Feathers And Carnations Chapter Six

Jisung huffed as he saw four armed men flanking the porch of the house as he stepped out the next morning. “You’re not taking any chances, are you?” He glanced at Minho, raising an eyebrow.

“With you, I’d rather not,” Minho confirmed, stepping up to him. He crouched in front of him and lifted his pant leg, revealing the anklet. “Ready for a day outside?”

“Do you have to ask?”

Minho chuckled and slid a small panel on the anklet to the side, revealing several unmarked buttons. Covering it with his hand, he punched the code in, and the anklet popped open with a hiss. The men surrounding them all tensed, hands ready on their weapons now that the prisoner was free.

Jisung didn’t move as Minho stood back up. “Are you going to tell me why I’m wearing a suit, or are you going to  keep me in suspense all day?”

Minho gave him a smile. “I have a few important meetings today, and I like to look my best. It only makes sense that I would have you wear the dress code.”

“You’re meeting with other mafia dons, aren’t you?”

“Correct.”

“So everyone will know I’m your prisoner.”

“Pretty much.”

Jisung rolled his eyes. Just what I need. But whatever, I’ll be leaving the country as soon as I escape.

Minho’s men watched him like a hawk as they made their way to the limousine parked on the side of the road. Jisung ignored them. He wasn’t stupid enough to try anything. At least, not yet. Two of the brutes got in the front while the other two joined their leader in the back. Jisung, of course, was seated right next to Minho.

“I see you like to be subtle,” Jisung commented, scanning the polished, over the top interior of the limo.

“Some days are meant for riding in style. I’m showing off today.” Minho turned to one of his men. “Seungmin?”

“He’s waiting for us.”

“Good.”

As Minho got into a discussion with his men, Jisung considered the situation carefully. He studied the men, the small details throughout the car.

Both men were armed with a handgun and large hunting knives. One was tall and wide as an SUV, the other was a bit skinnier, more lithe and careful with his movements. The thinner one was watching him like a wolf ready to pounce on his prey. Jisung ignored that.

As for the car, the cabinets along the edge were mostly empty, save for a small, black safe. The seat near the front held obvious signs the cushion could be lifted. 

Finally, his eyes landed on Minho. He didn’t appear to be armed in any way, but Jisung knew he had a gun on him somewhere. The one he had last night couldn’t have disappeared.

“Are you done taking inventory?” Minho suddenly asked, bringing Jisung back into the moment.

Damn, how did he know?  “For the most part.”

“At least you didn’t deny it.”

“It would be stupid to.”

Jisung brushed the moment aside. Minho was too observant for is own good, so escaping today was going to be impossible and idiotic. But, maybe he could swipe a weapon, or something to assist in a later escape.

A short time later, the limo stopped to get Seungmin, and continued deeper into the city.

Seungmin handed a black folder to Minho. “This is what you meant, right?”

“It is. What would I do without you, Seungmin?”

“Fall apart and then burn the world down until you run out of fuel.”

Jisung glanced at the folder as Minho flipped it open and shuffled through the papers inside. The lettering was much too small for him to read easily, but he was still curious. His mind was spy oriented, and he couldn’t help his urge to gather information.

Seungmin suddenly pointed at him. “Should he know this stuff?”

Minho shrugged without looking up. “What’s he gonna do with it?”

Jisung wasn’t sure if he should feel offended by that or not. On one hand, he was glad Minho wasn’t worried about it, while on the other hand he was insulted that Minho thought he couldn’t do anything with it. “Do you have that much to hide?”

Minho smirked. “Always.”

“Sounds about right.” Jisung suddenly shot forward, his eyes landing on one line at the top of the sheet Minho was looking at. “The Assembly is today?”

Minho at least had the audacity to wince. “Uh, yeah, did I fail to mention that?”

Jisung restrained himself from punching the mafia don next to him. Once a year every mafia group gathered for what they called The Assembly. It was a time for new alliances to be made, deals to be brokered, and territories to be adjusted. Sometimes groups were disbanded, sometimes new ones were approved. It was the only day the mafia avoided being… criminal. The Assembly was held at a resort under the pretense of business men and CEOs having a yearly meeting, but Jisung knew for a fact law enforcement knew about it and ignored it. Wisely. 

In a general sense, Jisung always hated attending the Assembly, but as of right now, he didn’t want to attend for the sole reason of potentially running into Nightfield.

