Fateful (book 1 of the OT7 series) ✔️

Chapter 26

Yoongi was all set up at the airport. Everyone was in place and the prep work earlier in the morning went smoothly. Too smoothly. Yoongi knew from past experience there was always a hiccup with these things. The best he could hope for was that the hiccup would be easily overcome.

He tapped his thighs as he waited for things to unfold. Another 15 minutes and Jungkook, Jimin and Namjoon will be arriving at the airport. And when this is all over, he was going to have to track down Aerin and talk her into giving him another chance. Somehow that seemed the more daunting prospect than having a showdown with a gun-toting madman.

From a distance he spied a small plane parked just outside hangar. That hadn't been part of the plan, but he'd been told some rich hotshot had insisted on flying out on his personal plane that morning and the airport had to scramble to find a space for them. The place was deserted though, so hopefully those people won't show up until after this was all over.

His phone dinged.

Namjoon: We're 5 minutes away and we have a tail. Black van with tinted windows. It was waiting for us near the airport.

Yoongi: Got it. Drive straight into the hangar. We've got you guys covered but make sure you've all got your vests on.

Yoongi signaled to the others to be alert. Taehyung was stationed on the roof of the building next door with a rifle. Jin, Hoseok and Yoongi were spread out inside the hangar.

A few minutes later, the car carrying Jungkook, Jimin and Namjoon drove into the hangar. As planned, they all stepped out of the car immediately and took cover behind obstacles that the others had set up.

The black van that had been tailing them stopped outside the hangar.

Yoongi picked up his walkie talkie. "Tae, what can you see?"

Taehyung looked through the lens of his rifle. "Hard to say. The windows are dark and the car is at an awkward angle. There are 2 people in the car though."

They hadn't expected that. By all accounts Mark was a loner and they thought he would come alone. They would have to see what happened next. It would be reckless to jump out, not knowing what was there to greet them.

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Aerin was regretting using her red duffel bag instead of her overnight bag with wheels. The duffel bag had been filled to the brim with her work documents and her laptop. This off-site was such bad timing. She had so much work to do, she didn't have time to go drinking with her colleagues. But her boss had insisted, stressing it was important for "team building" so here she was. She knew it was because her boss wanted to show off his private plane. She went along with it because frankly, who wouldn't choose a private plane over flying commercial.

"Let's go. We're the first ones here but we can wait in the plane apparently."

Aerin looked up at Jackson and nodded.

"Do you want me to help you with the duffel? It looks heavy and you're tiny." Jackson said.

"No thanks. I've got it."

They started walking out to the tarmac, towards the private plane. Jackson was wearing black jeans and black leather jacket. Aerin sighed as it reminded her of Yoongi. Who was she kidding, everything reminded her of Yoongi these days. She even packed one of his t-shirts into her duffel and how pathetic was that. She couldn't even have 1 night away from his damn shirt.

Jackson had been so sweet to her lately. He noticed she'd been feeling down and he'd gone out of his way to cheer her up. Aerin really really wanted to like him, it would make things so much easier. But her stupid heart had chosen Yoongi instead. Traitor. She thought as she cursed her own feelings.

As she got close to the plane, she noticed a black van parked nearby. For a second she thought maybe the rest of her team had arrived so she squinted to see who the passengers were. With a gasp, she realised it was Mark. She whipped her head around to figure out what was going on.

As she glanced into the hangar, she caught a glimpse of Hoseok, holding a gun. Something bad was happening, she was sure of it.

———————

Yoongi's walkie talkie crackled and he heard Taehyung's urgent voice.

"Hyung, Aerin is out there. She's in between the plane and the van. She's with someone else, I can't see who."

"What!" Yoongi's head jerked up and he felt dread swell in his body.

"Oh God. I think she's spotted Mark." Taehyung added.

Yoongi propelled himself up and ran to the entrance of the hangar, ignoring the protests of the other boys.

Aerin was frozen in place, trying to figure out what to do, when she saw Yoongi appear in the entrance. He was looking straight at her and yelling something but she couldn't quite make it out as the van came to life and the sound of engine drowned out his voice. She looked closer and saw Mark was sitting in the passenger seat with his gun cocked and aimed at Yoongi. The car drove straight towards the hangar.

Without thinking, Aerin pivoted and ran so that she was as close to the van as possible and threw her duffel bag as hard as she could towards the open window. The driver swerved just as Mark opened fire.

The sudden movement of the van changed the course of the vehicle and it clipped Aerin on her shoulder. She fell to the ground, her head hitting the concrete floor hard.

The bullet had missed Yoongi but he had instinctively ducked when he saw Mark pointing the gun at him. He looked up and spotted Aerin lying still on the ground and he felt his heart stop. He jumped up and ran towards her, uncaring that he was totally exposed.

He heard Namjoon say through the walkie-talkie. "Tae, take the shot if you can. Cover hyung and Aerin. We're coming out." 

He heard two shots ring out and a pained cry from the van, but he didn't bother to check as he was focused on Aerin. By the time he got there, Jackson was already hovering over her. Yoongi pushed him out of the way and knelt down. He saw the blood gushing out of her head and for the first time in his life, felt real fear clutch at his heart.

"Aerin, Aerin, please open your eyes. I haven't even told you that I'm sorry." Yoongi said as he cradled her in his lap and held his hand over the wound on the back of her head.

He heard the sound of running footsteps as Jimin and Namjoon ran over.

"Hyung, the ambulance is on their way. Just hang on ok?" Jimin said.

Yoongi heard the distant sound of sirens and for the first time in years, he closed his eyes and prayed for mercy.