Still Positive (4)
Clint fell silent for a long moment after hearing Ju Kang-rim's condition. If he knew even about Gerald and the Death Knight ranks, that meant he had full intel on their organization. He could guess why Clint had said he couldn't grant what Ju wanted.
Ju Kang-rim was after a position equal to Clint's. A pillar of the reshaping world. Only Gerald could offer that seat.
And it was the one thing Ju had never attained in his previous life.
Clint didn't think he needed to deliberate, but Gerald was paying attention to Korea's situation. He had to pry something out of Ju right now.
"It's an absurd proposal, but I'll consider it... after hearing your information."
Clint gripped the corner of his desk hard. With a crack, the wooden edge crumbled and broke off in his hand.
"If you spout nonsense about talking directly to my superior, I'll kill you right here."
"Fine by me. But if you want to hear it, get rid of those two first."
Jeremiah and Luca scowled at Ju's words. They knew Clint was stronger, but there were security protocols. Clint had no intention of dismissing them either.
"Just speak."
Ju shrugged as if he had no choice and answered.
"Sure. It's about true death for immortals."
"True death? Immortals don't have anything like..."
"Not fake shit like grinding into concrete mix. True death. Like what happened to Kangryeong Daegun and Assemblyman Park Tae-hyeon. If you're an old immortal, you know exactly what I mean."
Clint froze in place.
He wasn't that ancient an immortal. He'd only been at Gerald's side for a little over a century. But he did know the Death Knights' numbers were fixed—and that they'd dwindled significantly from the original count.
Because someone had inflicted true death on them.
"I'm talking about the ones who deliver 'true death.' Does that sound like bullshit to you?"
Clint stayed quiet for a long stretch. To Jeremiah and Luca listening from behind, it just sounded like ravings. Beings who could truly kill immortals? If they existed, what the hell had they been doing while immortals took over the world?
But Clint couldn't dismiss Ju's words. They were the kind of thing that must never leak out.
He turned to Jeremiah and Luca.
"Get out."
They looked flustered but couldn't defy their commander's order. They shut the door behind them as they left.
"They can't hear us out there. Continue."
"You sure? No recording devices? No audio feeds anywhere?"
"Nothing like that. This is Basement Level 6. No one could eavesdrop even if they wanted to."
"Yeah? Really sure?"
Ju repeated the question, then stretched his back and sat comfortably. He didn't answer right away—instead, he twisted his limbs, loosening up. Clint frowned at him.
But Ju ignored it, leaning back against the chair in a totally relaxed sprawl, different from before.
"Hurry up and tell me who the hell you are..."
Clint cut himself off.
Ju was smiling.
"Good enough. Let's wrap this up."
Ju stood, brushing off his seat, and picked up his bloodied, torn civilian clothes from the floor. Better than nothing. Clint watched, then slammed his fist on the desk.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Daehan Credit Union, Corvus Isle Finance."
Ju slid his legs into the pants as he replied.
"The bank and shell company you used to siphon 85 billion from the USFK budget."
Clint didn't respond. He just glared, waiting to see what else Ju would say.
"What, that look says the money doesn't matter. Stealing from an ally? Hilarious, right? You think they can't touch you as ROK-US Combined Forces Commander? Hell, you're confident they won't even make it an issue."
Ju buttoned his shirt, letting out a low chuckle.
"The real problem isn't the USFK budget. It's that you're embezzling Gerald's funds. You're a traitor to Gerald, you little worm."
"Let's say all that bullshit is true."
Clint fixed him with a heavy stare.
"Why haven't I killed you to shut you up yet?"
"Try it."
Ju sneered back at Clint.
"You think I'm the only one who knows? That I figured this out solo and tracked you here alone? Dumbass, our organization's bigger and stronger than you think. Call Bari Unit right now—ask about me. See what Captain Park Ha-yuri says."
Clint's face twisted at the mention of Bari Unit. They'd dug this deep?
Bari Unit was small, but Park Ha-yuri was an S-rank awakener even Clint couldn't take lightly. If she'd orchestrated all this, he was well and truly caught.
A mere captain investigating an allied commander would be scandal enough on its own—but Gerald couldn't make it an issue. Doing so would expose Clint's corruption, and Gerald would learn his Knight Order assets had been touched.
The money itself was trivial. The reason for the embezzlement was the problem.
If Gerald found out, Clint's end would be horrific.
"You know what happens if I die here, right?"
Screeech. The underground prison door opened, and Jeremiah and Luca waited outside. Baffled by the quicker-than-expected interrogation, they eyed the pair curiously.
Clint emerged with his usual stony face, Ju Kang-rim alongside—fully clothed, thankfully. Clint nodded at Jeremiah.