Jisung pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is it too late to turn the car around?”

Seungmin laughed. “Yeah, it’s way too late, buddy.”

“Seungmin,” Minho warned.

He held his hands up in surrender.

Jisung glared at Minho. “If I run into Nightfield-“

“I’ll make sure they don’t cause any problems.”

They’re not the only ones I’m worried about. Jisung leaned back, breathing frustration out of his nose. He couldn’t bring himself to hate his former team, but the betrayal of them sending him away was still a fresh wound. He was also worried about how Chan and the others would react to seeing him under Minho’s chains even after the trouble of sending him away. Minho attacked them not long after, so would they hate Jisung because of it?

Minho poked his shoulder. “Stop stewing, you’re fogging up the windows.”

Jisung scooted away a few more inches. “You realize you’re the reason I’m stewing, right?”

“I do, but there’s not much I can do about it now.”

“I swear-“

“Jisung, it’ll be fine.”

“It’s not like Nightfield can do anything anyway, Seungmin helpfully butted in. “Unless they want the entire mafia turning against them, they’ll have to be good.”

Minho briefly glared at his underboss before turning back to his papers. “Not helping.”

“I’m always helping.”

Jisung turned his gaze to his shoes, letting his mind wander off again. The first thing he thought of was the night he first encountered Minho. That night Lee Minho was nothing more than a crazy, rogue mafia boss. The revelations from last night showed otherwise. Lee Minho came from a highly confidential organization, one he wasn’t a part of willingly. He was a soldier, a machine. And sitting next to him now was a secretive man that knew a lot more than he let on. One question circled his mind. How truly powerful was Lee Minho?

⧫⧫⧫

It was a strangely powerful feeling walking into the Assembly beside Minho, flanked by four men and closely followed by Seungmin. Guards chosen from every organization lined the corridor just outside the ballroom of the resort, watching for anything out of order as mafia dons of all ranks entered. Jisung recognized a few of the guards from Nightfield, and he promptly ignored their narrowed gazes.

Jisung knew how this looked to everyone around them; he had sided with Lee Minho and was flaunting it. He nearly wished he looked like the prisoner he was, if only to prove his loyalty. He wasn’t a coward that sided with the strongest contender.

Tang Ae Cha, a mafia don who recently rose through the ranks, was the first to approach them. A smirk sat on her red painted lips as she extended a black gloved hand toward Minho. “I’m a bit surprised to see you here, Mr. Lee.”

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Minho responded, shaking her hand.

“I’ll admit that I wasn’t sure if you’d be all that welcome. You’ve caused some turmoil in the past year.”

Minho tucked his hands into his pockets. “A little turmoil makes things interesting, don’t you think?”

“Speaking of,” Ae Cha’s eyes flickered over Jisung, “I see you brought a toy. How did you snag his leash?”

Jisung was about to remind her of the fact he killed on of her officers and would gladly do it again, but Minho spoke first.

“Use caution with your words, Miss Tang.” His demeanor was casual, but his voice was low and threatening.

Did I just find that attractive?

Ae Cha wisely took the hint. Her only sign of disdain was a short sniff. “Good day, Mr. Lee.” Her henchmen eyed them as they followed their leader away.

Seungmin sidled up to Minho. “What happened to playing nice?”

“I’ll be civil as long as they’re civil to me.”

“She didn’t do anything.”

“She did.” Minho kept walking, ending the discussion there. “Jisung.”

Jisung caught up, still trying to register what just happened. “What now?”

“Don’t step more than three feet from me, understand?” Minho’s voice was low, making sure Jisung was the only one that could hear him.

Jisung was usually ready to argue with him on everything, but something about Minho’s body language and tone made him shut his mouth. “Okay,” he whispered.

Minho gave a short nod. “Good.”

Jisung trailed along Minho’s side as he roamed through the ballroom, greeting a few people here and there. He always hated this part of the Assembly. The social setting was… strained, to say the least. 

As they walked, Jisung couldn’t help scanning the room around him, searching for a glimpse of Chan, Changbin, or Felix. He wanted to avoid them, but at the same time… he didn’t. They were his family for five years, he couldn’t stop himself from missing them.

