BLACKTAN w/ imagination

Heist 2

Everything was in place.

There were pairs of plainclothesmen posted all around the train station, in every terminal, by every ticket booth, at every exit. Jung Hoseok had gotten on one of the lines at Rouen three hours ago and was very likely no more than two cars away from their infamous thief. Chaeyoung had a map of the station memorized—she'd spent hours studying it and the train schedules, making sure she knew the name of every rail, every arrival and departure time that day, every hidden security camera location. She was connected by radio to every single officer in the building, and they would all inform her immediately if they saw anything.

Taehyung was not getting away this time.

They'd gotten an anonymous tip from somewhere in Switzerland two weeks ago, informing them about a trade-off that was going to happen in one of France's biggest train stations on this day. Chaeyoung and her faithful team had looked into it, desperate for any new signs of Taehyung's trail—and the information had seemed to check out. Considering the nature of the most recently vanished item from a curator's world-famous collection—a multi-million dollar bracelet—and the fact that Taehyung was supposed to be meeting a woman, the team had decided this was one of the best leads they'd gotten in months and put all their effort into making sure nothing would go awry this time.

This time, Chaeyoung thought, fiddling with her earpiece as static crackled in her ear, you're not slipping away, Taehyung. I'm going to make sure of it.

"Park," Jisoo said, the distance between their radios distorting his voice. "Park, can you hear me?"

It took Chaeyoung a moment to realize he was talking to her—her last name was probably for the benefit of the multitudes of other lower-ranked officers also on the line. "Yes, Jisoo. Where are you right now?"

"By the entrance to Terminal B. A train just came in and people are getting off—no sign of her yet."

Chaeyoung wished they had more information about the woman who was supposed to be meeting with Taehyung, but all she knew for sure was that the woman was young and European, most likely German or Swedish due to the countries Taehyung had been in contact with recently. It would be difficult to pick her out amongst the busy crowds when they knew so little about her, when nearly a fourth of the people matched her description, but Jisoo wasn't considered to have the sharpest eyes in all the neighboring precincts for nothing. She could notice the most minute details, read the subtlest body language better than anyone Chaeyoung knew.

And they would need it; they hadn't gotten such a good lead on Taehyung in months now. Even before Chaeyoung had actually met the man, they'd been having trouble with all the cases surrounding him.

Thinking about the encounter still infuriated her sometimes, sparked a swell of anger in her chest, a rush of indignation in her blood. She still remembered every detail of him as clearly as if she'd just seen him—his shiny designer shoes, his perfectly folded collar, the irritating smooth tenor of his voice, that annoying smirk on his admittedly handsome face she wanted to wipe off with her fist.

"It's been over a year, Mr. Taehyung," she muttered to herself, "and I swear, we're finally going to take you down."

Her earpiece crackled again; it was Hoseok's voice that sounded this time. "Pardon, Park?"

"Nothing, Jung," she said, shaking her head, fighting off a wave of irritation at herself for always becoming irrational where the stupid thief was concerned. "Keep your eyes and ears open."

Chaeyoung stood outside the central terminal of the station just a few feet away from one of the ticket counters, loitering by the benches like one of many other people waiting for their trains. She glanced around quickly to make sure her outfit was not too conspicuous: gray slacks, a lavender blouse, and a black trenchcoat—yes, similar outfits were commonly seen at this time of the year in France; she should be okay.