[oneshot] here i am, leaving you clues (1/2)
Title: here i am, leaving you clues
Pairing: baekhyun/kai (background sehun/lu han if you squint)
Rating: nc17
Genre: au, action, mild romance
Warnings: swearing, violence, sex, torture, peripheral character death (highlight for spoilers: shinee offscreen death)
Author: gdgdbaby
Notes: hitman au. gratuitous action fluff. abandon all hope for realism ye who enter here. ft. a bunch of other members of smtown. 16,100 words.
The men beating the shit out of him seem hell-bent on acquiring the one piece of information Baekhyun genuinely does not have.
Jongin's lucky Baekhyun has no intention of telling them anything-and luckier that even if Baekhyun hadn't been trained to endure the whole spectrum of alternative interrogation methods, he'd still keep Jongin's goddamn secrets for him, would still hedge and evade the question, accept blows that send him knocking back into the concrete wall behind him.
Partnership is about trusting that the person who's supposed to have his six won't jump out and do something absolutely beyond the pale when he isn't looking-something that lands him in an empty warehouse somewhere outside the city limits, spitting blood, bright red and blooming on the icy floor beneath his feet.
It is, of course, far too late for that, now. Baekhyun can feel the beginnings of bile gathering in the back of his throat. He lifts his head and glares up at the ceiling, takes the next backhand when it's delivered and grits his teeth in a caricature of a grin against the agony. His breath rattles wetly at it leaves his mouth. An acute pain jabs into his lower chest. Broken ribs, probably, or a punctured lung.
But-
No. Stop. Not yet. Start over.
Start a story at the beginning.
Kim Kai's reputation precedes him by months.
Baekhyun does recon work for most of K, and he also happens to be friends with Kim Jongdae, which means that any talk of new assassins signing on with the company is rehashed over and over again in his presence to the point of sheer oblivion. There's the one about the drug cartel that Zitao likes to tell-that a squad of falcons had been captured alive, pumped for information, and then summarily executed. By Kai.
"The thing is," Zitao's saying, for what feels like the hundredth time, "-the thing is, he offered them all cigarettes before he did it. Gave them a light and everything. How fucked up is that?"
"I heard he wasn't the one who shot them," Jongdae counters. He ignores the balled-up piece of paper that Baekhyun tosses past him into the trash bin. "Just gave them the cigs, that's all. I mean, we all know there are enough crazies where he's coming from that could've done the shooting."
"No, it was definitely him," Zitao says staunchly. "I know a guy."
"You know a guy," Baekhyun parrots, voice dry. "Everyone knows a guy."
"Aw, come on, Baekhyun," Jongdae cajoles. "Don't pretend you aren't interested." His smile widens. "I bet you could even help us find out what really went down."
"Not a chance, smartass," Baekhyun grumbles. It isn't his job to confirm or deny the verisimilitude of rumors-at least, not on anyone that isn't a potential hit. "Don't you have work to be doing? Things to shoot at, people to kill? Higher-ups to annoy?"
"Yeah, yeah," Jongdae says, waving a careless hand in the air. He pulls Zitao out the door of Baekhyun's office, but not before sending him a saucy wink in farewell. Baekhyun shakes his head and goes back to work.
It's not that Baekhyun isn't curious, because of course he is. Everyone is. People in their particular vocation don't switch loyalties often, even if they're like Kai, who's just coming in from K's sister institution in Japan. After Minho's massive fuck-up, though, Joonmyun doesn't really have much choice in terms of replacements. Kai just happens to be the one person qualified with the highest pay grade and the most baggage.
If the stories circulating are anything to go by, he's alarmingly competent and ruthless in turns. "Siwon told me Kai shot a fellow assassin on the clock once," Lu Han says, when he drops by Baekhyun's office with Yixing to pick up printouts for his next hit. "The other guy was drunk off his ass and endangering the mission."
"So he shot him?" Yixing asks, vacant with disbelief.
"Yeah," Lu Han replies, with the immense relish of a seasoned gossip. "Then he got the guy they were supposed to be killing. Job well done."
Yixing hums thoughtfully. "You know Siwon's crazy, don't you?"
"So? Doesn't mean it didn't happen." Lu Han nods his thanks when Baekhyun passes him a hefty file. "What do you think about all this, anyway?"
"I trust Joonmyun-hyung's judgment," Baekhyun says, toting the party line. "If he thinks bringing Kai in will benefit the branch, then who am I to say otherwise?"
Yixing's face dimples. "So diplomatic."
Baekhyun shrugs. Rolls his shoulders, trying to relieve the tension settled deep in his bones. He's been here since five in the morning, Christ. "I have to be. We've been short half a dozen men since-" He makes a vague gesture in the air. "You know."
Lu Han nods, expression sobering. "The thing with Minho."
"We need all the help we can get."
"I heard Kai singlehandedly brought down an entire human trafficking ring in Tokyo," a new voice offers. Deep, husky, familiar. Chanyeol, who'd come in without anyone noticing, rests his hip against Baekhyun's desk, puffing at a half-finished cigarette. Baekhyun flips him a casual middle finger and cracks a window open. Sickly June heat starts seeping in. "That one isn't a rumor, either-Minseok-hyung was actually at J's HQ when Kai came back from the kill. It's all true."
"Is that so?" Baekhyun says, fanning the smoke away with a manila folder. Chanyeol grins. Lu Han shuffles to the door, already flipping through his intel.
"Yeah," Chanyeol continues. "Guy was covered in blood-literally dripping. None of it was his. Got the job done, though."
Baekhyun tucks his thumb against his cheek. "That's all we care about," he replies.
"Thanks for the info," Yixing says, falling in after Lu Han as he disappears into the hallway.
"You know me," says Baekhyun. "Always here to help."
Kris calls Baekhyun into his office a couple of weeks later, in the middle of a particularly nasty heat wave. It's barely two in the afternoon and their XO already looks wrecked, one hand carding through his blond hair and a clipboard clasped in the other. Despite the exhaustion, there's a keen spark in his eyes when he looks up and waves Baekhyun in, gesturing at the chair in front of his desk.
Baekhyun sits. "What's up?"
Kris hands Baekhyun a sheet of paper from the clipboard and taps a finger to his mouth. "This is the replacement roster for next quarter."
He scans it over and chews his lip. "When do they start?"
"Most are wrapping up loose ends and coming in by mid-July."
"Do any of the others know about this yet?"
Kris shakes his head, sheepish. "I figured you could break it to them," he says.
Baekhyun grins. "Scared of a little public speaking?"
"Generally, assassins don't take very well to sharing, or new people," Kris says. He returns Baekhyun's grin. "You're a smaller target."
"Oh, geez. Thanks." He glances at the list again, and a name catches his eye. "You know Sehun isn't-"
"I trust you'll be able to deal with any potential turmoil this might cause among the regulars," Kris cuts in sharply.
"They're assassins," Baekhyun points out, leaning back in his chair. "You said it yourself. By definition, they don't play well with others."
"They also aren't idiots," he says. "I don't care if they want to rough the new recruits up, but they all know we need these replacements to keep our commissions. They won't kill each other." He pauses. Then: "I really do think they'll take it better if you're the one telling them the news."
Baekhyun raises his eyebrows. "If you say so."
"One more thing," Kris says. "You might've noticed. We're finally getting a new S3."
"Kim Kai."
"Yes. He's arriving before the others-some time early next month. I spoke with Joonmyun and we agreed that it would be best to move you out of general recon for a temporary period of time."
Baekhyun frowns. "What?"
"You'll be reporting directly to Kai and gathering all his intel." Kris looks grim. "We don't want a repeat of March." Of Minho is the unsaid clause, here, and Baekhyun can hear it reverberate in the room loud and clear.
He makes another face. "Who's taking over for me, then? Pretty big shoes to fill."
Kris snorts. "Joonmyun and I will take care of it for the time being," he says. "Once we're sure Kai can handle his shit, we can talk about reassigning you to your original duties. For now, just-" A flash of real concern interrupts the smooth placidity of his face. "Just make sure no one does anything stupid."
Baekhyun smiles with teeth. "Of course. Who do you think I am?"
"K's new S3 will be one Kim Kai. I'm sure you've all heard of him by now-and if you haven't, where the fuck have you been and why haven't Lu Han and Jongdae gotten to you yet?" There's a ripple of laughter through the ranks.
They're gathered in one of the conference rooms, a motley crew of hitmen perched on the heavy furniture. If a bomb were to suddenly strike the building, some of SME's most competent killing power would be neutralized for good. Yixing raises his hand. Baekhyun shakes the stray thought from his head and nods at him.
