Chapter 90: < Protect – Episode 89 – Taken [5] >
Ahn Soo Ho’s reputation that only the select few knew varied from region to region. The Americans knew him for being a security specialist while Europeans knew him as some kind of detective. The criminals that Ahn Soo Ho went after were better off giving up. If they resisted, they were 100% going to end up on a train to h.e.l.l.
Most people would think that there were no cold cases in developed countries, they were mistaken.
Europe’s biggest headache was kidnapping and people going missing. It was a relief if a person that went missing, had his or her kidnapper to ask for money in return. There were those who lived their entire lives not knowing where their family, significant other, or friend went. And for Ahn Soo Ho who had superpowers, finding missing people was way too easy.
He had been using his earth memory magic, and since he was able to figure out the features of the suspects just by going to the scene of the crime, the investigators always came to Ahn Soo Ho for help. To those who had no idea that magic existed, he just seemed like he had incredible reasoning power. Thanks to his Sherlock Holmes abilities, even those who hated him like Roberto had no choice but to cooperate with him.
“h.e.l.lo, my friend.”
“Gasp!”
Eric Rufi, who was talking to a bunch of fashion tyc.o.o.ns, fell to the floor as if he saw a dead body. Ahn Soo Ho mumbled in an obvious manner and helped Eric up.
“Hey, did you miss me that much? Why are you on the floor?”
Since the guards were stationed outside the building, there was no one to stop him. The chances of an unidentified a.s.sailant crashing the evening party were less likely than getting hit by lightning. They took extra care in stationing the outside guards, but they didn’t really bother for the ones inside. He pretended to help Eric and put him on a couch in the corner.
“Breathe. In, out. Come on now.”
Ahn Soo Ho gave him a water bottle and tried to help him calm down. He was very cruel toward his enemies. But that was just at war, and he often gave people a second chance. In a world rampant with betrayal, he was pretty merciful.
“Long time no see. You’ve grown a lot, Eric.”
“Yes, I have.”
Eric finally came to his senses and tried to understand the situation. He couldn’t call the guards. Even if he had, he knew there was no use. Over ten years ago, Ahn Soo Ho destroyed an entire human trafficking organization that put Europe in fear.
‘Killing machine.’
There were tons of so-called killing machines in the criminal world, but the man in front of him was at a whole new level. Killing a few people made one a bad person, but Ahn Soo Ho managed to kill thousands of people in his career.
“Instablue is you, isn’t it?”
Ahn Soo Ho still got straight to the point. Eric just nodded. There was no point in denying it when he came knowing everything. It would have been wrong for him to a.s.sume that he wouldn’t torture him just because there were a lot of eyes watching. He once watched how his boss and executives died, one by one.
“Since you were just an underling, I will give you a chance. But it doesn’t seem like you learned your lesson.”
“That’s not true, Sir. I don’t kidnap people for no reason anymore. I don’t confine anyone or force them into things either. I only take those who are willing.”
“Willing? It doesn’t count if you used their weakness to make them consent.”
Eric tried to make up excuses but Ahn Soo Ho sneered.
“Well, I guess it’s none of my business.”
When he said that, Eric’s face regained its color.
“If I was all about justice, I would have done something, but you know me, Eric.”
“Yes, of course, I do.”
‘Don’t act unless there’s a contract.’ This was Ahn Soo Ho’s rule. There were exceptions, but he didn’t want to mess with anything and make enemies. It was right to avoid natural disasters.
“Let’s make a deal.”
“That’s not necessary. Just tell me what you need…”
“No, that’s not how I do things. Let’s make a deal.”
Ahn Soo Ho shook his head and cut Eric off.
“If you insist…”
“My favor isn’t even that big. You know about the soccer player murder case, right?”
“Murder case? Oh, I do. The suspect was a Korean woman, right? Do you know her?”
“No.”
“Then was it a request from someone else?”
When Ahn Soo Ho nodded, Eric thought about it. He didn’t tell him any details, but he got the gist of it.
“Will dealing with the judge and prosecutor be enough?”
“You don’t have to tell me your process. I just need the results.”
“Sure. But…”
When Eric trailed off, Ahn Soo Ho shrugged as a way of telling him to go on.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to go to the prime minister?”
“I suppose…but I feel like getting their help will get us involved with Europe’s problems. I’m not liking the vibes these days.”
“That’s true. The police have been on my case, so my business is being affected, too.”
Because of the war between J-Law and Issac, incidents masking terror started occurring, causing for the government and investigators to die out. If a person were unlucky, that person could be used to set as an example, so it was safer to stay low.
“There’s no quieter way of handling things than the married man’s lower body incident, don’t you think?”
When Ahn Soo Ho smirked, so did Eric.
Back when human trafficking put Europe in terror, it wasn’t because they kidnapped women and children and did horrible things to them. Kidnappings and people going missing wasn’t anything new. Then why did Europe ask Ahn Soo Ho to get rid of them? There were circ.u.mstances that only married men could understand.
‘Getting married is easy but getting divorced is hard.’
It was similar to how getting into college was easy but graduating was hard. In North America and Europe, divorces caused by the man’s mistake was most likely going to end with his money and soul stolen away. That was why Scott Warren was impressive for going through a fourth divorce.
