"Ugh.."
Kwon Taekjoo groaned as he opened his eyes. Disoriented, his mind clouded, as if he had lost consciousness again. The first thing that hit him was the overpowering smell of gunpowder and dust in the air. He tried moving his body, his limbs aching and cramping, but still functioning.
His earpiece transmitter must have been distroyed, as all he could hear was an ear- piercing ringing sound. Frustrated, he yanked it out and tossed it aside, but the ringing in his ears persisted.
Kwon Taekjoo realized there was blood trickling down his forehead, a thick scarlet liquid dripping over his eyes. He must have suffered a scalp wound during the explosion. The blood blurred his vision, staining everything in a murky red.
His surroundings were covered in pitched-black darkness. From what he could tell, the entire house had collapsed due to the explosion. Before he could be buried alive, he scrambled toward a small gap between two fallen structures, barely making it out alive.
"Damn it…"
Kwon Taekjoo cursed under his breath, just as he began lifting his bruised, bartered body off the ground. Suddenly something stirred his arms. It was the Little girl with the nasal tubes, squirming weakly beneath him. Instinctively, he must have shielded her from the blast with his body.
She was still barely conscious, her breathing larbored but clear, and her heartbeat rapid. Thankfully she didn't appear to have any external injuries.
"Uhh… ahhh.."
The began to regain her consciousness, and when she opened her eyes to see Kwon Taekjoo, her face turned white again with fear.
Kwon Taekjoo immediately covered her mouth with to stifle her scream and put a finger to her lips. He met her eyes and gently shook his head. Though clearly terrified and on the verge of tears, the girl nodded in understanding.
Kwon Taekjoo still had no idea who had carried out the attack or what their exact purpose was. Yoon Jongwoo had indicated that it might be PMC, but Taekjoo needed more details.
Holding his breath, Kwon Taekjoo listened for any sounds outside. For a moment, all he could hear was the heavy thud of military boots moving across the ground. Not longer after, he heard the sound of car doors opening and slamming shut.
There seemed to be at least four vehicles. Facing them head-on would be a challenge in any case, but with the girl in tow, it would be nearly impossible. His only choice was to wait patiently for them to leave.
Moments later, the roar of the armored vehicle' engines filled the air as they began to drive off. It seemed they were abandoning the site, likely believing they had completed their mission.
Cautiously, Kwon Taekjoo peeled out from his hiding spot. The area was mostly clear now. Except for a few distant figures.
Sensing his opportunity, he gestured for the little girl to follow him as he crept toward safety. She hesitated for a moment, her eyes flickering back toward the house, filled with an overwhelming sense of loss.
"Pablo…"
Kwon Taekjoo followed her gaze to the boy lying unconscious on the ground. It was the same boy he had subbed earlier, the one they knew as the real "electric hammer". Most likely, he was the brother of the girl.
His lower body had been crushed by the rubble from the collapsed building. Kwon Taekjoo couldn't be certain if he was still alive.
He didn't have any obligation to save them both. In fact, his mission was to retrieve the data and escape before his identity was compromised. Under normal circumstances, he would have already made his getaway.
But as he looked at the little girl, desperately clinging to hope for her brother's survival, he couldn't just turn his back and walk away.
"Aah… get out of here first,"
"No! Pablo!"
She cried, resisting as Kwon Taekjoo pulled her away. He dragged the girl out of harm's way, even as she kicked and scratched him in desperation.
Once she was safe, he returned through the narrow gaps between the wreckage. When he reached the boy, Kwon Taekjoo checked for a pluse. It was weak, but there- he was alive.
With a sigh, Kwon Taekjoo reached into his now-tattered military gear. His hands found a small device, something he had carried for emergencies. A compact tool resembling a pen.
It was unlikely that it had survived the blast, but he held onto a glimmer of hope. He placed the pen-shape tool underneath the large slab of debris pinning the boy's body and activated it.
The mechanical actuator inside began to buzz, slowly lifting the heavy piece of rubble.
As soon as there was a smell opening, Kwon Taekjoo grabbed the boy by the collar and yanked him free from the debris. Sweat drenched his body as he heaved the unconscious boy through the narrow passage, feeling dizzy and lightheaded from the exertion.
"Ha… damn it. Why do I have to go through this crap?"
He muttered under his breath.
He finally managed to drag the boy to a safe distance and collapsed to catch his breath. The girl, face streaked with dirt and tears, immediately rushed to her brother's side, calling his name over and over again.
Kwon Taekjoo glanced around at the destruction. He had no idea what had become of the boy's parents, but judging by the state of the house, it was highly unlikely they had survived.
It was a grim situation, but Kwon Taekjoo didn't have time to linger.
As the girl continued crying, the lights of the nearby house began to flicker on one by one. It seems that the neighbors had been alerted to the commotion.
In all likelihood, someone had already reported the incident to the police or local authorities. At this point, it was up to them to care for the two children.
With no time to waste, Kwon Taekjoo forced his exhausted body to rise and sprinted back to his own apartment. He bounded up the stairs, two at a time, making his way to the rooftop to track the armored vehicles.
It didn't take long for him to spot the tail of lights of two massive vehicles speeding toward the outskirts of the town base on their size and the fact that they had arrived so quickly in the dead of night, he had no doubt that they were the ones responsible.
Yoon Jongwoo had mentioned the possibility of a U.S. private military company(PMC). But how had a PMC managed to get into Cuba? Were they working under some kind of disguise, just like Kwon Taekjoo? And for what reason?
"The United States probably has a general idea of what happened. If the find out that the dual contract between us was leaked, they're likely to pin the blame on his. They might even already be aware of the situation and have taken measures."
The words of director kwak echoed in Kwon Taekjoo's mind. It was possible that the U.S. had discovered the leak of the dual contract, just as they had feared. But would they really take such drastic action as blowing up the hacker's hideout without waiting for the NIS to act?
Wasn't it out of the realm of possibility, considering the U.S. had a tendency to bulldoze over anyone in pursuit of their own security and interest.
The problem was, they had interfered without any prior warning or authorization. The leak of confidential information was a delicate matter, not something you casually shared with even your closest allies.
So how had they found out? What was most troubling was the precise timing of their attack- it was almost too perfect, as if they had been waiting for Kwon Taekjoo to make a move. It was as though they had known his ever step, every detail of his plan, up until the last minute.
Maybe they had been watching him from the start..