"We should check out this place," Haruki said to Luhan as they headed towards the door, the rookie scrambling to keep up with her brisk pace. "Maybe they can tell us something about-" She froze, eyes widening in alarm and Luhan's hand jumped to his gun, just in case. 

"Hey, girl cop! Is this deja vu? Have I gone back in time?" asked the man striding towards them with a slight limp, grinning broadly. He pointed at Luhan. "Who the hell is this?"

"What are you doing here, Heechul?" asked Haruki. "I thought you'd never set a foot in this place unless you had to?"

"Well, apparently, I had to." He waved the envelope in his hand and tapped her on the head with it a few times. "Apparently, the analysts you hired to take my place aren't half as good as I am. They still need to call poor little me out of retirement."

"I didn't hire-"

"Why are you retired?" Luhan asked and Heechul turned towards him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Haruki shaking her head, but it was too late.

Heechul's face contorted into one of anger as he growled, "I didn't voluntarily retire, I was forced to! Just because of that stupid car accident- why does it matter if I can't walk? I don't need to walk, I just need some freakin' lab equipment! Freakin' Chief Park forced me to retire, 'For my own good,' he said. 'Your health is more important,' he said. Well, what the hell does that matter when I'm bored out of my mind at home all day! I liked my job, I don't want a new one!"

Then he paused and patted Luhan on the head, though the rookie wasn't much shorter than he was. "I like this new pet better than the old one, girl cop. More balls. Besides, he doesn't seem like the psycho-stalker type, but you never know."

Haruki shook her head and firmly grabbed Luhan's arm. "Let's go."

"Hey, whoa, little too much intimacy there," chuckled Heechul as Luhan looked baffled by his sudden change in attitude. "Aren't you supposedly going out with Donghae?"

Luhan saw his partner's jaw twitch before she turned around and snapped, "What do you mean by 'supposedly'?"

"Well, knowing you two the way I do, you're either imagining the whole relationship or he's just in it to sleep with you."

"Heechul-"

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding, you guys must be adorable together." He turned around and walking off, waving as he strutted away. "See you later, Haruki! It was nice catching up!"

Haruki waited until they were out a building before screaming, "UGH!"

Luhan waited for her to stop seething before asking, "So, uh, who exactly was that?" 

"That's Heechul, former chief lab analyst," Haruki replied. "Chief Park told him to retire after he shattered his leg and he stole all our lab equipment before he left."

"He seems insensitive," Luhan commented and Haruki snorted. "Kind of like Shindong."

"Shindong doesn't realize he's being inappropriate half the time," Haruki explained. "Heechul is still bitter about the accident and he purposefully says things he knows will hurt you." She glanced over her shoulder and shuddered involuntarily. "I'm glad we're missing his visit. If I know Heechul, he came here on purpose to rile everyone up."

Sungmin came out of his office and stopped dead when he saw Heechul. He debated whether or not to retreat back to his office, when the other man spotted him. "Sungmin!" He rushed over and clapped the detective on the shoulder. "Good to see you, man. Get arrested lately?"

Sungmin scowled. "Good to see you, too."

"So is it true- I mean, no one's really confirmed this for me- that you just let Haruki go and date Donghae?" Heechul asked. "I mean, after all those years of pining, you just gave up?" He patted Sungmin's shoulder just a little too hard. "Way to go. That must be rough."

"Leave him alone." Ryeowook crossed his arms as he came over. 

Heechul raised his eyebrows. "Wow, Wookie grew claws. That's not a nice way to talk to me when I'm just here for a visit."

At that, Ryeowook's assertive posture melted away and his shoulders slumped slightly. "Oh. Well, I...um, that is..."

Heechul slung an arm over his shoulder. "There's the Ryeowook I know! Soft-spoken and quick to tears." He half-hugged both of them. "I will see you both later!" he called, before heading off towards the lab.

Ryeowook and Sungmin looked at each other, unsure of what to say, when Heechul suddenly came running back. "Oh, by the way, where's my good friend Siwon? I wanted to say hi to him."

"But haven't you heard?" Ryeowook blurted out. "Siwon's dea- oops." He clapped his hands over his mouth and took a few steps backwards as Heechul's eyes slowly widened.

"Dead?" he repeated. "DEAD?!"

Sungmin darted inside his office, Ryeowook on his tails, and slammed the door shut behind them. "Why?" Sungmin asked. "Why, why, why would you say it like that?"

"I thought he already knew!" protested Ryeowook.

"He's lives like a recluse with the mis-matched curtains down all the time," Sungmin retorted. "He doesn't bother to keep up with the world." He ducked down behind his desk. "We better stay in here for a while." Ryeowook, crouched behind a file cabinet, agreed.

"CHIEF!"

Leeteuk flinched at the voice, especially when Heechul stormed into his office. "Hello, Heechul. What's-"

"Siwon is dead? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Heechul yelled, slamming both hands on the table.

"It was in the news," Leeteuk replied. "We had a small memorial for him-"

"You should have told me! I should have been there!" Heechul yelled. "What...what happened?"

"He was killed on the job. He was shot by the leader of a vigilante group when he went into their base to investigate. She-"

"A girl? He was shot by a girl?" He laughed harshly. "That's impossible."

Chief Park sighed and folded his hands on the table. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know! There's nothing you can say. He's dead! He's never freakin' coming back!" He slumped into a chair and rubbed at the bridge of his nose with a long sigh. "Aish, this job..." Chief Park noticed the way he was subtly rubbing at his leg where they had inserted the metal rod.

"I know," Leeteuk replied quietly. He understood better than anyone else. He remembered the heart-stopping phone call he'd received, telling him that Heechul's car had flipped over on his way to a trial, where he would be the key witness for the prosecution. After arguing with the doctors for hours while Heechul lay in surgery, he had finally made the difficult decision for force Heechul into an early retirement. Not because of the injury, but of the stress the accident would have left behind. His best lab analyst was physically capable of performing his job, but the stress of the environment, with the shadow of death hanging over their heads might be too much for someone who had not signed up for the dangers of being out in the field.

Both of them sat in silence, until Heechul swung his legs, hopping to his feet. "Well, got to go. See you around, old man. Kyuhyun's in the lab, right? Finally get to torture that kid again..."

After he had gone, Leeteuk smiled to himself. None of them ever knew the reasons behind decisions he made and he kept it that way. But based on how short Heechul's tantrum had been today, he'd say things were getting better.

"I'm glad that's done now," sighed Yoona as she pored over the files Heechul had brought her.

Kyuhyun poked his head out from the supply closet. "Is he gone?"

"He's gone," Yoona replied.

"I don't get it," Minho said. "Why are you so scared of him? He seems quirky, but so are most people here."

"He was in a good mood today," Yoona replied. "Last time he threw a tantrum, Hurricane Heechul blew through this lab and took all the expensive equipment. Basically, if he couldn't work here, then no one else could, either." She scanned the files one more time and set them aside, before walking over to the microscope to look at-

She raised her head sharply and glared at the two of them. "Did either of you touch this?"

"No," Minho replied.

Kyuhyun shrugged. "I was hiding, remember?"

"Is something wrong?"

"The eyepiece is missing," Yoona replied. "So then....UGH!" She stomped over to the door and yanked it over. "Heechul! Bring that back!" She thought she heard his laughter echoing down the hallway as she raced towards the front door. 

From his office, Chief Park listened to the yelling and sighed. "Or not."

A/N: Not quite sure what I was getting at halfway through...oh well. nalaboja asked me to bring Heechul back for a visit, so I did! I think he's meaner than the last time I wrote him, but it's so much fun to be a jerk to your own characters!