Ally (1)
Sheriff’s eyes flew wide. “Different how? You’re telling me the old man’s got a hundred thousand rounds of live ammo?”
“Promising you’ll get it for us somehow later won’t cut it. So quit talking nonsense! You think just because I’m younger than you, I’m easy to fool?”
Even generals wearing three stars on their uniforms would drop their jaws at a claim like a hundred thousand rounds. For a mere lieutenant to boast such a thing was suspicious on its face. Yet Cho Cheol-woong remained utterly confident.
“Stop running your mouth and listen.”
Cho Cheol-woong gave Sheriff a stern hand signal to be quiet, then continued.
“The late General Chae never stinted on support for special operations units. He even falsified ledgers to secretly funnel equipment to Special Warfare Command, and he held a special affection for the special mission group in particular. His creed was that the men who had to fight the hardest must never be hampered by poor gear.”
Who the hell is General Chae?
Sheriff shot Jinwoo a questioning glance. Jinwoo answered with his eyes alone. He exists. That kind of person. To a civilian like Sheriff, both Cho Cheol-woong and General Chae were simply “old men.” Truth be told, Jinwoo himself didn’t know much more. Everything he knew came from a few words Captain Mun had let slip during their last visit to Chungju. While the two men conversed silently with their eyes, Cho Cheol-woong kept talking.
“He also loved preparing contingency plans. One of those plans involved deploying the special mission group if the capital fell. It was, of course, top secret. Only a handful of people even knew the operation existed. Now that most of the high command was wiped out at Gangjeong Base, that number is even smaller.”
“So what if a few people knew? What’s that got to do with us?”
“Because such an operation existed, it only makes sense that secret ammunition caches for the special mission group were placed all over Seoul. You can’t conduct sustained combat without resupply unless you have those caches. And it isn’t just Seoul. You can assume that any city you’ve ever heard of has its own dedicated secret wartime ammo dump.”
“Then where is it right now?”
Sheriff still looked skeptical. Cho Cheol-woong answered without hesitation.
“Most of the caches were placed near wooded hills. That way a team could infiltrate by night drop and reach them on foot. The closest one to our current position should be at the western base of Mangwoo Mountain. It’s only about one and a half kilometers from here. There’s another on Yongma Mountain to the south and one near Bonghwa Mountain to the north. Not far from the spot where we traded before.”
“You’re saying there are several secret ammo dumps in Seoul and each one is stocked with a hundred thousand rounds?”
“General Chae thought big. Most of it is subsonic ammunition, but there’s also a generous supply of 5.56mm NATO rounds. It was built for wartime, after all.”
“Ehhh… I still don’t buy it…”
Sheriff shook his head, leaning on his hammer. The man sounded like he’d say anything to get his hands on Terra’s blood.
Cho Cheol-woong looked from Jinwoo to Sheriff, then pulled a notebook and ballpoint pen from his uniform pocket.
“Whether you believe me or not, the ammo dump exists. And so does the ammunition inside it.”
Riiip.
He tore a page from a cigarette pack, scribbled something after muttering conversion units under his breath, and handed the note to Jinwoo.
37.5909N, 127.1034E
While Jinwoo read the coordinates, Cho Cheol-woong explained.
“It’s a two-story standalone house right against the base of Mangwoo Mountain. There will be many similar-looking homes nearby, but you’ll find it easily if you look for the one at the end of the road with a red ring on the gate handle. Once you locate the house, enter the garage through the side door. There’s a rotary combination lock. The code is a number any Korean can remember instantly: 1950. Inside the garage you’ll see a large cabinet on the right wall with a dial lock. If you open it normally, it’s empty. But with the door closed, turn the dial right 38, left 10, then right again to 01. Open it after that and you’ll find stairs leading underground. That’s the secret ammo cache.”
Cho Cheol-woong stared into Jinwoo’s eyes, making sure he memorized the exact direction and sequence for the dial. Sheriff, however, remained unconvinced.
“You said there are multiple secret caches, yet you know every detail about this one. The code, the safe’s location, the house’s features. If someone overheard you, they’d think you’d already scouted the place for a meeting with us.”
“Stop talking like an idiot! Every safe house in the country was built to the same specifications and layout. The passcodes are identical too. How else could anyone remember them all?”
Cho Cheol-woong frowned. Jinwoo stared at the note in his hand, lost in thought.
Could this guy be telling the truth?
