Chapter 121: That Time We Got a Foreign Loan in South America (2)

TL: Skye

Everyone knew that the busiest government office in San Marcos was the Presidential Palace.

President Yu-jin himself was already pulling an insane schedule of six and a half days and 72 hours a week.

Isabella, who was at Yu-jin's side for practically every move he made, kept an equally insane schedule.

But ask which government department was the second busiest, and opinions would vary.

Some would say the Ministry of Finance, which handled the nation's finances and economic policy. Others would say the Ministry of Industry, which oversaw private companies, while still others might point to the Ministry of Housing and Construction, currently carrying out the massive New Town project.

But the Senior Secretaries, San Marcos's highest-ranking officials, all knew the answer.

The second busiest government organization in San Marcos was the SIA.

And its director, Lucio, was hard at work again today in a house on the outskirts of Libertad.

“Aaaaaagh!”

A scream echoed up from the basement.

With the screaming behind him, Lucio wiped the blood from his hands with a towel.

His expression remained perfectly calm.

He carefully wiped between each finger, like a man who had just finished doing the dishes.

The man tied to the chair, on the other hand, was already a complete wreck.

His face was swollen, his split lip was bleeding, and there was even a nail driven into the index finger of his left hand.

Lucio set down the towel, dragged a chair over in front of the man, and sat down.

Scrrrape.

“So.”

Lucio crossed his legs as he spoke.

“The route from Mexico into the United States got shut down, so you crawled into San Marcos instead. That right?”

“Y-yes, sir. So please, just stop...”

“Who ordered it?”

“The boss! The boss ordered it! What power do guys like us have? We just did what we were told.”

“Well, that's true enough...”

Lucio asked with a mocking grin.

“So, where's your boss right now?”

“I... I can't tell you that.”

“Haah... What a frustrating bastard.”

Lucio picked up another nail from the table beside him.

A massive nail, ten centimeters long.

“I've got plenty of patience. What I don't have is time.”

Lucio grabbed the man's uninjured right hand.

“I need every second I can get to work for His Excellency. Can't have a bastard like you eating up my time, can I?”

“......”

“Your boss's location and contact details. Tell me, and this ends here. Otherwise...”

Lucio lightly rested the tip of the nail on the man's right index fingernail.

“I'll just hammer one into this side too.”

“W-wait! I'll talk! I'll talk!”

The man cried out through his tears.

“The boss is in Mexico City! The number is 52-555-...”

At Lucio's glance, the agent beside him wrote the information down.

“Good work.”

He spoke to the agent waiting outside.

“Patch him up and send him to the mines.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Lucio climbed the stairs, he gave another agent an order.

“Contact the agents we've deployed to Mexico. Tell them to go pay a man named Hernando a visit.”

“Should they eliminate him immediately?”

Lucio shook his head.

“The Mexican cartels aren't small-time organizations like the cartels in San Marcos. Our agents alone couldn't kill him.”

“Then...”

“Just give him a warning. Tell him that if he sets his sights on San Marcos, he might find himself fighting a real war.”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

After giving the order, Lucio climbed into the car parked outside.

“Good work, sir.”

He nodded at the agent sitting in the driver's seat.

“Why not leave this sort of work to us from now on?”

“Getting out in the field once in a while is fun. Brings back old memories.”

“......”

Lucio raised his wrist and checked the time.

10 p.m.

It was time for the scheduled meeting.

“Take us back to headquarters.”

“Yes, sir.”

A short while later, when Lucio entered the second-floor conference room, six agents from the SIA Overseas Intelligence Bureau were already seated.

A world map hung on the wall, with red pins marking the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Brazil.

They were countries where the SIA had deployed agents.

“I'll begin the briefing.”

The Director of the Overseas Intelligence Bureau opened his file.

“Cartel-affiliated gang members are entering the country by blending in among Venezuelan workers. It isn't a major problem at present, but if their numbers increase, they could slip through our surveillance network.”

“We're seeing movement from Colombia as well. We've detected attempts to reroute drug shipments through waters near San Marcos.”

“We've confirmed that Brazilian intelligence operatives have entered San Marcos. They haven't made any other moves so far, so they're under surveillance.”

“Smuggling vessels from the Dominican Republic have been appearing frequently in nearby waters. We've asked the navy to increase its patrol frequency.”

“From Panama...”

As the reports poured in one after another, Lucio issued precise instructions for each matter in turn.

“Coordinate with the Security Bureau and maintain the surveillance network. Contact the navy and tell them to respond with live fire if any unauthorized vessel enters our coastal waters. That's the only way they'll stop coming and going as they please. As for the Dominican smugglers, let's watch them for now. We need to find out who's got the nerve to smuggle things in here in the first place. Panama... we'll keep an eye on that for a while.”

Once everything had been dealt with, Lucio turned a page in the file and spoke.

“As you all know, His Excellency will be visiting the United States soon.”

Every agent's attention focused on him.

“He is scheduled to hold a joint press conference with President Drump at the White House. This visit concerns the $100 billion loan, so security takes absolute priority.”

Lucio pointed to the United States on the map.

“Contact the agents stationed in Washington and New York. Gather as much local intelligence as possible through the San Marcos expatriate community. I want every potential threat around His Excellency's itinerary, accommodations, and travel routes identified.”

“We're already monitoring them.”

“His Excellency himself will be traveling there. We need to prepare for every contingency. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

The agents answered in unison.

Lucio left the conference room.

