Jungkook and Charlie quickly followed Jin into the house and down to the basement where everyone else was gathered. Yoongi's voice stopped as soon as they appeared while everyone turned to look at them.
"Well it's about fucking time the kids show up," Yoongi muttered, immediately turning back to the rest of the team since he didn't have time to waste right now. He didn't even bother to comment about the two sneaking out like a couple of kids since they had bigger issues to worry about.
Charlie and Jungkook hung their heads as they trudged over to the table to join the other members. Charlie briefly looked over to Jimin, who was just staring at the table with a blank expression. She slowly walked over towards him, occupying the space next to him with Jungkook following behind her.
Standing next to Jimin, Charlie could feel the anger and worry radiating from him. She placed a comforting hand on his back, leaving it there as Yoongi continued.
"I want Cliff Hangers shut down, and any girls who don't feel safe can stay at my apartment." Yoongi's eyes meet with Namjoon's, who nodded his head in understanding.
"Apartment?" Jungkook spoke up.
"Kind of like a safe house. I keep it for times like this," Yoongi rushed the words out before he continued with his orders.
"Namjoon and Jin, can you head over to Cliff Hangers to offer transportation to whoever needs it?" Both men nodded in acknowledgement, waiting to hear any further plans that Yoongi had for their current situation. Before the leader could utter another word, someone else spoke up.
"I'm going too," Jimin said, finally lifting his head.
"No, you're staying." Yoongi didn't even look in Jimin's direction as he tried to continue, only to get interrupted yet again.
"Like hell I am!" Jimin raised his voice and Yoongi turned to glare at him.
"You're staying and that's a fucking order." Jimin lowered his gaze again and Charlie watched as his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white. "We don't know much, but be ready for when we need to head out. Go get some rest," their leader finished, watching as everyone slowly started to disperse. Jimin huffed towards the stairs as Taehyung jogged in order to catch up to him.
"Taehyung, I need your help," Yoongi called. He looked apologetic, knowing that Taehyung was going to calm down Jimin, but he really needed answers as soon as possible, and Taehyung was his best shot at finding them. Charlie noticed the torn look on Taehyung's face and walked up to him.
"I got him," Charlie reassured, lightly squeezing his arm and earning a smile from her friend.
Jimin stormed up the stairs, feeling the walls of his home closing in on him. He walked straight through the kitchen and outside to their small patio. He took a deep breath, letting the cool night air still his racing heart. Glancing at the lawn chair against the house, he took a seat, letting his elbows rest on his knees as he buried his head in his hands, his fingers running through his disheveled hair.
It wasn't long before Charlie had found him, closing the glass door behind her as she cautiously approached him.
"Mind if I join you?" she asked, hesitant to take a seat next to him
"I don't need a babysitter," Jimin mumbled, not even sparing her a glance.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Charlie sat down next to him and placed a comforting touch on his knee.
"We will find her," she whispered, squeezing his knee slightly.
Jimin slowly raised his head and met her eyes. His expression was blank, but Charlie could see how glassy his eyes were. She knew he was fighting back tears and trying to remain strong.
"You don't know that," he spat out, and Charlie was a little taken aback at how angry his words were. She had only ever seen him angry when him and Jungkook had fought, but this anger was different and she started to worry about him.
"What's on your mind? Talk to me, please," she pleaded. Charlie didn't want him to bottle up everything. She knew he was angry and worried about Raven, but clearly there was something more going on here.
"What's the point of talking?" Jimin nearly shouted as he stood up, almost knocking over his chair in the process. "I'm stuck in this fucking house while God knows what is happening to her! Talking isn't going to do shit Charlie!" He turned away from her, hands rubbing against his face as he tried to calm himself down.
Charlie stood up and got close to him, but didn't dare touch him, letting him have a little space. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jimin spoke again before she could get a word out.
"I should have protected them better," he uttered out, his voice strained and almost inaudible. "It was my job to watch out for all of them, and look at what happened. Gigi and Jade were attacked, Gigi was taken, and now Raven is..." His words trailed off as he let his head fall back, looking up to the sky as a single tear escaped from his eye. "Shit," he muttered, frustratingly wiping his cheek.
