AN: Hello! I hope you enjoy this next chapter. If you like it, vote, comment, follow, play hopscotch, and have a wonderful day <3

-----

Chapter Nine: In Which There is a Stand-Off and Crack Hates Seokjin

Namjoon nearly slammed into Hoseok's back when they reached the living room. About to ask what the deal was, he froze, staring over the shorter man's shoulder at the scene before them.

Seokjin was standing at one end of the coffee table, Yoongi at the other. While Namjoon had chosen to go unarmed in the presence of his old friends, Seokjin had apparently not felt the same security because he had a gun pointed across the distance at the silver-haired operative. Given that Yoongi also had a handgun trained on the NIS agent, there was no telling which one of them started the stand-off. Their expressions left little doubt that if Namjoon didn't do something, and do it quickly, he wouldn't be the only one with a bullet wound.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" he demanded, pushing past an equally startled Hobi.

"Stay where you are," Yoongi growled in response, not moving from his position. He didn't even flick his eyes away, refusing to lose his focus from Seokjin for even a second.

"Why, you going to shoot me, too?" Namjoon retorted, though he stopped just behind the couch.

"He might," Seokjin muttered. His voice was tense but his gaze didn't falter from the silver-haired sniper's face. "He's not really listening to reason right now, Joonie, and I don't want you hurt again."

"Shut it," Yoongi snarled. "You can drop the act now."

Hoseok stepped up next to Namjoon, eyes flicking between the two older men. "Act? Hyung, what is going on?"

Yoongi's eyes narrowed further as he shifted his feet slightly. "Go into the garage and check the print offs." He didn't specify which of them should do so but, after a brief assessment of the situation that led Namjoon to believe that neither man was going to pull the trigger quite yet, he hurried into the surveillance room, Hoseok hot on his heels.

There was a small stack of papers sitting next to one of the printers and Namjoon scooped them up. He could just see Hoseok peering over his shoulder out of the corner of his eye at the black and white picture of Seokjin that gazed back from the top sheet. Tossing it aside, he skimmed over the next piece of paper and cursed softly under his breath.

"Namjoon, what the fuck is this?" Hoseok snagged the papers from the blond and flipped through them, his brows furrowing deeply as he read. "He's your target?" The redhead lowered the papers and stared at his friend, his disbelief painted clearly on his features. "This says you're suspected dead!" Hoseok took a couple steps back, confusion and anger starting to war in his face. "Have you gone rogue?" His voice cracked on the last word and Namjoon sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"No! This is... it's really complicated. Fuck." Namjoon shook his head vigorously, grasping his friend by the wrists. "Do you trust me?"

There was an instant's hesitation before Hoseok's features hardened. "Yes."

The single word was all Namjoon needed. "Get Crack on the line and get him here, now. I don't care what you have to tell him, but I want that kid in this room yesterday, got it?" Hoseok nodded, lips pressed into a thin line. "Good. I'll handle those two idiots. You hear gunshots, you get your ass in there."

"Right." Hoseok moved the moment Namjoon released him, plopping into a chair and rapidly typing on the keyboard of one of the computers. Not bothering to wait around to see if his old friend had success in getting ahold of their tech guy, Namjoon glanced around the room, snagged the thermal imager that Yoongi had been tinkering with, and made for the stand-off in the living room.

As anticipated, Yoongi and Seokjin were exactly where Namjoon had left them. He could see a slight shake in Seokjin's hand, though; the eldest's arms were getting tired holding the gun up. Yoongi seemed to be holding himself better but a trickle of sweat ran down his temple and his teeth were gritted. Taking a deep breath, Namjoon pressed the thermal imager to the back of Yoongi's head and bluffed like he had never bluffed before.

"Drop it or I swear to fucking God, I'll fire," the blond ordered.

The longest second of his life ticked by as time slowed around them. He was afraid to breath, worried Yoongi would be able to tell that what he held was not really a gun. He glanced at Seokjin's face but the other man was still intently watching the silver-haired man, refusing to divert his attention for anything.

Sluggishly, Yoongi's hands dropped. "Where's Hoseok?" he whispered and Namjoon was surprised to hear the panic in the other's voice. Before answering, the younger grabbed the gun out of Yoongi's hand and stepped back, tossing the thermal imager onto one of the armchairs. Yoongi's head turned slightly to look at it. "Fucking damnit," he grumbled.

