Charlie stood in front of the hotel door that she was requested to go to. Her outfit was more toned down than usual with simple jeans that showed off her curves paired with a long sleeve crop top that showed just enough skin but still covered up her tattoo. Cherry had helped her earlier in dying her hair a darker brown, almost black, to keep with the requirements of this certain 'job,' but also to hide her identity as best as they could. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door of room 613.
When the door opened, Charlie saw a fairly older gentleman. He looked very different from the other men that she had encountered, his pristine suit and slicked back hair gave him an elegance that Charlie was not expecting. He ushered her in, placing his hand on her lower back as she walked past him. Charlie could feel his fingertips on her skin, and no matter how many times she did this, no matter how many times a man touched her, she never got used to it.
This room was surprisingly not as expensive as the many other rooms men had taken her to, but then again, this man was not trying to get something out of her, this was a job interview... kind of.
"Please, have a seat." The man gestured to the edge of the queen sized bed and Charlie gracefully sat down, crossing her legs to appear more ladylike.
She watched as the man bolted the door shut, which was unusual. He should be the only one with the key, so why bolt it unless he was expecting someone to possibly come in?
"Are you expecting someone to join us?" Charlie asked as she bit her lip, trying to look as seductive as she could. She had never really been scared before when she had done this, but this time was different as she tried really hard to calm her beating heart and shaky breath. The suit, his age... this didn't seem to add up to a low-level gang member.
"Something's not right," Jungkook said as he pressed his earpiece harder in his ear, trying to listen to Charlie as much as he could.
"What do you mean? She's doing fine," Jimin stated, but Jungkook still couldn't get the feeling out of his head. Charlie was always so calm, but this time, she sounded nervous.
"I don't know, I just... have this feeling," Jungkook persisted, still trying to think everything over. "Circuit, can you check to see if the rooms next to Blade's location are occupied?" Jungkook started pacing the room that they were in as he waited for a response.
"Copy, give me a second," Taehyung responded as he quickly gained access to the hotel's records. "They're empty Hotshot."
Hoseok looked over at Jungkook and noticed the nervousness on his face.
"Hey, she's doing fine. She knows to request room service if she wants out," he said, trying to calm him down.
Down the hall, the man had walked across the room, passing Charlie as he opened up the blinds and looked out the window.
"I would hate for someone to barge in here unexpectedly. I always take precaution." He finally turned towards her and smiled, but did not move away from the window. Charlie stood up and slowly walked over to him, swaying her hips a little more than normal.
"So, about this job?" she asked in a low tone as her lower lip found it's way between her teeth. He reached up to her exposed shoulder and lightly brushed his fingers against her soft skin. "Like what you see?" Charlie spoke again, her voice slightly shaky.
Jungkook was on the edge the entire time as he listened, but Hoseok was right, Charlie would let them know if she needed help. She promised.
The man took a deep breath and then stepped away from Charlie, heading towards the small mini fridge that was in the room. Charlie started to tense up and quickly took a deep breath as she wondered why this guy wasn't asking her questions about modeling or giving her any information about the job.
"I have seen many women in my life, and you my dear are quite beautiful," he complimented. "Let's get to know each other first though, shall we?" Charlie turned around and forced a smirk to her red lips as she saw his arm extended, offering her a champagne-filled glass.
"Sounds like a great idea. Would it be ok if I freshened up a bit?" Charlie needed to check in with the guys, even if it was just for a minute. No man had ever asked to talk to her, so she was clueless as to what to do at this point. She needed Jimin's advice!
"Of course," he said, watching her intently as she walked over to the bathroom. She made sure to grab the glass from his hand as passed by him.
Turning on the faucet to drown out any noises, she whispered, "Help, he wants to talk! What do I do?"
Jimin pressed the button on his earpiece, his voice blaring through her ear. "Talk to him Blade!" Just be your sexy self. You've got this girl." Before she could say anything in response, Jungkook pressed his earpiece, his voice now sounding in her ear.
"Are you ok?" Jungkook sounded concerned, and she knew it was because he could tell she was nervous. That man knew everything about her.
"Doing good Hotshot."
"Check that drink," he continued, right as Charlie thought the same thing.
She dipped her painted nail into the fizzing liquid, expecting the polish to change color, but it didn't.
