Hostage {ℍ𝕐𝕌ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾} -- DISCONTINUED

Chapter Twenty-Eight

 "So, our next destination is the Lee family?" Jisung's eyebrows furrowed. Hyunjin nodded, running a hand through his still-wet hair.

"Minho gave me a number, along with that file over there. Everything points to an inter-gang alliance that went south, but there's nothing in any records. I even went to check in our own – there wasn't any information about any of it even in my databases. That number is our only lead."

Jisung turned the small slip of paper over in his hands; he couldn't imagine that Minho would jump at the chance of giving his uncle's private number to them. It was risky – alerting his uncle that he was still in the area when there was no telling whether or not the lead would pan out or not... it didn't sound like him at all.

"Did he say anything else?"

Hyunjin looked up from where he'd been hunched over the file, eyebrows creasing for a moment before recognition flashed in his eyes. "He said something about this being his 'last thanks', whatever that means." Jisung sighed; he should've expected that.

Nodding, he shrugged off the creeping sadness that loomed in his chest. He and Minho's relationship had been... complicated, to say the least. But he was the first semblance of a friend Jisung had ever had, and it was likely that he would vanish off the face of the earth, somewhere he would never be able to find him.

It made sense, it really did; it was shocking in and of itself that he'd stayed around in Seoul for so many years after he'd helped him escape from his family's business. Minho had never liked – or wanted – to be part of this life, and Jisung had wanted to help him.

He supposed it was for the best. Now he would be able to really start a new life somewhere without having to constantly look over his shoulder. Now that Jisung didn't know where he was, either, it would be almost impossible to track him down.

He shifted in his seat to attempt a more comfortable position – as comfortable as he could get in a shitty hotel chair, that is. It was bound to happen eventually. All he could do was keep moving, keep striving for granting Jeongin the same freedom he'd helped Minho attain.

"So what's our next move, then?" Jisung looked up and met the gang leader's eyes.

A contemplative frown graced Hyunjin's lips as he leaned his chin against his thumb, eyes narrowed on the papers in front of him. "I think we should wait—at least until your ankle is fully healed."

"That's stupid, we need to figure it out as quickly as possible," he hissed.

Hyunjin's eyes snapped up to his again as he shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "No. I don't trust the Lees – I don't even trust my own people. The only person I can trust right now... is you." His eyes were sharp enough to cut, and Jisung clenched his jaw. "And if shit goes south, I'm going to need you to back me up. You can't do that if you're falling off crutches."

Crossing his arms of his chest, Jisung averted his gaze. When he thought about it that way, it made sense. He'd never admit it, not in a million years. But Hyunjin was right. "So what do you propose we do in the meantime?"

The stern expression that had been clouding Hyunjin's face faded as he ran a hand over it. Like this, he seemed so... tired. Being a gang leader at his age must've been incredibly taxing; he'd never even thought about it before. Hyunjin had barely even known how to fight properly when his father had died.

"We need to figure out the rat situation. Who he was, and who killed him. Because I've never seen him in my life, and I definitely wasn't the one who killed him, either." Jisung sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

More investigating, huh? After all his was over, he couldn't wait to jump into some action to get his blood pumping again. He was getting really sick and tired of all this endless bullshit. Whoever did this better watch out, he thought as he rolled up his sleeves, leaning over the table between him and Hyunjin.

We're gonna catch you.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Jisung rested his forehead against the table, exhaling through his nose. "This doesn't make any sense."

Snorting softly, Hyunjin put down the papers he'd been looking at. "Since when does any of this make sense?" That's true. Very, very true.

"We know you didn't kill him, and I didn't kill him, but nobody else was even in that part of the manor. And if they were, they would've found you when they killed him and dragged you out, right?"

Hyunjin's eyebrows drew together. "There had to have been someone. According to the inspection, an external item is what started the fire in the first place. And it's not like I have random, old oil lamps lying around that could've started a fire."

Jisung looked up, lips spreading in a grin. "So somebody must have started it between the guy knocking you out and me finding you. They obviously didn't want you dead or they would've just shot you and run, this kind of shit happens all the time. But with a fire... someone was bound to come and get you." His grin widened. "So that means they wanted to cover up the other guy – make us believe we got rid of our rat, leaving us vulnerable."

Hyunjin leaned forward, his own lips spreading in a victorious smile. "You're a damn genius sometimes."

His grin transformed into a smirk. "I know."

A/N: Happy 100 pages pFFFT 

Lots of love,

~Emilie