"Hobi is getting Crack on the line," Namjoon reassured his old friend before spinning the silver-haired man around and pushing him back onto the couch. He glanced over at Seokjin. "Put that away." Namjoon tucked Yoongi's gun into the back of his jeans, grateful to see Seokjin doing the same with his. "I should punch you for this, you know," he addressed to Yoongi with a glower. "You couldn't be arsed to come ask me about the print off before attempting to kill a federal agent?"

There was a flicker of uncertainty in Yoongi's eyes, his fingers digging into the arm of the couch as he looked between Namjoon and Seokjin. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as Hoseok re-entered the room.

"Crack'll be here in two hours," the redhead announced. "He was in Busan." He walked to the back of the couch and leaned over it, resting his hands on Yoongi's shoulders. "Now, will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?"

"And what the fuck you meant by federal agent?" Yoongi added darkly. Though he spoke to Namjoon, his eyes were fixed on Seokjin as if trying to will the older man to catch fire with the power of his mind.

Namjoon exchanged glances with Seokjin. The brunet nodded his head once. "It would be better coming from you," the eldest murmured. Namjoon jerked his head in reply before turning his attention to his old comrades.

"Last week, he told you that of all those people in his wallet the one that was actually true was Kim Seokjin. I know you read all those IDs, Yoongi-hyung. Do you happen to remember which card had that name?"

Yoongi was silent for a moment before cursing. "NIS."

"Exactly. Seokjin is not from the north; he's a double agent with NIS. He's been in deep cover in Pyongyang for the last five years. And right now, there's some shit going on that is bigger than this entire goddamned house." Digging into his pocket, Namjoon pulled out the thumb-drive. He had taken to keeping it on his person, just in case they were forced to make a hasty get-away. "There is something encoded on this," he wiggled the drive between his fingers, "and it has the chance to blow open a massive conspiracy within our own government, plotted and implemented by the north."

"And you believe that?" Yoongi shot back. He started to push up off the couch but both Namjoon and Seokjin reached behind them toward their guns. Yoongi grudgingly remained seated.

"That's why Crack is on his way," Namjoon retorted, removing his hand from the gun. He saw Seokjin do the same from the corner of his eye and relaxed slightly. "I'm going to have him rip this thing open." He took a shaky breath. "And if this doesn't prove Jin's innocent, I'll kill him myself."

He felt more than saw the agent move up beside him. The oldest rested a hand on his good shoulder. "I agree with these terms," Seokjin added. Namjoon felt his heart squeeze painfully at the thought of having to actually do what he swore he'd do, but having Seokjin agree cemented in his mind that whatever was on the thumb-drive was going to be strong enough evidence that the man that saved his life was exactly who he claimed to be.

"Now," Namjoon continued, "Do I need to stand here for two hours, or can I trust you to not kill each other before Crack can decode the drive?"

"I'll be good," Seokjin said instantly. "He started it, anyway. I had no intention of shooting him until he pulled a gun on me."

Hoseok ran his hands up the sides of Yoongi's face and into the older man's hair, pulling his head backwards slightly to look down at him. "I think Namjoon is telling the truth," he supplied softly. "Don't do anything stupid until we have all the information."

Yoongi sighed and nodded as best he could with his head held captive. "Fine. But we all stay right here until the kid arrives. No one leaves the room."

With sounds of agreement, Namjoon and Seokjin settled themselves into the armchairs, Namjoon setting the thermal imager onto the coffee table before taking his seat. Hoseok rolled over the back of the couch to sit by Yoongi, close enough to stop the older man from getting up but not so close as to seem intrusive.

After a tense silence, Yoongi leaned forward and snagged the thermal imager off the table. "I can't believe I fucking fell for this," he grumbled, fiddling with the buttons on the gadget. Namjoon bit his lip as a chuckle threatened to escape.

-----

It was probably the most awkward two hours of Namjoon's life. All attempts at small talk by any of the four of them fizzled out almost immediately. Things almost came to fisticuffs when Seokjin stood up but the situation was quickly defused when he insisted that he just wanted to get a drink for the ficus because its soil looked dry. Three sets of eyes watched him like a hawk as the oldest did exactly as he had said he would by dumping a glass of water taken from the connected kitchen into the houseplant.

