Her entire body trembled as she watched the blood trickle from his stomach onto her chest, watching him as he breathed heavily and coughed up blood onto her forehead. Another trigger was pulled, causing her to quickly turn to her side and hold her ears so she could try and think about what to do next. The man began to shake, pain spreading throughout his entire body as his breathes became more ragged. “…Run…”
It was faint but loud enough for Minji to hear him over the firing. He watched her carefully as the blood dribbled out of his mouth. The large arms which she had once tried to punch because of his crude and perverted jokes he made about her to his buddy was now rickety like a tattered leaf, struggling to even keep himself up. “…Escape with Ab…” He was unable to finish his sentence as he began to collapsed, coughing up more than just blood this time.

Minji began to feel the hot flush of tears as she raised her shaky hand towards his chest, feeling his heartbeat slowly fade in and out. Another gunshot echoed through the air, signaling the last of the scientists and researchers dead. “I’m sorry,” Her voice was quiet and insecure as she twisted herself out from underneath him only to be aided by Abel who quickly picked her up as if she weighed nothing, setting her on her feet. Without another moment’s hesitation, the two escaped from the scene and while they did not go undetected as the men quickly realized they were gone, they managed to evade them without much injury- thanks to Abel. She didn’t know how long they ran for, nor did she know where she was going. Minji merely followed the man that had saved her at the last moment- the only surviving mercenary that was sent with them.

---

It was hours after the attack before the two stopped running, enjoying the sudden silence that covered the humid jungle. The air was so thick and sticky that it clung to them like rain, only making the heat of the jungle more intense which caused a sharp ache to the injuries that Minji had. Despite the pain, she stayed silent and merely tried to satisfy the throbbing by holding onto her arm where she had been shot. Because of all of the dirt, mud and blood that covered her body, Minji’s wound had long ago stopped bleeding despite the constant running.

She was completely disgusting and the grit that covered her seemed an inch thick. Even her now rust colored hair wasn’t safe from the loose soil as it cemented itself to her skin, proving that her hair tie was as useless as string. Minji stumbled over a tree root, leaning against the trunk as she lifted herself from the root to get over it. Her silence spoke to itself as she felt completely horrid about the entire situation. Her chocolate eyes looked up through the grime towards the broad back of Abel, wondering if he was angry with her as Minji was at herself.

Guilt ate at her stomach. Because she did not react quickly enough and because she had told the men that she’d rather die than to go with them, Abel’s comrade was shot to pieces in place of Minji. They had raised their guns at her and before she could even react, the man jumped in front of her and collapsed on top of her. Minji found herself wallowing in self pity and while she detested such an emotion, she couldn’t help but allow it to feed off of her. She continued her silence as she walked quicker to keep up with him, her lungs already burning from their continuous running.

If she would’ve guessed, they probably covered ten or so miles from thanks to all of the running which would’ve hinted the nauseous feeling that overwhelmed her entire being and the intense smoldering in her chest. Though if she had to pick, Minji would probably say that the bullet wound bothered her the most as the blood covered mud hardened over it, sending jagged waves of pain down her spine with ever step she took. No matter how much she ignored it, Minji couldn’t stop the suffering from surfacing on her face whenever she moved forward, cringing at every stride.

As if it weren’t enough, Minji nearly lost everything but her bag during the ambush, including the first aid bag and the water supplies. This only left her with a small bag filled with a single outfit, a water bottle and two Cliff Bars with a baggy filled with boxes of matches. The only thing remotely close to first aid she had was a small box of dragon-themed Band Aids that wouldn’t even help the small cuts and abrasions she had. Minji couldn’t help but to give out a ragged sigh of self pity. She bit her lip hard to try and stop the disgusting and pitiful nature that began to swim within her heart. Minji hated feeling like this the most: feeling useless, as if she were nothing more than baggage.

Her eyes closed tightly as she continued to try and swallow the feeling. Minji knew very well that she shouldn’t be feeling like this, that she should be thankful that she was able to survive- she told herself that he had saved her for a reason, so she could survive. Yet, no matter how much reasoning she gave herself, she still felt that if she had perhaps died then he would still be alive and kicking. Maybe the two would be returning home now to say that the mission was unsuccessful due to the deaths of the researchers. Perhaps they’d be laughing and punching each other’s arms now, still telling the disgusting jokes they had been doing so before.

Oh great, all of these distasteful thoughts made Minji’s face fluster through the grime. She bit her salty lip even harder as she began to focus on the ground. She couldn’t allow these now useless thoughts bring her down anymore. Everything was already set in stone and no matter how much thought and regret she placed on herself, it wouldn’t change a thing. In fact, it would hinder the very work she was placed here to do- then how would be able to surpass her father? Another haggard sigh came from her now bleeding lips as she continued to walk behind him, now picking up her pace to keep up with Abel.

During the chaos of the firefight between the Corsairs and this unknown army Abel was doing what he did best, fighting. He was dealing out shotgun blasts like they were candy. During any sort of firefight Abel becomes a laser focused killing machine. He prefers to describe himself as a Terminator with great hair. Now he only needs one of those shotguns where you can flip it to pump it like Arnold had in T2. Despite his skill, they were still vastly outnumbered, and out gunned. The only thing to do now was to run.

Abel was pinned down by several of the attackers behind some equipment of the researchers along with one of his 'co-workers'. This man was rather new to the mercenary game, and was still fairly green. He was obviously nervous, and scared while Abel on the other hand was as cool as a cucumber. "Hey rook! Having fun?" He asked with a slight chuckle. "T-t-this is your idea of fun?!" He shouted as he leaned out of cover to fire his gun. "It's not yours?" He smirked. Abel peeked over his cover to see four heavily armed guys.

"You know what, we should have brought rocket launchers! But noooo! 'Abel you always say bring rocket launchers. Not every problem can be solved by a RPG.'! Well you know what, I always say that because I'm always right! Life is so much easier, and awesome when you can blow away problems with a anti-tank explosive!" He groaned. The rookie looked over at him with a curious look. Abel leaned over to see four other soldiers joining their attackers. Abel rolled his eyes. "Hey, I bet you a thousand bucks that I can take out all these guys with one shot from my pistol!" He smirked. "Bullshit!"

"Welcome to badass 101! Prepare to take notes!" Abel said as he readied his submachine gun, and pistol. Abel leaned over, and started firing his submachine gun at the guys, not even taking out one. "I thought you said you were going to use your pistol?" The rookie mocked. "Watch, and learn." Abel replied. "Ispol'zuyte granatu, chert voz'mi!" One of the men shouted. This caused a wolfish grin to creep across his face.

Abel readied his pistol as he peaked over his cover. He saw a man prepare a grenade to throw. As soon as the man pulled the pin Abel leaned out of cover, and shot him in his arm, causing him to drop the grenade on the ground. Abel turned back around, and started counting down with his fingers. A loud boom was heard followed by the gunshots stopping. Abel peeked over, and all the men were dead. "Feel free to bask in the my awesomeness. I think we can spare a minute." He smirked. The rookie just rolled his eyes.

They were soon joined by the leader of the Corsairs, John Richards. "Fine mess you got us in. You know what would help? Goddamn rocket launchers!" Abel growled. If they live through this he's certainly not letting this go. "This was just supposed to be a simple babysitting job! Besides you always say bring rocket launchers!" John growled back. "Abel, we've got only one scientist left, I need you to get her out of here, and into the jungle. We'll provide suppressing fire, and meet up with you guys." John ordered. "Fine, but if we live through this I'm bringing a rocket launcher everywhere I go!"

And with that Abel got to the remaining researcher while his comrades in arms covered him. Once he got to Minji he picked her up, and set her on her feet. "We need to go. NOW." He commanded. Without a response he quickly led her out of the camp. All the while he had his shotgun out, and was blowing away any soldier that stood in their way. He glanced over his shoulder to see them finishing off the rookie, and John making his last stand. No matter how much he wanted to turn back, and save him, he couldn't, he had to make sure the remaining scientist was safe.

