Chapter 14 – Risky Business
As Woo Bin stepped into the dimly lit warehouse, the sudden smell of the sea mingled with the tang of solder and the deeper, heavier scent of diesel oil permeating the air reminded him just how far he was from his safe, posh office in Gangnam. He had been increasingly tense since his discovery and the silence from his father during their hour and a half drive to the port at Incheon had keyed up Woo Bin's nerves even more; now he felt electric with nervous energy. He began walking more quickly, hoping to shake off his restlessness, then slowed his pace as he realized he was beginning to outpace his father. He offered the slightest of nods as he slipped back into his place, a step behind him.
They wove their way around a maze of crates of construction equipment until, rounding a corner, Woo Bin spied three darkly clad men waiting for them on the edges of a pool of pallid light. His father made a low bow and introduced Woo Bin as his son, then introduced the grim visaged men as Taejwa Kang, Chungjwa Jin and Sojwa Do of the North Korean army.
Kang nodded curtly, and asked, "Everything is in readiness?"
Woo Bin noticed his father's hand twitching slightly as he answered – even he was nervous. "All the permits and port clearances have been arranged. I have hand-picked every member of the crew. The ship is loaded and ready for departure providing your final approval of the arrangements."
Kang sniffed and spoke, "You have withheld some examples of your packaging of the items, I expect? As you know, our own shipments now receive too much scrutiny from those countries who think they have a right to dictate our business. But we still have many clients waiting for the kind of goods only we can offer. We are trusting your position and connections to make this possible for us, so your plans had better be flawless. We wouldn't want a repeat of that disaster in Panama. The Cubans were not pleased."
Pres. Song grunted and shoved something heavy into Woo Bin's hands. Woo Bin, surprised, glanced at his father who waved him towards the North Korean. Woo Bin walked towards the man and handed him the object, recognizing it as a portable x-ray scanner as the man's rough hands grabbed it from him. He stepped quickly aside, hoping he had done what his father had expected.
Kang lifted an eyebrow at Pres. Song, who gestured at the crate nearest him in response. The colonel began scanning the crate and Pres. Song asked him what he saw. "I can see the construction equipment…but I can also see the missile parts underneath! Am I supposed to be impressed by this, Song?"
Woo Bin could feel the menace emanating from the North Koreans. It was clear that not impressing them would be…unhealthy.
Woo Bin flicked a nervous glance at his father who simply looked smug and brought out a small remote on which he calmly pressed a button. "Scan it again."
The colonel narrowed his eyes and began to scan the crate again. He scanned it a third time before looking up. Woo Bin could tell he was trying not to express his surprise. "Your preparations will suffice," was all he said, though it was clear he wanted to understand how the scanner had been unable to detect the weaponry when it had been visible with the first scan.
"All of our crates have been equipped with a special 'addition' which will allow the scanners to show only what we want them to see. Of course, if for some reason, the authorities should decide to hand search every crate on board, there would be less we could do. Bribes only go so far. But hopefully with this new technology, there will be less of a reason for anyone to suspect the shipment enough for a physical search."
"A risk we always take with shipments such as these," the agent answered. "Very well. We will entrust you with this first shipment to Myanmar. If all goes well, we will contact you regarding the next shipment to Iran. If all does not go well, however…" he trailed off, letting his dark expression speak for him. Pres. Song remained impassive, though Woo Bin could see his fist clenching.
The men bowed to each other and Pres. Song turned to leave the warehouse. Woo Bin quickly crossed the room to follow his father out. He still felt somewhat in shock, as though nothing that had been happening around him was real. He was profoundly out of his depth and he knew it. His mind whirled with a million questions, but his father was not the one he wanted to talk to.
ooOoo
Kwan Young Sool sat frozen in his car, lurking in the shadows under the freeway overpass. It was 3 in the morning. He had had no expectation of being followed or observed in this place, at this time, which was why he had agreed to meet his young informant here. Still, he knew it could not be wise to linger there. But the news Woo Bin had brought him had left him paralyzed. It was out of his league. His superiors would contact the appropriate people in the government to handle this.
He had told Woo Bin this, and the young man already expected this information to go much higher up than the police captain, but had insisted that Young Sool remain his contact. Kwan, for his part, wanted no role in such a dangerous operation and fervently wished he had not asked this young man to get involved in what had become an unavoidably deadly game. However, he could not abandon Woo Bin now. If the comfort of working through a familiar face was what the young informant needed, Kwan would do his best for him.
ooOoo
Yi Jung was pulled from his sleep by a clattering sound outside his room. He rolled over to check the clock – 5 am. He wasn't worried about burglars – his security system was pretty tight. Therefore, the noise could only be coming from someone who had a key to get in, which meant Ga-Eul or one of the F4.
If it had been Ga-Eul she wouldn't have hesitated to have come in and woken him up. Ji-Hoo would never have come over so early and Jun Pyo would have been much noisier, which meant it was Woo Bin. Who was really the only one who would walk on in at 5 in the morning like he belonged there. Yi Jung was glad he still felt that way.
He slipped out of his room and followed the sound of footsteps pacing. As soon as he saw him, Yi Jung knew something was wrong. Well, more wrong than usual. Woo Bin was wearing what used to be a sharp, black suit which now looked as though it had been slept in. He moved with an edgy restlessness, as though he might explode if he dared to stand still for a moment. Yi Jung observed him for another minute as he continued to pace around the living room, his movements jerky and taut as he picked things up without really seeing them and just as quickly set them down again. His face looked strained, hollowed by dark circles under his eyes. Yi Jung wondered when Woo Bin had last slept.
He entered the room and sat down in front of his friend. Woo Bin didn't seem surprised. He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, shaking his head and pulling his hands back roughly through his hair.
"It's bad?" he asked, not sure what the "it" was.
Woo Bin nodded, then collapsed onto the chair facing Yi Jung. "It's bad. Aigoo! I had no idea! I don't understand how he could…" Woo Bin trailed off, staring at his hands as though they were something foreign, noticing the slight involuntary tremor that passed through them. He looked up into his friend's eyes. "I don't know what to do, Yi Jung. I'm scared."
A/N - Taejwa = Senior Colonel, Chungjwa = Lieutenant Colonel, Sojwa = Major