"Who are the other replacements?" he asks evenly.
"Jung Soojung, S1," Baekhyun reads off.
Chanyeol waggles his eyebrows. "A lady!" he crows, leaning forward.
Baekhyun sends him a quelling look and moves on. "Cho Jinho, S2. Lee Moonkyu, S1."
"Hey, I know that guy," Jongdae stage whispers, elbowing Minseok in the side.
"Oh Sehun, S2," Baekhyun calls. Abruptly, the room lapses into uncomfortable silence.
Lu Han's gone very still. Baekhyun watches him for a moment, index finger slipping over the list of names. This unnatural quiet is honestly more troubling than if he'd stormed out of the room or started spewing obscenities.
"Kris and Joonmyun will be handling your intel for the foreseeable future," Baekhyun says into the hush. "I'll still be here if you need me, but report to them for your assignments. I'll have my hands full trying to whip the new S3 into shape." Someone chuckles to Baekhyun's right, but he's still staring at the clench of Lu Han's pale fists against the conference table. "That's all. You're dismissed."
They file out in twos and threes, murmuring to themselves. Baekhyun gathers his paperwork and shoves it all into his bag. He nearly collides with Lu Han and Yixing on his way out-they're conferring with Zitao just outside the door, and snap their mouths shut when they see him.
Baekhyun tugs Lu Han aside, gripping his shoulder hard. "Listen," he says. "You have any problems, you come to me."
Lu Han flashes him a tight smile. "The sentiment's appreciated, but I'll be fine."
"You better be," he says, and turns on his heel before Lu Han can respond.
Baekhyun's office is on the twentieth floor of a forty-story skyscraper smack in the middle of Yeouido. It's not the least conspicuous place a group of elite killers could station their headquarters, but it gets the job done, and the carefully cultivated investment banking front is rock solid thanks to a bit of string-pulling on Kris's part.
When he plods through fingerprint and retina scanning and walks inside after the meeting, he's immediately aware that something is wrong. There's no sign of forced entry, but the room is off, somehow. He sets his bag next to his chair and undoes the first two buttons of his shirt, hair on the back of his neck standing at attention, and casually slides the bottom drawer of his desk open with his foot.
His Glock is missing. No matter. He sees a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye and whips himself into motion, unsheathing a set of knives from the holsters strapped to his arms and embedding them deep into the pine paneling on the far side of the room. They miss the intruder by a hair-and then a strong arm is crushing Baekhyun's windpipe, the corner of his desk digging into the base of his spine as he's folded backward over it.
Baekhyun brings his knee up, nudges his shoe against the stranger's inner thigh, the drawn knife at the tip of his insole sliding through thin khaki fabric and threatening to break skin, and scans the face hovering over his: dark brown eyes, a sweep of silky hair, the barest hint of stubble smattered across his jaw. Dry skin. Full lips. He's a lot younger and a lot leaner than Baekhyun was expecting, but the insistent pressure of the arm against his neck belies his strength.
"How did you get into my office, Kai-sshi?" he manages to wheeze out, eyes blurring.
Kai lets him up after another long moment of stalemate, and hands Baekhyun's gun back to him. Baekhyun puts the safety on and drops it into the drawer, sinks down into his chair to catch his breath. "Window," Kai says, and his voice is softer than Baekhyun'd expected, too. Kai arranges himself on the edge of the desk and adjusts the collar of his dark dress shirt, eyes darting from the ceiling to the floor and then around the room.
"I sincerely hope you don't greet everyone this way." Baekhyun grimaces and massages his neck. "Rude as fuck."
Kai blinks. "Wanted to make sure my new babysitter knew what he was doing."
Baekhyun snorts inelegantly. Kai meets his gaze. "I was S2 before Joonmyun switched me into recon, you asshole. I know what I'm doing. And I'm not your babysitter."
Kai stiffens. "I'm so sure." There's an inscrutable expression on his face, an intensity that Baekhyun can't read.
He looks down, fiddles with a pen. "You weren't supposed to be here for another couple of days, anyway. Have you checked in with command?"
"They know where I am," Kai says dismissively.
"Okay, then," Baekhyun says, the corners of his lips turning down despite himself. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"This your idea of whipping me into shape?" Kai asks, head cocked to the side.
"Heard that, did you?" he says mildly, and finds that he isn't surprised in the least. Kai watches with distinct interest as Baekhyun flips through the stacked files on his desk and hands him a bulging folder. "Here. These are detailed personnel reports for everyone in K. Get to know their specs."
Kai stares at him. Then: "Will there be a quiz?"
"There just might be," Baekhyun returns, a little huffy, and Kai's lips twitch upward, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a way that Baekhyun studiously ignores.
His face has smoothed out again when he turns back to the papers in his hands. "Do I get a legitimate target, or have I not qualified for that yet?"
"I have every confidence in your abilities," Baekhyun replies, blasé as ever, "but getting to know your company is a higher priority. I'll have intel on any jobs that might interest you when you're ready."
"When I'm ready."
"So play nice, pretty boy."
Kai tucks the folder underneath his arm. "You know..."
"What?"
"The assassins in J gather their own intelligence."
Baekhyun sniffs. "I think you'll find we do things a bit differently here," he says crisply.
"I see." Another pause. Kai fiddles with the hem of his shirt. Baekhyun cocks his head. "Do you give building tours as well, or do I have to figure out my own way around this place?"
"You found me easily enough," he points out, but stands to follow anyway as Kai walks out the door.
This is how they end up in the basement, at the far end of the firing range. A cluster of S2s gathers around in the air-locked corridor and watches them with undisguised curiosity as Baekhyun gestures at the mounted weaponry on the walls, rattling specs off the top of his head.
When he turns around again, Kai's tucking earplugs in his ears. He grabs two sets of earmuffs, tosses a pair to Baekhyun before hefting a Berettar in each hand.
"Are we really doing this?" Baekhyun asks. "You haven't even seen your office yet."
"We're already here," Kai says, lifting his eyebrows. The look on his face says he doesn't really care much if Baekhyun stays or not. He sighs and shakes his head, plucks a Smith & Wesson off the wall for himself.
Kai empties his rounds into one of the stationary targets on the other side of the range, thirty bullets straight through the heart. It leaves a grapefruit-sized hole in the corrugated plastic. Baekhyun glances over; Jongdae's face has gone slack on the other side of the glass. Baekhyun grins and raises his pistol, hits six precise pressure points on his target before the cylinder clicks.
"Not bad," Kai says. He sounds like he might even mean it, though that may just be the dampening effect from the earmuffs warping his tone.
Later, when Baekhyun's back in his office and Kai's poring over the personnel files in his own, Lu Han comes by. "Is it true?" he asks, an animated sparkle in his eyes.
Baekhyun levels him a guileless look and resumes typing on his computer. "I have no idea what you mean."
"I heard the new S3 is one scary motherfucker," he says, planting his hands on Baekhyun's desk and leaning forward. "Chenchen told me he threatened a couple of S1s down in the basement earlier today. Frankly, I'm concerned for the caliber of our assassins if just one guy can make them piss themselves with fear, but I haven't actually met him yet, so-" he shrugs, here, "I'll reserve my judgment till then."
"There's something wrong with you people," Baekhyun says primly.
"Stop trying to act like you're above all of this," Lu Han returns, eyes somehow twinkling even more. His mouth stretches out into a wide grin. "An active gossip mill builds morale. You don't want the workplace devolving into mindless monotony, do you?"
"Only you could think killing people for a living is boring."
"It's the daily grind," Lu Han says. He presses a hand to his chest in typical dramatic fashion. "The tedium gets to me sometimes, Baek. It really does."
"Get out of my office," Baekhyun says, "I don't work for you anymore," but there's no heat in it. Lu Han wiggles his fingers and mouths a final keep me updated before disappearing again.
Next Tuesday finds Kai sprawled on the sofa in Baekhyun's office when he walks in. There's a crumpled comforter from God knows where crushed into the leather and Kai's shuffling through the personnel reports Baekhyun gave him, one leg hooked casually over the armrest.
Baekhyun collapses into the chair behind his desk and takes a sip of his coffee. "Do you not have a place to live?"
Kai stares at him blankly. "No. I just got here last week."
"I'm sure the company could find suitable arrangements for you."
If it's possible, Kai's expression closes even further. "More convenient to just be here all the time, isn't it?"
Baekhyun chews on his thumb. "I could have a couch sent up to your office-"
"I like this one," Kai mutters.
