among thieves ✨ || bts • pjm [COMPLETED]

1.0

a few days later

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The map they had found back then in the jungle - thanks to Arabella - had indeed led them to a tiny island west of Havana. The locals calling it Seagul Island as many of these birds gathered at its shores during specific periods of the year.

The two daggers they had collected that day also coming in quite handy. Working as some kind of keys to an iron gate in the face of a big rock in the middle of the island. Revealing a small cave behind it. All they found there, however, was dirt and sand. Nothing more.

No treasure of any kind. The place was empty. Only a few golden coins covered by soil and an old skeleton were left. Considering the coins had been from the period of Calico Jack, it looked like the treasure had indeed been there once but was moved away later by someone. The place looked it hadn't been stepped foot in it for decades, even centuries, though. Leading them to the assuption it wasn't the organisation who got there first but someone else.

The skeleton had an old notebook in the pockets of his torn clothes. The person seemed being a former crew member of Calico Jack. The last entry in the notebook being about Anne Bonny, Jack's lover, whose pregnancy had won her stay of execution. Giving her a perfect opportunity to flee and going after her dead lover's prey. So it was save to say she had been the one moving the treasure from there.
But where to?

There wasn't any clue to where she brought the treasure, except a carving in the stone next to the skeleton. A last message by the pirate who had been left there. Who knew why.

The carving said: 'the heart of Los Ladrones, C-' It looked like there would've been more but either he'd been interrupted or lost his will to continue.

'Los ladrones' meant 'thieves' in spanish. So the message was 'the heart of thieves, c-' which made even less sense. Leaving them completely clueless.

Not exactly knowing what to do or where to go next, they returned to Havana. Deciding to stay there a bit longer considering Jimin hadn't fully recovered from his injuries yet. And besides, the organisation would surely assume they had already left Cuba, like they would've normally done if having found any new clue. They wouldn't expect them to stay there any longer. So perhaps that tactic would buy them some time and get them lose their trace.

After a week of still not knowing what those words carved in stone meant, and not even being sure if they were even related to where Anne Bonny had wanted to take the treasure, the mood was quite gloomy.
Except for Taehyung, who couldn't hide the fact he didn't mind having a little bit time off and spending it with Cassandra. It wasn't too bad to him. Although deep inside he knew it was probably not a good idea growing closer to her again. Knowing he'd have to bid her farewell sooner or later, breaking his and her heart all over anew.

As the three of them were hanging out at a bar near the port one evening, Yoongi suddenly exclaimed a "hah!" making Jimin and Arabella perk up.
"What?"
"I think I'm the smartest one after all," he laughed out and leaned back in his seat with a knowing look. "What if 'Los Ladrones' was a place. What if it didn't mean 'thieves' but was a place? Hence why it was in capital letters."
Jimin hummed at his friend's smugness, taking out his phone. He began typing into his maps app the location 'los ladrones' in. Not expecting much but decided to give it a shot. After all they didn't have any better idea all those days and it wouldn't hurt.
And indeed, the app ended up giving him four hits for places with this name. His eyes growing wide.
"There's one in Columbia, Mexico, Spain and Argentina."

"Try the one in Columbia!" Arabella suggested, seemingly excited they finally got a hint.
He nodded. The 'C-' at the end could stand for 'Columbia' and it was surely closer than Argentina or Spain.

A big green area right at the coast showed up on the screen.
"Guys, look at this," Jimin said then, zooming into a symbol in the north-west, indicating a monument or special place. "Isla Corazón. Doesn't that mean 'Heart Island'?"
"It does," Arabella, who spoke spanish along with five other languages, nodded. "So heart of Los Ladrones could definitely indicate this place."

"Good job, man," Jimin grinned and patted Yoongi's shoulder, "Maybe you're indeed the brain of the gang."
A proud grin spread over Yoongi's lips as he took a sip from his whiskey. Another thought coming up his mind then. "I don't know if Taehyungie will share our excitement though.."
Arabella and Jimin exchanged a glance at this, their smiles fading. Right. Someone had to tell him.

Jimin sighed then, sliding his phone back into his pocket. "I'll tell him later."

Truth was, Arabella was quite worried about how Taehyung would take the news. She and him finally got along fairly well. Well, at least better than before. And she was certain him being in a good mood from hanging out with Cassandra was the main reason for that. She didn't want to know how things would go between them once he heard he had to leave her again. And Arabella wasn't so keen about having to deal with a moody and heartbroken Taehyung.

"Let's have one last drink and get going then," Yoongi said, ordering another round.

And they drank. And laughed. Until everything turned black.

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Jimin woke up with a throbbing head. His hand reached out, expecting to find Arabella's warm body next to his like every morning. Instead he realised he was laying on a cold concrete ground. Blinking, he turned his head and saw he was in a cell.
Did pops find them? He couldn't remember anything.

The door burst open then, the sudden noise making him flinch.

"Waking up with a hangover must be quite nasty," an unfamiliar female voice said. He looked up with one eye, seeing a blond woman, around her fourties probably, in a black suit standing there.

"Who.. are you? Where am I?"

One of her brows arched as she gave him an almost sympathetical look. "Oh, did the rohipnol take all your memory?" She took a seat at a chair. "Well, see, I'm kind of like the commander here around. At least of my team. Call me Kir."
He frowned, laughing under his breath. "Kir? Like the cocktail?" She didn't respond, just laughed out amused and he slowly began to put one and one together. "You're from the organisation, right?"

"Smart boy," she grinned coldly, "And I assume you also know why you're here."

"The sapphire?"
"Well, that was the trigger, surely. You embarrassed us in front of our client. And then we checked and saw we got some unfinished business with you, don't we? So you confounded our plans twice."

He clenched his jaw. Arabella. She was the unfinished business.

Years ago they had hired him to eliminate her as she had got away. The fact brainwashing kidnapped children into forgetting their real identities and training them into spies and thieves for them, didn't always work? Not good. It didn't leave them with a nice reputation in front of their clients and crime colleagues. So obviously they had to set a warning example by getting rid of the ones who got away. Even if they weren't many, it didn't matter.

"You can have the sapphire if you want," he said then, to which she held up her hand.
"Save the sapphire." She leaned in then, bending a little. "How about you help us finish both jobs instead? Lead us to the treasure so we can be in good books and the client forgets about the incident with the sapphire. And of course, finish the job from back then."

Jimin looked around. No sign of the others. "Where's Arabella anyway? You abducted them as well, didn't you? Why won't you just do it yourself then?" he asked annoyed. Acting passive. In reality he tried finding out if his friends were held captive somewhere as well.

"No, we didn't get them. We only got you," she stated, getting up, "You're the one owing us, we don't care for the other two. Besides, we can't finish her off. She was one of us after all."
"Oh wow, criminals with morals," he sarcastically said.
"No, not morals but a codex. Rules. And I don't feel like risking my career here for some unimportant little traitor like her."

She clapped her hands then and two men entered. Grabbing Jimin and heaving him from the ground. His wounds aching at the abrupt move. Not having completely healed yet. "Wh-"
Kir smirked. "Well, well, well. Let's see if our new method of speed brainwashing will work."

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