~𝟯𝟬~

I sat on the couch, the two boys watching me. They were waiting for an explanation. I knew that the commander could still be listening in through their comms, but I couldn't tell them without tipping him off. Then I saw the paper and pen I had used the day before. I reached forward and grabbed it, scribbling down a new message.

Run the diagnostics program on your comms. I'll explain later.

They gave me confused looks before complying. I watched anxiously as they tapped on the little screens, then waited for it to load. My heart skipped a beat as the red on the screens illuminated their faces. They both looked at me with astonishment and confusion in their eyes.

"How did you-"

I cut Chan off by holding my finger up to my lips, telling him to be quiet. I got up and took both their comms off their wrists. Then I went outside. I stood near the trees and threw the comms as hard as I could, hearing the screens splinter against the tree trunks. Then I went into the woods, picking up the pieces that were left. I threw those pieces again, ducking as they scattered in every direction. When I was satisfied with the shattered machinery, I walked out of the woods again. The boys were standing there, both giving me looks.

"My commander came to see me in the cell last night. He somehow let it slip indirectly that they were using the comms to listen in on us. So, I smashed mine when he left. And he's using his wife's maiden name to stay hidden. That's why the guy who tried to strangle me called him Commander Lannister."

"Okay, wait. He came to see you last night? Did he hurt you?" Chan asked, moving slightly closer to me, making me inch back out of habit. He stopped when he noticed.

"No, he just tilted my chin up quite harshly, but it didn't hurt. I'm fine."

"Besides the claw marks on your neck. Did he do that too?" Lee Know asked. He sounded angry, but I was used to that by now.

"No. I did that in my sleep. I had a nightmare."

"Oh, Ava. Why didn't you just call one of us on the comms? We could have helped you-"

"How? How could it possibly have helped me? And besides, I didn't want to wake you guys. I've already gotten you all arrested and almost killed multiple times."

I dropped my head slightly, and I heard them both sigh deeply. When I sensed one of them moving closer, I moved away. I knew Lee Know had told me to open up, and I did want to. I just didn't know how. When whoever moved closer moved away again, I walked past them back to the house. When I got inside, Felix was just coming down the stairs. His gaze lit up as he saw me, but he faltered when he saw my neck. He came over, nonetheless.

"You're home early. I thought Chan and Lee Know would have only gotten you like ten minutes from now."

"Seems they were early."

He hesitantly spread his arms, waiting for me to make a move. I walked into the embrace, happy to see the bubbly boy again. When I pulled away, he brushed some bangs out of his face.

"So, how'd you sleep last night?"

"Not too well. I had a nightmare and scratched my neck open in my sleep, but it's something at least. You?"

"Strangely enough, I had a nightmare as well, which never happens. But I slept okay once it was over."

"Who are you taking to Fe- oh, Ava. You're home early," Hyunjin said as he came down the stairs. I smiled at him as he came to stand next to Felix. His eyes widened as he saw the marks on my neck, but Felix elbowed him in the ribs before he could say anything.

"It's okay Felix. I don't mind him asking. But thanks."

He nodded slightly.

"What happened?" Hyunjin asked, staring at my throat.

"I had a nightmare and clawed it open in my sleep. But I'm fine."

He nodded but didn't seem convinced. Then it dawned on me that the other boys hadn't come inside yet. I looked out the open front door to see them arguing near the treeline. Felix and Hyunjin peeked out beside me, making me giggle. But their voices got louder, grabbing my attention. I moved to go to them, but Hyunjin gently took my wrist, stopping me. I furrowed my brows, keeping my eyes on the argument while Hyunjin gently took me inside, closing the door behind me.

"What do you think they're fighting about?" I asked as I took a seat on the couch.

"You."

My eyes widened at Hyunjin and Felix's simultaneous answer. They both gave me sympathetic smiles.

"Why me? Is it something I did?"

"No, no, nothing like that. They just both want to protect you, but they have very different ways of doing so."

"Exactly like Hyunjin said. And it doesn't help that they are leader and second-in-command. If anything, it makes it worse," Felix said.

