The day prior to D-day kept the entire 3rd District Police Department busy. The neighboring news stations fared no better.
[BREAKING NEWS! An underground gambling den has been uncovered in the Western District. Police report that the main source of betting was death matches between underage children. Investigations have traced that these victims were orphans or from low-income families who have filed missing children reports in recent years.]
[Lead police officer Kim Daniel and the rest of the 3rd District Police Department have apprehended 2 minivans with 10 children under the age of 12. Said victims are now in police custody to undergo treatment and counseling.]
[Children have been noted as student dropouts in School #66 after one-sided claims of school bullying. Three bullies have come forward, saying they were "paid" by the school headmaster to target vulnerable students for human trafficking. The modus operandi was to socially isolate students, force them to drop out to escape government monitoring, and then kidnap them to become underground gladiators.]
[However, before police could bring the headmaster for questioning, he was found dead in his home last night at 8 o'clock. Autopsy reports showed that the man bled to death with multiple stab wounds to each side of his body. Scattered on the scene was evidence of the man and a certain mafia's involvement.]
[Though our reporters have tried to get a statement out of Officer Kim, we were met with silence. Currently, the police have yet to issue a statement, yet citizens are in an uproar, and many are convinced that the Sokolovs were sure to have been the guiding force behind the incident-]
With his phone suddenly yanked from his hand. The poor cellular device was shut down and thrown onto a sofa far away.
As if unaffected by the intense stare directed at him, William nonchalantly plopped down on a nearby chair. He leaned back, crossed his legs, and only once he was settled did he turn to smirk at the other party, his tone teasing—"Hoh, well, aren't you a mess."
Nudging the obnoxiously large police boots off his lap, Kim Daniel glared at him.
"I was watching."
"What for? You already knew what happened. If anything you should be wasting time asleep or even better a shower"- William purposefully drawn the word out before feigning a retch.
Paying him no heed, Daniel stood to find his phone to continue watching. Purposefully looking through the live comments as he opened the screen.
[Can't believe they let something like this happen to their noses]
[Wasn't that officer the guy who was so proud he caught a Sokolov? LOL justice my ass, all he thinks about is capturing the Sokolovs, didn't even bother to dismantle shit like this earlier]
[That half Korean officer is a joke LMAO]
[Remember when he got that plaque of recognition months ago? Babushka even watched, now my old hag wouldn't even turn the TV to watch his sorry mug]
[Are we disregarding the fact that he saved children???]
[So? If he had a brain, he'd have saved a hundred more if he got the mafia he arrested to cough out the businesses like these earlier–]
William had once again snatched it, even hitting Daniel's head with it- "If anything, you'll just torture yourself again with reading the comments."
The usually agile Daniel, now with prominent dark undereyes, rubbed his forehead, a scowl plastered on his face- "It's not torture when they're right"- Daniel grit his teeth.
When they raided Rodrick's home, the man was sitting on his desk in his own blood, surrounded by ledgers and correspondence between the headmaster and his greatest investor, Finnick Sokolov.
The same man Daniel personally placed behind bars, Daniel wanted justice; he wanted the Sokolovs to pay, but the Tsar got to him. Killed him before he get answers out of the convict.
It was devastating; they wasted so much manpower. Years of planning amounted to nothing more than simple bragging rights of having arrested a Sokolov heir candidate.
But justice doesn't need bragging; it needs results.
Failing to deliver, Daniel had to transfer departments, even dragging his entire family along from the prosperous capital to the rural west district along with him.
But if there was one good thing that he could hold on to, then that was the fact that at least the world was rid of one less horrible person. But who could have thought?
The star police officer Kim Daniel, who had actually arrested an heir candidate, had not only missed the crucial human trafficking business the man funded.
Letting the business flourish for months, but he even enrolled his younger brother into its supplier.
He couldn't even keep a single convict alive; now, he even failed to protect his brother, trusting him to the heart of the danger.
"It was something you couldn't control."
