Chapter 215: < Protect – Episode 205 – Trip To Europe [1] >

“Donald… Duck?”

Logan was the only one to laugh at Ahn Soo Ho’s joke. Caroline was ready to jump in with a serious look on her face, and Rosaline went to the corner with Hannah in her arms.

“Seeing how you don’t discriminate based on race, the future of UN sure seems bright.”

All different skin colors.

The allied forces that Donald Townsend gathered in order to intimidate people wasn’t very threatening to Ahn Soo Ho. It seemed as though this New York duck really wanted to make it known that he was treated as an important person.

“Okay, who wants to get out of this s.h.i.+tty situation? Only the first five get to go.”

Once the first person stepped up, the others swarmed in after him. Despite being amba.s.sadors representing their countries, their bodily actions seemed very comedic.

“One, two, three, four, five. That’s it.”

The last one to be chosen was a black man.

“You can go.”

Those who couldn’t leave looked at the ones who were leaving without any hesitation with eyes of envy. Just a few minutes ago, the thugs dressed up as security guards were threatening Logan.

One of the underlings who followed Richard and a medical professional came back and stood next to Ahn Soo Ho.

“The surgery ended well.”

“What about his arm? Can he use it again?”

Richard’s injury was quite deep. The gla.s.s that penetrated his shoulder destroyed his collarbone.

“They’re putting something in his bone… but we won’t know until rehab.”

“I guess he’ll never be able to pa.s.s a security point again.”

Since they’d put some kind of metal inside, the machines would beep every time he pa.s.ses through.

“Look into a better orthopedic surgeon.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Find a good one.”

“Yes, Sir.”

As soon as the underling left, Ahn Soo Ho smiled. But his smile wasn’t out of happiness.

“There goes another man.”

“I’m sorry.”

Logan apologized.

“No need for you to apologize. Since they volunteered, it’s no one else’s fault… Ipasha. Are you sure?”

“Yes, Sir. But I took care of Enrique.”

“It can’t be just Ipasha who was involved. Didn’t you say you saw Ainscreutz, too?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“They can’t get their sh*t together after I let them free.”

If they attacked knowing they were Ahn Soo Ho’s direct troop, they were challenging him directly.

“I’ll take care of that later… What should I do with you?”

Ahn Soo Ho looked at the men that remained.

“We didn’t attack Logan, Soo Ho. The one who attacked them was the vice president’s doing.”

“So you’re not responsible, is that it?”

“Well… what do you want us to do about it?”

As soon as Ahn Soo Ho reached out his hand, a revolver appeared in the air. It was just like magic.

Bang-

Along with the bullet sound, Patrick Holland collapsed in his chair. Since the bullet went right through his brain, there was no way he could come back as a zombie.

“Soo Ho!”

Caroline screamed his name. She was angry that he took her feed away.

“Take care of it.”

Ahn Soo Ho ordered Donald and then looked back at Caroline who was huffing and puffing. She was about to pounce if she didn’t like his excuse.

Ahn Soo Ho sighed deeply.

“I already told you, Carol.”

He was able to fry up the New York duck with no problems, but Star Fox was even more dangerous than Hector Garcia. And a mother who lost her baby was especially scary.

“Patrick Holland didn’t kill your son.”

“Then who killed Kenny?”

Ahn Soo Ho had no interest in the affairs of other people. However, in order to resolve an issue, he had to know the truth. As soon as he saw someone monitor him right after Logan left for vacation, he knew something was up.

And it took less than a day for that prediction to be confirmed.

‘A daughter?’

Logan’s daughter dropped from the sky out of nowhere.

If it was true, this was a blessing, but something smelled fishy. And after receiving a report, he realized someone dragged Logan into a situation. But why Logan?

And the person Ahn Soo Ho focused on wasn’t Kenneth Burn, Caroline Burn, or Patrick Holland.

The American vice president, Evelyn Parmer?

American amba.s.sador, Donald Townsend?

They were all insignificant.

The person Ahn Soo Ho put focus on was Christina McQueen.

‘Logan’s old cla.s.smate and Hannah McQueen’s birth mother…’

The beginning of this case wasn’t simply Patrick Holland’s betrayal or Kenneth Burn’s death. It all started when Christina sent her daughter—Hannah—to Logan’s sister, Rosaline.

