TCWGRF 12

“Two personnel absent for personal reasons, one who tried to infiltrate the security office on the seventh floor, and one who tried to find the basement entrance on the first floor.”

Naturally, there were people Samuel had planted in the patrol force beforehand. Pairing them up openly would raise suspicion, so he selected those from among the police officers who were skilled enough at acting and positioned them to be able to monitor from a suitable distance.

“And the remaining one is….”

“That’s enough. I saw him myself.”

A faint annoyance creased Samuel’s brow as he cut off the ongoing report. As expected, the rebel spies had moved as soon as the opportunity arose, but it had not met the chief commissioner of public security’s expectations.

The security office on the seventh floor was a place where information about the gates installed in each district was stored, so it held quite a few secrets that rebels might be interested in.

However, aiming for the security office in the current situation was a futile act. With all the major city informants caught, even if they found out the password that changed daily, they would not be able to use it.

In contrast, the one who tried to find the way to the basement was even commendable, but it was pessimistic in that he was caught so easily. It was as if he wanted to get caught, deliberately loitering suspiciously nearby.

Interrogation might yield a piece or two of information, but most of it was likely to be a waste of time.

“What did you do with the ones who were discovered?”

“Ah, that, that is….”

At Samuel’s question, the officer playing the role of a patrol member broke into a cold sweat and could not bring himself to speak. Then Sarah, who was waiting by his side, stepped forward and answered instead.

“Both died on the spot.”

“Why.”

It was a simple word questioning the reason, but due to the gruesomeness that assailed her entire body, Sarah had to swallow the saliva that had pooled in her mouth before she could continue.

“…They had hidden poison beforehand and swallowed it the moment they were discovered. They seemed to know that we would come to capture them.”

“Ahaha. How interesting.”

The ‘Head’ of the rebels, who had been rooted in the city for over several decades, seemed to be a more cautious type than expected. Either that, or he enjoyed playing nasty pranks using lives.

Even with two of the most important figures in the city brought together, instead of attacking the annex or threatening them directly, he ended it by just stirring things up a bit inside the Public Security Bureau’s main building.

The ‘Head’ was not a simple or easygoing type like the leader of the outside. Since this side threw the bait, that side also pretended to bite the bait.

Two of them, at that. No. Was it three?

“How should we handle the one on the third floor?”

“Aah.”

In this operation, the new chief commissioner of public security personally visited the place he believed to be a variable.

The black-haired young man whose intentions had been particularly difficult to discern since the selection of the patrol. For several days, Samuel’s gaze had been fixed on him.

The way he awkwardly followed the footsteps of others, barely managing to stand at the end, the hair sticking out from between his cap, the tension he had not quite managed to erase beneath it.

He was anxious to show that he came from the outside, yet he lacked the characteristic sharpness of a trained rebel. Despite that, his eyes held a simultaneous mix of desperation, anxiety, and a troubled hidden agenda.

So, he was certain that he would make a move.

It could be that he was trying to cause confusion with advanced acting skills, but he was a type that had not been seen before. In addition, it was also true that a mix of tension and excitement arose at the appearance of a person whose reason for being infiltrated by the rebels was not even guessable.

The place such an opponent entered after much hesitation was the ‘records archive’ on the third floor. It was a space where, even if one searched with a fine-toothed comb, there was nothing confidential or helpful to the rebels.

What on earth was he trying to check? Was he curious about the faces of the past chief commissioners of public security? Was he curious about the old appearance of the city that everyone had forgotten?

Perhaps he was just a little lamb who had simply lost his way and mistaken his destination. So, he intended to generously give him a new option.

For example, the opportunity to kill the chief commissioner of public security. And timed to his inauguration ceremony to make it more memorable.

However, even with a defenseless enemy in front of him, the young man just trembled under the desk, afraid of being discovered, and did not seem to have a concrete plan. Of course, the moment he showed even the slightest hint of murderous intent, he would have been kicked in the abdomen with a shoe and thrown straight into the basement.

If anything, the rat under the desk did not even seem to know who the person in front of him was.

A white uniform, blond hair, and the power to move freely within the Public Security Bureau at that hour. A rebel who had received at least minimal training to infiltrate this place, no, at least someone with a thinking brain, would have no reason not to recognize Samuel.

“It seems he was looking for something else.”

“Pardon?”

…But what was it? What was he trying to find?

Smirk. Samuel, who was reflecting on the young man he had met on the third floor, smiled lightly and gave an order to his subordinates.

“There’s no rush.”

“Then….”

“Just watch him for now.”

“Understo—?”

Just as those who had come to report on the events of the previous night finished their business and were about to leave, a loud commotion was heard from outside the chief commissioner’s office.

It was just when dawn was breaking, a time when the surroundings were beginning to be tinged with yellow from the horizon. Who would dare to come and cause a disturbance for the chief commissioner of public security?

