Mike's deception had lasted until they reached their destination, a nondescript warehouse in the middle of nowhere, its parking lot surrounded by a dense forest, some of the outside panels broken from weather patterns of the past.
He even managed to make out two other dark green LTD's before the goon sitting next to him readjusted his blindfold, effectively taking his advantage away once again, before brusquely dragging him out of the vehicle.
It took eighteen steps to reach the building, his ears immediately picking up on the echoes of their footfalls caused by the concrete floors. The temperature had dropped significantly compared to the outside and lighting was sparse, that much he could tell even through his blindfold.
Mike felt his heart sink at the distinct odor of formaldehyde lingering in the long hallway, mixed with antiseptic the farther they continued.
After a handful of left and right-turns, another set of footsteps joined the three that were accompanying him, this set lighter than the others.
Their wordless travel continued for two more corridors before her was jerked to a halt, the hand grasping his elbows tightening significantly as a door opened in front of them, the noise of creaking rusty metal filling the thick, damp air around him.
As his blindfold was removed, Mike could hear the panicked whimpering of a woman from one of the back corners of the room ahead, possibly Gifford.
Blinking his eyes several times as he tried to readjust his vision, he glanced around, seeing the three goons from earlier surround him, all of them looking startingly alike, the fourth man distinctly shorter of Asian heritage, nestled between them for cover.
"Fate has a strange way of reuniting us once again, Lieutenant Stone…", the odd man said, his voice eerily familiar, bringing up nothing but undesirable emotions.
When Mike didn't answer right away, he stepped closer, his goons mirroring the gesture.
"What is it, Lieutenant? The scenic drive take your breath away today? I must admit, after your partner's…volatile reaction toward our…reunion, I expected a bit more from you. A curse word, at least? An emotional reaction to the fact that I once again stopped you from interfering with my business?"
"Where is my partner?", Mike growled, using the question to buy himself precious time, as his taxed mind scrambled through the cases of previous years, sorted it by voices and perpetrators who would be out of prison again by now.
And yet, between the overwhelming fear for Steve's whereabouts and the disturbing situation he'd found himself in, he only drew blanks.
"He is fine…for now.", the voice answered in slight amusement, "Corrective action was needed to…subdue his behavior and stop him from hurting himself…or others. After all, we don't want him to damage…our sales goods."
Sales goods. Sales of body parts. Sales of limbs. Sales of organs.
It was then when Mike's frenzied mind finally made the ominous connection, the missing link that suddenly put everything into perspective, making perfect sense. And it had been right in front of them all along.
The implications of their prior experience with the dangerous and ruthless man caused his stomach to churn, fearing for a safe outcome of the current situation- if that was even possible by now.
With a weary sigh, he leaned forward, enough to get a better look at the Korean man through the dim light illuminating the large storage room.
"I guess I am disappointed.", Mike finally said with a halfhearted shrug, "Here, we thought you'd tucked your tail between your legs and fled the country, Doctor Taeyong Hyun-Soo."