"Okay," Baekhyun says slowly. "You can have it. I'll get Chanyeol and Lu Han to move it across the hall for you-"
"Tell me about these people," Kai cuts in, abrupt.
Baekhyun's a little thrown at the sudden change of topic, but he takes it in stride. "Um. What would you like to know?"
"Anything." Kai shrugs noncommittally. "We can go down the list." He pulls a sheet of paper out. "Park Chanyeol."
"S2, specializes in controlled explosives," Baekhyun says, ignoring the irritated expression on Kai's face and curling his fingers around his mug. "Honestly, everything you need to know is in his file."
"Who are his friends? With whom does he work best? How am I supposed to be an effective S3 if I don't know this shit?"
Baekhyun frowns and nods. Kai isn't wrong. "Highest success rate is with Kim Minseok. He's also pulled successful hits with Jongdae and Lu Han."
Kai makes a note and moves on. "Zhang Yixing."
"Best when paired with Lu Han, Zitao, or Kris-but that was before Kris moved up the chain of command and got pulled off the regular roster. Lu Han works well with everyone, really."
"Do Kyungsoo."
"Kyungsoo patches people up when they get their asses blown to hell and back. It's not in his file but he's also very good with knives."
"Kim Jongdae?"
"Communications technician, mostly, but handy with a semiautomatic when push comes to shove. Fantastic forger. He and Joonmyun-they were involved in the Rashomon job two years back."
Kai doesn't hide the expression of surprise that flickers across his face quickly enough. "That was them?"
"With Zitao and Lu Han."
Kai worries his lower lip between his teeth. Baekhyun bends down and pushes the power button on his computer. "Tell me about Lu Han."
Baekhyun takes another sip of his coffee. "He's a good assassin."
Kai scans his file. "His specs are off the charts. What about this stuff in Macau, though?"
"Job went bad, got a couple of good people killed. Lu Han took a couple of months off, but he's fine. One of our other S2s transferred to a branch in China."
"Oh Sehun."
"He's coming back at the end of the month," Baekhyun says, and Kai looks up sharply.
"Will that cause problems?"
His stupid intel training kicks in. "I'm not going to participate in baseless speculation. All I can tell you are the facts."
Kai presses his thumb to the center of his mouth and regards him quietly. Then: "That isn't what I asked."
Baekhyun sighs, scrubs a hand over his face. "It shouldn't be a problem."
"Good." He flips to another page and Baekhyun relaxes his shoulders. He hadn't even known they were tense. "What about the replacements?"
"I'm not as familiar with them," Baekhyun says, apologetic. "But Sehun is good at what he does, if rather lackadaisical. Jinho's slippery-used to be involved in underground drag racing in Gwangju. He's the guy to go to when you need to get somewhere fast. Moonkyu's coming as a demolitions expert. Soojung's fond of grenades."
"You remember all that," Kai says, an odd quality to his voice. He's staring at Baekhyun with a level of focus that has him shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
"Just doing my job," Baekhyun says. His mouth goes dry at the scrutiny.
Kai's eyes dart away again. "I see," he says. He turns back to his paperwork.
They subside into a sort of companionable silence, punctuated by the occasional splutter of the printer or the click of Baekhyun's fingers against his keyboard, a rustle of paper from Kai. The morning flies by in a flurry of emails and post-kill reports. At noon, he pulls a packed lunch out of his bag and tosses the apple across the room. Kai catches it with one hand, eyes still glued to one of the reports. "I hate apples," he comments, before biting into it with a loud crunch.
Baekhyun smiles into his sandwich.
"Is this going to be what it's like every time I catch you by surprise?" Baekhyun bites out. Kai blinks blearily down at him, a hand still braced hard against Baekhyun's neck. Baekhyun squirms. One of his knives slips against the jumping pulse at Kai's wrist; the other traces his spine. This is, of course, what Baekhyun gets for trying to wake a trigger-happy assassin whilst preoccupied by a potential target's movement in Moscow.
"Sorry," Kai says. He doesn't sound it. He pulls back, stifling a yawn. "Force of habit."
Baekhyun sits up and clears his throat. He casts a sideways glance at Kai, who's picking sheets of paper off the floor.
"What is it?"
"You have a meeting with command in ten minutes."
"Oh," Kai says, rubbing sleep from his eyes. It's disarmingly endearing in light of his usual killing intent. Baekhyun's breath catches weirdly in his chest. "Thank you."
"That's what I’m here for," he manages to reply, retreating behind his desk.
Kai gets up, opens his mouth to say something-
And this is when Yixing and Zitao burst in through the office door and set off every damn alarm in the general vicinity. Baekhyun stands, taking the situation in through the shrill call of bells-Yixing's right leg is hanging listlessly from the knee down, blood pooling into the carpet.
"What the fuck happened?" Baekhyun snaps, helping Zitao maneuver Yixing onto the couch.
Yixing clenches his teeth, face white. Zitao shakes his head. "We weren't even doing anything, hyung-"
"What happened?"
Yixing swallows with effort. "I think someone's put a hit on me." Baekhyun's mouth drops open. "We were-we were a block away from HQ and Taozi pushed me down when he saw the sniper laser-"
Baekhyun strides to his desk, pulls an emergency kit out of the second drawer and comes back with a pair of scissors. He starts cutting away at Yixing's pant leg. "Why the fuck didn't you take him to the clinic?"
Zitao scrambles up and waves his cell phone. "We tried! No one was there, and Doc's line is busy-"
"Keep calling," Baekhyun says over him. He reaches back into the kit for the gauze but someone's already holding it-Kai. He unravels it with practiced ease and starts wrapping it around the hole in Yixing's leg.
Yixing's eyes flutter dangerously. Baekhyun grabs his face, fingers slippery with blood, stomach lurching. "Come on, Yixing, you gotta stay awake, alright?"
"Yeah," he says, voice faint. "Yeah, I know-"
"Fuck!" Tao says. When Baekhyun glances over, he's running a shaky hand through his hair, mashing the screen of his phone. "Where the fuck is our medic?"
"Kai," Baekhyun commands, "keep his leg elevated. Zitao, stop messing around with the phone and keep Yixing conscious. I'll get Kyungsoo."
The last thing he expects to find when he storms into the clinic is Amber, hair matted with blood, head cradled in the crook of Kyungsoo's elbow as he presses bandages against the grazes on her skull-or Minseok lying on his stomach in one of the gurneys, a grimace stretched across his face as he struggles to catch his breath.
"Another one?" Kyungsoo asks, a steely look in his eyes, and all Baekhyun can do is nod.
When conditions have stabilized, Kyungsoo tells them the bullet barely missed Yixing's femoral artery.
"You're lucky to be alive," he says, forcing Yixing down onto another gurney when he tries to get up.
Baekhyun scrolls through his phone and calls everyone he can think of to make sure they're okay. "The replacements haven't even arrived yet," Joonmyun remarks later, outside the clinic's double doors, watching Lu Han and Amber converse quietly from the other side of the glass. "Jesus."
"Do we know who did this?" Baekhyun asks.
"We have some idea," Joonmyun says heavily. "Nothing concrete." He shakes his head. "Director Lee's giving everyone the rest of the week and next week off to lie low. That means you, too."
Baekhyun opens his mouth to protest. Joonmyun sends him a look he probably thinks is menacing. "Alright," Baekhyun mutters, humoring him, but his mind's already running through a million and one ways to do something about this: the people he could call, the favors he has on hand to cash in, where to push for information.
When he tunes back in, Joonmyun's speaking again. "We resume regular operations two Mondays from now. Back to business as usual. The new guys will be here to pick up some of the slack." He taps a finger against the glass and drags it down. "In addition to the usual hits, I want you and Kai on this."
Baekhyun's spine snaps straight, head cocked to the side. "What?"
Joonmyun's pale face turns toward him. "K's obviously being targeted by someone familiar with multiple hitmen in the company, and K's under your jurisdiction now."
"Right," Baekhyun says, hands numb.
"Find out what's going on and neutralize the threat. It's a long-term job, open-ended, so take your time with it. We want solid intel. Don't take any risks. Kris and I will assist you in any way we can."
Baekhyun nods, heart thumping hard against his ribcage. "Understood."
It's not as if the thought of dying has never occurred to him before. Baekhyun deals with death on a daily basis. With people who dole it out to the ones who are deemed deserving. His own is almost inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, just one more casualty among the others when it comes.
