Rise Up (Stray Kids Seo Changbin)

13

"Look who forgot we were friends once upon a time," Minho mumbled coldly when Paige trudged down the stairs to the cell she had asked for him to be locked in.

"As far as I know, you could be working for Cassidy. You can't trust anyone these days."

"And yet you trust an assassin?"

She glared at him before unlocking the door and helping him get out.

"The Society is at its worst. I'm going to get all the help I can get and if that means trusting an assassin, I will trust an assassin."

"Ever considered an assassin isn't worth trusting?"

"Ever considered I never asked for your opinion."

He scoffed slightly, raising his hands in mock surrender and pushing passed her.

"I'm just trying to help around here."

"No one asked for your help!" She yelled before exhaling loudly. "I'm sorry. I'm just... Stressed out."

He raised an eyebrow, scanning her face.

"Yeah, I can tell. You're acting like Linc... Except worse. When was the last time you had a break?"

"Last time I saw you guys but I'm fine, promise."

"Doubt that." He opened his mouth to add on to his statement but immediately closed it again with a shake of his head. Instead he said, "let's get something to eat. I'm famished."

***

As soon as the pizza arrived at the table, Minho dived in, not even waiting for Paige to invite him to eat it. She watched silently as he did so, wondering if she should continue their conversation or let him eat in peace.

"Continue," he motioned to her after noticing her gaze.

"I, uhm, I have been looking at the coordinates you sent me and noticed something strange."

"Yeah? The underground base, right? We saw it too afterwards. But when we checked it out, it was just some old storage area."

"We?"

"Hyunjin and I," he said with his mouth still full. "We were the only ones not captured. He's back in Korea getting allies to help us out."

"Other mafias?"

He nodded.

"Allies and others that owe us."

Paige couldn't help but sigh.

"You think they are good enough to take on Cassidy?"

"Of course not! I just think we could use as much help as we can get."

"I guess. No one really knows what Cassidy has to offer. I got Lily and the Rebellion on our side in this. Afterwards they'll probably end up going back to their own ways but who cares. If Cassidy's out of the way, the Society will surely rise up again."

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You sure about that?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The Rebellion promised to help you defeat Cassidy, right? But afterwards it will be just the Society and Rebellion together. That could be their chance to get rid of the Society once and for all. Not to mention the fact both you and Chan will be together."

"They wouldn't," she bit into a slice of pizza and pondered his words. "Would they?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "It's the type of thing a mafia would do and from my knowledge, both the Society and the Rebellion can be ten times worse than any mafias I know."

"Only when we have to... Oh gosh, we are definitely going to get ambushed. Great, what now?"

He stuffed the last slice of pizza in his mouth and shrugged once more.

"I would have expected you to have already figured that out but I guess I was wrong. Why don't you get more troops?"

"The reason I involved the Rebellion is because we don't have more troops. We've been at war with so many different major and minor groups we never had time to stock up on the number of troops we have. However, the Rebellion has been rather quiet recently. I bet you all I own they have double the amount of troops we have. If not more, of course."

"As my mum used to always say, quantity doesn't always equal quality. So what if they have double your army. If yours is better prepared, equipped and trained, the Rebellion doesn't stand a chance."

"Trust me, they will be better prepared, equipped and trained. Here I was thinking things actually might go my way for once but no. It just had to crash right before my eyes. What am I going to do, Minho?"

"No idea."

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair.

"I should probably bring this up with Woojin, shouldn't I?"

"Nope. Not a good idea," h shook his head.

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Well what do you suggest then? Besides, Woojin is my assistant, he always helps me with things like this. He was even the one who suggested getting help from the Rebellion."

Lee Know squinted his eyes in distaste.

"When did you become like this?"

"Like what?"

"Trusting everyone? Once upon a time I bet you didn't even trust your own family and yet here you are trusting boys that used to be part of a mafia."

"If mafia members form a pact, isn't there a rule to not betray them?"

"Kind of... But Woojin and Donghyun aren't part of a mafia anymore. They left. Donghyun is an assissin now which doesn't work for anyone but himself and gosh knows what Woojin is doing but I bet he's up to no good... You do know that Woojin was part of a mafia right?"

" Of course I do. I have to do background checks on everyone I allow into the Society. Especially when I consider making them my assistant." She glanced around the room before leaning closer to Minho. "Woojin left the mafia business when he got himself involved a Britsh mafia known as BNE. They hunted him down for months with the intention to kill him. The night Kyla met him years ago, they had found him and dragged him into an alleyway where they tried to kill him. She saved him and now he works for the Society. If he ever turns against us, we'll just hand him back to BNE."

"What made you want to make him your assistant when he can turn on you at any given moment."

"He has a unique way of thinking." She leaned back against the chair and bit the inside of her cheek. "Janey's way of thinking and I find it admirable. Although I would never admit it, that kind of mindset might be the only thing keeping me sane right now. It makes me feel closer to Janey than I've ever felt since she passed."

"But isn't making him your assistant a bit much?"

She nodded.

"Probably is. But as I said, if he betrays, he'll be killed and so will his family. And that might just be the only thing keeping him with us."