studiobondurri Chapter 169: Justice is Served
Chapter 169: Justice is Served
Chapter 169: Justice is Served
One night in December 2033.
Camp David, which had been bustling, quieted down around midnight.
A group of intruders penetrated the outskirts.
The three drones that were supposed to detect their entry did not deploy from the container because their power was cut off.
They also could not send any abnormal signals to the communication satellite because the radio waves were jammed.
The two guards who were supposed to monitor them were knocked out by the strong whiskey that President James had practically forced on them.
“Who would dare to touch you in America? President Yu seems to enjoy drinking too, so let’s have a drink. We’ll take responsibility for everything.”
America would take responsibility.
It was a tempting statement for the Blue House guards.
More than anything, they could not resist the temptation of The Macallan 1946 that President James personally offered.
If they refused the highest quality vintage whiskey that the incumbent president personally offered at the president’s villa in America, they would regret it for the rest of their lives.
Still, the guards tried their best to decline, but President Yu Ji-ha added that one drink wouldn’t hurt, so they ended up drinking it.
Thanks to that, the Recon Marines were able to access the external VIP accommodation without any resistance.
“Clear. Begin infiltration.”
The agents quickly picked the lock and entered.
There was no alarm because the power was cut off.
An android came out of the hallway as if it heard their footsteps, but it stumbled because of the adhesive stuck to its sensor and camera.
“Machines are hopeless after all. Neutralize the rest.”
The muscular agents used tasers to incapacitate the guards who came out late and sealed their mouths with towels.
As they opened the door and entered, they saw the president of the United Human Federation, whom they had confirmed countless times through video and photos, standing up with a surprised look on his face.
“Who are you?”
“We’re sorry. You’ll have to come with us for a while.”
Yu Ji-ha sighed as he checked that it was dark outside through the window.
“So even the president was in on it.”
“Not all Americans know about this. There’s just someone who needs you.”
“This will start a war if it gets out. Can you handle that?”
The Recon Marine captain clenched his teeth.
“We don’t fear the United Human Federation, unlike other countries.”
“Yeah? Maybe I should have left you alone during the Manhattan incident.”
The agents wavered and the captain forgot his instructions to be polite as he pressed his gun against his temple.
“Don’t talk back with your big mouth. My brother died in that incident.”
“I’m sorry about your brother, but is that a reason to blame a foreign president? Tell me. What did I do wrong?”
He was right.
The Manhattan incident was entirely caused by the politicians’ misjudgment and the soldiers’ mistakes.
The captain tried to say something but bit his lip and looked away from his eyes.
“Take him there. Watch him closely.”
Soon, a cloth soaked with anesthetic covered Yu Ji-ha’s mouth.
He had undergone various treatments that made him immune to such drugs, but he had to pretend to lose consciousness.
The captain’s anger was also due to his worry that they might abort the mission and turn back.
They had to kidnap him and start a war.
A few moments later, when the signal of securing the target came, gunshots began to ring out.
Tatatata―
The bureaucrats and guards from Korea ran out of their lodgings in surprise at the noise.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
“Mr. President, secure his safety first!”
“Flares!”
Suddenly, several small suns appeared in the night sky and people groaned with their eyes closed.
Military flares were incredibly bright, unlike what the public thought. They could make one’s vision and mind go blank.
Then flashbangs exploded and Camp David seemed like a war zone.
Secretary General Bae Seongmin heard the sound of several vehicles escaping in the midst of it.
His body flinched for a moment, but he was able to endure it because of the note that the president had given him.
Instead, what occupied his mind was the anger towards America for causing this.
‘They’re crazy. The president tried to help America as much as possible.’
If he really hated America, he wouldn’t have helped them with Earth Fleet.
He sent messages several times to stop the confrontation and fight against the space monsters together, but America ignored them and even committed terrorism.
‘This can’t be overlooked.’
President Yu Ji-ha seemed to have guessed that a war would break out.
No, a war had to break out.
What he was curious about was how the president knew about this beforehand.
‘Maybe Minister Arma knew too.’