As Minho spoke with some old, wrinkled don, Jisung’s attention was abruptly pulled away as he finally caught sight of Nightfield. His gut twisted as he saw Dong-Min, a low ranked informant, standing in what used to be his place at Chan’s left. They replaced Jisung with him? Did he really mean so little to them?

“Han Jisung.”

He snapped to attention at the sound of his name. The pile of wrinkles Minho was talking to was now looking at him.

“How did you come to work with Mr. Lee?”

Jisung fished for words, but thankfully, Minho saved him. 

“It’s a bit complicated. You know how it is sometimes, right?”

The old man laughed. “Yes, I know what you mean. Half my men showed up in some strange circumstances.”

Minho dipped his head. “Indeed, it’s an interesting world.”

Jisung inwardly cringed. Minho was good at sucking up to these powerful dons. It made him wonder what he was up to, as he’d only spoken with the seasoned, well known leaders so far. He only made small talk with them, but it all seemed very purposeful.

Thankfully, the conversation didn’t last much longer, and Minho moved on, skirting along the edge of the ballroom. Jisung’s blood sparked as his eyes landed on Nightfield again. They were all looking at him. Shit.

Minho noticed them at the same time. And he smiled. “Looks like they know where you are now.” He waved at them like a mother waving at her children across the street.

Jisung’s eyes widened. “What the hell are you doing?” he hissed, pushing Minho’s arm down.

“I’m being friendly. That’s the point of the Assembly, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I’m sure we’re all going to be great friends after you attacked their base and stole one of their members.“

“You were no longer a member,” Minho pointed out, unbothered. “They have no claim over you, Jisung, they can’t do anything about it. Especially not today.”

“You really don’t understand what I’m getting at here.”

Minho met his eyes briefly and then shook his head. “If they dare think you betrayed them to join me, they betrayed you first. They have no right to be upset about anything.”

But they do, Look at me, I’m dressed up nicely and glued to your side like a new favorite pet.

Jisung couldn’t bring himself to look back at Nightfield. “It doesn’t matter, I hate seeing them here in this… circumstance.”

“They aren’t approaching, and I don’t think they will.” Minho sounded much too happy about that fact.

“Sir, you’ve got three more to talk to,” Seungmin suddenly murmured in Minho’s ear. “The first meeting is set to start soon.”

Minho nodded and then glanced at Jisung. “Stay close.”

Jisung bit down the sass that threatened to break free and silently followed like an obedient prisoner.

Minho approached and older woman with wrinkles stretching over her thin face and a frown locked into her lips. Her dark, graying hair was pulled back so tightly it nearly looked painful. Jisung didn’t know who she was, which was a little odd, but something about her felt familiar. Was she just a boss he’d forgotten about?

“I’m glad to see you here,” Minho greeted, tipping his head. His demeanor was colder than it was with the others he’d met today, which caught Jisung’s attention.

The woman only pursed her lips. “I’m still wondering if this is really worth my time.”

“I assure you it will be, as long as you’re patient.”

Her eyes landed on Jisung, and ice shot down his spine as her sharp gaze pierced through his soul. “Why is that here?”

“He is none of your concern,” Minho snapped. “You’ll get what you came for.”

“You’re taking quite the risk having him out and about like this,” the woman responded, uncaring.

“That’s for me to worry about.”

She shrugged. “I won’t help you if he causes you trouble. I’m only putting that out there.”

Minho rolled out the obvious tension in his shoulders. “That’s fine. You remember your instructions?”

“I do. Now leave me be, unless you want me to back out already.”

“We’ll keep in touch.” Minho moved on stiffly.

Jisung fought with himself, wanting to question Minho despite knowing this wasn’t the time or the place for it. He quickly lost the battle. “Want to explain what that was about? Who is she?” he blurted, keeping his voice low.

“She’s not our best friend, but she’s an ally… for the most part,” Minho brushed it off. “We have a few more people to greet, but it shouldn’t take long.”

I shouldn’t be surprised. Jisung suddenly felt someone grab the sleeve of his suit, tugging him to the side. His breath left his lungs too fast as he came face to face with Changbin. “Changbin?”

“You’re alive!” Changbin breathed out, his eyes roaming Jisung’s face. “You’re alive and… in one piece.”

Jisung wanted to hug him and tell him everything, but the sting of betrayal came to the front of his mind. “Yeah, no thanks to Nightfield.”

