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Where did Hwang Ki-Hyun get the coordinates?

How did the Libyan agents learn that the incident in Afghanistan wasn’t just a mere kidnapping?

Why did the Quds show up in Africa? What about the attack on Song Chang-Wook?

While Kang Chan pondered these questions, Seok Kang-Ho walked toward him.

‘Should I just beat up Abibu again like this bastard suggested?’

Abibu wouldn’t survive another beating, though. He was nothing more than a chess piece that had been taken advantage of anyway. If anything, Kang Chan had to investigate where they were planning to build the next-generation energy facilities.

The NIS also had to get in touch with the agents in Egypt again to figure out how they discovered the coordinates. The submarines that Vasili mentioned had to be checked too.

Kang Chan glared at the whiteboard as if expecting it to answer.

“Coffee shop at the intersection, thirty minutes before lunch, right?” Choi Jong-Il asked, confirming the time.

“Yeah. We’re all going together anyway, so why do you ask?”

“We need to plan out the perimeter security.”

“You’ve met Smithen before, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

Choi Jong-Il hadn’t just met Smithen. Smithen was the main culprit behind a hostage situation in the past, so Choi Jong-Il likely knew him better than most people.

“Let’s leave around eleven, then.”

While Choi Jong-Il set a timer, Woo Hee-Seung approached them with a heavy expression.

‘What is it?’

Woo Hee-Seung glanced at Choi Jong-Il as he reported, “An article on the Internet is claiming that the National Intelligence Service has arrested Abibu as the mastermind of the recent terrorist attack.”

While observing Kang Chan’s reaction, he continued, “It also says that you’re currently torturing him and that he’s at death’s door now, Assistant Director.”

What kind of bullshit is this?

Choi Jong-Il and Woo Hee-Seung looked more surprised than Kang Chan. Even though only a few people were aware of what Kang Chan had done to Abibu, an article about it somehow got published anyway.

“Can I see the article?”

“It’s on the computer over there.”

Kang Chan went to the desk that Woo Hee-Seung pointed to.

Go Gun-Woo, Kim Hyung-Jung, the interpreter, the recorder, the two armed agents in the interrogation room, the two suited agents, the medical team, and… who else?

His mind raced as he walked.

While Lee Doo-Hee moved out of the way, Kang Chan leaned his arms on the desk and tilted his upper body to look at the monitor.

The first thing he saw was a photo of him. He then saw a picture of Abibu smiling and shaking hands at the bottom.

Since the story was in breaking news form, Woo Hee-Seung had already told him most of what it contained.

Tsk!

Kang Chan glared at the monitor and stood back up.

This would officially turn the UIS, extremists, and all of Saudi Arabia against South Korea.

‘Who is it? Who would do this?’

As Kang Chan stood up and moved to the table, Seok Kang-Ho walked over and looked at the article.

“Huh? How did this get published?”

Seok Kang-Ho’s words echoed Kang Chan’s feelings.

Kang Chan put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. He was relieved that Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook were in Europe right now.

“Hoo.”

While blowing out smoke, he immediately thought that the NIS could no longer be trusted. If he were to create his own organization, he would require a completely different source of information than theirs.

Grumbling, Seok Kang-Ho sat across from him. He then put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

“What are you going to do?”

“We’ll wait and see.”

“Now that the article’s out, there will be a hellish storm soon, won’t there?”

“Probably. Anyway, I’m going to make a call.”

Putting out his cigarette, Kang Chan picked up his phone and called Assistant Manager Kim.

- Hello?

“It’s me. Where are you?”

- The plane’s just left the Charles de Gaulle International Airport. We’re on our way back to South Korea.

Kang Chan’s heart sank.

He was just about to tell Assistant Manager Kim to make sure his parents wouldn’t see the news and to focus on their security.

“What? Why?”

- They feel bad for the agents for flying over to Europe while our nation was being hit with terrorist attacks. They insisted on it, so we had no choice…

Kang Chan looked outside the window.

The article seemed to serve as the nail in the coffin, proving that he was the one who committed the crime. Apart from being a target of terrorism, it would be hard for him to deal with the negative attention within Korea. It was impossible to stay away from TV, the internet, and phone calls forever.

“Is your flight heading straight to Seoul?”

- We have a layover in China.

“Then head to the base in Mongolia from China,” Kang Chan immediately decided. “You know President Kim Tae-Jin of Yoo Bi-Corp, right?”

- Yes, sir.

“He’ll be there to help you when you arrive. Heading back to South Korea right now isn’t a good idea. Can you prepare the flights and the helicopters?”

