A Stop for the Night, Part 1 (Dal-Geon)
They've been driving for a few hours, silently, still fast but at a more reasonable speed. The sun was low in the sky that started to turn dark in the east, and Dal-Geon's head was killing him. The adrenaline that was pushing him forward has died down since long ago, and he felt like he was running on fumes. There was a persistent ring in his ears, and he had to blink hard time and again, trying to focus his blurry vision. Though the roads around this area were mostly empty, he couldn't risk losing control over the car and crash it, especially with Hae-Ri still cuffed at the back. Like he did so many times today, he cursed his very existence for doing that, though he knew it was the only way to keep her from fleeing and putting herself back in danger. It was uncomfortable and painful, he was sure, but it was better than being dead.
The village they were heading to wasn't that far away from where they currently were, if you could call a handful of estates spread out over a few kilometers, hundreds of meters apart, a village. He had the habit of memorizing the roads leading to his safe houses as best as he could before going out on missions, in case an emergency didn't allow the use of a map, if he had one at all. He didn't expect to put it to use so soon, and though he had only been there once before, to set up the security system with Lily and Do-Soo, it hasn't been that long ago, and most of the route was fresh in his mind, if not all.
Lilly prepared the remote safe house, and equipped it with anything he might need in case he had to get off the grid. She and her North Korean minion were residing in a location closer to his main base, and operated a surveillance van that followed him from a safe distance when he was away on missions. All was funded by ex-president Jung, whose pockets seemed to be infinitely deep, and was willing to give Dal-Geon anything he asked for, positive that he will bring about his redemption. Dal-Geon wasn't too keen on helping the corrupt old man, but he couldn't afford to reject a helping hand. If his cause also served his sponsor, then so be it.
Thinking that today's mission was of no consequence, he told Lily they didn't need to bother and follow behind. Had he known then what he knew now, he would have never made that stupid decision. Lily was a very efficient and capable person, though shady and extreme. She scared him at times, but she was very loyal to whoever paid her. As long as he kept her on his payroll, he knew he could count on her for anything. He would have to let her know of what was going on and decide whether to have her move the van closer to the house, or keep close tabs on Black Sun's moves. He could use the extra eyes and guns while hiding with Hae-Ri until an opportunity to send her home arise, though being able to get a real-time information on Black Sun's intentions, while still in the planning stage, could also benefit him greatly.
Dal-Geon was nearing his limit, head bobbing, cold sweat running like a waterfall down his back and face. He was already feeing suffocated, and the mask made it so much worse. It felt like his eyes were about to explode in their sockets. Though the house wasn't far, maybe two hours away, there was no chance he could reach it safely in that state. He didn't have anything to eat or drink since getting up in the morning, before he started preparing for the mission, and he had lost so much blood that it was surprising that he remained conscious. The only thing that kept him going was sheer will power.
Dal-Geon abruptly turned the wheel to the right and went off the asphalt, hitting the unpaved road beyond the shoulder, and raced forward up the closest mountain. The car heaved and bounced, but maintained a strong grip on the sometimes sandy-sometimes rocky road. He went deeper into the mountains, getting farther away from the road, until he finally found what he was looking for. A close-knit clump of shrubbery, comprised of tall, dense broom bushes, not yet in bloom. He pulled the car to a stop, parking so close to the plant that the long, bony tentacles pressed hard against his window, and covered a decent portion of the windshield, yet the jeep was just far enough from the bushed to avoid shattering the back window that took a bullet earlier. He shifted to neutral and pulled up the handbrake, turned off the car and collapsed against the headrest, everything turning black at once.
"…sshi", a dim voice echoed in his ears. His eyes fluttered, then closed again.
"Ajusshi!", this time the familiar voice made his eyes fly open, and stay that way. He raised his head from the headrest, and it felt as heavy as if it was filled with cement, and pounded so hard, like someone was trying to break it open with a hammer from inside.
It was already dark outside, the sun was completely gone. He checked his watch and was shocked to find that he had passed out for more than an hour. He didn't feel rested at all, and his migraine had gotten worse, which made it hard to keep his eyes open. An urgent fear made his heart match the pounding in his head. He leaned forward and to the right, peering out the windshield up to the sky. The stars were mostly hidden behind clouds, and luckily, the moon was almost invisible tonight.
He flicked the little button above the rearview mirror and the cabin was filled with a dim yellow light, which instantly made him feel like it was burning through his eyes and into his brain. Squinting a little, he turned around to check on Hae-Ri, who was looking at him intently.