Changbin’s head drooped. “Jisung, you have no idea how much I fought to keep you around. Chan actually had the gall to lock me up for a few days, can you believe that? And then I couldn’t even find you after he let me go!”

“You… looked for me?”

“Of course I did, dummy! What kind of a best friend would I be if I didn’t?”

Jisung’s eyes narrowed. “The kind that lets their team kick their best friend out?”

Changbin shook his head. “I had no control over that, I’m just one guy on the team. But even then, that’s just an excuse. I’m sorry, Jisung. I could’ve protected you. I should have protected you.”

A small amount of relief danced through Jisung’s body, and he softened. “It’s okay, Changbin. You couldn’t have prevented this anyway. This whole thing is bigger than us.”

“Are you okay? Has Minho done anything to you? Do I need to kill him after the Assembly?”

Jisung gently pushed Changbin’s raised hands down. “No, I’m okay Binnie, really. I’m pissed off and stuck, but I’m okay.”

Changbin murmured a ‘thank heaven and hell’ and then straightened up. “Let me help you escape. It’s the least I could do now that I’ve found you.”

“I don’t think that’s pos-” Jisung was cut short as a hand clamped onto his shoulder, pulling him back abruptly.

Seungmin stood firmly between them, his hand pushing Jisung back. “Sorry to break this up, but I’m afraid things will get messy if my boss sees this happening,” he warned, his eyes burning into Changbin. “You have no business with him.”

Changbin’s glare was made to kill. “I don’t care about your boss.”

“Doesn’t matter, he’ll squeeze the life out of you with his bare hands if I don’t do it first.”

Jisung tried stepping forward. “Seungmin-“

Seungmin’s cold gaze snapped to him. “Get back to Minho.”

Jisung became aware of the attention they were drawing, and knew it was best to back down. He gave Changbin a small signal, telling him just that.

Changbin understood and backed up. “Thanks for the pleasant chat.” He disappeared through the crowd.

Seungmin pushed Jisung forward. “What were you thinking?”

“He approached me, not the other way around,” Jisung argued, shrugging the other man’s hand off.

“Just be glad I saw you before Minho did. He’s over this way.”

Fortunately, Minho was engrossed in a conversation with Gwan Ji-U, and Jisung’s missing presence went unnoticed.

After one more conversation, Minho had just enough time to give Seungmin instructions for his meeting with the other underbosses before the first meeting began.

Jisung was grateful to sit out the first meeting, as it only involved the dons, but it wasn’t a very pleasant time as Minho’s brutes watched his every move. He wanted to ask if they really thought he was stupid enough to escape today, but he preferred not talking at all. Instead, he passed the time with making up escape scenarios. It made him feel a little better.

After a brief luncheon with more agonizing socialization, the Assembly gathered together in the ballroom. Goldspear was a small mafia group that’d broken several mafia laws, so the first part of the meeting was a short trial that resulted in the execution of Goldspear’s don and underboss. The rest of them had their left thumbs chopped off. After that, more laws were proposed and voted on. Some were changed or completely eradicated.

Jisung was half asleep for most of it, as he always was, but he managed to pay attention to the important parts. Two mafia families were combined into one, which was now known as Madsins. They would no doubt rise through the ranks quickly, which he found mildly interesting.

Nightfield requested to have their territory expanded, they were allotted a five mile radius increase, which was more than Jisung expected they would get. Solswor made an alliance with Iregray, the Thrills settled a territory dispute with Iron Crown. This was a fairly standard Assembly.

That is, until Minho stepped forward. Seungmin flanked Minho’s right as they stood before the Assembly, the folder Minho had been looking over earlier open in his hands. Tension stretched through the ballroom like a rubber-band ready to snap. 

Lee Minho wasn’t a favorite among the mafia. His group was small and nameless but extremely powerful, and no one really knew how he rose to gain such power. He wasn’t the best at following the code of conduct either, and he’d caused trouble for plenty of organizations.

Jisung clenched his hands, nervous for unknown reasons. What was he planning?

“There’s no need to fret, my dear Assembly,” Minho began in that casual way of his, “I’m not here to condemn you. At least, not today.”

They don’t find you funny, Minho.

“As I’m sure you’re all aware, something, or should I say, someone, has been infiltrating our world, threatening our lives and the lives of our members as we know it. The way of the mafia is under attack.”

“Aren’t you the one threatening our ways?” Chwa Ji-Tae questioned, others nodding along with him.

