*This and the next chapter (Go Go) contain scenes of intense violence. Reader discretion is advised*
I adjusted the straps on my dress for the nineteenth time in the past ten minutes. They were thin and tight and cut into my shoulders, but I couldn't loosen them because, apparently, the more clothing costs, the less likely you are to get out of it without a pair of scissors and a stick of butter. I was all but sewn in.
"Will you quit squirming? You're going to draw attention to yourself."
"Easy for you to say," I said, glaring up into Namjoon's eyes. "You're in comfortable man-clothing. Not some skin-tight, see-through, lace monstrosity that somehow still weighs a hundred pounds."
"You're the one who picked out the clothes for this. Last night you said you wanted to be buried in it."
I ran my hand over the beaded lace that fell away from my hips and sighed. It was a beautiful dress. "Loving it and wanting to douse it in fuel and light it on fire are not mutually exclusive."
Namjoon brushed my dark hair over my shoulder and dipped his head low so he could look into my eyes. "It's nerves. You need to calm down. We've gone over your plan a thousand times, Morgan. We've got this. Everyone else is in position. We just have to get in, do what we came to do, and get out." I stared up at him for a long moment before taking a reassuring breath.
A man caught my attention and I spun Namjoon so that his back was toward him. I brushed off the black metal and leather details of his dress suit and slipped my hands into his hair, pulling him down slightly like I was going to whisper something seductively in his ear. I tried not to notice as his breath quivered and caught.
"We need that diversion on the lawn, guys. Hoishi is making his rounds and he knows his team well. He'll notice if an officer is a plant," I said into Joon's mic. He wrapped his hand around my waist and turned his face into my neck so I didn't have to speak so loud. His breath on my skin and the gentle sweep of his thumb on my back was distracting.
"Already on it, sweetcheeks," Jimin quipped back.
"Give us five minutes. We'll have to move quick once you light it," Joon said, his hands pressing me tighter against his chest. We swayed to the elegant music being played by the orchestra and looked every bit the part of a pair of love-struck guests.
The room was on the small side as ballrooms go, but it was every bit as elegant as I'd expected. Chandeliers the size of cars dripped from a ceiling decorated with paintings and details gilded in gold. Huge, round seating areas upholstered in cerulean blue velvet were topped with massive arrangements of pink and burgundy roses and spaced around the room to give guests a place to rest and discuss business while waiters in tuxedos floated around the room with trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres.
An older woman slid between us and another couple on the dance floor. She looked up and down the length of Joon before cutting her eyes at me. I smiled weakly but instead of returning it, she tilted up her head and moved on through the crowd, holding her champagne glass close to keep from spilling it. Her dress was black, like mine, but the back was cut all the way to the top of her ass. Necklaces with stones the size of my fingernails were hanging over her exposed skin, covering her back like a glittering suit of armor.
"Baroness DuChamp is here. Her husband must be close," I whispered, hoping the team could hear.
"I've got eyes on the Baron. He's making his way to the office," Tae said from his position.
"Is he alone," Joon asked.
"Yup."
"Hold him there. We'll be there soon." Joon slid his hand down my arm and pulled on my wrist. To anyone else, it would look like we were trying to find some privacy. Security officers around the room ducked their heads and cupped their hands over their ears before rushing toward the door. Joon looked back at them as they passed and ran out the door.
"Yoongi and Jimin must've lit the fuse. Hobi, be ready with the car."
"Ready, Freddie," Hobi joked.
We turned to the left out of the ballroom and walked up the stairs, teasing and petting each other to keep up the ruse. The soft touch of Joon's hand on my cheek sent a current through me. I had to remind myself that it wasn't real and I was leaving once this was over. I was just tool to them. Nothing more.
It's just a job, Morgan.
At the top of the staircase, I motioned to the right just slightly, giggling as Joon pulled me into his side and wrapped his arm around my shoulders possessively. We skipped all the doors leading off the hallway except for the one at the end with the two buff officers standing at each side. Joon nodded at Tae and Jungkook who drew their weapons. My foolish heart skipped a beat when Taehyung bit his lip and winked. Jungkook opened the door and the four of us slipped inside.
Baron DuChamp didn't even look up. "I'm sorry, but if you're looking for a bedroom, this isn't it."
"Well, actually, we're looking for you," Joon said, dropping all pretense. He took a seat in the expensive leather chair across from DuChamp's desk. I sat in the one beside Joon.
"What is the meaning of this?" DuChamp looked from us to Tae, who propped up against a bureau to my right. Jungkook kept his position at the door, flipping the lock to make sure we'd be alone. The Baron reached under his desk for the silent alarm but Tae leveled his gun at the older man's head before he could even flinch.
Tae shook his head slowly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned, his deep voice smooth as velvet. He rolled a sucker around in his mouth and tipped his head back as he sized up the Baron.
The Baron glared at Tae, but slowly put his hands on the desk anyway. "What do you want? Money?"
"That would be a good start, but what we really want is much more valuable." The dimples on Joon's tanned cheeks deepened with his cocky grin.
"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about, young man."
"Oh, but I think you do." Joon nodded his head toward the computer on the Baron's desk.
"This? There's nothing on this. It's just financial statements and business memos."
Joon ran his fingers over my shoulder, sending a shiver that was really hard to fight rippling through me. I pulled the high capacity external hard drive from my dress pocket and pushed it across the desk toward DuChamp. Pockets had been the ultimate selling feature of the whole dress.
The older man looked down at it for a moment. His green eyes flashed with something like recognition. He knew what we were here for. Glaring at me, he snatched it off his desk and plugged it in to the system. A few clicks later and he shoved it back towards me. I slipped it back into my pocket.
