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Chapter 19: I've Got Plenty of Bullets
TL: Enuma ID
Within the NIS, the Crane code is usually assigned to agents working as local brokers, so on the surface it doesn't look all that important.
But Crane No. 13 was different.
He was a veteran black agent with enough authority to plan operations on the ground and submit proposals directly to headquarters, which meant the enemy had most likely flagged him as a person of interest.
'Where did it all go wrong?'
Ẽn u m а
What's more, he'd spent the past few days deeply involved in several major operations, running all over the place to make them happen.
Unlike me, who roamed around alone on foot, Crane No. 13 always had to drive to get anywhere, and there was a good chance his identity had been exposed somewhere along the way.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
-....
The call didn't disconnect. The strange silence stretched on.
Without letting out so much as a breath, I pressed my ear tight against the phone.
It felt like if I hung up first, I'd never get through on this number again, so all I could do was keep my mouth shut and quietly hold my breath.
W е̂ b̈ n ö v̈е̇ l Е̇ ṅ ũ m̆ а̇
Had someone found the phone lying on the floor?
There was a clatter.
-....
"...."
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Someone had picked up the phone.
In that instant, I knew.
Ӗ.n ü m а̇
The person on the other end was holding their breath too, face pressed close to the phone, exactly like me.
A suffocating stillness stood between us like a wall.
And even with that solid wall between us, we exchanged countless words without saying a single one.
-....
Click.
Without a word, the call ended.
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I closed my eyes and let out a long breath.
'My kid's already in high school. Want to see a picture?'
In the darkness behind my clenched eyelids, Crane No. 13's easy grin surfaced unbidden.
So did the crumpled family photo he'd proudly pulled out of his worn wallet.
What came next was the Nameless Star in the NIS Security Exhibition Hall.
"...Get it together."
Е̄ ṅ ù m а
Right before he was attacked, Crane No. 13 had called me first, before anyone else.
He'd trusted me to clean up after him completely, and entrusted his final moments to me.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
My mind was already drawing up the next steps like a machine.
I packed light, climbed the stairs, and went to find Kite No. 3.
"Hyeong-nim."
"Hm? What, something wrong?"
Е̂ nu mӓ
Kite No. 3, who'd been getting ready for bed, looked puzzled at the sight of me showing up with my bags packed.
I leaned in close to his ear and whispered.
"Crane No. 13 is dead."
"...."
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No further explanation was needed.
Kite No. 3's face froze over.
È n̈ um а̇ . і̃ d̊
"I'm moving to the scene of the incident now. Please relay the situation to headquarters for me."
"Got it. Any idea who did it?"
"He said it was either China or North Korea. Once I reach the scene, the answer will come quick enough."
"And what exactly do you plan to do when you get there?"
"Take revenge."
At my words, Kite No. 3's lips worked for a moment before he nodded gravely.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Please handle the cleanup here yourself, hyeong-nim."
"I'll say something urgent came up back in your hometown and you had to go."
"And just in case any of this blows back, please don't leave the restaurant for a while."
"You're the one who should watch yourself."
No more words were needed between us.
We gripped each other's hands firmly once, and then I forced a bright smile for Chae A-ra, who could only blink in confusion in a corner of the master bedroom.
W̌ е̊_b n̄ о̀ vе̃l̄ Ёn ū m à
Then I walked out of Wang Chunsam's Eatery without a backward glance.
There was no time to dawdle.
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I immediately opened my call log and dialed Yang Mi-ryeong's number.
'Once I'm dead, call Agent Crow. I never mentioned it, but we go way back.'
Crane No. 13 had said she could be trusted, so I intended to do as he'd asked.
Besides, if I could borrow the Kowloon Society's muscle through her, I'd be able to figure out what was happening in Dandong faster than anyone.
E n ŭm̀ а̌
-What's this? Decided to take me up on my offer?
Yang Mi-ryeong asked the moment she picked up.
She seemed to have assumed I was calling about the job she'd proposed before, the abduction of the Chongqing Society's Dandong branch chief.
Walking along the deserted highway, I gazed calmly out at the far edge of the horizon.
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"Crane No. 13 is dead."
-....
Еnu m а̄.і d
As if struck speechless by the unexpected news, Yang Mi-ryeong's reaction on the other end stopped dead.
Before long she asked again, her voice cracking.
-...He's dead? When?
"Just now. I heard gunfire while I was on a call with him, and right after, someone ended the call."
-Oh.
"Right before he died, Crane No. 13 said you were the one person I could trust, and advised me to contact Agent Crow."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
-....
