Critical Incidents: The ROK - Land of HAN (A Jack Gunn Mystery Thriller Book 1) (13 page)

Lee had a concerned look on his face. “I don’t know about this. I am not a professional hit man. I’ve actually never killed anyone.”

Han added, “Well, we could bring in someone else to do the job, but then it would take more time. We don’t have a lot of time to waste. Besides that, you would have to show our man who the terrorists are, making you known to him. The less people that know about this, the better. Jack, what do you think?”   

I thought, the Colonel was calling the shots. If he wanted these guys dead right now, then we better cooperate. KY may not have killed anyone, but I have.

I replied, “Ok, say no more, I’ll do it.”

Lee nodded his head in agreement. “If Jack is in, then count me in.”

Han said, “I don‘t need to tell you this, but be very careful. Don’t leave any evidence that could point to you. If you get caught by the police, I can’t help you.”

Lee said, “Colonel Han, we understand.”

“Now, here’s how we’ll stay in contact,” Han said. “Once the deed is done, I want Jack to phone me by Tuesday night. Say the following code words, “I have four bottles of Kimchi for you.” That’s all you need to say. Mr. Yoon and I don’t want to know any of details.”

“Yes, we understand,” Lee said.

Han said, “Ok, if we all understand and know what to do, let’s conclude the meeting.”

“Just one question, Colonel. What if we don’t terminate all four by Wednesday? How do we advise you?”

“Call me and tell me how many bottles of Kimchi you have. Be it four, three, or two, I need to know how many are terminated. If you only get three just say, ‘I have three bottles of Kimchi.’ Then hang up and I’ll call you back to discuss the situation.”

“Ok, I got it.” I felt kind of dumb asking about the Kimchi bottles.

“One final point. This meeting never took place. Lee, we have not spoken to you for years. Jack, we have never met you. You don’t know us, and we don’t know you.”

We shook hands, they wished us good luck, and quickly departed my room.

I felt good about having the Korean AIG involved in this. Now we had some muscle behind us.

I asked, “Lee, how will we know when the Army raids the NIS?”

“The news media will let us know.”

Touching my friend’s shoulder I asked, “Are you ready to do this?”

“Jack, I’ll follow you. Don’t worry, I got your back. Let’s make a plan.”

We sat down at the table to draw up our plans. I said, “First of all, just follow my lead. I’ve done this a few times. I don’t want you to take any chances. I can leave the country and you can’t.”

Lee replied, “Jack, we’re in this together.” I knew he’d say that.

“I think we should terminate Wright and Ellington first. Who knows, they could be getting on a plane tomorrow and escape.”

“How are we going to do it?”

“Well, we could just gun them down or make it appear to be accidental deaths,” I said. “Hey, that reminds me, we need to check what date Wright or Ellington are checking out of the hotel.”

I phoned the second floor agency office to find out their checkout dates.

I told Lee, “Bad news. Wright checked out this morning. Ellington is checking out Sunday.”

Lee asked, “Can you find out where he’s going?”

“Good point.” I called the agency back right away, to see if they could check if Wright was booked on any flights. They would check it out and get back to me.

I advised KY, “The agency will check it.”     

“We still have Ellington, Kim, and Watanabe here,” Lee commented.

“Keep your fingers crossed. Hopefully they’re going to meet again at the Tiger House. So we can take care of them in Itaewon, or we can follow them to their hotel rooms. Mi-young is going to call me if they show up.”

Lee said, “It just occurred to me why they have been going to the Tiger House in Itaewon.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“I think they’re staying at a hotel nearby. Most likely, they’re at the Hamilton. It’s just down the street.”

“That’s good thinking, KY. It’s a sleazy hotel loaded with hookers and weirdoes. It’s a perfect place for them to stay. No one will pay any attention to them. Call the Hamilton and see if they checked in there, while I take a leak.”

I had just walked out of the washroom and my cell rang. The agency advised me that Stan Wright had taken a flight this morning.

I told Lee, “It looks like Wright went to Hong Kong this morning. I guess, I’ll be going there next, when we’re finished here.”

Lee said, “That’s a bummer,” as he dialed the Hamilton Hotel.

