#54: Catch Me If You Can (part 3)
He manages to avoid Baekhyun’s smug leering when he gets back to the ship by slipping straight into the shower, slumping down on his bed when he done and sinking into another long nap, his body still completely worn out.
It’s late in the afternoon when he wakes up again, and he wonders if it’s too soon to go find Taemin again. He ghosts his fingers along his neck where Taemin had mouthed along his skin and kissed him.
Pushing himself off his bed, he pulls on his clothes and heads out, squinting in the bright sun. He doesn’t bother with the shuttlepod, preferring to walk along the grassy path leading up to the fringe of the Valley where Taemin’s ship is.
The path opens up ahead and Jongin steps out into the clearing before stopping short. The ship isn’t there anymore.
Frowning, Jongin wonders if he’d somehow stepped onto the wrong path but this is the place they were docked at. Jongin can even see some faint scorch marks in the blades of grass over by a darker patch, where the jet fumes of the ship flared out. Taemin said they would be docked out here for a good while before taking needing to take off again.
Maybe they just moved. Jongin taps his wristwatch, waiting until Baekhyun’s hologram pops up.
“What’s up?”
“I need a favour. Taemin’s ship is gone,” Jongin says, tamping down the small bubble of panic growing in his chest. “Can you reach Kyungsoo through the ship coms?”
Baekhyun frowns, his fingers darting across the keys on the control panel swiftly.
“That’s weird. It’s coming up dead. Hang on let me-”
He types in another set of commands, frowning deeper the longer he types.
“The radar isn’t picking them up,” Baekhyun says slowly. “I widened the search perimeter but it’s like they’re not even in the area.”
Jongin swallows. They would have said something if they were leaving, wouldn’t they? He turns off the hologram, feeling a little lost. It’ll be dark soon; there’s nothing much he can do at night when he can’t see anything. Maybe they’ll be back in the morning.
Except they’re not back by the morning, nor the day after that. Baekhyun still can’t get ahold of their communication coms because they’re out of range, too far away to be reached. Jongin even asks around town, if anyone’s seen Taemin or his ship around.
“The Blackbird? Yeah, I saw it a couple of days ago,” he hits gold when he tries his luck with one of the merchants in the steel market. “Looked all packed up and ready to go. Took the route out of this orbit. Sorry, son, it must be long gone by now.”
Jongin gapes at him wordlessly, feeling his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. He can feel a lump rising in his throat but he swallows it down, blinking furiously as he thanks the merchant and turns to head back to the ship. They left. He can feel himself shattering a little harder the whole way back to his ship, crossed between numbness and the sharp pain in his chest.
“I just- I don’t understand,” Jongin says shakily. He leans against the wall heavily, sliding down to the floor. “I guess I was naive I thought maybe- I thought we-
He thought there was something more, that there was more to the way Taemin looked at him than just one night to toss aside and forget about. Baekhyun comes down to sit next to him wordlessly, looking upset too as he reaches over to settle his hand on Jongin’s knee comfortingly. Jongin feels a sharp, hot prickling in the corners of his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Jongin.”
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Jongin sighs, feeling his chest cave in harder. “He didn’t seem like-”
Baekhyun’s frown furrows deeper, his lips pressed together tightly and Jongin slips his hand over to clasp Baekhyun’s.
“I didn’t think Kyungsoo was like that either,” he says quietly.
“Guess there was a lot we still didn’t know about them,” he says. There’s no bite in his tone, only the same dejection Jongin feels.
He can’t sleep that night. The bed feels uncomfortable and he can’t seem to settle down, tossing and turning under the sheets until he finally kicks them off and sits up, not feeling the least bit sleepy. Sighing, he pulls on his boots and goes out for a walk to try and clear his head. It’s dark outside, a cold breeze sending a shiver down his spine and Jongin flicks on his flashlight to see where he’s going. Somehow, he finds himself on the very same path that leads down to the Valley, stepping out into the empty clearing again.
He slows down to a stop, staring around the clearing, feeling the hollow heaviness settling in his chest again. He flashes the light around, like if he stands out here any longer, the ship will somehow miraculously come back. It doesn’t, of course, and Jongin swallows through the tightness in his throat again.
There’s no point staying here any longer. Jongin turns to leave but something halts his step, catching something through the corner of his eye.
Frowning, he shines the flashlight over the patch of grass, scanning the ground and the green gleam shines again. Jongin’s eyes widen, rushing forward to pick it up. It’s Taemin’s necklace, the emerald green pendant gleaming brightly under the light.
