HERMAPHRODITE

▪️▪️▪️CH. 52▪️▪️▪️

As soon as Sejin had dispatched the police officers and 'C unit' he turned his attention back to the drama unfolding on the twelfth floor. He trained his binoculars on the men hanging from the window and bit her lip trying to decide if contacting his agents would add any further problems to the ones they were already experiencing. Deciding he really didn't have much choice, he pulled the com unit from his belt and pushed the 'talk' button.

Static hissed down the line. "Agents Kim and Min, do you copy?"

Further static then, "Agent Min, I copy. Agent Kim is indisposed."

"Min, what's happening? Keep it brief."

"Agent Kim is holding onto Mr. Kim Namjoon and Lee, we are about to retrieve them."

"I want a full status report as soon as possible."

"Roger."

"Any information on possible traps set in the stairwell?"

"Unknown."

"Back up is proceeding through stairwells as we speak. Unsure of ETA due to possible traps. Will keep you advised."

"Roger that."

"Commander, out."

"Agent Min, out."

Sejin replaced the com unit on his belt and glanced at the building again, sending a silent prayer that all this would end with minimal bloodshed and his agents would come out relatively unscathed.

▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️

Agent Moon proceeded with caution to the next level, eyes and equipment scanning for possible bombs, traps, infrared laser beams or anything out of the ordinary. So far they had been lucky and not encountered anything. Moon had a feeling that they wouldn't but was hesitant to simply proceed without the necessary precautions. It was when you let your guard down that the unexpected happened. Moon doubted that given the building's usage by the public and the swiftness in which the terrorists had seized the conference room, that they hadn't had the time to lay any traps; but it was best to advance with caution.

▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️

"What the hell?!" shouted Jungkook as the television screen went blank and was then replaced with an image of the channel's logo.

"What happened?" cried Jin as he reached for the remote control the same time Kookie did.

"Dunno," Jungkook pressed several buttons, scanning through various channels but none of the other channels were covering the currently breaking story. He flipped back to channel 9 only to find the logo still there.

"Maybe they're having technical difficulties?" suggested Hoseok as he checked the monitors and frowned.

"That would be right," complained Jungkook and gave a slight grimace as he noticed the doctor's concern over his readings on the monitor.

Jin seized the remote and took over, also flicking through channels but not having any luck. The logo came up again but this time there was a narrative to go with it.

"... apologize for the break in visual, we are working on it but in the meantime we will continue to report verbally on the current situation at the Glasshouse. Thank you for your patience." The logo changed to a still shot of the Glasshouse taken earlier with the news reporter standing out the front.

"This is Choi Bada coming to you live from the Glasshouse. We do apologize again for the loss of the picture but rest assured we will continue to report the drama as it unfolds. We have had no further confirmation from the authorities in regards to the terrorists' demands, nor what they plan on doing about them. Shortly before we lost visual transmission two people appeared to be falling from the window on the twelfth floor. Who they are and the reason for the fall is as yet undetermined. The people though appear to have been caught and their fall halted by persons unknown at this stage. It would seem that someone is holding onto one of the people, although I cannot confirm that fact for certain."