Damn the World, Ride a Submarine - Chapter 34



Only Krnovel

Episode 34 – A solid heart

Director Kim Wan-jun’s voice on the phone was trembling with fear beyond embarrassment.

I was confused too, but tried to come to my senses. I had to find calm, neither positive nor negative.

“Director!”

“yes…”

“The director needs to calm down. “The lives of two people depend on the director’s cool-headed judgment.”

“Phew~ Yes, I understand. CEO.”

“Um… is it true that the current autonomous government of Mindanao is dominated by nationalist forces?”

“yes. That’s right.”

“then. “Are the forces that led the kidnapping actually hostile to the local government?”

“yes. The MILF is an Islamic force that broke away in opposition to nationalist forces negotiating with the Philippine government.”

“All MILFs?”

“I don’t think so. Among them, some hardliners appear to have led this kidnapping.”

“all right. Please make sure that our employees are safe first. “Please give me a clearer understanding of the situation.”

“yes”

“And please confirm what kind of cooperation we can get from the Mindanao autonomous government.”

“…”

“There will be connections with Islamic forces even within the autonomous government. Don’t save your money. Please obtain as much information as possible. “Director!”

“yes.”

“Always have an OSS security team with you. I will also prepare response plans and unexpected situations.”

“yes. “I will contact you again.”

I was aware of an incident in 2014 in which the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) kidnapped a German tourist and threatened to behead him.

At that time, they demanded a ransom of 6 billion won and an end to air strikes in Syria and Iraq. Although the exact results were not known…

Director Kim Jun-myeong, who was watching the call, asked in surprise.

“CEO. Is there a problem?”

“Director. “Is a rescue operation possible with the team waiting at Sinheung Camp?”

Director Kim Jun-myeong’s expression changed at the unexpected question. That was the look on his face when he encountered pirates in the Red Sea.

He adjusted his posture and opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“it’s possible. The Bravo team is also elite, and the Delta team, led by Devguru members, has experience rescuing American reporters from the South American jungle.”

“All right.”

“But CEO! what happened ··· ?”

“Two of our employees were kidnapped by Moro Islamist rebels.”

“ah ··· ”

“Is it possible to plan a rescue operation at Shinheung Camp without the director?”

“yes. it’s possible. We have team leader Park Il-lim, and all teams have sufficient capabilities.”

“Then, please share information with Director Kim Wan-jun and prepare in case of an emergency.”

“all right.”

Immediately afterward, Director Kim Jun-myeong communicated with Shinheung Camp’s team leader Park Il-lim, and seemed to be busy distributing tasks to each team and collecting information.

The kidnapping of our local staff was a problem of a different nature from the past kidnapping of German tourists.

We decided that we should not act sloppily in a situation where we are trying to put down roots in Tawi-Tawi, Mindanao.

Uneasy times continued. I received a call from director Kim Wan-jun, who I had been waiting for.

“Director, have you confirmed the safety of your employees?”

“yes. Confirmed via video call. “He is detained without any problems, but his health does not appear to be any problem.”

Director Kim Wan-jun’s endless words gave us an idea of ​​how urgent the local situation was.

“What about the Mindanao autonomous government?”

“Yes, I will try my best to cooperate. “They are in a state of perplexity, perhaps because there is no proper solution.”

“Director!”

“yes”

“From now on, listen to me carefully!”

“yes. CEO.”

The sound of dry swallowing followed by deep breathing was heard through the receiver.

“First of all, if there is harm to the identity of our employees to the rebels. “Please start with a warning that 10 billion pesos, 10 times the amount of 1 billion pesos, will be offered as a bounty to eradicate the rebels.”

“10 billion pesos is 230 billion… Yes, I understand.”

“What do you ask for as ransom?”

“I’m asking for Bitcoin.”

“Fortunately, the. “Did it go well?”

“yes?”

“If it is a physical product such as cash or gold. “I said this because there was a risk of things going wrong due to the physical weight or verification process.”

“ah ···.”

“As soon as our employees are visually identified at the hostage exchange location, offer to transfer 1 billion pesos worth of Bitcoin to the designated e-wallet.”

“all right.”

“Director!”

“yes”

“No matter what happens, the hostage exchange location must be decided by us.”

“What if they refuse?”

“Make it known strongly that if you change the location of the hostage delivery or raise the ransom, negotiations will fail.”

“yes ···.”

“Also, if negotiations break down, make a strong appeal that not only will we offer a bounty of 10 billion pesos to eradicate the rebels, but we will also mobilize all of our capabilities to rescue ourselves.”

“…”

“To them

The opportunity is perfect! That it only happens once

Emphasize it strongly. “Be strong in negotiations.”

“yes. All right.”

“Discuss with Team Leader Park Il-lim and move together with the OSS team. Director Kim Jun-myeong will contact you separately with specific action guidelines.”

Let’s end our call with Kim Wan-jun, director of Shinheung Camp. I felt nervous as if my blood was drying up.

I went out to the deck of the ship with Director Kim Jun-myeong. Before I could even say a word, he took out a cigarette.

