Click, click!
Kang Chan ran to Kim Hyung-Jung, who was leaning against the middle of the stairs.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. Just shocked by the explosion, but it’s bearable.”
Kim Hyung-Jung’s clothes were a mess, but he didn’t seem to be seriously injured.
“What floor is the situation room on?”
“Fourth floor.”
“You should head there. I’ll take command from here.”
Their eyes met.
Kim Hyung-Jung gritted his teeth and stood up.“Kwak Cheol-Ho, Take one of your men and head to the situation room. Get the floor plans of the second and third floors if you can.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kwak Cheol-Ho left with one of the agents.
There was a hole from the lobby to the ceiling of the third floor, giving the second and third floors an overlooking view of the lobby like the VIP seats of an opera.
***
The screen moved back to the studio.
[We have footage of the masked gunmen coming out of their hotel rooms. These fifty people had been staying at the International Hotel as tourists.]
The camera footage showed the perpetrators running out of the rooms and toward the stairs.
[They kidnapped the female staff and guests on the first floor and ran toward a walkway that connects to the International Building. We understand that the guests were staying individually, not as part of a tour group, and are of various nationalities, including Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, and Egyptian.]
The screen showed the gunmen heading toward the International Building.
[The explosion occurred at this time, resulting in multiple casualties in the hotel. Judging from their attacks, it seems their plan from the beginning was to take over the first floor of the International Building.]
A part of the screen now showed the newscaster.
[The military has announced that armored vehicles have been deployed and that an emergency order has been issued to the airborne forces. The head of the NIS’s counter-terrorism team is now in charge of suppressing the terrorist attack on the International Building, and it has been confirmed that he has already entered the building through a helicopter.]
Kim Gwan-Sik watched the TV nervously. Two hours had already passed since midnight.
***
The gunfight had momentarily stopped.
Kang Chan looked at the floor plan that Kwak Cheol-Ho had brought with him.
It showed the items installed in the lobby and the tenants on the second and third floors, making it easier to understand the situation.
According to it, there was an entrance to the staircase that led to the third floor.
Seok Kang-Ho, Gérard, Cha Dong-Gyun, Kwak Cheol-Ho, and the a leader of the counter-terrorism team, were with Kang Chan.
Kang Chan checked the layout and the actual situation three or four times.
“Can you see the enemies from the railings of the second or third floor?”
“Yes,” Cha Dong-Gyun answered.
The enemies hadn’t moved one bit. They were glued to the entrance of the building like honey.
“I want snipers here, then.”
“Understood.”
Upon receiving Cha Dong-Gyun’s gaze, Kwak Cheol-Ho quickly took action.
Chk.
“We’ll have a helicopter evacuate the officer workers on the forty-seventh floor,” Kim Hyung-Jung radioed in.
Chk.
“Roger that.”
Chk.
“Got it. The UIS has announced on the air that it was them. They want us to apologize for what happened in Afghanistan, Africa, and Libya.”
That was ridiculous. Kang Chan counterpunched because they had provoked them first, and now they wanted an apology for it?
Chk.
“Is that it?”
Chk.
“Yes. It was a very short announcement.”
Kang Chan tilted his head.
They hadn’t demanded the release of the prisoners held in Mongolia?
Chk.
“Manager Kim, what about the CCTV on the first floor?”
Chk.
“The only ones that show any enemies are two that are far away. The ones that work are at a bad angle, so they don’t show the situation properly.”
Chk.
“I see. Please proceed with the helicopter extraction as you see fit.”
Chk.
“Understood.”
Kang Chan looked at the map again. He was missing something.
Seok Kang-Ho, Gérard, Cha Dong-Gyun, counter-terrorism team commander Kang Myung-Gu, and even Kwak Cheol-Ho, who had assigned the snipers and returned, looked at Kang Chan curiously. They had never seen him so long in thought in the middle of an operation.
