Chapter 244.2: Let’s Fight Together (1)

Kang Chan picked up the satellite phone and dialed a phone number that consisted of mostly zeroes.

- Anne speaking, Monsieur Kang.

“Are you aware of the situation here?” Kang Chan asked.

- Russia, China, the United States, and England also know about the ongoing fight.

Those motherfuckers!

Kang Chan downed all of the coffee left in his cup. He then continued, “We have a man here who has a shrapnel stuck in the back of his head, and he needs urgent surgery for it. It’s been in there for quite some time now, and it’s lodged somewhere near a sensitive area, which means the procedure will most likely be dangerous. His doctor said it’s going to be difficult, but I don’t care. I want to save him.”

- I will have it prepared, sir.

Anne agreed to his request far more swiftly than Kang Chan expected.

“Anne.”

- Yes, Monsieur Kang.

“Is there anything that I don’t know about this base?”

This time, however, Anne failed to give an immediate response.

“When you go out into battle, you start sensing some things with your gut. Is this really the operation I was told about during the first briefing or is there something more to this? Today’s fight made something clear to me. There’s something under all of this that I’m not aware of,” Kang Chan stated.

There was still no response from the other side of the line.

“When we went out looking for a fight today, we eliminated the enemies I ran into too easily. That’s enough for me to know that those people were abandoned and left behind for something else. Even if the mafia is comprised of ex-Spetsnaz soldiers, their hostility still won’t be enough to explain that. That leads me back to my question: is there something going on that I don’t know about? Or is this a difficult topic for you to talk about?”

- Monsieur Kang.

“Anne, before you say anything, let me tell you one more thing.”

Kang Chan was already nearly certain that the gut feeling he had earlier was right. Anne’s response—or lack thereof—did nothing but help him confirm it.

“If you can’t give me an honest answer, just tell me you don’t know. I would understand. At the very least, I would rather not be disappointed in you or the ambassador.”

- According to the reports that I’ve been given, Vasili is somehow related to the mafia’s aggression toward you. Moreover, both Russia and China are waiting for you to reach out to them.

“What? Why?” Kang Chan asked, suddenly confused.

- They are hoping that you would ask for their help.

“Are you saying they want me to be indebted to them?”

- Yes. I believe that’s their goal.

Kang Chan finally understood the situation. He had to trust what Anne was telling him out of respect for her and her father. It was the least he could do.

“Thank you, Anne,” he replied, then paused for a moment. “I need a way to transport a patient out of here and get him surgery. Use my authority if you have to. Please lend me your and the Ambassador’s influence as well.”

- An order from you is much more effective for matters like this.

“Then, could you do that for me?” Kang Chan requested.

- I’ll be in touch again in five minutes.

“Thanks, Anne.”

After hanging up, Kang Chan glared sharply at the empty paper cup left on the table and the satellite phone.

These assholes are treating me like a complete idiot! They sent me here giving me all that bullshit about denadite and the borders, but they were just actually doing all these bullshit calculations behind my back?

Since Kang Chan got help from China when he went on the recent operation to Afghanistan, it was only proper that he returned the favor. However, that didn’t make it acceptable to hide things like this from him.

Now that he was aware of the situation, it would only be fair for him to handle this as he saw fit.

Yang Bum and Vasili were the leaders of China and Russia’s intelligence bureaus. Taking South Korea’s national power into consideration, it would be difficult to go against them. That didn’t mean that they could just play him like a fool, however. He had no intention of letting them have their way.

There was something else to all of this—something that probably made Russia and China resort to these cowardly tactics. Something disadvantageous to South Korea, which always had to powerlessly stand down even at the simplest frown from the two countries, or something that put Kang Chan in danger.

He had to know what it was to avoid being played like this again in the future.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

After some time, the satellite phone began to ring. Kang Chan picked up the receiver and pressed the answer button.

“Allo?” Kang Chan greeted.

- It’s Anne again. A helicopter from France’s DGSE will reach the base within an hour.

“Thank you, Anne.”

- On another note, the ambassador has landed in Russia. I believe it’s now safe to say that the mafia will not be launching a night raid today.

“Is his presence over there related to the matter that I don’t know about?” Kang Chan asked.

- Monsieur Kang, answering that is beyond my capabilities.

He could at least understand that much.

- The patient will be transported to Seoul. Dr. Kim Wan-Gyu of the Seoul National University Hospital is one of the world’s top surgeons in brain surgery. I suggest arranging a schedule with him through South Korea’s National Intelligence Service if you want to proceed with this.

“All right. I’ll figure that part out myself. Thanks, Anne,” Kang Chan said.

Kang Chan hung up the phone and picked up his cigarette. Once suspicious, always suspicious. Now that he started to doubt the intelligence bureaus, he was starting to feel suspicious about the French DGSE’s helicopter coming to the base as well.

For now, however, he had to get his priorities straight. After all, he had far more urgent matters to attend to.

Kang Chan picked up his radio and called for an agent. A moment later, the agent who was staying in the same barracks as Kang Chan entered his quarters.

