Chapter 274: FRB (2)

“Yeah, he went to Nicaragua,” Robert replied.

Isaiah Franklin froze.

“Is Doctor Ryu investigating patients with genetic conditions there?” she asked.

“How did you know?”

Robert’s eyes widened, and Isaiah Franklin clenched her teeth.

“He’s crazy... Absolutely insane...”

Young-Joon knew that Isaiah Franklin was a genetically modified human and that she was from Groom Lake Air Force Base. But then, he decided to go to Nicaragua all of a sudden and examine individuals with genetic conditions? He was obviously trying to catch the unethical research that took place at that facility.

“Is he crazy?!” Isaiah Franklin shouted. “Why doesn’t Ryu Young-Joon know how to lay low? That bastard! Why is he doing that when he knows what kind of person he’s up against?”

“W-What are you talking about?” Robert asked, flustered.

“Damn it... Robert, you seem to be the most sensible out of all the agents I’ve met since I got here, and you seem friendly to Doctor Ryu, so I’m going to ask you for a favor.”

“Don’t. I’m supposed to be interrogating you.”

“Protect Ryu Young-Joon,” she said. “It might be too late already, but...”

Thud.

The door to the interrogation room opened. CIA Agent Whittaker walked in with the chief operations officer.

At the top of the ladder, there were three main commanders.

First, there was the director. The director was the most powerful person and had all authority over the CIA, but they rarely actually worked for the agency. This was because the director held a cabinet-level position and was primarily responsible to the DNI, the White House, and Congress.

Second, there was the deputy director. They were effectively the administrative head of the CIA—they set internal policy and directed the agency’s various operations.

However, the director and deputy director were actually politicians appointed by the president to work at the CIA. What the CIA actually did depended largely on the discretion of the chief operations officer, who served as the bridge between the directors and the agency. The chief operations officer was not a politician, but a CIA operative who had worked for the CIA for a long time; the person who rose to the highest position among them was appointed as the chief.

“...”

Robert became a little nervous.

“I heard that you haven’t gotten any information so far,” said the chief operations officer.

“I’m sorry, sir. We tried confession drugs, but they did not work,” Whittaker said.

“... The Director told you to do the best you can within the law only because he’s a politician,” said the chief operations officer. “As the operatives, we should be able to do things outside the law out of patriotism if necessary.”

He briskly walked towards Isaiah Franklin and pulled out a gun.

“There are nine bullets loaded in this pistol,” he said to Isaiah Franklin. “Seeing that you haven’t said anything so far, I’m guessing you’re prepared to die anyways, so let’s not drag this out. I’ll interrogate you eight times and let you go.”

Robert and Whittaker’s eyes widened.

“Sir!”

“This is best for the country.”

The chief pointed his pistol at Isaiah Franklin’s arm. He moved so quickly that neither Robert nor Whittaker had time to stop him.

Psh!

Hot sparks flew from the silencer attached to the pistol. Isaiah Franklin groaned softly at the tearing pain in her muscles.

“Agh...”

“I’ll give you ten minutes. If you change your mind, talk.”

Pew! Pew!

The chief fired two more bullets, alternating between her left and right arm.

“Sir, wait!”

Robert and Whittaker, who had come to their senses, ran towards the chief operations officer and tried to restrain him.

“We’re here to gain information, not kill her!”

“That’s why she can keep her mouth shut,” said the chief. “I’m really going to kill her. I hear she’s got some kind of illness and doesn’t have long to live anyway.”

He fired another bullet into her thigh.

“Tell me where the polyomavirus and botulinum toxin are going to be used.”

As he pointed the pistol at the other thigh...

Thud!

The door to the interrogation room opened. Robert’s knees almost gave out in surprise, as Director Harris of the CIA and President Campbell walked in.

“M-Mr. President? Mr. Director?”

“Step aside,” Campbell said.

He approached Isaiah Franklin and examined her face.

“Did you torture her?” Campbell asked Harris.

“I told them to do the best they could within the limits of the law. But this...”

