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third person pov
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The rows of men were stretching down the dark room. One man, with spiky red hair, lip piercings and ear piercings, sauntered down the rows, painstakingly slowly. He wore black clothes like everyone else and carried a rifle.
All the men were wearing masks over their faces, so their identity was unrecognizable until you see their name tag. On each man's left side of their chest, was a name tag encrypted of their names in an inky black.
The leader, Lee Taeyong, stared at each and every single man of his army. Their chins were raised, hands into fists, by their sides. None smiled. They all kept a straight face and looked ahead.
"Attention, men. Sanguis is practically dead now. Ghost town. Just like we wanted it to be," Taeyong grinned evilly and smirked. "The police force is apparently still hunting for us, but they seem to pushing harder than ever."
Taeyong snapped his fingers, then out came, from the door, a tall man with broad shoulders, pulling a younger one by the wrist. Hard. The younger grimaced. Shackles were locked tight around his wrists and ankles, and his lip was cut, blood spilling down his face. His clothes were torn and dusty, and his hair was messy. The nineteen-year-old panted hard, but the broad-shouldered man smacked him on the back, causing the younger to whimper and stay silent after that.
"Be quiet, dog." Doyoung hissed.
Jaemin? Jeno's thoughts were racing. Why was he here?
"New recruit," Taeyong clapped his hands slowly. "Na Jaemin, age 19. Birth date, August 13, 2000. He was found in the Sanguis Forest, as well as a girl that was the same age as him," Taeyong stood tall. "The girl was presumed unconscious, and was taken to prison. However," Taeyong smirked. "The boy can stay. 19 is the perfect age for new recruits, don't you think?"
You took us when we weren't even 18, Renjun thought angrily in his head. It hasn't been long since Taeyong took him out of jail, along with Jeno, who was taken before him, to start training with the 1:27. This gave him a chance to live, yes, but it made his heart feel hollow and heavy with guilt and sorrow. He didn't know if Chenle and Jisung would survive, but his mind forced him to stop thinking about the intended outcome. Death. On a pole.
"Na Jaemin will start his training with the other recruits we only got a couple days ago," Taeyong's eyes flicked straight at Jeno and Renjun, who were standing still, side by side. "Jeno. Renjun. They were taken from prison and began their training here. Pretty resistant, I must say," Taeyong sighed and started pacing back and forth down the row again. "I mean, of course, everyone made a decision, and it's not a decision you can change, isn't it, men?"
"Yes, sir!" The loud, growling echoes of the 1:27 echoed throughout the room. It gave Jaemin chills down his spine. He bet, that at least one person, aside from Jeno and Renjun, who he desperately wanted to hug, didn't want to be here. At all.
"Now. Bad news." The gaze in Taeyong's eyes switched from semi-happy to death stare. It was cold and piercing, and it gave everybody shivers. "Two of our men were arrested by the goddamn Sanguis Police Force not too long ago. Lee Donghyuck and Mark Lee," Taeyong sighed and massaged his temples. "Those two were training with me for over three years. Three years! And they decide they can fucking lose to the police, who are only mere rats compared to this already-powerful army we have?" Taeyong didn't have anyone to shout at, so it looked like he was angrily scolding the cement floor. "They are currently, from what I heard, in another town with the chief, at court, ready to serve their sentence."
Everyone stayed silent. No one dared to speak.
Taeyong kept pacing down the row, observing each man's name tag. Finally, he sighed and stepped back, standing in the middle once again.
"With Sanguis a ghost town, we have claimed victorious for now. Once we finish off the rest of the town," He put his hands together and centred them in between his frigid eyes. "We can move on to the next."
Jaemin's chest tightened. The next town over was Aurum. It was the city of gold, where all the mines were. They shipped out minerals and was probably one of the richest towns in the region. The 1:27 would probably kill everyone and steal everything, Jaemin thought, tightening his lips into a thin line.
"For the Aurum mission, I have already assigned roles," Taeyong summoned a file of papers with a wave of his hand. He coughed and started reading off names. "When I call your name, come forward and receive a file. Moon Taeil, Seo Johnny , Nakamoto Yuta. You three are in charge of the explosives. Charge up as many, as many as you can. We're not going to Aurum for no reason."
Wait, Nakamoto? Yuta Nakamoto? Jaemin's mind raced. The name was so familiar, it hurt to think.
"Qian Kun, Kim Doyoung, Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul. Spy missions. You three will be sent out early, to Aurum, and you will keep. Your. Cover. You three are also on guns. Before you leave, give everyone their respective gun and make sure they are all functioning properly."
"Jung Jaehyung, Dong Sicheng, Kim Jungwoo. First aid. Prepare whatever first aid we need. Everything. I expect you to be at every site of emergency and perform the task quickly. We don't need anybody dying on us."
"Wong Yukhei, Xiao Dejun, Hendery. Guards. We will set up a post somewhere in Aurum. I expect that all areas of our post be guarded and protected. Don't make it too obvious, either. We don't want any Aurum Police Force on us."
Taeyong sighed when he got to Renjun's, Jeno's, and Jaemin's file. He clenched his jaw. "Huang Renjun. Lee Jeno. Na Jaemin. You three just got here, but I need every man possible for this mission. Aurum is a big city," he pondered and started nodding like he got an idea. "Attention, men. Best gunmen, raise your hands. I need three."
Jung Jaehyun. Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul. Kim Doyoung.
"Okay, then. Each of you will be with one of the youngsters. Jaehyun, you're on Jaemin. Chittaphon, on Renjun. Doyoung, on Jeno. Don't take your eyes off of them and teach them all the basics."
With everything under hand, Taeyong started rubbing his hands together like every villain in a fairy tale. "A new life. A new revolution. A new generation." He smirked and rubbed his inked tattoo. "1:27."
