Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Hunt's tightly clasped forearms loosened, and he leaned towards me.
"Please continue."
Yes, let's catch two birds with one stone this way: avoiding a prison sentence and achieving the final mission.
"Before I tell you, there's something you need to do for me, Inspector."
"Anything, gladly."
"The Burger Queen across the square is open, right?"
"Hhh..."
Hunt sighed again, as if incredulous.
I'm the one who should be incredulous. In Korea, they interrogate you after buying you jjajangmyeon.
"A Triple Cheeseburger with extra bacon. No pickles. Onion Rings and a Coke set. For dessert, a Chocolate Chip Brownie and a Vanilla Milkshake."
Raven recited the order as the woman snatched the brown paper bag he handed over. She checked the contents, then looked up at him, her eyebrows raised.
"Is that all?"
Raven sighed and handed her the small bag he held in his other hand. Only then did the woman's face light up.
"Would you like to join me, Inspector?"
"I'm fine."
Raven refused and sat down. He watched the woman sitting opposite him, unaware that his own cup of coffee had gone cold.
She looked as comfortable as if she were in her own home.
The way she devoured the burger set and dessert with gusto didn't look like someone facing a long prison sentence.
Slurp.
For the first time, the sound of her slurping the milkshake through the straw sounded irritating.
Why was she slurping when there was nothing left to get?
Raven, who had been watching with his arms crossed, found his brow furrowing more and more. Finally, unable to stand it, he snatched the empty cup and set it down on the floor.
The woman raised her eyebrows again and opened another bag, taking out an ice cream tub. Then, she offered him a spoon and asked,
"You really don't want any?"
When he shook his head, she shrugged and began to scoop large spoonfuls of ice cream.
Then, perhaps full, she let out a big sigh, stopped eating, and sat still.
Was she finally going to get to the main point?
...As if. She was just getting started.
Wasn't she going to cut the leftover brownie into thumbnail-sized pieces, drop them into the slightly melted ice cream, and mix it all together?
Annoying.
Raven poured the cold coffee into himself as if it were boiling.
She's doing this on purpose.
She's trying to drag out the time, wear down his patience, and use a trick to lead the negotiation in her favor.
But tricks weren't just for criminals.
"Hhh..."
When the woman offered him ice cream again, Raven rubbed his face with both hands, a dry sigh escaping him.
He could feel her glancing at him. Raven mumbled in a voice cracked with exhaustion,
"There's no way I'd be in the mood to eat..."
He could see his opponent faltering. But it was brief.
The woman pouted and dug into the ice cream with gusto. He thought her soft spot would make her fall for his act of struggling, but...
...it didn't work?
In her moment of confusion, the woman grumbled indignantly,
"Who says I'm eating because I'm in the mood? I'm doing this because it might be my last meal before I die."
Your last meal?
"I'm truly sorry that I might have to take off my police uniform because of me. But in the long run, it might be for the best."
Raven lost his train of thought at the woman's brazen words.
"How about becoming an actress? You're a natural. You have the looks. You have the acting skills. Especially your death scenes when you get shot."
She's being sarcastic. She must be feeling betrayed for being deceived. Who's supposed to feel betrayed right now?
"Thank you for the compliment, but I think you're the natural actress."
He had maintained the act of a timid but kind employee, the complete opposite of the woman before him, for years without being discovered.
"Ah! I almost forgot!"
As soon as he mentioned it, the woman exclaimed as if she'd just remembered, transforming into Claire Kent.
"In the second drawer of my desk, there's last month's Special Investigation Unit expense report. You need to submit it by 2 PM today. Penny Fincher in accounting won't accept it even a second late, so don't forget..."
The woman glanced at Raven, who was speechless with disbelief, and added as if making an excuse,
"I have to hand over my duties."
"And did you also destroy evidence with that great sense of duty?"
"Ah, don't forget to add that to my charges too."
The woman said it as if telling him to add it to an account ledger. Raven was once again at a loss for words.
Why is she so brazen? She doesn't seem to regret her sins at all.
He had believed that the Thieving Crow was a villain who could be reformed. But now, that belief was starting to waver.
"Police officers, so foolishly deceived, not even realizing a wanted criminal is right in front of them. You must have enjoyed watching."
"No, not at all. I didn't want to do it either. I just did it to survive."
"To survive?"
The woman didn't answer his question. She put her face in her hands, leaving the ice cream tub, and let out a deep sigh.
"Ah, really... Honestly, I felt guilty whenever the team members treated me well. They're all good people, and I'm truly sorry for deceiving them. Please convey my apologies."
She didn't apologize for destroying evidence, but she apologized for deceiving her colleagues. Someone with a tender heart towards people but a face of steel towards the world.
He had never met anyone like her before.
"To the Captain too..."
For a moment, the woman seemed to mistake him for the Captain, calling him "Captain" before stopping herself and giving an awkward laugh.
"I'm sorry. That your trusted subordinate..."
"I didn't trust you."
Though he had thought of her kindly as a person.
"...Yes?"
"I suspected you might be the Thieving Crow."
"...Really? Then why..."
Exactly. Then why.
He felt pathetic for dismissing a suspicion that had quite a bit of basis as mere groundless delusion.
What Raven trusted was himself, and he felt a greater sense of betrayal towards himself than towards the one who deceived him. This incident was particularly shocking because of that.
"Anyway..."
Raven shifted the topic from his own story, which he wanted to avoid, to hers, which she kept avoiding.
"I know theft isn't a capital offense, yet you keep talking as if you're facing death. Is someone trying to kill you, Ms. Kent?"
"..."
"You need to tell me so I can protect you."
The woman once again pretended not to hear him and shifted her gaze to the ice cream, but she didn't bring the spoon to her lips, as if her appetite had waned.
After waiting in silence, she stirred the melting ice cream and spoke with a sigh,
"No, no one can protect me."
This meant there was indeed someone behind it.
"I know you didn't steal because you wanted to, Ms. Kent."
Her green eyes, which had been looking elsewhere, met Raven's. It was the look one might give someone who understood an unspeakable secret.
He finally felt like he had glimpsed the woman's true self. Raven didn't miss the crack that had appeared in her solid mask.
"Those who forced you to commit crimes and hid behind the scenes are the greatest sinners. Isn't it unfair that you have to pay the price for their sins all by yourself?"
"What can I do, even if it's unfair?"
"No, if it's truly unfair, there's a way to survive."
"A way to survive?"
"If you committed a crime under duress, it can be grounds for a reduced sentence. And have you heard of plea bargaining?"
The woman nodded.
"If you cooperate actively in the investigation of the principal offender, you might not have to go to jail."
The woman seemed intrigued but immediately looked troubled. Was she afraid of the organization behind it?
"If you're being blackmailed, I can help resolve it. And under the witness protection program, you can receive a new identity, protection, and settlement funds."
It should have been an appealing offer, but strangely, the woman's eyes slowly cooled.
"Thank you for the offer, but it's all useless. It's not that you're incompetent, Inspector. Even the President couldn't fix this."
"Can you explain it so I can understand?"
The woman hesitated until the ice cream turned into milkshake, then let out a deep sigh and began to speak.
