5 An Inch Closer

"Devil! Evil! Inhuman monster!" Westly's hollering voice could be heard as Jian slowly ascended the stairs. Jian closed his eyes, the wrinkles forming between his brows as he tried to tune the barking that was incessantly bothering him. The more the mob boss tried to ignore it, however, the more it seemed to echo in his mind. On loudspeaker.

"Jerk! Monster! SATAN!" Westly shouted out, finally managing to somehow roll over so that he was on his back. The unconscious body of the henchmen not too far away. He was beyond pissed. How could Jian just leave him like that!? Didn't the man have an ounce of humanity? A crumb? After all they'd been through? "Stupid asshole…look at me, I'm Jian. I'm so cool cause I can break a stupid chair and zip ties. I'm just sooo amazing~" Westly mocked, not expecting anyone to hear him.

"Ahem…" Jian coughed to get his attention. It sure worked, since the other jumped out (as much as he could be tied to the chair) at the sound of his voice. Jian cocked a brow, arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame.

"I, uh, was talking about another Jian?" Westly sheepishly grinned. Jian let out a snort, walking towards the other. "Y-yah, Jian, violence isn't the answer, okay?" Westly clenched his eyes shut, preparing for the mob boss to smack him on the head or hit him with the butt of the gun. "If you assault a police officer, you'll at least get a few years in pr-" A small plastic plop shut Westly up. He opened one eye, turning his wrist and wiggling his fingers to find that his restraints were broken. He quickly sprawled off the floor as Jian quietly stood up from beside him.

"What do you say?"

"Thank you…" Westly mumbled under his breath, his eyes diverted from Jian.

"I didn't seem to hear you." A coy smirk grew on Jian's face.

"THANK YOU!" Westly huffed, his cheeks a shade of soft pink.

"Good puppy." Jian ruffled Westly's hair, the other frowning and gripping his precious head after Jian had ruined his hair. Not that being covered in dust and some bruises was his peak look anyways, but still.

The two began to ascend the stairs once more, keeping silent in the case there were any guards that were nearby. Their backs pressed against the wall as they tentatively took each step. Jian held the gun firm in his grip, keeping it up in the case he needed to fire. The chances were very high. Westly, for once, quietly followed, his eyes trailing around their surroundings. Once they reached the top of the stairs, Jian took a small peek to see that no guards were nearby. Strange. It would make sense then why no guards came running down after Westly's screaming.

"Where are the guards? Did they just ditch us?" Westly snuck a peek as well. Jian shot a glare at the other, Westly taking that as a sign to shut up. Westly pressed his lips together, bringing one of his hands across in a zipper motion.

The first floor of the factory was fuller than the two expected for an abandoned factory. The large space had several steel crates that were practically brand new. Jian could guess what merchandise filled those crates. After all, the Yamadachi's were one of the biggest human trafficking and club drug groups in the area. Jian's face couldn't help but twist in disgust. He was all too familiar with those in that field, disgusting pigs who treated human life as a toy. Not that he had any right to act all righteous. But he had seen it all too often in the slums. The first thing Zemin had done when he became the boss was to completely break off from the human trafficking business, removing all such activities from Ouroboros's sector of the slums. When Zemin began encroaching the same policy on other sectors of the slum, well, the other mob bosses did not take it too well. Zemin had more enemies both within and outside the group than friends. His older brother hadn't given a damn. When he took over Ouroboros, he only had one goal in mind and that was reform.

"Jian…" Westly tugged onto the sleeve of Jian's dress shirt, pulling the other's attention back to the situation at hand.

"What?"

"Don't you think I should have a weapon too?"

"Hah?" Jian looked back at Westly incredulously.

"What? It's not fair that you have a gun and I have what? My fist?" Westly whispered argued, bringing up his fist to emphasize his point. "As strong and as capable as I am, if it's me against a gun, I'm pretty sure the gun is gonna win."

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Why don't you give me the gun that way I can protect you and myself." Westly stuck his hand out towards Jian.

"No." Jian gave Westly a blank stare. The words 'Are you stupid?' not needing to be verbalized.

"Hey! I'm a police detective! I've been trained and licensed to carry a firearm! Technically, you're just a civilian." Westly whispered argued.

"Technically, I'm a mob boss so by convention, I don't listen to cops." Jian rolled his eyes.

"Stingy…" Westly grumbled, a disgruntled pout on his lips.

