Winter Bear || TaeJin [Completed]

3. On the Radar

Steady footsteps echoed through the brightly lit hallways as two men headed for a scheduled meeting. Only a handful of uniformed personnel could be seen, all highly decorated and alert as they eyed the two who stiffly made their way to where the General waited for them.

"Come in" they could hear the heavy address as an attending Private declared their arrival. The room had a grim air to it with dark wooden embellishments, after the honorary salute they proceeded to discuss what they had been called for.

"The document is still missing." Jackson spoke which made the General pause at the paper work he had been busy with. "It is confirmed that Rayden and his men do not have it, they are still hunting for it as per the reports." The next sentence came out in a lower voice "but somehow they found some lead on the whereabouts of Colonel Kim".
[A/N:Namjoon is a Colonel, and Taehyung is a Major. They will be referred to in future as 'Col.' and 'Major']

The General stared intently at Colonel Wang, soaking in all the news he had just received. His jaw tightened as he spoke.

"I told you our first priority is the document. If it is not with those thugs then they are no longer our target." Jackson was fearful of what was coming next. "Trace Colonel Kim and that brat, I want them here by the end of the month. I hope you realize the gravity of the situation Wang, that document could prove to be catastrophic in the wrong hands. It needs to get secured and that is why the mission had been ensured to the special forces!"

Jungkook silently eyed his senior, he could feel the air get awfully tense. This is what they had anticipated to happen.

They had been desperately following any leads to Rayden and his group, checking every minute hint to pinpoint the culprit behind the massacre at the dockyard, the masked stranger who had tried to shoot Major Kim that night who was probably still out there somewhere but nothing had any concrete evidence to prove anything.

He was aware how hard Col. Wang has worked to keep the two safely hidden away, it would all go to waste if he has to give them up to the General. Not only would they be interrogated and stripped off of their statuses, they might even be put into confinement because of intentionally going MIA. But there was no way he could dare to defy the man spouting out the orders, at least not on his face.

" Yes Sir." Jackson visibly gulped the lump in his throat, and bowed before leaving the room with Jungkook towing behind him.

The young private had been recruited a year ago, he was currently under training to become one among the members of the special forces. The very day Col. Wang had taken him and Hoseok under his wing they had been informed of their duties and responsibilities that would go beyond what they report to the officials.

Hoseok had been to several safe houses to ensure that no one suspected anything of the Colonel and the Major being secretly deported. So when Jackson decided that one of them needed to accompany the escapees just to make sure that they had a back-up when in need of help, naturally he chose the elder. While Jungkook stayed to aid Col. Wang with his strategies.

"You made sure the package would reach Hoseok right?" Jackson asked the moment they got into the car.

"Yes Sir, it will reach him by tonight I made sure of that. Jin does not suspect a thing, I told him it's a parting gift for Hoseok and Yoongi" Jungkook assured with a straight voice "although I don't think dragging him into this is a right decision. He's not associated with all this in any way, and I'd really appreciate it if it stays that way." He was quite worried about using the innocent boy as a carrier, he had promised Hoseok to keep Seokjin safe. Jungkook knew his senior would never ask to drag some civilian into this if it was not absolutely necessary but it made him feel uneasy nonetheless.

He would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to Jin due to their ministrations.

"You know why I had to send Hoseok there. I am being tracked Jungkook. They are already suspecting me" Jackson informed "Namjoon and Taehyung have no one else to help them now except us. The very head they had pledged their lives to now wants them on a rack!" He was fuming with frustration, he could not believe that the higher-ups still thought that it was Taehyung's fault that the document had gone missing.

The boy had lost his entire team! His brother! His best friend! The  cheerful boy who had proved to be the best of his class with his adept tactics and sharp instincts so much so that he had been allotted to lead a team to mission at the age of 23 was this close to being labeled as a national enemy!

"If we do not find a way to detect the culprit the whole mission will go to waste, and all those lives wasted for nothing. They will blame it all on Taehyung and stamp the division as a failed one." He leaned back against the headrest  as the younger kept his eyes on the road, Jungkook's hands steady on the wheel, not a glimpse of his anxiety leaking from his stern expression.

Taehyung's P.O.V.

I have come to love the solitude now, the melancholy forest right before the sun eases its way in feels oddly comforting to me. The chill of the early morning air scalding my lungs and throat as I run, people call it keeping in shape; I call it my way to keep sane.

I often find myself knocking at the gates of Hell, to let me in and brand me as the demon I am; but I guess I have greater havoc to wreck so they won't let me in yet.

I realize I am hyperventilating and stumble down to grab my heaving  chest. Grief does not kill you neither does guilt, but they do kill parts of you and you are no longer the whole human you once were. You are just broken pieces with frayed edges which could never be put back together again. My breathing returns to normal and I stand up to resume my run.

The first few months after the incident were the hardest. I was being constantly shifted, tracked, counseled and taken care of like a fragile object. I know Namjoon was equally shocked by the incident but he would always make sure I was not thinking about doing anything stupid. But he forgets how well he had trained me.I often lashed out at him since I had no one to shout out my pent up frustration at. I had even gotten thrashed for accusing him for taking me away from my team when they needed me the most.

I lived, and as much of a curse it felt like at that time I am grateful to him. I still at times give him the silent treatment for bossing me around, I am no longer his underling but he does not seem to care about what I think.

I jog up the steps to reach the front porch to my home, thankfully six months ago the whole shifting from one safe house to another had come to an end and we were sent to a little town by the mountains, as far away and obscure as possible from being on the radar of the several heads pursuing us. It has been a little better since then. It has been long since we had actual houses, scheduled jobs and regular acquaintances.

Almost like normal people.

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