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Chapter 12: Itching to Say It
TL: Enuma ID
Clack, slosh.
Jin Hao set his glass down on the table and let out an incredulous snort of laughter.
The sudden proposal had left his thoughts in a tangle, but he couldn't very well let it show in front of a subordinate.
"Ha. Has that two-faced old bat Wang Xianqing finally gone senile? He wants us to kill a top-ranking North Korean cadre? If we pulled a stunt like that and anything blew up, they'd shove us out front as bullet sponges and wash their hands of the whole thing. You know they would."
Ẇ e b̂ n̊o v е̌ľ Eñ um̆ ǎ
"That's exactly why they're offering to set up the perfect picture for us, hyeong-nim. I heard them out, and it actually holds together."
"What picture?"
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"Strictly speaking, we won't be targeting So Se-hyok at all. On paper, this will be nothing but a turf war between our Chongqing Society and the Kowloon Society."
"...The Kowloon Society?"
Where did the Kowloon Society suddenly come into this?
Jin Hao turned it over in his head while putting on a show of deep thought.
Еn üm̈а. i_d̈
"Tsk.... Keep talking."
"Yes, sir. As it happens, the place So Se-hyok is staying at is the Kowloon Hotel. We were about to raid the hotel anyway to seize the Kowloon Society's business territory, and in the heat of that vicious clash, a North Korean cadre who 'happened' to be staying there gets caught by a stray bullet and 'tragically' loses his life. That's the picture."
"Now that I think about it, though.... did So Se-hyok ever do anything to earn Wang Xianqing's grudge?"
"You know that explosion at the State Security Department safe house recently? Apparently So Se-hyok tried to dump the blame for it on the Dandong Public Security."
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"So he wants to use us as his hunting dogs and keep his own hands clean?"
"That's right. To let us walk into the hotel without a hitch, Public Security has agreed to pull every guard detail and patrol unit in and around the Kowloon Hotel out to other districts tonight."
Ё nu.m̀ à_
"Hmm."
"Even if So Se-hyok croaks and the SSD bastards go berserk, Dandong Public Security plans to bury the investigation as a regrettable accident born of an underworld turf dispute, and if it comes to it, shift the blame onto the Kowloon Society."
As he listened, Jin Hao's eyes grew guarded.
People commonly imagined the Triads as one colossal criminal organization ruling the Chinese mainland, but the reality was nothing of the sort.
They banded together under a single name only to inflate their apparent bulk; within that alliance, hundreds of independent cells clutched their own interests and fought over them tooth and nail.
The Triads were a world where shaking hands with friendly smiles one day and drawing guns and blades on each other the next, spilling blood, was simply business as usual.
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"And what do we get out of this?"
"If it all goes well, they say the Kowloon Hotel becomes the Chongqing Hotel."
"Oho."
"Honestly, is there a single reason to turn down a deal like that?"
Even at that very moment, a vicious fight over their daily bread was raging in Dandong's back alleys.
The Chongqing Society, whose main line was drug smuggling.
Ĕṅ.u m̆ а
The Kowloon Society, with its iron grip on the casino and hotel businesses.
For now, at least, the Kowloon Society held by far the stronger position in Dandong.
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The Kowloon Society could dutifully funnel its clean casino profits up to the top ranks of Public Security, while the Chongqing Society, never able to properly launder its drug money, kept getting bumped down the Dandong Public Security's list of favorites.
And now that haughty Public Security was offering to place the knife directly into the Chongqing Society's hands?
"I'm not sold at all. Even with Public Security clearing out the guards and watching our backs, do you really think we can fool the North Koreans completely? The risk is too big. Given who we're dealing with, deciding on the spot would be far too hasty."
Even after Xiao Peng's explanation, Jin Hao's expression refused to ease.
E n̊ u mâ. і d
However perfect the pretext, North Korea and China were, in the end, two different countries.
When Jin Hao shook his head, Xiao Peng stepped in closer and pressed harder.
Taking responsibility and pulling the trigger in place of the indecisive Jin Hao had always fallen to him as enforcer.
