章節 24: No More Running
After leaving the establishment Neugdae said his farewells to the two Hubaes and went on his way. On his way back home he browsed the several news sites. Usually he would wait until he arrived home to do this but with how hectic things have become as of late he wanted to be appraised of and/or act on any new information that might crop up. He hoped that nothing of note happened in the few hours he was preoccupied but no such luck on that front.
The local police precinct got attacked and considering it's the same precinct his recent ally worked in he looked more into it. Through a combination of mainstream media reports and leaked information on certain forums he managed to find out a few things about the attack such as there being an explosion, a possible break-in and theft. None of his sources reported any casualties and there are a lot of speculations as to the identity of the terrorist and their motives.
Neugdae had his own speculations as well but unfortunately he was missing quite a chunk of context for him to decide which way his theory would swing. Though honestly it's a guarantee at this point either Soyun or the Noble Bloods are involved.
'I'll have to ask when I get home.'
Thankfully he didn't run into any issues on his way home. Ever since the incident on Saturday a stricter curfew was issued for the surrounding area. It's one of the other reasons why he couldn't stay out much longer at the bar. He actually saw a police car driving out of the neighborhood on a patrol route that covered more than a block. As he arrived on the street it became apparent that he was the only one who didn't take the curfew seriously given that he is the only person walking the street at this time.
As he came up to his apartment Neugdae couldn't help but frown as he crossed a wide alley. The moment he stepped across the roar of an engine broke the silence as headlights flashed on. Neugdae looked over his shoulder at the sudden noise in time to see a nondescript white van pull out of the alley. The side doors opened to reveal two vampires who lunged at him. In a split second one clamped a rag over his nose and mouth and he was pulled into the van. The whole thing only took two seconds and the van drove off only to come at a sudden stop in the middle of the road after a dozen or so feet.
A moment later the van drove off at a more sedate pace as if nothing happened.
Meanwhile…
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this" Soyun grumbled as she watched the TV.
Currently the news was covering the recent terrorist attack on the Gwangju Police Department. An attack that she took part in because her adopted father and mentor managed to convince her it was for a worthy cause.
From the other side of the room Stefan Joseph grunted "it was the only way I could get back my weapons…or salvage what's left" he added with a scowl.
He was using the dinner table as a makeshift workbench and on the table are the weapons he had Soyun retrieve from the precinct behind evidence lock up.
"Don't you think the car bomb was a bit excessive" Soyun questioned seeing the burnt out remains of police car she herself planted the bomb on.
On another note Soyun has become quite adept at planting bombs and she's not sure how to feel about that.
"We had to get their attention somehow."
"Did it have to be a bomb though? I mean we even cut the power so no cameras. Plus I'm fast enough to get in and out of there before anyone even noticed."
"Didn't you say there were at least two vampires in the building?"
"Well yeah-"
"And you think cutting the lights out alone would have made a difference with them."
Soyun scowled "if they interfered it would have been their funeral and two less spies for the Noble Bloods in the police force."
"Getting rid of them like that would only cause more problems."
"How?"
"Chiyon already knows about the spies in the precinct and she wants them to be taken care of 'in house' so to speak."
"Seriously? And you still didn't answer my question. How is me getting rid of them a problem?"
"Politics."
"Ugh" Choyun released a groan.
Seeing her frustration he decided to go for a different angle "say you get rid of the vampires at the precinct. Sure you got rid of two spies for the Noble Blood but that wouldn't really change anything."
"How do you mean?"
"Even if we're just counting Ji-Hae's father as a benefactor he's one of the richest men in the city. His influence amongst the city's elites alone would have the police force in his pockets by proxy and since I'm sure a Noble Blood wouldn't leave such and asset untapped…"
"Then he's in the pockets of the Noble Bloods and so would everything he has influence over" finished Soyun.
"Then there is the fallout when the public finds out vampires infiltrated the police. They'd be even more stifled than they already are as they deal with public scrutiny. And that's not even mentioning regular corrupt police officer."
"Okay, okay I get it!" Soyun yelled "getting rid of the vampires won't help. So how are we going to fix this?"
"We won't" he answered.
"You can't be serious."
"It's like Chiyon says, this one is an in-house problem for the police and I don't think that institution as whole is too far gone at this point. They can solve their own bureaucratic mess. All we can do is eliminate the Noble Bloods and hope that helps."
"Do you think it will?"
"I think it will definitely change things. Whether that be for better or worse remains to be seen."
Soyun didn't like that answer but before she could continue a phone started ringing an upbeat 8 bit audio. The sudden noise took both occupants of the apartment off guard as they both turned towards the source.
Said source happened to be Soyun who was fumbling with her jacket "should have put it on vibrate" the vampire grumbled causing Stefan to raise an eyebrow
"Put him on speaker" spoke the former priest as he put away some damaged weapon's part and strode over to stand beside her.
Soyun accepted the call and spoke "you're on speaker" before pulling the phone away.
There was a brief pause on the other line before the person spoke up with a voice modulator "we have a problem or rather you might."
That immediately got her attention "what happened?"
"Ji-Hae sent men to kidnap your friends from school."
Soyun immediately got up with a heated "what!?"
"I managed to intercept the group going after your Sunbae but the second group caught the other two."
"Soyun…" Stefan began only to be interrupted.
"Where are they?"
"They're headed for the Monarch Nightclub."