- I will ask for cooperation. Your parents will be quite surprised, though. I believe it would be best for you to break the news to them yourself.

“Connect me to them. Thank you.”

- Of course.

While listening to Assistant Manager Kim walking, Kang Chan let out a quiet sigh.

What would he even say?

- Hello?

Kang Dae-Kyung was the one on the line now.

Kang Chan felt bad. His parents had gone to Europe and now had to go to Mongolia when they were already on their way back home. He felt like he had become a troublemaker.

“Father, the situation isn’t too good in Korea right now. You should head straight to the South Korean base in Mongolia from China. I know Mother will be surprised, but I don’t know how to tell her about this.”

-Hmm.

Kang Dae-Kyung sounded as if he was contemplating.

- If that’s what you want, I’ll talk to your mother about it. We’re on the way to China right now. Should I discuss this with Assistant Manager Kim?

“Yes. Thank you, Father.”

- Everything else is fine, right?

“Of course.”

- I know you’re busy, but make sure you call your mother later, if not now.

“I will,” Kang Chan answered. He then called, “Father?”

- Yes?

“I’m sorry.”

- What for? Your mother will be happy.

Kang Dae-Kyung did his best to respond cheerfully.

The call ended afterward.

Under Seok Kang-Ho’s stare, Kang Chan looked up a new number and pressed the call button again.

- Hello?

“President Kim, this is Kang Chan.”

- You’ve been calling often these days. Do you want me to connect you to Kang sunbae? He’s not around right now, though…

“Not at the moment. My parents will probably be there in about twelve hours. They’re on their way back from Europe, but I told them to go there because I don’t think Korea is safe for them to be in right now.”

- What happened? Is there anything we can do from here?

“I’ll explain the details to you next time. Please tell Director Kang about this as well, and prepare a tent for them. Two agents will be accompanying them.

- Got it.

“Thank you.”

- I’ll do my best, so don’t worry too much.

After hanging up, Kang Chan put another cigarette in his mouth and lit it up.

“Didn’t you say you might end up taking the fight to Mongolia? Wouldn’t sending your parents over there put them in even more danger?”

“It’s better than staying here or in Europe right now. If we end up bringing the fight to Mongolia, we can just move them to China or Russia. As I’ve seen with Director Hwang and Director Song, South Korea isn’t really the most proactive country when it comes to fighting terrorism.”

Seok Kang-Ho nodded. “True. The agents here probably wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger even if they suspected someone is a suicide bomber.”

Kang Chan blew out a puff of smoke, seemingly letting out some of his frustrations. “Hoo.”

“Do you really think we can take the fight to Mongolia?,” Seok Kang-Ho wondered. “Our enemies aren’t stupid. They won’t walk across a desolate field just to blow themselves up.”

Even with the severity of the situation, Kang Chan couldn’t help but be surprised.

“What?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“How did you think of that?”

Seok Kang-Ho’s expression filled up with arrogance. “Hey! There you go again. Like I said, I’m better than Gérard.”

Suddenly walking over, Gérard asked, “What’s happening?”

Kang Chan told him about the article and what happened with Kang Dae-Kyung and Yoo Hye-Sook.

“If you go to Mongolia, the UIS and extremists will definitely target South Korea. It’ll be difficult to send a large force over,” Gérard replied.

It was similar to what Seok Kang-Ho said.

When did these assholes become so smart?

“Let’s just keep an eye on it for now,” Kang Chan ordered.

“Understood,” Gérard answered. He then smiled, the scar on his cheek stretching.

“What?”

“You really are amazing. Even the UIS is after you now. I like that you always see things to the end.”

“Things are already hectic enough, you fucking bastard. I don’t need your snarky remarks right now.”

“I’ll go pack. If we’re going, then let’s hurry up and leave already.”

Gérard looked rather excited.

“I thought you said you’re not coming to Mongolia,” Kang Chan commented.

“You’re going to make me come anyway, aren’t you?”

“What’s that fucker so excited about?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.

“He says he’s going to go pack his things and that we should hurry up and go if we’re leaving anyway,” Kang Chan answered.

“Fucking idiot! It’s not that easy!”

“He also said I’ll make him come.”

“Hm? Well, he’s not wrong. I’ll be back after I drop by at home. Phuhuhu!I suddenly feel hungry.”

Kang Chan shook his head.

Crazy bastards.

***

Go Gun-Woo sat across from Moon Jae-Hyun, a heavy expression on his face.

“The NIS leaking this information is fatal to national security,” Moon Jae-Hyun said.

Go Gun-Woo couldn’t even answer.

“How’s the situation?”

