Nowhere is Safe | Pt. 9 Traps

[owned_by_a_cat]

Title: Nowhere is Safe
Pairing: JaeMin / MinJae
Rating: NC-17
Genre: AU, Suspense, Romance, Army!fic
Summary: Invisible up close, able to kill from a long way away… when an elite sniper operates in your neighbourhood nowhere is safe. To Major Kim Jaejoong, being a sniper is more than a job. It's a mindset he needs when the people around him fall prey to a shooter with a high-powered rifle and his new partner, Captain Shim Changmin from Army Intelligence, turns out to be as much a distraction as he is a help. Undeniably both smart and gorgeous, the man has issues. And an attitude. And he's about as subtle as mortar fire in showing his dislike of Jaejoong.
Thrown together by the crisis, both Jaejoong and Changmin struggle to reconcile mutual dislike and mutual attraction. But when events escalate and the stakes get higher, they must put their attraction and differences aside and work together.

Under Attack || Return to Base || Pissed and Pissed Off || Do Over || Attempts at Apologies || Discoveries || Close to Home || Backfoot ||

Traps

Jaejoong leaned against the garage wall, mind blank, breath gone and knees rubbery from the unexpected, and shockingly passionate attack. Ever since the day he'd returned from his patrol to find the base under attack, Changmin had been a thorn in his side and the mix of attraction, resentment and frustration had been hard to contain at times.

And now, finally, Jaejoong realised why.

A furious Changmin was a sight to behold. That much was true. But he was also something unexpectedly vibrant and alive. Something worlds away from the semi-detached life of lonely patrols and only slightly less lonely downtimes that Jaejoong led. Jaejoong had played on it a little if he was honest with himself. He'd enjoyed riling Changmin, simply to bask in his temper as if it was a rain of glitter.

This, though… this combination of fear, force and fury was something else.

Combustible. That's what it was. Combustible and incendiary, because it had taken maybe two heartbeats to set Jaejoong's blood alight and his body on fire.

He licked his lips, tasting parade ground dust and sweat and Changmin. The memory of that forceful, angry kiss hovered close and the shiver that raced down his spine was entirely inappropriate to the conversation they were having. However one-sided it currently was.

"What the fuck do you think you're going to achieve, rushing out at the drop of a hat?" Changmin riled at him. He stalked the transport bay, graceful and lethal like an angry tiger, though there was nothing graceful about his rant. "He can see you leave the base, idiot. You said so yourself. So running out there is not the way to get to him. Neither is getting yourself fucking shot!"

Changmin wasn't hiding his apprehension, nor could Jaejoong overlook the remnants of fear that tightened the younger man's shoulders and painted colour into his high cheekbones. Shim Changmin had been worried for Jaejoong. Far more than he'd feared for himself.

What had happened to the man who'd resented him? Who blamed Jaejoong for ruining his brother's life? When had all the openly shown disgust turned into something that looked like Changmin cared whether Jaejoong lived or died?

The need to grab the nearest wheels and go after the shooter died a death under Changmin's fierce glare. All of a sudden, understanding what was changing between them, listening to Changmin plan and ask questions in return became far more important.

"So tell me the best way to get to him, then." Jaejoong pushed away from the wall and grabbed Changmin's elbow, dragging him towards the transport bay's exit and towards their quarters. "You seem to have planned it all out. So why don't we sit down and you explain it to me?"

To his surprise, he didn't have to argue. Much. Changmin fell into step beside him, following where Jaejoong led. The angry tirade died away and nothing was left to tell of the unexpected encounter than a flush in their cheeks and lips swollen from an angry kiss.

***

"We need to make the hunt proactive," Changmin said seriously from his corner on Jaejoong's wide couch. He'd blinked a little when Jae had led him to their quarters, seemingly forgetting that their office was a pile of water-drenched ash and smoldering plastic. "We react every time there's an attack, but that's all we do. It's not good enough to catch him. We need to get the jump on him, get a step ahead. Make him react to our actions."

