Mission J

Seriously, I imagine this is what it feels like to take your kid to work for a day.

I stepped out into the much colder and dimly lit parking garage with my mind on low-power, my well of patience nearly running on dry and a very curious actor with a million questions following after me. I could feel his eyes studying me as I walked over to the car I was going to sweep.
I didn’t know if I was going to snap. But even if I was, I doubt I would be able to do anything satisfying, what with the two guards standing at guard keeping an watchful eye over us and the little I had left of my energy.

Oh…so this must be what hell is like.

I breathed out silently and walked over to the front of the car. I pulled out the two phones I had taken and set them down on the hood of the car. I didn’t even bother with trying to explain what I was doing as I picked up Mr. Park’s phone and started the search.

Exterior shell, check.
Back casing, intact.

I opened the backing and pulled out the battery
Lithium ion battery, intact and seemingly undisturbed. There were no added wires or bugs underneath or on top of the battery. The phone was clean.

“Mr. Park’s phone is clean,” I announced, placing the phone on the hood of the car. I then picked up Seo’s cell phone and went through with the same search,

Seo watched me with captivation of a child, eyes wide and unblinking as I pulled apart his phone and put it back together again.
“And so is yours.” I said, once I was done. I tossed him the phone, which caught it and gave it a skeptical glance-over. “I’ll run the internal diagnostics to see if there is a virus or evidence of hacking, but from the exterior these are clean.” I went on to tell him.

I saw him raise an eyebrow with the same skeptical look he had given his phone.
“Were you really able check?” he asked. “With what you just did with the…flipping and twisting you just did?”

“What was on the phone physically, yes.” I replied. “A planted bug needs some sort of power source so it usually is planted under the battery pack.”

Seo hummed thoughtfully and gave his phone another look.
“And the diagnostic…how are you going to do that?” he asked.

“I’ll need my laptop,” I said.

Seo frowned.
“I thought you would be doing all of this right here,” he said.

“I am,” I replied. “I’ll just go get my equipment.”

“And where is that, exactly?” he continued to ask.

Wordlessly, I pulled out the car keys out from my pants pocket, pointed it towards where my car was parked behind him and pressed a button on the remote.
The Lamborghini let out an alerting chirp and its headlights turned on in response. Seo wheeled around, startled.
“What the,” I heard him say as I walked right by him. He realized I was walking soon and I heard him call after me. “Yah,”

I approached the sleek black car and open the driver side door. I needed my laptop, and a few things for the car search. I slipped in behind the wheel and pulled my laptop case out from its hidden compartment and reached into my back seat for my duffel bag. Jun had been kind enough to throw it in the car, as it was my essential carry-on bag.
I didn’t have to look up to feel Seo’s incredulous look through the heavily tinted windshield. It was rather amusing to see that sort of reaction out of him.

I gathered the two things and I pulled myself out of the car. I slammed the door shut, locked the door and started my way back to Seo’s car. I suppressed a satisfied grin when I saw Seo’s jaw dropped to the ground as he stared at the car and just walked past him.
He quickly recovered and followed after me.
“Is that your car?” he asked, his tone hushed.

“Who else’s would it be?” I returned, amusement seeping into my tone.

“But how did you get it?” he questioned.

“I have connections.” I just told him.

“And they gave you a brand new Lamborghini?” he demanded in disbelief.

“Pretty much.”

I returned to the front of the car and set the shock-resistant case down on the hood. I quickly pushed in the number code and opened it.
“Give me your phone,” I said to Seo.

He frowned and dug through his pocket for his cell phone.
“If you needed it again so soon, why did you give it to me?” he grunted unhappily, handing it over.

“Because you looked anxious while I was handling you phone.” I replied. “Thought you might feel better if you got to hold it for a while.”

Seo scowled and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m not a child,” he grumbled flatly.

“Of course you’re not,” I returned dryly.
I pulled out appropriate cord and plugged in the USB end to the computer. I flicked open the charger port to Seo’s phone, determining which adapter to use.
“Hmm,” I hummed out.

“What? Did you find something?” Seo demanded, jumping on the mindless sound.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
“No, just trying to see what adapter to use.” I said.
I pulled out the right adapter and plugged it into the phone.
The computer let out a signaling beep and I got right to work. There wasn’t much to do; the program will take care of the diagnostic.
“This will take about five minutes,” I told him, looking at the screen.

In the meantime, may as well get started on scanning the car for bugs.
I pulled out the car keys Mr. Park had handed over to me and unlocked the car.

