Chapter 250: Damn It! My Heart Is Breaking

"Hey, you! How could you just go and devour a wild animal like that? Don't tell me it was a fox..."

I scolded him furiously, but Saho merely flattened his ears and pretended to be asleep, burying his face in the bed.

I was sorely tempted to give him a good smack on the back of the head, but I had to restrain myself.

After all, Saho had an extremely important mission to carry out tomorrow night.

"Good grief! My heart is breaking."

I thumped my chest loudly with my fist, flung open the door, and walked into the living room. Chief Secretary Kang Inhan and analyst Hong Jongsu were sitting there discussing something.

As soon as they noticed me, they hurriedly rose from the sofa.

"Director, did something happen?"

"I asked Saho why he devoured a wild animal, but he pretended not to hear me and went to sleep."

"Maybe he's just ashamed?"

"That's what I think too."

I answered listlessly and sank onto the sofa.

Kang Inhan and the others sat down after me, and at that moment, Team Leader Seo Donghun spoke up.

"Director, Saho grew up in the wild from the time he was young, so he's used to hunting for his own food."

"I know that myself. By the way, where did Branch Chief Harrison go?"

"He left with his CIA operatives."

The CIA agents had already brought over our luggage from the hotel where we had been staying.

So there was absolutely no reason for Harrison to go anywhere with his operatives this late at night.

As I wondered why he had left, the Manuel gang suddenly came to mind.

"Don't tell me... they went to take down Manuel's gang together with the Federal Intelligence Service?"

"That's what we assumed as well."

"If we're right, Director Jean-Philippe must be beside himself with rage right about now."

Kang Inhan tilted his head in puzzlement.

A joint CIA and Federal Intelligence Service operation to take down Manuel's gang had an obvious advantage—it reduced the risks.

Yet for some reason, Cha Jiham seemed certain that Jean-Philippe would not be pleased.

So the Chief Secretary cautiously asked why he had reached that conclusion.

"Manuel's gang must have prepared an enormous amount of money to buy the drugs from Mr. Antonio. Director Jean-Philippe was planning to take all of that money for himself. But now he'll have to split it fifty-fifty with the CIA. Why would he be in a good mood?"

"The CIA already has more money than it knows what to do with. Why would they want a share of Manuel's gang's haul?"

"No matter how much money people have, no one ever turns down more."

"That's true, now that I think about it."

Taking advantage of the pause in our conversation, analyst Hong Jongsu joined in.

"Director Cha, it would have been great if we could have participated in the operation to take down Manuel's gang as well."

"I can't allow that. You could get hit by a stray bullet."

"We can wear full tactical gear and protective equipment."

I realized that I needed to nip Hong Jongsu's stubbornness in the bud.

"Wouldn't it be better to conserve your strength for tomorrow night's operation?"

"Are you certain there are gold bars in Kim Juchol's house?"

"Money sitting in bank accounts is easy to trace. Kim Jonghun knows that perfectly well, so he may have converted his secret funds into valuables and entrusted them to someone reliable for safekeeping."

"And you believe that reliable person is his son?"

"Exactly, Analyst Hong."

"Assuming Kim Juchol really is keeping gold in his house, how do you plan to get it out?"

"Everything depends on how well Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol does his part."

Hong Jongsu instantly caught the implication behind my words.

No Gwangcheol planned to lure away the Guard Command operatives stationed outside Kim Juchol's house and treat them to dinner.

If he managed to lure all the guards away, only Kim Juchol himself and his personal security detail would remain inside the house.

Naturally, Saho would deal with the four personal bodyguards.

Then we would be able to take the gold bars without much difficulty.

Hong Jongsu asked whether he had understood the plan correctly.

"Analyst Hong's deduction is absolutely correct."

"Then all we can do is pray that Senior Colonel No manages to lure away every Guard Command operative."

"Exactly. So shouldn't we all get to bed early and prepare for tomorrow?"

"We're not tired at all, so you should go to sleep first, Director."

Ever since arriving in Switzerland, we had barely slept because of the nonstop operations.

And yet Kang Inhan continued lying shamelessly with the most innocent expression imaginable.

Of course, I knew perfectly well why he was lying.

"The money, bonds, and diamonds stored in the basement aren't going anywhere."

"I know that too, but for some reason, I can't put my mind at ease."

***

"Director, you need to wake up."

Feeling someone shake my shoulder, I struggled to open my eyes and saw Kang Inhan standing in front of me.

I picked up my phone from the bedside table and checked the time. It was well past midnight.

"Did something happen?"

"Director Jean-Philippe and Branch Chief Harrison are back. The atmosphere between them is ice-cold."

"Are you saying they had a fight?"

"That's what we concluded. Could you act as a mediator and reconcile them?"

"All right. Let's go take a look."

Following Kang Inhan into the living room, I immediately felt the frosty chill radiating from Jean-Philippe and Harrison.

I sat down on an empty sofa and spoke with an utterly clueless expression.

"Director Jean-Philippe, has Manuel's gang been taken down?"

"Yes, but because of the CIA agents, the whole operation nearly ended in disaster."

"And how exactly was that our fault, may I ask?"

As expected, Branch Chief Harrison immediately flared up and cut into the conversation.

"The CIA operatives set up their containment perimeter so poorly that Manuel almost escaped!"

"If the Federal Intelligence Service agents had sealed off the first perimeter more tightly, he wouldn't even have tried to escape!"

"Because we sealed off the first line so tightly, we managed to take down all of his men!"

"But in the end, we were the ones who captured him alive!"

"Ha! Good grief!"

Director Jean-Philippe rolled his eyes in outrage and let out a heavy sigh.

I thought I finally understood exactly what had happened.

The Federal Intelligence Service had made an unforgivable blunder by failing to capture Manuel, the gang boss.

Meanwhile, the CIA agents appeared to have claimed the greatest achievement for themselves—capturing him alive.

Under normal circumstances, the Federal Intelligence Service should have shared the credit with the CIA.

But I knew that if I said that aloud, Jean-Philippe would immediately hit the roof.

While I wondered how to reconcile them, their argument continued.

"Director Jean-Philippe, surely you understand that to win a war, you have to capture the commanding general?"

"A commanding general doesn't wander around a battlefield alone."

"And what would have happened if we'd let Manuel escape?"

"..."

Jean-Philippe had no rebuttal and fell silent.

Deciding that they had argued enough for one day, I stepped in.

"Director Jean-Philippe, what are the Federal Intelligence Service's casualties?"

"Two men suffered gunshot wounds from stray bullets, but neither was serious."

"That's fortunate. What about the CIA's casualties?"

"Not a single one of our agents even got a scratch."

"You see! That's only because our men covered them at the first perimeter!"

This time, Jean-Philippe himself lost his temper.

"And who was it that objected when we offered to take the first line?"

Harrison's counterattack was no less harsh.

If not for the CIA, the Swiss would have gone to any lengths necessary to capture Manuel alive.

That was why I decided to take Jean-Philippe's side.

To suppress Harrison's temper, I fixed him with an icy stare.

Whether it was the effect of the Uhwang Cheongsimwon or simply my own aura, the Branch Chief suddenly began trembling all over.

"Branch Chief Harrison, if you continue interrupting the conversation without my permission, I will regard it as insubordination."

"Understood, Director Cha."

"I'm watching you."

After giving Harrison a stern warning, I turned toward Jean-Philippe.

"Whatever the circumstances, without the CIA's involvement, Manuel could not have been captured alive."

"On that point, I agree with Director Cha."

"Where is he now?"

"We locked him in the basement of the annex."

"Give me the opportunity to interrogate him."

***

Clank!

Following Jean-Philippe and Harrison, I stepped through a heavy iron door. A man lay unconscious on the floor, literally drenched in blood.

Wanting to know what had happened, I turned toward Harrison.

As though he had read my mind, he immediately explained.

"He resisted fiercely during the arrest, so we had no choice."

"Is he even alive?"

"Of course."

"Wake him up. I need to interrogate him."

Harrison gave a slight nod, and one of the CIA agents brought over a bucket of ice-cold water.

He dumped the entire contents straight onto Manuel's face.

"Brrr!"

The CIA agents carried four metal chairs in from outside.

They lifted the now-conscious gangster and seated him on one of them.

I sat across from him and asked unhurriedly,

"Mr. Manuel, aren't you curious where you are?"

Instead of answering, Manuel merely nodded.

"This is Mr. Antonio's operational base."

"Don't tell me..."

I understood perfectly well why he trailed off.

"That's right. Mr. Antonio was eliminated by our group. He testified that a drug deal with you was supposed to take place here tonight. After intercepting that information, we blocked every escape route and arrested you and your men."

"Haah..."

As though he had lost his last shred of hope, Manuel let out a heavy, defeated sigh.

"The volume of drugs you've put into circulation is so enormous that there's no way you'll avoid a life sentence. But I know a way for you to escape that fate. Would you like to hear it?"

"...I would."

"Give us the names of every wholesaler who buys drugs from you. And surrender all the proceeds you've earned from drug trafficking to the state. If you do that, we'll process this as a voluntary surrender."

"Can I trust you?"

Instead of answering, I turned my gaze toward Director Jean-Philippe.

He immediately understood what I was trying to do and played along.

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

"...Yes."

"Good. If I give you my word personally, will that be enough?"

"I'll trust Director Jean-Philippe's word."

"Excellent. Director Cha, continue the interrogation."

Having played his part brilliantly, Jean-Philippe stepped back.

I gave him a slight nod of thanks and continued questioning Manuel.

"If even a single lie is uncovered during the subsequent investigation, our agreement will be null and void."

"I won't lie about anything. I swear."

"We'll see. Branch Chief Harrison, did you manage to seize his laptop?"

"Of course."

In stark contrast to Harrison's confident tone, Manuel sat there with an expression as dark as if he'd swallowed a fly.

After more than two hours of interrogation, we returned to the main building and continued our discussion.

"I had no idea Manuel had amassed such an enormous fortune."

"I completely agree with Director Cha on that."

"So do I..."

Harrison spoke up after Jean-Philippe.

"How should we divide the assets seized from Manuel?"

"I'd like to hear Director Cha's opinion first."

"I was the one who asked Director Jean-Philippe to take down Manuel's gang. The CIA only joined the operation afterward. Taking that into account, how about seventy percent for Switzerland and thirty percent for the United States?"

"I accept Director Cha's decision."

"It's a shame, of course, but I'll accept Director Cha's decision as well."

"Thank you both for accepting my proposal. Now, I think I'll head back to my bedroom."

"Wait a moment."

Jean-Philippe called out just as I was about to rise from the sofa.

"Was there something you wanted to say, Director Jean-Philippe?"

"Branch Chief Harrison mentioned that you have an important operation planned for tonight. Our Federal Intelligence Service would like to participate as well."

"Of course. You're welcome to join us."

I agreed without the slightest hesitation.