Fireproof

Criminals

Hijacked, lost track, light fades, another day left.
Long shadows lure you in.
The more you look the less you see,
So close your eyes and start to breathe.
Baekhyun had no idea where to start.

From the file Kris had given him, there was absolutely no pattern to the Phoenix's killings. It all seemed so random. A political figurehead here, a no-name drug dealer there; a guy wanted for murder and a petty thief on top; or even that one case of three consecutive killings in a day with each victim turning up as a known rapist in their databases. How was that supposed to make sense?

Then suddenly it hit him.

Criminals.

Every single one of the Phoenix's targets so far had been criminals; thieves, dealers, rapists, murderers, kidnappers, corrupt politicians. Who did this guy think he was, the judge, jury, and executioner?

Sighing, Baekhyun returned his attention to the file he held. He was sitting in a corner booth by himself in a small restaurant around the block from his apartment, reviewing all he knew about the Phoenix over a cup of coffee and a half-eaten sandwich as he tried desperately not to think about what he was getting himself into.

Even Park Jungsu told me to be careful.

"Sir?"

Jerked out of his reverie, Baekhyun looked up to see his waiter standing in front of him, looking vaguely worried.

"Ah, yes?"

"Would you like some more coffee?"

Baekhyun glanced at his cup and, after an intense inner battle, shook his head. "No, just the check, please."

The waiter nodded, bowed, and went, leaving Baekhyun to stare again at the file in his hands and wonder how he was ever going to get anywhere on the case. He'd barely just begun and already he was hitting so many dead ends that he had no idea where to start.

After paying the check he left, trudging home with a massive weight on his shoulders. He knew that he wasn't right for the case - he'd known from the start - so he had no idea why Kris and Jungsu had so much faith in him. It was as if they both thought he was some sort of genius or something, and Baekhyun wondered if they'd ever seen his high school report cards. They wouldn't be saying 'genius' if they had. Back in high school, Baekhyun had cared so much about girl bands and music that he'd barely paid attention in class. He made it into a good college by pure luck, and only then had he actually started to take his education seriously.

Ah, he'd gotten off-topic.

His apartment was cold and dim and empty when he got back, and he couldn't help the sigh he heaved as he sauntered over to his computer after setting down his things and switched it on. Perhaps he could find something online that would help.

Hours later, after searching through millions of possibilities with nothing to show for all the work, Baekhyun fell asleep with his head on the keyboard.

He was woken by a loud thumping noise, as if someone was hammering their fist against a solid object. The thought confused his sleep-muddled mind and he lifted his head, eyes half-lidded and hair all askew as he wondered why on earth someone would be punching something solid so early in the morning - or ever, really. It sounded painful just thinking about it.

"Baekhyun!"

Snapping awake as he recognized Kris's voice, Baekhyun jumped up and stumbled over to open the door, praying to whatever deity was listening that he hadn't overslept and was in trouble with his boss or something. When the door swung open Baekhyun flinched, noting the way Kris glowered down at him as if he was about to go off on one of his legendary rants, but his boss paused as he saw the state Baekhyun was in - the messy hair and dark circles under his eyes and the imprint of his laptop's keyboard on his cheek - and frowned.