Black, Blue, and Gold (Book 2)

One Step at a Time (Part 27)

None of the team members got enough sleep that night. Those who were able to go to the scene tried their best to process everything from eyewitness accounts to CCTV videos while the rest waited restlessly, standing by in case something else happened. Seulgi was an exception since she had to stay at the hospital as a precautionary measure thanks to the injury caused by the accident.

Lisa stayed up with the help of endless cups of coffee. Even when Jennie accidentally fell asleep next to her due to exhaustion, her anxiety and fear kept her awake. She had changed into a pair of jeans and t-shirt with her gun safely holstered at her side, her car keys always in her pocket and her phone fully charged. The device's ringer was left on so she wouldn't miss any calls or messages. She also kept checking on Jiyoon, secretly glad that there was no window in that room.

By sunrise, the team had managed to identify the three cars used in the attack thanks to Sooyoung and the eyewitness accounts. All of them had fake license plates, taken from other vehicles that had been reported as stolen.

Jisoo and Chaeyoung had spent all night interrogating Shin Harang with Himchan's help. Bambam watched over the whole thing and even tried to talk to Harang himself but the man remained silent as stone. They couldn't get a word out of him, not even after himchan's endless pleas.

"Good morning!"

The girl's loud cheerful voice rang across the quiet and somber workspace, making heads turn and smiles reappear on tired faces.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well, buddy?" asked Jongin who had just walked out of the pantry with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Yes, I did, buddy," replied Jiyoon as she ran towards the young man, hoping to get a pat on the head like she always did. She noticed the exhaustion and frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. Just a bit tired," said Jongin who squatted down. "My hands are kinda full so how about a hug?" he asked, showing the cup in one hand and the other hand that was still bandaged.

The girl gladly obliged then went around greeting and hugging everyone because they all looked tired to her.

The mood instantly improved thanks to the cute innocent act and Jennie found herself smiling when she saw Jiyoon drawing yet another random picture on Joonmyun's cast as per his request.

Lisa had gone inside Jisoo's office with Bambam and Himchan the moment she arrived, closing the door behind her.

"How bad is it?" Jennie asked Chaeyoung.

"Seul will need to wear a neck brace for a couple of days so that would be quite fun to tease," said Chaeyoung with a weak smile. "I spent the whole night trying to get Harang to talk but he wouldn't so much as open his mouth."

Jennie went to Lisa's desk and sat down, switching the computer on. "There must be something behind that 'Emperor' clue he left us. I have a feeling that he left that for me so I should be able to understand it, shouldn't I?"

"Maybe but it was too cryptic even for you so don't pressure yourself about it," Chaeyoung replied as she leaned back in her chair. "I think that it's already amazing that you were able to find the pieces of the puzzle."

"Yes but it's a useless feat without knowing what it actually means." Jennie accessed the case files and retrieved everything related to that symbol. "Emperor," she mumbled. "King?" she said the word in English then searched for an online dictionary.

Meanwhile, the four people in Jisoo's office had reached a point where they were seriously considering joining the raid to Yongbak's warehouse in order to catch Seungjin.