TL: EKID
Falcon No. 5 asked Dove No. 1, who was commanding this operation.
“No. 1 hyung, did you send the video of taking the money out of the warehouse to the Company?”
“No. I sent it excluding only that part.”
“Then it’s fine. Let’s take that money ourselves. Anyway, the Black Dragon Society will think the North Korean guys took the money.”
Falcon No. 5, the man in sunglasses, had a bold personality.
“How much did you say it was?”
“About 20 million dollars.”
“Gasp.”
Falcon No. 9, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, interrupted.
Upon hearing the amount, Falcon No. 9’s mouth dropped open. The rest of the people next to him were all surprised at the mention of 20 million dollars.
After chasing the North Korean vehicle all the way to the Yalu River bridge, Falcon No. 5 and No. 9 returned to <Along the Forest Path Bar> and a meeting was held.
The agenda was how to handle the money brought from the warehouse.
“I’m of the same opinion as Falcon No. 5.”
“No. 1 hyung, then how do you plan to divide the money?”
“I’d like to split it equally. That is, if Dove No. 5, who found the secret safe and brought the money, has no objections.”
Everyone looked at me.
“I have no objections.”
Everyone’s expressions brightened at my response.
Even if divided equally, that would be 4 billion won per person. I truly had no complaints.
Instead, I had one question.
“But how do we get the money into the country?”
“Don’t worry about that. I know a friend who does illegal remittances. If we leave it to him, he’ll deliver the cash to your house in Korea. But the fee is steep.”
“How much is the fee?”
“Cash delivery is 15%. There’s also a way to send the money to a fund in Hong Kong. That one takes a 10% fee.”
There was no way I could deposit 4 billion won into my account. If I did, it could be discovered later during an audit. Even with the fees, cash was better.
I also wanted to remit the money I had buried in the field.
“I have more money to remit into the country.”
“How much?”
“Two million dollars.”
“Can I ask where that money came from?”
No. 1 hyung asked about the source of the funds.
“It’s money I took from Peace Gas Station.”
“You were there?”
No. 1 hyung looked surprised.
It seemed even he didn’t know that I had worked part-time there.
“I was filming the transaction scene at the request of the Suit Shop owner.”
“Tell me in detail what happened back then.”
I took out a USB from my backpack and handed it to No. 1 hyung.
“There’s CCTV footage.”
Samsun brought a laptop.
Behind No. 1 hyung, even F9 hyung and the man in sunglasses gathered to watch the CCTV footage I gave them.
The part where I appeared had been deleted, and the footage ended at the scene where the last man coming out of the gas station was killed.
“Did you take the drugs and money shown in the CCTV footage?”
“Yes, because everyone died in the shootout…”
“You’re a lucky charm, really. I definitely want to keep working with you in the future. Hahaha.”
After a hearty laugh, No. 1 hyung turned around and looked at Falcon No. 5 and No. 9 as he spoke.
“This money belongs to Dove No. 5.”
“No objections.”
“Me neither.”
With that, my share became 6.4 billion won. Even after deducting fees, it was 5.4 billion won.
“Go retrieve it right now. Daegun, you go with him.”
Falcon No. 9, called Daegun by No. 1 hyung, was to go with me to retrieve the money bags.
By the time we stepped outside, the sun was already rising.
I got into the used Benz driven by F9 hyung and headed to Peace Gas Station in Hwanggeumpyong.
***
The used Benz was driving down National Highway G228.
Just a bit further and Peace Gas Station would appear.
“Where exactly did you bury the money bags?”
“In the reed field across from Peace Gas Station.”
“You won’t fail to find it, right? Hahaha”
Peace Gas Station wasn’t open for business yet, so there was no one around.
The Benz, driving down the national highway, slowed down in front of the gas station.
“Keep going. About 200 meters ahead, there’s a place where we can hide the car.”
F9 hyung looked at me.
“I got paid a lot for this… I’ll do as you say.”
The Benz picked up speed again.
After parking in an empty lot, F9 hyung got out of the car and opened the trunk. Then he took out a shovel and handed it to me.
“Here, take it.”
I took the shovel and walked ahead, leading the way.
