Chapter 349
November 4th, 2023, 09:30
The South State, Seoul, Jung-ku, the federal investigation bureau (Director’s office)
Knock, knock.
“Come in.”
A man in his 50s opened the door and walked into the office.
“Did you call for me, sir?”
“Yes, come in.”
Director Kang Hyuck, who had been reading through a stack of documents on his desk since this morning, pointed to the sofa.
“What’s so urgent that you had to look for me this early, sir?” Deputy Hong Gi-soo was from the same college as Director Kang Hyuck and two years his junior. The two of them had been in the democratic protests from the past and were as close as blood brothers.
“Do I really need an excuse to see you? Come on, man.”
“Haha, I thought there was an emergency, sir.”
“Have a cup of tea.”
“Yes, that sounds nice.”
A moment later, the secretary came in and placed the coffee on the table, and left.
“Here, have some coffee, sir.”
Deputy Hong Gi-soo was about to offer the coffee to the director and pick up his cup.
Director Kang Hyuck interrupted him in a calm tone, “The thing is, what do you know about Lee Byung-hoo?”
Deputy Hong Gi-soo, who was about to drink his coffee, stopped and answered with a question, “Lee Byung-hoo... the man that was inducted in as special agent last month, sir?”
“Yes. What do you know about him?”
Deputy Hong Gi-soo held the coffee cup in his hands and thought for a while before opening his mouth again. “He was famous for being the youngest person to pass the bar. Then, he led a successful career as a prosecutor. Well, until the whole scandal with his secretary became public and made him resign, that is. Then, he worked as a lawyer for a while before being scouted by our organization after it was founded. He was nominated for the position of special agent last month by HR. Didn’t you see the paperwork yourself, sir?”
“I did see that; I’m not asking about his general profile. Ah! Please drink your coffee first.”
Deputy Hong Gi-soo finally drank his coffee and placed the cup back on the table before speaking again. “He is a smart fellow, but I heard rumors he has complications with money and women.”
“Is that so? What about his political ideologies? Is he by chance left-wing?”
“A left-winger? I doubt it, sir. Why are you asking about him all of a sudden?”
“Ah! Nothing. I saw him at Deputy Director Kim’s office yesterday, that’s why.”
Deputy Hong Gi-soo used his instincts as a prosecutor and spoke to the director with a look of suspicion on his face. “Come on! Sir! What are you trying to hide from your brother? Please tell me.”
Deputy Hong Gi-soo used their private titles to address Director Kang Hyuck. It meant he wanted his brother to tell him everything as if he would to a sibling.
“My, my, this guy! What’s there to hide? I’m just curious that’s all.”
“I have known you for over 33 years, brother. Please tell me.”
“Ha, god.” Director Kang Hyuck pretended not to hear and continued to drink his coffee.
“Brother, I am disappointed in you. I gave up the offer from a huge law firm and came here for you.” Deputy Hong Gi-soo glanced at Director Kang Hyuck’s face from the corner of his eye. His expression was riddled with doubt and hesitation.
“Well, I guess I finished my coffee. I’m going to head out.” Deputy Hong Gi-soo gulped down the rest of the coffee and got up from his seat.
“My god, you’re hotheaded. Sit down!”
Deputy Hong Gi-soo acted as if he couldn’t help it and sat back down.
“So, is there something else you want to tell me, sir?”
“This is an S-class secret.”
“An S-class?”
“That’s right! The thing is, the NIS has been conducting 24-hour surveillance on Deputy Director Kim Hyung-chul ever since Kim Jong-un woke up.”
“Yes, but why would the NIS survey the same investigative bureau... Is there something going on with Deputy Director Kim Hyung-chul, sir?”
Director Kang Hyuck buried himself into the sofa and started spilling the beans after thinking ‘damn it all.’
Deputy Hong Gi-soo, who had heard the S-class confidential information about Kim Jong-un and the assassination plans of President Choo Un-hee for 10 minutes, asked with a shocked look on his face, “So the NIS is spying on Deputy Director Kim Hyung-chul, who is from another intelligence agency?”
