Yeonjun's POV:
I was working out with Taehyun, basically killing time until we get a call and need to rush somewhere. Whenever we have a lull day like today, where we have hours of time, we usually practice drills, work on our shooting accuracy, work out, clean our guns; anything to help us out in the field. Usually, a few times a week I've been in the gym with Tae. It started out as we coincidentally always came in here at the same time, but now, we drag each other to the gym. It's more of just a small room with some exercise equipment, but it's still a gym in our hearts.
He was giggling at me, clicking his tongue as he said, "Are you slowing down?"
I finished the push-up I was doing, resting at the top for a moment before I replied, "Shut up."
He laughed harder as I did another push-up, struggling a bit to get back up, "You could just admit that I won. You still have to do twenty more to tie me."
I rested back at the top again, taking a few breaths, "Well, now I have nineteen." And then went back down for another push-up.
I couldn't see his face, but I already knew he was rolling his eyes, "I'm afraid your old, frail body won't be able to go on a call after this."
"Yah!..." I yelled, and he was just laughing as I struggled to finish the push-up, "I'm only three years older than you!"
He snickered, "You were born in the previous century."
I shook my head, "Do you want to die?" I said sarcastically, making him laugh in response.
"Hey, guys..." I heard a quiet voice say, making me pause. Tae stopped laughing, turning my head towards the door to see Soobin standing there. He only took a few steps inside, pressing his lips together. I went down on my knees, straightening my back so I was sitting on my legs. I was able to see him better, still wearing his uniform like he does every day.
His cargo pants were tucked into his combat boots, my eyes slowly making their way up. His black shirt was tucked in, showing off how narrow his frame is. His top fit snuggly around him, watching how he had a towel in his hands and was trying to wipe the grease off his fingers; must've been cleaning his rifle. When my eyes met with his, he was staring at me too. The way he pressed his lips together made one of his dimples pop out, making him look so cute. The hairband tied around his forehead meant I could barely see passed his bangs, but we all know it's his good luck charm.
He looked away from me to look at Taehyun, but he merely glanced at him and began going back and forth between us, "Chan wants us to meet him in the conference room."
I nodded, shaking myself out of my thoughts as I stood up, "We'll be down in a minute."
Minute
Minute
Minute
He gave me a little smile, his second dimple coming out of nowhere, "Take your time. He said there's no rush."
"Thanks, hyungie." Taehyun replied, and then Soobin took a few steps back to walk out the door.
He gave us one last little smile before he left, watching as he faded away. It's like I was watching him in slow motion, every little movement registering in my brain as something I need to remember—
"I won..." Tae said, making me turn to him instead. As soon as I did that, I glanced back at the door to realize that Soobin had left, and then quickly put my focus on Taehyun instead. He patted my shoulder, "Maybe next time, grandpa."
His comment made him laugh, and the annoyed smile was forming on my face as he lowered his hand and took a step away from me, "Yah, come here—"
~ ~ ~
When Taehyun and I had changed back into our uniforms, we made our way back downstairs and to the conference room. Everyone was already waiting for us, chatting as we walked inside. There was a single round table in the center of the room, and Chan was standing next to the large projector sitting on the edge of the table.
Everyone paused the conversation, and Chan smiled at us, "Hey, you guys can sit anywhere."
I instantly looked back at the table, there was one open seat between Soobin and Ryujin and another on the other side of Changbin. I guess I took too long to decide since Tae went to sit next to Soobin, so I quietly went next to Changbin, pulling the chair out and taking a seat.
Chan picked up a remote, switching on the projector as he said, "I'll make this quick and then we have something else on the agenda."
I was confused, noticing the case file next to the projector. It looked like the ones we would get at the BAU, the same cover folder and everything. When Chan flipped the projector to the right setting, there were two pictures on the screen. They were of two different people, two men both talking on their phones in each of the photos. I scrunched my eyebrows together, scanning the photos like I was on a case. They seemed to be surveillance pictures, half of the images obstructed by something in the way.
The men both had suits on, and the fact that they were talking on the phone exposed the same tattoo on their wrists. I leaned forward a bit, trying to get a closer look as Chan said, "These are both members of the Three Dragons Mafia; as you can see from the tattoos. They're suspects in a few murder cases where previous military personnel have gone missing and are found a few days later in random locations."
I was staring at the photos, putting any piece of information into my memory, "What does this have to do with us?" Changbin asked, and I couldn't take my eyes away.
Chan shrugged out of the corner of my eye, "No idea. The supervisor just sent this all to me and wanted to relay the information to everyone. I'm guessing in case the police need our assistance when they catch them, but I really have no clue. Just let me know if you see these people, ok? That was pretty much it—"
"The supervisor lied to you." I cut him off, still staring at the pictures in front of me. Something didn't sit right with them; something about them was off.
