"I'm going to the shop, Jen".
"Ok".
"Do you want anything?"
"No, I'm fine".
"Ok".
Taehyung grabbed his jacket off the back of the couch and kissed Jennie on the top of her head before heading to the door.
"I'll be back soon".
"I hope so".
Once he was gone, Jennie turned up the volume on the television to break the silence. She made herself a cup of tea once she ensured the front door had been locked to her satisfaction. The experience of having someone break in still terrified her deep down and the last thing she wanted was for it to occur a second time. She flicked casually throw the selections on Netflix, not showing an interest in anything that came up on the screen. The heat from her mug warmed her hands. Selecting an action film she sat back as the film started, willing Taehyung to walk through the front door at any moment. Two quick raps on the door in succession made her freeze in place. Placing the mug on the coffee table Jennie rose to her feet. The knocks came a second time. She went to the door and peered though the peephole. It was Joe, the maintainance man. Jennie frowned at the suspicious visit, before cracking open the door as far as the chain lock would allow. Joe straightened his shoulders when he saw her.
"Hi, ehh, is Taehyung in?"
"He'll be back in a while, why?"
"I need a hand moving some equipment".
"Oh well I'll send him down when he gets back".
Joe straightened his shoulders. "It's quite urgent".
"I'm sure it is but Taehyung will help once he's..".
"No".
Jennie flinched at the sharpness in his voice. Joe shifted from foot to foot, and Jennie found his behaviour rather strange and dubious.
"I mean", Joe said, voice firm, "it can't wait".
Jennie swallowed a wave of doubt that had risen inside her gut. Joe braced a round palm against the wall to steady his elevated breathing.
"Perhaps you could help me?"
"Eh, I don't think I'd be the right person for the job".
"It's okay, I can do most of the lifting, but I'll need you to hand me out the equipment bit by bit."
Jennie chewed her bottom lip in thought.
"Please", Joe continued.
"I'm not sure".
"We'll be done in 30 minutes max".
"Ok sure, let me grab something first".
Jennie shut the door in his face and slipped into the bedroom. Pulling open the top drawer in Taehyung's crowded night stand she found the 9mm, and one quick judgement assured her that there were bullets in the magazine. She stuffed the weapon into the waistband of her leggings and covered it with her jumper. Fixing a cap on her head for good measure, she left the apartment and followed Joe down the hall towards the staircase, keeping her distance from him in order to maintain safety as they descended the first flight of stairs. The stairwell stank of disinfectant and she grimaced when they passed the landing that Jennie had murdered Kai on, her mind replaying that night like a slideshow, and she closed her eyes to block out the memory of the gruesome scene, the blood spatter and where it was exactly that his body had fallen. Joe loudly whistled a tuneless song five feet ahead of Jennie and all it did was frustrate her, her anxiety climbing the longer they dwelled in the stairwell, and she couldn't help but exhale loudly when they finally reached the alley behind the complex, the cool air chilling her warm face and filling her constricted chest with much needed oxygen. The gun felt heavy in her waistband. Joe turned round to face her, mopping his brow with a filthy rag, only to produce more sweat along his hairline.
"The truck is this way", he said, leading Jennie down the alley way and out into an isolated car park. Wary, Jennie glanced over her shoulder, making a quick mental map of her location as they rounded corners and emerged through a corrugated iron gate into a lot full of cars and a long heavy goods vehicle parked way down the far end of the field. The closer they got to the HGV, the more anxious Jennie became.
"So, what exactly are we moving, then?" she asked.
Joe trudged on ahead of her, refusing to give her an answer. Jennie halted, boots scuffing the tarmac as she half contemplated running back to the apartment, locking the door and hiding until Taehyung returned. Eventually, they reached the side of the truck, and Joe pulled the ramp out from the back, letting it clang indecently against the ground.
"Round here", he grunted. Jennie took two steps in his direction, and that's when a thick black bag was flung around her head, accompanied by a swift punch to her solar plexus. Jennie squirmed, the onslaught seeming to be far worse than it was now that her senses had been cut off. She could hear muffled voices and the sounds of shoes on gravel in front and behind her, but when she spun around aimlessly, arms flailing, she came up against morning. Two intrusive hands at her waistband made her panic, and the reassuring weight of the gun against her skin vanished as the weapon was whipped from her person. She tried to scream, but the second a warbled sound escaped her lips it was met with a savage blow across her jaw. Her head was flung to the side as the knock followed through, and she winced when the fresh copper taste of blood filled her mouth. Her jaw burned. The suffocating fabric of the black stifled her oxygen flow and she felt a savage pain rip up into her sinuses, as several pairs of hands pulled her this way and that, and before she knew she had been hauled into the back of the truck, and the ramp was being removed, severing her freedom and connection to the outside world and Taehyung. She gasped and coughed out a gob of blood as the bag was snatched off her head and she could finally assess her situation. Wooden crates lined the inside of the truck at regular intervals, tied down by thick bonds that had been mounted into the floor of the truck via large metal hooks. The truck reeked of oil and rust. Blinking up at the shadow in front of her, Jennie's face fell when she saw Lisa standing before her, right arm encased in reams of white medical bandages, onyx hair cut short into a bob and she had added a lip ring to complete her aesthetic. Crouching in front of Jennie, Lisa pulled her head back and fired two relentless punches into the centre of Jennie's face, busting her nose and upper lip with a sickening wet crunch. Jennie shrieked at the abuse, two fat tears streaming down her bruised cheeks as a steady stream of blood erupted from her nose. Lisa wasn't finished just yet, and as Jennie tried to stop the flow of crimson using her hands, Lisa grabbed a fistful of her hair and dragged her screaming down the back of the truck, tossing Jennie up against the wall with little effort required. Crouching in front of her, Lisa sneered distastefully down at Jennie's bruised appearance, before hitting her across the face a third time. As the impact ran its course Jennie spat out a mess of blood and saliva onto the ground, with some of the spittle landing on her clothing for good measure.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fucking shoot you right here and now?" Lisa snarled, voice hoarse. Jennie's entire face ached and she could feel the swelling begin to rise up beneath her skin. She trembled on the spot, unable to focus her vision on anything in the belly of the truck. Her throat was clogged with a sticky bolus of cruor and bile and despite the heaving in her chest she couldn't shift it.
"Huh?" Lisa sneered, booting Jennie hard in the ribcage, winding her completely. Jennie crumpled, much to Lisa's delight. The sound of a gun cocking instilled a quiet fear in Jennie's heart. Numb, she waited for the end, for that silver bullet to rip into her skull and put an end to it all. Her hair fell across her view, obscuring Lisa from her sight. Shifting in place Jennie tried to roll onto her side, but a terrible pain that shot up into her arm made her squeal as a result, and she stopped, accepting that one of her ribs could possibly be broken. Lisa's boots appeared in front of her, and despite the pain she felt so tremendously in her gut she rolled over, glaring up at Lisa through watery eyes. She gritted her teeth in order to prevent a strong wave of dizziness from taking over her resolve. Lisa jammed the nose of the gun against Jennie's temple.
"I should pull this trigger right here, right now".
"Do it".
"Huh?"
"I've got nothing to lose, so just fucking do it".
Lisa removed the trigger guard with a deafening click and Jennie braced for the inevitable impact.
