Chapter 254: Shall We Open the Basement Door?

“Director Cha, could it be that the higher-ups still haven’t given their approval?”

Branch Chief Harrison glanced at the time on his phone and spoke anxiously. Senior Colonel Jo Ilcheol had promised that he and his men would leave Kim Juchol’s house by nine o’clock at the latest. Yet for some unknown reason, it was already past ten in the evening and they still hadn’t left. That was why Branch Chief Harrison had asked the question with such concern.

“We should take that possibility into account.”

“What if we call Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol and ask what’s going on?”

“He’s currently with Senior Colonel Jo Ilcheol and the commander of Unit 974, so we can’t call him.”

“Ah, that didn’t even occur to me. What should we do now?”

“The best option would be to change the plan and simply have Saho scout the inside of the house.”

Bzzzt—

At that moment, the phone in my hand vibrated. I quickly checked the screen and saw that it was Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol, whose call I had been eagerly awaiting. After telling everyone who was calling, I immediately answered.

“Senior Colonel No, how did it go?”

[We just received approval from the leadership.]

“That’s a relief. May I ask what caused the delay?”

[We were delayed because we had to wait for confirmation from Kim Jonghun.]

Senior Colonel Jo Ilcheol had reported to the leadership that he and his men would leave and return the following morning. They would only be away for a dozen hours or so, yet the report had gone all the way up to Kim Jonghun himself. I asked No Gwangcheol why even such a trivial matter required his approval.

[Take it as a sign of just how much Kim Jonghun treasures Kim Juchol.]

“Ah, now I understand what you mean.”

[It’s been decided that Senior Colonel Jo and his men will leave the house at 10:30 p.m.]

“Understood. Do his men know that they’re defecting to our country?”

[We decided to tell them only after they leave.]

“Isn’t there a chance his men will dig in their heels and refuse to defect?”

[That’s exactly what Senior Colonel Jo was worried about.]

At that moment, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind. After quickly putting the plan together, I continued my conversation with Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol.

“What if we persuade Senior Colonel Jo Ilcheol’s men with money?”

[Senior Colonel Jo also has a plan to convince his subordinates by offering them resettlement funds.]

“I mean something slightly different. What if we offer to pay them that money in advance?”

[Can you do that?]

“Of course. I’ll pay roughly half of their resettlement funds in advance.”

[Then could I receive an advance for my men as well?]

“As much as you need. Tell me the amount, and I’ll transfer it as quickly as possible.”

[Understood. I’ll discuss it with Senior Colonel Jo and call you back.]

Click.

Apparently in a hurry, Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol hung up first. As though he had been waiting for exactly that, Branch Chief Harrison immediately jumped in with a question.

“Director Cha, how did it go?”

I had spoken to Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol in Korean. Because of that, Branch Chief Harrison hadn’t understood what we were discussing.

“The leadership gave its approval. They’ll leave at 10:30.”

“Phew~ What a relief!”

Branch Chief Harrison placed his right hand over his chest and sighed in relief. I smiled faintly and turned to Chief Secretary Kang Inhan.

“You understood what I was discussing with Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol, didn’t you?”

“Of course. I’ll make the necessary arrangements so we can pay the resettlement funds in advance.”

“Ha ha ha. Excellent.”

Chuckling lightly, I gave Team Leader Seo Donghun an instruction.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to start the operation at eleven.”

“Should we postpone it by about thirty minutes?”

“That would be best. The first thing we need to do is neutralize the woman who takes care of the house.”

“I’ll relay that to Saho.”

Bzzzt—

Just then, the phone in my hand vibrated again. I checked the caller and saw Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol. Only a couple of minutes had passed, yet he was already calling back.

‘Money really is a powerful thing.’

Chuckling inwardly, I answered the call.

“Senior Colonel No, I’m listening.”

[Director Cha, there are twenty of us in total. Half of the resettlement funds comes to fifty million dollars.]

“And how much will Senior Colonel Jo and his men need?”

[There are fifteen of them in total. They’ll need forty million dollars.]

“Understood. I’ll hand the phone to Secretary Kang, so give him the account numbers.”

I handed the phone to Chief Secretary Kang Inhan. After speaking with Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol for a while, he hung up and returned my smartphone. He then made a brief call to someone, gave a few instructions, and ended the call.

“Director, I was told that the resettlement funds will be transferred immediately.”

“Good work.”

“Still, couldn’t Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol and Senior Colonel Jo Ilcheol simply run off with the money?”

“Unlikely. I trust their integrity.”

“If you say so, then there’s no reason to doubt them.”

At that moment, apparently deciding our conversation was over, Branch Chief Harrison addressed me again.

“Director Cha, I’d like our agents to infiltrate Kim Juchol’s house as well, together with the National Intelligence Service agents and Korea Investment personnel.”

I could see right through Branch Chief Harrison. He simply wanted to get in on the spoils after all the hard work had already been done. I didn’t like his proposal, but the main problem was that I couldn’t refuse. After all, if there really were gold bars in Kim Juchol’s house, we would have to store them at a CIA safe house.

I nodded in agreement.

“Director Cha, thank you for allowing it.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Still, is it absolutely necessary to involve the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service in the operation?”

If we involved the FIS in the operation, we would have to share the spoils with the Swiss government. That was precisely what Branch Chief Harrison was getting at. Nevertheless, I had decided to involve the FIS because a situation might arise where we would have to sell the gold bars to the Swiss government itself.

Of course, I had no intention of sharing those thoughts with him directly.

“If the amount of gold hidden in Kim Juchol’s house turns out to be enormous, we’ll need their help one way or another.”

