“Dear god.”

 

Mr. Shin was obviously defeated, so the detective pocketed his handcuffs and slowly released his hold on the back of the man’s neck. He tried to read the room but couldn’t make much sense of it. The councilman was still standing next to the open door, his previous gusto diminished but his eyes carrying dark, heavy remorse. He was completely cold He glared at the girl ahead of her, piecing together what everyone was insinuating in their own thoughts, and the one who caused the havoc simply leaned back on the heels of her feet. There were so many questions that needed to be asked, but no one could utter a single word.

In the silence, Mr. Shin found what little composure he had left. He coughed and brought himself to his feet, and after finding that nothing he could say could rectify his stance, he turned to leave.

“Excuse me. Sir.” Nora called to him, “Pick up my things.”

The man kept moving, so Nora continued.

“Pick up my things or I’ll talk about Montie.”

He swiveled, “You don’t know a damn thing about—”

“No. But the girls do.”

Silence. Mr. Shin started to sweat.

“Or would you like me to start with the Ice Room?”

Nora tilted her head, as if she was thinking really hard. She remembered something.

“Murphy? West Light?”

They seemed like a collection of random words, but it was enough to throw the man to his knees. The pages scattered underneath his fingers, but he did his best to collect as many as he could. They creased in some places, tore in others. Nora frowned.

“Be nicer to them. Those pages worked hard for you. Treat them like you’d treat Natasha. Gentle.”

The manager’s chin whipped up. His eyes held countess terrors.

“I know your wife’s name, too,” Nora whispered, “Her name’s not Natasha.”

Mr. Shin picked up the pace, straightening the pieces as he went. All the others could do was watch.

Finally, the detective managed a few words.

“Did you just… blackmail him?” he asked.

Nora blinked, “Who, me?”

“I’m right here. You’re literally blackmailing someone. In front of a cop. In a police station.”

Nora didn’t seem to understand what he was trying to say. Or at least, she pretended not to. She blinked a few more times and leaned down to tap Mr. Shin’s shoulder. He flinched.

“Would you say I’m blackmailing you, Mr. Shin?” Nora asked him.

“Wh-What? Oh—”

Of course she was. The answer was obvious.

Nora tapped him again.

“Don’t let them keep you, Shin,” she whispered, just loud enough for the entire substation to hear, “I’m a snitch.”

“No, you’re not blackmailing me.”

Nora nodded in approval.

“That’s right. Good job, Mr. Shin.”

She gave him a final pat on the back, an encouraging nudge to keep up the food work, and Mr. Shin continued on his way.

The detective was appalled. He stared up at the girl, who not ten minutes ago was awaiting her fate on the floor of a holding cell, and recognized that beyond her stubbornness there was a hint of something dangerous. Her devil-may-care and rebellious attitude was just talk before, the by-products of a stupid girl’s stupid hubris… right?

No. This girl knew things.

Her eyes shifted from the man on the floor, to the councilman still staring into space, and finally to the detective. She smiled.

She knew about him, too.

She knew too much. Much too much.

The detective’s head hurt. The clock on the wall read closer to three than two. There was so much information suddenly revealing itself- an undercover operation, libel, the involvement of the current senator. An election rig? On top of what was supposed to be a simple breaking-and-entering case?

He glanced at Mr. Kim. He hadn’t moved a muscle and didn’t seem to have a reason to. He turned to… the secretary was gone. When had he left? How many other things did he have to keep track of before it started to make sense?

No. It was too late for this. Might as well hole this crazy girl and her ex-boss back into custody and get a fresh start in the morning before trying to collect all the pieces to this puzzle. Maybe after a night’s rest, everyone would feel better for it. With this in mind, the detective got to his feet and directed the odd cast of characters around him back to the main office of the substation.

 

---

 

Detective Daniel walked Nora out of the questioning room, and she was more than willing to let him. He had originally planned to lock her back where she belonged, but as soon as she made her presence known the group standing vigilant in the holding cell started to cheer. Apparently Nora’s threats to Mr. Shin had been loud enough for her new friends to hear, and they celebrated her triumph by jeering and shaking the bars. Nora couldn’t help herself and gave a flamboyant bow to her fans, and Daniel suddenly felt that it would be much better to keep out of their clutches. She waved to them like a princess at a parade and was ultimately sat back down at the detective’s desk, back in her metal chair, and she slouched back with the same confidence and smugness that she had earlier that night.