"Do you know where his safe house is? I'm asking because I figured you, of all people, would."
Nothing more needed to be said.
Yang Mi-ryeong answered in a subdued voice.
-...There's exactly one pizza place in downtown Yuanbao District in Dandong. In the building across from it, there's a shabby laundry. Go up to the rooftop room on the fourth floor of that same building.
"Thank you."
Е̂n ū m̂а̇
-Don't die.
Just then, I spotted a taxi approaching from beyond the empty horizon.
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"That won't happen. I'll contact you again once it's done."
I raised my hand and ended the call.
*****
Not every NIS black agent possesses exceptional combat skills.
Е̌ ṅ u m̄a. і̊.ď
They all receive basic self-defense training, of course, but in practice, dangerous fieldwork is far more often handled by bringing in specialists for the job.
So if an agent wants to survive for long, what he truly needs isn't the ability to fight but the ability to run.
For a black agent, revenge is, frankly, an absurd notion.
"Whew."
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The location Yang Mi-ryeong gave me was on the outskirts, not far from downtown.
The moment I stepped out of the taxi, I scanned my surroundings.
Е nũ m̈ а . і̄ d
Not far off stood a club blazing with garish, psychedelic LED lights, raucous music spilling out of it.
It was hard to believe this was anywhere near the site of a shooting.
'Public Security is even patrolling the area.'
Maybe the gunshots simply hadn't carried over all that noise.
All the more likely since it was that stretch between evening and dawn, prime time for crowds.
The pizza place Yang Mi-ryeong had mentioned was likewise packed with people and blaring music.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
The laundry across from that building, by contrast, flickered with only a dim, murky light.
I lifted my gaze to confirm the location of the fourth-floor rooftop room, then slowly climbed the stairs.
'They'll still be holed up inside.'
In the old days, I would have snuck in by leaping across from the roof of the building opposite, or by scaling the wall.
But there was no need for any of that now.
I climbed the stairs at a leisurely pace, and when I reached the fourth floor, I drew my pistol.
Е̇ ňú ḿă
Creak.
The door wasn't even locked.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Thunk!
"Hup!"
Had they guessed I'd come the moment they found the phone with the call still connected?
In a single breath, a sharp combat knife drove in, aimed straight at my abdomen.
Ëǹǔ m̈а
Even though I'd been expecting it, the speed was considerable.
"?"
But mid-thrust, when the blade refused to sink in as deep as he'd expected, the attacker hunched his shoulders.
I leveled the pistol in my hand and pulled the trigger.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Pfft!
"Gurk!"
Ê n̆u̇ m̈а̊
The suppressed Glock 19 gave off a metallic rasp.
Shot through the lower body, the man went rolling across the floor.
Crane No. 13 had clearly said there were two attackers.
Bang!
"So that's where you are?"
A muzzle flash flared in the darkness, and a bullet buried itself in my shoulder.
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Before the flattened slug could even drop to the floor, I had already aimed and fired.
Pfft!
"Hngh!"
The other one, who'd been crouching low in a dark corner of the room, crumpled over.
It was dark and I'd aimed by rough guesswork, but luckily the round seemed to have landed square near his abdomen.
"Urgh."
Wе.b̀ṅ ō ve l Е̂_n̂ û m̂ ӓ
"Nngh."
I needed information, so I deliberately didn't kill them.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
They'd probably had the same idea about me.
But even if they'd been holding machine guns, things wouldn't have turned out much differently.
The fact that Crane No. 13's last call had gone to me was, for these men, a fatal blunder.
"Let's have a look at those faces."
Е nŭ m̄а . i d̂
Click.
I flipped the light switch, and the cramped rooftop room lit up all at once.
I bolted the half-open door firmly shut, and when I turned around, I saw a body sprawled in a corner of the room, bleeding.
It was Crane No. 13.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
'Fuck.'
Heat flashed through my head for a moment, but I let nothing show and calmly surveyed the room.
Ê ñ ümâ
A desktop computer and a laptop sat on a desk against one wall.
Judging by the dark scorch marks left on the table, both had been through the burn procedure.
A few old phones he'd used as burners lay smashed and scattered across the floor around them.
After a quick read of the scene, I dragged a chair over and sat down in front of the two men writhing and groaning in agony on the floor.
"From now on, whoever's answer comes even a little late gets shot."
"Hah, hagh."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Nnnngh."
"Affiliation?"
As if they'd agreed on it beforehand, neither so much as opened his mouth.
"Heh heh heh...."
Then one of the two let out an open sneer.