Disregard for his own safety has nothing to do with any sort of calculated indifference, as it seems to with Kai, given the stories; nor misplaced bravery or sheer recklessness, like it is with so many of the others. It's compartmentalization, really-if the emotion won't help him function, then the only answer is to detach himself from it, as temporary as the reprieve might be.
This is what he tells the others when they call demanding answers. Baekhyun works from his laptop through the first day of their extended break and tries fruitlessly to find anything of worth to follow up on for a full investigation. Kris sends him ballistics reports and Kyungsoo's medical reports on the three injuries and Baekhyun puts a couple of preliminary feelers out to his contacts. There's only so much he can do from home.
Kai is an inexplicable presence on his front porch in the morning.
"What are you doing here?" Baekhyun asks jerkily, nerves fried from staying up all night.
"No place to live, remember? Joonmyun sent me here." Kai hunches over, slouching. Like he's trying instinctively to make himself smaller. "He said he'd told you."
Baekhyun pulls his phone out and sees a text message pinging in his inbox. Sending Kai to yours if convenient. If inconvenient, sending him anyway. "I-Jesus. Okay. Come in."
Kai's mouth turns up as he steps in through the open door.
"Coffee?" Baekhyun asks, nudging the lukewarm pot on the end table next to the couch.
"I'm fine," Kai says.
Baekhyun folds himself into the sofa and tugs his laptop onto his knees. "Sorry, I'm-" He shrugs helplessly. "Can't play host. We have a lot of shit to do."
"Joonmyun told me."
Baekhyun bites his thumbnail, distracted. "Yeah." He reaches over the coffee table and tosses a folder into Kai's lap.
"What's this?"
"Commission from some people in Busan. They still want the Scorpion dead."
Kai flips through the intel and makes an appreciative noise. "This is very thorough."
"Just doing my job," Baekhyun echoes.
He's not quite sure how long he's passed out, just that when he wakes up, the kettle of coffee's been refilled and there's a note stuck to the lid of his laptop, Kai's blocky penmanship scrawled all over it. Out to kill, it says, and be back soon, never mind that Director Lee's expressly told them not to draw any attention to themselves for the time being.
If anything, Kai is true to his word. The next evening, Baekhyun sets his computer aside and goes to the kitchen to make soup for dinner-and when he walks back into the living room, Kai's perched on the couch, bending over the screen as he removes the magazine from the M16 in his hands.
Baekhyun feels words pressing against the back of his throat. He wants to ask how the job went, but reins his curiosity in. "That was fast," he comments, sipping at his kimchi jjigae.
"I don't like waiting," Kai offers. He sets the gun down-chamber empty, bolt forward, safety on. "I had half the payout routed to your account."
Baekhyun blinks, momentarily blindsided. "Why?"
"You did all the work," he says. He's trying so hard to be casual that it comes out incredibly awkward anyway. "All I had to do was go and put some rounds in him."
"I usually get paid through the company," Baekhyun explains, and doesn't bring up the fact that Kai also had to get through a ridiculous amount of security and tie off any loose ends without getting caught on camera. They both know, already-it doesn't bear mentioning.
Kai grunts. "Consider it a bonus." He slides off the couch and pads into the kitchen. Baekhyun hears a faint clatter of bowls.
The texts start coming in an hour later: who the fuck killed off the scorpion?! from Lu Han, and a simple dude. explain. from Jongdae.
Baekhyun shakes his head and sends out a company-wide email. It's been taken care of. Lie low. Stay alert.
That only exponentially increases the volley of messages he has to field. i bet it was the new s3, Zitao speculates, replying all, and Baekhyun kind of wants to toss his computer beneath the couch at the deluge of responses that gets. He marks them all as spam and goes back to his work.
When he resurfaces from all the useless data he's been sifting through, it's long past midnight. Kai's sitting on the other side of the couch, twirling a spoon in his cold jjigae, bottom lip sucked into his mouth. He looks up from his printouts when he feels Baekhyun's eyes on him, and it's too late to pretend like he was doing anything but staring, so he just holds Kai's gaze, fingers still moving over his keyboard.
"What?"
Baekhyun shakes his head. "Nothing."
"You want to ask me, don't you?" There's a certain stubborn defensiveness in the set of his jaw, and Baekhyun swallows hard around the unexpected urge to reach over and smooth it out.
"Ask you what?"
Kai narrows his eyes. "If the stories about me are true."
Baekhyun tentatively pulls his email up again in a window, and-Jesus, he's gotten ten new messages in the past five minutes alone.
the guy has my wholehearted thanks. we've been trying to kill that fucker for months, says Chanyeol. he's insane is Minseok's appreciative reply. but hey, at least he's on our side.
"None of us give a shit about the rumors," Baekhyun says at last, shifting his gaze to the ceiling, fingers steepled underneath his chin.
"Really."
"We're just happy to have a competent S3 again." He closes his eyes. "I'm sure you've already heard what happened to our last one."
"Only rumors," Kai says, voice dry, and Baekhyun's lips tilt up at the irony.
"I was there," he says dully. "Sometimes I still go out in the field, see? When a team's down a man or two and needs someone to fill in." He presses his palms against his eyelids, stretches out so his feet bump against the smooth wood of the coffee table. "It was a huge clusterfuck right from the beginning. In theory, Minho should've been great in the field, but when push came to shove and decisions had to be made-"
"He couldn't do it," Kai supplies. His voice sounds like it's coming from very far off, three registers deeper. "Choked."
"It was just-two, maybe three seconds. I was sprinting toward the warehouse when it exploded. Caught shrapnel all down my front." He lets out a dry chuckle. "Thought I had it bad with the scars and shit. Turns out the rest of Minho's team was still with him when the charges blew prematurely. Jonghyun and Jinki, Kibum and Taemin. But then, so was the target. At least we got him, too."
"Yeah," Kai says. He doesn't sound convinced.
Baekhyun opens his eyes again and cards a hand through his hair. "Sorry," he says, looking down at his screen. "I don't know why I'm telling you this shit. It's over."
"It's fine," Kai says, even though it isn't. He stays curled up on his side of the couch like a huge housecat, unreadable as ever.
Kai's concept of staying out of trouble seems to involve sleepily nudging Baekhyun for new assignments and only waking up to pick them off as fast as he can. Baekhyun understands, all too well, the insistent itch to take action, and-well, the guy lives up to his reputation, at least. If Baekhyun didn't have other things to be worrying about, he'd be something more than distantly impressed at the hit-count Kai's racking up.
As it is, his contacts working on K's would-be assassinators have been yielding little fruit. And then Oh Sehun flies in with the other replacements on their first day back at work and brings with him a whole new slew of distractions.
"Hyung," Sehun says, glancing with thinly veiled curiosity at Kai, who's lounging on Baekhyun's sofa again. Baekhyun's faintly alarmed that he's become used to Kai's presence in his office, a regular fixture, like a framed picture or a particularly attractive potted plant on display.
"Sit down," Baekhyun says, pushing it firmly out of his head. He waves at the chairs in front of his desk. "We'll get you situated. That's Kai, the new S3. Kai, this is Sehun."
Kai nods. Sehun sinks down into one of the chairs. "Uh, HR coded me into the alarm systems."
"Of course they did," Baekhyun says, steady and assessing. "You wouldn't have been able to get into my office if they hadn't."
"Right," Sehun mumbles, licking his lips.
"Here's your first assignment," Baekhyun says, handing him a file. "Amber and Jinri are already on it, so catch up. If you need anything, I'm always at your disposal. Kris-hyung's handling second squad's recon at the moment-this stuff is from him."
"Thanks, hyung," Sehun says, the lines of his face relaxing a little.
There's a long pause. Sehun doesn't move to leave. Baekhyun raises his eyebrows, tries not to smile-if he were a better man, he'd volunteer the information without making Sehun sweat for it. Alas.
"Do you know if-?"
"Hmm?"
Sehun's Adam's apple bobs. "Can you tell me-I know it isn't exactly-protocol-"
Baekhyun taps his pen against his desk.
"Lu Han-hyung-"
"He's in Thailand with Minseok," he says, taking pity. "He won't be back until Saturday at the earliest. Take some time to settle back into the swing of things, okay?"
Sehun nods tightly. "Thanks," he repeats, and shuffles out the door.
"Not very subtle, is he?" Kai says after he's gone.
Baekhyun rolls his eyes. "He's good at his job, which is the only thing that matters to me. Let them figure out their high school bullshit on their own."
Kai laughs, low and husky and real, eyes crinkling so much they almost disappear. Baekhyun can't help the answering smile that spreads across his face.