"We got Gigi back," Charlie softly said, keeping her voice as comforting as possible.
"We were working with a lot more information then we have now," Jimin argued, shaking his head as his eyes locked on hers.
"Are you doubting Tae's skills? He will find something, and you know it," Charlie said, stepping a little closer to her sparring partner.
"I'm not doubting his skills. I'm just...." Jimin took a deep breath and lowered his head, looking at the ground. "I'm scared," he admitted.
Charlie instantly put her arms around Jimin, pulling him close to her. Jimin would be lying if he said he didn't like being held like this. He needed the comfort and was thankful Charlie was there for him.
"We will find her," Charlie whispered to him, feeling his arms tighten just a little more around her as he buried his face in her shoulder. She would hold onto him for as long as he needed.
Jimin wasn't sure how long he had clung to Charlie, but the fear and anger started to subside a little as he loosened his hold on her.
"Thanks babe," he said.
Charlie pulled away from him and gave him a surprising look. "Babe?" She started to giggle and was thankful that he finally cracked a smile. "Hey, I know something that might help get your mind off all this," she added.
"Oh yeah?" Jimin teasingly raised his eyebrows before biting his lower lip, causing Charlie to playfully roll her eyes at his change in demeanor. And he's back. She couldn't deny the slight relief she felt at his flirty demeanor, glad to see at least a hint of the Jimin she knew.
"I just know that you can't wait to be pinned underneath me while I beat your ass," she replied. Charlie gave him a small wink, teasing him just like how he always teased her.
"Charlie honey, you may be a dom off the mat, but you know as well as I do that on the mat, I'm in charge," Jimin said as he got close to her once again, a small smile on his lips. Charlie gave him a playful slap on the arm, grinning as he started rubbing his arm, feigning to be hurt.
"In your dreams Jimin," she replied. She rolled her eyes and started walking back inside, Jimin following closely behind her, laughing in amusement.
After an hour of sparring with Jimin, Charlie was utterly exhausted. She was willing to go as long as he needed, and it was almost 1 AM before he decided they should both go to bed. As they walked upstairs, all the lights were turned off, an indication that everyone else had already called it a night. Jimin thanked her yet again, and she made sure to give him a small hug before walking to her room. She was too exhausted to shower at this point and settled on changing into something a little more comfortable to sleep in.
Pulling her blanket over her body, she saw that she had a notification on her phone.
Kook! : Is Jimin ok?
He had texted her a couple hours ago, but Charlie opened up their conversation and texted him back, a small smile on her face as she remembered what had happened between them earlier this evening.
Char :) : He's just pissed...
Jungkook had been laying in bed, the events from tonight reeling in his mind... Charlie, the Cliff Hangers girls, Raven... everything seemed to be a mess right now. He had heard someone coming up the stairs, thankful that Jimin and Charlie had finally decided to call it a night. The slight buzz from his phone got him excited as he saw that she had texted him back.
He glanced over at Namjoon, making sure that he was still asleep before typing out his response.
Kook!: Are you ok?
Charlie loved how he always made sure everyone was ok, especially her.
Char :) : I'm not sure if I'm being honest. I'm just so sick of Ganghan hurting those that are innocent!
Kook!: I agree. I know Taehyung will find something and then we can nail those fuckers!
Char :) : LOL
Char :) : We should pry talk about what happened between us...
Charlie knew that they would need to address what happened and what it all meant. She didn't regret kissing him, she just hoped he didn't as well.
Kook! : Let's focus on getting Raven back first. Then, we can talk... or do whatever you want ;)
Charlie chuckled at his response and quickly texted a goodnight before letting her entire body go limp, falling asleep.
Taehyung had practically stayed up all night, combing through all the information they had on Ganghan and looking through several hours of city camera footage, trying to find a glimpse of Raven.
He had fallen asleep on his keyboard when a loud ping from his computer woke him up. Squinting from the bright LED light, he tried to read the notification that popped up. As his eyes adjusted, he was able to fully read and understand the words on the screen. He shot up from his chair, frantically rushing into his room.
