Codename Anastasia Novel (End) - Chapter 2

It was no use for him to get angry. There was no room for compromise on Kwon Taekjoo’s face. He seemed determined not to back down, even if the hostage’s life hung in the balance. What was clear was that the moment the hostage stopped breathing, Lee Cheoljin himself wouldn’t be safe. All of this was conveyed in Kwon Taekjoo’s silently pressing gaze.

“Damn it…!”

Lee Cheoljin quickly gave up the standoff and shoved the hostage away. Then, he strode up the stairs behind him. Kwon Taekjoo settled the fallen hostage to one side and pursued him.

Just as he reached the second floor, people poured haphazardly from the deck entrance. He changed course, heading straight for it. Lee Cheoljin’s fleeing figure quickly came into view. Kwon Taekjoo didn’t run. His strides simply widened a little, and he gained some speed. There was no need to rush. The ship was, after all, heading out into the open sea. Lee Cheoljin was like a mouse trapped in a jar.

He leisurely followed Lee Cheoljin, who was scrambling to escape. The strong sea wind whipped Kwon Taekjoo’s dark hair around, creating a strange sense of intimidation.

“Senior, the Bu Kwan Ferry just reported an armed assailant on board to the Coast Guard. Is everything alright?”

Suddenly, the familiar voice came through his earpiece.

“Talk later. I’m about to get busy.”

Kwon Taekjoo finally faced Lee Cheoljin, who had reached the railing. Soon, a restraining voice came through the earpiece, but he unhesitatingly turned off the power. With that, only Lee Cheoljin and Kwon Taekjoo remained on the wind-swept deck.

Lee Cheoljin stared desperately down at the vast, distant sea. His grip on the railing tightened. Meanwhile, Kwon Taekjoo steadily closed the distance. Cornered, Lee Cheoljin wildly swung his weapon in the air. It was a gesture meant to somehow escape, but it was meaningless. The moment fear enters, a threat loses its power.

“Don’t come!”

He advanced steadily toward the flailing Lee Cheoljin. Lee Cheoljin, alternating glances between the rapidly approaching Kwon Taekjoo and the darkly surging sea, repeatedly slashed the air with his weapon.

“I said, don’t come!”

He cursed wildly, completely flustered. Kwon Taekjoo calmly drew his Colt. It was the moment Lee Cheoljin’s knife was rendered nothing more than a piece of scrap metal.

Lee Cheoljin’s agitated gaze abruptly left Kwon Taekjoo. His eyes fumbled somewhere behind Kwon Taekjoo.

The next moment, with a bang, fire erupted from Kwon Taekjoo’s gun. The bullet flew, accurately piercing its target. But it wasn’t Lee Cheoljin who screamed and fell. It was Kim Younghee, who had been stealthily approaching Kwon Taekjoo.

Kim Younghee’s ivory coat bloomed with crimson blood. She clutched her mangled right hand and crumpled to the ground. Her Colt fell with her, firing a bullet into the air. It was impossible to know whether the barrel had been aimed at Kwon Taekjoo or the exposed Lee Cheoljin.

Kwon Taekjoo turned his head back to the front. By now, Lee Cheoljin had thrown down his knife and stood with his back to him. He clung to the railing, taking a deep breath. His shoulders naturally rose, and his back expanded. Just as an unpleasant premonition flashed through his mind, Lee Cheoljin’s body, precariously clinging to the railing, suddenly tumbled over the side.

“……!”

Kwon Taekjoo darted towards the railing as if on springs. But before he could even reach it, a splash echoed in his ears. Looking down, he saw a patch of black seawater churning white.

He scanned the area for Lee Cheoljin, but he was nowhere to be seen. He waited for a long time. Then, Lee Cheoljin’s head bobbed up from within the white ripples. To jump from that height was nothing short of suicidal.

But as if to mock that thought, a vessel suddenly appeared from somewhere. The approaching ship, with all its lights cut off, was an old fishing wooden boat. Perhaps that was why it had managed to evade the surveillance of investigative agencies.

The wooden boat, shrouded in darkness, slowly drew closer to Lee Cheoljin. It felt like a blow to the back of his head. Perhaps that was the real escape route. It might have been a plan to divert the pursuers with a return ticket and then disappear into the sea the moment the item was handed over.

He immediately opened fire. However, it wasn’t easy to snipe at a boat that was barely visible. Although it was undeniably a target, sending him to the grave would complicate things. If there had been permission to kill from the start, he wouldn’t have even come this far.

This operation aimed to root out North Korean agents who had settled in South Korea for a long time, occupying key social positions and siphoning off state secrets. There would be more than one or two influential figures colluding with them and providing cover. He couldn’t just cut off the branches before digging up the roots.

Meanwhile, the ferry continued to move, widening the distance from the fishing boat. A man emerged from the fishing boat’s wheelhouse and pulled Lee Cheoljin onto the boat. Lee Cheoljin immediately shed his wet coat. Indeed. Various flotation devices were strapped all over his body. From the receding vessel, Lee Cheoljin raised his arm in a jeering salute. His face guaranteed victory.

He let out a low, mirthless chuckle. Then, he quickly wiped the smile from his face. Kwon Taekjoo spun around and approached the fallen Kim Younghee.