"Welcome back", she said sarcastically and raised one eyebrow in irony. She wasn't worried about him, obviously, and was probably concerned about the possibility of being left tied up to the car in case he didn't regain consciousness. Dal-Geon couldn't help himself and let out a tiny, soundless breath of a chuckle under his mask. He wanted to nod in thanks, but refrained from doing so. He turned back and turned off the lights, turning the cabin dark again.
His left arm was throbbing from the tips of his fingers to and up to his shoulder. He has waited too long before caring for it, and knowing what he had to do, he knew he'll pay for that. Forcing himself to move, he leaned to the right and opened the passenger's door. He made his way carefully to the other side, minding the assorted weapons that covered the seat and floor on his way out. He had much to do before they could sit back and rest for the night, and the first task was hiding the car, in case Black Sun sent night vision drones after them. He tried to find an active frequency on the radio, that now also occupied the passenger's seat, during the drive, and failed miserably. Once he went MIA along with his equipment, the protocol was to immediately change all active frequencies. He would have to ask Lily to try and find the new ones, in order to monitor their advances. Since currently he had no notion of what was going on in headquarters, he thought it was better to play if safe and prepare for all possible scenarios.
There were almost no cameras along these parts of Kiria, thank god, but it didn't mean it was impossible to find them. His unit could have spread the search in the direction they were going, for some reason. One of the bikers could have survived to tell the tale, a local informant might have seen them getting off at that exit, the spotter might have managed to get close enough and caught sight of where they were heading... It wasn't impossible that they were discreetly followed, and he couldn't trust himself. Driving in that state, with a foggy mind and blurry vision, it was unfortunately quite possible that he missed something. He couldn't guarantee that they were in the clear. Though it was unlikely that the bikers had survived and that the spotter got there fast enough, he wasn't sure they weren't seen and then followed. On a regular day he would have noticed for sure, no matter how discreet, but today was a different story.
He walked to the trunk with heavy steps, feeling his head might fall off with each one of them, and opened the door, pulling out two ghillie suites. He walked to the front and spread one on the hood, then went on to the open passenger's door and stepped up to spread the second suit over the roof. With no source of light in the sky, it would be hard to distinguish the now camouflaged car from the shrubbery. He was pretty sure of that.
He got back into the car, skipping over all the junk in the passenger's seat, opened the driver's door into the bushes just enough to grab one end of the suit, and pulled the edge into the car, closing the door on it to make sure it stays put. He went back out, closed the door after him, and tucked the upper edge of the hood's suit under the wipers, then tied the bottom edge to the grill at the front. With the camouflage covered, next was the license plate.
The left back door was blocked by the brooms, forcing him to climb into the trunk. Moving one leg over the back of the seat, he reached down for his rucksack that was on the floor, behind the driver's seat. Looking like any common military pack soldiers often carried, it was, in fact, his escape kit. The bag was big enough to fit anything an emergency might call for, including a single civilian license plate, kindly obtained by the capable hands of the North Korean sidekick.
He jumped off the trunk, feeling like his brain started to spin freely in his skull upon impact. He shoved a hand inside the bag and quickly found the jacket in which the metal plate was rolled. He took it out of the fabric and left it on top of the bag, then felt his way along the side of the dark trunk until his hand struck the little tool box he was looking for. He took off the lid and grabbed a screw driver, feeling the end to make sure it was the one he needed. He discarded the screwdriver next to the license plate, as he suddenly remembered he had a more pressing matter to tend. He had the whole night, and though he felt like a moving corpse, he could last long enough to finish all that had to be done.
Instead, he grabbed what comprised an improvised humble emergency food pack - a bottle of water, a tin can of kidney beans in tomato sauce and a spoon, all thrown in a cardboard box that also contained some crushed bags of potato chip dust and expired protein bars. He climbed into the trunk, closed the door from inside, and hopped over to the back seat with his find. He sat down in the middle, next to Hae-Ri, and reached a hand up to flick the light switch on. Now that all the doors were closed, he could rely on the darkly tinted windows to conceal any source of light that came from inside.
He tried his best to avoid her eyes and pulled his hat lower over his brow before opening the water bottle. He brought it carefully to her lips, peering from under the hat as she gulped it down thirstily, gulping it down until she suddenly pulled back and started to cough. The unexpected jolt allowed some of the liquid to escape and trickle down her chin, to her neck, and further down to the neck of her dress. Dal-Geon bent forward and extracted a roll of toilet paper from the little compartment between the front seats. He ripped a few pieces, and when she finally stopped coughing, dabbed at the moisture around her lips, her chin and neck. When he was done, she turned to face him and eyed the bottle in his hand, gesturing in its direction with a nod. He touched it to her lips again and she drank slowly, and lightly pushed the bottle away she had had enough. He took the bottle away and capped it, then went on to open the tin of beans.