"We got a lead!" he shouted, shaking Jimin, who was now trying to push his friend away from him. "Jimin get up!" Taehyung pulled the blanket off of Jimin, forcing him to get out of bed. "I might know where she is," he said, resting his hands on his friend's shoulders as he watched Jimin absorb the words, slowly starting to understand the weight behind them and what this meant.
"You sure?" he asked, grabbing onto Taehyung's shoulders as his eyes widened, the excitement coursing through him at the possibility of finding Raven.
"I'm not sure about anything, but at least we have a lead. There is supposed to be a shipment later today," Taehyung said with a smile. "I'll go get Yoongi, you wake the others," he quickly stated, patting Jimin's shoulder before running out of their room.
Jimin immediately started shouting down the hall as he opened everyone's bedroom doors. "Get up! We have work to do!" He opened every single door, ending at Charlie's room. He opened it and ran inside, jumping on top of her. "Wake up, Tae found a lead!" he shouted as Charlie groaned but slowly sat up.
She smiled at how excited Jimin was. "I told you we would find her," she said.
"Well... it's not for sure, but it's something," Jimin replied, the smile fading as the 'what ifs' started to go through his head.
"Hey, let's see what Tae found," Charlie said, hoping to distract him from his thoughts. She watched as Jimin jumped off her bed and ran out of her room, nearly knocking over Jungkook in the process.
"Morning," Jungkook greeted as he leaned against Charlie's doorframe. Charlie swung her legs over the side of her bed and stood up, walking towards Jungkook with a small smile.
"Morning," she whispered as her hand lightly touched his before giving it a quick squeeze. She continued to walk down the hallway towards where the boys had gathered, a smiling Jungkook trailing right behind her.
~☾~
Hoseok parked the van a couple blocks away from the location that Taehyung had given them while Jimin adjusted the new bulletproof vest he had on, making sure he felt comfortable and was able to move quickly. These new vests were lighter and easier to move in and were actually stronger, plus they looked pretty cool. He adjusted the straps around his thighs and placed extra magazine clips in them.
They had no idea what kind of shipment this was going to be, but the drivers were armed at the last location and Yoongi didn't want to take any chances. As Jimin hopped out of the van, he noticed that Charlie was trying to fix her own vest.
"Come here," he said while Charlie jumped out, turning her back to him so he could make the vest tighter, moving the straps that held her knives out of his way. He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, letting her know that she was all good.
"You all know the plan," Hoseok started. "Hotshot and I will take the upper level. Blade and Breaker, you both take the first level. If anyone sees anything, let the rest know." Everyone nodded their heads in agreement before Hoseok started walking towards the warehouse that Taehyung described.
Before they walked too far ahead, Jungkook quickly grabbed Charlie's arm, pulling her back to him.
"Be careful," he whispered, his doe eyes intently focused on hers. His gaze made her stomach churn as she noticed the evident worry in his expression, his eyes pleading with her not to go rogue again. She nodded, she wouldn't be as reckless as she had been before.
"You too," Charlie said, turning to follow Jimin around the side of the building while Hoseok and Jungkook climbed the metal stairs on the outside of the building that lead to a door on the upper level.
"Hotshot and Ember are in," Taehyung's voice sounded in their earpieces.
Jimin and Charlie walked around to the front of the warehouse and into the open door. Jimin could hear nothing, the silence now putting him on edge. Not only was everything so quiet, but this warehouse was empty... No boxes, no vehicles... It looked abandoned. The peeling paint and rust spots on the metal pillars told him that no one had used this building in years.
"Something isn't right," Charlie mumbled. Jimin turned towards her, slightly nodding his head in agreement as he felt an unsettling feeling clutching his chest, causing it to tighten as he tried to keep his breathing steady and remain calm.
Keeping to the shadows against the walls, Jimin led the way across the first room and into the adjacent one. This one was larger than the previous one and completely open, the metal pillars being the only things that broke up the space. Charlie stuck close behind Jimin as they walked in and moved along the wall, trying to get a good view of the room. Before Charlie could truly register what she saw, Jimin took off towards the middle of the room, rushing to the person who was bound to an old metal chair.
Jimin didn't think about anything else except for Raven, who was seated in that damn chair, tied up and hurt pretty badly. He knelt in front of her and carefully pried the duct tape from her mouth.
