"You don't have to follow me everywhere I go, you know."

"Detective Tuan seems to think you're incapable of taking care of yourself lately."

"For the love of God, man. Just call him Mark. You've got no problem calling me Jae."

"That's because I don't work for you. Yugyeom speaks your name like the sun shines out your , but that's because you trained him."

"Or because the sun shines out my ."

"Very funny."

"I am, aren't I?"

"Where are we, anyway?"

"How did you book the ticket if you didn't know which country I was flying to?"

"I didn't. Mark did."

"Well, good for him, then."

"Why are we here, Jae?"

"We're in Korea. Seoul, specifically."

"Oh. It's nice here."

"Yeah, not bad."

"Did you parents miss it?"

"Huh?"

"Did they miss Korea so much they moved back?"

"Oh no. I moved to California on my own."

"No ?"

"Yes . I wanted to be a police officer and there were better chances of me getting a job there."

"So you moved halfway across the world for a job?"

"So did you."

"Touche. So what are we doing back here?"

"I'm going to visit my parents."

" . . . Which explains why you're pacing the streets, searching faces desperately."

"I didn't ask you to come and there are plenty of places you can sleep other than my hotel room."

"Okay, okay. Geez. No need to be so cranky."

"I just spent six hours on a plane listening to you about how the recycled air isn't up to your standard. I think I deserve some leeway. Considering how nice I've been to you."

"Nice? Cussing me out on a plane in three languages is something you consider nice? Man, where the hell were you raised?"

"Kunpimook."

"Sorry, sorry." 

"Thank you."

" . . . Can I ask you some questions? About your cases. I promise, no funny stuff."

A long suffering sigh. "I suppose."

"Do you know who the Silver Belle is?"

"Why? What do you want to know about her for?"

"Well, I was training under Mark at the time, right? And we took care of homicides mostly during that time and worked out of his house. I heard some of the staffers talking about someone they called the Silver Belle. When I asked them, they told me to ask you, because you were the one with the most interaction with her."

"That so."

"Yeah. So, I figured, since we're just wandering the heart of Seoul, maybe you would indulge in answering me?"

"The Silver Belle was a woman who we called on as an assistant to organized crime about six years ago now. When we would question mobsters, bikers, gangs, thugs, cartels, her name always came up, they all knew who she was. They all said they had dealings with her and when we pried the FBI for help, they only offered that she was also a target in their investigations into casino fraud and organized crime in Nevada."

"Did you catch her?"

"No. She's not the type of person you catch."

"Who was she?"

"Carly Lee."

---

Mark put his cigarette out on the side of the building, making Youngjae wince. "He's not going to get anything out of her."

"He never does." Youngjae agreed, taking a long pull on his cigarette. "But he's convinced she's working for them."

"And to be fair, he's probably right. Jae isn't the type of man to up this many times." Mark muttered. "His hunches and intuition when you let us be partners was scary in its efficiency."

Yongjae rolled his eyes. "Mark, you and I both know that I'm the Chief of Police and we need more detectives than just you and Jae."

"Why'd you saddle me with the runt, though?"

"Kunpimook-"

"I call him Bambam."

"- . . . Do I even want to know?"

"Probably not."

"Regardless, he'd a good young man and just needs a mentor. You're the better choice for him. Both of you are abrasive. If I gave you Yugyeom, you'd reduce the poor boy to tears."

", are you robbing these kids from their Police Academy cradles or what?"

Youngjae rolled his eyes. "They both graduated top of their class and are good at what they do. Just they need someone to help them through their first year or so on the field. Don't fight me on this, Tuan. I can have you benched like I have Jae."

"No . Working organized crime is practically a lost cause in this city."

"Perhaps, but we have to try. You know how well these cartels get around."

The front door to the police station opened and Jaebum walked out, hands in his hair and earrings glinting in the sun. 

"Not good?"

"Of course not." He dropped onto the bench alongside the path into the station, across from Mark and Youngjae. "I feel like I'm missing something every time I talk to her."

"What do you think you're missing?'

"Jae, if I knew, I would try it."

Youngjae shrugged his shoulders. "Look man, i just run the joint. You're the one who has to deal with her."

He ran his hands over his face. "I just don't know what I need to do. There's something else that I'm missing."

