Chapter 146 ·The One Who Flies Above the One Who Runs
The One Who Flies Above the One Who Runs
In-hyuk was driving himself with Tae Gun-seung in the passenger seat.
"Looks like we managed to shake most of them off, thankfully."
At his muttered remark, Tae Gun-seung asked in a calm tone.
"Did you already expect someone would target me if the shareholders' meeting ended ambiguously?"
It was only natural to be suspicious, since In-hyuk had requested they move even before the results came out.
"It was obvious, wasn't it? In this situation, the only thing Executive Vice President Tae Seok-ho needs is to scatter the chairman's shares."
"That way he could neutralize the shares AMK Partners secured... But where are we headed right now? And what were all those cars parked at each intersection like they were waiting?"
At first they'd gone north, but now they were heading steadily southwest.
Along the way, In-hyuk had dispersed Tae Gun-seung's security guards a few times, splitting them up.
At the end, even Song Tae-ho was sent off separately.
"I had people prepared in advance."
"So... are you saying you anticipated this situation from the beginning?"
"Since chairman said he'd meet Norman McGrath, yes. But it seems that whoever's after him isn't even trying to hide it anymore."
Bzzz— bzzz—
In-hyuk's phone vibrated, displaying Tae Seok-ho's name.
Seeing the name, Tae Gun-seung beside him sighed.
"Calling because he wants to know my location?"
"I doubt he's just calling to check in under these circumstances."
"Then I'd better not answer."
"No. Now's the time to be brazen."
With that, In-hyuk pressed the call button and switched to speaker.
"Yes, Executive Vice President. What can I do for you?"
Perhaps it was his nonchalance, but there was a pause of silence from the other side.
[The hospital said the chairman was discharged.]
"That's right. His condition improved. He wanted to do a bit of sightseeing, so I'm accompanying him."
[... Sightseeing?]
"Yes. By the way, did the shareholders' meeting go well?"
Maybe he'd hit a nerve; once again Tae Seok-ho fell silent.
In-hyuk kept talking into the phone, glancing at Tae Gun-seung beside him.
"I've also heard about the situation. I understand things didn't go as planned? Must be very disappointing."
He intentionally provoked him.
And it seemed to have worked, as Tae Seok-ho didn't immediately reply.
[Ahem! Forget about that! You should at least have left your destination if you were accompanying an elder from the family.]
"I made the decision so suddenly, I forgot to mention it. We're heading to Las Vegas. And since I'm driving, it's hard to keep talking— I'll get back to you later."
Click—
With that, the call ended. Watching from the side, Tae Gun-seung looked puzzled.
"You went to all that trouble to shake them off, even sent Director Song separately, but you still told him your destination?"
That was because In-hyuk's original destination was Las Vegas.
"You have to say something so they can decide whether to believe you or not."
"So you think they might not believe it?"
"The more suspicious they get, the better for us."
In-hyuk gave a slight smile and sped up the car.
...
...
Meanwhile, after finishing his call with Kang In-hyuk, Tae Seok-ho furrowed his brow deeply.
He'd only just gotten his mood together after the disaster of the shareholders' meeting and now Kang In-hyuk had poured oil on the fire.
But now wasn't the time to get agitated again, so he looked over at Reina Blackwood.
"Did you trace their location?"
They weren't alone in the office. Reina's security guards were seated at the sofa table, working on laptops and other equipment.
One guard checked a screen and reported,
"Current coordinate: 36.23094, -112.57945. That's along Route 66 near Ash Fork. The direction is consistent with heading to Las Vegas."
Their location had been traced via the phone call In-hyuk just made.
But Reina's expression was far from pleased. Tae Seok-ho noticed and frowned.
"What's wrong? We've found their location—shouldn't we just track them now?"
Reina sighed.
"That's precisely the problem. If their goal is to fly abroad, there are seven airports accessible from where they are now. Of course, three of those don't have regular flights, so it's likely one of the other four if they're leaving the country."
The other four were in or around Las Vegas and two cities south of there.
The airports weren't nearby, so unless they knew the exact destination, it was meaningless.
"Are you saying they anticipated this much when they made their move?"
Reina directed a guard to project the locations of the possible airports onto the central screen.
It was clear Kang In-hyuk had taken all this into account when heading toward Las Vegas.
"Most likely. I thought things were suspicious back in Vladivostok... but now he's showing some unexpected skill."
"If they're heading that way, it's a straight shot, isn't it? Not many people around."
"That's the only saving grace."
The road from Flagstaff to Las Vegas had very few inhabited towns, making CCTV scarce.
Accidents occurred frequently, and even deaths were often dismissed as accidents.
However, the issue now was that Kang In-hyuk was with Tae Gun-seung, and there were two possible ways to Las Vegas.
