It was late when Jaejoong pulled up to his parent’s house, easing into the driveway and stepping out tiredly.  He’d been in the office after regular hours and had left far later than he intended so he wasn’t exactly surprised when none of the main lights were on.  His weary feet brought him to the front door but when he stepped inside, he was confused to find the power off.  The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and every warning signal in his body flared to life as he closed the door quietly behind him before he eased the handgun out of its holster, aiming the tip at the ground as he crept out of the foyer.

                He didn’t hear anything at first, but by the time he’d made his way down the front hall, he heard quiet rustling coming from the den.  With bated breath, he poked his head around the corner just enough to see in and froze when he saw a tall figure in dark clothing leaning over the main desk, rifling through papers in one of his parent’s briefcases, a small flashlight in his mouth, features indistinguishable in the nonexistent light.  Behind him, he saw the bodies of what had to be his parents lying on the floor, motionless.

                Pulse racing in his ears, he jerked back behind the wall and brought his gun up, readying himself.  Before he could move, he heard a gunshot and part of the wall next to him exploded as a bullet tore through it, spattering him with debris.  Jaejoong flinched away and then leaned around the barrier, firing almost blindly, going on where he’d last seen the intruder.

                The tall figure stumbled forward with a muffled cry, one hand clasping at his left shoulder as he lurched away.  Despite, the wound, he was incredibly quick on his feet, bolting as soon as he was hit.

                Jaejoong moved to follow but another gunshot rang through the house and he jumped back behind his cover, lying low as he pulled out his cell phone to call for backup.  The call connected and…

                “Ugh…” Jaejoong groaned, cracking open one eye and glaring at the digital clock on his nightstand.  Tiredly, he reached out a hand to smack the top of it, willing the annoying beeping sound to simply disappear.  When blind flailing failed to work, he pushed himself up and smacked the off button, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and scrubbing his face with both hands.

                It was early for work, but he much preferred to get up with plenty of time to do…well, stuff or whatever needed doing.  Stifling a yawn, Jaejoong stretched tall, his lithe body fully extended and covered by the comfortable sleeping boxers he favored.  He blinked sleep blurred eyes and went over the remnants of his dream as he got up and shuffled to the kitchen of his new apartment, sidestepping unpacked boxes on his way before he fixed a pot of coffee more by rote than actual conscious awareness.

                His first day here, yesterday notwithstanding, and he was already having dreams - or would one consider them nightmares? – about his parent’s death just two weeks ago.  He stifled another groan, running his fingers through messy black locks that lingered in his face and shuffled back to the living room, still waking up.

                If only he could remember the face.  The assassin’s visage in profile hadn’t been particularly striking with no outstanding markings to make him stand out.  It was possible he’d recognize him if he saw him, but there were a lot of people it could be all the same.  Still wracking his brain, the lean private investigator threw on a pair of comfortable pants and an old t-shirt before he fell on the floor in the space he’d marked as his workout area, beginning with push-ups as he waited for coffee to finish.

                It wasn’t even seven in the morning and he found himself done with his workout, showered and sitting at his desk with a fresh cup of Joe in hand, rubbing at damp locks with a towel over bare shoulders.  The file on his desk taunted him annoyingly and he flipped open the manila colored cover to glare at the papers within.  Newspaper clippings, evidence reports, forensic evidence and most importantly, not to mention something he shouldn’t have had to begin with, the documents he suspected his parents had been murdered for.  He’d made a copy before the originals had been confiscated and had simply ‘forgotten’ to tell anyone.

                The Kims had been widely know foreign diplomats who had been working with the American embassy to finalize some mutually beneficial agreements that would have potentially cut down on some of the funds lost to illegal activity between Korea and America.  Considering what they’d been trying to tackle, they’d known it was a dangerous undertaking and while they had forgone the need for bodyguards, they had agreed to an extensive alarm system.