> > > PART 2 > > >
Pairing: baekhyun/kai (background sehun/lu han if you squint)
Rating: nc17
Genre: au, action, mild romance
Warnings: swearing, violence, sex, torture, peripheral character death (highlight for spoilers: shinee offscreen death)
Author: gdgdbaby
Notes: hitman au. gratuitous action fluff. abandon all hope for realism ye who enter here. ft. a bunch of other members of smtown. 16,100 words.
The men beating the shit out of him seem hell-bent on acquiring the one piece of information Baekhyun genuinely does not have.
Jongin's lucky Baekhyun has no intention of telling them anything-and luckier that even if Baekhyun hadn't been trained to endure the whole spectrum of alternative interrogation methods, he'd still keep Jongin's goddamn secrets for him, would still hedge and evade the question, accept blows that send him knocking back into the concrete wall behind him.
Partnership is about trusting that the person who's supposed to have his six won't jump out and do something absolutely beyond the pale when he isn't looking-something that lands him in an empty warehouse somewhere outside the city limits, spitting blood, bright red and blooming on the icy floor beneath his feet.
It is, of course, far too late for that, now. Baekhyun can feel the beginnings of bile gathering in the back of his throat. He lifts his head and glares up at the ceiling, takes the next backhand when it's delivered and grits his teeth in a caricature of a grin against the agony. His breath rattles wetly at it leaves his mouth. An acute pain jabs into his lower chest. Broken ribs, probably, or a punctured lung.
But-
No. Stop. Not yet. Start over.
Start a story at the beginning.
Kim Kai's reputation precedes him by months.
Baekhyun does recon work for most of K, and he also happens to be friends with Kim Jongdae, which means that any talk of new assassins signing on with the company is rehashed over and over again in his presence to the point of sheer oblivion. There's the one about the drug cartel that Zitao likes to tell-that a squad of falcons had been captured alive, pumped for information, and then summarily executed. By Kai.
"The thing is," Zitao's saying, for what feels like the hundredth time, "-the thing is, he offered them all cigarettes before he did it. Gave them a light and everything. How fucked up is that?"
"I heard he wasn't the one who shot them," Jongdae counters. He ignores the balled-up piece of paper that Baekhyun tosses past him into the trash bin. "Just gave them the cigs, that's all. I mean, we all know there are enough crazies where he's coming from that could've done the shooting."
"No, it was definitely him," Zitao says staunchly. "I know a guy."
"You know a guy," Baekhyun parrots, voice dry. "Everyone knows a guy."
"Aw, come on, Baekhyun," Jongdae cajoles. "Don't pretend you aren't interested." His smile widens. "I bet you could even help us find out what really went down."
"Not a chance, smartass," Baekhyun grumbles. It isn't his job to confirm or deny the verisimilitude of rumors-at least, not on anyone that isn't a potential hit. "Don't you have work to be doing? Things to shoot at, people to kill? Higher-ups to annoy?"
"Yeah, yeah," Jongdae says, waving a careless hand in the air. He pulls Zitao out the door of Baekhyun's office, but not before sending him a saucy wink in farewell. Baekhyun shakes his head and goes back to work.
It's not that Baekhyun isn't curious, because of course he is. Everyone is. People in their particular vocation don't switch loyalties often, even if they're like Kai, who's just coming in from K's sister institution in Japan. After Minho's massive fuck-up, though, Joonmyun doesn't really have much choice in terms of replacements. Kai just happens to be the one person qualified with the highest pay grade and the most baggage.
If the stories circulating are anything to go by, he's alarmingly competent and ruthless in turns. "Siwon told me Kai shot a fellow assassin on the clock once," Lu Han says, when he drops by Baekhyun's office with Yixing to pick up printouts for his next hit. "The other guy was drunk off his ass and endangering the mission."
"So he shot him?" Yixing asks, vacant with disbelief.
"Yeah," Lu Han replies, with the immense relish of a seasoned gossip. "Then he got the guy they were supposed to be killing. Job well done."
Yixing hums thoughtfully. "You know Siwon's crazy, don't you?"
"So? Doesn't mean it didn't happen." Lu Han nods his thanks when Baekhyun passes him a hefty file. "What do you think about all this, anyway?"
"I trust Joonmyun-hyung's judgment," Baekhyun says, toting the party line. "If he thinks bringing Kai in will benefit the branch, then who am I to say otherwise?"
Yixing's face dimples. "So diplomatic."
Baekhyun shrugs. Rolls his shoulders, trying to relieve the tension settled deep in his bones. He's been here since five in the morning, Christ. "I have to be. We've been short half a dozen men since-" He makes a vague gesture in the air. "You know."
Lu Han nods, expression sobering. "The thing with Minho."
"We need all the help we can get."
"I heard Kai singlehandedly brought down an entire human trafficking ring in Tokyo," a new voice offers. Deep, husky, familiar. Chanyeol, who'd come in without anyone noticing, rests his hip against Baekhyun's desk, puffing at a half-finished cigarette. Baekhyun flips him a casual middle finger and cracks a window open. Sickly June heat starts seeping in. "That one isn't a rumor, either-Minseok-hyung was actually at J's HQ when Kai came back from the kill. It's all true."
"Is that so?" Baekhyun says, fanning the smoke away with a manila folder. Chanyeol grins. Lu Han shuffles to the door, already flipping through his intel.
"Yeah," Chanyeol continues. "Guy was covered in blood-literally dripping. None of it was his. Got the job done, though."
Baekhyun tucks his thumb against his cheek. "That's all we care about," he replies.
"Thanks for the info," Yixing says, falling in after Lu Han as he disappears into the hallway.
"You know me," says Baekhyun. "Always here to help."
Kris calls Baekhyun into his office a couple of weeks later, in the middle of a particularly nasty heat wave. It's barely two in the afternoon and their XO already looks wrecked, one hand carding through his blond hair and a clipboard clasped in the other. Despite the exhaustion, there's a keen spark in his eyes when he looks up and waves Baekhyun in, gesturing at the chair in front of his desk.
Baekhyun sits. "What's up?"
Kris hands Baekhyun a sheet of paper from the clipboard and taps a finger to his mouth. "This is the replacement roster for next quarter."
He scans it over and chews his lip. "When do they start?"
"Most are wrapping up loose ends and coming in by mid-July."
"Do any of the others know about this yet?"
Kris shakes his head, sheepish. "I figured you could break it to them," he says.
Baekhyun grins. "Scared of a little public speaking?"
"Generally, assassins don't take very well to sharing, or new people," Kris says. He returns Baekhyun's grin. "You're a smaller target."
"Oh, geez. Thanks." He glances at the list again, and a name catches his eye. "You know Sehun isn't-"
"I trust you'll be able to deal with any potential turmoil this might cause among the regulars," Kris cuts in sharply.
"They're assassins," Baekhyun points out, leaning back in his chair. "You said it yourself. By definition, they don't play well with others."
"They also aren't idiots," he says. "I don't care if they want to rough the new recruits up, but they all know we need these replacements to keep our commissions. They won't kill each other." He pauses. Then: "I really do think they'll take it better if you're the one telling them the news."
Baekhyun raises his eyebrows. "If you say so."
"One more thing," Kris says. "You might've noticed. We're finally getting a new S3."
"Kim Kai."
"Yes. He's arriving before the others-some time early next month. I spoke with Joonmyun and we agreed that it would be best to move you out of general recon for a temporary period of time."
Baekhyun frowns. "What?"
"You'll be reporting directly to Kai and gathering all his intel." Kris looks grim. "We don't want a repeat of March." Of Minho is the unsaid clause, here, and Baekhyun can hear it reverberate in the room loud and clear.
He makes another face. "Who's taking over for me, then? Pretty big shoes to fill."
Kris snorts. "Joonmyun and I will take care of it for the time being," he says. "Once we're sure Kai can handle his shit, we can talk about reassigning you to your original duties. For now, just-" A flash of real concern interrupts the smooth placidity of his face. "Just make sure no one does anything stupid."
Baekhyun smiles with teeth. "Of course. Who do you think I am?"
"K's new S3 will be one Kim Kai. I'm sure you've all heard of him by now-and if you haven't, where the fuck have you been and why haven't Lu Han and Jongdae gotten to you yet?" There's a ripple of laughter through the ranks.
They're gathered in one of the conference rooms, a motley crew of hitmen perched on the heavy furniture. If a bomb were to suddenly strike the building, some of SME's most competent killing power would be neutralized for good. Yixing raises his hand. Baekhyun shakes the stray thought from his head and nods at him.
