☂ Chapter 22 ☂

All their theories came true.

Back when 1PP had been attacked for the first time, they had discovered the gang behind the attack: Effrita. However, back then, it was impossible to track them down. With the evidence Y/n had discovered at the warehouse, they had the first real clues they had in months. The issue was the kids they had rescued had no idea what their kidnappers looked like. Even when strolling around the warehouse, the men hadn't shown their faces and resorted to masks, sunglasses, caps, scarves, and clothes that didn't show an inch of skin. That meant no identifying marks. Hell, the kids couldn't identify so much as a skin color.

Y/n stood in Jungkook's office with Jimin by her side. In any other situation, Jungkook would interrogate them about their love life, especially considering what he had interrupted to get them there. The two had been playing a game called I want your saliva down my throat prior to Jungkook's call, which made it hard to focus, but for the sake of the innocent kids, Y/n did her best. The steamy situation she had been in paired with the long shifts they had been taking caused her brain to fuzz up to the point where new information felt like calculus questions.

"They move all over the City," Jungkook said, slapping a map on his desk and motioning for Jimin and Y/n to come closer. Y/n led the way with Jimin standing so close that she could feel his warm breath tickling her ear. She could smell the mint in it from when he had rushed to brush his teeth before they had left for the station. "Underground, through apartments, through restaurants—everywhere."

Jimin chewed on his nails. His voice came out muffled. "That's not helpful."

"No, but..." Jungkook pressed his finger over Central Park. "They're hiding in plain sight. This is the exchange area. Kids always run around Central Park, so seeing kids here isn't anything out of the ordinary. That's where I'll dispatch the squads. We're setting up a perimeter and waiting. Stakeouts, patrols, frisking, and whatever we have to do without being too obvious."

"You want us on the scene?" Y/n asked, and Jungkook nodded.

"You're part of the stakeout crew. As much as we have a location, we don't have a time and date for all their... activities. Cause no, that'd be too easy, wouldn't it? You'll be on the north side of the park. Seulgi and Hoseok will be on the south, so don't get any ideas about relationship gossip. I'm trusting you'll take this with the seriousness it deserves."

Jimin dipped his head in a bowing motion. "You know I would never jeopardize kids."

Jungkook took a second, then caved. "You're right, I know. If you pull this off, I'll give you that promotion you've been begging for."

Jimin stiffened, but a beat later, a dimple appeared on his cheek as his lips pulled up and crinkled his eyes. "I'm giving you head."

Y/n whacked his shoulder. "Hello, what about me?"

"You got head like thirty minutes ago-"

"Okay," Jungkook interrupted, folding up the map and handing it to Jimin. "Go to the park and stakeout."

"Wha... now?" Jimin opened the map and double-checked it. "We have a location to go off of, nothing more. Shouldn't we wait until we analyze the letters more?"

Jungkook shook his head. "Not nothing because we have analyzed the letters. We know the man behind it, and he's from South Korea like us. We don't know why he's doing it, but he's doing it. I had a sketch artist give us a messy picture based on the descriptions in the letters."

Captain Jeon pulled out one of his drawers and withdrew a long piece of paper from it. Upon grabbing it, Jimin turned so Y/n could see, and she scanned over the details of the face and body. Sketches typically included face portraits, not the body, but considering the man before her had larger muscles than Jungkook, she had a feeling the body was just as important as the face in that scenario.

The man wasn't anyone she recognized, but he had short black hair slicked back with a single strand dangling in the front. No facial hair covered his large lips, and there was a mole right above his upper lip, but it didn't quite touch his pointy nose with a long, thick bridge. His cheekbones were as defined as Jimin's, as was his jawline. He had no face tatts or anything that would make him stand out in the crowd, so she prepared herself to have to watch her surroundings with upmost care.

"This is your target, and I let all the squads know."

"Kasper?" Jimin asked.

"No. The older cops aren't getting any info. This is a case for the most fit officers we have, so I'm putting in an age restriction here."