"Agreed." Jaejoong couldn't explain it, but he liked seeing the younger man in his quarters. The high cheekbones and long legs seemed to add to the decor, making the room feel brighter… somehow more lived in. Now, if he could get the stubborn man to actually look at him… "But how are you planning to get the jump on him when you even dispute that he's targeting the solo squad?"

That brought the dark head around as Jaejoong had known it would. And there was the glare he had grown used to, though the defiant snarl was absent. Instead, Changmin took a deep breath, relaxed his tight shoulders and started to explain.

"I'm not disputing it. There's a distinct possibility that he is after the solo squad. What I have a problem with is you making assumptions and jumping to conclusions based on those assumptions. You're fixating on one possible target, when the data could just as easily fit others. That's a dangerous way to go."

"Don't you ever act on instinct alone?" Jae had long been curious about that. He'd checked his colonel's assertions and Captain Shim's reputation as an intelligence officer wasn't a smoke screen. He didn't just have the highest clear up rate in the army. He topped the rankings in damn near all the security services. And he was fast about it, too. So fast, at times, that it couldn't all be down to data and logical progressions unless the man had a brain like a chess champion. Intuition had to play into the equation on some level, though Changmin seemed so controlled and rational that it seemed unlikely… until Jaejoong had found himself pinned to a wall and at the receiving end of one seriously hot kiss.

"Not… alone… maybe." The answer was hesitant and that in itself was fascinating. "I do play hunches and yes, sometimes I react intuitively, but I try and back up my choices with solid evidence more often than not." The dark gaze dropped away from Jaejoong's face once more, focussed on the books and pictures that lined Jaejoong's wall. "The profile I've built up for the shooter says that he's methodical, but maybe a little careless, emotional perhaps. So logically, staking out the area around that roof should bring results."

"But?" Nine times out of ten, Jaejoong worked on instinct. He supposed that his mind did the same loops and calculations Changmin's did, he just wasn't aware of it. Listening to Changmin follow a line of reasoning was fascinating. Watching the man's tongue sneak out to wet the full lips made him think of things other than hunting rogue snipers.

"But my gut says that a stakeout would fail. That he's expecting exactly that course of action."

"And that annoys you?"

"Of course," Changmin's temper heated. His voice picked up in volume and venom, both. "He's fucking playing games!" he snapped. "It won't change the outcome. All it does is waste time and cost lives."

Jaejoong just held back his laughter. Now he was getting somewhere and the glimpse into the mind of the famed ice prince was… riveting. "Try telling him that," he teased. "Maybe he'll present himself with his hands up."

"He won't."

Changmin was so focussed, he didn't hear the smile in Jaejoong's voice, nor did he get the joke. He was so busy reasoning his way into a sniper's mind that Jaejoong dared to use his distraction to narrow the gap between them, shifting on the soft leather of the sofa.

"Our best chance to apprehend him is a trap. We need to lure him with a bait he craves. In a way he doesn't anticipate."

Only a very small part of Jaejoong's mind kept track of their conversation. The rest of him remembered the heat of Changmin's body against his, the passion and fire in the unexpected kiss. And wanted more. It was useful, then, that he was used to divide his attention, so even distracted he caught the strange tone in Changmin's voice. "The idea doesn't appeal to you," he offered softly.

"No. Traps are dangerous," Changmin bit out. "Trapping a gamer… because it's impossible to fully reason out his motivation… or gauge his level of engagement…there are always casualties."

Ah.

Jaejoong wouldn't have gotten to his current rank had he been slow. Or stupid. He heard what Changmin didn't say… heard the pain in Changmin's voice…and regretted some of the insults he'd thrown the younger man's way when they met. Making assumptions? Check. Jumping to conclusions based on those assumptions? Also check.

And he'd really have to do something about that. After he'd roused Changmin from his abstraction.

"The intervals between the attacks are getting shorter. That's worrying," Changmin fretted, sorting through the tangle of data they'd collected. "At first, he targeted just members of the solo squad, now he's much less discriminating. Today's attack… had far too many casualties." Min rubbed his tired eyes. "It worries me. His mental state isn't stable. With a gamer… that's… When he doesn't achieve his objective in the ways he's planned, he might very well move on to target civilians and— What are you doing?"

Jae only just didn't roll his eyes. He would have thought that it was obvious what he'd been doing. Distracted by Changmin and the memory of that angry, anxious kiss, he'd been listening with only half an ear, while the rest of his mind had been strategising. While Changmin talked, and outlined, and reasoned, Jae slid closer and closer on the sofa, until he had the intelligence specialist trapped against the arm of the couch, close enough to touch and kiss.

Was it a testament to Jaejoong's stealth skills or the level of Changmin's absorption in their problem that Jaejoong's strategy had succeeded? And did it really matter?

Changmin's eyes widened when Jaejoong cupped his face. Heat rushed under his skin, painting the high cheekbones a colour Jaejoong was desperate to taste. A tiny gasp opened the full lips and Jae bent to accept the invitation.

Without the sear of anger, Changmin tasted of heat and sweetness, a gentle spice that Jaejoong knew he could grow addicted to. He slid his hand around to the back of Changmin's neck, delighted by the soft skin he found and the tiny growl the drew from the back of Changmin's throat.

Min's surprise didn't last. Jaejoong felt hands settle on his hips, felt Changmin's lips open wider and passion heated the air around them until Jae moaned his appreciation at the flood of sensations. His body was starved for touch that promised pleasure and not pain, hungered for the feeling of warm, soft skin against his.

He let Changmin control their kiss and switched his attention to the younger man's clothes. Just like his own they were dusty, spattered with blood and specks of extinguisher foam and mud. They needed to come off. Now.

Changmin didn't argue.

The kiss turned hotter, hungrier and Jaejoong grew lightheaded from lack of air. He didn't draw away, though. Air was a secondary consideration when compared to the lure of bare skin.

Changmin's mouth slipped to his throat and Jae gasped in oxygen and redoubled his efforts to remove Changmin's clothes. His hands worked from memory, undoing buttons and buckles and yanking fabric from waistbands. It left his eyes free to feast on the graceful arc of Changmin's neck, the delicate line of an ear and… something shiny.

Dog tags weren't shiny. Jaejoong dismissed those, focussed instead of the object that caught the light with every single one of Changmin's rapid breaths.

"What the fuck!"

The sharp push sent them sliding on the leather, sent Jaejoong almost backwards off the couch. He stared in shock at the ginko leaf charm that nestled in the hollow of Changmin's throat. One that looked identical to the one he had picked up from a roof not too many days ago.

Connecting the dots was easy.

And painful.

"You fucking son of a bitch!" Jaejoong was ready to commit murder. "When were you going to tell me? When were you going to tell anyone?" He stood over Changmin, fists clenched, and watched the lust haze slowly clear from the man's expressive eyes. His body thrummed with need, and burned with betrayal, and before he could do anything he'd regret later… beat Changmin to a pulp or grab him and fuck him into the couch without so much as a by your leave… he backed away.

***

The sound of the door slamming behind Jaejoong cut through Changmin like a knife. It pierced the fog of lust and arousal and left him shivering and empty. Jaejoong had felt so good, so right against him that for just a tiny moment he'd allowed himself to hope for something he'd not realised he missed. Now that tiny moment was gone, lost in anger once more. Through his fault this time.

He didn't think that Jaejoong would give him the time to hear his explanation. That anyone would give him a chance to fix his error in judgement. Despite his best intentions he'd screwed up. And in the process had stamped out the first tiny sparks of something warm and enticing he had found himself craving with an intensity that surprised him. Changmin reached for his discarded shirt and made himself as presentable as possible, given the state he was in.

He'd screwed up. He'd better face the consequences. He wasn't likely to ever see Jaejoong again and he accepted that. The thought hurt, but a solitary tear leaving a silver track down his cheek was the only sign of how much.

Part 10: Confession