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Feeling calmer when he had a sip of the fresh coffee that the female manager had brought over, Kang Chan made the phone call that he had to put off for a moment.
- Mr. Kang Chan.
Kim Hyung-Jung sounded as if he was in a rush.
- I checked, but we haven’t found anything yet. The National Intelligence Service’s branch in the airport’s customs in the National Intelligence Service are immediately deporting suspicious arrivals right now, and we have also gotten a report about the movements of the people on the blacklist of the National Police Agency’s foreign affairs division. However, we haven’t noticed anything strange so far. Are you sure that the information is trustworthy?
Kang Chan briefly explained what he had talked about with Lanok.
- We have also figured out three different ways that Europe will act. The problem is that we can’t figure out the circumstances around the C-4 and the circumstances around the enemies being smuggled into the country.
“Mr. Manager, I’m sorry for the trouble, but can you include Seok Kang-Ho among the security guards for tomorrow? He’ll have weapons for protecting people at close range. I would also like to see the security plan if you have access to it.”
- I can’t make a decision about this on my own since this concerns the president’s security service, so I’ll contact you as soon as I have spoken to the director.
After dropping the call, Kang Chan leaned toward the window.
The attack had already happened.
He thought that they could finally put a stop to Yang Jin-Woo with the event tomorrow.
A moment later, Kang Chan’s phone rang.
- Mr. Kang Chan, the Director has granted me permission to support you in any way you please. Fortunately, Mr. Seok Kang-Ho has the qualifications of an agent. If he has any pistol preferences, I’ll be sure to get it.
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“He would want two pistols—the Beretta M9[1] and the Glock 19. He will also need four mags and a walkie-talkie. That should be enough.”
- Mr. Seok Kang-Ho will be using all of that?
“Yes. Lanok said that he’ll prepare weapons for me, so I’ll get my weapons from him. Prepare two bayonets as well, please. I want to secure them on my ankle.”
- Understood. Regarding the security plan, you may only see it in the office in Samseong-dong.
“I’m currently at the Namsan Hotel, but I’ll head there now. Is that okay?”
- Of course. I’ll call Mr. Seok Kang-Ho.
Kang Chan hung up and looked at the time. It was 5:30 pm.
He couldn’t help but sigh. What kind of life was this? Why didn't he have any days that didn’t require him to have a weapon in hand?
Was it really true that Yoo Hun-Woo had requested a biopsy to be done in the United States?
Kang Chan went out of the hotel and got in a taxi. As they left, he called Yoo Hun-Woo.
- Mr. Kang Chan, I’m out at a gathering right now, so it will take about an hour for me to get to the hospital. Are you severely wounded?
“I’m not wounded, Mr. Director. I called you because I want to ask you something.”
- You’re not wounded?
Kang Chan smirked because Yoo Hun-Woo sounded disappointed.
“It’s about the biopsy we talked about a while ago. Did you request that to be done in the United States, by any chance?”
- Yes. I sent it to the Sampleton Research Institute in Washington. It’s the most prestigious research institute in the world, so we can trust its findings, regardless of what it says.
Damn it! Lanok was right!
- Why do you ask? What is this about?
“I was just curious if you accidentally sent it somewhere inappropriate.”
- Their services are expensive, but they’re trustworthy.
Yoo Hun-Woo quietly laughed.
“I just used that as an excuse to call you. I just wanted to talk with you for a bit.”
After they exchanged a few more words, Kang Chan hung up.
The taxi came across traffic when they passed the Hannam Bridge, forcing them to slow down.
Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—. Buzz— Buzz—Buzz—.
“Hello?”
- It’s Seok Kang-Ho. What’s going on? Manager Kim asked me to come, but he sounded strange.
“It’s not something we can talk about over the phone, so let’s meet up first. Can you come?”
- I’m on my way to Samseong-dong right now. Have you had dinner yet?
“No, I haven’t.”
- Great. Come over and let’s eat together.
Kang Chan hung up the phone. Twenty minutes later, he arrived in Samseong-dong.
He went up to the fifth floor. When Kim Hyung-Jung opened the door, they headed straight to his room.
“Welcome,” Seok Kang-Ho greeted Kang Chan with a grave expression, perhaps because he had heard what was going on.
After they ordered three bibimbap, Kang Chan told them everything, including his meeting with Lanok earlier in the day, the Serpent Venimeux incident, and what happened to Lee Ji-Yeon. He was already done talking when the food arrived.
This neighborhood had a really fast delivery service.
After their meal, which they finished in five minutes, Kim Hyung-Jung brought over and placed three drinks on the table.
“Let’s go over the schedule first,” Kim Hyung-Jung said, biting on a cigarette. He walked over to the desk, brought over a pile of documents and floor plans, and placed them on the table. “Mr. Seok Kang-Ho, please take a look at this. The ones marked with a ‘V’ are the segments of the event that the President is attending. Since the announcement will be made with the other countries, Ambassador Lanok is expected to announce it with everyone gathered around him.”
Kang Chan skimmed through the entire schedule. It wasn’t as tightly packed as he was expecting.
“Our problem lies in the private meetings that the heads of the other countries’ Intelligence Bureaus hold among themselves in between the segments. They decide when to conduct those on the spot, making those moments especially bothersome when it comes to guarding them.”
“I was told that they’ll take care of their own security during those meetings,” Kang Chan commented.
“That’s also driving us crazy. The building and the hotel we’ll be using for the event use the same passage, so more than a hundred armed agents will be in the building next to the hotel. Some people complained about it, but since we’re very pressed for time and the announcement has a strong symbolic meaning, everyone just let it slide and accepted it.”
