Chapter 154: How to Catch a Badger

However, Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol of North Korea's General Reconnaissance Bureau could not agree with CIA Director Griffin's proposal.

"Director Griffin, the hacker group's base is an impregnable fortress."

"Could you explain why you've come to that conclusion?"

"First of all, Politburo member Liu Peiqi's villa sits right on the edge of a cliff."

"Can't we simply climb up the cliff?"

"The cliff is a perfectly vertical ninety-degree drop, nearly a hundred meters high."

"Modern top-of-the-line climbing equipment can scale a hundred-meter cliff without difficulty."

Director Griffin answered in a completely indifferent tone.

Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol shook his head with a bitter smile and continued,

"Even if someone somehow managed to climb the cliff, getting over the wall would be impossible."

"Why is that?"

"The wall itself is three meters high, with another meter of barbed wire on top. On top of that, surveillance cameras are installed every one or two meters without any gaps."

"Couldn't we use the National Intelligence Service's spy animal? Let it jump over the wall and shut off the main power."

Jo Ilcheol shook his head again in response to Griffin's question.

"Liu Peiqi's villa has a backup generator. The instant the power goes out, it starts automatically, so knocking out the surveillance system won't work."

"Hmm... I see."

"And even if someone somehow got inside the compound, twenty heavily armed elite GRB operatives are stationed there around the clock. To get into the mansion itself, you'd have to fight them head-on."

A heavy silence immediately settled over the spacious living room.

A direct clash with North Korea's GRB operatives would inevitably result in heavy casualties.

FBI Director Glenn Nevers, who had been quietly thinking, was the first to break the silence.

"Director Griffin, what if we destroy the hackers' nest with kamikaze drones?"

"That seems to be the most reasonable option."

I, however, had a completely different opinion. I only needed to clarify a couple of details before voicing it.

"Deputy Director Jo, do you know the layout of Liu Peiqi's villa?"

"It has two underground levels and three above-ground floors. The total floor area is nearly one thousand square meters."

"Quite spacious. Where exactly do the hackers work?"

"In a secret room on the second basement level."

After hearing Jo Ilcheol's answer, I turned toward Director Griffin.

"Can a kamikaze drone reach the second basement level?"

"You'd need bunker-buster bombs to penetrate that deep. But the hackers' living quarters are on the first or second floor, so ordinary drones could wipe them out without any problem."

To verify his statement, I shifted my gaze to Jo Ilcheol. Understanding my silent question, he answered immediately.

"The hackers' dormitory is on the first basement level."

"I see."

I gave a brief nod before continuing with the CIA Director.

"As I understand it, the U.S. government's primary objective is to cut off North Korea's ability to steal cryptocurrency. Is that correct?"

"That's absolutely right, Director Cha."

"Let's assume fortune smiles on us and the drone strike kills every hacker inside Liu Peiqi's villa. What will North Korea do then?"

The General Reconnaissance Bureau alone employed more than twelve thousand hackers.

There were only around ten stationed at Liu Peiqi's villa.

If they were eliminated, North Korea would simply establish another base elsewhere and continue its attacks.

That was exactly the point I was trying to make.

Director Griffin carefully asked whether he had understood my meaning correctly.

"You're absolutely right."

"But we can't just sit around doing nothing when we know exactly where they are."

On that point, I completely agreed with the CIA Director.

"I'm only saying that we must not launch a drone strike against Liu Peiqi's villa."

"And why not?"

"There are two reasons. First, the hackers working there are among the best in the world."

"Naturally."

"If we capture them alive, we can learn exactly how North Korea is breaking into cryptocurrency services."

"That certainly makes sense. And the second reason?"

"If drones attack the villa, North Korea will immediately point the finger at the United States."

"Why would they?"

"Because they already know Deputy Director Jo defected to America."

"Ah..."

Director Griffin nodded heavily, acknowledging my reasoning. As if he had been waiting for exactly this moment, FBI Director Glenn Nevers spoke up.

"Director Cha, is there a way to capture those hackers alive?"

"There is, but we'd have to eliminate far too many variables."

"Let's hear what those variables are."

Instead of answering Nevers directly, I turned to Jo Ilcheol.

"Deputy Director, earlier you mentioned that the villa was chosen partly because it allows a quick escape back to North Korea in case of an emergency. Let's say that emergency happens. Which route would they use?"

"A secret passage leads from the villa's basement directly to the coastline. Three inflatable rubber boats are hidden at the exit."

"Just as I thought. Do you know where the entrance to that tunnel is?"

"I only know that it's somewhere in the basement."

"That's fine. It doesn't matter."

Director Nevers frowned in confusion.

Logically speaking, hearing that we didn't know where the entrance was should have been disappointing. Yet Cha Jiham remained perfectly calm. Nevers couldn't help asking why.

"Our spy cat has an incredible sense of smell. Finding the entrance to an underground tunnel would be child's play for him."

