Chapter 332: No Escaping The Attacks (1)

“Please go down to the forty-sixth floor,” Cha Dong-Gyun commanded.

“That’s enough!” one of the men yelled as he stomped on the ground.

These civilians were initially surprised to see the black military uniforms and rifles. However, the further they descended, the more they relaxed. By the forty-seventy floor, they were already defiant.

“Isn’t everything okay up there? Why aren’t you letting us go back?”

The man looked around for support. He was in his mid-thirties and had a large physique.

“No one is allowed to enter the existing checkpoints until the entire building has been inspected, so please either leave or go back downstairs.”

“

Argh

, damn it! You…” the man trailed off, but he definitely planned to say, “You motherfucker.”

The mood instantly turned stiff.

He seemed flustered by what he said yet also looked like he didn’t want to back down because of the people looking at him.

The man frowned and glared at Cha Dong-Gyun.

At that moment, an unexpected voice reached the ears of Cha Dong-Gyun, Kwak Cheol-Ho, and the rest of the men.

Chk.

“This is Kang Chan. Arriving at the rooftop.”

Chk.

“Understood. Command, raise the fire barrier to the forty-eighth floor.”

Chk.

“Raising the fire barrierl.”

Cha Dong-Gyun felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Chk.

“Captain, why haven’t the people upstairs been evacuated? Turn off the lights up there first.”

Chk.

“There are still people from Kotra and other affiliated organizations. We still can’t get them out because the Foreign Affairs divisionDirectorate of Public Affairs of the National Intelligence Service insists that they’re preparing for an event in two days.”

After a brief pause, they saw flashing lights and heard a helicopter’s blades rotating outside.

Chk.

“I’ll talk to their director directorate. You’re in a dangerous situation, so please turn down the lights first.”

Chk.

“Understood. Command, turn the lights of the forty-seventh floor off.”

Chk.

“We’ll turn the lights off once the firewall has been activated.”

Sensing that something was amiss, the men followed Cha Dong-Gyun and his crew to the window and looked at the helicopter.

With the rhythmic sound of the machine, the firewall began to go up.

***

Abibu looked at the helicopter wistfully.

“That little punk…!”

Abibu had been waiting for Kang Chan all this time, but he had not expected him to arrive now of all times.

He only had to wait for the soldiers to go down two more floors.

It would have been nice if Kang Chan arrived after Abibu finished the big picture.

Abibu glared at the International Building with a dark expression. The helicopter had circled around and was now landing on the roof.

What would that little punk do?

He had access to the operation’s radio frequencies, but it was still hard to expect what Kang Chan would do.

After all, terrorism was only as successful as the number of civilian casualties it took. Hence, they would definitely try toIt was better to try to rescue even one person before the power went out.

Abibu reached out and pressed a button on the device.

Beep.

“Soldiers, begin.”

Beep.

“Allhu Hu Akbar!”

Beep.

“Tagbir.”

They exchanged words with a sense of finality.

The International Building would soon fall under Abibu’s control. The longer it stayed his, the more the country’s credibility would sink to the bottom.

***

Everyone’s eyes, including the man who had been cursing, all turned to the rising firewall.

“You’ve been contacted, right? Can we go up now?” the man asked Cha Dong-Gyuun.

At that moment, they heard a circuit breaker fall. At the same time, all the lights on the forty-seventh floor went out.

The men glanced around, and some women screamed. It was dark enough on the stairs that they had to rely on the emergency exit lights at the bottom of the stairs and lights from the neighboring buildings.

“What are you doing?!” the man yelled.

“Let’s just go down,” one of the men’s colleagues urged.

“Let go of me! What the hell? Are we criminals? Terrorists? Fuck, you weren’t doing anything when a bomb went off in the middle of Seoul and killed the head of the National Intelligence Service!” the man shouted so loudly that the building rang. “I’m not going down! Call the head of the search!”

The man flung off his colleague’s arm and stepped in front of Cha Dong-Gyun.

“What are you glaring at me for? I didn’t say anything wrong!”

The man’s face was red.

“Please cooperate,” Cha Dong-Gyun quietly repeated.

“I told you to call your boss!”

Cha Dong-Gyun sighed quietly. If he got mad here, it would be funny. He wished he could spend even just twenty seconds alone with this guy someplace else.

“Stop it! What are you doing?”

His colleagues tried to stop him.

“Let go! I said let go! We haven’t done anything wrong!”

A commotion erupted for a while.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

Just then, they heard someone moving above them.

Everyone’s gazes turned, and Cha Dong-Gyun stepped back to look up.

“What are you doing?”

It was Kang Chan.

