NT: This is Detective Nathan Troy. Today is Friday and the date is November 19th two thousand twenty-four. The time is 6:27 in the morning. This is a taped questioning of Kai Kamal Huening of the potential murder of Jack Harrison.

NT: What I have done is state the basic facts so we can begin. On your right sits the lawyer we have assigned to you who you can confide in at any time, okay?

HK: could you tell me about the reasons for my being here again?

NT: A street camera caught you entering and leaving your professor's house, Jack Harrison on the 13th last Friday. He is currently missing and considered dead. Do you remember breaking into his house, Kai?

HK: I don't understand the question.

NT: (inaudible) So, do you remember? (inaudible)

HK: Why are you covering the recorder?

NT: I was checking if it was working properly. How did you enter Jack's house? Did you have a key? Footage shows you got there an hour before he did, and the house was locked. It didn't seem like he was waiting for someone, so you must have entered on your own, is that right?

NT: I do need your answer, Kai.

HK: (inaudible)

Kai whispers something to his lawyer. Nathan sees their hushed conversation and stops the recorder. He clears his throat and eyes the lawyer, lifting his eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, but if the police say you're fine... "he whispers back to Kai. "They are allowed-"

Nathan nods.

"-to question you."

"I think you know it is not fine."

The lawyer shifts in his place, looking uncomfortable. He feels the glare of Nathan in the corner of his eyes. "I do not see a problem Mr. Huening." He avoids Kai's scrutinizing eyes.

"Should we continue, then?"

NT: Let's say you did go in on your own. You waited for Jack to get home, then you killed him, is that right?

HK: No.

NT: A witness heard two gunshots from Jack's house. His neighbors called us mere minutes after filing a noise complaint. Did you use a gun, Kai?

HK: (inaudible) Could I get ibuprofen?

NT: (Inaudible)

HK: (Inaudible) You can't (Inaudible) won't answer a thing.

NT: Did you use a gun, yes or no?

HK: No.

NT: Your story does not add up. You were seen in Jack Harrison-

HK: Near Mr. Harrison's house.

NT: No, you were inside in home.

HK: Do you have a proof for that statement?

NT: (Inaudible) Delete (Inaudible) You were inside, and you shot Jack Harrison two times, is that correct?

Let the record show the suspect is remaining quiet.

NT: Did you or did you not?

HK: (inaudible)

NT: speak louder, please. Our recorder does not pick up your voice.

HK: (inaudible) truly (inaudible) even water will do.

NT: You are straying from the subject. Lift your head, Kai. I can't see your face.

HK: (Inaudible)

HK: (inaudible)

NT: Stop the re-

"-corder. Hey! Hey!" Nathan reaches to stop Kai's head from thumping on the table. He carefully lowers it down. His partner who sat by in silence for the entire thing does what is instructed although reluctantly and stops the recorder. She bites her lips just as she did 10 seconds ago and stares Nathan down.

The lawyer senses the tension between the two detectives and shifts in his chairs

"It does not matter if you believe him or not, when a suspect faints on your shift something has to change." she scolds despite being his secondary on the case.

She saw what he was doing with the recorder. He can hide the things he told Kai during the questioning very well, but she is here as a witness too.

They cannot threaten a suspect.

"It's an act," Nathan says. He notices Kai's lawyer slightly grimace. He won't say anything to protect Kai, though. "He will wake up once we show him that we are not stupid enough to believe him."

The woman throws his hands up. "He is concussed! For the love of God- Nathan... "she shakes his head, getting up. "I'm telling the captain to transfer the boy-"

"Suspect." Nathan corrects. "Are you feeling a motherly instinct Detective Dian? He is 21, do not feel sorry for him."

Her eyes sharpen. "I do not feel sorry for him, do not put words in my mouth. However, he is a suspect, not a murderer yet."

"You know he did it, though." Nathan pulls something stuck in between his back teeth. "Come on now? Who else could have done it?" he gets up as well. "Tell the captain to transfer him to the holding cell."

Dian looks at him as if he had grown an additional toe on his forehead. "He is unconscious." she reminds Nathan but the other shrugs, indifferent.

"I don't know..." He opens the door and looks back at her. "Have Gina and Si-Yun carry him."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

..........................

Beomgyu walks back and forth in Yeonjun's living room. That is what he had done all night. Just picking on the dead skin around his nails and thinking. When the sun came up, he contacted Mr. Tadashi.

"No, not at the moment." He paces around. The coffee Yeonjun made him is getting cold on the table. He could not care less. "Please... just for today? I promise I'll get you the money." he exhales. "Just for today. You know I will- but-" he huffs, his entire face falling. He gulps his disappointment down. "No, I get it. I'll... I'll call you when I have the money."

Mr. Tadashi gives him his regards but Beomgyu hangs up after hearing that he won't be of any help to Kai until they somehow find a way to unfreeze his bank account.

When it hits opening hours Beomgyu washes his face and gets in the car with Soobin and Yeonjun and the three of them drive to the nearest Lummi branch they can find.