Harris gulped, looking at the gunshot wound.

“I did it,” said the chief operations officer.

“Were you going to kill her?” Harris asked.

“I believed you were thinking the same thing, Mr. Director.”

“Stop making nonsense accusations and leave.”

Harris pointed at the lobby.

“...”

The chief operations officer glanced at Campbell.

“Sir, this is dangerous. Be careful.”

His advice held weight.

Click.

Campbell let out a small sigh as the chief operations officer left.

“I don’t know if he means to be careful of Lofair or this terrorist.”

“I’m guessing the former,” Harris said.

“Aren’t you afraid of Lofair?”

“I am, which is why I was going to eliminate Isaiah Franklin at first, but I work for the White House. I work for the president,” Harris said.

“... I can trust you, right?”

“Of course.”

“Wait, I can’t follow what you are saying right now,” Whittaker intervened. “What are you talking about?”

Campbell and Harris glanced at Whittaker and Robert, who seemed confused.

“Wait...” said Isaiah Franklin, who was groaning from pain.

“I don’t think the president would come all this way to personally interrogate a terrorist like me,” she said in a diminishing voice, “You’re talking about whether to be afraid of Lofair or not, so I’m guessing you’re betting on Ryu Young-Joon?”

“That’s right,” Campbell replied briefly and turned to Harris. “Director Harris, the CIA is too dangerous. They have too many connections here. And since she can’t testify or anything in this state, let’s get her to safety and seek medical attention.”

“Understood.”

“Crazy bastards. We’re going to have another presidential election,” Isaiah Franklin said. “Look, I don’t care if your government falls, I don’t care if your president dies. I don’t care if A-GenBio falls into the hands of Lofair, but Ryu Young-Joon can’t die. The Lofairs will pull out all the stops. Keep him safe.”

“It’s none of your business,” Harris said.

Harris then glanced at Robert and Whittaker, gesturing with his head.

“Let’s take her outside. We need to keep her out of people’s sight. There’s a safe house out in Virgina and a doctor we can trust.”

“...”

“We can trust them, too, right?” Campbell asked Harris.

“They are skilled officers, clean guys who have never taken sides. They still believe the CIA is an organization dedicated to serving the nation,” Harris said.

Campbell chuckled. He led the men through a secret passage to a waiting vehicle.

Isaiah Franklin, who was bandaged up to slightly stem the bleeding, was in critical condition.

“Just hold on a little longer,” Harris said.

Isaiah Franklin, sitting weakly in the back seat, looked at Campbell.

The car began moving.

“A long time ago, when the Federal Reserve Act was passed...” Campbell said. “Senator Charles Lindbergh said, ‘From the moment the President signed the bill into law, an invisible government of plutocracy was authorized in the United States. One day, the people will have to re-engage in an independence movement to free themselves from it.’”

“...”

“I already bet on the underdog in this game, and I think they’re going to win.”

*

“What?” exclaimed Director Kim Young-Hoon in surprise.

The news from the CEO secretary’s office was shocking.

“The American media is reporting on Mr. Ryu’s alleged breach of trust,” Yoo Song-Mi said, her voice trembling.

“Mr. Ryu? Breach of trust? What the hell are you talking about?”

“Would you like to read it?”

Yoo Song-Mi handed Kim Young-Hoon an article from the New York Post.

[... A-GenBio’s recent project is very sudden, considering that it is in collaboration with the government of a country. It was decided without the approval of the board of directors, which was possible because CEO Ryu Young-Joon is in sole control of management. As such, it’s questionable whether it was a reasonable decision-making process for a publicly traded company.

[There is another problematic aspect. The pharmaceuticals that A-GenBio delivered to Nicaragua were valued at seven billion dollars. Including the transportation costs and manpower, it would be worth tens of billions of dollars. However, A-GenBio only received fifteen billion dollars from the Nicaraguan government.

[Considering that there are many governments in the developed world that would pay much more for A-GenBio’s visiting healthcare project, the company’s decision to proceed with Nicaragua is puzzling.

