A/N: Warning for brief violence.
Carlitos Gallego was the CEO of a very successful conglomerate based in Berlin, Germany. He had a wife and three children, one of which came from a previous marriage. His company specialized in technology and online data. As of late, he always had a bodyguard with him; that was why Agents 707 and Vanderwood were tag-teaming this assignment. Two agents could take down a bodyguard without much of a fuss, and still have time to eliminate Gallego.
Well, two agents and a cat-loving trust fund kid, now.
Jumin led the way to the third floor, with Vanderwood at his side. Luciel had been assigned to go up first alone, as punishment for nearly compromising their cover. He would meet them at the door, having cleared the hallway of intelligence threats and prevented himself from being seen with Vanderwood in any significant way.
"So," Jumin said. "What exactly has Gallego done to warrant a visit from you two?"
"'Said that's classified," Vanderwood grumbled. "Don't ask again."
"I will ask again, and I expect an answer. I am providing my service to the cause, and I would like to know what the cause is. Otherwise, I may rescind my offer of introducing you to Mr. Gallego."
Vanderwood stopped and groaned. "I hate friends," he said. "Always makin' you break protocol for them. Fine! I'll tell you, for the sake of that favor only, you hear? Gallego seems to be mounting his influence to protest and dismantle a few other groups' datamining projects. The sale of users' info is a major income source for some of them. The conglomerates of the world don't like that, so they've hired us." He marched on past Jumin. "Feel any better about this now?"
Jumin kept his face carefully blank and continued on. "I understand this is only an assignment for you… nothing personal?"
"Nothing personal," Vanderwood confirmed. "This him?"
They'd stopped in front of a heavy oak door, dark and polished, with a brass plate nailed to the center. It read "Chief Executive Officer" in etched lettering. Jumin nodded his confirmation.
"You know," he said, "I think I won't be making a deal with him after all. It seems a bit futile, if I am correctly guessing your intentions."
Luciel appeared from around the corner. "Oh, good for you," he said. "Jaehee would die if she had to handle the extra paperwork."
"Where have you been?" Jumin asked skeptically.
"Pfft, I'm not going to loiter around the CEO's office in broad… er… lamplight. I was waiting for you around the corner."
"Mr. Han, I'm expecting you to introduce us," Vanderwood said. "Tonight, 707 is Han Taeseok, owner of the up-and-coming company TS Entertainment. And I am Song Byeong-ho, president of a company specializing in set design, which as of a few moments ago is rather involved with TSE. Got it?"
"Name of the set company?"
"Stage Song."
Jumin nodded. "Let's go in."
He opened the door.
The office they entered was actually smaller than expected, and neater. Everything was in its place, and there was quite a bit of everything. Stacks and stacks of papers around the room somehow managed to look like they belonged there and always had. Positioned stiffly by the desk, a bodyguard stood.
"Mr. Gallego," Jumin greeted with a smile.
A short, older man with a well trimmed beard looked up and smiled back at them. "Oh, hello! You're Mr. Han, then?"
"I am. And these are a few of my associates, Song Byeong-ho and Han Taeseok." Luciel and Vanderwood each held out their hands to shake, offering polite smiles. "They were hoping to meet you and discuss business as well."
"Of course, we can make arrangements for later," Gallego said. "However, I am here to speak with C&R's Director tonight. If you wouldn't mind…?" Gallego motioned towards the door.
"Oh, yes, of course," Luciel said, suddenly playing up the submission. "We'll be on our way in a moment, as soon as you please." He stepped forward and extended his hand with a small smile. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you already, Mr. Gallego."
Gallego, to his credit, looked confused for a moment. "Business? We haven't done any—AAAH!" Within a moment, Luciel's hand in his had grabbed his arm and twisted, bringing him to the ground in one swift motion. He pinned the shocked man under his foot and glanced to the side, where Vanderwood was already tucking away his taser over the twitching body of Gallego's guard. Jumin had taken a few steps back during the chaos, and now stood with his back pressed against the door. He was blinking in surprise.
"What—what are you doing this for!?" Gallego asked.
"Heh, don't ask me. I'm just the messenger," Luciel said. "But if it gives you closure, I heard somewhere along the lines that somebody was threatening the data industry with morals. Not a problem I care about, but…" he shrugged. "Someone's gotta do the dirty work around here." With that, he extracted a small syringe from his interior pocket, inserted the needle into Gallego's jugular, and stood back as the man gasped and began to convulse. Jumin looked disgusted and turned his eyes away. On the other side of the room, Vanderwood administered the same dose of cyanide to the still-unconscious bodyguard. Within a few minutes, the room was quiet.
"This is your work?" Jumin asked quietly. Luciel didn't reply. He moved to the computer still open at Gallego's desk and began hacking. The password was easy enough to guess; he'd been doing this since he was 14 and had caught on to certain patterns. With the computer open to him, he found a link to the security room and sent a remote command to wipe all camera footage of the night. That was simple enough, with everything so connected nowadays.
