A/N: The song I linked for this chapter is kind of like the theme song for my main character. If you want, you can play the song while reading this chapter. Enjoy!
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♊︎Year 5067, Month 5, Day 10, Time 6:00 pm♊︎
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"This place is huge." Wooyoung's voice appears on the end of everyone's earpiece, the music of the orchestra at the front filling in the wide room with colorful music.
From the violins to the cellos to the trumpets, all kinds of beautiful sounds trickle into the earpieces of the members, allowing for the people who stayed behind in the control room to listen in on the music.
Hongjoong's computer screens are filled with all kinds of images received from multiple members body cams: some of the people in fancy tuxedos and extravagant dresses, and others of the dark stage that has yet to come to life.
Even Yeosang's drone images are filled with beautiful imagery of the large opera house and the people in it.
It's spectacular, wondrous even, but it's too bad that Kurenai doesn't get to experience it for herself, stuck with monitoring everyone's movements alongside Hongjoong, Yeosang, and an injured Seonghwa.
"You're in a very rich town with rich people, it's going to be huge. Now, focus and get to your positions, all of you." Hongjoong directs the members, keeping a close eye on the cameras he's hacked into for any sign of suspicious behavior.
He and Yeosang are so incredibly drawn into their computers at the moment that Kurenai swears she can set a fire and they wouldn't even notice until the place burned down. And she was tempted to do it but decided against it when she felt the dirty and conspicuous glances Seonghwa kept throwing her way.
"Can I help you?" She finally addresses him, tired of feeling his judgmental glare on her skin. "You keep staring at me. It's freaking creepy."
"Well, I have eyes and I can do what I want." He snaps back, irking her even more.
"And I have some fingers that will poke your eyes out if you don't stop it."
"Guys." San whines at hearing the pair argue again. "This is the millionth time you've argued today's and the opera show hasn't even started."
"It's not my fault Mr. Douchebag over here keeps staring at me like he wants to pulverize me." Kurenai defends herself.
"If you keep talking I might as well pulverize you." The raven-haired man threatens her, receiving a snort from the woman.
"Oh, please! With that broken arm of yours, there's no way."
"You little—!"
"Ahem!" Hongjoong interrupts the verbal strife, nodding his head towards his screens to show that they're supposed to be alert and not fighting. Kurenai's top lip curls up in disgust when she sees Seonghwa stand up to get water. "Alrighty, is everyone in their positions?"
"Aye-Aye, Captain," Yunho asserts cheerily as he makes his way toward his seat on the isolated balcony with Candy— arm in arm. San follows a bit behind them, dressed in a fine tuxedo much like Yunho's only with a set of shades and a handgun tucked away in his suit, taking on the role as their "security guard."
Their seats were specially chosen by Ismael, thankfully, so that they would be seated in the same balcony as their target. It would also give them a good view of what's going on under them as well as on the other balconies.
"So who do you think this Cornell guy is?" They all hear Candy ask the question quietly, just loud enough for the earpieces to pick up the words.
"I'm guessing he's probably an old fart." Wooyoung quickly answers the question, yelling something else right after which makes everyone flinch. "Sorry, they keep asking me to move their crap here and there. Who the hell even placed me to be a staff member again?"
"We needed someone on the inside to keep an eye on the cast and to control the lighting for Mingi who's above the set. You were the only option left." Seonghwa calms the blonde-haired man down after coming back from getting water.
"Whatever," the younger man mumbles, grunting as he pushes something they ordered him to move.
"What about Fix-on and Jjong? Are you two in position?"
"Yeah, I'm making my turn to park right now." The youngest answers Hongjoong's inquires first, the other man staking a bit longer, struggling with something.
"I'm— Almost— There!" Mingi chimes proudly as he finishes assembling his rifle. He's the only member that isn't currently wearing a fancy outfit, sporting an electrician's jumpsuit instead with his hair tied back in a man bun. The last piece of his rifle clicks into place and he sits down on the metal walkway high above the opera's stage.
His feet swing over the edge of the walkway, about 12 meters in the air. He brings one of his knees up to his chest where he places his rifle steadily, looking through the magnifier and scanning the room for his targets. He locates Yunho first, then Candy and San, still unsure of where James is.
"Has our target appeared yet?" The model asks after noticing that Cornell is nowhere in sight until he sees a man and a woman walking into the same balcony as Yunho, Candy, and San.
"Spoke too soon," Kurenai mumbles, watching the screen closely to get a good look at the couple that just strolled in.
The man is fairly tall with pitch-black hair that has gray streaks that come with age and glasses that don't sit straight on his nose, leaning heavily to the right. He's sporting a stark white suit with a black button-down and brown, suede leather shoes.
The woman next to him is a bit shorter than him, probably around Kurenai's height from what she can gauge, with similar, short black hair. Her gray pantsuit and black stilettos aren't the only things that stand out about her though, the most significant feature being the mask that covers the top half of her face.
She stands behind the man that they presume to be James, much like how San is standing behind Yunho and Candy. This must be his guard.