As they escaped, a smile crossed John's bloody face as he fell to his knees. He was the last remaining mercenary in the camp, and was soon to die from his gunshot wounds. All the men aimed their guns at him, but didn't fire. As they were waiting. Soon a man in a suit walked through the wreckage of the camp as if it was a simple stroll through the park. This man was in his 50s, had short grey hair, and a thick beard. The soldiers posture changed to one of both respect, and fear. The man took off his jacket, and handed it to a rather large man with a shaved head, and a large burn on the right side of his face.

The bearded man rolled up his sleeves to reveal a tattoo on his inner right forearm. The tattoo was of a wolf's head with two daggers crossed underneath it, with the words 'Volk V Ovech'Yey Shkure' written under it. As soon as John saw this he took a loud gulp, he knew who this was, Stanimar Volkov. "I am to assume you're da last one yes?" Volkov asked, his deep Russian accent apparent. John let out a pained chuckle. "No...my best man....got out with....the last scientist.." John stammered to get out. This caused Volkov to chuckle. "Good, maybe he'll keep her alive long enough for us to get to her." He smirked. Volkov drew his pistol, and shot John in the head.

---

It had been some time since Abel got Minji into the jungle, and they had been running for many miles. He heard her make a bunch of sighs behind him. He glanced behind him, and saw that Minji was rather beat up looking. Abel stopped, and surveyed the immediate area. The coast seemed clear. "Alright, let's rest here for a minute." He said. "We should be far away enough to get a breather." He stated.

"You hit?" He asked not even looking at her, as he was watching there surroundings. "If I make it through this I'm going to eat a entire chocolate cake off the stomach of a Swedish model first thing." Usually in tense combat situations like this he likes to think about what he's going to do if he makes it out of it. Gives him something to look forward to. He turned around, and looked Minji up, and down. "Or maybe just off of you. Though I usually like my ladies with a bit more booty on them." He followed with a dazzling smile, and a wink.

"Alright, let's rest here for a minute. We should be far away enough to get a breather."
A sudden chill of relief shook her body as he said that, loosening her grip on her arm and rested her body on the large trunk of a tree as she watched him carefully to see if he had shared similar feelings. "You hit?" From the looks of it, it seemed he could care less about what had happened to his comrades. It was amazing how much a person could disregard like life that, then again, perhaps he was putting up a front as Abel did seem like ‘a man’s man’. "If I make it through this I'm going to eat a entire chocolate cake off the stomach of a Swedish model first thing."

This comment completely threw her off guard, practically causing her to slide down the tree in shock. He had just witness all of his comrades die and he was thinking about eating cake off of a model? Minji looked over at him and carefully examined him up and down with precision, realizing that he was doing the same to her although his reasons proven to be for a completely different one. "Or maybe just off of you. Though I usually like my ladies with a bit more booty on them."

Her eyes widen slightly as she looked at him, feeling her cheeks heat with frustration and embarrassment that he’d even try to lay out a line like that. Not to mention that he said she didn’t have enough shape to her behind- which was ludicrous! Minji stood on her feet, now ignoring the constant throbbing of her arm wound as she glared at him for a while, her cheeks even more heated than before. “Excuse me,” She said, her voice a bit hoarse as she eyed him from the trunk. “But I believe this is no time to be mentioning about whatever crude fantasy you have! If you hadn’t notice, we are now alone with little to no supplies.” Minji pointed a slender finger at him before carefully crossing her arms underneath her chest.

“And I like my small bottom so I don’t need you to be commenting on my ‘booty’ or any other part of my body, thank you.” She mocked his voice as she said the word ‘booty’, trying to emphasize how ignorant he sounded. Minji did have to give him credit though as she no longer felt the claws of guilt grab a hold of her stomach nor did she feel an overwhelming amount of self pity. Although the feelings were still present, it wasn’t as strong as before. Minji suddenly became mildly amused that a man could cross her enough to ease whatever emotional pain she had suffered.

“Anyways, I do believe that we should try to find a water source so we can clean our wounds- my wounds.” Minji said, cringing slightly as she pointed to the mud covered bullet wound that positioned itself on her arm. “I’d rather not die from an infection after all we’ve been through so far. Talk about embarrassing.” Minji decided to completely change the topics as she no longer wanted to think about those who had just died before merely hours or so before. Yes it was traumatizing but thanks to the crude man in front of her, Minji was able to snap out of her self loathing long enough to be able to decide on what they can do next.

Abel kept a watchful eye out for more heavily armed men with his finger on his shotgun's trigger, and was ready to use it at any moment. When Minji got up, and started berating him over his comments towards her. He couldn't help but to chuckle at the idea of a little 5'6 Korean girl telling a roguishly handsome, heavily armed mercenary badass off. While he had his shotgun out no less. Though he has to admit he likes her spunk, she might need it if she's going to survive. Plus he liked the fact he got her to freak out a bit over him complaining that her butt not being that big.

"Alright, so you'd rather focus on the soul crushing situation we're in?" He sarcastically asked. "Look princess, this ain't my first rodeo. In crap like this if you focus on the harsh reality too much you'll go crazy. Feel your heart pounding in your chest? Shortness of breath? And like you're about to puke? Yeah that stuff. If you focus too much on the situation that's all you feel. That panic makes you stupid, nervous, and you'll constantly second guess yourself." He said, his tone was rather serious. One of the reasons he likes to joke around is so he doesn't have to think about the horrible reality of his life.

"And that crap, that hesitation gets you killed every time." He coldly stated. "So think happy thoughts if you want to make it through this princess. I don't care if they're puppies, rainbows, or my rock hard ass."[/color][/b] He said with a slight smirk. When he saw her wound he let out a loud sigh. "Here let me look." He said as he forcefully grabbed her arm, not caring if it hurts her. He looked it over, and from what he could tell the bullet went all the way through, but he'd need a closer look. "Alright, it doesn't look too bad. I'll have to clean it to get a better look." He stated.

"And don't worry about infection, I'll cut your arm off before that happens. Promise. Oh, and here's a tip, next time don't get shot. That's generally a good rule to live by." He add as he let go of her arm. He went over to the bag that she grabbed, hoping that it'd have something useful in it. As he looked over the supplies he ran his hand down his face. "Alright, I can work with this." He said in somewhat disbelief. Though he has been in worse situations, he's never had to watch over someone.

He walked around for a little bit, looking at the jungle floor. He studied the ground. "Alright, first things first, we need to find water. It's pretty hot, and with all the excitement we probably lost a lot of fluid." He stated as he continued to stare at the ground. "Ah! Here we are!" He exclaimed. He kneeled down on the ground to find some faded animal tracks. He got back up, and walked a little forward, and he found more. "This way. Sure way to find water is to follow animal tracks. Also make sure to keep a eye on the ground so you don't step on any tails, or whatever." He stated.

"Alright, so you'd rather focus on the soul crushing situation we're in? Look princess, this ain't my first rodeo. In crap like this if you focus on the harsh reality too much you'll go crazy. Feel your heart pounding in your chest? Shortness of breath? And like you're about to puke? Yeah that stuff. If you focus too much on the situation that's all you feel. That panic makes you stupid, nervous, and you'll constantly second guess yourself."

Minji couldn’t help but to flinch at his harsh words, wondering how experienced this man was. From the sounds of everything, Minji could tell she couldn’t hold even an empty glass to a man like Abel which made her feel extremely insignificant. She was just some small woman who took a job because of the money it offered and because of her daddy issues. She was nothing compared to Abel and knowing that simple fact sparked an irritating flame in her stomach, causing whatever pain she felt on her body to nearly intensify.

"And that crap, that hesitation gets you killed every time. So think happy thoughts if you want to make it through this princess. I don't care if they're puppies, rainbows, or my rock hard ass." Minji couldn’t stop herself from glaring at him, scuffing silently to herself. Alright, sure- she admitted she had no idea what she got herself into and she also admitted that she was pretty much useless in this situation, especially without Abel’s aid but did he need to be such an arrogant prick about it all? But before Minji could even voice out her thoughts and laying him out about what she was thinking, the man stepped forward and grabbed her arm, causing Minji to wince out loud in a surprised pain.

