65
Hand Him Over
The meeting with Canaris was in the afternoon, and we had a hearty meal before getting ready and getting into the cars. Sebastian and I got into the central limousine, while Kouri and Nakaban each got into the SUVs in front and behind. Since the Canaris bastards were notorious, I armed myself. Sebastian also wore a bulletproof vest under his shirt.
As we entered what Sebastian called our newlywed (or maybe engagement) home, we saw that the Canaris guys had arrived first. Three men and one woman were lined up on both sides, and the person in the center was facing the window with his back to us. When he heard us coming in, he turned his head.
Holy shit.
Seeing that face, I couldn’t help but swear and laugh. Is this how they’re playing it?
“You and I really have bad karma.”
It was Otto Layer. Canaris had sent Otto Layer as their representative. Right. He was an unknown Canaris figure. Probably one of Canaris’s core executives… or not. Layer could work with fanatics like Canaris, but he couldn’t become one. To become a fanatic, you need something like a pure heart, which Layer could never have even if he died and came back to life.
As expected, Sebastian’s face hardened.
“I said I couldn’t talk to a pretty face, and now they send out a spy nobody.”
“With so many security bureau employees here, do you really expect to meet the real deal? You have no shame.”
Layer bared his teeth fiercely.
“Have you decided to quit the security bureau?”
As he said, with so many security bureau employees here, why was he making such a grand entrance? This meant he was going to quit the security bureau, and it also meant he could no longer walk on the streets in broad daylight. Our director isn’t merciful enough to let an employee who screwed him over live.
Layer flinched at my words. Ah. Looks like he didn’t want to quit.
“I’ll handle my own business.”
“Handle it, my ass.”
Just being here means it’s over.
I couldn’t know Layer’s situation, but I guessed that the director might have fired Layer over last night’s incident. Once you’re pushed out of public office due to such a scandal, you can’t set foot in public service again. There might be quite a few companies he could go to with his security bureau background, but Layer probably wanted more than that. Maybe he was standing here in a fit of anger after being fired.
He was intelligent but always strangely emotional and impulsive. Being a man with no patience whatsoever, he might have stormed out if he felt there was no future. But it was quick. Either he was under a lot of mental pressure or…
“I heard you met the mad dog of the Central Prosecutor’s Office yesterday?”
In any group, not just anyone is called a mad dog. It requires toxic lunacy, resilience that won’t die no matter how much you’re beaten, tenacity that won’t let go once it bites, and a sense of surprise that delivers something bigger just when people think, ‘Yeah, I expected this much.’ In the security bureau, the person who gets the closest to being called a mad dog is… ah, it seems to be Nina Volkari. Right, she’s the one with the talent to drop something bigger just when you think you’ve gotten used to her, that you won’t be surprised no matter what she does. Wow, could I have ever imagined she’d be in a romantic relationship with that director?
Anyway, in terms of the security bureau, it’s like dating Nina Volkari and then trying to tie her up, imprison, rape, and assault her, but stopping at tying and imprisoning due to being drunk. Ha, thinking about it this way, I suddenly understand why Layer might have bolted from the security bureau. What would Volkari do to a man who did such a thing to her? I don’t know the exact answer, but one thing is certain. She wouldn’t kill him gently.
Maybe Layer didn’t storm out, but fled in a hurry like a mouse with its tail on fire.
While I was assessing Layer’s situation, Sebastian sat down in his seat.
“The level of the representative is subpar, but we can’t help it. I’ll let it slide this once, so let’s talk.”
Huh?
This was unexpected. Sebastian’s attitude was puzzling. I thought he would storm out at this ridiculous act, but he seemed ready to proceed with the meeting. I glanced at Kouri, but his expression remained unchanged. It was hard to tell from his face whether he knew why Sebastian was acting this way or not.
While Kouri and I stood behind Sebastian’s chair, Nakaban came forward. He took a seat next to Sebastian and pulled out a tablet and some documents. Meanwhile, Sebastian’s other two bodyguards stood behind him.
Kouri and I exchanged glances. Kouri looked forward, and I nodded to show I understood before looking back. Then Kouri turned his gaze from me back to the front. With this, we completed another exchange of opinions. If a problem arises, I would move Sebastian to the rear while Kouri buys time.
During this time, someone who appeared to be the butler of this house entered. Surprisingly, it was a woman. Two men followed behind her. The woman brewed tea while the two men set teacups on the table. The cups were for the negotiating parties, namely Layer, Sebastian, and Nakaban. It was natural, as everyone else was security personnel.
More than that, my attention was drawn to the two men. They both had the physical characteristics that the security bureau favors. Height between 175cm and 180cm, seemingly standard weight, unremarkable appearance. Field agents like us can stand out a bit. Physical capabilities are more important for us. But for operation agents, being inconspicuous is one of the hiring conditions. According to Lee, they’re even advised against building muscles or being too stylish.
