The Sweep
A few remnants of the Gwangsu-pa swung their knives and resisted to the end, but unless the entire syndicate rushed me at once, a mere handful of them stood no chance.
I was a man who could have won a gold medal in kendo. How dare these thugs who spent their lives gutting fish think they could match me?
The Gwangsu-pa bastards lay scattered across the floor, groaning in agony.
“I told you if you lined up and held out your hands, I wouldn't beat you. Why did you have to act tough and bring this on yourselves?”
“Fucking…”
“Who said that? Step forward! If no one confesses, you all get another beating.”
“…I just said 'fudge,' officer.”
“Watch it!”
A total of seventy-five apprehended.
I only had a few cable ties left now.
I thought I had brought way too many, but I had almost run out.
With this, the required fifty points were more than achieved, and yet…
“No, it only counts if the navigation system recognizes it.”
The clash between the two gangs was a masterpiece of my own instigation.
They were scum who deserved to rot in prison for their countless crimes anyway, but that was just my opinion.
The final evaluation belonged to the navigation system.
I climbed onto the stage and grabbed the microphone.
“Testing, one two. My throat is sore, so I'm only going to say this once. Listen up.”
I spoke loudly so everyone in the venue could hear.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney…”
I should have done this from the start.
Reciting the Miranda rights to each individual as I bound them with cable ties had left my mouth completely dry.
Only after I finished reciting the rights did the wail of police sirens finally echo from outside.
The officers pouring through the entrance stood frozen, their mouths agape at the sight of the hall.
“What… what happened here? Did a war break out? Wait, they're all tied up? Who did this?”
“Salute! Patrol Officer Min Suho, Sancheon Police Outpost.”
I saluted the officer leading the pack.
He was a district captain, bearing two rose of Sharon badges on his shoulders.
“I made the report, and I secured the suspects.”
“By yourself…?”
“Yes, sir. They had already beaten each other half to death, so it wasn't particularly difficult.”
“Hmm. I see. I am Captain Lee Gil-su of the Chomok District Office. Good work. Leave your contact information and head out. We will take over from here.”
“Yes, sir.”
He seemed in a hurry to send me away without even asking for the details.
“Ah, by the way, there are a few more behind the building. I'll go bring them in.”
“Are they tied up too?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You went through a lot of trouble alone. Hey, Officer Jeong.”
“Yes, sir!”
A fresh-faced rookie patrol officer came running at the captain's call.
“Apparently there are more outside. Follow him and bring them in. Officer Min, once you hand them over, you may head home.”
“No, sir. I will assist in transporting them to the district office.”
“No need. Looking at your clothes, it seems today is your day off. I'm sorry for taking up your rest time. Where is your lodging?”
“In Sancheon, sir.”
“And your car?”
“I brought it with me.”
“Then we don't need to give you a ride. I'll call the Sancheon Police Outpost tomorrow to speak with your chief. Good work today.”
Why is he so eager to get rid of me?
Captain Lee Gil-su assigned Officer Jeong to me and immediately went to check on the injured gangsters.
Officer Jeong approached me and saluted.
“Salute!”
“I'm a patrol officer too.”
“I've been on the force for two months, senior.”
“Ah, I see. I'm in my second year.”
“You can speak comfortably to me, senior.”
“I'll ease into it. More importantly, how many officers dispatched from the district office?”
“Ten in total, including the captain.”
Ten police officers in three patrol cars to transport seventy-five gangsters?
They had absolutely no intention of booking them.
“When I called 112, I explicitly stated there would be at least sixty to seventy suspects to apprehend. Did you not receive that report?”
“I was just told to follow, so…”
“Ah, of course.”
A rookie of two months wouldn't know any better.
Even if he did, in an organization ruled by strict hierarchy, he wasn't in a position to make his own judgments.
He reminded me of myself two years ago.
“Follow me. I'll lead you to where they are.”
“Yes, senior.”
I led Officer Jeong to the container behind the club.
Unaware of our approach, the punks inside were desperately focused on something.
Peering through the window, I saw the waiter furiously rubbing his plastic cable ties against the sharp edge of a steel shelf.
“How's it going?”
“Uh, almost through. Just a little more and… huh? *Gasp!*”
Only then did the waiter realize I had returned.
He had been so absorbed that he hadn't noticed me standing right next to him.
The frayed cable tie looked like it would snap with just a little more friction.
“I'll tie you up with fresh ones, so walk out nicely with your friends.”
“……Yes, sir.”
Realizing they stood no chance even if they fought, the punks didn't even think of resisting.
“Officer Jeong, wait with them in front of the club's main entrance. Don't go inside. Can you handle them alone?”
