Empire of the Ring

Youngho could not get a hold of Edward in Panama.

Worried about him, he asked Michael from the European chapter if he could find out what was going on in Panama. Since Michael knew the two were close, he comforted Youngho.

The next day, Youngho received Michael’s call.

“Lee, Edward has been missing for days. My contact person found that there were signs of forced entry in his room and no one had seen him for days. I’ll look into this for more.”

Youngho was worried that something might have gone wrong between the rebels and Edward. Since it was himself that provided weapons to them, he felt guilty. He could not tell that to Michael.

It was certain that something had happened to Edward but he was too far away that he could not search for him by himself. Not being able to sit around and wait for other agents in Panama to investigate upon the case, he finally requested to Michael to send him there to search for Edward.

***

Youngho was on an airplane to Panama with Jongil sitting next to him.

He wanted to go alone but Michael insisted to take a back-up agent, so Jongil accompanied him for this trip.

Finding out the fact that Youngho planned to go alone, Jongil gave him an earful about how can he not take him to somewhere full of exotic beauties.

Before leaving, Jongil even went on shopping to buy clothes and supplies that matched the hot climate of Panama and Colombia as if he was going on a vacation. Even on the plane, he had sunglasses on his head and showed off his fashion sense. Now that he was bored from chatting with a pretty flight attendant, he was making comments about agents of these days.

“This is what happens when you put a desk agent in charge of a region. If someone trained like us was in charge, we’d have welcomed the abductors and finished them by ourselves.”

“Not many people like us become agents these days. They’re picked as agents if they can shoot well.”

“Look at Philip in Georgia. He’s been training and now his eyes are different. He realized that he should get in shape only after he was almost dead. Edward is not like him, he’s a weakling. It’s just a mystery how he became an agent.”

“Hah… That’s why I’m worried. What on earth are other agents of Central and South America doing? Are they only looking at beautiful women’s behinds?”

“Man, are you being sarcastic?”

“Dude, if you do anything stupid, I’ll video record you and show that to Karajan.”

***

It was pouring out as if there was a huge hole in the sky. The raindrops were so heavy that it was almost painful as they fell on his bare skin. The humidity was high and the breeze from the electric fan was not even cool.

It was yesterday that the two came to an old hotel near the Colombian border. The cheap hotel did not even have air conditioning or comforters. A mosquito net, mattresses, and pillows were the only supplies in the room.

Youngho tossed and turned his body due to the stickiness and he was only able to get back to sleep after taking a shower.

The two ate a sandwich for a quick breakfast and then went on to drive the old, noisy Toyota that they had rented from the airport on a muddy road. Since they brought an interpreter guide with them in the car, the atmosphere was even more suffocating.

“Turn on the air conditioner. My sweats are running down my back. Man, what did I follow you for?”

“I can’t turn it on. I’m afraid it’s going to shut off the engine. Just hang on a little longer!”

Let alone watching the beautiful ladies, Jongil kept on complaining as all sorts of bugs bothered him.

Baku’s windy and dry weather was like heaven’s weather compared to this. Because of its dryness, the heat was tolerable if you went under a shade in the summer but the weather here was just the worst for them.

They were driving on the rough mountainous region that was two thousand meters high above sea level on the Eastern side of the Andes Mountains. Youngho did not understand why the rebels were risking their lives to win this land that had only humid and rough mountainous regions. Even he, who was crazy for lands, would reject the lands in here even if they were given for free.

As they went up on the slippery mountains road, the Indian’s houses made of woven leaves appeared. They felt better since it became cooler as they went up the mountain.

Surrounded by jungles, the town was located in a little flat field where they could see the sky. It was relieving. Looking down the mountain, they saw heavy and dark clouds that were coming from a distance. It seemed that the rain will not stop any time soon. It was rather refreshing to stand in the pouring rain.

The town people started to come out one by one to see who had visited them. Since it was a remote region, they rarely had guests. As the local guide spoke to them in Spanish, they pointed their fingers at the top of the mountain. It looked like that they had to go up even higher to find the rebels’ hideout.

Youngho was scared to go up on the cliffs.

Although Jongil insisted on running instead of driving, it looked like the leather shoes would not be of help in the muddy roads due to the rain. Not to mention, they needed to bring the interpreter if they wanted to speak to the rebels and ask about Edward’s whereabouts.

***

They chose to drive up the mountain since they did not want to spend the night in one of the houses made with leaves. However, they had to abandon their car and walk from the point of a landslide. It was already getting dark.

