Mission J

I hung up the phone, allowing myself a moment to relax. Ricky had agreed to taking on the job, once she finished telling me how I had caught her in a middle of social hour amongst important aristocrats and royals at the Bijoux Jewelry Showcase exhibit. But as soon as I explained the situation, she was almost eager to dig out whatever she could. She wasn’t even fazed when I mentioned that these were mobs we were dealing with, and they more than likely had their own hack-for-hires for their own cyber protection and hunting.

None as good as me, she had said, before telling me she was getting right to work, and will get back to me as soon as possible.

So I waited, knowing that she would most likely call back within the hour if her job went smoothly. As I waited, my mind drifted back to the list of events that seemed to be piling up, all requiring my attention. I don’t know what came first in order of precedence; the Yakutsk case, or the Superstar Stalker case.
I clicked my tongue in irritation, forcing myself to think one thing at a time. First off, the Yakutsk case. When I left Russia, my job there was done. It was an intel job; get in, dig and retrieve the information from a valid source with any given methods. And it was what I did. With the information I got, it was enough for the Bratva to be placed on the hot-seat, and some of them will pay with time at Black Dolphin. Another major case finished and closed.

I sighed again, my mind buzzing and swirling with thoughts.

But, as usual things were as simple and clean. And for me, this case was still far from over. Little did they know that the reason the case came to the surface was of my doing. And I had a reason for pulling the strings a certain way.
The Director would not be happy to find out what I have been up to. For that reason I had let him think that he had placed me on the case with me wallowing up in reluctance and self-pity. Hell, even Jun doesn’t know of my involvement in the surfacing of the case. I didn’t do much; it was just a slight nudge and some fabricated evidence trail for the techies to sniff out.
But that was already too much, especially for someone like me who was on probation with the big man. Even so, I had a reason for doing all that I did.

I clicked my tongue against my teeth, the irritation only simmering. I knew all too well that my reason didn’t even matter for the director to flip the switch.
My mind drifted back to the start of the Yakutsk case, and I reached for the computer. I needed to see the names of the girls rescued so far. My fingers typed in the password to retrieve the case file that Jun would’ve sent to me the moment he got it. Sure enough, the moment I hit the enter key, a file spread filled the screen and pages after pages of detailed notes, intel and completely documented reports of the case from the Russian FSB in charge of the investigations. It wasn’t long before I found the list of rescued girls, the list twenty names long. It made my job easier, as it was a list of the girls reported missing, the rescued names marked off with a checkmark. There were six names on the list that were in red print with no checkmark next to them of those who were still missing. My heart sank when I found one name on the list, third one down on the red list.



“Katya…” I murmured.

Katya Ushakov was still missing. In that case, my job wasn’t done yet.

I turned to the desk draw to my right and yanked open the top most draw. I grabbed the first burner phone I saw and a lithium ion battery. I put the phone together quickly before typing in the number I memorized from weeks ago.
I sighed once before bringing the phone to my ear.
It rang twice before someone answered.

“Allo?” a tired, husky voice answered.

“Dmitri.” I said.

There was a slight pause at the other end of the line.

“Da?” the man replied.

I sighed silently and steeled myself a bit.
“Eto ya.” I said. I knew that I was being vague, but at the same time it didn’t take much or long for him to recognize my voice.

“K.” he spoke quietly, almost sounded winded. “I am surprised to…to hear from you.”

“You sound tired.” I said, disliking the drained sound in his voice. “Were you sleeping?”

Dmitri let out a low, empty chuckle.
“Sleep? Nyet. Sna uklonyayetsya ot menya.” he said. “No sleep. Bad dreams.”

I paused slightly before I spoke again.
“What have you been told?” I asked.

Dmitri paused and grunted, and I heard him sigh.
“They have no news, the police.” he said. “‘Wait, Dmitir. Answers will come.’ They say.”
He swore, and I heard something liquid swishing through the phone. He was drinking.

“Dmitri,” I said, speaking clearly to make sure he heard me. When I heard him grunt, I went on.
“I’m in South Korea.” I said.

“South…Korea.” he echoed in an empty tone. “So far away. What for?”

“I’m following a trail right now. I’m narrowing down the possibilities as we speak.” I said. “I am going to find Katya one way or another.”

Dmitri was silent for a long time, but I knew he was still there. I can picture the pained look in his eyes, the same one he had when he first found me.
“Katya…she is there? In South Korea?” he asked.

“That’s what I’m here to find out.” I said. “I will contact you if I find anything out.”

It was quiet again for another short while, until he drew in a ragged breath.
“Why do you do so much?” he asked. “When police tells to wait, you say you will. You will look. You will call. You will find.”

A weak smile pulled at the corner of my lips, though it didn’t stay.
“It’s part of our deal, remember?” I reminded him. “I will send your sister home. That’s a promise.”



The loft was completely quiet, save for the soft subtle humming of the computer. My fingers twirled the burner phone in my hand in a mindless motion as I stared at the map of South Korea.
I wonder what the Director would do to me if he found out I had taken up a job outside of CORE sanctions. It was a clear and blatant violation of the terms he had me ‘agree’ upon when I was brought into the organization with a special pardon. It was a violation with a hefty consequence if I were to be caught.

