Chapter 240: We Played Along and Even Danced to Their Tune

Director Jean-Philippe simply couldn’t believe Cha Jiham’s words.

The existence of an animal spy on this planet with abilities as flawless as Saho’s seemed unbelievable enough. But even harder to believe was the fact that Saho could freely understand human speech.

“Director Cha, aren’t you exaggerating a little too much?”

“Director Jean-Philippe, there isn’t a shred of exaggeration in what Director Cha said.”

Branch Chief Harrison was the first to speak up in support of me.

“How do you know that, Branch Chief Harrison?”

“It was Saho who discovered that Antonio was here.”

“How?”

“Saho strapped a miniature camera to his head and infiltrated the premises himself.”

Branch Chief Harrison described Saho’s exploits to Director Jean-Philippe in detail.

“...Thanks to the footage Saho recorded, we were able to capture Antonio.”

“Hmm, I see.”

“Saho was most likely also the one who discovered that there were drugs inside the safe.”

Director Jean-Philippe turned his gaze toward me.

Understanding what he wanted, I answered without delay.

“Branch Chief Harrison is absolutely right.”

“And how did Saho figure that out?”

“During the operation against the Triad, Saho encountered the smell of drugs twice. Based on that previous experience, he concluded that the safe contained drugs.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you, Director Cha?”

Director Jean-Philippe still doubted the existence of Saho’s unique abilities.

It was time to resort to extreme measures.

“If you don’t believe me, why don’t we simply bring Antonio here and have him open the safe?”

“I’d be happy to, but circumstances don’t allow it.”

“Did he... die?”

“No. We put a little pressure on him and Jourdain, and they’re both unconscious.”

“Ah... now I understand. By the way, Jourdain is the head of the French gang, correct?”

“That’s right, Director Cha.”

“In that case, how about opening the safe once Antonio regains consciousness?”

“We’ll have to. There’s no other choice.”

Realizing that our conversation had come to an end, Branch Chief Harrison cut in again.

“Director Cha, could you tell us exactly what happened here last night?”

“With Saho’s help, we managed to capture Antonio’s subordinates alive without suffering any casualties.”

“Don’t summarize it like that. Tell us the details.”

Branch Chief Harrison was essentially asking me to tell Director Jean-Philippe about Saho’s achievements.

Now that I had figured out his intention, how could I pretend not to understand?

“Before the operation began, Saho jumped over the fence. After entering the house through a third-floor window, he cut the power by lowering the main breaker...”

“Wait.”

Director Jean-Philippe interrupted me, undisguised astonishment on his face.

It irritated me slightly, but I understood why he was shocked and decided not to dwell on it.

“Is something wrong?”

“Did Saho really lower the breaker himself?”

There was only one way left to make Director Jean-Philippe believe me.

“Team Leader Seo, bring Saho here.”

“Yes, sir.”

After answering briefly, Team Leader Seo Donghun rushed into Antonio’s bedroom and returned carrying Saho in his arms.

I took the cat from him, stroked his head, and said,

“Saho, can you go turn off the lights right now?”

“Meow?”

Saho tilted his head to one side, as if he hadn’t quite understood the request.

“It’s just that someone here doubts your abilities.”

Understanding the situation, Saho nodded and jumped down from my arms.

He ran over to the electrical panel, pushed the cover open with his paw, then glanced briefly at Director Jean-Philippe before lowering the breaker without hesitation.

After seeing it with his own eyes, Director Jean-Philippe’s jaw dropped in astonishment.

After barely regaining his composure, he addressed me apologetically.

“Director Cha, I apologize for doubting Saho’s abilities.”

“It’s fine. Team Leader Seo, raise the breaker again and take Saho back to the bedroom.”

After giving Seo Donghun the order, I resumed my conversation with Director Jean-Philippe.

“After cutting the power to the house, Saho knocked out all of Antonio’s subordinates gathered in the living room with blows from his paws.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Members of the feline family possess enormous striking power in their front paws, and that ability is especially developed in Saho. On top of that, he’s a nocturnal animal, so he can navigate perfectly in the dark.”

“Incredible!”

Director Jean-Philippe let out an astonished sigh.

After seeing it with his own eyes, he simply had no choice but to believe it, even if it left him completely bewildered.

Ignoring his confusion, I continued.

“National Intelligence Service agents and our company employees tranquilized the guards at the gate. Then we entered through the gate Saho opened for us. While securing and clearing the premises, we discovered two prisoners in the basement.”

We had actually learned the previous afternoon that Kwak Cheolhun and a foreigner were being held in the basement.

The reason I lied to Director Jean-Philippe was because we needed to conceal Kwak Cheolhun’s identity.

“Did you identify them?”

“One of them turned out to be Vitor Gabriel, the son of the drug lord Gabriel.”

“Is that really true?!”

As expected, Director Jean-Philippe reacted with extreme astonishment.

“I asked him personally.”

“Then it’s confirmed. Who was the other one?”

“A university friend of Vitor Gabriel’s, a North Korean defector named Kwak Cheolhun.”

“Did you find out why they were being held here?”

Fortunately, Director Jean-Philippe showed no interest in Kwak Cheolhun.

Breathing an inward sigh of relief, I answered his question.

“Antonio was after the money Gabriel had hidden somewhere in Switzerland.”

I gave him a relatively detailed explanation of what we had learned from Vitor Gabriel, concealing only what I considered confidential.