“That’s right. The ACS team from the NIS is following Deputy Director Kim’s every single movement in secret.”
“Well then, couldn’t they have done that after requesting us and have our bureau do that internally? How could they do that between two intelligence agencies? You allowed this, sir?” Regardless of the situation, Deputy Hong Gi-soo seemed to be upset with the idea of an intelligence agency spying on each other.
“I had no choice. The issue was that anyone within our organization could be working with Kim Hyung-chul. We can’t conduct surveillance on our own with that possibility! He could have caught on to us. Do you understand?”
Deputy Hong Gi-soo nodded instead of answering.
“What I have discussed with you today is an S-class confidential intel, so don’t speak of this with anyone else!”
“Yes, I understand. The thing is, do you think Lee Byung-hoo and Kim Hyung-chul are working together, brother?”
“Well, I don’t have hard proof. I just saw him there at his office yesterday, that’s it.”
“Hmm.”
“There’s something I need you to do. Check if there is an investigation for corrupt agents going on at the central inspection department. Act natural.”
“Sir, you could just call the department head for that...”
“No one can be trusted. I am asking you in confidence.”
“Yes, sir. I will look into it.”
* * *
November 5th, 2023, 14:00
The South State, Seoul, Kangnam-ku, the NIS building (Counter-terrorism Investigation Unit 3’s meeting room)
The Counter-terrorism Investigation shared the intel behind the Foreign Intelligence Unit’s past agents that had infiltrated from the New China Republic to West Manchuria to the Foreign Intelligence Department. The directors from both departments decided to conduct a joint investigation to increase its efficiency.
The counter-terrorism Unit 3 consisted of Assistant Manager Lee Hye-jin and four agents under her team, while the Foreign Intelligence Department consisted of Team Leader Park Gi-oong, Team Leader Youn Tae-jin, and Assistant Manager Oh Hyuck-soo who had all risked their lives in carrying out the mission at Funan. Park Gi-oong, Youn Tae-jin, and Oh Hyuck-soo all yearned to avenge their fallen comrades from two years ago and volunteered for the investigation.
Department head Kang Ki-won from the Foreign Intelligence Department was aware of the three agents’ intent and tried to exclude them from the investigation. He was concerned about them being caught up in their emotions and causing trouble to the other departments and attempted to send in different agents for the investigation. However, the continued requests from Team Leader Park Gi-oong and his colleagues backing him up made him approve.
“The movements of the Foreign Intelligence Unit that we have confirmed so far are as follow: on the early morning of October 17th, they used fake ids to cross the border of Western Manchuria (Jinzhou) and spent 11 days there before going through Ahnsan on October 28th and finally arriving at Shin Ui-joo.”
While Assistant Manager Ha Sang-man from Counter-terrorism Unit 3 continued his explanations, the screen installed on the wall started to show the route the North Korean foreign intelligence agents took and the times on a map.
“They spent the night at Shin Ui-joo and then vanished without a trace. It seems they have left the area. This is all the intel we have so far.”
“Where could they have gone?” When Assistant Manager Ha Sang-man finished his briefing, Manager Lee Hye-jin asked a question to all the agents present.
Team leader Park Gi-oong answered her, “I believe we must figure out their intent for coming back to Corea first.”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s the key. They have been charged with first-degree treason with an APB put on them, but why risk it all and come back to Corea?”
Before the unification, North Korea’s State Security Department had committed treason under Director Kim Won-heung’s orders and the Corean government had advised all previous agents from the organization active in China to surrender after the unification took place. However, the Foreign Intelligence Unit 1 that had a gunfight with the NIS Foreign Intelligence Department went into hiding and never showed up again. The NIS had issued a first-class APB on them that allowed agents to arrest and even kill on sight.
“They couldn’t have entered the county for a good reason. If that was the case, then we wouldn’t have to stay up all night.” Manager Lee Hye-jin seemed to be tired and spoke while stretching. She had been sleeping at the office for three straight days without going home.
