Part 2 of "Coffee and Criminals"

An infamous mass murderer in on the loose, but it's not that simple.

Jieqiong x Eunwoo/Im Nayoung, featuring members of Pledis Girlz

A/N: Damn it, I did it again. Welp, I guess there'll be a part 3. I give up. Resolution is evidently a skill I do not possess. Also, this has 100 subscribers?! May you all be blessed by Dumbledore's socks! I could cry. Really though, thank you everyone for reading! On another slightly depressing note, this part of the story does mention suicide. It's brief and definitely less detailed than your average drama/crime show, but I want to put it out there just in case. If ANYONE finds this offensive or otherwise disconcerting, please tell me and I will edit it out. Your feelings are much more important than a paragraph of my fanfiction.

“Here’s the last of it,” Eunwoo huffed. “Let’s hope we can find something.”

“With the way things look, we might not find anything. Literally,” sighed Jieqiong.

They plopped down on the couch together. Jieqiong handed Eunwoo a laptop and her own. They each plugged in a flash drive and got to work.

Hours ago, the head of the city’s police force and their own boss had closed a case indefinitely. The case concerned the infamous mass murderer Brutus Nightshade, the modern terror of London. There wasn’t “sufficient progress” to keep chasing a man who’s gone off the grid for two months. And that was how Jieqiong and Eunwoo knew for certain Nightshade was nigh unstoppable. But since when did that ever faze them? Jieqiong and Eunwoo had witnessed Nightshade hold a family hostage in the downtown shopping district, yet everyone else seemed to believe Nightshade had gone incognito and their best bet was to give up for now. Something changed and it didn’t affect Jieqiong and Eunwoo. They took it to be their starting point.

Their plan began after everyone left for lunch and those who remained gathered in the break room, paying no mind to the two detectives snooping around their own workplace. Jieqiong pulled digital files off of their computers and copied them to flash drives. Eunwoo snuck into the Forensics and Analyst labs to copy their data as well. They would have been required to record everything in their systems as they compiled results. Jieqiong and Eunwoo happily failed to mention to the Chief Detective that they still had the radio and cameras in their car’s trunk. They also thought it would be a good idea to swipe the Chief’s radio, seeing as how neither he, Sungyeon, nor Kyla remembered going on an excursion to investigate the “anonymous” tip-off. Eunwoo deftly removed any cameras and microphones from their two fellow detectives’ coats while they were in the bathroom. For good measure, Jieqiong rifled through Kyla’s drawer and grabbed the black leather pocket notebook she had been using for the Nightshade case. The other uniquely designed notebooks tilted with the extra room.

Everything was stowed away safely in their car by the time everyone returned to the station. Jieqiong and Eunwoo were filling out paperwork to seal with the case box. Earlier they discussed the importance of subtlety and acting natural while doing their jobs for as long as they would investigate the Nightshade case outside of work. But to their surprise, Warren had swept into their cubicle space looking completely revived of energy and offered them a vacation. Jieqiong and Eunwoo tried to assure him they were fine and would peacefully let the case rest. He insisted that they take the offer, saying they would be paid for their time off and were definitely not fired. They were extremely hesitant to accept. This sounded an awful lot like he was still under the affect of whatever made everyone forget the past two months. At the same time, the offer was appealing as they wouldn’t need to put up an act. Most certainly they couldn’t be questioned about what they took if anyone found out. And the extra time on top of that? Warren wanted them out as soon as possible, so they figured it might be to their advantage. By five o’clock that evening, Jieqiong and Eunwoo’s desks were tidied with a thin stack of forms in the center and a check written a week in advance of their pay period date in each of their pockets.

It was now nearing three in the morning. Eunwoo could feel her eyes drying out but she couldn’t tear them away from her bright computer screen. Jieqiong stretched and glanced at the clock, sighing with the aura of an aged man. They had been awake for almost twenty-four hours. Before, they had hopes of finally catching Nightshade. They were anxious to go on their stake-out. Now they were secretly digging through troves of would-be evidence in the confines of their apartment, exhausted and irritated at the world.

“Alright,” Jieqiong croaked. “We’ve had some time to skim through our stuff. Let’s discuss what we found.”

There was a pause as they looked into each other’s bleary, sleep-deprived eyes. “Nothing,” they said in unison.

“You were right,” said Eunwoo. “This case has taken a weird turn and instead of finding something to help us, we literally found nothing.”

“Let’s back up. We might need to change how we approach this case then. Maybe finding nothing is actually a clue. Maybe the evidence is that there is no evidence.”

“It’s not how we were trained,” groaned Eunwoo.

“I know, but it’s all we can do to make sense of this… This nonsense,” said Jieqiong dejectedly. “If that means challenging our knowledge and experiences, then so be it.”

Eunwoo cleared and tilted her laptop towards Jieqiong. “So I’ve gone through all of the reports since the opening of the case. From what I remember, and that’s going to be our phrase of the day I’m afraid, is far different from what these reports say. They omit nearly every major find while still reporting the event. Take a look at this one.”

Eunwoo pulled up two documents in split-screen mode dating back a month or so. Jieqiong remembered this one clearly. It was a scare like no other. The result was utterly horrifying. Nightshade held a teenage boy hostage on top of a suspension bridge pillar. The only thing keeping the boy from crashing to the pavement was Nightshade’s hold on the boy’s uniform tie. Helicopters circled the bridge, trying to get a clear shot of Nightshade while somehow catching the boy if and when he fell. They were about to open fire when Nightshade jumped off the other side towards the water, dragging the boy with him. The place where they jumped was concealed by elements of the bridge’s support system. The helicopters couldn’t find them and a search team was deployed out on the waters. In the midst of the chaos, there was a call. The body of the boy had been found upstream of the bridge by a tourist ferry. How he had been murdered and transported kilometers up the river all in two minutes, and with no Nightshade in sight, nobody could fathom.

With great difficulty, Eunwoo swallowed the lump in . “The report is fine up until everyone shows up at the bridge. Then…”

“A suicide?!” Jieqiong growled furiously.

The two documents displayed on the screen were supposed to be identical reports except for the script. The one on the left side was typed for later reference. The one on the right was the initial report in Jieqiong’s own handwriting. The typed file ended not with Nightshade’s hostage situation and the boy’s heart-wrenching murder, but with a suicide report. The circumstances of the boy’s death had been completely changed. Jieqiong felt pure, bitter anger brewing in the pit of her stomach. The lies littering the document devalued both the boy’s life and those truly affected by suicides. On the other hand, what equally baffled her was that the last two pages of her handwritten report were completely blank. Someone had gone into the system and deleted information. Yet when Eunwoo pulled up the summary of their system’s past activity, it showed Jieqiong herself had saved the documents as is on the initial date they were entered.

“Everything has been tampered with. It’s the same for all of the files under the Nightshade case. Someone on the inside was trying to discredit us,” said Eunwoo. “Another thing.” Eunwoo pulled out a small notebook and fanned out the pages with her thumb.

Jieqiong stared in astonishment. “Kyla’s notebook is completely blank. No ink, no indents.”

“You and I know she never goes anywhere without the notebook designated for each case. We’ve seen her constantly write in this one. I pointed out spelling errors in here,” said Eunwoo.

“Maybe—” Jieqiong started.

“This isn’t the right notebook? Yeah, I’ve thought about that too. Maybe she lost the original one. Er, ‘lost.’” Eunwoo made air quotes and gave Jieqiong a knowing look. “Maybe she ‘replaced’ it. Considering her normal habits, there is only one drawer she keeps these notebooks in and that’s where I got it from. They’re in chronological order, each binding is distinct. Normally, she’s obsessively organized and never hides her work. But this isn’t normal, is it?”

