How a Salaryman Became an Underworld Boss

“Director Om, where is Minister Peng?”

CIA Director Eddie Griffin asked the question with an obvious implication: he was ready to interrogate Peng Yuxiang right now.

Om Giyeon, Director of the National Intelligence Service, fully understood his eagerness. He himself was burning with the desire to conduct the interrogation, but this was the worst possible time for it.

“Minister Peng is at a safe house nearby. He’s asleep.”

Griffin frowned, clearly not understanding the answer. His reaction was understandable. Cha Jiham had kidnapped Peng Yuxiang the evening before last. No matter how powerful a sleeping drug was, a person couldn’t sleep for more than thirty-six hours straight.

Noticing his confusion, Director Om explained directly.

“We had to put him under again with an extremely powerful drug so that he wouldn’t wake up on the way here.”

“Ah, I see. Then when will he regain consciousness?”

“I can’t say for certain, but by this afternoon at the latest.”

“Then what should we do while we wait?”

“How about interrogating Major General Lee Cheolseung, who was overseeing the hacker group?”

Bzzzz—

At that moment, the phone lying on the table vibrated. When I looked at the screen, I saw Vice Chairman Tang Guochang’s name. I needed to contact him anyway, so his call came at just the right time.

After excusing myself to everyone present, I answered the call.

“Yes, Vice Chairman Tang.”

“Director Cha, are you in Korea right now?”

“I returned yesterday afternoon.”

“I see. What about NIS Director Om Giyeon, Director Griffin, and Director Nevers?”

“They flew back on the same plane as me.”

“Whew...”

Tang Guochang’s heavy sigh sounded troubled.

“Vice Chairman Tang, did something happen in China?”

“Chairman Xi declared a state of emergency in Shenyang and Dalian to catch the people who kidnapped Minister Peng.”

It seemed to me that Chairman Xi Jinping was taking things a little too far. I voiced my doubts to Tang Guochang and asked what he thought about it.

“Minister Peng is one of Chairman Xi’s closest associates and possesses an enormous amount of top-secret information.”

“Looking at it from that perspective, his reaction makes sense.”

“If Chairman Xi hears even a rumor about where he is, the Korean government will be in enormous trouble.”

My concerns on that point were exactly the same as Tang Guochang’s.

“We’re taking that risk into account as well, so we’re keeping him in a strictly classified location.”

“Ask Director Om to make sure there isn’t even the slightest leak.”

“I will. By the way, how is Director Tang Chao?”

“He regained consciousness yesterday evening. Fortunately, I was told his life is no longer in danger.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Public Security and Ministry of State Security officers have already visited him and questioned him thoroughly about the circumstances surrounding Minister Peng’s kidnapping.”

I had anticipated such a situation and instructed Director Tang Chao in advance on exactly how he should answer.

However, there was always some risk in matters like this, so it was still too early to relax.

“And what did Director Tang tell them?”

“He did exactly as you taught him.”

“Whew...”

An involuntary sigh of relief escaped me.

“Director Cha, do you think the police and the Ministry of State Security will believe him?”

“He suffered extremely serious injuries and nearly died, so they won’t really have any choice.”

“What if they become suspicious later?”

Tang Guochang was clearly worried that the kidnapping of Minister Peng Yuxiang would remain an unsolved case.

“As long as Director Tang remains consistent in his testimony, they won’t become suspicious.”

“I understand.”

“Now, let’s discuss something else. How are preparations for tonight’s operation progressing?”

“Preparations to destroy the railroad and freight trains between North Korea and Russia, as well as key facilities at the ports of Rajin and Vladivostok, are complete. However, preparations to sink the cargo ships, warships, and submarines anchored off Rajin and Vladivostok are still underway.”

“What’s causing the delay?”

“Our submarines are currently en route to their designated positions.”

“So there are no particular problems at the moment?”

“Not yet, but there’s still time before the operation begins.”

“If anything unexpected happens, contact me immediately.”

“Agreed.”

It was time to get to the point.

“Vice Chairman Tang, what if we blame what happens on Ukrainian Military Intelligence?”

“I’m in favor of it, but I don’t know how Director Volasky will feel about that.”

“I’ll contact Director Volasky, ask for his opinion, and then let you know.”

After ending my conversation with Tang Guochang, I openly relayed the contents of our discussion to NIS Director Om Giyeon and the others.

“...We need to find out what Director Volasky thinks.”

“Director Cha, why don’t I contact him and speak with him myself?” Director Om offered.

Deep down, I wanted Om Giyeon to be the one to speak with Vlad Volasky as well. That way, after the war ended, our country would be able to claim much greater dividends.

But contrary to my expectations, Eddie Griffin was the first to speak up.

Under the circumstances, there was no way I could give Director Om the opportunity instead.

“In that case, you do it, Director Griffin.”

“If Director Volasky asks about Minister Peng Yuxiang’s whereabouts, what should I tell him?”

“The fewer people who know a secret, the longer it remains a secret.”

“I understand. Give me a moment.”

Griffin stepped into a separate room to make the call.

Some time later, he returned to his seat and addressed me.

“Director Cha, Director Volasky asked me to convey his gratitude to you.”

That was something, at least. If Griffin hadn’t mentioned that the idea had come from me, our country probably wouldn’t have gotten even a few crumbs after the war.

‘Griffin does have some professional ethics after all.’