Minji suddenly lost her words and her usual courage to voice them out, her hands distinctively reaching out to claw at his arm in protest. "Alright, it doesn't look too bad. I'll have to clean it to get a better look.” The pain shimmied itself up her arm and bit down hard on her shoulder as he continued to look at her arm, her fingernails now trying to dig themselves in his skin. Of course it didn’t faze the macho-man psycho as he continued to speak. And don't worry about infection, I'll cut your arm off before that happens. Promise. Oh, and here's a tip, next time don't get shot. That's generally a good rule to live by." He finally released her.

Minji dropped to the ground and instantly grabbed her arm that now throbbed worse than before, watching him through a face contorted with discomfort as he began to search through her bag. If the pain wasn’t flaring inside of her at the moment, Minji would’ve been all over his ass, chewing him out and kicking him (although she knew he'd probably pick her up and throw her). Knowing that she was unable to do anything to him with her injured arm only made Minji more irritated. She stammered upright, standing against the tree trunk as he began to go on about animal tracks. Minji followed him, trying swallowing her pain and her malice that was quickly forming for this man as she walked behind him.

“I hope you get an STD,” She growled at him once she was able to catch up with him. “Right after you enjoy your stupid chocolate cake with your stupid hooker.” Minji cursed at him as she slowly walked behind him, keeping herself a safe distance from just in case he wanted to ‘look at her wound’ again. It was a childish thing to say but at the moment, it was all that Minji could muster up as the fact that he was able to inflict that much pain on her slightly made her a bit on edge. She figured that once she was able to clean herself up and treated her wound, she should be back to normal- or the closest thing to normal which she could get in their situation (although it would make no difference for Abel's position as he could still over power her either way, it would make Minji feel more secure).

Abel rolled his eyes at the childish way Minji was acting as he led the way, following the animal tracks. "Are you always this polite to guy's that are risking their life to save your 'little bottom'? Or am I just special?" He asked with a large smirk plastered across his face. "And for the record, I don't pay for it honey." He said as he turned around for a moment, and flashed her a charming smile from his snow white teeth that just oozed sex appeal. He then turned back around, and kept marching forward.

As they continued he let out a loud sigh. He knew their bickering wasn't making the situation any better. "Look, I'm sorry if I seem.....insensitive. It's just....you know, I'm used to this kind of crap." He stated with some sincerity. "I've been dealing with gunshot wounds, death, and all this crap since I was seventeen." He said with bit surprise, he had no idea why he was telling her this, it wasn't any of her business. "And staying far away from me isn't going to help. If you thought my check up was bad, the worse is yet to come. I probably got to cauterize the wound. Unless you want to bleed out."

After about a mile, and half they found a small stream of water. Abel kneeled down next to the water, and dipped his hand in. The water was fairly cool. He took his hand out, and ran it down his face. "We're gonna need to boil the water before we do anything." He stated. "Jungle water is full of nasty parasites that'd make things worse." He stated, yeah as he said before he's familiar with these type of situations. He glanced around at his surroundings, as there was a unnatural stillness in the air.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna take a quick look around." He said as he got up. "You boil some water, and don't go anywhere." He ordered. And with that Abel disappeared into the forest. He was very stealthy like that. After a couple of minutes after he left heavy footsteps could be heard rushing towards Minji. Two heavily armed men came towards Minji, both with assault rifles aimed at her head. "Podnimite ruki!" One of the men ordered as he jerked the barrel of his gun up. "Gde nayemnik?!" The other man yelled as he walked closer to her.

As that was happening Abel silently crept up behind the one that first spoke with his machete out. He quickly snuck up, and pulled the man's hand off the trigger, and quickly slit his throat with his machete. He gently laid him down on the ground so he wouldn't make a lot of noise. He then made his way towards the other man. "Pryamo zdes' mudak." He said in a deep, and serious tone. The man quickly swerved around to face him. Before he could use his gun, Abel gave him a powerful punch to his throat, and ripped the gun out of his grasp.

The man threw a punch at him, but Abel caught it, and brought up his other arm, and quickly snapped it. He then gave him a swift kick to his gut, pushing him away. Abel rushed towards a tree next to him, and kicked off it to get some leverage. He gave the man a powerful high punch that knocked him down to the ground. He searched the man's pockets, and found a pair of zip tie cuffs. He slapped them on the man's hands before he regained his senses, and sat him up against a tree truck.

Abel stood up, and went over to Minji. "That went better then I thought. Good work team!" He smirked. "You make good bait." He said as he playfully ruffled her hair. He had figured that someone was following them, and figured they'd make a move when he wasn't as close to Minji. He walked over to the man who was starting to regain his senses. "Kto vy rabotayete? Kak mnogiye iz vas yest?" He asked in a rather intimidating tone. The man just glared at him, and then looked over at Minji.

Abel gave the man a huge back handed punch. "YA govoryu vam mudak! Ne yeye! Otvet na moy vopros!" Abel snarled with noticeably more anger. The man still said nothing. Abel sighed, and looked over at his partner. "Let's see if a dead man tells any tales." He said as he went over to the dead body. He started searching the body, and pulled up his right sleeve to find a tattoo. Abel's eyes widened when he saw it, the same tattoo Volkov has, and the same one he had so long ago.

Abel rushed over to the remaining man, and lifted him up by his collar. "Volkov?! Ty rabotayesh' na Volkov?!" Abel demanded to know, his tone was a mix of anger, and fear. The man just had a satisfied smile on his face. "Yavlyayetsya li on zses'?!" Abel snarled, his patience wearing thin. The man still didn't answer. Abel threw him on the ground, and started relentlessly kicking him in his ribs. He picked back up by his collar, and began whaling on his face.

"Pogovorite chert voz'mi!" He demanded, with each word he became more unhinged. The man still didn't talk. Abel dragged him over to the stream, and started holding his head down in the water. After about twenty seconds he pulled his head out of the water. "Khorosho....khorosho...YA rabotayu dlya Volkov..." The man finally spoke in between his gasps for air. Abel was boiling over with anger. "Kto....kto ty?" He asked, at this point of the beating he was barely able to talk. "Mne Schastlivyy." Abel coldly stated. The man became terrified at this point.

"Sch-Sch-Schastlivyy?" He asked, his voice becoming even more terrified. He then looked over at Minji with a mixture of desperation, and terror in his eyes. "Pomogite! Etot chelovek a-" He started to plead before Abel snapped his neck. Abel ran his fingers through his hair, and then took the radio off the man's hip. Abel slid down the truck of a tree, and sat there in disbelief. Those men were Volkov's men, the same man he has spent years running from, years trying to forget him. Abel lifted up the radio to his mouth, and was about to speak into it, but he just couldn't find the courage.

Minji watched him carefully, trying to ignore the thundering pain that throbbed in her arm. She cringed lightly as she stepped over a branch, looking up when he started to speak. "Are you always this polite to guy's that are risking their life to save your 'little bottom'? Or am I just special?" Minji couldn’t help but to let out a rather audible scuff at his comment as if stating the obvious as to why she was being so ‘polite’ towards him. Her mouth opened to give him another retort but the man spun around, causing her to stumble as she looked at him. "And for the record, I don't pay for it honey."

She was completely caught off guard by his devilish smile that she couldn’t help but to slip a little into the mud beneath her. Minji couldn’t stop her cheeks from heating up beneath the layer of dirt at the sight of his stupid ass smile. Chocolate eyes lingered upwards, too stunned to say anything to retort back although her thoughts about him flew throughout her mind and she was learning to hate that arrogant face and his narcissistic charm. Minji merely followed him, now more distant than before and focused on her footing in silence with the hope that he wouldn’t turn back around again.