"Who are the other replacements?" he asks evenly.
"Jung Soojung, S1," Baekhyun reads off.
Chanyeol waggles his eyebrows. "A lady!" he crows, leaning forward.
Baekhyun sends him a quelling look and moves on. "Cho Jinho, S2. Lee Moonkyu, S1."
"Hey, I know that guy," Jongdae stage whispers, elbowing Minseok in the side.
"Oh Sehun, S2," Baekhyun calls. Abruptly, the room lapses into uncomfortable silence.
Lu Han's gone very still. Baekhyun watches him for a moment, index finger slipping over the list of names. This unnatural quiet is honestly more troubling than if he'd stormed out of the room or started spewing obscenities.
"Kris and Joonmyun will be handling your intel for the foreseeable future," Baekhyun says into the hush. "I'll still be here if you need me, but report to them for your assignments. I'll have my hands full trying to whip the new S3 into shape." Someone chuckles to Baekhyun's right, but he's still staring at the clench of Lu Han's pale fists against the conference table. "That's all. You're dismissed."
They file out in twos and threes, murmuring to themselves. Baekhyun gathers his paperwork and shoves it all into his bag. He nearly collides with Lu Han and Yixing on his way out-they're conferring with Zitao just outside the door, and snap their mouths shut when they see him.
Baekhyun tugs Lu Han aside, gripping his shoulder hard. "Listen," he says. "You have any problems, you come to me."
Lu Han flashes him a tight smile. "The sentiment's appreciated, but I'll be fine."
"You better be," he says, and turns on his heel before Lu Han can respond.
Baekhyun's office is on the twentieth floor of a forty-story skyscraper smack in the middle of Yeouido. It's not the least conspicuous place a group of elite killers could station their headquarters, but it gets the job done, and the carefully cultivated investment banking front is rock solid thanks to a bit of string-pulling on Kris's part.
When he plods through fingerprint and retina scanning and walks inside after the meeting, he's immediately aware that something is wrong. There's no sign of forced entry, but the room is off, somehow. He sets his bag next to his chair and undoes the first two buttons of his shirt, hair on the back of his neck standing at attention, and casually slides the bottom drawer of his desk open with his foot.
His Glock is missing. No matter. He sees a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye and whips himself into motion, unsheathing a set of knives from the holsters strapped to his arms and embedding them deep into the pine paneling on the far side of the room. They miss the intruder by a hair-and then a strong arm is crushing Baekhyun's windpipe, the corner of his desk digging into the base of his spine as he's folded backward over it.
Baekhyun brings his knee up, nudges his shoe against the stranger's inner thigh, the drawn knife at the tip of his insole sliding through thin khaki fabric and threatening to break skin, and scans the face hovering over his: dark brown eyes, a sweep of silky hair, the barest hint of stubble smattered across his jaw. Dry skin. Full lips. He's a lot younger and a lot leaner than Baekhyun was expecting, but the insistent pressure of the arm against his neck belies his strength.
"How did you get into my office, Kai-sshi?" he manages to wheeze out, eyes blurring.
Kai lets him up after another long moment of stalemate, and hands Baekhyun's gun back to him. Baekhyun puts the safety on and drops it into the drawer, sinks down into his chair to catch his breath. "Window," Kai says, and his voice is softer than Baekhyun'd expected, too. Kai arranges himself on the edge of the desk and adjusts the collar of his dark dress shirt, eyes darting from the ceiling to the floor and then around the room.
"I sincerely hope you don't greet everyone this way." Baekhyun grimaces and massages his neck. "Rude as fuck."
Kai blinks. "Wanted to make sure my new babysitter knew what he was doing."
Baekhyun snorts inelegantly. Kai meets his gaze. "I was S2 before Joonmyun switched me into recon, you asshole. I know what I'm doing. And I'm not your babysitter."
Kai stiffens. "I'm so sure." There's an inscrutable expression on his face, an intensity that Baekhyun can't read.
He looks down, fiddles with a pen. "You weren't supposed to be here for another couple of days, anyway. Have you checked in with command?"
"They know where I am," Kai says dismissively.
"Okay, then," Baekhyun says, the corners of his lips turning down despite himself. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"This your idea of whipping me into shape?" Kai asks, head cocked to the side.
"Heard that, did you?" he says mildly, and finds that he isn't surprised in the least. Kai watches with distinct interest as Baekhyun flips through the stacked files on his desk and hands him a bulging folder. "Here. These are detailed personnel reports for everyone in K. Get to know their specs."
Kai stares at him. Then: "Will there be a quiz?"
"There just might be," Baekhyun returns, a little huffy, and Kai's lips twitch upward, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a way that Baekhyun studiously ignores.
His face has smoothed out again when he turns back to the papers in his hands. "Do I get a legitimate target, or have I not qualified for that yet?"
"I have every confidence in your abilities," Baekhyun replies, blasé as ever, "but getting to know your company is a higher priority. I'll have intel on any jobs that might interest you when you're ready."
"When I'm ready."
"So play nice, pretty boy."
Kai tucks the folder underneath his arm. "You know..."
"What?"
"The assassins in J gather their own intelligence."
Baekhyun sniffs. "I think you'll find we do things a bit differently here," he says crisply.
"I see." Another pause. Kai fiddles with the hem of his shirt. Baekhyun cocks his head. "Do you give building tours as well, or do I have to figure out my own way around this place?"
"You found me easily enough," he points out, but stands to follow anyway as Kai walks out the door.
This is how they end up in the basement, at the far end of the firing range. A cluster of S2s gathers around in the air-locked corridor and watches them with undisguised curiosity as Baekhyun gestures at the mounted weaponry on the walls, rattling specs off the top of his head.
When he turns around again, Kai's tucking earplugs in his ears. He grabs two sets of earmuffs, tosses a pair to Baekhyun before hefting a Berettar in each hand.
"Are we really doing this?" Baekhyun asks. "You haven't even seen your office yet."
"We're already here," Kai says, lifting his eyebrows. The look on his face says he doesn't really care much if Baekhyun stays or not. He sighs and shakes his head, plucks a Smith & Wesson off the wall for himself.
Kai empties his rounds into one of the stationary targets on the other side of the range, thirty bullets straight through the heart. It leaves a grapefruit-sized hole in the corrugated plastic. Baekhyun glances over; Jongdae's face has gone slack on the other side of the glass. Baekhyun grins and raises his pistol, hits six precise pressure points on his target before the cylinder clicks.
"Not bad," Kai says. He sounds like he might even mean it, though that may just be the dampening effect from the earmuffs warping his tone.
Later, when Baekhyun's back in his office and Kai's poring over the personnel files in his own, Lu Han comes by. "Is it true?" he asks, an animated sparkle in his eyes.
Baekhyun levels him a guileless look and resumes typing on his computer. "I have no idea what you mean."
"I heard the new S3 is one scary motherfucker," he says, planting his hands on Baekhyun's desk and leaning forward. "Chenchen told me he threatened a couple of S1s down in the basement earlier today. Frankly, I'm concerned for the caliber of our assassins if just one guy can make them piss themselves with fear, but I haven't actually met him yet, so-" he shrugs, here, "I'll reserve my judgment till then."
"There's something wrong with you people," Baekhyun says primly.
"Stop trying to act like you're above all of this," Lu Han returns, eyes somehow twinkling even more. His mouth stretches out into a wide grin. "An active gossip mill builds morale. You don't want the workplace devolving into mindless monotony, do you?"
"Only you could think killing people for a living is boring."
"It's the daily grind," Lu Han says. He presses a hand to his chest in typical dramatic fashion. "The tedium gets to me sometimes, Baek. It really does."
"Get out of my office," Baekhyun says, "I don't work for you anymore," but there's no heat in it. Lu Han wiggles his fingers and mouths a final keep me updated before disappearing again.
Next Tuesday finds Kai sprawled on the sofa in Baekhyun's office when he walks in. There's a crumpled comforter from God knows where crushed into the leather and Kai's shuffling through the personnel reports Baekhyun gave him, one leg hooked casually over the armrest.
Baekhyun collapses into the chair behind his desk and takes a sip of his coffee. "Do you not have a place to live?"
Kai stares at him blankly. "No. I just got here last week."
"I'm sure the company could find suitable arrangements for you."
If it's possible, Kai's expression closes even further. "More convenient to just be here all the time, isn't it?"
Baekhyun chews on his thumb. "I could have a couch sent up to your office-"
"I like this one," Kai mutters.
