Baixar aplicativo
52.73% Genius Grandson of the Loan Shark King / Chapter 443: Chapter 443: I Think I Know That Person

Capítulo 443: Chapter 443: I Think I Know That Person

Three stars adorned the cap of the man in military uniform.

But An Hyun-soo didn't notice them at all.

His gaze was fixed on the man in the suit.

"Chief An Hyun-soo, what are you doing here? This isn't even your jurisdiction."

The man in the suit spoke up.

"Who gave you permission to come here? Did Commissioner Han send you? Since when does Incheon Police send their SWAT team to my area without approval?"

A barrage of mocking questions disguised as inquiries poured out. An Hyun-soo bit his lip hard and saluted.

"Sir!"

The man in the suit was Lee Seong-jae, the Commissioner of Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency I had mentioned earlier.

Lee Seong-jae casually returned An Hyun-soo's salute and continued speaking.

"I asked what you're doing here."

When An Hyun-soo still hesitated to answer, Lee Seong-jae's face contorted angrily as he growled.

"Not going to answer, huh? Then I'll just call Commissioner Han and ask him myself."

As Lee Seong-jae pulled out his phone, An Hyun-soo hastily spoke up.

"We received a report of a gunfight here and rushed to the scene."

"A gunfight? What nonsense is this?"

Lee Seong-jae frowned and turned to the man in military uniform beside him.

"Lieutenant General, was there any training in the area?"

"We had shooting practice today. Of course there would be gunshots."

"Is that so? Ah, you should introduce yourself too. This is Lieutenant General Park Ji-hoon, in charge of the 5th Corps covering Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces."

An Hyun-soo's gaze finally turned to Lieutenant General Park Ji-hoon.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lieutenant General Park Ji-hoon."

Park Ji-hoon said, curling up the corners of his mouth.

An Hyun-soo's face turned pale for a moment, but he quickly composed himself and saluted.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you. But why are you here?"

"Well, I was having dinner with Commissioner Lee at the promotion hall when we got word that armed suspects were headed this way. I quickly mobilized my subordinate units and came here."

Soldiers were already pouring out of military transport trucks, securing the perimeter.

"…Does the Corps Commander personally move for such matters?"

"Armed suspects entered my jurisdiction without permission. Of course I should move personally for the safety of our citizens."

It was rare for a Corps Commander to move personally. Yet he responded as if it were only natural.

Something seemed off about this situation. Feeling the gazes of the two men, An Hyun-soo swallowed his anger and asked:

"You mentioned armed suspects?"

"Can't the team leader see them?"

Park Ji-hoon said this while turning his gaze towards the police SWAT team.

"Wait, are you calling our police SWAT team suspects? We're a special operations unit that exists to protect citizens from terrorism and crime!"

An Hyun-soo raised his voice after confirming where Park's gaze was directed.

"That might be true for a normal deployment. But is this a proper deployment? From what I hear, this was an unauthorized operation. Unless I'm mistaken, in which case I'll apologize."

"…"

An Hyun-soo took a sharp breath at Park Ji-hoon's chilling gaze.

He couldn't readily answer. It was true that he had moved the SWAT team on his own without reporting to his superiors.

He had even moved the SWAT team to an area outside their jurisdiction. This could potentially cause big problems later.

"Why can't you answer? Speak up."

When there was still no response, Park Ji-hoon turned to Lee Seong-jae beside him and asked:

"Commissioner Lee, is this a proper deployment?"

"No, it's not. There's no reason for Incheon Police Special Operations to deploy to Gyeonggi Province without my permission. They should send a cooperation request and get my approval before any operation."

Park Ji-hoon glared at An Hyun-soo again and said:

"Commissioner Lee says it's not. What do you think?"

"…The situation was urgent, so we couldn't follow proper procedures."

"Then the answer is clear. Will you continue the operation? Or will you withdraw now?"