“...We need to find the money and diamonds Gabriel hid.”

“Why not ask Gabriel himself?”

“The FBI questioned him dozens of times, but he never said anything.”

“Then does that mean we won’t be able to find the assets?”

I decided to give Director Jean-Philippe a little hope.

“There’s a possibility Gabriel hid the money and diamonds somewhere here.”

“What are you basing that conclusion on?”

“Seven years ago, he withdrew the money from the bank and hid it somewhere. And he has owned this villa for more than ten years.”

“But isn’t it rather bold to conclude there’s a hidden stash here based on that alone?”

I shook my head in disagreement.

“The fence is fitted with double layers of barbed wire and a dense network of surveillance cameras. If there were nothing valuable on the property, I doubt anyone would have gone to such excessive lengths.”

“But Antonio himself could have installed the barbed wire and cameras.”

“Vitor Gabriel visited this place six years ago, and all of it was already here. Eight years ago, however, none of it existed.”

“Hmm, that certainly gives us reasonable grounds for suspicion.”

It was time to lay my cards on the table.

“Assuming we find the money and diamonds here, how will we divide them?”

“Didn’t we agree on forty-five percent for Korea, forty-five percent for the United States, and ten percent for our country?”

“It would only be fair to give Vitor Gabriel a share, since he provided the key information.”

“Ah, right. Then perhaps Korea and the United States could cover that portion?”

“Why should our country have to do that?”

As expected, when money was involved, Branch Chief Harrison had no intention of yielding.

“Our country’s share is only ten percent.”

“The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service didn’t even know Antonio had entered the country. On top of that, you had no idea Gabriel had hidden money and diamonds here. Even so, out of respect, we allocated Switzerland ten percent.”

“Excellent point! If not for Director Cha, would you ever have learned Antonio’s identity or about the hidden stash? What role did the United States even play to justify claiming forty-five percent?”

“Listen! We were the ones who identified Antonio!”

“And could you have done that without Saho’s footage?”

To put out the growing conflict, I had to intervene.

“Director Jean-Philippe, Branch Chief Harrison, how about we start from scratch?”

“From scratch?”

“We don’t know the exact location of Gabriel’s stash. So I suggest giving the right to determine the distribution to whichever country finds it first.”

“But wouldn’t Korea be at a disadvantage then?”

‘Heh-heh. We already know perfectly well where Gabriel hid the money and diamonds.’

“It’s better than tearing each other apart over every single percentage point.”

“What do you think, Branch Chief Harrison?”

“I oppose Director Cha’s proposal.”

“Why?” Director Jean-Philippe asked irritably.

“If the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service finds the stash first, both Korea and the United States will suffer enormous losses.”

“Then find it before we do!”

“Easy for you to say!”

“Then give us your proposal, Branch Chief Harrison.”

“Let’s establish fixed shares of forty percent each for our country and Korea, and five percent for Switzerland. The remaining fifteen percent goes to whichever country finds the stash first.”

“Director Cha, what do you think of Branch Chief Harrison’s proposal?”

I had calculated that our country should receive at least sixty percent.

But under Harrison’s proposal, we could take as much as fifty-five percent.

How could I let such an opportunity slip away?

“I think the finder should be given greater authority. How about fixing twenty-five percent each for our country and the United States, two and a half percent for Switzerland, and giving the rest to whoever finds it first?”

“I fully support Director Cha’s proposal!”

“I have no reason to object either.”

Director Jean-Philippe and Branch Chief Harrison swallowed the bait.

“Excellent. Then forty-seven and a half percent goes to whichever country discovers the treasure first.”

“Ha-ha-ha! Agreed.”

“Shall we begin searching after breakfast?”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Neither am I,” Director Jean-Philippe agreed.

Impatient and in a hurry, the two of them sprang up from the sofa and rushed outside.

Watching them leave, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan asked in confusion,

“Director Cha, why did they rush out like that?”

“It seems they decided it would be impossible to hide forty-five billion dollars inside the house.”

“But it could be stored in the basement.”

“If that were the case, Antonio would have taken it long ago.”

“Ah! I didn’t think of that. When do we get to work?”

“We’ll watch the CIA and Swiss Federal Intelligence Service run around for a while, then leisurely take what belongs to us.”

“What if the CIA or the Swiss find the stash before us while we’re taking our time?”

“I’m not much of a betting man, Chief Kang, but if you want to wager on it, I’ll accept anytime.”

Cha Jiham’s answer radiated absolute confidence that neither the CIA nor the Swiss would find the stash.

“You might as well ask me to hand over my wallet.”

“Ha-ha-ha. Why not?”

While I chuckled, Agent Hong Jongsu, burning with curiosity, joined the conversation.

“Director Cha, what percentage are you expecting our side to get?”

“I think around sixty percent should be just right.”

“Isn’t that too little?”

“I agree with Agent Hong.”

“So do I...”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan and the three team leaders unanimously voiced their disagreement.

“Sixty percent of fifty billion dollars is thirty billion.”

“But we went through all that trouble playing along and dancing to their tune!”

“In that case, what do you think, Chief Kang?”

“The diamonds will have to be professionally appraised to determine their value, so ideally our country should take all of them.”

“Let’s do that. Then how should we divide the remaining forty-five billion dollars?”

“Like you said, sixty percent to our country...”