“Saudi Arabia’s unofficial channels demanding Abibu’s release have been completely cut off. They will probably release an official announcement soon.”

Moon Jae-Hyun groaned while rubbing his fingers together. “Hmm. Whatever the reason, beating Abibu up is inexcusable. I’m sure the assistant director knew that much.”

He pressed his lips together. Afterward, he asked, “What do you think? Is there a way out of this?”

“I can only think of two options. One is to show the evidence and announce that he’s the mastermind behind the terrorist attack. We can then say that he resisted so much during his arrest that he left us no choice.”

“That can be easily disproven during the trial, though.”

“If we announce that he was beaten, we’ll have a hard time cleaning up the mess. For now, we can only claim that Abibu is lying to dilute the terrorism case.”

Moon Jae-Hyun sighed again.

“What’s the other way?”

“We can negotiate with Abibu. According to him, he’s been receiving death threats for the information he’s given us. We can use that to get him to confess and announce that the violence was unavoidable because he was resisting arrest.”

“Why would he go along with that?”

“If you pardon him in return, he’ll comply.”

Moon Jae-Hyun shook his head.

“If we do that, we’ll also be covering up the terrorist attacks that killed Director Hwang and Director Song. The agents and soldiers’ sacrifices will be in vain as well.”

Go Gun-Woo was at a loss for words.

“We need Abibu’s word to stop this, but if we want him to comply, we will need to sacrifice our people and diplomatic missions.”

Seemingly coming to a realization, Moon Jae-Hyun then turned toward him. “Please protect the assistant director for now. Don’t let him go to Mongolia alone like he said in the interrogation room.”

“I’ll see to it.”

“How long do we have left before we have to release an official statement?”

“It depends on what Saudi Arabia’s official position will be. However, we believe that we should release one before the end of the day,” Go Gun-Woo responded.

They continued discussing the issue a bit further.

***

“Reporter Jo Seok-Do was the one who posted the breaking news story without permission from the higher-ups. If we force him to take it down now, it will only add to the suspicion.”

While Kim Hyung-Jung spoke on the phone, news reports continued to pop up on the monitor.

- Manager Kim, I’m more concerned about giving instructions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassies than creating correction articles. As I said, we’re planning to negotiate with Abibu. Please meet with the assistant director and have him refrain from doing anything else.

Go Gun-Woo was speaking faster than usual. Despite having thick skin, he was clearly panicking.

“Understood, Director.”

- Have you spoken with him yet?

“Not yet. I’ll meet up with him now and call you back after.”

- Losing the assistant director at a time like this will be hard for us to bear. I need you to hurry and tell him what’s going on and hopefully reach a good decision.

“I’ll leave right away.”

After hanging up, Kim Hyung-Jung stood up and called Kang Chan.

“Assistant Director, are you still at the office? I’d like to stop by as soon as possible. I’ve got an urgent matter to discuss with you.”

- Understood.

He then ended the call, stood up from his seat, and called an agent over.

“Let me know as soon as you find Jo Seok-Do. Also, get me a list of the agents who were there when Abibu was arrested and a separate list of the people who were in the interrogation room, including the agents, medical team, and everyone at the police hospital where he was hospitalized.”

“Yes, sir.”

“One more thing. List down the names of those working on the payroll and those who could have been listening to our frequencies from the counter-terrorism team’s situation room at the time of his arrest.”

Kim Hyung-Jung walked out the door, then turned around.

“The article is targeting the assistant director. If something goes wrong, he might take the fall for this. Make sure you don’t leave anyone off the list.”

“Of course, sir,” the agent answered, looking even more upset than Kim Hyung-Jung.

***

The moment the syringe was pulled out, Smithen let out a deep breath.

“Was that too strong?” Sharlan asked.

“I believe we administered the right amount. He’ll start feeling the pain in his legs again if it wears off halfway, sir.”

While glaring at Smithen, Sharlan ordered, “Dress the chest wound and the bomb so they don’t find it.”

“We’ve prepared everything you asked for.” The man who had tossed the syringe in the trash pointed to the table. There were pants, a cotton tee, a casual jacket, and even socks on top of it.

“Where’s the detonator?”

“It’s remote.”

The man held up a square box the size of his fist.

“Set it up,” Sharlan instructed.

The other people in the room walked over to Smithen.

“Heeheehee!”

Smithen, who was already shirtless, seemed to find it funny that they were taking off the rest of his clothes.

His body was a mess, to say the least. His chest was riddled with chest wounds, and his thighs had burns centered around knife scars.

Snap. Tear.

The men deftly wrapped bandages with four C-4s around his waist, then secured it by tying it tightly.