"Agent 707, are we ready to go?"
"Ah-ah-ah, it's Taeseok, remember?"
Vanderwood rolled his eyes. "Job's done, lets get outta here before they find the bodies and lock the place down." He looked at Jumin. "You too. You're a liability."
Luciel rose from the computer. "Jumin needs protection as well, Vandy."
"Protection my ass." The trio made their way into the hallway. The two agents were sure to walk slow and unhurried. Jumin, though still a bit pale in the face, caught on and copied their composure. When they reemerged into the ballroom, nothing appeared amiss. Couples still floated across the dancefloor, and polite laughter rang out from the conversational groups that had formed. Wine glasses tinkled merrily and waiters restocked the buffet. All was well on the second floor.
To Jumin's apparent horror, Luciel pasted a smile on his face and made his way to a group of young ladies nearby. He slipped into their midst with a charming smile and a joke. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Vanderwood guiding Jumin towards the buffet table and whispering something in his ear. Good; Jumin may have seemed emotionless, but Luciel knew that he had a terrible poker face when something was actually bothering him. He knew, too, that Jumin buried his feelings for exactly that reason.
"Hmm, Taeseok? Is there another girl over there?" Oh, shit. He'd allowed himself to get distracted. Wonderful. He ignored how the girl had butchered his Korean name and laughed lightly. "No, of course not. Why would I look at any lady besides you?" Gross. He needed to get out of here. "I was only looking at the buffet. I think I'm going to go over there. I'll rejoin you ladies later, if you don't mind?" He winked and left without waiting for an answer. He didn't want to chat up frivolous rich girls any longer than he had to.
He joined Jumin at the buffet. Vanderwood had disappeared. He clicked his comm under the guise of rearranging his hair. Click. "Where are you?"
Click. "Lobby. On my way out. Meet me in ten minutes, no more and no less." His voice was low, whispering.
Click. "Got it. Over."
He turned to Jumin. "Ten minutes of socializing, then find me in the lobby." Jumin nodded, and they parted ways.
Ten minutes later, Luciel met Jumin as promised and silently led him outdoors and down the road a ways. They found Vanderwood underneath a sprawling old maple tree, playing with his taser. Luciel's car was waiting in front of him.
"I'm taking Jumin to my place. I'll meet you at HQ to debrief?"
"Don't be late," Vanderwood said. "I'm not waiting for you, and I'm not forging an excuse for us separating either."
Luciel grinned as he got in his car. "Didn't expect you to, Madam. Jumin, get in."
Lockdown alarms started blaring behind them as they drove away. Luciel stepped on it.
The drive was silent. Jumin stared out the window, Luciel stared at the road.
After a few minutes, Luciel groaned. "What's on your mind, Jumin? This silence is killing me!"
"Nothing is on my mind, Luciel. Just drive."
"No, something is, and I'm willing to bet its, oh, I dunno, the fact that you just watched me kill a man! Talk to me. Even the air is tense right now."
"I am perfectly fine with you doing what needs to be done for your work," Jumin said stiffly.
"No you're not!" Luciel banged his hand on the steering wheel. "You're clearly not, stop lying! I know you have this universal moral code or whatever that puts work at the top, but just admit that this case is different!"
"Why are you so emotional right now, Luciel?"
"Because my friend just watched me kill a man! And don't deflect!"
Jumin turned away coldly, and silence fell again, heavy and suffocating and deep as the night that fell outside their windows.
"...I know you didn't choose this."
Luciel's hands tightened on the wheel. "Oh? And how… how do you know that?"
"Because I know you, Luciel," Jumin said. "No, don't look at me like that. We do fight in the chatrooms, true, but that doesn't mean I don't watch you. We are… friends. And I know that you're too stubborn to choose something like this unless it was truly your only option. This kind of life does not suit you."
"...It doesn't, huh?"
"Not at all."
Luciel's eyes stayed firmly fixed on the road.
"And knowing this, that this… is your only option, I have decided to do my best not to be judgemental about it. Or call the police. Because you are my friend."
Luciel visibly deflated. "You know, Jumin, I wonder about you sometimes."
"Hmm?"
"You're too goddamn put together, you know that? All this about who I am, assuming stuff about my past, not even calling the cops. Who do you think you are? Just because you're some—some corporate heir, you know how the world works?" His voice hitched. "You know how I work?"
"Luciel…"
The car swerved suddenly, and they were pulled far onto the side of the road. It was truly dark by now, and the lights inside the car turned the windows into impenetrable opaque sheets. Luciel buried his face in his hands.
"I do not presume to know your past. I can only say I know your present. And…" His hand found its way, hesitantly, to Luciel's shoulder. "I can say that I want to remain in your present. Your future as well, if you would let me."
Luciel's shoulders shook. "Goddamn it," he whispered. "You're too good. You're too goddamn good for me."
"Which of us is a better person is inconsequential to this conversation, you know."
Luciel raised his head and smiled. His eyes were faintly red. "You're right. Come on, let's get home."
