In The Dark (SNOWDROP)

"just missed them"

❄︎ — chapter 30 — ❄︎

"Gather the task force. I have somewhere we'll use as a base."

Lim Sooho saluted to Hanna and rushed off. In all, the ANSP would send ten agents to search for Haegeumseong 1 and Black Tiger. Hanna had hoped for more, but Ahn had told her they could spare no more than ten. She was going to have to rely on the manpower contributed from the Seoul police and other law enforcement branches. She'd sent out a request for help a couple hours ago, and told everyone to gather in the lowest level of her father's house, smack in the middle of the circle established by the radio transmission.

With Joo Gyeokchan and Kang Cheongya, she went to her old home. Jang Jihoon was at work, but he'd already given his approval for the team to use his house as a base. Hanna's mother and the family maid were still there, but they were not to be involved in any way in order to protect them. Cheongya set up computer monitors and radios on a line of tables against the wall, while Hanna and Gyeokchan spread out a couple maps and photos on the large central pool table. As Gyeokchan went through the maps and circled the radius with a red marker, Hanna turned back to the computer monitors.

"Are they all online?"

"Ye," Cheongya said, double-checking one monitor. "We have access to all the security camera footage within the radius."

"Good. Once operators get here, each one is to be watched around the clock."

"Understood."

"Gyeokchan-ya," Hanna said, pulling some papers from the messenger bag she'd brought. Each one had a photo of Kim Mandong that she'd obtained from Hosu University. "Each agent will get one of these. We'll send them out to ask if people have seen this man."

"Won't that make it obvious we're searching for him? Someone might tip him off and he could slip away."

"We've already released his description to the press," Hanna said. "We're done being subtle. He already knows he's being hunted. He would be stupid if he thinks we're not looking for him."

"All right."

"Tell the agents to ask more women and children. They're more trustworthy."

Gyeokchan took the papers and stacked them in the corner of the table. "You want us to go out and hunt for tips? Will that really work?"

"That along with the surveillance. We need to shrink this radius."

"I agree with that. How many men will we have?"

"Forty."

"And how long?"

"I don't know. We need to catch them before Mandong gets transportation north. And that will probably be very soon."

"What kind of transportation?"

"Probably either train or car."

"Neither of those can cross the border."

"I mean they'll take one of those close to the border, then probably cross on foot or be picked up by other Northern agents."

"You're probably right," he muttered. "Then we need to monitor the traffic coming out of the area."

"I've already contacted traffic police. They're on high alert."

"Good," Gyeokchan said. The basement door opened, and Sooho, along with a squad of ANSP agents and Korean intelligence officers, came inside. Hanna was quick to assign them to jobs from computer and radio monitoring to patrolling the streets with Mandong's photo.