Seok Kang-Ho, Gérard, Choi Jong-Il, and Kang Chan were coming down the stairs together.

Click, click.

As Kang Chan walked over, the shouting man gulped.

It was understandable. Even Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard would feel nervous whenever Kang Chan was flushed because it always made their gut warn them of danger.

Kang Chan sharply looked at the people.

“Is there a problem?”

The man quickly looked away. “N-No, sir.”

Kang Chan was one thing, but when he saw Seok Kang-Ho’s and Gérard’s terrifying glares, he finally felt completely intimidated.

“Hurry and send those people out.”

Kang Chan turned toward Cha Dong-Gyun.

***

In a room at the International Hotel.

AK rifles, pistols, magazines, grenades, and even an RPG had been stacked on the bed.

People wearing baggy yellow military uniforms wrapped cloth around their forearms and shins and covered their faces with black bandanas.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The man with a crescent-shaped magazine looked around the room, his rifle at his right. He then pressed the button on his radio.

Beep

.

“We are out to right a wrong, to proclaim our great freedom and peace. With the blood shed in the temple today, we will be forgiven of all our sins, spared from hell, dwell in heaven, wear carnelian crowns on our heads, and marry seventy-two virgins!”

The eyes of the men listening flashed through their bandana.

“Dahana ruchibu [1]!”

The moment the masked men ran out, similarly dressed people came running from a room on the same floor.

“

Aaaaah

!” a female guest screamed. It almost sounded like a signal.

***

Beep.

“The warriors have left.”

Beep.

“We must take over the first floor to win. While the hostages are being brought out, protect them.”

Beep.

“Understood.”

The moment Abibu straightened, a loud explosion burst out, followed by a dazzling light emanating from the lobby and the forty-fifth floor of the International Building.

***

Boom! Boooom! Boom! Booom!

A huge amount of debris flew from the escalators and emergency stairs leading to the basement.

The ear-splitting explosion threw Kim Hyung-Jung into the air.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

All three armed agents with him were also thrown back as if they had been hurled toward the entrance.

***

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

The onlookers covered their heads and ran toward the road.

Chk.

“Return fire!”

It was hard to tell who gave the order, but they had definitely just been given permission to shoot.

Chk.

“Hold the perimeter. Don’t let them get out!”

They understood now.

It was the command of the head of the NIS counter-terrorism team.

Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang!

The enemies came right up through the connecting shaft into the lobby of the International Building. They were about to leave through the front entrance but went right back in.

Du du du! Thud! Du du du du! Thud!

Bang bang bang! Thud! Du du du du! Thud!

Soldiers fell to the ground.

The engagement kept the enemy from exiting the front door.

If it hadn’t been for the men of the 35th Brigade, if they hadn’t held the perimeter as they were trained to do with their lives, none of the bystanders and the people on the ground now would have survived.

***

The people looked completely stunned.

“Get inside!”

Kang Chan cursed and Seok Kang-Ho glared. Only then did they move the shaking civilians inside the office on the forty-seventh floor.

“I need one man to stay here. Everyone else, secure a way to the floors below,” Kang Chan commanded.

Cha Dong-Gyun and the soldiers rushed down.

Chk.

“Command, give me a report!”

Chk.

“There’s been an explosion in the basement and on the forty-fifth floor!”

It was a frantic radio call.

Chk.

“Masked gunmen have taken over the ground floor lobby. There are approximately fifty of them!”

Damn it!

He had wasted too much time getting a status report from above.

Chk.

“They’ve taken the International Hotel staff and guests as hostages. We’re getting a number!”

Kang Chan gritted his teeth.

Chk.

“The passage to the forty-fifth floor has been secured,” Cha Dong-Gyun radioed in.

Kang Chan dashed forward, and Seok Kang-Ho, Gérard, and Choi Jong-Il followed after him.

***

Du du du du! Du du! Du du du du! Du du du!

Pew! Peew! Pew! Pew!

The agents of the counter-terrorism team moved the fallen Kim Hyung-Jung and three others to a more secure location. They then held the stairs of the second floor.

Pew! Pew! Peew!

Seeing a shadow moving, two of the agents pulled the trigger.

Peeeeew!

White smoke billowed up the stairs.

“Missile incoming! Take cover!”

Craaash!

The two agents who had been shooting at them were blasted into the air and tumbled down the stairs.

AK rifles were then aimed at them.

Du du du! Du du! Du du du! Du du du du! Du du du du!

***

Chk.

“The enemy has shoulder-fired missiles! I repeat! The enemy has shoulder-fired missiles!” Kim Hyung-Jung reported. A series of rifle shots echoed behind him.

Chk.

