Bab 530: Chapter 530: Retrieve the Troops at Once
The person who appeared with the soldiers was none other than Sergey Borisovich Ivanov, the representative of the Siloviki.
Moreover, he wasn't alone. Sergey Lebedev, the Director of the SVR, was with him.
As armed soldiers entered the camp, the mercenaries began to tense up.
The Zaslon members also stiffened, but once they recognized the SVR Director, their guard fell. They all rushed over to salute him.
Receiving their salute, Lebedev glanced my way. Upon catching his eye, I shot him a smile.
I slowly walked down the stairs towards them.
As I closed the distance, Manager Ma positioned himself to draw his weapon at a moment's notice, while the bodyguards surrounding me kept their guard up.
When I got closer to Ivanov, I deliberately lightened the mood with a jest.
"Minister of National Defense, it's been a while."
Finally, I stood before Ivanov, extending my hand first.
"Is it only been a year since we last met?"
Ivanov, who had been staring at me stoically, took my hand.
"Seems like it, Kim Mu-hyeok."
His thick hand had a firm grip. Yet, we both managed to finish the handshake with smiles without revealing any tension.
"What brings you here?"
"I heard a few days ago about an important operation I know nothing about. So, I came to inspect it myself."
"Hmm. I heard from the President that Russian military will not be involved in this operation?"
Even though I mentioned the President, Ivanov answered without hesitation.
"That's the official stance. Unofficially, however, our special forces are being deployed for the operation too. I need to understand what's really going on."
"…Let's step inside first. There are too many eyes around."
"Let's do that."
Even as we spoke, I felt Lebedev glaring at me, but I thoroughly ignored him.
Before entering, I turned to Ivanov and said, "Please send the soldiers you brought back outside the camp. This is Black Bear's camp. Bringing troops here without permission isn't proper etiquette."
"In Russia, there's no place our military can't go."
"But this is our camp, which I received from the President. No one can enter without my permission. Your actions now disregard the authority the President granted me. Do you think you stand above the President?"
"…"
"Is that how you see it, Minister of National Defense Sergey Ivanov?"
Sergey Ivanov was the first civilian Minister of National Defense of the Russian Federation.
He had made a grand entrance into the center of power after Yeltsin, typical of the Siloviki.
From then on, until my death, this man remained at the center of Russian power.
"What will it be?"
"We'll handle it physically."
Ivanov didn't engage in unnecessary power struggles. He ordered Lebedev standing behind him.
"Hey, Lebedev. Withdraw all troops outside the camp."
"But…"
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"Understood."
After giving the command, Ivanov turned his gaze back toward me and asked.
"Do the Zaslon members need to be sent out too?"
"They are already part of the camp. You don't have to. However, they must follow our orders diligently within the camp. I'll address the issue of any soldiers who come here and disobey later."
"That is…"
"There are no exceptions. The moment you start making exceptions, operations end in failure. The Minister from the FSB should know that better than I do, right? Leave the fieldwork to those in the field. Isn't that so?"
Mentioning the FSB, he nodded as if he had no choice but to comply.
"Still, soldiers are a different concern. They'll follow any orders during an operation."
"Let's head inside for now. Treating the soldiers is something the commander, Igor, should handle, not me."
I nodded towards where the mercenaries were gathered, and seeing that, Ivanov said.
"So Igor is really here."
"Do you know him?"
"I do. We didn't have the best relationship, though. It's hard to forget a man who was once a legend among the Russian military."
"Is that so?"
I never expected Ivanov would know about Igor. I'd have to find out later what kind of person he was.
While conversing, I guided Ivanov to the building within the camp.
"I heard at one point that the legend became a mercenary, and now he's under you, Kim Mu-hyeok."
"Thanks to him, I got my hands on some good knives."
"We have no complaints. Not taking care of them was the Soviets' failure, but it's also a fact that we couldn't take care of them during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the change of regime. So, thank you, Kim Mu-hyeok."
I brought them into the attached conference room inside the building. We all sat facing each other.
The conference room was just me, Manager Ma, Ivanov, and Lebedev.
I didn't skirt around the issue; I asked straight away what brought them here.
"So, what brings you here?"
"The target of this operation is Kim Jong-il, correct?"
"…Didn't you come here knowing?"
"Even hearing it, I found it hard to believe. The President himself delivered it to me directly. The only ones who know about it are me and Director Lebedev here."
It seemed Ivanov was aware of my concerns, as he promptly added.
"That's right. The objective is to capture Kim Jong-il alive. If that's difficult, my goal is to eliminate him."
"…"
Silence permeated the meeting room. Soon Ivanov snickered.
Though I had heard it once already, to hear the objective so plainly stated was utterly ridiculous.
"You're saying to capture a head of state… Kim Mu-hyeok, are you fearless or simply not thinking of the consequences? Do you genuinely believe you can succeed?"
"Well, only time will tell, right?"
"Is that why you requested our special forces for this? If it gets out that Russia is involved in this…"
I interrupted Ivanov.
