Chapter 286: The Star of David (2)
Kang Chan had never experienced anything like this before. His heart sank to the ground, making him feel as if a knife was about to be stabbed into his throat. However, only a moment later, he calmed down like nothing happened.
“What is it?”
Lanok seemed to have seen the momentary flash of anxiety on Kang Chan’s face. He had never been the type to miss anything.
“I’m just worried about the rescue team we sent to Libya,” Kang Chan said.
“You still haven’t heard from them yet?” Lanok asked.
“No.”
Anne’s expression darkened with worry as she listened in.
Click.
Before they could continue, Raphael walked in wearing a solemn expression. “The guests have arrived.”
“I’d like to move this to the dining room. Is that fine with you?” Lanok asked.
“Of course,” Kang Chan answered.
He and Lanok stood up.
“We’ll do our own thing,” Anne said, perhaps finding it difficult to join the meeting.
Since Kang Chan didn’t really have any say in things like that, he simply cast a glance at Louise before heading to the dining room.
Raphael opened the door for them. Lanok walked in first, and Kang Chan followed after him.
Pft.
The first person Kang Chan saw was Vasili. The Russian greeted Kang Chan with cold eyes and a narrow smile that seemed more like a smirk.
“It’s been a while,” Vasili said.
“Nice to see you,” Kang Chan responded.
“Mr. Kang Chan, I trust you’ve been well,” Yang Bum greeted.
“You too,” Kang Chan said as he shook the hand that Yang Bum offered him.
The eyes, facial expressions, and gestures of a man in power were certainly a cut above the rest. Yang Bum was no exception.
Next was Ethan. Receiving Kang Chan’s gaze, Ethan awkwardly held out his hand.
“Monsieur Kang.”
Kang Chan couldn’t find any reason he should be glad to see this man again. Hence, he just looked him in the eye and shook his hand.
The only one left now was the middle-aged man with a build that was halfway between Ethan and Lanok. He had narrow eyes that seemingly evidenced his stubbornness and brown hair that hollowed out in the center like a monk’s.
As if on cue, Lanok introduced him to the man. “Monsieur Kang, this is Romain de Begeade, the Director-General of the DGSE.”
Just as Kang Chan was about to greet him, Romain approached him with open arms.
“We finally meet. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Romain said as he took Kang Chan in his arms and gave him loud smacks on the cheeks.
“Let’s take a seat,” Lanok offered, and they all sat down.
Kang Chan was a bit upset. He also felt some disbelief at the situation.
They were in South Korean territory, yet he could guarantee none of the men here had been given an entry stamp by the Ministry of Justice. Moreover, he thought that at least Hwang Ki-Hyun should be here at this meeting.
“Shall we make a toast to this gathering?” Lanok suggested. After pouring himself some wine, he raised his glass.
What was the toast for?
“To the beginning of the new energy source.”
The others raised their own glasses and took a sip.
Raphael and three other employees smoothly served the food.
After putting some food in his mouth with the fork, Ethan began, “Monsieur Kang, your contributions in Africa were incredible.”
“Can we talk about lighter subjects during meals?” Vasili asked with annoyance.
“That’s a plan,” Ethan replied.
What a dumb coward.
Kang Chan couldn’t believe that the leader of an intelligence bureau would make such an expression and say something like that from a mere word from Vasili.
“Monsieur Kang, about the Mongolian base...” Vasili began. Despite embarrassing Ethan for starting a heavy conversation, the subject he opened wasn’t light at all. “Don’t you think they’ve done more than enough?”
“What do you mean?” Kang Chan asked.
He ate a snail covered in sauce before turning to Vasili.
“Do you plan on making a new country?” Vasili sarcastically asked.
He ripped his bread apart as he met Kang Chan’s gaze. “You’re controlling the area around the base too much. Managing normal traffic for foreign companies goes beyond your jurisdiction. Why you need complete control within a fifteen-kilometer radius is beyond my comprehension.”
Kang Chan wasn’t aware of this either.