“What are you doing now?” Seo asked.

I walked around to the driver’s side of the car and dropped my duffel bag onto the floor of the parking garage.
“I’m going to get started on the car while we wait for the diagnostics on your phone to finish.” I said, kneeling on the ground. I dug through my bag and pulled out a flashlight and a pair of gloves before I got in behind the wheel.
The GPS system was built into the stereo; I would have to check for any viruses like the phones.

I reached back down to the duffel bag to grab my handheld device and the connector and looked back over at Seo. He was staring at the Lamborghini with a bemused look on his face. I rolled my eyes to myself and returned to the task at hand.
I plugged in the device and started the diagnostic program before pulling on the gloves to do the rest of the search. I was just finishing up scanning the dashboard when I heard Seo clear his throat.

“…So.” he started.

I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“So,” I echoed, waiting for him to continue.

Seo Jae-Sung shifted uncomfortably and crossed his arms across his chest, and he looked to be struggling to keep straight.
“We were supposed to talk…in an hour and a half. But for some reason, we met here.” he said.

I shrugged and resumed working.
“Things very rarely go according to plan,” I said simply, running a gloved hand along the passenger seat cushions. “Did you want to talk now?”

Seo shrugged, and I saw him leaning against the side of the car before the front tire.
“I mean, may as well, right?” he said. “Since we’re here, and no one’s really here to overhear…”

“Unless your car was bugged.” I pointed out.

There was a slight pause before he answered.
“Right…” Seo said. He paused again, as if to think. “But really, what are the chances that my car is actually bugged?”

I stepped out of the car to scan the driver’s seat. The turtleneck of my sweater was starting to constrict around my bruises again and I reached up to adjust it.
“Very minimal. I’m assuming that your car isn’t usually just out in the open for the most part.” I said. “It would make it hard for someone to put a listening device in your car. But it’s much easier to plan a tracker than a listener.”

“Why is that?” Seo asked curiously.

I went around to the front of the car and checked on the progress of Mr. Park’s phone.
“Because a listening device would require a position that’s well hidden but unobstructed for its purpose.” I told him. “A tracker bug could be on the exterior of the car.”
Seeing there were still a few minutes to go, I walked back to the driver’s side of the car and climbed back inside. This time looked between the seats, looking through the cup holders the dashboard again, just to be sure.

“So, how big would these things be?” I heard Seo ask.

I lifted up my flashlight and peeked into the CD player of the car radio.
“It depends,” I said. “But most are relatively small. That’s why they can be hidden mostly anywhere.”
The CD player was clean and so far the search was coming up empty. I got out of the car.
“But so far, your car is clean.” I told him. “Usually a listening device is hidden in the front part of the car, but to be certain I’ll check the back.”

Seo didn’t say anything as I opened the back doors of the car and climbed in. I ran my hand along the backs of the two front seats and then along the floor, trying to detect any abnormal bumps and out-of-place objects.
“Did you find anything?” Seo asked anxiously from behind me.

“You would know if I did,” I told him as I worked.

The conversation stopped there, tension coming to fill its place. I could practically hear Seo pacing back and forth, restless and awkward.
I didn’t have to look over my shoulder to know he was acting awkwardly, struggling to keep still. Ignoring it, I continued to scan the floor of the car, kneeling and stretching so I could reach the hard to reach places.
Suddenly, there was a dull but heavy sound as if he had stumbled. I looked over at him to see that he had turned the other way, his posture stiff. He seemed to be fixating on something on the wall. I raised an eyebrow at him. What the hell is wrong with this guy?
I didn’t even bother asking what it was and resumed working.

The floor of the car proved to have nothing suspicious so I turned my attention up to the roof of the car.
I heard shifting from behind me again and Seo finally broke the silence.
“How is it going?” he asked.

I lowered the flashlight and glanced over at him.
“Your car is clean of all bugs and tracking devices,” I told him. “I don’t see any traces of a bug ever being planted in here.”
I went to pull myself out of the car when it happened. Sharp pain rippled through my back and neck, traveling down to my arms and making my head ring. I froze, forcing myself to stay still as the muscles in my back twitched with spasms.
I needed to rest soon, I wasn’t going to last much longer.

My sudden stop seemed to alarm Seo.
“What is it?” he asked.

