"I won't let you out of my sight again."

The suspect in the cell for the large string of jewelry robberies lifts his head miserably. He's sitting on the floor of the holding cell, his hands cuffed behind him. His dyed blue hair is fading at the roots, and his lips twist into a scowl when he sees who spoke to him.

Jeon Jeongguk knows he shouldn't feel so pleased, watching his primary suspect rot behind the cell bars. But it had been three long, painstaking months spent tracing his movements with the rest of his task force to even attempt capturing Taehyung. Because Taehyung has a reputation.

Besides being a serial robber, Taehyung is one hell of a jailbreaker. And catching him is like trying to catch a ghost.

"Come here to gloat, huh, Jeon?" Kim Taehyung asks with disgust. "It won't take me a day to break out of these flimsy handcuffs. Hell, I probably could seduce a guard and he'd let me walk right out of here."

Jeongguk knows Taehyung's file by heart right now. Taehyung has escaped from prisons four times in the past, every time more unbelievable than the last. He knows if he puts Taehyung away in a normal prison - hell, even a high-security one, at this point - Taehyung will find some way, manipulate someone, to get his way out. And that's not going to happen again, under Jeongguk's watch. Especially not until Taehyung's trial date.

"Actually, I have not come here to gloat," Jeongguk says, even if it's not entirely untrue. "I have come to take you with me."

***

Kim Taehyung. Age 25. Arrested in 2014 on suspicion of robbery of a diamond cargo transport vehicle. After being found guilty, he was put into Badenburg prison in Germany.

In 2015, he escaped by scaling a fourteen-foot wall and hopping in a getaway truck prepared by his partners in jewelry robbery. That same year, he was caught at the French border trying to hijack a gold bullion armored truck.

In 2017, he escaped the Deneuve Penitentiary at the French border. He spent half a year shimmying up to the barred window in the ceiling of his cell and denting it with a nail. Once he could stick his head out of the bars, he squeezed his body out with it, dislocating a shoulder. Three days later, he was caught hiding close to the woods near the border. He was re-incarcerated at Deneuve Penitentiary.

In 2019, he escaped again via the sewage system. A prison uniform soaked in feces and urine was discovered by the Coil river.

In late 2020, he was arrested while trying to rob a Tiffany's cargo truck. In his holding cell, he repeatedly complained of a weak stomach and was taken to the infirmary multiple times. After several visits, he simply vanished from his bed. He'd changed into a nurse's uniform that he had stashed beforehand, shaved his mustache, and walked straight out of the entrance gate. He had been evading capture ever since...until now, when he was finally extradited back to the United States.

***

"Are you sure this is a good idea, boss?"

Jeongguk's eyes slide to the member of the task force who'd asked the question. Jung Hoseok fidgets under his stare, and Jeongguk deflates, partially. "I have run through multiple possibilities of the consequences," he repeats. "There is a seventy percent chance that this plan will be effective, and that we can keep Taehyung here until his trial starts, in two month's time."

He is trying to explain his plan to his task force. Kim Namjoon, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok. They are his deputies, his most trustworthy agents. And at the same time, they are his burden to bear. He knows they're doubting him now.

"Um, no, this is fucking crazy," Yoongi spits. Yoongi has never been one to mince words. "Jeongguk, we've been trying to catch Taehyung for months. And now - and now you're gonna keep him in headquarters? With us?"

"Yes," Jeongguk states. He checks his phone. "He will be arriving in a few minutes. Sihyuk is bringing him into his custody."

Namjoon adjusts his glasses and clears his throat. "I don't understand, sir. You...you plan to monitor him at all times? But Taehyung is a liability. He's dangerous. Have you built a cell for him here?"

"No, I have not," Jeongguk replies simply. "Kim Taehyung has escaped every cell he has been put into. Locking him up again like this will ensure he tries to escape again." He pauses. "I have engineered a scenario in which Taehyung will not try to escape, because he simply cannot."

"And how are you going to do that?" Hoseok asks nervously, eyes darting back and forth from Yoongi to Jeongguk.

"As I speak, Kim Taehyung is being transported in a straight jacket by Bang Sihyuk up the elevator," Jeongguk says. "When he comes, I will demonstrate my plan in action and show you its practicality."

They don't have to wait long for Taehyung to arrive; he announces his presence loud and clear.

"Hey, Jeon, nice to see you," Taehyung sneers. "Wish I could actually see you, though."