“Their help? What do you mean?”

“Let’s say there are ten tons of gold in his house. Gold is extremely heavy, so we’d need specialized vehicles to transport it.”

“Ah, so that’s why.”

Knock, knock, knock.

Just as Branch Chief Harrison nodded in understanding, there was a knock and the minibus door opened. Director Jean-Philippe climbed inside. As soon as he took an empty seat, he apologized.

“Director Cha, I’m sorry I’m late.”

“There’s still plenty of time before the operation begins.”

Director Jean-Philippe glanced at his wristwatch and asked in confusion.

“Wasn’t the operation supposed to begin at eleven tonight?”

“Circumstances became a little complicated, so we postponed it by thirty minutes.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“To ensure the operation goes smoothly, we decided to get Senior Colonel Jo Ilcheol and his men out of Kim Juchol’s house.”

I briefly explained everything that had happened up to that point to Director Jean-Philippe. Naturally, Branch Chief Harrison and Chief Secretary Kang Inhan filled in the details wherever my explanation fell short.

“...And that’s why we had to postpone the operation.”

“I see. Still, why does Kim Jonghun dote on Kim Juchol so much?”

“Even though he’s an illegitimate child, he has one major advantage—he’s a son.”

“Are you saying he could be named as the successor?”

“The possibility certainly isn’t zero.”

“That’s true... Now that I think about it, you’re right. But is there really gold in the basement of his house?”

“Judging from the numerous pieces of circumstantial evidence, the probability is quite high.”

“I certainly hope the gold is really there.”

Finally, 11:30 arrived.

Holding Saho in my arms, I stepped out of the minibus. Stroking the cat’s head, I said,

“If you sense danger, you don’t have to complete the mission.”

“Meow?”

Saho tilted his head in surprise, as though he didn’t understand what I was saying.

“You’re family. It would be hard on me if you got hurt.”

As though pleased by my words, Saho pressed his head against my chest and rubbed against me.

“Finish the mission quickly, then go hunting without a care in the world.”

The moment I finished speaking, Saho jumped to the ground and raced toward Kim Juchol’s house.

Watching the cat disappear into the distance, Director Jean-Philippe asked me,

“Director Cha, how long do you think the operation will take?”

After jumping over the fence, Saho’s first task was to neutralize the woman who looked after the house. After that, he was supposed to enter Kim Juchol’s house through the open window. Once inside, Saho would shut off the circuit breaker, quickly deal with the soldiers of Unit 974 and Kim Juchol, then check whether gold was being stored in the basement.

I explained Saho’s mission to Director Jean-Philippe.

“If nothing unexpected happens, the entire operation should take about ten minutes.”

“That quickly?”

“That’s assuming there aren’t any complications.”

After answering calmly, I turned my gaze toward Kim Juchol’s house.

About five minutes later, the lights inside the house finally went out.

Saho must have gotten inside and shut off the electrical panel.

“Whoa!”

Director Jean-Philippe stared at the darkened house in undisguised amazement and let out an exclamation.

“The real game is only beginning now.”

On that point, Director Jean-Philippe completely agreed with Cha Jiham.

The soldiers of Unit 974 had most likely received training in fighting in complete darkness. Because of that, Saho might have some difficulty dealing with them.

“I hope Saho takes care of the Unit 974 soldiers without any trouble.”

“I feel the same way, Director Jean-Philippe.”

And then something unexpected happened.

Less than a minute after the lights in Kim Juchol’s house went out, the electricity came back on.

While I was wondering whether something had gone wrong, the lights went out again.

Before I could even figure out what was happening, Team Leader Seo Donghun spoke to me excitedly.

“Director, Saho completed the operation brilliantly!”

“What do you mean?”

“I instructed Saho to turn the circuit breaker back on after dealing with Unit 974 and Kim Juchol so the gate could be opened.”

Only then did I understand Team Leader Seo Donghun’s plan.

If electricity was supplied to Kim Juchol’s house, the surveillance cameras installed around the fence would also be operating. In that case, there would be all sorts of restrictions on us entering the property.

Having taken that into account, Team Leader Seo Donghun had instructed Saho to cut the power again.

When I asked whether my guess was correct, he replied,

“You’re exactly right, Director.”

“Ha ha. I see. Well then, shall we enter Kim Juchol’s house?”

“Absolutely not.”

NIS operative Hong Jongsu was the quickest to object.

He blocked us from entering Kim Juchol’s house as a precaution against any unforeseen circumstances. Since I understood exactly what he was thinking, how could I pretend not to notice?

“All right. Operative Hong, we’ll enter Kim Juchol’s house in five minutes.”

“Understood.”

After giving a brief reply, Operative Hong Jongsu ran toward Kim Juchol’s house with the NIS agents. Naturally, the CIA and FIS agents followed them.

At the appointed time, I headed toward Kim Juchol’s house accompanied by Korea Investment security personnel.

The moment we opened the front door and stepped into the living room, the electricity came back on.

The agents who had entered before us must have flipped the breaker back on.

At that very moment, Saho, having completed his mission, jumped into my arms.

I stroked the cat’s head to thank him for his work and looked around.

For some reason, however, the soldiers of Unit 974 were nowhere to be seen.

To clarify the situation, I turned to Operative Hong.

“Operative Hong, where are the Unit 974 soldiers?”

“Just to be safe, we injected them with sleeping medication and locked them in that room over there.”

“Did you do the same with Kim Juchol?”

“Of course.”

“As always, clean work. Well then, shall we open the basement door?”