~𝟯𝟯~

When I got back to the dorms, it was dark outside. My heart felt lighter at having been able to tell someone about my problems. But I was nervous. About what the members would say when I told them. I stood in front of the door; body reluctant to move. I would have probably stood outside the whole night if the door hadn't opened, showing Seungmin.

"Chan, she's home," he yelled inside before smiling at me.

"Were you guys looking for me?"

"No, Chan just got a bit worried when you weren't home by dark yet. You were with Han, right? What did he say? When's he coming home?"

"He said he was getting his first solid food tomorrow. Then he still has to stay for three days for monitoring. After that he should be discharged."

"That's great. We should all go pick him up when he gets discharged," Chan said, walking into the living room. I waited for Seungmin and I to be alone before speaking again.

"I spoke to Han, and he said I should tell you all. And I agree. So, could you maybe tell the rest of the boys I want to tell them something after dinner?"

"Sure. And I'm glad you could talk to someone about this."

"I didn't really mean to tell him. It just happened."

"Nonetheless, I'm glad you did. You seem less stressed."

I nodded just as Chan called us for dinner. Everyone smiled at me, which just made me more nervous.

...

As I washed my plate after dinner, I started rehearsing what I would say in my head. Until Felix came to stand next to me, sending my thoughts scattering when he spoke.

"How's Han doing? Does he miss us?"

"Terribly. He can't wait to get back home and see us, and he says he just wants to be able to sleep in his own bed again."

Felix giggled, his deep voice soothing.

"That sounds like Han. And what about the girl? Was she there?"

"No, Han said they moved her out of his room. He thinks either something went wrong with her surgery the other day, or she has a boyfriend and moved out on her own."

"Poor guy. And she sounded so nice."

"I'm sure she just got discharged or something-"

"Ava, I told everyone. Whenever you're ready," Seungmin said softly from behind me.

I took in a breath before walking into the living room with Felix and Seungmin, all the other boys already gathered there. They all looked up at me.

"Is there something wrong, Ava? You seem on edge," I heard Jeongin comment.

"Actually, yes. There is something wrong."

All the boys sat up straighter at that. I took in a breath, trying to get my thoughts straight. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and found Seungmin standing next to me, giving me a reassuring smile.

"I got another letter about six days ago. It's written by the same person as the others. It had a USB-drive attached to it. The letter said to look at the files on the drive. If there was anything of use, I needed to keep it safe. Otherwise I had to get rid of it. I should get information tomorrow about the drop-off point for the USB. I made a copy of the files, for in case you guys might want to give it to the authorities."

I took the USB with the copy of the files out of my pocket and placed it on the coffee table in front of me. All the boys stayed silent. Until Seungmin spoke.

"I think we should grab him when Ava goes to deliver the USB. What do you think, Chan?"

Chan nodded; eyes trained on the USB on the table. None of the boys were saying anything, and it made me nervous.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you all earlier. I should have, I know. But I just-"

"Hey, don't worry about it. You told us. That's all that matters," Hyunjin said as he got up, walking over to me and giving me a hug. I melted into it, the warmth soothing my nerves.

Chan came up to me when we pulled away from the hug.

"I'll go through the files on the drive. But I want you to give me the information about the drop-off point as soon as you get it tomorrow. And if you get any other letters, don't hesitate to get us involved. You're like our little sister. We wouldn't think twice about getting into trouble to help you."

"I'll try my best," I said with a smile.

...

I got woken up the next morning by a knock on my door. I ran a hand through my hair in an attempt to clear the fuzz from my brain a bit before getting up to see who it was. When I opened the door, the seven the boys stood there, all still in pjs, just like me. Changbin stood at the front, a letter in hand. I stepped aside to let them all in. Changbin handed me the letter and I played with it in between my fingers before taking a seat on the bed. Two of the boys came to sit on either side of me, the other five standing around us in a half-circle. I made eye contact with every boy before opening the letter. I read it out loud. My voice faltered slightly, but I pushed through.

If you still have the USB-drive, read carefully. In three days I want you to go to the warehouse you found the dead guy in. Go into the room you found the body in and close the door behind you. The lights will go on once you have done so. One of my men will be there to take the USB-drive from you. If you try anything, he will kill you. If you aren't alone, he will kill them, make you watch, and then kill you. Don't try to be the hero.

"Do any of you want to read it again?" I asked when I was finished reading. The boys all shook their heads.

"Let's get to planning this thing," Chan said, walking out of my room, the rest of the boys following. I followed them out into the hallway.

"Didn't you all just listen when I read the letter? If you guys go with me, you'll all get killed!"

Lee Know came over to me.

"You are not in this alone anymore. We understand the risks. If they'll kill us when we get caught, we just won't get caught," he said with a smirk. I gave him a sad smile.

He came to stand next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders. I snuggled into his side as he led me to the operations room with the other boys. I saw Felix press a button in the wall, and I flinched when a table started rising out of the floor, more lights going on in the room along with it. Jeongin grabbed a paper out of a drawer and rolled it out on the table, the thin lines forming the warehouse we were going to. I moved out of Lee Know's gentle grip to lean on the table, inspecting the blueprint. Lee Know came to stand on my left, Chan standing on my right.

"Okay, the room is over there. The only way in or out of the room is that door or the window, but we can't count on that. They might have boarded it up since we were last there. So we only have the door. We'll have to wait for the guy to come out if we want to catch him without Ava being in the fire zone," Chan said, looking at me at the last part.

"That guy might not even be her commander. So we don't really know what we're dealing with," Hyunjin commented.

"It's probably the only shot we'll get, so we might as well try," Changbin said. I nodded. Then it occurred to me that I knew my commander better than any of them and that he probably hadn't changed that much since we had found out about his darker motives.

"I think he'll be there. My commander. He has probably the biggest ego in the country. And he'll want to make sure his men don't screw up. So I'm almost positive he'll be there."

"That kind of complicates things. We don't know how many men he'll bring with him. We don't know where he'll be. So we'll all need to split up. And then we'll be uneven numbers because Han isn't back yet. And even if he gets back before then, I don't want him out in the field just yet. He needs to rest."

"What if we don't have to split up, Chan Hyung? We could send the drone over the building before Ava even goes in. Then we have an idea of where the people are and who we're dealing with."

We all nodded at Seungmin's suggestion. It sounded like a good idea. I just hoped it would work. And that no one would get hurt.

---------------

A/N

I forgot to say this when I posted the previous chapter, but thank you to everyone who is willing to read this rollercoaster of a book. The reads have gone up a lot this week and I really appreciate each and every one of you. Thanks for being willing to join in on this messy journey.

Anyway, enough with the mushy emotional stuff. What do you guys think will happen on the mission? Will someone get hurt like Ava predicts? Will they be able to catch her commander? Let me know what you think in the comments. Enjoy the week and I'll be back same time next week :P