into the room, looking up only to find two guns trained in her direction. Unaffected, she merely blinked, the expression on her face almost robotically neutral.

"Looking for something, boys?" She asked, tone conversational.

Jinyoung tossed his partner a smug smirk as the two put away their guns, to which Taehyung replied with a glare. "I said probably," he said defensively, before turning back to face the girl.

"We need your help," Jinyoung spoke up before he could, keeping his level gaze trained on her, unaffected by her sudden entry. "For tailing and protecting a subject."

The girl didn't react to that statement except for her eyebrows jumping ever so slightly. "And what makes you think I'll be able to help? Or even willing?"

"You still owe Jungkook." Taehyung shrugged. His mannerism was so calm that only the trained eye would have noticed his hand brushing the top of his gun, enveloped by shadows. "And you don't really have a choice."

The girl's eyes narrowed a fraction, but she raised her chin, pulling back her short blonde hair which had been brushing the top of her shoulders. "Why can't one of you do the job? Jungkook has more than enough killers at his disposal."

Jinyoung and Taehyung looked at each other, and a silent agreement passed between them. "We're going for another job across the country," Jinyoung answered, keeping his tone careful as he scanned her face for any changes. This time, he couldn't afford to let anything slip. "Anyway, what he needs is more than just a killer. We have...a history with the subject, and the people who go after her need to be completely new faces."

She studied him for a long moment, not making any move from her position. The boys stood waiting for her to respond, keeping their weapons within reach just in case they needed to attack.

A single drop of sweat slid down the side of Taehyung's face.

"On whose authority?" She asked, at length.

Jinyoung visibly relaxed. "Jennie. We're not in a position to reveal anything about the situation, but we can contact her directly if you want to make sure."

His words held a challenge, but the girl only nodded. "No need," she said, flicking her wrist dismissively. "Who exactly is this subject that you speak about?" She asked in a business-like manner, smoothing down the front of her skirt.

The corner of Taehyung's full lips lifted into a smirk, and he straightened, the Express on his face reflecting his satisfaction over her agreement. "You must know about the Hwang girl the winged clan is after."

Her impassive expression flickered for a split second, like a disruption in a signal. It disappeared as quick as it came. "That means I have to kill whoever the Lees send after her."

He nodded. "This is why we had to get to you first. Don't worry, you'll be paid twice the norm per kill."

"It's not the money I'm worried about," she spoke calmly. "It's the people I will have to kill."