“Perhaps...,” Team Leader Youn Tae-jin, who had been listening intently this whole time, spoke up and everyone looked at him. “This is just a hunch, but could it be related to the assassination attempt on the president?”
Everyone in the room froze. Then, the agents started to speak their opinions.
“No, it can’t be...”
“That’s very likely.”
“After hearing it, I think it’s possible.”
Manager Lee Hye-jin also furrowed her brow and spoke with a serious look on her face. “If that is the reason they re-entered the country, then we’re in trouble.”
“Could that mean their destination is Seoul?” When Assistant Manager Ha Sang-man spoke with wide eyes, Manager Lee Hye-jin must have made up her mind and got up from her seat and spoke in a determined tone.
“It’s too early to tell, however, if their goal is to assassinate the president, then it won’t be enough for our two departments to investigate the matter. I believe we must work with every single department within the NIS. I will meet with the director to make the request. I would like everyone else to start going through CCTV footage, traffic cameras, and personal IC cameras within Shin Ui-joo even if it involves invasion of privacy to track them.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Team Leaders Park and Youn, please request to use the reconnaissance satellite from the Foreign Intelligence Department.”
“Yes, it will be done.”
* * *
November 5th, 2023, 16:00 (Iran Standard Time 10:30)
Iran, West Azerbaijan, Rahal, (the 7th mechanized infantry brigade 79th armored battalion’s location)
The 79th armored battalion that had been mobilizing towards the small city of Rahal at the entrance of their destination Koi had fought 11 battles in the past 4 days. Except for a single tank that became immobile, they didn’t suffer any further damages.
The 79th armored battalion had combined the standard armored forces and the power of the Eagle-I attack drones to use futuristic armored tactics to occupy eight small and large cities. They were now about to enter the city of Rahal. Twelve Eagle-I drones had been flying above the skies of Rahal for the past ten minutes and were data-linking the city’s ongoings to the 79th armored battalion.
“The city is quieter than expected, sir!”
The headquarter company’s Eagle-I drone operator reported after tilting his head to see the city on his monitor. The other operators could not find anything suspicious as well. Other cities along the border had been attacked and occupied by the peacekeeping forces one by one, but the citizens of Rahal were going about their day as usual.
“Hmm, it seems that way. That doesn’t mean we can be lax. Keep searching and check every single nook and cranny!” Lieutenant Park Tae-min, the drone platoon’s commander, spoke while looking at 12 footage coming from the drones on the large screen.
“Yes, sir.”
The operators used numerous modes to even scan inside the clothes of the citizens, but not a single suspicious person could be seen.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Moon Gi-chul from the 79th armored battalion was also watching the footage from the Eagle-I drones via data link from his command vehicle.
“How about we mobilize straight to Koi after we leave things for the reserve forces, sir?” Operations Director Kang Ho-ju, who was watching the monitor with the commander, gave a suggestion.
If the 79th armored battalion could occupy Koi as quickly as possible and have the reserve forces arrive, then the central lines at West Azerbaijan could be secured much earlier.
“Hmm, I wonder if we should?”
“It seems the Iranian military has abandoned Rahal and joined in on defending Koi.”
From the opposing perspective, the operations director had a point. Based on the other cities, every single force over the size of a battalion had been annihilated. The casualties suffered by the enemy were at least over two regiments.
“Hmm, I believe you’re right...”
Lieutenant Colonel Moon Gi-chul took a moment to think and then gave an order through the battalion’s communication line.
“This is the battalion commander. All companies take a detour to Rahal at our 10 o’clock and head straight to Koi. Let’s plant the flag at Koi City Hall! Over!”
When the battalion commander gave the order, the 79th armored battalion’s C-2A1 Black Tiger tanks, which had stopped 5km away from Rahal, started to rev up their engines again and began to mobilize. Also, the Eagle-I drones flying above the Rahal city’s skies started to turn around and fly towards Koi.
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