The Unexpected Haul

Suddenly a report came through on the private line from Chief Kim, catching me off guard.

"Requesting situation report."

"Looks like around 500kg."

Holy shit… They told me 100kg. I couldn’t help but curse the old man in Mexico right then and there.

"Use your judgment on site. You can pull out if you need to."

"Cobra 1 here. Changing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the plan. The quantity is larger than expected."

"Infiltration team, Cobra 2 and 3. Correcting previous order. Chief Kim and Haeju will maintain surveillance. Everyone else, link up and begin moving the cargo."

"Hey! That’s insubordination! Get back up here now!"

"Cut the connecting rope, split into five groups. Three people per bundle."

"With our current numbers, move two bundles first, link up with the three infiltration members, then finish the rest."

"Anyone struggling or low on stamina switches out with the two waiting on the boat. Total of nine people move three bundles, then we depart."

Round trips, then.

"Roger."

Our comms went quiet except for the sound of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heavy breathing. Less than a minute later, the net was nothing but ragged gasps.

"Scanviser 4 here. Arrived at quarters. Beginning surveillance with Cobra 2."

"Cobra 1 here. Report any anomalies immediately."

"What the hell did they teach you in the army? Focus!"

"Don’t drop it. If you drop it, the rest of the team suffers more."

"Cobra 1 here. Boarding boat standby personnel."

"Roger."

"Yeongseok and Donghee, head down."

"We can handle it."

"Look at your legs and arms. You already burned everything hauling the cargo out earlier."

"Ah, fuck…"

"No time. Move it."

"Two bundles complete. Moving again."

"Cobra 2 here. Lights on in the cabin. Lights on in the cabin. Continuing observation. It’s still five in the morning—can’t they just stay asleep?"

"Cobra 2 here. Moving into the corridor. Scanviser 4, take over surveillance."

"Roger. Taking over."

"Scanviser 4 here. Handover complete. Target is using the restroom."

Whew… Every minute felt like an hour. The recovery team started moving again with the cargo. The five who had been on infiltration or standby were holding up, but the other four began letting out pained groans. The team leader—true to form—kept barking encouragement over the radio.

"You can do it, you bastards. Hold on!"

They couldn’t shout during the operation, so they just grunted and wheezed through clenched teeth. Cheol-min and I wanted to help, but there was nothing we could do. It was painful to listen to.

"Scanviser 4 here. Moving toward the cabin. Cobra 2, break contact and hand over."

"Roger. Handing over."

"Cobra 2 here. Handover complete."

Get in the cabin already! Sleep a little longer. Please.

"Cobra 2 here. Exiting into the corridor. Target is coming from the opposite side. Breaking contact."

This was an emergency.

"Cobra 1 here. Track the target. Report if they head toward the wheelhouse."

Should I just tell them to neutralize the guy?

"Roger."

Let’s watch for now. No updates on what the target is doing.

"Cobra 2 here. Target moving toward the wheelhouse."

"Damn it… Yeongseok and Donghee, you two rested enough? Get up here and help move the cargo."

"Roger."

"Operation change. If that’s not a decoy, they’ll find traces once they reach the wheelhouse."

"I’ll buy time. Recovery team, finish the haul and leave immediately. No delays."

"Chief Kim, Haeju—how about we go for a swim? Been a while."

"Roger."

Two minutes later, the low hum of an engine reached us over the radio.

"Cobra 2 here. Target A is running."

"Cobra 1 here. Target will either come down from the wheelhouse to check the ballast or stay put. Report the situation."

"Roger."

"Scanviser 4 here. Target is making a phone call. Unable to intercept content."

"Scanviser 4 here. Call ended. Target has sat down. Doesn’t appear to be coming down."

"Okay. I’m cleaning up the scene and exfiltrating. Recovery team, report status."

"Huff… Scanviser 1 here. Should be ready to exfil in five minutes."

A short while later, another transmission came through.

