“Leave it to you to be the one to actually take a day off and still manage to get involved in business,” Kyuhyun grumbled when he met up with Jaejoong on Monday morning as agreed.  He hadn’t been notified immediately since he’d been off work as well and the weekend crew had responded, none of which made him happy about how things had gone in general.

                “It wasn’t my fault!” Jaejoong defended himself, still feeling decidedly unsettled.  He’d had a hard enough time smoothing things over with Changmin who had learned rather abruptly that he was a private investigator.  His next door neighbors hadn’t been much better, poking their heads out shortly before police had started to arrive, asking concerned and curious questions.  Roughly, he scratched his head with both hands and scowled.

                “And you’re certain it wasn’t just a random break in,” Kyuhyun commented, more a statement rather than a question.

                “Definitely not.  They didn’t take anything particularly valuable; just my briefcase.  But one of my hidden guns was missing,” he sighed, resting his head in his palm, elbow braced against the arm of the chair.

                “So someone knows or suspects what you’re here for.  But why would they take your briefcase?” he asked, giving his companion a speculative look.

                Jaejoong looked distinctly uncomfortable at the direct question; it was one he’d lied to the police about as well, but he knew his younger companion would see right through him.  “Eh…” he sighed, adjusting his tie needlessly while he sat back in his chair, not meeting Kyuhyun’s gaze.  “They were probably looking for the copy of the case notes and… the contract my parents were working on before they were killed.”  He braced himself for the resultant explosion.

                Expression pale with suppressed anger, Kyuhyun mulled over what he’d said and growled through clenched teeth, “You’re a ing idiot.”  Jaejoong winced at the words but didn’t argue, waiting for more.  “Do you know how much danger you’ve put yourself in with carrying those damn things around?” he demanded heatedly, leaning forward.  “Not to mention how much trouble you could get in on our side for holding onto copies of evidence for your personal collection!  Why would you do that?!”

                “I had to know,” Jaejoong answered quietly, keeping his gaze averted and his tone low, lacking emotion.  “Why my parents were killed.  I needed to know.  I still need to know,” he continued, finally lifting his troubled eyes to meet Kyuhyun’s.  “Listen.  I’ve been keeping them in a safety deposit box in one of the local banks otherwise, and that’s where I will keep them from now on, but I’m not giving up just because my apartment was broken into.”

                Kyuhyun growled in frustration and leaned back, drumming his fingertips on top of the desk in agitation.  “I don’t know that they’ll let you continue with what has happened,” he reminded him, watching Jaejoong’s features darken.

                “I will figure this out.  As a civilian if I must,” he warned, expression deadpan.

                “Aish.  You are stupid,” Kyuhyun grumbled, shaking his head.  “I’ll be calling your supervisor later today, since I figure he knows more about you than I do, and we’ll go from there,” he sighed.  “I won’t tell the Captain.  Yet,” he warned intently, making sure Jaejoong knew this wasn’t completely settled or in the clear.

                “Thank you,” Jaejoong answered simply.  Jungsu would smooth things over as best he could and hopefully it would be enough to keep him out of too much hot water.  At least insofar as being a part of the team was concerned.

                For a moment, Kyuhyun grumbled under his breath, apparently arguing with himself, before he finally sighed and dropped his head.  “As for you…  Go home, Jae.  Lay low and don’t do anything until you hear back from me, okay?” he stated, eyeing him out of the corner of his eye.

                Jaejoong laughed lightly, a forced and reluctant sound.  “Sure, Kyu.”

                “And for ’s sake, stay away from the docs,” he reminded him, pointing at Jaejoong with a stern finger and a fierce countenance.

                Immediately, Jaejoong sat up and raised his hands beside him in surrender.  “Yes, sir,” he couldn’t help but crack a half-smile.

                “Now get out of here,” he waved imperiously, turning to focus his attention on his computer screen instead.

                Knowing a definite dismissal when he received one, Jaejoong nodded to himself and stood up, feeling odd without his usual briefcase but at least with his holstered gun, he wasn’t completely out of sorts.  With his hands in his pockets, he wandered out of the police station.  It was an odd position to be in, but he was somewhat glad that Kyuhyun knew what he’d been hiding, even if it did jeopardize his placement here.

