Chapter 33: < Protect – Episode 32 – Jina Davis [1] >

The International Cooperation Agency kidnapping incident was released to the public after 40 days, and the backfire was tremendous.

– The entire world was unyielding to the kidnapping of the Americans!

– The International Cooperation Agency kidnapping accident! Was.h.i.+ngton State knew, but everyone kept quiet!

– According to a high-rank official, they attempted to rescue them but failed!

– The military company, Aragon Company, “It would be difficult to pull out the roots of the cartel in Central and South America!”

– Exclusive! The president, Allen Davis’ niece, Jina Davis had been kidnapped as well!”

The one who was in the most difficult situation wasn’t the White House but the Brazilian government, which was making efforts to attract foreign capital. There were rumors about how a corrupt bureaucrat-led the kidnapping with a gang. The Brazilian police normally wouldn’t have acted on a regular kidnapping incident, but as soon as the Brazilian president heard the kidnapping news, he dispatched the military.

He had nowhere else to back up to.

If the people who got kidnapped didn’t return to their home country and died on Brazilian soil, especially if the U.S. president’s niece, Jina Davis was subjected to horrible acts, the situation would get much worse. If it was revealed that the kidnapping took place to get revenge on the U.S. president for declaring crimes and war, it was highly likely that the threats would lead to a real war.

“Jimmy Aaronson is using this situation.”

“Politicians… Then does the Ministry of National Defense agree with Minster Cameron?”

“You heard something from Ms. Uz, haven’t you? Soo Ho, we don’t care about the president and his niece. All we care about is the fact that she’s American.”

The impressive characteristic of the U.S. military was their principle of civil control. Ahn Soo Ho thought the States was the most impressive in that aspect. This explicit violent organization had to be controlled, or else no one would know what other trouble they would cause. That was because the belief of patriotism couldn’t always be right.

“We begged Carlos Costa for this kidnapping incident.”

“Dell Este’s ghost?”

The border of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay had always been a prevailing area of business. In South America, where the law wasn’t so established, there was no way of stopping criminal organizations from getting involved. Especially Paraguay, which depended on the trade with Brazil and Argentina, had many internal wars.

“But how did Empire Konzern get involved with South America?”

“Soo Ho. You said you’re protecting Daniel Navarros, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you must know he’s a quadruple spy.”

Ahn Soo Ho nodded in silence.

“If you know that, then this will be quick. Empire invested eight billion in the black market last year and this year, and half of that went through a South American soccer club, went through Africa and Europe, and returned to the States.”

“Money laundering?”

“The parliament pa.s.sed a law that blocked all American routes of money laundering. But do you know what’s funny? They know the movement of the money, but they can’t impose sanctions on it. The money lenders are fooling around with them.”

They call it Uruguay Round or the Geneva Conventions.

It was a general agreement, GATT, regarding tariffs and trade that was made by 23 countries in 1947 in Geneva. Before it was subst.i.tuted by WTO in 1995, 120 countries around the world were involved, and Korea had been a full member since April 1st, 1967. The foundation would lead trade agreements such as Geneva Round, Ans.h.i.+ra Round, Tokira Round, Dillon Round, Kennedy Round, Tokyo Round, and Uruguay Round, and the seventh agreement, GATT, came to an end.

“People call the WTO the States’ puppet, but that’s not true.”

The one controlling the world trade agenda wasn’t the States, but the capitalists with American citizens.h.i.+ps. One might wonder what the difference was, but there were more Americans who didn’t represent their country’s profits than as one would think. All they needed was the label of the world’s most powerful country.

“I wish I could catch them and send them to Guantanamo… but that’d be hard.”

The American dream stands on unlimited freedom.

“It’s a trap set by oneself.”

“What?”

“It’s Korean. Don’t worry about it.”

James’s complaining stopped when he ran into an American task force stationed 6500km southwest in Hawaii. A small carrier task group that set up a landing craft, supported a variety of military operations for the States that focused on Central America. It was a national project that had already been working on a drug war for 20 years.

Since the transport couldn’t land on a landing craft, the men inside would need to use a parachute. The two of them made a clean landing on parachutes. They were originally going to move through Florida to Central America, but since they trust the Brazilian government, it was better to move alone. Ahn Soo Ho picked the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador as his first destination.

“Drop me in the middle so that I won’t have to run into the Ecuadorian navy.”

“Are you going alone?”

“Didn’t you know that?”

Ahn Soo Ho was more comfortable alone.

The helicopter, which lifted them up from the landing craft, was flying towards the Galapagos Islands. They were still on open waters, so it didn’t matter, but if they enter the Ecuadorian airs.p.a.ce without warning, a problem would occur. As soon as they opened the doors, the open sea could be seen. All Ahn Soo Ho had to equip himself with was a diving suit.

“Wait for my call, James.”

“Okay.”

As soon as James gave him a thumbs up, Ahn Soo Ho jumped into the water. People didn’t think there was an impact when jumping into the water, but that was not true. For those who didn’t receive proper training, it was possible to faint upon entering the water. Even for veterans with extensive training, the ocean was unknown territory. Even the Amazon jungle had a higher survival rate than the ocean.

But Ahn Soo Ho moved through it with no trouble.

He didn’t need a diving gear. That was because he produced the oxygen himself. As soon as he was on his own, he disregarded the descending current and swam at a very high speed.

“Anna Anne is the stationmaster.”

Since the great, great wizard in his memory flew through the skies, the ocean’s no different. A shark of the South Pacific noticed Ahn Soo Ho and tried to follow him, but he became distant. He couldn’t get to the other side of the earth in the blink of an eye, but the fact that he could outswim a shark with his bare body was impressive.