“Behave,” Daniel ordered.

Nora smiled. Of course.

Her stance hadn’t changed in the hours that she was there. She still had answers to unanswered questions, and the detective was just as lost, with only an assumed testimony that slipped farther from the truth with each passing minute.

What was this case supposed to be, exactly? The detective pulled a stack of sticky notes from his desk drawer and started to jot down random words, peeling off a page and smacking it to his desktop every couple of seconds. He was obviously rebuilding his hypotheses. Nora watched out of boredom, relaxing as a grand operation of colored squares tried to organize themselves into a story. She wondered how close he’d be able to get to the truth.

After he was finished, the detective scooted his chair back so he could see the open door to the questioning room. Mr. Shin was finishing his collection. The blank Kim was doing some collecting of his own, lost in thought by the door.

“They’ll be fine,” Nora said.

The detective squinted at her.

“Tell me what you’ve figured out. I’m curious.”

“Are you gonna talk if I do?” he asked.

She didn’t respond.

No matter. The detective leaned forward onto his desk, his elbows hitting the table, and slowly pointed at each sticky-note, trying to string invisible connections between them. He muttered under his breath as his fingers moved across the desk.

“So, a call from… Senator Song. To Mr. Shin. She wants to create a scandal to cripple William Kim’s campaign.” The detective’s eyes peeked up through his bands, and Nora was a bit slow in turning away to act uninterested. A small smile. Maybe she didn’t have to talk to give information.

“But why Newsers Tabloid?” he continued, “No one reads it. What good would publishing the story there do? If it’s a big enough scandal, the fire would spread much quicker with a bigger source, wouldn’t it?”

Here, Nora cut in, “When was the last time The Sun published a gossip rag on their front page?”

Point taken.

Still, Daniel wasn’t convinced, “The scandal wasn’t important enough to make it through a credible source, but enough for the senator herself to make a phone call?”

“Who says it was Senator Song?”

They hadn’t noticed Kim leave the questioning room. It seemed the moment to himself gave him enough time to collect himself. His charisma was still missing, and his eyes resembled cold stones more than warm ones. His voice sounded desolate, dead, and void of friendliness. There was no time for pride or reputation at three o’clock in the morning, and it seemed that the secretary had escaped with all Mr. Kim had left of it. He was tired. He was serious. The accusations thrown around were too much for him ignore.

He continued.

“How come you’ve decided to talk now? Did you think that throwing my opponent’s name around would give you the excuse you needed to get out of here? What the hell do you know?”

He was correct in his reasoning, obviously. Nora almost commended him for holding such high esteem and respect for his political rival.

But she didn’t miss a beat, “I know a lot more than you.”

She looked over his shoulder at the person who was supposed to be there.

“And so does your secretary. Have you gotten the chance to ask him why he ran?”

The congressman opened his mouth.

“Or do you already know?” Nora asked.

And he shut it just as quickly. Nora’s smile curved into a grin.

“What? You’re not gonna say anything? Smart choice.”

The detective pinched the spot between his eyebrows, “Oh, shut your mouth. You’re being obnoxious.”

Daniel motioned for Kim to sit in the seat next to Nora. He didn’t push when the politician didn’t move.

“I’m sorry if this defends you, Mr. Kim. I decided on a ‘what-if’ scenario because this brat won’t give me anything else,” he then turned to the brat in question and asked, “Now, where were we?”

“Mr. Kim’s scandal is important, but not important enough to make the big boy news,” she said.

“Right.”

The politician looked about ready to spit on her. She didn’t spare him a glance.

“It’s nothing illegal, but it’s enough to ruin Mr. Kim’s popularity, and enough for him to lose his footing in the campaign. So, with this tip, Mr. Shin sends Nora Lee, a reporter for her ridiculous criminal record- wipe that dumb look off your face, I don’t have time for it- to take these photos. Am I right so far?”

The detective’s current theory pushed a shrug out of her. It was better than nothing.

“…Were you threatened?” he asked after a short pause.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because you still triggered a fire alarm and broke into his house. Why did you do that?”

Nothing.

Daniel let out another sigh and let his hands drop, “Just what the hell is in that memory card that you can’t show me??”

Before Nora could deny him an answer, a box was dropped next to Nora’s chair. Mr. Shin had finished his job, and his petty behavior was finally catching up to his terror.

Nora didn’t appreciate it.

