Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Escape Route
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Jackal, the leader of the armed group, was after OmegaTech's confidential server access code. Scarlett Kelly, the president and chief researcher, knew that code.
Jackal muttered to himself.
"I knew she wasn't the type to crack under torture or direct threats..."
So instead, he threatened to kill the hostages.
It worked like a charm. Scarlett visibly wavered. Jackal figured she'd spill the code within an hour.
But the whole plan went to hell. The Korean police surrounded the building too quickly, leaving no time to extract the code.
Jackal switched tactics. He scrapped Plans B, C, and D. Plan E's key was to escape the building with just his trusted inner circle and the target in tow.
In Plan E, the externally hired mercenaries served as decoys to buy time. He did give them orders to escape, but those wouldn't reach them until after he was out.
Pulling that stunt would tarnish his reputation in the mercenary world. That's why Jackal had never used Plan E even once before.
Jackal and his men moved Scarlett Kelly to a corner of the building.
But there was one more hostage.
One of Jackal's subordinates jerked his chin toward Shin Eun-ha and asked,
"Boss. Why are we dragging that woman along? It's gonna be tight enough just getting us out."
"That's exactly why you'll never be a leader. You don't think ahead."
"No, I mean, come on..."
Jackal explained.
"When a lizard's in danger, it drops its tail and bolts. The enemy gets distracted by the wriggling tail and lets the lizard slip away."
"Ah! So if the cops chase us during the escape, we toss that woman at them."
"Exactly."
"But why does it have to be her as the bait?"
"Would a severed lizard tail work if it just lay there motionless?"
"No."
"The tail's job is to draw the enemy's eyes. A famous actress taking a bullet in front of the TV cameras? Every eye will be on her. That's when we slip out."
The subordinate nodded eagerly, sucking up.
"As expected from the boss."
The two conversed in English.
Shin Eun-ha's English was weak. She couldn't make out what they were saying.
Scarlett Kelly understood perfectly. Her face went pale.
Jackal gave Scarlett a chilling smile.
"If the cops don't give chase, we use the actress as leverage to pry the code out of you."
Right then, a barrage of gunfire erupted from the restaurant.
Even with subsonic suppressed rounds from those silenced pistols, that many shots were impossible to miss.
Shattering glass and screams followed immediately.
Jackal whirled toward the restaurant in alarm, pistol raised. He barked at the subordinate working behind him,
"Why the hell is this taking so long!"
His man scraped away the thin layer of decorative cement on the wall. Behind it lurked a ventilation grate about 50 cm square.
The subordinate unscrewed the four bolts with a power driver and yanked the grate free.
"We're through!"
Jackal shoved his head into the hole and shone his flashlight downward. The shaft plunged straight to the basement.
This building's vertical ventilation ducts were wide enough for a person to fit through.
"Set up the descent rope!"
Another subordinate pulled a rope from his backpack and looped it around a nearby fixture.
Jackal issued the order, then glanced toward the end of the hallway.
He couldn't wrap his head around the situation.
"Who the hell broke into the restaurant? The cops are still outside."
For now, he dragged Shin Eun-ha and Scarlett toward the escape route.
His two other men stood ahead, pistols trained on the hallway.
Jackal keyed his radio and called the first floor.
"First floor! Someone's inside!"
Na Gang-in mimicked the first-floor leader's voice in reply.
- No way. The main entrance is completely sealed.
"Then it must be someone already in the building..."
Jackal switched channels to the second floor.
"Second floor! Someone's inside the building. Any sign of anyone slipping out?"
Na Gang-in answered.
- Negative. Everything's under control and stable.
Jackal switched to the channel for the four mercenaries he'd sent down the stairs, to their leader.
"Someone's inside. See any shadows or movement on your way down?"
Na Gang-in replied again.
- Nothing. We've cleared the fifth floor too. All clear.
"Damn it. This is driving me nuts."
He tried the seventh-floor channel next.
"Restaurant. If you're alive, report. What was that gunfire?"
- Some guests lunged at us, so we lit them up. Situation's stable now.
Jackal was flustered.
"What? You idiot! I told you not to escalate things too much—it'll make things messy for us after we escape! You can't just kill everyone there!"
The two men aiming pistols around the corner lowered their guns. Jackal had made it sound like the men left behind had handled it, not an intruder.
The instant their focus slipped, Na Gang-in burst from around the corner.
The enemies' reactions were a hair too slow. By the time they raised their pistols and squeezed the triggers, Na Gang-in was fully in the hallway.
Just before they fired, AI Jeon Ji-in predicted their aim lines. They were targeting his upper body.
Na Gang-in charged with two bulletproof vests draped over his left arm like a shield. The enemies' rounds thudded into the vests.
A normal person might lose balance from the impact, or worse, snap an arm.
But Na Gang-in wasn't normal. His strength far exceeded human limits.
The bullets didn't penetrate the shield.
These guys had higher combat prowess than the ones downstairs. Realizing upper-body shots were useless, they dropped their aim to his legs.
The predicted firing lines shifted downward from the vests.
Na Gang-in kicked off the floor and planted a foot on the wall. Enemy rounds punched into the floor where he'd been. He rebounded off the right wall, flipping to stick to the ceiling.
Na Gang-in ran a spiraling path through the air. Enemy bullets slammed into the walls and ceiling a beat behind him.
He dropped down, kicking one enemy in the face.
"Gah!"
The man slammed into the wall.
The other whipped his pistol toward Na Gang-in.
Na Gang-in was faster. He grazed past, driving an elbow into the man's throat.