"Hi honey," Raven whispered. She was barely able to keep her eyes open and her breathing was labored. Jimin's heart was racing as he was excited he finally found her, but they weren't out of this yet. Charlie was quickly beside him, cutting the ropes that tied her to the chair. As soon as the ropes were cut, Raven fell into Jimin. He wrapped his arms around her, taking just a moment to tell himself that she was here, that he had her.
Their small reunion was cut short when some shuffling was heard nearby, causing both Jimin and Charlie to exchange a look. "Shit, someone's coming," Charlie said as she helped Raven to her feet.
Jimin looked around, seeing that they wouldn't make it to the door in time. He picked Raven up and ran to a nearby pillar, placing her behind it as he went back to Charlie so they could figure out their next move.
"We have Raven. Hotshot? Ember?" Charlie called, but no answer was heard from either of them. Instead, all they heard was heavy breathing and the occasional gunshot coming from their end. Fuck.
The line suddenly went silent, Charlie's heart dropping as Jimin's anxious gaze met hers.
"I cut the line, the two of you just make sure to focus on getting the fuck out of there," Taehyung stated, his voice slightly shaky as he spoke, the other line still resonating through his small nerd lab as he continued to listen to the faint sound of gunfire and commotion from Hoseok's and Jungkook's end.
Yoongi was listening in to everything as well and did not feel good about this at all. This was supposed to be a transport meeting... So why were there so many guys there, but not a single vehicle to be found?
"What are you thinking, Breaker?" Yoongi said as his eyes met Namjoon's, both evidently worried about the outcome of this mission.
"It doesn't feel right," Jimin said, and that was all that Yoongi needed to hear before he nodded to Namjoon, who took off towards the weapons wall.
"Jin, I need you to get the medbay ready." Yoongi looked over to Jin, who stood up and walked over to the medical room. Yoongi had hoped they wouldn't need it tonight, but he wanted to be ready just in case.
Yoongi joined Namjoon, seeing how his friend had already taken off his suit jacket and was rolling up the sleeves of his navy blue dress shirt. Yoongi took off his leather jacket, revealing the black t-shirt underneath. Namjoon tossed him a bulletproof vest before putting his own on. Both men then strapped their preferred weapons to themselves and headed towards the door, ready to be the backup their team would hopefully call in soon.
Back at the warehouse, Jimin and Charlie looked around the room, trying to discern where the sound was coming from when the click of heels finally revealed a man dressed in an all black suit, six men behind him.
"They don't leave," the formally dressed man said as the six men behind him rushed towards Jimin and Charlie.
Jimin and Charlie prepared for a fight, but a couple of men immediately pulled out their guns, pointing it in their direction. Both Bangtan members knew they needed to bide their time, so both put their hands up and watched as three men surrounded each of them.
"I'm so glad you decided to try and rescue your little bird," the man said with a smirk. Jimin clenched his jaw and groaned when he was forced to his knees, hands behind his head. He turned to see Charlie doing the same thing. He had to figure out a way out of this.
"Speaking of Raven, where did you hide her?" The supposed leader looked around the warehouse and walked away, trying to find his prisoner.
Jimin made eye contact with Charlie and knew that she was ready when he was. Their late night sparing adventure was mostly focused on disarming an enemy, and he was so thankful that she had suggested it.
Giving her a slight nod, both Jimin and Charlie sprung into action, disarming the goon that was pointing a gun at each of them and attempting to fight off the other two men that surrounded them. Charlie managed to get one of her blades out, slitting the throat of one man while Jimin had punched the other guy in the head so hard that he was sure his skull cracked.
Both took quite a few hits themselves, but they refused to back down... that is, until the sound of a gun echoed through the room.
"Enough!" the man shouted, and Jimin looked over as he noticed that he now had Raven's arm in his grip. She looked so tired and Jimin's heart started to pound erratically against his chest as he didn't know how this evening was going to go. He found her, but could he get her home safely?
Both Jimin and Charlie stared at the man in front of them, both frozen to their spot as they waited for his next move.
