Chapter 123: < Protect – Episode 122 – New York Catastrophe [2] >

‘I’m going crazy here!’

This was what the Americans were saying in their heads.

What happened in Central Park in New York was the biggest catastrophe in history. All the Americans who were watching TV or listening to the radio probably felt like pa.s.sing out. And it wasn’t anyone else but Scott Davis, who put President Davis in the White House, who made the accusations. On top of that, the star of the Senate hearing—Fitzgerald—was also mentioned as a part of the conspiracy, which was even more shocking than the Sao Paulo scandal and the New York terrorist attack combined.

How low could politics get? As soon as the corruption within the White House and the National a.s.sembly got out, the related persons who were keeping their mouth shut finally started to speak. In this storm, nothing could be stopped anymore.

Jina Davis didn’t commit suicide! She was killed! The Ministry of Justice was silenced with money!

What’s even more shocking is that the ones responsible are the family of a soldier who fought in Brazil!

Evidence has been found that Fitzgerald’s advisor instigated the whole thing! The FBI and CIA were also involved in concealment!

Did a thing such as justice even exist that night?

Allan Davis resigned from his position as the president.

The FBI and the prosecutor’s office charged the former president with obstruction of justice and abuse of power. Senator Fitzgerald was charged with all of the above as well as perjury. While those who were involved were being summoned, the federal grand jury scheduled a hearing. Fitzgerald was set to be the star of the hearing once again, but what was funny was that he would be the one answering the questions this time instead of the one asking them.

Scott committed suicide in front of everybody.

Whether the president was good or bad, people thought he should have been considered a terrorist for attacking the president, but most thought he was more of a whistleblower. Scott was called a patriot for his disobedience. They thought that in order to stop the crime of someone as powerful as the president, he had no choice but to commit an illegal crime.

America and its citizens were very shocked.

They probably had no idea that their system fell to such a new low. Those who were supposed to be monitoring the politicians were busy sucking up to them at their feet. What could such a corrupt monitoring system do at this point? The Democratic Party who held the power, as well as the Republican Party, didn’t know what to do with this case. That was because no matter what people said about Allan Davis, he was a president chosen by the Democratic Party, and Fitzgerald was a Republican senator who was a candidate for the presidency.

“Did you mean to just let Scott talk, Soo Ho?”

“I’m not sure. I just wanted to show that I have manners too. Scott Davis… was a good friend.”

They weren’t actually that close. But on Ahn Soo Ho’s client list wasn’t Scott, but his wife—Charlotte.

“What do you think will happen next, Nancy?”

“Our country doesn’t have the guilty-by-a.s.sociation system… but Charlotte will probably have a hard time. Somebody is bound to try to put the responsibility of the New York tragedy on Scott.”

Nancy Brown laughed bitterly and sipped her wine. If the Democratic Party had abandoned Allan Davis, the Republican Party would have abandoned Fitzgerald as well. If he hadn’t resigned from his post, the impeachment process would have begun, and 99.9% would have been impeached. That was a political risk that no one could handle.

“What if I decide to protect her?”

“Are you asking me to stop them from calling witnesses?”

“That’s right.”

Scott committed suicide.

If he had been arrested instead of dying, the situation would have been much worse. It was not right to do this to a woman who lost both her daughter and husband, but the American government probably would have ripped the Davis family to shreds. That was because depending on how they view it, it could very well be perceived as a family fight within the Davis household.

“Rumors about the Davis family will probably start coming out. They’ll ruin Scott’s reputation and make him into a villain. The fact that he was an election strategist will probably not look very good to the public.”

“He confessed that he had failed right in front of the cameras. There’s no better source than that. Did the Republican party get to work?”

“Yes, they did.”

The Republican Party already started to kill off Scott.

“Since they obtained medical records of his depression and psychiatric consultations, they will suspect that he was a mental patient. That will be the beginning.”

If many people worked together, making a person into a mental patient was not a hard task. They would probably have interviews with schools that he went to as well as his past business partners and obtain information that would benefit them. Since creating scandals, negative rumors, and using blackmail was Scott’s specialty, this situation couldn’t have been any more ironic.

‘What goes around comes around.’

Or this could just be how things work in politics.

“Not Charlotte.”

“Why not?”

“Because I made a promise.”

Ahn Soo Ho made a promise to Scott that he would take care of Charlotte.

“The public wants a scapegoat.”

“Was Jina Davis’ wrongful death not enough?”

“Her death was unfortunate… but Scott definitely went too far.”

“Do you really think so?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Ahn Soo Ho laughed quietly, but his smile was big as ever.

“If I were him, I wouldn’t have stopped there.”

“Hm.”

Nancy groaned loudly.

“Don’t forget. I’m being very generous to America right now.”

“I’m aware of that and thankful for it.”

The reason why he got involved in this was that he loved his subordinate, and his job wasn’t over just yet. He was just taking a break. Logically speaking, one might have wondered if he was taking it too far, but he was someone who could kill snipers with a regular handgun. It was highly likely that the rumors going around about him were true.

‘A person with supernatural powers.’

The rumors about him having supernatural powers helped him out this time around.