Beomgyu has half a mind to ask the bankers what on earth is going on with their customer service landline but Soobin tells him they have bigger problems to tackle than that. He begs to differ but nods anyway.

It feels odd to put music in the background and for a 5-minute drive Soobin doesn't turn on the radio at all. "It should be on our right," he says when they reach a busy open shopping avenue. "Gold logo"

"I see it," Beomgyu says. "Park here, we'll walk."

They walk out and into Lummi's branch. Unlike Yeonjun and Soobin who approach the take-a-number stand, Beomgyu opts to walk past it straight to one of the bankers' desks where he sits down and waits.

"Beommie." Yeonjun joins him. "We need to grab a number," he tells his boyfriend tentatively.

"I'm not waiting- Hello," as soon as he speaks a teller sits in her chair in front of him, looking slightly blind-sighted since she hadn't called out their number. "Do you have an appointment?" she asks, brushing off her black pony.

"I'm here on behalf of Kai Kamal Huening. I'm his brother." Beomgyu deliberately avoids her question. "I can show you his ID if you want... he has an account here."

She notes his serious tone and doesn't ask much more follow-up questions. She quickly locates his account.

The teller hums, contemplating. "Yes, I see that." she clears her throat and looks from the computer back to Beomgyu. "Unfortunately we do not have control over that account anymore."

"Who does then?"

She shakes her head. "I'm not sure-"

"You are the bank, though." Beomgyu raises his voice slightly. "I would like to draw money from the account."

"Even if we had control over the account, a person cannot draw money on behalf of another person, family or not," she explains. "Mr. Huening needs to be here himself to do that."

"But he can't be," Beomgyu swallows his anger once again.

"I can't help you if that is the case, I'm sorry."

But then he boils over. "Sorry, my fucking foot-" he reaches for the glass Separator between him and the teller but Yeonjun jumps into action. "Give me the fucking money!!" Beomgyu screams. "It's his money!" he breaks from Yeonjun's arms. He bangs on the Separator once before his two friends pull him away, apologizing on his behalf.

"Please!" he yells. "Just... "his throat closes." Just 5000, okay?" he begs. The teller looks back at him, shocked. Her co-worker tries calming her down.

Soobin looks around. "Let's go, Beom."

"No!" he yells. "Just 5000!! Let me draw 5000! Please... just that much." his voice gradually disappears. "Please..."

The teller's station grows further and further away from him.

"Just that much..."

..............................

He drinks the water bottle empty; quenching his thirst but not his hunger. He hasn't eaten properly in days which adds to his constant dizziness. At least his gloves do well at protecting his skin from the sharp cuffs, they would have been rubbed raw if it wasn't for the black fabric.

They got him painkillers which helps with the headache but the effect does not last long and in 2 hours it's already worse than it was at night. Perhaps it's the relentless questions and bright light over his head. He can't think right.

Detective Troy's chair squeaks high. Kai puts his hands behind his nape and blocks some of the noise with his arms hugging his ears.

He's lost track of how long he had spent in this room since yesterday.

"Well?" Nathan asks; expecting.

Kai sighs. "I already told you; I never held a gun before. I never purchased one for that matter," he answers quietly. "I don't know what it is you want to hear from me."

The detective pushes his chair back abruptly, the sound of it screeching on the floor is piercing, and it echoes in Kai's ears; Sharply cutting through his brain and leaving it in quivering pieces. He closes his eyes tightly and winces.

"I want you-" Nathan's voice is tight and restrained as if he's trying to keep it calm but he knows he's running out of time and the stress of that fact is affecting his tone. "To admit what you did!" he yells close to Kai's face. "A person has been murdered Kai; do you have no remorse!?"

"I didn't kill him."

"You did. You shot him, you know you did." Nathan breathes sharply through his nose. He points an accusing finger at Kai. "You broke into his home and shot him twice. did you know Jack has two kids, Kai? or rather... he had." he tells him. "You took away those kids' father. do you mean to tell me you feel fine with that?"

an eye for an eye, Kai thinks. no one batted their eye when Kai was left alone, why should he feel bad? why should he be expected to feel sorry when he had been deprived of that himself?

"Have you found a body?" Kai asks; he opens his eyes. They look darkly into the detective's brown, angry eyes. For a split second, Kai's eyes show what appears to be vulnerability which wavers the detective but the split of emotion disappears as soon as it comes and so does the detective's doubt.

He sits back in his chair. "You tell me, Kai. Where did you hide Jack's body after you brutally shot him?"

Kai remains quiet, if only because he knows nothing, he will say is going to convince the detective who has made up his mind about who Kai is. There is another pill on the table, he asks for more water.

The detective only shakes his head.

Kai swallows the ibuprofen dry, feeling the pill scratch his throat until it disappears. "What time is it?" he asks not Nathen, but the lawyer beside him who does nothing but sit and listen to the two talk between each other. Not one piece of advice Kai heard from him the entire day.

"A quarter past twelve," he says.

They had arrested Kai around 8 PM last night which means they have 8 more hours and if by then they don't find substantial evidence framing Kai, they will be forced to let him go as a free man.

As long as they don't find the basement.