"What are you implying? I never asked for the Russian military. The President requested my assistance, didn't he? The order was reversed here."
"What do you mean…? Are you saying the President personally authorized support for the Zaslon units?"
"Aren't you aware of that?"
"…"
I had no idea what the President was thinking.
Had he not clearly explained the details of this operation to the Minister of National Defense?
Or was it simply that to him, this was just another fleeting incident?
I sighed while looking at the oblivious Minister of National Defense.
"Huh… listen closely, Minister. There's a nuclear weapon from the Soviet Union that ended up in North Korea."
"I'm aware of that."
"Once this operation is completed, that nuclear weapon will return to Russia, unnoticed. The President has dispatched special forces for that purpose. I didn't request it myself. If you're looking to retrieve your troops, you'd better hurry. That would suit me just fine."
I absolutely detested complex matters.
The success of our operations led solely by mercenaries was already in question; the thought of getting caught up in petty squabbles over minor interests only annoyed me.
I found it both tiresome and tedious to sit with them now, explaining in detail.
"…The order from the President has already been issued. There are areas we cannot act freely."
"Then why did you send Arshavin to disobey orders? The agreement with the President clearly stated to 'follow our orders without question.'"
"That's not our position. The Director of the SVR here acted unilaterally. I must apologize for that."
Ivanov expressed his apologies. Then he yelled at Lebedev sitting beside him.
"What are you doing! Apologize quickly!"
With Ivanov barking at him, Lebedev quickly bowed his head.
"…I'm sorry. I wanted to see if I could trust you with our troops. If that upset you, I apologize. It won't happen again."
This guy casually lies without even a hint of embarrassment.
I wanted to play along with what felt like a scripted performance, but my mood was far from good.
I smirked slightly, looking down at the top of Lebedev's head.
"Is that so? You wanted to see if you could trust me? But I heard that after sending Arshavin back, you went to Medvedev and caused a scene."
"That's… Arshavin is an important figure in our SVR. Someone like him came back with injuries that were not recoverable. Wouldn't it be reasonable to question that?"
"Hmm."
I swallowed my words, observing Lebedev. He bore a discontented expression, clearly wresting within but had not defied Ivanov's orders.
It dawned on me how Lebedev had risen to the position of SVR Director. I was curious as to why he suddenly shifted from a hardline stance to a more conciliatory approach.
"It's already in the past. When you send the commander again, please instruct him to adhere strictly to Igor's directives. That way, I won't raise it again as an issue."
"I'll do so."
"Igor will be in command of overall operations, but the Zaslon unit will be in charge of retrieving the nuclear weapon. You can discuss the details with Igor later."
I broke my gaze from Lebedev and turned back to Ivanov.
Ivanov appeared to be the blunt type who didn't like beating around the bush; once more, he drove straight into the matter.
"Minister, I've heard the Siloviki don't favor me. We've faced significant obstacles regarding the Yugansk acquisition. What's your reason for suddenly coming out like this?"
"Can I speak honestly? I see no reason to oppose Kim Mu-hyeok. Your influence in Russia comes from the trust placed in you by the President, and to maintain that alliance, you would want the President's continued reign. Isn't that so?"
Thank goodness, the higher-ups are thinking clearly. I raised an eyebrow, nodding in agreement.
"But do we have a reason to oppose?"
"I didn't provoke anyone first. In fact, the Siloviki have been the ones to keep provoking. I've barely even retaliated, so calling it hostility seems a bit excessive in my view."
"I know. Yet, it was pretty risky this time. The hardliners even contemplated assassination."
Is he trying to threaten me? My face stiffened, and Ivanov continued speaking.
"Don't misunderstand. I'm merely stating that such conversations occurred. I've sorted it out myself."
"Do you realize the weight of that statement?"
He casually said he had intended to kill me.
Of course, I had anticipated it too, but nobody could predict how events might unfold.
"I understand. Bringing up something that doesn't need to be disclosed is me asking you to trust the Siloviki. We desire only the long-term governance of the President. Henceforth, we will no longer withhold support for your endeavors, Kim Mu-hyeok. That's why I'm here."
"Are you suggesting I team up with the Siloviki?"
"Not with the entire Siloviki, but with me, Sergey Ivanov. I'll rein in the Siloviki for you."
Ivanov clarified that he wanted to align himself with me, not the entire Siloviki.
"What's in it for you?"
"To surpass Medvedev and become the second-in-command. That's my goal. So please assist me a bit, Kim Mu-hyeok."
The idea of wanting to surpass Medvedev—his ambition was clear, and I couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
At this moment, that was an entirely unattainable goal. Medvedev had no weaknesses, yet this man here held considerable power.
There was no way someone like Ivanov could replace Medvedev.
Moreover, I had no intentions of making anyone other than Medvedev my second-in-command.
Medvedev was my greatest ally in Russia.
"That's going to be difficult. Even if I offer you my support, the master of the Kremlin won't permit that."
I rejected Ivanov's proposition.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone