Chapter 157: Son of Bitch!

“...Hmm...”

Consciousness slowly returned to Lee Jonghyeok, and he suddenly snapped awake.

The first thought that flashed through his mind was that he had lost consciousness immediately after drinking the beverage handed to him by a police officer.

Panicked, he tried to move, but he couldn't budge an inch, as though he had been securely tied down.

Sharpening every one of his senses, Lee Jonghyeok calmly began assessing his surroundings.

His hands and feet were tightly bound with rope, and a blindfold had been pulled over his eyes—the rough, coarse fabric scratched against his skin.

The only comforting thing was the soft surface beneath his back. It seemed he was lying on a cot.

Could it be... that I've been kidnapped by gangsters disguised as police officers?

He immediately dismissed the thought.

To conceal his identity as a spy, he had lived an extremely inconspicuous life.

He had never done—and simply could never have done—anything that would earn him someone's vengeance.

Besides, his auto parts factory had been losing money for years, so kidnapping him for ransom made even less sense.

Hmm, then...

Clang!

As he ran through the possibilities, the sound of a heavy iron door being opened echoed through the room.

Someone switched on the lights, and a thin beam shone through the gaps in his blindfold.

Footsteps approached. More than one person had entered.

As he tried to guess who they were, a voice rang out.

“Take off his blindfold.”

The moment it was ripped away, the bright light stabbed into his eyes, forcing Lee Jonghyeok to squeeze them shut.

A few seconds later, he slowly opened them and looked around.

The next instant, he nearly lost consciousness from sheer shock.

Standing directly in front of him was NIS Director Om Giyeon, glaring at him with a ferocious expression.

If he let it show that he recognized him, his true identity would be exposed in an instant.

Taking a deep breath so subtly that no one noticed, he asked,

“W-Who are you?”

Director Om Giyeon immediately realized that Cha Jiham's plan had worked perfectly.

It was hardly surprising. Lee Jonghyeok's voice had contained the faintest tremor.

“Why ask something you already know perfectly well?”

“I don't know who you are.”

“Very well. I'll play along with your game for now. I'm Om Giyeon, Director of the National Intelligence Service. If you're that confident, keep pretending to be an idiot.”

“......”

“Agent Choi, we need to interrogate this man. Put him in the chair.”

“Yes, sir!”

After responding crisply, the NIS agents lifted Lee Jonghyeok, seated him in a chair, and untied the ropes binding his hands.

Director Om Giyeon sat down across from him, with only a desk separating them.

Fixing him with a stern gaze, he spoke in an icy voice.

“We know you're an undercover fake defector.”

Lee Jonghyeok decided that was impossible.

After all, once he had fled from the United States back to North Korea, he had completely changed his identity and thoroughly laundered all of his documents.

Moreover, from the moment he escaped from the North until today, he had done everything possible to live as an ordinary civilian, carefully concealing his past.

Given all that, Director Om Giyeon had to be bluffing, trying to intimidate him.

“I'm not an undercover fake defector.”

“Oh? Then I suppose you've never heard of Chief Inspector Michael Hayden, the head of the CIA's Inspection Division?”

“It's the first time I've heard that name.”

Director Om Giyeon silently noted that Lee Jonghyeok was a tough nut to crack.

He had expected that merely mentioning Hayden's name would throw the man into a panic.

Instead, he answered without the slightest hesitation that he had no idea who Hayden was.

But now that he had drawn his sword, there was no turning back.

“So you're saying you don't remember the benefactor who helped you defect to the United States when you were serving as a secretary at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba?”

“I defected from North Korea while working as a mine supervisor in Onseong County, North Hamgyong Province.”

“So you've never been a diplomat?”

“That's right.”

“Hah. Then what are we supposed to do? The FBI provided us with information stating that you staged a fake defection to the United States from the North Korean Embassy in Cuba. Then, after your fake defection was exposed, you fled back to North Korea, laundered your identity, and later defected to South Korea again disguised as an ordinary defector.”

