Chapter 259: The Moment When a White Lie Is Necessary

Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil had said that the soldiers of Unit 974 had undergone special training, so their mental fortitude was far greater than that of ordinary soldiers. That was even more true for Team Commander Jang Gukcheol, who held a leadership position.

However, the moment he heard that Kim Juchol had suffered abrasions all over his body, his composure visibly wavered. Put another way, his reaction meant that Kim Juchol's life was in the hands of the soldiers of Unit 974.

To achieve my objective, I decided to shake him up mentally one more time.

"News that Kim Juchol was involved in an incident has already reached Kim Jonghun."

"What did you say?!"

As expected, Team Commander Jang Gukcheol flinched violently.

"Kim Jonghun has currently ordered personnel from North Korean embassies in various European countries to rush to Zurich."

"..."

"Now that you've failed to protect Kim Juchol, you won't be able to survive even if you desperately want to."

"Haa..."

Shocked by my words, Jang Gukcheol looked up at the ceiling and let out a heavy sigh.

"There's only one way for you to stay alive."

"...Tell me what that way is."

Apparently, he had absolutely no desire to die, considering that he had finally shown some interest.

Running through the scenario for this conversation with him once again in my head, I answered unhurriedly.

"It's simple. You just don't return to North Korea."

"I'd like that myself, but..."

I knew perfectly well why Jang Gukcheol had trailed off.

"Either way, your families living in the North will inevitably suffer. I assume you know why, so I won't explain it separately."

"If I return to the North and report the circumstances of the incident in detail, perhaps my family won't be harmed."

"I'm sorry, but we have no intention of letting you return to North Korea."

"Why?"

"Because something extremely valuable was removed from Kim Juchol's house."

"Something valuable... Are you talking about what was stored in the basement?"

As expected, Jang Gukcheol also knew about the gold bars hidden in Kim Juchol's house.

"Exactly."

"The fact that gold bars are stored in the basement is a secret among secrets. How did you find out about it?"

I'd obtained that information while searching through the data saved on Kwak Cheolhun's laptop. But if I told him the truth, the scenario I'd constructed would immediately collapse. This was precisely the moment when a white lie was necessary.

"The National Intelligence Service received intelligence from an agent that valuable information was hidden in Kim Juchol's house."

"Are you saying the NIS knew about the gold bars stored in the young master's house?"

"If they'd known, they would have specifically said 'gold bars' instead of 'valuable information.'"

"Well... Now that I think about it, you're right."

"Unlike the NIS, the CIA believed the valuable information referred to illegal weapons, including Stinger MANPADS."

I'd only learned later that Stingers were being stored in Kim Juchol's house. Nevertheless, I mentioned them to keep my story consistent with what Director Griffin had previously told Jang Gukcheol. Naturally, the Team Commander had no idea what my real motive was.

"I understand what you mean."

"To verify the intelligence, we decided to infiltrate Kim Juchol's house."

"Could it be..."

As though he'd realized something, Jang Gukcheol stopped mid-sentence again. Unable to read his thoughts, I simply sat silently across from him. After a while, he addressed me with an extremely suspicious expression.

"Were the Guard Command soldiers guarding the young master's house also your accomplices?"

Of course they were accomplices, but how could I possibly tell him the truth? I turned my head toward Director Griffin, signaling for him to answer. As if he'd read my mind, he immediately answered Jang Gukcheol's question.

"All the Guard Command operatives were shot dead by us."

Jang Gukcheol recalled the events of the previous evening.

Senior Colonel No Gwancheol had come to him and Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil with the news that Kwak Cheolhun, Commander Kwak Taesu's only son, had been captured alive by the CIA. At the same time, he'd proposed mobilizing the Guard Command soldiers stationed at Kim Juchol's house to rescue Kwak Cheolhun.

Jang Gukcheol himself had opposed the request, arguing that it would weaken the security around Kim Juchol's house. Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil had requested instructions from his superiors on the matter. Eventually, the news reached Kim Jonghun himself. Contrary to expectations, Kim Jonghun ordered them to rescue Kwak Cheolhun at all costs.

As a result, the Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives and Guard Command soldiers abandoned their posts to rescue Kwak Cheolhun. And now they were being told that all of them had been eliminated by CIA agents.

"Is what Director Griffin said true?"

In reality, Cha Jiham had offered Senior Colonel No Gwancheol and Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil a large resettlement payment and persuaded them to defect to South Korea. Unable to resist the temptation of money, both men accepted his offer.

To convince their subordinates, they offered to pay them half of their resettlement money in advance. Their subordinates likewise failed to resist the temptation of money and decided to defect to South Korea. At that very moment, both officers and their men were flying to Korea aboard a private jet provided by Hangang Group.

How could we possibly reveal such shocking information to him?

"You may not believe it, but it's a fact."

However, Jang Gukcheol couldn't believe Director Griffin's words. There had been twenty Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives deployed to capture Kwak Cheolhun. In addition, there had been fifteen Guard Command soldiers guarding Kim Juchol's house. How could he believe that thirty-five elite soldiers had been completely wiped out by CIA agents?

"Don't lie to me."

"What exactly do you think I'm lying about?"

"To kill every Reconnaissance General Bureau operative and Guard Command soldier, the CIA would've had to deploy at least a hundred men."

Naturally, Director Griffin had prepared a flawless counterargument for precisely this situation. He ordered the CIA agent waiting nearby.

"Bring the tablet."

"Yes, sir."