He thumbs over the stone pensively. There’s no way Taemin would leave without this. He remembers the look in Taemin’s eyes when he talked about the necklace, softening when he’d mentioned his mother. His stomach drops; something’s wrong. Jongin takes off, tearing back down the path and running all the way back to the ship.
“Baekhyun!” he calls out when he clambers back into his ship, only slightly apologetic that he might be waking him up. “Baekhyun, something’s wrong.”
There’s no answer, and Jongin marches over to throw his bedroom door open, prepared to shake him awake.
His bed is empty.
“Baekhyun?”
He doesn’t see it coming, only catches a brief glimpse of a shadow moving behind him before something hard smashes into his skull and Jongin passes out in an explosion of white.
When Jongin comes to he can feel that they’re moving but he can’t make out much around him in the pitch darkness he’s engulfed in. The pain of the blow stings in his skull but he blinks it away, trying to focus. His hands are bound uncomfortably behind his back, making it harder to move. Jongin’s foot kicks against a hard edge and he recognizes that he’s squeezed in a small space with barely enough room to fit him in. The boot of a shuttle, maybe. He feels something warm pressed up against him, Baekhyun, he realizes, but he’s unresponsive, still out cold.
He doesn’t have time to do anything else because the vehicle stops moving and light floods in when the boot door is yanked open. He doesn’t recognize the men dragging him out, stumbling along the long, dark corridor they tug him through before the piercing sound of grating metal meets his ears and he sees a steel door being pulled open. The man holding him kicks him into the cell and the first thing Jongin sees is Taemin’s face, staring up at him in shock where he’s sitting on the floor next to Kyungsoo. Jongin stumbles to the floor dizzily and Baekhyun gets thrown in after him. He’s a little worse for wear, with the dark bruises starting to bloom on his face; he must have put up a fight before they could jump him and knock him out. Kyungsoo immediately moves to tend to Baekhyun and Taemin crawls forward to him. The ropes around Taemin’s wrists fall away loosely, only kept around his hands to keep up the farce though he’d somehow managed his way out of them.
“Hey, easy,” he murmurs, working on Jongin’s restraints to help him up slowly. “Jongin, I’m-.”
Jongin can tell he’s trying for an apology even though he’s done nothing to warrant it. He didn’t leave. He didn’t take off and leave Jongin behind like it was nothing. Taemin must have realized what it looked like when Jongin couldn’t find him anywhere. The relief crashes through him so hard his chest squeezes and his throat tightens up. Taemin’s hands are on his face, cool and soothing, trying to get him to focus when Jongin sways dizzily.
“Don’t be,” Jongin murmurs, a misplaced happiness settling behind his ribs considering the situation they’re in. He still leans in to sneak a kiss from Taemin, feeling him smile into it, pressing his lips back and Jongin has never been so glad to be so completely wrong in his whole life.
A sudden groan draws them apart sharply. Baekhyun’s coming to, grunting in pain and trying to reach up and touch his face but he’s still too disoriented to find the coordination he needs. Kyungsoo is gentle in helping him sit upright, leaning him back against the wall for support. He finally spots Jongin there, his face crumpling apologetically.
“I’m sorry Jongin, I tried to warn you but they got to me before I could,” he says, frowning deeply.
Jongin waves him off immediately, not needing any apology. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”
He’s slightly amused at how suddenly protective Kyungsoo is over Baekhyun this time, looking over the bruises on his face, but he doesn’t mention it.
“So, who the hell are they?” Jongin finally asks, turning back to Taemin. “What is this place?”
“Funny story,” Taemin starts, scratching the back of his head. “Remember the marks we caught back at the club?”
Jongin nods, his thoughts veering off course into memories of the way Taemin’s hips moved to the music against his before snapping out of it. The targets, yes.
“Well, you were right about them being in the drug business. They work for Rulan.”
“Fuck,” Jongin groans, dropping his head back to glare at the ceiling. Figures they would cross the biggest druglord across the universe. It’s no secret how many gangs and pirate clans he’s got under his thumb, running chains of black market industry all by himself.
“We have a knack for pissing off the wrong people,” Baekhyun sighs grumpily. “What about our ships?”
“I overheard them saying something about an auction when they brought us here,” Kyungsoo says, frowning. “They must have some sort of docking port here to stash them away until it’s time for that.”
“Auction?” Jongin furrows his eyebrows.
“There’s a bounty on bounty hunters’ heads too,” Kyungsoo goes on grimly. “There’s a long list of people who would like to get their hands on you guys.”
He’s cut short when the steel door starts to slide open again and they scramble to get the ropes back around their wrists, winding them around loosely.
