The Chase I (Dal-Geon)
Dal-Geon stood up, picked up his sniper rifle, folded the bipod and slung it across his back by the strap. He picked up the extra M4 rifle that rested on the boulder to his left and hung it over his shoulder. He pulled a combat knife from his belt and unsheathed it, scoring the skin of his left palm in one swift swing. He let the little stream of blood cover the nooks in the boulder he camped on, and wiped the excessive sticky residue on his ghillie suit, shoving the knife back in place. He had no time to treat the cut, but it wasn't deep and the blood was already starting to clot.
Much like a mountain goat, he easily made his way down the rocky hill, seeming to have no difficulty at all dealing with the uneven surface, his steps light and hurried. The jeep he and the Russian guy used to get there was parked at the foot of the hill around another pile of boulders. He ran down the sandy and rocky paths, quickly reaching it. He pulled the key out of his pants pocket and opened the back door to the trunk. Luckily, being the new guy, he was in charge of driving. After dropping off the spotter at his location, he then dropped the Russian guy off before parking the jeep closer to his hide site.
Dal-Geon dropped both his rifles at the back, took off his heavy ghillie suit that was like a sous-vide cooker, threw it in a messy heap and closed the door. He went to the back seat and retrieve his rucksack, quickly shoving his hand inside, rummaging through it. Finally, he pulled out the rechargeable signal jammer he's been secretly carrying around with him since they day he got Black Sun's blasted tattoo, to block GPS, phone and any other signal that might disclose his whereabouts. It was always with him, he never knew when he'd have to suddenly go off the grid, but he knew it will eventually happen. He closed the back door and got into the driver's seat, started the car and plugged the signal jammer to the jeep's power outlet and turned it on.
The jeep had a strong grip on the uneven ground which allowed Dal-Geon to race forward with little restraint. He decided to cut through the mountains and get on the highway further to the west instead of driving there directly, to avoid ben seen by spotter. He went as fast as the unpaved path allowed, cutting the upcoming chase in almost half. If he descended the mountain in a couple of kilometers and got on the highway there, the SUV wouldn't be too far ahead, and he could quickly close the distance by going at full speed. The enhanced turbo engine of the jeep, upgraded especially for tactical use, would serve him nicely. With a full tank of gas, he made his way on the gravelly road.
Finally reaching a good spot to mount the highway and start the chase, Dal-Geon drove down the steep, rocky path, the jeep heaving erratically, not once almost losing its grip on the road. Dal-Geon once again thanked the heavens for his training as a stuntman, which came in handy more often than one would have expected. He gripped the wheel with both hands, forced the vehicle to balance, controlling it perfectly even when the car tipped on two wheels. Making his way down, he stepped hard on the gas when he reached even grounds. He quickly hit the highway, and raced forward at full speed.
The road was empty, thankfully. Though it was a single lane for each direction, he could allow himself to go at an average of 190kph, the engine roaring from the effort. Though he gulped miles in no time at all, to him it felt like it was taking forever, knowing he was on borrowed time. There was no way his unit could reach her before him, but he just couldn't relax, fearing what he thought was unlikely was more than just possible.
Finally, after an unmeasurable amount of time, he saw a black spot in the distance. He hit the gas even harder, not allowing any curve, bump or pothole to slow him down. Quickly closing the distance, he could clearly see the black SUV in front of him. Dal-Geon's plan was still lacking and incomplete, but anything was better than doing nothing. He rapidly changed lanes and got ahead of the SUV, turned the wheel sharply to the right and hit the brakes, abruptly stopping the car with a screech that hurt his ears, followed almost immediately by another screech, made by the SUV that was forced to a stop not even two meters away, to avoid a collision with the jeep that was blocking the way.
Dal-Geon pulled his hat down as far as it would go, threw his keffiyeh scarves on the passenger's seat and extracted a black face mask out of the gloves compartment, slinging it over his ears, making sure it was tight and snug. He took out a gun from his belt and made sure it was loaded. He verified that the chamber was empty, and satisfied to see that it was, he opened the door and got out of the car, crouching with his back against the heated metal, leaving the motor running. He slowly made his way around to the front of the car, and peered around to find all doors of the SUV were closed, two guards still sitting at the front. He silently made his way to the car while avoiding being seen by the duo.
When he reached the driver's door, he leaned against the SUV, momentarily straightened up and slammed his gun against the window, shattering it, then immediately landed a blow to the back of the driver's head, who lost consciousness instantly. He stooped down again, just in time to feel the air above his head blown by the flight of a bullet, courtesy of the guard in the passenger's seat, who missed him by mere inches.