"But hyeong-nim, if not now, we'll never get another chance to take the Dandong territory. Dandong Public Security has already tilted completely toward the Kowloon Society. If we turn down the Public Security Bureau director's offer here, we'll just wither away and starve."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Mmm."
"Risky as it looks, if we use this chance to flatten the Kowloon Hotel in one stroke and take it for ourselves, the whole board flips."
Е́n̄ um а.id
"Flips? How exactly does it flip?"
"What worries you is what happens after we take the hotel, isn't it? Even North Korea, unless they've completely lost their minds, wouldn't dare march a platoon or more of troops into the middle of Chinese territory. So all we have to do is fortify the hotel like a fortress under Public Security's protection."
"Hmm. That's true. Unless they've lost their minds...."
"This is the last chance to take all of Dandong for ourselves, hyeong-nim!"
Under Xiao Peng's unwavering persuasion, Jin Hao slowly began to lean.
Starve to death by inches, or gamble with their lives.
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He stole a glance at his mahjong tiles, and a smile spread slowly across his lips.
"Right, you've got a point. When Public Security offers to set the table for us, it'd be rude to decline."
A chill bloodlust swirled in his eyes, flushed red with excitement.
Win big or die.
That's what gambling comes down to, in the end.
"I was sick of the sight of those Kowloon Society bastards anyway. Since it's come to this, let's give that beating heart of theirs, the Kowloon Hotel, a full remodel. We tear the place apart, break Yang Mi-ryeong's pride, and while we're at it, we snuff out poor So Se-hyok, so unluckily caught in the crossfire, nice and clean. How about it?"
Ӗ ǹ_u m̈ă . і d̂
"Naturally, I follow your decision, hyeong-nim!"
"Good. Call the boys in right now, have them pack every gun and tool we've got, and send them straight out. Tonight, we rip down the Kowloon Hotel sign and plant the Chongqing Society flag in its place."
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"Ooh!"
Jin Hao grinned and picked up the bottle of liquor sitting on the table.
He knocked the strong stuff back in one go, clear liquid dripping down his chin.
"Let's go take So Se-hyok's head."
Eñŭ m̀â
*****
"Take one of these with you. It's a phone with a direct satellite link."
As our talk wound down, Crane No. 13 held out a phone.
"Hold down 1 and it connects straight to me. Call when you need to share the situation on the ground. And if it ever looks like you need to destroy it, destroy it thoroughly."
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"Understood."
"While the operation is underway, I'll be on standby nearby with the other agents. Somewhere I can reach the scene within three minutes, got it?"
Е n̊ŭm а̃ . іd
Having said his piece, Crane No. 13 slipped out of the warehouse.
As I fiddled with the phone he'd left behind, a worry suddenly surfaced.
'Should I use this to contact my senior first?'
If by some chance I couldn't make it back by tomorrow morning, I wanted to at least give Kite No. 3 a heads-up in advance.
The problem was that for something I'd walked into so lightly, there was no telling how many days this operation might run.
While I was mulling it over, Yang Mi-ryeong pushed something into my arms.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Here. First things first, get changed."
"Changed?"
"Look at yourself. A sweat-stained shirt, shabby trousers, not a single thing I like. If I let you hang around me looking like that, everyone will take me for a woman who can't even dress her own lover properly."
In a corner of the warehouse, I changed into the shirt and cotton trousers she'd handed me.
Both were roomy enough that they more or less fit.
Yang Mi-ryeong looked me over in the new clothes for a moment and nodded, as if appraising the view.
W е̇b ńõ vеl̄ É nu̇ m̈ а́
"Get in."
"Shall I drive?"
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"No. I never put my safety in someone else's hands."
A biting silence hung in the car as she drove us toward the Kowloon Hotel in her Mercedes sedan.
Had that stillness somehow started to grate on her nerves?
"Whew. They said you were a Sparrow, and you really do reek of rookie."
Е ǹ ù m̆ а́
"Sorry?"
"You think keeping your mouth clamped shut like that will hide whatever orders you came here with from me? I was an NIS black agent too, you know. After years of being worked like a dog at the flick of some bigwig's chin, if I couldn't read that much, my whole career in this business would've been for nothing."