Rulan’s men march inside and drag them out roughly, pushing them along the same path they came through. Jongin has no idea where they are until they round the corner, coming out into the opening and he’s met by the sight of metal. They’re in the Steel Reefs. The city is almost entirely underground, fortified completely by metal; the centre of the black market business. The reef they’re on is so high off the ground, there’s only pitch darkness down below.
“Move it,” one the men shoves Jongin forward roughly when he slows down too to gather his bearings.
He can hear the rumble of a crowd somewhere, belatedly spotting the lights shining from the fortress up ahead. That must be where the auction is taking place, and that’s exactly where Rulan’s men are taking them. Jongin bites his lip, trying to think of a plan quickly. If they’re in the auction centre then the docking port must be somewhere nearby with their ships too, prepped for display to be sold off. Jongin can see Baekhyun scanning the area sharply too, trying to figure out the same thing.
It’s subtle but he spots Taemin eyeing the ammunition belt strapped around the men’s hips, loaded with laser guns and plasma blasters. He gives Jongin the slightest nods and Jongin catches it. He breaks out of his loose restraints and smashes into the man shoving at him from behind, catching him off guard.
The other men stop in their tracks, turning to charge at him instead and Baekhyun and Kyungsoo immediately take off running to go find their ships.
“Duck!” Taemin yells and Jongin flattens himself on the floor just before Taemin fires one of the plasma guns he’d snagged off the men’s belts, taking them all down.
There’s no time to celebrate. Taemin helps him up the second another lot of Rulan’s men burst out from the side, having heard the commotion. Jongin snatches up a gun for himself and they take off running, not sure where to even go from here with so many men hot on their trail.
“Well here’s an interesting turn of events,” Taemin wheezes, laughing breathlessly there aren’t people trying to shoot them down right now. “Us being chased this time. Puts things into perspective don’t you think?”
Jongin just grunts, yanking Taemin out of the way just in time to avoid the shard of metal that explodes on the ground from a laser beam seconds later.
“Over here,” Jongin wheezes, tearing around the next corner and sliding down a small slope off the path, hiding just as the men pass them by, not seeing them. They’re dangerously close to the edge here, and Jongin swallows nervously at the idea of slipping off and plummeting twenty stories or so to his death.
“So, how much do you think you’ve got on your head? Jongin asks instead, trying to distract himself once he’s had a moment to breathe.
“Please,” Taemin scoffs, grinning. “I’m priceless.”
They’re stranded without their ear coms to communicate with the others, and Jongin looks around, trying to figure out what their next move is. He can’t even see an exit point from here. It’s like they’re trapped in a giant steel labyrinth.
“Hey.”
Jongin turns back to look at Taemin whose eyes have softened and his focus is entirely on him. It’s instinctive, the way they’re drawn closer together like there’s a magnetic pull between them. Taemin’s hand settles on Jongin’s knee, warm and reassuring.
They’re interrupted by the sudden billowing sounds of jet blasters in the air and Jongin snaps his head up to see Baekhyun piloting their ship, with Kyungsoo at the wheel of his own beside him. Jongin sags with relief that they somehow managed to find their ships before they were auctioned off and taken away. Taemin looks frustrated that the moment’s been broken and Jongin laughs, pulling him up from the ground.
There isn’t enough space for the ships to land but there’s no time to waste when a sudden shout alert the others of where they are. Ducking low to dodge a line of plasma rays, Taemin yanks Jongin forward, setting them off in a sprint again, forced to get on the move again when they’re being chased. Another laser fires between them, singing the sleeve of Jongin’s shirt, just missing his face by a fraction.
Baekhyun and Kyungsoo manage to keep their chasers at bay, firing back with the guns on the ship, directing some of the fire towards themselves.
They’ve still got some of Rulan’s men on their heels though and Jongin tries to pick up the speed, his stomach dropping when he realizes that they’re running out of land to run on. Taemin sees the end of the high ledge coming closer too but there’s nowhere else to run that won’t get them caught again.
“Just keep running,” Taemin yells, and Jongin trusts him, praying that he’s got some sort of plan.
They reach the edge in seconds and Jongin’s feet leave the ground in one final leap, feeling his heart and stomach in his throat as he starts to plummet. He opens his mouth to yell, waiting for the excruciating impact when he hits the ground below. Instead, he hears the familiar whir of the shuttlepod engines zooming down to match their speed, maneuvered remotely by the mothership and Jongin yells in relief. The pod swings down beneath him and Jongin lands on the vehicle safely, hard enough to knock the breath out of his chest, but at least he’s not plummeting to his death anymore. Taemin flashes him a thumbs up when he swings around safely on his own pod, jutting his chin up to get the hell out of here.