"Administer the antidote."
"Sir? Uh, yes, sir."
Jeremiah fetched the regeneration suppressant antidote and injected it. The moment it hit Ju's veins, he felt like his body might rocket off. Full regen would take time, but he already felt worlds better.
"Let's walk and talk outside for a bit."
"Yes, sir."
Jeremiah and Luca blinked at the sudden courtesy, but figured the talk had gone well and led the way. Jeremiah still harbored resentment toward Ju, but decided to treat him as an ally now.
"Luca."
Clint pulled her aside then, issuing quiet orders. She looked puzzled but nodded and vanished.
Ju and Clint rode the elevator to the surface and started strolling through the base's park. Pyeongtaek US Army Base felt like a slice of small-town America transplanted wholesale—vegetation, streetlamps, even the bricks underfoot all imported straight from the States.
Clint finally spoke as they walked the path.
"Should I applaud?"
"If you want."
Of course, he didn't. He just spoke gravely.
"Getting captured and brought here—was that part of the plan too?"
"Obviously."
"Since when?"
"From our first meeting."
Precisely, near Itaewon, by the corpses of Lopez and Han Min-seong. That's when Ju had started weaving the noose around Clint.
He'd known about Clint's corruption from his past life. But it was too late to act then, and Clint had never botched ops by dipping into Gerald's funds, so they'd let it slide.
Now? Clint was unmistakably the enemy. That knowledge was Ju's weapon.
He'd held off only to gather evidence and current context.
"Shin Hee-soo's slip-up gave me the chance to dig up proof. Interrogated her, got the account details. Then I needed a one-on-one with you, but no dice. Show up uninvited, you'd get suspicious. So I walked into the trap you set."
No hard evidence, of course. But Ju's recalled details were plenty to fool Clint.
"I was the one who fell into the trap."
Clint muttered as he walked steadily.
Ju had known Han Min-ah wasn't home—he'd already ordered her into hiding. But he'd played dumb and stepped into the ambush. Let them corner him near death, pretending total submission. Even stripped naked and fed fake intel.
Thinking back, the nudity might've been overkill. But if it lulled Clint into complacency, worth it.
"So... why only tell me? If you wanted me ruined, just go to Gerald."
Ju had considered it. Easier, cleaner.
But no guarantee Gerald would purge Clint. And if Ju tried using it to kill him outright, Clint wouldn't go quietly—backlash likely.
"You want intel on us?"
On immortals, or Gerald's inner circle. Ju had zero interest.
"Don't need it. I know more than you do."
There was a better play.
"I don't just want your knowledge. I want your power, authority, manpower... everything. Down to the last hair on your head."
"...Nonsense."
"Think carefully before you open your mouth."
"Don't make me laugh. You think that's possible? Even Jeremiah and Luca are Knight Order members. You think the Order's my limbs? They'd kill me without hesitation if they knew."
"Sounds like you've given it serious thought, down to that."
Ju knew Clint's command over the Knight Order was temporary delegation from Gerald—local Korean branch only. One order from Gerald, and Clint—the immortal granted by him—would be a dead man walking.
"Don't worry. How would they find out? I'll shut up, you'll shut up."
"Bari Unit..."
"No one but Captain Park Ha-yuri knows. We'll need safeguards so you don't pull anything stupid. I won't make you chop Gerald's head yourself, so relax."
That's my job. Clint just needed to stay out of the way till then.
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Just what you were planning."
"Planning?"
"Recruit me successfully. Put me high up in your org. Knight Order access would be nice. Local agent rank, maybe same as those two behind you. Sound good?"
"..."
Clint halted, glaring at Ju.
Ju savored it. Clint had dismissed him as a blustering con artist not worth the dirt. Now? He'd have to beg Ju to join his side, on his knees if needed.
Just as he'd boasted to Yoo Wol-ryeong.
"Then we both go back to our lives. Chat whenever something comes up."
Of course, only until Clint's usefulness ran dry. Immortals still had to die—but Ju had to protect his country, his world, in the meantime.
Clint's info and power were essential for that.
Clint pondered as they walked the park. Ju eyed his back.
Clint's loyal service under Gerald wasn't short. Gerald wouldn't have granted Death Knight command or right-hand status otherwise.
"What if I refuse?"
It all hinged on the invisible variable: Clint's loyalty. If he chose ruin and blocked Ju, it'd end in blood.
But Ju believed he'd cooperate.
"No, you won't refuse. Clint McCallen."
"Why?"
"Because you've wanted to chuck all this and walk away for ages."
Ju whispered not to Gerald's minion, the immortal—but to the man.
"Cooperate. I'll help you discharge honorably."