“606! Situation report!”

Chk.

“We’re at the entrance to the first basement floor! There appears to be an explosion from four vans!” Jeong Won-Min quickly reported.

Chk.

“Two of the agents standing guard are down. Three are wounded.”

Five men lay covered in blood against the wall inside the underground parking garage.

Chk.

“The enemy has taken the first floor.”

Even if Kang Chan didn’t tell him about the situation, Jeong Won-Min had heard everything that had happened over the radio.

Chk.

“Secure the underground passage and stand by!”

Chk.

“Understood!”

Jeong Won-Min straightened his index and middle fingers and pointed ahead. He and four others then dashed up the stairs.

***

The attendant relayed the instructions and responses to Abibu.

Abibu extended his hand.

Beep.

“Looks like they’re trying to secure the stairs to the basement. Strike at the first opportunity you see.”

Beep.

“Understood.”

Abibu looked ahead with a satisfied expression.

***

Kang Chan headed down so quickly he looked as if he was flying.

To make up for the time it took to climb down broken stairs using ropes, he and the other soldiers ran down three or four flights of stairs at a time.

Even so, they still had about fifteen floors to go.

Chk.

“This is Kim Hyung-Jung. I’m on the second floor with the agents,” Kim Hyung-Jung reported. He sounded like he was talking through pain.

Chk.

“We’ll be there in a minute.”

They ran down the stairs using the emergency lights.

The footsteps, the clanking rifles, and the sound of heavy breathing were all they could hear.

Dash! Dash! Dash!

Booom! Boom!

As they descended from the seventh floor to the sixth floor, Kang Chan was slammed hard into the wall, and a terrible pain shot straight through him. It was as if his ears had been ripped out.

Soon after, they received a radio transmission from the situation room.

Chk.

“This is the first basement floor! The enemy threw a bag, and it exploded! The cameras are out, so we can’t check the basement!”

Kang Chan gritted his teeth and ran down.

Chk.

“This is 606! We saw an explosion on the stairs!” Jeong Won-Min radioed in.

Du du du! Du du! Du du du!

Pew! Pew! Peeew! Pew!

Over the radio and down the stairs, they could hear alternating gunfires.

Chk.

“606! Prepare for small missiles and secure the basement!”

Chk.

“Understood.”

They spoke as they ran.

“

Haah

!

Haah

!”

After two more flights, they finally saw the counter-terrorism team below.

***

Du du du du du du du du!

A military helicopter hovered over the International Building.

They didn’t know when they appeared, but there were reporters from different countries reporting on the situation with the International Building in the background.

Kim Gwan-Sik was sitting on the sofa watching TV. Next to him, Kim Mi-Young and his wife were also watching.

[The explosion occurred shortly after a helicopter landed on the roof of the International Building. I repeat. The first floor of the International Building has been occupied by masked forces.]

The news reporter quickly gave the viewers a timeline of what happened at the building today.

[Currently, about ten hostages are being held in the lobby on the ground floor, and we know that there are about seventy employees of Kotra and related organizations on the forty-fifth floor, where the explosion is believed to have occurred. According to those who have contacted family members by phone, they appear to have suffered no casualties.]

At that moment, an explosion burst out, causing the camera to shake. The reporter bent over.

[Oh!]

The reporter’s startled yelp and all the screams that erupted around him echoed through the TV.

[It’s an explosion! There’s just been another huge explosion!]

The camera panned to the building, zooming in as much as it could to show the lobby.

[Gunfire seems to have been exchanged.]

The scene changed dramatically as the camera turned to a group of soldiers aiming their guns at the building.

[The soldiers you’re looking at are from the 35th Brigade. The 606’s Special Operations Unit and the NIS counter-terrorism team appear to be inside. There are reports that the man who went down in the helicopter is the head of the team, but we don’t know for sure yet.]

Kim Gwan-Sik pursed his lips.

‘Kang Chan!’

He looked at Kim Mi-Young as the feed transitioned to the newscaster who was in the studio.

[We’ve panned the camera to the studio for a moment. Al Zazirah is now reporting an announcement from UIS, who says they claim responsibility for the attack. Let’s watch the live broadcast.]

A grainy screen popped up, showing a man wearing a black mask sitting at a desk and glaring at the camera.

When the man began speaking, a Korean interpreter relayed his words in a dry tone.

[We warn South Korea for insulting us.]

The top and bottom corners of the screen were filled with indecipherable Arabic.

[South Korea has insulted us in Afghanistan, Africa, and Libya. Until the country admits its sins and apologizes, South Korea will not be able to escape our attacks.]

The man nodded, and the screen cut off.

1. Let’s go ☜