“There has to be an answer,” Kang Chan mumbled as he pointed at the map. “They should have attacked this hotel, but they came all the way to the lobby with the hostages instead, where it would be hard to hide.”
With his index finger, Kang Chan pointed to the front of the lobby, where he assumed the enemies would be.
“A building this big wouldn’t collapse even if the bastards were wrapped in C-4s. What the hell do they want? They didn’t ask to release the prisoners. This can’t just be a show of force by the UIS.”
Kang Chan spoke as if he was talking to himself rather than giving an explanation.
“If that’s the case, shooting someone in the hotel and throwing a bomb would have been far more devastating and effective, so why did those bastards take over the first floor of the International Hotel?”
“Can’t we just worry about this after dealing with those idiots?” Seok Kang-Ho asked.
Kang Chan turned to him.
It sounded simple, but that was true. This asshole and Gérard were definitely starting to use their heads.
After a moment of studying the layout, Kang Chan asked, “Daye, do you remember Operation Mangala?”
Seok Kang-Ho smirked.
“Gérard, we’ll do the same thing we did in that operation.”
“You’re one hell of a captain,” Gérard said in French.
“Look here.”
Kang Chan stamped his index finger on the map and explained the plan.
***
Abibu rubbed his fingers together and glared at the International Building.
‘Why is there no radio?’
He expected it to be buzzing with radio activity right now, but the International Building was strangely silent.
‘Are they aware that we’ve been eavesdropping…?’
Abibu glared at the device. The power and status lights were back on.
‘What are you scheming?’
He sharply glared at the building.
***
The hostages, who were mostly women in their twenties and a few in their thirties, had been herded against the wall at the far end of the lobby.
“Aaah!”
“Shut up!”
Three of the enemies moved and strapped bombs on the women’s backs. They then tied their arms and both shoulders with industrial ties.
“Aaah! Aaah!”
Although they were angered by the screams, the men seemed to be taking pleasure in strapping the bombs to the hostages.
As they strapped each of the five hostages in turn, a cacophony of screams echoed through the dark lobby.
***
Jeong Won-Min surrounded the entrance to the basement with his men and waited for the situation to develop.
Kang Chan was here, and he had radioed them. Within moments, the International Building fell had fallen silent. Only the occasional horrific scream from the hostages echoed down the downstairs.
He had never expected something like this to happen in Seoul, especially not in the middle of Samseong-Dong.
What in the world was Kang Chan doing?
Kang Chan hadn’t said anything in nearly twenty minutes already.
“Are we still waiting?” one of the soldiers asked.
“Ten more minutes!” Jeong Won-Min briefly replied.
In an operation like this, silence meant a counterattack.
‘What are you doing?’
Calculating the condition of the wounded, Won-Min pursed his lips and looked up. He remembered Kang Chan’s face at the embassy when he had mercilessly given him the order to kill.
Chk.
“606! All units, stand by!”
Jeong Won-Min couldn’t be happier to hear Kang Chan’s voice through the radio.
Chk.
“606, stand by!”
There was no order on what to do or how to do it.
However, the 606 would stand by. Even if the next command would make them put their lives on the line, they would wait and carry out the order.
That was the 606 Special Operations Unit.
***
Abibu jerked up.
However, only a few words for the 606 were transmitted through the radio.
‘This crazy bastard!’
He couldn’t get a grasp of Kang Chan. The stupid guy didn’t know the basics of counter-terrorism!
Now that the UIS had shown their face on the air to take revenge, Kang Chan should have at least had the decency to ask for their demands.
Beep.
“We’ve set all the bombs on the hostages.”
Right after, the radio crackled.
Abibu was still sharply glaring at the International Building.
Did Kang Chan need an example?
Click.
Abibu pressed a button on the device.
Beep.
“Pick a hostage.”
Beep.
“Yes, sir.”
***
Right after the enemy spat Arabic over the hostages’ choked cries, Seok Kang-Ho moved like a cat on the railing of the second floor and gently tapped Kang Chan on the shoulder.
Kang Chan quickly turned to him.
