Chapter 118: Would They Really Do Exactly What He Expected?

After finishing my conversation with Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol of the Reconnaissance General Bureau and Director Jeong Sanhak, I headed down to the basement. The suffocating stench of blood hung heavily in the air. There was no doubt that Chief Secretary Kang Inhan had resorted to his fists to loosen Executive Qin Hao's tongue.

As soon as he noticed us, Kang Inhan pointed at the sprawled-out Qin Hao and spoke with a guilty expression.

"That bastard decided to exercise his right to remain silent."

"I hope... Executive Qin is still alive?"

"He only passed out after taking a couple of punches."

Naturally, Secretary Kang was lying through his teeth. A "couple of punches" would never have turned Qin Hao into a bloody mess. Still, someone needed to knock the arrogance out of the executive, so I pretended not to notice.

"Fine, let's leave it at that. We need to question him. Wake him up."

Upon receiving the order, Security Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok walked over to the unconscious Qin Hao. Then, as though he were taking a penalty kick, he drove his foot into the man's stomach with all his strength.

Thud!

"Ghh... Aaaagh!"

Qin Hao let out a bloodcurdling scream as he writhed across the floor like a worm that had been crushed underfoot. Jeong Gwangseok grabbed him roughly by the right shoulder, dragged him over to us, and threw him down onto his knees.

I addressed the prisoner in English.

"Executive Qin, I apologize for the rather harsh treatment my men have given you."

"..."

"I've been told you chose to remain silent during questioning. If you think that's going to keep you alive, you're gravely mistaken."

"...What do you mean by that?"

"Director Jeong Sanhak has already told me that Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui secretly established a narcotics distribution network. What do you think will happen to you once Supreme Leader Gui Tao learns about it?"

"...Our Supreme Leader deals in drugs himself. He won't make a big issue out of it," Qin Hao forced out.

I slowly shook my index finger from side to side.

"Supreme Leader Gui Tao distributes drugs for the prosperity of the entire Triad. Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui, on the other hand, is doing it for one reason alone—to seize power and replace him. So the idea that the Supreme Leader would simply overlook it is utterly ridiculous."

"..."

My words had struck home. Qin Hao fell silent, unable to come up with a rebuttal.

It was time to deliver the decisive blow.

"In Director Jeong's basement, we found dozens of assault rifles and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition. You're not about to claim you knew nothing about that, are you?"

"..."

"Director Jeong has already confessed. Those weapons were meant to support Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui when he launched his rebellion. What do you suppose will happen if Supreme Leader Gui Tao hears about that?"

Qin Hao squeezed his eyes shut. The mere thought of it was enough to terrify him.

The beating was over.

Now it was time to offer salvation.

"Keeping your mouth shut is a losing strategy. If you want to live, you'll need to change tactics."

"...Then what should I do?" Qin Hao finally surrendered, barely whispering the words in a trembling voice.

Pleased to see that he'd finally tucked his tail between his legs, I continued.

"If I were you, I'd flee abroad. Of course, that's only if you answer every one of our questions honestly and without holding anything back."

"The Triad has its reach all over the world. Running overseas is pointless. They'll find me anywhere."

"Executive Qin, you already know the Triad's Korean branch has been completely wiped out, don't you?"

"Y-You mean... you're going to smuggle me into South Korea? Is that true?"

"Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol and his men are planning to defect to our country aboard a submarine. We'll make room for you as well."

"Ask whatever you want to know."

Instead of answering, I simply turned toward Kang Inhan.

The secretary immediately understood what I wanted. Pulling out his phone, he began recording Qin Hao on video.

"We're recording this interrogation for one reason only—to verify the truthfulness of your testimony. If we discover even a single lie, forget about your ticket to South Korea."

"I'll tell the truth! Ask your questions!"

"First, give us the combination to the large safe on the third floor of Director Jeong's headquarters."

"2784#3847#555."

"Good. Next. We have information that Golden Trading Company is importing five forty-foot containers of weapons from North Korea. Give us the cargo ship's name, the shipping company, and the destination."

"The ship is called Golden Navigator. It belongs to Eastern Marine Shipping Company, based in Hong Kong. The weapons are being shipped to the Philippines."

Desperate to survive, Qin Hao answered every one of my questions without resistance, as well as those asked by NIS Director Om Giyeon.

After the interrogation ended, we returned upstairs to the reception room and immediately began verifying his testimony.

"Secretary Kang, check the safe's combination."

"Right away."

Kang Inhan called Debt Recovery Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol and relayed my instructions. Keeping the phone to his ear, he waited.

A short while later, the call resumed.

Judging by the smile spreading across his face, they'd successfully opened the safe.

After exchanging a few more words with Lee Hyeonsol, he ended the call.

"Chief, they found an enormous quantity of methamphetamine inside the safe, ten gold bars weighing ten kilograms each, and a large amount of cash in U.S. dollars and Chinese yuan. They haven't finished counting the money yet."

"Haha. I see. Call Team Leader Lee back and tell him to set those ten gold bars aside."

Kang Inhan genuinely couldn't understand Cha Jiham's reasoning.

Director Jeong Sanhak's headquarters was now entirely under their control.

That meant everything inside rightfully belonged to them.

Yet Jiham wanted to take only the ten gold bars.

The secretary had just opened his mouth to ask why when Director Om Giyeon spoke first.

"Chief Cha, I assume there's a good reason you want those ten bars separated?"

"Those bars are our travel expenses."

"But the safe is full of cash, including dollars and yuan."

"That money already has another owner."