Jieqiong ruffled her hair in frustration. It seems that Eunwoo was done speaking for now. Jieqiong gave her a weary look because what she was about to share was going to make everything worse. Jieqiong took a deep breath and showed her screen to Eunwoo without a word. Jieqiong flinched every time Eunwoo made a squeak, as if she was in physical pain. Eunwoo lightly clawed at the screen in disbelief. Jieqiong decided it was enough when Eunwoo seemed to stop breathing out of shock.

“It’s gone. It’s all gone,” Eunwoo whispered.

“Yeah,” said Jieqiong. “Every single document from Forensics over the past two months says the sample collected was lost, tainted, or destroyed and the analyses were inconclusive.”

Eunwoo had her hand over her heart. This was a personal insult. She had meticulously accounted for all pieces of evidence gathered for Forensics to look at over the course of the case. Now there was nothing to show for it.

“And the Analysts?” Said Eunwoo quietly.

“Everything deleted. No records of phone calls, emails, letters, or anything of the sort. Every tip-off we’ve ever gotten, every witness account we’ve ever recorded, every profile we’ve ever written and released or kept sealed, has been deleted. This person didn’t even bother with altering the information. They just wanted it all gone. And there’s no way I can retrieve it either,” explained Jieqiong. She maximized her computer’s error message from the application dock.

Jieqiong felt a migraine growing. She rubbed her temples, though this didn’t help with the glaring light of their screens. She looked away at a darker corner of their living room. Her eyes landed on a stack of mundane briefcases. She straightened up.

“What is it?” Eunwoo asked softly.

“The cameras. Nobody had access to those cameras except us!”

Before Eunwoo realized what she meant, Jieqiong dashed out of her seat and kneeled by the black boxes. She began pulling out the radio and the hard drive stored with the sniper scope. Eunwoo was soon on the floor next to her, digging out all of the cameras they planted in the windows of the construction site earlier. She pulled out each SD card and plugged them into a port connected to her computer. Her desktop instantly lit up with new folders.

“Open this one.” Jieqiong pointed at the last folder to open. “It’s from the camera facing the street running east to west in front of the complex. It might have footage of the man I saw on top of the roofs. I think it was Tyranno. Don’t give me that look. I don’t know how he could’ve gotten to us when he was wrecking the Chief’s radio on the other side of the city, but I did see him. Let’s hope the camera did too.”

Eunwoo nodded and clicked on the folder. There was a blank thumbnail with a randomly generated file name. She opened it. All at once, the folders shrunk back to her trashcan icon as if the hardware was being ejected. Jieqiong and Eunwoo simultaneously looked at the port where all of the SD cards were inserted. The device began smoking. Eunwoo hastily unplugged it from her computer and ran to Jieqiong who had opened a window. The last thing they needed was the fire department raiding their home and finding everything they stole. They watched painfully as the SD cards sparked and melted in the slots.

“I thought this would work! I set them up myself! Nobody even remembered we took them!” Cried Eunwoo.

“Exactly, so think about it. All of the stuff we went through was something that could be accessed at the station at any time. It takes just one good hacker to alter those files. But nobody could have hacked these while they were in secure cases and not plugged into a computer. Nightshade’s side had no chance to edit our footage. The only option left? Destroy it,” reasoned Jieqiong. “I don’t know how, but at least we can establish that.”

They slowly turned towards the hard drive on the floor next to the opened sniper scope case.

“Do we dare?”

Jieqiong nodded at Eunwoo, but stopped her from plugging in the cord to her computer. “Not with that,” said Jieqiong. “This time it might fry your computer. Then we’d lose a lot more than footage.” Jieqiong jogged to her bedroom and retrieved a digital camera with a blank SD card and fully charged batteries.

Eunwoo passed her the hard drive cable but held her hand still. “Wait.” Eunwoo pulled out her phone and opened the camera function on video mode. “Someone’s going to have to wrench this phone out of my death grip if they want to delete all of the footage we have.” She pressed record and positioned the phone over the camera in Jieqiong’s hands.

Jieqiong smiled weakly and plugged in the hard drive. The camera . For a split second, the screen flashed and they saw a high definition thumbnail of Nightshade and Nayoung in the dessert shop with the family of hostages in the background on the right, another woman approaching from the left. Then, a flash came from the right of the camera screen. The gears inside the hard drive resting on the floor whirred madly. Jieqiong flipped it over and smoke issued from the vents underneath. It cracked in half and the exposed wires emitted sparks. Eunwoo left and ran back with a small fire extinguisher, spraying the device.

“Well…” Eunwoo held the fire extinguisher in one hand, her phone in the other.

“You got it,” said Jieqiong in amazement.

On Eunwoo’s phone was the paused frame of the thumbnail that appeared on the camera. The smoke from the hard drive could be seen in the margins of the recording. Jieqiong and Eunwoo smiled gleefully at each other like Christmas had come early. Of all the data that disappeared and was corrupted, they managed to extract one piece of evidence. They were damn proud. Eunwoo saved a screenshot of it. The thumbnail on the camera was timed and dated as well. But they couldn’t burst into Warren’s office demanding they reopen the case. It was more out of fear their only video and picture would be deleted than if their boss didn’t believe them.

The alarm on Jieqiong’s phone rang. It was five in the morning.

“I think this calls for a well-earned latte, don’t you?” Jieqiong asked.

“I concur,” Eunwoo giggled.

“Hey, keep that phone secure. We can’t take the chance that someone will swipe it from your pocket,” warned Jieqiong.

Eunwoo nodded and did what only Eunwoo would do. She stuffed the phone in her bra.

“Shall we?” Eunwoo held out her arm.

“Uh, yeah,” replied Jieqiong and she linked their arms, averting her gaze from her friend’s bust.

~|~|~|~

“Must you have such bony elbows?”

“My elbows are beautiful. Must you invade my personal space?”

“Considering the awkward position I’m in, yes. Yes, I must.”

“I didn’t make you cross your legs like a contortionist.”

“Like I had a choice when you so graciously shoved me into this bush.”

“It’s too early for this.”

“Shut up, bushes don’t talk.”

“You shut up.”

“Daddy, the bushes are funny,” giggled a small girl.

“Sure, honey. That’s great,” replied her father distractedly. His son had tripped on his shoelaces.

A few meters away, Jieqiong and Eunwoo were squished together among the bushes lining the entrance to a neighborhood park. They observed the man tying his son’s shoes. This wasn’t just any man they were stalking. It was the man who asked for a spare chair at their usual coffee shop so his children could sit together while he fetched their drinks.

Eunwoo gave him the chair without a second thought and brought her drink up to for a sip. But Jieqiong grabbed onto Eunwoo’s wrist and splattered some of the green tea latte onto the table. She was speechless. When Eunwoo tried to get a coherent sentence out of her, she just gaped and pointed at Eunwoo’s chest. Eunwoo deadpanned that it was not the time to be hitting on her, though she admitted she possessed an admirable physique. Jieqiong promptly hit her friend with a rolled up newspaper left on their table. She explained in hushed tones that the man and his children were the hostages from the day prior. Eunwoo finally understood and pulled her phone out of her bra to verify this. The family’s faces matched those of the hostages in the photo. The two spent the next twenty minutes devising a plan to interview the man about Nightshade when they spotted the family leaving the cafe. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, Jieqiong grabbed Eunwoo and ran after them. So here they were, crouching in the dirt so as not to be caught by the curious little girl who loved to laugh at bickering bushes.

“They’re moving! Let’s go!”

Jieqiong and Eunwoo scurried to a bush by a bench further down the path. When they emerged to relocate again, the little boy broke free from his father’s grasp and almost ran into them. Jieqiong retreated back into the bush. Eunwoo, who was already out in the open, panicked and leaned against a nearby tree facing the other way.

“Daddy, can we play on the slide?” Said the boy.

“How about tomorrow, buddy? Daddy’s got some work to do at home. I promise we’ll come back.”