"Look, I'm sorry if I seem.....insensitive. It's just....you know, I'm used to this kind of crap. I’ve been dealing with gunshot wounds, death, and all this crap since I was seventeen." Minji looked up at his broad shoulders, wondering if he really meant his apology and why he was explaining it to her as it seemed something that he wouldn’t do. She quickly took note that she hadn’t known him for too long and merely decided against making further assumptions about him. Perhaps he really was just trying to apologize and be nice. Their situation was quite stressful and not just for Minji. She couldn’t seem to comprehend what it may feel like to have to babysit a wanted woman who barely left her lab to go home at night.

"And staying far away from me isn't going to help. If you thought my check up was bad, the worse is yet to come. I probably got to cauterize the wound. Unless you want to bleed out." Minji’s brows furrowed as she gripped her sleeve, unconsciously peeling off flakes of mud to try and calm herself about the ‘worse that has yet to come’. If him simply jerking her arm to look at it had caused her this much pain, Minji couldn’t fathom what it must feel like to cauterize the wound. To prevent the pain from flaring at the thought, Minji quickly changed her path of thinking and moved onto the water business which quickly made its’ presence in front of them as he cleaned his face, giving her a lesson about a jungle’s water.

She couldn’t help but to silently sigh, deeming that the water may be safe enough to bathe in since he had already ran it down his face. Drinking and wound treating would be something different which meant that Minji would have to clean her arm separately from her body. It seemed to a bit of a pain but it would definitely be doable for her. She watched her surroundings carefully, realizing that the songs of birds had silence and the only audible sound that could be heard was the distant cries of animals and the nearby bugs. The sudden quietness had worried her a bit but she figured it was all of her imagination as Abel hadn’t seemed too fazed.

Until he got up and left her with only a command. She tried to voice her protest but before they could even leave her lips, Abel was gone. Minji held her arm with cautious eyes that peered into the trees, taking her empty water bottle out to fill it up with water. It was then that two men in heavily armed suits suddenly surrounded her. She quickly backed up, her feet soaking in at the water’s shallow edge as her chocolate eyes widen in fear that she may be dead within the next few moments. Her hands shot up to her chest slowly, cringing at the pain before Abel came into view again, instantly and mercilessly killing the man.

Her hands dropped to her side as she watched him beat the other man, trying to find out answers. She couldn’t help but to feel enraged that she had fallen for the snake’s trap once more. Minji watched him with a scowl contorting her face before she spun around quickly, continuing her own little tasks. What made her even more pissed was the fact that she was actually extremely terrified with the fact that she could’ve been killed so easily. Minji’s malice for the man only deepened when he spoke to her as if she were some mere child. "That went better then I thought. Good work team! You make good bait."

She said nothing but the way her hands violently gripped around her bottle as she shoved the poor plastic container deep into the water and shook it around gave way that she was less satisfied to be used as some ‘bait’. She was Minji, the prodigy scientist who’d surpass her father- not some cheese in a trap for another’s use. Minji couldn't help but to turn towards the two, watching Abel as they conversed in Russian. While she wasn't able to understand the entirety of their conversation, Minji did get the gist of everything. Bottom line was that they were out to get her and the people who were out to get her were somehow related to Abel. This mere fact made her angrier at him. When he came near the river bank to water-board the man, Minji jumped back, grabbing her water bottle and tightly gripping it in her hands. She flinched slightly at the grossly sound of his neck cracking and merely turned her back on him to avoid being looked at in the eyes by the pleading man. She has already seen a lot of death today- even if they where after her, she didn't want to see anymore. It wasn't until everything fell silent that she looked over her shoulder, seeing him sliding down a tree with a radio.

A loud clunk was heard as she threw her water bottle at him, hitting him right in the forehead. Her face was flustered and she couldn’t prevent her eyes from watering a little bit as she placed her hands on her narrow hips and glared down at him from the bank. “That was not alright- what you did!” She said as her looked at him, now gaining more control over her body. “I really thought I was going to die and you just left me to become bait! You may be handsome but that can’t hide your manipulative and horrid personality, you pathetic snake!” Minji cringed lightly at the pain that grew from her arm thanks to her rising blood pressure.

“By the way, what was all that Russian about? I may not know it but I could tell from the way you guys spoke that you know something.” She demanded, sniffling a bit as she turned back to the bank and began to wash her hands in the cool jungle’s water.

"Believe it or not Abel, I've been in your shoes before. I too was young, and abandoned by my parents. I was angry at the world as well, and just like you I lashed out. But I eventually made something of myself, I built myself up into the man you see today. I see that same potential in you Syn." A young Abel simply brushed off the words of Volkov as he looked out the tinted windows of some fancy car as they drove through the suburbs of New Jersey. At this point of time Volkov had just adopted a seventeen year old Abel.

"Right, and now you're a shining example to every punk with a gun, and a ski mask." Abel mocked. Volkov simply chuckled at the boy. "What are we doing here in Jersey old man?" Abel asked in annoyance. "I needed closure, and so do you." He answered as he handed him a file. Abel confusingly took the file, and started flipping through it. Inside was a bunch of surveillance photos of a family. "What the hell is this?" Abel questioned. "Your closure." The Russian answered, and soon the car stopped. "Look out your window."

Abel looked out the window, and saw they stopped at some suburban, white picket-fence type house. "Again, what the hell is this?" He asked again. "Rather slow on the uptake aren't you my young friend? Those people in the photos, are your family." Volkov answered. "What?!" Abel said nervously. He has always imagined meeting his parents, but he has never imagined it quite like this. Butterflies swelled up in his guts. Volkov opened the folder up, and took out a picture of a man, and a woman. "This is Gina, and Mitchell Harris, your parents." He explained.

"I-I've gotta meet them..." Abel stuttered to get out. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to meet them, it just felt like something he should do. "Oh! And there's one other thing..." Volkov then took out a picture of a girl his age, and handed it to him. "This is your sister, your twin sister, Jessica." He explained. "Twin?" Abel looked up him in confusion. "They....gave you up, and kept the girl." He stated with some concern. "Wh-why?" He asked, at that moment he felt even more unwanted then ever before. "I don't know. Maybe they couldn't afford two children? It's hard to say."

Abel stared at the house, and saw his sister pull into the driveway, and run inside only to be greeted by a golden retriever. He looked down at the car door handle, thinking about opening it, but he just couldn't find the strength. "I....why....." His mind was just racing with all the new information. "Fate is a fickle thing my young friend. But men like us make our own fate, our own destiny. You don't need them Syn. With my help you will prove your worth, not to them, but to yourself. You will become a titan among flies." Volkov said as he placed his hand on Abel's shoulder to comfort him, all with a wolfish grin across his face unseen by Abel. "You....think so?" Abel asked as he turned to face him, at this point the grin quickly left his face, and he gave him a nod. "Can I ask you something? What does Syn mean?"

---

Abel was snapped back to the present by a water bottle to the forehead thanks to Minji. He looked up at her with a defeated sort of look. Her words ran through his mind. Manipulative, horrid, and a snake. With each repeat of the word he grew more angry. Whether she knew it or not the person she described wasn't him, but it was close enough. He hopped up from the ground, and marched over to her. He glared at her, with rage building up inside at the thought of him being like him. His empty hand clenched itself firmly into a fist. He looked as if he was ready to kill her. He then realized what he was doing, and turned away from her.

"Ever heard of a man named Stanimar Volkov?" He asked as he went over to the dead body of the guy he slit the throat of, and pointed to the tattoo. "Stanimar Volkov is a international warlord, gun dealer, and general bad guy with a personal army that rivals a small country. If it's illegal, chances are he has his fingers in it. And all of them have this tattoo." He stated, his tone serious, and rather cold.

He went back over to her, and those mere six inches of height he has over her seems like it was six feet. "Look at the death around you. I have killed more people then I can count." He said as he stared intensely into her eyes. "So when I tell you that man is a monster, I want you to know the full weight of my words. All the death you've seen today, is but a pinky toe dipped into a ocean of blood compared to Volkov." He stated. "Stanimar Volkov is the single most sadistic, bloodthirsty, self-serving, and manipulative son of a bitch I've ever met."

