H O R R O R S || B T S [Completed]

| = > Chapter Seventeen < = |

A man stands stoic in front of a large window, dark head barely reaching the glass pane's halfway point. With hands tucked behind his lean back and facial features etched in a blank expression, he gazes out across the never ending landscape. He analyzes the rolling hills and flourishing trees, the vivid colors of songbirds and swift scurrying of active squirrels. The winter long gone.

"-We have reason to believe Tallulah has fallen into the hands of the Southside Serpents..." The man directs his attention to focus upon the words of the voice behind him, of which echoes through the large, extravagant lobby. He can pinpoint the nervous tension present within the individual's sound, his eyes narrowing at the visible emotion. "PD Nim has given us nothing but excuses on her whereabouts, claiming he deposited her at a safe house somewhere in Northern Europe... However, after sending a search team to track her location... The results came up empty..."

"She's missing." A more aggressive voice takes the floor, his tone seething a red hot anger. "We have absolutely no idea where she is, and have no choice but to assume the worse... Her missing status also causes a breach in our relationship with the Southside Serpents, where we have no choice but to declare total warfare upon their territory."

An new voice emerges from the gathered crowd, "What do we do if she's already dead?"

The first person jumps to answer, "They wouldn't kill her, not for her worth. We've discovered from other sources, that the leader of the Serpents needs her alive... We don't know why, and we don't know how... But our main priority is wiping out as many enemies as we can to fish him out."

"Is war really worth it?" An eerie silence casts across the entire vacinity, once a brave individual steps from the sea of people and onto the podium. The male near the window peers through his peripheral vision, meeting the sight of his best marksman. "How can we be sure this isn't some way to bait us out and destroy us at our weakest moments?"

The male watches his most trusted assistant shake his head with emotional vigor, "There's no other option than this conclusion. The Scorpions and Serpents have been at each other's throats for years, and once we finally established a boundary of peace, the Serpents cross that line by kidnapping the bosses daughter-."

"Is she really worth all this?" The marksman persists, stepping nearer to the highest council of eight with an overbearing confidence. "As much as I like Horrors, we could lose our lives out there. We could lose everything... Is she really that important to risk it?"

The crowd is startled when an amused chuckle rings through the large room, almost nearing a sadistic cackle. The two speakers as well as the disrupter turn their heads to spot the man near the window, laughter spilling from his parted lips.

The male continues his fit, beginning to clap his large hands in amusement. He spins away from the window, directing his darkened sea foam irises upon the quivering contender. His feet lead him, in teasingly slow paces, toward the podium in which the leader and the assistant reside at. They step from the microphone with no hesitation, allowing the chuckles of the individual to increase in static volume.

Wiping a hand across the expanse of his forehead, the man ceases his laughter and speaks in a low tone, "Is anyone really worth all this, Sergeant Chad? Tell me... What makes you believe your life is worth over the value of Tallulah's?"

Chad gulps, his eyes darting everywhere but the man's face. He clears his throat, answering with a hesitant touch, "I-I wasn't meaning it th-that way, sir..."

"Then, what were you meaning to say, son?" The boss insists, drumming his long fingers over the wood of the mahogany stand. "Please, I am very curious..."