Sooho

“Seeing from your expression, you must have failed.”

“She probably won’t attack first… but be ready.”

“Did Star Fox turn into an enemy?”

Logan didn’t answer, but Richard understood. He knew that he couldn’t convince Caroline. Logan changed the subject.

“We’re going to look for Christina McQueen.”

“Before her, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you hear that, Kosi?”

Richard talked to the communication port that was still open. On the screen was Kosino’s face.

I can’t believe you’re shooting guns on your vacation… Why don’t you just date and marry guns, you idiots?

Kosino was showering them with insults, but she was already moving forward with the cyber support team.

Two hours.

“One hour.”

Are you trying to copy our boss? 90 minutes. That’s final. We still need time for verification.

“90 minutes. Deal.”

You idiots! Hacking isn’t an easy task, you…

Kosino’s angry face disappeared from the screen thanks to Greg who pulled the cord. He would probably be scolded again later, but he was just happy to have some peace and quiet now. Logan gave Greg a thumbs up.

Since they rented out the whole floor of the hotel, they only ran into familiar faces in the halls. Logan headed to the suite room where his family was. Thanks to Ahn Soo Ho, him and Logan always stayed at the best places wherever they went.

‘This is why we can’t leave Soo Ho.’

The reason why people couldn’t betray Ahn Soo Ho was because they were afraid of him and respected him, but it was also because of financial reasons.

“You’re here.”

“Where’s Rosaline and Hannah?”

“They’re sleeping.”

“Not surprised.”

They were probably tired.

Rosaline was still recovering, and Hannah was a kid. She might seem okay now, but she was probably going to be forever scarred by the blood, death, screaming, and gunshots that she experienced in Cuba.

‘She’ll either overcome it or surrender to it.’

Logan checked on Rosaline and Hannah sleeping together and then backed off. As soon as he left the halls and entered the living room, he saw Jake on the sofa. Logan gestured to his big brother to share a drink and headed up to the bar together.

“Whiskey?”

“I’ll have a vodka.”

When did his preference for beer change? Both Jake and Ethan must have aged.

“Who did you meet up with?”

“Caroline Burn.”

“Caroline? Burn? Kenneth Burn’s…”

“His mom.”

“Sigh. You met up with that wanted criminal in the middle of the New York streets?”

“I had to.”

“So what did she say?”

“She said she’s not backing off. She said whoever finds Christine first wins.”

“That woman is past her 50s, but she must still be well. Caroline, huh? I heard not even the FBI can do anything about her. Will it be okay?”

“Me?”

“Hannah.”

“She won’t mess with Hannah anymore.”

“You trust her?”

“What else can I do?”

He didn’t want to be hit by God’s rage.

Logan stopped there.

“What are you going to do now?”

“Can you take care of the New York police?”

“It’s probably still noisy from the terror… but okay.”

Ethan wasn’t so keen on it, but he didn’t refuse. More than how much the police were uncomfortable with military soldiers and firefighters, the police officers kept their guards up between each other as well. He felt like this country had the worst judicial assistance in the world.

That was because as a result of the disharmony between the judicial authorities, proper assistance wasn’t taking place. In America, everything was way too political.

“What about you?”

“I… need to meet someone.”

Logan went to a rooftop restaurant that had a beautiful view of New York city. The business club was based on memberships alone, so it was stricter than getting into the CIA. Once the manager checked Logan’s card, he escorted him inside.

“Logan.”

An old gentleman with white and blonde hair was waiting for him.

“Malik Kyung.”

“Kyung…? I haven’t heard that in a while.”

Logan had two mentors. One was Ahn Soo Ho, and the other was Edward Malik, who brought him into the mercenary world.

Count of Mercenaries

That was what people called Malik.

“Aren’t we seeing each other too often these days?”

“We are.”

Since they had met at Ahn Soo Ho’s wedding in Hawaii, it hadn’t even been a month. Considering the gap in between, they had seen each other often these days.

“I already know why you’re here… Did you get the guideline from Soo Ho.”

“No, Sir. Boss won’t get involved in this one.”

“Carol’s no average competition. And any mother who lost her only child is scary. Do you have to fight her?”

“I don’t want to go against her either.”

“Then you should avoid her.”

“I’ll pay you as much as you’d like.”

“No, I can’t accept money from my pupil. But instead…”

Malik’s last words made Logan laugh bitterly inside his head. Malik was a broker who pretended to care but only thought about his own profits. But there was no reason to curse him for it. At the very least, he wasn’t the type to stab someone in the back.

Logan knew of many British assholes, but he knew many loyal ones as well. However, regarding contracts, they sometimes were more meticulous than Ahn Soo Ho.

“I want to get involved in the Emerald Development Plan.”

“I can’t guarantee that.”

“I don’t need a guarantee. I just… want to see my name on the list.”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

The restaurant’s course meal came out, but neither Malik nor Logan cared about the food.

“Who are you looking for?”

“Christina McQueen.”

“Not Patrick Holland?”

“I don’t want to get in the way of Carol’s revenge, Malik. I just want to get my friend out of the gutter.”

“Have you talked to her?”

“Yes.”

“But she refused?”

“She wants to compete.”

“Then Carol will probably use Heritage.”

“Probably.”

“You don’t have much time. Let’s get up, Logan. Is your secured number still the same?”

“Yes.”

The big brother of the black market wasn’t going to be convinced by Logan alone without Ahn Soo Ho stepping up himself. Once Logan finished up, he was leaving through the lobby when he got a text message.

[Brooklyn, NY 11238. 121. 223]

******

Logan didn’t contact his party at the hotel.

‘I’ll end this quick.’

The fastest method was to move on his own. And escaping the eyes of the FBI and judicial authorities that were on alert ever since Logan landed in New York was no difficult task for him.