When An Hyun-soo just bit his lip and said nothing, Park Ji-hoon raised an eyebrow.

"I'm the one who needs to protect this place."

"It's overstepping for the military to interfere in police matters."

An Hyun-soo took issue with the military's involvement in this affair.

"Overstepping? Commissioner Lee, am I overstepping?"

"No, I requested your assistance."

"You heard him, right? The head of Gyeonggi police personally requested military assistance. Is this still overstepping?"

It was overstepping. Even a Corps Commander couldn't mobilize troops recklessly.

But An Hyun-soo couldn't say that out loud.

"Still, we need to verify. We came because of a report. We can't just withdraw like this. We need to at least check inside."

Lee Seong-jae picked up on An Hyun-soo's words.

"Oh really? Then let's all check together. Have your men fall back."

"B-but…"

"Team Leader An Hyun-soo!"

Lee Seong-jae bellowed before kicking An Hyun-soo hard in the shin.

An Hyun-soo staggered but quickly straightened up after seeing Lee Seong-jae's fierce glare.

"Just because you're in charge of the SWAT team, you think you can ignore rank? Or do you find my words funny? Did Commissioner Han tell you to disrespect me?"

"No, sir!"

"I outrank your commissioner, you bastard!"

"I apologize. That wasn't my intention."

"Don't think this will blow over quietly!"

Lee Seong-jae addressed the SWAT team members behind An Hyun-soo:

"This is Commissioner Lee Seong-jae of Gyeonggi Provincial Police. Everyone get back in the bus and standby."

Despite Lee Seong-jae's order, the SWAT team members hesitated, glancing around nervously.

"You bastards! Have you lost your minds? What are you? I outrank your commander! Are you disobeying?"

When Lee Seong-jae raised his voice, they began lowering their weapons one by one.

"Go wait in the bus. We won't hold you responsible."

Only then did the SWAT team members salute Lee Seong-jae and move towards the bus.

"Team Leader An Hyun-soo."

"Yes, Commissioner."

"You said we need to check inside. You come along too. I'm curious what made you come here ignoring all procedures."

There was nothing An Hyun-soo could do now.

While Lee Seong-jae was talking with An Hyun-soo, Park Ji-hoon had already started walking.

"Sir!"

Team Leader Kim Dae-seong saluted as Lieutenant General Park Ji-hoon approached. Park Ji-hoon returned the salute and lowered his hand.

"I heard you joined Black Secret, Colonel Kim. It's good to see you."

"Yes, Division Commander."

"Hey, hey. I'm Corps Commander now."

"Is that so? Come to think of it, you've been promoted to Lieutenant General. You have three stars now."

An Hyun-soo could tell they were quite close from how friendly Kim Dae-seong's voice was, unlike when dealing with him earlier.

"Are you going to stop me too?"

"I'm sorry. I was ordered not to let anyone in. It's not something I can decide on my own."

"Well, well. Still as stubborn as ever, I see."

Kim Dae-seong spoke firmly, but Park Ji-hoon just laughed.

Just then, a voice came from the entrance.

"You've arrived, Lieutenant General."

* * *

"Seo Jae-hoon, things aren't going your way, are they?"

Seo Jae-hoon furrowed his brow as he saw the military forces that had arrived shortly after the police SWAT team.

It was clear he was trying to assess the situation.

"This is what happens when you try to clumsily implicate me."

Instead of explaining, I just sneered and turned away.

"Where are you going? I warned you not to move."

"Now that all the spectators have gathered, we should let them in, don't you think?"

"Stop. If you move, I'll kill Lee Seok-min."

I just turned my head and smiled at Seo Jae-hoon's words.

Seeing my smile, Seo Jae-hoon frowned.

"If you want to save Lee Seok-min, send everyone away."

Left alone for a while, this bastard seems to think he can treat people like fools. I shrugged nonchalantly and retorted:

"Seo Jae-hoon. Do you think I'm an idiot? Why would I send them away when I can trap you here? Kill him if you want. Then you'll die too."