“......”

In reality, the information identifying Lee Jonghyeok as a fake defector had come from Choi Cheolgyeo.

Even so, Director Om Giyeon calmly lied without batting an eye in order to protect his source.

Naturally, Lee Jonghyeok had no idea.

“I'll say it again. I have no idea where this place called Cuba even is.”

“In that case, it can't be helped. Agent Choi, bring in our guests.”

Lee Jonghyeok was almost struck speechless.

Following the NIS agent into the interrogation room were none other than the Directors of the CIA and the FBI.

Why the hell were two of the busiest men in the world standing in this room?

Without realizing it, he had just spun a ridiculous lie in front of them, claiming he had never been a diplomat.

Motherfucker... I'm screwed.

While he cursed inwardly, Director Eddie Griffin and Director Glenn Nevers took the empty seats.

Director Om Giyeon addressed Griffin in English.

“Lee Jonghyeok claims he doesn't even know where Cuba is.”

With a faint smile, Griffin pulled a thick folder filled with transparent document sleeves from his briefcase and placed it directly in front of Lee Jonghyeok.

Then he stared him in the eye and spoke in English.

“Lee Jonghyeok. This file contains absolutely everything about you, from your service at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba to your life after your staged defection to the United States. Are you still going to lie?”

“......”

Unable to come up with an answer, Lee Jonghyeok bit his tongue.

But Director Om Giyeon had no intention of letting him off.

“Lee Jonghyeok, you do realize that in this situation, silence is considered an admission, don't you?”

“......”

Bang!

Director Om Giyeon slammed his fist onto the desk with all his strength and barked in an icy voice,

“Answer me!”

“...I know.”

“From now on, will you answer our questions honestly?”

“......”

Lee Jonghyeok fell silent once again, making it clear that he had no intention of cooperating.

Director Om Giyeon hadn't expected him to become compliant so quickly anyway.

It was time to play the trump card he had prepared specifically for this situation.

“We intend to eliminate you.”

“Wh... what do you mean?”

“Only if you die will your family in North Korea remain alive.”

“Ah...”

Only then did Lee Jonghyeok understand, and he slowly nodded.

“But if you answer our questions honestly, we can make it appear as though you're really dead.”

“How?”

Apparently, he didn't actually want to die after all. His eyes widened slightly.

Director Om Giyeon breathed a sigh of relief inwardly before continuing.

“We'll announce through the media that you violently resisted arrest and that we were forced to shoot you on the spot. To convince Pyongyang, we'll generate photographs of your 'corpse' and leak them to the press.”

“But my government might demand that my body be returned.”

“You're not seriously saying that because you actually want to go back to North Korea, are you?”

“No. I was just giving an example.”

“You think far too highly of yourself. First, they'd never make such a demand. Second, even if they did, we could simply reject it. It's time to make your decision.”

“Uh...”

Lee Jonghyeok hesitated and thoughtfully stroked his chin.

Director Om Giyeon waited calmly, already knowing which choice he would make.

After a while, Lee Jonghyeok finally spoke.

“Director Om, if Pyongyang ever finds out I'm still alive, my family is finished. How do you intend to solve that problem?”

“We'll give you plastic surgery and completely launder your identity. After that, we'll provide you with a safe house to live in for the rest of your life.”

“Wouldn't it be possible to simply let me live in whatever country I choose?”

Director Om Giyeon considered the proposal quite reasonable.

South Korea was crawling with North Korean spies.

If Northern agents discovered that Lee Jonghyeok was alive, the situation would become catastrophically complicated.

To keep him safe, they would have to hide him for the rest of his life.

That would cost taxpayers an enormous amount of money.

More importantly, by then he would have completely exhausted his value as an intelligence source.

Naturally, however, the NIS Director wasn't about to eagerly accept the proposal on the spot.

