Chapter 4 - Blood in the SnowThe glass of the front double doors shattered inward in a shower of diamond-like fragments.
Two men in black tactical gear vaulted through the frame, their HK416 rifles raised, scanning the darkened foyer with night-vision scopes. They moved like shadows, conditioned for wetwork and silent entry.
They didn't expect a man in a wheelchair to be waiting behind the marble pillar.
Bang.
The heavy .45 caliber round caught the lead mercenary in the chest plate, lifting him off his feet and slamming him against the carved mahogany coat rack. Before the second operative could pivot his barrel toward the sound, Ryu Dong-hyun dropped from the second-floor balcony, his boots landing squarely on the man's shoulders, driving him hard into the volcanic stone floor with a sickening crunch.
"Clear!" Ryu shouted, sweeping his flashlight across the foyer.
"Not clear," Tae-jin said, wheeling himself forward. "That was just the advance team. The ones running the thermal drones are still outside."
He rolled toward the security monitors. The courtyard was lit by the burning wreckage of the gatehouse. Through the swirling snow, six more figures were advancing toward the main residence, carrying heavy cutting torches and breaching charges.
"They want the house burned," Tae-jin muttered. "They want the microfilm destroyed before dawn so the cabinet ministers can walk into the election without a shadow."
"We can't hold the foyer against six armed professionals with heavy breaching gear," Ryu said, reloading his magazine. "We need to fall back to the sub-level tunnels."
"No," Tae-jin said, his gray eyes locking onto the monitor. He pointed a scarred finger at the center screen. "Look at the leader. The one standing by the fountain."
Ryu squinted. "Choi Min-hyuk. Former NIS tactical commander. Discharged five years ago after an internal corruption scandal. He’s working for the ruling party's campaign manager now."
"Choi," Tae-jin whispered. A dark, dangerous grin spread across his face—the same smile he had worn the night he took over the Black Dragon Syndicate from a dying boss in a back alley. "He thinks I'm trapped in this chair. He thinks I'm an old man waiting for his heart to stop."
Tae-jin looked back at Maya, who was standing safely behind the heavy stone pillar with Ryu.
"Maya," Tae-jin said. "Do you trust me?"
The little girl nodded slowly. "Grandma said you were the most dangerous man in Seoul. She said that's why she fell in love with you before you became a monster."
May you like
Tae-jin let out a short, sharp bark of laughter—a sound filled with twenty years of pain, salt, and iron.
"Tell Ryu to open the gas lines to the old conservatory," Tae-jin ordered, spinning his chair around toward the front doors. "Let's invite Mr. Choi inside for a drink."
