Chapter 128: Fresh and Kicking

TL: LittlePeach

Where there was a meeting, there was bound to be a parting.

After finishing business and closing up for the day, we stood in front of the restaurant and said our goodbyes.

Bella was the first to stride over and throw her arms around me.

“Thanks for finding my brother, Sunny Kick. I’ll definitely repay you someday.”

Standing on tiptoe, she gave me a quick peck on the cheek, the usual cheek-kiss farewell.

I smiled awkwardly and shrugged.

“What debt? If I ever need the skills of a talented hacker, I’ll call you right away.”

“Anytime. Did I give you my Telegram ID?”

Next, Maximilien and I exchanged a light handshake as we said goodbye.

“By the way, how are you planning to take that rifle with you?”

“I’ve got my ways. I know someone in international trade. Want me to introduce you?”

“I’ll call if I ever need one. See you again.”

“Yeah. We’ll see each other again soon in Russia, Sunny Kick.”

And just like that, Maximilien and his sister left for Vladivostok, Russia.

I boarded a flight to the Philippines soon after.

[Mabuhay! Welcome, passengers. We have arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila. For your safety, please remain seated until the seat belt sign has been turned off....]

Manila, Philippines.

It had been a while.

The moment I breathed in that distinctly Southeast Asian air, all the tension melted out of my body.

I dragged my now-relaxed body out of the terminal.

“Over here, Team Leader!”

“Oh.”

Someone called out to me while waving.

The moment I spotted his face, a goofy smile slipped out before I knew it.

“It’s been a while, Team Leader Kim Do-hyeon-nim.”

“H-Haha.... It certainly has.”

“I’ve actually been meaning to meet you privately and properly say hello.”

“Y-You have?”

When I said that, Kim Do-hyeon, who had already been looking hesitant, scratched his cheek.

We had even spoken on the phone just a few hours ago, but seeing each other face-to-face must have made things awkward all over again.

“I feel a little guilty, actually. Looking back, I realized I made things uncomfortable for you in more ways than I knew....”

“That was then. Now we’re both part of the same Special Operations Group, aren’t we?”

It was all in the past, so what did any of that matter now?

I abruptly held out my hand to him as he stood there looking awkward.

“Let’s treat this as a fresh start and be comfortable around each other from now on. I look forward to working with you.”

“...That’s exactly what I was hoping for. I look forward to working with you too.”

After we shook hands, Kim Do-hyeon’s expression looked considerably more relaxed.

I followed him into the rental car, only to find that the destination on the navigation system wasn’t New Bilibid.

“There’s a Philippine Air Force base in a place called Basa that’s shared with the U.S. military. Today, we’ll be observing an operational briefing being held there.”

“We’re not actually getting deployed on the operation ourselves, right?”

“O-Of course not. I haven’t received any instructions to that effect.... Though honestly, I’m not entirely sure myself.”

Kim Do-hyeon gave an awkward smile.

“I only recently took up my post with the Special Operations Group.... I was actually in desperate need of help from Team 5 Leader-nim, who’s been fighting on the front lines.”

“Well, if they have any questions over there, I can probably handle most of them.”

“...That is extremely reassuring. I appreciate it.”

His expression seemed complicated as he looked at me.

A Sparrow agent who had once been nothing more than a recruitment target had somehow become a team leader in a neighboring department and was now in a position to guide him, so it was understandable that he would have mixed feelings about it.

“We’re almost there.”

The Philippines had been plagued by its dispute with China in the South China Sea, and to strengthen its national security, it had addressed the issue by entering military agreements with the United States and opening several of its airfields to American forces.

Basa Air Base was one of them.

When we reached the guard post, armed sentries stopped the car.

“We need to verify your identities. State your names and affiliations.”

“Kim Do-hyeon and Kang Hae-chan, DEA Korea Branch.”

Kim Do-hyeon handed the sentry a document.

It seemed the DEA Korea Branch had prepared separate cover identities for us so we could observe the operation.

“Confirmed. Park in the lot ahead. A military vehicle will arrive shortly to pick you up.”

“Thank you.”

We passed through the gate and parked as instructed.

Before long, a military vehicle pulled up with brisk efficiency.

We transferred over and drove another five minutes before entering a massive hangar.

“Oh.”

The moment I got out, I found four helicopters lined up side by side in front of me.