"It's clean," she replied with a relieved sigh. She then quickly flushed the toilet before exiting the bathroom.
The man was now sitting on the edge of the bed in the spot she previously occupied, holding a drink in his own hand.
"So, you are looking to start your modeling career?" the man asked. He motioned for her to sit next to him on the bed, which she did. He took a drink of his champagne and Charlie pretended to do the same, just letting the bubbly liquid touch her lips. The drink was clean, but she was always hesitant to accept a drink from someone she didn't know.
"I am." Charlie stared at the bubbles in her drink, trying to appear as though she wasn't as confident as she normally was. "I moved here on a whim and needed work when I saw your ad."
"I doubt you are new to town," he bluntly said, which caught Charlie off guard.
"You don't believe me?" Charlie teasingly replied.
Jungkook's jaw clenched as he stared at Jimin and Hoseok, not liking this whole situation. He made sure not to push the button on his earpiece this time since he didn't want Charlie to hear him as he called for Yoongi. "Phantom, are you hearing this?! We need to pull her!" Yoongi had to be feeling exactly what he was feeling, and he hoped he would give the ok to abort the mission.
"Relax Hotshot, like Ember said, she knows the signal to give us if she wants out," Yoongi's voice chimed in through the earpiece.
"Are you serious?! Does no one else hear how nervous she is?" Jungkook was getting frustrated and was resisting the urge to barge in there himself.
Hoseok walked over to Jungkook and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do not let your relationship with Charlie cloud your judgement on her abilities," he said, his lowered voice sending Jungkook a clear message as the younger picked up on what he was referring to.
Jungkook scoffed and clenched his jaw as he shook off Hoseok's touch, continuing to pace around the room they were stationed in. He shifted his focus back to listening in on his best friend and the man that was with her.
"No, I don't believe you. I'm also wondering why you're not drinking any champagne." The man raised an eyebrow as he stared at Charlie. She thought for a minute, considering if she needed to abort this and get the boys in here, but his tone wasn't too serious, and maybe he was just teasing her. Plus, they really needed the information that he had.
"Do not drink that!" Jungkook yelled in her ear. She really wanted to listen to him, but if her drinking a little champagne would get this guy to relax and get them the information they needed, then she was going to enjoy a little bubbly.
Charlie held up her glass to the man and smiled as she brought it to her lips, drinking about half the glass. She hoped that would satisfy him, and thankfully, it looked like it had. He was smiling at her as he then took her drink and set it down on the desk. He placed himself next to her on the bed and brushed her hair away from her shoulder. As he did, Charlie noticed the watch on his wrist... a Rolex.
"So, moved on a whim?" His fingers found their way behind her head and she felt the cold metal of his watch against her skin.
"Don't have any family to tie me down, so why not?" she proceeded. This was what traffickers wanted, a pretty girl with no one to miss her. She felt her hands begin to shake slightly as he leaned in closer to her. His suit, the Rolex, his calm demeanor... She was uneasy about all of this, but this was the only lead they had. She would sacrifice her nerves to get this guy, to help her family.
"Blade, give us the signal and we're there," she heard Jungkook yet again. She was starting to get agitated that he didn't trust her right now. Fortunately for him, he couldn't hear the words she was screaming at him in her head. Why couldn't he understand that she was just trying to do her job?
She felt a slight prick on her neck as the man withdrew his hand from her head.
"Sorry, there's a metal piece loose that can scratch anyone who gets too close." He smirked and she laughed, playing it off as nothing while she rubbed her neck.
"So...did I get the job?" Charlie asked, and as the words left her mouth, she found herself blinking more than usual. Things weren't blurry, but her eyes felt heavy. Whatever this feeling was, she didn't like it. When she stood up, she stumbled and immediately knew that he must've drugged her somehow.
The man was quick to catch her before she fell to the floor.
"Kook..." she managed to say quickly, the word barely audible as it seemed to take all her energy to spit it out.
As soon as Jungkook heard her say his name, not his codename, he ran out the door and towards the room that his best friend was in. He knew she was in trouble.
The man brought his lips to Charlie's ear.
"I'm not the only ghost in charge around here."
He then pulled out the earpiece and before he could crush it, the rest of the members heard Charlie whisper.
"Casper..."
