CHECKMATE || ITZY

Crocodile Tears

The night's progression was smooth, like a sleek black expensive sports car along a well-furnished road in the dead of the night, that sweet hour when there were no other pesky drivers to disturb it. Ryujin was standing outside a building graciously named 'The Cheshire', of which she had voraciously taken note of in her vast mental files, ticking it away safely for future uses. In fact, the merry prospect of one day in the near future – once she finished this dreary and bothersome mission – arresting these parasitic little rebels and shutting down this prolonged farce was the only thing keeping Ryujin sane right now. Because for the past half hour, all she had been hearing was the distant roar of cars on the main roads far away, and the incessant humming of a very certain Choi Jisu in her left ear. It wasn't that the strategist was tone-deaf and couldn't copy a melody to save her life – quite the opposite, actually: her voice was honey-sweet and had the capacity of every great singer, ringing softly across Ryujin's eardrums with all the grace of one well-versed in the arts. It was the fact that it was music. Ryujin couldn't believe what she was doing: defending a bunch of lowly criminals from the law? It went against her entire code of conduct, her morals, her ethics, her everything.

Ryujin huffed as she adjusted the position of the rifle (courtesy of Chaeryeong) slung over her back, shifting it higher up her shoulder. She still wondered what was so special about the other half-werewolf. The way she had handed the rifle over, nonchalantly, as if it were just another everyday item, was unsettling. It was not the actions of an amateur, one new to the ways of guns and cold, knife-edged death. No. Lee Chaeryeong was much more than that. And it disturbed Ryujin to acknowledge her as a threat. No, the agent thought, swallowing the thoughts down. The Mute Wolf was an iron warrior, perfect to the last plate of steel. Some lowlife bug like Chaeryeong would never be able to pierce her armour.

Still, she couldn't help but keep a seed of wariness close to her heart.

"Peace Officers approaching, just round the corner," came Lia's voice as her humming abruptly stopped. Ryujin tensed, though she knew she had no reason to fear; Peace Officers reigned below her – they couldn't dare to prosecute a government executive like her.

"I've got this," the Mute Wolf said, letting herself smirk. She lifted herself off the wall she had been leaning on, and slipped into the door behind her. "How close are they?"

"Almost at your post," Lia replied. "Why have you gone inside?"

"Don't worry, I've got a plan." Then putting up her best act, Ryujin pushed the door open, holding up the hand-held transceiver Lia had given her ("In case the earpiece falls off or malfunctions," she had said when she had handed it to her). "All clear," she muttered into it, loud enough for the approaching Peace Officers, just metres away now, to hear.

At least Lia had enough common sense to pick up on the agent's farce. "Affirmative," came the sound of her crackling voice, as Ryujin shoved the transceiver back into her pocket.

"Time to put my old post as a Peace Officer to use," she muttered under her breath, with pressure on a bitter nature for the sentence, hoping Lia would hear. If she was going to carry out this job, she had to fool them completely; completely rid herself of the affections that tied her to the government and its prominent beliefs. So far, it was going well.

"Identification, please?" said one of the masked Peace Officers as the duo approached. He was tall, green uniform swathing a healthy physique perfectly – for only the fittest and the most competent were allowed to hold any authority in the Golden Government's world. His voice was monotone – Ryujin recognised the familiar, uniform nature of it; she had been taught to use the same voice on duty, after all. Remove all emotions. Lose bias. Embrace duty. "We have received a tip that some sort of illegal activity was to take place in this building tonight. We are here for an inspection."