Empire of the Ring

Listening to Jongil’s sweet singing voice, Youngho and Katya clinked the glasses together. Jongil who was on the small stage of the café had been singing four songs in a row because Katya would not let him come down the stage, being charmed by his voice.

“Boss, I made my bed for you because I thought you’d come alone. I missed the opportunity.”

Katya made a blatant joke.

“That’s why I brought Jongil with me. I was afraid that you’d get all over me. I can handle Rena but I can’t handle you.”

“Ho ho… Thank you boss.”

“I’m glad to see you happy.”

“You’re right. I haven’t been this happy in a long time. It’s all because of you.”

“Stop flattering me, I can’t come if you keep doing that. Just treat me as like colleagues.”

“No, you have my respect forever. Please don’t feel uncomfortable since I’m doing it for myself.”

“Oh well.”

“And please come alone when you visit here. I’d very much like to be a woman but I’m not going to cross the line. Please come for Rena. She’s dying to see you all the time, will you?”

Youngho could not reject her request because Katya’s face was so desperate. Rena considered Youngho as her ‘papa’ because he was the first man who treated her kindly ever since she learned how to speak.

“I will.”

“…”

Thinking about her daughter, Katya choked up and could not continue talking for a while.

The cheerful sound clinking of glasses echoed in the café. Jongil who apologized for his misunderstanding with singing became friends with Katya through his friendliness.

“You know, there were plenty of clues for my misunderstanding. The little one called him ‘papa’ and your mother hugged him as if he was her son-in-law.”

“Hahaha…”

Jongil’s chattiness made Katya let down her guard. Enjoying the light mood, she looked happy as never before.

“Man! I should’ve met you earlier. Then I’d have to reconsider my marriage.”

Jongil must be drunk now since he started to blabber.

The next day, the two ate Korean instant spicy ramen sweating in their hotel room and headed to Katya’ retailer shop. Even though they drank the same amount of alcohol, Katya was sober as usual.

“Boss. Welcome! It’s been busy since the morning. We’ve got some orders piled-up.”

“Katya, don’t worry about us. We’ll just look around.”

Even though it was still before noon, Katya looked busy checking the supplies delivered by two small pickup trucks.

The reason why Katya called Youngho was that she planned to quit being a public official and start focusing wholly on the retailer business. Her resignation was already submitted when Youngho and Jongil arrived at South Ossetia. Her role in South Ossetia was a source of information but there was not much to know in the area since South Ossetia was a satellite state of Russia.

At the border of South Ossetia and Georgia, the Ossetian soldiers, who were citizens of Russia, had been deployed to guard the borderline. The relationship of the two countries were getting worse.

Katya, who regained peace in her life, wanted to quit being an agent. Knowing her situations well, Youngho decided to accept her resignation. She was a mother and had a family to support and protect. From the incident related to Chechen rebels, he thought that the job of an agent was not suitable for a mother like her.

Since South Ossetia was a small country, he could ask information about it from Sergey because the South Russian mafias still frequently visited the country since it was their job to sell back the furs received as payments for daily necessities.

***

After their job in South Ossetia was done, Youngho and Jongil went to Moscow.

Youngho’s phone, which had been turned off during his trip, showed that he had bunch of missed calls. When he called back to the number, someone answered the phone immediately. Basayev of the Black Widows spoke in his deep voice.

“Mr. Lee. It’s Basayev. I wanted to talk to you for the last time.”

His mention of ‘for the last time’ distressed Youngho.

“Where are you now? I’m in Moscow. Can we meet?”

“That’s impossible. We just finished our preparation and we’re on the move. I’m on a train right now.”

“I searched all over the borderline to find you. What’s going on now…?”

The signal was weak and the connection was interrupted frequently.

“We’re going to give a last warning to Russia. We’ll stun the whole world. I can’t tell you about it anymore.”

His voice was shaking. He sounded extremely insecure.

“The reason I called you is to say thank you for consoling the souls of my deceased comrades.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about… Hello…? Hello?”

The call about to disconnect was reconnected again.

“The rumor had spread widely around the border. A whole Russian camp of border securities were devastated by a single detached unit. I wanted to thank you for avenging us and…”

“Hello. Hello?”

Because of the poor connection on the running train, Youngho was cut off and he could never get back the signal again.

“Was that Basayev? I’m glad he’s still alive. What did he say?”

“He said he’s going to warn Russia for the last time. I don’t know what he’s saying though.”

“You know, isn’t what they’d do obvious? Terror attack. I hope they don’t hold people as hostages.”

Hearing Jongil’s passing word ‘terror’ made Youngho froze. It would not be little attack since Basayev said it was the last warning. They would probably destroy important government building or do something that would damage Russia permanently.

“Jongil do you have any ideas to what they’re going to do? He said he’s going to make the world shocked.”

