Darker
Operation ChromeLike any patient hunter she waits. Like any experienced predator she lurks. The night is dark and the alley is quiet. According to her intel, her prey will appear any time now. She pulled her face mask up.
Tap, tap, tap.
She hears footsteps approaching. She held her breath in anticipation, adrenaline flowing through her veins. Her right hand reached into her right pocket. She curled her fingers around the object.
The footsteps got louder and louder and---
With one swift motion, she stepped out from the corner of the dark alley and grabbed the man. Before he could even react, a blade was already pointed at his neck. The man gasped.
"Stay quiet or I am going to have to stab your throat." The woman whispered.
"W-w-what do y-you want?" The trembling man could barely hide the fear in his voice.
"Answers." She pushed the man against the wall and cuffed his hands to the nearest water pipes. "Answer my questions truthfully and I will consider sparing your life."
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"Do you know who this man is?" She pulls a photograph out off her pocket.
A firm "No" was the answer he gave.
She pulled out another photo. It was a photo of Miss Kim. "How about her?"
Tiffany noticed the emptiness in the man's eyes. Seems like he really doesn't know Kim Bongsu and his daughter.
Once again, "no" was the answer.
"I'll chase to the cut here. I know where you were and what you did last Friday."
This time, the man's eyes shifted and darted around. "W-what do you mean?!"
"You're beginning to piss me off. I am not a woman of much patience. You know exactly what I am talking about. I have the footage, let's see...it should be more than enough to throw you back into the jail." The agent pulled the man by his collars. "Tell me, who told you to do it?"
That was when the man started panicking for real.
"Have mercy on me please! I really don't know the guy who told me to do it. All he told me was that I just needed to push a crate from the overhead bridge when a particular black car drives by. I swear I don't know anything! I did it only for the money! Please, please have mercy on me."
"Do you know the man?"
"I met him in a bar. He approached me."
"Would you recognise him if you saw him?"
"Think so."
Tiffany shoved a card in his pocket. "The next time he contacts you again, give me a call. Understand?"
The man nodded cautiously.
"Remember I have the footage with me. I can send you to jail at the snap of my fingers."
For good measure, she whipped out her blade and pointed it against the length of the man's throat.
"Or finish you off for good."
==
"We have reviewed the footage of the incident. We couldn't find any clear enough footage of the culprit to make any conclusions."
"Hm."
"I apologise for that, Mr Kim. We have tried to clean up the video but it was still too blurry. Besides, the culprit was all covered up. It is next to impossible to identify him."
The man sighed. "I guess there is nothing much we can do about it, except to stay alert."
"No worries Mr Kim, we will definitely do what we can."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"If you don't mind me asking, do you happen to have offended anyone in your business dealings recently?"
The slight twinkle of amusement in Mr Kim's eyes had not gone unnoticed by the sharp eyed agent.
"Why do you think I offended anyone? Directly asking your boss whether he has offended anyone? Agent Hwang, you're indeed as fearless as they say."
The agent shrugged her shoulders. "I am just making a wild guess. After all if we do know the source of the threat, it will be much easier for us to organise ourselves."
"Well, I am a businessman. In order for me to make money, someone else has to lose money. Money doesn't appear out of thin air, Agent Hwang. Only God knows how many people I had offended thus far."
"True."
The man laughed and lit up a cigar. "Of course it is true. I have no reason to lie to you."
The agent maintained her passive facial expression.
Sure, if you insist.
"Also, you might want to check your bank account later. You might find something."
"What?"
"Just a little bonus from me."
The agent frowned and shook her head. "I am not supposed to accept anything like that, Mr Kim. This is against the rules."
The man exhaled, puffing out a white smoky cloud. "If I don't talk about it, and you don't talk about it. Who would know?"
"With all due respect, I believe we had this conversation before. I don't need the money, Mr Kim. "
"I give rewards to anyone deserving." The man's expression hardened. "And I don't like it when people reject me, Agent Hwang."
Just what the is he up to?
"In that case, I guess I will have to accept it."
"One last thing, Agent Hwang. By any chance, have you heard of this Chinese proverb - He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount?"
Tiffany furrowed her eyebrows, confused.
"No, I have not."
The man revealed a cryptic smile. "Do you think I am a tiger? Everyone out there thinks I am a tiger."
The agent blinked, not sure where this conversation is going. All she knew was that she had to thread carefully.
"But the truth is, I'm no tiger. Behind this facade, I am but an ordinary man."
Is he implying something to me?
"I am sure you are more than an ordinary man, Mr Kim. After all, you have built an empire from scratch. Not anyone could have done that."