When a knock sounded at the front door, the four of them nearly jumped out of their pants. Cautiously, Namjoon waved the others back to their seats as he stood and pulled his gun out. He stalked to the door and peeked through the peep hole before unlocking it. Pulling it open, he smiled grimly at the young man who stood on the welcome mat.

"Holy shit, everyone has been saying you're dead!" The black-haired man gasped before launching himself into the house at Namjoon, clinging to him with death-grip hug. Namjoon grunted in pain as his shoulder was jarred from the force of his dongsaeng's actions. "Thank God."

Groaning, the blond pushed the youth away gingerly and tucked the gun he still held into the back waistband of his pants. "I'm still healing." Namjoon closed and relocked the front door with a grimace.

"Healing?" The youth started giving Namjoon a thorough once-over, reaching out to run his hands along the older man's arms and down his chest, searching for damage. He paused when someone cleared their throat sharply. Seokjin had stood and was walking toward them. Though he looked bored, Namjoon could tell that the brunet was not pleased with the way Jungkook kept touching him.

"North Korean agent shot me in the shoulder," the blond explained tersely before waving at Seokjin. "Seokjin." He motioned between them. "Jungkook."

"You're the guy that Yoongi-hyung had me look into last week. The one with like twelve identities, from the north." Jungkook's eyes narrowed dangerously as he attempted to put Namjoon behind him. "You shot my hyung?"

"Not from the north," Seokjin offered. "Born and bred in Gwacheon."

"We were running from some northern agents," Namjoon explained. "Their bullets were faster than us." He dug into his pocket again and pulled the drive back out, holding it out to the younger man. "I need you to get into this as fast as you possibly can."

Jungkook snapped it up with a nod. "Computer?"

"Garage." Yoongi stood and led the way into the surveillance room. The entire occupancy of the house followed behind.

Jungkook glanced over his shoulder at them as he dropped into a chair in front of the main computer, giving them the signature smile that had always reminded Namjoon of a rabbit. "You guys can go relax. I'll let you know when I'm done."

"Not a chance. If that doesn't have on it what I hope it does, I'm dead. I'm going to sit right here until you've cleared my name." Seokjin plopped himself down in a spare chair and folded his hands over his stomach. There was a flicker of something in the youngest's eyes but it vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Namjoon chose to remain standing and took up residence behind Seokjin, resting his hands lightly on the other's shoulders. Hoseok chose to sit on a table after pushing some of Yoongi's projects to the side. Yoongi, after a moment's hesitation, sat beside the redhead. Their collective breaths were held as Jungkook popped the drive into one of the USB ports. The room was filled with only the sounds of the sable-headed youth's mouse clicks and keyboard taps.

After what felt like an eternity, Jungkook glanced over his shoulder at Seokjin. "Where the hell did this thing come from? This is, like, TS-level shit."

"Can you crack it?" Seokjin counted instead of answering.

Jungkook pursed his lips. "I've never dealt with anything with this level of encryption before," he admitted, a tinge of pink dusting across his features. "Give me some time and I'll see what I can do." He turned his attention back to the computer screen. "If you guys could maybe go do something else for a bit? It makes me nervous to have you all breathing down my neck."

Reluctantly, the men stood from their seats and filed out of the room. Namjoon hung back for a moment and squeezed Jungkook's shoulder.

"I really appreciate this," the blond murmured.

"What's so important about this drive?" the younger returned, frowning as he clicked through a few screens of code, typing commands faster than Namjoon's eyes could track.

"I imagine, if you thought I was dead, you were sent alerts from Bang, too?" Namjoon sighed when the younger nodded. "There was a mix-up. Seokjin isn't the bad guy. But this drive could show us who is."

Jungkook paused and spun in his chair to gaze up at the sniper. "So instead of just taking the shot, you're helping him? Bang could order you killed for that." His concern shone through his eyes as plain as day as he stood from his chair. The younger snagged Namjoon's hand, weaving their fingers together.

