Finding Safe Haven ? &Team Nicholas

"Even in the darkest times, when everything seems lost, remember that it's not the deeds of the past that define us but the choices we make now. We're not beyond redemption; we just need to choose to fight for it." - Nicholas

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When the chopper came to a halt and the engine fell silent, Nicholas was engulfed by an unsettling quiet. The only sound was the relentless rush of blood in his ears.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to calm his frantic breathing, but even in the darkness, Taki’s desperate, tearful face haunted him. For a long, tense moment, neither Ni-ki nor Hanbin spoke. The silence was finally broken by Jhope’s voice as he emerged from the chopper.

“Come on, step out, boys! Our little plump boss is waiting inside,” he called, his tone masking an edge of urgency.

Nicholas forced himself upright and peered at their surroundings. They were at the entrance of a vast warehouse, dwarfing even an airplane hangar, enclosed by a rusty chain-link fence. It looked like the setting for a gritty, dystopian film, the kind often associated with rebels and the underground.

“What’s really inside there?” Ni-ki asked, voice tinged with skepticism. “Is it true that Mr. Bang has a hundred tanks?”

Jhope grinned, glancing upward as if for inspiration, then looked back at Niki. “It’s a bit of an exaggeration, but yes, we do have tanks. Hundreds, though? That’s a bit much for one place.”

Nicholas climbed out and joined Hanbin, who was fixated on the massive doors of the warehouse. The small entrance was ajar, revealing shadows of people waiting inside.

“Do you think we’ll be safe here?” Hanbin asked, his voice laced with unease.

“I hope so,” Nicholas sighed, relieved to see no hint of doubt in Hanbin’s eyes. “If they went through all this trouble to rescue us, they better not be planning to shoot us here. That would be madness, even for them.”

Jhope waved them forward, and they followed him through the door, which clicked shut behind them. The warehouse’s interior was bathed in harsh, fluorescent light, revealing a hive of activity. The place reeked of a mix of chemicals and metal. It was a hybrid of a laboratory and a workshop, with equipment scattered everywhere: chemistry sets, computers, servers, weapons.

Men dismantled a bazooka, teenagers delivered ammo, and others patrolled with submachine guns.

Jhope led them through the chaotic scene, humming a cheerful tune. Nicholas, Ni-ki, and Hanbin were wide-eyed, absorbing the frenetic energy of the room filled with survival gear: weapons, bombs, stacks of canned goods, jugs of water, and barrels of kerosene.

Jhope guided them up metal stairs, sunlight barely piercing through grimy windows, and onto a platform lined with makeshift bedrooms. They proceeded down a narrow, flickering hallway to a room that had once been a conference area, now cluttered with plastic chairs and a long table.

Three men sat at the table. The first had tattoos and a messy bun, obscuring his eyes behind a veil of bangs. The second was pale and squinted at them through small eyes. The third had a kind, reassuring smile.

“Who are they?” the smiling man asked Jhope, his voice filled with genuine curiosity. “Are they friends of Jungwon and Hara?”