“I can leave just like this. There’s no reason for to overextend myself to save them.”
I didn’t know how much Jessica had told him, but if she had ntioned that I got involved because of my grandmother’s request......
That lie wouldn’t work.
And if it ca to that, my relationship with Jessica would be over for good.
—Hmm...... This isn’t sothing we can promise through any official docunt.
“I’m not asking for that either.”
If it were left on paper, it could be disadvantageous not only for the United States, but for as well.
Still, in case things went wrong, I needed an escape route of my own.
“Even so, I need your word.”
—Hmm.
John let out a low hum and fell into thought.
Fortunately, it seed Jessica hadn’t brought up my grandmother.
If she had, there would have been no reason for John to hesitate.
—Give one more day, Charlie.
“Ti is directly tied to the hostages’ lives. Too much ti has already passed. On top of that, the kidnappers have announced their demands through Al Jazeera. The longer this drags on, the more their lives are put at risk.”
—Even so, this isn’t sothing I can decide on my own. I don’t officially hold the position yet. I’d have to et President Bush directly and......
The mont he ntioned reporting to President Bush, I cut him off.
“I don’t think this is sothing that needs to go all the way up to the President. If it were, I would’ve made the proposal to President Bush myself.”
—Are you telling to take responsibility?
John cleared his throat lightly, displeased.
But if this reached President Bush, things would get too big.
With the presidential election approaching, he had no intention of creating issues that could interfere with it.
At this point, his victory was all but certain.
Neither Bush nor his aides would choose an option that could introduce variables and shake up the election.
“Soone has to take responsibility. Just not the President on the eve of an election. The mont it reaches him, everyone will oppose it.”
—I’m not the real power holder. Even if I make a promise......
“John. I’m not asking you to promise anything. I’m asking you to bring back a pledge from soone who has the authority to do so. For example...... the CIA Director or the Secretary of Holand Security would be sufficient.”
The heads of intelligence agencies could take action first and report later, even without presidential approval.
—The CIA Director will be difficult. We don’t exactly get along. How about National Security Advisor Rice? I think I can persuade her.
As soon as I heard the na, I recalled what kind of person Advisor Rice was.
She was one of the people closest to the center of power right now.
She carried enough weight—but she also had a tendency to avoid actions that required her to bear responsibility.
“That should be sufficient. But will Advisor Rice really give her word?”
—If the condition is that we won’t hold you responsible if it fails, but we take all the credit if it succeeds, I believe she can be persuaded.
“Very well. You’re more cooperative than I expected. Why are you acting this way?”
The United States didn’t take hostage lives all that seriously.
In my previous life, my country mourned even a single citizen’s death, and the public condemned any governnt that stood by and did nothing.
But the United States was different.
We were talking about one person. They were used to many.
And yet, John was surprisingly proactive about rescuing the hostages.
It was the opposite of his earlier stance, when he talked about principles while avoiding responsibility.
—The situation isn’t what it used to be. If we could control the flow of information, that’d be one thing—but now there’s a new variable called the internet. The videos released by the kidnappers are already circulating online. It’s no longer easy to justify abandoning citizens for the sake of the state with half-baked excuses.
“That still doesn’t fully explain it.”
—Then just think of it as my personal inclination.
How much could I trust this man? I hesitated—but for now, he would be my wildcard.
“How long do you think it’ll take to persuade Advisor Rice?”
—You said ti is the hostages’ lives. I’ll contact you within twenty-four hours.
“I’ll wait. Put Jessica back on. I still have sothing to say.”
I heard his agreent, and then Jessica’s voice ca on the line.
—Charlie.
“Jessica. Fly to Baghdad imdiately.”
—What? Right now?
“Yes. Let’s talk face to face. If the United States wants to take the credit once the rescue succeeds, soone needs to be in Baghdad.”
—......Do I really have to go?
She asked quietly, clearly reluctant.
Oh? Did she think she had the upper hand now?
“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. But you’re still losing points as we speak. The mont my expectations of you disappear, you’re no longer my partner. You know there are plenty of people who could replace you. If that’s fine ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ with you, then don’t co.”
—All right. I’ll report it and leave imdiately.
“Then we’ll talk when we et.”
Without waiting for her response, I ended the call.
After a brief mont of thought, I picked up the satellite phone again and contacted the Blue House.
The person who answered was the Chief of Staff.
Perhaps he was in the middle of work—he asked to wait a mont before the line went dead.
I put the phone down and waited, organizing my thoughts.
‘If this fails, they’ll probably dump all responsibility on Korea.’
The United States was far too cunning to trust just a verbal promise that I wouldn’t be held responsible.
In the end, the only option was to shift that responsibility onto Korea instead.
So I intended to either ask for Yoon Changho’s understanding in advance—or seek his permission.
If President Yoon felt it was too much of a burden, I’d scrap the plan imdiately and withdraw.
Once my thoughts were more or less settled, the satellite phone rang again.
“This is Kim Muhyuk.”
—Chairman Kim.
President Yoon Changho himself was calling.
“Yes, Mr. President.”
—Did you arrive safely in Baghdad? How are things going? Can you rescue the hostages?
The questions ca in a barrage. His urgency was painfully clear.
But I hadn’t even been there for a full day yet.
“I just arrived. I haven’t even made contact with them yet.”
—Chairman Kim. Please succeed and bring Kim Mugil back to Korea. I’m counting on you.
“There’s sothing I need to tell you first. We’ve captured and interrogated the kidnappers who abducted Kim Mugil......”
I explained the current situation to President Yoon.
I added that the United States had made such proposals, and that if the negotiations failed, they might try to shift the responsibility onto the Korean governnt.