Youngjae butts out his cigarette on the ashtray and rolls his shoulders, bumping up from the walls. "Well, take a minute or ten and go back in there once you're collected again." He clapped the man on the shoulder and walked back inside.

"Is it her in there?"

"Yeah." Jaebum's head fell back, staring up at the speckled clouds of the California sky. "Yeah, it's Carly Lee."

"Which case do you have her in for questioning now?"

"Mafia. There's some casinoes she was supposedly involved with in Nevada and they decided to keep her services here in LA. I can't get anything out of her. It's like talking to a concrete wall."

"How about I sit on the other side of the glass for you? I know that kid's no help."

"Yugyeom's not bad, but she has no tells. There's nothing to get from her."

"He doesn't know all the approaches, though, and that's a bit of a big problem, don't you think?"

Jaebum sighed once more, the tattoo next to his ear flexing as he rubbed at his face. "It's so hard to train Yugyeom when I'm in the middle of such an intense game of chase."

"That's my point, man. I'll help you out while Youngjae looks the other way."

Jaebum met his gaze and they had a silent conversation through their stares. "Are you sure?"

"Sure."

"You haven't worked on Carly."

"I can sure give her a shot, can't I?"

Jaebum gave a jerky nod. "Let's go then. This coffee and Monster are going to wear off soon and then I'll have to crash for twelve hours."

"You really gotta stop working yourself hours like this. She's not going to get any more or less guilty just because you don't sleep."

"I really wish you were right." Jaebum led them back inside. 

---

Now, Mark had never seen Carly Lee before this particular encounter and he assumed that she would be a stupid hot little thing or an old bag that the mob found very useful. What met him was neither. 

Carly Lee was a woman in her mid-twenties, long, white-blonde hair in a navy pencil skirt and blazer set with a black shirt underneath. It was hard to tell at first, but the more he looked at her, the more her Asian heritage came out. She looked like she could be a mix, but he wasn't sure what ethniticy her Asian parent would be. She had plump lips and large, doe-ish eyes with pale skin. She watched attentively as Jaebum came back in the room, her hands folded on her lap with one leg crossed over the other. That's when Mark noticed the shimmery silver stilettoes that she had on. 

Jaebum sat down across from her, hair back in order and suit all crisp lines and clean cut once more. He probably smelt like fresh cologne after being around the smokers (he was sensitive about how he smelled, especially if it wasn't because of him). After he was seated, he just stared her down from across the steel table. Her brows furrowed and her head cocked cutely, like she didn't quite understand why he was acting the way he was. It wasn't visible from this angle, and Jaebum liked to hide it among the piercings, but he was wearing an earpiece, allowing Mark in the control room to speak to him directly. Yugyeom was sitting at the recording station, eyes flickering back and forth from the footage to Mark.

"Did I do something wrong?" She asked, almost sounding upset. 

"I'm frustrated is all." Jaebum admitted. Mark was a little surprised - Jaebum was the kind of man that had infinite patience and a perfect poker face when the job called for it. He must be relatively comfortable around Carly to be able to speak so honestly to her. 

"I'm sorry. I really wish I could help more." She winced, looking down at her hands for a moment.

"Don't go apologizing yet. I'm not done."

She met his gaze, this time curious-looking. "Alright."

"What do you know about Park Jinyoung?"

"Lots." She replied, face open and honest. 

Mark hit the button. "Ask her where she knows him from."

Jaebum's eyes sparkled, catching onto Mark's thread of logic. "Where do you know Mr. Park from?"

"He's the manager of many hotels and casinoes in Las Vegas and I got to know him when I was working there."

Jaebum sat forward, like he hadn't gotten this much information out of her since he'd met her. "Which casinoes?"

"MGM Grand, the Paris, the Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Cosmopolitan, Mandalay Bay. Those were just the ones he worked for when I was there."

"You don't know about before or after?"

"I never asked about before and I haven't kept in contact with him very much."

"Very much? What does he call you for?"

"Questions, mostly."

"About what?"

"Business and the like." 

Okay, so that thread was dead. Mark paused to consider this. "Ask her what kind of work he did for the casinoes when she knew him."

"What kinds of things - to your knowledge - did he do for these casinoes?"

"Jinyoung was the floor manager in the casinoes. He wanted to know everything and anything that happened."