"Scarlet, try to confirm the man's identity while I gather info on the guard." Hongjoong orders Candy, already smacking the keys on his keyboard to try to make a cross-search for James and any of his personal guards, but nothing on this woman comes up.
Candy takes the initiative, pulling out a handkerchief from the pocket of her black purse and dropping it purposely on the floor next to James. The unsuspecting man takes the bait after he sees Candy reaching for the small cloth and picks it up first, handing it to the petite woman.
"Thank you, kind sir." Candy turns on her charm, flashing a brilliant smile that flusters the man next to her.
Her hair is swept upward in a regal bun with a strapless, black nightgown to make her collarbones and face stand out. The auburn lipstick staining her nicely shaped lips make her pearly white smile shine brighter.
"It was nothing, Madam." The man bows his head meekly, his eyes never leaving her form which unsettles the girl. Ignoring this odd detail, Candy continues with her task, letting Yunho listen next to her.
"Well then, May I at least get your name?"
"James Cornell. It's a pleasure." He stretches out his hand eagerly to shake hers and she reaches out to take it when a sudden movement stops her from making contact with Mr. Cornell.
The hand of the suspicious woman that accompanied James stands between him and Candy, not allowing further contact. San's hand is also clamped onto the masked woman's arm, ready to defend in case she tried anything on Candy.
"Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you to not interrupt me when I'm socializing. This is the 3rd time you've done this." James complains irately, glaring at the woman behind him. "Move your hand immediately."
There's a small pause between when he gives the order and when the woman finally decides to drop her hand, but before that, she makes sure to get a good look at San who's hand is still tightly wrapped around hers.
The two guards make eye contact for a long moment, holding each other's glares challengingly until the masked woman drops her hand.
She goes back to standing behind James wordlessly and San can't help but feel an odd familiarity in that cold, dead glare of hers.
Everything about this woman reminds him of someone that's on the tip of his tongue, but he can't place a solid finger on her identity.
"So, I told you my name already, how about you tell me yours?" Cornell leans over to get closer to Candy, ignoring what just happened.
"Ah, I'm Jessica Wells." Candy introduces herself with the fake name given to her.
"Jessica? That's a beautiful name." The man compliments, leaning dangerously close to Candy. "A beautiful name for a beautiful lady."
San gags at the attempt at flirting and Candy can feel her eye twitch when she hears this. Other members snicker on the earpieces making it harder for them to keep up appearances. The only one with a really negative reaction being her boyfriend.
"Someone, please stop this man before I get over there and do it myself."
"Aw, someone's jealous!" Wooyoung teases his friend, making the former roll his eyes. Yunho finally inserts himself into the conversation for Yeosang's sake, grabbing one of Candy's hands in his before giving her a caring smile.
"Beautiful, indeed she is. I'm very lucky to have someone like her."
"And who would you be?" James's top lip turns up into a scowl at seeing the two so affectionate with each other, his distaste evident on his face.
"My name is Milo Hakobyan. Jessica is my fiancé." The perverted man leans back in his chair, upset by the turn of events.
He quickly loses interest in Candy, focusing his attention elsewhere which both the couple and San are grateful for.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Please take your seats and silence your phones until the show has ended. La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi shall begin shortly." A voice announces for all of the spectators just as the lights dim out and the o hearts music changes.
"Viper? Mountain?" Hongjoong calls for the men and they answer discreetly to not alert the other two people on the same balcony as them. "Keep an eye on Cornell now that we have him. Make sure he doesn't move from his seat or else the plan won't work."
"And make sure to keep an eye out for that security guard with him, too. I don't like her."
"You don't like anyone." Seonghwa comments after Kurenai speaks up.
"Well, this is different. There's something off about her." Kurenai supplements the blue-haired man's orders, scrutinizing the woman closely through the cams on Hongjoong's screens.
"Did you find anything on her?" Wooyoung's voice fills up the earpieces and Yeosang quickly responds.
"Nope. There's no sign that a woman even works for Cornell as a guard. Whoever this is, she's either unregistered or has been assigned to him by someone else. Someone with more authority."
"Someone with more authority?" Mingi questions from where he's perched above the grand stage. "Who would have authority over him?"
"One of our Meisters?" Jongho speculates after keeping quiet this whole time. "Most CEOs of smaller companies answer to our Meisters. One of them could have known he was in danger and sent her in."
"But that makes no sense. One of our Meisters was the one to order for his death. Why would they suddenly send in someone to protect him now instead of calling us off?" Kurenai chews on her nails nervously, worried about all the harmful possibilities this mysterious woman could bring.
Based on her prior actions, she has quick reflexes and fast movements, meaning she probably has experience in her line of work. If something were to go wrong and one of the members were to have to face her, it could be disastrous.
The appearance of this masked woman has everyone on the team on edge— waiting, watching for the moment she'll move.
Only Seonghwa remains relaxed at the sight of the suspicious woman. After all, he's the only one that wasn't surprised by her being there, having expected her to show up. And, of course, Kurenai takes note of this.
