SHUT DOWN | JENLISA

19

Jennie

"She was there last night." I informed Mino. "At the club where I danced. She was in the crowd. Coincidence?"

"Would you like me to do a background check on her? I can have Eddie get a still of her entering the club and send it to Jiyong."

I shook my head. "I don't trust Jiyong. He just happened to tell me that there was some ex-cop out there with a vendetta against me." I put out my cigarette. "It's not sitting right with me."

Jiyong wasn't the first and only cop that I've worked with over the years. I had an FBI informant and a few detectives across New York in different precincts that were dirty and did my bidding. One of the first cops I ever worked with, wasn't one I chose and blackmailed.

He approached me. I had killed and disbanded an entire sex-trafficking ring. I had left an anonymous tip letting them know where to find the people they kidnapped. I had left the ring-leader's head on a spike.

That was the first time I had ever truly brutally killed someone. A cop that first responded followed a lengthy paper trail, and it led him to me. He approached me and thanked me. Said he knew it was me and that he was in awe of the way I handled the culprit.

He told me that he wanted to work for me. Not with me, but for me. That he'd help in any way he could because he admired me. Over the two years he worked for me, we grew close. He was a protector and a friend.

I'd grown attached to him. He was like a brother to me, and just as quickly as we met, he was even quicker to get ripped away from me. I killed the man that took his life, but it didn't feel like it was enough.

I couldn't even attend his funeral or grieve over him the way I wished I could. I sent his wife an altered will and left her with almost a million dollars. It was anonymous, and she'd use it to raise their children and deal with bills.

I grieved from afar and honoured his memory by thinking about him sometimes. After his death, I became even more cautious about getting close to anyone. It was like anyone that got too close to me suffered in some way.

"You think Jiyong is trying to trick you?"

"Do you remember how we secured him? It was simple. Blackmail. Sometimes the other party will also gather their own evidence and trail that they could use one day to blackmail the threatening party as well."

"He is a cop first and foremost." Mino said in agreement.

I wagged my finger at him. "Exactly."

"Say the word, boss, and I'll deal with him."

"If he's telling the truth, then we can't shoot the fucker. A liar needs to be killed discretely. Especially a lying cop. I need Eddie to go through his computer and see if he left a technical trail behind him that can connect him to me. Second of all, someone needs to go through his desk and home office to see if he left a paper trail there as well. Third of all, I need it to look like an accident. He likes to drink over at that bar a block away from his house, and then maybe we can get someone to mug him. It can look like a mugging gone wrong."

Mino nodded. "Eddie can access his computer when they're attending his funeral. He's not married, so his house will be empty. I'll take care of that for you, boss."

"Mino, I don't trust anyone to kill Jiyong but you. You need to plan it out, figure out his patterns, and be careful. It's a shitty bar, yes, but it's still a cop bar. You need to find out his drinking habits and who goes with him. If he's alone or not, and if he's not, you need to back off and wait until he is. I won't risk losing you, or you getting caught and thrown in jail." I said, my voice tight.

"I'd go to jail for you, boss. I'd die for you. You have my loyalty to the very end." He stated sternly.

I stood up and walked over to him. I placed my hand on his shoulder. "I know, Mino, but I need you around me always. I want Jiyong dealt with. I don't trust him, but I can't have a trail leading back to us, on paper or computer." I affirmed, and he gave me a curt nod.

"Yes, boss. Consider it done."