The first siren might have been unrelated.<\/p>\n
The second was not.<\/p>\n
Choi turned toward Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheck.\u201d<\/p>\n
Park ran to the side entrance.<\/p>\n
One of the unfamiliar men pulled out a phone.<\/p>\n
No signal.<\/p>\n
He moved toward a window.<\/p>\n
Han tightened his grip on Mary Lou.<\/p>\n
I remained beside the backpack.<\/p>\n
Nobody seemed certain whether I was still hostage, witness, or problem.<\/p>\n
That uncertainty was useful.<\/p>\n
Choi barked an order.<\/p>\n
The warehouse changed instantly.<\/p>\n
Men moved.<\/p>\n
The metal case containing records was carried from the office.<\/p>\n
Park returned shouting that vehicles were approaching from two directions.<\/p>\n
Choi looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou brought police.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was true.<\/p>\n
I had no idea who was outside.<\/p>\n
He did not believe me.<\/p>\n
\u201cKill the release.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCall Soo-jin.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Han twisted Mary Lou\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n
She gasped.<\/p>\n
I stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Han pulled harder.<\/p>\n
Pain crossed her face.<\/p>\n
I reached for the disposable phone.<\/p>\n
Choi watched.<\/p>\n
I dialed Soo-jin.<\/p>\n
She answered immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to stop the release.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then, \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Choi held out his hand.<\/p>\n
I put the call on speaker instead.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour prosecutor is coming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin answered in Korean.<\/p>\n
His expression hardened.<\/p>\n
They spoke quickly.<\/p>\n
I caught nothing.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou did.<\/p>\n
Her eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoo-jin says the prosecutor isn\u2019t coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sirens grew louder.<\/p>\n
Choi stared at the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen who?\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin switched to English.<\/p>\n
\u201cFinancial crimes investigators and police from a unit Choi doesn\u2019t control.\u201d<\/p>\n
That distinction mattered.<\/p>\n
Choi ended the call by knocking the phone from my hand.<\/p>\n
It shattered against the floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cMove,\u201d he ordered.<\/p>\n
Han dragged Mary Lou toward the rear of the warehouse.<\/p>\n
I grabbed the backpack.<\/p>\n
One of the men blocked me.<\/p>\n
Choi pointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe comes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was leverage again.<\/p>\n
Fine.<\/p>\n
Leverage gets taken where important things are happening.<\/p>\n
I followed.<\/p>\n
The rear loading area contained a dark SUV and a smaller delivery van.<\/p>\n
Park opened the SUV.<\/p>\n
Choi carried the metal case.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou saw it.<\/p>\n
So did I.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe paper,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crash record.\u201d<\/p>\n
Han shoved her forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cMove.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou twisted suddenly.<\/p>\n
Not to escape.<\/p>\n
She kicked backward into Han\u2019s knee.<\/p>\n
He cursed and loosened his grip.<\/p>\n
She ran.<\/p>\n
Not toward the exit.<\/p>\n
Toward the office.<\/p>\n
\u201cMary!\u201d<\/p>\n
Choi shouted.<\/p>\n
Han pursued her.<\/p>\n
I understood.<\/p>\n
The document she had hidden.<\/p>\n
She was going back for it.<\/p>\n
Choi pointed at Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Park ran after them.<\/p>\n
The sirens were close now.<\/p>\n
Red and blue reflections flickered against high warehouse windows.<\/p>\n
Choi grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou come.\u201d<\/p>\n
I pulled away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need the password.\u201d<\/p>\n
His grip returned harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need nothing if we are arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds like a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me with genuine hatred.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
Hatred makes careful men sloppy.<\/p>\n
He dragged me toward the SUV.<\/p>\n
I let the backpack slide from my shoulder.<\/p>\n
It hit the concrete.<\/p>\n
The zipper opened.<\/p>\n
Papers scattered.<\/p>\n
Choi released me instinctively and reached down.<\/p>\n
Exactly what I wanted.<\/p>\n
I kicked the backpack beneath the van.<\/p>\n
Not elegant.<\/p>\n
Not powerful.<\/p>\n
Enough.<\/p>\n
Choi swore.<\/p>\n
I ran.<\/p>\n
At sixty-three, running is less dramatic than young people imagine.<\/p>\n
There is no graceful sprint.<\/p>\n
There is calculation.<\/p>\n
Knees.<\/p>\n
Balance.<\/p>\n
Breath.<\/p>\n
Do not fall.<\/p>\n
I headed toward the office.<\/p>\n
Behind me, Choi shouted.<\/p>\n
A hand caught the back of my cardigan.<\/p>\n
The fabric stretched.<\/p>\n
I twisted.<\/p>\n
The seam tore.<\/p>\n
I kept moving.<\/p>\n
Gunfire cracked somewhere outside.<\/p>\n
I stopped involuntarily.<\/p>\n
Everyone did.<\/p>\n
Then someone shouted through a loudspeaker in Korean.<\/p>\n
The warehouse doors shook.<\/p>\n
Police.<\/p>\n
Real police.<\/p>\n
Choi abandoned me.<\/p>\n
He ran toward the rear exit.<\/p>\n
I reached the staircase to the office.<\/p>\n
Upstairs, furniture crashed.<\/p>\n
I found Mary Lou on the floor beside the filing cabinet.<\/p>\n
Han had one hand around her ankle.<\/p>\n
Park was trying to pull the cabinet away from the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe paper!\u201d she shouted.<\/p>\n
