Zack was already at the school gate when the bell rang.
Vin Jin caught up to him halfway down the street. "Where are you going?"
"To find him," Zack said without slowing down.
Vin Jin grabbed his arm. "Alone?"
Zack stopped and turned around. His jaw was tight. "You got a problem with that?"
"Yes," Vin Jin said. "A significant one." He kept his grip firm. "We don't even know where they're being held. We have no idea who's actually behind this. We're operating completely in the dark."
"Then I'll figure it out as I go."
"Idiot," Vin Jin said. "Where exactly are you planning to go? Do you even have a destination in mind?"
Zack pulled his arm free. "Who are you calling an idiot? Stay out of this, Vin! Don't make me ugly!"
Vin Jin stared at him. "It's angry, not ugly, idiot."
Zack grabbed his own hair. "What is your problem?! Why won't you just let me handle this?!"
"Alright," Vin Jin said. He took a breath. "I'll drop the insults." He met Zack's eyes. "But you need to think clearly for a moment. We know virtually nothing about whoever is behind this, except that they're operating at a level far beyond anything we've encountered before. Think about it. How does someone make that many kings disappear simultaneously without leaving a single trace?"
Zack was quiet. Students streamed past them on both sides, heading home.
"So what do you suggest we do?" Zack said.
"We can't handle this on our own," Vin Jin said. "We need to bring the others in."
---
The Allied warehouse sat at the end of an old industrial street, half-hidden behind a rusted fence and overgrown weeds. The sign above the door still read Youth Construction but nobody had worked there in years. Inside, the space was large and dim. Wooden crates lined one wall. A long folding table stood in the center.
Hudson was already there when Daniel arrived. He was sitting on a crate with his elbows on his knees. He looked up when Daniel came through the door.
"Sorry for calling you out so suddenly," Hudson said.
"It's fine. I wasn't doing anything important," Daniel said. He pulled a chair from the table and sat down across from him. "What's going on?"
Hudson stood up. His face was tense. "My master is missing. Taesoo Ma, king of Ansan." He crossed his arms. "He told me he was heading to Daegu to catch up with some old associates. That was four days ago. He hasn't been in contact since."
Daniel frowned. "Did you try reaching out to his people in Daegu?"
"That was the first thing I did," Hudson said. "Nothing. So I started digging deeper." He paused. "The king of Daegu has vanished too. So did the king of Suwon."
'That many kings gone at once,' Daniel thought. 'There's nothing coincidental about this.'
"Something must have happened," Daniel said.
"That's exactly what I think," Hudson said. "But I can't pursue this on my own. I need Allied behind me."
Daniel nodded slowly. "I'll get word to the others. Let's regroup here tomorrow." He stood and pushed the chair back under the table. "We'll work out what we actually know and build from there."
Hudson exhaled. Some of the tension left his shoulders. "Thanks, Daniel."
"Save it," Daniel said. "We haven't done anything yet."
He was nearly at the door when his phone buzzed. He stopped and looked at the screen.
The message was brief. A time and an address. He recognized the tailor shop immediately.
James Lee.
Daniel stared at the screen. 'Why now? What is he after?'
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and stepped outside. The evening air hit him cold.
'I won't be manipulated,' he told himself. 'Not again. But I need to understand what he's after before I can afford to ignore it.'
He walked out into the street.
---
The café was small and unremarkable. It sat tucked between a convenience store and a dry cleaner on a street that only locals had reason to use. Reporter Kim had chosen it herself. She always selected places like this.
Baki and Seongji sat across from her at a corner table. She had a coffee in front of her that she hadn't touched. Seongji's cup was untouched as well. Baki was on his second.
"Are you familiar with someone named Kitae Kim?" Baki asked.
Reporter Kim looked up. Something crossed her face, quick and carefully controlled. "Where did you come across that name?"
"Tom Lee," Baki said.
She wrapped both hands around her cup. "I see." She was quiet for a moment. "What exactly are you looking to know?"
"Everything you have," Baki said.
She nodded and set the cup down. "Kitae Kim is the eldest son of Gapryong Kim, the man who led the old Fist Gang. But he was born out of wedlock. Gapryong never sought him out, never acknowledged him in any capacity." She paused. "Kitae spent his entire childhood knowing exactly who his father was, and knowing with equal certainty that his father had no interest in his existence."
"He must have carried a great deal of resentment because of that," Seongji said.
"Undoubtedly. After his father's death, he left South Korea entirely. Based on what I've been able to piece together, he made his way to Mexico." She looked at Baki directly. "He has an absolute hatred for everything and everyone connected to Gapryong Kim. The most accurate way to describe him is as Gapryong's dark reflection, the same force, completely stripped of restraint or purpose."
Baki said nothing. He kept listening.
"When Gapryong walked away from the underworld and moved into politics," Reporter Kim continued, "Kitae was furious. In his eyes, his father possessed the power to dominate everything, and he surrendered it voluntarily." She picked up her coffee and finally took a sip. "That's the extent of what I know about his background."
"He's returned to Korea," Seongji said.
She looked up sharply. "That's a serious problem."
"Why?" Baki asked.
Reporter Kim set her cup down. "If Kitae has come back from Mexico, his intentions aren't difficult to read. He wants to establish himself as the undisputed king of the underworld, and the only path to that is taking every major city." She looked at Baki steadily.
The café was quiet around them. Someone at the counter placed an order and a machine hissed briefly.
"There's something else," Reporter Kim said, lowering her voice. "Kitae Kim appears to have some form of alliance with James Lee. The same individual who dismantled the entire first generation."
Seongji went still.
Baki's expression didn't change. 'James Lee,' he thought. 'It's him again.'
Baki picked up his cup and finished the last of his coffee. He set it down and looked at Reporter Kim. "Where do you think he'll move next?"
Reporter Kim didn't answer immediately. She looked down at her cup and turned it slowly between both hands.
Then she looked up. "Busan."
"What makes you say Busan?" Seongji asked.
Reporter Kim folded her hands on the table. "I told you that Kitae despises everything tied to Gapryong Kim." She kept her voice level. "The king of Busan is Gapryong's own student. That connection alone makes Busan inevitable."
The three of them sat with that for a moment.
Outside, the street was dark and quiet.