"Boss looked like he was about to pass out. Damn, I've never seen him high-tail out of here so fast." Some of the Yamadachi guards returned to the factory after escorting their boss to his armored vehicle. Jian instinctively placed his hand over Westly's mouth, his gut telling him that if he didn't the officer would have blurted something. Westly brows furrowed at the insinuation, side-eyeing Jian who was too engrossed in monitoring the guards to notice.

"Who is this supplier the boss is working with anyways? I've never seen their face before and Boss never speaks about him. I'm starting to think he's imaginary." One of the guards scoffed. Jian turned his attention back on Westly, signaling with his eyes to quickly move behind one of the crates. They needed to get closer to the exit and huddling near the staircase was not helping their cause. Westly nodded in understanding since Jian still covered his mouth.

Jian kept himself low to the ground as he swiftly moved to the nearest steel crate, Westly following suit behind him. The two let out a small breath of relief before Jian took peek around the corner of the crate. The guards were still too immersed talking, staying relatively close to the exit. Jian scowled. They had one gun against six. No matter how skilled Jian was, he wouldn't come out of this situation unscathed if he went in guns blazing.

"Aye, should we go check on Hiro? Didn't we send him to go check on that noise ages ago?" One of the guards suggested, enough to get the group of bodyguards to begin trotting towards the staircase in the back of the factory.

"Pfft, knowing him, he probably took a nap after beating the snot out of them for making noise." One of them snorted.

"Shame. That Jian is quite a looker." One of the guards whistled.

"Didn't know you rolled that way." The guard nudged the other playfully.

"I don't, but like with a face like his. Wouldn't it be fun to see him squirm under you? Plus I heard he goes for both." The guard snickered.

Jian couldn't help but feel bile form in his stomach. The thought of one of them touching him sent an itch throughout his body that could only be soothed with his fist meeting their face. When he was younger, there were many a fool that had tried to take advantage of him. Treat him like a piece of meat or a toy that they could control. They all ended up in the ER the next day. His anger wasn't as subtle as he had thought because he suddenly felt a small squeeze on his arm that held the gun. Jian sharply turned to see Westly look at him with slightly sympathetic eyes. Jian stared at the gripping hand in confusion, not knowing exactly how to respond.

Westly merely stared at Jian, hoping to calm the man that had unconsciously begun trembling with anger. Westly wasn't ignorant to deny that Jian was good-looking, and being in a business where being good-looking and young led to others taking certain interest in you, Westly had an inkling of what Jian must have faced. Even if the other was a mob boss, Jian didn't deserve to have people even joke about forcing themselves on him. His sexual orientation definitely not a justification for such advances. Westly wasn't even fully aware himself why he had reached out and gripped the other man, he just did.

Jian pulled his arm out of the other's grip, eyes averted the other since he still didn't fully formulate a way to respond to that empathy. "We can't take them all at once…" Jian voice was quiet, just enough for Westly to hear.

"What are the chances that they'll walk single file towards the staircase?" Jian gave Westly another one of his blank stares. "Right…" Westly chewed on his bottom lip, thinking of a solution. He towards the other end of the steel crate, noticing the small space between the crate and the wall. Probably enough to stick his arm through. A light bulb seemed to light up above him. "Give me the gun." Westly stuck his hands out again.

"No." Jian stated, annoyed and exhausted that the officer would bring up this topic again.

"It's not for what you think," Westly rolled his eyes. "I'll make a distraction and you take out the first guard as soon as possible," Jian raised a brow, wondering exactly what distractions the other would create using a gun. "Just trust me."

Jian looked down at the hand that was reaching out towards him. Did he trust Westly? The pupper was highly persistent, highly reckless, and highly a nuisance. He was also highly optimistic, highly strong-minded, and highly devoted to seeking the truth. Jian placed the gun in Westly's hand before looking at the other dead in the eye. "Don't hurt yourself." A small snarky snort left his lips.

"You could have just said 'Yes, I trust you.'" Westly sneered, grumbling under his breath. He couldn't help but hide the prideful little grin that was twitching on his lips. Jian had gave him the gun. The other inadvertently admitted that he trusted the officer, and Westly didn't know why but that made him happy? Was it because he was acknowledged by Jian that he was capable? But why should Westly even care about what the mob boss thought of him? The thought did cross Westly's mind, but he chose to bask in the current internal glee he felt.

