The Halo of Amaris

by Jade Brieanne

  Silence.

  He cleared his throat. “Ms. Amaris, this is Special Agent Aiden Choi with the SPO. You met with Officer Nari from the Seoul Metropolitan Police about some information that could be useful to our investi—”

  A voice interrupted him, filtering through the hollow core door, quiet but firm. “Your badge.”

  Aiden’s brows drew together. “Excuse me?”

  “Your badge, give me your badge. Your gun, too.”

  The door cracked open, a brass chain stretching across the narrow space. Through the links, two brown eyes stared at him intently. The motel’s neon VACANCY light blinked every couple of seconds, casting red highlights inside the room.

  The floor was littered with stuffed black-plastic bags full of clothes and a few empty food containers. A red and white bag stamped with Greek letters was toppled over, personal items spilling out of it.

  “Ma’am,” Aiden said patiently, “if you could just open the door—”

  “Give me what I asked for or I’m not opening anything.”

  “Or I could knock it down,” Aiden said with an edge to his voice. He understood her apprehension, but he didn't have time for the third degree while he stood in an alleyway right out of a horror movie. He pushed on the door just a bit, and the chain rattled and pulled tight. He took a step back as if to prove his point.

  “Or you’ll knock the door down?” The woman laughed bitterly. “Please. You’re not going to do that—but I can tell you what you are going to do. You’re going to give me your gun, and then your badge, and then an apology. If you can’t give me that, in that order, sir, you’re going to find someone who can.”

  Aiden’s fingers curled into fists at his side, watching his bluff fizzle into thin air. As the seconds ticked by, he willed himself to exude the patience he’d honed for years. He reached into his blazer pocket, withdrew his identification, and slid it through the tiny space between the door and the jamb. He followed by pulling his gun out of his shoulder holster and releasing the clip before he racked the slide. A lone bullet flew out of the chamber and bounced off the door frame before he dropped the pistol through the same crack. Aiden heard the thud of his gun as it hit the carpet, and barely had time to snatch his hand back before the door slammed shut in his face.

  Mildly uncertain at her reaction and terribly uncertain at her silence, Aiden raised his hand to knock again, but the sound of the lock sliding through the chain stopped him.

  With the sign still glowing, he could just make out her silhouette as she swung the door open with her foot, the gun clutched tightly in her hands. She held the gun wrong and her aim was shaky, but the muzzle pointed right at his chest.

  He held up the clip and gave her a short smile before he pocketed it. “Sorry,” he said, shrugging.

  The woman rolled her eyes at him and sighed nosily. She reached for a switch in the darkness, and Aiden watched as the room light up under the torpid light of a yellow bulb.

  She was staring at him with those brown eyes he’d seen earlier—angry, distrusting. It gave him a moment to profile her. She wasn’t tall, five foot five at the most, medium frame, wide hips. Rounded nose, high cheekbones, heart-shaped face. She had russet-brown skin that reminded him of earth, a mass of curly-kinky hair falling over her forehead and shoulders that reminded him of a lion. It wasn’t the most opportune time to wax poetic about a woman’s beauty, especially with her pointing a gun at him, but that didn’t stop him.

  “Nari sent you?” she asked mildly as she eased up on the grip, the trigger guard looping around her finger as her hand relaxed.

  Aiden nodded from the threshold. “She relayed the information to me shortly after you left. She gave me this address and a number to reach you, but you never answered your phone.” Aiden took a step into the motel room and paused. “Is it okay if I come in?”

  She glanced up at him with a heavy, unrelenting stare, and the moment stretched on for days before the distrust seeped out between her parted lips on a sigh. She crossed the room, pushed the door back, and nodded for him to follow her in.

  He toed a black bag at his feet once he was inside. “How long have you been here?”

  She looked around and crossed her arms as if she was just realizing the mess she was living in. “Two days…three? I don’t know.”