I gave that thought a few more minutes before I shrugged internally.
Fuck it. He hasn’t caught me yet and how many times have I taken jobs behind that man’s back? Besides, maybe he should be smarter and keep me on a shorter probation leash. And I doubt the man is completely oblivious to my extracurricular activities. If he didn’t like what I was doing, he can kill me instead of just threaten me to do it like he usually does.

I let out a long breath and squinted at the map on the wall, trying to find a reasonable trail. If the Seven Gates were indeed behind it, it wouldn’t be long before Ricky gets some information. It could be in a matter of minutes, or hours. That left me with waiting and thinking.
With that thought and the freedom my mind was given, it returned to the actual work load I had piled up at hand. Soon, I had an ever-growing list in my head of things that needed my attention.



Meanwhile, on a completely unrelated case:


I frowned. Wait a second, how many hours was it now? I glanced down at my phone to check the time. It was almost 10:00 PM. So that would mean I would be up roughly forty-eight hours now…I think.
I groaned to myself, slightly aggravated with the situation. I had so much to do, why does the human body need sleep?

Groaning inwardly, I turned my eyes back to the map. I’ll deal with Superstar and his stalker later. But for now…
I stood up from the chair to take a closer look at the map.

The three powerhouse mob groups--- out of the three of them, it was the Scarlet Dragons that held a few ports and terminals on the Southern coast. But the Scarlet Dragons couldn’t pull a trade together of this magnitude. They were small in number and had trouble keeping allies within the country. They couldn’t possibly catch the trust or attention of the Russian Bratva. Which left the Seven Gates and the K.S.C Group.

The Seven Gates were more than capable making a trade; they had the reputation great enough to influence strong ties. And it was no secret that they profited greatly from the human trafficking business. But their strength relied greatly on the smoke-and-mirror effect from the fear they induced to the general public as a whole. Sure they were a fearsome bunch but many of their stories are exaggerated. Could they really have struck an agreement with the Russians?

I scowled, reflecting.
If the Seven Gates was the mob deemed to be the most powerful in South Korea, the K.S.C. Group was the smartest, and the true powerhouse of the three mobs. The Song family was smart in their discretion and incredibly influential in the political and corporate circles. They utilized the sister-city agreements between their metropolis and other cities worldwide to spread their power across international lines. If the Seven Gates were really capable of making arrangements with the Russians, it would mean they are expanding. It was possible that they were trying to get the upper hand on the K.S.C. Group. If it was the Seven Gates, they would need to utilize one of the main sea ports, one of which was tied to K.S.C. Group. The two mobs had long rivalry in their histories and while this move was daring it wouldn’t be a surprising one. It was like an intentional jab at the rival. And to cross the K.S.C Group by breaching into their territory, the Songs will know and return the offense by tenfold.

The last time I was in contact with the Chairman Song was when I did a job for him. I knew he had distaste for the human trafficking business then. Could he have changed his mind? I knew for sure that he was still the head of K.S.C Group so there wasn’t a change in power.
My fingers curled tightly around the burner phone in my hand. There was only one quick way to find out.

I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply before breathing out slowly. My fingers flipped the phone open in my hand and dialed in the old number I hadn’t used in well over two years.

The phone rang four times before someone picked up.
“Yeoboseyo? Who is this?” the deep, intimidating voice questioned in a calm but demanding tone.

"Chairman," I greeted him calmly.

A surprised, brief pause answered me, soon followed by an amused chuckling.
"Ho...isn't it my daughter, calling from the dead." he mused. "I thought I buried you two years ago."

"That you did," I agreed. "It was a tasteful ceremony, but a little somber for my taste."

The Chairman laughed wholeheartedly.
"Wasn't it." he said. "My daughter had died after all; it was a dark day. I needed to make the act convincing enough."
He chuckled some more before grunting contently.
"How was my act, hmm?" he asked.

"Tragic; as if you were a mourning father." I told him. "It was convincing enough to almost believe that you actually had a child."

Chairman Song laughed fully before speaking again.
“It’s funny how you call on my private cell. Not even my wife knows I have this number.” he said.

“And which number wife is this one?” I questioned.

The Chairman let out another chuckle.
“Still sharp-tongued, I see. I’m glad to hear it.” he said. “But you called me for a reason. Now let’s hear it.”

I inhaled silently before I spoke.
“I was wondering if you still upheld your code about your business trades.” I said. “Especially in regards to what comes in and out from the sea ports, primarily fragile cargo.”

“So you want to know if I have dipped my hands into trafficking.” he said bluntly.

His tone made me stiffen a bit, as all the casual tone previously used had vanished. I didn’t speak, but that was answer enough for him.
Chairman Song let out a thoughtful sighed before he answered.
“The Song Family will not be disgraced by the filthy practices that is human trafficking. You know as well as I do that that sort of business is far below our standards.” he said.

I was about to speak when he went on.
“But I suspect I know the source of your inquiry; Mokpo has been strangely busy at night as of late.”

My eyes lifted up to the map on the wall, zoning in on the southwestern coast. Mokpo was the sea port tied to the K.S.C. Group.
“Is it the Seven Gates?” I asked in a low voice.

The Chairman hummed.
“More than likely. I haven’t heard back from the dogs I sent but I’m willing to bet my money on it.” he grunted.

I thought quickly, forming a rough plan of actions to take.
“Chairman Song,” I said. "What would you say if I told you I can make the Seven Gates disappear?"