In The Dark (SNOWDROP)

"we're falling apart"

❄︎ — chapter 29 — ❄︎

Jang Hanna had been out of the hospital for about twenty-four hours now, and after leaving she hadn't gotten a single wink of sleep. All her time was dedicated to finding Lee Kangmu, who by now everyone was convinced had been captured. She had a pretty good guess as to who was responsible for his disappearance.

She'd had agents working all day and all night, around the clock in desperate hope of getting the tiniest bit of information. She had drank so much coffee to stay awake and alert that she was starting to wonder which in the office would break first— the coffee machine or her brain.

Then, right before the sun rose, she was called over by Joo Gyeokchan at a radio station.

"Take a listen, timjangnim."

She sat in the chair he offered, slid the headphones over her ears, and took the pencil, codebook, and line of encryption on a sheet of paper. The message, once decoded, read:

Mission successful. Target in custody, alive. Requesting reinforcements and transportation.

"The coded signature is unique to Haegeumseong 1's," Gyeokchan said. "He's got timjangnim."

"I know that already," Hanna said. "What I need to know is where?"

"We're working on it. The signal's been traced northeast of Seoul. We're narrowing it down."

"Have the precise coordinates by this afternoon. I'm putting a team together."

"You already got Chief's permission?"

She hadn't. "Basically. About to go get the green light."

"Okay... I'll be right here if you need me, timjangnim."

❄︎ — ❄︎ — ❄︎ — ❄︎ — ❄︎

"Hanna-ssi, you have no power whatsoever to execute a raid at this time. You have no intelligence, no coordinates, and no guarantee Lee Kangmu will be anywhere close to where the signal was intercepted."

"The message said—"

"I know very well what the message said. I don't care for the message's content. You know as well as I do that the Northerners are a tricky bunch. Haegeumseong 1 certainly isn't foolish enough to stay in one place when he knows he's being hunted."

"He needs transportation. He's not exactly going to move Black Tiger much until he gets it. And we'll have his precise transmitting location long before then."

"Even if you did, and he was there, this is not under the jurisdiction of the ANSP. You need law enforcement for hostage rescue and negotiation, the usuals whenever there's a kidnapping."

It took all of Hanna's willpower not to slam her fist on the Chief's desk. "We don't have time for all that. Every second we waste talking is one second closer to losing him for good. Besides, we are law enforcement. This is most certainly in our jurisdiction."

"I know you have a personal investment in the Black Tiger's safety," Ahn said, reclining back in his chair. His cool, unworried expression made Hanna want to smack the dumb glasses off his face. "Have your team obtain the exact coordinates of the transmitting location and a radius from there to where Haegeumseong 1 could be found most likely."