~_____~

It was kind of awkward sitting alone in the backseat of Lay’s car. Chorong wasn’t close to Lay. She had heard about him from a few people, but had never had the chance to meet him until now. And even now she hadn’t had the chance to share even a word with him. What was new to her was that Victoria and Lay were from the same Police Academy. Chorong had never heard of Victoria, but she had heard several things about the SWAT unit and the kinds of missions they’d gone on. Inside her head she saw troops of soldiers with large rifles and guns silently crawling through the woods to surround and attack their enemy. She wasn’t exactly sure about the kind of things they did though.

“I accompany the officers out on missions and we stake out criminals together,” Lay explained, “if nothing’s up I mostly stay at the division to run paperwork. I guess it’s similar to the things Kim Namjoo does, but our jobs aren’t on such a wide scale as theirs. How’s the SWAT unit? A lot of deployment work?”

“Actually, yes.” Victoria nodded. “There’s been a few high risk operations, but they weren’t so bad. The elite units we work with are well trained so they know safety and how to conduct strategies.”

“Anything scary?”

“Searching for a bomb after a hostage situation,” Victoria told, “the hostage negotiator, Park Chun Hei, had to stay with us for 64 hours. One of the negotiations that took the longest time to complete.”

“What about the bomb?” Lay wondered.

“Three minutes before it went off, found it hidden under a floorboard. Nasty idea,” Victoria finished. “I’m not sure whether to call it a successful or horrible operation.”

“But you saved the hostages, didn’t you?”

“Could have,” Victoria emphasized the two words, “under less time.” Then she twisted her head back and Chorong quickly leaned back into her seat afraid that Victoria might make some comment about her eavesdropping, if it could be considered eavesdropping at all. “What about you?”

“M…me?” Chorong questioned putting a hand on her chest.

“Assistant Inspector Park Chorong, right?” Lay questioned glancing into the rearview mirror. “You’re related to District Attorney Lim, right?”

Chorong tried to bring up a smile, but only the corner of her lips edged up which didn’t really help with the smile at all. She slightly nodded her head. She didn’t want others to think that she used her connections to get to where she was. She had a whole family with connections and lines in the Police Department. Rumors had often spread around her during her trainee days that she’d used her uncle to get into police school even when her high school grades were hopelessly low. Truth was, her father had had her uncle add in a few helpful words for her, but she’d done pretty much everything with all the effort she could muster up.

Chorong suddenly felt very small in front of Commander Lay and SWAT team leader Victoria Song.

“Yes…” she quietly answered, “but I don’t do as much as you two. I have no experience with human or drug trafficking. I’ve only gone on site to help the forensics team inspect homicides.”

“And that’s what we’ll be doing a lot, excluding the homicide. I don’t think we’ll be doing that,” Victoria said turning around to look at her. Chorong almost shied away from how kind she was. “Lets work well together.”

~_____~

Lay glanced around at the gray buildings and the dark smoky alleys around them. He could tell that these dark buildings served as homes for the less well-off people. There were barely any children around since it was still early noon and they should be in school. Parents would be at work and if there were any elders they’d most likely be inside their tiny apartments.

The roads were untidy with deep cracks gutting out crookedly. There was a strange liquid flowing down from the alley into the sewer gutter at the side of the street and Lay didn’t want to guess what it was.

Tilting his head up to glance at the clear gray sky he saw open rooftops. Then his eyes swiveled over to the rusty staircases that led up to the second floor apartments and wondered if there might be someone watching them.

“Is it here where there are cases popping up?” Lay turned back to look at Victoria.

“If I remember correctly, my secretary said there was a kidnapping in this area just a few days ago,” Victoria nodded.

“Kidnapping?” Chorong raised an eyebrow at the news.

Victoria nodded, “Early morning before she made it to the bus stop. 8 years old, around four feet in a school uniform, and with short brown hair.”

“8 years old?” Chorong repeated disgustingly shocked. “Oh my god…”

“I’m assuming they haven’t found anything that would lead to discovering her.”

Victoria shook her head, “Just disappeared, like gone from the surface of the earth. No body yet.”

“Then she’s still alive somewhere…” Chorong quietly added.

Lay glanced at her before they turned when the churning wheels of a car merged up behind his. Suho stepped out with a ready for work aura while Tao wiped his oily hands against his pants loudly as he walked toward them.

“Are we searching this area?” questioned Suho.

“Yes,” Victoria replied, “according to reports, an 8 year old girl disappeared around this area.”

