Perfect Mission Chapter 30 - Warning (3)

Chapter 30 – Warning (3)

Golf courses aren’t empty, even at night. The bright lights illuminating the course create a beautiful scene, which hotel guests enjoy.

“Rich people…”

The common flaw in Korean security systems is that while the main entrance is heavily guarded, the security inside is often lax. Foreign countries usually use manpower to fill this gap, but Korea is reluctant to spend money on labor in this way. Think about it. Who would try to break into a golf course at night? It was a very rational management decision, and it was also a great help to Junho.

Junho, leaving the unpaved grassy area, brushed off his clothes and headed towards the clubhouse. He was dressed in golf attire, which was easy to acquire. With a Boston bag slung over his shoulder, he looked like a guest who had come for a night game of golf, except for the earphones in his ears.

“Mr. Hwang! What’s with you today? Are you trying to take all my money?”

“Hahaha! I had a strange dream last night, and I think I’ve been possessed by a ghost. The ball is just sticking to my hand.”

Junho walked past the locker room where guests were chatting and headed up the stairs. If there had been an employee, they would have stopped him, but at night, there were fewer staff members, and they didn’t notice him.

Click, clack!

As expected, the metal door to the rooftop was locked. But Junho wasn’t fazed. He opened his Boston bag and took out two thin wires. He had learned how to pick locks before becoming an agent, and surprisingly, not many foreign agents knew how to do it. They usually just shot their way through in a hurry.

After fiddling with the lock for about thirty seconds, he felt a click, and he opened the door and stepped onto the rooftop.

He walked to the edge of the rooftop, opened his bag, and made a call.

“Put on your robe and head to the pool. Now.”

[Understood.]

The moment he confirmed that the 4:20 flight was from China, he was certain that it was Evil Ghost’s arrival time. As expected, someone had checked into the room next door, and the eavesdropping was proceeding smoothly. He had sent Gyeongsik to the pool to prevent any unforeseen accidents. He turned up the volume on his earpiece.

Listening to the heated argument between Evil Ghost and the bald man, Junho assembled his Remington MSR.

Click! Clack!

With a series of cold, mechanical sounds, the rifle took shape. He attached the silencer and the scope and brought the stock to his shoulder. He adjusted the scope’s magnification, zooming in on the window of the target room.

Usually, high-end hotels were built tall, making them impossible to snipe unless there was another tall building nearby. But this hotel wasn’t very tall, and they had built a golf course with a clubhouse on a hill, providing the perfect vantage point. The sniping angle was perfect.

An agent with any real-world experience would never have chosen that room, and to make matters worse, the blinds were only partially drawn, revealing a desire to enjoy the view. Then again, if he was going to hole himself up in the same room every time, with the blinds drawn, what was the point of staying there?

‘Killing the security guard was a mistake.’

Junho thought of the funeral portrait and the devastated parents. The moment they started treating human lives like pawns on a chessboard, they had forfeited their right to live.

Junho listened to the shouting in the hotel room, sent an email, and focused on the scope again.

“Phew…”

He took a deep breath, steadying his breathing. He felt his phone vibrate, touched his earpiece, and said, “I have a question.”

A cool breeze brushed against his forehead, and his finger on the trigger began to tighten.

 

***

One minute earlier, at the hotel.

Evil Ghost scowled at the bald man.

“So, you’re saying you haven’t accomplished a single thing?”

“I apologize. But we’ve confirmed that the information we received was false, and that Gorilla is targeting us…”

“He’s targeting you.”

The bald man, stung, corrected himself.

“Yes, he’s targeting me. On the other hand, it could be a ploy to instigate a conflict between ASA’s Korean branch and Gorilla.”

“Why?”

“Could there be another organization targeting Korea?”

“Hmph!”

Evil Ghost scoffed, dismissing the idea. While Korea was becoming a lucrative market for drugs, it was still no match for other regions. The idea of someone trying to take on ASA for a bit of profit was ridiculous. And even if it were true, it wouldn’t restore his tarnished reputation.

The bald man, sensing his cold reaction, became desperate.

“Otherwise, why would they give us false information about Gorilla…”

Evil Ghost, having heard enough, gestured to his subordinate. Before the startled bald man could say anything, two men rushed in, subdued him, and forced him into a chair.

“Director! Director! Please listen to me…!”

Evil Ghost pulled up a chair and sat in front of the pale-faced bald man.

“I have one rule when it comes to work. Hey, bring me something to eat.”