I turned and headed towards the noisy villa entrance.

Manager Ma followed behind me, keeping watch on the surroundings, while one team remained in place, guns trained on Seo Jae-hoon.

I could hear Han Ji-ho questioning Seo Jae-hoon from behind:

"What should we do?"

"…Stand by."

How amusing. He treats other people's lives as worthless, but his own life seems precious.

It was just pathetic how Seo Jae-hoon was being more cautious than usual, probably knowing the guns aimed at him would fire the moment Lee Seok-min died.

Reaching the villa entrance, I spoke up:

"You've arrived, Lieutenant General."

At my voice, not only Lieutenant General Park Ji-hoon, but also Commissioner Lee Seong-jae and Team Leader An Hyun-soo turned their gazes towards me.

I greeted Lee Seong-jae as well.

"Senior, you're here too. You've arrived just in time."

There was no way Seo Jae-hoon would reveal himself so easily.

His actions felt oddly unsettling, so I contacted Park Ji-hoon and Lee Seong-jae, who were closest.

Luckily, they were together, and they came here with a direct corps unit that could move faster than the police.

They were insurance I called just in case guns needed to be used, but things seem to be working out better than expected.

After confirming that Kim Dae-seong was still blocking the entrance, I nodded to Manager Ma.

Manager Ma, catching my eye, instructed Kim Dae-seong:

"Team Leader Kim, clear the way."

"Yes, understood."

Team Leader Kim Dae-seong, who had been stubbornly guarding the front, stepped aside.

"Only you three may enter."

An Hyun-soo glared at me, but I just smiled, raising the corners of my mouth.

"Colonel Kim."

"Yes, General."

"It pained me when you left the military. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

"Not at all."

Park Ji-hoon patted Kim Dae-seong's shoulder once before walking through the open door towards me.

Seeing this, Lee Seong-jae followed behind him and said to An Hyun-soo:

"Let's go too. Didn't you say we need to check inside?"

"Should we go by ourselves? It could be dangerous…"

"Stop talking nonsense. With Lieutenant General Park Ji-hoon here, what madman would start shooting? Unless they have a death wish, no one would do such a thing, so come along."

As Lee Seong-jae took the lead, An Hyun-soo reluctantly followed.

When the three entered, the door closed again. Kim Dae-seong stood guard in front of it.

"CEO Kim Mu-hyeok. It's been a while."

Park Ji-hoon, walking beside me, smiled and spoke jovially.

"Yes, Lieutenant General. It's the first time since Grandfather's funeral."

"Right. Thanks to you, I've been promoted to Lieutenant General and become the 5th Corps Commander, but I couldn't even call you."

"Not at all. It's all because you've served well in the military."

When the military's internal faction linked to Choi Seon-man was purged, many people left the military.

Park Ji-hoon had a small connection with my grandfather, so I recommended him through my contacts to fill the vacancy.

Thanks to that, Park Ji-hoon was promoted to Lieutenant General and became the 5th Corps Commander.

"Haha, no way. Thanks to CEO Kim, our military has become cleaner."

I smiled as I watched Park Ji-hoon laugh loudly.

"CEO Kim. If you two are being all chummy, I'll feel very left out."

Lee Seong-jae joked as he approached with a smile and extended his hand.

"Ah, Senior. It's been a while."

Lee Seong-jae had the unique background of graduating from Korea University's Law School, passing the Bar Exam, and then entering the police as a superintendent.

"We saw each other at the last alumni meeting, right?"

"Yes. We met at Myeong-dong Hotel."

"Come to think of it, I heard the President-elect has set up his transition committee at Myeong-dong Hotel."

He didn't say more, but I could guess what he meant.

Of course, I had allowed it.

"Yes, that's right. They've rented two entire floors for the transition committee."

"I was surprised when you suddenly called. But when I arrived, this fellow was here. Do you know him?"