‘How interesting.’

He was curious to see how they would react if they found out that everything started with her.

“Like I said, it wasn’t Holland who killed Kenneth.”

Christina was the director, Hannah was the main lead, and Logan and his Young family, as well as Caroline, were supporting actors while Patrick Holland was an extra. Then what about the American vice president? He was the villain. And Donald Townsend? He was simply a black curtain that decorated the finale. If they had to give the best actress award to someone, it would have been Hannah, but she had no idea what she did.

And what she was doing wasn’t acting.

“Okay, let’s stop the acting, Christine. Isn’t having Holland dead enough?”

People flinched once they saw who Ahn Soo Ho was looking at. She was taken aback, but despite having a broken picky, she clapped for him.

“I’m impressed, Soo Ho. You’re just as I’ve heard.”

Christina stared at Ahn Soo Ho.

“How did you know?”

“My network is even more vast than you can imagine. And my people aren’t restricted to power alone. That would be too easy. Those fools think they can have power as long as they win over the elites, but that’s not how it works in this world.”

Donald Townsend raged after being called a fool. He was just ridiculing Logan, and despite being turned the victim, he couldn’t say anything.

‘I’m lying…’

It was a lie. His network was vast, but not that vast. But he couldn’t tell her of his powers, so he packaged it in a different way. She must have been curious because she had a lot of questions for him.

“Soo Ho, you were in Hawaii just a few minutes ago. So how are you in New York already?”

“What’s your prediction?”

“I think you have the power to teleport. If not, this can’t be explained.”

“So have you thought of a way to stop me?”

“No. If you can teleport… there’s no way of stopping you. What a big world…”

“It is.”

“Are there others like you?”

“There are lots if you just look.”

“What kind of nonsense is this?”

Caroline jumped into the conversation with a confused look on her face.

“So who killed my son, Soo Ho?”

That was the only thing she wanted to know.

“That’s not for me to answer.”

Ahn Soo Ho looked over at Christina, and Caroline followed his gaze. It was possible that on one hand, she was accepting her as her son’s other half.

“Kenneth Burn was a monster.”

“What?”

Caroline’s face changed in response to Christina’s remark.

“Your son was a monster, Carol.”

“You…”

“Who killed him? That’s right. It was me.”

Christina didn’t look guilty. Ahn Soo Ho held on to Caroline from moving. If he hadn’t, there would have been a catfight.

“Monster.”

But Christina’s lips didn’t stop.

“He wasn’t human. He was a monster.”

******

Christina McQueen loved Kenneth Burn.

Age difference didn’t matter when a man and a woman were in love. Of course, it was illegal and immoral to love an underaged person, but she followed her heart. It was just painful to become distant with Caroline, whom she looked up to. But she didn’t regret it. But when she realized that he only felt half the way she did, her heart ached like crazy.

He was simply satisfying his s.e.xual desires.

The feeling that he felt was simply a rite of pa.s.sage for a kid becoming a man.

But she didn’t hold on.

She couldn’t stand to lose the last bit of pride she had left. She thought that was how their love was going to end. However, a few months after Kenneth left with Caroline, she learned that she was pregnant.

At first, she tried to get an abortion.

“A kid has no faults.”

Christina looked at Hannah, who was in Rosaline’s arms.

“How did you get involved with Patrick?”

“That sc.u.mbag… provided women, gambling, and drugs to anyone who could be of help to politicians and his business. He was then caught by Morgan’s radar.”

After giving birth, Christina contemplated leaving Absent Morgan, but there were few places as safe as that one. She approached Patrick in order to expose Holland Corporation’s corruption, but she later learned that the case was more complicated than she thought.

“The New York terrorist attack actually had nothing to do with Scott Davis.”

All Americans thought Scott Davis was behind the New York terrorist attack, but that plan had been in the works years beforehand. Davis was simply used during the final stages.

New York was the most famous city in the world.

Everyone in the whole world knew the city. Since New York, Newyorkers, New York fas.h.i.+on, education, and business were all famous, everything that happened in the city became big money. There was even the saying that if all of New York’s real estate was sold, one could buy half of Asia.

The politicians, businessmen, and powerful men involved with Holland Corporation used complete destruction as collateral for their New York redevelopment plan.

“Huxley Group was just the tip of the iceberg. And there’s an even crueler secret hidden within.”

