Soho

Chapter 150: < Protect – Episode 149 – Korea Shock [1] >

As always he sat in the living room and read the paper. He got in the habit of reading more foreign papers than Korean ones. It wasn’t that he was interested in international affairs; he just felt obligated to do so. At around 10 o’clock, he received a call from Jang Seol Hyun who was in the middle of filming. What was different between Chungmuro and Hollywood was their filming schedules. In Hollywood, no director could make their actors do whatever they told them to do.

‘Then the union would do something about that.’

The filming schedule had to be previously agreed upon in the contract. Then what about Chungmuro? They did agree on a schedule ahead of time, but they almost never followed through. Depending on the actors, producers, and anyone else, it kept changing and even became extended.

“Okay. That must be hard. I sent over a food truck, so let everyone know. Okay, work hard.”

An hour of venting went by in a flash.

“Sir, you have a guest.”

“Yo!”

It was Alexa who showed up shortly afterward.

“What brings you here all of a sudden?”

“I was busy visiting home.”

“Are the kids doing well?”

“Yeah, they’re all doing well. They told me to thank you.”

She went toward the fridge and opened a can of beer.

“Why are you drinking first thing in the morning?”

“Yusef.”

Ahn Soo Ho laughed bitterly at the name that came out of Alexa’s lips. He knew she would find out about this one day, but he had no idea that today was the day.

“Did you kill him?”

Ahn Soo Ho sipped his coffee while she asked him a question.

“Did you expect me to find that punk?”

“One day.”

“I was in charge of Yusef, Soo Ho.”

He shook his head at Alexa’s groaning.

“I warned you when I got you out of there that I’d get rid of everyone that was involved.”

Kosino lived an unfair life because she was half Japanese and half Philippino. As a result, she was full or rage, and Ahn Soo Ho made her channel that on the battlefield, and the appearance of the very skilled hacker only added wings to Ahn Soo Ho’s already powerful strength. However, Alexa was just as talented as Kosino.

“Is Aquilan after you because...”

“What you’re thinking is probably the right answer.”

“I have to make a call!”

Ahn Soo Ho grabbed her by the wrist and sat her back down.

“No.”

“Roberto is crazy persistent. If something goes wrong...”

“Wow! Are you worrying about me?”

“Stop kidding around!”

Alexa got bad at his carefree attitude.

Roberto Aquilan

He was a prosecutor who was looking for an opportunity to indict Ahn Soo Ho. From Alexa’s point of view, Yusef was someone who deserved to die more than 100 times over and over, but the world knew him as a proper businessman. Under the current judicial system and justice, the worth of death was the same whether they were good or evil.

Ahn Soo Ho saw deep worry within Alexa. She often did crazy things and got into accidents here and there, but she was like a cute little sister to him. However, she was different from Lee Jung Hoon and Lee So Hye. He pulled her head into his chest. As a lesbian, she didn’t like men, but family didn’t count as men.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I always have a plan.”

“Yeah, I know just how cruel you can be. But Aquilan is like a cockroach that never dies, Soo Ho.”

Those in power hated Aquilan but left him alone because he was useful. Were all people equal in the court of law? In order to prove that, Roberto worked harder than anyone, but whether it was for procedural reasons or political reasons, it was difficult to find such tycoons.

“Sniff, sniff.”

Ahn Soo Ho sniffed loudly on purpose.

“Your perfume changed. That means...”

Alexa left his embrace in surprise.

“Do you have a new girlfriend?”

“Shit!”

She felt like they had this conversation before.

“Kosino’s gonna flip shit if she finds out.”

“That damned Kosino! She’s such a cyber-terrorist!”

Every girlfriend she ever had were hacked by Kosino. Hacking Facebook and Instagram accounts didn’t count as a crime so it had to go as far as clearing a bank account or filming illegal footages to be charged.

“Try to hide everything well... But you’ll probably get caught soon.”

Kosino was always overprotective of Alexa.

“Run, sister.”

“F*ck you!”

******

Since Ahn Soo Ho made a lot of money, he spent a lot, too. In particular, the money he earned in a specific region was reinvested back to the place. The only person who knew how much money he spent in Africa, South America, South East Asia, India, and the Middle eat was Ahn Soo Ho himself.

He built schools and hospitals under the local communities’ names.

He made underground water and roads, if they needed food, he gave them food, and if they needed education he gave them education. There were countless people who needed help. What would happen if those at the bottom got an opportunity to rise to the top? There was no better motivation than desperation.

“Network.”

“Network?”

Deputy Director Jeremy O’hare of the CIA stood in front of a wall covered with photos.

“This is how much we know about Ahn Soo Ho’s connections thus far.”

“I don’t know about politicians and businessmen, but how do taxi drivers, account inspectors, and port laborers do for us?”

“Think about human intelligence.”

Human intelligence referred to using networks to obtain information. The world was ruled by the digital age, but the final step still needed the human touch.

“I am, but it’s still hard to understand, Deputy Director O’hare. Is it possible that Ahn Soo Ho’s network is this vast?”

“That’s a good question. That’s why the people we have to be careful of are...”

Jeremy grabbed the remote and put up a photo of a person on the screen.

“Alexa, Kosino, and Henry.”

“Duple?”

They were also called the Crazy King’s Landing.

