NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42.1
Giving Him My Thanks (1)
Black grabbed a nearby steel chair and pounded on the door handle.The door began to jump in its frame. Once the door handle had been knocked completely off, the door swung open. As it did, we were struck by a sudden stench of oil. My eye was immediately drawn to an old oil-fired stove in the corner of the office.
“…France.”
Bang-!
Wang Ong-Gu was standing out in the open, holding a lighter in one hand and a ledger in the other. In order to prevent him from doing anything else, one of the officers shot him again with their firearm. Blood began to pour from Wang Ong-Gu’s mouth and nose, yet he kept his gaze fixed on the ledger despite this.
Tchk-
Even as he was dying, Wang Ong-Gu flicked the lighter and set the oil ablaze with the last of his strength. In an instant, his body was engulfed by the flames and the office was transformed into a hellish furnace. It took a long moment before Wang Ong-Gu’s burning body finally stopped writhing in pain.
We were struck by a disgusting burnt stench, waves of heat, and a suffocating cloud of smoke. Everyone was forced to back away from the rapidly spreading pool of flames.
“W-we need a fire extinguisher!”
“Get the fire extinguishers from our cars!”
“Y-Yes sir!”
Phwoosh- Phwoosh-
On the same count, we sprayed our fire extinguishers at the base of the flame. The cloud of smoke grew even thicker and blanketed our surroundings as the fire went out, but too much time had already passed. All that remained was a burnt corpse and a destroyed ledger.
***
A few days later.
After investigating the contents of Wang Ong-Gu’s handphone, everything had been revealed. In exchange for making life easier for certain drug dealers, he had regularly received large sums of money.
“Just how much did he end up pocketting?”
The station chief let out a sigh as he flipped through the pages of the report. It was speculated that this was also the reason behind his transfer from the Violent Crime Task Force to the Narcotics Unit. It had also been confirmed that, prior to the Joongmae Gang, Wang Ong-Gu had an association with the Guma Gang. This had all been going on for quite some time.
However, there were unfortunately no clues leading to the Hae-Soo case. The phone only contained matters regarding the bribes.
“It seems that when control over the drug trade with China switched hands, Wang Ong-Gu was also put in contact with the Joongmae Gang.”
But there were a few things that remained a mystery. The ledger contacting the list of those who had participated in the trade of stolen organs and smuggled drugs had been destroyed. And there was still the question of why Wang Ong-Gu had sacrificed his own life just to get rid of it?
“So not only did you find their hidden base of operations, you cleaned up the remnants of the Joongmae gang, and caught the ones responsible for laundering the Joongmae Gang’s dirty money practically red-handed.”
The chief helplessly shook his head.
“Finally, those scumbags still in the hospital are going to be extradited as soon as possible. You can bet on that for sure. For now, I’m declaring that this case has been officially closed. And I mean it, no more surprises!”
“Yes sir.”
The chief eyed all of us for a moment, before clicking his tongue and grumbling under his breath. From head to toe, we were covered in burns and blisters from the fire. Yet we were proud of what could only be called our glory wounds. So despite the pain, we were all smiling cheerfully.
“Starting with the Suan Spaniel, you’ve taken down the Fork Gang, the Guma Gang, and now the Joongmae Gang. You guys certainly are clearing up all the missions that the Investigation Division was meant to take responsibility for.”
The last line was said in such an ambiguous tone that Black felt the need to carefully ask, “That’s a compliment, right?”
“That’s right you scoundrels. It’s a compliment.”
“We were just doing our duty. But thank you anyway.”
“For God’s sake.”
At this brash reply from our Team Leader, the chief could only shake his head.
As I reached out to retrieve the report, the chief gestured for me to wait, “Now then, this only leaves all of you.”
Then he continued speaking with a grudging tone, “It’s about your promotions.”
“Yes! Our promotions! Please feel free to speak!” Black said with his eyes twinkling.
Although we had already been specially promoted only a month prior, the scope of this case made it an entirely different matter. We had resolved an international smuggling ring, rescued the kidnapped victims from human trafficking, and caught the culprits behind the illegal organ harvesting operation. What else could these be counted as, if not a series of astounding achievements that might even draw international attention?
So once again, it appeared that we had something to look forward to.
“There’s no denying the fact that you’ve already received special promotions not long ago, and with the current mood being what it is because of Wang Ong-Gu’s betrayal, promotions will be difficult to wrangle.”
“Is that so? But, isn’t that a little…?”
The corners of Black’s mouth drooped straight down as he said this. The chief smiled faintly at his obvious show of disappointment.
“So instead of that, I’ll make you another offer.”
Team Leader’s expression showed that he wasn’t expecting much.
“Among all the offers that I’ve received during my career, none of them have ever really worked out in my favor.”
“It all becomes your flesh and blood in the end1.”
“Since it’s an offer, it will be okay if we just reject it, right? Then, for now, we’ll hear you out.”
The chief placed a black leather document folder down in front of us. Its cover was stamped with the mark of the police headquarters in shiny gold leaf. Team Leader carefully flipped it open and together we read the title of the report, ‘A Proposal for a New Special Investigations Unit.’
As one, we all turned to look at the chief, asking for an explanation
“Newbie, it’s been less than three years since you’ve joined the force, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ve received approval for this proposal from the higher ups. If you accept this offer, your team will have the same level of authority as anyone in the Investigation Division2. Go Ji-Hun, since you alone cannot be promoted to the Investigation Division because of regulations, we’ve decided to just create a new unit here instead. After all, it would be a shame to tear apart such effective teamwork.
Footnote:
1 A Korean idiom that has a similar meaning to the English idiom, ‘it will all pay off in the end’. Even if things are unpleasant at the moment, you will grow from it and come out the better for it.
2 The Investigation Division is a metropolitan force, while the Violent Crime Task Force that Go Ji-Hun is currently part of are only supposed to service the Suan district. By increasing their authority, the chief is increasing their jurisdiction and allowing them to officially take a wider range of cases.