A Slightly Insane Man
The intersection had turned into complete chaos. Gunmen had suddenly appeared and opened fire without warning. Not long after, the wail of sirens echoed from a distance.
In the meantime, Kang In-hyuk crouched in front of the fallen man and removed his helmet first. It was a young East Asian man with short hair.
“Who sent you?”
When he asked in Korean, the man who had been groaning suddenly changed his expression. At the same time, the knife he had drawn with his left hand stabbed toward In-hyuk’s throat.
Swish—
But In-hyuk was faster. He caught the man’s wrist first.
“Do you understand English? Or Chinese? Japanese?”
Despite the questions in various languages, the man only furrowed his brow and gave no answer. He simply struggled with all his might to break free from the wrist In-hyuk held.
‘He doesn’t even seem properly trained…’
Meanwhile, Hong Yu-geon, who had slung a grenade launcher over his shoulder, approached from the side.
“Is our division head okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“But where the hell did these guys come from?”
“I don’t know either. I asked, but he won’t ans—Watch out!”
In-hyuk shouted urgently, shoving Hong Yu-geon’s body aside as he threw himself to the ground.
Thud-thud—Thud-thud-thud—
Bullets flew in from somewhere, striking the East Asian youth’s body and head. At the same time, In-hyuk and Hong Yu-geon rolled behind nearby vehicles to take cover.
Van Hester, who had been subduing the other men, did the same.
The gunfire did not stop. It swept across the bodies of the other men.
“Was there another one hiding?”
The direction the bullets had come from was the rooftop of a building to the east.
“You noticed quickly.”
“I have good instincts.”
“I shouldn’t have asked. But why is that guy just sitting there now? He was waving a pistol around earlier like a madman.”
Hong Yu-geon pointed at Baek Si-hwan, who was still inside the car.
Thud-thud—Thud-thud-thud—
“He probably tried to look useful in front of me and ended up ruining everything.”
“But it looks like all those guys are dead now. The one on the roof seems to have run off too.”
At some point, the gunfire had ceased.
In-hyuk scanned the side mirrors of the surrounding vehicles until he found one that reflected the rooftop and checked it.
“You’re right. Looks like dealing with them took priority over us.”
“More like dealing with them took priority over their own side.”
Just then, the sirens grew much closer and police cars entered the intersection. Three patrol vehicles that had rushed to the scene surrounded the area, and officers stepped out, each drawing their pistols.
About four hours later, well past midnight.
Kang In-hyuk emerged from the nearby police station after giving his statement, accompanied by Baek Si-hwan, Hong Yu-geon, and Van Hester. Next to them were Mark Campbell, the CEO of Greenbyte Labs, and a lawyer.
The fact that another suspect had killed the original suspects had been proven by witnesses and nearby CCTV, so there were no major issues.
Moreover, thanks to the lawyer Mark Campbell had brought along—who vouched for In-hyuk’s identity and the reason for his visit to San Jose—the investigation wrapped up without much trouble.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Not at all. I’m the one who’s sorry this happened because of me.”
“We’ve finished explaining the situation, but you may need to stay in the area for a few days in case we require additional statements.”
“That’s perfectly understandable.”
“Let’s have that meal another time. For today, please return to your lodging and rest well. I’ll be on my way.”
After exchanging greetings, Mark Campbell headed to his car with the lawyer.
In the meantime, In-hyuk stared intently at Baek Si-hwan.
Baek Si-hwan’s pistol and the rubber-bullet grenade launchers carried by Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester had been cleared through foreign firearms permits, and self-defense had been sufficiently established, so there were no major problems.
“What are you doing?”
“…Pardon?”
“If we’re going back to the hotel, we should at least hail a taxi.”
“Ah, understood.”
Baek Si-hwan walked toward the road in front of the police station and waved at a passing taxi.
“Earlier, it looked like you were shooting without any intention of hitting them. Weren’t you a bit sloppy?”
“They thought we wouldn’t know about their plan.”
As Hong Yu-geon said, In-hyuk already understood exactly what Baek Si-hwan had done moments ago.
The reason was simple. After making it seem like Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester had left their positions, he had been monitoring the designated lodging and Baek Si-hwan’s movements.
Thanks to that, he had discovered that someone had secretly visited Baek Si-hwan’s room before check-in. Of course, he had also found the hidden phone and installed a program to eavesdrop on it in advance.
“That’s impressive in its own way. Oh, and those guys had the same tattoo on their hands. But the shape was slightly different.”
It was the tattoo they had discovered during the raid on the UID safe house—a cross lying on its side like it was facing another, with two overlapping circles of different sizes in the center. Hong Yu-geon had learned about it from In-hyuk’s explanation at the time.
“How was it different?”
“There were only two inverted crosses. The overlapping circles in the middle were missing.”
“Does the shape carry meaning within Koou?”
For now, they referred to the unidentified organization by the keyword they had discovered while deciphering the code.
In-hyuk recalled how sloppy the men’s responses had been when Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester took them down, and even when he had grabbed the man’s wrist right in front of him.
Meanwhile, Hong Yu-geon watched Baek Si-hwan’s back as he tried to hail a taxi.
“They even put on a whole performance in the middle of the road, and the moment it failed, they cleaned up their own people? Looks like the boss really has it in for you.”
“They want something from me. That’s why they’re doing this.”
“Ah, Jacob told me to give you this.”
Hong Yu-geon handed over a small black USB drive about the length of two finger joints.
“The investigation wrapped up faster than expected.”
In-hyuk tucked it into his inner pocket, then the group split into two taxis that Baek Si-hwan had flagged down. Before long, they arrived at the hotel and stood in the hallway where their rooms were located.