"You intend to involve the cat in the operation against the hacker group?"

"If we want to take them alive, we have no other choice."

"And you really think he can pull it off?" Nevers asked, his face filled with undisguised curiosity.

"If we eliminate every risk perfectly, then yes."

"I see. What's your specialist's name?"

"Saho."

"Saho... I see. But how will Saho find the tunnel entrance?"

"Since the tunnel leads to the sea, there'll inevitably be the smell of salt in the air."

"Ah, now I understand! And how exactly do you plan to capture the hackers?"

I paused briefly, organizing the entire operation in my head before answering the FBI Director.

"Are you familiar with badgers?"

"I've never seen one personally, but I've heard of them."

"Then it'll be easy to explain. Badgers live in underground burrows and dig multiple escape routes in case of danger. To flush one out, people light a fire at the entrance so the smoke fills the tunnels."

I paused for a breath before continuing.

"To escape the smoke, the badger runs out through one of the emergency exits. At that point, all that's left is to throw a net over it. We'll capture the hackers in Liu Peiqi's villa exactly the same way."

"I understand the concept, but how are you planning to set the villa on fire?"

"We'll put a backpack containing small but powerful timed bombs on Saho. Since he doesn't have hands, we'll make it so he can open the backpack with his teeth. We'll also attach straps to each bomb so he can carry them in his mouth."

"That won't be difficult."

"Once everything is ready, Saho will simply jump over the wall under cover of darkness."

"But Deputy Director Jo said there aren't any blind spots along the fence!"

"Saho will clear the wall in an instant, so blind spots won't matter."

Director Nevers genuinely didn't understand.

Jo Ilcheol had clearly stated that the wall, including the barbed wire, was roughly four meters high. Unless Saho was a bird, how could he possibly clear four meters in a single leap? Nevers voiced his doubts.

"Saho's jumping height is about five meters."

"Impressive! Then there won't be any problem. Please continue."

"After entering the villa, Saho will place the bombs at the designated locations. Deputy Director Jo will tell us exactly where they should be planted."

"Consider it done."

"When the explosions go off, the hackers and the GRB operatives will undoubtedly rush toward the secret tunnel. At that moment, our personnel waiting at the tunnel exit will simply shoot them with tranquilizer pistols."

"You're planning to use Korea Investment employees?" Nevers asked in genuine surprise.

"NIS, CIA, and FBI personnel would be severely restricted inside China. Our employees, on the other hand, can move around freely."

"I understand your point, but they're civilians."

"Our company employs plenty of former NIS officers, special forces veterans, and former police officers."

"Besides, Korea Investment employees not only captured Deputy Director Jo and CEO Go Yeongjun, they also cleaned out Liu Peiqi's villa without leaving a trace," NIS Director Om Giyeon chimed in on our behalf.

"In that case, I have no further objections. Director Cha, does that mean all that's left for us is to sit around twiddling our thumbs?"

"Why would it?"

"Then what's our role?" Nevers asked, his eyes lighting up.

"First, starting today, you need to establish constant surveillance over the villa."

"I'll assign our NIS agents operating in Dandong to handle that immediately," Om Giyeon responded.

"Excellent. You'll also need to provide the timed bombs and weapons for Saho and our people."

"The CIA will take care of that," Director Griffin said before anyone else could answer.

I nodded and continued.

"One final issue remains. Saho can't travel on a commercial flight, so we need a way to get him to Dandong. After that, we also have to transport the captured hackers and GRB operatives back to Korea."

"Our country can handle that."

"No, that won't do," Director Griffin interrupted Om Giyeon firmly.

"And why not?"

"We'd have to use a submarine to transport Saho and extract the prisoners. But the Yellow Sea is shallow, and the Chinese Navy could easily detect you."

"The Republic of Korea Navy has carried out hundreds of operations in the Yellow Sea, and we've never been detected!"

"Even monkeys fall out of trees sometimes."

"That depends on the monkey."

I realized Director Om Giyeon and Director Griffin were starting a pointless contest over whose organization was better.

What difference does it make whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice?

I stepped in before the argument escalated.

"Director Griffin, as far as I know, U.S. Navy submarines are considerably larger than South Korean ones."

"And I have no intention of using a full-sized submarine."

"Then..." I deliberately paused, inviting him to continue.

"We have a twenty-man submersible with stealth coating. It's virtually silent and has an operational diving depth of around thirty meters. In the shallow waters of the Yellow Sea, it's far more practical."

I turned to Director Om Giyeon to gauge his reaction.

"Well, it can't be helped. Let's use the stealth submersible."

"Hahaha!" Griffin burst into loud laughter, clearly pleased with winning the argument.

Om Giyeon's face, meanwhile, twisted as though he had just bitten into a lemon. Once Griffin's laughter died down, I brought the discussion to a close.

"All right. Shall we work out the operation plan in detail now?"