- Infiltration

Hyunji dragged her newfound friend through the streets of Busan. The time was growing late, but the city was still bright with light.

They came to a corner, where she signaled a taxi. It came to a stop, floating in front of them.

Hyunji opened the door and tossed the man inside.

"How's it going?" The driver asked, looking into the rearview mirror at his new passengers.

"Very good," Hyunji said, giving the driver a smile.

The man groaned next to her, still holding on to his bleeding hand.

"Sorry about my friend," she said apologetically. "He got way too drunk at the bar. Unfortunately, he knows where we're supposed to be going." She nudged him in the ribs. "Hey, can you tell the nice driver where we're headed?"

"Gah! Uh…um yes." He told the driver the address, a tea shop on the other side of the city. The taxi immediately accelerated toward their destination.

Her companion slumped against the window, clearly exhausted. "I think I'm dying," he mumbled.

The driver chuckled. "Alcohol will do that to you, if you drink enough."

"Oh, I'm sure he's learned his lesson after tonight," Hyunji said.

After a few minutes, they arrived in front of the tea shop. "Here you are," the driver said.

Hyunji reached over and opened the door. "Thanks for the ride," she said, shoving her companion out the door.

"No problem. Have a good night," the driver said. As soon as the door closed, the taxi sped away.

"This is it," the man said, gesturing at the small shop in front of them.

"It is?" Hyunji exclaimed. She frowned. "You're lying." She grabbed him by the throat and shoved him up against the door of the shop.

"I…I…," the man coughed as her fingers tightened around his throat. "I'm not!" He reached up and knocked four times on the door.

It swung open and the two stumbled in, where an elderly woman stood smiling at them. "Tea?"

"Not tonight," Hyunji said. She poked the man in the back. "Go, show me."

"No! Outsiders are not allowed in!" The woman said.

"Time to make an exception," Hyunji said, pushing past her.

"It's this way," the man said, leading her to a back room. He gestured Hyunji toward an elevator. "I'll wait here."

She grabbed his bleeding hand and gave it a squeeze. "I don't think so. We're in this together."

"My boss will kill me when he sees that I led such a dangerous person here. I don't want to die."

Hyunji pressed the down button on the outside of the elevator. "You should've thought of that before joining them. How many men will be down there?"

The man didn't hesitate this time. "At least twenty."

The doors dinged open and she pushed him in.

"Good. The more the better. When we reach the bottom, you can stay behind," Hyunji said quietly. "Only because you got me this far."

The man stayed quiet as the elevator reached the bottom floor.

The doors opened, and Hyunji found herself staring down numerous gun barrels.

"20 men, huh?" She exclaimed.

From where Hyunji was standing, she could see at least forty Vaas members. They had been waiting for them.

The old lady, Hyunji thought.

In a moment's time, they had let loose a barrage of bullets on the elevator. She had almost no time to react, diving out of the elevator and rolling behind a nearby shelf.

It was hard to breathe. A couple of bullets had hit her, but they all seemed to have hit her bulletproof vest.

The man she'd left behind in the elevator was not as lucky. His fate had been sealed the minute she'd forced him into the elevator. The doors closed and opened over his corpse, which was riddled with what looked like a hundred bullet holes.

From behind the shelf, Hyunji steeled herself. The next minute or so would need her full mental focus. Reaching behind her coat, she detached a small canister from her belt and unscrewed the cap.

"Get her!" A voice commanded, and she heard footsteps approaching.

The smoke began to spread, filling the air around her. She inhaled a deep breath of the smoke and slid a gray metal mask over her face. Breathing out, the smoke poured from the holes of her mask as she pulled out her obsidian dagger and detached a loaded pistol from the back of her belt.

Her first enemy appeared from in the smoke, scanning his surroundings intensely. He hadn't seen her yet. Staying low, she snuck quietly behind him and cut him down.

Two more figures attacked from the rear, each holding a gun. Hyunji raised her pistol and shot both of them in the head.

13 bullets left, she thought. And her smoke cover would only last a little longer.

She took a step forward, trudging deeper into the smoke. Her boots squelched on the ground, and she looked down with disgust. Blood and brain matter.

Another walked past her, slowly. Hyunji waited. They took another step forward and stepped on the slick blood that was spreading across the floor.

Their shoe squeaked as they fell backward. As their body hit the ground, they lost control of their gun, which clattered across the floor.

Hyunji stepped over to them and placed her boot on their face. With a quick shove, she heard the sound of their neck snapping.

Four down. At least thirty more to go. The smoke began to clear. She needed to get moving.