Still close to the ground, he reached a hand up through the window and unlocked the car from the inside. He opened the door and pulled the unconscious driver out of the car by his arm, letting him slump heavily on the heated asphalt. Taking a deep breath, he leaped into the driver's seat and instantly reached for the gun aimed at him. Managing to avert it just in time to avoid the hit, the bullet went through the windshield with an ear shattering "bang". Not wanting to waste time, he slammed his gun as hard as he could to the goon's temple, knocking him out at once. The whole thing took no more than 30 seconds, but Dal-Geon couldn't go fast enough, feeling his unit breathing down his neck.
He glanced at the back and saw no one but Hae-Ri, who was sitting on the left side. He got out of the car and opened her door, just in time to stop her from grabbing whatever it was she was trying to reach under her dress. Feeling like he was committing an unforgivable sin, he aimed his gun at her, which quite effectively made her hand freeze. He wiggled his gun up and down quickly several times, indicating that she should put her hands up. Biting her lip, she complied and raised both her hands slowly. He didn't even have time to be excited, or have any kind of emotion for that matter, for meeting her after such a long time, though he believed he would never see her again. He had no time to be happy or thrilled or remorseful. The only thing he could focus on was getting her out of there, and yet his heart didn't share the sentiment. It was going so fast it was almost vibrating in his chest, making his breath come short.
Gun in his right hand, he reached his left to where she was reaching just seconds ago with an internal apology. He didn't dare meet her eyes, for many reasons. He placed a hesitant hand over the thin fabric of her dress, gliding his hand along her right thigh, until he finally found the little hard bump, maybe a bit too far up her thigh than he was comfortable with. Not knowing if he was excited or just nervous, fearing another attempt on her life, he swallowed hard and lifted the soft, fluid fabric, just enough to reveal the small gun tucked into a lacy black garter, snug against the pale skin of her thigh. He pulled it out of its place, checked the chamber awkwardly with his gun still aimed at her, and tucked it in the back of his pants, quickly replacing the fabric over her skin to cover her up.
Knowing Hae-Ri, it couldn't be the only weapon she carried, but the dress she was wearing was so thin and tight, he couldn't imagine where she could have hidden another one. He felt her left thigh and found nothing out of order, then slowly slid his hand over her waist, then moved to her hip, and finally up her ribs on one side, then quickly moved to the other, then slid a hand behind her back and up her spine. All the while he was cursing the heavens for being forced to touch her so intimately under these circumstances, feeling that she deserved much better than that.
Finding nothing, there was only one place left to check. He looked her over in what she probably assumed was impure thoughts. His eyes locked just under her chest, where something seemed to be protruding out slightly, almost unnoticeable. He reached out a finger and felt the hard object. He heard her defeated sigh, which made it clear she had nothing more to hide. Replacing his gun in his belt, he took out his combat knife. She flinched, and for the first time, he looked at her face. It was just a fraction of a moment, but it was enough to make his heart jump to his throat. He swallowed hard, tried to clear his mind, and got back to work.
With the edge of his knife, he scored a little hole in the fabric just at the tip of what he assumed was a small dagger, careful not to hurt her, and revealed a worn-out leather sheathe. Pushing the fabric with his knife, he uncovered it and fastened his fingers around it. Feeling the resistance as he tried to pull it out, he tried a bit harder, and finally was able to draw it through the hole and out of her dress, shoved it in his pocket, and put his combat knife back in place. There was no time to waste, it couldn't be long before the others got there, and he needed to buy them some time in the long run. He leaned forward and took off her seat belt, wrapped a hand around her slim wrist, and urged her out of the car. She resisted, but no for long, and climbed out, probably thinking that it would be fatally useless to put up a fight right now.
Though she wasn't armed, the driver who was still unconscious on the road was, and if given a chance she would surely make a dive for the gun and blow his head if she needed, in order to flee the scene. He took two zip ties out of his belt pouch, closed the driver's door, tied her wrists to each other with one tie, and used the other to tie both to the door handle. He went back to her seat and reached in to grab her discarded purse, closed the door and put the purse between her tied hands for her to hold. She dug her fingers in the leathery envelope. Even if her hands were free to take her phone out in order to report the situation to anyone, the phone was useless this close to his signal jammer, he had no no reason to worry.
He took out his gun, pulled back the slider and chambered a round, aimed at the back window and took a shot. The window shattered at once. Dal-Geon shot another bullet and then a third one through the window. The bullets lodged into the back of the leather seat that Hae-Ri occupied a moment ago, one higher than the others. Dal-Geon replaced his gun and took his knife out. He opened the door and while leaning his upper body into the car, reopened the wound in his palm. This time, he cut deeper. He let the stream cover the luxurious leather, smearing some at the back and around the bullet holes, trying to make it as believable as possible that someone was fatally shot here. He knew the chances they'd buy it were slim, and that the hoax was fated to be revealed quite quickly, but it was could also possibly buy them some time before they came looking for her again, or so he hoped. The spotter knew she was at the back of the SUV, he saw her get in. At worst, they would be a little confused. That in itself will allow them to breathe a little easier, even if just for a short time.
