The October Coup (2)
Bill began to decipher the rest of the footage with a bewildered expression. "October 26th, 8:00 PM, meeting, coup. That is... all there is. A coup? Isn't that just a coincidence?"
Bill's point was reasonable. Someone you happen to share a meal with informs you of a coup? It was, by any common sense, incredibly hard to believe.
"But my memory is certain. Putin repeated irregular blinks throughout the meal, centered around specific intervals."
"You mean he repeated this for the entire meal?"
"Yes, it must have been incredibly difficult. That's why it would have been hard to use many words."
Expressing the alphabet through blinking. If there is a lot of information to convey, the intervals grow longer accordingly. That was why Putin couldn't transmit any more information than that.
"No, wait a minute. Are you saying you memorized all those blinks?"
"Yes. As we talked, Putin was blinking desperately. I thought there might be something to it, so I memorized them."
Seeing Yoon-gi speak so nonchalantly, Bill was left speechless.
"……."
"Why?"
"No, it's just that I feel like I've experienced something that makes no sense by any common standard……."
Bill, having said this much, continued as if he had just remembered something. "But there is one thing I'm curious about. I understand that this man named Putin tried to inform the outside world of this information by blinking. But why on earth did he deliver it to you, Chairman? The probability of failure is extremely high."
"He probably bet on the probability."
"Probability?"
Yoon-gi nodded. "Putin was being followed by someone presumed to be a special agent. In that situation, it would have been impossible for Putin to convey this content to anyone else."
"That……, that is certainly true."
"He probably had a handler watching him even when he was indoors, so it would have been impossible then, too, right?"
"Correct."
Bill was increasingly drawn into Yoon-gi's explanation. "It is highly likely that he was given tacit permission to eat outside. But if he had acted even slightly strangely outside, that privilege would have been revoked immediately."
"That is certainly true."
"In that situation, the person Putin could at least pin his hopes on was me. Because I am a 'genius' who goes out to eat whenever the conditions allow."
"……I want to call that self-obsession, but since you're stating facts, I can't even do that. It's truly frustrating."
Because Bill had become somewhat close to Yoon-gi while staying in the Soviet Union, he spoke a bit sharply, but Yoon-gi didn't take offense and just laughed.
"Well, isn't it about time you got used to it?"
"Hmm~ Well, I suppose so. Anyway, to summarize the situation: that man named Putin is a special agent, and the group he belongs to is planning to stage a coup on October 26th to eliminate Gorbachev. Is that how I should understand it?"
"That would be the likely scenario."
"……That is truly a massive event."
A coup in the Soviet Union. And not just any coup, but one directed at Gorbachev's reformist government. That meant the Soviet Union would return to communism, and it meant a fatal blow to Yoon-gi, who was currently trying to act as a bridge between the Soviet Union and the United States.
"Bill."
"Yes, Chairman."
"Keep what you've learned today absolutely confidential."
"Of course."
There was overflowing trust in Bill's action, even adding a military salute.
'I have no choice but to meet Gorbachev, first of all.'
[Putin says the KGB is going to stage a coup.]
[The KGB is going to stage a coup.]
[A coup will happen soon.]
Could he convince Gorbachev smoothly no matter what he said? That was why Yoon-gi decided to go with a direct approach from the start.
"General Secretary, I experienced something unusual while eating at a restaurant recently."
"Is that so?"
Today's meeting with Gorbachev was a luncheon of sorts. Therefore, Gorbachev listened to Yoon-gi's words with light interest.
"I once treated people to a meal at a restaurant, and I happened to meet someone I saw back then again."
"Ho-ho, a light coincidence."
"Indeed. However, there was a slightly peculiar part."
"What is it?"
Gorbachev felt a deeper interest at the mention of something unusual.
"That person was bringing two strange individuals along behind him. My bodyguard said they were people who had received advanced combat training."
"Advanced combat training……?"
Gorbachev immediately thought of soldiers. However, was there anyone in the area where Yoon-gi had been eating recently who could have brought two soldiers as bodyguards? That wasn't the case either. All the soldiers were currently deployed for disaster recovery or border patrol.
'If they were on leave, they wouldn't have brought military bodyguards, would they? Then did he use personal bodyguards?'
Gorbachev asked Yoon-gi with a hint of puzzlement.
"Do you remember what that person looked like?"
"Ah, I do."
Yoon-gi described Putin's appearance to Gorbachev.
"Hmm, then what about the two who followed him?"
"Ah, I remember them too."
Even after hearing the descriptions of all three, Gorbachev couldn't think of anyone. Not affiliated with the government, not affiliated with the military. If so, the only thing left was a group that even he couldn't say he had a perfect grasp of. That was the KGB.
'If it's the KGB, it's possible……. Well, could they be sharing a meal lightly precisely because it's the KGB? Or is the KGB trying to make contact with Chairman Choi?'
While Gorbachev's thoughts were flowing in this direction, Yoon-gi spoke up cautiously.
"General Secretary, but that's not where it ends."
"Yes?"
"The eyes of the man I was eating with were blinking strangely."
"Blinking strangely?"
Yoon-gi nodded and handed a video camera to Gorbachev.
"Could you take a look at the footage on this camera?"
In the video, Yoon-gi's own blinking was shown.
"The other party kept blinking his eyes just as shown in that video. When I asked my bodyguards about it, they said it was Morse code. The content was that a coup would take place at the Politburo meeting on October 26th."
