Chapter 249: The Expected Result

Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol, who was watching the footage recorded by Saho on the television, was quite astonished inwardly. Saho moved with the skill and precision of a trained human rather than an animal. After seeing the cat’s abilities with his own eyes, continuing to doubt them would only be a waste of time.

“I acknowledge everything you said, Chief Cha.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Team Leader Seo?”

As though understanding my command, Team Leader Seo Donghun pressed the stop button on the remote. After glancing briefly at him, Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol turned to me.

“By the way, where did Saho go?”

“If he stays cooped up inside the house all the time, he’ll get stressed, so I let him out to hunt.”

“Won’t there be trouble if he starts hunting the locals’ livestock?”

“Saho doesn’t do that. He’s probably hunting wild animals.”

“In that case, I have no objections. Now I’d like to discuss something else.”

As always, it was best to play it safe just in case.

“Keep in mind that I won’t answer questions about sensitive matters.”

“I understand. Assuming that something valuable is stored in the house where Kim Juchol lives, how do you plan to get it out?”

Commander Kwak Taesu had said that an enormous quantity of gold bars was hidden in Kim Juchol’s house. If his words were true, we would need quite a few people to remove that much gold. However, Kim Juchol’s house was under ironclad, round-the-clock protection, with Guard Command agents patrolling outside and personal bodyguards stationed inside. Therefore, dealing with them would be the first priority if we wanted to safely take the gold. Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol was clearly hinting at exactly that.

Naturally, I already had a fully developed plan, but I saw no reason to tell him the details.

“I’ll decide how to handle that after I personally confirm what’s hidden there.”

“I know the head of security at the house where Kim Juchol lives. What if I ask him what this valuable item is?”

“If he knows about it, then it can’t be all that valuable.”

“That’s true... Now that I think about it, you’re right.”

At that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind. After quickly shaping it into a concrete plan, I continued speaking with Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol.

“Senior Colonel Noh, are you close to the head of security?”

“We’re on friendly enough terms to speak freely, but...”

I understood perfectly well why Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol hesitated.

“How about calling the Guard Command agents out and treating them to dinner?”

“You must have a reason for that, don’t you?”

If we lured the Guard Command agents away, taking the gold bars would become much easier. Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol about my plan.

“To make it easier for Saho to scout the inside of Kim Juchol’s house.”

“But there are always four personal bodyguards inside the house.”

“It would be even better if you could lure them out too.”

“They’ll never leave Kim Juchol’s side, so there’s no way to draw them out.”

It was unfortunate, but there was nothing we could do about that.

“In that case, we’ll have to make do. Team Leader Jeong, bring me two bundles of cash.”

“Yes, sir.”

After giving a short reply, Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok quickly rose from the sofa. He went down to the basement, brought back two bundles of hundred-dollar bills, and handed them to me. Without hesitation, I held the money out to Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol.

“This is a gift to commemorate our meeting, Senior Colonel Noh.”

“You’re giving me such a huge amount of money just like that?”

“It’s only 20,000 dollars.”

“Oh... Good grief!”

As though unable to believe his ears, Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol let out a heavy sigh and stared at the ceiling.

“Spend half of this gift on your subordinates.”

“Give it to my subordinates?”

“I think that would be a good move.”

“I understand. What should I do with the remaining 10,000 dollars?”

“Spend it on the Guard Command agents protecting Kim Juchol’s house.”

“...I’ll do that.”

Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol answered in a deflated, dispirited voice. I understood the reason for his disappointment all too well. To him, 20,000 dollars was an enormous sum of money. After being told to hand all of it out to his subordinates and the Guard Command agents, it would have been strange if he weren’t disappointed. I decided to rekindle a spark of hope in his fallen spirits.

“Senior Colonel Noh, don’t get greedy over pocket change.”

“What? You call 20,000 dollars pocket change?!”

“When you and your men defect to our country, you’ll receive a resettlement allowance based on your rank. Personally, I’ll give you 5 million dollars.”

“F-five million dollars?!”

Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol stammered badly, utterly stunned.

“But there’s one condition. You have to bring all of your subordinates over with you.”

“Before I answer, I have a question. The lowest-ranking man among my people is a major. How much compensation do you plan to give him?”

“I’ll give each of them 1 million dollars.”

“Deal. I’ll take responsibility and bring every one of them to the South.”

“Ha ha. I’ll take you at your word, Senior Colonel Noh.”

“I’m in a hurry, so I should probably get going.”

However, I had no intention of simply letting Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol leave like that.

“You’re not planning to immediately tell your subordinates about the proposal to defect to our country, are you?”

“Why not? Is there some reason I shouldn’t bring it up?”

“Do you trust your men one hundred percent?”

Only then did Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol realize the problem. He had brought twenty men with him to track down Kwak Cheolhun. There was a good chance that some of them had agendas of their own. If he carelessly suggested defecting to the South, who could say how many would agree without objection? I asked him directly to confirm my suspicion.

“You’re right, Chief Cha.”

“Then what do you think you should do?”

“We have a chartered plane waiting for us at Zurich International Airport.”

“You mean I should take my men to Zurich without telling them anything about defecting to the South?”

“Exactly. It won’t be too late to bring up defection after you arrive in Zurich.”

“I understand what you mean. I’ll be going now.”

After seeing Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol outside, I returned to the living room to resume our interrupted conversation.

“Chief Cha, surely not all of Noh Gwangcheol’s men will agree to defect to Korea?”

I shook my head in response to Branch Chief Harrison’s question.

