𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒉é𝒓𝒊 || JJK (Editing)

43: face off

William mutters something under his breath. He looks irritated and stressed as, once again, the number he's been dialing goes unanswered.

Linda looks at him in indecision. They both're in his study. They had been going through the case until he made a phone call, one that hadn't yet been answered. He settles himself in his leather chair and looks at Linda skeptically. She raises her brows, showing him to fill her with some information, but he just bites his nails in frustration, making her writhe at the sight.

A knock on the door is heard which grabs their attention. "Come in."

Harris walks in, holding a file in his hands. His tie is loosened around the collar, and he looks completely disheveled and in some sort of urgency. He rushes towards William and is about to speak something but noticing another presence in the room, his pace slows down and he looks at her in surprise.

"This is Linda Atkinson, my lawyer. Linda, this is Harris." They both exchange their greetings as an awkward air looms in the atmosphere before Harris breaks the ice.

"I just got to know that.. um.." he looks back at Linda, unsure if he could speak of such matters in-front of her.

"I think I will come by some other time. It's getting late."

"No, it's fine. She can be trusted, plus I guess it's time we tell her. She is representing me, after all. What is it you have to say?" states William, getting up from his seat.

Harris looks back and forth from William to Linda and finally speaks.

"The detective, Jeon Jeongguk has been discharged from the hospital, the other.." he says tilting his head a little, as if feeling discomfort. "Jeffrey Brown, he is in coma. Detective Jeon will look into the case for two more days as allotted. And...."

"And?" asks William, losing patience.

"And it seems like he has the key to bring this case to a final say and also Bruce isn't responding. I tried tracing him, but it's been a failure so far. He had to take the flight to Beijing but he hasn't reported."

William curses loudly, startling the others in the room. He grabs his head in frustration as the information sinks in.

"I think I'm missing onto something very important here, Mr. Wrethemier. Mind enlightening me?" demands Linda. Harris inhales deeply, preparing himself for the worst that could happen as William speaks to her.

_*_*_*_

Janice leaves the hospital feeling worse. She had come to see the detectives. Or to put it more precisely, she had come to see Jeongguk only to get to know that he had had forced his discharge for work. The only relief that eases her was that he was alive.

She gets into the car and ignites the engine. She simply drives to nowhere in particular. He mind is fogged, contemplating on whether she should call him. After an immense effort and some bribe, she made the nurse provide her with Jeongguk's contact details. But not that she had all the information needed to call him. She lacked the courage.

What would she say? That she is worried? It ill only make him scoff at her. Of all the things in the world, he wouldn't remark 'concern for him' as one of her attributes. She parks the car in the building's driveway in-front of her. Her eyes adjusting to the bright neon-lights flashing in the building. She was definitely underdressed for the place in her formals, but it didn't matter. She owned that place.

Getting out of the car, she walks towards the entrance. Time like these, when she is not sure of what to do, she finds herself here. At the Pandemonium Club, where she gets drunk watching others drinking themselves to insobriety. It's not the alcohol that makes her stress go away. It's witnessing others succumbing into the liquid which hinders their brain that brings her peace. It is weird how people find alleviation in the craziest things ever. Like the alcohol. They think it relieves stress, but all that it does is hamper one's cerebellum to an extent where they're incapable of thinking straight. It just makes our brain forget the matters at hand, the stress, the work, all of it. It plays tricks with our brain, making it feel and believe things no sane person would think of when sober. And as a psychologist, she could compare herself to the liquor. They both play tricks with other's brain, making them believe that they, liquor and psychiatrists, can bring their discomfort to an end. But all they do is just give people's thinking a different direction. The liquor numbs their thinking, giving a new blissful direction to some incoherent thoughts. The psychiatrist changes their way of thinking with their wise words, making them see the world in a better way. Or so they think.