21st century Goguryeo

Chapter 11

January 28th, 2016 02:30 Incheon-si Incheon port, a remote dock.

Amidst the cold front from the Siberian Northwestern wind, a cold winter wind blew like a whip into the night. Three shadows were carrying two or three bags, and they were busily on their way somewhere. They were the entourage of the ex-defense industry’s Nam Tae-gyu, who was involved in the Navy’s defense industry corruption scandal. After the corruption scandal was made public, Nam Tae-gyu was forbidden from leaving the country. He and his two associates were trying to stow away to China after the police’s dragnet was closing in.

Plop! Plop!

In the darkness, a man who seemed to be the captain of a small fishing boat anchored at the dock sent out a signal with a flashlight, turning it on and off repeatedly. The group hurriedly turned their footsteps towards that direction.

As the shadowy figures arrived near the fishing boat, the captain stopped signaling and got off the boat. The figure walking at the front spoke to the captain.

“Are you the captain? Is the boat ready for departure?”

The captain curtly answered the question and pointed behind him. “My, can’t you see for yourself?”

The three shadowy figures all looked towards the fishing boat. It was smaller than expected.

The man asked the question again. “That’s the ship? Isn’t it too tiny?”

The captain answered brusquely. “Hey! Don’t worry about it. It’s more than capable of crossing the west sea.”

Since the man and his two associates were waiting anxiously and could not be choosy, they began to board the ship. However, the captain put out his left arm to block their path and spoke. “So the thing is, shouldn’t you hand over the money first?”

The captain’s abrupt actions took the three by surprise and made them stop in their tracks. The lanky man handed over the smallest bag to the captain. He spoke in an anxious tone to the captain as he counted out his payment. “Just take it for now. We’re in a hurry, so check the money after we board. It’s $100,000, as promised.”

The begging man’s face clearly showed anxiety and restlessness; however, the captain did not seem to bother with his plea. He spoke brusquely after counting out the rest of the money. “I’m sorry to say this, but...I want the other two bags.”

The man stopped loading his bags and argued with the captain. “What? You tripled the price? Didn’t we agree on a price?”

The captain, who was hiding a slight smile on his face, answered. “So at first, I thought you were just normal stowaways. As it turns out, you guys were the star leads of that defense industry corruption scandal that turned the whole country upside-down. I’m risking my life for this job too, so don’t you think $100,000 is too little? Shouldn’t the payment be at least $100,000 a person, so shouldn’t the payment be at least $300,000?”

“Even if that’s the case, how could you ask triple the agreed price?”

The man was flustered by the sudden suggestion from the captain. All he could do was stifle his anger and glare at the captain with his hands balled into a fist. A middle-aged man standing behind him and listening to the conversation called him over. It was the former Defense Industry Director Nam Tae-gyu.

“Manager Kim, come here for a moment.”

“Yes, Director.”

Manager Kim whispered with the director, received something from him, went back to the captain, and spoke. “We only have $100,000 in cash. Let us pay the rest with this.”

There were twenty one-carat diamonds in the man’s outstretched palm towards the captain. Each diamond was first class, worth at least $10,000 each.

“Oh my, how much are each of these worth?”

“You’ll get at least $10,000 each on the black market.”

“I guess I have no choice.”

The captain put the diamonds in his pocket and moved his right hand towards his backside as he eyed the director. “Let’s close the curtains on this play.”

“What are you talking about?”

The captain pulled out a pistol and shouted at the man, who did not understand his words. “Put your hands in the air! I am Chief Joo Jin-ill from the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation. Ex-Director Nam Tae-gyu and you three are under immediate arrest for bribery in the defense industry corruption case. Put your hands in the air and get on your knees!”

The three panicked men each responded differently. The manager, who handed over the diamonds, seemed to have given up, raised his hands in the air, and knelt. The director sat down where he stood and began sobbing. The lanky man, who handed over the bag of cash, didn’t look back and began to run.

“Chief Han! Get him!”

Chief Han Myung-joo suddenly appeared next to the man who was running towards the shipping container. She grabbed the runner’s clothes and threw him on the ground. The man did not have a chance to dodge the attack, so he hit his head after he was thrown to the cold cement floor. He passed out with his limbs spreadeagle.

“Secretary Jung Oh-kyung, you can run, but you can’t hide.”

Chief Joo Jin-ill of the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation arrested the main suspects of the defense corruption scandal: Ex-Director Nam Tae-gyu, Ex-Secretary Jung Oh-kyung, and Ex-Purchasing Business Manager Kim Hyun-pil, who were trying to stowaway to China. He also succeeded in recovering the hundreds of diamonds and the $2,000,000 they obtained by selling their property in the black market.

* * *

January 29th, 2016 16:20 (Philippines Standard Time 15:20). Cebu Philippines.

A man wearing blue sunglasses and an orange flower-printed shirt got off a luxurious boat. The way he acted boastfully with a short Philippino woman at his side made it seem as if he was the emperor of Cebu; he began walking towards the parking lot with his chest puffed up.

“My cute darling Sherry! We’re going to have another wild night, yeah?” He spoke with a perverted smile on his face as he grabbed the short woman’s rear end.

“My god Lee, you’re so bad.”

The short Phillipino woman did not seem to dislike the man’s behavior, as she put her arms around his side and began to charm him. Meanwhile, a man on the third-floor roof of an old building spoke through a small headset as he watched Charles Lee’s every move. “Manager, we’ve located the target. Over.”