"I don't have time for this bullshit... So, Charlie," the man began and then looked over at one of his men standing next to Jimin, nodding to him. She watched as he picked up the gun he had previously dropped before raising his arm up, the weapon directed at Jimin's head. "Which one should die first?"
Charlie felt her chest tighten as she looked between Raven and Jimin. Choose? She wasn't choosing who would live, but who would die first! This guy was going to kill both of them. Charlie's eyes were intently watching the man in charge, panicking as she heard the click of his gun.
"Please no! It's me you want, right?" Charlie spoke the words so fast that she wasn't sure exactly what she was saying. All she knew was that she had to save them both, and if it meant sacrificing herself, then she would do whatever it takes to get them all out alive.
"Charlie stop," Jimin said, which earned him a punch to the face from one of the guys guarding him. Charlie flinched as she saw the blood drip down his lip. When she moved, she felt the hidden blade she kept in her boot. How could she forget about that?
"I'll go with you, just please, let them go," she begged. Her voice and body started to shake as she genuinely felt scared for the outcome.
"How sweet, but in life, lessons are learned the hard way, and both of you need to understand that this isn't child's play," the man said as he pulled the trigger.
Jimin watched the flash of the gun and how Raven's body hit the floor. His eyes widened and he felt his heart tighten in his chest. He stood still, his gaze still focused on the woman who had been such a huge influence in his life, now lying dead on the cold floor of a rusty old warehouse. She didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve any of it. He didn't move and he didn't breathe.
The movement of the man holding the gun to his head pulled him out of his brief trance as he saw a knife embed itself in the man's neck. He barely felt the bullet that hit his shoulder as he reached up and grabbed the gun from the dying man's hand, pointing it at the man who had just killed Raven and shot him, watching his body fall to the ground.
He heard the sound of more gunshots ring out and noticed the light haze of white smoke move into his vision.
"Breaker, we have to go!" he faintly heard as Charlie shouted at him. He knew that they needed to get out of there.
He willed his body to move, to fight the other men that were still there, trying to see through the smoke that was now filling the room. He saw the figure of Charlie trying to take on two guys as well, and couldn't discern if she was doing ok or not as the two men closest to him started to attack him. A punch to his shoulder had him on the ground, groaning in pain. With the opportunity there, the two men were on top of Jimin, pummeling him.
Charlie had already taken a couple hits to her stomach and face, but she knew that the minute she went down, things would just get worse. She had yelled for Jimin, but couldn't tell if he was able to get away.
The smoke was getting thicker and Charlie started to crouch, but noticed how the men she was fighting with were doing the same thing, backing away a little. She quickly pulled up the fabric mask they all kept around their necks for instances like these. She snaked her way towards Jimin, knocking away a couple of the guys before grabbing onto her partner.
"Let's go!" she shouted as she wrapped her arm under his shoulder, pulling him up.
A figure was quickly next to them, grabbing onto Jimin from the other side. Charlie let go of Jimin and pushed him closer to Hoseok, who had a firm hold on him as she walked towards the goons who were still coughing.
"Blade, let's go!" Hoseok shouted to her.
"Get to the car! I'll hold 'em off," she said and Hoseok knew better than to argue with her as he pulled Jimin with him, both of them running to the car.
Charlie kicked the first guy that made his way to her and when he fell to the ground, she grabbed the other fist that came her way and pulled it around to his back as she kneed his stomach and quickly pulled out the dagger attached to her thigh, slitting his throat. The other man started to approach her, and just as she was about to take him down, she heard a gunshot and watched the man fall to the ground.
Charlie couldn't see anything except the guys around her falling one by one and a figure running towards her.
"Come on," he motioned for her to follow him, and Charlie ran right to him. Without thinking, Jungkook grabbed onto her hand as they ran out of the warehouse and into the night air.
Once in the car, Charlie looked over at Jimin, seeing the blood running down his face and the bullet wound in his shoulder. She moved over to him and wiped the blood from his face before inspecting the bullet wound. It looked like it went through his shoulder completely, so she wasn't too worried. She grasped his face and looked into his eyes, silently asking if he was ok.