They were Bell 412s, bestselling multipurpose utility helicopters.

A group of personnel who looked like DEA tactical operators had gathered near the helicopters.

Crisp Ops-Core helmets, spotless MultiCam fatigues, and HK416 rifles slung from their harnesses.

‘As expected of America.’

For a tactical unit belonging to an agency with extralegal authority, their equipment was on another level from head to toe.

“Ah, that gentleman over there is the DEA Korea branch chief. Let’s go greet him first.”

Quite a few officials had already gathered inside the hangar.

As we headed toward one corner, a bald man with a brown mustache spotted Kim Do-hyeon from a distance.

“Mr. Kim, you’ve come a long way.”

“Thank you for allowing us to observe, Branch Chief Morgan.”

“Having you here alone is reassuring enough. I was starting to feel lonely, seeing as I don’t have a single ally here.”

Morgan Brown, DEA Korea branch chief.

After shaking hands once with Kim Do-hyeon, he soon turned his inquisitive gaze toward me as I stood blankly beside him.

Kim Do-hyeon introduced me on my behalf.

“This is Team Leader Kang Hae-chan from the same department as me. He’s the one who personally infiltrated New Bilibid, gathered intelligence from the inside, and provided it to the DEA Korea Branch.”

“Oh-ho!”

A glint appeared in Morgan’s eyes as he studied me.

He suddenly held out his hand.

“Indeed. I could tell from the look in your eyes alone that you were a man of extraordinary caliber.”

I grinned at his shameless flattery and shook his hand.

“Thank you for the warm welcome, Branch Chief. I’m Kang Hae-chan.”

“A pleasure, Mr. Kang. Please, just call me Morgan.”

Before long, we moved somewhere quieter to escape the commotion of the staff bustling around us.

The moment we settled in, Morgan snorted as though he had been waiting for his chance.

“I simply cannot understand it. Why should those bastards at Asia-Pacific Headquarters get to swallow up the valuable intelligence the NIS provided to our Korea Branch and use it to build their own operation?”

The operation hadn’t even started, and he was already pouring cold water on it.

From what I gathered, his complaint was roughly this.

The NIS had personally infiltrated New Bilibid and dug up the intelligence, and the DEA Korea Branch had been the one to receive it, yet Asia-Pacific Headquarters had simply swooped in, taken it all, and planned the operation.

So if the operation succeeded like this, all the credit would end up going straight to Asia-Pacific Headquarters.

No wonder he was pissed.

‘People suffer over performance numbers everywhere, huh.’

They said people were the same wherever you went, and apparently the DEA had its fair share of interdepartmental fights over credit.

Just listening to him was enough to get a pretty good picture of how dysfunctional the organization was.

That was when it happened.

“Welcome, Branch Chief Morgan Brown. Thank you for coming to Basa Air Base.”

A man who had been talking with the tactical operators in the distance strode over to greet us.

He was a Black man whose build alone practically screamed special forces.

Morgan made his displeasure obvious as he asked curtly,

“And you are?”

“Jacob Jordan. I’m the SRT team leader from Asia-Pacific Headquarters, and I’ll be in overall command of the operation on the ground.”

Jacob Jordan.

The SRT team he led was a DEA tactical unit that specialized in high-risk arrest operations and raids against drug cartels.

Morgan’s lips twisted slightly as he faced him.

“Hmm. Team Leader Jacob. I’ve often heard stories about your time with the Navy SEALs.”

“Thank you for recognizing me.”

Judging from his dry expression, he didn’t look grateful in the slightest.

If anything, he seemed to regard the recognition as only natural.

“Myanmar, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Cambodia.... Out of all those regions, we were only able to pinpoint New Bilibid as the target of this operation thanks entirely to the invaluable intelligence provided by the DEA Korea Branch. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Branch Chief Morgan for coming all this way.”

“Ahem....”

“The influence of drug cartels throughout the Golden Triangle grows stronger by the day. Before their reach expands any further, Asia-Pacific Headquarters hastily drew up this operation to nip the problem in the bud.”

The Golden Triangle.

The border region between Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos had long been notorious for opium cultivation.

At one point, U.S.-led eradication operations had pushed the region’s drug organizations to the brink of annihilation, but now they had gradually rebuilt their strength, banding together as a cell network and wielding influence rivaling even the cartels of Central and South America.

