Bridging Destinies

Chapter 28: A Trail of Cues

When I arrived back at the Airbnb, we didn't move into action right away. We needed to plan how to get in, get the information we needed, to secure or destroy it, and get out without anyone knowing the part we had played. It wouldn't be an easy mission and it could possibly extend longer than a few days. When I met with Dana and Na'reen at the rental I was staying in, he caught me up on all they knew and we began to plan.

"So we know," I said as I looked at the map in front of me, as it was spread on the table, "That Park Sang-Hoon had two, possibly three, locations where he may have left traces of us." I pointed to different locations on the map, "Here, at his office." I said, then moved my hand to another location, "Here, at his home," I continued and pointed to a last location, circling my finger over the map, "And possibly a locked container or locker somewhere in this area." I reiterated to Dana and Na'reen.

Na'reen nodded, moving his hand over the map in a tighter circle than the one I had traced over the map. He spoke into our minds, choosing not to speak out loud, as was his typical method of communication, 'But I believe it's more here.' He explained and placed his finger on the map, 'Closer to this location.'

I took in the information, returning his nod. I thought over the logistics of what was needed. It required us to kill any CCTV cameras, break in, take what we needed, destroy it, if necessary and leave no trace of our presence. This, I knew, was one reason Na'reen was with us. His skills were strongest in telekinesis. He would open the locks and get us in, watch on guard for us and we would do the rest. How smoothly it went, was based on how the paths ran, how well we could see them and timing. Most everything was timing. I looked at Dana and he nodded, understanding my thoughts.

We continued to plan until deep into the night, setting out plans based on the paths, but developing alternate plans based on the potential of other paths. We knew that paths often changed and were mostly based on the choices of those living them. Each life, human or otherwise, touched others in direct and indirect ways, whether it was a cat crossing a street, which caused a driver to slam on his breaks, or it was a man at a coffee counter, shortchanging the barista, the barista not paying attention, and the barista later fired for incompetence. There was always cause and effect. The effects were much more far reaching than to touch the life of only those involved. Whenever we moved on a mission, we knew that alternate plans were always best.

In watching the paths, we also had to consider the effects that future events would place on the present and past. We knew, even if humans were only beginning to discover this truth, that time did not run in a linear fashion. It wove back and forth, creating a complex tapestry, that only the most gifted of us could see well. And even then, seeing it was always a challenge. Following the thread of events was like trying to weave the tapestry as it constantly shifted and changed. In order to weave it, threads must be caught and rewoven, or loosed and allowed to fly free into the wind. It ever undulated.

~~~

We left Seoul early the next morning and established ourselves at a new safe house we had established in Busan. During the lull between our arrival, finalization of plans and waiting for the fall of dark to act, I checked my phone and found a few messages from Namjoon. His words were tinged with sadness, an inevitable sense of an end, and frustration. I knew that I could not call him, but I could respond by text and sent off a quick message letting him know that I was safe and well. I knew that I could not promise him a quick return, so I did not bother to do so. I also could not afford to spend time talking to him in text for hours, to while away the time. There was a risk of too much exposure in doing so. Instead I sat and lost my thoughts in the expression of a deep meditation, sitting in repose for hours until we were ready to begin.

When night fell, we prepared, dressing in the darkness of clothing that would allow us to blend with shadow, and took a car to our destination. Na'reen was able to circumnavigate the locks, while I killed any cameras near us, so that we would remain hidden. This included the electrical system in the office, where we began our search. What we found was disturbing to us. There were extensive notes and clues of not only our dealings with Sang-Hoon, but dealings with other groups, all considered illegal.

The notes in reference to us were detailed and we rifled through every place within the building, looking for any traces that would lead anyone to suspect our presence. The reference to fairies we found, on the side of one of his ledgers, was especially disturbing. Beside the word was a question mark, detailed and doodled in. I turned the pages of the rest of the book, looking through it in detail and pulled out any pages that could incriminate us. There were a few notations with reference to exchanges of money and other favors in Sang-Hoon's ledger and much more than we expected. Apparently, the man had a strong guess as to what we were, and had been developing an idea of us. How accurate this was, we couldn't know for certain.

We left Sang-Hoon's office and traveled to his home. Once there, we took stock of the building and prepared to move in to search it. I sensed three other people in the house, all sleeping. A woman, and two young children. Na'reen opened the locks and we carefully moved through the house. I checked in every room, careful to make sure that all the occupants were deeply asleep, sending muddled Light around them to insure they would remain that way.

One of the children, as I moved out of her room, whimpered in her sleep and I moved back to her bed, placing a hand on her forehead, soothing her with my Light. She settled into a deeper sleep, and I smoothed her brow with my fingers. 'Poor child.' I thought to myself. I gently tucked the child in under the covers and left the room, closing the door carefully behind me. Dana came from out of another room and shook his head. There was nothing here that could lead to us, that we could find. That, at least, was a relief. He did hold a life insurance policy in his hands and placed it on the kitchen table, so that the woman who was now sleeping would see it there in the morning. I gave him a gentle smile with a nod, silently agreeing with his choice. He smiled back and we moved through the house to assure that everything was as we found it.

As we were leaving the house, Dana suddenly stopped and turned back around. I caught the edge of his thought and followed him back into the room as he moved back towards the kitchen. He opened a cupboard and moved dishes out of the way to the back side of the cabinet, reaching for something inside it. He pulled out a ceramic jar and removed the contents. The jar contained a false bottom that he dislodged, digging inside to pull out what was inside it. A key, with a tag attached to it glinted with the bare light coming through the window in the room. Dana looked at me with a triumphant expression and a brighter glint in his eye that outshone the glint of light on the key. 'The lock box key!' He announced to me through our mental connection. I smiled back, feeling some relief, and gestured towards the door of the house. He returned the false bottom to the jar, replaced it into the cabinet with all the other contents and followed me out of the house, locking the door behind us.

Returning to our vehicle, we looked over the key. Dana first examined it for names, numbers, or anything indicating where it may lead. When finding nothing but a number written thickly on the tag, he handed it to me, and I closed my eyes as I allowed myself to sense the lingering energy on it. I traced the energy to see where it had been in order to trace the location of the box and its contents. Catching a trace of energy, I opened my eyes and gestured to Na'reen to the pack beside him. Without asking, he pulled out the map and handed it to me. I looked over the map, my hand hovering over it and followed the energy left on the key to a location and placed my fingers on it. "It's here." I said, out loud and handed the map over to Dana, who looked at it with a nod, then started the car.