‘What?’
‘The radio. It’s a radio,’ Seok Kang-Ho mouthed.
‘Those bastards! They’re contacting someone using a radio.’
Kang Chan’s eyes glinted. There was no reason for him not to believe Seok Kang-Ho, especially since the man understood Arabic.
Kang Chan pointed his index and middle fingers at Gérard, Seok Kang-Ho, and Cha Dong-Gyun, then to three different spots.
They had all improved. At the very least, Cha Dong-Gyun and Kwak Cheol-Ho were now good enough to lead any special forces team in the world. That much was evident in how they moved right now.
While the enemy’s nerves were on edge, the two were moving close against the second-floor railing without making a sound. Such a feat required complete control of their boots, strapped-on gear, magazines, and rifles.
If they improved any further, they wouldn’t make noise even if they moved at an even faster pace. At that point, they would have already reached Seok Kang-Ho and Gérard’s level.
Kang Chan stepped back in the hallway and entered the stairs.
Chk.
“Manager Kim, the enemies are contacting someone. Can you pick up their frequency?”
Chk.
“We’ll check it out. However, the PRC-110 we’re using is almost impossible to eavesdrop on. With the police, helicopters, and the airborne units’ radios overlapping each other, it won’t be easy to find our frequencies.”
Chk.
“I understand, but please check anyway, sir.”
Chk.
“I will.”
***
Abibu quickly stood up as his attendant interpreted the conversation for him.
How? All Kang Chan had done after such a long time of dead silence was order the 606. How did he find out Abibu’s men were communicating with him?
That meant Kang Chan was near the soldiers, watching them. However, that was all Abibu could figure out.
Abibu was reaching for the device when he paused. The NIS was obviously searching for a radio frequency. It would be unwise to tip them off now.
On top of that, there was no need to give a hint to his enemies when they already believed that they couldn’t be eavesdropped on.
There was no way they could get caught, but it was better to be careful.
Abibu gazed at his attendant, finding him also looking quite puzzled.
***
Kim Hyung-Jung trusted Kang Chan completely.
Calls poured into the situation room and his phone, but carrying out Kang Chan’s orders was more important than those.
Kim Hyung-Jung held the phone to his ear and turned around in panic.
“The PRC-110 is being bugged?”
- We’ve picked up the signal of a bug nearby from the kind of equipment that only the top five countries’ intelligence bureaus would have.
“Are you sure?”
Kim Hyung-Jung had given orders to find the radio frequencies of the enemy but learned of something more shocking.
- It’s a method of scanning all the surrounding frequencies to chase down a targeted frequency. It first came to light late last year, and all we know is that it’s been used by the DIA and the DGSE. The downside is that it creates a peculiar signal that chases the frequency.
“How do we stop that?”
- You can simultaneously change all of the radio frequencies being used to the UHF channel. They’ll be less accurate then.
“They won’t be able to eavesdrop on that?”
- If we follow their signal, we’ll be able to locate them. These kinds of bugs have to be within a three-kilometer radius. Beyond that, the signal becomes so loud that it would immediately give away their location.
“Got it.”
After hanging up the phone, Kim Hyung-Jung quickly rushed outside.
Oh, right!
If he just ran down the stairs like this, he could be shot by friendly fire. However, sneaking up on them would be even more dangerous.
He had no other choice.
Kim Hyung-Jung pressed the button on his radio.
Chk.
“This is Command. Coming down.”
The reply came a moment later.
Chk.
“Please move along the staircase.”
Kim Hyung-Jung quickly scrambled down against the wall of stairs.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap.
The soldiers heard his footsteps coming down the stairs.
Click, click!
Kang Chan and Choi Jong-Il immediately pointed their rifles at Kim Hyung-Jung but relaxed upon realizing who was approaching them.
“What is it?”
“They’re most likely eavesdropping on our radios. We’ve detected a bug.”
A special forces team’s communication devices were being tapped?
A thought suddenly occurred to Kang Chan.
