A Blade Between the Ribs
The room was dim, lit only by a single hanging bulb that swung gently above the table like a dying pendulum. Outside, the wind had picked up, rattling the corrugated metal walls of the abandoned train yard where they'd set up their safehouse. Inside, the tension was thick enough to taste—salted with fear, charred with adrenaline.
Jay stood at the head of the table, maps and photos spread out before him like a feast of war. Jack flanked his left side, eyes cold, calculating. Across from them were Jeff, Rin, and six other men—loyal, armed, and dangerous.
Jay's voice cut through the silence. Firm. Clipped.
"This isn't a raid. This is a message."
He pointed to the circled red X on the map—an old karaoke bar on the city outskirts, long abandoned, now serving as a hidden hub for Juhu and his crew.
"We hit them here tonight," Jay said. "They won't expect us. We go in fast, quiet, and lethal."
Jack's voice followed like a second blade: "No hesitations. No second chances. Mistakes will get you killed."
Rin leaned forward, brow furrowed. "You're saying it's shoot to kill?"
Jay's jaw clenched. "I'm saying it's kill or be killed. There's no room for mercy. Not tonight. Juhu won't show us any."
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then Jack spoke again, softer now, but no less sharp.
"We're not just fighting to protect our families anymore. We're fighting to protect each other. And I'm done letting cowards like Juhu hide behind shadows and games. It ends tonight."
The weight of those words pressed on every shoulder.
Jeff rubbed the back of his neck, the first sign of nervousness he'd shown. Rin, standing beside him, kept glancing between the map and Jack… and then back at Jeff.
Then, quietly, Rin stepped forward. His voice trembled, but he didn't care. Not tonight.
"Jeff…"
Jeff turned, surprised at the softness in Rin's tone.
"Be careful," Rin said, barely above a whisper. His voice cracked. "Please. I can't—"
He looked away for a moment, breathing hard, then back at him. His eyes glistened.
"I can't lose anyone tonight. Especially not you."
The room faded for a second. Even Jay and Jack stilled.
Jeff stared at him, speechless, caught off guard by how real it felt to be needed like that. Wanted. It wasn't the time for romance—but in war, sometimes honesty is braver than bullets.
He nodded once, firmly. "I'll come back. I promise."
Rin nodded, lips pressed together to keep them from trembling. He didn't trust promises, but he trusted Jeff.
That had to be enough.
They moved under cover of night. Two black vans. Guns loaded. The radio is silent.
As they approached the outskirts of the city, the tension shifted from emotional to tactical. Every heartbeat was louder than the engine. Every turn of the tires echoed like a countdown.
Inside one of the vans, Jack checked his blade, his pistol, and his mind. Jay sat across from him, staring out the window, eyes half-shadowed.
When Jack looked at him, he didn't see his lover.
He saw a wolf sharpening its teeth.
The karaoke bar looked dead from the outside—cracked neon lights, dusted windows, and a door barely hanging on its hinges. But Jay knew better. The place was breathing beneath its ruin. He could feel it in his bones.
He signaled the men to split. Jack led the flank group toward the back exit. Jeff, Rin, and two others circled around through a collapsed wall. Jay moved straight for the front.
He wanted Juhu.
Not dead.
Alive.
Not for vengeance.
For pain.
He kicked the front door in. No hesitation.
Gunshots cracked through the building like thunder. Screams. Chaos.
Jack's team moved like water—silent, fast, and merciless. One man lunged at Jack with a knife; Jack sidestepped, disarmed him, and plunged the blade into his side without a second breath. Blood sprayed. Another came from the left—Jeff dropped him with two clean shots.
Rin moved with efficiency but not cruelty. He shot to disable. To protect. His heart was racing, but his mind was locked on one thing: make sure Jeff doesn't fall.
Meanwhile, Jay walked through the center of the building like a storm in a black coat. He shot two men without blinking—one in the leg, one in the shoulder. He didn't care if they screamed.
He was heading for the back office.
He kicked the door open—
And there he was.
Juhu.
Alone. Caught off guard.
Dressed in a white button-down shirt, sleeves rolled, cigarette still burning between his fingers.
Jay didn't raise his gun.
Juhu stared, lips twitching into a smile. "Ah. Vavaporn's heir. The boy who kisses boys."
Jay didn't move. "You sent me a photo."
"Of course. It was art."
Jay's fingers twitched.
"But that wasn't the masterpiece," Juhu continued, standing slowly, deliberately. "The real work was the one in the dead man's mouth. That was... personal, wasn't it?"
Jay stepped forward, slow and purposeful.
"You don't get it," he said, voice low. "It wasn't the kiss that hurt."
Juhu raised a brow.
Jay's face darkened. "It was the threat. The death hanging over the person I love. That's what tore me open."
"And now what?" Juhu asked. "You've come to kill me? Make it quick. At least then you'll be remembered as a boy with a bit of fire."
Jay smiled.
But it was a broken smile. A dangerous one.
"No," he said. "I'm not here to kill you."
He lunged.
Juhu moved to draw his pistol, but Jay was faster. He slammed him into the wall, disarmed him with a twist of the wrist, then drove his elbow into Juhu's gut. The man doubled over.
"I want you alive," Jay growled. "I want you breathing. So you can feel it."
He drove his knee into Juhu's chest, knocking him to the floor.
Jay crouched beside him, voice shaking with fury.
"I want you to feel what it's like to wake up every morning and wonder if the person you love is already dead. I want you to understand what it's like to find his photo in a corpse's mouth."
Juhu spat blood, laughing. "You're soft."
Jay leaned closer.
"No," he whispered. "I'm angry."
He bound Juhu's wrists with cable ties, pulled a cloth from his pocket, and shoved it into his mouth. "You'll live," he said. "But you'll wish you hadn't."
Minutes later, the gunfire died down.
The building was silent except for the sound of breathing. Blood pooled on the cracked tiles. Smoke curled toward the rafters.
Rin walked through the haze, looking for Jeff. He found him by the stairwell, holding his side.
"You're bleeding," Rin said, panicking.
Jeff looked down. "Just a graze."
"You idiot," Rin hissed, grabbing his arm. "You promised."
Jeff smiled faintly. "And I kept it."
Rin didn't let go.
Jay dragged Juhu out into the middle of the main room. Jack stood waiting. His face unreadable.
Jay dropped Juhu at his feet.
"He's yours now," Jay said. "But not for long. I'm taking him back. Alive."
Jack didn't speak, just placed a hand briefly on Jay's shoulder.
It was more than affection.
It was understanding.
Outside, dawn broke.
Jay and Jack stood on the roof, watching the sky shift from dark blue to ash pink. Their hands were covered in dirt and blood, but their souls were intact
"He won't hurt you again," Jay said, barely a whisper. Jack nodded, eyes on the horizon. "I know."
And for the first time in a long time, the city didn't feel so heavy.