"But can't I just go see what it's about? Maybe I could help them?"

"Not a good idea. They should sort it out on their own. It works out better that way, for them and you."

I nodded at Felix. We sat in silence for a moment before the alarm went off through the house again. We all jumped up and ran to the operations room. The screen had gone on when we got there. The commander's eyes scanned over the people in the room and his eyebrows furrowed. For the first time I noticed Chan and Lee Know weren't inside with us. I volunteered to get them, running out the room before anyone could stop me. I jogged down the stairs and swung the door open. Lee Know and Chan were still fighting when I got to them. They didn't seem to notice my presence, continuing the screaming match. I whistled as loud as I could, luckily grabbing the two boys' attention.

"We have a mission, if you two want to join us."

Then I ran back inside the house, trying to get back up to the operations room as fast as possible. Just as I caught my breath, the two boys came into the room. They wouldn't look at me when they got inside and neither of them stood anywhere near me.

"Now that you are all here, we can begin. We have gotten news about a smuggling ring. Mostly weapons. Some agents found a source outside of the syndicate. I need one of you to seduce her, while the others see what they can get out of the information gathered. A simple little undercover mission. And to make it fun, you all can decide who should be the one going out into the field."

My eyes widened slightly at the mission, but I hid it. The commander dismissed us and we all moved to the pole and slid down, getting ready. I was almost ready to go when Chan came to me, handing me another comm identical to the one I destroyed.

"It's a back-up. It's never been used, so it isn't hacked yet. If the suit is loose, just let me know."

I nodded at him, fastening it to my wrist and activating the suit with the comm. The suit fit more snugly than the previous one, making me slightly self-conscious. I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and watched as Chan gave Lee Know another spare comm. They seemed slightly tense, but not at all as bad as Hyunjin and Lee Know. I flinched when someone spoke behind me.

"I could hear them fighting this morning. It must be something serious if they were so into it, they were late for the mission."

I turned around to find Changbin looking at Chan and Lee Know like I did a second before.

"They were fighting about me."

Changbin looked down at me, confusion written on his face.

"How do you-"

"Hyunjin and Felix told me. And it's kind of obvious. They don't seem like the type to fight otherwise."

"That might not be the case. Chan has suspicions that Commander Della Valle isn't completely on our side, but Lee Know knows him personally. Old family friend. So, it's possible that it was about that. Don't worry about it, though. They'll work it out quickly. Unlike Hyunjin and Lee Know."

Just as he finished talking, Chan said we were leaving. We all got into the van. Just as all of us sat down and we started driving, Chan spoke.

"Okay, so who is going to be the person doing the seducing?"

He said it with the biggest smirk on his lips. I kind of wanted to volunteer him, but he spoke again.

"It's a girl, so I don't think Ava will be the best option. Also, I'm disqualified as well because of conflicts of interest."

"What do you mean conflicts of interest? And the girl could be a lesbian, we wouldn't know, now would we?" I said, but Chan just raised his eyebrows at me, making me shut my mouth.

"Any suggestions?" he asked, turning his attention away from me again.

"I volunteer Lee Know," Hyunjin said, earning him a glare from said person. I half expected him to say no.

"Okay. I'll do it. On one condition. None of you will give me any suggestions on how to flirt. Please. Last time it was a nightmare."

I furrowed my eyebrows, but they didn't pay me any attention. They all nodded, agreeing to his conditions. I felt slightly uneasy at the prospect of the mission, but I shook it off.

"Let's do this," Chan said, and I nodded, hoping nothing would go wrong.

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A/N

I'm only realising now that I completely forgot about putting in author's notes. So I thought why not start now? ;)

Thank you to everyone who has been following along with this story. I really appreciate you all. This is the very first story that I am posting on Wattpad, so this is still very new to me and I'm still learning :) but thank you to everyone who is willing to keep reading.

I would really appreciate it if you all could maybe comment a :) if you like a chapter or a certain part in a chapter. And i just wanted to let you all know, if any of you feel like you need to talk about anything, I'm here to support you all. Love you guys!!

~J