  He nodded and took a seat on the sturdy—and dated—couch along the wall. She reached into her purse and withdrew a manila envelope, removing the contents so she could set them in front of him on the low table.

  As Aiden looked through the pile, she sat near the head of the bed, drawing her knees into her chest. “I know Shen Park, okay,” she said. “This isn’t some guy I met last week. I’ve seen him get ready for work, leave his condo with a briefcase and tie, and come back the same time every day. I’ve been to functions in his honor, rubbed elbows with some of Seoul’s elite. I’ve been invited to high-hat brunch dates with chaebol wives where I had to remember what the little fork was for. I didn’t have a reason to suspect he was a criminal.”

  Aiden listened, picking up little details as she spoke—voice inflection, subtle facial gestures, the movement of her eyes—trying to pick out any lies. She seemed genuine, and her body language screamed authenticity.

  “He's evil,” she said in a broken, haunted whisper. She pointed a shaking finger at one picture on the edge of the pile. “How could someone do that to another human being?”

  His chest tightened, and for one moment he wanted to shelter her from the world, from the cause and effect of malevolence. To be a nightlight in the dark.

  Suddenly, he didn’t want to waste any more time in this grungy hotel. He wanted her safe.

  * * * *

  While he guided the truck up the eastbound lane of the highway, he gave his passenger a sidelong glance. All of her things were loaded in the back of his black Suburban and he was speeding toward a hotel, one ten times better than the dump they’d just left. She was huddled close to the passenger door, with her hands jammed between her thighs as if she were cold. Her forehead was flush against the glass and her eyes were glazed as the lights from the highway flashed past them.

  “Seems like everyone knew who Shen really was except for me.” Her words steamed up the glass and evaporated as she spoke. “And that was my job—to know him.”

  “Don’t be hard on yourself. He’s a liar, and you were lied to. You aren’t the first woman he’s tricked. Human traffickers prey on people’s…” he trailed off.

  “You can say it. Weakness.”

  Aiden winced and gripped the steering wheel harder. That’s not what he’d meant.

  She sighed. “Look, I was gullible. I trust too easily and I’m not scared of much. It’s a stupid combination to have for a woman thousands of miles from her family.”

  “Do you like Seoul? I mean, living here?”

  “It’s lovely,” she muttered as she continued to gaze out the window.

  “Do you know what jopok means?”

  “Street thugs,” she answered.

  “Think bigger than that. Organized crime, mafia. Think, Oh Sung Pa.”

  “Oh Sung…” She mouthed the words silently and he watched her struggle through the translation. “Five Star Mob?”

  “Impressive,” he said with a raised brow. “A decade back, they all but vanished, but a few years ago they showed back up on the radar in Gwangju. Rabbit crowned himself kingpin after the then leader—the one responsible for sending them underground—magically disappeared.”

  “Perfect.” She snorted. “I’m a mob mistress, now?” The light turned red and the SUV rolled to a stop.

  Aiden shifted in his seat and turned toward her. “You’re important, Ms. Amaris. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you are. There are a lot of women that are going to be grateful that someone like you had the courage to do this, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you stay safe. Everything.”

  She didn’t answer him. Instead, she rolled down the window and put her
chin on the sill. The light turned green and Aiden stepped on the gas, finding any more words useless.

  Soohyun Cho, the Prosecutor General, was a man with an earthy personality, full of dry humor and off-color jokes. With his raw-boned frame and short stature, he looked like a kid, but everyone inside of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office knew he’d bust your ass if you even thought about insulting him. He had a grounded sense of justice, dogged and unrelenting, which was why Aiden wasn’t surprised to be called into Soohyun’s office before dawn the following Saturday morning.

  The Prosecutor General sat at his desk with the contents of a manila folder spread across it. He studied a flyer with casual scrutiny, only putting it down so he could pick up a photo. Sitting in one of the seats in front of him was Alonso Ruiz, the new Special Agent in Charge. He used to work for the FBI legal attaché office in Brazil, but after too many fatal run-ins with the Comando Vermelho, the largest criminal organization in Brasilia, he accepted the transfer to Seoul. He was a stubborn man, quiet and diligent, but from their brief interactions, Aiden liked the man.

  “Here’s the deal,” Soohyun said, waving the photo. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “The only thing standing in our way now is a little red tape. Since that asshole abducted a few American women, the US is foaming at the mouth to tear into Shen.” Soohyun leaned forward on his elbow. “We get to try him, but we have to wait until they finish their own investigations. This’ll help.”

  “We’re going to log Ms. Amaris into the Program,” Ruiz said. “She’s a US citizen here on a permanent resident visa?” He paused as Aiden nodded. “I got a call from Special Agent Martinez at the Embassy. It has been advised—which I'll take as demanded—that Ms. Amaris return to the States for the duration of the investigation. They don’t want her anywhere near Shen.”

  “Understandable.”

  “Which brings me to my next question,” Cho said. “Where is Ms. Amaris? I’m supposed to brief her.”

  Aiden sat back in his chair. “Safe,” he said with a note of finality.

  “I have clearance, too, Choi. The moment you log her, I’ll know, so just save me a phone call for old times’ sake, huh?”

  Aiden smirked, “Not a chance. I’ll process the paperwork.” He stood up and turned to leave.

  “Uh-uh. Not so quick.”

  Aiden hesitated at the door, mouth tight. Cho’s voice sounded smug, and Aiden wasn’t sure if he would like what would come out of his mouth next. Still, he turned back.

  “Ms. Amaris just became a priority witness, and she’s too important to let some rookie agent drool over her shoulders while we wait this out. Everyone in on this case agrees with me. They want someone close to the case with her at all times. Someone who is good at his job. Someone who has dual citizenship and farts English out of his mouth. Ruiz signed off on it this morning,” Cho said as he looked at the Special Agent in Charge briefly.

  Aiden groaned internally. “And what does that have to do with me?”

  Cho Soohyun’s smile was slow. “Read my mind, Agent Choi.”

  Chapter Five

  New York City

  June

  Their new address became the busy streets of midtown Manhattan, on West 32nd Street. Their apartment building was located in the middle of a crowded business district surrounded by norabang establishments, Gogigui restaurants, and trinket stores. On the lowest level of their building was a book reseller with a large street-side window.

  It was the perfect place for them to hide in Aiden’s opinion. Like all of the other culturally rich sections of New York City, tourists were there all hours of the night. He and Jin were like smoke.

  When they first got there, Jin looked out the window a lot. The windows in her apartment faced a relatively empty apartment building behind theirs, and there was a couple who lived right across from them with a newborn, but they only heard him cry when the window was up. Other than the noise that would drift up from the store below, it was peacefully quiet. The Witness Protection Program didn’t allow Jin any contact with her family or friends, and she was discouraged from working for the time being. So she spent her time staring out the window. Aiden could deal, isolation came with the job. But Jin?

  She was going to snap. He’d bet on it.

  July

  Jin didn’t talk to him all that much. He wondered why, so one day he asked.

  “I don’t trust men when they talk,” she’d admitted simply.

  Which, to him, was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard of because, come on, he was in charge of protecting her, not feeding her lies for kicks. And he knew he wasn’t the most sociable person in the world, but she could relax. He wasn’t Shen. He wasn’t.

  Still, Aiden wanted to try. Their neighbor had a dog—a little rat-thing named King Amadeus. Since the neighbor travelled frequently, Aiden worked out a deal to have the dog entertain Jin, or Jin entertain the dog, either/or. There was something about dogs that made people happy…sociable. He hoped it would work.

  It did.

  She smiled. She laughed. She talked…like, actual communication. It changed everything.

  That was, until the rash.