“Leave Charlotte alone.”

“I’ll deliver the message.”

“You can use my name if you want, Nancy. Just make it happen.”

She smiled brightly. This might have been what she was hoping to hear. If she could be Ahn Soo Ho’s stand-in, that would help her as a newly-elected member of the National a.s.sembly. Since the powerful Senator Fitzgerald was out of the picture, the power structure within the party was bound to change.

“Then what about the Democratic Party?”

“Speaking of which, here he comes.”

Ahn Soo Ho stopped talking and pointed behind Nancy with his chin. The person who showed up dressed in a suit was none other than James Black. However, he had shaved off all his facial hair and looked like a middle-aged man.

“Do you know each other?”

“No, this is our first time meeting.”

“Then say h.e.l.lo.”

The way his muscles protruded out of his suit would make anyone feel nervous. James Black said h.e.l.lo to Nancy Brown.

“I’m going to go through you two to speak with and make negotiations with the American government. But just so we’re clear, I’m not your superior. We’re kind of like business partners.”

“Will other people see it that way, too?”

“That’s for you and Nancy to worry about. Okay, then. Let’s start with our first matter of business.”

“Not the Charlotte issue?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“I want to have free access to the US Armed Forces facilities in Korea.”

It was possible that the vibe in Korea was partly responsible for Michael’s ridiculous death. Even if he had no reason to use guns, he shouldn’t have slacked off. He was going to make a training camp in the Philippines, but it didn’t make sense for him to fly all the way there just to practice his shooting.

“Ha! It’s possible to just give it to you but not other civilians.”

“I called you two so that I can make that happen.”

“What do we get out of this?”

Ahn Soo Ho shrugged his shoulders.

“If there’s something you want, show me what you’re capable of first.”

******

After the New York terrorist attack, Han Chae Kyung’s name became very well known. At first, she was called the private jet girl after she got on Ahn Soo Ho’s private jet, but after she provided a safe house for the refugees of the New York terrorist attack, she became known as an angel who was beautiful both inside and out.

As a result of the New York catastrophe at Central Park, America was going through the same candlelit vigil situation that Korea went through a few months earlier. Despite the resistance of the law enforcement authorities, the vigils kept on going, and one Korean netizen introduced the vigils as a Korean export on YouTube and became a hot topic of conversation.

One anti-American even said Korea and America were very much alike when it came to corruption. On the internet, America was being ridiculed more harshly than ever before. The true enemy of the world wasn’t the Islamic terrorists, but the capitalists who took the citizens’ money.

There were many posts criticizing capitalists before the incident as well, but compared to that, it had really exploded this time. Everyone who hated the States pounced at the opportunity. When one extreme thing happened, it was expected that other extremes would follow. In contrast to those who were anti-American, there were also those who were claiming that the Americans’ belief was correct and understandable.

Those who were on America’s side and stressing nationalism were extreme Christians. Those who were against America were the antichrist, and the Islamic terrorists were the evil forces trying to overturn Heaven. But an even bigger problem was the autochthonic terrorists also known as the lonely wolves, and these guys were rarely caught even by the intelligence agencies.

That was because instead of being in an organization formed by a religion or a network, they were lonely terrorists who acted alone. What if a person wanted to go to a shopping mall one day and shoot a gun? Or what if a person wanted to go to a school and shoot them down? What if a person wanted to blow up a workplace that fired him or her unjustly? A white person who wants to burn down Harlem and a black person who wanted to burn down Wall Street. There were many people who wanted to blow up City Hall because they didn’t want to pay taxes.

Scott Davis’ terror failed.

However, his failure that was broadcasted on TV made the American government anxious while making the lonely wolves more inspired and courageous. ‘f.u.c.king America! f.u.c.k! f.u.c.k! f.u.c.k!’ The New York catastrophe was still taking place. Among a candlelight vigil, someone set a bomb and killed and injured dozens of people.

The martial law restricted freedom, but with the president resigning and the White House being full of criminals, there was no way the country could function normally. As soon as the incapable vice-president took power, the country went out of control. It was uncertain whether Scott should have been praised for putting such fools in the White House, or if the Democratic Party and the Americans should have been insulted for being so easily fooled.

Whether America was on the edge of a cliff or not, Ahn Soo Ho didn’t care.

He was busy partic.i.p.ating in an interview held at Kim Na Hee’s cleaned up residence in New York. They were Korean reporters who wanted to speak to Han Chae Kyung. KBS, MBC, SBS, Yeonhap News were a few of them, and there were many newspapers as well. What was funny was that the star, Han Chae Kyung was pushed to the back while Ahn Soo Ho got all the questions.

Q: There are rumors claiming you’re Captain America. What do you have to say about that?”

A: Nonsense.

Q. What about the rumors claiming that you and Han Chae Kyung are in a relations.h.i.+p?

A: Bulls.h.i.+t.

Q: What about the rumors claiming that you caused the New York terrorist attack with a Middle East rich man?

A: That’s absolute bulls.h.i.+t.

Q: There are also rumors claiming that Hosoo Entertainment Group will be buying Holly Corporation.

A: Oh! That’s a new one!