“Do you have Manager Kim Hyung-Jung’s number? Kang Chan asked, to which the agent answered with a nod. He then followed up, “Can you put me through?”

The agent pressed a few buttons on the satellite phone. Afterward, he handed the phone back to him.

- Kim Hyung-Jung speaking.

“Manager Kim, it’s Kang Chan,” Kang Chan greeted.

- Mr. Kang Chan!

“We’re doing well. I believe we’re mostly in the clear here. Anyway, I have a favor to ask.”

- Go ahead.

“We would like to transport a man named Kang Chul-Gyu back to South Korea. A helicopter will arrive at our location in about an hour. I will get all the details about it and relay them to you at a later time, but he is in a bad condition. Please make the necessary arrangements to get him surgery from Dr. Kim Wan-Gyu of the Seoul National University Hospital as soon as possible,” Kang Chan requested.

- Wait! Just to clarify, you said Dr. Kim Wan-Gyu of the Seoul National University Hospital, correct?

Kim Hyung-Jung seemed to be writing memos.

- Please rest assured that we’re already on top of it.

“We will have the situation over here completely cleared out by tonight. I’ll contact you again once we’re done.”

- The second team is set to leave in two days. They’ll be taking more cell stations and other necessary supplies with them.

It was a much earlier departure date than what Kang Chan heard. However, he supposed it would be stranger if the date was any later now that Kim Hyung-Jung had gotten involved.

“What about the deployment of the special forces team?”

- They are also leaving in two days as well.

It was just obstacle after obstacle for them.

Just like how he felt about the whole Mongolian base operation, Kang Chan couldn’t help but sense that there was something else going on with this matter as well.

“We’ll go through the night first. I’ll call you again once we’re out of the woods,” he said.

- Understood.

Kang Chan stood up after hanging up. He then got out of the barracks and headed to the one Kim Tae-Jin was assigned. The trucks and the jeeps that they had stolen were parked in the spaces between the buildings, making their base look more like a camp in the middle of a warzone.

Creaaak.

When he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin sitting on the sofa.

“What brings you here?” Kim Tae-Jin asked.

“I’ve got something to tell you,” Kang Chan replied.

Kim Tae-Jin thought it was probably something urgent. Nevertheless, he kept a relaxed expression.

“Come sit down. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“I already had some.” Kang Chan sat on the single couch next to Kim Tae-Jin.

“A helicopter will arrive in approximately an hour.”

“What?” Kim Tae-Jin asked in confusion.

“Old man. There will be an appointment ready for you at Seoul National University Hospital. Go back to South Korea and get the surgery you need.”

Kang Chul-Gyu and Kim Tae-Jin’s expression seemed to be asking him what in the world he was saying.

“Don’t worry about the ambush or the raid tonight. We will still have to wait for further updates about it, but they’re negotiating with the Russian Intelligence Bureau right now. At the very least, they have informed me that we shouldn’t worry for now. Anyway, get ready to go to Seoul.”

The two were understandably shocked. However, Kang Chan didn’t really expect that Kang Chul-Gyu would show such a surprised yet stupid expression.

“On another note, the second team will be departing from South Korea in two days. I’ll leave all the preparations for their arrival to you, Director,” Kang Chan said. After informing them of all the intel he got earlier, he immediately stood up from his seat. Kang Chul-Gyu’s surprised and flustered face was starting to make him uncomfortable.

However, Kang Chul-Gyu immediately followed him out.

“There’s something that I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Kang Chul-Gyu began.

Kang Chan turned around. Kang Chul-Gyu was staring right at him, now wearing a far more complex expression.

“Please answer me as a man. Are you absolutely sure that the mafia won’t be raiding us tonight?” Kang Chul-Gyu asked dubiously.

Why did he become so pitiful when he got older?

Kang Chul-Gyu was supposed to look like a devil. However, he just looked like an old soldier now. He still had his combat abilities, but his eyes and face did nothing to hide the hard life he lived all this time.

“I don’t play games or joke about the safety of my men, old man,” Kang Chan solemnly replied.

Kang Chul-Gyu’s mouth opened in an attempt to speak but his hesitation made it close again not long after. Nevertheless, Kang Chan already felt as if he knew what the man was going to ask.

“I think your dead son would have also wanted you to get the surgery. Be strong and make sure you come back alive from all this,” Kang Chan declared.

Kang Chul-Gyu’s eyes widened.

“Survive the procedure, then come back to protect this place, got that? That’s what your son wants. I doubt you want someone to call you father now. Am I wrong, old man?”

As Kang Chul-Gyu gritted his teeth, blood started oozing out of his nose again.

“I don’t ever want to see some damn fucking blood coming out of you either! And I’m sick of seeing your weak eyes and expression! The next time we meet, you better be a bit more dignified and a little cooler. That’s what your dead son wants! Also—!” Kang Chan took a moment to breathe to catch his rushing emotions. “If you die in the hospital, I’m never going to forgive you.”

“Yes, sir,” Kang Chul-Gyu responded.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

“And drop those fucking honorifics!” Kang Chan barked.

“Got it,” Kang Chul-Gyu replied.

The two of them glared at each other like they were arguing.