Chapter 237: The Probability of That Is Zero

Because Antonio had gone to Lucerne to meet the leader of a gang from France, we had no choice but to postpone the operation to clear out his hideout.

As planned, ten minutes before the operation began, Saho leaped over the fence and infiltrated the compound.

When the appointed time finally arrived, the first thing Saho did was disable the electrical panel.

Darkness descended, and the FIS agents who had been waiting for that moment immediately activated the jammers around Antonio’s hideout.

The National Intelligence Service operatives and Korea Investment employees stationed at the main gate put the armed guards to sleep with tranquilizer pistols.

Then they quickly entered through the gates Saho had unlocked beforehand.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan and I waited in the van for the operation to conclude successfully.

“Director, when do you think they’ll finish clearing out those bastards?”

“It all depends on how long Saho takes to knock out the guards gathered in the villa’s living room.”

“Are you sure Saho can handle them?”

“He’s a nocturnal animal, so in pitch darkness, no one can match him.”

Bang!

At that very moment, a signal flare soared into the sky above the villa and burst into light—the sign that the clearing operation was complete.

“Chief Secretary Kang, shall we go inside their hideout?”

The moment I stepped out of the van, the fully equipped Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok and his men swiftly surrounded me from the front and rear.

Their excessive protection wasn’t entirely to my liking, but I decided to overlook it.

“Team Leader Jeong, did you ask the FIS agents to turn off the jammers?”

“I sent the request as soon as the signal flare went up.”

“Good work. Now let’s head inside.”

Under the rather heavy protection of Jeong Gwangseok’s team, I entered the villa.

The moment I did, Saho sprang lightly into my arms.

Stroking his head to thank him for a job well done, I looked around.

However, Antonio’s men whom Saho had knocked out were nowhere to be seen. Not understanding what had happened, I asked Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol,

“Where are Antonio’s men?”

“Just to be safe, we gave each of them another dose from the tranquilizer pistols and locked them in the basement.”

“Good work. What about the guards who were keeping watch at the main gate?”

“We put them in the basement as well.”

“Understood. Well then, shall we go meet Kwak Cheolhun?”

After descending to the basement level, I headed straight for the room where Kwak Cheolhun was being held.

When I unlocked the door, I saw Kwak Cheolhun sitting there nervously, his body covered in scratches. In the corner lay a foreign man who looked to be in his twenties, covered in blood.

Team Leader Seo Donghun, who had entered the basement ahead of me, addressed me as though he had been waiting for my arrival.

“Director Cha, the foreigner in the corner is Colombian. His name is Vitor Gabriel.”

“Gabriel... What connection does he have to the drug lord Gabriel?”

“I was curious too, so I asked him, but he refuses to talk.”

“I see. What’s his condition?”

“He’s lost a lot of blood, but his life isn’t in danger.”

“Understood. Did you get the laptop password from Kwak Cheolhun?”

“We asked, but he’s exercising his right to remain silent.”

I thought I understood why Kwak Cheolhun was refusing to talk.

He simply wasn’t sure who we were.

Fortunately, I already had a plan prepared to completely dispel his doubts.

Pulling my cell phone from my pocket, I immediately called NIS Director Om Giyeon.

It was as though he had been sitting there waiting for my call. The phone had barely begun ringing when his voice came through the speaker.

“[Director Cha, how did it go?]”

“Our part of the operation went perfectly. As for the joint CIA-FIS operation, I don’t know the results yet.”

“[Were there... any casualties?]”

“Thanks to Saho’s excellent work, there were none.”

“[Phew... What a relief. Did you rescue Kwak Cheolhun?]”

Glancing briefly at Kwak Cheolhun, I answered Director Om.

“He’s sitting right beside me, but we’ve run into a small problem.”

“[What kind of problem? Tell me.]”

“You’ll understand once you hear my conversation with Commander Kwak Taesu.”

“[One moment. Please wait.]”

A moment later, Commander Kwak Taesu’s agitated voice came through the phone.

Judging by the echo, Director Om had switched the call to speakerphone.

“[Director Cha, how is my son?]”

“He got away with some scratches. His life isn’t in danger.”

“[Oh, thank God. You wanted to tell me something?]”

“We want to download the classified data from your son’s laptop onto a flash drive. But Kwak Cheolhun doubts our identities.”

“[I understand what you mean, but is there any point in copying everything onto a flash drive?]”

“CIA personnel also intend to inspect Mr. Kwak Cheolhun’s laptop.”

“[Ah, now I understand. Put my son on the phone.]”

Covering the microphone with my hand, I looked at Kwak Cheolhun.

Having overheard our conversation, he seemed to have relaxed and held out his hand without hesitation.

Taking the phone from me, he exchanged a few words with Commander Kwak Taesu. Then he turned to me and handed it back.

“Director Cha, my father wants to speak with you.”

I immediately resumed my conversation with the Commander.

“Commander Kwak, I’m listening.”

“[Director Cha, I explained everything clearly to my boy.]”

“Thank you very much.”

“[I heard North Korean RGB operatives are heading to Interlaken. Please protect my son from those bastards.]”

“I’ll take personal responsibility for his safety, so don’t worry.”

After ending the brief conversation, I disconnected the call and addressed Kwak Cheolhun, whose tension had visibly eased.

“You understand the current situation, correct?”

“Yes. Give me the laptop and flash drive.”

As though he had been waiting for those very words, Team Leader Seo Donghun handed him the laptop.

Kwak Cheolhun turned on the device, inserted the flash drive into the port, and began copying the classified materials stored in its memory.

