Page 92 of Damian & Jun: Episodes 5-8
“Sathers speaking.”
Pearsen jumped in without a greeting. “We got a problem. It’s an opportunity wrapped in a problem but still a problem.”
Damian glanced across the room; his office door was properly shut. “Go on.” He chugged more water, holding the phone to his ear.
“The kid’s father, Bak Sakyuk or however you say his name, he doesn’t just have some properties in Jun’s American name. He’s got a whole life. I’m looking at photos right now. He was in the Caribbean last week, traveling under Jun’s US name, US passport, credit cards, check-in name, everything was Jun River. A whole identity.”
“How’d you figure all this out so quick?”
“Got lucky. I had an asset in the area who recognized the photo I sent out yesterday because the guy had made an ass out of himself at the resort. Front desk was very obliging; we got photographs of his ID and method of payment. Didn’t help that he was being a pest and made a pass at the clerk’s girlfriend without her consent.” The disgust in Pearsen’s voice was clear.
Damian closed his eyes and rocked back on his heels. This man was a piece of shit. But Pearsen was right; it was an opportunity wrapped inside a mess. Sorting through Jun’s identity was going to be a nightmare. “We’re not just talking about sorting out some tax law anymore.”
Pearsen snorted. “Understatement. So far, I’ve found gambling debt, credit cards, and a strong possibility that he has a mistress in Australia who thinks they’re in love, all under Jun River. We’re going to have so much fun just deciding which agency to report this man to first.”
“Is there going to be any problem proving that Jun is Jun River?”
“We can prove that Bak Sakyuk is not Jun River because he’s still tied to his Korean citizenship. Those are the papers he’s ostensibly under, here in the US. He has permanent residency but not US citizenship. We might have to disprove Jun’s Korean identity. If your people in Korea could track down the maternal name on that birth certificate, that would be helpful. If there was anyone who had more records of Jun as a child, school records, blood type, anything to tie him to his upbringing in Seattle, literally anything would be helpful. Right now, all we have are his memories and a scrap of paper that matches actual records.”
Perhaps he and Jun needed to take a trip to Seattle. But for now, there were other things to think about.
“I want BBB3 Bak scared. The faster we can come down on Bak Sahyuk, the better. Alice found photographs linking them more recently than when Jun arrived in Korea.”
“I got them. And found more. I’ll write a preliminary report tonight. Who do you want me to call first?”
“There was an FBI agent who came to Jun’s statement yesterday. I’ll call her. Just get me the report.”
“On it.” Pearsen hung up.
Damian rubbed his face and tried to decide whether to alert Jun. It was his right to know but also there really wasn’t anything new to report. It was significant but also not going to change anything for the moment.
He shot off a text message to Jun instead of calling.
Jun didn’t text back. The message read as delivered only. Most likely, he was working with the guys.
Damian finished his water and sent off another text, this one to Matthew, his friend, running partner, and former Residency boy.
It would take time for Matthew to check in with his domme, Hypatia. Damian got back to work.
Matthew showed up in his suit, straight from his city planning work, just as Damian was closing down his computer for the evening. He borrowed the use of Damian’s private bathroom for a few moments, and then Damian took his turn to change into sweats. In deference to Damian’s security team, they headed two buildings over to a gym with a large indoor track. Matthew followed Damian inside and looked around.
“Nice place. Never been here before.”
“Same.” Damian nodded to Holden. “The guys scouted it out for me when they told me no night runs on the lake until our threat assessment decreases.”
They left their things in a locker and hit the track. An attendant handed them wristbands. The track was large, circling the entire outer edge of the building with large windows and softer lighting. As they ran, the floor lit up, telling them how far they’d run as they passed different marks. Matthew fiddled with his wristband. “You can set this for different countries, even fantasy ones. That’s cool.”
“What do you mean, different countries?” Damian lifted his wrist so he could see it while he ran.
“Rome, Seoul—guess it’s more accurate that they have different cities in different countries—Guangzhou, Xian, New Delhi, Barcelona, Gondor, Hobbiton, Albion, Chang’an.”
They ran over another distance marker, and the wall by Matthew lit up, showing pictures of a beautiful beach.
“Is that the Mediterranean?”
“Southern Spain coastline.” Matthew grinned. “Hypatia wants to vacation there soon. She and Émeric were talking.”
They went hard for the next several miles, too fast to talk. Matthew was leaner with a naturally longer stride. The burn in Damian’s muscles was a welcome cleanser to the last several weeks. He put his head down and did nothing else but make sure he kept pace with Matthew’s strides. Everything about the man was athletic and articulate from the way his foot hit the ground and rolled to absorb impact and translate kinetic force forward to the set of his shoulders and the angle of his arms, swinging in harmony with his legs. Running with Matthew was like chasing perfection; he was always half a stride in front. It took all Damian’s effort, allowing no room for anything else, barring the occasional fantasy of wishing it was Jun that he was chasing.