“M’okay,” the boy slurred, his head drooping dramatically in disappointment. “Oof!”

“Oh! Are you alright?” Eunwoo said and bent down to check on the boy. He had bumped into her thigh while focusing on the ground instead of where he was walking.

“I’m so sorry, Miss.” The father rushed over and helped his son off the ground. “Timmy, what do you say?” He asked his son gently but firmly. The boy murmured a tiny apology.

“Uh, no worries! Not a bother!” Said Eunwoo, horribly disguising her voice. It sounded more like Eunwoo with the flu than an impersonation. She conspicuously raised the collar of her coat to hide her face.

Meanwhile, Jieqiong was in the bush restraining her fingernails from clawing her cheeks out of secondhand embarrassment. How was Eunwoo so bad at acting under pressure? Thankfully, the man didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy fussing over his son’s manners and his daughter’s energy. Even if Jieqiong and Eunwoo weren’t bringing the park’s vegetation to life, the girl was amused by everything.

“Again, I’m sorry for bothering you. Have a good day, Miss,” the father said and ushered his children down the path cutting through the playground.

Eunwoo exhaled deeply in relief, only to choke on her saliva when Jieqiong materialized behind her and slapped her on the back in annoyance. Jieqiong imitated Eunwoo’s muffled voice with a scowl.

“I do not sound like that,” muttered Eunwoo indignantly.

“Whatever, keep moving. They’re leaving the park.” Jieqiong walked away briskly.

In no time, Jieqiong and Eunwoo were standing across the street from the family’s house. The children still had a bit of energy left in them. Their father let them play a bit longer outside in their backyard. A few minutes later, he returned to the front of the house to check for his post.

“Now’s our chance.” Jieqiong nudged Eunwoo and they moved forward.

“Oh, good morning ladies,” said the man as he spotted them approaching.

“Good morning, Sir. We are Detectives Zhou and Jung with the London Police.” They flashed their badges as proof.

“I’m Zachary Grand. How many I help you?”

“Mr. Grand, we’d like to ask you a few questions about Brutus Nightshade, if you have the time.”

“Nightshade?” Grand scratched the back of his neck. “Don’t know if I can help you much there. I’ve only heard of him from the news.”

Jieqiong and Eunwoo shared a look. They were afraid of this. It seems whoever got to their colleagues had gotten to Grand as well. But they were here now, they might as well have a crack at it.

Jieqiong turned to the man. “Well, even the smallest details could help.” She smiled inwardly at the familiar words. “Please, we won’t take much of your time. We just need a few things and we believe you might be able to help us.”

Grand welcomed them into his home to have a more private conversation. The sound of his children’s laughter drifted through the kitchen from the open back door. Jieqiong and Eunwoo settled themselves in the living room where Grand brought some glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. After an exchange of thanks and pleasantries, they got right into the interview.

According to Grand, he and his children had gone on a weekend trip to visit his parents in the countryside. They hadn’t gotten back until this morning. He had never encountered Nightshade and would never have let the lunatic near his children.

“I don’t like Heston Avenue. Too many people and everything’s overpriced. I much prefer small local businesses,” he added when asked about yesterday’s news of a possible break-in at Frank’s Fantastic Frozen Favorites. “Besides, my son is awfully picky about his desserts. Must have the banana split from the shop down this road. Won’t take anything else. More lemonade?”

“Yes, please. Thank you,” said Jieqiong. She checked that Grand was out of earshot and turned to Eunwoo. “He’s got an awfully specific alibi for someone who would have suffered the usual memory loss from stress and shock. His memory was somehow altered too, then.”

“Well, false or not, this is what he believes to have happened. It’s some kind of evidence or witness account. We just don’t know what kind yet,” Eunwoo shrugged. “I still think I should take down anything he’s willing to give.”

Jieqiong agreed and let Eunwoo continue the interview. She was starting to get a headache from this mess of a case and the lack of sleep was not helping. She paced around the room, stopping by the door leading into the kitchen. The little girl beckoned her over. Jieqiong smiled back and went outside to greet the girl.

“Hi! I’m Cassie!” Said the little girl, grinning broadly.

“Hi there, my name’s Jieqiong.” Jieqiong bent down to the girl’s level and held her small hand.

Cassie tilted her head. “Gee a… Jay…” She struggled to pronounce Jieqiong’s name.

Jieqiong found her adorable. “Jay’s fine.” She tickled Cassie’s tummy.

“Play with us!”

Cassie dragged Jieqiong over to her brother and they began a game of hide and seek. They declared Jieqiong “it” without hearing her consent first. She figured she could spare a minute to amuse them so she began counting down loudly from ten. She found Timmy easily enough. She spotted Cassie’s pigtails just inside the plastic toy house set out in the backyard. As Jieqiong approached the house to surprise the girl, she noticed movement across the street. She ducked lower behind the fence to observe. Two women were eyeing Grand’s house. They seemed hesitant to get closer.

“Jay! I win! You took too long!”

“You win?” Cooed Jieqiong, turning her attention back to Cassie.

The girl just giggled then went to play with Timmy. Jieqiong looked over the fence and saw the backs of the two women disappear into the nearest alleyway. Oh no you don’t, she thought. She entered the house and notified Eunwoo and Grand that she needed to step outside for a moment. Darting to the house across the street, she tiptoed across its lawn and peered around the corner into the alleyway.

“Why are we here? Are you doubting my Charmwork?” Said an unfamiliar voice.

“I’m not doubting your abilities, but I want to check if the effects still hold. We can’t afford any loopholes.”

That was Nayoung. What was she doing here? Jieqiong leaned closer to listen.

“Says the one who gave a way in for Nightshade?”

So Nayoung is involved with Nightshade, the liar! Thought Jieqiong angrily. She waited for them to continue.

“That’s exactly why we’re doing this! I know I screwed up. There’s no point in lamenting over spilt Firewhisky. Not like we have a Time-Turner anyway. We just have to move forward more cautiously.”

“You mean you have to move forward more cautiously,” hissed the woman sharply.

Silence. “Your iness is showing,” slurred Nayoung in a childish, soft voice.

As inappropriate as it was, Jieqiong couldn’t help thinking that was the cutest way she’s ever heard someone swear.

She heard the other woman sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m just frustrated. He’s killing off Muggles and our kind indiscriminately.”

Muggles? Jieqiong furrowed her eyebrows. Seems like some unfamiliar jargon.

”He’s a menace. And you!” The woman continued. “I know you’re better than this. You’re always the one plugging loopholes before they’re made. You always clean up other people’s messes. So what’s got you so disorganized this time around? As sad as it sounds, we’ve dealt with other cases just as bad as Nightshade. It’s horrible, but it’s nothing new,” argued the other woman, sounding more like a stern mother than an angry partner.

“I… I don’t know!” Huffed Nayoung. Jieqiong figured she kicked the stones in the alley out of frustration when some came rolling into view.

“It’s that woman, isn’t it?” Asked Nayoung’s colleague, her tone much gentler though with an air of suspicion. “Coffee Girl. I’ve never seen you so distracted. I’ve never seen you date either.”

Jieqiong almost spluttered out loud. This woman couldn’t possibly be talking about her… Right?

“Those are completely unrelated things!” Nayoung said defensively.

“Uh-huh. You know, I’ve got some Veritaserum in my pocket for emergency use,” threatened the other woman.

“Siyeon, my love life is hardly an emergency,” cut in Nayoung.

“Some would disagree,” said the woman in a high, sing-song voice. Jieqiong could hear the rocks crunch beneath her boots as she probably rocked back and forth on her feet.

“Argh, how did we even get on this topic?” Grumbled Nayoung. “We’re here because of a murderer and we need to see if the victims are alright.”

