Seongji looked at Baki. "Split up. I'll get the captain. You handle things here."
"You sure?" Baki asked.
Seongji adjusted Yenna's carrier. "It's fine."
"Be careful," Baki said.
Seongji headed for the stairs.
The bridge was several decks up. He moved through empty corridors and climbed two stairwells. Near the top, he heard voices. A lot of them.
The corridor to the bridge was packed. Dozens of men with batons and knives. At the front stood a tall man with a scar down his cheek.
The scarred man looked at Seongji. Then at the carrier. "I expected Choi Sunjae. Not this."
Seongji said nothing.
The scarred man shrugged. "Break him."
They came in waves. Seongji worked through them with his left hand, keeping his right on Yenna's carrier the whole time. Anyone who aimed at the carrier got put down first. A baton swung at Yenna and Seongji rotated into it, took it on the shoulder, grabbed the arm, and drove his knee into the man's ribs until something gave.
The floor filled up. Seongji adjusted Yenna's headphones between exchanges.
A pipe came at his skull. He blocked with his forearm and it bent on impact. He grabbed it, cleared two men, dropped it, and kept moving.
He reached the scarred leader. Everyone else was already down.
The scarred man looked at the floor. Then at Seongji. "Who are you?"
He lunged for the throat. Seongji caught the wrist, pulled him close, and closed his hand around the man's throat. He squeezed until the man stopped moving and lowered him to the floor.
He checked Yenna. Still asleep.
He kicked the bridge door open and walked in.
Control panels blinked along the walls. Dark ocean filled the windows. A man in a captain's uniform stood near the wheel, gray-haired, stiff. Beside him stood a large man with long hair. He wasn't tense. He was just watching.
The room went quiet.
Gong Cheol looked at Seongji the way someone looks at a problem they find interesting. His eyes moved to the carrier, then back up. "You came through all of them," he said. "With a baby on your chest."
Seongji kept walking until he was a few steps away and stopped. "I'm looking for a group of teenagers. I think the captain knows where they are."
The captain's mouth opened but nothing came out.
Gong Cheol tilted his head slightly. "You're not security. You're not law enforcement either." He studied Seongji's face. "Who sent you?"
"Nobody," Seongji said. "They're my kids."
Gong Cheol was quiet for a moment. Then he stepped forward, putting himself between Seongji and the captain. "I can't let you through."
"I'm not asking," Seongji said.
The captain found his voice. "Gong Cheol, stop him! He just walked through everyone!"
Gong Cheol didn't look back at the captain. His eyes stayed on Seongji. "I can see that." He rolled his shoulders once. "Let's see how you do with both hands busy."
He charged.
His first punch went for Seongji's face. Seongji moved his head and the fist drove into a control panel behind him. The metal caved. Sparks scattered across the floor.
Seongji noted that and kept moving.
Gong Cheol targeted the carrier every time. Seongji rotated and ate the hits on his arms and hips, keeping Yenna behind his body. His left hand did all the work. A palm to the chest staggered Gong Cheol. A knee to the ribs folded him. Seongji grabbed his head and drove it into a console.
CRASH!
Glass across the floor. Gong Cheol came back up bleeding and smiling. "One hand."
He grabbed a piece of broken metal and threw it straight at the carrier. Seongji turned into it and took the impact on his shoulder. Gong Cheol was already moving, punching for Yenna. Seongji twisted and the punch glanced his side. Gong Cheol's other hand grabbed his face and drove his head into the wall.
Seongji's vision tilted. He still had the wrist. He yanked it down and put Gong Cheol's face into the wall.
CRACK!
The wall dented. Gong Cheol's nose broke. He pushed off and threw an elbow. Seongji slipped it and hit him in the side. Gong Cheol stumbled and turned around with blood on his face. "Why are you this strong?!"
He dove for the legs. Seongji couldn't fall with Yenna on his chest. He grabbed Gong Cheol's head and drove his knee up. Once. Twice. Blood hit the floor. Gong Cheol's arms wrapped around his leg anyway and yanked.
Seongji fell. He twisted in the air and hit the floor on his left side, right arm keeping the carrier clear. His hip took everything.
Gong Cheol came down on top. Seongji locked his legs around the man's neck and squeezed. Gong Cheol pried them loose and Seongji kicked him in the chest.
CRASH!
Gong Cheol hit a console and slid down it.
Seongji pushed himself up. His shoulder burned. Blood ran down his arm to his elbow. Across the room, Gong Cheol got to his feet breathing in hard pulls. He looked at the carrier.
"One hit on that baby," Gong Cheol said, "and you're finished."
"Try it," Seongji said quietly. "I'll kill you."
Gong Cheol charged with both arms open, going straight for Yenna.
Seongji stepped into him. His left hand caught the throat. His palm drove up hard under the chin.
CRACK!
Gong Cheol's head snapped back. Seongji's knee hit his ribs three times. Something broke on the second. Gong Cheol's legs gave out. Seongji swept them and took him down, knee on the shoulder, hand on the throat, and squeezed until Gong Cheol's hands stopped moving.
He let go. Gong Cheol was still breathing.
Seongji stood and checked Yenna. Asleep. Completely unbothered.
He walked to the captain. The man was pressed into the corner with both hands raised.
"Please," the captain said. "Please."
Seongji stopped in front of him. "Where are the kids?"
---
In the cargo hold, Baki and Sunjae put the last man down. One was still conscious on the floor, face down, nose broken and bleeding.
Sunjae grabbed his collar. "The kids. Where?"
The man spat blood. "Go to hell."
Baki crouched beside him. His voice was calm and flat. "I was looking forward to this vacation. I haven't had one in a long time." He took the man's finger and bent it back slowly. "Someone is going to tell me where those kids are."
The man's breathing stopped completely.
Baki applied more pressure.
"Deck B, section four!" the man said. "They hold them there before the transfer. It's guarded. There's a newcomer with access. Black market. They call her Spider. That's everything, I swear."
Baki stood and looked at Sunjae. "Let's go."
They walked out of the cargo hold into an empty corridor and moved toward the stairs.
Sunjae glanced over. "Think Seongji's okay?"
"He'll be fine," Baki said. "Yenna too."
They went down toward Deck B.