Chapter 187: < Protect – Episode 186 – Shotgun [4] >
How did international terrorist groups obtain their funds despite being under watch by intelligence agencies? If the world revolved the way we liked, it would have been easy to catch those criminal organizations, but why couldn’t justice be served in real life?
The reason was simpler and more disappointing than expected.
‘Because it’s not profitable.’
That was why the word ‘general’ couldn’t be used carelessly. If someone profited, someone else had to lose. A win-win scenario was rare in the international community. For that reason, large banks didn’t have time to worry about whether their clients were criminals or not.
The reason why banks stressed personal information was to look the other way of a big client committed an illegal act. Risk management which tried to expand profits and reduce loss was also the instinct of banks. If one had to pick five biggest organizations that committed the most illegal acts, banks were one of them.
Banks hated the regulations set forward by the nation.
‘Banks don’t misuse personal information?’
That was nonsense.
Banks were known to use personal information to their advantage and use the protection of personal information to turn the other cheek, which meant they were what ultimately controlled the world. Among the classes that Ahn Soo Ho got close to while traveling the world, there were many bankers and smugglers that were very skilled at sneaking past the taxman. On the other side of the communication network led by capitalists and banks was a black market that laundered money.
The truth was, money was not at fault.
Money was just money. However, the reason why dirty money was talked badly about was because it represented modern society’s greed. In this capitalist society, there was nothing one couldn’t do as long as they had money. Ahn Soo Ho got an emergency call from President Lee Joong Hyun, but he turned him down.
He felt no need to make more work for himself. As soon as he became obsessed with one thing, everything else looked like a waste of time. Psychos were bound to appear again, and he couldn’t step up every single time. It was possible that he was hoping his homeland, which disappointed him once already after establishing Hosoo Entertainment and dating Jang Seol Hyun, had gotten better than before.
‘Maybe it’s not just me that’s dreaming...’
Korea was bound to change one day, but not today.
“Call Pitch Stone and tell them to freeze all of Boko Haram’s accounts.”
“Smith won’t like that.”
Daniel Navarros let out a deep sigh.
Allen Smith
He used the same name as the former President Allen Davis, but he had a completely different appearance and personality. Barbara’s way of fooling around with money was all legal while he wasn’t. The emperor of dirty money, Scruge’s spirit, Shylock’s reincarnation were just a few examples of his nicknames that he obtained while he raked in a lot of profit after investing in India, China, and Russia, last year, and behind him was an international bank.
“I wish you’d just get angry.”
“Are you thinking of irritating Stone Average?”
“If we mess with Red Sea Commerce’s funds, Heritage won’t sit back either.”
Most ended up at a loss to the point that the world was being unstable, but the few raked in very large profits. Stone Average Company used extreme cases to obtain profits so large that they were suspected of internal dealings.
“Soo Ho.”
Logan handed him the phone.
“What is it?”
“Are we canceling the plan?”
“No, continue as planned.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The call ended quickly. Logan took the phone back and asked cautiously.
“Are you sure we can trust Leeper? Korean police might be bad with dealing with hostage situations, but if they become determined, it’ll be hard to escape, Soo Ho.”
“Do I trust Leeper? Not at all. And the Korean police becoming determined...? That wouldn’t be bad either. This country needs to be shocked.”
“Are you... angry?”
Logan noticed that Ahn Soo Ho’s way of speaking was becoming rougher and tilted his head in response.
“Yeah. I am.”
“Then what’s our next move?”
“I’ll have to change the plan as necessary.”
Since Ahn Soo Ho changed his mind, the plan had to be changed or canceled. The Centurion Palace hostage situation was just as talked about in Korea as the one in Nigeria. Bridal Mask demanded that if the country wants to save their famous celebrities, rich people, pro athletes, and more, they needed to save the Koreans in Nigeria first, and that caused a huge controversy.
Isn’t he asking for something that’s a given?
No, I think it’s the Korean government that’s incapable of not being able to do something so obvious.
Is he really going to kill his hostages if they don’t bring the Koreans from Nigeria safely?
Bridal Mask has never failed before!
A private party held in a hotel suite room! They live in a whole different world!
They’re the 0.01 silver spoons of Korea!
So unfair! This damned Hell Joseon!
They mustn’t listen to a terrorist’s request! That means they have to surrender to him!
Are you stupid? Bridal Mask shouldn’t be the one to ask the country to save the Koreans in Nigeria in the first place!
