Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Crossing the Line
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The old man placed the book on his lap and beckoned with a finger.
“Aargh! Aaaaargh!”
Was this how a dog being dragged to the slaughterhouse would sound?
Maximo struggled as the old man dragged him, screaming until the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.
But with his hands and feet bound, Maximo was pulled along like a sacrifice being offered to a god.
*Clack, clack, clack, clack.*
“Please, please!”
Maximo pleaded, his teeth chattering from fear, as the old man reached a hand toward the wall.
A subordinate placed a glass bottle in his hand.
The elegant bottle contained a translucent, reddish liquid.
*Fwump!*
A coated, waterproof tarp was laid at the old man’s feet, and Maximo was placed on top of it.
Several people turned their heads away.
They were men who had witnessed such moments many times before and knew exactly what the glass bottle contained.
*Pop!*
With a clear sound, the bottle’s cap was opened.
His eyes wide like a man facing death, Maximo stared at the bottle, barely able to breathe.
“Ugh.”
“Hnngh.”
Groans escaped from those who couldn't stand the foul odor wafting from the bottle.
“I've been doing this for quite a long time.”
The wrinkled old man’s lips parted, and a low voice emerged.
“Sometimes, I grow disillusioned. No matter how much time passes, scum like you always appear.”
“Iron Mask, I have a family, please…”
The old man continued speaking, his expression unchanging, as if he couldn't hear Maximo.
“When will traitors like you ever disappear?”
The old man finished speaking.
*Thud!*
He inverted the bottle, pressing its mouth against the crown of Maximo’s head. One of his subordinates stepped on Maximo’s back, forcing his chin and chest to the floor.
*Bubble, bubble, bubble.*
Air bubbles entering the bottle made the liquid seem to boil, and a horrific scream erupted from Maximo's lips.
“Aargh! Gyaaaaaargh!”
The old man applied pressure, ensuring the bottle didn't lift from Maximo's head.
The liquid trickled down past Maximo's ears and cheeks, dripping onto the tarp.
Just then, the young man who had been pushing the rocking chair turned his head away.
“Watch, my son. You must watch.”
The old man spoke, and the young man struggled to turn his gaze back to the dying Maximo.
Thick welts rose where the liquid had passed, and his skin shriveled like leather thrown into a fire.
*Bubble, bubble, bubble.*
Bits of flesh and blood floated up with the bubbles into the bottle, staining the liquid an even deeper red.
“Gyaaaaaaaargh! Guuuaaaargh!”
The liquid melted Maximo's scalp and burned through the bone, creating a faint hole.
Flowing both outside and inside his body, the liquid led Maximo slowly but surely to his death.
“Gurgle…”
Maximo's eyes rolled back in his head as he fell silent. The old man righted the bottle and replaced the cap.
A terrible stench filled the air.
It was the smell of the liquid mixed with blood and flesh on the tarp, the smell of melting skin, and the foul odor emanating from the dissolving Maximo.
“Clean it up.”
*Rustle.*
The moment the old man spoke, his subordinates gathered the tarp like a dumpling wrapper.
Watching Maximo being dragged out the door, leaving an impression on the carpet, the old man handed the bottle to the young man beside him and sat back down in his rocking chair.
*Clink.*
The bottle was placed on a display shelf, and the young man returned to grip the back of the rocking chair.
“Don't look away again.”
The young man replied, suppressing his anguish.
“Yes, Father.”
The old man furrowed his brow and picked up his book.
“I'm getting tired of saying that.”
Then he began to read again.
*Flip.*
His face was a mask of indifference, as if nothing had happened.
***
It was a dark night.
Kanghyeok, hidden in the shadows, watched the beams of flashlights moving in the distance.
They were the lights of the border patrol.
An SUV belonging to them was parked nearby, and just a kilometer away, a helicopter bearing the border patrol’s insignia sat on the ground.
The boundary between the United States and Mexico.
The border.
Cross here, walk until morning, and he would reach a city. From there, he could take a taxi to his destination.
But the heavy patrol made it look far from easy.
Of course, there were less guarded areas.
But crossing in those places was pointless.
Endless desert or sea stretched out on the other side; trying to traverse such terrain with no equipment was a clear act of suicide.
*'Should I have used a different route?'*
Kanghyeok dismissed the thought with a slight shake of his head.
Ramming through the wall with a car to get into Mexico was not an option.
If he were going to cross the border in such a crude way, he might as well have contacted the company and crossed in much greater comfort.
But this wasn't company business.
It was personal.
He couldn't expect company support.
He couldn't use company resources.
If a problem arose, it would escalate into something that couldn't be dismissed as a personal transgression.
That was why Kanghyeok was currently dressed in ordinary clothes with no ballistic protection, carrying only a single pistol.
He had hidden his car four kilometers away, his suit resting neatly on the passenger seat.
His equipment was poor, and the immediate task of crossing into Mexico felt like a heavy weight clamped around his ankle.
Still, it had to be done.
*Sssshhh.*
Kanghyeok steadied his breath and used the flashlight beams to pinpoint the patrol's location.
The three-man team was moving away, inspecting the border wall.
Now was the time.
Kanghyeok crouched low and moved quickly toward the border patrol's SUV.
A cool, dry wind blew under a sky where stars, veiled by clouds, cast a faint glow.
*Crunch.*
Treading on ground where the sand swallowed the soles of his shoes, Kanghyeok reached the vicinity of the SUV.
Ten meters to go.