They could finally reach the guard post of the rebels’ after they had walked up for about thirty minutes only relying on their flashlights.

The rebels did not seem to display vigilance towards the group but led them to their leaders’ barracks.

Youngho revealed his identity as a CIA’s agent and they welcomed them as their comrades. Since the United States had been helping the rebels, they did not show any hostility to the group.

Youngho talked with Fernandez, the commander of the rebels. He had a great-looking mustache.

“Mr. Fernandez, Edward is missing. I was wondering if the Colombian intelligence agency is involved in this.”

“I’d say they must be the one to blame. Edward has been an ally to us and the government must have been watching him for that. He was rumored to be involved in our arms deal and the government wouldn’t have let this go. Why didn’t you contact us earlier?”

Youngho blamed the US CIA agents based in Central and Southern America. They could have found out about Edward’s whereabouts easily if they paid a little attention but they would have no idea that Edward was related to the rebels. Since Youngho was involved in the arms deal, he had come to find the rebels first.

According to Fernandez, all of Edward’s routines and connections would have been under the government’s watch.

“Do you have any connections with Colombian agents?”

“I don’t deal with those disloyal jerks because they are double agents. They shouldn’t be called agents since they’re only after money. They’re not reliable.”

“Do you know any suspicious person?”

“There is a viperous guy named Tevez. I heard that he sells information here and there. You might be able to find out about Edward if you interrogate him.”

“Where can I find him?”

“You need to go to Bogota. Once you get there…”

***

In Bogota’s downtown, two Asians in traveler’s attires were sitting down at an open-air café.

It was Lee Youngho and Park Jongil.

“This place must have a higher altitude than Armenia or Nagorno-Karabakh. Can an equatorial region be this chilly?”

Jongil embraced himself.

“I like it better. It’s 2,500 meters high above sea level, it’s supposed to be cool.”

“This is cool for you? It’s cold.”

“I told you to take long sleeves with you, and you treated me like I’m crazy. Man, I don’t feel bad for you. Just get a jacket in the clothing store over there. I’m going to wait for the guide here.”

“I didn’t want to buy clothes there since the lady is not good looking but it’s too cold for that.”

Jongil grumbled as he slowly walked toward the store.

He was not having fun since he did not find many beauties during the trip and the weather was just horrible for him.

Tevez was a Colombian agent who had been in the intelligence agency for twenty years. He was a greedy man who did not hesitate to disloyal any group he belonged to for money. He was known to do many dirty businesses that a mafia would do, such as private loaning and drug dealing beside selling information. He owned a decent three-story building in Bogota’s downtown.

The two had been spying on him for the past three days. It was kind of fun for Youngho since he could see many new places following him around.

Tevez was living a relaxing double life. Although he was a married man, he had a mistress for whom he got a place to live. Since the mistress was young, Jongil approached her and succeeded on luring her out.

The mistress in her early twenties was Risaralda. She was a student at the National University of Colombia, majoring in computer science. With Tevez’ money, she was living a luxurious life.

Pretending to ask for directions near the open-air café, Jongil had approached Risaralda, who stayed on the third floor of an apartment building behind Bolivar Square and began to flirt with her. His womanizing skills were finally put to good use.

He showed off the skills that Youngho would never be able to practice. He made her eyes turn heart-shaped within an hour and displayed boldness to go to her apartment for lunch.

“I knew you were an outstanding womanizer but isn’t it too much to go to her apartment alone?”

“I had to find out when Tevez usually shows up and how the structure of her apartment so we can sneak in there tonight. You told me to lure her out. Why are you blaming me?”

“Crazy. Did you feel happy about making moves to someone else’s girlfriend?”

“Making moves? I didn’t do a thing in that apartment. You think things automatically happen just because a man and woman are left alone? Dude, you have a long way to go.”

“Why does even that young, normal-looking girl like a forty-year-old, pot-bellied man?”

“She lied that she was single but there were man’s clothes in her closet. She came here for college from a small beach town on the Pacific. I think she’s taking advantage of Tevez to make money for her younger siblings and to support her parents. She’s planning on going to the states after graduation. I’d say Tevez won’t be happy about that.”

“Why did she take you in when Tevez can come at any time?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it means this is the day when he doesn’t visit her. If I didn’t say that you were waiting for me, we would’ve gone all the way. Man, I do crazy things now.”

“Dude. You liked it.”

“Shut up. I need to charge this to Edward later.”

Although he blamed Edward for it, he was enjoying the situation for sure.

‘Man, I left a cat in charge of the fish shop. How do I see Karajan’s face when this is over?’