"Gurk!"
The enemy toppled backward with a choked scream.
Farther back, Jackal and his remaining subordinate gripped Scarlett and Shin Eun-ha.
Na Gang-in hadn't fired while charging down the hall—for the hostages' safety. He wanted all guns on him.
But Jackal chose differently, seizing the hostages.
The area was wider than the hallway.
Jackal and his man were slightly apart. He had to strike now, while they were rattled, if he wanted to save even one hostage.
Priorities were set from the start.
He shouted at Shin Eun-ha.
"Down!"
She dropped instantly.
As her body sank, it caught on the enemy's arm.
Exposing his upper body.
Na Gang-in squeezed off rapid shots. Bullets thudded into the enemy's vest, shoving him back.
The arm holding Shin Eun-ha went slack.
Na Gang-in kept advancing, firing nonstop. He yanked Shin Eun-ha by the arm, pulling her behind him for cover. He didn't stop shooting.
Two more rounds punched into the enemy's shoulders as he staggered back.
"Argh!"
The man crashed to the floor.
Only Jackal remained.
Jackal watched Na Gang-in rescue Shin Eun-ha but didn't shoot at him.
Not out of worry for his man. Scarlett was thrashing like Shin Eun-ha, trying to break free.
Jackal fired a round into Scarlett's resisting arm.
"Ah!"
She screamed and went still.
As Na Gang-in hit the enemy in the shoulders, Jackal pressed his pistol to Scarlett's head.
Jackal yelled, gun to Scarlett's head.
"Who the hell are you!"
Na Gang-in told Shin Eun-ha,
"Use me as a shield and back away slowly."
"Huh? Just me? Why?"
"There's still someone to save. Gotta nab the boss too."
Jackal growled.
"How is this happening? All radio comms were normal..."
Jackal belatedly spotted the radio on Na Gang-in's belt.
He issued one radio per team. Yet all four were clipped to Na Gang-in's waist.
Jackal bellowed.
"It was you! You answered all my calls!"
Na Gang-in smirked.
"You fell for it hook, line, and sinker."
"Who are you!"
"Just a passerby cafe customer."
Jackal's rage boiled over. But he couldn't move recklessly.
He thought it through.
'That guy's faster than any human I've seen. Even if I shoot, he'll block or dodge with his shield.'
His men had emptied clips at Na Gang-in without a single hit. No way he could land a shot solo.
'Head-on is suicide.'
The escape shaft had the rope ready.
He'd gauged the distance. He could jump right in. Then slide down the rope.
But Na Gang-in wouldn't just watch.
Even if he made it in, a few shots from above while descending to the first floor would end it.
'Can't escape with him here. Have to kill him.'
The question was how.
'Not a normal guy. How to take him down...'
His eyes landed on Shin Eun-ha behind Na Gang-in.
Jackal's eyes gleamed.
'That woman! She's his weakness!'
Shin Eun-ha hid behind Na Gang-in. Jackal's mind raced. The answer came quick.
Jackal yelled, barrel pressed to Scarlett's head.
"Drop the gun!"
"Like hell."
"Do it, or she dies! Drop it!"
"Tch."
Na Gang-in clicked his tongue and tossed the pistol downward.
"Happy now?"
Shin Eun-ha screamed from behind.
"Are you insane? Why'd you drop the gun!"
AI Jeon Ji-in snapped too.
- Agent! Have you lost your mind!
Jackal couldn't help grinning wide.
'I figured fifty-fifty, but he actually ditched it!'
No complacency, though.
'With his skills, he'll dodge or block a pistol shot easy. That's why he tossed it without hesitation. Doesn't matter. If he dodges, the woman behind him eats the bullet. That'll rattle him. She's his weak spot! Strike then!'
Jackal swung the pistol from Scarlett's head toward Na Gang-in.
'Even better if he doesn't dodge. Then he dies by my gun...'
Suddenly, a flash blinded him. His hand burned like fire.
"Argh!"
A jackknife was buried in his right hand—the knife Na Gang-in had swiped from the restaurant moments ago.
Na Gang-in had deliberately dropped the gun to lure Jackal's barrel off the hostage's head. Then, the moment Jackal swung toward him, he hurled the knife.
From Na Gang-in's reach to Jackal's gun hand was barely three meters. The knife struck true the instant it left his hand.
The pistol fired from the impact, but the round buried in the ceiling.
The gun clattered from Jackal's grip to the floor.
Na Gang-in strode toward Jackal.
Jackal shoved Scarlett forward and leaped back. The escape route was no longer an option.
Na Gang-in lightly grabbed Scarlett and slid her backward.
"Catch."
Scarlett stumbled toward Shin Eun-ha.
Shin Eun-ha caught her.
While Na Gang-in slid Scarlett away, Jackal yanked the knife from his hand.
Na Gang-in advanced. Jackal swung the blade wildly.
Na Gang-in tilted aside, dodging effortlessly, and drove a fist forward.
Na Gang-in's body could unleash power beyond human limits. His punch nailed Jackal's torso dead center.
"Guh!"
Jackal's vest caved in like it'd taken a bomb blast, his body folding as he flew back into the wall.
The vest saved him from blackout. He pushed up with his left hand, scrambling to his feet.
Jackal roared.
"Who the hell are you? What's your codename!"
Na Gang-in walked forward. Jackal drew the longsword from his belt upside-down, holding it to guard.
Jackal crouched slightly and said,
"I'm better with a blade than a gun..."
Na Gang-in kicked toward Jackal's head.