"Okay," Baekhyun says slowly. "You can have it. I'll get Chanyeol and Lu Han to move it across the hall for you-"
"Tell me about these people," Kai cuts in, abrupt.
Baekhyun's a little thrown at the sudden change of topic, but he takes it in stride. "Um. What would you like to know?"
"Anything." Kai shrugs noncommittally. "We can go down the list." He pulls a sheet of paper out. "Park Chanyeol."
"S2, specializes in controlled explosives," Baekhyun says, ignoring the irritated expression on Kai's face and curling his fingers around his mug. "Honestly, everything you need to know is in his file."
"Who are his friends? With whom does he work best? How am I supposed to be an effective S3 if I don't know this shit?"
Baekhyun frowns and nods. Kai isn't wrong. "Highest success rate is with Kim Minseok. He's also pulled successful hits with Jongdae and Lu Han."
Kai makes a note and moves on. "Zhang Yixing."
"Best when paired with Lu Han, Zitao, or Kris-but that was before Kris moved up the chain of command and got pulled off the regular roster. Lu Han works well with everyone, really."
"Do Kyungsoo."
"Kyungsoo patches people up when they get their asses blown to hell and back. It's not in his file but he's also very good with knives."
"Kim Jongdae?"
"Communications technician, mostly, but handy with a semiautomatic when push comes to shove. Fantastic forger. He and Joonmyun-they were involved in the Rashomon job two years back."
Kai doesn't hide the expression of surprise that flickers across his face quickly enough. "That was them?"
"With Zitao and Lu Han."
Kai worries his lower lip between his teeth. Baekhyun bends down and pushes the power button on his computer. "Tell me about Lu Han."
Baekhyun takes another sip of his coffee. "He's a good assassin."
Kai scans his file. "His specs are off the charts. What about this stuff in Macau, though?"
"Job went bad, got a couple of good people killed. Lu Han took a couple of months off, but he's fine. One of our other S2s transferred to a branch in China."
"Oh Sehun."
"He's coming back at the end of the month," Baekhyun says, and Kai looks up sharply.
"Will that cause problems?"
His stupid intel training kicks in. "I'm not going to participate in baseless speculation. All I can tell you are the facts."
Kai presses his thumb to the center of his mouth and regards him quietly. Then: "That isn't what I asked."
Baekhyun sighs, scrubs a hand over his face. "It shouldn't be a problem."
"Good." He flips to another page and Baekhyun relaxes his shoulders. He hadn't even known they were tense. "What about the replacements?"
"I'm not as familiar with them," Baekhyun says, apologetic. "But Sehun is good at what he does, if rather lackadaisical. Jinho's slippery-used to be involved in underground drag racing in Gwangju. He's the guy to go to when you need to get somewhere fast. Moonkyu's coming as a demolitions expert. Soojung's fond of grenades."
"You remember all that," Kai says, an odd quality to his voice. He's staring at Baekhyun with a level of focus that has him shifting uncomfortably in his chair.
"Just doing my job," Baekhyun says. His mouth goes dry at the scrutiny.
Kai's eyes dart away again. "I see," he says. He turns back to his paperwork.
They subside into a sort of companionable silence, punctuated by the occasional splutter of the printer or the click of Baekhyun's fingers against his keyboard, a rustle of paper from Kai. The morning flies by in a flurry of emails and post-kill reports. At noon, he pulls a packed lunch out of his bag and tosses the apple across the room. Kai catches it with one hand, eyes still glued to one of the reports. "I hate apples," he comments, before biting into it with a loud crunch.
Baekhyun smiles into his sandwich.
"Is this going to be what it's like every time I catch you by surprise?" Baekhyun bites out. Kai blinks blearily down at him, a hand still braced hard against Baekhyun's neck. Baekhyun squirms. One of his knives slips against the jumping pulse at Kai's wrist; the other traces his spine. This is, of course, what Baekhyun gets for trying to wake a trigger-happy assassin whilst preoccupied by a potential target's movement in Moscow.
"Sorry," Kai says. He doesn't sound it. He pulls back, stifling a yawn. "Force of habit."
Baekhyun sits up and clears his throat. He casts a sideways glance at Kai, who's picking sheets of paper off the floor.
"What is it?"
"You have a meeting with command in ten minutes."
"Oh," Kai says, rubbing sleep from his eyes. It's disarmingly endearing in light of his usual killing intent. Baekhyun's breath catches weirdly in his chest. "Thank you."
"That's what I’m here for," he manages to reply, retreating behind his desk.
Kai gets up, opens his mouth to say something-
And this is when Yixing and Zitao burst in through the office door and set off every damn alarm in the general vicinity. Baekhyun stands, taking the situation in through the shrill call of bells-Yixing's right leg is hanging listlessly from the knee down, blood pooling into the carpet.
"What the fuck happened?" Baekhyun snaps, helping Zitao maneuver Yixing onto the couch.
Yixing clenches his teeth, face white. Zitao shakes his head. "We weren't even doing anything, hyung-"
"What happened?"
Yixing swallows with effort. "I think someone's put a hit on me." Baekhyun's mouth drops open. "We were-we were a block away from HQ and Taozi pushed me down when he saw the sniper laser-"
Baekhyun strides to his desk, pulls an emergency kit out of the second drawer and comes back with a pair of scissors. He starts cutting away at Yixing's pant leg. "Why the fuck didn't you take him to the clinic?"
Zitao scrambles up and waves his cell phone. "We tried! No one was there, and Doc's line is busy-"
"Keep calling," Baekhyun says over him. He reaches back into the kit for the gauze but someone's already holding it-Kai. He unravels it with practiced ease and starts wrapping it around the hole in Yixing's leg.
Yixing's eyes flutter dangerously. Baekhyun grabs his face, fingers slippery with blood, stomach lurching. "Come on, Yixing, you gotta stay awake, alright?"
"Yeah," he says, voice faint. "Yeah, I know-"
"Fuck!" Tao says. When Baekhyun glances over, he's running a shaky hand through his hair, mashing the screen of his phone. "Where the fuck is our medic?"
"Kai," Baekhyun commands, "keep his leg elevated. Zitao, stop messing around with the phone and keep Yixing conscious. I'll get Kyungsoo."
The last thing he expects to find when he storms into the clinic is Amber, hair matted with blood, head cradled in the crook of Kyungsoo's elbow as he presses bandages against the grazes on her skull-or Minseok lying on his stomach in one of the gurneys, a grimace stretched across his face as he struggles to catch his breath.
"Another one?" Kyungsoo asks, a steely look in his eyes, and all Baekhyun can do is nod.
When conditions have stabilized, Kyungsoo tells them the bullet barely missed Yixing's femoral artery.
"You're lucky to be alive," he says, forcing Yixing down onto another gurney when he tries to get up.
Baekhyun scrolls through his phone and calls everyone he can think of to make sure they're okay. "The replacements haven't even arrived yet," Joonmyun remarks later, outside the clinic's double doors, watching Lu Han and Amber converse quietly from the other side of the glass. "Jesus."
"Do we know who did this?" Baekhyun asks.
"We have some idea," Joonmyun says heavily. "Nothing concrete." He shakes his head. "Director Lee's giving everyone the rest of the week and next week off to lie low. That means you, too."
Baekhyun opens his mouth to protest. Joonmyun sends him a look he probably thinks is menacing. "Alright," Baekhyun mutters, humoring him, but his mind's already running through a million and one ways to do something about this: the people he could call, the favors he has on hand to cash in, where to push for information.
When he tunes back in, Joonmyun's speaking again. "We resume regular operations two Mondays from now. Back to business as usual. The new guys will be here to pick up some of the slack." He taps a finger against the glass and drags it down. "In addition to the usual hits, I want you and Kai on this."
Baekhyun's spine snaps straight, head cocked to the side. "What?"
Joonmyun's pale face turns toward him. "K's obviously being targeted by someone familiar with multiple hitmen in the company, and K's under your jurisdiction now."
"Right," Baekhyun says, hands numb.
"Find out what's going on and neutralize the threat. It's a long-term job, open-ended, so take your time with it. We want solid intel. Don't take any risks. Kris and I will assist you in any way we can."
Baekhyun nods, heart thumping hard against his ribcage. "Understood."
It's not as if the thought of dying has never occurred to him before. Baekhyun deals with death on a daily basis. With people who dole it out to the ones who are deemed deserving. His own is almost inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, just one more casualty among the others when it comes.
