Empire of the Ring

To people of the Netherlands, New York was a bitter city.

New York was originally named New Amsterdam. Dutch people had great business skills that they even bought Manhattan Island at the price of twenty-four dollars from an Indian chief. However, the city was taken away by England and was renamed as New York. It was natural that the Netherlands would feel bitter about the city.

Including Metro New York, it had become a city with more than 20,000,000 living in, but in the mid-seventeenth century, there were only about a thousand people. Interestingly, the population of a thousand people communicated in eighteen different languages. The people of different races, ethnicities, and religions had one thing in common. It was the lucrative land.

“So, New Yorkers are wild.”

Jongil, who tended to understand everything through his own standards, made a strange conclusion.

“Where’d you get that idea?”

“It’s what everyone knows about. Since I’m going to be busy today, let’s separate from here.”

Jongil was shut up after Youngho smacked him on his back.

“We’re getting laptops, broadcasting equipment, security cameras, and searchlights. What else is on the list?”

“Okay, okay!”

There were a lot of items to be purchased.

Since prices were cheaper than many European cities, Youngho planned to buy various items in bulk. The laptops would be provided to Arirang Farm’s school and each immigrant family and the broadcasting equipment and security systems were to be installed at the farm as well.

“We should make the sellers pack all of them nicely since they’re going to be shipped through air transport.”

Because the weight limitation of a ship going through the Volga-Don Canal and Volga-Baltic Waterway was 5,000-ton, Youngho had to send all of the things through air transport. Also, because the Volga-Baltic Waterway was frozen, The Arirang could not travel through it.

“Don’t worry about that. Let’s meet back in the afternoon tomorrow.”

Since he was in America, Youngho wanted to meet Edward who was now staying in Albany, New York. Having to spend the day alone, Jongil was excited.

Youngho worried about what kind of mischief Jongil would put himself into but it seemed that the worst thing he could do was to watch New York women’s behinds.

Edward, who was badly injured in Colombia, was now recovering in Albany where his family was. When he was fully recovered, he would be working at the CIA’s headquarters office. Since he was a regular agent who had been through an elite training course, he was more suitable as an office agent rather than rough a field agent. When he goes to the headquarters, he would probably take a leadership position of a department since he gained experience from being a field agent.

As he received Youngho, Edward teared up.

He would have become a handful of earth by now if it was not for Youngho who came to save him right before his death. A surge of emotion welled up inside him. He was only breathing because of Youngho’s meddlesomeness which ignored the business territory of his own department.

“Lee. I’m alive all because of you. I haven’t been able to say thank you.”

“Please, it’s between you and me. When a comrade is in danger, it’s a right thing to do to help him.”

“Come to think of it, I picked the right person.”

Edward’s words were what Youngho wanted to say. It was because of him that Youngho was able to have a stepping stone for his own businesses and successes now.

“Are you alright? Do you have any difficulties or inconvenience? If you’re in need of financial help…”

“I bought a farm in a rural area with the money you gave me at the time. I can take care of myself even after my retirement.”

He was talking about the one million dollars that Youngho sent him from Colombia. It could buy an apartment room in Gangnam in Seoul, Korea but it could do a lot in rural towns in the states.

“I heard about your achievements these days. You might get promoted from the European chapter soon.”

As saying that, Edward was proud as if he was talking about his own achievements. It was because the agent he recruited was achieving more than any other experienced agents. Youngho’s team in the Caucasus region was a matchless group. There was no other agent like Youngho who had established their position well in the mainstream society of a country.

“Well, I only wish to stay in the field. It’s not like I took the elite course like you.”

It was true that Youngho did not want to leave the field taking care of his businesses and people.

“I wanted to make time to come previously and finally I could make it. I’m glad to see you recovering well.”

“Thank you. I should get better fast since you’re worried about me. When I go to the headquarters, I’ll have access to exclusive information. If you need anything, I’ll help you as much as possible. This is what I can do for you for saving my life.”

One of the reasons for Youngho’s visit today was the information. Since Youngho also treated information, sometimes he had an extreme thirst for information since it was difficult to find out about some key clues although he had many things leading up to conclusions. However, because Youngho was only a field agent without any connections to the headquarters, there was no way for him to get help. Only a few keywords were needed to read the flow but he did have someone who would do that for him but, thankfully, Edward was willing to be that person for Youngho.

***

“How much is the laptop?”

“It’s seven hundred dollars each. Why do you keep asking?”

“Are you sure it’s not missing any important parts?”

“You think I’m a fool? I checked its performance. I played the most popular game now and it worked fine!”

It was Jongil’s way to check a laptop’s performance but it was fair enough.

“Why is everything so cheap here?”

It was natural since the United States did not charge special consumption tax and special purpose tax. Although the Kazakhstan government would charge some tariff, they usually did not charge a lot for the products that were not produced in the country.

