Clean Company (1)
Clean Company was located in a five-story officetel building on the outskirts.
Only the fourth and fifth floors were officially their offices. But in truth, the entire building belonged to Clean Company.
The first, second, and third floors were disguised as offices for different companies, but those were also run by Clean Company. Every employee in this headquarters building was one of their assassins.
It was small and unassuming, but this place was a true dragon's lair.
The atmosphere in the Clean Company president's office on the fifth floor was heavy.
The two men he'd met at the bar and the bench were there. The skinny man called "President" was Jo Hwang, the head of Clean Company, and the burly guy captured in the satellite photo was Gi Sal, Jo Hwang's right-hand man and a company director.
"Even a Murim master couldn't have survived that attack. They had to endure the crash and the explosion inside the crumpled car."
"But he did. And he saved the woman riding with him."
"I still can't believe it."
"It was a reckless attack."
"That's hindsight talking. It was the surest way to take him out. That's why you approved it, President."
"It was a mistake."
"Mistake or not, it's clear now. We can't eliminate Park In-hwan unless we get rid of this Jang Cheon guy first."
"What the hell is this guy?"
"Digging deep into him isn't easy. If we go too far, it'll expose us."
"Damn it."
He'd expected the chairman of HT Group to have some hidden ace up his sleeve. But he never imagined it would be the spade ace.
"It's not over yet. If we have to, we can double-contract with another organization to take out Jang Cheon."
"Double-contract?"
"Yes. Meanwhile, we go after Park In-hwan. Whether the double hits or misses doesn't matter. As long as we get Park In-hwan, we'll find a way to survive."
Jo Hwang nodded and asked,
"Where's this Jang Cheon bastard right now?"
At that very moment, Jang Cheon was right beneath their feet.
Jang Cheon stepped into the Clean Company building on the first floor.
The security guard dozing at the entrance yawned and asked,
"Who are you here for...?"
Ping!
Pfook!
A shuriken flew from Jang Cheon's hand and embedded in the guard's throat. The guard collapsed, a pistol clutched in his hand.
Jang Cheon opened the door to the first office next to the security room. There were three people inside: two sitting at desks, one standing.
As they turned toward the door, shurikens shot from Jang Cheon's hand.
Ping! Pee-ing! Ping!
Three shurikens flew simultaneously.
The three assassins clutched their throats and fell. Jang Cheon's shuriken technique was fast and precise enough to call it perfect.
Jang Cheon quietly closed the door and walked down the hallway. Just then, the door to an office ahead opened, and a man stepped out.
The moment the door opened, Jang Cheon's figure was already leaping. By the time the man turned his head, Jang Cheon was right in his face.
The man swung a fist to block, but Jang Cheon was already behind him, clamping a hand over his mouth.
Whoooosh!
Crack!
The man slid down Jang Cheon's body and crumpled. His neck had twisted a full turn; he was already dead.
Jang Cheon gently laid him on the floor and entered the room the man had come from.
His eyes met a woman holding a file folder. She had been just about to leave the office.
"How did you get here?"
She smiled brightly and asked.
Ping!
A shuriken buried deep in her forehead. She collapsed. Behind the file folder she held was a sharply honed tanto.
As Jang Cheon turned to leave, the door to the office across the hall opened.
Jang Cheon's body soared through the air. There was no whistle of wind, but he was already inside the open door.
Jang Cheon's knee smashed mercilessly into the jaw of the man opening the door.
Thud.
The man flew back and slammed into the wall.
Before Jang Cheon even landed, shurikens flew from his hand.
Ping! Pee-ing!
Pfook! Pook!
The assassin charging instinctively at the sight of his comrade fell first. The second, pulling a sword hidden under his desk, hadn't drawn half of it before a shuriken hit his throat, and he collapsed.
The first one, struck in the jaw, was already dead, sprawled in front of the wall.
Having swiftly neutralized the three offices on the first floor, Jang Cheon quickly ascended the stairs.
* * *
"Huh? Why's this thing dead?"
Jo Hwang, talking with Gi Sal, noticed the surveillance monitor was off.
"I'll check it."
Gi Sal came over and inspected the monitor.
"No loose wires, computer's fine. Reboot should fix it."
Unlike the computer-illiterate Jo Hwang, Gi Sal handled tech well.
Watching Gi Sal fiddle with the computer, Jo Hwang felt an inexplicable chill. He hurried to the window and peered outside.
The alley looked normal. The only difference was a large moving truck parked on the street.
"Reboot didn't work."
At Gi Sal's words, Jo Hwang grabbed the phone and dialed the first-floor security room.
No signal.
Jo Hwang yanked out his cell phone in surprise. No bars where the antenna icon should be.
His expression turned grave.
Just then, Gi Sal was opening the door to leave.
"I'll go check."
"Wait!"
Jo Hwang called out too late.
A sword flew toward Gi Sal's face.
Shiiik!
Gi Sal twisted his body, instinctively dodging the attack.
Piiit!
The sword grazed his throat. As Gi Sal leaped back to evade,
Shiiiik!
Splurt!
The thrust sword turned ninety degrees in an instant, slicing his throat.
The follow-up was so swift that even Clean Company's top assassin had no chance for a second dodge.
Gi Sal hit the door and slid down.
Jo Hwang wasn't just shocked because Gi Sal was dead.