"I'm on my way-"
"Now hold on" Stefan interrupted placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Father-"
"No" he said sharply "you should know better than to rush into an unknown situation without a plan."
"Are you the 'Father Joseph' I've heard so much about?"
Stefan narrowed his eyes at the phone "I am, and you are 'Wolf' the Esper my daughter spoke of."
"I am."
"Do you have any kind of information on what he's up to?"
"I don't."
"You didn't bother reading the vampires' minds?"
"I did and they're just grunts who do as they're told. Ji-Hae told them to kidnap some random students and they obliged. Common Bloods who questions a Noble Blood's orders don't tend to last long."
"This sounds like a trap."
"…a trap by the Noble Blood or me?"
"…"
"Oh my God!" Soyun yelled as her human guise all but shredded by her rage to reveal her vampiric form "will you just let it go! He is not our enemy!"
"She's right you know. I could care less about her being a Pureblood and you being an ex-Templar so long as you don't cross me."
"Where are they taking Min-Son and So-Ra?" Soyun cut in with a growl.
"They're taking them to the Monarch Nightclub. I'm already on my way there. Do you need a pickup?"
"No, give me five minutes" she gave Stefan a side eye "I'll meet you outside."
"I'll be on the building with the green neon, you won't miss it."
And with that he hung up and Soyun went to retrieve her face mask but not before looking at her adoptive father "you aren't going to stop me?"
"You're not a little girl anymore and this isn't training" he took a deep breath before looking her in the eye "I'll trust you to make your own decisions for good or for ill."
Soyun scowled and incidentally barred her fangs as she exclaimed "they're my friends! Innocent people! What would you have me do!?"
Not at all cowed by her display "I'm not saying the cause isn't a worthy one. But you need to temper yourself."
That brought the vampire up short and she realized she was panting. Looking down at her clawed hands she realized her fists were clenched so hard that her claws drew blood from her palms. Taking a calming breath she loosened them and the wound healed before they were even open fully. Taking another breath Soyun opened her scarlet eyes, still in her vampire form, and nodded to Stefan.
"I won't let you down."
"I know."
In the next instant she was gone, the only trace of her departure being a very faint burst of displaced air and the suddenly open window. Stefan didn't realize he was clenching his fist until he went to retrieve his burner phone. After taking a calming breath himself he dialed the number to their now mutual acquaintance.
Meanwhile…
Getting jumped by a trio of vampires was not on Neugdae's list of things he expected to happen when in his civilian guise because it meant he had been sloppy enough that someone figured out his identity. Luckily it's nothing like that as it turns out though he still did not know the exact reasoning behind this kidnapping attempt. As he told Soyun over the phone the vampires sent after him were little more than grunts. They didn't even get the order from Ji-Hae, rather it came from someone else who took orders directly from Ji-Hae.
'Troublesome' the last thing Neugdae wanted was to involve his civilian identity in this mess 'I should have known this might happen. Of course they would use friends and family as leverage against her.'
In hindsight he should have expected this if only because it was so obvious but he held out hope that they wouldn't assume they were close considering they've only been friends for less than a week.
'Nothing to be done about it now' he thought with a sigh.
*Whoosh*
Her appearance is heralded by a shift in the air. Neugdae turned from his perch overseeing the Monarch nightclub to find Soyun standing behind him, dressed in all black and in her full vampire form.
"What happened?" she immediately asked, red eyes shining even with the district lights below them.
Neugdae gave her an abbreviated version of his would be kidnapping as well as what information he gathered as he waited for her.
"Couldn't you have just went in there and taken him out with your telepathy?"
"Noble Bloods have natural mental defenses that are a pain to get through unless they allow me to" he added while gesturing to her "unless he's really distracted by the moment I try to get into his head he'll know and he'll fight back. Worse he might even be able to find me. Plus my telepathy has distance limit and with him I'd have to get in really close if I want to affect him in any meaningful way."
Soyun gave a grunt at his words but chose to move on "Min-Son and So-Ra are already in there?"
"Yeah and from what I can tell everyone in there is a vampire except the two of them."
Soyun sucked in a sharp breath through her nose before releasing it in a steady sigh "what else?"
"He's probably waiting on me to show up so he hasn't done anything to them. They're unconscious by the way."
"Good" she nodded before walking to the edge of the roof to view the monarch from their vantage point. Pursing her lips she asked "do you have a plan?"
"The way I see it we have three options here. I kept the vampires alive just in case" Neugdae began "could have them deliver me to their master as a Trojan horse. When I get close to Min-Son and So-Ra, you cause a commotion and I could teleport them away in the chaos."
"You can teleport?" she asked bewildered "why not just do that right now and save us the trouble?"
"Because he's keeping them real close and I don't want to risk my Hubaes' lives on whether or not a Noble Blood is fast enough to tag us in the second or two it would take for me to get in, grab them and get out."
Soyun scowled but conceded the point "what's the other option?"
"You go in first, draw his attention and I'll come in and teleport them away."
"In both scenarios I'll have to fight him" she observed.
"For a bit at least" Neugdae supplied "I can get you out-"
"No" Soyun interrupted "I'm not running."
Neugdae gave her a side glance "are you sure?"
"They think I'm helpless because I've been hiding for most of my life. Even with what happened this weekend I basically hid behind father, no more."
Her hands slowly clenched into a fist.
"I think it's time they find out what exactly they are dealing with."
~To Be Continued~
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Streggae
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