“The DMZ King,” Vasili said the Korean nickname in a horrid and sickening accent. “Why don’t you give him a call? Either shrink down the radius or allow normal traffic to get through.”
The old man caused a pretty big fuss, huh?
While Kang Chan nodded, steaks were brought out.
“I’ll look into it and make reasonable adjustments,” Kang Chan replied.
Vasili nodded and then dug into his steak using his fork. The sight was similar to when he had torn into the bread earlier. Kang Chan strangely felt like he had become the bread or the steak.
“I saw Japan’s big announcement,” Yang Bum suddenly broke in with a new topic. “Considering they only mentioned one country, they seem intent on making it clear that they are only making concessions for South Korea.”
“Is that so?” Kang Chan responded.
He found this dull meal a bit uncomfortable. He would rather everyone just directly said what they wanted to say, but they kept on dragging things along. To make matters worse, the pounding of his heart kept bothering him too.
After about forty minutes of small talk, they finally finished the meal. The only person who didn’t say a word was Romain, the Director-General. He was also the only one who looked like he had eaten properly.
Following the meeting participants’ preferences, Raphael cleared the table and brought out black tea and coffee. After setting ashtrays on the table, he left with the rest of the staff.
Click. Click.
Tangible tension drifted across the table as cups of coffee were lifted and lighters were flicked on.
As Kang Chan took a sip of his coffee, someone finally broke the silence.
“Let’s get things out of the way one at a time,” Lanok said, drawing everyone’s attention to him. He exhaled cigar smoke before continuing. “I’m sure everyone knows that South Korea will be building the power plant for the new energy—”
“What about the Blackhead?” Vasili interjected.
“Monsieur Kang has retrieved one from Africa.”
Everyone’s gazes shot to Kang Chan, seemingly asking for confirmation. Looks couldn’t kill, however, so he just nonchalantly took out a cigarette and lit it up.
“So the red light was the Blackhead after all?” Vasili asked, to no one’s surprise.
“Yes,” Kang Chan answered.
“Abibu must have a death wish. He even used the UN to set us all up only for you to bring back a Blackhead amid it all,” Vasili remarked.
This was Kang Chan’s first time hearing that name.
“You don’t know Abibu?” Vasili asked.
Vasili really has to stop using that cocky tone and expression.
“Abibu is one of the princes of Saudi Arabia. He coveted the new energy more than anyone. He’s been working with Brandon from the DIA, but the United States is now trying to get rid of Brandon and work directly with South Korea,” Vasili explained.
If it wasn’t for his arrogant expression, his explanation would have been neat.
He continued, “However, we should keep an eye out for the Jewish intelligence organization that controls Saudi Arabia’s oil money. They are our real enemy.”
Kang Chan let out a low sigh. He had gained yet another enemy before he even got to see what this Abibu guy looked like.
“We haven’t identified this intelligence organization. All we have is their name, ‘Star of David.’” Vasili stated.
What’s he saying?
“For now, we’ll focus on dealing with Abibu and the construction of the next-gen energy facilities in South Korea. They will likely come out of the shadows before the plant is built.”
Stifling tension loomed over the table once more.
“Monsieur Kang, remember today’s meeting. Ludwig, Vant, and all of us here are at risk of disappearing into Death’s embrace at any moment. There are only two ways out of this. We either politely hand over the project to Abibu or succeed in building the power plant in South Korea.”
“Why does it have to be South Korea?” Kang Chan questioned.
Vasili looked at Lanok as if asking why Kang Chan was asking such a stupid question.
“It’s because the Star of David can most easily exert its influence here in South Korea, but it’s also this country that they find the hardest to control, Monsieur Kang,” Lanok quickly explained.
“The Star of David’s best weapon is money. South Korea is dependent on foreign capital due to how its economy is structured right now, making it vulnerable to attacks from the dollar. However, if Germany, Switzerland, and the four countries sitting here come together to help, they won’t be able to destroy the South Korean economy. The change in the US’ attitude is also playing in our favor.”