“Pick that up,” she ordered.

Mr. Shin huffed.

“Rat Man. Pick that up.”

The cell behind him howled with laughter. The detective shut his eyes.

The nickname held more meaning than derogatory because the ex-boss quickly picked the box up and gently placed it back on the floor. Nora nodded and smiled, her stern look shifting into one of benevolence.

“Thank you,” she simpered, then motioned to the door, “You’re free to go.”

The detective scoffed, “No he’s not??”

Mr. Shin had already turned to leave, but before the detective could get up to stop him Kim found a hold on his arm. He pulled him back forcefully, as if the tabloid man d was the only thing holding his story together. He was, but Nora was convinced otherwise.

“Keep him if you want to add to a testimony, but he doesn’t know anything else,” she said. Her stance changed- arms crossed over long sleeves and a chin tilted up.

The congressman glared.

“I’m the one who saw it,” she shrugged.

A pause. Then, slowly—

“Saw what?” Kim asked.

Nora gave him a dramatic gasp, a polite hand hovering over her mouth to hide a smirk, “You want me to say it out loud?”

When the congressman’s grip didn’t slacken on Mr. Shin’s arm, Nora pushed harder.

“Look, it’s late. He’s just going home, right? Let him go. If he really did anything wrong by Senator Song’s books, then he’ll take a wrong step and probably disappear by dawn. All of the random charges I’ve accused him of will be out in the open. The warrant will be enough to grant a search, and by the time he’s found he’ll have enough on his heart to confess on his sins. If he’s still alive. Which is likely if the senator’s heart is as big as it is dark. The least we can do as a group is give him his last few hours to rest with the wife’s he’s cheating on.”

Mr. Shin shivered and turned to the seated menace, appalled, “All I did was answer a call for a scoop. Why are you cursing me??”

Daniel couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing either. He attempted to take hold of the focus again and reel in the conversation to the topic at hand, but after a few attempted words all he could mutter was his awe, “You’re completely heartless, aren’t you?”

Nora appreciated it.

“You’d think, right? I’d believe you if I couldn’t feel it beating, but,” she pat her chest, “It’s still there.”

The councilman was tired. He cut in.

“You never answered my question. What makes you think it’s Senator Song? Can’t he tell me if you won’t?”

Nora stretched her legs out and groaned. She felt like she was talking in circles. As casual as she could be, she looked up at the politician with shaded eyes.

“The best person to ask isn’t him, and it isn’t me. You know better than the both of us.”

Kim sputtered, “Me??”

“Yes, you. You want to know who sent me to your penthouse? What I took pictures of? Why? I know you’re smart enough to figure that out. You wouldn’t have made it this far in the election if you couldn’t. There’s only one thing that’s keeping you from your answer, and you’re not going to get there if you keep holding onto your silly pride.”

The politician tightened his grip, causing Mr. Shin to wince and wiggle before he finally managed to rip himself away. The detective caught him before he could find his way to the exit.

“You’re trying to lock me up to keep me quiet,” Nora continued, “You want a memory card? I don’t have it, and you know why it’s better that I don’t.”

The detective was convinced that this was a lost cause. It was late. Everyone was exhausted. Even the bumbling fools in the holding cell had found themselves sinking back into sleep. And if the substation had learned anything that night, it was that Nora wasn’t going to give her information willingly. The case had turned in too many directions to keep track of, and the fact that she was getting charged for breaking, entering, and damaging property was getting buried by too many conspiracies. Daniel had every reason to let the manager loose, bid the politician goodnight, and drop the entire senator business before things got too complicated to keep track.

“Think.”

Nora was still talking.

“Take a deep breath, as deep as you’re able to right now, and think.”

Nora’s crime was committed. It was better to focus on that, and only that. That was the job that Daniel would finish tonight. He had promised himself that much.

But something happened.

The congressman’s eyes changed. Nora had said something no one else but him could hear, because he took a deep rattling breath and found a revelation. His hand touched his throat briefly, his fingers brushing his turtleneck, and he swallowed, almost painfully. A memory that seemed forgotten resurfaced.

 

“…She knows something.”

 

Nora smiled, “Would you like me to tell you what you’re thinking?”

A silent exchange. A smug grin. And finally, a small nod.

The detective couldn’t follow. He looked between them, missing the moment of understanding, and before he could interject thought of his own Nora had stood up, stretched, and announced in every way but verbally that this night was over.