Deadlock || ᴠᴍɪɴ

Chapter 2

Rob began humming to the song playing on the car stereo. There were no signs that they were being followed. Jimin’s jittery nerves gradually began to settle. As he watched the scenery go by out the window, Jimin inwardly warned himself not to be unnecessarily on-edge all the time. He needed to be able to switch gears according to the situation, or else he would just wear himself out. Humans weren’t capable of focusing for long periods of time. In the absence of pending danger, it was best for him to be as relaxed as possible.

Jimin leaned back in the passenger’s seat and heaved a great sigh. Rob’s driving was not only careful, he was also aware of others. He kept a set speed, but didn’t hesitate to pass if the car in front was going too slow. If a car came speeding up from behind, he changed lanes and let them pass. It was definitely easier said than done to drive in a consistent manner, keeping neither too close nor too far a distance from the car in front. It was true what people said about one’s personality showing through in their driving.

As they continued their pleasant drive, Jimin wondered how nice it must be if he had this much control over his life. How easy life must be if he could choose his destination, speed, pit stops, and passengers, though he knew it would only happen in his wildest dreams.

Until now, he had never wanted an easy life. He figured he must be feeling unconfident because of the immense stress he was feeling from his situation.

Jimin’s life now was like a roller coaster with no visible finish line. He was hurtling along with no idea where he was going, at a breakneck speed that didn’t even give him time to enjoy the scenery. But he had chosen this path. He could have gotten off the roller coaster when he left Schelger Prison, but Jimin had chosen to stay on.

Jimin’s position had changed many times in a short period, from narcotics investigator to murderer, inmate, and FBI special agent. It was far from an actor changing roles with each film. Jimin had experienced many moments where he felt like he couldn’t keep up with the dizzying changes to his position and living environment.

V had leapt into the outside world to chase after Corvus, who had escaped from prison. Jimin had joined the FBI to search for Corvus, dreaming of the day he would reunite with V.

After completing his training and becoming a full-fledged agent, Jimin had travelled to LA to investigate Nathan Clark, the man that Corvus had been impersonating. There, he had met Rob Connors, who had worked with the FBI numerous times in the past. Despite his young age, Rob was a very capable criminologist with a wealth of knowledge and a sharp observational eye.

Jimin had hit the jackpot by meeting Rob, who knew of Nathan’s past. He discovered that White Heaven was funded by drugs, and that many of its members were MSC trainees. As their investigation progressed, they also found that Corvus was also somehow closely connected with Smith-Backs Company, the biggest correctional services company in America that also operated the Schelger Prison.

Jimin and Rob had flown into DC immediately, and posing as an academic and his assistant, had interviewed Egan, the president of Smith-Backs Company. The interview itself ended peacefully; however, shortly afterwards, Jimin had unexpectedly reunited with V at the hotel where Egan was staying.

V was accompanied by Rubi Sear, Egan’s niece. He had dyed his vibrant blond hair dark brown. He had changed his name to Steve Muller, and had been gathering information on Egan in order to find Corvus. Due to Rubi’s presence, V and Jimin had parted ways once, pretending to be strangers. Jimin, unable to help himself and unable to sit still, visited V again later.

Although they had reunited, they were now chasing Corvus for different reasons. There was the FBI, which wanted to arrest him first and foremost, and the CIA, which schemed to assassinate him. For Jimin, fulfilling his obligations as an agent would mean getting in the way of V’s revenge. They were now in a very different situation from when they were first attracted to each other in prison.