He turned away from her, and returned to his trunk. "I...uh...used to work for him a long time ago." He said with a mixture of shame, and regret. "Things didn't end well. It's a long story, and I'd rather not get into it." He sighed. "Whether you like or not, I'm your best chance at getting out of here alive. I have the most experience dealing with him then anyone else." He said as he ran his fingers through his golden blonde hair. "Let me deal with this, and shut the hell up." He said with a lot of annoyance. This was a difficult task for him, for more reasons then one.

He lifted up the radio, and was about to press down on the button, but he was still having trouble to find the right words. "Vashi lyudi mertvy, polozhit' Volkov na." He demanded over the radio. "Kto eto?" A man replied. "Polozhite Volkov, ya khochu imeyem delo ne s peonami." He growled in annoyance. One could hear shuffling noises on the other side before a different voice came on. "YA Borislav, vo-vtorykh Volkov, ty v proshlom nayemnik?" A deep voice answered. This man was Borislav, Volkov's scared second-in-command. "Borislav? YA nichego ne skazal batrakov. Polozhite Volkov seychas." Abel demanded again.

More ruffling could be heard. "Eto Volkov. Dlya kogo ya imeyu udovol'stviye?" Answered Volkov. "Chelovek, kotoryy sobirayetsya ubit' tebya." Abel coldly replied. "Schastlivyy? Abel is that you Syn?" Volkov asked, almost instantly recognizing his voice. "Don't you call me that you bastard!" Abel snarled. "What a small world. It must be fate." Volkov said, with a noticeable amount of happiness in his voice. "I'm tired of this Shakespearian bullshit! If this is about you and me then let's skip the dramatic crap, and get right down to it." He snarled, rage swelling up with each word.

"Tsk, tsk, not everything is about you Syn. This was just a....happy coincidence. I've missed you." Volkov stated, he was actually enjoying this. "Go deep throat a knife!" He replied. "I'll tell you what, since it's you, how about you give me the girl, and I'll let you leave this jungle alive?" Volkov offered. Abel hopped up from the ground, and looked over at Minji. "After what you did to me? I'm going to hang you by your intestines, and beat you like a piñata!" Abel shouted. "You're still mad? It's been five years, move on man."

And with that Abel started to boil over with rage. "Move on? Move on?! You killed my fiancé you son of a bitch! I'm going to make you suffer before you beg for me to put a bullet in your head!" Volkov laughing could be heard. "That's my Syn! You don't have the stomach for it though, Syn." Volkov stated. "You wanna bet? Won't you come, and face me, and we'll see!" Abel suggested. "You won't kill me. You know why? Because at the end of the day, I'm still...."

"Your father."

“Now I believe this is no place for a young lady such as yourself to be sneaking around.” While his voice may have seemed friendly, Minji could easily sense deceit within it as he looked up at her. He watched her carefully as she descended from the vent, tiptoeing along the top of a table as her thin fingers hooked around the vents inside. “Although I am quite curious as how you managed to elude the security here. Even I was unable to do that.” An amused smile tugged at his lips as he gazed at her as if she were a lab rat that was about react to some sort of medication.

Minji, force to drop due to her lack of upper body strength, quickly gain her footing on the table as she scurried off of the top and dusted off her school’s uniform, the skirt ruffling underneath her palms. She didn’t say anything but stared at his cobra like smile, the men who stood behind him silently spoke to each other in from what she could tell, their Russian tongue. The man looked up at the vent before his eyes found their way to Minji, cobwebs in her short, unkempt hair. “You’ve got something there.” The man pointed to Minji’s hair, causing her to quickly flush and ruffle the dirt and cobwebs out, glaring over at the man in silence as he began to laugh.

“I wouldn’t be laughing if I were you, old man.” She huffed proudly, pressing her thumb to her flat chest with pride. “I’m the daughter of the man who runs this facility and I’m the renowned prodigy you have been hearing about.” Minji’s small hands balled up and found themselves sitting high on her nonexistent waist, arrogantly sticking her chest out as she looked at him, expecting him to awe or back away.
However, the man merely laughed some more which brought confusion to her face as well as the men who stood behind him. “So you are the ‘renowned prodigy’?” He mocked, a cobra smile taking a hold of his lips as he walked near her to examine her further. “You know, I too, have a prodigy of my own. However I must admit he isn’t as interesting or ignorant as you.” Minji’s face flustered in anger as his words made to her ears, her stance taking a more defensive footing.

She pointed her finger at him, her brows furrowing as she took a step back from him. “I wouldn’t be talking if I were you!” She proclaimed loudly, watching him become more and more amused. “I don’t know if you can tell but I’m already fourteen and I have tons of universities begging me to come to their schools! In fact, I’m almost done with high school.” This didn’t faze the man as he merely continued to let his hardy, Russian laugh.
[color=# FF0000]“Is that so? Then that must make me something shy of a genius.”[/color] Minji growled at him as she took a step forward, the anger coursing through her giving her a bit of courage.
“Not even close, bud! I may not look like it but I already know every bit of information about this place and you! Do you think I was sneaking around those dingy vents for fun? Nope, I’ve been sneaking in so I could get some information on my father’s projects so I know about you and my dad’s little deal.” She huffed, her short hair gaining static from her little adventure she just partook within the vents.

The man merely smiled at her, waving his hand in the air. “Hasn’t anyone informed you that ease dropping is rude, peeping tom?” This time, his look was different which caused Minji to retreat backwards, the deadly look in his eyes somewhat scaring her.
“I-I don’t care. Hasn’t anyone told you being ugly is rude?” She retorted, slowly making her way around the table and towards the door only to be stopped by the man who continued to gaze at her with those deadly eyes and that deceitful smile of his.
The man took a step closer to her, causing Minji to retreat once more, backing up to try to go around the other end of the table. “My, that mouth of yours’ is something that should be fixed.” He said, his voice sent shivers down her spine as she slid over the table to make her escape out of the room, barely just making it past his men.
As she ran out she looked over her shoulder at him, flipping the man off while sticking out her tongue. Minji was able to escape this time but she knew it was only because of luck. She needed to be a lot more careful of where she exits the vents from now on.

---

The amount of force behind that hit had officially split her cheek open, causing blood to leak out of the already bruising lump of flesh. Her hand shot up towards her face to try to ease the now throbbing pain as she stared up at the man, the same smile and cobra like eyes accenting his face. Minji’s brown eyes looked at him, her eyes slightly watering from the pain as he took a step closer towards her which caused her to quickly back up from him. It was of no use however as he picked her up quite easily by her collar, pulling her close towards him.

“Now, little girly,” He began, watching her as she struggled to free herself from his grip, desperately wishing that she weighed more than ninety-seven pounds at the moment. “You are going to tell me what I want to know or I will make it seem like you got hit by a car on your way home, got it? He gave her another one of his deceitful smile as if he weren’t threatening her life at the moment. Minji glared at him and spit into his face, the mixture of saliva and blood dripping down his cheek. He couldn’t help but to let out a grisly growl underneath his breath as he threw her across the room.

Minji went flying, skidding against the cold floors and stopping when her body knocked against the cement walls. A large man that stood in the corner behind him handed him a handkerchief to wipe off the blood and spit that still dripped from his face. Once he did, he dropped the rag onto the floor and walked near her, dragging chair behind him. He spun the chair around and slammed it to the ground, barely missing her legs as he sat down. He lit a cigar as he watched her with a cautious eye. “Do you remember the first time we met, my dear Minji?” He blew out a long cloud of smoke as he watched her from the corner of his eyes. “It was quite amusing really as the amount of pride you had seemed awfully high. However, after meeting you many times afterwards, it seems that you are merely a girl who loves to stick her rotten nose into business that is none of her concern. If you hadn’t been caught sneaking around,” He took the cigar out from his mouth and gave a twisted smile as he neared her with it in his hands.

