AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Please do check out my new work 'Doctor Demon'! It's my official entry to spirity this year!

.......

At the office, Jonghyun was reading the news on his laptop. The protests are going out of hand and the government's silence is only creating more discord. A press conference had been held that day and Jonghyun watched it live online.

"We have issued a deportation warrant," the representative from the PM's office had stated. "Country R has been notified of it. We will be filing a case against Country R for their negligence on this issue."

"But this also raises serious concerns on the government's handling of this situation!" One reporter claimed. "An ambassador has been supplying slaves illegally to the underworld market and no one was able to trace it? Doesn't that mean there's either a serious lapse in your security or you are unable to protect our country's interests?"

"We are trying our level best to track down all those who are involved in this!" the representative claimed.

"But the Ambassador has the list of the buyers!" another reporter pointed out. "Why aren't you catching him?"

"He's still under diplomatic immunity!" the government representative tried to explain but the barrage of questions were getting too much for him to handle.

What interested Jonghyun was the Prime Minister's complete silence on the topic. Lee had returned to the country and yet, he had stayed mum. The government only released a short statement saying that they were looking for the Ambassador and also taking actions to deport him but so far, everything else was silent.

Did they find him already? He wondered. The loss of the slave trade would not be taken lightly by the Choi's. But Lee was the one who recommended that Mikhael do the job. This was going to create a major discord between them.

He picked up the phone and called Kirishima.

"Hello, son of Lee," Kirishima greeted him with a sly sneer. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Have you found a way to break Eight out of prison?" Jonghyun demanded.

Kirishim raised an eyebrow. "Don't take that tone with me, boy," he warned. "I'm being nice to you but I won't hesitate to kill you if you piss me off."

Jonghyu tried to tone down his impatience. "Did you manage to find a way to help Eight out of prison?" he asked in a calmer tone.

"One of my men from Aberville Prison sent me a news," Kirishima stated. "He said that your little friend, the ex-finance minister, is asking for Six."

"Six?" Jonghyun frowned. "He's still alive?"

"Apparently," Kirishima shrugged. "Eight is in there too but they haven't met each other yet. Six has been locked up in that prison for many years so I doubt Eight knows his face. Anyways, Hyun is looking for Six probably to chum up with him. And if he already met Eight, then both of them will try to reach him to break out of prison."

"We only need Eight," Jonghyun said. "Isn't there a way to smuggle him out only?"

"This is Aberville you're talking about," Kirishima pointed out. "Even smuggling news out of there is difficult for my men."

"How did you get this news then?" Jonghyun frowned.

"They have their ways," Kirishima said in a cryptic tone. "Give the guards some booze and money, they'll spill. Anyways. Your friend Eight won't come alone. He'll be hard to break out of that prison."

Jonghyun cursed in a low tone. The maker of the prison, Tamlin, had died under mysterious circumstances.

"But that guy who made the prison," Kirishima went on. "Song Tamlin. He must have someone who worked with him in the past. They might know where the map is."

"Song Tamlin always hid away details of his work secret," Jonghyun sighed. "He wasn't a part of the Company. In fact, he wasn't part of anything. The man was completely neutral."

"Didn't he help the Company in the coup?" Kirishima asked.

"He did," Jonghyun agreed. "But that was because his interests were involved. The Emperor was protecting his enemies despite repeated warnings from Tamlin's side. When the Emperor refused to budge, Tamlin simply used his men to cut off the communication in and out of the palace that night. Otherwise, he was a neutral man. The prison he built was impeccable and till this day, impenetrable."

"Every place can be penetrated," Kirishima said. "Song Tamlin must have shared details about that prison with someone. If you could find his right hand man, you'll find the map to the prison."

Just then there was a knock on the door. Jonghyun hung up the phone and said, "Come in."

SD entered the room and bowed at his boss.

"Haein!" Jonghyun exclaimed. "You've returned from your trip already! How was it?"