Whether or not Brooklyn could be called New York or not, most foreigners who dreamt of living in New York resided in Brooklyn. But Brooklyn was also very expensive to live in. And that included rent.

Harlem was known to be the most dangerous area of New York, but there wasn’t actually a safe area in New York either. The high-end villas were probably safer, but accidents always occurred in areas surrounding Manhattan.

‘Here it is.’

He arrived at the address that Malik sent him.

The shabby house in front of him was what Koreans called a multiplex building. During his 1 year living in Korea, Logan was very shocked by the steel doors.

‘Most Korean houses have steel doors.’

If America wanted to reduce their crime rates, they should have followed Korea’s example. If the multiplex houses had steel doors instead of wooden ones, they would have had less theft and murder.

‘They would be less susceptible to zombie attacks, too.’

In a lot of American shows and movies, zombies often broke through wooden doors, but that would have been impossible in Korea. Most Korean houses had steel doors as well as impenetrable glass for windows.

He entered the building with no security.

He smelled something strange. Not even Harlem was this dirty. The black mayor that was elected through the chaos of New York’s terror picked Harlem as the focus of his development model.

‘I was wondering where they were hiding.’

During the New York terrorist attack, Ahn Soo Ho swept northern Manhattan clean, and the aftereffects still remained. The big guys were minding others while the small fries poked their heads out. Brooklyn, which hosted both new and old gangs, took peculiar countermeasures, and that might have been why Christina decided to hide out here.

Mexican standoff.

Since many with power held guns, it was hard to pull the trigger. They started minding each other so much that they didn’t act. Logan continued to climb the stairs and hopped over the bannister one floor beneath the roof.

‘Christine.’

She looked haggard but still beautiful.

She was still just as beautiful as she was in high school. That was probably why not even Patrick Holland could hold back. She was an addictive woman. And Christina wasn’t alone.

Did she hire a guard? It wasn’t that.

He looked old for a guard. He looked like that private investigator who was also her friend. If Malik found this information, it wasn’t going to be long before Heritage found out, too. He didn’t know how much time he had, but he knew he didn’t have long.

‘I’ll wait.’

It was best to use Christina as bait to block the first attack and keep moving.

‘Five? Seven? Nine?’

Just like the troop in Cuba, most American mercenary companies had units of 7 or 9 soldiers. He waited to see if Caroline was the one commanding them, but he couldn’t see her.

‘If that’s the case…’

He didn’t hesitate any longer.

It only took him 5 seconds to bring down three guys who tried to attack. It was all thanks to his silenced gun, but its power depended on how skilled its user was.

Logan got down using a rappel, and that was when he was faced with an enemy who crashed through the wooden door. Logan shot a bullet through his shocked eyes.

One guy!

Two guys!

Three guys!

A unit of 9 usually moved in groups of 3. After getting rid of two groups, he just had one group left. And it took them a minute for them to catch on.

“Ugh!”

Logan twisted the arm of someone who tried to put a gun on him. And the next one to lift their gun was Christina. Logan lifted his head and looked at her in the eyes.

“Christine.”

“Logan?”

He had no time to explain the situation to Christina. That was because the last group caught on.

Bang, bang, bang, bang- Bang-

In contrast to the first two groups, the last group had automatic rifles. But no neighbor stuck their head out to the loud gun noise. They actually locked their doors and hid out.

Logan let the private detective free and pushed him aside along with Christina.

Bang, bang, bang-

The bullet went right through the wooden walls.

“Logan?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Logan looked back at the private investigator.

“Do you know how to use a Rappel?”

“Semper Fi!”

He must have been from the marines.

“Go!”

As soon as Logan commanded with a gun in his hand, the private investigator led Christina toward the window. They had 10 times the firepower, but he was more accurate.

“Ugh!”

Logan got one guy in the shoulder and another guy in the thigh. If he did well, he could have wiped out the last group, too, but he stuck to his original plan. He heard a supporting troop coming up the stairs.

He turned on the gas valve.

‘I hope you have insurance, landlord.’

There was a Korean saying that landlords were above Jesus. Why did he suddenly get this thought? He felt the temptation to make lame jokes in the middle of a life-threatening situation.

Bang, bang, bang- Bang-

He couldn’t drag on any more time. Logan flung his guns around and ran through the window, and right before going down, he shot the gas valve.

Ting-

Did it catch fire and blew up? No.

‘I guess this isn’t a movie.’

As soon as he thought he failed, the fire started. It was perfect. And luckily, the rope was long enough to get him down to the first floor.

“Logan?”

“Let’s go!”

He pushed her and got out of there.

******

“We found her.”

“Where?”

“Brooklyn.”

Caroline clicked her tongue.

“Such an obvious place… Send your men.”

“I already did.”

“How much?”

“Two teams…”

“Send more.”

“To catch one woman?”

“Logan will be on the move, too.”

“Logan…? That Logan?”

“Yeah.”

His face stiffened. Caroline saw that and smirked.

“Don’t worry. Soo Ho won’t get involved.”

“But the direct troops…”

“This is just between me and Logan.”

“The guys won’t think that way, Carol.”

“Tell them I’ll multiply the pay by 5 times.”

“5 times…?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Caroline was about to pick up her phone when he started to come back.

“We’ve been attacked.”

“How many?”

“Six has died and two are injured.”

“For what motive?”

“During an escape.”

He continued with a stiff voice.

“We confirmed his identity.”

“Who was it?”

He didn’t answer with a stiff face, and Caroline looked as if she saw that coming.

“Logan.”

The dark hunter.

“This will be a vicious night.”

The night in New York was just beginning.

< Protect – Logan’s Adventure [5] > The end.