Reina knew she had to make a decision.
"The situation is urgent. Tail them as far as you can into the deserted sections, and finish it there."
With the command issued, the security guards relayed it to the tracking team at once.
* * *
Two black sedans and three vans raced along Route 66 headed west from Flagstaff.
Inside were the agents from Reina Blackwood's direct team, Kureha (紅刃).
[This is Alpha. Order relayed. Order relayed. Pursue as quickly as possible. Pursue as quickly as possible.]
That was the voice coming from a phone on the dashboard of the lead sedan.
Karin, team leader of Kureha's 2nd unit, frowned and answered in English,
"Bravo. Check the situation. Tracking now."
With a frustrated gesture, she put the phone's microphone on mute. Watching from the back seat, Arisa spoke up mockingly.
"何のためにそんなにイライラするの?" (Why are you so irritated?)
She spoke in Japanese. Karin retorted in the same language.
"How could I NOT be? If they'd just let us take care of that old man Tae Gun-seung from the start, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"We had no choice. It was a decision from the Organization."
Up until a moment ago, they'd been chasing Tae Gun-seung from the hospital, ending up far north. Only later did they realize Song Tae-ho was used as bait.
They turned and headed south, pursuing after receiving Reina's update on their position.
"In that case, the boss should've pressed harder. Seriously, sometimes she's too soft."
Karin pouted, but Arisa shot her a frosty look.
"Is that really what you should be saying right now?"
Maybe it was the chill of her killing intent, but Karin scowled.
"Why so sensitive?"
"Just keep your mouth shut. Mio— pick up the pace. You never know when they might make a sudden turn, so prep the drones to scout ahead as far as they'll transmit."
"Tch—!"
Mio was team leader of the 3rd unit, currently at the wheel.
Meanwhile, Karin grabbed the radio and gave the order per Arisa's instructions. Soon, the rear door of one van slid open and two scout drones shot forward outside.
Watching the scene, Karin spoke again.
"Come to think of it... that Kang In-hyuk guy supposedly broke through KIRIN's cordon in Vladivostok."
"Why? Think he'll get through us, too?"
"No, not that. It's just... kind of exciting? Been ages since we had a proper hunt."
Unlike other agents, these two worked as Reina Blackwood's special squad. Their usual missions: executions or assassinations. They reliably eliminated traitors within or noisy obstacles outside, regardless of collateral fuss.
"This is no time for hunting games. Just take out the target quickly, then get out."
"Not even a little?"
"You know how urgent this is. Based on the target's last known position, if he filled up at Ash Fork, the quickest way is the southern bypass."
"But they might double back."
Karin was thinking of what happened with KIRIN's Li Weicheng.
"That's right. You can't completely rule it out. Plus, seems they're expecting a tail."
"So we should split up."
"How do you want to do it?"
The northern and southern detours differed by about 30 minutes.
Karin pondered over the map before making a decision.
"I'll take the north. But if I catch them, I get to do things my way?"
Arisa sighed.
"No. Keep it looking like an accident, no matter what."
"Not even a little?!"
"Do what you want if you don't mind being chewed out by the boss."
Karin pouted.
"I'll switch cars then!"
"I'll say it again: don't do anything reckless."
With that warning, the car stopped.
Karin stiffened her expression, then switched to the rear car. The vehicles took off again.
In the back seat, Arisa let out a long sigh as she radioed in.
"Have the targets been spotted yet?"
She was speaking to the agent piloting the drones.
Since the transmit range was up to 10km, she thought they ought to catch sight of the moving car soon.
[No confirmation yet.]
"Find them as fast as you can."
The vehicles picked up speed, racing along the deserted Route 66. At the fork near Seligman, the fleet split into two.
...
...
At the same time.
In-hyuk and Tae Gun-seung were in the air together.
The engine noise, muffled by their headsets, pressed in on their ears.
"Chairman! Are you all right?"
He asked through the headset.
Tae Gun-seung, gazing at the blue sky and the plateau and desert below, replied,
"I feel a bit dizzy, but not too bad."
"That's good."
Relieved, In-hyuk looked out toward the road they'd traveled. From this altitude, the cars below really did look like toys.
However, the five cars moving and then splitting up made for a different sight.
'That was close.'
The two were in a small plane. After drawing their pursuers to the moving vehicle's location, they'd switched to a light aircraft at Seligman Airport.
Tae Gun-seung turned to look at In-hyuk.
"Is this how you and Ju-ha survived in Vladivostok too?"
"Well, something like that."
"So this is what they mean by 'There's always someone flying above the runner.'"
Tae Gun-seung's hearty laughter rang through the headset.
Their destination was Flagstaff, their original starting point. Now that the trackers would be gone, they should be able to travel safely by air.