“The due diligence will proceed as scheduled tomorrow without any changes.”
“Are you sure you don’t need to visit a hospital?”
Ever since they had gotten into the taxi, Baek Si-hwan had kept asking with a worried expression.
“Thanks to you, I’m not hurt anywhere. And as for safety, the two who returned will take turns standing guard.”
Baek Si-hwan could say nothing more.
After bidding them goodnight, In-hyuk took Hong Yu-geon and Van Hester into his room.
“We’re pretty tired too. What else do you have planned?”
“There’s something important I need to take care of, so I’ll be stepping out for a bit.”
“Then just go.”
“I need to go without Baek Si-hwan knowing.”
At that answer, Hong Yu-geon tilted his head and stared at In-hyuk.
In-hyuk went into the room for a moment, then came out wearing all-black clothing. In his hand was the skull mask that Hong Yu-geon had seen before.
“You’re not seriously planning to go out through the door, are you? Boss… you do know what floor we’re on, right?”
“Fourteenth floor.”
Roughly 45 meters to the ground.
“Who doesn’t know that? That’s why I’m saying even a professional wall climber would be in danger here.”
Hong Yu-geon had checked even the minor details while entering the hotel.
“It’s fine at this hour. I’ve never been caught.”
“…What? You mean this isn’t your first time?”
Slide—
In-hyuk casually opened the window.
“It was a bit difficult at first, but after doing it a few times, it’s manageable.”
“Are you trying to go out through the roof?”
“That would require tampering with the CCTV, and it would leave traces for now. I’m just going straight down.”
“How?”
“Like this. Oh, and no matter who comes, do not open the door.”
After giving the warning, In-hyuk immediately jumped out of the open window. At that moment, both Hong Yu-geon and the silent Van Hester rushed to the window and looked down.
In-hyuk repeatedly grabbed and released the railings with his gloved hands, descending rapidly.
“…He’s not Spider-Man, for crying out loud.”
“He seems a little insane.”
And he was skipping entire floors at a time.
Before long, In-hyuk had descended all fourteen floors. He looked up, then waved at the two people sticking their heads out the window.
“Hoo—!”
After confirming their heads had withdrawn, he let out a quiet sigh and moved toward an even darker patch of shadow.
Baek Si-hwan returned to his room, his mind still tangled from the events that had unfolded on the road earlier.
He sat down on the sofa without turning on the lights, then froze. Quietly, he reached into the gap in the sofa, trying to pull out the pistol he had hidden there.
At that moment, he sensed a presence in the darkness, followed by a woman’s voice.
“Didn’t they teach you during training not to hide your gun in an easily discoverable place?”
Click—
The sound of cold metal striking accompanied her words.
Baek Si-hwan confirmed that nothing was in the sofa gap and withdrew his empty hand.
“Weren’t you supposed to return immediately once the operation was over? Kuroki.”
The questions and answers were exchanged in Japanese.
The woman, visible only as a silhouette, frowned when her name was called.
“I told you not to call me that. There’s a friendly and easy name—Reina.”
“That one feels disgustingly friendly. Or should I call you Blackwood instead?”
Kuroki (黒木) was her Japanese surname.
It meant black tree. In English, it became Blackwood.
The woman who called herself Reina smiled.
“Is this how you treat a fellow graduate? Why are you being so cold from the moment I arrived?”
“If you had any warmth, would you have sent trash on an operation you insisted was so important?”
“Oh my! You knew?”
She was referring to the four young men who had died on the road just hours earlier.
“Even if it was an act, shouldn’t you have brought people who could at least run away properly?”
Reina let out a soft chuckle.
“I thought that level would be enough. But Kang In-hyuk’s bodyguards were surprisingly skilled. It was a bit disappointing that I couldn’t figure out when those people would return, though.”
In the end, she was blaming Baek Si-hwan, who had been in charge of internal information.
“Did you not realize the entire board was set with that in mind?”
“I knew. I knew it very well. That’s why I limited manpower reinforcement by using the Daemyung incident as an example.”
When she used the unavoidable loss of personnel in Korea as an excuse, Baek Si-hwan’s mouth shut for a moment.
Reina continued speaking with her smile still in place.
“To gain the higher-ups’ trust, you need to show results first. If you ask for help with a pathetic little act just to earn some trust, do you think they’ll be pleased?”
“That’s none of your business, is it? And why did you bring trash? Trash aren’t allowed to leave the camp.”
While Baek Si-hwan’s face twisted with displeasure, Reina’s smile only grew deeper. She tossed the pistol she had been holding onto the bed.
“Why do you think? Because I have the qualifications to do so, of course.”
“What? When… when did you get promoted?”
“It’s only been a few days. Won’t you congratulate me?”
The wrinkles on Baek Si-hwan’s face deepened further.
“So, did you come to warn me?”
“The warning was already delivered by today’s events. The higher-ups want a report on Kang In-hyuk. Of course, the order came from Chairman Baek, but since you handle the practical work, they told me to receive it directly from you.”
Though her answer was delivered in a calm tone, the corner of Baek Si-hwan’s mouth twitched unpleasantly.
“…That means they’re going to receive the report while bypassing the Chairman.”
“It’s an order from above. What does that matter to us? We just do as we’re told. Like today’s incident. Of course, the one who ends up lying on the floor could be me or you. Anyway, send it as quickly as possible. Bye~!”
Click—
At that moment, the lights in the room went out, plunging everything into darkness. Simultaneously, the window opened, and Reina leaped upward and vanished.