Chapter 35
December 23rd, 2016 22:10
Choongbook Chungju-si 200m away from the 17th Fighter Wing
When the black van came to a stop at the shoulder of a road near the 17th Fighter Wing, the leader of watermelon field unit’s leader Hong Hyuck-gyun felt something was suspicious and immediately reported in.
“This is watermelon field. The black van is on standby near the 17th Fighter Wing, over.
“This is farmer. Do you detect any suspicious activity? Over.”
“This is watermelon field. We have eyes on them with infrared binoculars and something seems suspicious, hoping to harvest, over.”
“This is farmer. Stand by, the head of Seoul is not in custody. Keep watching them, over.”
“This is watermelon field. Confirmed, over.
“Leader! What did they say?” Chief Kim Min-soo, who was observing the black van with the binoculars in the driver’s seat, asked.
“Since the head honcho is still not in custody, they have asked us to standby!”
“Really? Man, I want to jump on those bastards right now.”
“Be patient, the order will come soon!”
“Yes, of course.”
* * *
December 23rd, 2016 22:10
Seoul Jong-ro Ku Sejong-ro in front of the American Embassy.
Kang Man-ho’s white sedan appeared from the building after an hour since it entered.
“This is pepper field. Chief Secretary Kang Man-ho is leaving the American embassy.”
“This is farmer, we harvest when he is away from the embassy building.”
“This is pepper field. We’ll make sure to harvest, over.”
Kang Man-ho appeared pleased, thinking of him and his family living in America without financial worries. At the thought, he stopped at the intersection for the traffic light as he whistled. Suddenly with a loud crash, a strong force collided with his car from behind.
Crash!
Kang Man-ho opened the car door forcefully and started shouting, “Argh! What the–?”
“Watch where you’re driving!”
Noticing the owner of the vehicle that crashed into him, Kang Man-ho grasped the back of his neck while moving it, exaggerating the amount of pain he felt. Just when he was about to begin yelling at the driver, he felt a cold metal object touch his forehead.
“What... what the?”
“What do you mean what, you son of a bitch? It’s a gun. Don’t believe me? How about I pull the trigger?”
“Why... why are you doing this?”
Kang Man-ho, who was just grasping his neck and flailing around, was consumed by fear. He defensively curled up his shaky body and raised his hands in the air.
“Chief Secretary Kang Man-ho, you are under immediate arrest for treason. Don’t bother asking for a lawyer or anything like that, okay? In a state of national emergency, laws like that don’t apply.”
“I... I’m not a traitor. I didn’t do it...”
“Be quiet and put your hands out in front of you.”
“Chief Ahn, you will follow us with this bastard’s car.”
“Yes, Manager.”
Kang Man-ho was immediately sent to the NIS in handcuffs. The man who imagined a happy future suddenly had it flipped to a life in hell.
“This is pepper field. Harvest for peppers is good this year, over.”
“This is farmer. Great work. Return to base, over.”
“This is pepper field. Confirmed, over.”
* * *
December 23rd, 2016 22:20
Seoul Jongro-Ku Sejong-ro in front of the American Embassy
“This is melon field. The target vehicle has left the American embassy, over.”
“This is farmer. Harvest quietly, over.”
“This is melon field. Confirmed, over.”
“This is farmer. Melon field and the strike team standing by in Hapjeong-dong will go into processing once they finish their harvest, over.”
“This is melon field. Confirmed, over.”
“This is strike team. Confirmed, over.”
Director Arnold and his entourage boarded the black sedan, sent Chief Secretary Kang Man-ho off, and left the American embassy heading towards Kwanghwamoon intersection to return to Hapjeong-dong. The vehicle melon field team was following slowly tailed them. The black sedan that took a right turn from Sejong intersection was waiting for the traffic signal in front of Seodaemoon station. Similar to how they arrested Kang Man-ho, the melon field car crashed into the black sedan from the rear.
“Wha... what was that?”
“It seems like the car crashed into us from behind.”
After hearing Walter’s words, Arnold turned around to see the car that crashed into them and saw a man getting off the vehicle. His instincts told him something was wrong, and he shouted to Walter frantically, “Turn this car around! Gun it towards the American embassy!”
Taken aback by Arnold’s shouting, Walter instinctively pressed down on the pedal with his right foot and steered to the left. The black sedan made an illegal U-turn, accompanied by the pungent smell of burnt tires. After rumbling a few times, the car stabilized and began rushing off towards the Sejong way intersection.
Seo Tae-young and Kim In-ho were about to make the arrest but were briefly taken aback by the black sedan’s escape. The two men got back on the vehicle and accelerated to give chase.
“This is melon field. Target vehicle is currently on the run to the American embassy, over.”
“This is farmer. Harvest before they can enter the embassy, over.”
“This is melon field. Requesting permission to use our firearms, over.”
“This is farmer. You have permission, over.”
“This is melon field. Confirmed, over.”
In the passenger seat, Agent Kin In-ho leaned out the window, aimed his pistol at the black sedan’s tires, and began firing.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
It was challenging to hit a moving target, let alone a car being chased. Kim In-ho fired 12 rounds then swiftly changed his magazine.
