That night, after finishing the agreement with Secretary of State Rice, Prime Minister Soueri came to see me.

Inside the presidential office, there were only Prime Minister Soueri, Minister Keita—who had handled the negotiations in Sierra Leone—and me.

“Welcome, Charlie.”

“Yes, Prime Minister. But there are fewer people here than usual today.”

Prime Minister Soueri gave a bitter smile.

“The others seem uncomfortable around you.”

It was one thing for them to be uncomfortable with me, but it also meant Prime Minister Soueri still hadn’t fully secured his grip on power.

I shrugged and looked at him.

“Did your talks with Secretary Rice go well?”

“Ha...”

The moment Rice’s name came up, Prime Minister Soueri let out a deep sigh.

“The moment I said the president’s return would be difficult, she told me to hold the presidential election within sixty days as if she already knew.”

“I heard the rough outline earlier. So what have you decided?”

“The reality is that without American support, we can’t maintain the regime on our own. We have no choice but to accept it.”

At his almost resigned tone, I slowly rubbed my chin and asked,

“I heard the opposition has a high chance of winning. I imagine there will be quite a bit of dissatisfaction within the cabinet.”

“That’s also what the protesters gathered in the capital are demanding, so we have no justification to stop it. Unless the president can return, of course.”

“Well, that’s for you to figure out, Prime Minister. Let’s get to the main point. Hand over all the information the government has on Captain Kamara.”

“Do you really have to do this?”

Prime Minister Soueri still couldn’t let go to the very end.

“It’s more poisonous to leave him alone. You already heard that from Secretary Rice, didn’t you?”

“......”

“For the sake of Guinea’s stability, he’s someone who needs to disappear. We’re offering to do that for you, so I don’t understand why you’re still hesitating.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Prime Minister Soueri answered in a drained voice.

“The military’s opposition is too strong. Even the officers who sided with us are insisting we put him on trial and lock him away for life.”

“So you still haven’t reached a conclusion?”

“No. Since the talks with America are already over, we’ll hand him over if that’s what you want. But I’m deeply worried about the chaos it’ll cause.”

“Then stop dragging this out and hand him over. I have no intention of compromising.”

Prime Minister Soueri let out another deep sigh and pulled out an envelope.

Then he pushed it toward me.

“It contains the location of the unit Captain Kamara is in, its troop strength, and its current weapons inventory.”

I only glanced at the envelope without opening it.

Instead, I met Prime Minister Soueri’s eyes and spoke.

“If you’d done this from the beginning, we wouldn’t have had to sour the mood. Promises exist to be kept.”

“......”

“I don’t know what kind of agreement you made with the Americans, but even after capturing Captain Kamara, Black Bear will remain in Conakry and help ensure the transfer of power remains stable.”

“I heard the rough outline from Secretary Rice.”

“Good. Then is there anything else?”

At my question, Prime Minister Soueri hesitated, his lips twitching. What was he trying to say?

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Once the election results come out, Minister Keita and I are thinking of seeking asylum in another country.”

When I didn’t respond, Prime Minister Soueri hesitated again before asking once more.

“Could you help us?”

“Hm. What exactly do you want me to help with?”

“We’ve already spoken ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) to the government of Burkina Faso to some extent. We want Black Bear escort protection so we can get there safely.”

“And the price?”

“Is there something you want?”

“Tell me only what you can actually give. If it’s acceptable, I’ll get you out safely.”

Once the regime changed, it was only natural that most of the current president’s cabinet would face legal judgment.

There was no need to say how much corruption must have accumulated over the decades of dictatorship.

That was exactly why America was worried.

The military might attempt another coup to overturn a legitimately transferred government, which was why they wanted Black Bear to remain until then and reinforce the government’s authority.

“Keita.”

Prime Minister Soueri called Minister Keita’s name.

At the call, Minister Keita pulled out another document envelope.

“These are the mining rights contract documents for the bauxite mine in Boké, in northwestern Guinea. It’s also a mine wholly owned by CBG.”

CBG was a state-owned enterprise under the Guinean government.

“It also happens to be the mine the Korean government wanted.”

I opened the envelope and read through the documents.

The mine they were offering to sell the rights to was quite large in scale.

“The condition is the transfer of one hundred percent of the mining stake. The price is half of its estimated value.”

If the reserves were confirmed, it was cheap.

No, not just cheap—it was practically free.

I set the documents down and smiled.

“That’s far too much compensation just for helping with an asylum escape, isn’t it?”

“Give us twenty percent of the transaction value as a rebate.”

As expected. I had thought the reward was too large, and sure enough, they wanted something lined in their back pockets.

From my perspective, there was no reason to refuse.

“Good. Then let’s sign.”

I signed the contract on the spot and pushed it toward Prime Minister Soueri.

But it wasn’t the prime minister who signed.

It was Minister Keita.

“How would you like the rebate delivered?”

“Once we arrive in Burkina Faso, we’d like it in cash.”

“In dollars, of course?”

“Yes.”

“Understood. I’ll have it prepared that way.”

As I gathered up the contract, I asked,

“There won’t be any problems even after the regime changes, right?”

“These mining rights were transferred legally. If the next government tries to take them back, do you really think you’d sit still?”

So now he finally understood what kind of person I was.

I let out a faint chuckle and nodded.

“Then I’ll assume there’s nothing more to discuss and take my leave. We need to catch Captain Kamara before he flees to another country.”

“I hope you won’t cause too much damage.”

“I’m not crazy enough to attack people who surrender. But if they resist, there’s only so much we can do. Then I’ll be going.”

Leaving Prime Minister Soueri and Minister Keita behind, I exited the presidential palace.

“Igor.”

