Boss ~Taeten~

Chapter 13

17

The room falls into an echoing silence as Taeyong utters the name that few of them had heard in nearly a year.

Johnny looks to Tae with sad eyes, it was obvious that even after a year the wounds left behind by Taeil's disappearance were as fresh as ever "There is no way we could be talking about the same Lee Taeil" He says his tone of voice was quiet and held intense pain. "My Taeil disappeared 11 months, 2 weeks, 1 day, and 37 minutes ago, I watched him get taken away to be tortured by a rival gang myself"

Taeyong was taken aback by the detail in which Johnny had remembered when Taeil had been taken. He thinks for a moment "Well the Lee Taeil I know is a dance coach who moved here 6 months ago and almost cried when I called him by a nickname that wasn't Tae" he recalled.

"What did you call him Taeyong" Ten asks his voice was calm and serious but it held a nearly indiscernible undertone of anxious urgency.

Taeyong takes a moment to think before remembering the incident completely "Well he liked to call me Tae and I very well couldn't call him the same so I flipped his name backwards to try and find a cool nickname when I found that if you use the last three letters in his name it spells the word Lie, so I asked him if I could call him that but he got all teary and shook his head no saying 'That name is reserved for someone special who I can only find in here' and he pointed at his heart before excusing himself to take a breather outside."

Johnny's eyes got wider and tearier as Taeyong's story went on and as it ended a slow fat tear finally rolled down his cheek. Ten went to stand beside his subordinate and placed a hand on his shoulder squeezing it slightly in comfort while not taking his eyes off of the angel that had been sent to him and his gang.

"Wh-Where is he now?" Johnny asks taking an extra attempt to form a sentence through his throat which was tight with emotion.

Taeyong thinks carefully "Well today is Tuesday right?" he wonders aloud and Ten gives him a confirmatory and encouraging nod "On Wednesdays we usually have a morning practice together before going to get some cup ramen together from the convenience store near my apartment." Taeyong thinks for an extra moment before voicing another curious thought "Does that mean that you are the someone special that calls him Lie?"

Ten squeezes Johnny's shoulder again to encourage his response and Johnny gives a small smile beneath the tears that were continuing to silently roam down his face one after another. He sniffled softly and nodded his small smile growing a little as he chuckled softly and wiped his nose "He was our best interrogator, the best at lying and getting answers out of anyone without even having to touch them" He chuckles ruefully again, as he relived the bittersweet memories of his loved one "He was our King of bluff and I always used to call him Lie as a clever nickname to tease him for it but it just sort of evolved into a pet name I would always use to call him back to me."

Taeyong nodded slowly then sits down on the edge of a couch across from where Johnny and Ten stood, his brows furrowed and his soft lips pouting slightly as he thought deeply.

"What are you thinking of Pet" Ten murmurs carefully as he watched, and secretly admired, the thoughtful boy.

Taeyong lifts his head and looks at Ten and Johnny "I have an idea to bring Taeil here but I doubt you would let me do it, from what I know it could be dangerous"

Ten tilts his head not keen on putting his prize in danger but he also wanted Taeil back if not for Johnny's sake then for the sake of the entire gang, the missing eldest was more than just a dear friend to Ten and the others, he was an incredible medic (No shade to Jisung who was being trained by Taeil before his disappearance), the most impressive interrogation leader Ten had ever seen in action, and a well rounded fighter, especially during their more stealthy operations.

"As far as what you've told me Johnny, Taeil would do anything to come back to you, correct?" Taeyong questions carefully as he thinks.

Johnny nodded slowly "He often told me so"

Taeyong smiled slightly at that, it definitely sounded like the Taeil he knew, he soon frowns again and nods once "Then that would pretty much confirm my theory" he concludes with a sigh "Taeil is being controlled and watched over by the rival gang that took him while they work on getting information from him, they are hoping he will get close to someone whom they can then capture and use as a hostage to gain information from him."

"How the hell did you come to that conclusion?" Ten asks, very much impressed and oddly proud, he hadn't seen deductive reasoning like that since Taeil himself.

"Well it was actually quite simple" Taeyong hums "While Taeil kept up a carefree attitude he usually spoke slowly as if he was thinking about every little word he said, he also did a lot of glancing around, nearly constantly. He also pretty much kept me at arms length relationship wise, we were friends but we weren't really close, and the last reason I can think of right now is that Taeil basically had a curfew of 7 pm, no matter what he would always bail by then. Oh! And when I would see him in the mornings he was always stiff with his movements and wore clothes that covered a lot of skin even if we were going to dance a particularly difficult routine that would make him hot really quickly."

Ten nods slowly, it made sense when all of the information was put together like that, though he himself wouldn't have retained so many small details about someone, especially in a span of only 6 months while not seeing the other every single day.

"Okay, then what's your plan?" Johnny asks, his tears had finally ceased and he had a steely look of determination lighting up his eyes.

"Well my idea is for me to deliver him a message from one of you tomorrow when we meet up, he could respond with whatever code words you would understand and I could keep meeting with him for practice as I used to, one to get and give information to and from him but also to keep up appearances for those watching him."

Ten nods once in acknowledgement of the sort of brilliant plan "But why did you say we wouldn't let you do it?"

"Because then you would have to trust me enough to let me leave this place and your direct supervision. I would have to go alone, the members wouldn't be able to come encase the rival gang watching Taeil recognized them, I'm the perfect cover but it could be dangerous because the gang might assume that we are growing a bond and take me to bait Taeil, and besides you have only known me for what, two days? Trusting me to come back wouldn't be a natural thing, especially in your line of work I would assume trust doesn't exactly come easily to you all."

"For Taeil's sake and yours Johnny, I say we let him try it, if it doesn't work to get him out then at least we could have some kind of closure with him, besides I'm sure he's as desperate to get back to you are you are to have him back" Jisung speaks up, his voice stayed soft but he still wanted to add his input, Taeil had been his teacher and best friend and he wanted him back nearly as much as Johnny did.

Johnny nodded in agreement and looked at Ten, who looked back at the other and sighed. He nodded slowly as he carefully mulled over the situation "Go to Yuta and Winwin and set up a tracking system we can use for Taeyong" he finally responds verbally.

Johnny instantly brightened and jumped up off the couch running as fast as he could to the tech room.

Ten allows a small smile to cross his lips as he watched Johnny go before he turned back to Taeyong

"You haven't given us any reason to distrust you Pet, for everyone's sake, including yours, don't prove me wrong"