"And did he work all of them at once?"

"No, no. He would work two or three at a time with a co-manager at each spot. They would work half the time he was supposed to be there and would report to him at the end of the night when he came back to pick up the tabs and run the twelve-hour money check and password update."

Jaebum nodded slowly. "Was that all?"

"To my knowledge." She gave him a shy smile. "By the way, I like that cologne on you."

He blinked, a flush starting on his neck. "Uh, thank you."

She smiled brighter. "You're welcome."

"So, you don't know of anything illegal that Park Jinyoung was up to?"

She nodded. "Nothing."

Something else occurred to Mark. "Ask her how mobsters and gang members in LA know who she is."

Jaebum twitched, fighting back a grin. "Do you think Jinyoung liked you?"

She considered this. "I would say he liked me well enough."

"Enough to . . . speak to associates about you?"

"Perhaps. I can't say I know Jinyoung well enough to give you predictions on his thoughts."

Mark grit his teeth. "Just be straightforward with her."

"There are mobsters and gang members here who know you by name and have mentioned you when brought in for interrogation. I need to know if you have any connection to them."

"As in, do I work for their organization?"

"Yes."

"No. I'm not a mafia woman or a gang member."

"Then how do they know you? What do you do for them?"

She sat back and assessed him, brow furrowed as she seacrhed for words. "I did work for them."

He slammed his hands down on the table and stood in a rush, anger sitting heavy on his face. "You just said-" 

"Let me finish, JB?" She raised an eyebrow playfully, leaning over to take one of his hands in hers. For some reason, he seemed to calm down and sat back down, letting her keep a loose grip on his hand. She ducked her head gratefully, twining their fingers together. 

"JB?" Mark snarked into the radio. "You let her give you a nickname?"

His jaw clenched in a way that told Mark he would have been punched if he was in the room. "Go on, Carly."

"I'm not affiliated with anyone, but I'm someone they hire independently."

"What does that mean?"

"I'm alone, no loyalties to anyone. They hire me, there's a good chance that the next day I will be hired by their rival and I will accept any contract."

"Have you been involved in the mass gang violence and mafia wars?"

She recoiled in horror. "As in, killing anyone?"

"Yes."

"Absolutely not!" Her eyes were wide. 

"I don't think she's lying, Jae." Mark whispered, realizing last second that she couldn't hear him. 

"Okay, okay. Just covering all my bases." He soothed, squeezing the fingers she had laced with his. "I need to know who I'm dealing with."

She managed another smile. "Any more questions?"

"What jobs do they hire you for? What kinds of things are you expected to do?"

"Surveillance. I'm hired to see things that everyone can see but no one notices."

Jaebum's spine went straight and there was an echoing bolt of chill that ran down Mark's spine. "Like what?"

"If there is audio visual surveillance of a property, the measures they take in screening public access if there even is any, the kind of people that are let in, the kind of cash and clout they carry. That sort of thing."

"Like a private detective, almost?"

"Kind of, yeah."

"I need to regroup and talk about this my colleagues. I'm not releasing you from further questioning, but you can go home for today. I'll you out."

It wasn't a long walk down to the front desk to get her wallet and keys and only a few minutes for to get her to her car. He turned to leave when the lights of her car flashed, the locks opening.

"Jaebum."

He stopped, looking over his shoulder at her. She was wringing her hands nervously and he didn't like the troubled look. "Yes?"

"When do you get off shift tonight?"

"I'm sorry, that's none of your concern."

"Okay, then when can I meet you?"

"What do you want?"

"I want to buy you dinner."

He couldn't help but bark out a laugh. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." She laughed brightly, her white-blonde hair shimmering orange in the evening sun. "I want to make up the time you've had to waste fruitlessly interviewing me."

His head dropped, bottom lip between his teeth as he shook his head. His hands gripped his hips tightly, as it trying to reaffirm that this was, indeed, real. "You're something else, you know that, Carly?"

"And here I was thinking you would be the first not to say that to me." She gave him a fake pout before laughing again. 

"Where do you want to meet?"

"William's Pub? They have great fries there."

"Are they open at eight?"

"Close at midnight."

"I'll see you there at eight, then."

She beamed another smile before giving a cute wave and getting in her car.