Back again at the reed field.
The morning reed field was beautiful. Dew had settled, making the reeds sparkle.
I quickly found the spot where I had buried the money.
“Here it is.”
“Let’s do this fast and get out.”
Using the shovel we brought, I dug up the money bag and the drug crate.
Both were still there just as they had been buried.
“I’m going to throw away the drugs.”
“Not taking them?”
“It’s better to dispose of them.”
I tore off the plastic wrap and scattered the drugs over the reed field.
The white powder scattered in the wind.
“You’re unusual. You seem kindhearted but also bold. You’re a rare kind of person in this line of work.”
“Hyung, you don’t look like a combat agent either.”
“Hahaha, I guess I’m like that.”
The drugs in the box disappeared without a trace in no time.
“Shall we go now?”
We grabbed the money bags and left the reed field.
We had to return to <Along the Forest Path Bar>.
After arriving at <Along the Forest Path Bar>, I handed the money bags to No. 1 hyung.
“Did you count how much it is?”
“No.”
“Let’s go inside and check.”
No. 1 hyung picked up the money bag. He meant to go to the warehouse room.
“You check it, hyung. I’ll be going now.”
No. 1 hyung let out a soft chuckle.
He looked like he had seen a strange kind of guy.
“Not even going to eat breakfast?”
“Next time.”
“What about the guys in the Ops Room?”
No. 1 hyung was sharp.
He clearly knew I was in a hurry because of the Brown Bear Gang guys.
“I plan to release them as soon as I get back.”
“Then we’ll have to move the Ops Room. I’ll inform headquarters.”
“Thank you, hyung.”
Fifteen guys- no, now it’s seventeen.
Once I release those guys, the current Ops Room has to be shut down immediately.
Because it’s been compromised.
After saying goodbye to No. 1 hyung, I looked once more at the bar.
<Along the Forest Path Bar>
The fact that I knew this place meant that I had gained that much more experience as a field agent.
Because in the cell structure of life in the NIS, knowing someone higher up means you’ve advanced.
“Does this mean I’ve grown a little more?”
I looked at the Along the Forest Path Bar sign through the 1cm gap between my thumb and index finger.
After parting with No. 1 hyung, I returned to the commercial building.
The alleyway restaurant was filled with regulars having breakfast.
I spotted the real estate agent and the hardware store owner. Cute Lingling was also moving busily among the customers. The owner lady was cooking food with a ladle in hand, just like usual.
I parked the Ato3 in the alley and went up to the 4th floor of the building.
The first thing I had to do this morning was release the guys in the small room.
When I opened the door and went in, they were all still sleeping quietly.
Bang bang
I banged on the door with my fist.
“Hey, everyone wake up. Time to go home.”
I woke up the Brown Bear Gang and the Black Dragon Society guys who had been sleeping. They all got up sluggishly as if they were drained of energy.
I cut the tape off each of their mouths.
“Ow, ow.”
“My hair, aaah.”
Since the tape had been wrapped all the way behind their necks, they all screamed when it was ripped off.
I also cut the cable ties that had bound their hands and feet using crimping pliers.
They all looked at me with an expression like ‘What the hell is going on?’.
“Aren’t you going home?”
“Huh? Of… of course we are.”
“Don’t come back. Next time, I won’t let you go.”
“We… we’ll never come again.”
“Absolutely never coming back.”
Their words sounded sincere.
Having been starved for over two days and tied up, they all looked like beggars. The smell of urine from their pants was overwhelming.
I returned their cellphones, wallets, and car keys.
Except for the pistol that Wang Chuqin had.
“The pistol is confiscated.”
“Yes, yes.”
Wang Chuqin and the Brown Bear Gang members went down the stairs.
Thud-thud-thud
One of them fell down the stairs, his legs too weak.
“You guys don’t come back either.”
The last two from the Black Dragon Society also bowed and left.
Watching them stagger as they walked away made me feel a little sorry.
‘Those guys survived because they were stuck here. They’ll be shocked when they go back to the Black Dragon Society warehouse…’
After sending off the last Black Dragon Society member, I looked around the house and found it in complete chaos.
