Chapter 90: The Siege of Jeju Naval Base (３)

****

I stared into the keypad’s camera.

[Please identify yourself.]

“Geumbari. Doctor. Director.”

[Identity confirmed. Have a pleasant visit.]

Kiiiiik. The door to the naval base command center slid open.

****

“Popo. Go through the ventilation shafts. Find the command center’s top brass. Bite their ankles if you can; if you can’t, just leave them.”

The Popos scattered in every direction. I’m not sure they can follow orders that complex. I stepped into the building, muzzle first.

BANG!

Facility security came running, but there was nothing they could do. They probably couldn’t even see me clearly. Three guards went down in an instant.

“Hey! If you want to live, stay down.”

I walked slowly down the stairs. This time, I’m killing. Whether it’s Hourani or anyone else who wants me dead.

I’ll kill them all. Every last one.

“Dr. Geum!”

Again, that metallic female voice. The voice was coming up the narrow stairwell. She must have figured out I was on the stairs.

“Go, Wilson!”

Clatter-clatter-clatter.

A red bowling ball rolled down the stairs. The voice’s owner was probably Dr. Chloe. My guess is the guards refused to deploy once they understood the situation, so Dr. Chloe came herself.

Incompetent cowards.

If it were me, I’d have chased them down in a helicopter.

“Dr. Chloe. What do you want?”

“Let’s talk, Doctor!”

“No!”

Dr. Chloe — I remember she wears a mask. Let’s assume she’s not human for now. No telling what kind of anomaly she’s carrying.

“Dr. Chloe.”

“Changed your mind about talking?”

“No.”

“Dr. Geum! Surrender. This is a camera that traps its subjects. You have no chance of winning. The moment you’re caught on camera, you’ll—”

CRASH!

The sound of someone tumbling. Wilson must have found Dr. Chloe. Crash! Crash! The Popos’ barking echoed up the stairwell.

“Agh! My leg!”

That’s… Dr. Chloe rolling down the stairs, I think. So she wasn’t superhuman after all?

I heard she had a one-hit kill.

“Popo. Finish her off.”

“Aaaah! Ah! Aaaaaaaah!”

The screaming went on for a long while.

Then, silence.

Dead? She must be dead, right?

I descended the stairs carefully, muzzle first. Dr. Chloe’s mask lay shattered on the floor. Blood was pooled everywhere, but Dr. Chloe’s body itself was nowhere to be seen.

There it is. I confirmed the neutralize on Dr. Chloe, then left the stairs behind and stepped back into the corridor. The command center’s main office was right ahead.

****

The command office was empty. Admiral Hourani must have fled long ago. Well, it’s not like I came here solely for Admiral Hourani anyway.

If the command office has a similar layout to the Director’s Office, there should be a phone somewhere that connects to Foundation Headquarters. I need to find that first.

“Excuse me—”

BANG!

The Admiral’s adjutant was still alive, huh. The adjutant collapsed, clutching a shoulder wound.

I pressed the Gauss musket against the adjutant’s face. The bastard — a man with such a delicate, pretty face. Disgusting.

“Any last words?”

“I-I’ll cooperate.”

“Popo, grab him.”

I tossed a bandage at the adjutant. The Popos ran over and each seized one of his limbs.

“Who gave the order to attack me?”

“It was Admiral Hourani.”

The Foundation doesn’t teach its people to resist interrogation if captured. There’s no need to volunteer information or spill everything, but they don’t teach you to resist torture either.

Not that it would be possible anyway.

“What was the objective?”

“I was told the objective was to recover the results of Project Blue Rose.”

“By what means?”

“After one recovery team was wiped out, we mobilized every available resource. We couldn’t deploy ships because of Foundation Headquarters’ position.”

“I see.”

“I was only following orders. Director. Please, just let me live. I’ll accept whatever punishment you give me.”

“Stay still. Did the bullet go through?”

“It was high-velocity. It pierced through the shoulder.”

“Right. Go see a doctor now.”

I had no interest in small fry. After clearing the Admiral’s adjutant out of my sight, I picked up the phone connected to Foundation Headquarters.

“This is Director Geumbari of the Foundation Jeju Naval Base. I have secured evidence that Admiral Hourani and his subordinates have committed treason against the Foundation. I request intervention from Foundation Headquarters.”

[Hello, Director. You’re calling from Admiral Hourani’s command center.]

