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Chapter 12 : That Time I Declared War on Crime in South America (2)
TL: Enuma ID
I was dumbfounded by the report from Lucio, who had recently been promoted to Intelligence Director.
Three Tortilha Seafood employees were dead.
"I don't understand. Seafood employees shot to death? What exactly happened?"
"It appears they were attacked while carpooling home from work. The person who reported it was also a Seafood employee. By the time they found the victims, they were already dead."
Е̇n̆ úm ä
"......"
It was entirely plausible. What are Central and South America's three main exports? Coffee, drugs, and gangs.
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Naturally, San Marcos was no exception, with several gangs operating within its borders. Being an island nation close to the United States, it was famous as a transit hub for drug trafficking.
The only reason they had been keeping their heads down was because of the martial law.
'It would be a lie to say San Marcos has good public safety.'
So I initially assumed this was just an ordinary robbery-homicide, but...
Ŵēb̆n̂_ȯ vе̊l Еn ŭ m ā
"This is still speculation at this point, but it seems the gangs have been specifically targeting Tortilha Seafood employees."
"What?"
The situation was far more complicated than I had expected.
"Why would they target them?"
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"San Marcos has long been known as a waypoint for drug trafficking."
"I'm aware of that."
W̆ е̄ b̊ ň о̆ vě l Е̃n̄.ůmа
The distance to Colombia, the source, was only 1,000 kilometers by sea, and it was just 150 kilometers to Key West at the southern tip of Florida.
Disguise your boat as a fishing vessel, make the handoff in the middle, and you're done.
With overland surveillance through Mexico getting tighter by the day, this was emerging as the optimal distribution route.
"The late President Juan cracked down harshly on drug offenders, so the drugs never circulated domestically. But in reality, half of the gangs' income comes from serving as middlemen in drug distribution."
"......"
"But when martial law was declared and border surveillance was strengthened, that route got cut off. For the gangs, half their income vanished overnight."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"So you're saying they pulled this insane stunt because of martial law?"
"Gangs are fundamentally groups that exist to make money. While their pockets were drying up, rumors started spreading that Tortilha Seafood employees were getting paid well. That made them natural targets."
"Then why kill them? Just take the money and go."
"Most likely to eliminate witnesses. Committing a violent crime during martial law means facing severe punishment."
"Huh... Whoever they are, these bastards have no respect for the law."
San Marcos still maintains the death penalty.
Е̄ n̂ u m а̄. і́d̄
Shooting three people dead in a country like that? These guys had to be completely insane.
"Did their guts fall out of their bodies or something?"
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"They probably thought they wouldn't get caught."
"Is that so?"
"If you look at the cause of death attached to the report, the shots were aimed at the carotid artery, heart, and head."
"Three people killed with five shots... Professionals."
Ŵ е̇ b̊n̊ оv̊ě l E n umа
"Yes, this definitely wasn't their first time."
"By the way, Director Lucio, you seem very familiar with how gangs operate."
Lucio nodded as if it were only natural.
"My late father was the boss of a historical gang that traced its roots back to the colonial era."
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"......"
"Of course, I have no connection to them now. After my father was killed during a turf war, everyone scattered. My mother and I fled to my aunt's place in the States to escape retaliation."
Е́ñ ǔṁа
"I, I see."
"Even now, thinking about those days sends chills down my spine."
Lucio let out a sigh, perhaps recalling those difficult times, then asked:
"Please give me your orders on how to handle this. My SIA agents and I will do our utmost to carry them out."
"...Let me think about it first. Director Lucio, please keep tabs on gang activity."
"Yes, sir."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Watching Lucio's back as he saluted and left, I thought to myself:
'Never a quiet day around here.'
*
After Lucio's visit, I called in Isabella and Pedro to get their opinions on how to handle this.
Their views were clear.
"We need to thoroughly investigate and catch the perpetrators, then punish them. We should use this opportunity to show them the terror of the law."
W е́ b n ó v̊е̌.l̊ Е n̆u m̃ ȧ
"Don't worry about catching them. If I lead the martial law forces and raid their headquarters, something will turn up no matter what."
Catch the perpetrators immediately.
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And if a fight broke out during the arrest, they seemed ready to wipe them out entirely.
In a way, it was a reasonable position.
They had dared to commit murder while martial law was in effect.
However...
W е̊ b̈n ōv е̃ l Ѐ n ũ m̄ a
'There's no guarantee we'll actually catch the culprits that way.'
San Marcos doesn't have as many CCTVs as Korea.
In fact, it has fewer than most countries.
It's a developing nation without the money for such things.
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Obviously, there were limits to finding the perpetrators, and even if we got lucky and somehow tracked them down, gathering evidence would be difficult.
What if we just ignored the evidence and declared them guilty anyway?
E n̊ úmӑ. ì ḋ
That was possible.
This wasn't Korea, after all.
But what if they weren't the real culprits? What if we caught the wrong people and executed them?
Then innocent people would have died for nothing.
I tried to make this point, but...
"Even if that happens, it's just one dead gang member. You could call it a death with zero impact on the nation."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
"Isabella is right. Your Excellency need not concern yourself with the lives of such vermin."
Neither of them seemed to possess the concept of human rights.
'What do you mean, a death with zero impact?'
This wasn't some video game.