The lights of the opera house dim completely, creating a pitch-black space that would be hard to navigate through if they weren't trained to handle situations like these.
Besides, the darker, the more room there is to hide.
On stage, the curtains begin to be drawn back, revealing the set and some of the actors for this segment. The music played by the orchestra also changes to a more upbeat and dramatic tune in contrast to the mellow songs they were playing earlier.
The perfect distraction for what's about to go down.
"Fix-on, do you have a clear shot?"
"I do, but I risk hitting Scarlet." The model informs Yeosang who had asked the question to make sure they were all ready. "Can Yunho or San try getting her to move out of the way?"
"Got it," San moves to whisper something into Candy's ear, never taking his eye off of the masked woman.
He stoops over to whisper something into Candy's ear to direct her out of the balcony but in the slight moment that his line of sight on the masked woman is blocked by Candy's face, the woman leaps forward, stabbing something into his back.
The needle in the woman's hand plunges into his skin as she presses down on the liquid confined by the shot.
Instantly, San's body reacts to the sudden chemical mixture, seizing up and causing him to spasm out of control.
Candy almost shrieks at the sight of what just happened, blankly watching San's body hit the floor violently as the woman withdraws her needle and slips away into the dark corridor behind the balcony.
The petite girl quickly rushes over to San, startling James who had no idea what was going on until he saw San sprawled on the floor, foam forming at his mouth.
In the blink of an eye, Yunho lunges toward the older man, tumbling to the floor of the balcony and using the music as cover to not alert the other opera watchers.
The men both struggle on the floor for a minute when Yunho puts Cornell in a headlock, threatening to kill him if he yelled.
"Who did that?! What did they do to him?!" He hisses at the perverted man, tightening his grip on his neck when the man doesn't respond.
"I— don't— know!" Cornell gasps for air, clawing at Yunho's arm weakly.
"Don't lie!"
"I'm not! I swear!" The man in the headlock sputters. "I don't even know her! She just came to the office one day and announced that someone on my team hired her!"
"Viper!" Candy yells at Yunho who hasn't let up his hold around Cornell's throat. "We have to get Mountain out of here! His heart rate is slowing down drastically."
"Listen to her!" James pleads, his thrashing becomes weaker as he loses more oxygen. "Let me go, and save your man! I had nothing to do with what happened!"
"Cipher, what do I do with Cornell?" Opening his eyes wide in panic, James realizes that the man holding him is here for something much more gruesome, going completely silent to see what his fate will be. "Do I leave him here?"
"No, we need to finish the mission. Kill him." Yunho looks down uncertainly at the man he has in a chokehold and then moves his hands to finish the job without a second thought.
Terror seizes Cornell as he realizes what his fate has come to.
"NO, NO! PLEASE, I SWEAR IT WASN'T MY FAULT—!"
Swiftly snapping his neck, Yunho silences Cornell for good, pushing the dead man's body off of him and heading over to assist Candy.
"How is he?" He touches San's head and feels the skin on his forehead heating up which startles him. Whatever it was that woman administered was fast because of how quickly San's health is deteriorating. He could die if they don't move.
"Hetmon, do you have an eye on where this woman went?"
"No, I lost her as soon as she stepping into the corridor behind the balcony." Yeosang maneuvers his controls on his drones to try to find this woman but again nothing comes up.
"Cipher?"
"Nothing." Hongjoong also draws up empty. "But that doesn't matter right now. Right now, we need to get San outta there as fast as we can and leave before anyone suspects anything. So, go."
Candy and Yunho both move to carry San's stiff body between the two of them, hearing the other members back at their dorms discuss something too low for them to hear.
Wooyoung and Mingi also begin to pack up to leave when the model notices something out of the corner of his eye. This makes him pause in the middle of taking apart his rifle.
"Oi, Cipher, I think I've got eyes on that masked chic."
"Where?" Mingi squints his eyes to see if she's still there but he doesn't see her silhouette anymore. "Listen, Fix-On, drop it. Just get to the rendezvous point with the rest of the team. Jongho is waiting for you there." A light gasp is heard. "Can you confirm that you're listening?"
No answer.
"Hello? Fix-on? Can you hear me?"
Again, no answer.
"Mingi!" Kurenai shouts into the mic on the computer desk, pushing Hongjoong aside frantically and calling for the model when the line suddenly goes static with a sharp noise, causing everyone to jump back. "Mingi, can you hear me!"
"Stop yelling his name!" Yeosang pulls at the woman's arms but she doesn't budge at all, too scared over what's going on. "You'll get him in more trouble if someone's gotten to him!"
"So then what do we do?!" The tattooed woman snaps back.
She looks back between the men in the room with her and at the computer screens that picture the different rooms of the opera house.
Never has she ever felt this much stress over someone and it's definitely getting to her. At the moment, there's only one thing that's driving her right now, and it's the need to save Mingi.
She has to save Mingi and San. There has to be a way.