Chapter 94
Chapter 94
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Why Do I Have to Tell You This? (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Click.
The faint click from the pistol made Rashid shudder violently.
Beep.
Rashid’s god-awful text tone rang out.
Leila confirmed the address and showed the phone to Kanghyeok.
“If we drive hard, we should get there before sunset.”
Her tone suggested they should leave immediately.
“Without a break?”
Aiden asked incredulously as Kanghyeok reached out, took the pistol from him, and tucked it away.
“We’ll take turns driving and sleep in shifts.”
He said it as if this was a familiar situation.
Aiden stared at Kanghyeok and Leila as if they were monsters. Rashid’s dry lips parted.
“You… you’re going to let me live, right?”
In an instant, all three pairs of eyes were on Rashid.
He wondered if he’d said the wrong thing, but he pressed on, his eyes pleading.
“I did everything you told me to. You got what you wanted. So please, just spare my life.”
If his hands and feet weren’t tied to the chair, he looked like he would have grabbed Kanghyeok’s feet and licked his shoes.
“Hoo.”
Aiden looked at Kanghyeok, while Leila pulled a small knife from her pocket and fiddled with it.
“Untie him.”
Snap!
Before Kanghyeok had even finished speaking, Leila sliced through the tape binding Rashid’s left wrist.
His hands were free, but Rashid didn’t resist.
Far from resisting, he could only grit his teeth and groan as blood rushed back into his injured flesh.
Yank!
Kanghyeok grabbed a fistful of Rashid’s hair and yanked his head back.
Rashid trembled, looking up at Kanghyeok with pupils that shook like an earthquake.
Kanghyeok spoke in a low voice.
“I’m keeping you alive just in case. But if I see even one insolent look from you, I’ll kill you.”
Snap, snap, snap.
As the tape binding his hands and feet was cut away one by one, Rashid managed a nod.
Kanghyeok grabbed Rashid by the collar, hauled him roughly to his feet, and dragged the screaming man toward the door.
“Gah! Y-You said you’d let me live!”
Kanghyeok didn’t even glance at Rashid as he opened the door.
He never said he wouldn’t take him along.
Dive might call again.
If Rashid didn’t answer then, the whole kidnapping charade they’d carefully staged would fall apart.
So, they would move with Rashid in tow.
“Hic!”
Dragged by the collar like a dog, Rashid burst into tears as he was pulled up the stairs.
A stone-faced Leila and a horrified Aiden followed behind him.
***
“Haaah.”
Putting his phone in his pocket, Dive rubbed his face and let out a long sigh.
He was in his room.
The floor and desk were a mess, mirroring Dive’s state of mind.
He had trashed the place like a madman, overcome with anxiety.
Now, Dive rubbed his face again, the tension finally draining from him. He let out several sighs of relief.
‘Finally, things are back on track.’
When the men he’d sent to collect the money were all found dead, he thought his heart would stop.
‘Those bastards, bringing mercenaries.’
Now he understood.
He knew why that old man, Jeff, had been so bold.
He must have known they would bring in a massive force of mercenaries.
“Arrogant bastards.”
Dive had hastily gathered his men and sent a warning to Rashid, his closest blood relative.
The result?
The men Jeff was counting on had been subdued by Rashid and were now being delivered to him.
Feeling like a derailed train that had just gotten back on the rails, Dive let go of all his worries and slumped into his chair.
He put a cigarette to his lips and lit it, feeling his whole body melt with relief.
Fzzt.
With a calm expression, Dive took a drag from his cigarette and considered how to wrap this all up.
‘First, I’ll extort the money. It’ll be a hassle, but I’ll have them transfer it to a Swiss account, and then I’ll kill them all right in front of that old man.’
Then, he would kill Jeff too.
How should I kill him?
Slitting his throat is too cliché.
‘Burn him alive?’
Or maybe gut him and hang him up at the kidnapping site.
Either way, he had to send them a clear warning and make them pay the price for underestimating him.
Just as Dive’s mind filled with vicious fantasies…
Bzzzzz!
His phone buzzed insistently. Wondering if it was Rashid, he quickly checked the number.
But the call wasn’t from Rashid.
“It’s the agent.”
Iron Mask’s agent.
The same people who had called in the night, warning him to check on the men he’d sent to collect the money, were calling again.
Dive felt a mix of gratitude and annoyance at their strangely frequent calls as he answered.
“This is Dive.”
(What’s the situation?)
“Ah, all my men were killed, but it’s not a problem. We’ve recovered all the weapons and…”
(Killed?)
The curt reply made Dive furrow his brow and take a deep drag from his cigarette.
“That’s not what’s important. The important thing is that we’ve captured them.”
(Hmm.)
This time, the response sounded somewhat disinterested.
What the hell are they playing at?
Dive rubbed his forehead with the hand holding the cigarette and clicked his tongue softly.
“Did you call just to check in?”
(Something like that. We’d like to see a picture of the captured individuals.)
“Ah, that might take some time.”
(Aren’t they with you?)
“No, they’re on their way, to be precise.”
(So they were captured elsewhere.)
“To be exact, my cousin Rashid handled it. He’s damn good at his job. I was hoping he could do business with you as well.”
(This conversation is getting long.)
Pfft.
Dive, looking annoyed, puffed on his cigarette and blew smoke through pursed lips.
“Anyway, my cousin caught them. They’re on their way here now.”