Of course, with three people dead, we did need to catch the perpetrators.
You shouldn't burn down the whole house just to catch a bedbug, but you also can't refuse to make the sauce just because you're afraid of maggots.
W̃ ē b̀ ṅ_о̀v e ĺ E ň üm̈ ӓ
So I thought and thought some more.
[It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.]
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Just as William Blackstone said, that it's better for ten guilty people to go free than for one innocent person to suffer, I wanted to catch the culprits without nabbing the wrong people.
They say moments of enlightenment come suddenly.
'That's it...!'
I had found the perfect method to both protect human rights and establish public order.
Wе b n̄ ӧ vel̈ Ё n ùm а
***
Lucio, the SIA Intelligence Director, walked with a spring in his step as he headed to the Ministry of Defense Underground Strategic Situation Room, summoned by Yu-jin.
As he walked down the worn corridor, he recalled his miserable past.
Corsarius. The largest gang in San Marcos, the ones who had killed his father.
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To him, they were not some abstract threat.
They were the very reality that had torn apart his childhood, and his thirst for revenge had been the driving force that brought him all the way here from the United States.
Е n̊ǔ mа̃_. і d̈
'Scum.'
And now, that same man had become the second-in-command of the SIA, standing at the heart of a new power that would judge them.
Having placed the report detailing the gang's atrocities on the head seat, he had no doubt that Yu-jin, the monarch of San Marcos, would order a bloody purge.
'He'll surely make the call.'
And he himself was more ready than anyone to faithfully carry out that order.
With such expectations, he waited. The heavy steel door opened, and the absolute ruler of San Marcos revealed himself.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
With Isabella, the power behind the administration, on one side and Pedro, the strongest figure in the military, on the other, Yu-jin entered the conference room with cold eyes.
Lucio stood before them and saluted. The air in the room seemed to freeze instantly.
"Director Lucio, you're here early."
That quiet voice sent an even deeper chill down Lucio's spine.
"I've given this some thought..."
Once everyone was seated, Yu-jin spoke.
Е́ n um ǎ
"While we continue tracking down the perpetrators, I'm thinking we should separately work on rehabilitating those who belong to gangs."
"...Pardon?"
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Lucio, who had been expecting a bloody purge, doubted his own ears.
Rehabilitation? How could you possibly rehabilitate the nation's garbage, people who engaged in drug distribution, illegal prostitution, and even human trafficking?
"You said they got into drug distribution to make money. And this incident also happened because they were struggling to survive, so the state needs to take some responsibility."
"Taking responsibility... You mean giving them jobs?"
Е n̈ù m̂а.їḋ
"Yes."
At Yu-jin's answer, Lucio began to feel a twinge of anger.
The state taking responsibility for crime? That sounded like something politicians from Northern Europe would say.
"If we give them stable jobs where they can earn money, they won't work for gangs, and public safety will naturally improve, right? Besides, if we have them all working in one place while we investigate, I think we'll be able to identify the culprits quickly."
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
But Yu-jin paid no attention to Lucio's reaction, smiling brightly as he explained.
Unable to contain himself, Pedro let out a cough.
W еbñ оv̇ ӗl E ṅ_ůḿӓ
"Ahem...! Then what kind of jobs are you thinking of giving them..."
"I understand there's quite a lot of unused land in San Marcos's Central Basin. I hear it's not bad for farming..."
Yu-jin trailed off for a moment, then continued with the corners of his mouth curling upward.
"How about relocating the gang members there and having them grow corn? We'd pay them the average wage of coffee plantation workers."
"......"
At that moment, the temperature in the conference room seemed to drop by ten degrees.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Isabella's eyes widened in shock before transforming into something closer to awe, while Major General Pedro drew in a sharp breath.
And Lucio froze in place.
'The Central Basin?'
As the SIA's Intelligence Director, there was no way he didn't know about that place.
A blazing hellscape where temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius for eight months of the year. A land that preserved San Marcos's primitive ecosystem in its entirety, without so much as electricity or a single paved road.
He was going to push the gangs into a place where humans absolutely could not survive and make them farm corn?
W ē b́n̆ ov̆ еl Е̃ǹ u mӑ
And pay them only the average plantation worker's wage of less than 150 dollars?
This... this wasn't rehabilitation. This was a gulag that had no place existing in the 21st century. (TL: gulag = Labor Camp)
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Upon realizing this, Lucio felt a shiver run through his entire body.
To exploit the labor of those who defied the state until they dropped dead.
Truly a thought that would make even Satan shake his head.
'This... this man is... a devil!'
Е́ n ǔmа. i d
While Lucio trembled with fear, Yu-jin looked at Isabella and asked:
"What do you think? We raise food self-sufficiency and eliminate the gangs. Two birds with one stone, right?"
"N-no objections."
"There will be some resistance at first. That's why I'll need Commander Pedro's help."
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"D-don't worry, Your Excellency."
Finally, Yu-jin turned his gaze to Lucio.
Wе b̊ń о̌v̌ е l E n u ḿа̄
"And Lucio."
Meeting those cold eyes, Lucio involuntarily gulped.
"Y-yes."
"You're the only one who can help these two. May I ask this of you?"
"O-of course, Your Excellency!"
Meeting Yu-jin's unwavering gaze, Lucio felt his pants grow slightly damp.
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