“Jeez, it’s turned into a beggar’s den.”
For the first time in a while, I started cleaning the house.
I opened all the windows and spent quite a while sweeping and wiping everything down.
I bagged the trash and neatly stacked the empty boxes.
I even sprayed air freshener in the room.
“It’ll take some time for the smell to fully go away.”
After cleaning, I went into the editing room and worked on the videos that had piled up over the past two days.
Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 played from the speakers.
It felt nice to return to normal life. Or rather, peaceful might be a more accurate description.
***
When I accessed the <Yellow Rudbeckia> site to upload the edited video, a message had arrived.
[Move the Ops Room to Jenny 13-150]
It was an order from HQ to relocate to a new location, since the current Ops Room had been compromised. The new Ops Room wasn’t far from here.
“I wonder what kind of place it is.”
I looked it up on Google Satellite View and found it was a small two-story house in a hillside neighborhood. Of course, it had a clear view of the Yalu River bridge.
My phone rang. It was No. 1 hyung.
“You saw the directive from HQ, right? I think you’ll like the new house.”
“Did you find it yourself, hyung?”
“Who else would it be? Haha. Since it’s a place you’ll be staying, I made a special effort to find it myself.”
“You must’ve been busy… How did you find it so quickly?”
“I used a card I’d been saving.”
Judging by how quickly it was arranged, it must’ve been one of the properties No. 1 hyung was already managing.
“Thank you.”
“Move in and come visit the shop sometime.”
“Okay.”
I started preparing for the move. Since I had already packed up once when I evacuated to the Dalian safehouse, the preparations didn’t take long.
I planned to move tonight, out of sight from others.
Woof woof
An alert sounded.
“What…?”
Looking at the CCTV, I saw the real estate agent coming up the stairs.
“Why is that old man coming here?”
The real estate agent had never once come up to the fourth floor to see me. If he needed something, he could just talk to the building owner, Old-man Choi, so there was no reason to visit a tenant like me.
Ding-dong
The doorbell rang.
I hesitated on whether to open the door.
“I know you’re in there. I’ve got something to talk to you about.”
It was the voice of the real estate agent.
Just in case, I tucked the Glock pistol into the back of my pants before opening the door.
This is Dandong, after all. A dangerous place.
“Long time no see.”
As soon as the door opened, the real estate agent walked in naturally, looked around the living room, and sat down on the sofa.
“Not much has changed.”
“!”
“Even the furniture is the same.”
“Have you been here before, sir?”
“About three years ago? Before you moved in.”
Three years ago would have been when my predecessor was stationed here.
‘Suspicious old man. What’s he playing at?’
Seeing my expression, the real estate agent smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry too much. This isn’t something bad for you.”
I sat down on the sofa as well.
“What is it you want to talk to me about?”
“At least offer me a cup of tea before asking.”
This old geezer… showing up uninvited and being a nuisance.
I brought him a cup of green tea with a teabag and hot water.
The real estate agent took a sip of the green tea, then spoke to me.
“I want to make a deal with you.”
I stared blankly at the real estate agent.
‘What is this guy talking about? A deal?’
What kind of deal could there possibly be between him and me?
“I know you work for the National Intelligence Service.”
Dun dun!
An astonishing statement came out of the real estate agent’s mouth.
He knows I’m with the NIS! My eyes widened without realizing it.
“Old-man Choi and I have known each other for over 20 years. What do you think is the reason Old-man Choi has stayed out of trouble in Dandong all this time?”
“What exactly is your identity, sir?”
“Dandong is a dangerous place, crawling with intelligence agents from various countries and terrorist groups.”
“I asked who you are.”
Damn old geezer, stop being coy and get to the point!
I stared at the real estate agent with a serious face.
“You must be curious who I am. I’m someone who can operate officially in this area.”
“!”
There’s only one organization that can operate officially in Dandong.
“Are you with the MSS?”
MSS refers to the Ministry of State Security of the People’s Republic of China, in other words, China’s intelligence agency.
The real estate agent neither confirmed nor denied it.
So it’s true!
For the first time in Dandong, I met someone from the MSS.