"Do you know who the hit came from?" Namjoon pulled his hand away, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with how grabby the other was being. The others used to tease him when Jungkook first joined the organization, claiming the hacker was enamored with him. Namjoon had ignored the comments, though, figuring it was just good-natured ribbing. The way Jungkook was acting now, though, after having found Namjoon alive instead of dead, made the blond rethink the others' assessments.

"No, the alert didn't mention anything about the customer."

The sniper rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, staring at the younger man incredulously. "Since when has that ever stopped you from digging deeper into things?"

The blush returned and Jungkook chuckled guilty. "I may have looked it up." He glanced back at the screen. White code was rapidly scrolling by on the black background, processing whatever command he had last entered. "When I heard you were dead, I wanted to know..." He swallowed heavily. "I thought maybe I could... I dunno. I was angry. I needed to know everything." He paused and, despite Namjoon's obviously closed off posture, the dark-haired operative wrapped his arms around him again, albeit more gently than he had the first time.

Sighing, Namjoon returned the hug, rubbing a comforting circle on the other's back. "I'm fine, I promise." Carefully, he pushed the other an arm's length away. "What's more important right now, though, is getting into that drive and clearing Seokjin's name, alright?"

"Why is he so damn important?" Jungkook demanded, his tone petulant, like a child being told something he didn't want to hear.

Namjoon was silent, gazing at the irritated hacker as his brain processed the young man's reaction, absently touching the bullet wound. He could feel the sutures under the thin cloth of his t-shirt, not having to have it bandaged anymore. Carefully, he slipped his arm out of the sleeve and lifted the shirt so Jungkook could see the damage. He was glad the younger didn't try to touch it, although the dark-haired man did lift his hand tentatively toward it before pulling back.

"I was shot in Seoul about a week ago, on the night I was supposed to kill him. At some point, while we were driving south, I blacked out from blood loss." Namjoon redressed quickly, wincing as he maneuvered his arm back through the sleeve. "If he was really what those reports say, he could have easily left me for dead. But he didn't. Jin saved my life."

Jungkook was frowning but there was a thoughtfulness to the expression.

The door to the garage opened, ceasing any further conversation as Seokjin poked his head into the room. "Joonie, I'm going to make lunch. Beef kabobs?"

Namjoon nodded his assent to the question. "I'll help." He pat Jungkook on the shoulder. "I'll bring you some when they're done." As he was exiting the garage, he thought he heard a grumble from the younger that sounded a lot like "Joonie?"

-----

"Who the fuck is this guy to him, huh?" Jungkook angrily chewed on a kabob while Hoseok sat on the gadget table with his own plate balanced in his hand. As promised, Namjoon brought lunch out to the hacker but the North Korean... South Korean... the target had stolen the blond away to help clean up. Something about Namjoon having to atone for the atrocities he committed in the kitchen by doing the dishes. Thankfully, Hoseok had come out to eat with the hacker so he didn't have to sit in the garage alone with food that he half-suspected to be poisoned by the stranger.

"Who's who to who?" Hobi asked, mouth half-full of beef.

"This... Seokjin guy. Who is he to Namjoon-hyung?" Jungkook refused to call the eldest "hyung", glowering at the roasted tomatoes he pulled off one of his skewers before plopping one into his mouth. He admitted, grudgingly, that guy could cook but that didn't mean he had to like him.

"That's one of the greatest mysteries in the world right now," Hoseok said with a laugh. "I don't think even they know what they are to each other."

Jungkook paused in his eating to reach over to the computer and type in a few more commands as the last query finished with less than adequate results. Though it had only been an hour, he was getting frustrated with the lack of success. Whoever owned this thumb-drive knew what they were doing and were determined that no one else get into the files it held. He was determined, however. They didn't nickname him "Crack" for nothing; he had yet to meet an encryption he couldn't break. He was concerned, though, that the computing power at the house wasn't going to be enough to get through the securities.

"What do you think is going on?" Jungkook pressed when he returned to their conversation.

Hoseok licked his fingers clear of juice from the meat before setting his empty plate aside. "Honestly? If either of them had the balls to make a move, they'd be fucking like rabbits. As things currently stand, though? Cuddlebuddies."