President Lee Joong Hyun might be good at sucking up to the public with reformation announcements and whatnot, but is he able to control such a crisis? I don’t think he can!
Our country doesn’t have enough power over Africa! In the end, they have to work with America, but since even America is being screwed over in Africa right now, that probably won’t happen!
They succeeded the Operation Dawn of Gulf of Aden though.
You psycho! That was on the water, so the success rate was high, while this is in North Africa! They don’t even know where the hostages are being held!
On top of that, they only have 48 hours left! Not even God could save them at that time!
historical
However, the controversies surrounding Bridal Mask was buried under the angry scoldings toward Ahn Soo Ho.
Chairman Ahn Soo Ho of the reformation committee resigns!
He questions the foreign minister, “Who do you think you are?”
A threat that took place in broad daylight at the blue house! Is the president already a lame duck?
Chairman Ahn’s close associate states, “Korea’s democracy is third rate!”
Ahn Soo Ho was young.
That came with plus points as well as minus points. When it came to political relations, age was one of the ways people were categorized. Cliques were more important than ability, and in order to be in a clique, they had to side with the right people. Depending on who they kept as their colleagues, their future was determined.
What was for certain was that the fact that Ahn Soo Ho came into view in those with vested rights was more of a minus than a plus, and Kim Soo Jung knew that better than anyone. Considering that happened back in the day with Lee Kyung Joon, Ahn Soo Ho was an unusual competition that was dragged around by one person.
‘Back then he proved to be a skilled person...’
But today, he was a giant that controlled the nation’s future, and true giants did as he thought was necessary no matter what others said. Even if blood was going to be shed. When Bridal Mask appeared, the 8-member group immediately thought of him. Ahn Soo Ho was the only man in Korea capable of planning and executing such a plan.
Kim Soo Jung had seen more darkness than her fiancé, Yoon Chul, who used to be a police officer. To those with vested rights, they didn’t care what happened to others as long as they got their profits. Actually, most citizens didn’t care too much about other people’s misery. They had no interest in what kind of difficulty and hardships Ahn Soo Ho went through. All the public wanted was the vibrant life of the present.
The Ahn Soo Ho she knew wasn’t a generous man.
Of course, it depended on the situation, but there was one major rule. There were no second chances. In that sense, the unexpected situation caused by Ahn Soo Ho’s retirement gave Korea another chance to take off. That was what Kim Soo Jung believed, but when she heard from a friend at KBS who was there to cover the hostage incident that Ahn Soo Ho got mad and took off, she felt like she got stabbed in the back.
‘Damn it!’
She immediately went to his house in Cheongdamdong, but he wasn’t there. After that, she heard that the chairman of the reformation committee resigned.
‘Are you kidding me?’
That was proof that his heart had already left. Kim Soo Jung was able to meet with Ahn Soo Ho on his way to Star Tower the next morning. She didn’t make plans to meet him but decided to run into him instead. He laughed bitterly as soon as he saw her.
“You still have the habits of a reporter.”
“If you talk about qualifications and whatnot, I’ll hit you.”
“You need to have a broader perspective, Soo Jung.”
“I know that. I’m studying.”
Managers needed a different mindset from regular employees.
When Ahn Soo Ho left Kim Soo Jung in charge of the reporting headquarters, he didn’t have high expectations. There were both small and big mistakes, and a mistake that a reporter could make was at a different scale from what the head of the headquarters could make. At one point, HBS even requested the dismissal of one of their directors due to a loss they suffered. However, Ahn Soo Ho still guaranteed the reporting headquarters their right to independence. The legal team got very busy as a result, but what else could he do? Since a major shareholder insisted on doing it, no one could protest.
Ahn Soo Ho smirked at his high-spirited friend.
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
“You’re not going to abandon us, are you?”
She was still high-spirited, but she looked pitiful. She tried her best to put on a pathetic face, and it was so good that she looked like she got caught cheating on her lover.
“People might think we’re dating.”
“Stop the nonsense. You’re not going to abandon us, right?”
By us, Kim Soo Jung didn’t mean the 8-member group but their country and people. Ahn Soo Ho smirked at her desperation.
“You still have hope, huh?”
“I hate this country, but my family, friends, and neighbors will live here for many years to come. So I have to care, okay? So are you abandoning us or what?”
This happened before. She cursed at the Korean politicians, government workers, and capitalists for not doing their job while still hanging onto hope. She wouldn’t have liked to hear this, but she was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. She believed that the future was going to be better, and she worked hard to make sure the media did their job.
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
“Good! That’s what I wanted to hear.”