Lee Seong-jae asked, placing his hand on An Hyun-soo's shoulder. I turned my gaze towards An Hyun-soo.

An Hyun-soo's eyes seemed to waver, as if he was flustered.

"No. This is my first time meeting him."

"Is that so? But where are we? And…"

Lee Seong-jae, upon seeing Seo Jae-hoon, asked in a low voice:

"Isn't that Vice Chairman Seo Jae-hoon of Il-seong Group? And next to him is Director Lee Seok-min. But why is there a gun pointed at Director Lee Seok-min's head…"

"It's complicated to explain. But I think I know that person."

I pointed at An Hyun-soo as I spoke. An Hyun-soo's face turned pale.

Lee Seong-jae also looked at An Hyun-soo and asked:

"Really? Do you know something?"

"…"

"Why are you suddenly keeping quiet? You said we needed to come in here. You said you received a report?"

An Hyun-soo swallowed dryly, cleared his throat, and then spoke:

"This is Vice Chairman Seo Jae-hoon's villa. The person in front trespassed without permission and…"

"No, who asked about that? Over there, over there."

Lee Seong-jae pointed towards Lee Seok-min and Han Ji-ho as he spoke.

"I'm asking what's going on there."

"That's something I also don't really…"

Hearing An Hyun-soo's ambiguous answer, Lee Seong-jae cursed with his eyes and let out a deep sigh before taking a step forward.

"Vice Chairman Seo Jae-hoon. I'm Lee Seong-jae, Commissioner of Gyeonggi Provincial Police. I don't know what's going on, but let's put the gun down first and talk. Why are you doing this when you're such a well-known person?"

Seo Jae-hoon's face contorted. But he seemed to have no options left.

To think even An Hyun-soo, his own man, would be overwhelmed by Kim Mu-hyeok's forces.

Seo Jae-hoon sighed deeply, ruffled his hair, and looked at Han Ji-ho.

"Director Han, lower the gun."

"…"

"Director Han."

"Vice Chairman. I'm sorry."

Bang!

A single gunshot echoed through the air.


Capítulo 444: Chapter 444: I Made the First Move

The sudden gunshot made Black Secret staff members shield us with their bodies.

None of us had been hit though.

When I opened my eyes I saw the pistol had fallen from Han Ji-ho's hand.

Blood was flowing from his hand.

Turning my head I saw smoke rising from the gun in Manager Ma's grip.

Manager Ma had shot at Han Ji-ho's hand.

"Boss are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

"I apologize. He suddenly turned his gun toward us so I fired without permission."

Manager Ma apologized but I patted his shoulder saying,

"You were protecting me Manager, no need for apologies."

Seo Jae-hoon was staring down at Manager Han Ji-ho with cold eyes.

He'd ordered them to put down their weapons but Han Ji-ho hadn't listened.

He'd turned his gun from Lee Seok-min toward me and tried to pull the trigger.

He'd disobeyed Seo Jae-hoon's orders.

"Manager Han."

"Ugh… argh."

"Manager Han!"

Han Ji-ho looked up while clutching his hand which was spurting blood like a fountain.

"What have you done?"

"Vice Chairman… it's all over now."

"What? What's over? Why are you disrespecting me too?"

"…"

Despite Han Ji-ho bleeding from his wound Seo Jae-hoon showed no concern.

Only faint traces of anger and bewilderment showed on his face at Han Ji-ho's disobedience.

"CEO Kim Mu-hyeok! What's going on here? That bastard just pointed his gun at me didn't he?"

General Park Ji-hoon's face had turned red with anger.

"Yes that's correct. My secretary acted first because it was urgent. I apologize."

"No it's fine. But how did he even have a gun in the first place?"

Though Manager Ma had used his gun too there were no comments about that.

But Han Ji-ho turning his gun on General Park Ji-hoon was different.

