Covert Chapter 6

Sungjae’s POV

I watched as Jung IlHoon walked out of the interrogation room alongside his shrewd lawyer, who was able to free him from our custody. Hae In scratched the back of his head in frustration as they left the SVU floor.

“Damn it! He was the only person we can actually pin this on!” I only sighed, thinking about how to proceed with the investigation when I heard loud footsteps approaching us.

“Sungjae! What’s going on? Our Section Chief just told us that SoHyun left the team for Counterterrorism. Did you know about this?” MinHyuk came running toward me for answers.

“Wait! What? What happened?” I asked, confused by the sudden questions being thrown. I motioned MinHyuk away from the eyes of my colleagues to hear what happened from him. “Slow down and tell what just happened.”

“I came to work and then our Section Chief rounded us up in the conference room to announce that SoHyun left the team to take a position at Counterterrorism! There is absolutely no reason for her to take the position.” MinHyuk was perplexed by SoHyun’s decision. I had no idea she was offered the position, since she didn’t like to talk about her work with me.

“Hold on let me see if she picks up.” I told MinHyuk before pocketing my phone out. I pressed my phone to my ear, calling So Hyun when an automated voice said that the phone was turned off.

“MinHyuk, get back to work. I’ll meet you in front of the BAU after work. We’ll figure it out later. Right now we have to focus on our work.”

“Okay.” I gave him a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder before he turned away and returned to his department.

“Let’s look over the files that the BAU had on the case and see where to go from there. He was our only lead.” Hyunsik suggested, taking a pile from the desk and passing it to me.

“The only way to catch him is to first pin him for a crime he already committed and work our way into his relations. Sungjae and Hae In you guys follow his every move and scoop out his lifestyle and the people he interacts with. Changsub and Do Hwan, you guys go over the files the BAU had on Jung IlHoon. There is definite proof that the gang is responsible for the attack.” Our Section Chief gave us our assignments and I left with Hae In to the garage to get the car ready.

We coordinated with a tech analyst to find out Jung IlHoon’s location through his phone by having him disclose his location to us through a phone spasm without his knowledge. We tracked his location and followed him in a nondescript vehicle.  

“Man I hate surveillance. But this is a lot better than going over hours of surveillance footage.” Hae In commented as he rubbed his eyes. We’ve been following the suspect for ten hours already. Jung IlHoon was working as a bartender at a club, escorting young clubbers with fancy cars and golden credit cards into the venue with a confident smirk on his face. He got off too easy. Then there was finally some movement.

“Go!” I exclaimed as Hae In grasped the steer wheel and began following the van Jung IlHoon had just jumped into. The van stopped in front of a vandalized abandoned warehouse where we saw Jung IlHoon and two other guys run out of the car and into the warehouse. I noticed that Jung IlHoon had a black duffle bag in his hand.

Hae In and I checked our guns and notified our team for backup before we left the car. We treaded lightly into the warehouse when we heard groans and screaming as we neared the front entrance. We pulled out our guns and made our presence known.

“Jung IlHoon! NIS!” We shouted, barging into the warehouse to witness a man with a syringe in his hand, injecting something into a gang member, who was laying down on the ground. Still pointing my gun at him, I grabbed the vial from Jung IlHoon, who was caught with illegal pharmaceutical drugs in his possession. Hae In and I exchanged a glance, knowing that we got him this time. The gang members froze in their places as we aimed our guns at them.

“Stand down! Don’t think of running or else we’ll shoot.” I shouted, forcing the gang to halt. Most of them were too injured to even fight back. Bloody knives, wooden logs, and cash were strewn across the pavement. Jung IlHoon swore under his breath as Hae In handcuffed him. The other members were handcuffed and ready to be taken into custody when the man took out a scalpel. He had a neater appearance compared to the gang members. He was tall and dressed in a pressed silk shirt with slacks and a pair of shiny brogues. It was clear he didn’t belong in the gang.

“Put the scalpel down. Let me see your hands.”

“You got what you needed. Now let me do what I need to do. I shouldn’t leave this man with his guts open right here or should I?” The man smirked with a cold glint in his eyes, which disturbed me.

“Leave it. We’ll have someone patch him back up.” I said and just then backup arrived. The gang members were taken into our custody and the medical staff on hand came in to take the injured gang member to the hospital. The pharmaceutical drugs were taken as evidence, while I handcuffed the surgeon or whoever the bastard was. HyunSik and Changsub interrogated the other gang members while I was ordered to get something out of the guy who was holding the scalpel. I followed the procedure by having his fingerprint taken but then I received some bizarre news.

“Agent Yook. Something is up.” The tech analyst called me over. “There is nothing on him. His fingerprint isn’t registered and I can’t even find a name for the guy. He doesn’t have an identity. I registered his face into the system and nothing is coming up.” The results from the tech analyst were impossible and yet there was nothing in the system regarding that man. I checked the databases myself, scrolling through the screen to find nothing comes up.

“What the hell?” I mumbled to myself in astonishment before asking the man who he was. “Who the hell are you?”

“You don’t know me, but I know an awful lot about you, Agent Yook Sungjae.” I took a step back after hearing the surprising confession while the bastard was smirking at me. I took a seat across from him and asked about his association with the gang.

“As you saw. I stitch those bastards up whenever they call for help. That’s all.” He was inscrutable, much like the woman I loved. Then suddenly there was banging on the one- way mirror, outside the interrogation room. I left the room in an annoy