Lines Blurred, Traces Found

Chapter 2

Shadows and Alliances

As Hyunjie made her way back to her home, Eros noticed her return from a nearby viewing location. He had been waiting on that side of the road for over ten minutes; that morning, he left without getting to Hyunjie and went back to the police headquarters, but he returned to wait for her after his shift was done. He grabbed for the door and opened it, but he was hesitant to move forward.

After he saw the woman enter the house, he sat back in his chair when he could no longer see Hyunjie at all. "Better luck next time, Eros," he said to himself. "It takes time. Maybe when I approach her, I might not get anything." He took hold of the steering wheel and turned on the ignition before leaving the area. "How can I convince her? It's impossible for her to come with me; it's impossible for me to believe me just like that." Eros doesn't stop his alter ego while driving and frowns, thinking about the next steps.

He went straight to his room as soon as he got to his mansion, sat on the corner of his bed with the laptop in his hand, and once more glanced at the image of Hyunjie on the screen. He is unsure of how to approach her at this moment, and he is certain that Hyunjie's life is in jeopardy because the crime syndicate is involved in Harry's death. For many reasons, however, he has something else. He finds Hyunjie attractive, therefore he can't help but stare at every photo of her.

In the morning, he keeps watch on the side of the road that faces Hyunjie's house once more. He was shocked to see Hyunjie emerge from the gate, this time without her car, as she had just called a taxi. "Where are you going?" Eros muttered as he saw Hyunjie board the tqxi, and he instantly started his car to follow it as soon as it began to move.
 
He'd been following the taxi that Hyunjie was in for a minute, and it didn't take long; it came to a halt at the FBI parking lot, and Hyunjie exited, much to Eros' astonishment. "Harry is destined here, but why... what is Hyunjie doing here?" His curiosity caused him to ask question after question without receiving an answer.

Hyunjie promptly received a text message from Vince as soon as she woke up. Additionally, a missed call went unanswered since she was asleep, and the text message reads, "Ms. Delano, we all had a meeting with the director and the deputy. Everyone agreed to have an asset in our team, so... means the director has agreed to your favor." She grinned as she read that, and she became resolved to bring about justice for her brother's death.
 
"I'm sorry, Agent Walter, I just read your text message, but I'm grateful. When do I start?" she asked from the text message.

But Vince started to call her instead. "Hi, good morning, Ms. Delano. Could you come to headquarters later? The director just wanted to tell you something." As a result, she got ready and departed the house once more. She arrived, went straight inside the agency, and coincidentally ran into Vince. "That's great; you're here now," Vince said with a smile.
 
After walking to the conference room with Vince by her side, Hyunjie noticed that the director and the deputy were seated in the center, with the agents occupying each chair. "Good day, Ms. Delano, take a seat," the director said, and there was an empty seat; she sat there. "Today the discussion is about the crime syndicate. Three days ago, CCTV footage was recorded in the area where the occupants of the van that attacked when Agent Harry Delano died. Fortunately, the license plate number was seen and we were able to easily catch them immediately." the director explained. "We can't let our guard down just yet; the others are definitely lurking around, just waiting for the perfect moment to stir up some trouble again."

"Can I ask something?" Hyunjie interjected in the director's explanation. "Don't you have any agents out there? Why have these syndicates been spreading for so long, they still haven't been caught?"
 
"We have deployed agents to monitor and respond to suspicious activities, but we have experienced a significant reduction in our team members," the director answered. "Other agencies are already in the loop; the FBI isn't the only responsible in this case. These syndicates have made quite a mess, prompting the military, police, and FBI to team up for the investigation. There are tons of these syndicates out there, and based on Harry's report before he passed, our adversary isn't just any run-of-the-mill group. They hail from wealthy families and have the means to erase their tracks with the government. Dealing with criminals of this caliber isn't going to be a walk in the park."