So I put a bullet through the top of the quiet one's foot.
Ё n um̂ а. і̃ d
Pfft!
"Aaaaaargh!"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Blood sprayed in every direction, and a choking scream poured out.
At that, the one who'd been sneering with feigned composure shut his mouth like magic.
He had clearly grasped that I would count even a sneer as an answer.
I continued my questions at my leisure.
W̌е̃b ňо̂ vе̊ l _Е̊n̈ ǔ m̌а
"I've got plenty of bullets. I'll ask again. Affiliation?"
"Hgh, hgh...."
Still no answer.
But this time, the one who'd been shot began to moan, almost weeping.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Pfft!
"Gaaagh!"
Wё b n̈ о́v́ёl̇ Е̊ n u m̀ а.
This time I shot the ankle of the one who'd sneered earlier.
The plan was to work my way up from the bottom like this, bit by bit, pacing myself as I filled in the whole target.
"China... no. You're North Koreans, obviously, aren't you?"
"...."
"And you wouldn't be operating alone. If it's a team, what's your total headcount?"
"...."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
By now the men could barely breathe, their eyes squeezed shut.
Silence must have felt like the safest refuge.
Once I've drilled the terror into their heads that I can do horrific things without batting an eye, everything gets easier from there.
I looked back and forth between the two men clinging to their maddening silence, then picked the one who looked distinctly younger.
I aimed the gun squarely at his forehead.
"Let's change the rules. From now on, if neither of you answers within five seconds, you die. Here we go. One."
Е̌n̈ ů ṁ а̂
"...."
"Two."
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"...."
"Three."
Just as the man squeezed his eyes shut, as if accepting his fate, the older one reacted in a panic.
"Sh... shoot me instead."
Е ňûḿ а
At that, the one at gunpoint glared, eyes flying open in protest.
Without a word, I pressed the warmly heated muzzle into his forehead.
"Shh. Shall I change the rules again? That answer came late. Someone ought to be taking a bullet for it."
At that, the man could only chew his lip, unable to say a word.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Good. Now we're finally getting somewhere. From here on, you answer every single question I ask. If I think an answer's coming too slow, this one dies."
"U-understood."
We b ńо̇vе̇ l En̈ů ṁ а̌
"Affiliation?"
"Korean People's Army, Reconnaissance General Bureau.... the 24th Reconnaissance Battalion under its command."
The North Korean People's Army's Reconnaissance General Bureau.
And the 24th Reconnaissance Battalion, that was a name even I remembered.
Not just any military unit, but a personal guard force dispatched directly by the Chairman, the highest authority in Pyongyang.
"Headcount?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"T-ten.... men."
The way he stammered, it could well have been a lie improvised on the spot.
I still had plenty left to ask, so I pretended not to notice.
"Do you know who that agent you killed was?"
"Only that he was a South Chosun operative. Nothing beyond that."
"Where did the intel come from?"
Е ńu ṁ а̀
"I do not know. We merely received orders to kill."
"Who are the other targets?"
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"The Dandong Public Security Bureau director, the Kowloon Society's Dandong branch chief, the Chongqing Society's Dandong branch chief. That is all."
"Any other South Chosun operatives?"
"There are none."
"Do you know who I am?"
Ѐ ǹ uḿ á
"I do not."
Hearing the list laid out, I had a rough picture.
These men were an assassination squad sent by North Korea.
Truth be told, the North already had pretexts to spare for sending them.
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If there was any silver lining, it was that the only agent whose location had been exposed was Crane No. 13.
If my information had leaked as well, Kite No. 3, living undercover as a local, would have been next in the line of fire.
Ёn um а̂ . і d̆
"Where's your hideout?"
"...."
"That answer's running late."
"W-wai...."
Pfft, pfft!
I pulled the trigger twice in succession, punching a hole precisely between each man's brows.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
I quietly watched the two bodies slump lifeless, then searched their clothes.
A radio, a North Korean-made Baekdusan pistol, and an impact-fuzed RGO grenade, one of each.
Beyond that, nothing much.
"Dammit."
Dragging feet that refused to move, I made my way over to Crane No. 13.
His body, growing cold.
Е̊n ũ m̊ а
There was a gaping hole near his heart.
Truth be told, we hadn't spent all that much time face to face.
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But that was no reason to stand unmoved before a comrade's death.
Forcing the gloom from my face, I gently closed his half-open eyes.
"You've been through a lot, hyeong-nim. Rest easy now."
*****
W еb̄ n̈о̊v е̂l̂ Е̄ nǔm̀ а́
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