It wasn't the most appetizing looking food, and its smell could only be described as "edible" in his opinion. It's better than nothing, Dal-Geon thought as her stomach growled loudly. Spoonful after spoonful, he slowly fed her, fearing she might take his eyes out with the spoon if he let her tend to herself. When she turned her head away from the approaching spoon, indicating that she was done, he put the spoon away and wiped the excess sauce that stained her lips.
He got up and hopped into the trunk, sitting down with his back to her on a little wooden box, filled with magazines for Black Sun mercenaries' standard gun. He took the mask off one ear, letting it hang from the other, and down what was left of Hae-Ri's water and food, then grabbed another can and emptied it quickly, chasing it down with a few more sips of water from a new bottle.
He looked around for the first aid kit, and found it buried under some equipment. He popped the lid open and extracted a bottle of pain killers, thrown two pills into his mouth and downed it with a swill of water, praying it will take effect soon.
Rummaging inside his rucksack, he pulled out a clean pair of socks and grabbed the jacket that was used to hide the license plate, then hopped over to the back seat again, when he caught a glimpse of one red, raw wrist, peering from under the long sleeve of her blazer. He immediately got up, stood on top of the seat and swung his right leg over into the trunk, grabbed the first aid kit and sat back down with it in the empty space between Hae-Ri and himself.
He leaned forward into the space between the front seats and pull a pair of handcuffs out of the duffle bag that was resting open in the passenger's seat. He yanked hard at the key, breaking the little ball chain that attached it to the cuffs, and shoved it into his pocket, tossing the cuffs on the seat to his left. He put a hand over the combat knife in his belt and pulled it out, breaking the zip tie attached to the handle with one swift swing of the knife. Her body automatically shifted in his direction after hours of being confined sideways. He quickly cut through the second tie to free her wrists, then shoved the knife back in place.
She rotated the now free joints experimentally, then abruptly stopped and sucked in a breath through her teeth. Dal-Geon reached his hand forward, grabbing her halfway down the elbow. She pulled in resistance, but he didn't let go. He shoved her sleeve away and chocked at the sight. The delicately boned wrist was red and chafes, raw and bleeding at places. He let go and grabbed her right arm, this time she didn't resist. He pushed the sleeve back to take a look, and though it was a bit better in comparison, the difference was negligible.
He opened the first aid kit and pulled out a bottle of iodine solution. He drenched a cotton swab with the brown liquid, its sharp scent filling the air, and gently covered the wounded wrists one at a time. Next, with a fresh cotton swab, he smeared them with antibiotic ointment. He finished with a gauze and a few layers of bandage to wrap it up, and taped down the edge. She didn't utter a sound the whole time, and he could feel her eyes boring holes into his head.
Feeling extremely guilty for being the one responsible for her injuries, he knew he couldn't just let her be. He wished he didn't have to restrain her, but the car was filled with all sorts of things that could aid her escape within easy reach, and if he wanted to keep her safe, he had to keep her in the car until they reached the safe house. He reluctantly grabbed the handcuffs and gently closed one side around her right wrist, over her sleeve, and for lack of other options, fastened the other end around the door handle again.
As a general rule, the days in the desert were excruciatingly hot, and the nights were unbearably cold. As night began to fall, it was getting colder and colder, and though Hae-Ri had her long sleeved jacket, it was too thin for a desert night, and he had already noticed tiny tremors come and go while tending to her wrists. He grabbed the socks he had excavated from his bag and unrolled the pair, leaving both draped over his knee. He reached down to get her feet out of her high heel shoes, thinking it couldn't be comfortable wearing those for so long, even while sitting down. He Tried to unfasten the buckle of the left one while bending over, and though he wasn't sure, something seemed strange. He took out a small flashlight that was in one of the many pockets of his cargo pants, patting up and down until he found it, and switched it on, shining the light over her feet. His breath caught and his vision started to blur as his eyes filled with tears. Tears of frustration, of anger, of self-hatred. Her left foot was all shades of red, blue and purple, swollen to the point that the shoe straps dug into her skin.
Is it broken? When did it happen? He wondered helplessly, miserably, and quickly wiped the tears out of his eyes with thumb and forefinger.
He turned off the flashlight and replaced it in his pocket, grabbed the jacket he had brought for her to use as a blanket for the night, and draped it over her knees. He then bent down again, reached a hand behind her left calf while trying to ignore the bare, smooth, soft skin, and slowly lifted it up and positioned it over his knee. Hae-Ri didn't resist, but jumped up when her makeshift blanket almost fell off and quickly slapped a hand over it, to keep herself modestly covered.
Dal-Geon gently pried the buckle open and started to pull the shoe off her foot.