“Yes.”

[The fact that the command center has been seized means Dr. Geum has subdued the Jeju Naval Base?]

They already know everything, so why ask…

“That’s correct.”

[Aside from Admiral Hourani’s adjutant and Dr. Chloe, you haven’t captured any of the commanders under Admiral Hourani.]

“…”

[I apologize, Director Geum. Without capturing Admiral Hourani, there will be no direct intervention.]

Damn bastards.

****

I grabbed the microphone in the command center.

“Attention to all Foundation personnel at the Jeju Naval Base. Admiral Hourani has betrayed the Foundation. The command center has been subdued, and Admiral Hourani’s command staff are either dead or have fled.”

“The task force at this facility has been subdued. The Recovery Division at this facility has also been subdued. Further meaningful resistance is impossible and pointless.”

“Drop your weapons and surrender.”

****

Time to loot. I searched the command center floor for any useful anomalies. Nothing seemed worthwhile. Maybe the cameras.

“Dr. Lee. Where do you think the Admiral fled?”

[He’s an admiral. He’d have fled to the sea.]

“That does make sense.”

If he’d fled onto land, the Admiral wouldn’t have a way to survive anyway. Wherever he went, there’d be no way to stop Nanami or Dr. Chae.

It’s reasonable to assume he fled to the sea.

“Is there any way to chase him?”

The Crystal Clock ticked again.

[You’d have to chase by ship. You don’t have the capacity to launch aircraft in enemy territory yet. Though I’m not sure there’s a suitable vessel to chase with.]

“We can find a ship. And we can leave guarding the ship to Dr. Chae. The storm is still raging, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

[If it’s a destroyer, the Admiral’s ship will be going over fifty kilometers per hour. Nothing short of a racing boat could catch it.]

“A hovercraft, then.”

[That would be faster than a destroyer, sure. But how are you going to drive a hovercraft?]

I pulled a USB drive from my pocket.

[What’s that?]

“Ganymede.”

Aircraft were out of the question, and even if we stole a ship, it wouldn’t outrun the Admiral’s. My plan was to steal a hovercraft and overtake Admiral Hourani’s ship.

****

I needed to find a hovercraft. I went up to the roof of the command building. Nanami and Dr. Chae, who had seen my signal, appeared beside me in no time.

“Did it succeed?”

“No. I contacted Foundation Headquarters, and they said they’ll only handle the cleanup once we capture Admiral Hourani.”

“Ugh. Morons.”

“We’re going to steal a hovercraft and chase after Admiral Hourani. Ganymede will be driving it.”

“Can you trust Ganymede?”

“Where is the Admiral’s ship?”

I thought for a moment.

“I’ll ask the Foundation Seoul Branch to locate the Admiral’s ship. Ganymede, for now, seems willing to cooperate with our work.”

“Can the Foundation’s Seoul Branch find the Admiral’s ship? That seems a bit odd.”

“I’m texting them right now. The Precognition Division and the remote-viewing teams will do their best.”

****

Finding a hovercraft wasn’t hard. Most of this facility’s security force had abandoned their posts and fled.

I found a USB port and plugged it in.

The moment of fate.

[…]

“…”

[Welcome, Director. This is Ganymede. What business do you have with me today?]

Whew. Looks like it’s still fine.

“Ganymede. I need to find Admiral Hourani’s ship. Can you confirm where it is?”

[I’ll try tracking it down.]

The wind and rain were still fierce, but the Foundation-made hovercraft’s engine began to turn over. A moment later, the hovercraft rose about three hand-spans off the ground.

[Launching.]

BOOM!

The hovercraft tore off with a roar.

It rose up over the seawater—

The massive fan at the rear began to spin. We blew past 100 kilometers per hour in an instant. We were being tossed around like a leaf in the storm, but even zigzagging, we were moving at tremendous speed.

“Dr. Geum! If you get thrown out, you’ll die instantly!”

I nodded and buckled my seatbelt.

“Dr. Chae! Can you hide us somehow?!”

“In this weather?!”

Dr. Chae kept shouting something, but between the waves and the thunder, not a word carried. Unless we had something like a giant loudspeaker, there was no way to communicate at all.

The hovercraft had no roof, so the wind and rain hammered my helmet directly. I gritted my teeth. I’d ridden in helicopters before, done rappelling, but this was the most horrible mode of transportation I’d ever experienced.