“You can’t go in like that…!”

Leaving behind the urgent voice of Adjutant Walter, who was guarding the outside, hurried footsteps rushed to the front of the door. Bang! The door to the chief commissioner’s office, a place where unpermitted individuals could not enter rashly, was opened with laughable ease.

“You son of a bitch!”

Following the resounding curse, smack, the friction sound of a refreshing slap on the cheek echoed all the way to the corridor. The one who was hit was Samuel; the unannounced intruder was his adoptive father, Lot.

Lot’s build was no less than that of a robust young man. In his younger days, he had also been in charge of torturing rebels here, so even though he was over sixty, it was not a difficult task to leave a bright red scratch on another person’s face.

Samuel felt a sharp, cutting pain, as if a cold winter wind had whipped past the back of his ear. Beeep, tinnitus dug and churned inside his ear, but this was a familiar pain to him, so instead of his face contorting, the corners of his mouth twitched and one cheekbone rose upwards.

Neither those remaining inside the room, nor the officers who had followed him closely, nor anyone in the entire Public Security Bureau had the authority to stop Lot, who was a Party executive.

Everyone, including the chief commissioner of public security, just stood frozen in place, bowed their waists respectfully, and silently watched to see when the guest would raise his hand.

An eerie silence intertwined with panting breaths. Lot, feeling the gazes that surrounded him like a net, shouted.

“Everyone, get out!”

The latecomer, the unwelcome guest, threw a fit and tried to chase away the audience who had arrived first, but no one budged.

“……It’s fine, everyone can leave now.”

Only after their superior’s order was given did they move their feet. The loyalty of such subordinates was more than enough to further displease Lot.

“Do you think you’ve become something just because you’re sitting in this position?”

“Of course not.”

As Samuel wiped his burst lip with his middle finger, red blood stained his white glove. A few strands of his perfectly fixed bangs fell over his eyebrows, doubling his characteristic provocative impression.

“…I thought it was suspicious from the start when you stubbornly insisted on having an inauguration ceremony, for someone of your station. Using the Party executives as bait?”

Even before he asked, the reason for his rampage since early morning came spilling out of his opponent’s mouth.

“You must be crazy, how dare you!”

It took about six hours for Samuel’s adoptive father to notice what had happened overnight and come storming in. It was unlikely he realized it on his own, so someone from the inside must have tipped him off.

“There were no problems with the inauguration ceremony.”

“What would you have done if there had been a spy among the officers! What if there had been an assassination, or a terrorist attack!”

“On the contrary, doesn’t yesterday’s event prove that the Public Security Bureau is clean, and that I am doing my job well?”

Compared to Lot, who could not contain his anger and stamped his feet, Samuel was calm throughout and even wore a faint smile. As if nothing in the world could drag him into a swamp of anxiety.

“What?”

“If there were rebel spies inside like during the previous chief commissioner’s time, they would not have missed an opportunity like this. Several heads would have already rolled.”

It was Lot who had recommended the incompetent former chief commissioner of public security to that position because they were personally close, and while that man who could not even fend for himself sat in the chief commissioner’s chair, the Public Security Bureau became a hotbed for rebels. Of course, no one knew that until Samuel stepped in.

“Ngh…!”

At Samuel’s words, which showed no respect for his adoptive father, Lot’s face turned red and then blue, but he barely suppressed his surging anger. It was because the eyes of the subordinates, glistening with loyalty to their superior, came to mind.

Because of this, his fist was clenched so tightly that nail marks were left deeply on his palm, and his arm trembled, but his hand did not fly out rashly as it had before.

“You orchestrated such a thing just to show off your achievements?”

Tsk. How foolish.

Samuel’s adoptive father was a person who knew one thing but not two. He was only capable of trembling in fear of losing the back seat in the capitol that he had barely obtained by a fluke, and did not possess the vision to see the forest.

“…If you wait just a little, the rebels within the city will reveal their identities on their own. We will be able to root them out cleanly then, so why don’t you put your worries aside and leisurely enjoy some free time?”

“You, you bastard…!”

At the words that mocked Lot’s current state of having nothing but a back seat in the capitol without a decent position, smack, Lot could not hold back again and slapped his hand across Samuel’s face.

A thick, foreign mark was engraved on the perfectly sculpted face. Blood flowing from his completely burst lip slid down his sharp jawline.

“…Alright then. I will watch and see if you can indeed root them out. If you fail to keep your promise, there will be no chance of me stepping in to save you.”

Had he ever taken his side before? Could he even save him if he did step in?

At Lot’s boldness, who was all bluff and did not even know his own place, a sneer filled with contempt touched Samuel’s lips.

Lot turned on his heel without even saying he was leaving and left the office.

Left alone, Samuel felt a long-forgotten desire to hear the precarious and raw cries of those crushed beneath his feet, and he slowly licked his burst lip with his tongue.