What scary people.
This had to be why more than half of Kang Chan’s training in France was about economics.
“Wouldn’t we yield the same outcome no matter where we do it for as long as all the nations involved work together?”
If France, Russia, England, China, Germany, and Switzerland were to come together, any nation would be able to endure the worst of attacks.
“Russia wouldn’t be able to withstand cheap Arab oil, and China would have no choice but to surrender if the yuan was attacked. The other countries all have their weaknesses due to their scale. South Korea, on the other hand, can be protected from foreign capital attacks by having Russia supply it with oil and getting the other nations to help.”
This is hard! So fucking hard!
Kang Chan inwardly shook his head.
Lanok added, “I’m sure CIA Director Sherman offered you Arab oil and money, but we still haven’t learned the exact details.”
“I haven’t heard anything like that yet, but the South Korean government has informed me that it expects at least the barest amount of leeway for negotiations with the United States or other countries,” Kang Chan stated.
Amid everyone listening to their conversation with serious expressions, Kang Chan’s heart pounded loudly again.
Thud.
Considering he had heard that there was no issue in Mongolia, could he take this as a warning that Seok Kang-Ho was in danger?
Kang Chan glanced at his phone just to be sure, but it couldn’t get any reception.
“Electronic devices cannot be used in this room right now. Are you worried about Libya?” Lanok asked.
“Monsieur Kang,” Vasili called before Kang Chan could answer.
Kang Chan really couldn’t get a moment of peace in here.
“I won’t get into the vast sums of money needed to build the power plant, but if we fail, all the countries involved will be irreparably and irreversibly financially ruined,” Vasili darkly declared.
He kept his eyes on Kang Chan as he leaned back in his chair.
“A few more or a few less deaths now won’t matter. While we’re at it, let me make one more thing clear.” Vasili spoke so confidently that it seemed as though he were speaking for the rest of the room. “Until we actually extract electricity from the Blackhead, I’d like you to recuse yourself from future operations. I’m sure you can guess why.”
Vasili clearly had no idea how much Seok Kang-Ho, the special forces soldiers, and the agents meant to Kang Chan. However, Kang Chan still understood why he was making such a request.
“Can you develop the new energy source without me?” Kang Chan asked.
Vasili glanced at Lanok before answering.
“You’re currently our only means to stabilize the Blackhead. Even if we have a stable Blackhead, this is our first energy plant, so we may need your abilities from time to time.”
“Then what if the Star of David, which we know nothing about, kills me?”
Vasili let out an exaggerated sigh, seemingly exasperated by the questions.
“The agents of our intelligence bureau and the French DGSE took out twenty UIS operatives in China. I hope you know that the intelligence services of all the countries that are a part of this are willing to go the distance for your safety and that this puts our lives in that much more jeopardy.”
“I’ve got one more question. Which can we accomplish earlier? Killing Abibu or finishing the energy plant?”
Vasili glared at Kang Chan.
“Abibu? The Star of David? How about we act while we create the energy plant even if doing so means setting off an earthquake in the Arab oil fields?” Kang Chan suggested.
Ethan swallowed and glanced around the room.
“Get to the point, Monsieur Kang,” Vasili replied.
“Let me make one thing clear,” Kang Chan immediately shot back. “Don’t expect me to hide and come out only when necessary throughout the entire construction of the power plant. I refuse to just stand by and watch as the people I care about get hurt.”
“Ha!”
“Vasili.”
“I hear you. So does China, England, the DGSE Director-General, and even Lanok, who you hold so dear,” Vasili snarked, no longer bothering to hide his dissatisfaction.
“I’m saying that rather than waiting for their attacks, we should show them what we got,” Kang Chan firmly stated.
Vasili chuckled, then sighed in disbelief. “Ha! Hahaha! Ha! Our main character is so ready to act despite being so unprepared! What do you plan to do next? Hm, Monsieur Kang?”
“I will strike Libya.”
