It was small...

But, it was a step toward...

“I want no mistakes!” The commander hissed. “Do you hear me?”

The males that were there, nodded their heads. The task they got was simple. They had located the two men that had tried to kidnap Ari and it was time that they paid. If there was one thing that the Italian police were good at, it was catching criminals in a record of time. Especially when it came to inspector L. He was the fastest when it came to that and no one could beat his record.

The men got into the position surrounding the small cabin where they were hiding. Even if they tried to run, they couldn’t. L made sure of it. With his hand, he motioned them to move out and on his mark to go inside and catch them, and that is exactly what they did. Before they knew what hit them, they were on the ground, and their rights were being read to them.

“Search the area!” L ordered as he walked over to the two men. “Have you read them their rights?”

“Yes, sir!” The officer spoke.

“Good,” L nodded. “Get them to the police station and prepare for interrogation.”

Without a word, the male bowed and excused himself. L reached for his phone and dialed the police station. He needed to request since this was an international case, not a local and the procedure was a bit different, but thankfully the two countries worked well together in such cases.

“Two men are coming your way,” He spoke the moment the line was answered. “Get their info and contact the lead investigators back in Korea.” 

“Yes, is that all?” The latter on the other said.

“That is all.” 

With that L ended the call and placed his phone away. It was time to join the search. They needed prints, trails, weapons, and anything they could find. The more evidence they got the easier the case becomes and their denies are not worth . Placing the gloves on his hands he walked over to the coffee table where one of the forensics was scanning for fingertips.

He bent down and picked up a piece of paper. At first glance, it was a simple white paper, but L was no fool. He turned the UV light toward it and smirked. There was something written on it, but they used a special ink that was not visible to the eye but only under a special type of light. On it, there was a number, but no name. He took one of the bags and placed the paper inside.

“Sir!”

“Yes?” L said, looking at the young officer that came running in.

“There is an old wooden shed outside,” He said. “You need to see this.”

L nodded and got up, following the officer outside and behind the house where the shed was located. The young one opened the wooden shed and L’s eyes widened in shock. The walls were covered in Ari’s pictures and the pictures of her friends. In one of the corners, there was a mattress on the floor and a pair of old shackles.

L sighed and shook his head. “Take pictures, search for fingertips and wrap it up. I’ll see you at the station.”

The male nodded and went back to business as L turned around and left for his car. He had seen more than enough, so it was time to get the information out of them, if they refuse, then he will use force. He has his ways of dealing with such idiots and he always gets the information he needs out of them. It was as simple as that. Sitting in his car, he started the engine, backed up, and sped down the road toward the city. 

*

“Have you contacted the police in Korea?” He asked the moment he walked into the police station.

“We have,” The female confirmed.”They are waiting for us to finish the interrogation so they can take over.”

He nodded. “What else did you find out?”

“They have entered Italy illegally,” She spoke again. “And they have a criminal file on drug abuse, drug traffic, and abuse.”

“Scums,” He mumbled. “Alright. Prepare the papers for deportation.” 

“Yes, sir!”

With that, the female officer left and L headed for the integration room where they were waiting for him. As he walked inside, the two men sat in their chairs, looking at their hands, not daring to even look at the police officer that was there, let alone to look at L. The male sat across them and tilted his head to the side.

“Not so tough now, uh?” L smirked. “Talk.”

The two men exchanged looks as if they were trying to communicate with each other. L raised his eyebrow and slammed his hand against the table all of a sudden, making the two jolt in their seats, quickly looking away.

“I don’t like to repeat myself,” He said calmly. “Don’t get on my bad side. Talk. Now. Who? When? Where? How?”

“Lee Seun gave us the order,” One of the men spoke.

“He sent us the information and a huge amount of money,” The other added.

“Where is he?” L asked.

“Somewhere in between two Koreas,” The older latter replied.

“Once you kidnapped Ari, what was the plan? And don’t tell me it was to play board games. I saw the shed.”

“We were supposed to scare her and even harm her if needed,” One of them explained.

“He told us to do anything just to get Taeyong to play by his rules,” The other jumped in.

L nodded as he continued to listen to the two. He made sure that the whole interrogation was recorded, both video and audio since it will come in handy. It was going to be a long night, but it was all worth it. It was one of the things L loved about his job, despite the scumbags that he dealt with, he always managed to get his way. 
 

The sound of the phone going off, woke her up from her slumber and she groaned from under the covers as she reached for it. Taeyong mumbled something but didn’t budge, as he turned around on the other side and continued to sleep. Ari slid her finger across the screen without looking at the screen to see who was calling.

“Miss, Byun?” The voice from the other side spoke.

“This is she…” She mumbled.

“Sorry to call you this late. I am from the Italian police, officer Roberto,” He spoke. “I am calling to inform you that the two suspects have been arrested.”

Ari sat up right away, wide awake. “Do I need to come to the station or something?”

Her words made Taeyong flinch from his sleep and he pulled himself up into a sitting position.

“No need,” He explained. “I was just told to notify you.”

“Thank you,” She said.

“Have a nice night.”

Ari put her phone away and looked at Taeyong. He was about to say something but she beat him to it.

“They caught them!”

Instead of a reply, Taeyong pulled her into a hug and sighed in relief. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled, closing her eyes. The danger was completely over because Seun was still free, but at least, a part of it was and it counted. Running a hand through his hair, she pulled away and looked at him. A slight smile appeared on his face as he looked at her.

“It will be alright,” She whispered. “Seun will be caught as well.”

“The sooner the better,” He nodded and hugged her again, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

She understood the way he felt and what he was going through. Partly he was happy and she knew that, but as long as Seun was out there he won’t have any peace, and that was understandable. Seun was his worst nightmare, a nightmare that he wanted to get rid of, and only then can he be happy. Truly happy. Taking a deep breath he pulled away and caressed her cheek.

“I know I should be happy, but as long as he is out there-”

She placed her index finger over his mouth. “Shush, you don’t have to explain yourself to me. Your fears and worries are normal. Let’s try to get some more sleep. A long day awaits us tomorrow.”

He smiled softly and nodded his head. The two of them snuggled under the covers, making themselves comfortable. Ari placed her head against his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat. He smiled and caressed her back, making sure that she was comfortable enough.

“I love you, Ari.”

“I love you too,” She mumbled softly