"Very good," Joon's grin widened. "Now about that money."
The Baron narrowed his eyes at us. I could hear Jungkook shuffling on his feet behind us. We were running out of time. We hadn't heard anything from the other members of our team since coming into the office, which suggested there was some form of scrambler installed in the room. We were flying blind.
"Well, you're out of luck there. I don't have any here. It's all kept offsite so shitheads like you can't rob me."
Joon laughed. "I'm not the one you have to convince of that."
That was my cue. Showtime. The real reason I was here. I focused on the little items scattered across the Baron's desk. A paperweight. A date book. The computer. As I focused, each one began to lift up. DuChamp pushed himself away from the table, then looked at me. I gripped the arms of the chair and dropped my eyes, keeping my focus on small things so I didn't let my powers run away from me. The dark desire coursed through me, though, begging me to let it all go.
"A kinetic? You brought a kinetic into my home?" DuChamp asked, horror and fear masking his otherwise handsome features. He was fairly young for such a powerful man, only in his forties. He was known as a ladies man and I could see why. Some women were able to overlook a complete lack of morals if the man was gorgeous, rich, and insanely powerful. Heavy on the insane. I fought to bring my mind back into focus. This shouldn't take long. It couldn't.
DuChamp wasn't stupid. He was willing to take the risk that Tae and Jungkook were bad shots, but he didn't want to test a kinetic. Our powers may have been chaotic, but they were invariably fatal if that's where we took them.
Books started floating off the shelves behind him. I allowed one to knock him in the back of the head to get him moving. There was no time left. He jerked like he'd been shot, jumping up and nearly running to a hidden safe in the floor. Tae unfolded the bag he'd hidden under his vest and threw it at the man. The Baron got to work shoving stacks and stacks into it. While his back was turned, Joon slipped the second drive onto the desk and flipped the switch that would have it mirroring his entire server. We didn't trust the Bloody Baron to give us anything of value, so we came prepared to take it by force.
Sweat dripped down my neck as I fought to maintain control of my own mind. The Baron glanced over his shoulder once, nearly catching Joon pulling the mirror drive back, but Tae poked him with the barrel of his gun to get him to move faster. When he turned away again, Joon played with the tips of my hair hanging at my waist to ground me. Everything was starting to blow in the breeze I was creating. Sheets of paper fluttered around the room.
The Baron jumped up and shoved the bag against Taehyung's stomach. Tae narrowed his eyes at him, but didn't react otherwise. He checked the weight of the bag and nodded to us. I started pulling back on my powers, coiling them into the folds of my mind. We stood.
Joon smiled broadly. On women, it was enough to make clothes disappear, but on men it was like a punch to the gut. In either case, it meant he was about to get what he wanted.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Baron."
"I don't think you know what you're playing with, boy," DuChamp warned. "You underestimate what she's capable of. What I'm capable of."
Joon looked back at him with narrowed eyes and that damn dimpled smirk. His open-mouthed grin was predatory. "I'll take my chances."
Jungkook unlocked the door and led the way out of the office. I followed Namjoon as Tae took his position behind me. Anyone who saw us would just think we'd been caught fucking and were being escorted out of the mansion. My messed up hair would be enough to sell it.
The four of us jogged down the marble steps, reveling in our good luck at a well-executed plan. Until the first shots blew past my ears. Tae and Jungkook ducked and returned fire to the officers that were running after us, led by Hoichi. A former Special Ops commander, Hoichi was known for his low failure rate. My heart nearly exploded in my chest as I unfurled my powers and threw my arms out in front of me. The security team flew backwards roughly fifty feet, landing in a heap at the massive front doors.
Hobi skidded to a stop in the circle drive with a sleek SUV and we each jumped in before the team could right themselves. When Taehyung's gun clicked empty, he shoved it in the back of his pants and picked up one of the rifles Hoishi's men had dropped, tucking it into his shoulder and taking out anyone he could.
"Tae, come on," I yelled.
"I'll catch up," he said, pointing the rifle at the ground before shutting the door and slamming his fist against it to let Hobi know he was out of the way. Hobi floored the gas and we took off, leaving two long trails of black on the stone behind us. I turned to watch as Tae ducked and ran across the open lawn with a handful of guards chasing him with their own rifles aimed at him.
"Did you get everything," Hobi asked from the front passenger seat. Jungkook reloaded his pistol as he climbed over me and Joon to get into the third row.
"I think so," Joon said. He pulled his laptop from under Hobi's seat and handed it to me. I plugged in the drive and pulled up the reader program. Miles of data streams flowed out from the drive file. It was going to take me days to make sense of it all. I looked at Joon and nodded. He smiled and leaned back against the seat with satisfaction, scrubbing his hands over his face. He patted me on the knee.
"You did well, baby," he said with a sigh.
A pained smile creased my cheeks as I started uploading the files to our private cloud service. Hearing him call me that considering everything I'd found out hurt. Did he mean any of it?
"Where's Jin," I asked, realizing that I hadn't heard anything from him.
"He's coming up behind us," Joon said as he glanced down at his phone. "I've got his and Tae's trackers pulled up. They're on the move. Fast."
I allowed myself a deep breath. Maybe we'd made it out alive after all.
The back window shattered, ripping me from my thoughts. I threw my hands over my head and squealed. Shots rained down on our vehicle. Joon threw himself over my back. I hoped everyone else was able to take cover and thanked Joon's brilliant mind that the seats were bulletproofed. Hobi swerved through traffic to try and shake our tails but it wasn't working.
I had thought too soon. Now it looked like our escape route was just going to be our funeral march.