I

Tuesday, September 16

5:04 p.m.

I dash down the streets of Seoul, a city I don’t know. I keep looking behind me to see if Inspector Shin is tailing me. I have to head her off. Have to think. I turn my head again to look. Where can I go to avoid her? Where can I hide—

Something hard smacks me square in the face. I topple backwards onto the grimy floor.

“Shit!”

I rub at my nose. Looking up, I realize I ran face first into a low-hanging fire escape ladder. But I can’t stop now. I’ve got to create more distance between myself and Shin. Hearing the sirens down the alley, I jump to my feet. I feel like I need a shower. Sweat drenches my arm pits, but I wipe my brow and keep running.

Su said the market was near, but I can’t find it. Maybe I should have turned onto a main street? I hurtle over an upended bin and keep running in the direction Su said. Blood drips onto my paisley tie. I’m pretty sure my nose is broken. Finally, the sirens fade. I clutch a stitch in my side as I slow to a jog. I need to catch my breath.

I hear angry voices in the distance. Someone is blowing a whistle. I make for the end of the alley, pushing over trash cans as I run.

I round another corner and spot an immense crowd up ahead. The market!

A street performer is contorting his body to fit through a tennis racket. But I don’t have time to stare. I race forward, pushing past bodies. I try not to make a scene, but I can’t help pushing my way through the crowd. I notice a street sign in hangul. I’ve got to find the corner market with the neon blowfish. The street vendors are a dead giveaway that I’m close. I turn my head and see my pursuers two hundred feet behind. Shin is screaming my name.

               I bolt across the street and narrowly duck out of the way of a speeding car. I weave in and out of couples hand in hand, old women hunched over, and children laughing with their parents. They all cease what they’re doing, watching me. I must appear strange, a tall American with dried blood on my face. I spy the Gangnam fish market ahead. I wait as a large crowd makes their way toward the entrance, then dash forward as soon as they’re about to enter. The aromas are intense. The mountains of fish are a blur as I rush past. My breath is shallow, coming in wheezes. My lungs are on fire.

        The whistle blows again from behind me.

               Don’t look back, they say, but I can’t see the point. I need to watch for my pursuer, know where she is. I race forward, noticing two workers up ahead carrying a pallet of fish. I duck underneath, causing one of them to lose his grasp. Fish slips and slides everywhere, a perfect diversion. This time I don’t look back. I see an exit sign, marked by a tiny green running man next to a set of stairs. The knot in my side is agony, but I climb to the next level of the market. I thunder up the steps, skipping every other one, up three levels. I race to another exit sign and force open the door.

               The rooftop overlooks the fish market. I scan my surroundings and suppress a grin—the next building over is the Blowfish. What luck! Su should be there by now.

Then the door bursts open—bad luck. Three officers march onto the rooftop, led by Shin. Her eyes burn with hate as they make contact with mine. Her hat has fallen off and her dark hair is messy around her shoulders. She looks like she’s falling apart.

               “You’re done, Crowe,” she commands. “Where else do you have to run?”

               I shrug. “It’s a big city. I’ve got options.”

        I’m surprised by my own smugness, but it’s the criminal I was at sixteen coming out.

               “You don’t look so good,” Shin says. “Why don’t you come with us and relax at the station? You can rest in a cell and think about what you did to Mr. Kittaka.”

               “I’ve told you,” I pant. “I didn’t kill him.”

               “You’re our prime suspect.”

I turn my head, scanning the street below, then see a school-age girl waving both arms in the air. It’s Su! She’s standing on top of a delivery truck.

“It doesn’t add up,” I tell Shin. “I’m not the killer.”

               “Liar.”

               “Yang sold me out,” I say. “What motive would I have to kill Kittaka?”

Shin laughs. “Mr. Yang called us shortly after you got off the phone with him. He said you had packed a bag and were trying to leave the country.”

 “I’ve had that flight booked for a week.”

“I don’t believe you,” says Shin.

               I take a step back, nearing the edge of the roof. I glance back down at Su. She’s pointing upwards. I follow her with my eyes until I realize she’s pointing at a fire escape ladder above her head. Then she points at a dumpster on the ground. Then the truck. She’s insane. Step one: grab fire escape. Step two: drop into dumpster. Step three: get in the truck? I shake my head, but she is insistent. I stare at the fire escape attached to the next building. It’s two stories to the ground, but it’s my only chance. I turn on my heel.

        Shin draws her weapon. It’s a taser. “Stand down.”

               I’ve only got one shot at this. “No.”

               I sprint for the edge of the roof, taking a running leap. The rusty fire escape is growing nearer, nearer…

For an instant I grab it in one hand. It’s wet and I lose my grip.

I fall, praying the contents of the dumpster is soft enough to break my fall. My chest is in my stomach and the world is upside down as I turn in the air, arms flailing. It’s not going to be a graceful landing. Then my foot hits something solid. I think I twist my ankle. The inside of the dumpster is damp, slimy and smells like rotten fish. I climb out and touch my good foot against the pavement. Gingerly, I set the sprained foot down and wince.

“C’mon,” Su says.

Behind me, I hear Shin’s voice.

“We’ll find you, Crowe!”

Su grabs my arm and places it over her shoulder, helping me to my feet. I limp the rest of the way to the truck.

“Ignore her,” she says.

        The back of the truck is open and I wait as Su climbs inside. She helps me up and I collapse on the floor. Su closes the heavy door, which has a small window so a glimmer of light shines through.

        My head is throbbing as blood pounds in my ears. “What if Shin catches up?”

        “She won’t,” Su says, but she doesn’t sound so sure. “The delivery man said they’re running late.”

The next thing I know, the engine starts up and the floor begins to vibrate.

        I chuckle. “We’re moving. We’re actually moving.”

        “I told you not to worry. We’ll reach our destination in a couple hours.” Before I can ask where we’re going she adds, “We’re going to my place. You’ll be safe there.”

I sigh and nod a tired “thank you.” What choice do I have?

“Sure. Where do you live?”

        “Across the river,” Su explains. “Don’t worry, the truck won’t stop until we’re close.”

        Su leans back against a crate of fish, crosses one leg over the other, and sighs.

“Mr. Crowe, how did you get into this mess?”

I lean against the wall of the truck. “It started a week ago…”