Kang Chan started to think that the other countries just passed the headache onto South Korea.
Instead, he could feel his nervousness disappearing..
“Mr. Manager, assuming the worst-case scenario happens and we find ourselves in the middle of a gunfight between the Intelligence Bureaus, what would your contingency measure be?”
The room momentarily fell silent.
“Shouldn’t we assume the worst since all the foreign Intelligence Bureau agents will possess a gun? I’m just curious about the standard procedure for situations like that.”
“Hmm, the security office will focus on guarding the VIPs, and the National Intelligence Service will step in to stop the gunfight. We will also deploy the 606 members to the scene.”
“Can C-4 be brought into the event?”
Cocking his head, Kim Hyung-Jung spread out the floor plan on the table. “We had placed an inspection sign in the ventilation, the joint, and all of the doors. The 606 have been stationed in those locations, and they’re expected to remain on stand-by there until the event starts. That would make installing C-4s in the building difficult.”
“If so, then that means that they’re going to bring in the C-4 in the middle of the event, right?”
“Assuming they do, they’ll have trouble smuggling it in since the 606 members will be watching everyone for the next two days, including those working in the kitchen. All the attendees will also have to pass through security and bomb detection dogs.”
“Do we have the entire building under our control?” Kang Chan asked again.
“Unfortunately, that’s impossible. If they didn’t decide to hold this event on such short notice, we honestly wouldn’t even have to prepare things separately like this. We wouldn’t have even used one of the internationally owned buildings and hotels.”
Kang Chan looked up from the map, his gaze landing on Hyung-Jung. “Why are you telling me this?”
“We can’t control all the people within the building. Even if we assume that we can somehow stop anything from happening on one floor, it's basically impossible to contain any more than that. Plus…” Kim Hyung-Jung stopped and sighed mid-sentence. “There’s an unimaginable number of reporters interested in this event. According to the press center, ninety journalism companies and nearly four hundred people have officially requested the right to cover this event already. Even variety programs are doing all sorts of lobbying to try and butt into covering this event in one way or another, so it’s absolutely torturous.”
“It seems I accepted a useless offer simply because I wasn’t aware of things like this.” Kang Chan wasn’t being sarcastic, but he didn’t regret his decision either.
“That’s not true, Mr. Kang Chan. You shouldn’t think about things like that.” Kim Hyung-Jung leaned back against the chair and picked up a cigarette. “Even though we weren’t originally a part of the ‘Unicorn’ project, the announcement is an opportunity for South Korea to be properly recognized as one of the main contributors of the Eurasian rail along with Russia and France. That’s why the government happily accepted this offer despite all of the uncertain elements that come with this event.”
Kim Hyung-Jung lit up the cigarette. Looking straight at Kang Chan, he then continued, “The Director said a moment ago that he feels extremely apologetic for having to borrow your power for this event right after the operation in Mongolia. I feel the same way. You have no idea how thankful I am to you for seizing this opportunity. If the conference was done without South Korea, I would’ve led the specialized team again so they would include us.”
Kang Chan smirked. Seok Kang-Ho and even Kim Hyung-Jung smiled as well.
“Whoo! Let’s sort things out one at a time for now, Mr. Manager,” Kang Chan suggested.
“How should we do that?”
Kang Chan began to reveal the ideas he had thought of. “I’ll take charge of Lanok’s safety and the agents from the five countries. In the event of a gunfight against the Intelligence Bureaus’ agents, I’ll try to suppress them by myself first, and if that proves impossible, I’ll request help. If that time ever comes, I need to have authority over the operation.”
“That’s completely possible, considering even the Intelligence Bureaus’ agents will be mixed in with everyone,” Kim Hyung-Jung said while extinguishing the cigarette.
“Secondly, that operational authority will be a problem if the enemy manages to infiltrate the event or a bombing incident transpires. In such a situation, the foreign Intelligence Bureaus’ agents will prove to be a problem as well. You need to choose someone to have the operational authority. Then, I think that I can tell the Intelligence Bureaus’ agents that the person is going to take control.,” Kang Chan said.
“I’ll discuss things with the Director at 10:00 am tomorrow. I’ll give you a name after that. The Director will probably discuss it with the chief officer of security first before giving me an answer.”
“I think this should be enough. If we get into a gunfight with the Intelligence Bureaus’ agents, make sure you stop at nothing to follow my decisions when it comes to the deployment of foreign military strength.”
“Roger that. However, Mr. Kang Chan…” Kim Hyung-Jung hesitated. There was only one reason why he would behave this way.
“If I’m attacked, everything will still work out for as long as the National Intelligence Service accepts Seok Kang-Ho and Louis gets the authority over the operation,” Kang Chan said.
“Understood.”
Even though it wasn’t anything special, Kang Chan felt more relieved now that he had a general outline of what to do.
It was now way past 10 pm.
“The Chinese are subtly offering their hand to our government. The people who led the latest terrorist attack might also make a last desperate attempt,” Kim Hyung-Jung added.
“For some reason, I suspect China would also support the terrorist attacks until the very end.”
“It’s possible. If the terrorist attack fails, China will just apologize through a diplomatic channel and try to maintain a good relationship.”
Kang Chan also made sure that Kim Hyung-Jung would make the right authorities investigate the case of Lee Ji-Yeon’s unnie again. Afterward, he left Kim Hyung-Jung’s office with Seok Kang-Ho.
1. the Beretta M9 is a semi-automatic pistol that has been the standard firearm of the United States Armed Forces since 1985. ☜