"Smart. What's the target's name?"

"We don't know his legal name, but he goes by Revan. It's a Star Wars reference. A Jedi who fell to the Sith."

"So he's a nerd," Jimin said with a grunt. "Great. No wonder why he's one step ahead." Jimin rolled up the map and tucked it in his back pocket, half of it jutting out of his ass and flopping over from the awkward angle it hung in. "Anything else you need from us before we go stakeout?"

Jungkook tapped his fingers against his desk and didn't bother meeting their eyes. He kept his gaze on the computer, the dull screen emphasizing the shadows over his sunken cheeks. Then, after the ticks of quiet passed, he sighed.

"Yeah: take that bastard down. That's an order."

☂☂☂

Two weeks had past since their initial stakeout assignment, and they had found nothing.

Morale became nonexistent at 1PP. Jungkook had been reprimanded for the final time and was on his last leg for his failure to close the child trafficking case despite all the time allocated to him. As for Y/n and Jimin, well, their stakeouts hadn't given them much good news either. Sure, they expected it to take time as they didn't know any exact dates or times, but they thought they would've found something after a week. But it had been two.

They sat there in Central Park, not in Jimin or Y/n's cruiser, but sitting on the bench in their uniforms. Jimin, as always, didn't wear his hat. Y/n didn't either, but she kept the gloves on to hide her marred flesh. Part of her wondered what would have happened if her face had become as marred as her hands. Part of her wondered if she would have deserved it. Her family likely thought so, after all. They didn't care for anything other than seeing her suffer, hence why she hadn't spoken to them in years.

"Thinking?" Jimin asked, breaking the hour-long silence between them.

Their "stakeout" consisted of eating donuts near the north end of Central Park while joggers passed by once every ten minutes or so. A flickering light raised above them and illuminated the blades of grass that waved in the gentle breeze. The trees stretched up and embraced the dark night sky with few stars twinkling in the abyss. No clouds stuck around, but that didn't mean space wanted to make an appearance that day. Not with all the light pollution the City had.

"Yeah. Just... thinking."

Jimin glanced at her with his perfect plump lips pursed and his button nose scrunched near the top. Locks of his blonde hair skimmed by his thin but long eyelashes, and a single silver bar earring dangled from his left ear. He didn't wear jewelry on the job, but that night, he didn't bother with the rules. Y/n didn't either. Or, at least, she didn't want to. She wanted to sit on his lap and kiss him until their shift ended, but she knew better than to jeopardize the mission. A mission she had lost all faith in.

She could only go so long being told nope, no leads before she wanted to tear her hair out. It was easy to say don't give up, you're doing this for the better of New York, but it was far more difficult to practice that thought. Especially in the city that never slept. That included Y/n. Her insomnia was to thank for that, but also her never-ending thoughts of her old man, who she never had the courage to seek out.

"Want to share?" Jimin asked as he took her gloved hand and kissed the back of it.

Any negativity she had vanished and was replaced by Park Jimin's alluring puppy eyes. They were both seductive and comforting, and she wished she could stare at them forever. But not at that moment. They were on-duty, and she couldn't afford distractions. Talking, sure, but no staring into her lover's kind gaze.

"Nothing you want to hear."

He massaged the back of her hand and scooted closer, some stray leaves falling off the side of the bench. The heat of his thighs pressed against her, and she sucked in every ounce of him. If they weren't in public, she'd kiss him, hold him, and tell him how much she adored him. She felt like she didn't show it enough, and who wouldn't love Park Jimin and his gentle nature? Okay, yeah, he was an asshole, but he had his charms and sweet moments that had her hating herself. He made her feel loved. Too loved.

"Baby, I want to hear every thought in that cute little brain of yours." He tapped his finger on the side of her head, and she chuckled at that.

"Even the bad stuff?"

"Especially the bad stuff." He waggled his brows. "I want to know all those dirty thoughts..."

She whacked his shoulder. "You know what I meant."