“I remember hearing about it from Barbara.”

Ahn Soo Ho had heard about the New York redevelopment plan conspiracy from Barbara before.

“Club Ernest.”

A social club centered around New York and including Northeast America and Western Europe. Considering the value of freedom and equality in the States, it was hard to imagine a club only with the top 0.01% taking place. But since the country valued privacy, even more, the social club stood at the forefront of the country’s future. In particular, the social clubs of famous universities had everything they could have ever wanted.

The silver spoons of America entered the social world early.

Rather than moving in secret like in Korea, they showed off their vibrant connections to everyone. They lived the lives that everyone wanted, so they flaunted it and made issues out of it.

People talked down on the rich, but when the opportunity came to them, they s.n.a.t.c.hed it right up. They were willing to become rich first and then deal with the legalities afterward. There was no more democracy in that. The beliefs that brought up America back in the 1960s and 70s no longer existed.

All that was left was mammonism.

Christina and Kenneth had met again 3 years earlier.

“When I met Kenneth again… the innocent boy was no longer within him.”

Kenneth Burn went through all sorts of fights as he followed Caroline around since he was little. At that rate, he was the top student of a crime elite cla.s.s. His mother didn’t want to acknowledge it, but her son was the top killing machine.

The kind son that his mother wanted no longer existed.

“All he was was a monster who hara.s.sed and hurt people.”

It was fascinating how such a psycho could be produced naturally without the use of a program like Ultra. Caroline didn’t want to admit it, but Kenneth was a psychopath. One that desperately wanted power.

“Is that why you killed him?”

“If that was it, I wouldn’t have hurt him.”

To be frank, Patrick Holland was more of a sc.u.mbag than Kenneth.

“So there was something you couldn’t stand.”

“That’s right.”

“What was it?”

“You probably already know.”

“Just explain it for Carol. The one keeping you alive is her, not me.”

If Ahn Soo Ho let go of her, she would have ripped her to shreds. Christina looked at Caroline with a serious look on her face.

“Kenneth was dying.”

“What?”

“He had leukemia that’s genetic.”

“How? He didn’t tell me! Why didn’t you tell me?”

Caroline wasn’t asking Christina. She was asking her son who was now dead.

“Moms can’t cure diseases, Carol.”

Kenneth had gone mad. He didn’t get why he had to die at such a young age. At first, he resented his unknown father, and then he resented his mother, Caroline.

“The reason why he roamed around Holland and me…”

As soon as Christina trailed off, Caroline mumbled,

“Cord blood.”

Cord blood was what could increase the likelihood of making the disease curable. However, one could only use it once with one person. Caroline gasped in response.

“You gave it to him.”

“He was still my child’s father. I wanted him to live.”

That was what happened.

She had no intention of killing him at the start. She no longer loved him, but he was still Hannah’s father. He had the right to see his daughter grow up. However, the stem cells obtained from the cord blood was unable to treat him.

“However, it failed.”

And then he really went nuts.

“He…”

Christina stopped talking either because her throat was dry or because she was in mental pain.

“He planned something that he shouldn’t have. He lost what was left of his conscience. He wanted his daughter…”

“Stop!”

Caroline shook her head for her to stop talking. She wobbled and Fisher held her up. Caroline felt the most intense fear she felt in her life after thinking about what she was about to say next. She didn’t want the beautiful memories in her head to shatter.

Christina shut her mouth.

Caroline pushed Fisher away and walked toward Christina. Logan flinched, but Ahn Soo Ho raised his hand to let her go ahead. Whether someone died or not, it was for them to settle.

Rather than hitting Christina, Caroline hugged her tight. She then whispered something in her ears. After a long hug, Ahn Soo Ho cleared the air with his clapping.

Clap, clap, clap-

“Stop filming a drama, you two. Let’s resolve this.”

Their tragedy was heartbreaking, but Ahn Soo Ho didn’t have much care for this Kenneth Burn character. He just wanted to resolve this commotion.

“What are you going to do, Carol?”

“I’ll step back.”

“No more revenge?”

“Hannah needs a mother.”

“Wow… You sound like a true grandmother. What happened to the iron lady?”

“Are you calling me old?”

“Whoa, whoa. You’re a grandmother, you know. That’s the reality.”