                Given that though, he had a fair bit to think on; not the least of which was how he was going to figure out the rest of this case.  With things heating up the way they were, that made it exponentially more difficult and dangerous.  He was not an unknown anymore and that was perhaps the most unsettling fact to remember.  If they knew who you were, it was easy enough to find out who you knew in turn; friends, family, acquaintances…  But that was also reason enough to move fast since it was almost a definite chance that his enemy would be too.

                “Aish,” he sighed, running his fingers through his dark hair and staring up at the sun as he made the sidewalk, overcoat slung over one arm in the heat of the day.  “Damn it’s warm,” he grumbled with a glance at his watch.  Still in the early part of the morning, it had already made its way to the low eighties with the promise of more heat to come later in the afternoon.  At least it wasn’t set to rain anytime soon.  Idly, he let his feet start taking him up the street, not yet hailing a cab to head home.  He didn’t want to go back to the apartment anyway.

                He’d already scoured it for additional clues the police might have missed and it would also take him back to the Lee brothers and… Changmin.  Yeah…  What the hell was he doing even getting close to the young man?  And that kiss…  It was far too easy to recall the way he’d felt pressed against the lean, lithe body which he’d seen so adequately in his bedroom doorway; soft lips dancing with his, tentative but sweet.  Based on that alone, the feelings he was experiencing were mutual, which was flattering and wonderful and an absolutely horrible idea.  If whoever was after him made the connection between them, Min’s life would be in just as much danger as his.  He couldn’t have that…

                “Pabo,” he groaned, banging the side of his head with his palm.  As much as he liked the young man, he was going to have to cut whatever they had going off completely.  It was for both their good and yet… the thought of it really hurt.  “Quit being stupid,” he told himself with a heavy sigh, waving for a cab.  The yellow taxi stopped and he jumped in, debating briefly where he was going to go.  Kyuhyun said to go home and he fully intended to do that, but…

                There were plenty of other things to do in the meantime.  What had he said about the informants?  Distractedly, he gave one of the locations he remembered and figured he’d puzzle out who it belonged to by the time he got there.  Now what had he said about the differences in them though?

                Changmin sat in the chair in front of the stoic individual with teal colored hair and kept his cool as best he could.  It did not behoove one to rush TOP by any means and the completely composed figure did not seem in the mood to rush today; especially since he complained it was criminal how early his guest had come knocking.

                “TOP,” Changmin started slowly, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.  The older male raised a brow while he regarded a small stack of papers on his desk, not meeting his gaze but clearly paying attention all the same.  “I know it’s against your rules to give away details of your contractors, but can you at least tell me if there’s more than one?”

                For an interminably long moment, those elegant hands held a single sheaf of paper between thin, perfectly manicured fingers, eyes moving over the words with focused intensity.  When he spoke, his voice rumbled through the small distance between them, low and utterly confident in his position, “Max.  If you’ve come to ask me about assignments, there is nothing to discuss as you are well aware.”  He paused and finally met his gaze above the top of the paper, giving nothing away in the slightly smug expression.

                “I know U-Know’s in town,” he commented, threading his fingers together loosely, casting a tentative glance towards the three figures lounging nearby.  TOP’s personal guards and errand boys, though he’d never say as much about them.  Unless he had them working on something specific, they were almost always in his company; especially during the day and for the course of normal business hours.  They ignored him as if he wasn’t there, playing their own game of chess off to the side while the third unmatched male listened to his iPod.

                “And what exactly does that mean for me?” TOP asked smoothly, letting the smile on his lips linger.

                “The last time it meant we were double booked,” Changmin scowled, expression fierce.

                The businessman actually chuckled at the response.  “Are you sure about that?” he asked flippantly, as if he didn’t care about the actual answer itself.

                Changmin’s eyes narrowed slightly.  That was as close to an answer as he was likely to get and it left things a bit grayer than he preferred.  He knew they had been double booked last time but his response gave him cause to wonder.  Mulling over the possibilities, Changmin watched as he scrawled a short response in his elegant and concise handwriting.