Even mighty America could no longer simply sit back and watch.

“To briefly explain the operational outline, we plan to use helicopters to conduct a direct air assault into the prison. The moment the order to commence the operation is given, we’ll finish mustering at the base within five minutes and arrive over New Bilibid Prison within twenty.”

His explanation flowed smoothly.

But there was one part I simply couldn’t wrap my head around, and I tilted my head without thinking.

“How is that possible?”

“...I wasn’t planning to take questions, but now I’m actually curious which part you feel requires further explanation.”

Jacob glanced my way.

He gestured toward me with his chin.

“Before that, though, I’d appreciate an introduction.”

“I’m Kang Hae-chan of the Republic of Korea’s NIS. I’m here to observe this operation.”

“Mr. Kang....”

Jacob mulled over my name for a moment, then nodded as though granting me permission to ask.

“All right. What are you curious about?”

“The part about conducting an air assault by helicopter. Did you coordinate with the Philippine government in advance regarding this operation?”

“Of course not. We don’t trust the government here. If we tipped them off, they’d obviously smuggle our targets out before we even deployed.”

“Then how can you pull it off without the government’s cooperation?”

“We can.”

Jacob’s answer was perfectly clear.

“Because we’re America.”

I clicked my tongue inwardly at the sheer confidence in his attitude, without even a hint of hesitation.

When I pretended that explanation made sense, Jacob nodded.

“We’ll insert tactical operators into the prison, wipe out the cartel members hiding inside in one sweep, and extract. This operation will be the opening salvo that drives home to every cartel in the world that no matter where they hide, we are watching.”

“Wow....”

The very idea of launching an air assault into another country’s prison on their own authority was something only America would even dare consider.

Of course, from the Philippine government’s perspective, they benefited from American military support for national defense, so they weren’t exactly in a position to complain openly.

The scale of the trouble they caused was different, and so was the mentality behind it.

“As expected of America, the country called the world’s policeman. Impressive.”

“Well, from our perspective, it’s nothing particularly impressive.”

There was even a subtle hint of superiority in the way he looked at me.

I shamelessly got ready to lay the flattery on even thicker.

There was a reason I was buttering him up this much.

“Any chance I could join the operation too?”

“...What do you mean?”

“The helicopter air assault.”

I looked at Jacob with sparkling eyes.

All I got in return was an incredulous scoff.

“No.”

I’d actually been hoping a little, but he shot me down immediately.

‘World’s policeman, my ass. They’re just a bunch of thugs.’

That was the conclusion I reached internally.

It absolutely wasn’t because they wouldn’t let me ride in the helicopter.

Ptooey, ptooey.

***

Right after the brief operational briefing ended.

“For heaven’s sake. This is truly frustrating. Those bastards at Asia-Pacific Headquarters have been sitting around doing nothing all this time, and now I have to watch them strut around like this....”

Morgan’s thick mustache trembled at the ends as he continued snorting angrily.

For someone starving for accomplishments, it had to be infuriating to watch Asia-Pacific Headquarters waltz in at the last minute and claim the credit.

As a mere spectator, I honestly couldn’t care less whether it was the Korea Branch or Asia-Pacific Headquarters.

“I felt the same way. The way Team Leader Jacob strutted around with his nose in the air was really irritating.”

Of course, regardless of what I actually thought, I still sucked up to him a little.

Basic social skills like this were essential when dealing with someone I would be seeing for a long time.

‘It absolutely isn’t because he wouldn’t let me ride in the helicopter.’

As I kept agreeing with him, Morgan’s expression relaxed into satisfaction.

“I appreciate you saying that, Mr. Kang. Just as you say, any achievement by the DEA Korea Branch ultimately becomes an achievement for the Republic of Korea’s NIS as well, does it not?”

“Of course. Absolutely right. The NIS and the Korea Branch are inseparable partners.”

Since I was already making the effort to socialize properly for once, I went ahead and told him exactly what he wanted to hear.

“Actually, listening to Team Leader Jacob’s briefing earlier gave me a thought. For the DEA, America’s vaunted extralegal agency, what they’re doing seems a little small-time.”

“Small-time? What do you mean?”

I puffed out my chest and shook my head emphatically in front of the confused Morgan.

“To put it bluntly, flying in by helicopter and immediately blasting everyone with guns is a little simplistic, isn’t it?”