He wondered if President Yu Ji-ha had planned all this in advance.
It would have been an absurd imagination for anyone else, but Bae Seongmin’s boss was someone who had enough ability and guts to do it.
‘There’s nothing I can do...’
He turned his head fiercely at the soldiers who approached him.
“What’s going on? What’s all this commotion?”
A gun was pointed at his forehead.
“Are you Secretary General Bae? You’ll have to come with us for a while.”
***
Yu Ji-ha was dragged away somewhere in a rattling truck.
His hands and feet were tied up and his mouth and eyes were covered.
It seemed like they wanted to hide where they were taking him.
Regardless, his location was being transmitted in real time by the Siberi satellite.
‘He’s heading to Hagerstown.’
He was sure to be searched and interrogated in that small city before being moved elsewhere.
He wanted to hear what President James had to say, but he decided to wait since he was kidnapped.
Fortunately, Arma, who was in the same situation, was following behind him.
The escort soldiers didn’t say a word to him, as if they had received orders, and thanks to that, Yu Ji-ha could rest comfortably.
After resting for 30 minutes, the car stopped.
He was imprisoned in the basement of a secluded house on the outskirts of Hagerstown.
‘Three floors underground... They prepared a lot.’
He had to go through several security doors and iron bars before he could be locked up in a cell.
Soon after, Arma was also locked up in the next room and they were searched at the same time.
There wasn’t much to find out from Yu Ji-ha and Arma didn’t reveal his identity either.
“Are you feeling frustrated? I’ll take off your blindfold.”
Along with someone’s voice, the blindfold was removed and he finally saw the room and a few people who were imprisoned.
They had patches and covered their faces, but there were clearly some Marines and a white man in a black suit looking at him.
Yu Ji-ha didn’t know who he was, but Arma showed him his identity through the biochip in his sight.
‘He is Joseph Clipper, a secret agent under the National Intelligence Agency. He is one of President James’s aides and supervised this operation.’
Of course, Yu Ji-ha had clashed with America many times before.
But this kind of act would surely undermine America’s credibility in the international community.
One reporter couldn’t stand it and shouted.
“Are you insane? How do you think the world will see us?”
The security guards tried to move, but President James stopped them with a relaxed attitude.
“Ah, it’s okay, let him be. The world will respect and admire us. Because justice has been done.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. He is a cruel and ruthless murderer and a violator of human rights. From now on, we will hold him accountable for his crimes. He must atone for humanity for the rest of his life.”
“...And you’ll extract his technology while he’s imprisoned.”
“He’s too valuable to kill. He may have a terrible personality, but he’s a smart person. He’ll understand his situation and cooperate with us.”
The reporter shook his head in disgust and another reporter got up and asked.
“This is Mike from CNN. Do you think the United Human Federation will stay quiet?”
“Good question. Of course they won’t. It’ll be fun to watch how the artificial intelligence goes berserk without its master.”
“But before that... we want to make it clear that we have him in our custody. What was the name of that artificial intelligence? Lucia? It must have the ability to judge how to treat its master’s master.”
“Even so, if the United Human Federation’s army moves, we can’t guarantee his life. Fortunately, they’ve been quiet so far.”
“...Wow.”
This was tantamount to declaring war.
Not only the artificial intelligence that lost its master, but also the United Human Federation would never sit still.
Of course, it would be hard for them to act immediately if America revealed that they had captured Yu Ji-ha.
President James read the atmosphere and took out a remote control with a smirk.
“There’s a TV over there. If I press this button, you’ll see the worst dictator since Hitler. Of course, he’s in custody, so don’t be afraid.”
He pressed the button and Yu Ji-ha’s face appeared.
He was sitting alone in a dark room on a chair.
His head was slightly bowed, but his features revealed that he was Yu Ji-ha.
“I wish he’d lift his head a little... Ah, perfect.”
Yu Ji-ha smiled at the monitor installed in the room.
“...You’ll pay a terrible price for this.”
“Before that, you’ll have to pay for what you’ve done for years. You’ll probably have to serve America and humanity for about 100 years.”
