Chapter 257: I Accept Your Proposal

“Director, don’t you think Director Griffin is planning to come here personally?”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan asked the question with curiosity on his face, as though confirming that everyone had been thinking the same thing.

“I was thinking the same thing, Chief Kang.”

“Why do I get the feeling that things are becoming more and more complicated?”

“You’re probably just imagining it. By the way, why haven’t the four of you washed up yet?”

“Well... the thing is, we need to unload the gold bars from the special transport vehicle.”

“Why don’t you use machinery to unload the bars?”

“Hahaha. I understand what you mean.”

Chief Secretary Kang Inhan pulled out his cell phone with a satisfied grin.

About half an hour later, Director Jean-Philippe, Branch Chief Harrison, and Agent Hong Jongsu arrived.

I thanked them for their hard work and told them about my conversation with Director Griffin.

“...According to the CIA’s estimates, Kim Jonghun’s secret fund amounts to around fifty billion dollars.”

“So we effectively robbed him of almost twenty percent of that amount?”

“That’s absolutely right, Director Jean-Philippe. If even a single strand of our hair was left behind in Kim Juchol’s house, it could cause an enormous scandal.”

“You don’t need to worry about that at all.”

Jean-Philippe, the man in charge of Switzerland’s Federal Intelligence Service, sounded so confident that there really was no reason to worry.

“I understand. What did you do with Kim Juchol and his housekeeper?”

“Just in case, we left multiple abrasions all over their bodies.”

Kim Juchol and the housekeeper had lost consciousness after Saho struck them in the temples with his paw.

Apparently, Director Jean-Philippe had decided to leave abrasions on them to conceal the marks from Saho’s claws.

“I see. When will they wake up?”

“We mixed sleeping pills into their water, so they’ll sleep for at least another five or six hours.”

“I see. By the way, Kim Juchol’s house is under surveillance, right?”

“Of course. I ordered them to report immediately if anything unusual happens.”

“What did you do with the surveillance cameras on the fence?”

“Just in case, we completely dismantled them.”

“As thorough as always. Branch Chief Harrison, prepare to receive a guest.”

“A guest?”

Branch Chief Harrison repeated in surprise.

“During our conversation, Director Griffin implied that he intended to come here.”

“Oh, damn it. Give me a second.”

Harrison hurriedly began calling someone.

Naturally, we knew perfectly well who it was.

After exchanging a few brief words with Director Griffin, he ended the call.

“Chief Cha, Director Griffin said he’ll arrive here by one o’clock. He asked us to postpone the interrogation of the 974th Unit soldiers until after he arrives.”

Instead of answering, I turned my gaze toward Director Jean-Philippe.

As though reading my thoughts, he immediately replied,

“What choice do we have? We’ll have to postpone it.”

“Thank you for accommodating Director Griffin’s request.”

“Don’t mention it,” Jean-Philippe grumbled with a sour expression.

To ease the tense atmosphere, I asked him a question.

“Director Jean-Philippe, how are you planning to unload the gold bars from the special transport vehicle?”

“We’re planning to use a forklift.”

“In that case, you won’t need many people for the unloading?”

“I intend to use only FIS agents.”

I could see right through Director Jean-Philippe’s thoughts.

He wanted to use only his own people so that the Swiss side could claim a larger share when the gold bars were divided.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who realized what he was thinking, because Branch Chief Harrison immediately jumped into the conversation.

“Chief Cha, CIA agents will also help unload the gold.”

“Our NIS agents will participate in the unloading as well,” Agent Hong Jongsu hurriedly added, refusing to back down.

“Oh, give me a break...”

I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed heavily.

***

Ring-ring-ring.

The phone lying beside the head of the bed played a pleasant melody.

Feeling around for it with my hand, I looked at the screen. It was already noon.

I sat up in bed, stretched luxuriously, and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

After putting on some outer clothes, I opened the bedroom door and stepped into the living room. Chief Secretary Kang Inhan was sitting on the sofa.

Taking the seat at the head of the table, I addressed him.

“Chief Kang, when did you wake up?”

“An hour ago.”

“You should’ve slept longer.”

“I slept for more than four hours. That’s more than enough.”

“Haha, I see. Have Senior Colonel No Gwangcheol and Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil already left for our country?”

“They departed half an hour ago under Team Leader Jeong Gwangseok’s supervision.”

At that moment, Agent Hong Jongsu came up from the basement.

When he noticed me, he quickly approached, gave a brief bow, and sat down on an empty sofa.

“Agent Hong, why did you go down to the basement?”

“I wanted to check the condition of the 974th Unit soldiers.”

“I see. How are they?”

“They came out of the anesthesia half an hour ago, caused a commotion, and smashed the furniture in the basement. They’ve accepted their situation now and are huddled together discussing what to do.”

“I see. What about the safe we found in the hidden room?”

“We moved it into the room next to the one where they’re being held.”

“I see. So what’s inside that safe?”

“I asked Saho. He says there’s definitely no money, gold, or drugs inside.”

Brrrrr.

The phone lying on the table vibrated. Looking at the caller’s name, I saw NIS Director Om Giyeon.

Knowing why he was calling, I immediately answered.

“Director Om, I’m listening.”

[Chief Cha, Agent Hong reported last night’s events to me. You did an enormous amount of work.]

“The NIS agents worked much harder than we did.”

[I’ll reward them generously, so don’t worry.]

We understood each other without needing to say more.

“Haha, understood. Senior Colonel No’s and Senior Colonel Cho’s subordinates left for our country half an hour ago.”