                “SOL,” he called, grabbing the attention of the black haired mohawked individual playing against the green haired male across from him, squinted eyes regarding the board and then his rising companion, with confusion.

                “Sir?” the relatively short male smiled, a warm and welcoming expression at complete odds with his hard physique which he took no shame in showing off with a black tank-top paired with loose blue jeans and white sneakers.

                “Would you mind running this down to G for me, please?” he requested, handing off the neatly folded piece of paper.

                “Sure boss,” his smile widened and he stowed the note in his back pocket rather unceremoniously, practically skipping out of the office.

                TOP threaded his fingers together under his chin and regarded the confused Changmin with a slightly amused expression.  “I take it your job isn’t going as smoothly as you’d prefer?” he asked, letting his gaze trail over to the remaining two, the iPod listening male having taken the place of his other friend, profile easy to discern under the close cut black hair, sides shaved neatly, ear buds still in his ears.

                “My job is my business,” he reminded him quickly, no amusement in his tone.

                “Indeed,” TOP agreed with a murmur.  In an almost bored fashion, he looked at his nails, narrowing his eyes to inspect the cuticle of one.  “I hear G has a new supply coming in today.  You may want to run by before too long,” he commented, flicking the offending nail in annoyance before he tilted his head to the side and let his eyes linger on his guest.

                “Oh?” Changmin murmured in surprise.  That was news to him.  He sat up and brushed his hands off with a half-smile.  “I guess I may have to swing by then,” he nodded, pushing himself smoothly out of his chair.  “D-Lite.  Panda.  See you around,” he waved at the duo at the chess board.

                “By Max!” D-Lite answered with a grin that made his eyes disappear.  When his companion didn’t seem to notice around the music in his ears, he reached across the table to smack him in the shoulder, nodding towards the standing male.

                “Oh!” he grinned sheepishly, removing the ear buds.  “See you, Max.  Don’t get caught in the crossfire,” he winked, flinching when his companion smacked him again.  “Hey!  It’s good advice,” he grumbled, pointing at him.

                Without actually saying anything, he waved in TOP’s direction as he stepped out, shaking his head.  That those two were among the forces he didn’t particularly care to square off against was always a fact that took some getting used to.  While his mediator hadn’t exactly given him any useful information, he had pointed him in a possibly profitable direction.

                He knew as well as Jaejoong did that the break-in at his apartment was not simply random.  The fact that his gun under the table at the front door had been missing was more than proof enough of that.  He’d found it himself the night he’d stayed with Jaejoong, and the one he’d forgotten about in the kitchen, but everything else about his accessible apartment had been completely normal.

                While he caught a cab, he found himself going over that night in his mind again as he recalled all the little details of his downstairs neighbor.  Completely organized and neat with practically everything, it didn’t seem as if anything was out of place, though Yunho’s card had made him raise his brow all the same; sneaky bastard.  Jaejoong’s apartment was close to spotless too, but it didn’t even remotely feel like you couldn’t touch anything and his deft hand with handling him, even in his feigned drunkenness, had been friendly and polite.

                He definitely thought Jaejoong had it in him to be rude, but his genuine concern about him attempting the stairs had been… cute.  Changmin rubbed his jaw when he realized he’d used that word, frowning at the connotations.  Not only were his mannerisms cute, particularly the way he tended to blush whenever Changmin got close to him, but he wasn’t exactly unattractive either and a rather damn good cook.  And that kiss in the stairwell…  There was such restraint there.  He’d been a little surprised by it actually.

                It was almost sad the way he was trying to be so strong in light of his parents death, even now.  Feh…  He didn’t have time to be thinking about that though.  He’d made progress but there was still a lot of work to be done and not a lot of time.  Not if Yunho in particular was in on it too.  Damn the man.  It looked like he might have to step up his game a bit.  Well, he wasn’t half bad at that either and it didn’t hurt that it looked like Jaejoong wasn’t eager to ‘hurt’ him either.

                Still mulling over the inherent problems that came along with his profession, he made his way to Dragon’s Used Goods.  The rather eclectic looking store was located several blocks south of the Diamond District, nestled in the very middle of the Garment District.  On the surface, G was a second hand store owner, handling one of the more successful used goods businesses in the area, but there was a secondary level to his establishment that only a handful knew about.  Changmin was one of them.