Among the men who snuck around their wives and went to trafficked prost.i.tutes, there were many in power. As more and more acc.u.mulated, they controlled those in power who didn’t want to go through a divorce suit and have their soul stolen away, too. That was why Europe asked Ahn Soo Ho to get rid of them.
“But don’t be too harsh. You don’t want it to turn out like last time.”
Ahn Soo Ho didn’t forget the warning. Too much threatening could very well have the opposite effect of what was intended.
“That’s it for my conditions. What about you?”
“I’ll tell you mine later.”
“If I don’t like it, I’m going to turn it down.”
“Of course.”
After finishing their talk, he abandoned him and went back to Lila who was watching. When Ahn Soo Ho showed up, the flies around her left.
“You know Mr. Rufi, Soo Ho?”
“We’ve met before.”
“You seemed pretty close.”
“Why? Do you want me to introduce you?”
“No!”
Lila violently shook her head and then whispered in his ear.
“Be careful. Bad rumors go around about that guy.”
“Really?”
“I heard he’s involved with the mafia.”
No matter how careful one was, it was impossible to block all information. Ahn Soo Ho predicted that Eric would be arrested in a few days. He would probably think that it was due to his past mistakes, but as businesses grew and became more successful, he was bound to make mistakes.
Han Kyung Il returned from his greetings and chats. At first, he didn’t recognize Lila. He thought she was just one of the models, but when he realized who she was, he was startled.
“Lila? Princess of Pop?”
“That’s right. But I’m too old to be called a princess now.”
While Han Kyung Il greeted Lila once more, Ahn Soo Ho received a note from a server. After checking the note, he quickly stopped the employee from leaving.
“Who is this from?”
“Someone left it at the lobby.”
Ahn Soo Ho used his magic.
His senses spread all over like a ball of twine. Every person felt different. His permeating powers was very good at finding whatever it was looking for. In the end, those with similar tendencies bunched together.
Ahn Soo Ho walked toward the washroom and when he turned the corner, his body disappeared into the darkness.
Gasp! Where did he go?
He’s not in the washroom!
He disappeared!
The radio channel went crazy. The ones who were watching Ahn Soo Ho were taken aback. The security bureau who were monitoring him from nearby were taken aback, too. He did it to see how they would react, and it yielded unexpected results.
“It’s an emergency!”
“You don’t think he’s mad, do you?”
“d.a.m.n it! This is why I was against it! We should have been more careful.”
“Against what?”
“Gasp!”
Stefano gasped at the voice he heard from behind him. The agents also got up from their seats, but they got hit and flew across the room.
“Agh!”
They flew above the table and fell on the ground. As trained professionals, they pulled out their guns as soon as they got up.
“Stop! Stop! Put your guns down!”
Stefano lifted both arms and stepped in front of the agents.
“Mr. Guardian! We didn’t mean to be rude!”
“I don’t need your apology. Just tell me what you were against.”
The person who snuck into the base of the information security agency of Italy was Ahn Soo Ho who had suddenly disappeared. They probably felt like a ghost popped up. It wasn’t a base that was so accessible that someone could enter in a few minutes.
“Did you see the note?”
“That’s why I’m here.”
If he hadn’t, he would have just ignored them. He couldn’t believe that people were monitoring him since he arrived in Napoli. And it wasn’t too hard to tail Ahn Soo Ho either.
He opened the note.
“A terrorist attack will take place in Monaco in 72 hours? But that’s something France should worry about, not you.”
“That’s not true, Mr. Guardian.”
“Why not?”
“After Monaco, they will attack, Nice, Ma.r.s.eille, Genova, and Milan.”
Their next target was Monaco as well as famous cities in Southern France and Northern Italy. Ahn Soo Ho crossed his arms.
“So?”
“We need someone to collect the dispersed information.”
“Are you asking for Alexa and Kosino? You have lots of good a.n.a.lysts, too.”
“But they don’t know the details.”
“What about the CIA?”
“Tripoli, Benghazi, and Cairo are in trouble, so they don’t have time.”
Since the true human nature exploded all over the world, it was to the point of being uncontrollable. If it was the old days, Ahn Soo Ho would have worked as the arbitrary.
“We’re all retired.”
“But I heard you’ve received a personal request.”
“Tsk, tsk!”
He clicked his tongue and shook his index finger.
“That’s because they’re friends and family. But you’re not either. So clean up your own mess.”
Ahn Soo Ho laughed coldly, turned around, and then looked back at them.
“Oh, and don’t even think about using Han Chae Kyung to try to control me.”
As soon as he returned to the party, Han Kyung Il pulled him in. He realized that the vibe of the party wasn’t normal.
“What’s the matter?”
He immediately thought about what was written in the note.
“Rome was bombed. There were many casualties.”
“Rome?”
They got it wrong. Once he left the party and returned to Kim Na Hee’s residence, Ahn Soo Ho had to face another unexpected situation.
“Han Chae Kyung attempted suicide and has been transferred to the hospital.”
An employee told him the news.
He wiped his face. This was what he was afraid of. It was easy to save her body. But it was impossible to recover a broken mind, even for Ahn Soo Ho. Even Jina Davis committed suicide after she was saved in Brazil.
‘This is difficult.’
She must have been miserable being treated like a murderer who killed her boyfriend when she was just an ordinary girl in her 20s. He somewhat understood why she attempted suicide.
“Let’s go to the hospital.”
< Protect – Episode 89 – Taken [5] > The end.