During the airing of HBO’s Game of Thrones, Alexa and Kosino terrorized the homepage and transmission line. That was because they were both big fans of Lord of the Rings. All well-known hackers had crazy cyber terrorist stories of their own, just like how Cranky once hacked the server of Gainax because he was that curious about the new work.

“Alexa and Kosino make sense, but Henry? Is he a hacker as well?”

“No.”

Jeremy zoomed into Henry’s profile.

“Henry Michaelson. He has the same name as our president.”

American president, Henry G. Olsen’s leadership was going to be tested for the first time as soon as the war begins. Henry Michaelson shared the same name, but he was a man from California with no political experience. Ahn Soo Ho first met him back when...

“11 years ago when his daughter got kidnapped.”

Since a real estate agent from California suddenly became the PB manager of a mercenary king, it was fascinating indeed. Then how did Henry of the middle class in America suddenly enter the underworld? Jeremy grabbed the remote and put up a picture, but all it showed was a question mark.

“Jack Toms.”

“The casino king? Cool Jack?”

“Yeah. The king of the Las Vegas nights.”

He was a legendary figure of whom not even the CIA had a photo of.

“I have my suspicions that they’ve been making exchanges.”

Countless intelligence agencies from countless countries dispatched analysts, and they pointed out Ahn Soo Ho as the one responsible for an impossible victory of 5000 vs. 1. It was true. Jeremy also acknowledged some of it. When he defeated the assassination world of Kadesh Morken all by himself, the whole world was shocked.

‘That was when the rules of the black market changed.’

No matter how powerful America was, they couldn’t just forcefully open the safes of a Swiss Bank. That was a different issue from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Nigeria, which they were going in invade next. Even if there were American rich people at the Swiss Bank, that didn’t mean they could touch anything they wanted. Those with power needed absolute authority in order to protect their own.

“What’s funny is that in this world, another power is needed to protect the power that you already have. And they acknowledged Ahn Soo Ho as the owner of the throne as if they had been waiting.”

And the chaos that ensued as soon as that owner disappeared was right in front of their eyes.

“Taylor.”

A black man stepped up in response. The profile changed but the question mark remained.

“Andrew McKurchin, Zabi Ultawa, Abu Al Asiad, Bennetio Coras, Lucy Chenyang, Nakajima Sho, and...”

The final screen returned to the photo of Jack Toms.

“Jack Toms. What these “Kings” have in common is that there are no photos of them whatsoever.”

Was it because the CIA was incapable? That could have been it as well. However, if not even America knew about it, no one else did. But they did exist. That was because businesses centered on the tycoons existed. If they were all made up people, their businesses that were worth hundreds of billions of dollars couldn’t have been maintained.

“So why doesn’t a photo or a recording exist? Because they’re the best at camouflaging? Because we’re stupid?”

Taylor shook his head.

“It’s because they don’t exist. But!”

He stressed the last word.

“Someone is using these fake identities to their advantage. And we have to find out who that is.”

As soon as everyone started mumbling, Jeremy clapped his hands and stepped up.

“The reason why we gathered all of you is because this is a very important matter. The superior office thinks that power with secretive influence is the one that started the New York terrorist attack.”

“Are you saying it wasn’t Nigeria’s rebels?”

He shook his head to the expected question.

“That doesn’t mean Boko Haram isn’t responsible at all.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“As I said, we haven’t even uncovered a shadow of the secretive gatherings. We have to find real evidence. That’s the only way to move on to the next step.”

“What does this have to do with Ahn Soo Ho? Is he the host of those secretive gatherings?”

“No! Absolutely not!

Thoughtful analysts rarely used that expression.

“That’s not true... but the reason why we have to learn more and analyze him is because he could be at the center of all of the incidents. Okay! Let’s begin.”

As soon as Jeremy clapped his hands, the analysts split up into their own groups. Taylor then expressed his worry.

“Shouldn’t you tell everyone a little more about General Ashford?”

“Did you forget? I only made this task force to get a new viewpoint. If we mention an old method, it’ll only bring us back to where we started.”

“It’s not for security purposes?”

“That too.”

When the media pointed their fingers at the failure of democracy following the New York terrorist attack, Jeremy saw a bigger picture. It was true. America became weak, and the White House wanted to reclaim its influence by starting a war. However, he wasn’t so sure about that. The international society ridiculed America’s dogmatism.

“How about you ask Ahn Soo Ho in person?”

“He sticks very closely to agreements.”

He wasn’t the type to answer questions just because he asked.

“But there’s something you can offer in return.”

“Hm, are you talking about the civil militia?”

“Yes, Sir. Couldn’t you make a deal if you promised him safety?”

The investigative authorities were frustrated because of Logan and his underlings, but they got support from the media thanks to the wave caused by Captain America. It was always the hero’s job to catch the bad guys. The local police couldn’t catch them, but the CIA and the FBI knew. He didn’t like Ahn Soo Ho’s underlings causing a ruckus, but if they wanted to keep Captain America as an American, it was good to leave Ahn Soo Ho alone.

“Hm, I’d better talk to my superiors.”

“Deputy Director O’hare!”

Another subordinate came running over.

“There’s a problem!”

“What problem?”

“North Korea fired a missile!”

“Oh, that’s it?”

North Korea showed off missile tests here and there when they were bored, but Jeremy was shocked by what he heard next.

“It landed on Yeonpyeongdo Island!”

‘Again?’

< Protect – Episode 149 – Korea Shock [1] > The end.