                The store was obviously on two levels, the first belonging to all things furniture, jewelry, electronics and the like while the second level was actively dominated by clothes; all manner of clothes in fct.  Despite his secondary, or did he consider it primary at this point… profession, G was nigh on obsessed with fashion.  Changmin was well aware that Key consulted with the young man on a fairly regular basis for various reasons, fashion among them.

                On his way in, he brushed by SOL who grinned at him.  “Hey Max!” he waved, pausing when the taller male grabbed his arm tightly.  “Aish.  Minnie,” he rolled his eyes behind his ever present shades.  “He’s seeing someone right now but he should be available shortly,” he nodded, smacking the opposite shoulder with his free hand.

                Changmin sighed at the shorter male’s attitude but cracked a smile.  “Thanks.”

                “Any time,” he chuckled, bouncing down the stairs, looking either way observantly before hailing a cab himself.

                The taller male watched him for just a second before he stepped inside, almost immediately spotting one of the actives faces and posing owners of the store, Victoria.  If he wasn’t mistaken, Jaehyo would be around later in the afternoon to take over manning the facilities.  She noticed him at the chiming of the door, flashing him a winning smile and looking flawless as ever.  Just because it was a second hand store didn’t mean they were shabby.  They only accepted a certain caliber of goods and her attire and attitude attested to that.

                She approached him with an expression that said she remembered his face but wasn’t exactly sure about his name.  He solved her dilemma for her.  “Victoria,” he smiled, closing the distance between them as she looked up at him with that winning smile of hers.  “Would you be kind enough to let G know that Changmin is here to see him?” he asked, nodding towards the back where he knew the entrance to the underground storage was.

                “Changmin you say?” she repeated for clarification, holding her ground.

                “Neh.  I was told to ask about his most recent special shipment,” he assured her with a polite bow, holding her gaze.

                “Ah,” she smiled, nodding once in approval.  “If you’ll just wait out here, I’ll let him know you’ve arrived, sir.”

                “Thank you,” he responded, watching her walk off, perfectly poised and elegant with every step she took.  He figured she could probably be a model but ironically enough, this job was usually more profitable and less stressful than that field would have been.

                With practiced ease, he let his gaze sweep the area, taking note of several customers wandering through the aisles, perusing the goods, and he practically fell over himself when he noticed Yoochun speaking with Jaejoong near the back.  What the hell was U-Know’s contact doing here?  Speaking to Jaejoong, no less.  And what was he doing here anyway?!

                Quickly, he darted to the side, trying to get out of the immediate line of sight.  He was going to have to get closer to know what they were talking about.  Did Jaejoong know Yoochun by chance?  No.  He couldn’t.  Not unless they had some strange history together from before all of this.  Not.  A.  Chance.  Dammit…  Why were they both here?

                As inconspicuously as possible, Changmin made his way towards them, ‘browsing’ the goods and hiding behind the vast majority of them.  He noticed that Yoochun was drawing Jaejoong away from the back door that Victoria had disappeared into.  Did that mean that Yunho was here too?  Of all the blasted luck…

                In an irritable mood, he sent Key a text asking if he was aware that Yunho and Yoochun were visiting G this morning.  It had been his suggestion first and foremost to speak with TOP, who did not see visitors on the weekends, and then to touch base with G after that.

                The response he got back was annoying but not entirely unexpected.  Just because I know they’re in town doesn’t mean I know what they’re doing every minute of every day.

                Yeah, yeah.  He managed to make it close enough to hear the somewhat strained voices of Yoochun and Jaejoong, the former trying very hard to keep the latter distracted.

                “I’m sorry.  You said your name was Jaejoong, right?” Yoochun asked, laughing with a slightly forced effect.  “I’m not usually like this but you just seem so… you know, together with your style and everything.  How do you get that bed hair look?” he asked, pretending acute interest.

                “Uh… I don’t really know,” Jaejoong shrugged, looking vastly uncomfortable but rather unable to pry himself away just yet.  “And these are just normal work clothes,” he added uncertainly.