“Yes! Leave it to me. Thank you for your hard work, senior. Salute!”
“I'm not leaving just yet.”
I still had business to attend to.
I leaned in and whispered to the waiter who had lured me to the empty lot.
“Where is the back door of the Gukbingwan?”
“If you go through that door over there, it connects to the kitchen and the staff restroom.”
“And the office?”
“The office is right next to the kitchen…”
The waiter, having blurted it out reflexively, quickly shut his mouth in regret.
But it was already too late.
“It's fine. Don't look so terrified. Officer Jeong, I have an urgent bathroom emergency, so I'll head in first.”
“Yes, sir. Go ahead. Salute!”
Leaving the punks in Officer Jeong's custody, I slipped through the back door.
Inside, the district officers were busy snipping away at the cable ties I had bound the gangsters with.
Choi Il-gu, the gangster known as 'The Hammer,' rubbed his chafed wrists and complained to Captain Lee Gil-su with a scowl.
“Who the hell was that bastard earlier? He looked like a detective.”
“He's from the Sancheon Outpost. Just a rookie patrol officer who doesn't know how things work around here.”
“A patrol officer? Fucking hell, I'm losing my mind. Hey, Captain Lee, manage your people properly. If any random dog or pig can just waltz in here and stir up trouble, there's no point in me paying you, is there?”
“I apologize. I will give him a stern warning. This will never happen again. But more importantly, why is Mr. Jang here?”
The two syndicates, like oil and water, were never supposed to be in the same room.
Jang Il-sik, the vice-boss of the Gwangsu-pa, glared at Choi Il-gu and spat back.
“I came to teach this bastard a lesson after hearing he was planning to stab us in the back.”
“You idiot, I told you we did no such thing! Why the hell can't you believe me?”
“If I believed a word out of your mouth, I'd be a fool.”
“Ugh, this brainless bastard. Hey, you, the rookie over there. Tell him. You know that cop from earlier, don't you?”
The youngest member of the Gwangsu-pa glanced at Jang Il-sik and gave a small nod.
“See? He knows. That bastard visited your office earlier too, didn't he?”
“……Yes.”
“What did he say? That we were secretly gathering weapons?”
Another nod.
Choi Il-gu, now vindicated, openly mocked Jang Il-sik.
“I knew it. You were completely played by that cop. Is that thick skull of yours finally getting it?”
“……”
Jang Il-sik kept a straight face out of pride, but he had realized he had been tricked quite some time ago.
“That motherfucker!”
He gnashed his teeth and clenched his fists, but the target of his wrath was already gone.
Watching the exchange, Captain Lee Gil-su decided they needed to wrap things up quickly.
“Let's clean this place up first. Get rid of the bloodstains and the weapons. It'll be troublesome if anyone sees.”
Choi Il-gu glared at Captain Lee.
“Is someone else coming?”
“I'm just saying, just in case. A 112 call went through, and there were plenty of customers who witnessed this. Patrolling officers might suddenly show up as backup…”
“You're supposed to block those small fry on your end. Set up a barricade or whatever it takes to keep everyone out.”
“I will. But we must be careful.”
“Fine, fine. Fucking coward.”
In truth, Choi Il-gu wanted to resolve this quickly as well.
It was peak hours. Leaving the club in ruins would only hurt the Gwangsu-pa's pockets.
“Hey, Jang Il-sik. Considering how many of my boys got hurt, I'd love to end you right here, but since you were tricked into coming, I'll be the bigger man and let it slide this once. Let's call it even.”
“Fine. We pay for our own medical bills, and we'll cover the broken furniture. Send us the bill.”
“Please, how much do you even make shaking down local merchants? Keep the change and buy yourself a meal.”
“Why you little—!”
As tempers flared again, Captain Lee quickly stepped in to mediate.
“Now, now, let's shake hands. Let the underlings clean up, and we can go somewhere quiet for a drink. My treat tonight.”
“No time for drinks. Boys, let's pack up!”
Jang Il-sik ordered the Gwangsu-pa to withdraw.
Those who could still walk helped the severely injured, moving in an orderly fashion.
Right then, the closed entrance burst open, and blinding light flooded the dim hall.
“Police! Nobody move! We will fire if you resist!”
The Provincial Police Agency's Riot Police Unit had arrived.
“It's really nothing major,” Lee Gil-su pleaded, trying to sound as persuasive as possible to the riot unit commander, who happened to be his classmate from the academy.
However, the stubborn commander refused to budge.
