Chapter 239: Reluctantly Putting the Thought Aside

The best way to determine whether the money and diamonds were hidden beneath the floor was to break through the concrete.

However, we didn’t have any suitable equipment on hand to tear up the cement floor right now.

It was incredibly frustrating, but the most sensible option was to get the necessary tools first and then investigate.

“Let’s go back up to the first floor.”

“Director, I’ll go get a sledgehammer.”

“Where are you going to find one in the middle of the night? We’ll check everything once the sun comes up.”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan reluctantly followed me, obvious disappointment written all over his face.

As soon as we went up to the living room and sat down on the sofa, Agent Hong Jongsu asked curiously,

“Director Cha, are you sure there are money and diamonds hidden beneath the floor of that room?”

“Saho has an incredibly keen sense of smell, so most likely.”

“I know what Saho is capable of. But I’m asking because the concrete there is completely sealed, without so much as a single gap.”

“There must be a microscopic crack somewhere in the floor. Saho, what do you think?”

Saho nodded up and down, confirming my words.

“Agent Hong, did you see Saho’s reaction?”

“Of course. But what do you plan to do with the money and diamonds hidden under the floor?”

I could see right through Agent Hong Jongsu’s thoughts.

He undoubtedly wanted Gabriel’s hidden money and diamonds to belong exclusively to us.

I was only human myself, so greed was gradually beginning to whisper in my ear, but the situation wasn’t that simple.

“Branch Chief Harrison and Director Jean-Philippe will obviously be watching this with their eyes wide open. There’s no way we can take everything for ourselves.”

“I think the same way, Director. But without Saho, the money and diamonds would never have been found. How about making that point very clear to them?”

“Don’t worry. That’s exactly what I was planning to do.”

“Ha-ha. Then there’s no problem.”

At that moment, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan cautiously spoke up, as though he had something important to say.

“Director Cha, shouldn’t we take care of Vitor Gabriel as well?”

On that point, I completely agreed with Kang Inhan.

Without Vitor Gabriel’s help, we wouldn’t have discovered the money and diamonds.

“I’ll discuss that with Director Jean-Philippe and Branch Chief Harrison.”

“Vitor Gabriel will be pleased.”

“Who knows. I doubt it.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean, Director.”

“If we hadn’t found Gabriel’s hidden money and diamonds, Vitor Gabriel might have been able to get his hands on them himself.”

“But he didn’t know where Gabriel had hidden them either, did he?”

“He could simply visit Gabriel in prison and ask him.”

“Ah, I see.”

Bzzzt—

While Chief Secretary Kang Inhan nodded in understanding, the phone on the table vibrated.

I quickly checked the screen and saw that Branch Chief Harrison was calling.

“Branch Chief Harrison, I’m listening.”

[Director Cha, the situation here is so serious that we still haven’t been able to leave.]

“How serious is it?”

[After clearing the scene, five of our people and the FIS agents were found to be seriously wounded, and twelve sustained minor injuries. On Antonio’s side and the French gang’s side, twelve were killed, seventeen seriously wounded, and eight lightly wounded.]

“How fierce was the firefight for there to be so many casualties?”

[Those bastards charged into the fight ready to die, which led to unexpected casualties.]

“I see. About when will you be able to leave?”

[We’ll need another hour or two.]

“Understood. We’ll be waiting, so don’t rush.”

Click.

The moment I hung up, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan, who had been listening attentively to the entire conversation, immediately asked,

“Director Cha, when will Branch Chief Harrison and Director Jean-Philippe arrive?”

I checked the time on my phone and answered Kang Inhan’s question.

“No matter how I look at it, they won’t get here before seven in the morning.”

“Then how about getting some rest until they arrive?”

“I was about to suggest the same thing. Let’s rest.”

I took Saho into Antonio’s bedroom.

Saho must have been exhausted. He jumped onto the bed and settled down comfortably.

After the nonstop operation, my entire body was covered in sweat and dust.

But I had no change of clothes, so I had no choice but to give up on taking a shower altogether.

Having gone two days without sleep, I fell into a deep sleep the moment my head touched the pillow.

***

Ring-ring-ring.

A melodious ringtone came from the phone beside the head of the bed.

Still half asleep, I fumbled for it and looked at the screen. Director Griffin was calling.

I struggled upright, cleared my throat with a cough, and pressed the answer button.

“Director Griffin, I’m listening.”

[Director Cha, where are you right now?]

“At Antonio’s hideout, but...”

I deliberately trailed off so I could first get a sense of the situation.

[Whew~ What a relief.]

“I’m curious why you sound so relieved.”

[North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives set up an ambush right in the lobby of the hotel where your group is staying.]

“You mean they know we came here to capture Kwak Cheolhun?”

[I think the same thing you do, Director Cha.]

“Still, how did they obtain that information?”

[We’re investigating that now. Perhaps you should remain at Antonio’s hideout until the situation is safe?]

“I’d be happy to, but our suitcases are still in the hotel rooms.”

[You don’t need to worry about your group’s luggage. We’ll deliver it to you ourselves.]

“I’d greatly appreciate that.”

[Now, let’s discuss something else. What was stored on Kwak Cheolhun’s laptop?]

Even under threat of death, I couldn’t tell him the truth.

“After getting the password to the laptop from Kwak Cheolhun, I checked everything thoroughly, but there was nothing particularly noteworthy.”

[I see. Did you ask him about Commander Kwak Taesu’s whereabouts?]