Suho sturdily nodded without question and glanced toward Tao who was his lips and searching around. Lay wondered why Lee Donghae would choose to pull Tao out of prison just to place him in their team. The decision didn’t make sense.

“Lets split up and look around the area. Question anyone you might see, and if there’s someone suspicious keep questioning them for answers,” Lay instructed.

“When should we meet back here?” Chorong asked.

“How about in thirty?” Victoria suggested.

“Good idea.” Suho nodded and purposely elbowed Tao to get him to turn to them.

“Ow!” Tao yelped grabbing his arm and shooting Suho a stare.

“We’ll head this way then,” Suho told before grabbing Tao’s arm to pull along.

Lay watched them go before turning to the other two, “Good luck.”

~_____~

Suho paused at the end of the empty intersection and twisted his head to look right and left. There was a stop sign in front of him and a gold brick building across from him. Very few people were out and about. Most of them looked like business people exiting the bank nearby to travel back to their cars. A stray cat brushed by his legs before he turned to look at Tao who was standing nearby without a care in the world.

“Yah,” Suho called, “help me look around.”

Tao turned to glance at him with deep set eyes. “Can I go sleep in the car?”

“Look here,” Suho shifted so that his whole body was facing Tao, “when you’re on a job, you do your job. You agreed to join us and you better keep your word, because a man who doesn’t keep his word is less than even a dog.”

He snorted, “Are you lecturing me?”

“Donghae threatened you about your pay, didn’t he?” questioned Suho. “I mind as well tell you that when your pay gets cut, the other share goes to me and Namjoo.” Suho glued his eyes into Tao’s. “Work less then.”

A glare struck Tao’s eyes, but before he could retaliate Suho shoved him aside.

“Yah!” Tao hissed underneath his breath almost angrily.

“Shut up!” Suho snapped taking a step forward, his eyebrows deep into his face.

With a turn of his head Tao finally heard it. The shrill scream of a young girl. It silenced the moment a man smothered with his hand and pulled her toward the car awaiting him by the road. Suho’s blood ran cold before he dashed forward.

“Stop! Stop right there!” Suho screamed after him, but even before he reached them the car had sped off. “Shoot!”

Suho pivoted around and started back at Tao who only meaninglessly stared. Without a word Suho retraced his steps back toward his car.

“Where are you going!?” Tao screamed after him.

With no time to waste Suho immediately started his car and pulled into the street. Before he drove off the passenger door opened and he turned to see that it was only Tao.

“Move it!” Suho raised his voice.

After Tao jumped in Suho raced off into the street with his eyes furiously skimming the roads. He thanked God silently for leaving the streets empty that morning. It would be an easy task to follow the car from earlier since the routes connected. Now Suho just had to recall where to turn and how the car looked like.

“Silver or gray?” Suho questioned.

“What?” Tao asked confused.

“Was the car silver or gray!?”

“You don’t need to freaking yell, do you?” Tao managed upset.

“What color was it!?” Suho raised his voice frustrated that he couldn’t yet find the car.

Suho harshly swerved around the corner which resulted with Tao colliding into the window.

“ dude!” Tao swore.

“Gray, it was gray, wasn’t it?” Suho asked in a low mutter.

Tao shot him a dark glare and caught the savage smirk that climbed onto Suho’s face.

~_____~

Dead end. Chorong pouted and kicked a garbage can that was already lying to its death on the ground. She kicked at it and let out a shout when a squirrel crawled out of it. Shooting it a dark frown she turned around and started back toward the street. Chorong wasn’t sure they’d be able to get anything done. There didn’t seem to be anyone suspicious around at all. The streets were barely occupied by any strange presence.

She quickly took her words back when she spotted Suho’s car speeding off dangerously. She twisted her head to look down her right where they must have come from, but didn’t see anyone high tailing them. Did that mean they were following someone?

Running out into the street she quickly paused and looked around for Lay or Victoria. Neither were in sight. Chorong jumped in spot debating what she should do. Grab a cab to follow? Or just run after them since her feet was all she had at the moment?

“Aish!” she howled before darting after them.

When she turned around the corner, Suho’s car was already far down the street. Chorong hated running. Being an assistant inspector didn’t require her to run around at all so this was new to her. Since she had already accepted the job, there was no use complaining now. Why the Commander General had referred her didn’t make sense now. What had he been thinking when he’d called her in?

Urging herself forward she charged after Suho’s car as fast as she could and when they disappeared around another corner she let out a groan.