After glancing at him, I walked over to Vitor Gabriel, who was lying in the corner.

As if reading my thoughts, Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok helped Vitor sit up.

I addressed him in English.

“My name is Cha Jiham. By the way, I’m from South Korea.”

“...Cough, cough! I’m Vitor Gabriel.”

“How are you feeling?”

“...Those bastards beat me badly. My whole body aches and hurts.”

“By ‘those bastards,’ do you mean Antonio’s men?”

“H-how do you know about him?” Vitor Gabriel asked, stammering in astonishment.

“Consider it proof of how good our intelligence is.”

“I see...”

“Can you tell me what kind of relationship you have with Antonio?”

However, Vitor Gabriel merely stared at me in silence.

Of course, I understood perfectly well why he had decided to keep his mouth shut.

“Antonio and his men have gone to Lucerne. We’ve already cleared out all of his subordinates who remained here. And right now, the CIA and FIS are capturing Antonio and his gang.”

“Can I believe what you’re telling me, Mr. Cha Jiham?”

“The answer lies in the fact that we rescued you.”

“Now that I think about it, you’re right. Show me proof that Antonio has been arrested, and then I’ll tell you about our connection.”

Vitor Gabriel’s answer clearly indicated that he wanted to end the conversation for now.

“As you wish. Team Leader Jeong, help Mr. Vitor lie back down.”

“Yes, sir.”

Leaving Jeong Gwangseok to carry out the task, I approached Kwak Cheolhun.

“Mr. Kwak Cheolhun, approximately how much longer will it take?”

“I’ve already copied all the classified data my father sent me onto the flash drive. I’m deleting it from the laptop now.”

At that moment, Agent Hong Jongsu, who clearly had something to say, joined the conversation.

“Director Cha, the classified data Mr. Kwak Cheolhun deleted can easily be recovered.”

“I know, but...”

Noticing my hesitation, Hong Jongsu immediately continued.

“We need a secure deletion program to make recovery impossible.”

“Understood. Take care of it and erase everything permanently, Agent Hong.”

Hong Jongsu nodded and held out his hand to Kwak Cheolhun.

Understanding what he wanted, Kwak Cheolhun handed over the laptop.

Agent Hong pulled his own flash drive from his pocket, inserted it into the port, launched a secure data-erasure program, and began wiping the files.

After some time, the work was complete. Wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead with his hand, he addressed me.

“Director Cha, I’ve permanently destroyed all the classified materials.”

“You’re sure the CIA won’t be able to recover them?”

“The probability of that is zero.”

Agent Hong Jongsu said it with such confidence that worrying any further would have been an unnecessary luxury.

“Haha, excellent. Take Mr. Kwak Cheolhun and Mr. Vitor Gabriel to the hotel.”

However, Kwak Cheolhun apparently had other plans.

“I’ll stay with you, Director Cha.”

“Don’t worry. National Intelligence Service personnel will provide you with reliable protection.”

“My father said I’d be safest by your side.”

‘Well, he’s not exactly wrong.’

“We may have to stay here for quite a while.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Well, then I suppose there’s nothing we can do. Agent Hong, move both of them to one of the bedrooms.”

“Consider it done.”

“Shall we head upstairs?”

When we returned to the living room, Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol approached me.

“Director, we found a huge safe in the study over there.”

“Seriously? Let’s go take a look.”

But the moment I followed Lee Hyeonsol into the study, something unexpected happened.

Saho rushed up to the enormous safe, bared his fangs, and let out a menacing, “Grrr!”

I quickly approached him.

“Saho, are there drugs inside?”

Saho let out another “Grrr!” and nodded.

Only then did I fully understand what had been going on.

The guards had gathered in the living room specifically to protect the drugs stored in this enormous safe.

Thanks to that, clearing out the thugs had gone off without much trouble.

Nodding, I continued questioning Saho.

“Saho, are there only drugs in the safe?”

The cat vigorously shook his head from side to side.

‘Then there must be money in there.’

However, Saho shook his head again, indicating that I was wrong.

I asked whether there were gold bars inside, but he kept shaking his head.

‘Hmm... Then what the hell is inside this safe?’

Bzzz, bzzz...

While I was pondering that question, the phone in my pants pocket began buzzing.

I quickly pulled it out and looked at the screen. Branch Chief Harrison was calling.

The reason for his call was obvious, so I answered without delay.

“Branch Chief Harrison, did you capture Antonio and the leader of the French gang?”

“[We barely managed to subdue them just now.]”

The word “barely” was synonymous with “with great difficulty.”

Which meant both sides must have suffered significant casualties while capturing Antonio and the French gang leader.

Wanting to confirm my suspicion, I cautiously asked Harrison,

“Were there casualties?”

“[You’re right, Director Cha.]”

“I see... How bad are the losses?”

“[We’re still processing the scene, but both our side and those bastards have quite a few wounded and dead.]”

“I hope the final numbers aren’t too terrible.”

“[So do I. By the way, how are things on your end?]”

“We were lucky. We didn’t suffer a single casualty.”

“[I suppose that’s thanks to the exceptional skill of the NIS agents and Korea Investment employees?]”

‘Well... Considering Saho is basically an animal special agent himself...’

“I won’t deny it.”

“[Did you rescue Kwak Cheolhun?]”

“Of course. The laptop we recovered really does belong to him.”

“[Just as I expected.]”

“By the way, we found a huge safe in the study, and there are drugs inside.”

“[Drugs?!]”

“Exactly. But the door is locked tight.”

“[Understood. I’m heading over to you immediately with Antonio.]”

Click!

Branch Chief Harrison hurriedly hung up.