“Can we locate where it’s coming from?”
“It should be within a three-kilometer radius. They said we should change the channel to UHF even if it’s less accurate. If we track them on that channel, we’ll be able to figure out where they are.”
Kang Chan glanced down and then back up.
Was this what was bothering him? That motherfucker was pulling this stunt?
“This place goes live in five minutes. Manager Kim, please send the agents to Park Hotel and break into the room Abibu is in. I’ll stall him so he can’t get rid of the equipment.”
Kim Hyung-Jung looked at Kang Chan in surprise.
“Maybe someone still at the hotel can help, no? Abibu has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow. If nothing comes out from him, we’ll be accused of treating an important Saudi official like a terrorist because of the UIS.”
“Sir.”
They were speaking in whispers halfway up the stairs.
“This attack is certainly not the Sunni or Shia way. The fact that they didn’t take any victims from the hote and that they didn’t demand the release of the prisoners we caught in Mongolia means they’re clearly targeting something. They know the International Building inside and out, and they’re moving according to plan.”
A terrorist attack like this had never happened in South Korea. Hence, Kim Hyung-Jung couldn’t make this kind of judgment.
Without Kang Chan, he would have just kept following the standard counter-terrorism protocol, which would have put him a step behind the enemies.
“We’ve lost nearly a dozen soldiers. We can’t be passive about this attack just because we’re afraid of criticism. If you’re worried about taking responsibility, I’ll take all the blame.”
Kang Chan’s eyes relayed more determination than his words.
“I’ll head up and give the command by phone,” Kim Hyung-Jung replied.
Kang Chan was leading this operation with the information that Hwang Ki-Hyun had left behind. If there was anyone who had to take responsibility, Kim Hyung-Jung was set on being the one.
“Make sure the agents don’t see you, and break in if you have to. Until the situation there is taken care of, I’ll stall for time over the radio.”
Kim Hyung-Jung nodded and ran up.
Tap, tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap, tap.
Once the footsteps had become distant, Kang Chan pressed the radio button.
Chk.
“Initiate the counter-terrorism operation.”
***
Receiving Abibu’s gaze, his attendant interpreted Kang Chan’s orders into Arabic.
- 606, once shots have been fired from the lobby, prevent the enemies from going into the basement.
They would be firing even though there were hostages.
Abibu glanced at the International Hotel.
- We’ll begin the operation in three minutes.
Kang Chan continued issuing orders over the radio.
Abibu’s lips curved into a victorious smile.
Although they seemed to have realized that the masked gunmen were talking to someone through the radio, they wouldn’t be able to find this place. Even if they had a hunch, that wouldn’t be enough to make them rush into his room.
Abibu felt like he could finally grasp what he wanted.
The moment the operation began, the explosion would go off.
All the hostages would die, and the more South Korean special forces soldiers died, the more his big picture would be complete.
Then at the press conference tomorrow morning, Abibu would step up and say that he would mediate between the UIS and South Korea. He was certain that South Korea would not be able to disclose its activities in Africa and Libya now.
After a moment of lull, he heard someone radioing in from the situation room.
Chk.
“Everything is ready.”
Stupid kid! The moment Kang Chan ordered the operation to begin, he would lose everything.
Abibu reached out for the device to give his warriors a final command. However, before he could, the radio crackled again.
“Abibu,” Kang Chan called.
Abibu was so surprised that he felt as if his heart dropped to his feet.
“You think you’re all that, don’t you?”
The attendant cautiously glanced at Abibu and then relayed Kang Chan’s words.
“You motherfucker.”
The attendant hesitated to interpret that transmission.
“Take good care of your neck.”
Kang Chan then said something Abibu couldn’t understand. What happened next unfolded in the blink of an eye.
Boom! Boom!
Dash! Dash! Dash!
Click! Click! Click!
The doors burst open, almost causing it to crash onto the floor, and fully armed agents burst in.
Abibu couldn’t even do anything.
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