“You wouldn’t be in such a situation, now would you?” The pain of being burnt quickly made her livelier, moving away from the singe of his cigar and curled herself up into a small ball against the wall. “I will give you one more chance- tell me what I want to know.” He glared down at her, watching her glare back up at him with as much intimidation as a five foot, three inch fifteen year old girl could muster. “Where are the files for the illegal biological weapon your father has unearthed? I know he has them.” Without another moment’s hesitation, the man pulled out a gun from his coat pocket, cocking back the weapon and placing it hard against Minji’s head, causing everything in her body to freeze up from fear. “Well, I’m waiting.”

The biological weapon he was speaking of was supposed to be top secret- not even Anthony knew about it. It was something her father discovered on his own during his solitary research when he went to the ‘Immortal City’. The only reason Minji knew about it was because she had snuck into his office after hours when he was out doing an experiment in the lab on the bottom floors of the facility. Even she was unsure about all of its contents and only managed to read enough to know what it mainly consisted of- a bacterium that can alter the protein that is in charge of bodily decay and to not only restore the damaged DNA sequence to prevent one from aging but to continuously regenerate. In other words, if someone wanted to stop aging after the age of fifty-five, this was the solution. The reason it was considered a ‘biological’ weapon was because it could also restore damaged cells from injury and disease, creating a truly ‘immortal’ person of which even a stab to the heart couldn’t kill.

The moment Professor Go figure this little fact out, he hid it very well. So much so, that even Minji’s little grubby hands couldn’t figure out the exact hidden spot. It was a discovery that was supposed to go unnoticed as Professor Go not only hid the information and documents pertaining to the bacterium but he also burnt any type of evidence that it even existed. The amount of knowledge Minji knew about it was only the surface of page six, section A-3. The man tilted his head to the side, placing his cigar back into his mouth as the gun pressed harder against her head. “Still trying to play dumb, huh? I know you at least know what I’m speaking about and I know that you have an idea of where it may be.” He said, his eyes showing no remorse or mercy.

Of course she had an idea. If she didn’t, then she couldn’t be able to recognize herself as a prodigy or her father’s daughter. Where would a man hide the secret of a biological weapon that he found from a supposed mythical city that even the man in front of her knew nothing about? It was apparent that he’d return it in secrecy to a city everyone either thought was a myth or had no knowledge of its very existence. Minji glared at him, telling him that he wouldn’t get an answer from her. He retracted his gun whilst shaking his head, making a clicking noise with his tongue. “Alright, Minji,” He began, handing the gun to one of the men that stood behind him, trading it out with a revolver. “Because you are a mere child and because I am a father of my own, I will allow fate to decide whether you walk out of here alive or not.”

The man began to unload all of his bullets from the revolver but one, closing it and spinning it around quickly before cocking it back. He placed it right in front of her head and watched her carefully, causing Minji to shake from fear as she already knew what he was going to do. “My patience is wearing thin, child. However, if you survive three- perhaps four- shots without even telling me what I’d like to know then I will release you. If you tell me now, I will allow you walk away as you are.” He smiled once again as he watched the young girl’s eyes close, signifying that even if she was going to die, she wouldn’t tell him anything she knew. “I will count to three. If you make it to three then you are free to leave.” He pulled the trigger once to show her he was serious, causing her to flinch back so violently, her head knocked hard against the wall behind her.

“One,” He couldn’t help but to smile widely at her as he pulled the trigger, going onto the next number. “Two,” He pulled the trigger again, this time drilling the gun into her head harder than last time. “Three.” The third trigger being pulled sent a wave of relief through Minji’s body as he backed off, pulling his gun back and sitting far on his chair. She didn’t wait for a second to go by before she collected herself and scurried past him with such speed that one may even consider her being a track star. Her hand gripped the door to open it, hearing the click of the gun behind her. She looked over her shoulder with fear to see him aiming it at her once more, a smile on his face.
A loud shot resonated from the room, her body crouched down low on the other side of the door, not hesitating to take off before he decided to change his mind about allowing her to live.

---

Section_E-7 : Page 34
Even after I returned the bacterium Im3 to its rightful place and burned its evidence, it has appeared to still haunt me like a restless ghost. I return to my office only to find that a small vile of the bacterium resides in the fridge. I have tried my best to try and destroy the remaining Im3 but am unable to do so successfully as the bacterium multiplies much too quickly than I have ever imagined.
However, despite me failed attempts at erasing the bacterium, I have effectively put the bacterium in a dormant state and placed it in a holding ‘container’. Although I despise labeling my very own kin as a ‘holding container’, it is what it is. From now on, my beloved daughter will hold onto Im3 until she passes from old age and hopefully, the bacterium will forever be in its dormant state.
I know very well the dangers that may befall her within her adult life but I am confident that even if the secret lets out that she does indeed have Im3 inactive within her, it will not be able to be revived. Even if she is put to death, the knowledge of which only I hold on how to reactivate Im3 resides only with me and my studies exclusively. Her death will not be in vane if she so happens to pass.

---

It was on her sixteenth birthday that Minji had gotten Im3 implanted within her, unknowingly at first underneath the pretense of aiding her father by donating blood. Of course she would not reject his wishes as it were the first experiment she was invited to do versus forcing herself into the labs to watch. Professor Go had explained to Minji that it a present that he would give her since she had worked so hard to pass high school. She was ecstatic but couldn’t help to let her disappointment surface when she realized that all she was doing was giving blood.

It wasn’t until after the death of her father that Minji realized that the project she helped him with wasn’t just any project. Anthony had given her the last letter he ever wrote which contained the information about the dormant bacterium and the reason why he injected it into her instead of himself. He also told her he was sorry. In the beginning, Minji was beyond furious. She began to hate the man that was known as her father for a long while, feeling remorse when she did so. However, after a few weeks of thinking it through, Minji decided that she’d perhaps do tests of her own to help gain knowledge of Im3.

All the knowledge she was able to gain was its makeup, where it was from and how to get it out of her body safely in small amounts without disturbing the dormant state. The Im3 had already stapled itself to her, the small amounts she was able to extract, while too small to do anything other than give her a little bit of knowledge of what was inside of her. Being able to move it out completely or gain enough of it to be able to use it on something as large as a human was a different problem and frankly, one that Minji preferred to stay away from. All of this happened before her affair with Anthony, which had brought her mind out from the lab and allowed her to experience a woman’s first love.

It was also the reason as to why Minji stood, her feet frozen to the ground with fear plastered on her face as she listened intently to the two’s conversation. Being the son of a man like Volkov made her feel as if she was being led around on a rope by him. It also brought her to the point where she mulled over excuses as to why she should either leave Abel or stay with him. From the sounds of their conversation, it was blatantly apparent that he had serious hate towards his father. However, Minji also took note that this could very well be some sort of trick, similar to the one he pulled to get the men to come out to the open where he could take them down.

Somewhere deep down, Minji knew that Abel wouldn’t betray her but she had learned to not trust that gut feeling- especially if it were about the male subject. She watched him carefully and mulled over the idea that Volkov could very well just be looking for the free land, the ‘Immortal City’. Then the idea came back to her that the ‘Immortal City’ was mentioned in her father’s findings of the Im3 bacterium. Minji began to think things through and how Volkov could possibly know any type of information that was classified, that not even Professor Go’s trusted friend and fellow partner would know of. Water began to flood her shoes which caused her to look down, seeing that she had been backing up from Abel and the radio the entire time, the water bordering her ankles.

Minji quickly took a step forward out of the water and looked at him. For once, she was completely quiet, only the lingering fear drifting within her chest. Minji looked up at Abel before taking a step forward. “A-Ask him why he is going so far as to try to obtain the ‘Immortal City’.” While she demanded it, her voice was shaky as she looked up at Abel, hoping he’d comply.

Abel's heart sank when Volkov revealed their relation. He could only imagine what sort of monster she thought of him. Even before this she thought he was a monster, she even called him a snake. And now he might as well have horns, and carry around a pitchfork. He looked up at her, and wondered why he even cared what she thought. He didn't know her, why should he care about her opinion? Besides, it seems that she already has her mind made up about him. Abel looked at Minji when she told him to ask about some Immortal City. This was just supposed to be a simple babysitting job.