—......So the Aricans said sothing like that.
“It’s not an official stance of the U.S. governnt.”
—Those people always make escape routes for themselves.
At the ntion that Korea could end up bearing responsibility if things went wrong, President Yoon’s voice dropped.
This could have a major impact on his approval ratings.
No matter how high they were, public sentint could plumt endlessly with a single misstep.
“What should we do? Should we pull out now, or wait for the Arican response before moving? I’ll act according to your decision, Mr. President.”
President Yoon fell silent, deep in thought. What he needed right now was ti.
“Please take your ti to think it over and get back to . The Aricans said they’d give an answer by tomorrow as well.”
—I understand. Thank you, Chairman Kim. I’ll give it so thought.
After ending the call with President Yoon, I stood up.
When I opened the door, Yuri was standing there.
“Boss, are you done with your call?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, I was able to speak quietly.”
“Then I’ll escort you.”
Yuri led to where the kidnappers were being held.
The mont I opened the door, the stench of blood assaulted my nose. They were barely being kept alive.
“Manager, did you get everything we needed?”
At my question, Manager Ma wiped his hands with a handkerchief and answered.
“Yes, Boss. They seem to have told us everything they know.”
Everything they know...... Judging by their condition, there didn’t seem to be anything left to squeeze out.
“One of them looks completely wrecked, but the other’s in relatively better shape. Guess that one was more cooperative.”
“I apologize.”
Manager Ma dipped his head slightly. I gave his shoulder a light pat.
“It’s fine. You followed my order not to kill them. Still, we can’t hand them over to the U.S. military like this......”
Reading my concern, Yuri answered promptly.
“Boss, we have a highly skilled doctor on standby at the branch.”
“Oh? Perfect timing. Then keep that one alive, and properly treat this one.”
The half-dead one couldn’t be helped—we’d have to settle for keeping him breathing.
But the other would be handed over to the U.S. military, so I intended to at least make him presentable.
“I’ll give the orders.”
“Good. Is there sowhere I can rest at the branch as well?”
“We’ve prepared a place upstairs.”
“Then let’s go there.”
We left the basent and took the elevator up.
The room Yuri led to was surprisingly comfortable—hard to believe it was in a country at war.
“You can stay here. Safety won’t be an issue. Unless a missile hits directly, this place can withstand any attack.”
“That’s reassuring. I’ll call you later, so go and wrap things up properly.”
Yuri saluted sharply and left, closing the door behind her.
At the sa ti, I collapsed onto the sofa.
I loosened the tie that had been choking my neck and tossed it onto the floor. Manager Ma bent down to pick it up.
I waved him off and gestured for him to sit.
“Manager, that’s not what matters right now. Sit down and report what you’ve found.”
Manager Ma nodded and sat, then spent a long ti reporting everything they had uncovered.
I listened without asking a single question.
“So even the Monotheism and Holy War group doesn’t know the exact location where the hostages are being held.”
“Yes. They don’t know the precise location, but they’ve identified several areas where they’re likely to be. I’ve already instructed the rcenary acting as interpreter, so we should be able to narrow it down to a few strong candidates.”
Iraq was far from small.
And these terrorists were experts at digging tunnels and hiding. Searching with no clues had its limits.
Even the United States, deploying all kinds of advanced surveillance equipnt and manpower, still hadn’t found even a shadow of Osama bin Laden.
“Then let’s wait for now. And as for the ssage from the United States......”
I told Manager Ma everything about my conversation with them.
When I finished, he asked worriedly,
“Will this be all right?”
“What do you an? ? The United States? Or Korea? I don’t really care. If they have no intention of taking responsibility, I’ll cleanly pull out and go ho.”
“I agree, but your grandmother may not feel the sa way.”
I couldn’t help but sigh.
If Kim Mugil died after I withdrew, Grandma would be heartbroken.
“If I push myself and sothing happens to , that’d be even worse. Grandma hates it when I get hurt. Besides, I don’t intend to risk myself for this. If one of my people had been kidnapped, I’d have rescued them no matter what—Arica or not.”
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have stopped you. No—there’d have been no way to stop you.”
Manager Ma cracked an uncharacteristic joke, perhaps to lighten the mood.
The problem was that, coming from him—the one who knew best—it sounded less like a joke and more like the truth.
“Still, that man John seems more cooperative than I expected. It might be worth hoping for sothing. Though who knows what choice President Yoon will make.”
If nothing was done and the hostages were beheaded, there’d be no reason for the United States to take responsibility.
They’d lose citizens due to their principle of not negotiating with terrorists—but ironically, because they upheld that principle, the backlash would be smaller.
My head was a ss.
“I’ll take a shower and rest.”
As I stood and took off my suit jacket, Manager Ma hurriedly stood to take it from .
I noticed the bloodstains seeped into his fingernails, but I turned my head away, pretending not to see.
“You should get so rest too, Manager.”
“Yes. I will.”
After hearing his steady reply, I headed straight into the bathroom.
A full day had passed since I arrived in Iraq. There was still no word from either the United States or Korea.
And the first to arrive was Jessica.
The mont she landed in Iraq, she rushed straight to the Black Bear Iraq branch.
“Jessica. Welco.”
I greeted her with a smile. Seeing it, her lips trembled.
“Charlie......”
Before she could continue, I raised a hand to stop her.
“First, hand over all communication devices you have to Manager Ma. Satellite phones, recorders...... whatever it is. Everything.”
“Charlie!”
Jessica raised her voice. Judging by that reaction, she clearly had sothing to hide.
“Don’t raise your voice. You were the one who broke my trust first. Do exactly as I say, Jessica. I don’t want to use force on you. I still want to trust you.”
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