Chapter 150: A Prerequisite

"Director Om, my sincere congratulations."

After listening to NIS Director Om Giyeon to the very end, CIA Director Griffin spoke with unmistakable envy on his face.

"We've only managed to stop one of them so far, so it's still too early for congratulations."

"But everything is ready to capture the rest, isn't it?"

"Haha. That's true."

"When do you plan to arrest the others?"

"We ran into a small complication, so it'll take another three or four days to clean them all up."

"A small complication?"

"Choi Dongcheol agreed to hand over the list of spies on one condition..."

Director Om Giyeon explained in detail the agreement they had reached with Choi Dongcheol.

"We plan to arrest their leader, Lee Jonghyeok, first, then work our way down the chain and round up the rest."

"You intend to pin the entire exposure of the spy network on Lee Jonghyeok?"

"It's the cleanest way to protect Choi Dongcheol."

"What if he denies everything and claims he never said a word?"

"We'll deal with that problem when it comes."

"I see. Still, why was Choi Dongcheol financing those spies in the first place?"

"The North is desperately short of money these days. They simply don't have the funds to support their undercover operations."

"Hmm... That actually makes sense."

At that moment, FBI Director Nevers, who apparently had a question, joined the conversation.

"Director Om, were you able to obtain Lee Jonghyeok's personnel file?"

"Yes, but..."

Director Nevers immediately understood why Om Giyeon had hesitated.

"We've actually been tracking a spy named Ri Jonghyeok for several years. It suddenly occurred to me that they might be the same person."

"No, that can't be."

"Stranger things have happened."

"Hmm... I see. I'm curious. Who exactly is this Ri Jonghyeok that America has been chasing?"

"Twelve years ago, he was working as a secretary at the North Korean embassy in Cuba when he defected to the United States. He lived under our protection until one winter, six years ago, when he suddenly vanished."

"Did you ever find out why he disappeared?"

"We became suspicious of his behavior and conducted a covert investigation. It turned out his defection to the United States had merely been a cover and that he was actually a career spy. We immediately began searching for him, only to discover he'd already returned to North Korea."

A chill ran down Director Om Giyeon's spine.

Because Lee Jonghyeok had defected to South Korea five years ago—in the summer.

Realizing they couldn't afford to overlook such an important detail, he quickly gave Nevers the current information they had on Lee Jonghyeok.

"He currently owns an auto parts factory in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province."

"Could it be that this Ri Jonghyeok returned to North Korea, obtained new documents, and then defected again?"

Instead of answering, Director Om motioned for an NIS agent to bring Lee Jonghyeok's file.

The agent hurried into the office and returned with a thick binder.

Taking it, Om Giyeon opened it, compared the attached photograph, and handed it to Nevers.

"This is him."

Director Nevers carefully examined the picture before photographing it with his phone.

After sending it to someone, he made a brief phone call and issued a short instruction.

When he hung up, he turned back to the NIS Director.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

"It was nothing. Shall we move on to breakfast?"

***

"Director Om, don't you think you've gone a little overboard with the food?" Griffin asked while looking over the table covered with dishes.

"We have such distinguished guests visiting us. We couldn't possibly be poor hosts."

"Well, thanks to you, at least we'll leave here with full stomachs."

"Haha. Everything's getting cold. Please, help yourselves."

As everyone ate and chatted leisurely, Director Griffin casually asked,

"Will we be able to speak with Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol?"

"If you agree to two conditions, I'll arrange the meeting."

"And what are they?"

"We need to know exactly what you'll be discussing with him."

"That's only natural."

"Excellent. And second, you'll have to pay for whatever information you obtain from Jo Ilcheol."

"We never expected to get it for free."

There was a distinct trace of sarcasm in Griffin's voice, as though his pride had been wounded.

Director Om Giyeon had no intention of yielding. He needed to seize the initiative immediately.

"If that's the case, then why did you pay us so little for the information we provided before?"

"When was that?"

"We handed over intelligence proving that Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui and Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan were smuggling North Korean weapons and narcotics. In return, you simply gave us the address of Politburo member Liu Peiqi's villa and considered the debt settled."

"Come on! Director Cha was the one who asked for that!"

"Even if he did, you could have shown a little generosity and offered something extra."

"..."

Griffin had no rebuttal and fell silent.

But Director Om had a clear objective and had no intention of easing the pressure.

"Over the past couple of months, the United States government has received tremendous assistance from our country. Have we ever sent you a bill? Have we ever bragged about it? Yet your government repaid us by stabbing us in the back."

"And how exactly have we stabbed you in the back?"

"Our country won the bid and became the preferred contractor for building a nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic. Yet your American company, Westinghouse, is doing everything it can to sabotage the contract."

"Westinghouse is a private company. Besides, its largest shareholder is the Canadian company Cameco."

Director Om Giyeon had been waiting for precisely that argument.

"Then explain to me why Westinghouse CEO Dan Lipman regularly receives audiences with President Douglas. If you can answer that, I'll withdraw everything I just said."

"Ahem."

