Chapter 118: < Protect – Episode 117 – Code Name Wizard [5] >

Irena Pevanova—the only survivor of the terrorists’ hostage-taking and a Victoria’s Secret angel—overheard Ahn Soo Ho and Jacob Smith’s conversation but didn’t say anything about it. She was out of her mind, and when she thought about it on her way to the hospital, she realized that talking about it wouldn’t end well. That was because if the word got out, the relationship between the terrorist and Captain America would look suspicious.

‘Since I couldn’t thank him properly, this is the least I can do.’

She didn’t care what nationality that hero was. She didn’t know exactly what was happening, but she knew that after getting captured as the terrorists’ hostage, she was bound to be called from all over the place. Her agency would have been happy if the news would say more words about her, but the one who was going to be troubled was not her manager, but her herself.

As she expected, the first person that she met other than the doctor was a government official that was in charge of media measures. They called it a terrorist investigation, but what they were actually doing was trying to cover up the deaths of the New York deputy mayor and the gay activist. The American government did the best they could to resolve the incident, and they wanted to stress the fact that they could save lives by dispatching the American special forces. However, the one who caused a miracle wasn’t them, but just one man.

It wasn’t multiple people, but just one person who got rid of the terrorists who made New York into a battlefield. Even the most foolish soldiers knew just how hard that was to do. It wasn’t just hard, but nearly impossible.

“Is there anything you’d like to change in your testimony, Miss Pevanova?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

As soon as her testimony with the lawyer that her agency sent ended, Adam Laroche, who was watching through a camera knitted his brows.

“She’s hiding something.”

“It seems that way.”

“What could it be?”

“After analyzing the other hostages’ testimonies, Captain Amer… I apologize.”

The FBI’s deputy director seemed displeased, so he immediately apologized after realizing that.

“The Wizard and Dakoma had a short conversation.”

“Yeah, I know that much. But what did they talk about?”

“Well…”

“Tsk.”

As soon as he hesitated, Adam clicked his tongue.

The funds supporting the behavior analysis team was 10 times that of other departments, and the one who was supporting the future investigation program was him, who was going after the position of FBI director. If he succeeded, he would be able to beat his competition and obtain that position.

“It wasn’t needed, but a combat plane was requested right before the attack.”

If one thing was suspicious, everything was suspicious.

The reason why Ahn Soo Ho requested a combat plane was to be prepared just in case the explosives went off, but in Adam’s eyes, it just seemed suspicious. The fact that Mr. Guardian visited New York out of the blue when a terrorist attack was expected didn’t seem natural to him.

‘There’s definitely something going on here that I don’t know. But what is it?’

Just in time, the right-hand man came back from his call with a White House high-ranking official.

“What did the White House say?”

Instead of opening his mouth to answer, he just shook his head.

‘How foolish. Everything comes with consequences. Do they think they can use him for free? A huge price is bound to follow.’

The White House had Ahn Soo Ho’s back once again. Since the American administration was looking out for him, it wasn’t just President Davis who was odd.

“Put Irena Pevanova on the monitoring list.”

“Her? Is that really necessary?”

The team leader of the behavior analysis team looked worried. What happened today was going to be inspected, and someone from them would even have to testify. If one asked why the hostage who was also a model had to be put on the FBI’s monitoring list, there wasn’t really a good answer to it.

“If there’s a hearing, I’ll testify. From now on, I want the analysis team to take charge of Irena’s every move.”

“Yes, Sir.”

He had to do whatever the deputy director asked. He could have gone to the committee and protest the orders that were given to him, but that would put his career in danger. As soon as the team leader left, Adam called his right-hand man with his hand.

“Look into James Black.”

“Are you talking about Black Fortune?”

“Why?”

“Mr. Black might have been the sacrifice of this scandal, but he’s a respected veteran who gave up his life for the military Sir.”

Adam shook his head at the protest of his subordinate, who was close enough to him to call his right-hand man.

“By looking into him, I didn’t mean to look for all of his dirt.”

They said that everyone had some kind of dirt in them, and it could be seen if one would look close enough. Even Adam Laroche had taken care of countless speeding tickets for himself and his friends. If someone really tried to get dirt on even the FBI deputy director, they were going to find quite a few things.

“Then what did you mean?”

“Look into what he’s doing now.”

“Oh, sure.”

Adam—who was looking at his subordinate—left after resolving the misunderstanding and clicked his tongue. The truth was, that misunderstanding was correct. He wanted to find James Black’s flaws. However, James had a strong influence over FBI agents. Adam was also from the military, but he was no comparison to the great Black Fortune. He remembered the saying that military power came from guns. But then again, that wasn’t something that the FBI with a history of fighting with the Commies had the right to say. James Black was a famous person that was known by those in the field, and Ahn Soo Ho wasn’t that well recognized all over the world. However, he was friends with very influential people.

That was Ahn Soo Ho’s scariest strong point.

******

“The FBI put Irena Pevanova on the monitoring list, Soo Ho.”

“Irena?”

“The one you passionately kissed.”

“Oh.”

Ahn Soo Ho finally knew who that was. After being freed from Jacob, she was handed over to the paramedics, but she somehow found an opportunity to give him a passionate kiss. Since her face was a mess from her mascara, it was likely that he wouldn’t recognize her if he saw her again.

“Why?”

“You should be the one telling me why. This was done by Deputy Director Laroche… Did something happen during the rescue operation?”

Something did happen.

‘He heard some names.’

Barbara Huxley and Ransel Straussmow. Most models knew Barbara’s name since she owned countless of luxury brand companies. Then what about Ransel Straussmow? Unless one had an interest in politics, it was hard to recognize the ambassador’s name.