I grabbed the nearest object.<\/p>\n
A metal wastebasket.<\/p>\n
I swung it at Han.<\/p>\n
It struck his shoulder.<\/p>\n
He turned.<\/p>\n
The expression on his face said he could not believe an older woman had just attacked him with office furniture.<\/p>\n
Neither could I.<\/p>\n
He released Mary Lou.<\/p>\n
She kicked him in the chest.<\/p>\n
Park shouted.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou reached beneath the cabinet.<\/p>\n
Her fingers searched.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt moved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Han lunged again.<\/p>\n
I slammed the wastebasket against his forearm.<\/p>\n
He knocked it away.<\/p>\n
Pain shot through my wrist.<\/p>\n
Then Park did something unexpected.<\/p>\n
He grabbed Han.<\/p>\n
Han turned on him.<\/p>\n
They shouted at each other in Korean.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s happening?\u201d<\/p>\n
Park yelled one sentence.<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says Choi is leaving us.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sounded believable.<\/p>\n
Han shoved Park.<\/p>\n
Park hit him.<\/p>\n
Years of loyalty apparently ended quickly when sirens arrived.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou crawled beneath the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere!\u201d<\/p>\n
A corner of paper protruded near the wall.<\/p>\n
She reached.<\/p>\n
Han saw.<\/p>\n
He stepped toward her.<\/p>\n
Park blocked him.<\/p>\n
They collided.<\/p>\n
I dropped to my knees beside Mary Lou.<\/p>\n
She pulled out the document.<\/p>\n
Payment authorization.<\/p>\n
Han Jae\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
Date.<\/p>\n
Amount.<\/p>\n
Company.<\/p>\n
The paper trembled in her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen move.\u201d<\/p>\n
She folded it inside her blouse.<\/p>\n
We headed toward the stairs.<\/p>\n
Han saw us.<\/p>\n
He broke free from Park.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou pushed me ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo!\u201d<\/p>\n
We descended.<\/p>\n
The warehouse doors burst inward.<\/p>\n
Armed officers entered.<\/p>\n
Commands filled the building.<\/p>\n
I raised both hands.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou did the same.<\/p>\n
Han stopped halfway down the stairs.<\/p>\n
For one second, I thought he would surrender.<\/p>\n
Then he reached inside his coat.<\/p>\n
Three officers shouted.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou grabbed me and pulled me behind a concrete support.<\/p>\n
A shot cracked.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
Han fell.<\/p>\n
I covered my head.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou pressed against me.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t move.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t planning to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boots thundered past.<\/p>\n
Men shouted.<\/p>\n
Someone ordered Choi to stop.<\/p>\n
An engine roared behind the warehouse.<\/p>\n
The SUV.<\/p>\n
Choi was escaping.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou heard it.<\/p>\n
She started to rise.<\/p>\n
I grabbed her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have the paper.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe copied everything else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll run.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet him.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet the police chase him.\u201d<\/p>\n
For nine years, Mary Lou had lived as though Choi\u2019s movements were her responsibility.<\/p>\n
His crimes.<\/p>\n
His records.<\/p>\n
His suspicions.<\/p>\n
His reactions.<\/p>\n
I held her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do not have to follow him anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
The sentence seemed harder for her to understand than any code Kang Jun created.<\/p>\n
An officer approached.<\/p>\n
Hands visible.<\/p>\n
He spoke Korean.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou answered.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says we stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou almost laughed.<\/p>\n
Then her face tightened from pain.<\/p>\n
I looked at her ribs.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need a hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLater.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour criminal organization can wait twenty minutes while somebody checks whether your ribs are broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
An officer crouched beside us.<\/p>\n
Another moved upstairs.<\/p>\n
Park came down with his hands raised.<\/p>\n
He was arrested.<\/p>\n
Han remained on the landing, alive but bleeding, surrounded by officers.<\/p>\n
I did not look long.<\/p>\n
Someone retrieved the backpack from beneath the van.<\/p>\n
An investigator brought it to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cYours?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou translated.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Mary Lou said simultaneously.<\/p>\n
The investigator frowned.<\/p>\n
Despite everything, I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou translated that too.<\/p>\n
The investigator did not look amused.<\/p>\n
We were separated for questioning.<\/p>\n
I hated it immediately.<\/p>\n
After twelve years apart, being placed in different rooms felt intolerable.<\/p>\n
I told the same story repeatedly.<\/p>\n
My daughter married Kang Jun.<\/p>\n
Moved to Korea.<\/p>\n
Annual transfers.<\/p>\n
No visits.<\/p>\n
Identical messages.<\/p>\n
I came without warning.<\/p>\n
Found money.<\/p>\n
Met Choi.<\/p>\n
Locker 318.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin.<\/p>\n