"Scanviser 1 here. Changing clothes and departing now."

"Good work. I’ll buy everyone beef tonight, on me."

"VIP here. Shouldn’t I be the one buying that beef?"

"Cobra 1 here. VIP has offered to host an all-you-can-eat meat party tonight. Let’s make it back safely and have a drink."

"Chief Kim, Haeju—exfil now."

Five minutes later, the final exfil team went dark. Maybe seawater had gotten into the receiver. Cheol-min and I waited at Point B for the rest of our people. Two yachts approached, and their disguises were impressive. They looked like they belonged in Hawaii—floral shirts, vacation outfits. Their physiques were solid enough to pass casual inspection. The fact that only men were aboard was the only real giveaway.

I finally understood why the team had struggled so much. I wasn’t sure if it was exactly 100kg, but the bundles had no handles, were wrapped in slippery plastic, and were covered in seaweed. How had they even carried them? Impressive.

"Let’s head to the welfare center first. Load the cargo."

"Yes, sir."

"Ah, Donghee and Yeongseok—stay behind and bring the team leaders and Haeju."

We loaded one bundle each into four cars and one SUV, then set off for the welfare center. The fishy smell rising from the cargo nearly killed me on the way up. Two hours later, I received word that the team leaders and Haeju had linked up safely. Once we arrived at the center, we immediately moved the bundles to the old security team training ground on the hill behind the property. It was the most convenient spot. We stashed everything in an empty container and told the security team to relocate to the survival training area. I handed Executive Director Ha an envelope stuffed with emergency funds—ten ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠million won. He’d eat well tonight. I added a few words of encouragement for the hard work.

"Executive Director Ha, if you have anyone from internal affairs, send them up."

"Understood."

It had been a while since I’d seen Director Eun-seong. After the security team started bringing in more former soldiers, Director Jo had advised moving him to a new post. He seemed to be adapting well—had put on a little weight.

"How have you been?"

"Fine, Chairman. Thank you for looking out for me."

The memory of our first operation together flashed through my mind. He’d handled everything alone back then.

"Sorry to ask, but the security team’s already pushed hard. We should finish this ourselves. Could you lend a hand?"

"Of course. Just say the word."

I led him to the container. Using the knife and scissors I’d requested earlier, we began cutting away the layers of plastic and tape. It took forever to peel everything back. When I finally sliced into the first bundle, neatly packaged one-kilogram units appeared inside.

Damn… Gonzales had given us solid intel.

"Let’s sort this."

Together with the internal affairs team, we started packing the bundles into 007 bags—twenty per bag. We’d pulled out about forty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when something odd caught my eye: a small device shaped like a pager. I took a photo and searched online. A GPS tracker.

Shit. This is exactly why I hate stolen goods.

One bundle yielded exactly one hundred packages. The tape alone must have weighed at least three kilograms. I wasn’t sure we deserved this much of nature’s gift. After an hour of work, we had exactly five hundred packages ready for delivery. Now the real problem: what to do with them?

I had no cocaine distribution network. I needed to report to Gonzales first.

Of course. Five hundred kilograms. At two hundred million dollars per hundred kilos, that was a billion dollars. The fee alone was fifty million. I needed to pay it back quickly. I still believed what I’d always said—credit was worth your life.

I asked Executive Director Ha how much foreign currency the organization currently held. Not much, he said. When I pressed why, he explained that all our tribute payments came in won now. Foreign-currency deals were ancient history. I reminded him we used to keep foreign reserves, but he just laughed and said that was from when he was still running operations himself—back when they dealt directly with the Chinese and Russians. These days, anything received in foreign currency got converted to won on the spot. Easier to manage, steadier amounts, and simpler to cut ties if needed.

When I told him I needed foreign currency, he asked how much. I said five million dollars. He flinched. Then, in the silence that followed, I could almost hear the unspoken thought.

"Our chairman’s caused another incident, hasn’t he?"