Ahn Soo Ho didn’t erase Irena’s memory. The names were going to be revealed sooner or later. But if she was put on FBI’s monitoring list, does that mean she kept her mouth shut? The FBI was allowed to interrogate all the suspects of the terrorist attack, but they couldn’t force a victim to talk. That was why they put her on the monitoring list.

“Jacob said that they were the ones who helped him when he entered the States.”

“Can we trust him?”

“If you can’t trust him, then trust me, James.”

James stayed quiet for a while and then spoke up.

“Are those names the conditions of this deal?”

“No, I don’t make deals with things like this. Don’t you know me yet? I’ll tell you.”

“Wait!”

In response to what Ahn Soo Ho said, James immediately hung up, and then called him with a different number.

“This number is secure.”

“You’ll be tapped by NSA anyway.”

“But this will buy me some more time.”

He planned to take the names Ahn Soo Ho would give him and make a negotiation with the government, the parliament, or the investigation committee. James was a patriot, but he still put himself first. Wasn’t that what American patriotism was? Ahn Soo Ho laughed, but this was none of his business.

“Barbara Huxley.”

“The money queen?”

Barbara Huxley was so famous that even James knew who she was.

“Ransel Staussmow.”

“Sahel’s lion!”

James screamed out of surprise. A name like Randal? That was a ridiculous name in France. However, in the mercenary world, Ransel Straussmow could not be looked down upon.

Sahel’s lion

He was a savage beast who ruled over the Sahel area in North Africa. He was a French soldier who got destroyed by the Germans during World War II. But when he recovered, he dreamt of rebuilding a powerful republic. However, England and France couldn’t adjust to the changes led by America in the 20th century. They wobbled around attempting to be independent.

He accepted that independence was inevitable as time went on, but France’s property rights was an exception. Since he sent out troops in order to protect France’s precious wealth while building a powerful republic, they were bound to come out at a loss.

Even North Africa, who got screwed over in South East Asia and Indo-China, started to take their hands off. Despite that, France and Africa still had a lot more influence than the States.

“Do you really think they should be held responsible, Soo Ho?”

“England and France probably wouldn’t agree… but I’m going to find both of them.”

“That’ll cause chaos.”

“I don’t know. Ransel’s an old man who should have retired long before me and Barbara… Yeah, there will be some commotion.”

Ransel put forward the title of being a French African ambassador, but in reality, he was treated like a sheepdog who guarded French property in Africa. Then what about Barbara? This old lady with a lot of money had just as many enemies as allies. Seeing how she talked about wanting to live longer than Queen Elizabeth, she was still as cynical as ever.

England’s black comedy was very hard to understand.

“Agh!”

“Huh? What was that?”

“No, nothing. Anyway, investigate them both.”

James tilted his head at the scream he heard over the phone, and Ahn Soo Ho quickly wrapped up his call. Once he put his phone in his pocket, he kicked the black man that screamed. This time, he rolled around without being able to make a sound. Ahn Soo Ho was in a creepy storage space in Harlem.

It appeared that there was a big fight amongst the ones who were moaning. What was fascinating was that the only person standing was him. Ahn Soo Ho stepped on someone who looked like the boss and showed him five photos.

“Do you know them?”

“Ptooey! Agh!”

The mouth that spat out saliva got stepped on by Ahn Soo Ho’s foot.

He could have just used his magic to get information, but this time, he wanted to beat them up good. The big organizations stayed low on days like this, but the amateurs and rookies roamed around like fish in the water. The ones that didn’t know when to step up or back down simply died. Ahn Soo Ho had to beat all seven of them up a little before he got his answer.

“Th… they’re the Braves!”

“Braves?”

“Ye… yes! They manage a strip club on Sugar Hill! They’re also known as the Nigger Army!”

Harlem was full of cheap bars, struggling prostitutes, and strip clubs that were being run by black people. All criminal organizations in New York had their own beliefs. The island gangs protected people from the islands, and Italy put stress on their family and friends. There were tons of negros who used little kids as delivery men for the good of Latinos and black people who were drunk and drugged up.

What Ahn Soo Ho heard while obtaining information on Sugar Hill was a bunch of people talking about who had sex with who and who beat up who in the middle of the chaos of the New York terrorist attack. They were especially proud of the riot they caused in rich neighborhoods.

The Braves were a new organization that just started out.

For that reason, they wanted to gain a reputation, and the New York terrorist attack was the perfect opportunity for them. While most organizations were busy worrying and controlling their underlings, The Braves planned out a way to completely flip the Upper East Side upside down.

Ahn Soo Ho made one conclusion.

‘They’re scumbags.’

Despite there being a lot of bluffs, the crimes they committed were horrible. They trafficked drugs, assaulted, robbed, raped, and then even killed sometimes.

He took out his phone.

“Did you finish the analysis?”

“Yes, Sir. The malignant code that the terrorists planted is still activated.”

Ahn Soo Ho gave Kosino the information he found at Macy’s department store. Dakoma’s army was able to shut down all of New York because of a computer virus they planted. It sounded easy, but it probably wasn’t. But as the electrical grid started to become restored, the city was able to regain its light.

“Shut it down.”

“Pardon?”

“Shut it back down.

Just over ten seconds later…

Bang! Bang! Bang!

New York became even darker than before.

There was no point in trying to figure out which one of the five was the main culprit of the riot. And handing them over to the police was even more meaningless. The heads of each riot suspect then started twisting off one by one.

“Gasp!”

“Agh!”

Dirt went back to dirt, ashes went back to ashes, and dust went back to dust.

Scumbags didn’t even deserve bullets.

< Protect – Episode 117 – Code Name Wizard [5] > The end.

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