Backpack.<\/p>\n
Warehouse.<\/p>\n
At some point, a translator arrived.<\/p>\n
Then an American consular official.<\/p>\n
Then another investigator.<\/p>\n
Time lost meaning.<\/p>\n
My wrist swelled.<\/p>\n
Someone wrapped it.<\/p>\n
I kept asking for Mary Lou.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer irritated me.<\/p>\n
Safe had become a word I no longer trusted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nearly laughed.<\/p>\n
Soon.<\/p>\n
The family curse.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Soo-jin arrived.<\/p>\n
Her black coat was unbuttoned and her hair looked windblown.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s Mary?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGiving a statement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChoi?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her expression told me before she answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cEscaped.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRear service road.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan he leave the country?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve issued alerts.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. Not easily.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not easily was not impossible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Han?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPark?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlready?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe believes Choi abandoned him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin sat opposite me.<\/p>\n
\u201cPark wants protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTestimony.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout Kang Jun?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAmong other things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hope flickered.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered the crash authorization.<\/p>\n
\u201cMary found the payment document.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe did?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hid it before I arrived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin stood immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt connects Han to the crash.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
She left.<\/p>\n
I sat alone.<\/p>\n
Ten minutes later, the door opened.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou entered.<\/p>\n
Her cheek was bruised.<\/p>\n
Her lip swollen.<\/p>\n
But she was walking.<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
She crossed the room.<\/p>\n
We held each other.<\/p>\n
Neither spoke for a long time.<\/p>\n
Finally, she whispered, \u201cYou hit Han with a trash can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWastebasket.\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed against my shoulder.<\/p>\n
I laughed too.<\/p>\n
Then we both began crying.<\/p>\n
Not loudly.<\/p>\n
We had done enough loud things for one day.<\/p>\n
When we separated, Mary Lou sat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey found the document.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSoo-jin says it\u2019s strong evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHan might talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked toward the closed door.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Choi is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I reached for her hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we find him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
I frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the warehouse?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said I don\u2019t have to follow him anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
I squeezed her fingers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, she seemed to believe it.<\/p>\n
Then an investigator entered with Soo-jin.<\/p>\n
Their expressions were serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin closed the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crash authorization has Han\u2019s payment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s another signature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin placed a copy on the table.<\/p>\n
At the bottom was a second approval line.<\/p>\n
A name.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou stared.<\/p>\n
I did not recognize it.<\/p>\n
She did.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her hand rose to her mouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Lou looked at Soo-jin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can\u2019t be right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soo-jin\u2019s face was pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat name?\u201d I demanded.<\/p>\n
Mary Lou whispered it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPark Dae-hyun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man who had just surrendered.<\/p>\n
The man asking for protection.<\/p>\n
The man Kang Jun once trusted.<\/p>\n
Soo-jin tapped the signature.<\/p>\n
\u201cPark didn\u2019t merely know about the crash.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Mary Lou.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe authorized the payment that killed your husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first siren might have been unrelated. The second was not. Choi turned toward Park. \u201cCheck.\u201d Park ran to the side entrance. One of the unfamiliar men pulled out a … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16999,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16972\/revisions\/16999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}