“If I remember correctly, and do pardon me if I’ve been exposed to my own memory charms a bit, but Coffee Girl was also a victim. At the Diagon Alley attack no less. Unrelated you say?”

Diagon Alley? Why does that sound so familiar? Jieqiong wracked her brain for a connection but came up blank.

“Fine, I’ve been distracted by her lately. Isn’t it always more difficult to see someone you know just seconds away from death?”

Nayoung’s unexpectedly cold tone instilled a tense silence around the two women and the eavesdropping Jieqiong. Jieqiong felt a tickle of gratitude for Nayoung defending her, but there was a much heavier backstory to the rhetorical question. Needless to say, that bit of gratitude was overwhelmed by heartache Jieqiong felt for Nayoung.

“That’s not— I didn’t mean—“ It sounded like the woman was taken aback. “Look, I don’t want to see anymore victims and I most definitely don’t want to see you in pain. Getting involved with that girl could be dangerous. It’s proven so already. Tyranno used that hotline card or whatever it is to plant information for the Muggles. It nearly got that family killed. And no, I’m not trying to guilt trip you. We need to focus and do our jobs. We need to catch Nightshade. You know what? If thinking of Coffee Girl gets a fire lit under your , fine. Let her be your drive. Just don’t let her be your downfall.”

For some reason, Jieqiong felt choked up and teary-eyed.

“Act your age, would you?” Scoffed Nayoung jokingly. She was choked up too.

“Won’t you? Shouldn’t you be giving me these kinds of talks?”

“With a strong head like yours? Who would dare?”

Jieqiong’s heart lightened a bit at the sound of their weak laughter. But then something clicked in her mind. The woman, this Siyeon person, mentioned Tyranno and a hotline card. It must have been the one she gave Nayoung at the coffee shop. Oh God, it was my fault, she thought shakily. That family taken hostage, the Chief and the girls ambushed by Tyranno, the whole force being under some kind of… of spell or something.

“Who is that?” Said Siyeon sharply.

Jieqiong turned around in her crouched position. Eunwoo was exiting Grand’s house and looking around for her partner. She spotted Jieqiong lying low on a random lawn and stared at her, not wanting to seem obviously confused for whoever was watching. Jieqiong hastily gestured to keep shut and walk away like nothing was unusual. Eunwoo understood and made her way down the street. Jieqiong supposed Eunwoo was going to circle back at the end of the block.

“She’s one of those Muggle pleazemen or whatever.”

“It’s policemen and she’s actually Jieqiong’s partner. I’ve seen them together before,” Nayoung clarified.

“Well they shouldn’t be here. Let’s tail her, she seems suspicious.”

That was Jieqiong’s cue.

“Don’t move!” She shouted and sprung out from around the corner. She was surprised to be pointing her gun at thin air. But she kept her aim steady. Most people’s hearts were aligned at her height anyway. “Show yourself!” She demanded.

She heard a ruffle of a sleeve next to her head. She flinched back and faced ninety degrees to her right. The muzzle of her gun brushed against the soft fabric of someone’s clothes, someone she couldn’t see. She could feel the rise and fall of the person’s chest as they breathed, her gun following along. She tried not to be weirded out.

“Pft. As if that’s going to stop me,” said a disembodied voice.

Jieqiong furrowed her eyebrows. Someone had said something eerily similar to her before, but she couldn’t remember who or when. Also, who would speak so lightly of a firearm pointed at their chest?

“Are you going to put it away?” Came Nayoung’s voice, slightly to Jieqiong’s left.

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Yes, I am.” Nayoung emphasized each word clearly.

Jieqiong heard the other woman sigh before there was another rustle of clothing. She must have lowered whatever weapon she possessed at Nayoung’s insistence. Jieqiong’s gratitude for her coffee acquaintance grew.

What happened next was simply unbelievable. Out of nowhere, the crown of a silver-haired head appeared floating in the air. Jieqiong followed the line separating visible from invisible down Nayoung’s face, to her shoulders and torso where her long hair ended, to her knees, and finally her black boots. It was as if a revealing paint was poured over the tall woman that colored her in so Jieqiong could see her.

A moment later, Nayoung’s partner appeared in the same fashion, though with an evident scowl on her face and her arms crossed in resentment. Jieqiong guessed this was Siyeon. Sticking out of Siyeon’s right hand was an ebony baton. Jieqiong couldn’t help staring. When nobody moved, Siyeon uncrossed her arms and pushed Jieqiong’s gun away with the baton as if Jieqiong was armed with a smelly sock.

“Get that away from me,” she said hotly.

Jieqiong backed away but kept her gun poised. A glaring contest ensued while Nayoung awkwardly shifted her weight between her feet.

“Uh, there’s really no need to—”

“Hands where I can see them! Now!” Screamed Eunwoo from the alley intersection behind the three of them.

“Oh for Merlin’s sake,” Siyeon drawled, rolling her eyes in annoyance. Nayoung ignored her.

Eunwoo jogged up to them. She pointed her gun at Nayoung.

“Eunwoo, don’t—” Jieqiong blurted.

Eunwoo looked back at her confused. “But you…” She nodded her head at Jieqiong’s gun.

Nayoung met Jieqiong’s eyes warily. “Could you, um, not shoot Siyeon? She might be an , but that’s nothing to go to jail for. Yet.”

Just as Jieqiong lowered her gun, Siyeon stomped on Nayoung’s foot. Clearly she forgot they were both wearing steel-toed boots. Nayoung just gave her a stoic deadpan look.

“Act your age,” Nayoung repeated.

“Oh shut up,” spat Siyeon.

“Alright, who the hell are you and why are you sneaking around the neighborhood?” Demanded Eunwoo as she strode up next to Jieqiong.

Though Eunwoo asked both of the women, Jieqiong looked expectantly at Nayoung for an answer. The intensity of her stare seemed to break Nayoung down a bit.

“Well, I assume we’re here for the same reason you two are. To see the hostage victims,” explained Nayoung calmly.

“Are. You. Serious? Whipped,” growled Siyeon under her breath.

“Irrelevant,” Nayoung growled back.

Jieqiong cleared to get their attention. “So you are involved with Nightshade then?” She raised an eyebrow at Nayoung.

“We’re not working with him, if that’s what you’re implying,” said Siyeon.

“Well I don’t remember seeing you as recruits in our force,” replied Jieqiong.

“We’re not with the London Police. We…” Nayoung seemed to struggle a bit but went on. “We’re with the Ministry. Not your Ministry, ours.”

“Because that totally makes sense,” Eunwoo chimed in. “Foreigners?”

“No, we’re British citizens with a British Ministry.” Nayoung’s voice sounded restrained. Siyeon looked livid but didn’t speak.

“You’re going to have to be more clear than that, Nayoung,” prompted Jieqiong.

After a final internal conflict, Nayoung heaved a deep sigh. “This isn’t the time nor place to talk about this. First thing’s first, we need to check on the Muggles— I mean the man and his family.”

“Muggles?” Asked Eunwoo. “What is that, some sort of derogatory term?”

“What do you want to know?” Jieqiong interrupted.

This time Siyeon spoke minus the biting tone. “We want to make sure they’re safe and that they don’t remember anything from yesterday,” she said honestly. “For our circumstances, the less they know the better.”

Jieqiong nodded. Eunwoo hesitantly shared the information she garnered from speaking to Grand. When she had finished, both Nayoung and Siyeon were visibly relieved.

“Alright, your turn,” said Jieqiong.

Siyeon tutted. “As if that’s enough to tell you anything.”

“We will tell you, just not here,” Nayoung assured.

“Why do I bother?” Said Siyeon, throwing her hands up in the air.

Before Jieqiong or Eunwoo could intervene, Siyeon grabbed Nayoung’s wrist and the spot. With a reverberating crack, they were gone.

