Covert Chapter 8

Sungjae’s POV

“Fine we’ll cooperate but only if you do too. Give me your gun.” YooJung stood up with her palm open towards SungHoon. The man took out his gun and placed the weapon into her hand softly, unlike his rough impression.

“Who is he for you to allow a criminal into this?” I finally spoke, asking the question I’m sure the rest of us were asking ourselves.

“You can ask SungHoon yourself later. Now is not the time to be doing this, Sungjae shi.” SunBin shi addressed me with a stern gaze.

“No. Unless I’m fully aware of what is going on here, I am not going to comply. We’re here to find SoHyun, but why is he here?” I demanded, pointing at SungHoon with narrowed eyes.

“Because of this.” HyunWoo’s voice directed me toward the screen, which soon filled with photos of official federal documents and pictures, which we all recognized as photos of the case that was suspended and led to the release of Jung IlHoon and his gang.

“In the BAU’s current case these three female victims can be all connected to the club where Jung IlHoon works at. Their paths crossed there.” HyunWoo announced as the abhorrent photos filled the screen. Animals had feasted on their pale corpses, since the criminals had no regard to even stitch the victims up after the raiding. “These victims had their eggs and organs all removed.” The gang that Jung IlHoon belonged to was fronting a club where they looked for potential candidates to steal organs and eggs from. They were running an illegal organ trafficking organization.

“But why would a politician get involved with such an organization?” MinHyuk asked, which luckily BoGum shi had the answer to.

“The only answer is that he was desperate and politicians- the one thing they fear is death. Most politicians are profiled as demagogues that have a particular avarice. Most likely the politician had a grave illness of some sort.”

“His autopsy report revealed that he had Stage 3 liver cancer.” HyeJung swiftly mentioned, providing us with more matching pieces to the puzzle.

“He needed a new liver then and since he was so desperate he sought after an illegal one.” Do Hwan shi concluded, which left me hanging with a question.

“But then why would the gang retaliate by killing their customer? A wealthy politician would probably pay a much larger sum for the organ than anyone else.”

“SoHyun profiled the crime as an overkill and a public demonstration. I think it’s possible that the kill was meant to demand attention.” Seo Woo replied. It was silent for a couple seconds until MinHyuk and HyeJung interrupted the nervous tension that loomed within the conference room.

“Why did you guys leave and why did HyunWoo and SoHyun stay?” MinHyuk and HyeJung asked in unison, which was prompted by their insatiable curiosity.

“Four years ago we found out that our Chief Advisor suspended a case that placed an agent in jeopardy. That agent was undercover at the time and for a while as well. We were repulsed that the Section Chief decided to turn a blind eye toward one of his agents. If we didn’t investigate behind closed doors in secret that agent would have never made it out alive.” SunBin explained while I was stunned by what I was hearing. How could the government leave behind one of their own? My distrust was growing with more information I found out.

“After the Bureau discovered our discreet activities we all went through an internal investigation and were given the choice to leave or to stay. We turned in our resignation letters while HyunWoo and SoHyun stayed. I remember her telling me that the only reason she was staying was because she had so much left to do here.” Do Hwan shi explained.

“Hyun Woo, why didn’t you leave if you were so appalled?” HyeJung asked, turning toward him. Hyun Woo shrugged as his expression turned vulnerable.

“The truth was that I had no where else to go. I was a part of Anonymous. I could either help the NIS or be a threat to them. I wanted to make society a bit more equitable and I wanted to be on the right side of the law, but then I wasn’t sure what the right side was anymore. But then SoHyun Noona told me that my skills were valuable and I could help. That’s why I stayed.”

I hid my shock when HyunWoo shi informed us that he was a member of Anonymous. To have a past member of the global organization of vigilante hackers working for the NIS was unheard of. However HyunWoo was here.

“To be honest SoHyun is my best friend, but even from the very people she trusts she hides who she is. The only way we can increase SoHyun’s chances of survival is to profile her. We know her tactics and methodology, but she isn’t one to just follow orders. We’ll need to start digging into her files and her life. We’ll definitely need yo