“In-ho, we can’t hit the target now. Take the shot when they make the left turn in the Sejong intersection, okay?”
“Yes, Chief Seo.”
“If we lose them there, then we won’t have another chance! Just think of it as another day in the range and shoot.”
“No need to worry sir. I will make sure to harvest.”
Swerving in and out of cars and lanes as it drove away, the black sedan tried to make a left turn despite the traffic signal indicating otherwise. Chief Seo Tae-young, who was driving as fast as possible to provide as much visual range for Kim In-ho to fire his gun, shouted, “Now!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Screech!
The moment the black sedan drifted to enter Sejong road, Kim In-ho’s third bullet hit the rear tire. The sedan lost balance, crashed into exit four of the subway station, then bounced into the second lane of the road before coming to a halt. The black sedan that made an illegal left turn in the Sejong intersection caused other cars to come to a sudden stop and pile on each other. The car codenamed melon field could not make the left turn and stopped in its tracks.
“Great work! Let’s go!”
Seo Tae-young and Kim In-ho swiftly left the vehicle and ran across the road towards the black sedan. The driver’s car door opened to reveal Robin covered in blood, who held out his pistol and began shooting at Kim In-ho.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Seo Tae-young hid behind one of the crashed vehicles, but Kim In-ho was hit in the stomach and fell.
“In-ho!”
“Chief Seo, the bullet only grazed me. I am fine. Go after him...”
“This is melon field. Kim In-ho is down, requesting an ambulance, over.”
“This is farmer. Confirmed, over.”
“In-ho! Hold on, the ambulance in on its way. Okay?”
Seo Tae-young, who took cover behind one of the vehicles, took in a deep breath. He threw himself to the side and fired his pistol.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
After the sound of gunshots rang out, Walter spat blood out of his mouth and fell. Upon seeing the Caucasian man fall, Seo Tae-young stood up and gradually moved forward. When he noticed that the back seat was vacant, he saw someone running towards the American embassy.
‘He and I are about 30m apart, and the distance to the American embassy is 300m. It’s too short of a distance to chase him on foot’ he thought.
Seo Tae-young tried to fire his gun, but the people around him obscured his view on the target. In response, he fired a round into the sky.
Bang!
The crowd all ducked in surprise from the sound of the gunshot, and Seo Tae-young saw the back of a caucasian man running. He rolled got on his knees and repeatedly pulled his trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Click.
Seo Tae-young fired his gun until he ran out of bullets. When he saw the caucasian man fall, he started running again. Director Arnold of the CIA’s Korean branch could not help but fall 50m away from the American embassy after being shot twice in his leg.
“Hey, white guy. You are under immediate arrest for national security leaks.”
Despite his fatigue, Seo Tae-young handcuffed Arnold and reported mission accomplished through his headphone.
“This is melon field. Finished harvesting the big melon. Also requesting an ambulance, over.”
“This is farmer. Great work. Leave the clean up to the police and take him to HQ, over.”
“This is melon field. Confirmed, over.”
* * *
December 23rd, 2016 22:25
Seoul Jongro-ku Blue House President’s residence.
On his break after finishing work for the day, he was reading in his study while drinking coffee when the phone rang. The screen showed the name of the NIS Secretary.
“Hello?”
“I am sorry, Mr.President! I have some urgent news for you.”
“Yes, please report.”
“The operation to apprehend the American spies regarding the National S rank secret is underway. We have just apprehended the Director of America’s CIA’s Korean branch.”
“S-ranked secret? If it is S-ranked, isn’t it related to the underground research facility?”
“Yes, Mr.President. Minister Ahn Sang-Tae is also involved.”
“Minister Ahn Sang-Tae? Does this mean Minister Ahn was trying to hand over S-ranked secrets to America’s CIA?”
“It seems we must arrest Minister Ahn Sang-Tae to see how much of the information has been handed over.”
“Do you have proof Minister Ahn is involved?”
“Yes, Minister!”
“All right then. Please arrest Minister Ahn immediately. Leaking S-ranked national secret is treason.”
“Yes, sir. We will arrest Minister Ahn Sang-Tae under your approval. I will report again on the situation as it changes sir.”
“Of course. I’m willing to wait all day, so please report back to me any changes.”
“Understood, sir.”
* * *
December 23rd, 2016 22:30
Choongbook Chungju-si 17th Fighter Wing 200m vicinity.
As the arrests were made in one fell swoop in Seoul, Director Woo Hyung-sung ordered the arrest of the individuals in the black van near the 17th Fighter Wing via Manager Youn Soo-Gil.
The car codenamed watermelon field was observing the van for 30 minutes when they received contact from farmer.
“This is farmer. We are going into apprehending the targets. The 17th Fighter Wing’s Military Police will assist. Try to bring them in alive, over.”
“This is watermelon field. Confirmed, over.”
When he finished speaking, Manager Hong Hyuk-gyun ordered Chief Kim Min-soo and the rest of his team that was on standby for hours to begin the operation to apprehend the men in the black van.
“The harvesting order finally arrived. Everyone just needs to do as we planned. No matter how much they resist, we were ordered to bring them in alive. When firing, do not target the vital regions.
“Yes, sir.”
“Then let’s begin!”