"It was good, sir," SD replied. "I'd like to inform you that your evening meeting has been cancelled so you will be able to go home early tonight."

SD was about to leave when Jonghyun said, "What's the hurry? Sit and talk about your trip!"

A nerve twitched on SD's forehead but he remained impassive. He sat on the chair opposite Jonghyun who was smiling widely.

"You were gone for a few days and my work increased ten fold!" Jonghyun laughed. "I didn't know you handled so many things!"

"I did prepare a file with all the work details and organized all files as per your preference," SD said in a cool tone. "Did you not receive it, sir?"

"I had them all and they were a life saver," Jonghyun sighed. "But tell me about your trip. What did you do?"

"I simply went hiking up the mountains," SD smoothly lied. "On the Alps. The weather was quite chilly but I trekked along the paths and reached quite high. There was a blizzard so I had to come back sooner."

"Sounds like fun," Jonghyun smiled. "You went there alone? No friend? Girlfriend?"

"No," SD replied.

"You don't strike me as the type of person who'd go hiking," Jonghyun frowned. "You're always so serious and uptight. I thought you'd be more interested in some sort of scholarly pursuit!"

He laughed at his own joke. SD pretended to find it very amusing, trying not to show his disdain. He had already spit into Jonghyu's coffee that morning but to his dismay, Jonghyun did not drink the coffee because he had to dash off to a meeting.

"I'm glad you took some time off," Jonghyun went on. "I hope next time, you'll get to visit the place with your girlfriend. But now, we have work to do."

Jonghyun's smile was gone and a serious expression dawned on his face. "There is something I need you to do and it must be strictly confidential," he said. "Do you know about Song Tamlin?"

SD maintained his facade but his insides had gone cold. Tamlin…

"No sir," he lied.

"Song Tamlin was one of the most prominent businessmen in the country," Jonhyun said. "He had a series of firms in the architecture, construction and for some reason even in the entertainment field."

"A few months ago, he was found dead in his apartment," he went on. "The police said it was a heart attack because they did not find anything unusual. He had a disabled daughter but she was sent abroad after his death. However, she's not our concern. Our concern is a certain map."

"Map?" SD asked.

"The map of Aberville Prison," Jonghyun revealed. "Tamlin was working with some people during his last days. He kept it a secret but I think one of those people has the map. I want you to find out who they are and bring them to me along with the map."

"I will sir," SD said.

"And have you found out more about Sunye and Choi Kibum's relationship?" Jonghyun asked.

"They seem to be going strong," SD lied to him. A flash of anger passed through Jonghyun's eyes before it disappeared.

"You can go now," Jonghyun said, dismissing him. SD stood up and bowed before leaving. He quietly made his way towards Sunye's cabin where she was busy going through case files. SD closed the door behind him. Sunye looked up to see SD entering the cabin.

"What is it?" she asked. "Did Jonghyun ask for something ridiculous again?"

"Song Tamlin," SD simply said, making Sunye frown.

"What about Song Tamlin?" she asked.

"You worked with him before his death, right?" he asked. "I know you did. After all, it was for your brother's case."

Sunye's real brother, Jiwon, had to take Tamlin's help to escape the country after he avenged the deaths of their real parents. Even though Song Tamlin was a criminal, he owed Jiwon a favor. At that time, Jiwon helped Tamlin track down some criminals who had assaulted Tamlin's daughter. Once they were arrested, Tamlin had hired Sunye to punish them. For a while, Sunye worked closely with Tamlin and they were confidantes until Jiwon was safely out of the country.

"I worked for him," Sunye confirmed. "But why?"

"Did he ever mention Aberville Prison to you during that time?" SD asked. "Anything about it?"

"Aberville?" Sunye echoed. "He once showed me the map but that's it. I don't recall anything else-"

"Listen to me," SD began. He put his hands on her desk, looking at her in a serious manner.

"You will give Jonghyun the map of the prison," he stated.

"But I don't have the map-"

"I do," SD hissed. "I have the map. And I'll give it to you."