Lovers

11

Too Many Bad Guys

The apartment required a key from the entrance. Visitors would need to ring the bell, but the problem was that I had lied about living here. Wouldn’t it be strange if I rang the bell?

My mind was in turmoil as I slowly climbed the stairs to the apartment, with Riegel, the lawyers, and Riegel’s guards watching from behind.

Shit, what should I do about this?

What do you mean, what should I do? There’s only one way in this situation.

I took out my phone from my padded jacket pocket, made a fuss saying “Oh? Oh!” and made a call.

“Hey, it’s me, Armin. Did things really turn out like that?”

What are you talking about? Where are you?

Lee asked in a bewildered tone.

This bastard, he’s so clueless.

Ah, suppressing the anger boiling inside me, I answered cheerfully.

“Of course I’m at home! I’m about to go in. But are you really nearby? What brings Sengke here?”

Why are you calling me Sengke… Huh? Why are you there? Who are you with right now? Don’t tell me it’s Riegel?

“Of course, you said so yourself.”

Sengke’s house? House? Did Riegel escort you there? So you can’t get in right now?! Stall for 30 seconds, just 30 seconds!

At those words, I burst out laughing.

“You crazy bastard, what are you saying? Of course that’s what I should do. Well, you’re dead when we meet later.”

Shit, I’m sorry. We’re in a mess right now. It’s almost done, almost. They say it’s done!

“But I have someone next to me right now.”

I laughed and gave Riegel a slight bow instead of a greeting. My face said “Please go in,” and Riegel lightly raised his hand in response.

The feeling of being escorted is incredibly strange. It reminds me of prom in high school. Back then, I escorted the most popular girl in our grade. I was in Riegel’s position, and the girl was in mine. I wanted to go back quickly, but the girl kept looking back. As if asking if I had nothing to say to her. That made me want to go back even more.

I had nothing to say to her. And I felt that I would never find the words she wanted.

Suddenly, the apartment door flung open in front of me. The person who came out was a slightly hunched grandmother. She looked very kind-faced, but with a face like that, she probably extracted secrets from other countries and carried out assassinations too. In the end, she must be a tough one who retired with all limbs intact.

“Who’s making all this noise in front of the house! Armin, come home earlier. This neighborhood is surprisingly dangerous!”

It seemed Lee had succeeded in contacting the manager. The cold sweat that had been pooling on my back ran down. I smiled at the grandmother. Just a “Heh,” because I didn’t know what to say.

But the grandmother casually scolded me and then turned her gaze to the group of people standing behind me.

“What’s this, who are these people? Should I call the police?”

Her act of pretending not to know while knowing everything is truly an art. I made a fuss, saying, “No, no―”

“Uh, those people are…”

What should I say? They’re strangers? People I met for the first time today? What should I say?

As I struggled to answer, the grandmother subtly gave me the answer.

“People you know.”

That very quietly whispered voice was even different from the voice the grandmother had been using until just now. The voice from before was the thin voice you’d expect from elderly people, but the whispered voice was a husky one with a hint of coldness.

Wait, grandmother, do you even change your voice?

Anyway, if a master of this craft has provided the model answer, I should follow it!

I raised my voice and answered.

“They’re people I know!”

“Hmm, is that so? Oh my, they all look so dark and unpleasant. Send them away quickly and come in. The neighborhood’s getting rough.”

At the grandmother’s words, I turned to look at Riegel. He must have read the difficulty on my face, as he gave a generic farewell, saying “I’ll contact you,” and returned to his car. Then, everyone disappeared into the cars in unison, and two cars quickly drove away.

Only then did the grandmother smile at me. Then she straightened her back completely.

Ah, even the hunched back was an act.

At that moment, admiration must have overflowed from my eyes. The grandmother’s expression softened a bit more.

“I’m Mariam Gerhe, Team Leader of Department 1, Team 9.”

“Hello, senior!”

I bowed deeply first. I had heard countless times that retired seniors were all monsters.

“What senior, I’m just an old lady in the back room. Come in, I’ll show you around the house.”

She straightened her back, changed her voice, and her expression changed too. It took less than a second for her to transform from a grumpy, wary old lady to a relaxed life senior.

“Yes, senior. Thank you!”

The seniors said. When you meet retired seniors, always be polite, bright, and fresh. If retired seniors decide to push you around, you’ll be rolled all the way to the end of hell, they said.

“Oh my, is it because you’re from the anti-terrorism team? The discipline is solid.”

“Thank you, senior.”

As I chatted with Mariam Gerhe and climbed the spiral staircase, I looked back. There was a red rose painted on the ceiling. Though it looked old, as if painted long ago, the rose blooming from the vine had a freshness that made it seem like it might fall on my head. As I stopped and looked up at the rose, Gerhe asked.

“Do you like roses?”

“I neither like nor dislike them.”

“It’s my favorite flower.”

“You have a nice work environment, senior.”

I flattered her carelessly. She laughed with a “Ho ho” and when we reached the third floor, she pointed to a door.