The man laughed. "And that's where you are wrong, Agent Hwang. The truth is, anyone with the opportunity that I was given could have done it. That is, making deals with the Devil."
A knock on the door interrupted the pair's conversation.
"Come in."
"Sorry to interrupt. Sir, there is a phone call waiting for you."
"Put me through."
The assistant's eyes darted to Tiffany.
She sensed it and quickly got off her seat. "I should get going--"
"Don't worry about it. Stay put." The master of the house simply waved her back into her seat. "Changhyun, put me through."
Tiffany saw how the assistant's eyes widened before he steadied himself. "Very well Sir."
Only a couple of seconds passed before the phone in the room rang.
Mr Kim picked up the phone almost immediately. "Well, well, well. Look who we have on the line."
"Mr Kim, just thought I should give you a call to wish you a Merry Christmas in advance."
The voice from the other end of the line sent chills down her spine. It was undeniably familiar.
Minhyuk oppa?
Her eyes widened at the revelation as she tried to keep her composure intact. The man seemed to notice her reaction for he smirked knowingly at him.
He did this on purpose! Why in the world is Minhyuk oppa doing on the phone with him?
"Merry Christmas to you too. I am assuming you have already received my gift?"
"I did. All thanks to you Mr Kim, that I can afford a new car this year. I will definitely work even harder in 2017."
"Of course, you reap what you sow. Keep working hard, Minhyuk. Rewards certainly come to those who work hard for me." The man said that while staring straight into the eyes of Tiffany, as if talking to her.
"Any updates for me?"
"The last of the shipment for this year have been sent out yesterday night. They are sailing nicely to North Korea as we speak."
N-north Korea? Just what the is going on?
Something is amiss. The agent willed herself to stay calm and collected.
"Good to hear that. Have yourself a nice Christmas break. I will talk to you soon."
The man put down the phone and looked expectantly at the agent.
"Shocking isn't it? I am sure you have a lot of questions. But I would like you to hold them back and listen to me."
"Why should I listen to you?"
"Because there is nothing you can do to me."
Wrong. I could pull out my blade right now and cut your throat.
"I know your adopted parents are living in the States right now. I know what they do for a living and I know where exactly they are. Don't you want to keep them safe?"
"What are you up to?" She clenched her fists, trying to calm herself down.
"I admire your tenacity. I have heard wonderful stories about you from Minhyuk, among others. I think you will be a great addition to my team. I think we will both gain a lot from this. Also, I know for a fact that you are here for reasons other than to protect my daughter. I know what you people are up to."
She felt sick in her stomach. She really was not expecting all this sudden turn of events.
"It is really simple. Work for me, I will keep your family safe and keep your bank account happy."
"I am not as capable as you think, Mr Kim."
"That's what you think. Why don't you give it a shot?"
Do I even have a say in this matter?
"For starters, I will get Changhyun to send you some documents to read and to brief you on our operations. He will answer all the burning questions, right down to the nitty gritty details. In the meantime, I will continue to entrust my daughter to you."
"Wouldn't you worry that I might do something to your daughter in retaliation? Minhyuk must have told you all about the blood I have on my hands."
"Not when your parents' life are in my hands. I am reluctant to threaten to use your parents against you. But you give me no choice, Agent Hwang. Such a tough nut to crack." The man chuckled to himself. "It is either I get you on my team or you would eventually out me to the authorities."
The agent locked her fist into a tight hold. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins. As much as she was itching to throw a punch at the man or run a blade across his neck or drive a bullet into his head, she knew she had to keep her head together. There is no way she will toy around with her parents' life like that. She had to give in. For now.
"I am not sure what you see in me, but I guess you leave me with no choice but to obey, Mr Kim."
"Oh Tiffany, I know you will be the right person for what I have in mind for you." The man flashed a knowing smile, one that sent chills down the agent's spine, wondering what exactly he had in store for her.
==
a/n: Ch'i ‘Hu nan Hsia Pei’’ is the original Chinese proverb translated “He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount” which means “Once a dangerous or troublesome venture is begun, the safest course is to carry it through to the end."
Not sure why was there a sudden influx of readers a while back but as always, thanks for reading. Updates are slowing because well, real life is overwhelming me and there just isn't much taeny these days. It is hard to have outputs without any inputs. (This chapter was fueled by a strange playlist of Mayday, Oasis and Jay Chou.)
Also, if you have read the "dropped" One Afternoon, you might be interested to know that I have threw in some of the ideas I had for One Afternoon into Operation Chrome's storyline.
Merry Christmas in advance^^
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