~|~|~|~

“Two medium green tea lattes. Hot, please.” Eunwoo handed over the money. “Thank you.”

“Vacation doesn’t suit us well,” said Jieqiong as Eunwoo slid next to her by the pick-up counter. “Three days and no sign of Nayoung.”

“Or Siyeon,” Eunwoo added when Jieqiong didn’t say it. “And we’re not exactly doing vacation-y stuff.” She drummed her fingers on the counter and scanned the cafe. “Oh, a table just opened up over there. I’ll go grab it,” she said and walked away.

Jieqiong glanced at the large TV screen mounted on the wall.

At 2:00 AM last night, a jewelry store in the downtown shopping district was broken into. The security system alerted the London Police Department, who arrived promptly on site. No injuries were reported. However, a substantial number of prized products were stolen. The camera footage was hacked beforehand—

“Looks like your policemen have moved on to bigger and better things,” said a woman sarcastically. Jieqiong turned to her left. Siyeon stared back at her with mock pity, her fingers wiggling in the air as a fake theatrical gesture.

“I truly hope you’re not just here for the coffee,” said Jieqiong as the barista asked if the lattes were hers. She nodded and slipped two hot drink sleeves over the cups.

“No, I’m actually here to do business. With you. And her,” Siyeon jerked her head in the direction Eunwoo went to guard a table. Jieqiong looked back to find Nayoung waving shyly at her, sitting across from Eunwoo. “Don’t misunderstand. I’m definitely against this. But Nayoung insists on including you two in our affairs. I can only say no so many times.”

“How generous of you,” said Jieqiong.

“Don’t get me started.” Now that Jieqiong saw Siyeon up close, the woman looked much more tired and stressed than their last encounter.

“The… Golden One?” Asked the barista, looking between Jieqiong and Siyeon awkwardly. He saw Jieqiong already had two cups so he handed Siyeon the newly made drinks. “Enjoy,” he smiled.

Jieqiong led the way to the table and sat next to Eunwoo, handing over one of the lattes. Siyeon slid into the seat next to Nayoung and passed her the hot coffee. Nayoung snickered at the name written on the side.

“Interesting taste you have. It’s unexpected considering your… image,” said Eunwoo carefully.

Eunwoo eyed the elaborate syrup drizzles along the sides of the cup. The chocolate chip flakes speckled throughout the iced drink swirled as Siyeon stirred with the straw. Siyeon just shrugged. Jieqiong noticed how she wasn’t trying to bite Eunwoo’s head off.

“This is hardly a more private place than that alley to have our discussion,” said Jieqiong getting right to the point. She wanted to get her two cents in before their guests disappeared again, and quite literally.

“We won’t be talking here. It’s just the only place I could find you, away from your workplace,” said Nayoung.

“That’s not an issue,” sighed Eunwoo.

Eunwoo shook her head politely when Nayoung gave her a questioning look. Strangely enough, Nayoung’s expression turned to one of understanding, as if she knew Jieqiong and Eunwoo had been given vacation time after closing the Nightshade case. Or rather, as if she knew why.

“Shall we?” Said Nayoung.

“Where are we going?” Asked Eunwoo, rising from her seat.

“To your place, then to ours,” said Siyeon.

“Why our place?” Said Jieqiong.

“If I’m going to exchange information that I don’t want to be exchanging, I might as well get an even trade,” Siyeon stated haughtily, as if it was all the justification Jieqiong had the right to ask.

They filed into Jieqiong and Eunwoo’s car parked in the cafe’s lot. Siyeon didn’t quite like how cramped this car was. Jieqiong thought they had a pretty roomy model, especially since she and Eunwoo were a bit short and needed the driver’s seat pulled up closer to the pedals. This left plenty of leg room in the back seat. Nayoung who was tallest didn’t complain. When they reached the apartment, Jieqiong led the way upstairs and unlocked the door. She and Eunwoo gathered all of their files, computers, hard drives, and cameras. With their arms full, they tried to walk past Nayoung and Siyeon. But the two blocked the door.

“We won’t be taking your car. It’s not possible to use it anyway,” said Nayoung.

“Then how are we getting there? It’s a bit difficult to walk with all of this, not to mention it will draw attention.” Jieqiong shifted her arms uncomfortably, the pile of papers leaning dangerously.

Nayoung moved swiftly to relieve Jieqiong of the two black cases she was balancing in either hand. “Careful,” she said softly with a hint of that childlike voice Jieqiong admired.

Siyeon reached over to take the two cases from Eunwoo, who offered a small smile as thanks. Siyeon’s lip twitched at the corner. She looked away quickly. Siyeon placed the cases on the floor, pulled out her baton and waved it. The cases sealed themselves together as one long trunk. Siyeon tapped its lid and lifted it easily like a balloon.

“Ready?” She asked the others.

“For what?” Asked Eunwoo.

Siyeon didn’t respond. Instead, she pulled out a scrap piece of paper and showed it to Eunwoo, then to Jieqiong. When they had read it silently, she tapped the paper with her baton and it dissolved into smoke. She then awkwardly tucked her arm around Eunwoo’s waist while clutching on to the handle of the black case. Nayoung extended one long arm around Jieqiong and looped her other arm around Siyeon’s. They all scrunched closer together. On the count of three, Siyeon twisted her wrist and the baton followed.

The apartment blurred around the four women. The surrounding vortex seemed to Eunwoo’s scream into oblivion. Jieqiong had a familiar urge to puke. Eunwoo stopped shouting when she could no longer breathe. Jieqiong desperately gasped for air but Nayoung was pressed up against her so closely, her lungs couldn’t expand. Then as suddenly as it began, the world righted itself.

Eunwoo wobbled dangerously, almost crashing into a nearby shelf. Siyeon sidestepped in between Eunwoo and the furniture, cushioning her from falling over. Siyeon kept a hand on Eunwoo’s arm. Jieqiong fared better. Her knees were about to buckle but she didn’t teeter from her spot. Nayoung stood by her just in case. Jieqiong felt like she had experienced this before, but she had no idea how she ever would have. Still  disoriented, she checked on the three Eunwoos standing in front of her.

“You’re magical,” Eunwoo giggled, her head lobbing onto Siyeon’s shoulder.

“Heh, so I’ve been told,” Siyeon mused with a trace of a smile.

“Eunwoo,” Jieqiong said weakly, “you’re nauseous, not drunk.”

Eunwoo shook her head and realized how close she was standing to Siyeon. She stepped aside, a bit unsteadily, and apologized profusely. Some of the papers in her arms fluttered to the floor.

“Scaring off potential mates, are we?”

“You’ll never get a girlfriend with that attitude.”

“Piss off,” Siyeon sneered and helped Eunwoo to a chair. She grabbed everything in Eunwoo’s arms and placed it on the table. “Eat this, it’s chocolate,” she said quietly. Eunwoo ate the square without question.

“Hello!” Two strangers walked into the open area and greeted Jieqiong. “Uh, is your friend alright there?” One of them nodded at Eunwoo.

“She’ll be fine. She’s just never done this before,” replied Nayoung instead.

“Oh. Well, pleased to meet you. I’m Yebin Kang.” The woman placed her hand over her heart. “And this is my beloved partner and partner, Yewon Kim.” She wrapped her arm around the woman standing next to her, who bowed her head slightly.

Jieqiong shook both of their hands, happy that she only saw two people and not their duplicates wavering behind them. “I’m Detective Jieqiong Zhou with the London Police. And this is my partner, Detective Eunwoo Jung.” She gestured to her friend at the table.

Eunwoo waved lifelessly in Jieqiong’s direction instead of Yebin and Yewon. Her head was tilted over the back of the chair. Siyeon pulled her arm down before she fell out of her seat from the shift in balance. Evidently, she hadn’t regained her bearings yet.