“I swear, if I get out of here on my own, I won’t let any of you off the hook. I’ve lied a lot, but I promise to keep that one for sure.”
Yu Ji-ha spoke calmly, and James threw off his mask of hypocrisy and smashed the TV with a stick.
“You want to threaten me, but you’re in prison! There’s no one to help you!”
“I’ve never needed anyone’s help. So look forward to what I’ll do.”
President James was angry at his relaxed attitude and turned off the TV.
And he spoke to the reporters as if he was blackmailing them.
“I swear to God, that murderer will never leave American soil alive. And by now, you guys from the United Human Federation must have known. If you want to save Yu Ji-ha, don’t move that damn drone, got it?”
His eyes were filled with madness as he spoke.
Anyway, this press conference succeeded in waking up the leaders of the world despite the time zone.
They all rubbed their eyes and watched the news, speechless at the absurdity.
—President Yu Ji-ha of the United Human Federation, kidnapped after visiting America for a summit.
—His assets are currently secured by the US Marine Corps under President James’s orders.
—President James announced that justice has been done. He plans to secure his technology for America and humanity for the next 100 years.
“...He’s completely insane.”
Someone’s words represented the feelings of the world leaders.
President Mikhailov of Russia declared a state of emergency as soon as he heard the news and protested vehemently to America.
“If you hurt a single hair of President Yu, be prepared! I’ll show you what a nuclear shower is!”
“Ah, there’s no need to get so excited. By the way, aren’t you being a bit too arrogant? You’re nothing but Yu Ji-ha’s subordinates. How dare you talk to me like that?”
“This damn Yankee talks too much...”
Click.
The phone must have been broken.
President James tried to hide his nervousness and joked with his aides.
“If I secure Russia after the United Human Federation, will I become the ruler of the earth? Ha ha, that would be fun.”
“...”
The aides looked at him with bored faces.
They thought he would stay quiet for his remaining year in office, but he caused a huge mess.
How was he going to fix this?
The phones in the White House were ringing and President James contacted his former colleagues with a smug voice.
And time passed and morning came.
The world was shocked by the news that came late.
Russia was in an uproar, from the people to the military and the government, ready to go to war.
The other countries were alarmed, but decided to wait and see the situation.
If America really captured Yu Ji-ha, there was no need to confront them.
Of course, as always, there were people who thought it was Yu Ji-ha’s own drama.
It was mostly the voice of the anti-Yu Ji-ha faction in America, including the Democratic Party.
They demanded that Yu Ji-ha be killed.
—Kill him. If you don’t kill him now, you’ll regret it.
—Just kill him and think later. Trial? Leave it to his favorite artificial intelligence. We have artificial intelligence too.
As such extreme opinions emerged, Bae Seongmin, the chief secretary, returned home with his agents.
He bowed his head weakly in front of the countless reporters and bureaucrats who crowded the Blue House.
“All I want to say is please wait.”
As he tried to go in, the reporters swarmed him like bees.
“Did you just watch as America kidnapped the president?”
“What will happen to us now?”
The voice of anxiety began to rise in the United Human Federation as well.
The artificial intelligence represented by Russia seemed to have no problem for now.
But if Yu Ji-ha remained kidnapped, it was inevitable that problems would arise.
There were demands to drop the new bomb on America.
—What are they doing? They kidnapped our president! Kill them all!
—Destroy America!
But there was no one to make a decision since the president was absent.
There was no one who had access to the artificial intelligence.
As the whole United Human Federation boiled over, some Americans mocked them.
—Look, that’s what happens when you give all your power to a dictator.
—Now that we’re brothers, we should share. Open up the megacities quickly.
—Let’s take a look at that battle cruiser first. I’ve been curious about what it does.
The battle cruiser that some Americans mentioned with a chuckle was anchored in the sky above Seoul.
As many Seoul citizens sighed and wondered why the ship wasn’t moving, a Pyongyang-class battle cruiser that had departed from Mars arrived near Earth.
Arma opened her eyes when she received the signal.
She gave a light tug on her arm and the ropes made of kevlar fiber snapped.