"Gasp!"
For a moment, Gorbachev wore a bewildered expression.
"……I was honestly worried about telling you. But since the other party was blinking so strangely during the meal, I checked it, and that was the result……. I felt uneasy not telling you, so I'm bringing it up."
"Hmm…… I understand. For now, I just remembered I have a sudden schedule, so I think I need to excuse myself. Would that be alright?"
"Ah, of course."
Gorbachev hurriedly rose from his seat and headed to his private office. However, there was nowhere to ask for help.
'My head aches. Where should I ask for help?'
Having to reach a conclusion without knowing any information is truly a headache-inducing task. The situation Gorbachev was currently facing.
'What if Chairman Choi's words are a lie? But is there any benefit to lying?'
No matter how much he thought about it, there was no particular benefit. If he were the core of the coup, it wouldn't be good to reveal such facts. A self-staged drama was also impossible. After the coup ended, a massive investigation would begin, and those involved would be punished; those who staged the coup itself would inevitably face execution by firing squad. In that case, who would be pointed out? Naturally, the planners of the scheme, and as they investigated and punished them, the leadership would inevitably be identified.
'If it's not a self-staged drama and not the core of the enemy…… then I have to assume this information is true. What if it's just a prank?'
The probability was too low to think that way. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't see any reason to give such information as a prank.
'Could it be a CIA self-staged drama? No, this is also a self-staged drama, isn't it?'
Even if Yoon-gi were a CIA stooge, if it were a self-staged drama, the coup would have to fail, and the subsequent scenario would be the same as he just thought: the rooting out of those involved. If a self-staged drama were to gain credibility, there would be a condition that the coup must succeed, but that was also impossible.
'They're eliminating me while I'm giving special favors to YK? That's truly absurd. Furthermore, Chairman Choi has invested an enormous amount in me so far; there isn't even a 1 percent reason to stage a coup in this situation.'
No matter how much he thought about it, the information Yoon-gi brought was persuasive, so Gorbachev assumed the information was true for the time being.
'A coup will happen at the Politburo meeting on October 26th? Then, where should I request protection?'
He didn't know why the KGB agent had informed Yoon-gi of the coup. However, Gorbachev was increasingly leaning toward the idea that the KGB was behind it.
'I had received reports that the KGB's movements were unusual, but could they have been planning a coup……?'
The KGB is not just a Soviet intelligence agency. It is an intelligence agency established with the clear ideological justification of "the red-ification of the world." Therefore, it was deeply involved in Soviet politics. However, Gorbachev was pushing for the capitalization of the Soviet Union, and in the process, he had repeatedly rejected the KGB director's proposals that he shouldn't do so. Based on this, the place most likely to stage a coup was naturally the KGB.
'The problem is that I don't know at all exactly who is involved.'
It was a guess for now, but the KGB was definitely involved. And the problem was that if the KGB was involved, he couldn't trust anyone. The same went for armed groups. An intelligence organization deeply involved in Soviet politics is the KGB. As such, there might even be someone in the Politburo who had joined them right now.
'Even if I request protection on the day, it would only delay the date.'
Unless he rooted out those who were trying to stage the coup, he would have to live in constant anxiety. Therefore, Gorbachev pondered for a long time and eventually had to use the safest yet most undesirable option.
"Arrange a meeting with Chairman Choi."
Gorbachev, who met Yoon-gi again, dismissed everyone around him.
"Chairman Choi, please build a bridge to the CIA."
"The CIA?"
"Yes. I believe that with your connections, you can sufficiently build that bridge. I will entrust the resolution of the October 26th coup to the CIA."
"Hmm…… that is, in a way, a very dangerous thing. Your foundation as General Secretary might be shaken……."
As Yoon-gi showed signs of worry, Gorbachev was able to speak with a bit more relief.
"It cannot be helped. As long as the KGB is involved, there is no intelligence organization I can trust. The same goes for armed groups. In that case, I would rather let them stage the coup on the 26th. And then catch them."
"Hmm……."
Gorbachev said with a somewhat desperate expression.
"Everyone must know that there are already many CIA affiliates in the Soviet Union. The opposite is also true. I am a figure who hopes for the capitalization of the Soviet Union. Therefore, President Ronald Reagan will surely approve. It's just that if I move directly to request it, the KGB will surely know, so I am asking you, Chairman Choi."
"Are you really going to be alright?"
"I am prepared."
Having confirmed Gorbachev's resolute expression, Yoon-gi contacted Guster as soon as he left the room.
"A coup is about to happen in the Soviet Union?"
Guster nodded toward Ronald Reagan, who was wearing a very bewildered expression.
"That is correct. Furthermore, Gorbachev has asked through my granddaughter's husband that he wants the coup suppressed by the CIA."
"What on earth is the reason……?"
Following Ronald Reagan's question, Guster began to explain to Reagan according to what he had heard from Yoon-gi.
"Indeed……, a situation where you don't know who to trust……."
"Your Excellency, Gorbachev is currently affirming that he will lead the Soviet Union toward capitalism. If you just leave Gorbachev alone in this situation, your political gains will also disappear."
"Certainly, I think so too. We should support him through the CIA. However, there are fewer CIA agents in the Soviet Union than you might think. That's because the KGB has been hunting them down with eyes ablaze. There wouldn't be enough troops to stop the coup……."
Guster offered an alternative to Reagan, who was lost in thought.
"There are already troops capable of being under the command of the CIA."