Through the corridor window, he could see the cityscape of Libertad.

A peaceful city.

But no one knew what went on underground to preserve that peace.

In truth, they didn't need to know.

That was the SIA's job.

‘For the Sun of San Marcos.’

Lucio quietly repeated the motto of UJF(UJIN FOREVER).

***

“I've put together the delegation for your visit to the United States.”

I looked over the document Isabella handed me.

“Chief of Staff, you're on the list too?”

“Yes.”

“That won't work.”

“...Pardon?”

“We've got too much going on for you to leave. You need to stay here. New Town construction is in full swing, and we have to keep managing the Venezuelan workers too.”

“That is true, but...”

“I'll take Secretary Anna instead.”

“B-but...”

“Oh, right. Tourism Agency Director is coming too.”

“You mean Antonio, the Tourism Agency Director?”

“Yes. He's American, after all. If anything, he'll be helpful, not a hindrance. He also has strong connections with the expatriate community.”

“...Understood.”

The truth was, I did feel a little uneasy without Isabella.

She'd been at my side for six years.

But if I left the country and Isabella, effectively the number two in the administration, came with me, we'd have a hard time responding if anything happened back home.

“I'm counting on you while I'm gone.”

“Leave it to me.”

Isabella gave a firm bow, then pulled out another document.

“And this is the draft of the speech you'll be giving in the United States.”

When the hell did she even have time to prepare this?

“Please review it and make any changes you see fit, Your Excellency. Your English is better than mine, after all.”

“Thanks. I'll read through it and fix whatever needs fixing.”

“Yes.”

Time passed, and at last the morning of our departure arrived.

Libertad International Airport.

The presidential aircraft was waiting on the runway.

Calling it a presidential jet might have been generous, considering it was just a refurbished used Boeing 737, but with the San Marcos flag painted on the fuselage and the interior neatly remodeled, it looked surprisingly respectable.

‘We've come a long way since the prop plane.’

Times really had changed.

Sophia, Anna, and Antonio were already waiting on the runway.

Sophia was carrying a briefcase, while Anna checked the itinerary on a tablet.

I stopped at the foot of the boarding stairs and looked back.

At the far end of the runway.

Isabella stood there.

She didn't wave.

She just stood there.

Her expression was the same as always.

Blank.

And yet, strangely enough.

Even just standing there, she caught my eye.

I gave a slight nod.

Isabella nodded back.

That was all.

‘I'll be back.’

A farewell we didn't need to put into words.

Six years together was enough for that much.

I climbed the stairs and entered the aircraft.

Sophia, Anna, and Antonio each took their seats.

“How long's the flight?”

“About five hours to New York.”

“I need to look over the speech, so give me some time alone.”

“Yes.”

A moment later, the engines began to roar and the presidential jet raced down the runway.

***

[NBS News — Breaking News]

The anchor's voice played over the footage.

[President Choi Yu-jin of San Marcos entered the United States at 9 a.m. local time today.]

The screen changed.

New York's JFK International Airport.

The presidential jet bearing the flag of San Marcos stood on the runway.

The boarding stairs descended, and Yu-jin appeared.

A navy suit with a San Marcos flag pin.

The U.S. State Department protocol team was waiting on the red carpet.

As Yu-jin descended the stairs, a U.S. official stepped forward and offered his hand.

Camera flashes erupted.

[This visit centers on a summit concerning economic cooperation between the two countries, with the main agenda reportedly being a large-scale, low-interest loan from the United States to San Marcos.]

The screen changed.

A motorcade leaving the airport.

U.S. security vehicles escorted it from the front and rear.

[President Choi Yu-jin will spend tonight at Drump Tower in Manhattan, New York, before traveling to Washington, D.C. tomorrow morning, where he is scheduled to hold a summit and joint press conference with President Drump at the White House.]

The anchor continued.

[This is officially the first visit to the United States by President Choi Yu-jin, the Korean-born leader of San Marcos, and is expected to mark a new turning point in relations between the two countries.]

Once the news aired, reactions exploded on the San Ma Gallery of City Inside, whose users followed San Marcos more closely than anyone.

Title: His Excellency went to America holy shit lolololol

ㄴ Joint press conference at the White House lmaoooo that's fucking insane

Title: Is the $100 billion loan actually real? That's 150 trillion won???

ㄴ fr? Our country's annual budget is 600 trillion won and they're lending them 150 trillion?

ㄴ What's San Marcos's GDP that they're lending them $100 billion? lmao

ㄴ Drump seems seriously committed to Choi Yu-jin

Title: Apparently he's sleeping at Drump Tower lol

ㄴ Staying at Drump Tower lmao subtle as hell

ㄴ Who's paying for the hotel?

ㄴ Obviously the U.S. government lol You think they're lending $100 billion and then cheaping out on the hotel bill?

ㄴ Drump: He has to sleep in my building so my building gets publicity!

ㄴ Businessman instincts lmao

Title: Choi Yu-jin's diplomacy is honestly insane

ㄴ Not a $10 billion loan, a $100 billion loan...

ㄴ The impressive part is that the guy on the other side is money-grubbing Drump

ㄴ Can't believe this is even possible

ㄴ Our politicians need to learn diplomacy from Choi Yu-jin too

And Yu-jin, the object of all this fervent attention, was...

“What do you think? Impressive, right?”

“Oooooh... This really is magnificent!”

Admiring an American-style longsword decorated with gold that Drump had prepared as a gift to commemorate his visit.

*****

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