Griffin merely cleared his throat, fully aware he'd been cornered.

"Does Westinghouse even have the capacity to build a nuclear power plant? They don't have a thing! So who do you think is really backing their attempts to sabotage us?"

"..."

"I believe President Douglas himself is standing behind them. Am I wrong?"

"...I can't say you're wrong."

"Part of your administration's responsibility is protecting President Douglas from making foolish decisions. I hope you'll think carefully about what I've said."

Griffin looked completely trapped.

They absolutely had to secure a meeting with Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol.

And to do that, they would have to rein in Westinghouse and stop it from interfering with the Korean government.

The problem was that President Douglas himself was standing firmly behind the company.

"...Sigh."

I knew exactly why Griffin had sighed.

Wanting to help him, I spoke up.

"Director Griffin, in your opinion, who does President Douglas fear the most?"

Griffin instantly caught the implication.

The idea was to bring Chairman Bongard and Chairman Gomez into the picture and use them to pressure Douglas.

"Director Cha, thank you for the suggestion."

If Chairman Bongard were asked to deal with Westinghouse's arrogance, he'd throw himself into it immediately.

The only reason I'd handed Griffin that option instead of using it myself was because I didn't want to do someone a favor without receiving something in return.

Naturally, he had no idea that was my real intention.

"Can I count on you, Director Griffin?"

"Absolutely."

Ignoring Griffin's confident answer, I turned toward Director Nevers.

"Has the FBI already picked up Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui's trail?"

"He fled to Mindanao in the Philippines and joined the Abu Sayyaf insurgents."

Just as I'd expected.

My suspicions had been completely correct.

"I see. How long does Vice Chairman Chen intend to hide there?"

"He'll stay there until he eliminates Vice Chairman Wei Chen. He has nowhere else to go."

"I spoke with Wei Chen yesterday. He asked what we should do about Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan."

"We've had disagreements with President Douglas regarding whether Zhang Jinan should be eliminated."

From the American government's perspective, eliminating Zhang Jinan would benefit them no matter what.

After all, he'd been directly involved in the illegal trafficking of North Korean weapons and narcotics.

I asked Nevers what he thought.

"Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan is one of President Xi Jinping's favorites. President Douglas wants him removed immediately to humiliate Xi Jinping. Griffin and I believe we should wait until the decisive moment. What do you think, Director Cha?"

At that moment, an excellent idea flashed through my mind.

After quickly organizing it into a clear plan, I continued.

"Before I answer, let me ask you one thing. If we expose Zhang Jinan right now, how much damage would it actually do?"

"Considering Xi Jinping's protection, he'd probably get nothing more than an official reprimand or house arrest."

"But he helped Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui transport North Korean weapons and narcotics."

"He'll simply wash his hands of everything and claim he knew nothing."

"In that case, it's better to wait for the decisive moment."

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong interrupted with a question.

"Director Cha, when exactly will that decisive moment arrive?"

"Most likely within the next month or two."

"Are you serious?"

Nevers answered before the Commissioner could speak again.

"I think so too."

"May I ask why?"

"Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui fled to the Philippines only because he failed to deliver North Korean weapons to Abu Sayyaf."

"That makes sense."

"And he's almost certainly promised Abu Sayyaf's leader that he'll make up the shortage with another shipment of weapons."

"So not financial compensation—but actual weapons?"

I shook my head.

"The leader of Abu Sayyaf doesn't need money. He needs weapons. Besides, Chen Zhihui will have to remain there for quite a while."

"Ah... Now I understand where you're going."

"He'll ask Zhang Jinan to transport another shipment through his Eastern Shipping Company."

"Exactly."

"I've given you a fairly accurate timeline. How you use that decisive moment is up to the United States government."

"This time we'll play for much higher stakes and humiliate Xi Jinping in front of the entire world."

Nevers clenched his fists confidently.

After finishing breakfast in high spirits, we returned to the living room to continue our discussion.

"Director Om, where is Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol now?"

"He's resting at one of our safe houses."

"So we'll have to go there if we want to meet him?"

"Director Griffin, you know perfectly well there's one prerequisite for that meeting."

In other words, until they forced Westinghouse to stop interfering, they would not be seeing Jo Ilcheol.

"I'll do everything in my power to make sure Westinghouse stops getting in your way."

Bzzz—

At that moment, Director Nevers' phone vibrated on the table.

After checking the screen, he excused himself, stepped aside, and answered.

"Agent William. What do you have?"

["Director, Lee Jonghyeok and Ri Jonghyeok are the same person."]

"I thought as much. Excellent work."

Click.

After ending the call, Director Nevers lowered his voice as he addressed Director Om Giyeon.

"When you arrest Lee Jonghyeok, will we be allowed to participate in the interrogation?"

"Not a problem—but on one condition."

"Westinghouse again?"

"You understood perfectly. And the clock is ticking."

The implication behind Director Om's words was unmistakable.

Call Chairman Bongard.

Right now.

Grinding his teeth, Director Nevers pulled out his phone and dialed Chairman Bongard's number.