“Chief Lee, confirm his final destination. Over.”

“Understood. Over.”

Charles Lee entered the parking lot. He and the woman got into a red convertible. After he made the car’s engine roar a couple of times, they began to drive down a coastal road. Chief Lee also got on a black can and began quietly following them to avoid detection.

The red convertible arrived at the famous six-star Edison Blue hotel’s underground parking lot after 10 minutes. The black van also followed quietly.

“That bastard! He’s living a lavish life off of the taxes paid by citizens.”

The head of the department, Na Kyung-joon, curtly answered Chief Lee Young-kyu. “Yeah, that seems to be the case. We can do something about it after we catch him.”

Charles Lee was heading to the escalator to reach the lobby after he parked, then he continued speaking as he looked at Chief Youn Young-gil in the driver’s seat of the black van. “Chief Lee and I will follow him; Chief Youn will stand by here since you might have to cut off his escape route via car.”

“Yes, understood, sir.”

Na Kyung-joon swiftly began to follow Charles Lee after opening the car door.

Charles Lee was the broker for this Defense industry’s corruption scandal. His Korean name was Lee Tae-un. He disappeared overseas four years ago and his whereabouts were unknown until a few days ago. He had been located when NIS Agent Namgoong-won analyzed the banking withdrawal routes from overseas and hacked the foreign banks to determine that he was located at the Cebu Philippines. Thus, the Secret Bureau of Corruption Investigation’s units one and two flew over to Cebu to arrest Charles Lee.

Charles Lee received the key after entering the lobby. He answered a phone call as he headed towards the elevator. After a short while on the call, Charles Lee’s face had a slight frown. He got back on the elevator with his usual boastful look. Chief Lee Young-kyu acted like a tourist hurriedly getting on the elevator, apologized, and pressed the button for the 17th floor, as he confirmed Charles Lee pressed the button for floor 16. There was tension in the elevator as it ascended to the 16th floor. When the doors opened, Charles Lee shoved the Philippino woman in his arms to Chief Lee Young-kyu and ran off the elevator.

“Sir! He’s onto us. 16th floor.”

“Get him! I’m heading up.”

Chief Lee Young-kyu was caught off guard and tripped as he grabbed the Philippino woman shoved towards him. He alerted the head of the department, Na Kyung-joon, through his headset and ran across the hall to catch Charles Lee.

As he was about to turn right from a T-shaped hallway, a shadowy figure holding a knife appeared from the left hallway and attacked Chief Lee. Chief Lee rolled his body sideways out of instinct, pulled out his pistol, and shot the shadowy figure on the thigh.

Bang!

Chief Lee chased Charles Lee without having a moment to check the shadowy figure that fell after being shot in the thigh. When he was able to see Charles Lee entering the emergency staircase, a door on the opposing side opened and two figures appeared. They blocked his path and began firing their pistols.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Chief Lee Young-kyu threw himself to the floor and fired a couple rounds, but he could not land properly and rolled to the floor.

There were two men collapsed on the hallway after six shots were fired. One was leaning against the wall. The man leaning on the wall was Charles Lee’s bodyguard. Unfortunately, one of the two injured men was Chief Lee Young-kyu, who was shot in the shoulder.

Charles Lee’s bodyguard stumbled towards Chief Lee Young-kyu as he held on to the wall and pointed his pistol at Chief Lee’s head.

Bang!

Another gunshot rang in the hallway.

Charles Lee’s bodyguard, who was pointing his pistol at Chief Lee Kyung-kyu, grabbed his left chest and fell backward.

Na Kyung-joon, who just had fired the shot from the other end of the hall, quickly ran over and checked Chief Lee Young-kyu’s injuries.

“Chief Lee, are you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine. The bastard Charles, he ran down the emergency stairs...”

“Chief Lee! Wait here a moment.”

“Chief Youn! We’re in the 16th floor hallway. Chief Lee’s down.”

“Yes, I’m on it!”

Na Kyung-joon sent out orders through his headset, opened the doors, and examined the emergency stairway. There were loud, frantic footsteps coming from the lower level. Na Kyung-joon immediately began running down the stairs. Without stopping, he ran down all the way to the 5th floor and radioed once again to Chief Youn Young-gil. “Chief Youn! Pant, pant.”

“Yes, sir. Should I head to the 16th floor?”

“No! The bastard is going...” He panted. “...to the underground parking lot. Wait for him there, then ambush!”

“Yes, understood.”

Chief Youn Young-gil was anxiously waiting in the black van when he saw Charles Lee covered in sweat. When Chief Youn Young-gil was about to get out of the vehicle to apprehend Charles Lee, he glanced at his pistol in his right hand, took a moment to think, put on his seatbelt, and then started the car.

Charles Lee arrived at his red convertible sportscar, threw himself in the driver’s seat, and started his car. He put pedal to the metal and began speeding towards the parking lot’s exit.

Crash!

The sports car made loud exhaust noises as it headed towards the exit, then it crashed into a black van coming from its right side. The crash caused the sports car to run into another vehicle parked to its left. As it emitted smoke, it came to a halt.

Charles Lee was bounced to the passenger’s seat. The impact made him go unconscious. Chief Youn Young-gil got off the black van, readjusted his headset, and radioed to the head of the department, Na Kyung-joon. “Charles Lee is under custody.”

“Okay, good job.”

Na Kyung-joon showed up from the emergency stairway, breathing heavily he put his thumbs up towards Chief Youn Young-gil’s direction.