Westly quietly rushed to the other end of the steel crate and like he suspected he could put his arm through the gap. He could see the other steel crate pressed against the wall at the other end of the gap. Westly gripped the gun, unlocking the safety and shimming his arm through. The recoil was probably going to hurt like a bitch since he was basically shooting with one arm, but rather injure an arm than becoming swiss cheese via bullets right? Westly turned to Jian, nodding to the other that he should prepare for his half of the plan. Jian was still slightly curious about what exactly the other's plan was, but still prepared himself for the upcoming distraction.

Westly shut his eyes and prepared for the recoil and the reverbing noise. The sound of the gunshot and the bullet ricocheting against the steel crate stunned the guards, their instinctive reaction to immediately duck down. Westly couldn't hold in the grunt at the pressure the gunfire added to his shoulder, knowing that it will be sore. Jian quickly turned the corner of the crate, taking advantage of Westly's distraction and uppercut the closest guard. The guard falling back at the sudden punch and the other guards in disarray at the sudden ambush. Jian gave a strong hook punch to another guard who stumbled to the side from the punch. By this time the other guards had gathered their wits, sending punches and kicks. Jian blocked one of the guards with his forearm, but by doing so allowed another guard to kick him in the back of the knee causing the Jian to stumble a bit.

"Back up!" Westly shouted, pointing the gun at the group of guards. The guards, too doped on adrenaline, ignored Westly's orders and despite the officer carrying a firearm, one of the guards grabbed Westly's firearm and pulled it towards him, giving the opening he needed to land a punch on the officer.

The gun flew across the floor. Jian, keeping a guard incapacitated in an arm lock, tossed the guard aside and reached towards the gun. Another guard quickly kicking it away out of Jian's reach. The mob boss placed his hands up in a boxer's guard when he noticed that some of the guards had begun to encircle him.

Westly jabbed his elbow in the abdomen of one of the guards that were holding him in a chokehold, using the guard's off-balance as an advantage and flipping him over his shoulder. Westly now eyed the two guards that were squaring up to fight him. He glanced over at Jian to see that the other was surrounded, but somehow managing to maintain his own. His attention went back to the men in front of him who suddenly brought knives into the battle. Westly swiftly diverted one of the guard's stabs as he lunged towards the officer. Westly giving the guard a strong knee to the abdomen before ramming his elbow down on the guard's spine. Westly needed to get to the gun so that he could help Jian, but the next guard he was facing was making it difficult. The second knifemen was a bit more skilled than the first, rapidly stabbing towards him but maintaining a distance that kept Westly from reaching him. Westly took a long stride backward to increase the distance between them, leading to for the guard to extend his reach. Westly used that moment to his advantage as he grabbed the arm of the guard, using the guard's momentum to increase the force of Westly's punch to the guard's stomach. The guard fell to the ground holding his stomach, Westly kicking the knife away before racing towards the gun. Westly couldn't help, but let a small breath of relief when he finally reached the abandoned gun.

"Watch out!" Westly hadn't noticed that the first knifemen that he had incapacitated came up behind him as he picked up the gun. Westly quickly turned around expecting to see a knife flying towards his face. The officer's eyes grew wide upon finding himself behind the shadow of Jian. The mob boss let out a grunt as he felt blood trickle down from the knife in his upper left arm, his sharp predatory eyes shooting daggers at the guard that the guard instinctively stumbled back. Jian laid a right hook on the guard, incapacitating him.

Westly snatched the gun from the floor, choosing one of the far off crates and opening fire. He flinched at the pain that surged through his right arm, but the bullet was enough for the guards to instinctively flatten themselves onto the ground to take cover. Westly grabbed onto Jian's right hand, pulling the other towards the exit of the factory. The two men were greeted by the cold, windy night air. The sound of water brushing against the concrete could be heard in the distance. Walls of steel crates and factory buildings littered throughout the concrete plain. They were at the docks. They didn't know which side of town, but at least that oriented them. The sound of the guards getting up from the floor, barking orders at each other signalled Jian and Westly that they needed to get out of here. Now. They didn't know which direction led to where, they just knew that they couldn't be around here.

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Yuelong couldn't hide his face of disgust seeing that the bubble gum had chowed down his tenth bag of gummy bears. He could already feel the glucose levels shooting up just by looking at him. When the bubble gum had requested a menagerie of sweets to help him 'think,' Yuelong was not expecting him to eat nearly the entire thing in one sitting. The bubble gum didn't seem to care about his sugar levels since his eyes were immediately glued onto the computer screen, typing like a mad man. Yuelong had already dismissed the Ouroboros' tech, seeing that the bubble gum had taken over the operation.