"You don't get it. Sasha was in that school. He was being bullied. The same fucking bullies! I enrolled him there."
Daniel huffed, his voice rising, meeting William's eyes with fists trembling in rage- "I could have lost my family to the Sokolovs. Again!"
"But you didn't."
"!"
Ruffling the other's startled head, the older man dialed a number for him. It was a video call with his mother.
"Your family is still here. It's pointless to wallow in what you could've done. Talk to your fam and get your shit together."
Suddenly faced with his ringing phone, Daniel's didn't really expect the call to connect, so suddenly he could only glance up to William walking out of the room. His pace was as swift as he came silently, gesturing that there would be a final briefing on the mission later.
"Danny dear?"
"Hyung!"
Met with Sasha's bubbly childish voice, a helpless smile crept to his lips.
"Hey, mama. Hey, Sasha."
The three exchanged a few minor topics, like how Sasha- who shielded from his mother of the events of late- was beaming with joy at how he spent a day with their mother.
Playing games, even drawing and talking with other kind adults.
"That's nice, dear, but Mama is going to talk with your hyung alone for a second, okay?"
"Oh, okay!"
Scurrying off, the little golden hamster like ball ran off to draw in the living room. The crayons in his hands were freebies from the art therapy the government had scheduled for all students.
Perhaps the child will continue to believe all the pictures he drew were a part of a play until he was old enough to understand.
That realization immediately made Daniel purse his lips. Without Sasha in the picture, the mood was somber. Daniel couldn't even bring himself to look at his mother, Natalie, straight in the eye.
"… sorry"
Hearing the almost broken voice of her eldest, Natalie's gaze grew even kinder.
Wanting to rather be berated that looked at like this, Daniel scrambled for more apologies- "I'm sorry cause of me-"
"Thank you. Cause of you children were saved today."
"…"
"Danny, my baby, you are a good cop and an even better brother."
"…"
Seeing the other side suddenly turn their video off, Natalie didn't press on. She let the silence settle, whether it was just purely for her son or for them both… she wasn't all too sure.
It was only after an stretch of time had passed did she spoke, her voice still as soft as Daniel remembered- "You're not coming home tonight, aren't you?"
The screen lit up, her precious child, though now an adult, looked much like a child with his bloodshot eyes and tinged pink nose.
Daniel, unsure if his voice would crack, opted to nod instead.
"I know I can't dissuade you from walking down the same road your father did. But, Danny, my dear, lift your head. Look at me."
Finally meeting each other's eyes, Daniel could almost feel his mother's embrace.
"Promise me. Return to us alive. A living man can always do more despite his setbacks than the diseased who died trying."
The conversation between mother and child hadn't been long. After coming out of the lounge, Captain Popov and William were already waiting for him outside.
William's usual teasing nature pointed out nothing, speaking idly, while Cap tossed a handkerchief at him. Before leading the way for the three of them to the conference room.
Clutching on to the handkerchief, Daniel walked on with his resolve brighter.
He'll come out of this alive and take down Tsar not just for their father but for all the kids, families, and victims of this damn Sokolov's mafia!
What he just didn't expect was that for this infiltration mission, instead of a combat ready uniform, Kim Daniel was fashioned on a dress.
—
Swirling a glass of wine in his hand, a tall young man wore a superficial smile on his lips. His hair was neatly slicked back. The mask on his face covering the upper half of his features didn't deter anyone who watched him.
Instead, because of how the mask had been as dark as his suit, onlookers couldn't help but steal glances. A mysterious, well-built man, a stature difficult to hide behind silk- oh, how satisfying would it be to unmask the mystery behind him.
However, despite being the object of everyone's fervent stares, behind the shadows of the hooded corner, crystal blue eyes fixed their gaze on a certain lady's retreating back.
Oh?
"My apologies, but this lady is with me."- pulled in an embrace, the 'lady' was flushed close into a warm body, a strong arm laced around her waist.