Lying flat on the ground, Kanghyeok checked the patrol's position and began to crawl toward the vehicle.
*Fwash!*
A beam of light swept in his direction.
Kanghyeok pressed himself flat against the ground. The light lingered over his position for a moment before moving on.
*'Returning?'*
When Kanghyeok lifted his head, he saw the border patrol agents, apparently finished with their rounds, walking back toward the SUV.
There wasn't much time.
Kanghyeok moved toward the vehicle as quickly and carefully as he could.
“Huu, huu.”
He shouldn't have been this out of breath, but his exhalations came out strangely heavy.
It must have been the tension.
He wasn't afraid of being shot.
But the thought of what would happen if he were spotted by the border patrol was suffocating.
Whether he surrendered, subdued them, or ignored them and crossed the border, the situation would escalate.
It would be like a Japanese or American citizen illegally entering North Korea.
“Huuu.”
Kanghyeok exhaled quietly, shaking off the tension, and moved with composure.
Rushing wouldn't solve anything, and being tense certainly wouldn't help.
*Crunch, crunch.*
Just as the sound of the agents' footsteps grew closer, Kanghyeok reached the SUV.
He rolled onto his back, facing the sky, and slid under the vehicle.
At the same moment, a flashlight beam illuminated the spot where he had just been.
“What's wrong?”
“Thought I saw something move.”
“Probably just a wild animal.”
“Hmm.”
“This guy's always so jumpy.”
*Clunk!*
The jolt of a door opening was felt clearly by Kanghyeok underneath. He clung to the undercarriage and licked his lips.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Three men got in and shut the doors, each slam faintly shaking Kanghyeok's body.
*Vroom!*
The engine started, and the SUV's front wheels turned sharply.
Kanghyeok turned his head to avoid the rotating tire as it swung near his face, tightening his grip with the tips of his fingers and toes wedged into the chassis.
*Rumble.*
The car began to move.
Now, this vehicle was heading back to the border patrol post.
A shift change would take place, and that would be the moment when security was at its most lax.
It was also the only window Kanghyeok had to cross the border.
*Vroooom.*
Positioned between the four spinning wheels, Kanghyeok tilted his head back and focused his senses.
It would have been better if this were a paved road.
But this was an unpaved track of dirt, sand, and rocks, and he was underneath a moving vehicle.
Rocks embedded in the ground rushed toward him at the speed of the car.
Kanghyeok pressed himself as far to the left as he could to avoid a jagged rock.
*Clang!*
The rock struck his forearm hard enough to jolt the car, and Kanghyeok gritted his teeth, stifling a groan.
“Damn! This piece of junk. Why's it so sluggish today?”
“It was fine earlier.”
“I'll have to get it checked out when we get back.”
The voices of the border patrol agents caught Kanghyeok's attention.
But their subsequent conversation eased his tension.
“Do it tomorrow, man. It's too dark to do anything now.”
“Hah! I guess I'll have to tell the next shift to use a different car.”
“Yeah, that's better. Be a real pain in the ass if it breaks down.”
The situation was developing smoothly.
If the next shift took a different vehicle, it would create a time gap, allowing Kanghyeok to cross the border more easily.
Kanghyeok let out a small breath and looked at his arm where the rock had hit it.
Through the torn fabric, he could see a wound pouring blood.
Come to think of it, was this the first time?
Watching one of his wounds heal.
It wasn't clearly visible in the dark, but the wound was definitely closing.
At the same time, the pain was also subsiding.
Kanghyeok confirmed he could move his arm without issue and hissed a breath through his teeth.
*Rumble.*
The car began to slow down.
The moment the car doors opened, Kanghyeok dropped his back to the ground.
*Thump.*
The feet of the border patrol agents were visible, close enough to touch.
They all headed in the same direction.
Walking toward the border patrol post, they exchanged a few short words.
The car was acting up, so take a different one.
They'd get it checked tomorrow.
Nothing else out of the ordinary was found.
There was also a comment about the recent increase in illegal crossings, urging stricter vigilance.
But he hadn't heard what he was waiting for yet.
*Click, clack.*
From inside, he could hear the sounds of gear being removed and guns being checked.
This was the moment he had been waiting for. Kanghyeok slipped out from under the car and, keeping his back to it, approached the wall.
The distance was only twenty meters, but it took him a full minute as he moved from cover to cover behind rocks, dried weeds, and cacti.
Before reaching the wall, Kanghyeok took off his outer jacket.
He would use it to get over the barbed wire on top of the wall.
Just as Kanghyeok was about to climb the wall.
*Click.*
The door to the post opened, and three border patrol agents came out.
They were about to start their shift and intended to have a smoke first. They stood in front of the post, cigarettes in their mouths, flicking their lighters.
Coincidentally, they were facing right where Kanghyeok was.
*'Huuu.'*
Kanghyeok let out a quiet breath, relieved they hadn't spotted him, and ran his tongue over the inside of his mouth.
*Lucky bastards.*
His mind kept drifting to the cigarettes.
He'd be across the border soon anyway.
As soon as he was far enough away that the post was out of sight, he'd light one up.
Just as Kanghyeok swallowed as if taking a drag, the border patrol agents, having finished their cigarettes, began to move toward their vehicle.
Kanghyeok bent his knees, preparing to scale the wall.
It was at that exact moment.
*Flash, flash.*
The LED on the phone in his jacket pocket began to flash, signaling an incoming call.
He hurriedly covered the light with his palm, but it was too late. The border patrol's attention had already been drawn in his direction.