“Yes, Boss.”

I handed the document envelope to Igor, who had been waiting outside.

“It contains the troop strength and weapons inventory of the unit Captain Kamara is in.”

Igor took it with both hands. Thick calluses lined his rough palms.

“How many days?”

“It won’t even take a week.”

“So I just wait in Conakry until then?”

Igor nodded calmly.

“Then I’ll head back to the hotel. You go straight to the Black Bear encampment and move out immediately.”

“Understood, Boss.”

“Let’s move.”

I headed to the hotel, while Igor moved toward the Black Bear encampment.

* * *

A few days later, Igor reported that Kamara had been captured alive.

Part of me wanted him brought to Conakry, but that would have placed too much burden on me as well.

So I ordered him kept at a position near the outskirts.

An hour after Igor’s contact, Prime Minister Soueri came to the hotel.

“Charlie. I heard Captain Kamara was captured.”

“Yes. News travels fast.”

“I heard the unit there was destroyed to the point of near annihilation.”

“Is that so.”

At my calm response, Prime Minister Soueri’s face turned bright red as he raised his voice.

“Didn’t I ask you to show some restraint?!”

“That doesn’t mean we can throw our mercenaries to their deaths, does it?”

“Even so...”

“Prime Minister. If they hadn’t resisted, none of this would have happened. What we wanted was Captain Kamara’s custody, not their total destruction.”

“Ha. The military is in an uproar over this. They said they were annihilated by overwhelming firepower before they could even properly respond.”

No matter how regular Guinean troops were, they couldn’t be compared to Black Bear’s equipment and combat capabilities.

But what did that matter?

“Wasn’t that expected?”

“Even so...”

“Prime Minister. What’s done is done. Is the military trying to hold Black Bear responsible?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then don’t bring this matter up again.”

“Ha...”

Prime Minister Soueri let out a deep sigh.

“What are you planning to do with Captain Kamara? Are you going to kill him?”

“Were we ever in a relationship where I had to report to you, Prime Minister? I’ll handle it myself.”

Even after I answered coldly, Prime Minister Soueri refused to give up.

Perhaps he’d been battered from all sides, because he spoke in a tired voice.

“Charlie. Please understand my position too. It’s not like I want this either. The military is demanding I bring back an answer.”

“He’s already no longer of this world. Does that answer your question?”

“...You already killed him?”

“Did you think I was going to let him live?”

“That’s not what I meant, but...”

I glanced at the utterly hollow Prime Minister Soueri before turning my eyes away again.

“Are we done talking? I need to go see Black Bear. Please head back.”

“There can be no more military action.”

“We’ll establish a base farther away from Conakry. Will that put you at ease?”

The reason Prime Minister Soueri was pushing this hard was obvious.

He had finally seen Black Bear’s overwhelming firepower with his own eyes.

Even if it was Black Bear, he clearly hadn’t expected them to crush an elite unit so completely.

Now that he had seen that firepower, he must be thinking we could do anything if we put our minds to it.

“Make this absolutely clear to the military. If they don’t want to face Black Bear as an enemy, they should hold the presidential election according to the agreement with America and hand power over to the new government. Otherwise, they’ll be going to war with Black Bear.”

“...I’ll make sure that message is delivered.”

Prime Minister Soueri bit his lip hard and left without even saying goodbye.

“If he keeps getting dragged around by the military like that... honestly.”

I clicked my tongue softly as I looked at the door he had left through.

Deep in the night, I quietly left Conakry.

After driving for quite some time down roads without a single light, I arrived at Black Bear’s encampment.

“Boss.”

Igor was waiting for me in front of the camp.

“You worked hard, Igor. Casualties?”

“Fortunately, nothing major. Just a few wounded.”

“That’s less than I expected.”

“We intended to seize the initiative, so we poured in overwhelming firepower. We forced their surrender before the engagement lasted very long.”

Confidence showed through his calm voice.

I smiled and patted Igor on the shoulder.

“That’s good. Let’s head inside first.”

Igor nodded and guided me.

“He’s in here.”

Following his lead, I entered the tent in the center.

As soon as I stepped inside, I saw Captain Kamara tied to a chair.

With his head hanging low, he looked unconscious.

I slowly walked over and stood in front of him.

Igor smoothly brought over a chair and set it behind me, and I sat down.

Even with me right in front of him, Captain Kamara showed no reaction.

“Wake him.”

Without hesitation, Igor slapped Captain Kamara across the face.

Only after several hits did he finally regain consciousness and let out a groan.

“Ugh.”

When he saw my face, there was no visible change in his expression.

“This is the first time we’ve seen each other face to face. Do you remember my voice?”

Captain Kamara only frowned and said nothing.

“For someone who sounded so confident before, why are you tied up here looking this pathetic?”

“Who the hell are you?!”

“You really don’t remember. You called me personally, didn’t you? Didn’t you say we should meet someday?”

“...Kim?”

“Yes. That’s right. Kim Muhyuk.”

“So the Korean government threw away its promise like a worn-out rag.”

Grinding his teeth, he muttered the words.

I slowly shook my head.

“The Korean government has nothing to do with this. I’m the one who wanted to meet you.”

“What the hell does that mean?!”

“You detained my friend like that and tried to threaten me. Did you really think you’d walk away safely?”

“Who the hell are you...”

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m a businessman. Black Bear is just one of the companies I own.”

Captain Kamara’s eyes widened in shock.

“Then what money do you think the government forces had to hire Black Bear?”

I leaned forward and met his eyes.

“You said it would be a good meeting for both of us once we met, didn’t you? Go ahead. Let’s hear it.”

I slowly pulled one corner of my mouth upward into a smile.