“The way I see it, we have no choice but to shoot them and get it over with quickly. If we try to make it look like an accident, a lot of things can go wrong.”

Lee held his finger up to his lips, signaling me to be quiet. After a minute, he hung up. “Good news. Watanabe and Kim are both at the Hamilton.”

“What’s their room numbers?” I asked.

“They wouldn’t give them out over the phone,” Lee advised. “Now, what were you saying about shooting them?”

“I think we should just shoot them on the streets of Itaewon. Take their money and ID’s making it look like a robbery. Simple, clean, and fast.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Are you carrying the new Glock I gave you?”

“Yes.”

I said, “Give it to me,” as I went to the room safe, and pulled out two threaded Glock barrels and two Osprey 9 silencers. Because I always carry two Glock 19s, I also had two silencers. Lee needed one for this mission.

I took Lee’s Glock 19 and mine, disassembled them, and removed the barrels while he watched. After removing the original barrels, I put in the extended threaded ones, which would allow a silencer to be screwed on. When finished, I handed Lee his gun back.

“Here you go. We can pop these guys making very little noise. No one will hear it over the noise in Itaewon. We can also take care of them in their hotel rooms using these silencers.”

“It makes the barrel lot longer.” Lee said. “It won’t fit my holster.

“Yeah, so just stick it in your waistband. But don’t keep a round in the chamber or you could blow your nuts off. You can change back to the original barrel anytime you want.”

“Ok. Now what?” 

“Let’s go to Itaewon and scope out the streets around Tiger House and determine the best spot whack these guys.”

Lee and I knew the Itaewon streets and alleyways pretty well since we were once Military Policemen who patrolled the area on foot. Arriving there, we parked on the main drag, Itaewon Street, not far from the Tiger House. Lee and I looked around to see if we had a tail. It was all clear. Kwon must have called off his dogs.

The House is located on a side street, on top of a steep hill. You can hear music blasting from each bar as you proceed up the hill. The distance from the main drag to the Tiger House is about a quarter of a mile.

We passed by eight dark alleyways walking to the Tiger House. Any one of them would be a good place to conceal us during the shooting. This time of night, the alleys are full of all kinds of garbage and trash. They are a fifthly mess and smell like someone took a shit in them. All types of waste and slim are lying on the ground. Drunks stop to take a leak or vomit in the alleys.

Reaching the top of the hill, we stood outside the Tiger House. Lee asked, “Well, what do you think.”

Peering back down the hill, I replied, “I like the first alley best. Let’s assume Mi-young calls me advising they’re at the bar. It will take me twenty minutes to get here, and you need thirty minutes from your house.”

“Yeah, that’s about right.”

“Assuming they’re still here when we arrive, then we go in separate and watch them. When they are ready to pay the bar tab, you proceed to the first alley nearest Itaewon Street. Take cover there and wait.

“I’ll hold back and let them leave first. Then I’ll follow them down the hill, acting like I’m drunk. Hopefully they won’t pay much attention to me. I’ll move in for the kill when they get close to the alley.”

“Ok, it sounds good so far,” Lee said.

“Once in front of the alley, I’ll pop them from behind. You fire from the alley at the same time. They’ll be in crossfire. If you can’t get a head shot, put at least three rounds into each one. Then we’ll drag the bodies into the alley, behind the garbage cans.”

“Ok, but what if some people are around?”

“Yeah, that could be a problem. In that case, we’ll follow Watanabe and Kim to the Hamilton. We’ll let Ellington go since he’s at the Chosun and I know his room number. We can pop him later.”

Lee said, “But we don’t know Kim and Watanabe’s room numbers.”

I thought about that for a minute, while still standing outside the Tiger House. “I got an idea. Let’s go have a drink and talk to Mi-young.”

I glanced at my watch. It was getting late and Mi-young would be getting off work soon. Lee could give us a ride back to the Chosun.

One private room was open, so Mi-young seated us. Lee and I ordered a drink and I lit a smoke. Mi-young sat next to me. I asked her, “Have you seen them tonight?”

“They no come tonight,” she said. “Why you come here?”