A civilian possessing and attempting to fire a gun was already a serious issue.

In Korea only the military was authorized to use firearms.

While police could use guns too their use was restricted.

After calming Park Ji-hoon I turned my attention to An Hyun-soo.

He clearly hadn't anticipated this situation judging by his flustered expression.

Lee Seong-jae asked An Hyun-soo with a stern face,

"Team Leader An."

"Yes Commissioner."

"Can you explain what's happening here? I can't understand why guns are floating around so freely in South Korea…"

"I'll bring in my team immediately and arrest everyone."

Lee Seong-jae shook his head firmly, clearly dissatisfied with An Hyun-soo's response.

"No no. I'm not telling you to make arrests. Who tipped you off about this place? Bringing the entire SWAT team suggests you anticipated something like this."

"…It was an anonymous tip."

An Hyun-soo lied. He probably couldn't admit Seo Jae-hoon had called him here.

I let out a hollow laugh and looked at Lee Seong-jae.

He too seemed incredulous heaving a deep sigh while glaring at An Hyun-soo.

"Anonymous? You brought everyone out for an unverified tip? You expect me to believe that? Since when does the Incheon Police SWAT team move on such flimsy intel?"

Lee Seong-jae's initially calm voice grew increasingly angry.

"Did police deployment protocols change without my knowledge? Or did you have other motives?"

"No sir!"

"Then explain properly. Why did you deploy here? Otherwise I'll have to report this to headquarters for an audit. Want to make things difficult for your team members because of you?"

Nobody was completely clean. From simple entertainment to taking pocket money from local entertainment business owners it was all common practice.

And once an audit began the headquarters audit team would turn everything inside out.

Those with plenty of dirt naturally cowered at just hearing the audit team's name.

Even if this was An Hyun-soo's independent action it could affect the team members who moved with him.

Using the team members as leverage An Hyun-soo bit his lip hard and said,

"Manager Han Ji-ho contacted me."

"Han Ji-ho?"

When Lee Seong-jae asked dubiously I pointed at Han Ji-ho and said,

"That's Han Ji-ho the one who got shot in the hand."

Lee Seong-jae nodded and asked again,

"So what did this Han Ji-ho tell you that made you ignore jurisdictional boundaries and deploy with heavy arms?"

"…He said armed suspects would enter the villa and to arrest them all."

"Damn it. Are you saying you moved the SWAT team on a personal request?"

Lee Seong-jae kicked An Hyun-soo hard in the shin again with his dress shoe.

"Argh!"

Though An Hyun-soo stepped back with a loud cry Lee Seong-jae growled even more fiercely.

"You bastard. Stand up straight! Can't tell shit from soybean paste? What you did was use the police like a private security company. You must know that. How much did they pay you! How much did they pay you to do this?"

The police SWAT team had more lenient firearm use conditions than regular police like the military.

That meant they had to go through complex procedures to mobilize. They couldn't move without the Commissioner's orders.

"Is Commissioner Han involved in this too?"

"N-no sir."

"Choose your words carefully. If this was your independent action things get worse. Did you really act alone?"

"…It was my independent action."

An Hyun-soo answered after a beat only denying the intent to kill.

His response was essentially admitting they'd tried to frame someone for a crime.

Lee Seong-jae was so angry he started stuttering.

"Y-you… you crazy bastard. Hand over your gun."

An Hyun-soo who'd been keeping his head down finally looked up.

"Hand over your gun you bastard! Someone like you doesn't deserve to carry one."

"…That's beyond your authority. You can't take my gun Commissioner."

"Oh really? So that's how you want to play it?"

Lee Seong-jae looked at me speaking with eyes still blazing with barely contained fury.

"CEO Kim please disarm this bastard. I'm asking as a favor."

"Yes Manager Ma please take care of it."

Following my order Manager Ma approached An Hyun-soo.

An Hyun-soo shouted and reached for his holster but stopped when Black Secret's guns turned toward him.