Kim Younghee trembled violently from the excruciating pain of her mangled hand. Even so, she strained to pull something out: poison. Kwon Taekjoo chopped down on the back of her neck with the side of his hand, and Kim Younghee fell unconscious. He then shoved a handkerchief deep into her mouth to prevent her from harming herself even if she regained consciousness. Next, he twisted her left arm behind her back.

He inadvertently glanced down at her ring finger, where a ring was neatly placed. It was almost spotless, looking like it had been bought recently.

“Pretty ring you have there, isn’t it? I’ll match it with a bracelet for you.”

He sneered, pulling out handcuffs. With a metallic clang, the handcuffs tightened. He fastened the other end to the railing.

When everything was done, he turned his communicator back on.

“You, get over here in 8 seconds.”

“Huh?” the other person asked, as if they’d misheard, but Kwon Taekjoo ignored them. His attention had already shifted to his wristwatch. Pressing the reset button on the side of the watch, the time display disappeared, replaced by a compass. He had attached a tracker to Lee Cheoljin’s waist during their brief struggle. The red dot indicating the target’s location was rapidly moving off the compass. There was no more time to lose. He took a small deep breath and sprinted toward the stern of the ferry.

Upon reaching the end of the deck, he confidently stepped onto the railing and leaped. In an instant, his vision flipped to black. The wind, rushing in from all directions, felt like it was piercing his entire body. The fall was longer than expected.

Splash! With a massive rupture, the water surface surged sharply. A violent impact struck his entire body as he collided with the black seawater. His muscles felt as if they were tearing. Seawater instantly filled every orifice of his body, and bubbles erupted. He floated in the water for a moment, cushioning the impact, and then slowly began to paddle his limbs to stabilize his body against the current. He opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings, but the water, impenetrable by even a single ray of light, was nothing but absolute darkness.

He powerfully kicked his way to the surface. High waves continuously crashed over him, making it difficult to maintain his position.

He managed to raise his wrist and manipulate the watch’s reset button once more. The compass disappeared, and the entire numerical display glowed brilliantly. He shot the light into the air. Had two or three seconds passed like that? From not far away, a familiar mechanical sound reached him. It was the engine of a motorboat. The increasingly loud noise soon subsided. Immediately after, water, churned white by the propeller, slapped against his skin. Consecutive nagging followed from above.

“Honestly. You’re going to turn into a water ghost at this rate.”

Yoon Jongwoo, who must have run like hell, extended a hand. Kwon Taekjoo grabbed it and quickly pulled himself onto the boat. He was soaked to the bone and uncomfortable. Despite the biting cold, he took off his watch and tossed it to Yoon Jongwoo. Yoon Jongwoo, without a word, steered the boat, chasing the red dot on the compass. Meanwhile, Kwon Taekjoo shed his wet coat and caught his breath.

The motorboat sliced fiercely through the black waves, surging forward. The entire boat thumped and bounced violently against the coiling waves. The red dot, which had almost left the compass, gradually drew closer.

Pip, pip, pip, pip, pip, pipipipipi.

As the wooden boat entered visible range, its distinctive mechanical hum intensified. The leisurely escaping wooden boat must have also noticed its pursuer.

Suddenly, a man emerged from the wheelhouse and fired a rifle. Yoon Jongwoo gritted his teeth and spun the wheel. The hull made a sharp turn, kicking up a strong wake. Most of the incoming bullets missed, but one bullet stubbornly lodged itself in a corner of the boat. At least it didn’t hit the engine or fuel tank, sparing them a midnight fireworks show.

Still, there were no lights around the wooden boat. In that condition, it was impossible to adequately subdue the opponent without killing them. Even a slight approach would result in a barrage of bullets. To capture armed individuals wielding guns and knives alive it was truly an absurd command.

For a while, a series of situations repeated: when attacked, they’d turn to evade, then approach again, only to halt when fired upon once more. Yoon Jongwoo angrily slammed the steering wheel. His chest burned with frustration, unable to even touch the target right in front of him.

“Get out.”

He pulled Yoon Jongwoo back. Then, he took the driver’s seat and charged toward the fishing boat. Yoon Jongwoo tumbled backward helplessly from the boat’s recoil as it shot forward.

“Aaah! Senior, we’re going to crash! We’re going to crash!”

He barely righted himself and yelled in terror. But Kwon Taekjoo only increased his speed.

The firing from the wooden boat intensified. Kwon Taekjoo deliberately tilted the boat, drenching the wooden boat’s deck with a massive splash. Only then did the opponent’s attack subside somewhat. He then sped far ahead of the fishing boat. Then, he suddenly swerved the wheel, making a wide detour. The engine screamed, unable to withstand the strain. The boat rotated so abruptly that it almost capsized. Yoon Jongwoo, his face pale, couldn’t avoid tumbling down again as the hull turned and began to reverse course.

He returned the way he came, pushing the boat’s speed to its maximum. When the boat, which had disappeared into the darkness, reappeared, the wooden boat showed considerable dismay. The relentless hail of bullets revealed their nervousness.

Because they were firing non-stop, covering fire was out of the question. Yoon Jongwoo could only frantically cover his head with both arms.

“We’re really going to die at this rate! We’re going to die! Agh, we’re dying, dying! Are you listening, you crazy bastard!”