“We stopped to see you, have a drink, and give you a ride with me to the Chosun.” I didn’t tell her what I was really doing there. She didn’t need to know that I was going to kill these guys. The less she knew, the better. 

She squeezed my arm and smiled. I knew my visit here made her happy. I’ll ask her later to do a favor for me. I wanted her to find out the room numbers of Kim and Watanabe. The only way she can do that is if one of them asks Mi-young or one of her girls to visit their room after work. Then they’d have to provide her a room number. Of course, she wouldn’t go to their room; she’d just obtain the number somehow.

These girls are street smart. The bar ladies need to be smart to survive in the concrete jungle. They know how to get information from a customer. The ladies seem so innocent and dumb, but they’re not. They can pick your brain for information and you won’t even realize it. They can pick your pocket, take some money, and put your wallet back so you won’t miss the whole wad. After you’re drunk, you won’t remember how much you spent anyway. Yes, these ladies are street smart slick operators. I love them all, because they are survivors.

As Lee drove us to the Chosun, I asked Mi-young to secretly obtain the room numbers of Watanabe and Kim who maybe staying at the Hamilton. Mi-young asked, “Why you need room number?”

“I just want to know where these men are staying because they are North Korean spies.”

“No problem, Jack. I do for you.”

It was Saturday and I had a feeling that tonight the terrorists would meet since Ellington was checking out tomorrow. I had a slight problem, because tonight was Ted’s dinner party. If I didn’t attend or at least make a showing, his wife, Keiko, might get upset. Besides that, Ted told me they had a surprise for me. I don’t like surprises. Don’t ask me why, I just don’t like them because usually nothing good comes from surprises. At least that has been my experience.

I had breakfast and worked out for an hour, while Mi-young was asleep. After taking a shower, I started cleaning and checking my weapons. I was contemplating how to carry my Glock, with the silencer, since it was too long for my holster. I practiced drawing it from my waistband. It was clumsy putting it in, and especially drawing it out. I certainly wouldn’t win any fast draw competitions, but I didn’t need to.

It occurred to me that maybe these guys could be packing. But I dismissed that because obtaining a gun in Korea is difficult. If you get caught with one, it’s five years in prison. So I didn’t think they would risk carrying a gun.

I stuck my kill weapon in the front of my pants, in the waistband. My backup gun was in a small-of-the-back holster. I carry my Black Bear Fighting knife in a leather sheath about two inches back from the center of my left hip. In my right pocket is my four inch switch blade. My left pocket contains my brass knuckles. I also carry two extra ammo mags, which hold 15 rounds each. Last, but the most important item, I wear a Type II bulletproof vest, which has saved my life more than once from knives and bullets.

Mi-young was awake, and unknown to me, she was observing me trying on all my gear. She said, “What you do? Go to war?” She laughed not knowing the truth.

I said, “This is what I usually wear when on duty.”

She was still laughing as she went to take a shower. I watched her perfect naked body glide across the room. When I saw that soft body, I wanted her. But I had to go over the plans in my head. I needed to discuss them with Lee a few more times. The plans had to be drummed into our brains so when the action started, we’d know exactly what to do. We couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

After she dressed and had some coffee, I discussed the situation with Mi-young. While sipping some coffee, I told her, “The men I’m after will come to the bar tonight, for sure.”

“How you know that?” she asked.

“I just have a feeling they will. Now listen very closely. As soon as one arrives, call me right away. I mean
right away.
You understand?”

“Yes, I call right away.”

“Try to get their room numbers, but don’t take any chances. If you can’t get the room numbers, it’s ok.”

“So, you no want room number?” Now she was confusing me.

“If they don’t tell you their room number, it is ok. Now this is very important. Do not let any of your girls leave with these men. They are dangerous.”

“They dangerous.”

“Yes, they are very dangerous men. You understand that?”

“Mi-young understand. Dangerous men.”

I reviewed these points again just to make sure she understood what I was saying. Sometimes there is a communication problem, so I needed to repeat myself more than once. We ate lunch and then it was 2 pm, time for her to leave for work. I kissed her on the cheek as she left.

I phoned Lee and reviewed our plan over and over again. I was satisfied we were ready for tonight. I wasted time watching TV for a few hours to clear my mind and relax.  