"God damn it!" The bubble gum hissed, angrily tossing aside the mouse he was using. "It pings and then it's gone. It pings again, and then it's gone again. Can't you sit still for once Westly." The bubble gum viciously scratched his head, he wits end in frustration.

"If you scratch so hard, you're going to go bald," Yuelong smirked. "That or the hair dye will do it."

"Ha-ha soooo funny, maybe quit being a gangster and become a comedian instead." The bubble gum sneered, rolling his eyes.

Yuelong leaned down to look at the computer screen in front of the bubble gum, one hand resting on the table, the other on the back of the chair. "Where have the pings been so far?"

"From what I've been able to gather, they all seem to localize right here." The bubble gum circled the west downtown. Though too extensive to give an exact location, the pings at least gave them a direction to go to. Yuelong analyzed the area carefully, his mind racing as he began to narrow down the possible areas the two could be held.

"Zoom in there, and see if you can beam in a satellite image," Yuelong pointed towards the small dock within the zone. The bubble gum grabbed a satellite image, zooming in as Yuelong requested. A cocky grin began to spread across Yuelong's face. "Gotcha. They have got to be around there." Yuelong pointed at the image, which displayed rows of factories in addition to steel shipping crates.

"And you know this how?" The bubble gum raised a curious brow.

"Deductive reasoning, my dear Bubble Gum," Yuelong put his hands on his hips, a prideful smirk on his lips. "My men got information from some of the Yamadachi's guards that young master was taken to some abandoned factory. Though the city is filled with those, that dock is the only one within that area where you got Westly's pings."

"Woooow," The bubble gum slow clapped. The bubble gum was actually thoroughly impressed with the other's reasoning skills and thinking. By the time he would have deduced that, Westly would probably be dead in a ditch somewhere. Though impressed, the bubble gum would rather choke on a spoon before admitting. "Brains and brawns." He snickered.

"I'm more than a pretty face, Bubble gum." Yuelong winked at the other.

"Ew gross, stop," The bubble gum faked gag before grabbing his phone. "It will still take some time for them to find them, but it's better than nothing…" The bubble gum began punching away at his phone. "Yeah, Aiden! I know it's late but get in touch with the Captain and the rest of the team ...No I'm not trying to get myself murdered. Westly has been kidnapped by gangsters, okay? I'm still working on his exact location, but I'll text you guys what I've got," The bubble gum hung up the phone, glancing over at Yuelong who was also on the phone. "Just a suggestion, but I don't think you should be calling your men to swarm a place that's going to be filled with cops in like 10 minutes."

"Thanks for the concern, but I'm not calling them," Yuelong scoffed as the dial tone rang through his ear. "Emmy?" The bubble gum's ears piqued at the name. "It's Yuelong....Jian is in a bit of trouble...No, no don't worry. I just need you to go to the location to pick him up… things might get complicated so bring Jae with you...Okay, see you."

"You're not going to pick up your boss? Wow, such a cold-hearted employee." The bubble gum scoffed, crossing his arms.

"So interested in my business, bubble gum?" The bubble gum's eyes went wide for a moment, before scrunching his nose in disgust. "Anyways, I have other business to attend to." Yuelong grabbed his motor jacket from the nearby coat rack.

"I'll chill around here and try to narrow down the signal." The bubble gum announced propping his feet on one of the dining room chairs. Yuelong just shook his head a slight chuckle left his lips. He was slowly getting used to the bubble gum's antics.

"It was fun working with you while it lasted."

"The pleasure is all yours." The bubble gum grinned innocently. Yuelong rolled his eyes, heading towards the front door before suddenly stopping in his tracks.

"Hey Bubble gum. It's not fair that you my name, but I don't know yours." Yuelong called out from the front entrance hallway, he could still see the tuft of pale pink down the hall.

The bubble gum raised a brow at the mobster's sudden request. He couldn't help but let a small chuckle at the other. He was much different than what the bubble gum had expected from a gangster. Yuelong played along with his banter and handled the bubble gum's sass like a champ when in reality he could have thrown the bubble gum out at any time. The bubble gum would admit that sometimes he was a bit unbearable and unapologetically rude so those that could put up with that were hard to find. The bubble smirked, rummaging in his pocket for a moment before throwing something at Yuelong. The other easily grasping the object in his hands.

"That's for me to know and you to find out, Muscles." The bubble gun flashed a cocky grin before going back to his computer.

Yuelong opened his hand to find a bubble gum flavored lollipop in his hand. A smile couldn't help but grow on his lips as he exited the house, popping the lollipop in his mouth before he got on his motorcycle.