With that, Yang Mi-ryeong glanced at me, her mouth twisting.
"Do you people really think you can kill So Se-hyok?"
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"...."
"He'll stay in Dandong a few days and then be gone. And on top of that, dozens of State Security Department soldiers are guarding him so tight not even an ant could slip through."
Ѐ n̄ ũmа.i d_
That our target was State Security Investigation Bureau Director So Se-hyok was well within her power to deduce, given that she owned the Kowloon Hotel.
But if there was one thing she had dead wrong, it was thinking I was here to assassinate So Se-hyok.
Not that I could blame her for the misunderstanding.
'That's what I thought at first, too.'
Assassinating an Investigation Bureau director under iron-clad protection would be insane enough; they wanted him kidnapped alive.
Whoever's skull that idea came out of, it was an order even I couldn't begin to comprehend.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"With that pathetic little pistol you've got tucked away, you won't touch a hair on his head before they shoot you full of holes. So inside the hotel, just do a passable job of playing my lover, and once So Se-hyok leaves, pull out quietly along with him."
There was no need to correct her misunderstanding, so I just shrugged and played dumb.
At that, Yang Mi-ryeong snorted and cracked the car window.
Mingled with the acrid air drifting in on the wind, her perfume lightly tickled the tip of my nose.
"There's one thing I'm curious about. Why did you agree to cooperate with this operation? If, by some chance, the number two man of North Korea's State Security Department dies inside your hotel, that's one enormous headache from where you're standing."
At my question, Yang Mi-ryeong's red lips curved into a smooth arc.
W е́ b̄n̂ о v̂еl̂ Е n ü m̄а
To her eyes, I apparently ranked somewhere around a toddler in the kindergarten chick class.
It was a question she could have simply ignored, but she answered it in earnest.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"As I said earlier, the hotel may be mine, but certain sections are under strict joint control by Chinese Public Security and the North Korean military. So Se-hyok dies inside a zone they barricaded off, layer by layer, all by themselves? Then the ones who bear responsibility first aren't me, they're them. If something like that actually happens, they'll be far too busy tearing into each other over who takes the blame."
"Fair enough."
"And besides, from the start I was promised a reward tempting enough to be well worth that much risk. As it happens, I need to move funds in the tens of billions of won through Hong Kong into Southeast Asia, and the NIS agreed to hand over five Korean-registered shell companies to smooth the whole process. For the price of slipping a single man like you into my hotel, it's a very profitable trade."
"So it is."
Е̊ ǹ u m а̂
"So you just stay quietly at my side for a few days, eat, play, kill time, and go. Once So Se-hyok leaves, I'll pretend I've had my fun with you and grown bored, and toss you out."
I found myself nodding at the exquisite arithmetic of it all.
Still, one question lingered.
"But what if I really did try to kill So Se-hyok, failed, and got tracked down? You'd be the first one suspected of being behind it."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"That's not something you need to know. I have my ways."
As I kept pressing, a chilling smile played at the corner of her mouth.
Ŵ е b̈ ñ ó ve l̄ Ẽn̈ ü mà
"Even if you somehow actually killed So Se-hyok, you would vanish like a ghost, leaving behind neither a proper name nor a face."
"...."
She was terrifying, truly.
The sheer thoroughness of a woman who had started as a black agent and climbed to branch chief of a massive Triad crime syndicate, it seemed, effortlessly exceeded anything I could imagine.
The chilling look lasted only a moment; then, as if it had never been there, Yang Mi-ryeong put on a soft expression and soothed me.
"So be a good boy and do as I say. A bottom-rung man like you sticking his neck out will only get crushed when the giants collide. Play the innocent lover at my side and go home safe. Then nobody bleeds and we all get our happy ending, don't we?"
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I nodded along obediently, duly impressed, while my head quietly ran down a different track.
The scenario Yang Mi-ryeong had drawn up looked flawless at a glance, but there was one variable she knew nothing about.
'I wonder what her face will look like when she hears I'm supposed to kidnap So Se-hyok.'
The variable named me.
I was itching to say it.
*****
W̄ѐbn о́ vе̂ ĺ. Е ň u m â
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