“I think it’s still a little early to accept Director Volasky’s gratitude.”

“For Vice Chairman Tang to regain Chairman Xi’s trust, the operation has to go flawlessly.”

“Well... Now that you mention it, you’re right.”

“By the way, he asked about Minister Peng Yuxiang’s disappearance.”

“Your prediction was correct, Director Griffin. What did you tell him?”

“Saying I knew nothing would only raise suspicion, so I told him Russia was under suspicion.”

“I see. Director Om, shouldn’t we go interrogate Major General Lee Cheolseung now?”

***

Another NIS safe house.

Accompanied by an operative, Director Om Giyeon opened the iron door and entered.

Major General Lee Cheolseung, who had been lying on the bed, immediately sat up.

Om Giyeon approached him with an impassive expression.

“How are you doing, Major General Lee?”

“How do you think I’m doing in a prison without bars?”

“Well, that was a foolish question. Allow me to introduce the guests who have come to see you.”

When the others entered the room, Lee Cheolseung’s eyes widened.

Among the guests, he recognized the head of the CIA.

Realizing that it would be inappropriate to receive people like them while sitting on the bed, he got to his feet.

Griffin addressed him in broken Korean.

“Major General Lee Cheolseung, do you know who I am?”

“I know very well.”

“My Korean isn’t very good. Do you mind if we switch to English?”

“As you wish.”

“Thank you for understanding. This is Glenn Nevers, Director of the FBI.”

“...Yes!”

“You understand why we’re here, don’t you?”

“I know absolutely nothing.”

“Ha-ha-ha.”

Griffin gave a sly smile and continued, gesturing toward me with his hand.

“This is Director Cha Jiham, an honorary agent of the NIS, CIA, and FBI.”

“Me?”

I pointed at myself in surprise.

“President Douglas appointed you an honorary agent,” Griffin replied.

“Come on, don’t joke about something like that.”

“President Douglas signed the certificate yesterday evening, so you’ll receive it soon.”

“You’re serious?”

“Absolutely. Director Cha has been granted the authority to issue orders to and supervise all CIA and FBI agents except Director Nevers and me.”

“Wow! That’s quite a privilege.”

“I won’t argue with that. Director Cha, in honor of your appointment as an honorary agent of the NIS, CIA, and FBI, would you like to conduct the interrogation personally?”

Griffin gracefully handed the initiative over to me and stepped into the background.

I gave him a slight nod of thanks before addressing Lee Cheolseung.

“Major General Lee, why don’t we sit on the sofa and talk?”

Lee Cheolseung silently nodded with a bewildered expression.

As a precaution, the NIS operatives seated Lee Cheolseung in the middle and sat on either side of him.

Director Om, the others, and I sat on the sofa opposite them.

After quickly considering how to approach the conversation, I spoke in a calm, even voice.

“Major General Lee, aren’t you curious about how you ended up in our country?”

“I won’t deny it. I am curious.”

“We’ve known for a long time that the Reconnaissance General Bureau has been hacking cryptocurrency sites. However, we didn’t know that the hacker group was based right inside Politburo member Liu Peiqi’s villa in Dandong. Then Deputy Director Jo Ilcheol defected to our country.”

Lee Cheolseung tilted his head in confusion.

He had heard that Jo Ilcheol had defected to the United States.

“Didn’t the Deputy Director defect to America?”

“We deliberately spread that rumor to throw North Korea off the trail. If you want, I can arrange for you to meet Deputy Director Jo.”

“There’s no particular need for that.”

“You’ve already figured out who gave us the information, haven’t you?”

Lee Cheolseung silently nodded.

“Based on the information we received from Deputy Director Jo, we decided to eliminate the hacker network.”

“Our base was an impregnable fortress. How did you manage to infiltrate it and plant explosives?”

In reality, Saho the cat had helped us plant timed bombs throughout Liu Peiqi’s villa.

But explaining every detail would take too long, so I decided to keep my answer short.

“If our agents were able to get past the security at Liu’s villa, then I don’t think you can call it an impregnable fortress.”

“Well... I suppose you’re right.”

“Do you know exactly how you and the hackers were captured alive?”

Lee Cheolseung recalled the moment of his capture.

He had been sleeping in a bedroom when a deafening explosion erupted outside.

At that very moment, the villa was engulfed in acrid gas that made it difficult to breathe.

Following the emergency procedures exactly as instructed, he, his subordinates, and the hackers headed for the secret shelter so they could escape to North Korea.

But the moment they pulled out the inflatable boat stored there, shots rang out, and he lost consciousness.

He had awakened here, at the NIS safe house.

“I only remember up until the moment I was shot.”

“You and your men were shot with tranquilizer darts. You were brought to Korea aboard a U.S. Navy stealth submarine.”

“I see... Where are my subordinates and the hackers?”

“The stealth submarine can only carry twenty people. So we were only able to bring you and the hackers themselves.”

“What happened to my men?”

“They were left in the villa’s garden. I don’t know whether they survived.”

“I see...”

A sharp note of displeasure crept into Lee Cheolseung’s voice.

Ignoring it, I continued.

“We also brought the six suitcases you took with you when you fled the villa.”

“Director Cha, the suitcases contained a total of 27.35 million dollars,” NIS Director Om Giyeon, who was sitting behind me, added.

“We’ll return that 27.35 million dollars to you and the hackers.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. But as you understand, any offer like this comes with conditions.”