[Even if it was a humanitarian project to prioritize aid to underdeveloped countries, this project becomes CEO Ryu Young-Joon’s mistake, as a publicly traded company should function for the benefit of its shareholders, not for the public good.

[In this context, rumors that CEO Ryu Young-Joon received a bribe from the Nicaraguan government...]

“What is this bullshit!” Kim Young-Hoon shouted in anger. “Put out a press release immediately! There is no such thing, and the reason why A-GenBio chose Nicaragua as its first project is because the country has a population of six million, which is a good sample size for a pilot experiment, and a significant percentage of them have genetic conditions!

“And getting approval from the board of directors for a ten billion dollar project at a company as big as ours? Ha!

They

don’t even do that. Those crazy bastards...”

Kim Young-Hoon trembled at this pointless and blatant attack.

“Come to think of it, A-GenBio

is

a company that works for the benefit of its shareholders, not humanity! That’s why the CEO himself went to Nicaragua to do more research in order to grow our share and increase shareholder profits!”

“Sir!”

Someone barged into Kim Young-Hoon’s office. It was the manager of the corporate planning division.

“What is it now?!” asked Kim Young-Hoon, trying to control his nerves.

“Chenover Financial Holdings in the United States have made a public announcement!”

“What announcement?”

“They announced that they own a five percent stake of A-GenBio!”

“What?”

Holding a five percent stake required a public disclosure because having that much gave one the right to participate in management. Conversely, if someone owned less than that, they didn’t have to disclose.

Wall Street banks, large corporations, and private individuals had bought A-GenBio shares in very small amounts. A-GenBio’s management was aware of this, but it was such a small amount that they didn’t pay much attention to it.

But now, the small shares held by eighty-seven financial firms and banks around the world, and two hundred eleven wealthy individuals, had moved all at once. It all moved to Chenover Financial Holdings, leading to five percent, which was not a small amount.

“Wait, how is that possible? How could one institution buy all of that in one day, as if they promised?” asked Kim Young-Hoon, flustered.

“I need to get a call,” Yoo Song-Mi said, stepping out of the room.

“Who’s the CEO of Chenover Financial Holdings?” Kim Young-Hoon asked the division manager.

“It’s Tate Lofair.”

“Does he want to participate in our management?” Kim Young-Hoon asked.

This was obviously a hostile investment. Of course, given the overwhelming equity Young-Joon had and friendly stakes, five percent was not enough to shake up the management. But it also wasn’t a negligible value.

“Yes. They have called for a board meeting. The agenda shows that they want a full overview and breakdown of A-GenBio’s project in Nicaragua...”

“What the fxxk is up with Nicaragua that the United States is making such a fuss over them? Did they bury gold there or something?”

Kim Young-Hoon pulled on his hair in annoyance.

“Sir!”

Yoo Song-Mi ran into his office again.

“What else? Please tell me it’s good news this time.”

“It’s Mr. Ryu on the phone.”

She handed him her phone, which was connected to a call from the secretary’s office.

*

“You don’t need to worry,” Young-Joon said in a calm voice.

—You’ve hinted before that your project in Nicaragua might conflict with U.S. banks. Please tell me honestly: who exactly are you dealing with now, and what is it about?

“It’s the Lofair family, a big player in the financial world. The head of the family, Alphonse Lofair, conducted human experiments while running the National Institute of Health in Nicaragua,” Young-Joon explained.

—My god...

Kim Young-Hoon took a deep breath.

—No wonder the attack was so strong. Now they’ve demanded that the board of directors convene. What are you going to do...

“Don’t worry. We’ve already won,” Young-Joon said.

—What?

“I have all the cards in my hand. I just need a little more time. Tell them I’ll hold the A-GenBio board meeting in three weeks.”

—Three weeks?

“Yes. The situation will come to an end in the meantime.”

Then, Young-Joon hung up the phone. Evidence proving that the patients’ DNA had been tampered with using TALENs was being collected on his computer.