The fact that he could swim through the ocean without equipment would put Ahn Soo Ho on the blacklist. The reason why he came up to the surface was because he arrived at the Santa Cruz Island. This place wasn’t a top tourist destination, but it wasn’t the middle of nowhere either. They had a famous Darwin memorial hall and they did their best to come up with a tourism program, but it didn’t do so well. But the Santa Cruz Island was still popular among people of specific professions.

Ahn Soo Ho took off his diving suit, put on a Hawaiian s.h.i.+rt, shorts, and sandals, and walked through the city of Puerto Ayora like a tourist. To him, it wasn’t a city but just a town. The relieving part was that he didn’t encounter the little touts that he often saw in South American destinations. He entered one of the many open bars with a fancy sign.

“A tequila.”

The bartender heard Ahn Soo Ho’s fluent Ecuador-style Spanish and poured him a gla.s.s. He put 20 US dollars on the counter.

“Is Rapa still the boss here?”

The bartender took the bill in a discrete way and nodded. This time, he pulled out 40 dollars.

“Where can I find him?”

The bartender took the 40 dollars quickly and pointed at the back of the bar with his eyes. Seeing how the interior was exclusive and there were many guards around, whatever happens inside wouldn’t be bright and warm. Ahn Soo Ho, who chugged his tequila, walked toward where the bartender pointed.

The man who was guarding the entrance scanned Ahn Soo Ho, but didn’t stop him from entering. He must have thought of him as an easy Asian tourist to rip off. There were police on the Santa Cruz Island, but the due to its 1000 km distance from the mainland, the safety was really up to the natives.

Inside was an a.s.sortment of casinos, a boxing ring, and women with pretty much no clothes on. It was not easy to see gambling, violence, and s.e.x all in one place, so this could be a lucky thing. Compared to this place, Las Vegas was mild. In contrast to the open s.p.a.ce, the hallway toward the innermost room was blocked by scarier looking men. As soon as Ahn Soo Ho approached, one of them stopped him.

“Turn back.”

He spoke in a rude manner.

“Tell Rapa that Soo Ho’s here.”

The frowning man was surprised by the Asian’s fluent Ecuador-style Spanish, and he was surprised again by the name “Soo Ho”. Did he know his name? But then again half of the cases he handled yesterday had to do with Central and South America. Even the tough Mexicans were scared of Ahn Soo Ho.

“Please come this way.”

The rudeness disappeared and he escorted him in. He put him in the VVIP room without permission. The innermost room past the hallway was the place of decadence and pleasure. The unpleasant smell and sounds bothered his nose and ears.

“Oh! Soo Ho!”

Soon after, a middle-aged man wearing gold necklaces, gold bracelets, and gold rings hugged Ahn Soo Ho. He was so friendly that people would have thought they were family that hadn’t seen each other for over ten years. His name was Raphael, but his surname was unknown. Raphael might not even be his real name.

“You still love gold, huh, Raphael?”

“People change, but gold doesn’t.”

“Isn’t that diamonds?”

“Tsk, tsk!”

Raphael shook his index finger and clicked his tongue.

“The unrealistic prices of diamonds were made up by sneaky Dutch people. The foam will settle one day.”

He had the blood of Germans who fled before the collapse of Germany, so it was a given that he didn’t have good feelings toward the Dutch. After the 20th century, there were many Germans who immigrated to Central America, but so did many Italians. It wasn’t just the States that was a country of immigrants.

While exchanging drinks, Raphael was the first one to get to the point.

“I heard you’re on sabbatical. What brings you here? If someone went to grill you…San Paulo?”

“That’s right.”

The smile that was always on Raphael’s face when they met disappeared.

“Can I give you a warning, my friend?”

Ahn Soo Ho shrugged as if he didn’t mind.

“Forget it.”

“Why?”

“If you dig deeper, it has nothing to do with money. It’s a matter of pride.”

What people misunderstood was that the two strongest nations of South America, Brazil, and Argentina were white countries. It was not just here. Even in Chile, Uruguay, Peru, and Columbia were dominated by white people. Frankly, Central America was mainly in the hands of white people.

It would be quicker to count the number of the natives. People feel proud of Brazil’s national treasures, but soccer players were just soccer players, and it wasn’t right to judge that country’s vested rights based on what was seen on TV.

The reason why the States was trying to get involved with Central and South America by using excuses of war and crimes was because they wanted to stop the mischief of white alliances who had different standards from Pax Americana.

“Don’t think all Germans will apologize about the past. There will always be people who wors.h.i.+p Hitler and believe in n.a.z.ism. They won’t show it on the outside though. The reason why Yankees are scary because they instinctively feet it. Do you think the U.S. troops can’t be pulled out of Germany because of Russia? That’s not true.”

Most naïve people believe that wars arise from the States’ ideology and the battle between communism and capitalism, but those who saw the true face of international order saw through that.

“Fanatical patriots.”

Acts of dividing countries became meaningless.

Those who believed in conspiracy theories believed that there was a secret organization controlling the world. No, even if they didn’t believe conspiracy theories, they thought the power of each field got together and talked about the future.

Birds of the same color flock together.

However, Ahn Soo Ho didn’t know of any secret organization of the sort. But if someone wanted to make one, it was possible. There were six or seven gatherings that were not of grand scale but had a good amount of influence and power.

Raphael spoke in a serious tone.

“Someone must want to change South America into the Middle East.”

< Protect – Episode 32 – Jina Davis [1] > The end.