“You understand there's a condition, don't you?”

“Of course. I'll tell you absolutely everything I know.”

“We'll send you abroad only after we've verified the accuracy of your testimony. Agreed?”

“Do whatever you think is best.”

“And which country do you want to live in?”

“I want to live in Switzerland.”

Director Om Giyeon tilted his head in surprise.

He had expected Lee Jonghyeok to request asylum in the United States.

Instead, he had chosen Switzerland.

He asked him directly why.

“With the money I received after my fake defection to the United States and the profits from my businesses, I've already bought a house and land in Switzerland. I want to live there quietly and peacefully.”

“Wasn't your auto parts factory here in Korea operating at a loss?”

“When I lived in America, I ran several businesses and made a fortune.”

“And what kind of business was it?”

“You'll find out soon enough.”

“I understand. Then let's get to the real interrogation. Director Nevers?”

Director Glenn Nevers thanked Director Om Giyeon before turning to Lee Jonghyeok.

“After your staged defection to our country, did you recruit any spies besides Inspector Hayden?”

“The very first person I recruited was FBI Senior Supervisory Special Agent John Harrington.”

“What?!”

Glenn Nevers reacted as though he had been struck by lightning.

Director Om Giyeon and everyone else simply blinked, not understanding the reason for his outburst.

Noticing their looks, the FBI Director immediately explained.

“Senior Supervisory Special Agent Harrington is regarded as one of the finest investigators in the entire FBI.”

“I see. Then please continue questioning Lee Jonghyeok.”

His curiosity satisfied, Director Om Giyeon stepped back and signaled for the interrogation to continue.

Director Glenn Nevers turned back to Lee Jonghyeok.

“How did you get in contact with Senior Supervisory Special Agent Harrington?”

“Inspector Hayden introduced us.”

“Son of a bitch!!”

Director Eddie Griffin suddenly exploded with the curse.

Apparently, the fact that Harrington had been Hayden's direct subordinate was simply too much to bear.

Director Glenn Nevers nodded sympathetically, understanding exactly how his colleague felt, before continuing.

“And how did you recruit him?”

“He was a compulsive gambling addict. I recruited him in exchange for paying off his gambling debts.”

“Bullshit!!”

This time it was Nevers himself who swore.

That was how deeply disappointed he was in Special Agent Harrington.

“Lee Jonghyeok, besides that bastard, who else did you recruit?”

“At the U.S. Department of Defense, there's...”

Lee Jonghyeok began listing the spies he had recruited during his staged defection to the United States.

Director Glenn Nevers couldn't shake the feeling that the entire situation was absurd.

Every single person Lee Jonghyeok named occupied an extremely sensitive position, and every last one of them had been bought with money.

Unable to hold back any longer, he interrupted him.

“Wait.”

“What is it?”

“On average, how much did it cost you to recruit a single spy?”

“Between five million and twenty million dollars.”

Director Glenn Nevers flatly refused to believe it.

North Korea's foreign currency reserves were so desperately depleted that it couldn't even pay its diplomats' salaries on time.

Yet Lee Jonghyeok had been throwing around millions of dollars to recruit spies as casually as pebbles.

He asked him directly where all that money had come from.

“I smuggled drugs out of North Korea and sold them to street gangs.”

“You smuggled drugs? How did you transport them?”

“The drugs were shipped by freight train to Vladivostok. After that, Inspector Hayden handled all transportation himself, so I don't know the details.”

“And what did Inspector Hayden receive in return?”

“I paid him a twenty-five percent commission on the sales.”

“And how much did you import?”

“About thirty kilograms every two months.”

“That's an enormous quantity. Are drugs still being imported from North Korea now?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“And who's handling distribution in your place?”

“Inspector Hayden personally oversees both the smuggling and the distribution.”

“Fuck that!!”

Director Eddie Griffin's furious curse echoed throughout the entire interrogation room.