After answering briefly, the CIA agent ran out of the basement and returned with a tablet PC. He brought up the photographs on the screen and handed the device to Director Griffin. Griffin swiped through them with his finger to make sure everything was there, then addressed Jang Gukcheol.

"To eliminate any room for dispute, we photographed every Reconnaissance General Bureau operative and Guard Command soldier we eliminated. See for yourself."

Taking the tablet from Director Griffin, Jang Gukcheol began examining the photographs. On the tablet screen were people he knew, lying on the floor covered in blood. Among them were Senior Colonel No Gwancheol and Senior Colonel Cho Yeongil.

To check whether the images had been fabricated, Jang Gukcheol enlarged them with his fingers. Their clothes were riddled with bullet holes, with dark-red blood caked thickly around them. He zoomed in on the other photographs as well but found no signs of manipulation.

Returning the tablet to Director Griffin, Jang Gukcheol asked the question that had been bothering him.

"How many casualties did the CIA suffer?"

'I wonder how Jang Gukcheol would react if he found out not a single one of us was hurt.'

"Six seriously wounded and eleven lightly wounded."

"Is that true?" Jang Gukcheol asked again, looking incredulous.

"I have no reason to lie to you, Commander Jang."

"I'm curious why the CIA's casualties were lower than expected."

"Some time ago, we received intelligence that illegal weapons were being stored in Kim Juchol's house. We've had the house under surveillance ever since."

Jang Gukcheol thought he understood why the Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives and Guard Command soldiers had been crushed. The CIA, which had been watching the house, had tracked their every move, lured them into a trap, and wiped them all out in one strike. That was why the CIA had suffered minimal casualties.

He cautiously asked Director Griffin whether his guess was correct, and Griffin replied,

"You've understood perfectly."

"What do you plan to do with the bodies of the Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives and Guard Command soldiers?"

"After transporting them to our country, we intend to conduct an investigation to determine the exact cause of death."

"And after that?"

"No decision has been made yet."

"That sounds as though you might not return the bodies to our country. Am I understanding you correctly?"

How could we return people to the North when they were very much alive?

"No comment."

"Well, either way, I understand. Did you get the information you needed from Kwak Cheolhun?"

Director Griffin instantly caught the hidden meaning behind Jang Gukcheol's question. What he was really asking about was Commander Kwak Taesu's whereabouts.

"Kwak Cheolhun didn't know where Commander Kwak Taesu was either."

At that moment, Director Jean-Philippe joined the conversation to play his assigned role.

"Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives and Guard Command soldiers were roaming around our country carrying firearms. Our country intends to lodge a strong official protest with North Korea through diplomatic channels."

"Do as you please."

Director Jean-Philippe had expected that response from Jang Gukcheol. Nevertheless, he'd raised the issue because there was a chance his position might be relayed to North Korea through him.

"Very well. Continue your conversation with Director Cha."

Having performed his role perfectly, Director Jean-Philippe stepped back.

"Please accept my sincere condolences over the deaths of the Reconnaissance General Bureau operatives and Guard Command soldiers."

"There's nothing to do but accept it as their fate."

"If that's how you see it, I have nothing more to add."

"I have a question for you, Director Cha. The fence around the young master's house was covered with surveillance cameras. How did you get inside?"

"We have an animal spy with incredible physical abilities."

Without hiding anything, I told Jang Gukcheol the secret of how Saho had managed to infiltrate Kim Juchol's house.

"...After sneaking inside the house, Saho flipped the main breaker. After that, he knocked out the soldiers of Unit 974 one by one, followed by Kim Juchol and the housekeeper."

"Haa... Unbelievable!"

Jang Gukcheol stared at the ceiling in astonishment and let out a heavy groan.

"You may not believe it, but it's absolutely true."

"Director Cha is telling the truth," Director Griffin added, lending weight to my words.

"If you'd like, Commander Jang, I can demonstrate Saho's abilities for you."

"There's no particular need for that," Jang Gukcheol conceded, accepting my words.

Glad that we'd saved some time, I continued.

"We plan to make it look as though the soldiers of Unit 974 were also responsible for stealing the gold bars."

"What did you say?!" Jang Gukcheol snapped, raising his voice.

I'd expected that reaction, so I calmly continued without paying it any mind.

"If I were Kim Jonghun, Commander Jang, you'd be the first person I'd suspect."

"And why is that?"

"The fact that the gold bars were stored in Kim Juchol's house is a secret among secrets. But the soldiers of Unit 974 knew about it. On top of that, his house was an impregnable fortress. And yet the gold bars were stolen."

I paused to catch my breath before continuing.

"And in that situation, all contact with you and the soldiers of Unit 974 has been lost. Wouldn't it be stranger if you weren't suspected?"

"..."

"If you're lucky, the damage to your families living in North Korea might be minimized."

"Is that even possible?"

"I told you. If luck is on your side."

"Hmm..."

Jang Gukcheol hesitated, clearly deep in thought. I sat calmly across from him because I already knew what decision he would make.

After quite some time, he finally spoke, as though he'd reached his final decision.

"Director Cha, what should we do?"

"If you fulfill my request, I'll arrange for you to live in any country you want. And as resettlement money, I'll give each of you one of the gold bars that was stored at Kim Juchol's house."

At that moment, Jang Gukcheol couldn't believe his ears.

Each gold bar stored in the basement of Kim Juchol's house weighed twenty-five kilograms. That meant each of them would receive twenty million dollars in resettlement money.

"Can I trust your word, Director Cha?"

"Those who believe shall be rewarded."

"All right. Tell me what you want us to do."

"Someone we can trust..."