At Evil Ghost’s irritated gesture, a subordinate brought him a plate of sliced apples. He speared a piece with a small fork, took a bite with a crunch, and continued.

“Never let emotions get in the way of work. I used to be a soft-hearted person. I couldn’t even kill people at first. Then, about 15 years ago, I was sent to kill a party official who had betrayed us. He had a kid. My orders were to kill everyone, but… the kid was only… this big… you know?”

Evil Ghost gestured to his knee, and the bald man, still pale, listened.

“How could I kill such a small child? I just left. I was being merciful… I had a good heart. You understand, right? But then the traitorous party official sent a killer after me. What do you think happened next?”

“…”

“They all died. Except for me. My wife, my children, my parents… they all died, and I was the only one who survived. From that day on, I established one rule.”

The bald man’s face grew paler, and Evil Ghost’s voice rose.

“I will carry out my orders without fail, and my subordinates will do the same. Success will be rewarded handsomely, but failure will be punished without mercy! And! A promise of death will always be kept!”

“Please… spare me!”

“Jingxuan!”

The man called Jingxuan took out his phone and made a call. And then…

“Honey!”

“Dad! Dad!”

Wails came from the phone. The bald man slammed his head on the floor and shouted,

“Kill me, and please spare my family! Please! Kill me, and just spare my family… I have 20 million yuan (about 3.8 billion won) in cash. I’ll give it all to you, please, just my family…”

Evil Ghost finished his apple, looked at the woman and children on the screen, then at the bald man, and said, “Money? Hmm~ Rules are more important than money. If you have clear rules, money will follow. But if the rules are broken, you lose everything. Just like you.”

Evil Ghost then said to the man holding the family hostage,

“Start with the fingers, one by one.”

This wasn’t just for the bald man. It was a demonstration for all his subordinates, a reminder of who he was.

“Please!”

“Start with the kid.”

“Director! Please!”

As the bald man’s screams echoed through the room, his phone chimed with a new email.

“Wait.”

Normally, he wouldn’t have cared, but the sender caught his eye. He gestured for his subordinate to hold the phone up. Gorilla. The email had come to the same address he’d used to send the Daewon Chemicals mission. The timing was strange, and it bothered him. He read the email, and his brow furrowed.

[010-2892-xxxx I want to talk.]

Evil Ghost stroked his chin, thinking for a moment, then called the number.

Ring… Ring…

After a few rings, Gorilla answered. He didn’t speak first.

Evil Ghost crossed his legs and said, “You wanted to talk.”

He deliberately spoke in Chinese.

[I have a question.]

He replied in Korean.

Evil Ghost, who had never spoken to Gorilla before, started recording the call. A voice recording would be useful later.

“What is it?”

[Why did you try to kill me?]

“A misunderstanding. We never meant any harm.”

[So, you’re not going to tell the truth.]

“…”

[I have a rule too.]

Evil Ghost’s face hardened.

‘He was listening? How?’

He looked at his subordinates, one by one. There was a traitor among them, or there was a bug he didn’t know about. He needed to figure out what was going on, but Gorilla didn’t give him time.

[Blood for blood. That’s my rule.]

The moment he said that—

Thud!

The side of the bald man’s, Wind Wolf’s, head exploded.

In that split second, Evil Ghost, seeing the direction of the impact, dropped to the floor.

“Get down!”

The shattered window, the flapping blinds, and the blood, gore, and brain matter splattered across the room instantly transformed the hotel suite into a hellish battlefield. Evil Ghost hadn’t felt this kind of tension in a long time, and it enraged him.

“You son of a bitch!”

It was the first time he had spoken Korean since the call began.

[Aren’t you curious why I didn’t shoot you first?]

Evil Ghost, still on the floor, crawled towards the entrance and said, “I’m going to kill you.”

[You’re not listening. Don’t be a coward. I’m not going to kill you today. I have a few questions. First, why did you kill Goblin?]

“Goblin? What the hell are you talking about?”

After a brief pause, the voice on the other end continued.

[Then tell me who gave you the false information about me.]

Evil Ghost slammed his fist on the floor in frustration.

“You think I’m going to tell you that?”

[…I’ve had many enemies, and none of them have escaped without regret. You will be no different. Understand, Èguǐ (Evil Ghost)? Today was a warning. Next time, the same rule will apply to you. We’ll talk again.]

Gorilla hung up.

“That bastard…”

Evil Ghost trembled, knowing that Gorilla knew who he was. It had been a long time since he had been targeted with such blatant killing intent, since he had practically retired from the field.