[Agent Hong already reported that to me.]

“By the way, they don’t know that gold was hidden in Kim Juchol’s house.”

[Don’t worry about that. Now, to the reason I called.]

“I’m all ears.”

[I reported to the President that the gold bars had been stolen from Kim Juchol’s house. The President said that under no circumstances can North Korea learn that our country was involved in this robbery.]

I felt the need to reassure the worried President Cho Seokchin.

“I repeatedly emphasized to everyone involved in the operation to seize the bars that strict confidentiality must be maintained.”

[Even so, you never know what might happen. We need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.]

“The NIS, CIA, and FIS agents arranged everything to make it look like ordinary robbers stole the gold.”

[Then there shouldn’t be any problems.]

At that moment, Director Griffin’s number appeared on the screen.

The reason for his call was obvious, so I apologized to NIS Director Om Giyeon and switched to the new line.

“Director Griffin, did you arrive earlier than scheduled?”

[Haha, I just couldn’t wait. I landed ten minutes ago, so give me about thirty minutes.]

“Sounds good.”

[Now for some other news. I just received a report from Branch Chief Harrison. North Koreans hurriedly entered Kim Juchol’s house.]

“You mean they realized the house had been cleaned out?”

[I think the same thing you do.]

“We should keep a close eye on what happens there.”

[It looks like that’s exactly what we should do. I’ll see you shortly.]

Click.

The moment I hung up, Chief Secretary Kang Inhan immediately asked me,

“Director, what’s the situation?”

“North Koreans just rushed into Kim Juchol’s house.”

Chief Kang turned his head toward Agent Hong Jongsu.

As though understanding his intention, Hong Jongsu dialed someone’s number, exchanged a few words, and ended the call.

“Chief Cha, there were five North Koreans who entered Kim Juchol’s house. Two of them carried Kim Juchol and the housekeeper out and drove off in an unknown direction.”

In other words, they were taking them to a hospital.

“What are the remaining three doing?”

“They’re turning the entire house upside down.”

“Will those three be able to figure out who committed the crime?”

“They’re only the advance team. A lot more people will be arriving soon.”

Brrrrr.

The phone on the table vibrated again. When I looked at the screen, I was surprised.

And no wonder, because the caller was none other than Commander Kwak Taesu.

After asking everyone to remain quiet, I answered the call.

“Commander Kwak, did something happen?”

[Chief Cha, what the hell is going on in Switzerland?]

‘You never know what might happen, so we need to be prepared for anything, right?’

“I’m not quite sure what you mean, Commander Kwak.”

[I still have subordinates loyal to me in North Korea’s Guard Command.]

“Of course.”

[While Kim Jonghun was inspecting a collective farm in Sinuiju, someone called him, and he started screaming at the top of his lungs. He ordered his adjutant to have the staff of North Korean embassies throughout Europe rush to Zurich, Switzerland, immediately.]

I had taken the gold bars from Kim Juchol’s house to provide Commander Kwak Taesu and Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol with funds for their cyberwarfare operations.

Since he was directly involved, I decided to tell him the truth.

“Everything I’m about to tell you must remain secret for the time being.”

[I’ll be as silent as the grave. Hurry up and tell me.]

“While examining the classified materials you sent to your only son, I came across some valuable information. Namely, Kim Jonghun had converted his secret funds in Switzerland into gold bars and hidden them in Kim Juchol’s house.”

[So what Kim Jonghun babbled about while drunk was actually true?]

“Exactly, Commander Kwak. And to verify whether that information was accurate...”

I told Commander Kwak Taesu everything that had happened the previous night without concealing anything.

“...In the end, we managed to get our hands on 510 gold bars weighing 25 kilograms each.”

[Good grief! While the people are starving, he was hiding that much gold!]

“Exactly. We’ll give the CIA and FIS, who helped us secure the gold, a small reward. We’ll sell the rest of the gold and hand the proceeds over to you, Commander Kwak.”

[To me?]

“You’ll need a great deal of money to wage cyberwarfare against North Korea.”

[Ahh, now I understand. But Kim Jonghun isn’t going to let this go. What are you planning to do?”

“To prepare for the worst-case scenario, we staged everything to make it look as though ordinary robbers had taken the gold.”

[Hmm...]

Commander Kwak Taesu hesitated as though contemplating something.

I couldn’t read his mind, so all I could do was wait for him to speak.

After quite a long time, he finally broke the silence.

[Chief Cha, what if we frame the 974th Unit soldiers and make it look like they were the robbers who stole the gold?]

The 974th Unit soldiers had been stationed in the same building as Kim Juchol to provide him with close protection.

Therefore, there was a high probability that they knew about the gold stored in the basement.

Commander Kwak Taesu was proposing that we pin everything on them precisely because of that fact.

I wanted to accept his proposal, but something bothered me.

“Commander Kwak, if we pin everything on the 974th Unit soldiers, won’t their families living in North Korea suffer?”

[Their mission was to protect Kim Juchol even at the cost of their own lives. But in the end, they °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° failed to protect him.]

“But weren’t those circumstances beyond their control?”

[If they want to save their families, they have to prove that to Kim Jonghun. But right now, they’ve been abducted by you, Chief Cha.]

If we released the 974th Unit soldiers, it would be tantamount to admitting that we were the ones who had taken the gold.

Therefore, if we didn’t send them to the Republic of Korea, we would have to eliminate them.

Because of that, their families remaining in the North had no chance of escaping punishment.

That was exactly what Commander Kwak Taesu was telling me.

“All right. I accept your proposal, Commander Kwak.”