Hoseok and Jimin were right behind Jungkook, sprinting to the other side of the hall. Upon reaching the door, Jungkook put his shoulder down and tried to force it open. It opened only a little, but stopped where the man had bolted it shut. Hoseok managed to beat Jimin there and helped Jungkook in busting the door open. When it finally gave way, Jungkook ran in and saw an empty room with the window open. He ran to the window and looked down, up, right, left, everywhere, but there was no indication of where Charlie could be.
"Circuit, where is she?" Jungkook asked while the boys tried searching the room for any clues. Jungkook ran out of the room, finding the stairwell as he went as fast as he could all the way down to the first floor before barreling into the lobby. "Circuit?!" he asked again, his tone firmer.
"I'm looking," Taehyung said in the earpiece.
Jungkook ran out of the hotel and looked up and down the sidewalk, trying to spot anyone that looked like Charlie, but no luck.
"Taehyung!!" Jungkook yelled as he felt like his heart was about to explode out of his chest.
"I-I don't know. I can't find her," Taehyung replied.
Jungkook fell to a squat and ran his hands through his hair, resting them on the back of his neck as he interlaced his fingers. How could she just disappear, and so quickly? Jungkook felt a hand on his shoulder and he stood up, shrugging it off as he started walking away. "Fuck!" he shouted, turning to see Hoseok and Jimin standing next to him.
"I told you to pull her Phantom! Why does no one ever fucking listen to me?!" Jungkook couldn't control the number of emotions that were running through him as he starting pacing on the sidewalk.
He was pissed that Yoongi hadn't listened to him and that Charlie drank whatever it was that the man had offered her... but the test showed it was clear. What had happened?! He was also frustrated that he didn't get to her on time, but most of all, he was terrified. What did this mean for Charlie? Would she be sold into trafficking like all the other women? Would she be killed? He still didn't know what the future held for him and Charlie, but he knew that he felt lost without her right now.
~☾~
When they returned to the house, everyone was silent. Taehyung was sitting on the couch while Yoongi, who had been pacing earlier, now stood still, facing the three who walked through the door.
As soon as Jungkook looked up at him, he couldn't contain the rage that consumed him, rushing towards Yoongi before he grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
Namjoon, who had been standing under the doorway that led to the kitchen, rushed in to try to get Jungkook off, but Yoongi held up a hand, indicating for him to back down.
"It's all your fucking fault! I told you that she was nervous! I knew something was off! Why the fuck didn't you do something?!" he roared, slamming him against the wall again, the force of it rougher this time as Yoongi felt a pain in his back from the impact.
Namjoon jumped in this time, struggling to pull Jungkook back as he kept trying to get his hands on Yoongi, who felt the guilt consume him knowing they lost Charlie.
"I'm sorry," he stated, his voice firm as he looked up at Jungkook before glancing at the other men, noticing the dejected look on everyone's face. He didn't say much else before walking out of the room, trying to figure out what he could do in order to fix this.
Jungkook was still fuming as he turned to Hoseok next.
"My relationship to her?! Seriously Hoseok? Yes, she's my best friend, but I thought she was a friend to you as well." Jungkook looks around to the other men in the room. "To all of you! She's not just some girl we can send in to act sexy and do a job!"
"Relax Kook," Jin spoke, his voice soft as he tried to calm the outraged member.
"Relax?!" Jungkook shouted at Jin. "At what point will you all start listening to me?" Jungkook paused but no one spoke up. "Charlie is GONE! Gone....and we have no leads, no idea where she could be."
The words hit everyone in the room as silence followed.
"I should've done something," Jungkook said, running his fingers through his hair.
"Don't start playing the blame game-" Namjoon chimed in, only to get cut off.
"No! Fuck you all! We should've gone in when she said something was off!"
Jungkook angrily rushed up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door behind him. He didn't care if the others heard him as he let out a frustrated scream. Breathing heavily, he grabbed a heavy sweatshirt and pulled it over his head, running back downstairs.
"Where are you going?" A voice haltedJungkook's steps right before he reached the backdoor.
"I'm going to find her," Jungkook muttered, opening the door and walking out.
Namjoon was quick on his heels, following him into the backyard.
"And how the hell do you plan on doing that?" Namjoon's voice was raised, and Jungkook could tell he was angry too, but he could care less right now.