He kissed the side of her head and coaxed her up on his side, her head nuzzling with his shoulder. She didn't close her eyes on the off chance they found something out in the middle of bumblefuck nowhere. The sector they had been assigned to had about as much life as her when she woke up in the mornings.

He kept kissing the top of her head, and that was when she realized it: yeah, Jimin and her shouldn't be assigned together—they got too distracted. However, she had to admit it was nice to work with him. She trusted him, and it was rare she could say that about anyone. She loved him.

That was even rarer.

"Hey, honey, jokes aside, you don't have to talk if you don't want to, but know I'm here for you if you do," he whispered as he played with her hair. The intimate acts forced trembles to escape her. She cursed at herself for allowing him to see his effect on her; he'd never let her live it down. But much to her surprise, he didn't peep another word.

"I'm okay, thank you. I just want this whole thing to be over, y'know?"

"You and me both."

For once, Jimin didn't say it'll be okay. It wouldn't, so she appreciated that he stopped lying about it. Or maybe lying wasn't the right term—he had believed it'd be okay, but after rescuing those kids and finding out there were countless more out there, all hope had been pried from 1PP. She imagined it wouldn't come back unless somehow they made a breakthrough and Jungkook got to keep his job. She had a feeling he had one or two weeks left at most.

She took a deep breath and peeked up at him. "Can you promise me something?"

He rubbed her arm to warm her up and nodded. "Anything."

"If we crack this case, will you promise to find June?"

He stiffened, his lips parting and the breeze drifting his hair into his face. After a beat, he rubbed her arm again, kissing her forehead and resting his head on top of hers once he finished.

"Will you promise to find your old man?"

"I asked first."

He snickered. "Ahh, you're impossible, aren't you? Alright, fine: I promise. I'll go find June. Now do you promise to do the same?"

She hummed. "I'll try, but I doubt I'll find him."

"I know you will. You're a police officer, it's quite literally your job to track people down."

As much as Jimin attempted to raise her spirits, she couldn't get them where she wanted to be. The thought of her old man, out there and alone? It made her lungs feel dry and like her tongue was cut in four pieces. No words could get out, and Jimin picked up on that seeing as he squeezed her.

"I love you, Y/n," he whispered. "I know it's easier said than done, but don't think too much, okay? You're perfect, and we're gonna solve the case. I promise."

There it was, the promise about solving the case. Looked like he hadn't stopped believing after all, and that thought was enough to cause her heart to beat at a rapid rate again.

"I love you too, and I-"

Squeak!

Jimin's walkie went off, and he groaned from the loud noise before snatching it and clicking on it. What followed was the frantic voice of Seulgi.

"Jimin, Y/n! We found him!"

Just like that, Y/n and Jimin jumped up and shouted at her for more info. She said her coordinates and gave loose directions, but Y/n knew Seulgi had to go to alert the main channel, the one where all the patrols listened in, so she had no time to give a detailed report.

"We'll be there in two minutes, Seul!" Jimin replied, and he shut off the walkie after that. Without consulting him, Y/n grabbed his hand and pulled him forward, following the directions Seulgi gave them. Her adrenaline kicked in, searing her veins and propelling her legs despite the burn the sudden intense movements brought. It didn't matter. That man, Revan, was out there. For the first time in months, they had made a breakthrough. They had him.

They could arrest him.

☂☂☂

Thank you for over 2,000 followers and almost 2.1k only a week after getting 2k. That's wild, I can't believe how fast we're growing. As promised, since I got 2k by my birthday, I will release another story over the summer. To vote on what story you'd like to see, check the inline comment here to go to an anonymous form and vote!

My new story, The Gamer's Guide to Romance, is out now! It is a PJM x reader that's a crap ton of fun, so I hope you check it out!

Happy birthday me! I updated most of my other stories in celebration of being old now, so I believe most if not all of my ongoing stories received an update, including the ones I haven't updated much, like Plastic World. I hope you guys like it!