“Phew! It sounds like you want to use our power to avenge South Korea and rescue your agents. Might I remind you, Monsieur Kang, that we’re only interested in the energy that the Blackhead can provide, not in the development of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service or their agents,” Vasili bluntly concluded.
With a nod, Lanok suddenly chimed in. “It isn’t such a bad idea, though.”
Vasili scoffed. “It’s not like you to be so emotional, Lanok.”
“Why don’t we offer the US a stake? The condition will be the rescue of the South Korean agents from Libya. Meanwhile, we keep an eye on Abibu’s movements. If we’re lucky, the Star of David might reveal itself to us.”
“You think the Star of David will go out of the shadows just to take out the South Korean agents in Libya?” Vasili sarcastically questioned.
“Wouldn’t they make a move if the Blackhead possessed by England comes into play?” Ethan asked.
Everyone’s eyes shot to him, including Vasili’s.
“You’re willing to give it to the US?” Vasili asked.
“It may have lost its energy, but it’s still unstable. If we offer it as collateral for giving the US a stake, the Star of David will be forced to take action,” Ethan replied.
“If they’re wary of the US acting independently, they may make a move. The US will definitely have other ideas, though.”
“Then their stake will vanish into thin air.”
“Hm! Your plans are indeed different from a certain sly Frenchman I know.”
Ethan’s expression turned sour, but Vasili seemed to be interested in the idea.
***
Du du du! Pow pow pow! Bang, bang! Bang, bang!
The rooftop wall in front of Cha Dong-Gyun exploded, accompanied by the sound of gunfire. They immediately returned fire.
Although they had a sniper and four soldiers in positions Seok Kang-Ho had pointed them to, they still felt a little tense. After all, they didn’t know when an RPG could come flying at them.
They didn’t expect anything like this. The moment they arrived, they were met with an endless barrage of attacks. It almost looked like the UIS had taken over the entire Al-Aziziyah.
Du du du! Pow, pow, pow!
Every time Cha Dong-Gyun looked up, bullets came flying at him.
If it wasn’t for the one-story-high entrance in the middle of the roof, not even snipers would be able to get a good shot.
Du du du! Bang! Du du du! Bang! Bang!
Alternating pistol and AK rifle gunshots came from the building across the alley. Afterward, they received a frantic radio call.
Chk.
“We’re all down to one mag.”
The South Korean and French agents were in the building right across the street. The sly UIS had been watching them the whole time and attacked just before the agents could reach the rendezvous point.
“Damn it,” Seok Kang-Ho spat out.
Cha Dong-Gyun didn’t expect Seok Kang-Ho’s cursing to sound so comforting.
“They’re all going to die when they run out of bullets. Let’s rescue them before then, shall we?” Seok Kang-Ho said.
“How many of us will be going?”
“Ten.”
“I’ll go.”
“I’ll go, so you select the ten.”
Du du du du! Pow, pow, pow, pow!
“Hurry!” Seok Kang-Ho shouted.
A standard pistol magazine could only last them so long.
Cha Dong-Gyun quickly raised his hand to his radio.
Chk.
“Team One and I will be going in for the rescue. We will be under Mr. Seok’s command. Kwak Cheol-Ho, take charge of this location,” Cha Dong-Gyun ordered.
Seok Kang-Ho just glanced at Cha Dong-Gyun as he listened to the comms.
The sun was already setting below the horizon.
From afar, they could hear the sound of the Quran being read from a loudspeaker.
The grayish-white buildings and walls, the proclamation of the Quran, and the setting sun...
“Fuck!” Seok Kang-Ho swore as he looked at the sky.
Returning to Africa brought him back to a landscape that he found all too familiar. However, only Algeria reminded him so perfectly of home.
“We’re ready.”
When he looked back down, he found Cha Dong-Gyun and Han Jae-Guk standing in formation with the other soldiers.
“Let’s go.”
Seok Kang-Ho stood up, on his face a smirk that was just like Kang Chan’s.
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