“Senior Colonel Noh will tell his subordinates that Kwak Cheolhun was killed by gangsters. In that case, all of them will most likely be recalled to North Korea. He’ll use that threat to try to persuade them to defect to our side.”

“Even so, some of them might refuse to defect, right?”

“Of course. There may be some who refuse. But they’ll have to defect simply to stay alive.”

“To stay alive? What do you mean?” Harrison asked with a puzzled expression.

“Suppose they leave one of those who refuse alive. He’ll report to the North Korean authorities that Senior Colonel Noh took his unit and fled to the South.”

“Naturally.”

“If that happens, the lives of Senior Colonel Noh’s family and the families of his subordinates who remain in North Korea will be completely destroyed. To prevent that outcome, he’ll have no choice but to eliminate anyone who refuses to defect. On top of that, he’ll try to persuade anyone who hesitates with enormous payouts.”

“Ah, so that’s why you made it a condition that Senior Colonel Noh bring absolutely all of his men?”

“That’s exactly right, Branch Chief Harrison.”

“Now let’s discuss something else. What exactly is Kim Juchol hiding in his house?”

I knew that question was coming. If I told him the truth, it would cause an enormous scandal, so I had no choice but to embellish reality a little.

“Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol of the Reconnaissance General Bureau believes that a huge quantity of gold bars is hidden in Kim Juchol’s house.”

“How reliable is that information?”

“He personally heard Kim Jonghun let it slip while drunk.”

“Couldn’t he simply have been spouting drunken nonsense?”

“Branch Chief Harrison, you’re familiar with the saying ‘Wine in, Truth out,’ aren’t you? I don’t think we have anything to lose by checking.”

“Ha ha. I see what you mean.”

I figured that was more than enough information about the gold bars in Kim Juchol’s house for the time being.

“Now let’s briefly return to Vitor Gabriel.”

“I’m listening.”

“Antonio’s people will undoubtedly hunt him for the rest of his life. I’d like you to make arrangements so he can live safely in the United States.”

“That’s not a particularly difficult request.”

“I sincerely appreciate the favor.”

“No need to thank me. By the way, won’t there be problems if Kwak Cheolhun and Senior Colonel Noh Gwangcheol fly to Korea on the same plane?”

I was incredibly grateful that Harrison had brought up the issue himself. I had been racking my brain over how to solve it.

“Of course there will be problems. That’s why I’d like to ask you to provide a separate plane to transport Kwak Cheolhun to our country.”

“What if he says he wants to remain in America?”

I considered the probability of Kwak Cheolhun choosing the United States to be zero. After all, his father, Commander Kwak Taesu, had already defected to South Korea.

“Well, in that case, there’s nothing we can do. I intend to respect Kwak Cheolhun’s wishes.”

“Why don’t we take this opportunity to call him down and ask him right now?”

“Team Leader Lee, bring him and Mr. Vitor Gabriel.”

After receiving the order, Team Leader Lee Hyeonsol went upstairs and brought Kwak Cheolhun and Vitor Gabriel down with him. Once the two of them had taken seats on the empty sofa, I spoke.

“The CIA will provide a chartered plane to send Mr. Vitor Gabriel to the United States.”

“Are we departing tomorrow afternoon?”

“Due to circumstances, the departure has been postponed until the morning after tomorrow.”

“In that case, I suppose it can’t be helped.”

Leaving the dejected Vitor Gabriel with that answer, I turned to Kwak Cheolhun.

“Kwak Cheolhun, you’re being given the opportunity to live in the United States. What will you choose?”

“I want to live in Korea.”

Just as I had expected, Kwak Cheolhun chose to go to Korea without hesitation. Considering that fortunate, I turned toward the CIA Branch Chief.

“You heard Kwak Cheolhun’s answer?”

“Ahem!”

Instead of answering, Harrison merely cleared his throat.

“I’d like Kwak Cheolhun to travel to our country aboard a plane provided by the CIA.”

“Why?”

“Uninvited guests will be boarding our plane.”

“Uninvited guests?”

“The Reconnaissance General Bureau agents who are hunting Kwak Cheolhun.”

“What? Why on earth would they board your plane, Chief Cha?”

“They’re going to defect to our country.”

“Ah...”

Kwak Cheolhun drew out the sound vaguely, apparently realizing what was going on. At that moment, an NIS agent approached and reported that dinner was ready. We moved to the dining room and began eating while carrying on a leisurely conversation.

“Branch Chief Harrison, when are you planning to bring our suitcases over from the hotel rooms?”

“Since the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau agents have taken over the lobby, we haven’t been able to retrieve them yet. We’re waiting for a good opportunity, so please be patient a little longer.”

Brrr...

At that moment, Harrison’s cell phone, which was lying on the table, vibrated. After checking the caller’s name, he excused himself and answered. He spoke with the caller for a couple of minutes before ending the call.

“Chief Cha, I’ve been informed that Senior Colonel Noh gathered his men and left for somewhere.”

“Do you know their destination?”

“They say they headed in the direction of Lucerne, so it looks like they’re going to Zurich.”

“I understand.”

“In that case, I have a suggestion. Why don’t we stop cramming ourselves into this place and move to a comfortable hotel?”

“There are 2,000 boxes of cash in the basement of this house.”

In other words, I refused.

“I understand. I’ll arrange for your suitcases to be delivered directly here.”

“I’d greatly appreciate that.”

At that moment, Saho jumped inside through the open window. He ran into the dining room where we were having dinner and leaped into my arms. But something was strange. Saho’s belly looked unusually swollen and round.

“Did you... catch some kind of wild animal...?”

Before I could finish speaking, Saho sprang out of my arms and bolted away.