Crimson Park

Chapter 26

Upon the acceptance of your plea bargain, you were to be whisked away to jail without passing "Go." But, as promised, Namjoon was there with his injunction, and to the dismay of many, you were redirected to his and Jungkook's precinct.

The first few days were a whirlwind as the warrant for the judge was issued, and you were interviewed by lawyers, feds, and anyone else that needed access to your fountain of knowledge.

In between that, you spent your days in the war room with the detectives, going cross-eyed over the years upon years of documents, and your mouth running dry and your hand cramping from reciting and writing affidavit after affidavit. By night, you were returned to your cell, which was located in the back of the building and away from the regular traffic – it was probably where they once kept all the drunks. To be honest, life wasn't too bad as a prisoner. The squad kept you fed well and entertained by lending you their murder mystery novels.

"This guy," one of the investigators slid a photo across the boardroom table towards you.

"Griff. That's what we called him."

"How'd he get that name?" the officer asked.

"He never told me. He ran all drug sales from the river to the park."

"What type of drugs?"

"All types."

"Murder?"

"Definitely. More than I could tell you about - he's been working for Dongnam almost longer than I've been alive."

"Okay," the officer put Griff's file on the pile that apparently indicated non-exclusive-drug-dealing-murderers. "Let's come back to that one later. How about this guy?" he tossed another photo down in front of you.

"Daniel Carter," you replied, your nose scrunching in disgust as you immediately recognized his face in the photo. Even though he was far away on the other side of the table, you could feel Jungkook's eyes flit up in your direction at the mention of Carter's name. You ignored it, as best as you could ignore the memory of the last time you saw Carter – which also coincided with the last night you spent with Jungkook.

"Is that his real name?"

"As far as I know. His files are all on the drive."

"I'd rather talk about what's not in the file. You knew him well - outside his finances, I mean."

You swallowed hard. The officer was looking for dirt on Carter that went beyond dirty money. And dirt Carter had. More than anyone, you wanted to see Carter rot in prison for all the things he did to you and to others. But, revealing the depths of that man's depravity would have put you at the centre of the story, and you sure as hell didn't want to divulge that information either. Not to anyone, nonetheless a courtroom.

But Jungkook already knew the story of you and Carter - or at least he knew some. He knew because at the time you thought you were talking to someone who cared for you - someone you could trust. And, in a bitter twist, he also knew because he had a file on you.

Jungkook's gaze was now burrowing a hole into your head. You could sense it. You then heard the scraping of his chair against the floor as he got up and began to move towards your end of the table.

Your heart began to race... you had promised to help. Helping, being an informant, a witness, and information centre - that's what was currently keeping you out of the gen-pop prison, that's what was keeping you safe, and alive. Jungkook would know – at least in particular cases like Carter - if you were withholding anything. You waited, in anxious anticipation, for Jungkook to arrive at your end of the table and issue to you some sort of reminder of that.