East

Chapter 20

The vehicle that Rae-Won was taken to in the parking area was a minivan. It was the best choice. The sliding door allowed them easy access to get Ye-Jin inside. They sat Ye-Jin in a rear seat and reclined it as far as it would go. There was even a box provided to raise her feet. They fastened the seatbelt and stood back to admire their handiwork.

Presumably they had chosen the same type of vehicle before, but Rae-Won had to admit that it seemed as though they had scoured every dealership in the city to find the perfect transportation.

As he went to close the door, he saw some bags. He turned to ask about them, but his helper simply shrugged his shoulders and smiled shyly.

"I thought if you were going to a hiding place you might not want to stop and buy groceries, so we got some for you."

"Perfect!" said Rae-Won, shaking his hand. "Thank you."

As he drove the vehicle out of the garage he continued to be careful about the cars around them. Was anyone following? Unlikely, he thought, but it never hurt to be careful.

Should he meet Sora so they could all stay together? Was he unintentionally using her as bait to lure the NIS after her as she made her away across Seoul? No, it was better for her to take the chance of getting to England. If she stayed in Korea they would continue to pursue her. And if they all stayed together, it would increase the chance of them all being caught. Much better to let her run.

Another thoughtful touch was the map book which had been left on the seat. He knew where he was going, but what would be the best way to get there? As usual it was best to assume the worst and plan accordingly.

On the other hand, sometimes it just paid to not over-think things. Decision made, he headed east on Olympic, following the south bank of the Han. Traffic was flowing smoothly and he made good time through the darkness. As they drove past bridges over the river leading to the north bank, he saw police cars checking cars on two of them. He did not intend to cross to the north, but would have to use one bridge soon.

The van hummed along steadily. Rae-Won took bites from an apple as he drove, his tension rising slightly as knew they were approaching the last bridge, where Olympic became the Gyeongchun Expressway. As they got closer, he saw the lights of a police car. The traffic slowed. As he got nearer, he could see vehicles being waved to the side of the road. The he realized that this was a random traffic stop. Perhaps it wasn't even part of the hunt for the three of them. 

Rae-Won checked the gun on the seat next to him and moved it a little closer. He certainly didn't want to kill anyone else tonight, so he tried to think positively as they slowed even more. 

The red car in front of him was waved over and the policeman started to wave him over too. Then another policeman called out that they had enough for the moment and the officer in front of Rae-Won waved him on down the road.

Past the road block, the very light traffic started to pick up speed and he started to enjoy the apple again.

Though he was familiar with his destination, he was not so sure about this particular road and he watched carefully for his exit. The road passed through several tunnels and the road noise coupled with his tiredness made him aware of how much he was looking forward to and needed some sleep.

Twenty minutes later he saw the sign for the exit and he pulled off the Expressway, negotiated some junctions and headed north, a little more slowly on the much smaller road.

He picked a dark spot where he could safely park off the road, pulled over and turned off the lights. He looked back at Ye-Jin who continued to sleep. He smiled as he thought of her reaction to him thinking about how pretty she was despite the dark. She was sure to have some sarcastic comment about the how a lack of light always made her look better.