Smithen gasped as if he had just felt something exhilarating. Sharlan, who was leaning on the table, watched him with a sharp gaze.

***

As soon as Kim Hyung-Jung sat down, Woo Hee-Seung brought him coffee and then left.

Silence permeated the room as Kim Hyung-Jung took out a cigarette, offered it to Kang Chan, and lit it.

“The director is planning to meet with Abibu,” Kim Hyung-Jung began.

Cigarette smoke swirled up into the ceiling vents.

“He’s going to have Abibu confess that he was behind the terrorist attacks and he resisted his arrest so hard that we had to resort to violence.”

“There’s no way Abibu will just accept that. What is he offering him?”

“A presidential pardon,” Kim Hyung-Jung said with difficulty.

Seeing Kang Chan’s expression darken, he quickly continued, “After much deliberation, the president and the director came to that decision. They couldn’t accept the idea of you going to Mongolia. That’s also the reason they asked me to convince you not to leave.”

Kang Chan sighed quietly.

Their plan would cover up the deaths of Hwang Ki-Hyung and Song Chang-Wook. It would also render their agents' and soldiers’ sacrifices meaningless.

“Please take a break for now,” Kim Hyung-Jung insisted. “Abibu has asked us for protection, so he has no choice but to stay in Korea for the time being anyway.”

Kang Chan shook his head resolutely. “If the president pardons him, we’ll lose our chance to punish him.”

“But—”

“Manager Kim,” Kang Chan called, cutting Kim Hyung-Jung off. “Think about it. If you negotiate with that terrorist, everything will be over for South Korea. Every time we find ourselves in a similar situation in the future, we’ll be faced with a second or third Abibu. You’d negotiate with the man who killed our agents just because you’re afraid of terrorism?”

Kang Chan sighed loudly.

“Make an official announcement as soon as I leave for Mongolia.”

“That would mean losing you, Assistant Director, and possibly putting you under intense attack.”

“It’s still our best option. Tell the nation that I arrested Abibu based on the evidence we’ve gathered and that I’m sorry that something unfortunate happened during the arrest. No more, no less.”

“Assistant Director—”

“What about Director Hwang, Manager Kim? Director Song? Our fallen agents and soldiers?”

“That injustice brings tears to my eyes as well, but if we’re not careful, South Korea’s embassies and residents abroad will be targeted for terrorism. If we lose you, there’s no telling how many sacrifices will follow. We will avenge them, but you must bear with us this time.”

Kang Chan looked at Kim Hyung-Jung.

Their powerlessness and lack of experience in combating terrorism were the reasons they were in this situation. If they let themselves be defeated in this way, the terrorists would continue targeting them.

He was wrong for hitting Abibu. However, at a time when they had to strike at the first sign of terrorism, how could they negotiate with terrorists out of fear of hurting the diplomatic missions and people?

Kang Chan let out a long sigh. “Haaa.”

“We’re not used to handling terrorist attacks yet, Assistant Director,” Kim Hyung-Jung said. “If reports like this come out and there’s a bombing at Gangnam Station, our people won’t be able to handle it, and then all the blame will be pointed at you.”

What would have happened if Kang Chan hadn’t beaten up Abibu? What would they be able to tell the people if the motherfucker continued to insist he was innocent?

Would the Saudi Arabians have acknowledged that he was the mastermind behind the International Building incident?

Kang Chan took a long drag on his cigarette to stifle his frustration. “This isn’t right.”

“Sir, this is a matter for the president and the director to decide. Please just follow their requests this time.”

Kang Chan and Kim Hyung-Jung sighed at the same time.

A moment of silence followed.

“Alright. I’ll accept their decision, but please identify who leaked this information and why,” Kang Chan concluded. “Otherwise, whatever you do in the future, there will be suspicion among the agents.”

Kim Hyung-Jung sighed in relief.

Kang Chan continued, “I’ll have to excuse myself. I thought about canceling my plans, but if this is how we’re going to handle the situation, then I’m heading out now,”

When he turned around, Gérard and Choi Jong-Il stood up as well.

“Is it an urgent meeting?”

“You remember Smithen, right? We said we would have lunch together. I’m feeling pretty frustrated, so I’d like to blow off some steam beforehand.”

“Smithen? The manager of Gong Te automobile’s South Korean branch?”

“Yes.”

Kang Chan stood up.

“Smithen said he wanted to meet your parents the morning they left as well,” Kim Hyung-Jung said. It seemed he only remembered it now. “According to him, he’s pretty upset about your father stepping down from his position. He even asked where in Europe they were going.”

Kang Chan turned to Seok Kang-Ho, who grinned amusedly in response.