East

Chapter 11

June 03 | 19:00

Kim Ji-Min was conflicted. 

Not about whether shooting the man on the roof was right or wrong, she had no particular feelings one way or the other about that. Business is business. She accepted that taking a life was generally considered wrong by people, but also knew that you shouldn't judge a contract unless you have all the information. And sometimes no one has all the information.

No, her conflict was about the situation she found herself in. Was it caused by fate, her employer, or someone else? And exactly what was her situation? Not knowing was a cause of concern for someone used to planning the smallest detail. This was an entirely new and unsettling feeling.

She had seen the photographer exit the building and enter the subway. It had been impossible to tell if she was hunting a male or female, not that it made much difference in the end, but the quarry was now in her grasp. And she knew it was a woman. She quickly moved to intercept her at the bottom of the stairs. When that didn't work, she crossed under the street toward the entrance to the trains, trying to find her quarry in the crowd. Still no sign of her, so she went back up to street level. This photographer seemed to have some skills. Of course, it might be the luck of an amateur, but as a professional she knew never to underestimate an opponent.

At street level, now on the opposite side of the street, she ran south to the intersection. Once there she scanned the other side of the road. As luck would have it, she thought that she had her in sight again. Feeling inside her jacket for the pistol in the shoulder holster, she felt ready for action. She crossed the street continuing south, wanting to get ahead of her prey. As the light changed and the thick traffic stopped, the photographer was moving again. 

Two blocks later she watched as the photographer disappeared in to a parking garage. Would she stop and hide? Or make her way through the garage to another street?

What should she do? It was so uncomfortable not to know what was happening. Think, she thought, what are my options? She listed them in her head: leave the area or get the photographer.

The last one sounded like the best use of time and opportunity. That camera contained too much information to give it up now. She might never work again if this got out. It would be best to move now, with no more delays. She didn't know for sure that the photographer was still there. Standing here was stupid, she decided. But there was one thing to do first. She should call her employer and see if they could find out who the photographer was. The problem here was that the evidence might then end up in their hands. But did it really matter? They were ruining her life enough already.

Keeping the garage in sight, she dialed a number.

"I need some information - - Where I am is not important - - Are you on-site yet? - - You are? Good. There was a third party on the target roof. She is a witness - - You knew that? Oh, the security in the helicopter. Of course. I need to know who she is - - Yes, I will take care of her for us. No charge - - Okay, call me immediately."

She didn't mention the camera. Some things you keep to yourself.

***

"Hello - - Where are you? - - Yes - - We know - - I think we can help each other - - That is acceptable, I'll call when I have the information."

Ryu Ji-Mun returned the phone to his pocket and turned to the two building guards standing, as ordered, with their backs to the wall. They were in a room immediately behind the security desk in the lobby of the building. A desk held two computer monitors, each displaying six views of different areas inside the building. An NIS agent was sitting at the desk and fast-forwarding through video from the last four hours. He reached out to the keyboard and pressed a key, freezing the action. Another key-press filled the screen with the view he was interested in.

"Here it is," he announced without turning round.

Ryu Ji-Mun leaned forward and peered at the screen as the agent played the video at regular speed. He saw one of the guards accepting an envelope, and a stuffed animal, and then escorting a girl through a delivery entrance.

"Is this someone's girlfriend?" he asked the room in general.

There was no response.

"Well?"

He turned back to the guard whose image was on the screen.

"You allowed someone to enter the building and apparently accepted a bribe. Let me spell this out for you. Two of our agents died and you almost certainly allowed someone on to the roof, yes?"

The guard nodded reluctantly.

"Do you expect me, or a court if we bother with one, to believe that the two are not linked?"

The guard glanced at the stuffed animal on the table, and thought of his daughter.

Ryu Ji-Mun followed his gaze. "I want to know who she is. If you tell me quickly, it will be better for you. Do you want to see your child again?"

"She works for a private detective. She just wanted to observe a meeting in the hotel." He looked toward the other guard. "We had no idea that a helicopter was scheduled to land here tonight until just before it arrived. Anyway, they would never do this kind of thing. They gave me money to buy a meal on the way home. That's all. And he used to be one of you..."

"Who?"

"Jung Rae-Won. The girl works for him, she is new."

"Jung Rae-Won! Are you sure?" His mind started spinning with this new information. First he was forced to deal with that woman a few weeks ago, and now another ex-agent had popped up. Now he remembered that they had left the NIS at about the same time. What was their connection? Was there a connection? Coincidence? Were they working together? Did they know what was going on? Why else would they be at the same location as the contractor? How did they know?

He felt as though his head was going to explode. His ability to take in this data and make sense of it was being severely tested. He needed some fresh air.

"I'll be back in a minute. Get a copy of her picture back to headquarters. Copy the video and delete the original."

The agent at the desk nodded, but knew better than to say anything.

What else could go wrong, Ryu Ji-Mun wondered. Oh well, at least no one had fallen off the roof.

***

The traffic slowed enough for the assassin to run across the five lanes of vehicles to the center. Five more to go. She angled a little more to the south, hoping that the photographer, if she was still there, wouldn't expect her from that direction. She made it across, despite nearly being impaled by a motorcycle, and staying close to the buildings, walking slowly north. 

With the parking garage in sight, she reached inside her jacket and removed the pistol from the holster. Shielding it from view, she felt in a pocket for a silencer and attached it to the gun. Making sure that the safety was off and a round was in the chamber, she held the weapon hidden from sight.

Perhaps the photographer was a rookie, why she hadn't kept moving? All the better for me, she thought. There she was, hard to see unless you knew what you were looking for. Or perhaps desperation had improved her eyesight. As she watched, the photographer stood up and moved further in to the garage. This was her opportunity. The target moved out of her line of sight. The shooter moved to the low railing behind a line of phone boxes and climbed over, constantly scanning for her target. She saw her, walking quickly away, but not in cover. 

Any other people around? No. She raised the gun and squeezed off two rounds at the back of the photographer.

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