Chapter 300: Is That One Sealed with a Thick Steel Plate Too?

We got into the minibus and headed to the meeting point to rendezvous with Vice Chairman Wei Chen and the others.

As soon as the vehicle started moving, I asked Defense Minister Fernando a question that had been on my mind.

"Minister Fernando, how is the operation to capture the surviving Abu Sayyaf militants progressing?"

"I'm extremely interested in that myself," Director Griffin chimed in from the back seat, looking curiously at the minister.

"General Maracao, who's commanding the capture operation, just contacted me. According to him, there are practically no survivors."

"So we can assume they were all blown to pieces?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Defense Minister Fernando burst into a hearty, booming laugh.

However, I couldn't share his joy.

Around three thousand members of the organization had lived at Abu Sayyaf's main base. How could I celebrate the fact that they had been almost completely wiped out by KGGB aerial bombs that our country had provided to the Philippines free of charge?

Noticing my expression, Director Griffin looked at me in puzzlement.

"Chief Cha, you don't seem particularly happy."

"What bothers me is that the Abu Sayyaf members killed in the bombing were still citizens of the Philippines."

But Defense Minister Fernando apparently saw things differently.

"Chief Cha, those bastards who got blown to pieces aren't citizens of our country."

"They aren't Philippine citizens? What do you mean?"

"A true citizen of our country has obligations they must fulfill. But those bastards not only ignored their obligations, they also waged an armed struggle against the government under the pretext of secession and independence. How can we call them citizens of our country after that?"

"Well, when you put it that way, I have nothing to say."

"Now the chances of peace finally coming to the island of Mindanao are higher than ever."

"But for that to happen, we need to capture their boss, Carlos, alive."

"Of course. This time, we'll definitely take him alive," Minister Fernando declared, clenching his fists with an expression of unwavering determination.

***

"Welcome," Team Leader Bruno greeted us as soon as we arrived at the designated location and stepped out of the minibus.

"Team Leader Bruno, you've done an excellent job," Director Griffin praised him.

"All we did was follow them," Bruno replied modestly.

"Who's watching the cave where Carlos and his gang are hiding now?"

"Our agents are maintaining constant, close surveillance."

"I see. Did anything happen while we were on our way here?"

"Nothing suspicious has happened."

At that moment, several vehicles appeared in the distance, approaching at high speed.

Sensing that something was wrong, I was just about to retreat into cover when Bruno spoke up in time.

"Director Nevers and his men are in those vehicles."

"Ah, I see."

While I was nodding in response, the vehicles pulled up beside us and stopped.

Director Nevers, Director Santiago, and Vice Chairman Wei Chen immediately jumped out of a passenger car.

All three hurried toward us, and Nevers asked without preamble,

"Chief Cha, what's the situation now?"

During my phone conversation with Vice Chairman Wei Chen, I had only explained the most essential details.

They therefore didn't know the full circumstances of what had happened, which was why Director Nevers was asking.

"We don't have much time, so I'll explain everything on the way to the cave where Carlos is hiding."

"Yes, that would be best."

Everyone quickly climbed into the vehicles.

Bruno got into the lead car, while Director Nevers and the others joined us in the minibus.

As soon as the driver gently pressed the accelerator, Director Nevers addressed me impatiently, as though he had been waiting for this very moment.

"Chief Cha, we're listening."

"Captain Choi Dongcheol noticed that Philippine Navy vessels were following them. He immediately passed that information on to Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui."

I briefly explained the operation to bomb the Abu Sayyaf base and everything that had happened afterward to Director Nevers and the others.

However, so many important events had occurred in such a short period that Director Nevers and his companions kept asking questions to clarify the details.

As a result, my explanation dragged on.

"Chief Cha, there's something I'm curious about. Why did you conclude that those cardboard boxes contained dollars?" Director Santiago asked.

After briefly considering my answer, I explained,

"If those cardboard boxes didn't contain dollars, they wouldn't have any reason to carry them into the cave."

"But couldn't those boxes contain other valuables besides dollars?"

"North Korea is currently experiencing an extremely severe shortage of US dollar cash."

"Chief Cha is absolutely right," Director Griffin interjected, lending weight to my words.

"Director Griffin, do you know why North Korea is experiencing a dollar shortage?" Santiago asked.

"I can tell you if you promise to keep it strictly confidential."

"An intelligence officer must know how to keep his mouth shut."

"I'll take this secret to my grave as well," Defense Minister Fernando assured him, following Director Santiago's example.

"Very well. I'll trust both of you and tell you."

"Director Griffin, wait a moment," Director Santiago suddenly interrupted, as though he had just remembered something important.

"What is it?"

"Director Om, Director Nevers, and Chief Cha haven't promised to keep the secret. Is there a reason for that?"

"Those three already know perfectly well why North Korea is short of dollars."

"Ah, I see. Well then, we're listening."

"We received intelligence that Kim Jonghun had hidden 12,750 kilograms of gold bars in a secret location in Switzerland."

In reality, it hadn't been the CIA that obtained the information about Kim Jonghun hiding the gold at his son Kim Juchol's house.

I had personally uncovered that information.

Under my direction, Korea Investment, the NIS, the CIA, and FIS had successfully seized those gold bars from his house.

However, North Korea was convinced that the CIA had stolen the gold.

That was why Director Griffin was brazenly lying with a completely straight face.

Still, I had absolutely no intention of revealing the truth.

While I was lost in thought, Director Griffin continued.