"I don't know," he spat out, but before he could reach the motorcycle, Namjoon grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.
"We need to keep our heads Jungkook," Namjoon advised.
"She's GONE Joon!" Jungkook yelled and Namjoon stood quiet. "She's gone and all we are doing is sitting around, doing fucking nothing. Well I won't, I'm going out there and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"And what will you do, huh? Walk around town hoping she will just pop up somewhere? That you find someone who knows something? I need you to keep your head." Namjoon looked into Jungkook's eyes and saw the hurt threatening to spill out. He softened his voice as he continued, resting a reassuring hand on the younger's shoulder. "We will find her Kook, I can promise you that."
Namjoon just hoped that he didn't give the youngest member an empty promise, and that he would actually be able to fulfill it.
Jungkook looked up to the sky, willing back his tears. He nodded in agreement and when Namjoon ushered him back inside, he didn't go to his room, but rather, to Charlie's.
As he laid on her bed, he imagined her next to him. Her hair tickling his face as her back pressed against him. Jungkook tried not to think about what was happening to Charlie right now, because if he did, then he wouldn't be able to stop the tears from falling. Instead, he willed himself to sleep, wondering if this was just a nightmare he would wake up from.
~☾~
Namjoon knocked on the door leading to the office, not even waiting for a response before stepping foot into the room, wanting to check up on Yoongi after the altercation with Jungkook.
He stared at his friend, who had a drink in his hand and a miserable expression on his face as he was slumped in his chair. This was the lowest he had seen Yoongi at, and that's saying something considering the fact that they used to beat the shit out of each other until they were both bruised and bloody at the request of Yoongi's father for their "training."
Yoongi didn't even bother looking up at him, staring at the glass in his hand before he spoke. "I really fucked up tonight, didn't I?" he uttered, voice barely audible. "He's right, you know? He told me something was off, hell, I could even hear it in her fucking voice, but I didn't do shit to help her," he said, his voice rising with each word. The frustration and guilt consumed him and he just wanted to make it all go away.
"There's nothing you could've done, I hope you know that," Namjoon said, trying to keep his voice calm. "We had a plan in place, we had a signal, and if she felt like she was in danger, she knew what she had to do in order to have us get her out. She made a choice Yoongi, and the rest of us put our trust in her that she was fine. You know as well as I do that she would've been pissed if we had intervened, especially since she thought she had it under control. None of us could've seen this coming, and you know it," Namjoon stated, his voice firm.
"Jungkook saw it coming..." Yoongi said as he finally met Namjoon's eyes.
For the first time in a long time, Namjoon didn't know how to respond. He didn't have the comforting words to ease the leader's pain.
"She at least gave us a lead... well, maybe," Yoongi muttered before finishing his drink, immediately standing up to refill his glass. "Casper was the one who took her. He planned this knowing we would take the bait." Yoongi set down the near empty decanter and faced his right hand man. "Why her though? Why have they been chasing Charlie?"
"To hurt us," Namjoon replied.
"They could do that with any other member." Yoongi lowered his gaze, trying to put together pieces that refused to fit.
"To break us," Namjoon said with pain in his voice, and Yoongi knew he was right. Ganghan somehow knew that Charlie was a vital member to them, not just because of her expertise as a woman, but because she cared so deeply for every member and earned their care in return.
Yoongi nodded, feeling the heavy weight of Namjoon's words.
"Tomorrow," He started. "Tomorrow we begin looking for her." He downed his second drink and placed the empty glass on his desk. He couldn't think tonight, could barely breathe as Namjoon left him alone in his office. Yoongi's eyes kept darting to the closed door, still waiting for Charlie to come bursting in.
Namjoon walked out into the living room and listened. The silence was eerie and he felt himself shiver from the tension that was present.
Tomorrow.
Everyone needed time to process everything, be hurt... but tomorrow, they would be back to work. Namjoon walked up to his room, finding it empty as he let out a weary sigh. He quickly buried himself under the duvet, holding onto it tightly before he himself started to break as well.
A/N: Finally reaching the main plot of the story! Couldn't resist giving you all a double update
@GalxyDefendr is the co-author for this strange and brilliant work of art! She has two AMAZING fanfics out right now, a Taehyung AND Jungkook one. Please, please, PLEASE go read them!!
Finally....thoughts?? ---------->