A Tentative Start (4)

JP with Choi and Eun-Ji

Chinatown - San Francisco, CA

“So the code has something to do with them?” Choi probed.

Yeong smiled. “You made progress already. You ARE good!”

Well, this is your investigation,” he encouraged. “Where would you like to start?”

Eun-Ji couldn’t help but feel a sense of positive esteem at the compliment. Typically she would perform above expectations and would get more constructive feedback than praise. She didn’t quite know how to take it, or even assess if it was genuine or if he just wanted something from her. “Thank you.” She hesitantly replied with a trace of skepticism.

She thought a moment about how she wanted to proceed. Having another person involved was not in her initial plan, so it altered the possibilities. “A divide and conquer algorithmic approach would be best based on the new inputs.” She more or less murmured to herself. “We should visit the other two sites in case there is anything valuable still to discover.” It was best to have as much information as possible when making decisions after all. “I know someone …” she was referring to David, but didn’t use his name in case he preferred to remain anonymous. “ … that can research these sisters while we do so. They have already given me what the police know about the crime scene, so we would be looking for things they may have not been looking for.”

Choi Yeong tightened his lips. He was determined to help Eun-Ji to be successful on this mission. She was bright, seemed to be competent in what she was doing. Eun-Ji also knew how to be evasive, whether in word or by using her ability to manipulate reality. He wondered if the illusions were the only thing the bee had given.

“We start with the other two crime scenes,” he agreed. “Hopefully, they will help us find additional clues. These Charmed Ones, it sounds as if we may be lured into working with them. It will be the first outside of the Big 3 if that were the case. Tell me, Eun-Ji, can I expect any other abilities besides the illusions?” He had a mischievous smile as he said this last question.