"Jass, huh?"

Joong frowned at the name. It was familiar... wasn't he a regular client?

"What now, boss?"

"Same as always."

"Got it."

One of the men stepped down, a mask covering his face completely, and walked straight toward the reception house at the end of the street. The moment he appeared, a big guy stepped out from inside, gun already in hand.

"Who you looking for?"

"I've got goods. Here to sell to Jass."

"No trading here. Go somewhere else."

"Tell him it's an S+."

The big guy paused for a moment, his eyes drifting toward the black car parked in the distance.

"Wait here."

After about five minutes, the big guy gave a signal, and Joong's man, along with the black car, was allowed into the lot and invited upstairs to meet Mr. Jass. Normally, the only ones who ever dealt directly with Jass were Joong or Oat .. the others were just drivers or backup, so Jass had never seen them before.

While the men carried out their task, Joong and Oat quietly made their way to the back entrance, following Ally's instructions along with some intel they had gathered themselves. The back door was only loosely barred since this was the usual spot for dumping bodies, locking it too tightly would just slow things down.

The door creaked open easily. Inside, there were two paths - one going up, one going down. Oat took the upper path while Joong headed down. The staircase below was dimly lit, but eventually, a faint, unpleasant greenish light appeared.

He kept his hand on the wall, inching forward until he reached a massive steel door.

"Serum room... the serum... yeah, this must be it."

Muttering to himself, Joong recalled the doctor's words. He pulled out a small flashlight and focused it on the lock. It was a sensor lock, every tiny mistake could set off an alarm and ruin everything. He worked carefully, precisely.

The soft clicks of the mechanism dragged on for twenty long minutes. Sweat beaded on his forehead, dripping into his eyes and stinging them.

"Hey."

A soft voice, followed by a hand on his shoulder, startled Joong. Instinctively, he spun around, drawing his gun in one swift motion and aiming it straight at the figure behind him.

"It's me... it's me!"

"..."

It was that doctor.

"No matter how hard you try, you're not getting that open."

"I need to get inside."

"Hold on. Go stand watch at the door for me. I saw you on the security cameras earlier ...lucky for you, everyone had already stepped out. I deleted the footage, but you've gotta be more careful."

Only then did Joong remember ..he'd rushed in without even checking for cameras. Guess luck was on his side this time. He moved to the doorway to keep watch as the doctor unlocked the door. With both a keycard and a physical key, the lock came undone in seconds.

"All set. Go now, they could be back any minute."

"Thanks."

"Move!"

The door swung open.

In the center of the room, beneath a dim red light, lay the body Joong held so dear motionless, hooked up to a tangle of IV lines. He stepped closer, slowly, his eyes fixed on the figure before him, not even daring to blink. He had to see ..really see ...the face struggling to breathe. Each ragged inhale sounded so painful that Joong thought, if it were him, he might have given up breathing altogether.

"Dunk... I'm here."

He gently stroked Dunk's sunken cheek and whispered into his ear. The sound of Joong's voice..familiar, warm ..stirred something. Those eyelids fluttered open... and in those eyes, it was like fireworks bursting in the night sky. Dunk was happy. So happy. But that joy never reached beyond the dazed, hollow gaze.

"I'm taking you home, okay?"

/Take me home... I'm so tired.../-x

His throat too dry to speak, Dunk could only nod.

"Good boy... don't cry, okay? I'm sorry I was late. Let's go home now."

Joong pulled out a small blade and carefully snipped the lines and locks holding Dunk down. When he was done, he scooped Dunk into his arms with extreme care, afraid that even the slightest movement might hurt him.

The doctor was still waiting at the door. Without a word, he led them through a shortcut to avoid running into the guards. Ally's car was parked at a distance, engine ready. As soon as he saw them, he started driving toward their spot.

But none of them knew ..Jass wasn't easy to fool. The motion sensors had picked up the vehicle's movement.

A loud alarm blared, echoing through the building.

And Jass's men sprang into action.

"Ally, take care of him for me."

"You get in too!"

"I can't. Oat's still inside... Just go. Take care of him."

Joong shoved the doctor into the car with Dunk.

"Please... save my mother. She's in the room upstairs — room number 2."

"Got it."

*Gunshots rang out.*

Two bullets zipped past, slamming into the back of the car, grazing right by Joong's ear.

"Go, Ally!"

Joong slammed the car door shut and ducked away, disappearing into the shadows ..waiting for the right moment to strike back.
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Sapo🇻🇳 (21:30/ 020625)