He could at least agree on the necessity of secret ammo caches. Jinwoo himself had hidden five hundred rounds with Yubin as a contingency, and they were using them to good effect now. On the battlefield, such caches were invaluable. Since these men belonged to South Korea’s elite special forces, it wouldn’t be strange for them to maintain a large number of hidden stockpiles.
Moreover, judging by the way this special mission group lieutenant had been burning through ammunition in full-auto bursts earlier, he didn’t seem like someone hurting for supplies. The childish symbolism of the passcode also felt exactly like something Korean soldiers would come up with, which strangely added credibility. Still… that didn’t mean he could trust the man one hundred percent. Above all, this information was far too valuable to hand to a stranger. What if they went to that location and found special forces troops lying in ambush?
I know it’s dangerous, but damn it, I still want to check… Shit. What does that say about me?
As a self-proclaimed ammunition maniac, Jinwoo felt the offer strike him right in his weakest spot. He clenched his teeth. A warehouse packed with hundreds of thousands of live rounds was an almost irresistibly tempting proposition. Of course the armory on Big Island was fairly well stocked, but the urge to see this one with his own eyes refused to fade. How incredible would it be?
No, no… That’s not what matters right now.
Jinwoo gave his head a small shake, clearing away the distracting thoughts. He needed to focus on the fundamental issue.
“Looks like you have something to say,” Cho Cheol-woong said, gesturing for him to speak freely.
Jinwoo asked the question that had been bothering him most.
“Why… are you giving me all this high-level information?”
Revealing both the location and the passcode wasn’t the same as simply handing over a hundred thousand rounds. According to this man, the cache held far more than that.
“The reason is simple. You’re qualified to use it.”
Cho Cheol-woong answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Jinwoo still couldn’t accept it.
“You don’t even know me that well.”
“You think I’d put my rifle down and try to persuade someone I knew nothing about? I’m not that reckless. Up to today… I’ve seen you three times.”
Cho Cheol-woong held up three fingers.
“The first time was in Samcheok. Your shooting skill and instantaneous judgment were impressive, but something else caught my eye. Do you know what it was?”
“I… don’t.”
“Even though you were a private acting as the ace of your entire squad, you never bragged or acted arrogant. You behaved as if it was completely natural. At the same time you were perfectly respectful to your seniors and took responsibility for everyone. After breaking through Samcheok city we had to clear out the zombies inside the Homeplus store. It was quite the forced march, yet you showed no signs of fatigue or fear. When I saw that, I thought, This one. I need to make him mine. The marksmanship you showed in Taereung a month ago was excellent, and the four shots today were impressive too, but my mind was already made up back then.”
Ugh…
The phrase “make him mine” was so direct and aggressive that Jinwoo broke into a cold sweat. The fact that the man even remembered his full name proved this passionate declaration was no empty flattery.
“But seeing you today, you’ve grown even more since then. What happened? Who taught you sniping and tactics?”
Former Delta Force operators.
Jinwoo answered only in his head. If he told this already-aggressive special mission group lieutenant that story, the man would probably latch onto him and never let go.
“Hand over the blood first, then come with me, Private Park. I can tell you’re burning with ambition to do something bigger here. I can give you missions worthy of that ambition.”
Cho Cheol-woong thumped his fist against his own chest and stared at Jinwoo with meaningful eyes.
“We still haven’t confirmed that we even possess the blood,” Jinwoo said, drawing a clear line.
This man seemed ready to forcibly recruit him and dress him in special forces fatigues if he let the conversation continue. No matter how much Jinwoo had resolved to play some kind of role, he wanted no part of that.
Once this business was finished, he was going to spend Christmas on Big Island with Jenny and Terra. He had paid an enormous price to shed his soldier identity. He had fought desperately to earn this freedom. He had no intention of being dragged back into a barracks. No matter how high the rank of lieutenant was, this man was still just another cog obeying Lieutenant General Shin’s orders.
“Hmph…!”
Cho Cheol-woong, who had been staring at Jinwoo’s face, let out a short laugh.
“Your expression says you still don’t fully trust me. You want to keep your distance? Fine. Even if we don’t make a deal, it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to join us. If you ever need ammunition, just go take it. I refuse to watch someone of your caliber die simply because he ran out of bullets.”
“Even if what you’re saying is true… there’s no delivery service, is there? How are we supposed to get ten thousand rounds all the way to Chungju? Just the weight alone would be no joke.”
Sheriff raised another issue. Cho Cheol-woong acted as if it were beneath his concern.
“You didn’t walk here, did you? Load it onto the helicopter when you return.”