"...Kim Jonghun is currently beside himself with rage, desperately trying to replenish his secret funds with dollars by any means possible."

"Ah, so that's why Vice Chairman Chen was so eager to pay for the missile shipment in cash?"

"That's what we believe."

"Still, how much money could those boxes contain?"

Rather than answer Santiago's question, Director Griffin turned his gaze toward me.

Catching his hint, I answered without hesitation.

"It's difficult to give an exact figure, but there's a high probability that each box contains around four million dollars."

"There were fifty boxes, so that means there's a total of two hundred million dollars?!"

"That's absolutely correct, Director Santiago."

"Chief Cha, how do you know that one of those boxes can hold exactly four million dollars?"

Gabriel had once hidden two thousand cardboard boxes in a secret compartment at the villa in Interlaken, Switzerland, each containing four million dollars.

I had simply recalled that incident when I mentioned the figure.

But if I answered honestly, the conversation would head off in a completely different direction, so I offered another explanation.

"I asked Team Leader Bruno about the dimensions of the boxes. Judging by their size, that amount should fit inside each one."

"So there's a chance they don't contain four million dollars after all?"

BZZZT!

At that moment, the phone in Chief Secretary Kang Inhan's hand vibrated briefly.

After quickly reading the message, he addressed me.

"Chief Cha, Team Leader Bruno just sent a message. We're almost at our destination, so he's asking us to turn off our headlights for the rest of the journey."

"Understood. Forward that message to the vehicles following us."

Kang Inhan immediately picked up his phone and sent a group text message.

Meanwhile, the minibus driver switched off the headlights.

We continued through the pitch-black darkness when Bruno's car ahead of us suddenly slowed down.

The vehicles behind us also gradually reduced their speed and came to a stop.

I stepped out of the minibus to find out what was going on, and Bruno immediately approached me with a report.

"The cave where Carlos and his gang are hiding is about a hundred meters from here."

At that moment, another man hurried toward us.

After bowing to Director Nevers, he introduced himself.

"I'm FBI Agent Marlon Joaquin."

"Did anything happen while you were watching Carlos's hideout?"

"Carlos, Vice Chairman Chen Zhihui, and their men pushed a passenger car, two minibuses, and a truck straight off the cliff."

"So they did that to conceal the very fact that they're hiding here?"

"That's what I believe as well, Director Nevers."

"Is there anything else we should know?"

"They've completely sealed the cave entrance with a thick steel plate."

Director Nevers's spirits immediately sank.

To eliminate Carlos's gang, they needed to know the cave's size and shape, the exact number of people hiding inside, their weapons, and other details.

But those bastards had gone and sealed the only entrance shut with a thick steel plate.

That presented an enormous problem.

There was now no way to send Saho into the cave.

Hoping Cha Jiham had a solution, Nevers turned toward him.

"Carlos most likely prepared an emergency exit in case something like this happened."

"Of course there's a chance he did, but we have absolutely no idea where that secret passage is!"

"We can ask Saho to find the emergency exit."

"That's right! We have Saho!" Director Nevers exclaimed, throwing up his hands as he recognized the brilliance of the idea.

I took Saho from Team Leader Seo Donghun's arms and explained the situation to him in detail.

"...We need to find the emergency exit."

However, Saho appeared completely indifferent, clearly having no intention of fulfilling my request for nothing.

Of course, I knew perfectly well what he wanted.

"If you find the secret passage, I'll let you hunt as much as you want until you've had your fill."

"......"

"You little glutton. You can only eat one of the animals you catch, understood?"

After weighing the benefits of the deal, Saho bared his fangs in a satisfied, grin-like expression.

Then he leaped out of my arms and shot off into the darkness like a bolt of lightning.

Watching him disappear, Director Santiago asked doubtfully,

"Chief Cha, are you sure Saho can find their secret passage?"

"Saho has incredibly sharp eyesight, hearing, and a sense of smell. If a secret exit exists, he'll find it without much trouble."

"Saho has successfully carried out assignments like this many times before," NIS Director Om Giyeon added, backing up my words.

"Director Om, and he's performed flawlessly every time?"

"Of course. Thanks to Saho's outstanding work, we've easily solved some of the most complicated and significant cases."

"In that case, everything should go smoothly this time as well."

Ignoring Santiago's response, Director Om Giyeon turned to me.

"Chief Cha, why didn't you attach a miniature camera to Saho's head?"

"I decided that finding the secret passage itself was our first priority."

At that moment, Director Griffin joined the conversation.

"Chief Cha, why do you think Carlos sealed the cave entrance?"

I had assumed Carlos would try to summon reinforcements from his remaining men to the hideout.

If my assumption was correct, sealing the cave entrance was the last thing they should have done.

Yet they had completely blocked it off, which naturally raised questions in Griffin's mind.

As I considered the possible reasons, a rather plausible scenario suddenly occurred to me.

"It seems Carlos has concluded that absolutely all his men were killed in the bombing by the FA-50PH light attack aircraft."

"Hmm... That makes sense."

A little while later, Saho appeared out of the darkness, running swiftly back toward us.

As always, he leaped gracefully into the air and landed directly in my arms.

I stroked his head in praise and asked whether he had managed to find the emergency exit.

Saho nodded vigorously.

"Good boy. Was the secret passage open?"

Saho shook his head.

At that very instant, a suspicion struck me like a blow to the head.

"Wait... Don't tell me the emergency exit is sealed with a thick steel plate too?"

Much to my dismay, Saho nodded.