Chapter 5 (1/1)

ChansungChansung drove the quiet streets of the Preston Hollow neighborhood, amazed at the sizes of the homes. This part of Dallas reeked of money, but he had no idea places like this were tucked inside the city limits. The moonlight guided his path as he started slowing down to better read the addresses on the mailboxes. When he found his destination, he pulled in, his eyebrows lifting as he drove through a security gate into a circle driveway to one of the most beautiful homes he'd ever seen.Not really sure what to do, Chansung parked the rental in the middle of the drive and grabbed his bags from the backseat. Nichkhun opened the front door before he'd made it halfway up the stone walkway."Hey, man, I'm glad you called us. You should've just planned on staying here to begin with." Nichkhun said, opening the door wider for Chansung to come inside."Thanks for taking me in." Chansung stood in the foyer, admiring the high vaulted ceilings, large chandelier, and curved stairwell."Come in." Nichkhun said, drawing Chansung farther into the house."Who'd have thought so many police officers could leave their post to come party in big D? Nice place, man. I didn't know cheerleading paid so well." Chansung teased, smirking at Nichkhun. Ewon had become the primary breadwinner for their little family since Nichkhun's retirement from the NFL, something Nichkhun had taken to amazingly well."Yeah, neither did I. You should see the wedding gift Ewon bought me. It's a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500. I have her parked in the garage in a special place of honor." Nichkhun announced, slapping Chansung hard on the back as he bragged."Fuck, man, I ended up in the wrong business from the looks of it." Chansung gave Nichkhun a grin."Yeah, you and me both. I spent all those years getting knocked in the head to make a buck. Who would have thought cheerleading was the ticket? Ewon has done real well. My neighbor, a few houses over, just happens to be President Obama. He hasn't invited us over for dinner yet, but I feel sure it's just a matter of time." that had Chansung laughing."Well, you might have had a chance if you hadn't played for New York. No hard-core Dallas fan would ever rub elbows with the likes of a New York Panther." Ewon added loudly as he descended the stairs "Good to see you, Channie.""Great to see you, buddy." for old times' sake, Chansung waited for Ewon to reach the bottom step and grabbed him before giving him a tight hug. Ewon made a humming sound and Chansung couldn't resist the urge to waggle his eyebrows at Nichkhun."Ewon, do you really have to encourage him?" Nichkhun asked as Ewon stepped back from the embrace. Chansung couldn't help but laugh when Nichkhun moved in and slid an arm around his husband, drawing him close to his side. Even after all this time, Nichkhun felt the need to radiate his possessiveness. The grin Ewon gave his lover made Nichkhun's frown widen "You're too good-looking to have Chansung stay here. I think he needs to sleep in his car tonight. It's nice out this time of year. It'll be like a campout.""No, he's not sleeping in his car. Come on, Channie. I just changed the sheets in the guest bedroom. Have you had anything to eat?" Ewon asked, motioning for Nichkhun to grab the duffel by the front door. Chansung let Nichkhun carry the bag as he brought up the rear while Ewon led them to the guestroom.It never ceased to amaze Chansung how Ewon and Nichkhun fit so well together. They had an easy way about them. The way Nichkhun looked at Ewon as if he were the only thing that mattered in the whole world, and the way Ewon always knew exactly how to handle his man. Like normal, when he spent time with the two of them, Chansung felt a twinge of something pulling at his heart. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on whenever he watched them together. Was he jealous? Fuck yeah, he was, and that had him doing a mental shake to his overactive brain, quickly tamping the feeling down."Are you still vegan?" Chansung asked, changing the subject in his head. And that got a snicker from Nichkhun."Of course, are you hungry?" Ewon asked as they climbed the stairs."I grabbed a burger on the way.""I get bacon for breakfast." Nichkhun added, as if that proved he was still in charge of his own eating. Uh, yeah right. Chansung had to smile at that thought because he had firsthand experience watching Ewon fuss over Nichkhun's eating habits. No way the guy ate much meat. The only meat Nichkhun got was the big fat cut of prime beef Ewon slipped his mouth every night, lucky guy."Here, this is your room." Ewon stopped at the first doorway upstairs. He flipped on the lights, illuminating a large, gorgeous room with a huge king-size bed and a fifty inch flat-panel television. This was so much better than any hotel in the DFW area."Stay as long as you need." Ewon offered as Nichkhun dumped the duffel bag on the bed. Chansung turned in a slow circle. This guest bedroom was decorated better than his entire house."There's a bathroom through here." Nichkhun said, walking over to the connecting door and turning on that light switch "Make yourself at home. Ewon leaves early in the mornings. Do I need to get you