"Central's been a bit of a prick ever since what happened yesterday but I got you that report... or most of it anyway." Sullivan lobs the grey envelope down onto Jaejoong's crowded desk.

"I'd like you to go out and retrieve the statements from them personally. Ask the questions, write everything down, read it back to them, and then have them sign it."

"But we already got—"

Jaejoong intentionally slams his coffee mug down. Warm black liquid sloshes over the side.

"Okay, okay.  Primary stuff, dude. I got this. Except we're low on working vehicles..."

"You can take mine." Jaejoong wrestles the key remote off its chain and chucks it to his assistant.

Sullivan catches it in midair. "Sweet." Jaejoong watches the youngster's back side while rubbing his stinging eyes.

Finally. Jaejoong groans. He had spent most of the night driving around again. Thinking. Always thinking about the same damn thing. . He needs more work to distract him. After finishing the second mug of coffee, he feels a little more human but still exhausted and troubled.

His current boss doesn't look too hot either. Underneath the brown suit, the man wears the same shirt from yesterday except now it's a little bit sweat-stained and crumpled. DCI Sho Young had been running through the files all night, trying to summarize the case. He looks beyond stressed and yet he speaks calmly in measured tones. "I need to talk to you privately, Kim."

"Sure." Jaejoong pushes his chair out and stands up to pick up a few important files.

"Leave it. All of it."

• • • • • • •

Young parks his car right at the edge of a cliff. On the way up, not one word was exchanged but now, Jaejoong feels the need to speak. "Are you planning to end both of our miserable lives by driving us off the cliff?"

"Funny. How did you know?"

"Apparently, the same way you do."

"Alright, let's cut the crap. I know what you are."

"Same."

"Things have gotten way out of hand. We need to stop dancing around and find her."

"How do you know it's a she?"

"Well, it would definitely explain the erratic behavior."

"I guess you're right. She's leaving quite a messy trail. It won't be hard to track."

"Exactly. If she keeps it up, it's only a matter of time before they find us too."

"Why do you think she's doing this? Not burning the body after transitions. Not destroying the evidence."

"Got lazy? Went rogue? Who the knows?"

"She's been moving mind to mind without sufficient breaks in between. Transitions were meant to be performed in gradients. To adapt seamlessly into another, it takes a month at the very least."

"No precautions have been taken on her part. She's probably gone berserk by now which would explain recent events."

"You're right. Violent deaths. Lots and lots of it. From the photos, the most recent one looked like an open piñata."

"Which recent one?"

"Earlier this morning, construction workers found the man who our girl, Maria Hanazawa. I had the postmortem rushed. They owed me a favor."

"Right. That one."

"Bob Vang. 51. Had two sons. Both dead. Very recently too. Also a  wife who couldn't be contacted."

"His wife did it."

"That's what I thought too. Had it cross-checked. Perfect match."

"So you think she was forced to transfer?"

"That's got to be it. For the most recent ones, anyway. Why'd you drive us up here?"

"I know where his wife is... where she is. One of the off duty officers spotted a suspicious woman running into the road from the direction of the crime scene. He doesn't know about the homicide but he's followed her anyway. I've ordered him to keep watch."

"She ran into the road... sounds like a suicide attempt."

"Or a cry for help."

"Where the hell would she go?"

"Apparently a good Samaritan or her accomplice dragged her into a car and drove off."

"Any info on the good Samaritan?"

"Petite woman probably between 150 to 160cm. He said she was different. Her skin shone in the headlights. Really white like albino white."

The image of Xinling flashes in his mind like a warning sign. Jaejoong shakes it out immediately. Impossible. But at this point, isn't anything possible?

• • • • • • •

Xinling felt herself being out like a vacuum. Everything. Everything was being taken away from her. The past, the present, the future. Ryuu's face and... her best friend in all the world... her other half... who she could no longer hope to remember.