Chapter 243: Seeing is Believing

"Director Cha, are you planning to transport the cash to Korea?"

Gabriel had hidden 80 billion dollars in cash, 20 billion dollars in bonds, and 5 billion dollars' worth of diamonds in the secret room.

Of that amount, we received 48 billion dollars in cash, 12 billion dollars in bonds, and 5 billion dollars' worth of diamonds.

Fortunately, the bonds and precious stones did not take up much space, so transporting them posed no problem.

However, the 48 billion dollars in cash had been packed into 1,200 large cardboard boxes, and that was the main difficulty.

Transporting such a huge number of boxes back to our country would be an extremely troublesome task.

Perfectly aware of the situation, Director Jean-Philippe asked the question with an obvious implication: hand the cash over to the Swiss government.

Naturally, the Swiss government would transfer the 48 billion dollars to an account I specified, but it would also make a tidy profit from the transaction fees.

Accepting Director Jean-Philippe's offer seemed like the best solution, but I had no desire to pay more than necessary.

"If possible, I intend to take it back to our country."

"Are you planning to charter a cargo plane?"

"No. I came to Switzerland on a private jet for this business trip."

"Ah, so you'll load it onto your own plane."

Deep disappointment slipped into Director Jean-Philippe's voice as he replied.

No matter how I looked at it, given the current circumstances, we would have to hand the cash over to the Swiss government anyway.

"If you handle the processing of the bonds, I'm willing to turn the cash over to the Swiss side."

"We can help with the bonds without any problem, but we'll have to apply a discount rate."

"Do as you see fit. Work out the practical details with Chief Secretary Kang."

"Ha-ha. Agreed."

"And have the diamonds appraised as quickly as possible."

"You don't need to worry about that."

"Now, I suggest we change the subject. When are you planning to open Antonio's safe?"

Director Jean-Philippe instantly grasped the true implication behind Cha Jiham's question: he was suggesting that they begin interrogating Antonio and Jourdain without delay.

"It's about time we cracked it open."

"Antonio won't voluntarily give us the combination to the safe, will he?"

"Most likely not."

"If Director Jean-Philippe has no objections, we can put him through a reeducation procedure."

"And how would that work?"

"You know the expression 'Seeing is Believing,' don't you?"

***

"Ugh..."

As Antonio gradually regained consciousness, the events of the previous night returned to him.

He had been at the mountain house in Lucerne, where he had completed a drug deal with Jourdain and was drinking with him.

At the height of their drinking session, the lights had suddenly gone out.

At that very moment, deafening gunfire had erupted from the direction of the main entrance.

Realizing that an emergency had broken out, he and Jourdain had hurriedly taken shelter in the basement.

About thirty minutes later, the basement door had suddenly burst open and enemies had rushed inside.

He and Jourdain had been brutally beaten, after which they both lost consciousness.

"They dared attack us... Just who the hell are they..."

Hearing his quiet muttering, Jourdain spoke up.

"Mr. Antonio, how are you?"

"How do you think... My whole body is aching and throbbing with pain. What about you, Mr. Jourdain?"

"I'm in terrible shape too. What happened to our men?"

"Judging by the fact that the shootout lasted half an hour, there must be a lot of dead and wounded among them."

"I just hope the losses aren't too severe..."

"I hope so too. But still, who exactly attacked us?"

Click!

At that moment, the sound of a door opening rang out, and the lights came on.

Antonio and Jourdain instinctively turned their heads toward the entrance.

Asian men holding metal pipes were glaring fiercely at them.

"W-who are you?" Jourdain asked, stammering in fear.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan gave no answer. Instead, he brought the metal pipe down with all his strength.

The Korea Investment employees immediately began mercilessly beating Antonio and Jourdain with their metal pipes.

"Kh-h, a-a-agh!.."

"A-a-ah, u-u-ugh!.."

Antonio's and Jourdain's screams echoed through the basement, but none of their attackers even thought about stopping.

Before long, both men lost consciousness and went limp on the floor.

The Korea Investment employees brought buckets of water and splashed them directly into the unconscious men's faces.

"F-f-fgh!"

As soon as the gangsters came to, the Korea Investment employees tightly bound their hands and feet with ropes.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan looked at the prisoners, who had been beaten half to death, and addressed them in English.

"I have nothing personal against you."

"...Then why?"

"Our boss ordered us to reeducate you."

"...Who's your boss?"

"I'm not obligated to answer your questions. If you don't answer the boss's questions honestly, I'll break every bone in your bodies one by one. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to find out."

"I... I'll answer honestly," Antonio promised in a trembling voice, terrified out of his wits.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan gave him a brief glance and nodded slightly.

At that signal, the Korea Investment employees carried a table and five chairs into the basement.

After arranging the furniture, they seated Antonio and Jourdain on the chairs.

Soon, the basement door opened again and three people entered.

Jourdain's eyes widened in astonishment as he looked at them.

Among the newcomers was Director Jean-Philippe, the head of FIS.

'Haah... Shit, we're finished.'

While Jourdain cursed inwardly, the three visitors sat down on the chairs on the other side of the table.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan and the Korea Investment employees stood behind them, still gripping their metal pipes.

Director Jean-Philippe stared intently at Antonio and Jourdain sitting across from him and spoke in a calm voice.

"You know who I am, don't you?"

Jourdain nodded to show that he recognized him.

Antonio, however, merely blinked in confusion, having no idea who the man before him was.

"Mr. Antonio, I am Director Jean-Philippe, head of Switzerland's Federal Intelligence Service, FIS."