It was six o’clock when my phone rang, it was Ted reminding me of the dinner date.
Shit
, I forgot all about that. The timing was bad but I had to go. Ted lived about one hour away in a foreign resident compound. Actually, he was thirty minutes from the embassy, in the opposite direction of the Chosun, making it a one hour trip by taxi for me.

Then it occurred to me that from Ted’s to the Tiger House could take me an hour and a half. I wasn’t happy about that, so I’d have to leave Ted’s party early. Yes, I’ll leave by ten if Mi-young hasn’t called me by then.

Arriving at Ted’s, I found the security to be above average. The resident compound was surrounded by 8-foot tall iron fence topped with razor wire. There were security cameras all over the place. At the entrance gate were two armed guards. I advised them I was here to see Ambassador Stevens, so they phoned him to confirm it. I gave them my name card and showed my ID badge before they opened the gate.

Living in this secure compound are Ambassadors from around the world. It’s a beautiful high-rise apartment building. I heard the monthly rent starts at twenty thousand dollars.

Walking into the lobby there was another guard sitting there. He advised me to push the room number into a keypad near the elevator. I put Ted’s room number in and the elevator door opened. Once inside, I put in the room number once again into a key pad, the door closed, and the lift moved upward. The elevator stopped and there was a shiny metal door with another entry keypad. I didn’t know the combination so I knocked and Ted opened the door, which slide side-ways into the wall. I stepped directly out into his living room. After stepping inside, Ted pushed a button on the wall and the electronic elevator door silently closed. I noticed on the wall was a video display that showed the inside of the elevator. Each apartment took up an entire floor so there were no hallways like in a typical apartment building.

Ted shook my hand. “Welcome, Jack. Come in and let’s have a drink.”

This apartment was incredible. I’ve been in a lot of nice places, but this apartment was stunning. It had granite flooring and the two outside walls were all glass, from floor to ceiling, offering a great view of Seoul. There was a huge great room, which I estimated to be 3,000 square feet. Along one wall was a large fireplace that you could roast a pig in. It was done in black granite. Ted was living high on the hog for sure.

“This place is huge. How many square feet is it?” I asked, as I gazed around. 

“The whole apartment is 10,000 square feet,” Ted told me.

“Wow, that’s pretty big.” I lived in a 1,200 square foot hotel room. But at least I didn’t have to cook.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Ted, I’m on duty, so I’ll just have a Coke.”

“You’re not on duty here. You like JD, right?” He poured me a double shot on the rocks anyway.

In almost a whisper, I said, “Ted, I am on duty because of the terrorist situation.” I took the drink from his hand and jugged it down in one big gulp, to cut the tension.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. How’s that going?”

It seemed like he was almost disconnected from what was going on, or he was drunk. I closely observed him. Yeah, he was drunk.

“It’s going ok, so far. But I’ll have to leave here early because something is going down tonight.”

“Oh, what’s going on?”

“Ted, you really don’t want to know right now. I’ll tell you later.”

Ted smiled and nodded that he understood. “Ok, fine. What do you think of the security here?”

“Based on what I’ve seen, it’s first class. Are those windows bulletproof?”

“Yes, and if you push that red button, steel shutters open up covering the windows,” as he pointed to it on the wall near the bar.

“Is there another exit?”

“Yes, he pointed to a door on the far wall, near the kitchen.”

I checked it out. It was a steel door that opened out to a stairway. It seemed very secure with double dead-bolts. There was also a camera showing the staircase. “Everything looks great,” I told him.  

“I’m glad you approve. Now, we have a surprise for you.”

“I don’t like surprises, Ted.” I had no idea what he had planned.

“You’ll like this surprise.” Ted yelled, “Keiko, bring out the surprise!”

The door to the kitchen opened, and out walked Keiko. Behind her was Midori, the little Japanese woman who was Keiko’s trusted friend, from Tokyo. I was surprised and speechless at first.

Keiko came over and gave me a peck on the cheek. “Jack-san, it’s nice to see you.”

“Keiko, it’s great to see you also.” Keiko stepped aside to let Midori move in close to me.