  Aiden quickly learned a few things about Jin once she’d decided her radio silence was over. For starters, her mind was like a steel trap, and she could flip an argument to her favor in a flash. Second thing he learned was that most of everything that came out of her mouth had teeth and would bite. Scathing, hilarious, and sarcastic.

  “You would pick a dog that I’m allergic to. Don’t they teach you sniffing things out at Secret Agent school? Aren’t you supposed to be able to detect bombs at airports or drugs stuffed up people’s asses or something?”

  “That’s a police dog,” Aiden said thinly.

  “Same thing,” she shouted. “Now I can’t even keep him!” She turned to him, holding up her sock-covered hands—so she couldn’t scratch her arms—and pouted. “He was so cute, Aiden, and he barked louder for me than he did for you.”

  “The pouting won’t work because I didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “He was so much cuter than you,” she uttered, slouching.

  Aiden squeezed out a dollop of rash medication onto her back. “Shut. Up.”

  Jin turned toward him, a scowl on her face. “Shut don’t go up.”

  “What?”

  “It’s a mathematical truth. Something about velocity or gravity and—”

  Aiden laughed. “Wow. Okay, how about this. Turn around and be quiet.”

  She shrugged, rubbing her socked hand against her neck. She growled when it didn't provide any satisfaction. “I can do that.”

  October

  Aiden’s choice of buildings had them crammed into apartments across the hall from each other. The proximity made sense because Aiden had a routine, and that routine was inspection. Every morning, before dawn, he would inspect her place. Two hours later, he repeated it, and two hours later, he’d do it again. He did it because it was his job, but he also enjoyed annoying Jin because she was sexually attracted to sleep or something and inspections interrupted that.

  It was impractical for Aiden to be there every second of the day, so he managed communication with her through a walkie-talkie system. Bright and early on a Friday, he’d shown up for inspection and proudly shoved one into Jin’s hands. The tip of the antenna was wrapped with blue tape and the frequency had been set to channel three.

  At first he used the walkie-talkie to do his job, but then he started using it for other things—asking her what she wanted for dinner, or if she was awake, or to see if she’d seen what the man down the hall did that day. The neighbor was a mime with an invisible dog. It could get…weird.

  The small talk became important to him. Jin liked to talk, and Aiden liked to listen. Whenever he wanted her attention, which was becoming more often than he liked, he’d flip his frequency to three, page her, and then sit on his bedroom floor and wait for her to answer.

  One night A
iden chirped Jin for a reason he couldn’t remember and Jin didn’t answer. He tried again, and when he still didn't receive an answer, he marched across the hall and practically tore her door off the hinges. He stomped through her apartment, not really caring about waking up the neighbors below, and eventually found her sitting on the fire escape, lighting little strips of paper on fire in a small bowl as she stared out into the narrow space between their building and the next.

  “Where is your Little Blue?” he roared as he stepped through the open window and onto the fire escape. She pulled a face as he loomed over her, and pointed to her kitchen table.

  Anger welled up in the pit of Aiden’s stomach and his face heated up as he silently left her apartment. He returned moments later with a green and black hard case and dropped it on the table beside her forgotten walkie-talkie. Jin sat on the windowsill, staring at him with bored eyes.

  “If you aren’t going to let me do my job, the least you can do is pretend that you care about your safety. Here.” He pushed the case toward her. “This should be here with you. I didn’t buy this for it to be thrown in a closet.”

  She stood and glared at him. “So, let me get this straight.” She walked to the table and pushed the box back toward him. “I don’t answer a walkie-talkie page at”—she looked down at her watch—“two in the morning, and now I don’t care about my safety? Kiss my ass, you super-he-man, alpha-male asshole.”

  Aiden frowned. “Is all of that necessary?”

  “In response to your stalker-demon personality? Yes!” She moved to stand in front of him and held her hand out. “Give me the damn gun.”

  “I’m not just going to give you a gun. I have to teach you how to use it.”