"...Don't tell me you're leaving it behind as travel expenses for the CIA and the FBI?"

"I've prepared different travel expenses for them."

"I'll admit, Chief Cha, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"You'll understand soon enough. Just be patient. Secretary Kang, what are you waiting for?"

"Ah, right!"

Snapping back to his senses, Kang Inhan hurriedly called Lee Hyeonsol again.

Watching him, I turned toward Om Giyeon.

"Can our country intercept the Golden Navigator?"

"If it were sailing through our territorial waters, we could seize it without any trouble. But if it's on the high seas, there would be numerous complications."

"What kind of complications?"

"The biggest issue is that the Golden Navigator is a Chinese-flagged cargo vessel."

"But it's carrying North Korean weapons."

"China and Russia have always taken a rather indifferent attitude toward the UN sanctions against North Korea."

"I see. What if the United States intercepted the Golden Navigator instead?"

"They certainly could, but..."

I understood perfectly why Director Om hesitated.

"I'm planning to give the Golden Navigator to the CIA and the FBI as payment for their travel expenses."

Om Giyeon simply shook his head in bewilderment.

They had learned that North Korea sold weapons to Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui from Jo Ilcheol and Jeong Sanhak.

They had obtained the details about the ship from Qin Hao.

Meanwhile, the CIA and FBI still had no idea that Jo Ilcheol and his men had already been captured by the Koreans.

The NIS director asked Cha Jiham directly.

"How exactly do you intend to untangle all of this?"

"I already have a complete plan."

"Then tell me."

"Last night, NIS agents..."

As Om Giyeon listened to Cha Jiham's explanation, goosebumps spread across his skin.

If everything went according to plan, every obstacle would be resolved perfectly.

Still astonished by the depth of Jiham's calculations and sheer cunning, he listened until the explanation ended.

"...And if we do that, Directors Griffin and Nevers will immediately lose every last bit of their suspicion."

"I understand now."

"I value mutual benefit above everything else."

In other words, it was a clear hint that the American government would be expected to pay handsomely for the information.

"You don't need to worry about that at all," Om Giyeon replied with more confidence than ever before.

***

"Hmm. I see. Keep watching."

Click.

The moment FBI Director Glenn Nevers hung up, CIA Director Eddie Griffin immediately spoke.

"Director Nevers, what's the situation?"

"I just received a report that Chief Cha has left the NIS safe house."

Griffin immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Cha Jiham had arrived there at eight that morning.

At first, they'd assumed he was simply having breakfast with Om Giyeon and hadn't thought much of it.

But he had remained inside the safe house for five full hours before finally leaving.

That [N O V E L I G H T] was impossible to ignore.

"Director Nevers, what do you think Chief Cha was doing there all this time?"

"According to the report, he looked extremely grim when he left. Something serious definitely happened."

"What do you think it was?"

"My guess is that the Korean intelligence service attempted to capture Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol, but the operation went wrong."

"Do you think Jo Ilcheol managed to request help from the Chinese government?"

"We can't rule that out."

"If that's true, shouldn't we get out of Macau immediately?"

Nevers wanted nothing more than to leave Macau that very instant.

However, they had promised to meet Om Giyeon and Cha Jiham that afternoon at Director Jeong Sanhak's headquarters.

As the FBI director desperately considered his options, an excellent idea suddenly came to him.

Quickly organizing it into a plan, he dialed Cha Jiham's number.

After several rings, the young man's surprised voice answered.

"[Director Nevers, I'm listening.]"

"Chief Cha, what time should we arrive at Director Jeong's headquarters?"

"[How about half an hour from now?]"

"Does that mean the safe expert from South Korea has already arrived?"

"[Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances prevented him from even boarding the flight.]"

"Then how are you planning to open the safe?"

"[We already have the combination.]"

For a moment, Nevers wondered if he'd heard correctly.

Cha Jiham's answer strongly implied that Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol and his men—the ones who had escaped the previous night—had already been captured.

Carefully hiding his agitation, the FBI director cautiously tested his theory.

"[Unfortunately, we failed to capture Deputy Director Jo's group,]" Jiham replied.

"Then where did you get the safe combination?"

"[That's not really something I'd like to discuss over the phone.]"

"Very well. We'll see you shortly."

"[Wait a moment.]"

Cha Jiham stopped Nevers just as he was about to hang up.

"Chief Cha, is there something else?"

"[Yes. Immediately activate every intelligence asset the United States has and begin monitoring the East Sea.]"

"I hope you have a very good reason for asking that."

"[Of course. I'll explain everything when we meet. See you soon.]"

Click.

The instant Nevers ended the call, Griffin bombarded him with questions.

"What did Chief Cha say?"

"He wants us to immediately mobilize all American intelligence resources and begin monitoring the East Sea."

"The East Sea? Why?"

"Judging by his tone, something serious has happened there."

"Should we trust him?"

"That kid doesn't waste words."

After hearing Nevers' firm reply, CIA Director Eddie Griffin hurriedly dialed another number.

***

At that very moment...

I was riding in the car with Director Om Giyeon as we headed toward Jeong Sanhak's headquarters while chatting leisurely.

"Chief Cha, do you really think the American government will do exactly what you've anticipated?" Om Giyeon asked, a trace of doubt slipping into his voice.

"It would be great if they took the bait. But even if they don't, it won't matter."

"Why not?"

"Think about it. How far could the Golden Navigator possibly get in just thirty minutes?"

"Hmm... That's true."

Just then, Security Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok, who was driving, reported,

"Chief, we've got a tail."

"That's probably the FBI. Ignore them," I replied indifferently.