                That meant very little when it was compromised, rendering it useless…  Before they’d been killed, someone had set the surveillance and alarm system up with a dummy broadcast, looping the data back so that it appeared as if nothing had changed.  So no one noticed when the power was cut, leaving them virtually helpless.  Both had been trained in hand to hand defense martial arts and may have stood a chance one on one, but from afar, they probably had no idea what hit them.

               Obviously, being as close as he was to the situation, Jaejoong wasn’t even supposed to have the files he did, but his old boss, a one Park Jungsu, knew he would have found a way to get the information regardless.  It was either that or help him to get out of whatever serious trouble he managed to get himself into in the meantime.

                Jaejoong wasn’t exactly a prodigy in his field but there were days when he was damn close.  He only lamented that there had been no forensic evidence from the gunshot wound he’d inflicted on the intruder that night.  He knew very well that he’d clipped him, since they’d been unable to locate his bullet anywhere, but the two bullets fired at him had been found and coded.

                They didn’t match the ones that had killed his parents though which meant one of two things: the murderer had used two different weapons or there were two people involved.  Since he had seen no sign of any other intruder, he was leaning towards the former.  Well, that and the fact that they’d found two matching holes in the window where his parents had been shot from the outside.  Whoever he was, he was good, which could make him easy to find based on reputation but there was no guarantee…

                At least that was what Jungsu had told him before he’d pointed him in the direction of New York City, a hotspot for someone that may have a vendetta against the ordinances that would have been enacted if his parents had succeeded in their negotiations.  It didn’t hurt they’d made regular trips to the foreign embassy here either.  Jungsu already confirmed that he would be checking into things on his end but he’d sent the younger Jaejoong to do legwork in the Americas.  In fact, he was set to meet Officer Cho later this morning to get his feet wet.

                Apparently, Kyuhyun was part of the investigative division that handled some of their larger criminal cases when they found a good lead.  Per Jungsu, the young man was brilliant at what he did, if a bit hard to get along with sometimes.  Jaejoong had to wonder how hard it could be if he was as good as they said.  If nothing else, he was supposed to be able to get him in touch with a few leads he could try to follow on this coast.

                With another long draught, he finished his cup of coffee and returned for another, snagging a piece of toast before he made it back to his desk.  He was never hungry after nights like last night…  If only he’d gotten there sooner.

                The thought plagued him endlessly and he growled under his breath, feeling the familiar helpless anger settle in the pit of his stomach again.  So, he hadn’t been able to save them, but he would find the person responsible for their deaths.  The assassin that had carried out the deed and the person that hired him were his targets and the only thing he had to go on was that they were probably based here.  It was frustrating.

                Though the hour was early, he was interrupted in his thoughts by a soft knock on the door.  Jaejoong set the cup down and self-consciously reached for his handgun.  He didn’t have the freedom law enforcement did with it but he was licensed to have one and conceal it on his person; nowadays, it was always at hand.  Purposefully, he closed the folder and stepped towards the door on quiet bare feet.

                He wasn’t expecting anyone and no one should know he was here, so who would be looking for him?  As he got closer, he heard quiet whispering on the other side of the door and he narrowed his eyes.

                “I told you it was too early,” he heard from a young sounding voice, sweet as honey.

                “But I know we heard him moving around,” another responded, voice deeper but soft all the same.

                “Really you two.  We should just try again later at a more reasonable hour,” a third voice broke in, clearly sounding nervous and uncertain.

                Confused by the exchange, Jaejoong peered through the peephole warily, only to blink in surprise when he saw three young men standing outside.  They were completely disarming and it appeared as if they came bearing gifts.  Perplexed, he shoved the gun into the back of his pants and opened the door uncertainly, unable to stop the smile that came to his face when he caught them by surprise as they had started to walk away.

                “Can I help you?” he asked, keeping the door partially closed as they returned, broad smiles lighting their faces.