Disregard for his own safety has nothing to do with any sort of calculated indifference, as it seems to with Kai, given the stories; nor misplaced bravery or sheer recklessness, like it is with so many of the others. It's compartmentalization, really-if the emotion won't help him function, then the only answer is to detach himself from it, as temporary as the reprieve might be.
This is what he tells the others when they call demanding answers. Baekhyun works from his laptop through the first day of their extended break and tries fruitlessly to find anything of worth to follow up on for a full investigation. Kris sends him ballistics reports and Kyungsoo's medical reports on the three injuries and Baekhyun puts a couple of preliminary feelers out to his contacts. There's only so much he can do from home.
Kai is an inexplicable presence on his front porch in the morning.
"What are you doing here?" Baekhyun asks jerkily, nerves fried from staying up all night.
"No place to live, remember? Joonmyun sent me here." Kai hunches over, slouching. Like he's trying instinctively to make himself smaller. "He said he'd told you."
Baekhyun pulls his phone out and sees a text message pinging in his inbox. Sending Kai to yours if convenient. If inconvenient, sending him anyway. "I-Jesus. Okay. Come in."
Kai's mouth turns up as he steps in through the open door.
"Coffee?" Baekhyun asks, nudging the lukewarm pot on the end table next to the couch.
"I'm fine," Kai says.
Baekhyun folds himself into the sofa and tugs his laptop onto his knees. "Sorry, I'm-" He shrugs helplessly. "Can't play host. We have a lot of shit to do."
"Joonmyun told me."
Baekhyun bites his thumbnail, distracted. "Yeah." He reaches over the coffee table and tosses a folder into Kai's lap.
"What's this?"
"Commission from some people in Busan. They still want the Scorpion dead."
Kai flips through the intel and makes an appreciative noise. "This is very thorough."
"Just doing my job," Baekhyun echoes.
He's not quite sure how long he's passed out, just that when he wakes up, the kettle of coffee's been refilled and there's a note stuck to the lid of his laptop, Kai's blocky penmanship scrawled all over it. Out to kill, it says, and be back soon, never mind that Director Lee's expressly told them not to draw any attention to themselves for the time being.
If anything, Kai is true to his word. The next evening, Baekhyun sets his computer aside and goes to the kitchen to make soup for dinner-and when he walks back into the living room, Kai's perched on the couch, bending over the screen as he removes the magazine from the M16 in his hands.
Baekhyun feels words pressing against the back of his throat. He wants to ask how the job went, but reins his curiosity in. "That was fast," he comments, sipping at his kimchi jjigae.
"I don't like waiting," Kai offers. He sets the gun down-chamber empty, bolt forward, safety on. "I had half the payout routed to your account."
Baekhyun blinks, momentarily blindsided. "Why?"
"You did all the work," he says. He's trying so hard to be casual that it comes out incredibly awkward anyway. "All I had to do was go and put some rounds in him."
"I usually get paid through the company," Baekhyun explains, and doesn't bring up the fact that Kai also had to get through a ridiculous amount of security and tie off any loose ends without getting caught on camera. They both know, already-it doesn't bear mentioning.
Kai grunts. "Consider it a bonus." He slides off the couch and pads into the kitchen. Baekhyun hears a faint clatter of bowls.
The texts start coming in an hour later: who the fuck killed off the scorpion?! from Lu Han, and a simple dude. explain. from Jongdae.
Baekhyun shakes his head and sends out a company-wide email. It's been taken care of. Lie low. Stay alert.
That only exponentially increases the volley of messages he has to field. i bet it was the new s3, Zitao speculates, replying all, and Baekhyun kind of wants to toss his computer beneath the couch at the deluge of responses that gets. He marks them all as spam and goes back to his work.
When he resurfaces from all the useless data he's been sifting through, it's long past midnight. Kai's sitting on the other side of the couch, twirling a spoon in his cold jjigae, bottom lip sucked into his mouth. He looks up from his printouts when he feels Baekhyun's eyes on him, and it's too late to pretend like he was doing anything but staring, so he just holds Kai's gaze, fingers still moving over his keyboard.
"What?"
Baekhyun shakes his head. "Nothing."
"You want to ask me, don't you?" There's a certain stubborn defensiveness in the set of his jaw, and Baekhyun swallows hard around the unexpected urge to reach over and smooth it out.
"Ask you what?"
Kai narrows his eyes. "If the stories about me are true."
Baekhyun tentatively pulls his email up again in a window, and-Jesus, he's gotten ten new messages in the past five minutes alone.
the guy has my wholehearted thanks. we've been trying to kill that fucker for months, says Chanyeol. he's insane is Minseok's appreciative reply. but hey, at least he's on our side.
"None of us give a shit about the rumors," Baekhyun says at last, shifting his gaze to the ceiling, fingers steepled underneath his chin.
"Really."
"We're just happy to have a competent S3 again." He closes his eyes. "I'm sure you've already heard what happened to our last one."
"Only rumors," Kai says, voice dry, and Baekhyun's lips tilt up at the irony.
"I was there," he says dully. "Sometimes I still go out in the field, see? When a team's down a man or two and needs someone to fill in." He presses his palms against his eyelids, stretches out so his feet bump against the smooth wood of the coffee table. "It was a huge clusterfuck right from the beginning. In theory, Minho should've been great in the field, but when push came to shove and decisions had to be made-"
"He couldn't do it," Kai supplies. His voice sounds like it's coming from very far off, three registers deeper. "Choked."
"It was just-two, maybe three seconds. I was sprinting toward the warehouse when it exploded. Caught shrapnel all down my front." He lets out a dry chuckle. "Thought I had it bad with the scars and shit. Turns out the rest of Minho's team was still with him when the charges blew prematurely. Jonghyun and Jinki, Kibum and Taemin. But then, so was the target. At least we got him, too."
"Yeah," Kai says. He doesn't sound convinced.
Baekhyun opens his eyes again and cards a hand through his hair. "Sorry," he says, looking down at his screen. "I don't know why I'm telling you this shit. It's over."
"It's fine," Kai says, even though it isn't. He stays curled up on his side of the couch like a huge housecat, unreadable as ever.
Kai's concept of staying out of trouble seems to involve sleepily nudging Baekhyun for new assignments and only waking up to pick them off as fast as he can. Baekhyun understands, all too well, the insistent itch to take action, and-well, the guy lives up to his reputation, at least. If Baekhyun didn't have other things to be worrying about, he'd be something more than distantly impressed at the hit-count Kai's racking up.
As it is, his contacts working on K's would-be assassinators have been yielding little fruit. And then Oh Sehun flies in with the other replacements on their first day back at work and brings with him a whole new slew of distractions.
"Hyung," Sehun says, glancing with thinly veiled curiosity at Kai, who's lounging on Baekhyun's sofa again. Baekhyun's faintly alarmed that he's become used to Kai's presence in his office, a regular fixture, like a framed picture or a particularly attractive potted plant on display.
"Sit down," Baekhyun says, pushing it firmly out of his head. He waves at the chairs in front of his desk. "We'll get you situated. That's Kai, the new S3. Kai, this is Sehun."
Kai nods. Sehun sinks down into one of the chairs. "Uh, HR coded me into the alarm systems."
"Of course they did," Baekhyun says, steady and assessing. "You wouldn't have been able to get into my office if they hadn't."
"Right," Sehun mumbles, licking his lips.
"Here's your first assignment," Baekhyun says, handing him a file. "Amber and Jinri are already on it, so catch up. If you need anything, I'm always at your disposal. Kris-hyung's handling second squad's recon at the moment-this stuff is from him."
"Thanks, hyung," Sehun says, the lines of his face relaxing a little.
There's a long pause. Sehun doesn't move to leave. Baekhyun raises his eyebrows, tries not to smile-if he were a better man, he'd volunteer the information without making Sehun sweat for it. Alas.
"Do you know if-?"
"Hmm?"
Sehun's Adam's apple bobs. "Can you tell me-I know it isn't exactly-protocol-"
Baekhyun taps his pen against his desk.
"Lu Han-hyung-"
"He's in Thailand with Minseok," he says, taking pity. "He won't be back until Saturday at the earliest. Take some time to settle back into the swing of things, okay?"
Sehun nods tightly. "Thanks," he repeats, and shuffles out the door.
"Not very subtle, is he?" Kai says after he's gone.
Baekhyun rolls his eyes. "He's good at his job, which is the only thing that matters to me. Let them figure out their high school bullshit on their own."
Kai laughs, low and husky and real, eyes crinkling so much they almost disappear. Baekhyun can't help the answering smile that spreads across his face.
> > > PART 2 > > >