“Do you know how the Australian Secret Intelligence Service handled the exact same situation? They secretly inserted one of their own agents into New Bilibid and abducted Wei Hong, a Samgor executive, without anyone being the wiser.”

“Oh? Is that so? How do you know about that?”

“Someone I know works over there. They shared a little information with me recently.”

“Oh-ho. Is that really true?”

Of course, in reality, there hadn’t been any need for them to share the information with me, since I had been the one who did it myself.

But Morgan’s reaction to what I said was somehow strange.

“No, wait. In that case.... We cannot simply sit still. Like you said, there’s no reason America should fail at something Australia managed to accomplish.”

“What? What do you....”

“We strike first, one step ahead of those bastards at Asia-Pacific Headquarters!”

I had only brought it up to comfort him, yet Morgan suddenly started spouting something absurd.

His eyes gleamed as he began twirling his mustache around his finger.

“Before Asia-Pacific Headquarters gets those helicopters into the air, we insert our own agent into the prison first and abduct a key cartel executive. As you said, capturing even one man alive is far harder than simply shooting everyone dead like brutes. Wouldn’t that be an even surer way to impress the higher-ups?”

I stopped agreeing with everything he said and unconsciously closed my mouth.

Easy for him to say.

‘This guy really is American too.’

Watching that completely baseless confidence, that was the only thought that came to mind.

Even Kim Do-hyeon, who had quietly listened from beside us, gave an awkward smile at Morgan’s grand ambition.

“Th-That is a very good idea, but.... Who exactly could pull something like that off?”

At Kim Do-hyeon’s question, Morgan fell into thought for a moment.

Then his gaze locked squarely onto me.

Bad feelings were never wrong.

“Mr. Kang, what about you?”

Sure enough, he suddenly threw the proposal my way.

“Me?”

“You’re an intelligence specialist who went into New Bilibid, extracted information, and came back completely unharmed, aren’t you? This would simply add one easy little assignment: extracting one drug cartel boss. Surely you can manage that?”

I swallowed a dry laugh.

His plan had no grounding in operational reality whatsoever, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“From what I’ve heard, among the cartels currently inside New Bilibid, the Irobuchi-kai seems to be the biggest player. All we need is for you to abduct the one man in charge there.”

He was talking about Yamamoto Shinichi.

I had already met the bastard and even become acquainted with him, so it honestly wouldn’t be that difficult.

But to put it bluntly, I wasn’t tempted.

‘Australia at least paid me.’

I had a mountain of things I wanted to say, but I held them back for the moment.

“I’m sorry, Branch Chief Morgan-nim, but I belong to the NIS, not the DEA. You don’t have the authority to give me orders.”

For the sake of keeping things amicable, I only voiced the carefully refined version.

Morgan nodded as though that were obvious.

“Of course. This isn’t an order. It’s a request for cooperation that I’m making under my own authority. If you play a decisive role in this operation, you’ll also receive a separate reward through the U.S. government’s Narcotics Rewards Program.”

“Oh.”

The exclamation didn’t come from me.

I glanced over and found Kim Do-hyeon, who had been quietly listening this entire time, staring at me with sparkling eyes.

“For reference, I’ll let you in on one fact. So far, a total of two hundred million dollars has been paid out in rewards to just over a hundred people who assisted us.”

Two hundred million dollars divided by a hundred was two million dollars.

In Korean won, that was well over two billion.

Kim Do-hyeon, who had been listening with his ears practically perked up, dropped his jaw.

“What do you say?”

I thought fast.

I decided even faster.

“Sounds good. I’ll enter New Bilibid immediately.”

“Hm? W-Wait, Mr. Kang. Perhaps you should think about it a little more seriously....”

“No need. I happened to be craving the mango juice they sell inside New Bilibid anyway.”

“...I didn’t expect you to decide quite this quickly.”

Now that someone willing to pay top dollar had appeared, it was finally time to harvest the two-billion-won seed of trouble I had planted inside New Bilibid.

Morgan actually looked flustered by how decisively I answered.

“Don’t worry. I’ll abduct the bastard and bring him back fresh and kicking.”

Abduct Yamamoto Shinichi?

That was nothing to me.

‘It absolutely isn’t because they wouldn’t let me ride in the helicopter.’

Of course not.

*****

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