“How would I know? I’m not a fortune teller. Something to shock the world… Maybe they are attacking an airport? No, the security is too strict. Wait. Are they thinking about bombing the oil pipeline in Chechnya?”

“…”

“Dude, don’t just blink. Think! See? If the oil pipeline that goes to Russia was destroyed, the oil prices around the globe will shift. Don’t you think?”

Jongil’s guess was rational. There was a pipeline that passed through Chechnya, if it was exploded it would have a worldwide impact. The Black Widows was an extreme terrorist group that did not fear death, especially when their group is already fallen and they were left hopeless.

***

Youngho hurriedly called Michael.

He told him the whole conversation he just had with Basayev who was now the leader of the Black Widows. Michael was startled too.

Even though the CIA was at information war with Russia since it was a hostile country, if the oil price would change, the Western world will as well. He told Youngho to stand by until he received any orders from the headquarters.

Youngho hinted the information to Yaniv subtly and said that he should reinforce the security around pipelines against any terror attacks in the future, since Yaniv was the one who could directly contact President Putin. He convinced Yaniv to call the president since he heard the information from a reliable source. Youngho was desperate since he could prevent the bombing attack if they acted now. He was glad that Basayev gave him a hint.

Michael called him back. He said that the US government had decided that it was an emergency situation and they contacted the Russian government officially letting them know about the possible terrorist attack. Michael wanted Youngho to stay in Russia for a while. Since Youngho had nothing to do in Russia, he had an idea.

Youngho shared his idea with Jongil, to show Karajan and the Fatima siblings around Moscow. Of course, Jongil was in it since Karajan had been complaining lately. He thought that it was a great time to relieve her stress. It was only a two-hour flight from Baku to Moscow. Since the distance was close, it was not a major decision to travel to Moscow. One of the reasons to call Karajan was because she spoke Russian.

***

The arrival lobby of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport was crowded. Finding Youngho, Zeynep ran up to him and gave him a hug, Szechenyi and Fatima came out with their carry-ons smiling. Karajan walked out carefully holding her belly which was not that big at all yet and she did not forget to side-glance Jongil. Youngho could read what she was saying already with her eyes; ‘why are you not helping me to walk already?!’

“Oppa, you could just come back to Baku. Why did you call all of us? Well, we were excited to see Moscow though.”

Fatima’s face lightly smiling was beautiful that Youngho wanted to hug her.

“I need to stay in Moscow for work for a while. Since we have nothing to do here, we just thought it would be nice to have you all to look around here. Also, since Karajan is under a lot of stress, I thought she could use some trip.”

“You are certainly thoughtful, boss! You’re the only one who cares about me. Jongil just wanted to drink here, right?”

“Don’t say that Karajan. It was Jongil’s idea to call you, not me.”

“That can’t be true.”

On one hand she was saying that but on the other hand, she was patting Jongil’s back, feeling better.

It was snowing as they left the airport.

Since the weather was too cold, the snow was powdery. Fatima and Zeynep were wearing hats, scarves, and arm and leg warmers made of fox fur but Karajan looked a little cold. Youngho gave Jongil a look to get back inside because he had spotted a fur shop in the airport. Jongil, being fast-witted, led Karajan into the fur shop in the airport.

Meanwhile, the siblings told where they wanted to visit in Moscow. It was only a two-hour long flight but they had searched the internet and found tourist attractions in Moscow.

Fatima stood next Youngho closely. She had great scent coming out from her and Youngho was losing his senses.

‘Man, I don’t know what she ate but she doesn’t have a bad breath. She smells sweet.’

Aged only 22, it would be weird if she smelled bad, she never smoked or drank wildly either. A few moments later, Karajan showed up with a satisfied look. She was covered in fur. Fatima and Zeynep complimented her look and Jongil looked proud. He looked at Youngho and winked. Both parties shared a look behind Karajan.

They reserved a van from the airport with a driver for the next few days. Since it was huge, it had an advantage for a large group with many loads. Also, they did not have to deal with lousy taxi drivers. They drove the van to Ritz-Carlton Hotel near Red Square through snowy roads. Karajan exchanged some conversations with the chatty driver and she said that the driver would give them a tour the next day. Since it was just too cold to walk outside in Moscow, they agreed on having a tour with the van.

They stayed at the hotel for the rest of the day in a relaxed manner. Even though his body was resting at a hotel, Youngho felt uneasy since people would be fighting over the oil pipeline in such cold weather. It seemed so selfish to rest carelessly. Even though it was a waste, life was like this. There was nothing he could do for the rebels at this point. He felt sorry for the Black Widows that would soon disappear in flames. He just hoped that he would be able to help Chechens someday. Heavy-hearted, he sipped on his vodka and leaned against the window in his room to look outside. Not a single person could be found in Red Square on this snowy night.