“Partner or partner?” Yebin asked and leaned in closer.

“Uh, partner,” Jieqiong answered uncertainly.

“Good! Because these two—mmph!”

“Eheh, don’t mind her,” said Yewon, her hand clamped over Yebin’s mouth. Jieqiong noticed Nayoung give her a thankful look. Siyeon openly glared daggers at the silenced woman.

Looking around the room, Jieqiong saw an odd assortment of objects. The shelf Eunwoo almost tipped over upon their arrival was stacked with books. The top shelf had a tiny metal placard that read “Potion Manuals.” The shelf below said “Antidote Ingredients: Properties and Effects.” The one below that was labelled “Poison Ingredients: Properties and Effects.” The bottom-most shelf was divided into “Stealth and Concealment Draughts” and “Healing Elixirs and Other Restoratives.”

Behind Jieqiong and Nayoung, there was a station of clean marble tables and metal sinks. It would have looked like a high class open kitchen if it weren’t for the cabinets lining the wall filled with various glass instruments and the set-up on the countertop. It gave the corner a mad-scientist feel, though a very tidy one at that. A round flask filled with a maroon liquid was suspended over a flame in a mason jar. The top was connected to a glass pipe, which condensed the vapors into another flask sitting in a water bath. As it bobbed up and down in the water, the ripples sent vibrations up a metal rod standing unsupported in the middle of the tub. The top of the rod was fixed with a funnel. Greenish smoke rings bellowed from the funnel, which were captured by rhythmic spurts of what could only be described as liquid sunlight shooting out of a hole in the counter. Each liquid-smoke allocation landed in one of many phials attached to a rotating chain, like a conveyor belt. As the they moved on, an invisible hand seemed to be stoppering each phial. Once sealed, the yellow liquid and green smoke mixture instantly condensed into a pure white powder. These were set aside in a box labelled “General Smoke Shields.”

Multiple terrariums and miniature gardens lined the adjacent corner. There were plants growing that Jieqiong had never imagined in her life. The vines were curling and uncurling around each other. When the sunlight hit a box at just the right angle, the flowers bloomed and began serenading the other plants. The nearby gourds began bouncing up and down on their stems, rattling the seeds inside. The clock on the wall opposite the indoor forest struck noon. A stump with glowing orange cracks that looked like veins of lava opened at the top like some inverted sea monster’s mouth. Out spewed a small geyser of steaming blood-red water. At that same moment, a similar looking trunk on the other side of the collection of plants opened up. Its body was a startling shade of night sky blue. Out of its orifice burned a gentle, sapphire flame. Tiny ice crystals formed where the fire’s tendrils the leaves of nearby plants. The plants shivered and the crystals fell into their potted soil, along with glitter that made Jieqiong think of fairy dust.

Despite the unusualness of it all, the room was decorated and furnished in such a homely manner, Jieqiong didn’t feel out of place. The walls and ceiling were a soft, light wood. The floor by the chemistry and biology corners, or so Jieqiong dubbed them, was laid with smooth porcelain tiles. The area they were all standing in was carpeted and warm. The entire room was well lit. Peering past Yebin and Yewon into the room they had come from, Jieqiong could see the shadows of steel blades and custom armor hanging on the walls.

Jieqiong’s amazement of the world she just entered deflated when she heard loud, obnoxious slurping noises. Everyone’s head snapped in that direction. Yebin was nonchalantly up every drop of Siyeon’s chocolate-flaked coffee smoothie.

“I think you got it all,” Siyeon gritted through her teeth savagely.

Siyeon whipped around when she heard Eunwoo whimper. She had unconsciously dug her fingernails into Eunwoo’s shoulder. She rubbed the sore spots gently and defiantly ignored Yebin’s snickers. Jieqiong looked the other way when Yewon raised her hand behind Yebin’s back. There was a resounding slap and a yelp. When Jieqiong turned back around, she saw Yebin glumly rubbing her rear.

At Nayoung’s suggestion, they all moved into the dining room of the extremely large house. They all figured Eunwoo needed a bit of food to clear the nausea. Jieqiong immediately offered to help cook but Nayoung gently pushed her back into her seat, saying there was no need. A second later, plates zoomed from the kitchen cupboards and onto the table. Food materialized right before them, extras piling high on the family-style platters in the center. Jieqiong spotted food simultaneously disappearing from the kitchen and the stoves and oven turning themselves off. Eunwoo didn’t seem to have a problem with how impossible this situation was. Jieqiong on the other hand, couldn’t help but gawk. With a soft giggle, Nayoung pushed Jieqiong’s jaw up with a slender finger.

Jieqiong hadn’t noticed until she heard two dramatic gasps. “Did the Stone Nayoung just giggle?” Yebin looked both appalled and amused. Yewon pawed at Yebin’s arm while cooing at the eldest girl, who told them to stuff it in the most polite and cutest way possible.

~|~|~|~

After they had had their fill, Yebin dragged Jieqiong and Eunwoo to the living room to bombard them with questions about their dating status and interests in potential mates. The two were thoroughly flabbergasted. Eunwoo was just catching up on how they could have traveled to the house from their apartment instantaneously. Jieqiong didn’t have much of an answer for Eunwoo nor the energetic Yebin. Thankfully, Yewon, Siyeon, and Nayoung entered with a tray of desserts, tea, and coffee.

“Honey, stop badgering them. They’re clueless as is. It’s time they knew why their world has been turned upside-down,” said Yewon, patting Yebin on the thigh as she joined her on one of the couches.

“Right, Nightshade,” said Jieqiong. At the mention of his name, the room fell silent. It wasn’t eery or awkward. It was solemn. The silence was really a moment to honor those who had fallen at the hands of one so evil. It was out of respect for those who lost their precious lives to one who devalued them.

Nayoung cleared . “Well, I think it’s easier to start from your end, then we’ll fill in the gaps.” She gestured at Jieqiong and Eunwoo to begin.

They rose to fetch their files and equipment from the “science room” to show the others what they found, or haven’t found. But the others insisted they remained seated. Yewon picked up a stick from the coffee table and swished it in the air. Jieqiong turned around at the sound of the camera cases clicking open. Behind the couch she and Eunwoo were sitting on was the small pile of belongings they brought from their apartment. Eunwoo gaped at the sudden teleportation of their files. Jieqiong caught Nayoung’s expression and assured Eunwoo things would be explained to them after they shared their information.

The two London detectives went through the spiel like they had done countless times to themselves in their apartment. Eunwoo explained how all of their reports had been fudged, despite having written a good number of the files themselves and clearly remembering different outcomes. Jieqiong pulled up all sorts of analyses on her computer, which she soon realized made no sense to the majority of the room. She settled for a summary that anything physical they found and brought back to their station came back as nothing useful or was destroyed. They emphasized someone on the inside must have tweaked all their evidence to shake the department off of Nightshade’s tail. They concluded with the screenshot on Eunwoo’s phone.

“Basically, it’s a picture of a paused video, before the device imploded,” Jieqiong explained. “There’s Nightshade in the shop fighting you.” She looked at Nayoung. “Here’s the family and there’s Siyeon in the back.” She pointed to Siyeon reaching for Nightshade’s collar in the picture. “This is the only proof we have of what happened a week ago. When we called for back-up to apprehend Nightshade, well…”

“You two had disappeared with the hostages, and Nightshade was nowhere to be found.” Eunwoo gestured at Nayoung and Siyeon. “By the time we got to the shop from where we were positioned, the shop was completely reconstructed and we were made out to be liars. Two whole months of work blown up in our faces, and all the time spent before then wasted.”

Eunwoo involuntarily peered around the room to signal she was done talking. She caught Siyeon’s eye for a split second. The woman just swallowed thickly and averted her gaze to her teacup. Eunwoo narrowed her eyes slightly, but let it go.

