Jongwoon and Kibum were sitting at their desks with an impressive stack of case files between the two of them. Each man was hunched over as they read through everything and anything related to EXO. Since their conversation a week ago there has been a noticeable increase of crime in the 'hot-zone' area that Kibum marked off earlier. Such gangs like BTS and CNBLUE were hit so badly that they may have been completely destroyed. And residential areas were entering the crossfire as well. The police have been able to keep in on the down low for now but it was only a matter of time before the media caught wind of it. But it meant both men were working double shifts trying to figure out where to catch them.

Jongwoon was starting to get annoyed. All of the things he was looking at were the same and nothing that would seem helpful for the men. Tossing the file down he rubbed his tired eyes.

"Anything?" He asked an equally tired Kibum.

"Nothing. I can't find a single pattern to show us a potential next target or even a trail to lead us back to their base. It's all dead ends."

"Dam, they may be rookies but they are skilled."

"Well I think I have an answer to that too." Kibum declared as he handed a folder to Jongwoon.

"This is a file about M." Jongwoon commented as he saw Han Geng's name.

"I know, but read it. Mainly the highlighted stuff."

Jongwoon skimmed the file and read some of the highlighted sections as directed. An eyebrow rose when similar things as in EXO files began to stand out. Glancing at his partner he saw a little grin on Kibum's face.

"You see it?"

"Very similar MO's and executions that M use to show in the past. They are practically identical in some parts."

"Exactly. EXO is going the same route Donghae took when he rose to power. Even where they are hitting and the barrier building."

"You think it's all related."

"I think it's all connected. As in I think Donghae is connected to EXO somehow."

Jongwoon considered this. It would make sense. There were enough similarities between both parties to make the argument stand. But there was also a nagging feeling in the back of his head that seemed to counter it as well. If Donghae and EXO were related then why was only the rookies making moves. It would seem more likely that Donghae would be doing something as well to show their connection. After all no one dared to rise against the M leader. Unless they were not connected. Donghae was a showy type, he would have done something by now to show his partnership with EXO. And the fact that neither he nor Leeteuk have made any major moves in the last couple of weeks made it rather suspicious.

"What are your thoughts." Kibum asked.

"I think there is more to it than you think."

"Oh?"

"I don’t doubt that there is some connection between both gangs. But I don’t think they are working together if that is your line of thought. EXO is more of a threat to Donghae than an ally. I think they are on opposite sides of this game."

"But it’s the same path line! There has to be some sort of relation to that."

"I think so, but only on the surface. Or the very least a past association. I don’t think Donghae is siding with them now."

"But it’s a perfect opportunity to gain more power."

"Exactly. That is why I think you are going down the wrong path. Look at it this way. Part of Donghae's power lies in his shaky agreement with Leeteuk and Yunho. If he tried to gain more power those two would have noticed. And they would have done something about it. And according to the latest reports both T and TVXQ have also been quiet lately. So no, I don’t think Donghae is planning to usurped the pair. But I think all three are aware of what EXO is doing. I think we should figure out where they are standing. That may help us plan our next move."

"If you think so." Kibum muttered softly. It was obvious he had doubts about Jongwoon's theory. Not that the detective could blame the younger. It was a shot in the dark, but it did make the most sense. He was about to explain more in detail when he phone beeped indicating a message. The detective pulled it out and looked at the message. He could feel his eyes widening as large as they could go. Swearing loudly he jumped to his feet and nearly knocked all the folders to the floor. To say Kibum was spooked was an understatement. The man also jumped in surprise.

"What the hell Jongwoon!"

"No time! We need to go. NOW!" Jongwoon all but screamed as he grabbed his coat.

"What?"

"Hurry up! I'll explain in the car." Jongwoon yelled back as he practically ran out of the office.

Kibum could only grab his coat and quickly follow. He had a feeling that if he delayed Jongwoon would leave without him. He was able to run out of the station and slide into Jongwoon's car before the older man hit the gas pedal and they went sketching out of the station parking lot. Kibum was bodily thrown into the window. He turned to yell at his psycho partner when a phone was shoved into his face.

"Read it." Jongwoon ordered.

" 'Jongwoon I feel we need to talk. Meet me at Shinee in 10 minutes. Don’t be late. Jung Yunho.' " Kibum blinked as he stared at the name. "JUNG YUNHO!"

"Exactly. The leader of TVXQ wants to meet up. And he is not a man to keep waiting. So we need to hurry."

"But how does he even have your number?"

"Because he has Shim Changmin in his circle. The man probably has your phone records and every little piece of information all saved up for when the time calls. For both our sakes I hope you're clean."

"This is crazy. Why are we going to talk to him?"

"Because he summoned us, well me. But you have to know that when someone doesn’t listen they tend to find a bullet in their head the next day. Jaejoong is the best assassin for a reason you know."

", we're dead men." Kibum muttered.

"Not yet. But you know, try not to say anything that pisses any of them off. Donghae is a puppy compared to these men."

Kibum could only swallow and give a frighten nod. Jongwoon didn’t pay him any mind as he flew down the streets to where the café was. Pulling into a spot he jumped out of the car and made his way inside the building. Kibum grabbed his own stuff and quickly followed him. Walking inside he was greeted with an almost empty place. Standing at the counter was Onew. The man had a blank look on his face.

"They are waiting for you inside." Was the only thing he said to them before turning to the door.

