Answer ||| Ateez

37

After he was loaded into the car, Jongho lost his vision when a blindfold was wrapped around his eyes.

No one spoke the entire car ride, showing just how many precautions the Pack was willing to take. There was no doubt about it, Jongho was being taken directly to Mercer.

What the hell was he supposed to do now?

Fear coursed through his body with every beat of his heart, but one thing was for certain. He wouldn't do anything to betray his friends.

Not again.

He shouldn't have let his emotions take over. He was foolish and selfish. And now he was going to pay the price.

The drive didn't last very long, or it didn't feel like it did at least. Soon he was being yanked out of the car and led forward.

Jongho knew better than to struggle. There was no point, not when he was defenseless and alone.

Voices started to appear in all directions. None of them were clear enough for him to comprehend what they were saying, but he was being led through an area with a lot of Pack members.

"Where is he?" One of the men next to him said.

"In his study." A woman answered. "Hopefully this will make him a little happier."

Someone else scoffed. "We all know that won't be the case. He won't be happy until he gets what he wants."

"And he's willing to kill all of you in the process." Jongho chimed in, sensing unease in the air from the way they spoke.

"Shut up!" Someone backhanded him and his head snapped to the side. "You don't get to speak!"

"What did he mean by that?"

"Nothing, don't listen to him. You know he's one of the targets."

"Mercer wouldn't do that though, would he?"

"We all saw what he did to that one kid."

"Yeah, we heard it too."

Jongho knew they were talking about Wooyoung. Maybe he could use that too... "That could have been any of you."

Once again a hand made contact with Jongho's face. This time it split his lip. He licked it and cringed at as the taste of iron filled his mouth.

"Get him to Mercer. Now."

Someone grabbed his arm and yanked him forward. Jongho struggled to keep his feet under him and let it happen. He realized that he needed to be compliant to an extent, but he also knew now that not everyone here was fully trusting in their leader.

Every bit of information he could gain could be something that helped him and his team in their mission.

After several more minutes, they stopped walking and someone knocked on a door.

"Enter." Jongho was pulled forward once more. "You better have a good reason for interrupting me!"

"Forgive me, Sir, but we got one of them." The blindfold was ripped from Jongho's eyes and he blinked several times.

When he could focus, he looked straight ahead at the man who had ruined everything. And boy, he sure did look like and older version of Seonghwa.

"Yes. I know. You radioed it in." Mercer growled. "Stop wasting my time and leave!"

The men on either side of him flinched and bowed before leaving the room.

Jongho didn't move an inch, even though the way Mercer narrowed his eyes made Jongho want to never stop running. The man's eyes were pitch black, cold, and calculating. He absorbed everything he saw and sneered.