“That’s pretty much all we have. The files over on the floor are all botched, just like the ones on Eunwoo’s computer. The cases have a sniper scope, but the cameras are broken. Everything starting smoking and melting when we tried to look at the pictures,” sighed Jieqiong tiredly. It never got easier to admit how much she and Eunwoo lost on the case. Saying it out loud to four other people really drilled in the feeling of failure.

“I guess it’s our turn then,” said Nayoung.

“Wait, let me ease them into this,” said Yebin in the most serious tone Jieqiong and Eunwoo had heard from her all afternoon.

“Are you referring to whatever witchcraft you can all do? Making things appear and disappear? Making people appear and disappear?” Laughed Jieqiong half-heartedly.

“That’s exactly what I’m referring to,” said Yebin.

Jieqiong’s mirthless chuckles died down and she nodded as if already accepting what crazy postulates she would hear. Eunwoo wasn’t taking it as easily. “You’re serious? It’s witchcraft?”

“Generally speaking, we call it magic.” Yebin paused to let this soak in. It always took people a good minute to fully absorb something inherently ridiculous to their lifestyle. When neither Jieqiong nor Eunwoo retorted with offensive remarks, she continued. “All of us being female, we are called witches and we practice magic. We use some of the same words you’re familiar with. We conjure objects when we want them, we vanish them when we don’t. As for people, the act of instantaneous teleportation is called Apparition. Siyeon Apparated you four into our house. You all Disapparated from your apartment.”

“And you have these powers just because?” Asked Jieqiong, eyeing all four of the self-proclaimed witches.

“Yes and no,” said Yebin. “We were all born with magical potential. But we also put in our fair share of work to control and refine it. It’s not for fun. It’s a responsibility as much as it is a power. It’s very possible to abuse it, as you well know.”

“Nightshade,” said Eunwoo, who had paled considerably. Jieqiong rubbed her back to comfort her.

“Nightshade is a magician then. I mean a… What, a wizard?” Suggested Jieqiong.

“A dark wizard. A wizard who uses his powers for evil, for selfish gain, at the price of everyone else around him,” answered Nayoung with a hint of controlled anger.

“He’s killed people all over London,” said Jieqiong.

“More than your department knows. Muggles don’t account for our losses. You don’t know of our existence,” said Nayoung.

“Muggles,” Jieqiong repeated. “Non-magic folk.”

“Stole the words right out of my mouth,” said Yebin, her tone a bit lighter than before.

“Nightshade called me that. He kept talking about different worlds, different kinds of people, my lot and his lot.” Jieqiong screwed up her face at the oncoming pain. “‘To those in power, all life is valuable. And what’s valuable to my enemies is valuable to me.’ He said that to me, before he attacked me. There was green light, and I shot at him, and you—” She jabbed her finger in the direction she thought Nayoung was sitting. “You were there and—”

The pain was unbearable now. She clutched her head in her hands and doubled over. Her teeth were clenched as tight as possible to hold back her groans. She could hear herself hyperventilating. The rushing of air was deafening, like grating wads of steel wool against her ear drums. But she couldn’t feel any of the air in her lungs. She felt deprived of oxygen no matter how much she inhaled.

“Drink this. All of it.”

Jieqiong opened her eyes and a small phial with wispy blue liquid was pushed into her palm. Through her blurred vision, she could see Nayoung hovering over her in concern. Eunwoo was holding her in a side-hug. Yewon gently guided Jieqiong’s hand in tipping the liquid into . It tasted sweet and airy. It washed down easily. Immediately Jieqiong felt relaxed. The pain in her head ebbed away like a weak tide on a sunny shore. She blinked a few times and the room came back into focus. Five pairs of eyes stared back at her. Even Siyeon looked like she stopped breathing out of worry.

“I’m fine now. Thanks. What was that?” Jieqiong passed the tiny bottle back to Yewon.

“Calming Draught,” she replied. “It’s one of the potions I specialize in, and yes I did say potion. It means exactly what you think.” Yewon winked before placing the phial in a “Used” bin on a shelf.

“So you did run into Nightshade alone,” said Eunwoo astonished. “And you were there?” She looked at Nayoung.

Nayoung shifted in her seat. “Him being a wizard and all, we have different ways of tracking his whereabouts. I hid in the nearby record shop in case he was lingering around the area. Lucky I did too, because Jieqiong showed up and confronted him. I enchanted the records to form a barrier between them. He didn’t hesitate to use the Killing Curse.”

“I don’t think I want to ask,” said Eunwoo.

“You shouldn’t have to. Not everything in our world has a creative name. The Killing Curse is what it sounds like, a curse that kills,” added Yebin.

“You know what Nightshade was doing there.” It wasn’t a question. Jieqiong looked at Nayoung expectantly.

“I saw you two looking at what you called a bomb site between the record store and bookstore on Charing Cross Road. You got pretty close to the gate, but then you turned right back around.”

“I knew we didn’t actually investigate it!” Exclaimed Jieqiong.

“You were right. That wasn’t a normal alley then,” admitted Eunwoo.

“What you see as a gap is actually a pub only witches and wizards can access, Muggles in exceptional cases. It’s a passage into a kind of wizarding shopping district called Diagon Alley,” explained Yewon.

“Diagon Alley… Wait a minute. That’s one of the schematics we found in Tyranno’s apartment.” Jieqiong pointed at the pile behind their couch, only to remember the pictures they took of the apartment were all deleted from the police station’s system.

“It’s densely populated with several potential victims, the streets lined with important businesses and buildings. Hitting Diagon Alley would be a huge blow to our community. Had Nightshade succeeded in breaking through the barrier designed specifically for him, we would have lost a lot of lives that day.”

“Is that why the bomb marks were so iffy? Because it was at the entrance of a place we shouldn’t be able to see?”

“Exactly,” Yebin replied to Jieqiong. “The pub is enchanted with Muggle-repelling charms, spells that keep your kind away from the Alley and keep our community hidden. The explosion was so close to the entrance that some of it, at least to your eyes, disappeared. In reality, you just can’t see all of it. The charms can’t always perfectly balance what’s visible and what’s not, but it gets the job done fairly well. What you assumed to be a bomb was actually a mass of explosive spells, most likely with the addition of flammable substances. We suspect Nightshade enlisted the help of Tyranno and possibly others, but nobody else was found at the scene.”

“I have another question. Why could’t I remember confronting Nightshade when I could remember the investigation of the bomb site before that?” Asked Jieqiong.

“That’s where I come in.” All five heads turned toward Siyeon. She hadn’t spoken this entire time. She looked a lot older and more frail, like she was personally bearing the weight of this discussion.

Jieqiong’s eyes flickered to Siyeon’s twitching hand. Jieqiong noticed she always kept her ebony baton close, as if someone would ambush the living room at any second. “Is that a wand? A magic wand?” Asked Jieqiong without any sign of mockery in her voice.

“It is,” said Siyeon simply.

“I’ve seen it before. Poking through my car window, on that same day. It’s coming back to me. Nayoung appeared, Nightshade kept attacking me, then all of a sudden we were back at my car.”

“Your first side-along Apparition,” said Nayoung.

“Right, that. And then I sped away to my apartment but I almost ran over someone in the evacuated street. I almost ran into you,” said Jieqiong with wide eyes. She could feel her brain jumping to conclusions. “What did you do to me?” She demanded, not caring how harsh her voice sounded.

Jieqiong strained to hear an answer. She didn’t like the idea of anyone manipulating her. She felt tainted and violated. Eunwoo was keeping an eye on Siyeon rather than listening to Jieqiong. Siyeon glanced at her, then to Jieqiong, and swallowed thickly before answering with a shaky voice.