The younger pulled a face and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Maybe? I mean, they share a room with one bed, despite this being a four-bedroom house. But, Namjoon insists they aren't having sex and that there's nothing romantic going on between them. Seokjin is touchy with him but you know Namjoon; he's never been very physical with his friends. Not in the open anyway."

"He kept brushing me off whenever I tried to touch him," Jungkook confirmed, frowning at his empty skewers. His stomach grumbled and he wondered if Seokjin had made extra. He wasn't sure if Hoseok had heard the tummy-rumbles, but the redhead stood and grabbed Jungkook's wrist, pulling him out of the garage and into an empty kitchen. Much to his delight, there was a plate with more skewers on it sitting on the counter. He briefly wondered where the others had gone but dismissed it as Hoseok didn't seem concerned.

Hoseok washed his plate in the sink and set it in the drying rack on the counter while Jungkook stuffed his face with more beef and grilled veggies.

"How's Yoongi-hyung doing with all this?" He waved his hand around at the house.

Hoseok shrugged. "As well as can be expected. He hates Seokjin-hyung but I think it's just on principle and has nothing to do with the actual situation. He distrusts anyone he doesn't know and after finding out that Seokjin-hyung was hiding something, Yoongi-hyung has him pegged as trouble."

"And what about you?" He was curious to know his elder's opinion. Hoseok, despite being periodically hyperactive, was a fairly down-to-Earth guy. In the few years they'd known each other, Jungkook had come to trust the other's assessment of situations. Hobi was one of their best strategists, after all.

"I actually rather like the guy." The redhead shrugged. "There's a part of me that keeps rooting for one of them to actually make that move."

Jungkook didn't care to hear that and glared at his lunch again.

"Your jealousy is showing," Hobi murmured, flicking the shell of Jungkook's ear. The younger hissed in pain and clapped a hand over the offended area.

"I'm not jealous."

"And my hair color is natural." Hoseok smirked. "But you keep telling yourself that and maybe it'll actually be the truth."

Jungkook puffed his cheeks out. "I'm not jealous."

The older man took the now-empty plate from in front of the younger and washed it, chuckling to himself. When he finished, Yoongi appeared at the bottom of the stairs, walking over to them.

"Any progress?" he asked Jungkook, leaning his forearms on the breakfast bar.

"No." The younger pressed his lips into a thin line. "I don't think your computer is good enough to do the job." He looked around again. "Where's Namjoon-hyung?"

"Up in his room with Seokjin taking a nap." Yoongi blinked slowly. "I was going to check on you two before doing the same, but it sounds like we need to have a little family meeting." He hesitated before looking over at Hoseok. "Can you?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the stairs. "I really don't want to walk in on something."

The redhead obliged, disappearing up the stairs, leaving the silver-haired man with his youngest dongsaeng.

"You really think they're doing something in there?" Jungkook asked, not liking that thought in the slightest. Yoongi surprised him, though, by shaking his head sharply.

"No, they're sleeping. I just wanted to get you alone for a moment."

Confused, Jungkook mirrored Yoongi's position, leaning forward on the kitchen-side of the breakfast bar. "What's up?"

"I don't like Seokjin. I don't trust him. But if what he's saying turns out to be true, then we all could be in way over our heads. Are you prepared to be in the middle of what could end up being an international incident?"

Jungkook chewed on his bottom lip, taking in his hyung's words. Instead of feeling worried, though, he felt a twinge of excitement. Being the organization's computer nerd usually sat him behind a monitor. Most of his field experience involved sitting in unmarked vans that looked straight out of spy films, but he was every bit as trained as the rest of them. There was a juvenile part of him that really wanted to get to play secret agent for real instead of just cutting security cameras and monitoring phone calls.

More so than any of that, though, his curiosity skyrocketed. What in the world was on that thumb-drive? His digging into the hit only told him that Seokjin would be smuggling important documents to the North, and that the client was undoubtedly someone in the South Korean government, though he had yet to uncover who exactly. Hobi's message to get to the safehouse had interrupted him before he could get any deeper.

"Well?" Yoongi pressed when he still hadn't answered. "Can we rely on you even if things go tits-up?"

He grinned in response as the thunder of footsteps indicated the other three were coming quickly down the stairs. "Fuck yeah. Count me in."

-----

AN: Welp.