Jimin bit his trembling lower lip, slowly shaking his head as Charlie saw the tears start to build in his eyes. Without thinking, Charlie pulled him to her and he wrapped his good arm around her, clinging tightly to her. Charlie rested her cheek on the top of his head and lightly started to brush her fingers against his body, trying her best to comfort him.
Charlie let her eyes wander as the silence in the van was heavy. Jungkook sat next to her and reached out, grabbing her hand. She turned toward him and watched him mouth you ok? She quickly nodded her head before avoiding his gaze, trying to hold it all in and remain strong.
"On our way back," Hoseok quietly spoke from the driver's seat, informing the others that they were on their way home.
"How is everyone?" Yoongi asked, anxiously awaiting the answer. Namjoon and him were already in a car driving towards them, but Namjoon stopped the car and turned around so they could meet everyone at home.
"Hurt, but alive," Hoseok said, his voice soft and barely audible over the earpiece.
Jimin reached up to his earpiece and tore it out, throwing it across the van. No one spoke and Yoongi immediately understood. He didn't say anything else about the matter, picking up on the solemn mood. From what they were able to pick up through their earpieces, he knew that this was a mission that they failed.
"We will see you at home," Yoongi said.
Once they were back at the house, all of them slowly made their way inside to see Taehyung, Namjoon, Jin and Yoongi waiting for them. Still holding onto Charlie, Jimin finally let go and trudged over to Taehyung.
"He needs his shoulder looked at," Charlie said, motioning towards Jimin.
Jin walked over to Jimin and Taehyung, leading them both downstairs to the medbay.
"You good?" Yoongi asked Charlie, worriedly glancing at the young woman. He saw the slight bruising that was starting to form on her face and the small cut on her lip, but what he was most concerned about was the pain she was clearly hiding inside.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna go shower," she mumbled, turning away from everyone else as she walked upstairs to her room.
Yoongi turned towards Jungkook, who slowly shook his head. Jungkook knew Charlie better than anyone else did, and knew that she would not let anyone see her break. She was on the verge of breaking and he needed to be there for her. Jungkook had heard the gunshot and saw the outline of Raven's body on the concrete floor, but Jimin and Charlie had actually seen her die right in front of them.
"She's not fine, can we debrief this later?" Jungkook asked and Yoongi nodded, knowing that everyone was going to need some to grieve. Watching as everyone dispersed, Yoongi turned to Namjoon and waved him away. Namjoon understood what he was asking for and headed to the basement in order to check on Jimin and take off his gear.
Yoongi headed to his office and shut the door, making sure to lock it behind him. He slowly walked over to his desk and let his palms meet the cool wood, pressing his fingers against it before curling them into fists. He watched as his knuckles turned white. Then, in one swift movement, he moved his hands across his desk, knocking over files and other trinkets to the ground. He let out a low scream as he covered his face with his hands. He took a minute to calm his breathing before walking over to the small liquor cart, pouring himself a tall glass of whiskey.
Jungkook quickly went to his room and took off all his gear, placing it on his dresser as his thoughts were focused on Charlie, the worry taking over him as he moved fast. He had to tell himself to pause for a moment, taking a deep breath before making his way to Charlie's room.
He knocked before slowly opening the door, peeking in and calling her name only to see that she wasn't there. He heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom that was attached to her room and slowly walked over. He knocked again, waiting for a response before cautiously opening it.
Charlie was on the ground, her knees pulled to her chest as she continued to sob. Jungkook immediately knelt down to her and pulled her into his lap. When she felt him near her, her arms automatically wrapped around his neck as she buried her face in his chest, holding on tightly to him.
Charlie rarely cried. The last time she did was when Taehyung had gotten hurt. Raven wasn't just hurt though, she was gone, and the sobs that came out of Charlie's mouth hurt Jungkook more than he thought possible. She was breaking and there was nothing he could do to help her. Doing the only thing he could think of, he pulled her in closer, his grip tightening around her small frame as he tried his best to comfort her.
"Stay with me, please," Charlie choked out through her sobs. She didn't want to be alone tonight and she had hoped that he understood what she was asking of him.
"Always," Jungkook responded, feeling a few tears slide down his own cheeks as he held Charlie tightly, feeling his heart tugging as her sobs were the only sound audible in her cold bathroom.
A/N: Ya.......