“Nayoung and I are both Aurors. We catch dark wizards and witches under our government, the Ministry of Magic. All Aurors are skilled in several areas of offensive, defensive, healing, and concealment magic. But of course we all have our affinities. I’m also a certified Obliviator. I specialize in Memory Charms. In other words, I modify memories whether to secure our secrets should we be captured or to wipe traumatic experiences of Muggles encountering magic.”

Jieqiong knew it should’ve been a satisfactory answer. Siyeon wasn’t hiding anything per se. But Jieqiong didn’t feel like it justified wiping her memory clean. Nightshade was a prevalent terror whether or not he was a wizard. What right did Siyeon have to play with her mind when it was possibly the most valuable tool she had in protecting the people of London? She stared hard at the woman across the room.

“What?” Siyeon snapped, her voice steady and sharp again.

Jieqiong was about to fire back, but felt a subtle tug on her right elbow. From the corner of her eye, she saw Eunwoo’s jaw clenched tightly. Jieqiong realized she couldn’t let her anger get the best of her. Siyeon might be hotheaded and socially hostile, but she’s not unreasonable.

“I did my job. That should be a good enough explanation for you. Don’t we have other matters to discuss?” Siyeon said irritably to the room.

Siyeon was right no matter how much Jieqiong hated to admit it. Now was not the time to start a fight. Siyeon was by no means welcoming, but she was making an effort not to kick them out of the house. Jieqiong inhaled deeply and nodded her agreement.

Yebin clapped her hands for everyone’s attention. “Right. We’ve still got a few more things to bang out if I’m not mistaken. All that stuff you brought with you.” She waved at the piles of papers, equipment, and the two computers on the table. “You said it was all either corrupted, destroyed, or otherwise inconclusive?”

“We believe it was an inside job or the work of an insanely good hacker,” said Jieqiong. “They managed to change handwritten files, not just typed documents. Those are scanned and the physical copies are sealed directly in the station’s vault. You’d need written permission, a barcode, and a simultaneous retinal and fingerprint scan to even say hi to the key keeper at the front desk. Things that haven’t been properly filed or published have been altered too. Things that both Eunwoo and I and our two juniors have recorded. What’s strange is that nobody seems to remember a thing except for Eunwoo and me.” Jieqiong snapped her fingers in realization. “Memory Charms.”

The witches looked extremely confused at Jieqiong’s vocabulary, all except for Yebin. “We suspect that too, which obviously means it wasn’t our side. Nightshade must have done his own Charmwork on your colleagues so they would drop the investigation.”

“Tyranno!” Exclaimed Eunwoo. “Everything was fine up until the day of our stake-out. It was only when we showed up at Frank’s Fantastic Frozen Favorites that everyone seemed to forget all the progress we’ve made in tracking down Nightshade. It took us a while to get around the crowds too. There was plenty of time for Tyranno to cast a spell on everyone.”

“And before that happened, our boss and the other detectives went to investigate an anonymous tip-off,” continued Jieqiong. “That morning, we heard Tyranno fiddling with their radio box and figured their mission was compromised. We had no way of warning them that Tyranno had destroyed their equipment. That must have been when they were struck with a Memory Charm.”

“I take full responsibility for that day,” said Nayoung. “When we met in the coffee shop, you gave me a card with an anonymous hotline number. I never planned to use it, what with our laws on keeping magic under wraps. But I neglected to stow it safely in this house. Tyranno or Nightshade must have picked it up during a confrontation with me and used it to their advantage. Nightshade devised a plan to separate your team, making it easier to manipulate everyone.”

“Alright, so that explains why two months of memories went poof. But how were two months of physical and documented evidence altered? Only people who have clearance could access these files and samples.”

“There’s another kind of illegal curse, called the Imperius Curse,” said Siyeon in a very distant, business-like tone. “I’ve dealt with it a lot in a sort of reverse way, usually to retrace the memories of victims put under the spell in order to give testimony. The Imperius Curse gives the caster total control of the subject, body and mind. The files or whatever you store your information in doesn’t have to be affected by magic directly. That would be unpredictable seeing as how magic doesn’t deal with Muggle el sent tonics.”

“Electronics” Yebin corrected.

“Whatever. Someone working at the department may have been under the Imperius Curse, essentially marring your evidence under Nightshade’s command. They would know how to work your systems without Nightshade needing to step foot in the vicinity. It’s difficult for skilled wizards to break free from the trance, what more Muggles who have had zero exposure to it. Come to think of it, that’s probably how Tyranno planted information about Nightshade using the hotline. He could have bewitched an officer at the other station to make the call.”

Eunwoo sunk further into her couch cushion. “Good lord, what have we gotten ourselves into?”

“There’s something I wanted to ask,” said Nayoung. She pointed at Jieqiong’s computer screen. “I don’t know what all this is, but over here in the corner. You said this meant your station couldn’t test the residue you collected from Tyranno’s apartment?”

“Yeah. We collected a fair amount of residue from the drawers. It was filled with what I now suspect to be potion ingredients based on your little lab back there. The other test was for residue on top of the mantel. Jieqiong said there was an urn when we came in and it was gone by the time we called our team.”

Jieqiong picked up from Eunwoo’s retelling. “When she left to get a box to store what we found, I heard voices coming from the living room. I thought it was Tyranno speaking to Nightshade. I don’t know how he hid in the apartment. We searched it and thought he used the fire escape.”

Eunwoo clapped her hands loudly. “Oh! That’s what I never spoke to you about. You were thinking of the fireplace and pacing around the apartment, but I was weirded out by the missing furniture.” Eunwoo faced the witches. “I bumped into a coffee table on my way out. But after Jieqiong had me examine the fireplace with her, she walked right through where the table used to be. The carpet had huge stains and indents, much too large and deep to be from the table legs. In retrospect, they looked like hand and footprints,” she told the others.

Yewon raised her hand. “We can explain both of those. If Nightshade and Tyranno disappeared using fire, they must have used Floo Powder. That’s what was most likely in the urn they took. It’s another form of magical transportation. You throw the powder into a fireplace and you can stick your head in or step right into it. Just shout your destination, you’ll be there in a jiffy. That analysis wouldn’t work with Muggle techniques. Floo Powder was invented by a witch and nobody but the licensed company in Diagon Alley knows how to make it.”

“The Floo Network wasn’t blocked off then, or he somehow circumvented the guards monitoring it,” said Yebin.

Nayoung leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees. “As for the coffee table, you actually bumped into Tyranno, Eunwoo.”

“Excuse me?” Eunwoo deadpanned.

Nayoung held up a finger like a lecturer. “Another term to learn. Transfiguration is concerned with changing the form and composition of one thing into another, either live or inanimate. Tyranno must have transfigured himself if he couldn’t leave behind the apartment when you two came looking for him. He took on the form of a coffee table. When neither of you were in the room, he changed back into a man and used Floo Powder to contact Nightshade.”

“He couldn’t have left before you came back though,” Jieqiong said to Eunwoo. “When I thought a bomb had gone off, which was probably Tyranno dumping a bunch of powder into the fireplace as a distraction, I jumped back into the bedroom. I guess he could have Apparated into the room with me, but it’s quite small. I would’ve noticed a man twice my size trampling over my back to gather all those ingredients and schematics of the Alley and Ministry.”

“What did you say?” Nayoung said with an urgent tone.

Everyone was staring at Jieqiong now. Eunwoo gave her a confused look but prompted her to speak. “I would’ve noticed him in the room with me. We found out belatedly that he had taken the urn of Floo Powder, the potion ingredients, and the schematics on the desk when he escaped for good.”

“What schematics did you find?” Nayoung demanded.

“Well, there was Diagon Alley. I assume he used that for blasting his way into your hidden district. And there were at least seven or eight blueprints depicting floors of the Ministry—“ Jieqiong gasped.

Nayoung balled her fists until her knuckles turned white. “He’s ambushing the Ministry of Magic.”