Rule #13: Do not underestimate people and their ability to lie

"Here we are." Mark said as they turned into the parking lot to an apartment complex.

According to the card that Saera had swiped of the Chief's desk, Min Ah, or Cham Ji, was staying in a small apartment just outside of Seoul.

It was quite a distance from where Saera had seen the crime but it was safe to assume that it was done to make sure none of 'clients' got too close for comfort.

Saera climbed out of the car and followed behind Mark who was reverting back to his stoic, gloomy self. She wasn't really surprised. Mark was the type to have small bursts of liveliness and friendliness before he returned back into his emotionless self.

It was almost like he remembered that he wasn't supposed to smile or laugh.

"The smartest thing you can do prove to your Chief that you can solve this case better than he ever could." Saera said while slipping her hands into her pockets.

Mark didn't falter and just kept his voice low and emotionless, "Don't start. I don't need a pep talk."

"Aren't you just a bundle of joy." She dead panned as they walked towards the door.

Mark grunted in reply and held the door open for her before the both of them walked up to the elevator and waited for the doors to open.

The two of them waited by the elevator and watched the numbers go down. Her eyebrows raised when the numbers stalled on the 2nd floor, Cham Ji's floor, before they counted down to the lobby.

With a light 'ding' the doors parted revealing one passenger wearing a baseball hat and a hoodie.

Just as Saera stepped towards the elevator, the man stepped off, pushing past Saera and Mark, even going as far as bumping Saera in the shoulder, making her stumble back.

"Are you okay?" Mark asked as she steadied herself.

Saera looked over at the man who glanced over his shoulder at her, tipped his hat in apology and continued on his way.

"I'm fine." She muttered as the both of them got on.

Once the two of them reached Cham Ji's floor, their footsteps slowed down when they noticed her door was ajar.

"Her lock…it's broken." Saera said guardedly while pushing the door open with the tips of her fingers.

Mark pulled her back, "Let me go in first."

He pulled his gun out and carefully stepped into Cham Ji's apartment while surveying the area.

Or what was left of it.

"Holy ." He muttered when he took in the ransacked apartment.

Saera's eyes widened, "Someone was looking for something."

"There's only one person who would." Mark said quietly.

Saera froze when an image of a man in a hoddie and a cap flashed in her head, "He was here."

"What?" Mark turned to her but she was already running out of the apartment.

 "He was just here!"

He blinked for a second before racing after her. Saera repeatedly pressed the button for the elevator before getting impatient and running down the emergency stairwell.

"What are you doing?" Mark asked while jogging after her.

Saera kept running, taking it two steps at a time, "He's still here. He just left before us!"

Mark's jaw tightened before he leaped down the stairs, hot on her heels. They ran down the flights of stairs before bursting through the lobby. They looked around before they ran out the front door.

Saera and Mark were both out of breath as they scanned the large parking lot, looking around cars for someone out of place.

Someone who just rifled through Cham Ji's apartment.

Saera crouched on the ground and looked under the cars for a set of feet, but it was nothing.

"Let's split up." Mark said while pointing to the other side of the lot, "You take that side and I'll take the left."

Saera nodded and was about to walk away when Mark grabbed her arm to stop her, "Wait, take this."

He pulled something from behind him and put it in her hand.

She stared at the black device before snorting, "A taser? Really?"

"Better safe than sorry." He muttered. "Call if you find anything."

Saera nodded and two of them split up. It seemed like an impossible mission. The parking lot was huge and there was a chance that whoever went back to her apartment, assuming it was The Collector, was long gone by now.

She sighed as she weaved through the rows of cars, pausing every now and then to check if she heard anything but other than Mark's footsteps, there was no other sound.

Saera was crossing over to the other half of the parking lot when she felt her phone buzz. She stopped walking and pulled it out before tapping on the unread message.

From: Unknown Number

Look both ways before you cross.

"What the hell?" She muttered while frowning at her phone.

"SAERA!"

She lifted her head and turned her head to look behind her, freezing when she saw a black car driving straight at her.

Mark shot out of nowhere, grabbing her and slamming his body against hers, sending them both tumbling off to the side, skidding across the cement.

The black car came whizzing past them, barely grazing them. Saera sat on the ground in shock as Mark jumped to his feet, pointing his gun at it.

But he didn't do anything.

He just stood there.

Saera sat up and stared at Mark dubiously, "Mark, what are you doing? Shoot! Shoot the tires!"

He could feel his brain telling his hand to press the trigger but his nerves were seizing up and it was like his hand wasn't receiving the messages that his brain was giving out. It was like his fingers were numb and couldn't function.

Shoot.

But nothing was happening, his finger twitched but that was it. He tried to fight through the sudden shockwaves of pain but he just couldn't control his fingers. It was like his whole right hand was dead. No matter how hard he focused, his fingers would only twitch

"MARK! DO SOMETHING!" Saera screamed.

He tried again but this time a searing bolt of pain shot up his arm and he hissed before dropping the gun. He fell on his knees and dropped to his side before holding onto his right hand, wincing as the agonizing pain continued.

Saera felt her heart race as she looking at the gun that was lying on the ground and back up at the car that was pulling out of the driveway.

In a split second decision, she grabbed Mark's gun, aimed it at the car and started shooting at it. Her first few shots missed but she managed to hit the back window. She fired the gun once more and was positive that she hit the driver when the car swerved.

But her shot wasn't fatal because the car regained its path and accelerated until it was out of her range.

Saera felt her breath shudder as she watched the car vanish into a small dot. When she couldn't see the car anymore, she slowly turned to see Mark on the ground, staring at his palm in disdain and disappointment.

She slowly dragged her body over to where Mark was and collapsed onto the ground next to him. Her hand started to tremble as she stared at the gun but neither of them spoke until Saera broke the silence.

"What…what happened to you back there?" Her voice shook as she stared at him in disbelief. "What happened to your hand?"

Mark gulped with watery eyes, "I don't know."

"You don't know? Don't lie." She barked, "What the hell happened?"

Mark stared at the long darkened slit that had been embedded in his palm for years, "It felt like my right hand wasn't connected to the rest of my body. It just…wasn't working. It was like it was numb and cramped at the same time. My fingers wouldn't move."

Saera looked at the darkened scar, "How did you get that, anyways?"

Mark's face hardened and he quickly pulled his sleeve over his palm to hide the scar, "I got it when I fell off my bike as a kid."

Lie.

But Saera didn't push him any further.

Her heart was still racing over the mere fact that she fired a gun, something she had never done before in her life.

She shot someone.

Serial killer or not, she still fired a lethal weapon.

"Oh god." She whispered to herself as the wind began to pick up. "I fired a gun."

Mark looked over at her and felt himself fill with dread. Saera's face was pale, her eyes were wide, her hair was matted with sweat and her whole body was trembling.

And it was all his fault and his incapability to do his job.

"We need to change your phone number." He said seriously. "He must've gotten it without you knowing. We should probably change Youngjae's as well."

Saera balked at his reaction but was distracted when she heard sirens blaring towards them. She looked over at Mark who seemed like his mind wasn't even on this planet.

He was just dazedly staring at his right hand like he couldn't understand how it worked. She sighed and wiped the sweat off her forehead before crawling closer to him.

She grabbed his right hand and turned his