                “Really?  Where do you get them from?  Do you think they’ll have any upstairs?” he asked, pointing towards the second level.

                “Maybe?” Jaejoong shrugged, glancing over his shoulder.

                “Oh!  Perhaps you could check with me then.  I mean, you’d recognize the brand and type better than I would,” he smiled, giving a winning expression if Changmin ever saw one.  Yep.  Yunho had to be nearby too because that was not Chunnie’s usual conversation.

                He was saved from having to deal with the painful exchange when the back doors opened with a flourish and out streamed the one and only G.  This time around, he had platinum hair mostly combed down with a silk oriental bathrobe lying over his person, covering the considerably more chic but still odd multi colored jeans with a belt and a black tank top that showed off some of his tattoos.

                “Ah!  Jaejoong?  Victoria says that you wish to speak with me,” he smiled, approaching the clearly taken aback raven haired beauty.

                “Yes!” he responded eagerly, waving at Yoochun and practically stumbling over himself to get closer to the newcomer.  “I take it you’re G-Dragon?” he asked, just to make sure as he extended his hand.

                “Oh please.  Just G,” he waved genially, nodding at Yoochun ever so slightly as he placed a hand to Jaejoong’s shoulder and turned him to head for another door on the ground level.  “Why don’t we step back to the office?  I was just doing inventory but I’ve certainly got time enough to speak with someone of your calling,” he grinned, keeping everything purposefully vague.

                Not more than a moment after Jaejoong and G drifted off to the ‘main’ office, Changmin noticed Yunho coming out of the other doors, Victoria beside him.  They paused where they were, speaking quietly until they noticed Changmin heading their way.

                “Oh!  Changmin.  I’m sorry sir, but you’ll just have to wait until G is finished,” Victoria explained politely, gesturing back towards the floor.

                “It’s alright.  We know each other,” Yunho nodded at her, waving Yoochun off when he looked as if he was about to join them.  “Well?” he asked smugly, eyeing the slightly taller male as they stood next to each other.

                “We’re just going to step into the back for a moment,” he smiled at Victoria who looked uncertain until Yunho tentatively agreed and gestured for Changmin to proceed him.

                “After you,” he smiled, watching the other male slide by effortlessly.

                As soon as the doors closed behind the pair, Changmin rounded on Yunho and gripped his shirt tight, driving him back until his back hit the wall.  “What the hell are you doing, Yunho?” he growled, keeping his grip firm.

                Yunho snagged his hands, twisting one and smacking the other away, turning him around and following swiftly when freed, kicking him in the gut to create distance between them.  “The same thing you are,” he glared, brushing the wrinkles out of his shirt and taking a calming breath.

                “You’re getting sloppy, Yunnie,” Changmin snorted, straightening up and keeping his left side angled away.  “Or desperate.  That break in was messy,” he told him.

                “Feh.  His neighbors are noisy,” he shrugged, uncaring.

                “Yeah, but you’re still no closer are you?” he taunted, brow raised with a smug smile pulling at his lips.

                “No more than you,” Yunho responded, clearly miffed.  “Oh.  Look at that,” he commented, looking at the interior camera screen giving a perfect view to the entrance of the store.

                When Changmin glanced warily, he was startled to see Jonghyun making his jaunty way inside.  “What…?”  He reeled painfully when an unexpected blow caught him in the side of the head.

                “Stay out of my way, Max,” Yunho warned darkly, pausing at the swinging doors.  “I can’t promise what’ll happen to you if you don’t.”

                Changmin recovered quickly and took a step as if to follow but then stopped, watching Yunho walk up to Jonghyun easily.  His head tilted to the side when he noticed they seemed familiar and his expression darkened further as they walked back out of the store together.  “Well then.  It’s safe to say there’s more than one contract for certain, U-Know,” he nodded, giving his head a shake.  Damn the bastard.  He never did play fair.

(a/n: Confused yet?  lol  Still drawing connections between people and getting all the cast members set up but I hope you're enjoying it so far.  ;)  I'll be getting around to a couple more MinJae moments before too long but I needed to set some things in motion in the meantime.  Let me know what you think if you're so inclined and as always, I hope you look forward to the next update!  Thank you!)