Minho smiled. “As much as I would like to take credit, no, I’m not. In this case, I’m the least of your concerns.” Jisung doubted that. “Let me turn your attention to the past few months. Have any of you had a mission fail for unknown reasons? Have you lost men and money to a shadowed ghost?”

The crowd stirred. Jisung tried catching the whispers shared between leaders and their members, but to no avail. He remembered the night he met Minho, the unexplained explosions that shook the hotel and their mission. Apparently they weren’t the only ones to face failure in the face of some unknown force.

“I’ll take that as a collective yes.” Minho nodded to Seungmin.

Seungmin stepped forward. “We have a lead on who is behind this chaos, we have for some time, but our research has been delayed. In order to continue, we need access to information. Yours.” Unease and anger rippled through the room in small waves. “We can take it by force, but we’d rather go about this civilly.”

Jisung lightly smacked his forehead. What on Earth was Minho thinking?

A chair screeched on the floor as someone in Nightfield stood. “You’ll always take by force!” Dong-Min the idiot accused. “The proof is sitting right there!” His stubby finger was pointed right at Jisung.

Damn it, Dong-Min!

Chan tried pulling him down, but Dong-Min shook his leader’s arm away. “This whole thing is bullshit!”

Jisung shook his head. You’re no longer going to be in Nightfield, dumbass.

Minho was unfazed, and he spoke calmly. “The only reason Nightfield is still standing is because I stepped in and took necessary action. Your former member, whom you kicked to the curb, has nothing to do with that. If you wish to keep your tongue, I advise you to sit down.”

Chan shoved the idiot down and stood, bowing his head. “I apologize on behalf of Nightfield, and I’ll punish my subordinate accordingly.” His gaze briefly landed on Jisung before he sat back down.

The air was thick and clouded with confusion, unease, and anger, whispers and hisses slithered through the room and crawled under skin. Jisung wished to turn into a pile of ash. This was far from being a normal Assembly and he felt like he was at the center of it.

A sharp whistle pierced the heavy atmosphere, bringing silence back to the room.

Minho smiled. “Thank you, Seungmin.” He faced the Assembly again. “I’ll answer the question you’re all clearly pondering; yes, I did keep Nightfield from falling into ruin. With the delicate situation, I cannot share any details, nor will I any time soon. But if you wish to keep your organizations together, it would be in your best interest to listen to what I have to say.”

“And how do you know about any of this? How are you able to stop this chaos if you aren’t the cause of it?” someone Jisung didn’t know asked.

“He isn’t the cause of it.” All eyes turned to the new voice. The woman with the tight hair and stern face Minho spoke to earlier was standing near the back of the room, a cigarette in her hand. “Here I thought I was standing among the strongest and fiercest criminals in the world, but if you’re so threatened by one man telling you dangerous things, you’re all fools.”

Another had spoken on his behalf. That changed things.

Minho scanned the crowd, his body relaxed but his demeanor intimidating. This was a tactic to get others to listen to him. The world held its breath for a long moment before he spoke again. “If I wished for the downfall of the mafia, I would do so without saying a word. I stand before you today to ask for your cooperation as a whole. I will meet with each of you individually as the need arises if you grant me this.”

Jisung’s neck burned with someone’s gaze and his eyes caught onto Chan’s. His eyes were soft and open, as they used to be before Jisung left, and they held a question: do we listen to Lee Minho?

Jisung couldn’t fully explain it, but he trusted Minho knew what he was doing. Eyes still on Chan’s, he gave his answer, nodding.

Chan whispered something to Changbin and Felix and then stood. “Nightfield consents.”

Once again, the room stirred. Another moment ticked by. Another stood. “The Sisters of Silence consent.”

Each leader Minho had spoken to at the beginning stood one at a time, agreeing to Minho’s proposition. After that, nearly every other leader stood and granted permission.

Jisung watched Minho in amazement as the Assembly slowly sided with him. If he wasn’t powerful before, Lee Minho now had the entirety of the mafia on a thin leash.

————————— And another one down. This one was quite plot heavy (well duh, but you know what I mean lol). Do not worry, we’ll get plenty of Minsung going on here shortly. Who cares about an intricate plot when you’ve got romance?? Anyway, hope you enjoyed. Things will be less boring from here :). Thanks for reading ^–^