[UNIT:EXO] Gambit

CHAPTER II

Tao stands at one end of the briefing table, looking at the expectant faces of his co-agents. Right after his conversation with Kris last night, Tao had immediately buried his nose deep into RedSnow's files and spent the majority of the night coming up with a fool proof strategy. Once morning came he immediately gathered the other three members within his assigned sub-unit--namely Chanyeol, Xiumin, and Kai--into the briefing room to break the news. 

"Please tell me we're finally going on a mission," Chanyeol says, his eyes silently pleading for the answer he wants. Xiumin and Kai looks at him before shifting their gazes to Tao as well, very much obvious that they'd also been itching to finally be on a mission.

"How's your ankle feeling?"

"Good as new," Chanyeol answers a bit too quickly and even stomps his foot several times as if to prove it. He lifts his jeans to show that it, indeed, is no longer swollen or bruised. "See? Doesn't hurt anymore. I'm completely ok and ready for a mission."

Tao already knows that it had completely healed since Xiumin already confirmed it yesterday, but he pretends to scrutinize Chanyeol's ankle just for the heck of it, enjoying the nervous look on the man's face. Well, it's not everyday that he can tease his hyungs and get away with it.

"Hmm, then I guess we can proceed with the mission," He finally confirms,  immediately followed by celebratory noises and sighs of relief.

"Thank you Lord Jesus, finally!" Chanyeol lifts his hands up to the heaven as if he'd just found the true purpose of his existence, while Kai enthusiastically taps his fingers on the table with a big grin on his face as if he could already imagine himself typing away codes into his keyboard, manipulating drones and satellites according to his will.

"So what's the mission?" Xiumin asks. Tao slides towards each of them their respective briefing folders, and automatically, they open them and flip across the papers and photographs. Well, except for Chanyeol who just opts to listen to what Tao has to say. 

"Due to the unfortunate instances the other sub-units faced in their respective missions," Tao begins, and he tries not to wince at the memory of Sehun's unconscious figure laying on a stretcher. "Kris-hyung and I concluded that RedSnow's tactics are much more elaborate than we expected. So far, our usual procedures haven't exactly been effective on them and they seem to always be two steps ahead of us."

Tao's jaw clenches at this since this is one of the main points he couldn't figure out yet. RedSnow Inc. is involved in illegal transportation of drugs, yes, and that doesn't make it a surprise anymore that they've greatly invested in a legitimate defense system (armed men, bulletproof cars, and even a multilayer firewall that even Suho can't hack into) considering all the danger that comes with their underground business wherein competitors or law enforcement are a constant threat to their secrets.

But what doesn't make sense is that they seem to be well prepared for covert operations against them; intelligence-level threats that are normally too much to handle even for multi-million companies. And the fact that they could outsmart them, not only unit EXO but also all the other units of NIS that handled this case before them, already says enough on how intricate their defenses actually are. Tao would've been impressed if only it didn't mean they were basically being fucked over by whoever's planning for RedSnow. 

"Our team is assigned to figure out and take down RedSnow's defenses," Tao continues. "Their procedures, their protocols, their key persons; Whatever that could help us predict their every move in the future, so we can prevent any more mishaps and enable the other teams to retrieve evidence. Hopefully then we can finally incapacitate RedSnow's illegal business and just get this all over with."

"A client meetup tonight?" Kai questions as he comes across the file detailing their first mission. He looks back at Tao with uncertainty. "How can we be sure that this isn't just another trap?"

Tao bites his lip as he completely understands Kai's concern. Although Chen managed to get this information himself by tapping into the phone of one of RedSnow's employees involved in their inner circle, they still can't be 100% sure that everything they heard was true or the information was just planted.

"It could be another trap for all we know." Tao says honestly, and they only respond with silence. However, nobody tries to question the integrity of the mission because they know Tao well enough already to know that he wouldn't propose this mission without having considered all the possible outcomes, and have come up with the appropriate contingency plans.

Xiumin is the first one to break the silence. "So what's the plan?"

With this, Tao's expression becomes more serious and his eyes narrow into a focused look as if tons of information are rushing past his head and he's trying to read through them.

"Location is Bar Twelve at Cheongdam-dong. There are only two entry points: the front and the back door. The target is set to arrive at 9:00 PM, but we don't have info on how many defense units will be with him, and that's not yet even counting the ones from their client's side."

"Wait, did you say Cheongdam? And a bar?" Chanyeol says distractedly, sparkles starting to form in his eyes as he claps his hands in excitement. "It's been a while since I've been to a bar!"

"Pyro," Tao addresses him by his code name, causing him to snap out of his forming daydream and snap his mouth shut. "Yes, you will be going to a bar and congratulations, you'll be the first to enter the premises undercover. As the explosives expert, you'll be in charge of scanning the place for planted explosives. If you see one, disarm it if the circumstances allow it, but if it's impossible, we'll abort mission. How much lead time do you need?"

Chanyeol smacks his lips while deep in thought, his hands waving in the air as if he's already imagining and counting the hot spots he'll check. "Hmm, how many floors do they have?"

"Just one. Basement level."

"Fifteen minutes."

Tao nods. "Once all is set, I'll get in position and the two of us will be the eyes and ears inside."

He shifts his focus to Kai. "Crypt, you'll be the bird's eye. You'll be the one to give us a heads up of the arrival of RedSnow units, or if there's any suspicious vehicles or activities within the vicinity. Also, I'll need you to install GPS trackers on all RedSnow vehicles. We'll be needing those to trace their activities for days to come."

"Got it," He makes an ok sign.

"Rixin, I'll need you at vantage point and create chaos when the time is right." Xiumin's eyes widen at this. It's not often that his skill as a marksman is utilized because he's more known for his skills in the laboratory, specifically in things relating to poison. Even so, he only serves either as a lookout or a discreet shooter. It's definitely his first to fire openly, and in public at that too.

"We need to eliminate their option to use the front door so shoot as much as you can. With the obvious threat and the chaos, they'd have no choice but to use the back door. That's where the magic will happen." A small smirk plays on Tao's lips. "The back door is more discreet and away from the public eye so we can do what we have to do. Pyro and I will deal with the guards, and once clean, we can finally take the target."

"Wait wait wait," Chanyeol looks around in confusion. "Who's the target?"

"Hyung, it's in the file." Kai rolls his eyes at him. "It wouldn't hurt to read the folder, you know?" He motions towards Chanyeol's unopened briefing folder. The man in question raises his hands in defense.

"Hey, I'm not a reading kind of guy, alright? My attention span is just not fit for that type of thing. Plus, Tao is going to say it anyway so why bother?"

"You're on another level of lazy," Kai just shakes his head in disbelief.

Xiumin just snickers at both of them.

"We know the identity of the client, but unfortunately, not the identity of RedSnow's representative. But that's not the important part," Tao's eyes start to light up, as if he already could see the plan unfolding in his head.

"The only important info we need is that he is RedSnow's head strategist, and we're going to capture that son of a bitch."

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