Kim Soo Jung was about to turn around and walk off in relief when she paused.
“Oh yeah! But what happened at the Blue House?”
“Do you think you can get it out? You might lose to the ones with power.”
“If I was afraid of that, I wouldn’t have put Bridal Mask on TV, to begin with.”
Since HBS allowed a criminal that was Bridal Mask to appear on TV, they received punishment from KCC. As the one in charge of the headquarters, Kim Soo Jung was called to the KCC and was scolded severely.
“What do you think a nation is, Soo Jung?”
“Huh? A nation?”
Kim Soo Jung tilted her head at Ahn Soo Ho’s random question and then clapped her hands.
“A nation should protect its citizens. No matter what, a nation must never judge or estimate its citizens’ worth. Right?”
“You remember.”
“Of course. We almost got killed by our ethics teacher in the Naval Academy... Oh!”
She was shocked by the sight of the former foreign minister getting grabbed by the throat back at the Blue House, but she just realized the reason.
“Kim Hyung Il must have given a stupid answer.”
“The thought of Korea’s elites all being similar to him makes me sad.”
He wondered if the country had to be doomed before it could change for the better.
“This is definitely a scoop.”
Kim Soo Jung disappeared like the wind. Ahn Soo Ho got on the security elevator. The special lift headed to the information department opened to the face of Kosino.
“Welcome to the Hive.”
The information department taking up the top two floors of the building really was laid out like a beehive. Ahn Soo Ho only gave the order to build it and hadn’t visited it until today.
“Where’s Alexa?”
“She’s in the secret information room.”
“Lead the way.”
“What about the guide?”
“I’ll hear it later.”
There were many agents wanting to introduce the various functions of the information department, but Ahn Soo Ho wasn’t very interested. All he wanted was the results. The secret information room reminded him of a dock in a space ship. As soon as the metal doors opened, Alexa greeted him.
“Welcome to hell.”
She pouted the words out and disappeared as if she was unhappy about something. Ahn Soo Ho looked back at Kosino.
“What’s up with her?”
“Bairan straight up ignored her words.”
Ahn Soo Ho warned them to release the Koreans within 1 hour, but Boko Haram didn’t answer. He had already been briefed on it.
“What’s the reason?”
“I thought he must have been crazy to be like this, but it turns out, he has a reason. Their new leader is Edura.”
“Ha!”
Ahn Soo Ho was speechless.
“What happened to Mitch?”
“He was killed by the US military a few days ago.”
“Has it been confirmed?”
“Yes, Sir. Aragon found his body.”
They weren’t too comfortable with each other, but Aragon was still a trustworthy PMC.
Knock, knock-
Ahn Soo Ho crossed his arms in response to Alexa’s knocking on the glass. She was signaling that the preparations were complete. Kosino gestured for the subordinate to work the equipment and dozens of screens came on on the wall.
“We’re connecting to APT. Online.”
On the screen were people of all skin colors, hair colors, and eyes. There was Deputy Director Jeremy O’hare of the CIA, Special Agent Lee Yong Hee of North Korea, the commissioner of the Japanese intelligence investigation agency, as well as Commissioner Soonming of China’s state security. On top of that Ambassador Vitali Andropov of Russia was there as well.
There were multiple men in power from America, England, France, Germany, Russia, China, Japan, India, and more, and dozens of them were all connected through the screen. They weren’t Ahn Soo Ho’s subordinates. It was just that he happened to be in the center of them all.
They skipped the introductions and got straight to the point.
“I’m going to attack Boko Haram in 24 hours.”
Many were shocked by Ahn Soo Ho’s announcement. Their eyes moved quickly, and they were busy thinking about how this could benefit them.
“If you have something to settle with them, do it before then.”
Complicated relationships couldn’t be categorized as good or evil. After some time, Vitali spoke up first.
“Did you have a change of heart, Soo Ho?”
“Yeah.”
He felt bad toward Soo Jung, but two disappointments were enough.
“I don’t want to be disappointed for the third time.”
They didn’t know what he was talking about, but some of them opened their eyes wider while some of them complacently smiled. They had once asked him why he kept his Korean nationality. Ahn Soo Ho didn’t particularly want Korean citizenship. It was just that when he got himself in trouble, being Korean made it easier to weasel himself out.
“So I don’t want to leave any lingering attachment for my homeland.”
That was a more shocking announcement than the one about Boko Haram.
“I no longer have a nationality.”
< Protect – Episode 186 – Shotgun [5] > The end.