Satisfied with his coloring work inside the car, now it was time to leave evidence outside of it. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Dal-Geon couldn't sense the pain in his palm, even less the pain of another strategic cut he inflicted on himself, from above his wrist and half way to his elbow, neatly scoring his Black Sun tattoo right in the middle. Though he needed it to bleed a lot for it to look like the body was carried away, he carefully avoided cutting major blood vessels that would be fatal if not treated immediately.
He let the warm liquid spill on the floor of the car, then out of it, leaving a trail behind him as he reached out to Hae-Ri's tied wrist and cut off the zip tie that cuffed her to the car. He wiped the knife on his pants and shoved it back in place, and in one fluid, effortless motion, he bent over, put an arm behind her thighs and threw her over his right shoulder. He quickly made his way to his jeep, making sure to leave a good bloody path in his wake. He opened the right back door and carefully dropped her on the seat. He reached his good hand forward to the front, where he could see his discarded scarves sticking out, and grabbed them. He wrapped them around his palm and arm, trying to make it tight enough so as to stop the bleeding.
He took the purse out of her hands and extracted another hand tie, again tying her to a door, this time from the inside. Though he hated to do that, he had to prevent her from ruining his plan by choking him or reaching for his gun while he was driving, which she was more than capable of doing. He gently closed the door after switching on the child-safety locking mechanism, and made his way to the trunk, leaving bloody footsteps behind. He opened the door, tossed the purse in, and grabbed his M4 and a large duffle bag that was heavy with the weight of assorted weapons and ammunition. Black Sun's cars had everything, from emergency food and water, to guns, grenades and even a gallon of fuel and a toolbox. He closed the door and walked to the driver's seat, climbed in and dropped the duffle bag and rifle on the seat beside him. He didn't know what was to come, but he had to be ready for anything, and his gut told him he was going to need those weapons, though he prayed that he wouldn't.
His plan was risky, he knew. Though it could buy them a bit of time in the long run, it put them in immediate danger. He knew it was highly likely some guys from his unit were already sent after her. They will see the fresh trail of blood, which will lead to a chase. He was prepared for a confrontation and was confident that he could protect her, but he still preferred to avoid a dangerous situation.
He put the car into gear, and took off at full speed due west. Even though his one-man operation felt like it took an eternity, Dal-Geon was satisfied to see it had only taken a few minutes.
[English] "Answer me!", suddenly he came to realize that she has been talking to him, not knowing when she started, or what it was she has been asking him, though it made no difference. Whatever it was, he couldn't tell her anything, couldn't let her hear his voice.
Forced to ignore her, he tried to think of the next step. Thinking was getting harder, he felt a little light headed from the blood loss, and couldn't eat or drink anything without exposing his face. He couldn't let her know it was him, for so many reasons. The life he was leading now, or used to lead up to less than an hour ago, would only put her in danger. Defecting was probably even worse, deserters knew too much to be left alone. His entire plan was probably ruined, and it was inevitable that some questions about him will rise to the top of Black Sun. If it was Samael who ordered the hit, which he was rather sure it was, Edward and Micky could potentially get involved in this botched mission and quickly catch on. This was the worst-case scenario, and unfortunately, it wasn't impossible.
Being involved with him would only put Hae-Ri in more danger. If he could manage to get her out of the country after all this had died down a little, and somehow get her to go into hiding for a while and avoid political matters that might attract fire, she could be safe. He had no idea how he would do that or when, but it was possible for her to be safe, he was sure of it. He needed to put things back in order, to send her back. And even though it currently looked like his plan was busted, he might be able to find a way to go back to Black Sun after a while, under claims that he was injured and couldn't remember what had happened today, or something of that sort. It might work.
Feeling optimistic, he decided the next step of his plan. All they had to do was lay low for a while, then he'll find a way to send her back home without anyone's knowledge. Their destination was set, the safe house it is. Dal-Geon was getting confident, this could actually work. By the time Black Sun made sense of what happened around the SUV, they would already be in hiding. All he had to do was take the next exit due north, which was several kilometers away. Though it was a long drive to the little godforsaken village where his safe house was, no one would think to follow them there. It was a place of no importance to anyone.
Just as he was starting to feel comfortable, having a somewhat concrete plan in hand, though missing a few details, he caught a glimpse of rapidly approaching gleaming spots in the rearview mirror. Motorcycles.