– Phew~

“CEO! No rescue operation? Or in the field…?”

“The implementation of the operation is suboptimal. Securing employee recruitment in the safest manner is a priority.”

“That’s true. CEO! If this becomes a precedent…”

“I am now. We feel a deep sense of humiliation at negotiating with rebels who have kidnapped our staff. But for now, we’ll just have to endure it.”

“…”

“My first thought was to set a bounty of 10 times the ransom they asked for, find out their whereabouts, and then launch a surprise attack to rescue them…”

“ah ···.”

“We cannot take risks with the lives of our employees.”

Negotiating with them felt insulting and humiliating.

When I first heard about the kidnapping. They tried to punish them beyond rescuing them, even if it meant paying tens or hundreds of times the ransom demanded by the rebels.

Sonatore arrived at Tongyeong’s house while cigarette smoke dispersed in the air.

After docking the boat, we headed home.

Director Kim Jun-myeong gathered the Alpha team that was waiting in the dormitory at my house and waited with them for news about Shinheung Camp.

“Director!”

“yes”

“Please attach a shadow guard to me.”

“I have already given you instructions. Now that I am there, it is invisible. But why suddenly?”

“It looks like headquarters is inspecting me.”

“ah ···.”

“Nothing special will happen, though. “It’s a place where they lock you up for no reason and ask you questions.”

“…”

“It’s because I don’t want something like that to happen again.”

“All right. “We will pay special attention to this.”

The restless and tense times continued.

The next day, I received a call from Shinheung Camp director Kim Jun-myeong.

Negotiations went well, and we agreed to receive new recruits from our staff at a location of our choosing.

The procedure was to transfer Bitcoin equivalent to 500 million pesos upon confirming the hostage’s identity, and to transfer the remaining 500 million pesos after the hostage was delivered and before leaving the scene.

I received and checked the wallet address of the MILF rebel. It was a wallet that had only been made for a day.

For a moment, an idea came to mind to annoy them, but I stopped. This is because I did not want to mess things up even if just by chance.

Another day passed like that. It was time to exchange hostages. Assistant Manager Kim Seong-hyun, who was on site, relayed the scene via video call.

.

.

.

Team Charlie and Team Echo from OSS lined up armed.

On the other side, MILF rebels were lined up holding Kalashnikov AK47 rifles out of the way.

Our employees could be seen in the distance. Both hands were tied behind his back and he was gagged. After that, the rebel’s A47 gun was pressing down on the employee’s back.

‘Baby~ bastards’

The moment I saw it, I felt something like a fist rising deep in my chest.

But I had no choice but to calm down. He relayed that only after the hostage’s gag was removed and the gun muzzle removed, he would begin the deposit process.

The rebels obediently removed the hostage’s gag. I pressed the send button on my e-wallet. It was 500 million pesos worth of Bitcoin.

The time waiting for the transfer confirmation was extremely boring.

Meanwhile, a rebel pickup truck came into view. The sight of a heavy machine gun mounted on top of a Toyota Tundra looked daunting.

Has the transfer been confirmed? I saw two of our employees running towards us. His hands were still tied behind his back.

Director Kim Wan-jun reported that our staff was safe. He transferred the remaining 500 million pesos in bitcoin.

After some time has passed. The rebels got into a Toyota pickup truck and left first, kicking up dust.

After confirming that our OSS team and staff had returned to Sinheung Camp, my tension eased. Something that had been held back was brought up again.

I immediately called Director Kim Wan-jun again.

“CEO! “You must have gone through a lot of hardship.”

“no. The director did all the hard work. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Director!”

Director Kim Wan-jun seemed relieved and regained his old cheerful voice.

“Yes, representative!”

“From now on, listen carefully to what I say.”

“yes ···? Ah, I understand.”

“Please contact the Mindanao autonomous government immediately. Please proceed with the following: “Adequately oil it if necessary.”

“yes. Please instruct me.”

“First, our OSS’ MILF anti-military anti-military operation is tolerated. When that happens, we will donate P5 billion to the Mindanao Development Fund.”

“Direct sweep? And 5 billion pesos is over 100 billion. The employees also returned safely…”

“…”

I expressed my will with silence. After some time passed, Director Kim Wan-jun’s answer came back.

“Ah… I understand. CEO.”

“I think we can take the form of OSS carrying out the operation at the request of the Mindanao autonomous government.”

“…”

“And before carrying out the operation, it would be good if the autonomous government sets a deadline of about 24 hours for rebels to disarm and recommend surrender.”

“yes. All right.”

“There is one more thing for the director to focus on.”

“Please speak. CEO”

“A 1 billion peso bounty for information on MILF rebel bases. “Please do your best to collect information.”

I could feel Director Kim Wan-jun’s voice over the phone losing its strength again.

“CEO ···.”

“Director! Take heart. Please proceed as is.”

“…”

“I have looked down on them through this negotiation. A second or third kidnapping incident may occur.”

“ah ···.”

“If something goes wrong. “We may have to withdraw from the Shinheung camp we worked so hard to establish.”

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