Jongwoon took a moment to make sure he was presentable before following. Onew opened the door and stepped aside for the detective to enter. He could feel Kibum behind him following at a close distance. Looking in the room he had to take a deep breath to calm down his racing heart. Sitting at a table was Jung Yunho. The TVXQ leader had a smirk on his face but it wasn’t directed at Jongwoon. Instead it was aimed at Jaejoong who was sitting next to him. The number one assassin had a bored look on his face. The other three men were standing behind the pair. Jongwoon cleared his throat to announce their presence and when Yunho looked at him he gave him a low bow.

"I hope you were waiting too long for me." He calmly said.

"Not at all. Thank you for coming so quickly Jongwoon-shi." He paused and glanced behind the detective. "Ah! And you brought Kibum-shi as well. What a pleasant surprise. Please take a seat, both of you. I have already taken the liberty to order you some coffee."

Jongwoon took a seat at the table and dragged Kibum into the second chair. The younger detective looked so frightened sitting in the same room as the five most powerful men in all of Asia. Yunho noticed this and offered him a grin.

"Don’t worry Kibum-shi, we didn’t call you all this way just to kill you. I have an important thing to talk about with you two. Something that will benefit both of us."

"This must be about EXO. There is nothing else that has taken precedence at our station besides this gang." Jongwoon said calmly. He picked up the cup of coffee that Taemin had set next to him and took a sip. He could only sigh contently at the flavor. No matter how scared he was right now, nothing made it all better than a cup of Shinee Café coffee. He opened his eyes and stared at Yunho. The leader had a smirk on his face, almost as if he knew how much this place was a weakness to the detective. But that didn’t bother Jongwoon, he was more interested in what TVXQ had to offer. And more importantly, at what price.

"You are correct. EXO has become quite the hot topic as of late. As you have noticed they have been keeping themselves busy right now. The amount of activity has even come to our attention and also as a concern. We may not be law abiding citizens but we do try to keep a reasonable limit on how much of the things we do. EXO is starting to push those limits with us."

"So you nor Leeteuk, or Donghae have any part of this?"

"Jongwoon why would we lower ourselves to this. My gang is already the most powerful one out there. We don’t need to waste our time with these antics."

"And yet you show a concern for them. Otherwise you wouldn’t have reached out to me. What is your fear?"

"TVXQ stays neutral on all things of this nature. You know of this already. But we do also keep our eyes peeled for things that can disrupt the balance we have created. And EXO is starting to disrupt our balance."

"And we certainly don’t want that, now do we Yunho-shi."

Yunho's eyes narrowed at the condescending tone Jongwoon took at this comment. The man knew exactly what the detective was hinting at and it was obvious he didn’t appreciate the dig.

"I don’t particularly care for your comment detective." He spoke softly but with a harden tone that caused all the others in the room to shift slightly.

"I am only stating what you and I know to be true. But I'll take the comment back all the same. To the matter at hand, I understand the concern. We have been keeping tabs on them as well and we are noticing the growing problem they are creating. It's only a matter of time when it reaches a critical level. My question is, what does TVXQ want us to do about it?"

Yunho held out his hand and Changmin stepped forward with a manila folder in hand. He passed the folder to his leader who in turn handed it off to Jongwoon. Jongwoon opened the folder and skimmed the contents inside.

"As you can see, we already know where they are heading next. We want the police to starting bringing some of them in. Slow them down a bit. It's obvious there is more at play then the usual antics gangs like to demonstrate. I want to help you make sure you don’t reach that critical stage you stated a second ago."

"And in return?"

"We will help with keeping things under control. We personally won't be getting our hands dirty mind you, but there are already steps taking place."

"Let me guess, M and T are not keeping as quiet as it seems?"

"More or less. Remember Jongwoon, I can easily bring Seoul to the ground in a heartbeat. You will want me as an ally during all of this."

Jongwoon raised his head at this thinly concealed threat. But he had to agree with the comment. EXO was easily going to be the most difficult thing or them to deal with at the moment. Having Yunho, Leeteuk, and Donghae on their side, granted only slightly, will be helpful. And welcomed. He looked at the folder again and decided to ask Yunho the question that Kibum and him were tossing around earlier.

"What is EXO's connection with Donghae? We are noticing a trend between the two. Care to elaborate."

"Donghae and Han Geng have a past with some of them. That is all you need to know about it. Just know that they are probably after some blood and won't let you get in their way if the time comes."

Jongwoon nodded at this. He turned and handed the folder to Kibum who was surprisingly well mannered during this whole meeting. It was obvious the man was really uncomfortable about the whole thing, but even he was sharp enough to realize when to take the deal handed to them. He took the folder and read it over as well. Jongwoon turned back to Yunho and stood up. The TVXQ man did the same and held out his hand.

"I leave it in your hands for now detective. Don’t disappoint me."

Jongwoon didn’t reply but took the hand and gave it a good shake. Yunho gave a short nod to Kibum before he left the café back room. He was soon followed by the remaining members of his gang. The only one who didn’t leave right away was Jaejoong. The assassin waited until the others were gone before he spoke to Jongwoon.

"Remember detective, if you do anything that ends up endangering Yunho I will put a bullet in your face." He threatened darkly. Without waiting for a reply he also left the room.

The two detectives remained in their spots until they could hear the muffled sound of Yunho's car pulling away. Finally Jongwoon turned to the seated man.

"Well that went well." He said cheerfully.

"I hate having to accept help from that man, but he is right. We need them right now. I just think we are playing a dangerous game right now."

"Don’t worry, Yunho won't let us burn. He needs us as much as we need him. I am more concerned about Leeteuk and Donghae though."

"Why?"

"Because I know Yunho didn’t tell us the whole story. Those two are planning something and I want to make sure we are on the right side of the line when its drawn." He patted the man on the shoulder. "Come, lets head back. We have a lot of work to do. And that folder to go through."