The answer, ‘Commander Kwak fled to our country a long time ago,’ was on the verge of slipping off my tongue, but I exercised the utmost patience and held it back.

“I did, but he only said that his father was hiding somewhere in China.”

“Does Kwak Cheolhun really not know Commander Kwak’s phone number?”

“Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember the number by heart.”

[What about checking the number saved on his phone?]

“Antonio’s men took his phone when they kidnapped him.”

[What a shame... That’s very unfortunate.]

Thinking that was enough, I decided to change the subject.

“Tell me about it. By the way, Branch Chief Harrison told me about the numerous casualties.”

[We’ll have to be satisfied that there were no fatalities on our side.]

“I wish the wounded a speedy recovery.”

[Thank you for your concern.]

“Don’t mention it. The man who was being held together with Kwak Cheolhun turned out to be Gabriel’s son.”

[What did you say?!]

Director Griffin’s astonished voice practically deafened me through the speaker.

“I was shocked myself when I found out.”

[How did he end up in Antonio’s hands in the first place?]

“It turns out Antonio kidnapped him to find the money Gabriel had hidden.”

I gave Director Griffin a fairly detailed account of our conversation with Vitor Gabriel.

Nevertheless, I carefully concealed the sensitive information.

“...He didn’t know where Gabriel had hidden the money either.”

[Could he have been lying?]

Thinking along the same lines, Director Griffin had reached the same conclusion I had.

“I suspected that as well, so I asked him again, but he repeated that he didn’t know.”

[Then what are we supposed to do?]

“Perhaps ask Gabriel himself?”

[The FBI asked him that question dozens of times during interrogation, but he never answered.]

I had an idea about that, so I decided to give Director Griffin a little hint.

“It turns out Antonio’s hideout is a villa that has belonged to Gabriel for more than ten years.”

[Could it be...]

I knew perfectly well why Director Griffin had trailed off.

“Exactly. There’s a very good chance Gabriel hid the money somewhere here.”

[Do you think Antonio and his men didn’t search the entire house and surrounding grounds from top to bottom?]

“Of course they did, but they probably didn’t get beneath the ground.”

[Assuming he hid the money underground, how does Director Cha plan to find it?]

“We have Saho and his incredibly keen sense of smell.”

[Right. You have Saho!]

“The sun is already up, so I’m planning to start searching little by little.”

[I hope you manage to find it.]

Everything up until now had merely been the appetizer. Now it was time for the main course.

“If we’re lucky enough to find Gabriel’s hidden money, Saho will deserve a substantial bonus.”

[Are you suggesting that we revise the shares?]

“I believe that would only be fair.”

[All right. I accept your proposal, Director Cha.]

“Ha-ha. Thank you.”

After ending my conversation with Director Griffin, I smoothed down my disheveled hair and left the bedroom. There was no one in the living room.

I had just tilted my head in puzzlement when the study door opened and Chief Secretary Kang Inhan emerged.

When he saw me, he spoke with an embarrassed expression.

“Ah, I was trying to open the safe in the study.”

“Don’t tell me... you spent the whole night working on that safe?”

“Well... It suddenly feels rather hot in here.”

Fanning himself with his hand, Kang Inhan hurried back into the study.

I quickly followed him and found the three team leaders and Agent Hong Jongsu struggling with the safe.

The moment they noticed me, they sprang upright and stood at attention.

“Agent Hong, aren’t you tired?”

“I guess sleep just disappears when you get old.”

“As they say, a poor workman always has an excuse. Any progress?”

Hong Jongsu shook his head.

“Let’s not waste our time on pointless things.”

“Ha-ha. Understood.”

“North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives set up an ambush at our hotel.”

I gave Kang Inhan and the others a detailed account of my conversation with Director Griffin.

“...It looks like we’ll have to remain here until the situation is safe.”

“Director, should we post sentries just in case?”

“I think it’ll be enough to monitor the situation outside through the surveillance cameras on the fence.”

“Ah, right! I completely forgot we have cameras!”

Knock, knock, knock.

At that moment, the study door opened with a knock, and an NIS agent entered.

“Director Cha, the vehicles carrying the CIA and FIS agents have passed through the main gate.”

As soon as I stepped out onto the porch, several vehicles pulled up in front of the house and stopped.

I approached Director Jean-Philippe as he got out of the car.

“I heard you suffered many casualties. Please accept my sincere condolences.”

“Thank you for your sympathy.”

“The morning sun is already quite strong. Shall we go inside and talk?”

The living room.

I offered Director Jean-Philippe the seat of honor and sat to his right.

Once Branch Chief Harrison and the others had taken their seats, an NIS agent served everyone a glass of cool water.

Thirsty, Director Jean-Philippe drained his glass in one gulp, set it down on the table, and spoke.

“Director Cha, Branch Chief Harrison told me that your side suffered no casualties.”

“We were simply lucky.”

“They say luck is a skill in itself.”

“If you put it that way, I have nothing more to say.”

“I heard you found a safe containing drugs in the study.”

“That’s correct, Director.”

“Was the safe open? How did you know there were drugs inside?”

Since I hadn’t revealed Saho’s existence to Director Jean-Philippe, it was only natural that he would have such a question.

The best way to dispel his doubts was to reveal the cat’s secret.

“Before I answer your question, Director, I’d like to ask you for a favor.”

“What is it? Go ahead.”

“Our team has a secret animal agent with incredible physical abilities, hearing, eyesight, and sense of smell...”