"Ah...!"
He felt himself being pulled back. He turned to face her and saw her free hand wrapped around a handful of his shirtsleeve. Her teeth bit forcefully into her lower lip, and she seemed to be doing her best to hold herself back. Obviously, it was very painful, and she's been sucking it up for who knows how long. He also bit his lip, tasting blood, and turned back to the matter at hand.
He tried to be even gentler, and slowly managed to get the shoe off, bit by bit, while Hae-Ri maintained a tight hold on his sleeve the whole time, uttering small squeaks of pain now and then. The lower strap of the shoe was actually made of some sort of beads, and it left ugly, painful looking dents on the bridge of her foot. How the hell could he let her injured to that extent? It was careless and irresponsible, and damn stupid. He wanted to punch himself.
He touched the swollen ankle here and there, to the displeasure of his patient. Hae-Ri occasionally pulled at his sleeve to restrain him when she felt he was going too far, when she couldn't tolerate the pain anymore.
"Ah!", she yanked him for the fourth time, just when he was about to finished the examination. He let out a sigh of relief. Though it was badly sprained, he couldn't feel any broken bones. If she kept her weight off it, it would heal within a few days.
And then, still holding her foot between his hands, he froze in place. The memories of the time they spent together in the hospital after she was hit by a bullet rushed into his mind. It felt like it happened in another lifetime, to a different person. It felt like he somehow held memories that didn't belong to him. The images attacked him. Massaging her legs while she was reading in bad, assisting in her rehabilitation, encouraging her during physical therapy, having her stand over his feet, her body pressed tightly to his in an intimate dance…
A little overwhelmed, and thoroughly exhausted, he felt the tears flood his eyes again, and quickly shook his head, chasing the memories out of his head. It was pointless to hold on to them. He felt the grip on his sleeve weaken, and knew she was looking at him. He also knew that his behavior must seem very odd to her right now. Feeling a little shaky, he hastily wiped his tears away and reached for the first aid kit, searching for an elastic bandage. He tightly wrapped it around the swollen ankle, tucking the edge beneath the layers after making sure it wasn't too tight for her to sleep with.
He looked for the socks that fell from lap and discover them on the floor. He bent down to pick them up, trying not to jolt her leg, and gently slipped one over the bandaged foot. When the sock was in place, Hae-Ri lifter her right leg and placed it on his knee, next to her injured ankle, in a silent demand. Under the circumstances, her attitude was rather amusing. He couldn't help but smile under his mask.
Yes, Go Hae-Ri-ssi…
He unbuckled the strap and slipped the shoe off her foot, grazing her shockingly ice-cold skin with his fingers. She was freezing. He dropped the shoe on the floor behind the driver's seat, next to its left mate, and slipped the sock over her toes, the bridge of her foot, her ankle, and finally rolled it up as far as it would go up her shin. The sock was too big for her, but at least it covered her nicely, and hopefully will give her the additional warmth she needed during this cold night. As soon as the sock was in place, she lifted both her legs off his lap and placed them on the floor, and adjusted the jacket she had for a blanket, covering herself.
He dropped the first aid kit behind the back seat and got up, stretched one long leg over to the front, and moved to the driver's seat. He repacked all the stuff that spilled out of the duffle bag during their rough ride. Some were on the seat next to the bag, some were on the floor. He added Hae-Ri's gun, that was still in his belt, and zipped it up. He hopped onto the passenger's side and got out of the car with the bag and his rifle. He closed the door behind him over a section of the ghillie suit's hem, to prevent it from being blown away by random winds, and went to the trunk, moving on to the next task.
He dropped the weapons in the trunk and grabbed the license plate and screwdriver that he dug out earlier, and closed the door. He sat on his heels behind the jeep and felt for the bolt that screwed the license plate into place, his eyes still not adjusted to the dark. When he finally found it, he blindly placed the screwdriver in place and started to remove Black Sun's license plate, one bolt at a time. Wrapping the job up quickly, he went on to attach the civilian license plate in its place. He walked to the front of the car to unscrew the second plate, then tossed both plates it the trunk, which resulted in a dull "clang" upon impact. He moved on to fill the gas tank, using the spare gallon, so they wouldn't have to stop for a refill on the way to the safe house tomorrow morning.
He replaced the empty container back in the trunk and took a deep breath as he sat down on the edge of the car, legs wide apart, looking to the ground, defeated. The next task was one he really didn't want to deal with, but had no choice. It was, perhaps, the most important one. If he had dealt with it a few hours earlier it might not have been so bad. Shutting his eyes closed as his foot bounced up and down in nervousness, he swallowed hard and nodded to himself when he mastered enough will power to get on with it.