"What?" Chan asked in confusion.
I felt bad since I couldn't bring myself to look away from the screen, "It's the BAU. They need my help with something; the case file is from their office..." I tilted my head to the side, my eyes going to every pixel of the photos, "What's wrong with the pictures?" I mumbled.
Pictures
Pictures
Pictures
"The pictures?..." Ryujin asked, "Aren't they just surveillance photos?"
"There's something off about them; my old team must've felt it as well. That's why Chan is showing them to us..." I narrowed my eyes, "They're too perfect."
I looked away for the first time, my mind going in circles. I reached for the case file across the table, sliding it over to me and opening it up in a hurry. I needed to find those photos on paper—
"Wait, so the BAU got in contact with our supervisor because they needed your help with a case... but why're we all here? They can't just contact you directly?" Soobin asked, as I was rifling through papers.
"Legally, they're not allowed to give consultants high profile cases unless they thought it was imperative. It's easier to get the permission to give small bits of information to swat teams, and they knew I would be here to see it..." I chuckled to myself, "Sneaky, isn't it?"
I finally found the photos, laying them side-by-side. I felt like I was high, taking a deep breath as I looked for the missing puzzle piece. My eyes were darting back and forth, looking for a mistake; a flaw in the system. That's how you catch people; how you catch killers – when they make a mistake. They get too caught up in the fantasy, too caught up in what they're doing to be meticulous about their actions.
And then I saw it; the mistake. I smiled, pushing those two photos away to look at the other crime scene photos. I wanted to make sure my theory was right, and after looking at the other photos, I knew I was right. I took a breath, picking my head up just to see how everyone was staring at me, quietly waiting for an answer. My heart was beating fast, gripping the arm rests of my chair as I said, "The photos are staged."
Staged
Staged
Staged
Taehyun was right across from me, noticing how he looked back at the screen first, "Wait – What?"
"When's the last time you saw two identical surveillance photos, with two men in the same position, both wearing suits, both talking on the phone, with the exact same tattoo..." I chuckled lightly, "With the same goddam bush in the foreground blocking half the picture."
I couldn't stop myself, "In the Three Dragons Mafia, you get an outline of that tattoo when you join, and then you get it colored in after your first kill. That's why all the tattoos they have are unique; you can choose to get whatever colors you want because it's meant to be a celebration. So, what're the chances that they would both have the exact same tattoo, with the exact same colors? They have to be fake..." I looked back down at the other crime scene photos, "The kills are sloppy and unorganized, which is very uncharacteristic to the Mafia. There has to be at least three people involved – the two men in the photos and whoever was holding the camera. They took the photos and sent them to the police to frame the Mafia."
I scrambled to put together the photos, shoving them in the case file and closing it. I stood up, holding the case file as I reached into my pocket and grabbed my phone, "I'll be right back. I need to call my old boss."
Soobin's POV:
Chan sighed as soon as Yeonjun left the conference room, tossing the remote on the table as he rubbed his eyes, "I was afraid that would happen."
I scrunched my eyebrows, and Ryujin beat me to it, "Huh? What's going on?"
Chan sat down in the seat Yeonjun was just in, "The supervisor told me it was the BAU. They solved the case three days ago..." Chan crossed his arms over his chest, "They're having a hard time without Yeonjun. It's been taking them longer to solve cases, so they want him to transfer back to their unit."
I scoffed, "And they thought enticing him with a case would bring him back?" I asked.
Chan shrugged, "He said it took them two days to figure out that those photos were staged..." He replied, chuckling for a moment, "Took that kid five minutes."
"Wait, so..." Changbin started, shaking his head to get his thoughts together, "All of this was just a ruse to get him to transfer?"
"I don't want him to leave..." Chan quickly replied, "This wasn't up to me. I had orders to present it in a situation he would believe. It came from the Federal Bureau Director; I couldn't say 'no'..." Chan looked away, dryly swallowing, "They threatened to cut a lot of our funding if I didn't do it. I had no choice."
My blood was boiling, my heart rate increasing at the same time. I quickly stood up, the squeaking of my chair louder than I thought it would be. I quietly moved around the table towards the door, but Chan stopped me, "Soobin, leave him be."
I turned around, annoyed, "And just let some executives manipulate him?..." I retorted, putting my hands up in defeat, "He deserves to be here; he wants to be here. Goddam, he came here for a reason. Does nobody respect that?"
Chan and I looked at each other, and I know he could tell how angry I was. He slowly stood up, his arms still crossed over his chest as he stared into my eyes. He took a deep breath, and then said, "Bring him back here..." He gave me a look, "And I'm not the one who said that to you."
I let out a breath I was holding in, nodding quickly before I stormed out the door.