BLOOD MONEY || bts mafia au

twelve.

"Are you sure about this?" Namjoon murmured as their trio walked with silent footsteps, their shadows stretching out to meet the darkness surrounding them. Somewhere above them, Hoseok was flashing across the rooftops, searching for the best advantage to watch the back entrance. It soothed Jungkook a little to know that he wasn't in as deep with his sworn rivals as he thought.

Jungkook thought about faking a swaggering bravado for Yoongi's benefit but decided to answer honestly. The rest of the mission, his safety would rely on these two. Might as well give that trust a test now. "I'm not sure about a lot of things, but if Taehyung thinks it'll work, then I trust him."

Yoongi raised one of his eyebrows into a delicate arch. "It seems that you do a lot more than trust him. He's not one of your soldiers. He can't be your spy. He has nothing to offer other than a pretty face, yet you've kept him by your side all these years."

His teeth grinding against one another, Jungkook forced a carefully neutral expression onto his face. It would do him no good to lose his temper just as they entered the ring of fire. "Taehyung is a person; I don't own him. He's free to do as he wishes."

The other boss said nothing as they crept up to the back entrance of the facility, the darkness and building in front of them their only cover. Abstaining from the conversation taking place behind him, Namjoon peered around the corner, flashing the boys behind him a thumbs-up to signal that the coast was clear.

Jungkook tapped the comm inserted in his ear, speaking softly to avoid being overheard. "Taehyung?" he murmured.

There was a brief pause before the older boy's voice crackled over the system, his low voice the only sound other than the whistling of the wind. "Alright, the guards' shift should be changing in a minute. When you see three people walk out, grab them and go. You have four minutes to be in before anyone starts to suspect anything."

"Copy that," Jungkook mumbled, switching off the comm as he shuffled forward. He leaned forward on his feet, every carefully trained muscle standing at attention in anticipation.

This was where every second counted, where every move had to be choreographed to perfection. One false step and it was over for them.

They couldn't afford any mistakes.

Silently to himself, Jungkook went over the plan in his head. Back entrance, through the main floor, take the path down to the vaults, look for the third door on the left-

A movement in front of him drew him from his thoughts. Namjoon's fingers weaved in the smooth movement they'd agreed as their cue, yanking Jungkook him back to the issue at hand.

The adrenaline that had been building up within Jungkook's body exploded, coursing through his veins white-hot as he dashed forward, eager to feel the familiar sensation of skin splitting open beneath his touch. It had been far too long since he went on a mission himself rather than simply transacted the price. Now all he wanted was to get his hands dirty.

Yoongi and Namjoon dark blurs beside him, Jungkook launched himself at the nearest guard, twisting straight into his attack to avoid giving him time to react. Stumbling backward from both the impact and shock, the guard automatically threw his hands up to protect his face, leaving his ribcage exposed to Jungkook's kick. Still riding the element of surprise, it was nothing for Jungkook to fold in the other man's knees with a simple jab of his heels and use his elbow to drive the guard's body hard enough down to the pavement that the force sent a resounding crack through his skull and rendered him unconscious.

Fishing around in the guard's pockets, he carefully slipped the precious keycard around his fingers. A brief glance around him revealed that Yoongi and Namjoon had done the same. Namjoon wordlessly beckoned them over, sliding his hands underneath the closest guard's body to drag him over toward the dumpster shrouded in the shadow cast by the building. Working quickly to dispose of the evidence of their presence, moved silently within their allotted time frame, they stashed the unconscious guards, hoping they wouldn't wake up until they were long gone.