I was staring at Midori the whole time, who looked absolutely gorgeous. She was wearing a short sparkling black dress with red spiked high heels, the kind with straps around the ankles. The dress fit tightly around her small but great figure. Her dyed blond hair was longer than last time I saw her, and hung straight down.

Without saying a word, while just smiling, Midori approached me and stood on her tip toes for me to kiss her. I bent over, she pulled me in, and planted a hard one on my lips.

“Jack-san, I missed you so much,” she told me.

I didn’t know what to say. “Midori, it’s so great to see you. I missed you also.” She grabbed onto my arm, holding it tight, like a vice.

Keiko said, “One more surprise, Jack-san.” She looked at me and then at the kitchen door. “Papa-san come here and meet secret agent, Jack.”

The kitchen door slowly swung open and out walked Keiko’s father. He was a large man, for a Japanese, standing as tall as me. His hair was almost white in color. On his face he wore a short extended goatee, which was laced with black and white hair, making him distinguished looking, with a typical gangster appearance. He seemed to be physically in great shape. I guessed him to be in his late fifties or early sixties.

He wore a dark blue suit with a red tie. His shoes looked shiny, like patent leather. You could tell he was a man of authority and power.

He stepped up to me and stopped about two feet away, and bowed. I likewise bowed. He said, “Domo Arigatō gozaimashita (Thank you, Sir.)”

“Dōitashimashite. (You are welcome.)”

With both hands, he held out his name card. I took it using both hands and then handed my card to him. We both bowed again, showing respect. I took a quick glance at the card, it was in gold-leaf. His name, printed in black ink, simply read “KAMATA,” with a phone number at the bottom. There was no title, company name, or address. We did not shake hands, which is customary for older Japanese who just use the bow as a greeting.

The conversation turned to English. “Jack-san, I wanted to meet you. Thank you for protecting my daughter and Midori. I’ll never forget that.” Kamata’s English was perfect.

“Kamata-san, you don’t owe me anything. It was my honor and duty to protect Keiko and Midori.”

“Ted-san tells me you are the Chief of Embassy Security. He advised me you are a very excellent warrior with many years of experience and training.”

Keiko said, “Why don’t we sit down and talk?”

We all took seats on a big black leather couch. Midori sat next to me and again grabbed hold of my arm. Kamata sat in a big plush leather chair facing me.

I glanced at Ted, and then looked at Kamata. “Yes, Ted is correct. I have a lot of experience in security.”

“I see, Jack-san. That is very interesting to me.”

“Why is that interesting, Kamata-san?” I really didn’t like the idea that Ted had told him anything about me.

Ted interrupted and asked everyone what they would like to drink. I told Ted to make mine a coke.

Kamata asked, “You don’t drink?”

“I drink, but not when I’m on duty.”

“Are you on duty now?”

“I am always on duty.”

Kamata scratched his bearded chin. “You asked, why I am interested in your background.”

“Yes, why is that? I’d just like to know.” My voice must have had a defensive tone to it.

Smiling, Kamata commented, “Don’t be so serious, Jack-san. We are friends here.”

“Yes Jack-san, please relax,” Keiko said. “Father likes you.”

“You seem to be a loyal honorable man who knows his duty,” Kamata said.

“Thank you, Kamata-san. I didn’t mean to be rude. Sometimes, I am to blunt.”

Kamata replied, “I like being blunt, when necessary. Let me be blunt now.”

“Ok, please do so, Kamata-san.”

“I know you are good friends with Ted, so he probably told you what I do.”

I didn’t want to lie to him. “Yes, he told me you’re the Boss for the Inagawa Yakuza Clan.”

He leaned forward in his chair and glared into my eyes. “What do you think about that?”

The room became very quiet, everyone stopped talking and stared at me. Peering back into Kamata’s eyes, I said, “What you do is none of my business.”

“That is a good answer,” Kamata replied, with a smile. “Perhaps you can help me and I can help to you.”

“How can I help you?”

Kamata pulled out a pack of smokes. “Do you smoke?”

“Yes, I smoke too much.”

“Please indulge me. Let’s go outside, on the balcony, for a cigarette and we can talk in private,” Kamata said, as he glanced at Ted as if to say, do not follow us.