I breathed in and exhaled quietly, closed my eyes for a moment to collect myself before looking up at him.
“It’s nothing,” I sighed, and carefully pulled myself out of the car.
Seo regarded me with a cautious gaze, giving me a suspicious look-over.
I let out another sigh and rolled my tense shoulders and neck.
“That pretty much rules out remote tracking,” I muttered. I should wrap this up soon so I can rest. “All that’s left is your phone.”
I went back over to the front of the car to check on Mr. Park’s phone. Just as I approached, an alerting beep rang out from the laptop. I hit the enter button on the keyboard and looked at the screen.
“Mr. Park’s phone is clear also.” I said. I set the flashlight down on the hood of the car and looked at the diagnostic report.

“Does that mean it’s definitely my phone?” Seo asked, coming around to look over my shoulder at the screen.

I shook my head.
“No, it’s possible that it’s clear too.” I said. “Your phone and car is only few of the many ways you can be tracked.”
I unplugged Mr. Park’s phone, picked up the actor’s and plugged it in. I set up the next diagnostic screening and hit the enter key. Another beep rang out from the laptop, and the progress bar popped back up onto the screen.
“This will either eliminate another possibility or find the bug.” I said. I turned around and leaned against the front bumper. “I can still check the exterior of the car, but I think the chance of finding a device at this point is minimal.”

“Why?” Seo asked, eyeing his car with suspicion.

“Your car for the most part is parked in a secure location,” I replied. “It’s practically impossible for an average person to get to your car undetected.”

“Practically, not completely.” Seo noted pointedly. I could tell he was not comfortable with the answer I had given him.

I nodded more to myself than anything, feeling tired and fatigued. But I pushed myself off of the bumper and stood straight.
“I’ll search the exterior then.” I said.
I walked back over to the driver’s side of the car and knelt down by the front wheel. I started the physical search at the front left tire well.

Seo didn’t speak; he let me get to work without disruptions.
I checked the tire wells on the driver’s side of the car, making sure to check under the car body as I went. Nothing.
I was just starting the back bumper when Seo spoke again.

“Yah, I want to ask you something.” he said.

I didn’t look up as I worked but answered.
“Alright,” I said.

“Today. With President Chung’s calling Mr. Park and I back here after filming.” he started. “Something had to have happened.”
I glanced up at him, waiting for him to ask the question. He went on.
“He was telling us that there were developments or something with the stalker case. But he wouldn’t tell us the whole story.” he said. “Something about not being able to say anything for sure at this point.”

“Uh huh,” I said. I have yet to hear the question.

“He mentioned you too. Like you and the police were involved with coming up with this new conclusion.” he went on to say. “And then you showed up and said that the building was secured or whatever…”

“Are you going to ask a question, or are you going to keep on making statements?” I cut in to ask.

“You know what all that was about,” he said. He has yet to ask the question. “You have to; he called you over too and you were working with the police.”

“And your question is…” I pushed, getting impatient.

“What happened that made you and the police take that guess about the stalker?” he finally asked. “About them being close to me.”

I looked up at him, studying him from his posture to his expression. He was clearly suspicious, but I couldn’t tell him anything. President Chung had asked me to keep it to ourselves the details of Shim Ga Eul’s case for the time being.
“Don’t worry about it.” I finally said.

“Don’t worry about it?” Seo echoed, confusion in his tone. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It means don’t worry about it.” I just said, shrugging it off. I resumed working, making my way to the other side of the car.

Stunned silence answered me for about ten seconds, but then Seo spoke again.
“So you do know what happened,” he said flatly.

“You’re being vague; I have no ways of answering to that.” I returned. I wasn’t planning on telling him to begin with.

“I wasn’t asking anyways,” he returned smartly, his voice taking on an edge.

“Well then you don’t need me to respond. Are we done with questions?” I asked. “Because I want to get this done and---”

“He mentioned something about coffee.” he cut me off, and I could hear the aggravation in his voice. “He has to have found out that I went out with a friend to get some coffee yesterday.”

I stopped and turned to him, keeping my expression clear. I had been hoping he hadn’t caught the little slip the president had made by mentioning coffee.
“Coffee with a friend, how scandalous,” I said sarcastically.

“No, that’s not it.” he nearly snapped at me. “I have a feeling whatever happened has something to do with me going to the café yesterday.”

I scowled, hating how sharp he was suddenly becoming.
“You’re smarter than you look.” I told him flatly.

“So I am right? It has something to do with yesterday?” he pressed. “What was it?”

“I am not at liberty to say,” I told him simply.

