Got my claws in you

Chapter 73- catch me

JOON POV:

"Are you ready for the first set of cases? It should be quick and no fuss." I ask, watching as the elder lion sinks down into a seat beside mine, quiet and observing as he watches movement beyond the glass to the interrogation room, watches as Jimin sits down in front of Lee Tae-Hwan. The owner of the tracking chips factory.

It's been weeks and slowly... bit by bit the man's confidence and bravado and cockiness has dissolved, the assuredness he'd had when he was first arrested has been broken down. Chip by chip.

There's an empty husk of the man he once was and there's nothing that saves him from the cold hardened rage that greets me, masked in soft features that appraise him as he sits down, file nudged forward, drawn open to show inventory and the list of his workers.

And when Lee looks at Jimin he can't find the man he led right into the heart of his business. Let in and let the fox break it apart brick by brick from the inside, everything sealed and raided, every employee fired and questioned. Every angle probed for more information.

But there's still more to take from Lee, there's still more information he can divulge.

"My team's ready. Although these cases, the people you've arrested in connection to the barn raid won't have any chance to present their case. They've signed their own death warrants, their own imprisonment. Are you good to meet them this week?"

My eyes drift from the one-way mirror to the lion seated beside me, see his gaze trained still on the smallest minute actions happening on the other side of the glass. Silently observing and taking everything in.

"This week sounds good, how's Thursday?" he nods in assent, head tilting as he takes in Lee and Jimin's posture, watching the unspoken confrontation between them.

"I'll get the Park couple to drop by. They're my ruthless duo so don't be fooled at first glance." He warns, cordiality and pride seeping into his tone.

"I'm sure Jimin will get along great with them then." There's the faint quirk to his lips, tail swishing low even as his gaze remains focused on Lee's body language.

"Have you found the two scorpion employees? For a hybrid species that's defined by their venom, they're extremely good at hiding. Scuttling into dark corners and biding their time... tucked away into the dirty underbelly of Seoul somewhere..."

My ears perk at his musings, empathy in the disgust and vitriol that laces his tone as he leans forward with curiosity, examining the stiffness in Lee's posture, the contradicting ease as Jimin leans back in his chair, quietly appraising him. Watching him suffocate in the silence that stretches out, the low slow way of Jimin's pink tail giving away just how much he's relishing in watching the human swelter and crumble without saying a single word.

"He'd get a lot more out of the man if you leave him in a bigger interrogation room." Ji Sung remarks easily, voice low and drawled. Laced with a growl that seems to rumble at the back of his throat.

Examining Lee with a hunter's gaze.

"Why's that?" already catching onto his thought process, curious to see how it plays out regardless.

"Let him sweat it out. There's a lot of psychological powerplay that happens inside an interrogation room. Like Park's using pheromones and silence but if you want him to feel cornered and trapped. No way out and to loosen his tongue then put him in a bigger room. Isolated."

There's a sharp knowledge that burns in dark eyes, tail swishing low and dragging, ears perked and to attention. Sitting tall and proud, commandeering the space with a quiet ease as he leans forward. Resting his head on a propped arm, eyes narrowing.