The next morning Yeri walked down to the restaurant inside of the hotel with Joy. Irene and Seulgi were already sitting at a table. Seulgi seemed to be talking. Irene seemed to be vaguely listening. It was a typical sight, though Yeri would have expected the two to be completely ignoring each other. They walked up to the table. It was a table for eight. One chair had been taken away. Probably by one of the customers around them. The place was packed.

“How long have you guys been down here for?” Joy asked.

Seulgi looked up. Pulled out her phone and cocked a brow. “Apparently three hours.”

“You guys were up at five? What are you, nocturnal?”

“Four, actually. We’re sensitive creatures,” Seulgi said with a teasing smile.

Yeri was sure Joy would have said something offensive if it hadn’t been for Irene. Yeri knew Joy had a certain respect for the leader. Which surprised her because Joy rarely respected anyone. Though Yeri could understand why. Irene was cool-headed and thought things through before doing anything. She was smart and strong and skilled and those were traits that would be admired by anyone.

Fifteen minutes later, Irene got a call. She picked up and in another second put her phone back in her pocket. She stood up.

“Amber wants us to meet at her room.”

“Are you kidding me? I barely got to touch anything!” Joy said.

Seulgi patted her on the back. Yeri laughed at the disgusted look on Joy’s face. She followed the group towards the elevators. Once again, a lot of stares. They were mostly directed on Irene and Seulgi and Joy. The three had large presences. Yeri easily blended into the background beside them. She liked it that way. She’d never enjoyed the spotlight after all. Attention ended in bad things from her experience and she wanted no part in it.

They reached the elevators. Yeri watched as the other guests backed off. As if they were opposite sides of a magnet. The elevator dinged and the doors opened and Yeri followed inside after Joy. There was space. No one got in.

Yeri noticed a drastic change in the atmosphere from the first time they’d met. It wasn’t uncomfortable. It wasn’t tense. No one was arguing. It was a more comfortable sort of silence around them and Yeri realized that throughout the missions they’d faced together, they’d achieved a closer bond.

The elevator jolted to a stop and they walked out. They were on the thirty-seventh floor. There were two hallways leading in two different directions. Irene took the left corridor. Naturally, they followed her. Yeri could see the housekeepers moving from room to room. Carts of cleaning supplies being pushed around. Irene stopped at the fourth door to the left.

“And here are our agents!”

Yeri shrank back slightly at Amber’s sudden appearance and took refuge behind Joy’s shoulder. Joy scoffed quietly. Yeri nudged her.

“Come in, come in.”

They filed into the room. It looked exactly the same as the room Yeri had slept in the night before. Just a bit messier. Yeri guessed that that was probably thanks to Amber. Yeri could hear the sound of running water in the bathroom. Krystal was taking a shower.

“Oh, Wendy. You were here already.”

Yeri looked to see Wendy sitting on the couch. She looked tired. Dark circles shadowed her eyes and her posture was slumped. She smiled nonetheless albeit the fact that it looked strained. She shifted over to one side on the couch.

“Yeah. Amber called me up just when I was about to go down,” she said.

The air around them turned awkward.

Amber cleared . “Alright. Sit down, guys. Sit down.”

The four of them found seats around the room. Irene sat next to Wendy, Seulgi took one of the chairs, and Joy sat down at the foot of one of the beds. Yeri sat next to her. The bathroom door opened and Krystal walked out wearing an oversized t-shirt and drying her hair with a towel.

Krystal looked around the room. “Morning.”

Yeri could practically feel the tension thicken the air around them. She shifted uncomfortably. Scooted a little closer to Joy. Krystal sat down on the other bed.

“Alright, so we have to get started today. We’re going undercover.” Amber’s expression turned mischievous. “The police won’t hand over any information. They’re telling me that the case is old and that they won’t reopen it. I explained to them, but nothing goes through that thick skull of theirs so Plan B. Joy and Yeri, the two of you will get the hardcopy information. Wendy, you’ll have to go in with them and hack into the computers. See what you can find. Irene, Krystal, and Seulgi you guys are gonna have to create a diversion.”

“What?” Seulgi said.

Amber grinned. “Cat fight anyone?”

Seulgi’s brow raised at the familiar black van and car waiting in front of the hotel. She turned to Amber. Pointed at the cars.

“We have agency vehicles in Canada?”

“Of course we do,” Amber said. “You should know this, party girl.”

Seulgi glared and self consciously drew her coat tighter around her body. Underneath it she was wearing a tight fitting dress that you would see in clubs. Amber’s plan turned out to be unpleasant. Seulgi and Krystal would start a fight in front of the police station. Irene would call the police out and everything from there was up to them.

Seulgi kept her head down. There was makeup smeared messily across her face. Mascara and lipstick. All part of the get-up. She could feel people watching them. She got into the van as quickly as possible. Krystal did the same. Seulgi glared as Amber got in and shut the door after Irene.

“Man, you two really look the part.”

“Shut up,” Krystal said.

Amber laughed. “Okay, so you guys really have to go at it. Like rip at each other’s hair and stuff. But don’t pull off any Street Fighter moves, alright? The two of you are just drunk party girls looking for a fight. Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” Amber rummaged through her bag a