up at a certain time tomorrow?" Nichkhun asked."Nah, I've got it, I'm good. By the way, this place is great. Looks like I'll be sleeping like a king tonight. I'm really sorry I woke you guys up.""The remote's in the drawer. The Wi-Fi code is on the back." Nichkhun said as he pulled Ewon from the room, not waiting for Chansung to respond."It's all good. Let us know if you need anything." Ewon spoke up as he was dragged away."Or don't." Nichkhun called out, and Chansung laughed. He grabbed his laptop and sat at the head of the bed, putting his feet up as he booted up his computer and pulled the remote from the drawer. His gut told him Dallas had just become the safest place on the planet. What bad guy in his right mind would show up here this weekend? And why hadn't anyone figured that out before now? With a few keystrokes, he logged into his computer to check the status on the case.              "He does leave early." Chansung leaned against the doorframe in the kitchen, watching Nichkhun add bacon to the frying pan."He works hard every day, but the weekends are big gym time because the kids are out of school all day." Nichkhun said, moving the bacon around, turning the heat down on the burner. He obviously took great care in cooking the bacon just right."So, you're saying teenage girls and boys get out of bed at the butt crack of dawn to go do cheerleading? I'm not buying it." Chansung shook his head, taking the coffee mug Nichkhun handed him, and then poured himself a cup."That's what I thought too, but they do. He's usually there until late into the night. He gives everything to those kids. Anything they need, he's right there helping them. You should see his gym. It's unbelievable really." Nichkhun sounded proud and checked the fryer again until he was satisfied everything was cooking just right "I added four pieces for you.""Really? So that means the rest is for you? There has to be at least twenty or so slices in that packet." Chansung laughed as Nichkhun shot him a grin of excitement, then went back to expertly turning the strips."Ewon watches my diet closely. He hasn't gotten off the mother hen meets Florence Nightingale act. I gotta get it when I can." Nichkhun said, pulling a carton of eggs from the refrigerator, taking his time to carefully crack each one over a bowl."You guys look like you're doing pretty well." Chansung lifted the steaming cup to his lips and took a welcomed drink of the hot brew."I think we are. I'm picking up some broadcasting and public speaking gigs, but my main focus is to try hard to be everything he needs." Nichkhun answered, throwing the last eggshell in the trash can before whisking the eggs, then pouring them into the already heated skillet."That's all anyone could ask for, or at least, that's the way I see it. Ewon's lucky to have you, Khun. Not trying to change the subject, but I was thinking that if the day turns out like I think it will, this whole mission's gonna be a big waste of time. So maybe I can take you two out. Maybe dinner, dancing, that kind of thing. You do go to clubs, right? If not, dinner's fine." Chansung watched as Nichkhun placed the cooked strips of bacon on a paper towel."Nah, I go anywhere. I haven't had the urge to drink since Ewon took me back. We go to a club close to downtown sometimes." Nichkhun grabbed two plates out of the cabinet dividing the scrambled eggs equally, but only adding four pieces of bacon to the plate before handing it to Chansung."Cool. I should know something for sure in the next couple of hours, but I'm betting I'm off tonight. I have a feeling our man's gonna be a no-show, even though they haven't called it yet.""No problem. I'll call Ewon and let him know. We haven't been out dancing in a while. Ewon loves to dance, and I love watching him shake his ass." Nichkhun said and gave him a wink before shoving a few more slices of bacon in his mouth "Oh my God. Bacon. It's from God."Chansung laughed at the ecstasy on Nichkhun's face, then pointed at the pile of bacon on his friend's plate "You really aren't planning on sharing, are you?""Hell no! I gave you a room to sleep in, but I draw the line at my bacon treat. If you're still hungry, there's a wide assortment of yogurt products in the refrigerator. Ewon goes nuts at all the flavors. Help yourself." Nichkhun offered, never slowing his intake of bacon."That's okay. This'll do." Chansung added, eating a large chunk of the scrambled eggs."Yeah, that's the way I feel about yogurt, too."              "Fuck you. Fuck this team and fuck this state." Chansung glared at Brody Masters, head of the Dallas field office and a longtime friend. Just like he'd assumed, Carlos Chavez was a no-show even though they had been told by their most reliable source he would be there today. Fucking informants sucked shit, and this was turning into nothing more than a big, bad joke as everyone flexed their muscles, trying to hide from becoming the scapegoat in the deal. What Chansung couldn't understand was why in the hell they had even bothered to call him in. He'd have been happy staying tucked in that badass room, getting a little shut-eye."I can see why you might feel that way." Brody started, but Chansung wasn't ready to hear any more on the subject."No, fuck you. I've got a case needing some serious attention, and your fucking guys can't even figure out there's a cop conference in town. It took me about a minute to know they were here and about another minute to figure out that no fugitive would be dumb enough to show his face in a town full of official enforcers of the law, thereby making it impossible for me to make the arrest." Chansung paced the back of the office, letting the venom spew from his lips. As a matter of fact, most of the frustration he'd been feeling for quite some time fueled this rant, making everything that much worse."Chan." Brody started again, but he cut him off."No, the fucking Omni Hotel has likely been flashing 'Welcome to Dallas, International Law Enforcement conference' on the side of their building for the last week. The fucking American Airlines Center has had banners posted for the last two weeks. The barista at Starbucks downstairs told me that little bit of information when I walked into the building." Chansung gestured with his hands as he spoke, completely wound up."And while we're on it, why haven't any of your men been able to ID Chavez for themselves? Why am I needed in your field office? There has to be two dozen deputy marshals housed right here. The FBI's been working this case for three fucking years." Chansung stalked forward and flipped the file folder open on the desk separating the two of them. He knew the answer to the question. Chavez was a sneaky son-of-a-bitch. He could become anyone and had no problem paying people to pose as him.Chansung only knew of the guy because fifteen years ago, way before he'd ever gotten a job with the Service, he'd been partying it up in Mexico and ran into the guy's car."Are you through?" Brody asked, not looking at the pages and pages Chansung flipped over with no photo of Chavez."No! Because I just realized why you take weapons away from your staff at the front desk. Because you know I would have had to shoot someone over all this. Now, I'm done." Chansung plopped down hard in the seat facing his friend "I can't believe you went admin. Doesn't that suit and tie suck your will to live?""No, not at all. And I can see you didn't feel the need to dress up today. Wait! I think we actually bought that T-shirt together at the Grateful Dead concert in seventy-eight." Brody leaned back in his black leather chair, a smug grin pulled at the corners of his mouth."Har. Har. Har. I wasn't even born in seventy-eight. You're an old man if you even remember back that far." Chansung teased, running his palms over his T-shirt "And there's nothing wrong with my shirt.""I am an old man. I'll be forty-five this year. You aren't so young yourself, you know. Too old to be chasing after everything that walks." Brody's smug grin returned."Speak for yourself, and I don't chase everything that walks." but his friend had him. Brody was right, he wasn't getting any younger and absolutely went from guy to guy. He'd never admit it to anyone, but on some level, he envied what Brody and his wife had. He saw that same connection in Nichkhun and Ewon, but it was such a foreign concept for him.Chansung's job demanded all his attention, and most of the guys he slept with couldn't get past the hours he worked. And he certainly didn't do clingy, he had no time for that. Maybe that was why he'd accepted the fact he'd remain single. Honestly, he blamed Ewon and Nichkhun for that little nagging feeling in his heart that insisted something was missing. Was he lonely? Hell, he didn't know. Nichkhun and Ewon made it look easy, but he knew better. He didn't have time to deal with all the problems, questions, and baggage, not to mention the work a relationship would bring. His job came first, end of story. It wasn't a bad thing."Listen, Margie and I want to take you to dinner tonight. She was just asking about you not two days ago." Brody's voice pulled him from his thoughts."No way am I letting you off so easy. Did I tell you I couldn't even get a room last night? I'm staying with friends. So I'm taking them to dinner for taking me in at midnight last night. Hell, I should have called and woken you up last night. Would've served your sorry ass right." Chansung declared."Are you staying with Nichkhun Horvejkul?" Brody asked, straightening the papers Chansung had shoved all over his desk. Chansung narrowed his brow at the change in Brody's tone. He sounded a little curious and as though his mood elevated."Yes, how did you know that?" he questioned carefully."My son's been hounding me to get his autograph. He wants his Uncle Chan to hook him up." Brody glanced up at him, a big goofy grin plastered across his face."Oh my God. You did not just play the kid card?" Chansung shook his head and tried not to smile."You know you're his god-uncle." Brody chuckled, going in for the kill."I am not his god-uncle. I've only met the boy once. And I'll get the autograph if you just shut up." Chansung ran his hands down his worn jeans and stood "I'm gonna use a conference room for the next few hours.""Sure thing. For what it's worth, I'm sorry about all this." Brody said, extending a hand to Chansung."Yeah, funny, I don't believe you." Chansung shot back with a smile