In the Murim world, you died if you met someone stronger. Besides, exposed assassins showed only a fraction of their skill. They were strongest on the prowl, not when ambushed.
What stunned Jo Hwang was that Gi Sal hadn't sensed the presence outside the door. They were assassins. Their combat might lag in fair fights, but their danger sense was unmatched.
Gi Sal's especially. For him not to notice an enemy right outside?
His death carried a profound warning.
Feeling the thick aura of death, Jo Hwang's body reacted first.
'Damn it!'
Crash!
Jo Hwang shattered the window and leaped out.
Thump! Thud.
But he was immediately flung back into the room.
The moment he burst through the window, something struck his body like it had been waiting.
Jo Hwang rolled on the floor, his right arm broken. He'd blocked a brutal kick to his torso but hadn't mustered full internal energy in time.
The one who kicked him in was, surprisingly, Phone.
Phone was a fist and body technique master who subdued foes with strikes. Though he handled body disposal, he was no pushover.
Pain took a backseat to Jo Hwang's bewilderment.
'This is the fifth floor? How the hell...?'
It'd be nice if Phone said they used a special ladder on the moving truck outside, but Phone didn't even glance at him.
"Boss, time to get to work."
"Good luck."
Phone opened the door and stepped out. The four-man team was already clearing bodies from the first floor.
Jang Cheon sat on the sofa.
"Sit."
At the calm, irrefutable command, Jo Hwang rose from the floor. The atmosphere said every assassin in the building was done for.
'How...?'
It was hard to believe even as he lived it.
"Want me to treat that?"
"I'm fine."
Jo Hwang pressed his arm, realigning the bone.
"You're Jang Cheon."
Jo Hwang realized the man before him was Park In-hwan's ace.
"Yeah, that's me."
"How'd you find us so fast?"
"Good skills, I guess."
What followed proved it. Two of the four-man team entered. One rummaged through the computer files; the other found and opened the hidden wall safe.
Jo Hwang was shocked they cracked the computer password in under a minute, horrified when they opened the safe in less than ten.
The rundown exterior hid cutting-edge internals, safe included. Even top techs said two hours minimum.
Yet in under ten, it spilled its guts: bundles of cash and gold bars. The safe-opener checked inside, shook his head at Jang Cheon—no target. The computer guy signaled the same.
Jo Hwang's spine chilled.
'These guys... real pros.'
Every move precise yet relaxed. Pros among pros.
Jo Hwang sensed his fate hung on the next few minutes.
"Goddamn it! Who the hell did we piss off?"
He spat self-mockingly for Jang Cheon to hear, then added,
"The one who wanted you dead was that guy you killed coming in."
Jo Hwang pinned it on dead Gi Sal. A betrayal unforgivable given their history, but Jang Cheon's reaction was flat.
"Is that so?"
"If you've come this far, my men are all gone. Isn't this revenge enough?"
"It's enough."
Hope flickered in Jo Hwang at Jang Cheon's reply.
"Spare me... and I'll swear loyalty from now on."
"You might not know, but we have a saying: taking an assassin as a subordinate brings ten years of bad luck. So no. Tell me who commissioned the HT Group hit, and you're free."
"Can't do that. Leak the client, and every assassin worldwide hunts me. Might as well die with honor, not as a traitor."
"So you do know the client."
Jo Hwang's eyes wavered. He'd said what he shouldn't.
Assassin groups didn't know clients by principle. Who'd openly commission murder unless they wanted it advertised? Contracts came anonymously.
"The assassins I've met fall into two types."
When Lee Yeon said assassins never leaked secrets, Jang Cheon had said half-right.
Now the meaning revealed itself.
"First type: the by-the-book ones. No bribe or threat breaks them. If torture looms, they suicide. Villains, but respectable there."
As Jang Cheon spoke, anxiety etched Jo Hwang's face. He guessed why.
"Second: untrustworthy scum. They secretly investigate clients. Use the info as leverage—sell to rivals under cartel radar, or blackmail for cash when retiring. We call them black assassins. Which are you? White or black?"
Jang Cheon's sharp gaze pierced Jo Hwang.
"What do you think?"
Jo Hwang's eyes challenged: figure it out if you can.
Jang Cheon smiled.
"How should I know? You never tell the truth. So I found a way."
Jang Cheon snapped his fingers. One of the four brought a equipment case.
"Torture won't work."
"Yeah, I know. It rarely does."
The man pulled out what looked like a laser gun.
Jo Hwang yelled in fear,
"What? What are you doing?"
Zip.
A green beam shot from the gun onto Jo Hwang.
"Argh!"
Jo Hwang flailed and screamed, but it was just a scan.
Beep.
The device beeped as the light hit his face.
Jang Cheon grinned meaningfully.
"Bingo! Black assassins always hide the big stuff on their bodies. You don't trust people much, huh?"
Jo Hwang's face twisted. Resolve flashed in his eyes, but Jang Cheon moved first.
Shiiing.
Slash.
Jang Cheon's sword cleaved the air. In a flash, a white line crossed; when it vanished, so did Jo Hwang's life.
Clang. A hidden weapon Jo Hwang had been about to throw hit the floor. Green glow meant deadly poison. He'd pulled it to take his foe with him.
"Be careful with that. Extreme toxin."
"Got it, Boss."
The scanner guy extracted something from the corpse's mouth with a snap.
A fake tooth.
Inside: a micro memory card.