"If this isn't about us, then what is it about? That 'Immortal City', or whatever the labcoats were researching? What is this really about?" Abel demanded to know. A small chuckle could be heard from Volkov's end. "What do you think I'm here for?" Volkov mockingly asked. Abel rolled eyes. "Enough of the games! I don't give a rat's ass what a dead man wants, but I'd like to know the reason you died for." Abel replied with annoyance. "Uh-huh. If you really want to know, simply ask the lovely young lady you are with. She knows."

"Ah, stuck in a life or death situation, not knowing if the next minute is your last, all with a pretty girl by your side. Ah youth, I envy that Syn." Volkov mocked, as if he wasn't taking this seriously. Abel rolled his eyes. "I'm going to enjoy killing you." He growled. "Now, now, let's be civil. Look, Abel, Syn this doesn't concern you. If you hand the girl over to me, I promise no harm will come to her, and you can walk away." Volkov offered again. "Fuck. You." He answered with growing hostility.

"Fine, I can see you aren't going to be an adult about this. Ms. Go, you are listening correct? Of course you are, you were always a noisy girl." Abel looked over at Minji, and gave her a confused look. Did she know Volkov? "Look, things got out of hand, mistakes were made, I admit that. But let's not dwell on it. Why don't you come back to the camp, and we can finish your father's work, together." He offered. "You are a woman of science yes? So surely you can do the math, the two of you against my army will not end well for you."

"And can you really trust Abel? No offense Syn, but you're not made of the strongest moral fiber. The gruff mercenary with the heart of gold may be very romantic, but is he really reliable?" Volkov continued. "I'll tell you what, you maw it over, and I'll call you back in an hour." Volkov said with an almost used car salesmen charm to him. "Oh! One last thing, Ms. Go, I have someone very anxious to talk to you." Abel raised a eyebrow at this, and looked over at Minji. "Prinesite vrachu!" Volkov ordered to several of his men.

It took a moment before anything was heard on there end. "M-Minnie? Are you there?" A familiar voice to Minji asked. "It's me, Anthony." Anthony stated. Abel looked at Minji with confusion, and mouthed 'Who the hell is Anthony?'. "Minnie, please, I-I didn't mean for it to happen like this. I-I'm sorry. Just, just come back to the camp, Volkov won't harm you, I promise. We can finish this work together." Anthony pleaded. "She's going to have to call you back chief." Abel stated before he turned the radio off. He's had enough, it's time for answers, and the only person he's sure he can get the truth out of is standing before him.

"Well, we've got a lot to discuss." Abel stated as he started directly into her chocolate eyes. His hand reached down for his machete, his fingers began to dance around the top of the handle, as he was ready to use it if he didn't like what he heard. "Well, I guess I should start huh?" He said with a slight tilt of his head.

"Volkov isn't my father, well he is sort of. I'm a orphan. Never knew my parents, I was just left on the steps of some orphanage. Like trash. I was a pretty angry kid growing up to say the least. I got into gangs, and all that nasty stuff they tell you not to do when you were a kid." He stated. "I was seventeen when I first met him. I don't know why, but he took a shine to me. He adopted me, and brought me into his organization." He heavy heartedly stated. "The thing you gotta know about Volkov, is that he knows how to worm his way into your head, and twist you up so much that you don't know what's up from down."

"He knew just what to say to me. He found my parents for me, or at least he said they were my family. As far as I know they were just some random family, or actors, or whatever. I wouldn't put it past him." Abel continued to explain. "Evidently I have a twin sister that my parents kept. Volkov made me feel more worthless, and unwanted then I have ever felt. And guess who was there to pick up the pieces?" He continued. As he talked about his past his fist clinched tightly.

"From then on I became blindly loyal to him. Fast forward seven years, and......we had a falling out. Over a woman of course. She was......" Abel couldn't even find the words to describe the first, and so far only woman he's ever truly loved. "....I was ready to marry her, and I was wanted out. Volkov didn't like the idea of his golden boy leaving. He sent me out on a job, and while I was gone he had her killed, and framed a rival of his." Abel began to tense up, this was obviously uncomfortable for him.

"Let's just say I found out, and well, it was not a pleasant conversation we had. I barely got out alive." He finished explaining. "So, I hope you can understand why I want to kill the bastard. And understand why I'm not too keen on people who work for him. So let's talk about how you know him, and who this Anthony guy is." He calmly, and coldly stated as he cracked his knuckles.

Minji’s eyes stared at the ground as the two began to speak; her heart sinking as she took in Volkov’s each and every word. They spun around her brain before stabbing her heart like knives, making her want to vomit at the mere thought that Volkov was searching for something that her father worked so hard to try to hide from the world, so much so that he’d even neglect his health. She bit her lip hard as anger swelled in her heart, making her wish that her father could’ve put an active bacterium inside of her so she could just walk in and kill the man- and these vicious thoughts were coming from a five foot-six, hundred and twelve pound vegetarian. The thought, while amusing, only made her feel a bit pathetic as her heart began to consume itself with hatred towards the man as she carefully listened to him.

And then his voice came on, instantly pulling Minji from her little hole of hatred and causing her eyes to stare at the radio in bewilderment as he spoke, his voice filled with remorse and tension. "Minnie, please, I-I didn't mean for it to happen like this. I-I'm sorry. Just, just come back to the camp, Volkov won't harm you, I promise. We can finish this work together." She didn’t look at Abel but only stared at the radio in his hand, shocked that Anthony would even be here, let alone be with Volkov. Her mouth slightly gaped open as Abel ended their conversation, shutting the radio off and turning towards her, asking for a discussion about everything each of them knew. Minji took a step forward, readying herself to protest against the idea but was instantly hushed as he began to explain his life story and the entire relationship he had with Volkov.

While she hated to admit it, Minji couldn’t help but to cringe painfully throughout his story, feeling remorse for the man who stood in front of her. If they weren’t in this exact situation, she may have even cried for him out of sorrow and pity. The look showed on her face but it soon stoned when he finished, turning towards her to ask her the question he was so curious about. "So, I hope you can understand why I want to kill the bastard. And understand why I'm not too keen on people who work for him. So let's talk about how you know him, and who this Anthony guy is." Minji’s hands closed as she breathed in a little bit of air, trying to convince herself that if Abel was able to explain his relationship with Volkov including the death of his fiancé, she could surely explain her petty affair with Anthony and her entire situation.

“My father, Professor Go,” She paused, bringing her hand up to her injured arm, picking at the dried mud to try to bring out the pain to help ease her nerves. “He was a very famous researcher who once worked with Volkov. My meeting with Volkov was by chance when he caught me sneaking into my father’s lab. I believe I may have been about fourteen. After that, he’s caught me sneaking around numerous times and ‘confronted’ me about several things about my father’s research. I wouldn’t tell him anything because he frightened me so I continued to either avoid him when I snuck through the labs or ran away from him when I could.” She looked over at Abel quickly, biting her bottom lip to try and think through what and how much she should reveal.

“Do you know why it’s called the ‘Immortal City’? Well legend goes that the waters inside the city contains special powers that will prevent you from aging and help your wounds heal quicker than the average human. Of course that was a lie but not completely. The bacterium named Im3 was discovered in secrecy by my father. It has the power to stop the aging process at the age of 55 and help rebuild any damaged cells which, in the end, would create something of an immortal. You won’t die due to how quickly the cells can multiply and you won’t age because it not only restores the proteins but protects it.”

Minji turned her entire body towards him, taking a small step back while leaning a bit forward with her arm underneath her chest. Her fingers hooked around her other arm, she took another deep breath and mulled over how she should phrase her next sentence. “My father destroyed the evidence of the bacterium ever existing and burned his documents, carefully hiding the rest of Im3. He thought it may be best to keep it hidden from the world as it could be used in warfare as a biological weapon to infuse soldiers with, creating an ultimate killing weapon that would never die and so, like I said before, he hid it. Only I know where he hid the bacterium because,” She paused, looking into Abel’s green eyes. “He hid it inside of me.” Minji couldn’t help but to spin on her heels, her back facing Abel as she walked near the water’s edge, still keeping her guard up just in case Abel decided to go against her- it would be the easiest of choices.