It’s a lot easier to dodge the laser beams on the pods, flying and swerving out of the way skillfully. Taemin even finds the time to wave over his shoulder at Rulan’s furious men before swerving aside, circling around Jongin playfully before they separate, docking into their respective ships.
They’re not in the clear yet. The ships are still under fire and Jongin throws himself into the copilot seat the second he wrenches himself out of the pod, helping Baekhyun with the circuit controls to maneuver the ship out of the steel labyrinth they’re in. He takes over damage control while Baekhyun accelerates, trying to assess how much fire they’ve taken.
A sliver of blue sky finally appears up ahead and Baekhyun blasts the ship into full speed, aiming for the exit point until they’re finally out in the open, way out of range for any more immediate attacks at least.
He flies them out a safe distance, not slowing down just yet and Jongin works on getting the coms back up online, trying to connect to Taemin’s ship. It takes a little tweaking, Baekhyun’s better at this tech stuff than he is, but he finally manages to open a channel of communication, relieved right down to his bones to hear Taemin’s cheerful voice on the other end of the line, even though he was just with him moments ago.
He lets Baekhyun take over the coms, discussing coordinates with Kyungsoo to set up a meeting point, far away from here.
“Fuck, let’s never do that again,” Baekhyun sighs, like they even had a choice in this. He slumps back in his seat, setting the ship on autopilot once he’s punched in the coordinates.
Jongin agrees wholeheartedly, thinking he’s probably lost at least ten years off his life from that jump alone. He clambers out of his seat to pull the first aid kit out of the compartment in the back, dealing with the open cuts still fresh on Baekhyun’s face.
“Aw, come on, I’m fine,” Baekhyun laughs but Jongin insists anyway. He notices how uplifted Baekhyun looks, positively mollified, grinning like he can’t help himself and Jongin chuckles under his breath, settling back in his seat when he’s done. His grin is infectious and Jongin can feel the corners of his own mouth curling upwards too, relieved and thankful at how everything panned out.
Baekhyun reaches over to slide his hand over Jongin’s knee, patting him gently and Jongin breathes easily, eager to get to the destination they planned to meet with the others.
ϟ
They take a long, well deserved break before getting back into their usual routine. Baekhyun insists on the weeklong binge on food and alcohol and Jongin feels like he might never move again. Taemin looks only too happy to buy them all another round of shots, giggling into Jongin’s neck a little drunkenly. Even Kyungsoo can’t stop laughing, as terrible at holding down his alcohol as jongin is.
They get back into the bounty hunting routine eventually. As a team of course. They keep their own separate ships anyway despite teaming up. It’s good for privacy anyway when Jongin wants to spend some time with Taemin alone. Baekhyun is only too eager to switch places, going over to the other ship to hang out with Kyungsoo.
Besides; working on bounty hunts together is a lot more fun.
They’re on a new chase, skirting through the streets of a busy town up by the Moorlands. It’s nighttime but the streets are brightly lit to exhibit the spring festival taking place. Jongin chases after the new mark, leaping over the stalls of food and darting through the throng of people quickly. He needs to lure him out in the open where there’s less people around.
“Steer him left,” Taemin tells him through the coms. He’s somewhere overhead as usual, hopping across the rooftops in time with him to find a better vantage point to take aim.
Jongin leaps over the low walls in his way, darting into a shortcut that lets him block the road when their mark tries to barrel his way. It forces him to change his direction, tripping over himself as he runs the other way, left, just as Taemin wanted.
“I got it,” Taemin murmurs, and Jongin sees the laser beam coming, cutting through the air and landing right on target, stunning their target right in the chest. He crumples to the ground, unconscious and Jongin jogs over to where he is, binding his limp hands together anyway, just in case.
“Nice shot,” he grins, dragging the back of his hand across his sweaty brow. He can see Taemin taking the shuttlepod down to where he is, landing next to him and hopping off.
“Thanks,” he beams, kissing the air out of Jongin’s lungs before he’s even had the chance to get it back.
Jongin flushes and rolls his eyes, helping Taemin hoist their target up onto the vehicle to take back. He sets a hand on Taemin’s backside comfortably as he climbs back on, grinning when Taemin turns to look back at him with a familiar glint in his eyes. Jongin climbs up with him, not bothered in the least that it’s a tight fit, and neither is Taemin by the way he leans back into him heavily.
“This is the kind of settling down I could get used to,” Taemin says, turning to look over his shoulder. He’s smiling, disarming Jongin completely the way he always does. His heart expands in his chest and he smiles back, unable to take his eyes off Taemin, even with the all the brightest stars twinkling around them.