Silence.
The agent, who had just chided him for the long conversation, suddenly went quiet.
(So you haven’t confirmed it, then?)
“It was my cousin. He wouldn’t lie to me.”
(What is the meeting place and time?)
“We didn’t set a specific time, but he said he was sending them right away, so they should arrive sometime tonight…”
For a moment, Dive thought, ‘Why do I have to tell them all this?’
“More importantly, why are you asking?”
(Simply for confirmation.)
“I find this unpleasant.”
(You know what rewards await if you cooperate.)
“Rewards? It’s not like you’re giving them away for free.”
(We might be able to provide certain items free of charge, no?)
Dive’s eyes shifted, and a faint smirk played on his lips.
“It’s my location.”
(Understood.)
“About that offer of providing items for free…”
Click.
The line went dead.
Dive checked his phone, wondering if his cheek had accidentally ended the call.
But that wasn’t it. He waited for them to call back, but as time passed, no call came.
Realizing the other party had hung up on him, Dive felt his vision go white with rage.
“You son of a bitch!”
Crash!
Dive swept everything off his desk, including the ashtray, onto the floor.
The composure he had just regained was completely shattered.
***
Vroooom.
Inside the car, with Leila at the wheel, Kanghyeok held up a phone.
He was in the back seat behind the driver. In the passenger seat, Aiden, now wearing Rashid’s stolen clothes, was asleep with his head bowed. Next to Kanghyeok, Rashid, stripped to his underwear with his wrists and ankles bound, was sweating profusely.
(Fuck, those arrogant bastards! How dare they do this to me, to a client! Motherfuckers!)
“Just calm down, cousin. You can handle it.”
Rashid, on the phone with Dive, felt his stomach churn.
Dive was venting his frustrations, but compared to Rashid’s situation, he might as well have been in heaven.
“Anyway, cousin, what are you going to do with those guys?”
(Why?)
Rashid spoke, reading the text Kanghyeok had typed on his phone.
[Tell him to kill the person he kidnapped along with us. And tell him not to contact you until tomorrow.]
“Do your little cousin a favor. Those bastards were trying to rescue the guy you kidnapped, right?”
(That’s right.)
“You’re going to kill that guy anyway, aren’t you? Kill him along with these guys. And make sure to send me a picture. That’s the only way I’ll feel better.”
(Ha! I was going to do that anyway.)
“Great, then I’ll hang up. I’ve got things to do.”
(Ah, sorry.)
“I might be too busy to call. I should be free tomorrow, so let’s talk then.”
(Alright, talk to you then.)
Click.
The call ended.
“Whoosh!”
Kanghyeok blew a stream of smoke out the window and met Rashid’s gaze.
“Wh-what?”
Rashid instinctively pressed himself against the opposite door. When Kanghyeok reached out while bringing the cigarette to his lips, Rashid trembled as if he were about to wet himself.
“I did everything you told me to. I said exactly what you wanted.”
“I’m just setting you free.”
Vroooom.
As if understanding Kanghyeok’s intent, Leila accelerated.
“Farewell.”
Kanghyeok offered a brief goodbye and pulled the handle of the door Rashid was leaning against.
Click!
The door swung open, and Rashid’s body tumbled out. Kanghyeok even gave Rashid’s thigh a push to help him on his way.
“Aaaaaaah!”
Like a drum barrel falling from a moving train, Rashid tumbled violently across the ground.
He slammed his head hard against a large rock jutting out by the side of the road and came to a stop with a sound like a watermelon splitting open.
Thunk.
As Kanghyeok shut the car door, Leila spoke.
“I hope the locals he exploited can breathe a little easier now.”
“Jeff comes first.”
Hearing the reply from the back, Leila gave a wry smile and shook her head slightly.
“I’m sure Jeff Black is fine.”
Click-clack.
Kanghyeok disassembled the pistol, confirmed it didn’t need cleaning, and spoke.
“Stop the car.”
“Why?”
“Let’s switch. You get some sleep.”
“You haven’t slept at all.”
Kanghyeok hadn’t slept the entire previous night.
On top of that, he had assaulted Rashid’s mansion and had been watching him ever since.
Being human, it was impossible for him not to feel tired.
Kanghyeok knew this as well.
“I’m fine.”
“Your voice sounds fine, but are you really okay?”
Kanghyeok simply nodded in response. Leila checked his complexion and the whites of his eyes in the rearview mirror before speaking in a soft voice.
“Understood.”
Leila pulled over to the shoulder and switched seats with Kanghyeok.
With Rashid gone, she now had the entire back seat to herself. Leila took off her jacket.
She lay down, bending her knees, and covered herself with the jacket like a blanket.
“I’ll rest for a bit. Please wake me whenever you need to switch.”
“Will do.”
*Will he really?* she wondered, but she didn’t voice the thought.
A few moments later, the sound of Leila’s faint, rhythmic breathing filled the car. Kanghyeok put a cigarette between his lips and took out his lighter.
But he didn’t light it.
‘Is this also because of my recovery ability?’
Or is it because there’s still work to be done?
Or maybe it’s because of the nightmare about the burning bus.
Puzzled by his strange lack of fatigue, Kanghyeok glanced at the passenger seat.
Aiden, disguised to look like a member of the Taliban or a local militant group, was asleep. His eyelids twitched erratically, as if he were having a nightmare.