"Th-then..."

Only then did Antonio falter.

Director Jean-Philippe understood perfectly well why he was confused.

"You were caught by us, as well as CIA and FBI operatives..."

"What did you say?!" Antonio suddenly shouted, interrupting Director Jean-Philippe in undisguised shock.

Director Jean-Philippe silently rose from his seat, walked over to him, grabbed him by the hair, and yanked his head backward.

Losing his balance, Antonio crashed onto his back along with the chair.

Director Jean-Philippe kicked him hard in the solar plexus as though taking a free kick in a soccer match.

"Kh-h!"

Groaning from unbearable pain, Antonio writhed on the floor, curled into a ball.

Director Jean-Philippe gave him a chilling glare and roared,

"Have you completely lost your fear? You dared interrupt me!"

"...I'm sorry."

"Remember this: if you interrupt me again, I'll break your arms and legs. Get that through your thick skulls!"

"Yes! We understand!"

Antonio's and Jourdain's thunderous shouts echoed through the basement.

The Korea Investment employees lifted Antonio from the floor and seated him back on the chair.

Director Jean-Philippe looked at the two of them and resumed his interrupted speech.

"To my left is Director Cha Jiham, an honorary agent of the CIA and FBI. To my right is Harrison, head of the CIA's European branch. Your gang has been finished off through the joint efforts of our intelligence service, the CIA, and the FBI."

"...What happened to our men?"

"Your men guarding this place didn't get so much as a scratch."

"If by this place you mean..."

Director Jean-Philippe understood perfectly well why Antonio had trailed off.

"This is Gabriel's villa in Interlaken."

"Ah... No wonder the basement seemed familiar..."

"As for the shootout at the mountain house in Lucerne, twelve people were killed, seventeen were seriously wounded, and eight suffered minor injuries. The bodies of the dead have been taken to the Lucerne hospital morgue, and the wounded have been hospitalized."

Jourdain could barely contain the anger boiling inside him.

Neither he nor his men had committed any crimes on Swiss territory—only in France.

And yet FIS, CIA, and FBI operatives had shot and maimed his subordinates!

Unable to hold himself back, he voiced his grievance to Director Jean-Philippe.

"Ha, well, would you look at that!" Director Jean-Philippe sighed heavily, looking up at the ceiling, before cutting him down sharply.

"You and your men were armed! On top of that, a large quantity of drugs was found in the mountain house! Your men were ordered to lay down their weapons and surrender, but they opened fire on us first! And after all that, you dare claim you didn't break the law?!"

"...It was our fault," Jourdain mumbled almost inaudibly, admitting his guilt.

Director Jean-Philippe gave him a stern look and continued,

"I'll deal with your interrogation later, so sit there and wait."

"...Yes."

Ignoring Jourdain's answer, Director Jean-Philippe turned to Antonio.

"How did you enter our country?"

"I took a ship to the coast of the Netherlands, then drove here."

"Why did you come to Switzerland?"

Naturally, Director Jean-Philippe knew the real reason Antonio and his thugs had come here.

Even so, he asked the question as a formality, just in case.

The gangster, of course, had no idea what he was plotting.

"No particular reason... I just came to sell drugs to Mr. Jourdain."

"And you had no other purpose?"

"...No."

Antonio answered after a brief pause, clearly hiding something.

"Chief Kang, this bastard just lied."

As though he had been waiting for that exact moment, Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok stepped up to Antonio, grabbed him by the hair, and gave a powerful yank backward.

Crash!

Antonio and the chair once again slammed onto the floor.

"I... I wasn't lying!" the gangster wailed as he floundered on the floor, realizing the gravity of his situation.

But Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok ignored his screams and pinned him firmly to the floor so he couldn't move.

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan then placed Antonio's rope-bound hands across his knee and pressed down hard, breaking his left forearm.

Crack!

"A-a-a-agh!"

Antonio's savage scream once again filled the basement.

Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok lifted the gangster, who was moaning in pain, and put him back on the chair.

Director Jean-Philippe looked coldly at the suffering prisoner and said,

"To get from the Netherlands to our country, you have to cross Belgium and France. You could easily have met Jourdain and sold him the drugs in France, yet you still came all the way to Switzerland. And you continue to claim you aren't lying?"

"..."

"Tell me the real reason you came here!"

Antonio found himself trapped.

The true purpose of his trip to Switzerland had been to get his hands on the money and diamonds Gabriel had hidden.

If he told the truth, he could save his bones from being broken.

But then all the wealth Gabriel had hidden would fall entirely into the hands of the Swiss and U.S. governments.

It was a hopeless predicament: a bottomless abyss lay ahead, while a hungry lion lurked behind him.

"Haah..." Antonio let out a heavy, anguished sigh, not knowing what to do.

Director Jean-Philippe decided to deliver the decisive blow to the wavering gangster.

"We rescued Gabriel's son, whom you were holding captive here."

Only then did Antonio understand what was going on.

Director Jean-Philippe must have already learned from Vitor Gabriel why Antonio had come here.

They were only torturing him to force him to reveal the location of the hidden stash.

The only way to save his life was to confess everything.

"But even he didn't know where Gabriel hid the money and diamonds."

"We've already found the money, diamonds, and bonds Gabriel hid."

"...What?"

"It seems you don't believe me. Very well, wait a minute."

Director Jean-Philippe nodded, and one of the FIS operatives left the basement.

After a while, he returned carrying a large cardboard box and placed it directly on the table.

"Open it."