Having answered so briskly, Cho Cheol-woong gave Sheriff’s solid stomach a light smack. Then, with shameless ease, he asked, “Got any water left in your canteen? My mouth’s dry as hell after getting punched by you.”
“Wow, this old man’s acting like he’s moving in. Just leave already! Ask your own subordinates for water.”
Even while grumbling, Sheriff pulled a plastic water bottle from his pack and tossed it to Cho Cheol-woong. When a man offered more than a hundred thousand rounds of his own accord, you couldn’t exactly begrudge him a bottle of water. Besides, after fighting zombies together just moments ago, sharing a drink was the least they could do.
“I’ve been quite honest and shared a lot with you. Now it’s your turn, Private Park. No matter how many secrets you have, you should at least be able to tell me about the conscription process.”
Cho Cheol-woong wiped his mouth after gulping down the water and asked the question.
“I cannot tell you that either.”
Jinwoo met his gaze steadily and clearly refused. How could he explain a conscription process that had never existed? He had fought his way alone from Gangwon Province all the way to Seoul. But if he told that unbelievable story, it would only sound like a confession that he was a deserter.
“More zombies will come.”
Jinwoo looked down at the street covered in zombie corpses and changed the subject. The horde that had attacked them earlier hadn’t been a particularly large wave. If they wasted any more time here, the next group would definitely number in the thousands. Then they would have to wait for them to pass.
“So you’re telling me to leave now? Cold-hearted as always, Private Park Jinwoo. Then can you at least tell me about Terra? I believe my men have earned the right to hear that much.”
“What right are you talking about?”
“When the zombies first spread, these men were the ones who rescued Terra from being trapped inside her house and brought her to the Jamsil shelter. If not for them, General Kim would never have met her.”
Cho Cheol-woong jerked his thumb toward the building where Master Sergeant Hong was hiding.
Oh no…
Jinwoo secretly swallowed dryly. It seemed this man was under the mistaken impression that General Kim and Terra knew each other well. But that wasn’t the important part right now. When he realized he had nearly shot and killed the very soldiers who had saved Terra last night, a cold sweat ran down his spine. The more he learned, the more horrifying it became.
Come to think of it, he remembered the story Terra had told him. She had said soldiers who arrived by helicopter from the next building had rescued her. While waiting for the rescue chopper, one of them had placed his jungle hat on her head to shade her from the sun. That jungle hat had been the very one centered in his scope’s crosshairs last night.
I’m so glad I didn’t pull the trigger last night…
Jinwoo wiped the sweat from his face. Even after he had shared something meaningful, the other two remained tight-lipped. Cho Cheol-woong’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“What? You two have never actually met Terra? You’re just messengers delivering blood from your superiors? Then where is your superior right now?”
When it looked like the questions would once again turn sensitive, Sheriff pretended to explode.
“Agh, stop asking already! Seriously! Why are you so persistent, old man?”
No matter how much honeyed speech this man poured out, he was still just one of Lieutenant General Shin’s subordinates. And they already knew Shin was close to the Taeyang faction. Revealing that they were holding the Witch hostage would benefit no one.
“I’m saying this because I feel sorry for you. Can’t you tell?”
“…What don’t we understand?”
The sincerity in his voice, almost like a love confession, made even Sheriff flinch and take a step back. Cho Cheol-woong stared straight into Sheriff’s eyes and asked.
“This time we might be able to let it slide. Since we now know you were lying in ambush for a surprise attack, we could simply pretend the deal never happened. But you people have no choice but to continue the blood transactions. Because your supplies have been cut off. As long as you remain under General Kim, you’ll have to keep doing this dangerous work no matter what. But… how long can you last like this? No matter how good he is at sniping, and no matter how confident you are in close combat, you cannot win against superior numbers.”
“That’s for us to worry about, so just leave. Man, you really are an exhausting type. I’ll have to make sure I don’t cling to women like this in the future.”
Sheriff waved his hand dismissively, openly showing his annoyance. Cho Cheol-woong tilted his head, unable to understand.
“Strange. You people… I’m offering to buy blood that has lost its trading partner at above market value, yet you show no joy at all. Normally, just the thought of reporting an unexpected situation like this to your superiors should make your heads spin. Instead you’re only trying to get away from this place. What exactly are you hiding that makes you react this way?”
Cho Cheol-woong stroked his chin for a moment, then recalled his second hypothesis about the situation.
These bastards… could they have kidnapped someone?