“Here it is, Team Leader.”

It was a door marked 303.

It was a typical safe house. Mariam Gerhe left, saying she wouldn’t bother explaining, and I called out after her, “Get home safely!” while bowing deeply. Bowing this deeply is rare in Rotman, but I heard it was quite common during the socialist era. Maybe that’s why it’s an effective greeting for elders, especially those who seem to be in their 70s or older like Gerhe.

When I entered, I could see cameras cleverly hidden and planted in various places. They probably weren’t installed in the bedroom and bathroom, but it looked like they were installed near the windows and in the living room area.

Of course. People who come to safe houses are generally those involved in big troubles. The reason they’re put in safe houses is to prevent them from dying, but ironically, after their lives are saved, they often start complaining about being confined and try to escape after a short time. People who clearly understood the reality didn’t do this, but it often happened with people who had an ambiguous understanding of their situation. Cameras were necessary to control such people. We have a few safe houses used by the anti-terrorism team, and they’re more or less the same.

I showed my middle finger to the camera and then entered the bedroom. In the bedroom, there was a shower robe and a nightgown. Looking at the robes made me want to wash up, so I went into the bathroom, turned on the water in the bathtub, and turned on my mobile phone.

If I’m absent from our team, Jay Wu takes over as the leader. While my past is quite unfortunate, Jay’s past is no less so, but he’s someone who has overcome his past better than I have. He was a child soldier sold to our country from some Asian country. When we switched from socialism to democracy, a future opened up for him too. If it weren’t for that, he would have continued living as a war slave, a killing machine.

After becoming a Rotman citizen, Jay dated a few women and is now engaged. He’s such a romantic and dreams of a family life that his dream is “to have and raise about three children.”

Maybe that’s why this bastard keeps…

     It looks like my return will be delayed a bit. Something came up here.

He ignores my message.

Ignoring people’s messages has become a habit. He needs to be taught a lesson to come to his senses.

I felt like cursing. The really bad thing about this guy is that he only responds to his fiancée’s messages. He ignores or reads and ignores messages from everyone else in the world, but when it comes to messages with his fiancée, he’s all lovey-dovey. And then he ignores messages from both work superiors and subordinates, just like that.

     Ignoring again, again.

No matter what I say, he pretends not to hear. This bad bastard.

Anyway, I’ve told him I’ll be delayed, so that should be enough. It’s all bothersome.

I was about to throw my phone while lying sprawled on the bed when it rang. It was Lee again. I want to stop communicating with him today.

Should I not answer?

I ignored the call, but the ringing was persistent. Well, since he knows I’m here, he’ll probably keep calling. Didn’t I even give him the middle finger in the living room just now?

“Ah, what?”

When I answered the phone on speaker, Lee let out a sigh. Then I heard gulping sounds.

This bastard, this is definitely alcohol. He must have snuck some alcohol from the operation site. Is he an agent or a thief?

As I clicked my tongue, Lee spoke.

First, I’ll tell you the schedule. We’ll come at 9 AM tomorrow. We’re going to set up your house as ‘Armin Schnieke’s’ house.

“What nonsense is that now?”

Not the Team Leader of Department 1, Team 9 of the Security Bureau, but ‘Armin Schnieke’ who’s trying to wash his hands of gambling and become a barista. We’re going to set it up to look like that person’s house.

In other words, they’re going to give personality to match the cover identity. Whatever.

When I didn’t say anything with my eyes closed, Lee said.

We’ll prepare everything you need from our side. Clothes, underwear, cash, transportation, everything. So don’t think about leaving any of your own things there unless it’s really necessary. But if there’s something you really need, bring it tomorrow morning. Before 9 AM.

Listening to Lee’s words, I really felt like I had become a black agent.

What is this situation, really.

I sat up on the bed, crossed my legs, and looked down at the phone sprawled on the bed.

“Hey, do you think this will work out well?”

Now that even the Director is involved, what if it doesn’t go well?

“No, do you think I can do this well?”

At my words, Lee became serious.

You have to do well. It’s not about whether you can or can’t, it’s something you have to do. If this goes wrong because you can’t do it, or I can’t do it, or someone makes a mistake. And if that energy bomb goes off in the middle of Lumaier because of that. Or if it even blows up the Security Bureau. Could you live with that for the rest of your life?

He’s right. He’s right, but.

Gulp, gulp, gulp. The sound of swallowing alcohol is so irritating. His words sound so plausible while he’s drinking alcohol stolen from the operation site.

The sound of water comes from the bathroom. The sound of drinking comes from the other end of the phone.

Haah, a sigh escaped.

“There are too many bad guys in this world.”

To them, we’re probably the bad guys.

“Stop drinking. It’s annoying how you’re saying all the right things.”

At my words, Lee burst out laughing. The sound of his laughter became a faint wind, ventilating my stuffy heart.

“Yeah, let’s do well. Let’s lock up all these bastards.”

After a long silence, as I gritted my teeth, Lee burst out laughing. I chuckled too.