and shook the offered hand."Don't let that stop you from doing the right thing for your god-nephew." Brody retorted. Chansung barked out another laugh as he opened the door. Heads turned from the weekend skeleton crew. He must have been louder in the office than he realized. Chansung ignored them all, heading back to the room he'd used as an office on many occasions throughout the years.Hours later Chansung sat kicked back in the conference chair, his entire focus trained on the computer screen in front of him. His online gaming buddy and NSA security hacker, Wooyoung Jang, had discreetly put together a report of all the known hate groups in the country. Somewhere in investigating four murders and three attempted murders, linked only through the victim's sexual orientation, he'd narrowed the suspects down to United States citizens. Since gay men were the only known targets so far, they had to be driven by homophobic hate.What Chansung hadn't been prepared for was the extensive list of documented groups that opposed homosexuality. There were thousands and thousands of names listed. On the concept of leaving no stone unturned, he took the time to review each potential suspect, whittling down the possibilities. Age, financial ability, and background were the key qualifications as to who went where on the list.There was a better chance of finding a needle in a haystack, but he was just getting downright desperate at this point.On a heavy sigh, Chansung pushed away from the desk and stood, stretching out his long limbs. He ran his fingers through his close-cropped hair, then across his chin, agitated as he thought over everything he'd done off the clock and on his own dime to build this case.He'd gone to each victim's hometown and interviewed as many of their friends and family as he could find. He'd investigated the crime scenes, gotten all of the police reports, and did everything he knew to do, trying to find how these cases tied together. He called in favors from his partner, Minjun Kim, who had gone over every bit of information he could put his hands on. He'd also used Wooyoung Jang to gather the information he couldn't obtain easily on his own. Between Minjun's gut and Wooyoung's amazing hacking skills, this case should have come together easier, but it hadn't, proving the person behind these acts was very well-trained and well-funded.If he could just have found something substantial, he was certain his director would have pulled some strings to get this case noticed, but he needed help on this one. Whoever was behind this was too clever. There were too many different methods of attack, even if the underlying cases screamed similarities.The million dollar question surfaced again. What was Chansung missing? Over and over, he asked himself this question. And every time, he mentally ticked off the facts, hoping to identify the missed element. All of the victims were regionally high profile gay men, but none of them had contact with the others. They didn't hang out in the same social circles, nor were they in any of the same areas of the country. The only other common denominator was that all of these men were out—they accepted who they were.It was at Wooyoung's insistence that they added notorious hate groups into the mix. Chansung didn't see the fit. For him, this was a one-man operation. Groups would have leaked the information by now. Somebody would have been talking or bragging, no way they could have held all this in.Now, desperation had Chansung trying anything. If he could narrow down the groups, then dig through their hierarchy, maybe he could find a lead. From what he'd read so far, none of those groups were that well-organized, and whoever did this had his shit together. Chansung learned years ago that hate breeds hate, and those groups always had too much internal fighting to have mastered these types of crimes without someone getting pissed off in the process and blabbing their secrets.Chansung pulled his wayward thoughts back together and sat down to continue isolating the groups. Who knew how long had passed when his phone vibrated on his desk, drawing his attention. He looked over to see Nichkhun's name on the caller ID. Reaching for the phone, he clicked the accept button, pulling up the text."Jace is off tonight. We're good to go if you are. Let us know.""Cool. I'll let you know if anything changes. Your cheer-boy's treat, right?" Chansung texted back."What? You said something about a thank you dinner... Thank you to me for taking you in off the streets." Nichkhun responded immediately."Yeah, that's before I saw where you live and what you drive. I'm a USMS public servant. I make shit.""I'm not overly happy with your obsession about my guy. I think I need to kick your ass." Finally! He'd had to wait almost twenty-four hours for Nichkhun to go there this time."Bring it, jockstrap. I'll meet you at the house later. Pick a steakhouse." Chansung responded back, grinning at their banter. He began to pack up his work. He needed to make time for a quick workout, and he could access just about any gym anywhere—part of the Marshals' perks package. He also had to do some shopping, which he hated, but he hadn't brought anything decent to wear.