Caroline gave him the middle finger. Ahn Soo Ho ignored her and looked back at Donald Townsend.

“New York Duck.”

He must have gotten used to this name because he didn’t seem insulted anymore. He just kept looking at the clock. It seemed as though he wanted all of this to end.

“I don’t care if you shame the White House, if you bring down the vice president, or if you ruin the Democratic party.”

He had no interest in getting involved with a conspirer. The cleanest method was to turn the New York duck into Foie gras, but it was best to let Donald Duck live if he didn’t want more bothersome problems.

“I don’t want to see you, and you don’t want to see me. So let’s resolve this quickly.”

Ahn Soo ho hated complicated things.

“Fix it. Now.”

In the middle of watching the different colored heads leave, he lifted his finger as if he remembered something.

“I’m curious about something, Christine.”

There was a mystery that not even his magic could solve.

“Why did you kill Kenneth in the middle of the streets by Broadway? You could have done it more quietly.”

There was no reason to tell everyone that she had to kill Crazy Kenneth. Caroline looked at Ahn Soo Ho as if she felt bothered about him mentioning her dead son again, but she didn’t interfere.

He couldn’t stand being curious.

“Well…”

Christina looked at Caroline and then cautiously answered.

“A gang did it.”

“So you didn’t do it yourself.”

She said she killed him, but she wasn’t the one that pulled the trigger.

‘Absent Morgan.’

While Kadesh Morken was mostly men, Absent Mogan was mostly women. In contrast to Kadesh Morken, which was specialized in terror and force, Absent Morgan was strong in camouflage and information.

Just like how the fact that Alleyas Frovesa used handicapped men came with both pros and cons, Absent Morgan faced pros and cons because they were mostly women. In most cultures, women and children were perceived to be weak, needing protection. That was a different issue from equality. But Absent Morgan taught them to scorn men who tried to control women.

Islam was their enemy.

So was Christianity and Buddhism.

Actually, they perceived all religion to wrong women. Women full of rage. The world looked down on them, but today’s Absent Morgan took up a key role in the world.

Ahn Soo Ho took out his phone.

“Eaton.”

“Soo Ho?”

“Are you busy?”

“It’s chaotic because of New York… Huh? Are you…”

“I guess you don’t know yet. I’m at the UN headquarters.”

Just like the New York duck said, Jeremy Eaton O’Hare had yet to hold control over the CIA.

“What about the request I made last time?”

“To dig into the White House?”

“Yeah.”

“Does the vice president have to do with this?”

Evelyn Parmer was someone that Ahn Soo Ho didn’t know well. As President Olsen took over after the downfall due to the Davis Scandal, this vice president naturally took the post with the support of both parties.

“You must have found something.”

“D. Punch.”

This was his second time hearing the name following the Nigerian kidnapping case.

“France, huh…?”

“France keeps getting in the way nowadays. Soo Ho, something’s definitely up.”

Same went for Ransel Straussmow. The French of Europe kept getting in the way.

“I’d better meet with the vice president later.”

“Not now?”

“There’s somewhere I have to go first. I’ll visit the White House after that.”

“Are you going to kill him?”

“Look here, Eaton. Like I said before, I’m not some kind of psychopath that just goes around killing everyone.”

That wasn’t a no.

“I feel hurt.”

“Yeah right!”

If someone who he had killed heard that, they would have sprung up from their grave.

“Is New York all right?”

“Why? Did the president say something?”

“Yeah. At times like this, I’m glad I’m just the stand-in director. The NSA and Homeland Security are in mourning. Do you have any information?”

“Patrick Holland.”

“Holland Corporation? The one that went bankrupt and fled?”

“Ipasha and Ainscreutz.”

“European mercenaries?”

“That’s all I can give you, Eaton.”

“Thank you.”

Ahn Soo Ho finished the call and then looked back at his party.

“Carol, Christine, Logan, Fisher, and the rest of you.”

The Young siblings got mad at being called the rest of them and Hannah just dozed off.

“You need to come with me.”

“Where?”

Ahn Soo Ho pointed his finger in response to Caroline’s question.

“Paris.”

There was a lot to leach off of in Paris.

‘I heard they have a lot of gold and cultural a.s.sets.’

Since they disturbed his vacation, he was going to take everything he could get.

< Protect – Episode 205 – Trip To Europe [1] > The end.