                “Good morning!” the youngest looking one cheered, who also had the perk of being the tallest with messy dirty blonde hair.  For just a moment, he seemed surprised at Jaejoong’s appearance, i.e. shirtless with damp hair and a towel still slung around his neck, but he recovered quickly, managing not to stare.

                “Hello,” the one with short black spiky hair smiled, all gums, dark eyes appraising him quickly but not unkindly.  “Sorry if we disturbed you, but we thought we heard you moving around and wanted to introduce ourselves,” he went on, holding out his hand in greeting.

                “We’re your neighbors,” the third smiled, extending a covered plate towards him warmly, eyes almost disappearing when he smiled.  “I’m Jinki,” he added, turning his head to indicate the other two, “And these are my brothers Hyukjae and Taemin.”

                “We just wanted to welcome you to the complex,” Taemin grinned, practically bouncing in place.

                For a moment more, the private investigator regarded them with interest, not quite sure how to take them.  He’d never actually been welcomed to his apartment before; not that he’d needed to be in the past.  At last, he extended his hand and shook Hyukjae’s firmly, “Jaejoong.  It’s nice to meet you,” he bowed politely, opening the door just a bit more.

                “You haven’t had a chance to unpack!” Taemin gasped, flailing in place as he noticed the myriad of boxes still piled inside.  “I told you it was too soon,” he whispered to his siblings behind his hand.

                Jaejoong glanced back over his shoulder and shrugged, “It always takes me a little while to unpack, but I thank you for your concern.”  He smiled at Taemin and offered his hand in greeting, watching that beaming smile return when the younger boy clasped it quickly.

                “We don’t want to keep you too long,” Jinki spoke up, reaching to hand off the plate.  “It’s just a welcome gift.  I made sugar cookies last night and had some extra,” he nodded, unable to hide his grin at Taemin’s quiet clapping off to the side.

                “In his defense, they are really good,” Hyukjae assured the taller male as he slung his arm over his sibling’s shoulder, pulling him close.

                “Hyuk!” Taemin cried plaintively, pulling at the arm to little effect.

                “Come on, Taeminnie.  You still have to get ready for school,” he reminded him pointedly, dragging the younger along with him who was still happily clad in sleeping pants and an oversized t-shirt.  “It was nice to meet you, Jaejoong,” he smiled over his shoulder.

                “Bye!” Taemin waved awkwardly, all smiles and happiness.

                Jaejoong accepted the plate of cookies and bowed to Jinki.  “Thank you.  It was nice to meet you all too,” he agreed, waving at the departing pair.

                “Neh,” Jinki bowed, straight brown hair swinging briefly into his face.  “If you ever need anything, we’re just next door.  Room 316,” he gestured down the hall to the adjacent door.

                “I’ll keep that in mind,” Jaejoong chuckled, waving the last of his surprise visitors off.  He waited until they were gone back into their own room before he closed the door behind him and inspected the gift plate.  A boyish grin crossed his face when he saw the homemade goods beneath.  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had fresh baked cookies and they really did smell good.

                Jaejoong snagged one as he headed to the kitchen to drop the plate off, grinning like a fool as the soft sweet breading melted in his mouth, and hurried to finish getting ready for another day of work.  Another thing he’d heard about Cho Kyuhyun was that he didn’t like to be kept waiting.  That was fine by him really.  He didn’t either.

                Dressed in his professional gray slacks and overcoat with a white button up shirt and black tie, Jaejoong gave himself a final once-over and nodded in satisfaction.  He snatched up the manila folder from his desk, stole one more cookie and headed out with the sweet treat between his teeth as he fumbled with the lock behind him.  He had one more stop to make this morning and that would be the bank to make use of one of their safety deposit boxes.

                There was no way he was going to be keeping such evidence and documents inside his apartment.  That was just asking for trouble…

(a/n: Somewhat shorter than my usual first chapter but it works to get things started.  ^_^  Like I said in the intro, not sure when I'll be updating but thanks for taking a look and I hope you enjoy.)