Youngho was glad that he could buy the items that he needed immediately at cheap prices. Once the ice started to melt, he would be importing a lot of cutting-edge products and making the town of Arirang Farm the best IT city. His tremendous amount of gold bars would make that possible.

“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Lee Youngho.”

Youngho greeted a man who was gulping down a kind of vodka. Still sitting down, the man only swung his hand as if he did not care.

“Are you Choi Sunkil by any chance?”

Youngho now spoke in Korean. The man who did not even look at Youngho was stunned to hear sudden Korean from his mouth. He did not think that there would be a Korean who knew his name in Amsterdam.

“How do you know about me?”

“Captain Gilbert told me about you.”

Choi Sunkil, who was nervous, soon felt relieved to hear the captain’s name, and his shoulders relaxed like a deflated balloon.

“How do you know that guy?”

“I’m the new shipowner of the cargo ship. Let me introduce myself again. I’m a major shareholder of Arirang Shipping, Lee Youngho.”

Arirang Shipping was the name for Zeynep Corporation’s shipping industry company title that he came up with when he bought the new huge freighter. To look more professional, Youngho intentionally used the word, major shareholder.

“A major shareholder?”

“I haven’t found a professional executive yet and the position is vacant at the moment.”

“…”

“Captain Gilbert told a lot about you. He said you’re a master of ships. If you haven’t chosen a different company yet, I’d like to recruit you.”

Youngho’s way was a classic way to recruit people but it was an effective method.

Leaning on the railing of his large ship, Youngho was feeding seagulls some bread crumbs. It was then when Choi Sunkil approached him.

“Mr. Lee. I’ve looked up Batumi in the Black Sea coast and it looks like a famous vacationland. I bet the port fee would be expensive there. It’d be more economical if you moor the ship in an outer port and deliver cargo on small boats to the wharf.”

“Mr. Choi, I’ll leave the decision to you. I’m just a major shareholder and you’re the one in charge of Arirang Shipping.”

“It’s been several days but I still feel like I’m dreaming.”

From a successful shipowner, he had to step down almost empty-handed and then suddenly, he was hired as a professional executive and returned to his ship. He was naturally still dazed by all things happening to him. Youngho appeared when he was mentally devastated to the point of death, so in a sense, Youngho saved him.

His family members were also split due to the bond that he could not pay back, but because of Youngho’s payment, everyone was on their way to Batumi, Georgia to be reunited.

Youngho thought that a person who experienced failures was whom he needed dearly since he never experienced failure up until now. Choi Sunkil would be a great person whom Youngho could learn through his past unfortunate experience.

Zeynep 1 had traveled a seaway. It was only after passing through the Gibraltar Strait, where the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean meet, and through the Aegean Sea, the Marla Sea, and the Bosporus Strait, the freighter had finally arrived in the Black Sea.

The course was not boring but there were too many ships along the route that Youngho thought a sea traffic police was needed. It was allegedly captains’ least favorite route since many collision accidents occurred between ships. One good thing about the route was that shippers would pay more delivery fees when ships passed this route.

Choi Sunkil’s plan was to mobilize smaller ships along the Black Sea and the Mediterranean coast and the bigger ships around the Atlantic. He expressed his will to concentrate tramp lining business in preparation for the time when the grain would be produced from Arirang Farm, since once there was a regular delivery scheduled, it would be hard for him to arrange ships for irregular cargo shipping requests. Although there were only a few ships, he had found new hope in them.

***

“Mr. Eriksson, the Azerbaijani government is complaining that the mercenary company you introduced fell short of their expectations. Do you know any other?”

“It’s because the Azerbaijani government doesn’t have many experiences with mercenary companies. What kind of companies would attack a country as if they’re going to war? They usually move in secret and attack at once in the right time.”

The government had requested the destruction of Armenian military facilities in disguise to a mercenary company, but the government was not satisfied with the company’s methods but Eriksson’s words were convincing enough.

“I’ll tell them to stop pressing.”

“That’s the best mercenary company I know of. You don’t need to be concerned. If the government hurts the company’s pride, it might side with Armenia and accept requests from it.”

It was unfortunate but because the government had hired mercenary warriors, the sacrifices of innocent lives had become inevitable. Since the military weapons were disguised as civilian properties, there would be shootouts and explosions in the sites of those properties. Youngho wished that there would not be unnecessary sacrifices but it was an unavoidable choice for him since all of his people could live in peace if Armenia’s weapons were destroyed.

If the mercenaries failed, Youngho was willing to do their job himself. It was not because he loved Azerbaijan or he disliked Armenia but because he lived in Baku and all of his living was in Baku. Moreover, the Serbian descendants, who were only reunited with the Archduchess after long waiting, would be sacrificed if he did not act. He would do anything to save them.