It's Hee's Lift Now | An ENHA + TXT Fic

Chapter 35: Good Cop, Bad Cop

"Control the two boys hiding behind that door."

"On it, sir."

As soon as the captain left, Heeseung and Sunghoon came stumbling out of the closet. They bowed politely at the two figures Mei had been gesturing at.

"Hi, Jihun hyung," Heeseung grinned. "Hi, Eunji sunbaenim."

Sunghoon frowned after they had said their greetings. "How did the captain know we were in the closet?"

Mei sighed, opening the window shades to her office.

"I know it may not seem like it-" she paused, staring out the window at the scene unfolding in the hallway.

Three soldiers had surrounded a vending machine and were trying to tilt it in an attempt to get their trapped food out. A fourth soldier, a boy with ears that stuck out like an elf's, stood slightly back, anxiously keeping watch over the area.

"Dammit, Dobby," Mei muttered under her breath. She spun around, facing Heeseung. "Yeah. As I was saying, it doesn't seem like it sometimes, but you are surrounded by the best police force in South Korea. You can't fool us. Well, most of us."

She strode out of her office, Heeseung following closely behind.

***

"Tell me your name!" Jihun slammed his hands on the table. "Who are you? Who do you work for?"

He stepped back, smiling politely. "Anyways, that's kind of how I envisioned it."

Mei stared at him, dumbfounded. "No. That's not how we- ah, forget it."

She turned to Eunji. "You ready to go in?"

"Why do I have to do this again?" Eunji mumbled.

"Because he's not talking to the police, and we're running out of time. From the moment we detained Mr. Gwan, we had forty-eight hours to file for a detention warrant. The rest of the department and I have taken turns questioning him over the last twenty-four, but he's refusing to cooperate. The strange thing is, he's not requesting a lawyer. We're hoping he might talk to someone who's close to the case but not a cop. Someone who can hold their own ground. Someone like you."

Eunji shifted uncomfortably. "I don't know. Business meetings and police questionings are two very different worlds."

"I mean, why can't you just file for the detention warrant?" Heeseung asked, glancing at Mei.

"Ah..." She cracked her knuckles awkwardly. "Because it's going to get denied. His flower shop and hedge maze were destroyed in the fire. No judge will think he'd do that on purpose."

"What happens if the warrant gets denied?" Sunghoon loosely clung to Heeseung's arm, gazing through the one-way mirror at the man sitting alone in the interrogation room.

"Mr. Gwan gets released from our custody, and with the way things are going right now, we'll never be able to get him to talk to us again." Mei pursed her lips. "Eunji, you're our last hope."

"You're really pulling out all the stops, eh?" Eunji muttered. "Ethos, pathos, and logos."

Mei grinned. "I guess business meetings and police questionings do have a bit in common."

"Are you referring to manipulation?" Jihun sighed.

"Nah, we call that 'persuasion' here at the police station."

"That was such a manipulative thing to say, Mei."

"Aye, well, like father, like daughter, am I right?"