“I have the right to know; we’re talking about my safety.” he argued. “If you’re taking part in the investigation---”

“Listen, I have no intentions of involving myself any further with the police end of the business. My methods aren’t exactly compatible with theirs.” I cut in, letting my tone take on an edge. “It’s not my job to find the stalker so I’m going to leave that in their very capable hands so I can focus on keeping you safe.”

“Oh really? And you were running around creeping and sneaking around this morning, trying to find anything on this stalker?” he demanded. “I tell you not to run off and the first thing you do is disappear to cause public alarm.”

I got up from the ground and gave him a look of irritation.
“Public alarm…really? Is that what I was doing?” I shot right back. “I thought I was just trying to do my job.”

“You just said that your job was to keep me safe.” he pointed out.

“I need to know exactly what I’m protecting you from!” I growled. “Oh but right; all I need to do is throw myself between you and all and any stranger-danger that may come your way. How hard can this job be?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying!” he snapped.

I threw my hands up and turned around, swearing under my breath. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with this guy? Why can’t he understand that things didn’t work that way? Or that curiosity wasn’t a good enough reason to know anything?
“I can’t believe I got dropped into babysitting,” I muttered.

“Mwuh rah goo?” he demanded incredulously, raising his voice. “Babysitting?”

“Yea, babysitting.” I spat out, glaring at him over my shoulder. “It’s like a punishment or a demotion for me. It really makes me question what I did to deserve this.”

“Ha, you actually have to think about it?” he scoffed. “You must have a lengthy list or a record.”
I glared at him, and he glared back defiantly.
“What, are you going to punch me again?” he demanded.

We glared at each other, the tension growing thick and heavy. The idea of punching him was very tempting…

Suddenly, an alarming beep rang from the laptop, breaking our stare-off. I strode over and took one glance at the screen. No threats or attacks were detected on the phone.
“Clean.” I announced coldly.
I disconnected my phone and shut the laptop with a snap, starting to pack up my things. I gathered everything; the laptop, the flashlight and the device from the GPS.
“Clean, everything is clean.” I grouched.
I shoved everything into the duffel bag and shut the car door. Seo glared at me, which I happily returned.

“Looks like you and the police were wrong about the stalker theory.” he said coolly.

I was about to snap that he didn’t know jack shit when my phone started to ring in my pocket. An overwhelming wave of annoyance swelled inside of my chest, and I dug through my jacket pocket for the phone.
I took half a second to breathe, force myself to calm down and looked down at the caller ID. It was Jun.
“What,” I answered, switching gears to English, a default with Jun.

“K, we have an update on the Yakutsk case.” Jun said.

I could already tell from his serious and heavy tone that it was urgent…and that I wasn’t going to get my rest like I had planned.

“Twenty-four girls have been recovered and taken in, twelve of those were students at the University. The Bratva had been keeping them in a hidden bunker, drugged and subdued. The property has since been seized and cleared out.”

“When?” I asked.

“The report came in about thirty minutes ago. I just finished confirming and processing.” Jun told me. “There was an interrogation report and supposedly it was revealed that one of the export containers under one of the syndicate’s aliases had reached Korea four days ago. The whereabouts of that container is now unknown.”

“I’ll find out,” I said, my mind already mapping out a course of plan.

“I know you’re on a new case now, but with this I thought you would want an update at the very least. If you’re too caught up---”

“No, I’m ready to leave now,” I said.

“I’ll back you up then,” Jun said. “Call me if you find anything.”

I hung up and threw Seo another glance before gathering the rest of my things.
I’ll deal with him later.

Seo defiantly stood his ground, not bothering to move out of my way as I started for my car.
“Who was that?” he asked, his voice coming out hard.
“Don’t worry about it,” I scoffed, my voice matching his in tone.

I brushed past him, not even bothering to move aside. I slipped both his and his manager's phone into his jacket pocket while I was at it.
“Yah, I want my phone back.” He yelled after me.

“It’s in your pocket,” I snapped harshly, continuing to my car.

He fell quiet for half a second before he started yelling again.
“And where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.

I stopped at my car and turned around, glaring at the guy. Why was it any of his goddamn business where I’m going?
“I'm going to go terrorize the village,” I snapped.

I yanked the car door open, threw my stuff in and got in the car. I didn’t waste time in starting the car and gunning it out of the agency parking garage.
As I sped down the streets, my mind flooded with a million problems all at once.

There was a girl out there somewhere who needed the help, but my job is to help a guy who doesn’t want my help.
No matter how I tried, there was no way to justify that injustice.