The entire task force collectively turn their heads and gape. Bang Sihyuk, as stoic as ever, is wheeling in Kim Taehyung in a straightjacket. Along with his binds, there is a blindfold over Taehyung's eyes.

"Impressive," Hoseok murmurs. "You blindfolded him so he couldn't figure out the layout of the building, or even which floor we're on."

"Who's that?" Taehyung asks, sounding bored. "Jeon, are you not even here? Pathetic. The fat guy didn't tell me anything before he took me from the holding cell."

"I am not fat," Bang Sihyuk replies patiently.

"Sihyuk, you may remove the blindfold now," Jeongguk says softly. "It is safe."

Sihyuk obliges, and then a pair of keen eyes examine the task force, frowning. "Nice office," Taehyung finally says. "Great waste of taxpayer money on all those expensive monitors. Hey, mind if I take one before I go?"

"Can we gag him? He's annoying," Yoongi complains.

Jeongguk steps in between his task force and pauses in front of Taehyung. "Taehyung, this is my task force. You'll be seeing them around a lot in the two months that you'll be here," he says. "There's Kim Namjoon, Jung Hoseok, and Min Yoongi. My commanding officer and mentor, Bang Sihyuk, was the one who brought you here. And of course, you know me already."

"Yeah, okay, whatever," Taehyung says, rolling his eyes. "Why am I here? Wait - did you just say I'll be here for two months? What the fuck?"

"Yes, until your trial date," Jeongguk replies. "Sihyuk?"

Bang Sihyuk steps forward, nods once, and zips open the duffel bag he was carrying on his shoulder. He has to use two hands to lift its contents out.

"What the fuck?" Yoongi mutters in disbelief. "Jeongguk, what are you thinking?"

In Sihyuk's arms is a pair of high-security deadbolt handcuffs, connected by a roughly six-and-a-half foot long iron chain.

Jeongguk steps forward and allows Sihyuk to snap one handcuff around his left wrist. "Thank you," he whispers, while Sihyuk undoes some of Taehyung's restrictions and snaps the second cuff around Taehyung's right wrist.

"Okay, Jeongguk, have you lost your mind?" Yoongi asks. Namjoon's jaw is dropped, and Hoseok looks like he's trying not to laugh.

Jeongguk sighs. "Trust me on this." Taehyung himself looks dumbfounded, like this was the last thing he expected. "Kim Taehyung, you will be handcuffed to me for the entire duration of your stay here," he pronounces. "I will not let you out of my sight. Every room we will share will be constantly monitored by audio-visual taps, thanks to Sihyuk. While you are here, you can assist with the investigation of your accomplice, Park Jimin. This also gives me an opportunity to profile you further and understand your motives."

"Dude, what the fuck?" Taehyung cocks his head to the side - or as much as he can in his straightjacket, anyhow. "Oh, I get it. Does this turn you on or something?"

Jeongguk sighs, again. This is giving him a headache. "No, it does not. This is a purely precautionary measure." He looks Taehyung in the eye. "Kim Taehyung, you have given my team and I almost ninety-eight sleepless nights. Tracking you down has cost me innumerable resources. I did not lie when I said I will not let you out of my sight again. And I will do whatever is necessary to ensure that, even at the expense of my own comfort."

"You're literally handcuffing yourself to him?

" Namjoon pipes up, "Jeongguk, is this really necessary?"

"The cuffs are too tight to be escaped from by breaking a finger and sliding your hand out," Jeongguk enunciates. "The locks cannot be picked. We will keep the handcuffs on at all times, even in the bathroom, even in bed."

"You're crazy," Taehyung exclaims, laughing a little nervously. "Catching me has driven you insane, hasn't it, Jeon?"

"In fact, it has not. All the necessary preparations have been carried out for this plan," Jeongguk says. "Taehyung, I am not going to torture you, nor interrogate you. You are my charge now. I only will keep you in my possession for these two months. And then, you will be tried and sentenced." He lifts his left hand, and the chain jingles. "Sihyuk, you may remove the rest of his binds. I will show him to our bedroom."

"Our bedroom?" Taehyung screeches once Sihyuk frees him, and Jeongguk walks up the stairs heedlessly, effectively dragging Taehyung behind. "We're going to share a bed? Just say you love me already, Jeon."

Hoseok giggles and Namjoon loudly shushes him.

"We are not going to share a bed, simply a bedroom. Now, let's go."

---