Beneath the Surface // Moonsun

Chapter 16

Byulyi POV

"Why exactly did I have to come with you guys? It's hella awkward in here."

Taliah sits beside me in the passenger seat of my Lincoln with her shoes kicked off and her legs folded underneath her. For the past forty odd minutes after I picked her up, she'd been nodding along to some trashy punk rock station.

I decided to bring her along due to her expertise in the industrial distribution line of work, and also because being alone in a car with my pouting trainee is not how I wanted to spend my day. So she serves as both the expert and the buffer.

"You're earning my trust back. Remember?"

She hums and glances over her shoulder back at Yongsun. "And what's wrong with the pretty one?"

She's too annoying, too attractive. I want to fuck her too much.

"I don't know. Ask her." Yongsun's glare catches mine in the rearview mirror for half a second before she looks away. "Maybe she's being a little bitch."

"Maybe you're being a giant dick." She hisses from the backseat.

"Oh." Taliah gaze flickers between Yongsun and me. She begins to grin. "I see."

I don't usually find myself unnerved by many people, but Taliah is proving to be the exception. She's sharp and, from what I've heard of her, completely ruthless to those who get her way. I'd have reason to believe she could be a sociopath if not for her obvious concern for her daughter's well-being.

A half-Wheein, half-Krystal hybrid with all her ill-intentions disguised by that gapped smile and her soft, pretty features that portray innocence and kindness. A load of bullshit. The way Wheein chooses her girlfriends is an absolute enigma.

"And what exactly do you see?" I allow some of my irritation into my voice.

Taliah casts a knowing smile at me before pointing out of the window. "Morgan Harbor!"

The old feeder port looks even more ancient than the one hundred years it's been in operation. Clusters of precariously crafted wooden shacks cluster along its docks like peas in a pod, shuddering against the briny wind. A couple of rickety cranes stand erect on either side of the port and a few warehouses dot the scenery further down the shore but there's not even a quarter as many as Newport. If Lin is operating here, he must have a reliable transportation system in and out of the few warehouses he can use.

As if the universe heard my thoughts, we pass a plot of land with close to thirty semi-trucks parked not two hundred yards from the warehouses. I turn into Old Joe's Seafood restaurant's parking lot on the opposite side of the street.

"Hm." Taliah taps a finger to her chin in thought.

I turn to her expectantly. "Yeah?"

"I wonder just how old Old Joe is."

I stare at her for a long moment. "Are you a fucking lunatic?"

"No, I don't think so." Her eyes harden as she hones in her focus. "We need to find someone who works here, preferably someone who works for the port operating company. Get our moody backseater to charm some info out of a creepy middle-aged man or something."

"Why can't you do it?" Yongsun demands indignantly from the back.

"Though I do possess a certain level of attractiveness," I fight not to roll my eyes, "I do not sell out my dignity to woo men for information. Sounds like the trainee's job."

Yong scoffs and I snort. "First thing you've said today that I agree with. So, let's split up." I nod to her. "Taliah, you and Yongsun ask around the harbor and try to glean information that way. I'm going to have a little look around the warehouses."