“We received a dispatch order, so we have to follow protocol. We'll have to take them in for questioning first…”
“Come on, we already finished the preliminary investigation! It was just a drunken brawl among customers. They've already settled it and agreed not to press charges. So…”
“You call this a simple brawl?”
More than half of the men present were limping or bleeding.
Iron pipes, wooden clubs, raw sashimi knives, shattered tables, and broken liquor bottles littered the floor.
The violent aftermath of the battle remained perfectly intact.
And most of all, the suspects looked like hardened criminals.
“Anyone can see these guys are gangsters. Are you hiding something, Gil-su?”
When the commander hit the nail on the head, Captain Lee flinched and waved his hands frantically.
“How can you say something so hurtful? We just responded to a dispatch call. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“That's completely different from the report I received.”
“What report? From whom?”
“Drug distribution, extortion and assault of local merchants, and corrupt police officers taking bribes to cover for them.”
I was the one who spoke the last line.
I walked out from the inner corridor of the club, holding the hidden cameras I had retrieved from the walls and pillars.
“…Officer Min? You haven't left?”
Lee Gil-su stared at me, completely bewildered by the situation.
The riot unit commander turned to me.
“Are you Officer Min Suho?”
“Yes, sir. I am Min Suho.”
“Do you know Inspector Na Sangdo of the Seongam Police Station's Violent Crimes Team?”
“Yes, sir.”
“He practically harassed the 112 Dispatch Chief, screaming that his precious junior had charged into enemy territory alone.”
“Ha. He's always dramatic.”
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“No, sir. I'm perfectly fine, thanks to you.”
A 112 emergency call is automatically routed to the nearest station.
It was obvious the Chomok District Office would respond.
It would have been like letting the fox guard the henhouse.
I knew this, which was why I had made the call anyway.
It was the only way to gather the gangsters and the corrupt cops in one place.
Right after calling 112, I had also called Team Leader Na Sangdo at Seongam Police Station to explain the situation.
—Use all your connections, school ties, regional ties, whatever, and get the SWAT team down here. I can't handle this alone.
—Hey, you brat. Do you think SWAT moves without the Commissioner's approval?
—I guess police academy graduates aren't all that after all.
—You call me after all this time just to talk trash?
—Your exiled junior is trying to do some actual police work, and you won't even help? I guess I really was just an abandoned dog to you.
—You little bastard! Fine, wait. I'll pester the 112 Dispatch Chief to send a riot unit at least.
—I love you, Team Leader.
—I can't guarantee anything, so don't get your hopes up.
—If you don't send them, I'm dead. Salute! Love you!
And that was how the riot unit had arrived.
Even though their primary duty was crowd control, they had no trouble arresting the gangsters since most of them were already incapacitated.
“If there was such a serious issue, you should have told me when we were together earlier,” Lee Gil-su said, desperately trying to find a way out.
“How could I tell you when you're in on it, Captain?”
“Who is in on it? Me, with these thugs? A green rookie is trying to frame me! Do you have any proof?”
“Actually, I have too much of it.”
I pulled a ledger out of a paper bag.
“I found this in the office. A bribery ledger detailing exactly when and how much the Gukbingwan paid to the Chomok District Office.”
“N-no, that's fake! Those thugs could have easily fabricated that!”
“We'll find out once we investigate, won't we? I'll also submit the hidden camera footage I just recorded, along with this.”
I produced a bundle of individually wrapped pills from the office desk drawer.
“I found these in the club. Unless one of your employees has a very specific medical condition, this doesn't look like a pharmacy.”
Choi Il-gu, the manager of the Gukbingwan, bit his lip and remained silent.
“I also secured testimonies from local merchants who were extorted and threatened by the Gwangsu-pa. Give me your number, and I'll forward the recordings.”
“It looks like we don't have much work left to do. Excellent job, Officer Min.”
The riot unit commander, who held the rank of Captain, bowed his head to me.
I quickly returned the salute to my superior.
Seventy-five gangsters and nine corrupt police officers.
A total of eighty-four criminals were loaded onto two buses and transported to the Provincial Police Agency.
The only survivor from the district office was Patrol Officer Jeong Uijeong, who had been waiting outside.
“Thank you, senior.”
“You didn't do anything wrong, so it's only natural. No need to thank me.”
“No, it's all thanks to you, senior. And I was truly moved. I had no idea there was someone like you among the patrol officers.”
“Stop it, you're giving me goosebumps. Go back and guard the district office.”
“Understood. I hope to see you again, senior. Salute!”
“Salute.”
Officer Jeong climbed into the patrol car alone.
As the patrol car drove away, my heart began to pound.
It was time to check the results of my solo mission.
“How did it go?”
My steps quickened as I headed toward the Commando.