~_____~

“Damn…if you’d gone manual you could be on the racing track right now.” Tao awed then wondered in another tone that said he was in deep thought, “I wonder how much money you would get then.”

“Right, they’re on your right, right?” Suho questioned.

“What right?” Tao turned to him confused.

Suho’s eyes darted toward Tao’s side window. He had still yet to make it halfway down the block, but he knew that gray car was heading his way. Suho had carefully surveyed the area while zooming and zipping past the buildings he used to mark his ground.

“I don’t see anything!” Tao replied.

Suho further stepped onto the accelerator and Tao felt the gravity force him back into the chair. His heart palpitated and his mind blanked out. The thought of his unworn seatbelt flushed into his mind and his hands made a grab for it, but it was too late. Even the sky from above seemed to become a blur as Suho drove forward.

A scream belted out of Tao’s lips without him meaning to when he saw that gray car from out of the corner of his eye. Suho was right. The car was coming toward them on his right and how Suho had known, Tao couldn’t explain. Either he was really smart or it had been a lucky guess, but he couldn’t understand what was rushing through Suho’s brain.

The car slid to a halting stop with the brakes screaming underneath them and Tao clamped his eyes shut for the moment’s sake. If he died, he didn’t want to know what had hit him. They came to a complete stop and after what felt like a long minute, Tao opened his eyes.

It was a bad move.

The gray car came pounding into the backseat side of Suho’s car and they did a 180 in the middle of the street before coming to another complete halt.  

“What the !? Are you trying to kill me, you dip!” Tao screamed angrily. When he turned Suho was already halfway out of the car. “Aish!” Tao kicked the floor of the car before getting out.

He watched Suho stomp madly toward the gray car and spotted the little girl sitting in the back beside a large man. Her eyes were tainted with what Tao knew as fear. When their eyes met Tao quickly averted his gaze.

~_____~

Suho pulled open the door of the driver’s side and pulled the man behind it out.

“I saw what you and your buddy did that back. You’re under arrest.”

“And who are you?” the man questioned. He glanced over at Tao before returning back to Suho, “You don’t look like the cops to me.”

“I’m from a high branch, the government.” Suho pulled his is I.D. for proof.

Suho was brought off guard when the man suddenly grabbed his arm and slammed his head against the front of the car. His fist met with Suho’s guts and punched the wind out of him before leaving him helpless on the ground.

“Run! Forget the girl! Run!” he screamed toward his partner.

A scream shook Suho’s lips before he glanced up at Tao.

~_____~

Chorong’s eyes shot wide open when Suho’s car went spinning in the middle of the road. She hadn’t witnessed anything so dangerous before and why he would have risked such a thing, she couldn’t understand. If Suho hadn’t parked so far up near the sidewalk she was sure Tao would have been heavily injured when the car rammed into them.

Panting heavily she stopped to catch their breath. With the guys fighting she’d be able to regain some of her energy before catching up to them. Chorong turned to glance back the way she’d come and was surprised she’d ran so far. Back in high school she had been a fail at gym class. It suddenly felt like she was reliving one of those awful days again.

“Ah…shoot!” she muttered and started forward again.

Her eyes went wide the second Suho was flipped to the ground like a pancake. This meant trouble. Those guys were real trouble. With a siren screaming in her head she bolted forward, the thought of gym class disappearing from her head at once.

“Are you ok!?” Chorong helped pull Suho up.

“Com…compartment,” Suho nodded toward his car.

“What?” Chorong asked lost at what he was trying to tell her.

“My car, there’s a gun.”

Chorong twisted her head back and let go of him before opening the passenger door. The second she pulled the compartment open she spotted a black handgun sitting under some books and papers.  

~_____~

That had to be the dumbest thing Tao had seen in his life. The strong urge to just run off at the moment mentally overtook him before Suho’s pitiful eyes met his. Tao groaned and turned to look after the two that had gone off. Without further thought he rushed after them.

With a short heave he jumped into the air, kicked one of them in the back, and swung his other leg at the other’s head. Killing two birds with one stone had always been his specialty. Something as easy as this and Suho, who was supposed to be highly trained, hadn’t been able to do. Tao felt like mocking him.

When he landed on the ground with his feet he heard someone scream, “Freeze! You’re under arrest!”

Tao twisted his head to see Chorong standing to his right with a gun in her hands. 

***Woot! Some mighty action there! And now, back to headquarters for Donghae, Namjoo, and Kris.