Clear and Present Danger

The New Life

'Yeobo, what do you want for dinner?' I asked him, over the phone. I was looking at something really important and so before I forgot about it, I asked him in the middle of working. I walked my way to where I am supposed to be at this moment.

'Uhmmm, can you please grill those marinated pork chops? I'm really hungry, I wanna eat after this,' he replied.

'Okay, noted on that,' I replied as I took a look at the subject that caught my eye. 'Before I forget this, when are we going to take a breather?'

He was silent for a few moments, and then I heard a loud bang. 'Sorry, yeobo. Weekend?' He asked, as if he had never heard of the word 'weekend' anymore.

'Forget it,' I replied. I bent down to pick something up then threw it away. A bang was heard.

'Sorry, something was in front of me. So I'll see you later?' I said.

'Sure. Love you,' he said as we cut off the line.

A grenade was thrown my way and fortunately I was able to pick up and throw away in time. Then I went over the area, called on my team to check if they were hurt by the blast.

'No, maam. I am six o'clock on the subject. Ready to take a shot,' Hyo Jin's voice came through. I smiled as I realized it was game over for the culprit.

This was premeditated. Planned well, executed right. However, someone tipped off so here we are.

A man in his mid-30s took his mother hostage for allegedly maltreating him for so long. He had grown violent in the last few days and when the going got tough, he pointed a gun at his mother. Locking themselves up in his room, he shouted all kinds of profanities he had ever heard his mother say to him, according to the househelp who made the call. I truly wonder why there are women that way, but then as I realized that I could have easily been the man in my situation with Eomma a few years back, I can't help but feel sorry for her too. She must have had a reason, no matter how small it is. It's just that, there was something wrong in how she dealt her cards towards her son.

'Cha Jung Hyun,' I called over. I could see him clearly from the window of his room. I raised my gun for him to see and tucked it back to my waistband. 'I'm Inspector Kim Yeon Hong. I can help you.'

'Really?' he shouted as he pointed the gun to his mother's temple. The mother looked like she was in her fifties, was crying and was pleading to me somehow to save her and her son from this ordeal.

'Yes I can, but before that, can you take that gun away?' I asked, smiling as I said so.

The hardest part about negotiating, is dealing with the culprit as if they were your friends. If I was the Yeon Hong in the past, and this guy had done something really wrong, I would have shot him right away, like that intruder who stopped what I did to my then-boyfriend.

'Shoot me instead, because I am going to kill this woman,' he shouted as he pressed the nozzle closer to his mother's temple.

'Ma'am, on your order,' I heard the sniper, Officer Kang Sang Ho, informed.

'Hold, officer,' I told him.

'Copy that, ma'am.'

'Hyo Jinah,' I called.

'Yes, ma'am. On your order,' she replied.

'What do you see?'

'The man's high, there are lots of syringes here in the area. Yet to confirm if these are drugs or what,' she said.

'Ok, just the feet on my call. Officer Kang?

'Yes, ma'am?'

'Shoot the hand as soon as immobilized,' I commanded.