"I'm going to disarm you. Don't resist. You'll get hurt."

Manager Ma began removing An Hyun-soo's weapons one by one.

Seemingly resigned An Hyun-soo closed his eyes and didn't resist.

"CEO Kim Mu-hyeok."

Park Ji-hoon called out to me.

"Yes General."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Hmm…"

I pondered Park Ji-hoon's question. Should I send everyone away and kill Seo Jae-hoon?

It seemed wasteful to just kill him now after waiting all this time.

Now that we had proper evidence it would be better to destroy him thoroughly.

After coming up with the most rational but ruthless way to corner Seo Jae-hoon I said,

"Let's have Commissioner Lee Seong-jae arrest Seo Jae-hoon and the guards. We need to uncover their crimes through proper investigation."

There were limits to what Park Ji-hoon could do as a soldier.

In the end the police had to handle criminal matters.

"If you transfer Seo Jae-hoon and his people to headquarters in Seoul I'll handle things from there."

Things would get easier once they were transferred to headquarters.

I had many people there after all starting with the Police Commissioner General who was on our side.

Lee Seong-jae and Park Ji-hoon nodded.

"Let's do that then. But what are you going to charge Seo Jae-hoon with? Do you have evidence that he directly used or ordered the use of guns? We can't charge him without evidence."

While CCTVs covered everything from the mountain entrance to the villa entrance there wasn't a single camera inside.

But I had something better than cameras. I glanced at Lee Seok-min and asked,

"Manager Lee Seok-min. Do you know anything?"

Everyone turned to look at Lee Seok-min. Under their gazes he sighed and said,

"…Let's go down to the basement first. There's something you need to see."

If it was Seo Jae-hoon's doing Patrick's corpse would surely be in the basement. Pretending ignorance I asked,

"The basement? What's in the basement?"

"There's a corpse."

"What? A corpse? Someone died?"

Lee Seong-jae asked startled.

When Lee Seok-min nodded Lee Seong-jae pressed his temples.

A corpse would make things more complicated so his head must be hurting.

"Sigh let's go check the basement then. CEO Kim."

Despite his name being mentioned repeatedly Seo Jae-hoon stood quietly without any reaction.

Lee Seong-jae spoke to him,

"Vice Chairman Seo Jae-hoon please come with us."

"I'll stay here."

Seo Jae-hoon refused to come along. We could have forced him but didn't bother.

Lee Seok-min led the way and we went down to the basement.

Walking down the stairs we saw a thick iron door.

Opening the iron door revealed a pitch-black basement without a trace of light.

The stench of blood permeated the darkness where we couldn't see an inch ahead.

Lee Seok-min entered first and felt along the wall.

Lights came on in the basement. Finally we could see inside.

There was a figure slumped in a chair tied up. No calling it a corpse mangled beyond recognition would be more accurate.

They'd have to investigate properly but it was likely Patrick's body.


Load failed, please RETRY

Status de energia semanal

Capítulos de desbloqueio em lote

Índice

Opções de exibição

Fundo

Fonte

Tamanho

Comentários do capítulo

Escreva uma avaliação Status de leitura: C443
Falha ao postar. Tente novamente
  • Qualidade de Escrita
  • Estabilidade das atualizações
  • Desenvolvimento de Histórias
  • Design de Personagens
  • Antecedentes do mundo

O escore total 0.0

Resenha postada com sucesso! Leia mais resenhas
Vote com Power Stone
Rank 200+ Ranking de Potência
Stone 18 Pedra de Poder
Denunciar conteúdo impróprio
Dica de erro

Denunciar abuso

Comentários do parágrafo

Login

tip Comentário de parágrafo

O comentário de parágrafo agora está disponível na Web! Passe o mouse sobre qualquer parágrafo e clique no ícone para adicionar seu comentário.

Além disso, você sempre pode desativá-lo/ativá-lo em Configurações.

Entendi