Chapter 82: A Favor in Return

“Chairman Gomez, is there any chance your granddaughter's words were mistaken?”

Hearing Advisor Graff's question, Chairman Gomez turned toward Cha Jiham.

Immediately realizing what he intended, I opened my mouth without hesitation.

“Not long ago, our police successfully wiped out the Korean branch of the Triad.”

In reality, it had been the employees of Korea Investment who had destroyed the Korean branch of the Triad. Nevertheless, the reason I told this white lie was to maintain consistency. However, it took only a single minute for my lie to begin unraveling.

“Commissioner General Choi, is that true?”

“...Well, that's what we announced to the press.”

At that moment, Advisor Graff realized there was a hidden story behind it all. Before answering his question, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong of the National Police Agency had hesitated ever so slightly. As if testing his own suspicion, he cautiously asked,

“If you promise to keep it confidential, I can tell you the truth.”

“Our people know how to keep their mouths shut, but...” Advisor Graff deliberately trailed off before finishing his sentence.

Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong, who had spent his entire career fighting organized crime, immediately understood what he meant.

“Every Korean present here knows the exact truth.”

“I see. I promise to keep it secret forever, so tell us what really happened.”

“I'll trust you, Advisor Graff. Specialist Cha?”

“...Do I have to explain?”

“I don't know all the details of what happened during the operation against the Korean branch of the Triad,” Chairman Park Yeongil interjected, bringing our conversation to a decisive close.

After putting an end to the exchange, Chairman Park added as he looked at me,

“Department Head Cha, you explain it.”

Having listened to our conversation, Advisor Graff tilted his head in confusion and interrupted.

“Chairman Park, what do you mean by Department Head?”

“At Hangang Group they call him a Specialist, but in our company his position is Department Head.”

“Ah, now I understand. Department Head Cha, let's hear what happened.”

Just to be safe, I decided to lay the groundwork first.

“Please keep in mind before I begin that some parts of what I'm about to say may differ slightly from the official version of events.”

“We'll keep that in mind, so please begin.”

“To make things easier to understand, Advisor Graff, I'll start with the current internal situation within the Triad itself.”

“That would indeed make it easier.”

“The Triad's leader, Gui Tao, turned eighty-seven this year. Several years ago he was diagnosed with dementia, and his condition has steadily worsened. Because of that, a fierce struggle for succession broke out between Vice Chairman Wei Chen and Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui.”

“Who do you think will ultimately become the new leader?”

“It's said that as soon as Leader Gui learned of his illness, he immediately named Vice Chairman Wei Chen as his successor. However, Vice Chairman Chen rebelled against that decision and rapidly expanded his own power. That's probably why the two of them are currently evenly matched.”

At that moment, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan requested permission to speak, indicating that he had something to add.

“I would like to make one correction to Department Head Cha's statement.”

“Please.”

“With the complete destruction of the Korean branch of the Triad, Vice Chairman Chen's position has been severely weakened.”

“Ah, that explains it.”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan stepped back, and I resumed speaking.

“Vice Chairman Chen controls our region, Japan, the Philippines, the rest of Southeast Asia, and the American continent. Vice Chairman Wei, on the other hand, oversees every other region.”

“I understand. Please continue.”

“Because our country's police force is exceptionally strong, the Triad's influence here was extremely weak compared to other countries. Closely observing this situation, Vice Chairman Chen sent his only son, Chen Shao, to study in our country two years ago. Chen Shao attempted to expand the Triad's influence by supplying drugs—specifically methamphetamine—to local criminal organizations.”

I paused briefly to catch my breath before continuing.

“I have a younger sister. At the beginning of last year, she became the victim of a hit-and-run accident.”

“That's truly unfortunate...”

“Looking back now, if the police had properly investigated the accident at that time, they could have caught the perpetrator. They would also have uncovered the Korean branch of the Triad.”

“I truly regret what happened back then,” Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong spoke before anyone else could.

“I'll continue. After learning about my sister's accident, Chairman Park launched his own investigation to catch the driver responsible.”

“But isn't Chairman Park the head of an investment company?”

“Korea Investment has a specialized debt collection division. About half of its members are former special forces soldiers, police officers, and professional athletes.”

“So they conducted the investigation?”

“Exactly as you said, Advisor Graff. After an extensive investigation, they discovered that the witnesses to the accident had emigrated to Canada and New Zealand, where they were eliminated by members of the Triad.”

After that, relying strictly on the facts, I explained in detail how Li Jiahan had been captured and how the Korean Triad headquarters had been destroyed. However, I deliberately omitted any mention of Saho, who had played the decisive role. After all, if I told them the entire truth, they might very well demand that my cat be handed over for anatomical examination. Whenever my explanation proved insufficient, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong and Chief Secretary Kang Inhan supplemented it with additional details.

“...Thus, instead of the police, our company's employees succeeded in completely eliminating the Korean branch of the Triad.”

“I'm curious. Why did you disguise the operation as though it had been carried out by the police?”

“Our company couldn't operate openly. Besides, several of those gangsters were killed on the scene.”

“Hm... When you put it that way, it does make sense.”

“When Chen Shao was arrested, we seized a gold necklace with a storage device concealed inside the pendant. It contained highly classified information, including the Triad's secret organizational structure.”

“Is that true?!” Advisor Graff's eyes widened in astonishment.

“Yes.”

“But how did Chen Shao come into possession of such highly confidential internal information?”

“Commissioner Choi can explain that,” I immediately passed the baton to Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong.

“It has been confirmed that Chen Shao secretly copied the files from the computer belonging to his father, Vice Chairman Chen.”

“And why would that foolish boy take such a dangerous risk?”

“He suffered from an extreme degree of narcissism and loved showing off.”

“Ah, now I understand. Have you already verified the information stored on the device?”

“Of course. We thoroughly examined it and confirmed everything.”

“Oh! I see!”

Leaving Advisor Graff's exclamation of admiration behind, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong turned toward Chairman Gomez.

“Golden Health was indeed acquired by the Triad.”

“So my suspicion was correct.”

“Using Golden Health's distribution network, those scum distributed enormous quantities of methamphetamine throughout the United States and Canada.”

At that moment, FBI Director Glenn Nevers, who had questions of his own, entered the conversation.

“Commissioner Choi, do you know how much methamphetamine they were distributing?”

“According to the records on the storage device, approximately five hundred kilograms every month.”

“And how were they secretly bringing that much narcotics into our country?”

“They were manufacturing it at a secret factory located in California.”

“You know the location of this secret factory?”

“Of course we do. However...”

Director Glenn Nevers immediately understood why Choi Dongyeong had intentionally stopped speaking. It meant that obtaining the information would require providing an appropriate favor ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) in return. They were willing to pay almost any price to eradicate narcotics, but there was still one thing that concerned him.

“Commissioner Choi, are they still producing methamphetamine at that factory?”

“Rather than answering directly, I'll simply repeat that we thoroughly verified every piece of information stored on that device.”

In other words, it was the absolute truth.

“Very well. If you provide us with that information, we'll offer you an appropriate favor in return.”

“Do you only need the factory's location?”

“You make it sound as though you possess additional information. Is that true?”

“That's absolutely correct.”

“Can you tell us what kind of information?”

“First, we know the locations of the Triad's American branches, as well as the criminal organizations that receive methamphetamine from them. Second, we know which American politicians and influential figures have been protecting the Triad. Finally, we know which organizations are engaged in fierce competition with them for control of the drug trade.”

Director Glenn Nevers tilted his head in bewilderment. Even the FBI didn't know exactly how many organizations were trafficking narcotics throughout the United States. Yet Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong spoke with complete confidence.

“How did the Triad manage to identify all of those drug organizations?”

“According to Chen Shao, the Triad's ultimate objective is to completely dominate the entire American underworld.”

“Ha! They're completely insane...”

At that moment, an unexpected incident occurred. Chairman Gomez, who had been listening to the conversation between Choi Dongyeong and Director Nevers, couldn't hold himself back and muttered a curse under his breath at such absurdity. Not understanding why, Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong looked directly at him. Feeling the gaze upon him, Chairman Gomez hurriedly continued.

“Those bastards are simply far too ambitious. Director Nevers, please continue.”

“The Triad decided that taking control of the local drug organizations would be the first step toward seizing the American underworld. That's why they began gathering intelligence on them five years ago.”

“I understand now. We'll purchase every piece of information the Korean police possess. Just tell us what favor you want in return.”

“Hmm...” Commissioner General Choi Dongyeong hesitated, as though carefully considering something.

The rest of us remained silent, giving him time to gather his thoughts. After a short while, he finally finished thinking and slowly spoke.

“The employees of Korea Investment destroyed the Korean branch of the Triad. They were also the ones who obtained Chen Shao's gold necklace. Therefore, I believe it is only proper that the favor in return should benefit Korea Investment.”

At that very moment, everyone's gaze shifted toward Chairman Park Yeongil. As though he had expected this outcome, he calmly said,

“My company's employees destroyed the Korean branch of the Triad under Department Head Cha's command. Therefore, I leave the decision entirely to Department Head Cha.”

Now everyone looked at me.

After thinking briefly, I addressed Director Glenn Nevers.

“The information we've obtained is so extensive that its value cannot even be measured in money.”

“I completely agree with you, Department Head Cha.”

“Therefore, in exchange for transferring this information to the FBI, I have two conditions.”

“Let's hear them.”

“The first is the simplest and most reliable method—money. As compensation for the information, pay two hundred fifty million dollars for each category.”

“Agreed.”

I immediately realized something had gone wrong.

Two hundred fifty million dollars was an enormous amount of money. Yet Director Glenn Nevers accepted my proposal instantly, as though he had been waiting for exactly that figure. That could only mean the true value of our information far exceeded the amount I had requested.

Unfortunately, there was no taking back words that had already been spoken.

Damn. I'd better be much more careful with the second condition.

Collecting myself, I continued speaking to the FBI Director.

“I didn't expect you to be so decisive, Director Nevers.”

“Haha. Really? Then let's hear your second condition.”

Just as I was about to reveal it, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind.

However, a favor of such importance couldn't be decided impulsively.

Fine. Director Lee will know exactly how to handle this.

Having quickly reached that conclusion, I answered Director Nevers.

“My second condition will be explained by Chief of Staff Lee.”

“Me?” Chief of Staff Lee Jihun pointed at himself in surprise.

To be on the safe side, I spoke to him in Korean.

“As our condition, raise one of the unresolved issues that currently exist between our country and the United States.”

“There are quite a few unresolved issues between our two countries...”

I understood perfectly well why Lee Jihun hesitated.

“But surely there's one issue that President Douglas brings up every chance he gets?”

“Ah...” Finally understanding what I meant, Chief of Staff Lee Jihun nodded in agreement.