That was generally how the interview went.

When Ahn Soo Ho was told that a guest arrived, he left the busy living room. They weren’t there to interview him in the first place. He was just caught at the wrong time. They smacked their lips at Ahn Soo Ho’s exit and then put their focus back on the star of the interviews.

“Why is it so noisy?”

“Reporters are here.”

“Huh? Are we having a formal press conference?”

“No, not the Yankees. They’re from Korea.”

If James Black was a muscular man even in his middle years, Scott Warren was a dandy man who was aging well. People wondered if his style was that of any Hollywood producer. However, in Ahn Soo Hoh’s eyes, he just looked like a cheater.

“What about your divorce?”

“Don’t even bring it up. It’s annoying me like crazy.”

Scott lied down on the couch.

“I knew this would happen since you only looked for young women.”

“You’re one to talk. You’re dating Miss Jang.”

“Our love is real.”

Scott scoffed and then chugged a bottle of liquor that was beside him.

“How much are you going to give me.”

“How much do you need?”

They both got right to the point.

“Seven bills.”

“700 million dollars? You lost that much?”

“No, I’m going to make a new investment.”

“Is there a place where Holly Corporation could grow more?”

Holly Corporation was a very big company worth 500 million dollars for market capitalization alone. One out of five successful stars of the American entertainment industry was under this agency. Seeing how they had a system of mainly using personal managers, they had always been a distinct group.

“No! I’m not telling you to invest in Holly Corporation. The old men of the Academy and Grammy Awards might come with a lot of money, but they hate any investor who’s not American.”

“Because of j.a.pan?”

During the 1980s, half of America’s industries were attacked by j.a.panese brands and Americans who didn’t know very much jolted away at the sound of j.a.pan. They successfully put a leash on j.a.pan with the Plaza Agreement a few years later, but that was after the j.a.panese capital swept North America a few times already.

Hollywood received a big blow as well. If one looked through movies made in the 1980s, one could see the cities in those movies being swarmed with j.a.panese neon signs and street food in the future. This was what made people scared, that all of America would be overflowing with j.a.panese products in the near future.

“Yeah. Sony, for example.”

In America’s entertainment industry, Asian corporations also took up a portion in music and film. Foreigners thought that the actors, singers, comedians, and producers of Hollywood were very progressive, but the American entertainment industry was more conservative and suffered the most racism compared to any other profitable groups. For that reason, Sony’s appearance was like a rebellion.

“But the old men are out of their minds right now. This might be the right time.”

“I’m sensing some impure intentions.”

After going to court for his consensual divorce, Scott had to cough up a lot of money for alimony.

“I can’t say you’re wrong.”

“How much did you lose?”

“One and a half.”

“Ha!”

150 million dollars? No matter how rich Scott was, losing that much meant he had to sell his stocks or something of that nature. American banks didn’t let their clients keep their cash, but rather made them “invest” it by selling all sorts of financial products. In contrast to Korea, where any money you kept at a bank acc.u.mulated interest, America charged extra money to set up the account as well as keep them open. That didn’t apply to the VIPs, but most civilians could only open accounts with a minimum.

“What new investment can you make with 700 million dollars? You can’t do anything in the film industry.”

“Let’s invest together and make a company, Soo Ho.”

“Are you going to leave Holly Corporation?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t there some kind of compet.i.tion prevention clause?”

“I wouldn’t leave something like that in my contract. Holly Corporation is a company that I made.”

What was sad was that it was no longer his, due to his divorce. Ahn Soo Ho nodded. If Scott wanted to leave the company, he was ready to welcome him with open arms.

“Then what about Lila?”

“I already took care of that. She can just stay in Korea. If you let her enter Hosoo Entertainment, there shouldn’t be any legal issues with that either.”

“You must be really mad at those old men, Scott.”

“I found out that she was instigated to approach me with intent.”

“Who? Your fourth wife?”

“Yeah.”

“Haha!”

Ahn Soo Ho pointed his finger and laughed at him.

“s.h.i.+t!”

“Haha!”

He laughed for a very long time.

He hadn’t had much chance to laugh so freely in a long time, but this time he could. He wiped his tears away and pat Scott on his shoulders.

“Will 700 million dollars be enough? I’ll invest 70 billion.”

“Gasp!”

In response to what Ahn Soo Ho said, Scott almost choked.

“Cough! What? 70 billion? 70 billion dollars?”

“You’re such a coward, Scott.”

“You crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

When converted to Korean won, that was 80 trillion won.

“Didn’t you go bankrupt or have some kind of liquidity problems? How are you going to get so much money?”

He tried to talk around it, but when Ahn Soo Ho announced his retirement, there were rumors that he went bankrupt.

“Barbara Huxley.”

“The money queen?”

“Yeah. She’ll give it to us.”

“Why would she do that?”

Ahn Soo Ho lifted his gla.s.s and whispered.

“If she doesn’t want to die, she’ll hand it over.”

70 billion US dollars.

That was how much Barbara Huxley’s life was worth according to Ahn Soo Ho’s calculations.

< Protect – Episode 122 – New York Catastrophe [2] > The end.