“So now I’m expecting that Volkov has some sort of knowledge about my involvement with the bacterium so he wants me to extract it or find my father’s studies to try and gain the full power of Im3. I’m assuming he’d use it on himself as he seems like the kind of man who thirsts for power.” Her brown eyes stared at the rippling reflection, now thinking about Anthony with some sort of remorse. “And Anthony…” She sighed, turning back towards Abel and watching him intently. “Well he was the man I first loved but like any other sane person, he chose his loving wife over me. I’m not sure what his involvement could be but,” She paused, now thinking over everything she knew about him. “I believe it may be safe to say that he has betrayed both, my father and I.”

Her face seemed stoned and calmed but Minji quickly began to realize everything that Anthony could’ve gotten his hands on- from important documents to reading the last letter her father ever given to her. “He was my father’s best friend after all. He would be the second person underneath myself who could ever have any form of access to my father’s studies regarding Im3.” Minji looked up at Abel, her eyes narrowing at him as she looked at him with caution. “It’s understandable if you’d like to go off by yourself as this is no longer apart of the job you were assigned to. However if you try to turn me in, it’s useless. I will just die with the dormant bacterium inside of me because even I do not know where my father hid his studies.” She looked at him with serious, brown eyes as her expression harden as she became even more cautious than before.

Abel listened as Minji explained her father's research, and involvement with Volkov. "Immortal City?" He muttered to himself as he mulled it over. If what she is saying is true, that this city has the key to immortality, he can't let that get in Volkov's hands, or anyone's hands for that matter. He could only imagine what Volkov would do with this Im3. He shook his head, no this can't happen, this won't happen. Not on his watch. He began thinking of various ways he can approach this. The simplest, and easiest way would be for him to just pop her in the back of the head with his pistol. Quick, clean, and painless.

He quickly dismissed this idea. Not only would this take away his only bargaining chip, he also has taken quite the shine to her, even if he hasn't shown it. She reminds him of his fiancé, she wouldn't let him get away with anything as well. He watched her as she narrowed her eyes at him, and looked deeply into his eyes. "Sorry, but you're stuck with me." He replied. "If Volkov wants you, then I'm not leaving your side. You're more useful alive with me, then dead, or with Volkov."

"So this Anthony guy....um....sorry. It's a tough break. We can't control who we fall in love with." Abel said with the most sympatric smile he could muster. "That's what Karina always said. She....." Abel then tensed up again as he was obviously talking about his fiancé. "Anyways, Anthony is the only other person besides you that can help Volkov find this Immortal City?" He said, bringing things back onto the matter at hand. "If we can take him off the board....then that bastard will have nothing!" He stated, talking as if this was some sort long chess game between him, and Volkov.

He then looked at her arm, and realized that he hadn't treated it yet. "We need to take care of your arm first." He said as he walked closer to her. "I'm going to have to cauterize it." He stated as he looked it over. "Listen, you're going to have to remain perfectly still. I known it'll hurt, but if you move in the slightest I could seriously hurt you." He stated as he looked into her eyes with some genuine concern. "Don't worry, I've done this stuff a million times, and I've had it done to me even more."

Minji flinched a bit at his words, dreading the pain that she knew had to be done in order for her be able to heal properly. Her brown eyes scanned him carefully, wondering if this may be a trick to kill her even though he has already stated otherwise. Even if he did kill her, Minji was confident that she knew more about the Im3 bacterium than Anthony or Volkov. Unlike her father, she didn’t write any of the information down or even her own personal studies but instead kept them inside of her own head, stored mentally. Perhaps if she were to die, Minji was very certain that they’d have little to no luck trying to activate it. It made her feel a bit queasy at the thought of dying because of something she had no say in- or perhaps that was the pain of the wound- but Minji knew very well that it may be better for everyone if it ended by Abel instead of Volkov; that is, stating that he hated Volkov as much as he acted.

Biting her lip roughly, Minji grabbed her arm and watched him carefully while giving him an innocent look and trusting look. “Alright.” She breathed carefully, bracing herself for the coming pain. She began to convince herself that it couldn’t be any worse than all of the other things she’s done before. Minji began to recall the time she accidentally tripped into the burner or the time she decided to get her cartilage pierced and ended up getting her ass beat when she came home with it. These thoughts did her no justice as they all seemed mediocre to the pain she was about to experience. And then a deeper pain resonated inside of her- the discovery that her father had passed away. Suddenly, being cauterized seemed like nothing. Minji took in a deep breath and looked at Abel before giving him a weak but confident smile. “Just make it quick, I doubt we have much time left.” She took a small step closer to him, her face quickly becoming more and more serious.

“Oh,” She began looking at him. “And if you do decide to betray and give me to Volkov, I can easily bite my tongue off and swallow it so that I won’t spill the information I know about Im3 even if I wanted to.” With that, Minji braced herself for the worst case scenario and took another step closer to Abel.

Abel nodded when Minji agreed with him to cauterize her wound. He began gathering loose branches, and twigs to make a small fire to use to seal her wound. Once he had enough wood, he piled it up to form a small teepee for the fire. He took a box of matches from her bag, and pulled one out. He struck the match to light it, and tossed it on the small campfire. Abel took out his machete, and put the blade in the fire. He sat the blade on the ground. He grabbed the empty bottle of water, and filled it up with the jungle water. He placed the water on the end of his machete, and balanced it on it to boil it.

After a couple of minutes the bottle became cloudy. "Yeah, well biting your tongue off will only hurt you. I've seen Volkov do worse. He once chopped off the hands of his accountant, and still made him crunch numbers. Have you ever seen a middle age man with stubs try to use a calculator? It's pathetic." He stated while still focused on the water. "Besides, if I was working with Volkov, why wouldn't I just keep you at the camp, and wait for Volkov?" He asked as he carefully pulled the water bottle out of the fire.

"Look, if we're going to make it out of here you're going to have to trust me. If you can't, then you might as well walk away now." He said as he turned to face her. "I get it, you don't know me. I'm...I'm a monster. I know that, I've come to terms with that. But you're going have to trust me. Better the devil you know right?" He asked with a slight smirk. "And...I'm sorry for using you as bait. But I was right there, and they wouldn't have a chance to hurt you. I wouldn't give them one. It was a calculated risk. But still...I....probably could have handled it better." He apologized with a slightest of smiles, and walked closer to her, now becoming mere inches away from her.

"I promise you I wouldn't have let them hurt you. Whether you believe or not, you're safe with me." He brushed away some the hair out of her face, as well as wiping away some of the grime on her cheek. "You'll make it out of this, I promise." He said with a warm, and reassuring smile. He was positive that she'll get out of this, but himself on the other hand...he's not even sure he wants to get out of this. With Volkov so close, his revenge could be at hand, and he's always figured that taking Volkov's life would probably cost him his, and that's a price he's ready to pay, but he won't let Minji become collateral.

Abel then reached down, and started unbuckling his belt. He then took off his belt. "I'm going to need to clean it first alright? Bite down on my belt. It helps." He stated as he looked deep into her eyes, his deep blue eyes becoming almost hypnotic. He brought up his right thumb, and softly forced her bottom lip open, and placed his belt in her mouth. "Ok, here I go." He said as he poured the warm water over her wound to wash away the mud. He went as gently as possible to scrap off the crud over her wound. "See? I can be gentle when I want to." He smirked.

Once it was cleaned off he went over to his red hot machete, and pulled it out of the fire. "Alright, and now for the bad part." He stated as he returned to her. "Remember, don't move." He reminded her. He pressed the hot blade on her wound, searing the flesh shut. After a good thirty seconds he took the machete off her arm, and quickly tossed it in the stream. "Ok, ok, it's over. You're fine. First time's always the hardest." He comforted her as he rubbed her back, hoping that'd somehow alleviate some of the pain. Abel ripped off the left sleeve of his shirt, and wrapped it around her wound. "Alright, you good?"