If they’re assigned here, they must be from Department 2, right?
Is the woman Sebastian’s employee, or is she also from Department 2?
Layer seemed to be thinking the same thing I was, as he stared intently at the faces of the men bringing the tea. As if looking again and again would help him remember who they were.
Sebastian spoke.
“We have quite a lot to talk about, but it’s become a situation where it’s difficult for us to communicate.”
We can’t talk because Layer came out, and they can’t because they know the security bureau set this up. I don’t understand why Sebastian cooperated with the security bureau like this in the first place. There was a high chance of it being exposed like this.
“But I think the fact that this meeting took place is meaningful enough, so let’s stop testing each other now. Both sides, no more tricks.”
The fact that this meeting took place is meaningful enough? Does he mean it’s just a waste of time to keep testing each other? His words were ambiguous. Nakaban took out some documents and passed them to Sebastian, but he shook his head.
“Put them in an envelope.”
I don’t understand the meaning of this. Why ask for them to be put in an envelope when he’s going to look at them anyway?
Anyway, Nakaban did as Sebastian said and put the documents in an envelope before passing it to Sebastian. He lightly wrote his name and phone number on the envelope, then flipped it over and pushed it towards Layer. Layer glanced down at the blank side of the envelope.
Sebastian took a sip of tea, then smiled gently.
“And I’ll add one more condition that’s not in those documents.”
Layer glared at Sebastian while bringing his teacup to his lips. Sebastian waited until Layer put down his cup before continuing.
“Hand over Otto Layer. By March 14th.”
Sparks flew from Layer’s eyes. I lightly rolled my right foot on the floor once. I didn’t know what this bastard might do to Sebastian in his anger. Of course, Sebastian would be fine, but I didn’t want to see my fiancé hurt even a hair by such a bastard.
“What the fuck kind of bullshit,”
“If you hand him over alive, I’ll give you 50 million Leed for it. In cash, of course.”
“You son of a bitch,”
Layer stood up abruptly. He growled as if he was about to threaten Sebastian right away, but I was glaring at him from behind. If there seemed to be even the slightest problem, I was ready to whisk Sebastian away and break Layer’s neck. Those Canaris bodyguard bastards? I can handle them easily. What about dealing with the Canaris guys afterward? Not my problem, fuck it. The white sparrow is safe with Saskia Riegel, and all my people who could be taken hostage are safe. Besides, all my team members are alive, right? Since I was planning to quit the security bureau anyway, I wouldn’t have to deal with the Canaris bastards anymore. Once I catch Otto Layer, what comes next is not my concern. Of course, it’s annoying that they tried to bury me through Layer, but we were always trying to screw each other over when given the chance, so it wasn’t something worth taking revenge for.
Ah, come to think of it, that’s really true. If I just snap Layer’s neck here, my business is done, right? Thinking about it that way made my hands twitch, but I held back in the end.
For some reason, Sebastian wanted to keep this going even though Michael Riegel’s charges of treason had been resolved. If he had some plan, I didn’t want to ruin it. He’s a good person. So I wanted to believe that what he was trying to do was also right. No, I already believed that.
If I had to be raised as a killing machine and live that way, if I had to be someone’s weapon, I wanted to be the weapon of someone like Sebastian. It’s a good thing to always be able to believe that you’re being used for the right cause.
While I was thinking this, Layer still looked like he wanted to grab Sebastian and kill him right away. But he had only stood up from the table and couldn’t do anything more than that.
Somehow, I felt like he was watching for something.
Only then did I scan Layer’s security personnel again. It was a bit too many people to be guarding just Layer. If Layer wasn’t a core executive of Canaris, this security detail was excessive. This might be surveillance personnel disguised as security.
Is that really the case?
As I tried to confirm once more, Sebastian stood up from his seat.
“Make sure you convey this well, Section Chief Layer. Tell them ’50 million Leed if they hand over ‘Otto Layer’.’ Oh, and add that it’s an extra 5 million Leed per day if they hand him over earlier than the 14th.”
There was still a week left until White Day, which was also the day of my engagement to Sebastian. In other words, if they handed him over today, they could receive 85 million Leed. That amount of money was close to a million dollars in US currency. If they could receive that much cash for handing over one person? The Canaris bastards wouldn’t hesitate.
Sebastian stood up as if the conversation was over. As always, Nakaban gathered his things more diligently than a squirrel collecting acorns and held them in both hands.
As he turned his back and left the room, I also turned around. As I turned, I caught Layer’s eyes. His eyes were filled with terror. I felt like I understood what Sebastian meant by “the meaning of this meeting taking place.”
