Ten minutes earlier, Captain Jang Tae-soo was in high spirits as he and two subordinates, along with his old colleague Kang Jin-tae, who had come to assist, escorted the two captured drug traffickers back to downtown Seoul.
The Wide Area Investigation Unit officers were driving a Hyundai Starex van. The four seats in the back were arranged facing each other, making it convenient to interrogate the suspects on the way.
The two captured "Ichijo-gumi" members, Hiroshi and Kim Yang-ho, were handcuffed to the grab handles on either side of the van. They were shirtless, their arms, backs, and chests covered in menacing blue-red tattoos—classic Yakuza markings.
Kang Jin-tae, who had come to help, was eagerly passing out cigarettes to the Wide Area Investigation Unit officers. He appeared to be in his late 30s, with high cheekbones, monolid eyes, beady pupils, and thick lips. Combined with his ingratiating smile, he looked even more sleazy than Captain Jang Tae-soo.
"Jin-tae, how's life in the Cyber Crime Investigation Division?" Sitting in the front passenger seat, Jang Tae-soo accepted a cigarette with a smile. It had been a productive day—though they were all bruised and battered, morale was high.
"Aish, don't even mention it." Kang Jin-tae clicked his lighter, lighting his own cigarette before passing it to the officer next to him. His unsightly face was filled with resentment.
"All I deal with are petty cases. Some guy using a keyboard to attack someone in an internet café gets classified as cybercrime and handed over to us. It's beyond frustrating. I hope the higher-ups recognize my contribution today and transfer me back to the Wide Area Investigation Unit."
The others burst into laughter. Kang Jin-tae suddenly seemed to remember something and pulled out a Smith & Wesson M60 revolver from his pocket, still sealed in an evidence bag. He waved it in front of the two Yakuza members who were sneering at him.
"Hey, you two bastards, where did you get this? This is police-issued."
The two "Ichijo-gumi" underlings smirked silently. Though their faces and bodies were bruised, they still looked stronger than the four detectives who had arrested them.
"Do they really not understand Korean?" Kang Jin-tae turned to ask Captain Jang Tae-soo, puzzled.
"Aish, you must've gone dumb sitting in an office. Just look at their names—they're Korean-Japanese. How could they not understand Korean?"
Jang Tae-soo turned around and sneered at the two Yakuza members. "Drugging people, committing murder, and possessing this much dope… I've already contacted the prosecutor. You're looking at at least 30 years in prison."
"Hey, hey!" Kang Jin-tae pointed at the two, their faces suddenly grim. "Look at them! They definitely understood that. Their expressions just dropped."
At that moment, a phone rang. The officer driving patted his captain on the shoulder and handed him the phone from the armrest. "Captain, it's your call."
Jang Tae-soo took the phone, and what followed was the conversation from before. When Ma Seok-do said, "...We're heading your way. We'll be there in ten minutes at most..."
At that exact moment, as the Hyundai Starex van passed through a side street, a Kia SUV with a reinforced crash bar suddenly sped in from the side, ramming heavily into the left rear wheel of the van.
A sharp screech echoed as the out-of-control van spun in circles on the road before finally crashing into a makeshift container building on the roadside and coming to a stop.
The doors of the Kia SUV swung open, and three men wearing baseball caps and face masks stepped out. They each carried iron rods that clanked against the pavement as they walked.
The leader strode forward aggressively, yanking open the van's door to inspect the scene. Inside, everyone was unconscious, their heads covered in blood—none even groaned.
He tilted his head, signaling to his two companions. One of them opened the driver's side door, removed the dashcam, and searched Captain Jang Tae-soo's pockets, retrieving the confiscated passports of the two Yakuza members.
The other went to the back of the van, swiftly lifting the two large bags of confiscated drugs.
Just as they were about to leave, one of the Yakuza members, Hiroshi, his face and head drenched in blood, groaned and regained consciousness. "Hey… I mean… are you just going to leave me here? Why aren't you saving me?"
The three attackers exchanged glances. One stepped forward, raised his iron rod, and began swinging it down mercilessly—once, twice, three times—until Hiroshi stopped moving entirely.
"Check the others. Leave no one behind." The leader took the bags of drugs from his subordinate and gave a muffled order.
Just then, the piercing sound of police sirens blared in the distance, followed by two glaring high beams slicing through the darkness.
"Go!" The leader barked, sprinting toward the Kia SUV with the drugs. The other two reacted quickly, ducking their heads and bolting for the vehicle.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Jack, gripping the steering wheel with one hand, began firing warning shots from afar. The gunfire echoed alongside the screeching of brakes, round after round until the magazine was empty.
The rear window of the Kia SUV shattered, sparks flaring as bullets ricocheted off the vehicle's trunk. The three attackers scrambled into the car, too terrified to even raise their heads, slamming into third gear and peeling away, smoke trailing from the rear tires.
Screeeeech!
With a long, drawn-out tire screech, the Palisade SUV executed a perfect drift, skidding to a stop sideways. In the driver's seat, Jack ejected the empty magazine with a click of his index finger.
His right hand left the steering wheel and swiftly loaded a fresh magazine into his SIG Sauer P320-XTen, squeezing off several more shots at the retreating Kia SUV's taillights. He only stopped when the vehicle disappeared into the night.
Ma Seok-do, unable to wait any longer, threw open the passenger door and bolted toward the wrecked van like a charging black bear.
"Jong-soo! Jong-soo! Tae-soo hyung! Are you guys okay? Jack! Get over here!"
They had known each other for days now, but this was the first time Jack had seen Ma Seok-do so frantic.
—
"They'll be fine. No life-threatening injuries."
Jack efficiently checked the conditions of the officers being carried out of the van. Meanwhile, Ma Seok-do, clutching his head in frustration, pulled out his phone and began making calls one by one.
Before long, the scene was flooded with police cars and emergency vehicles, sirens wailing as paramedics and firefighters arrived. With Jack's help, the injured officers were carefully placed on stretchers.
"I checked them all—since they were wearing seatbelts, they mostly have soft tissue injuries and mild concussions. A couple of days of rest, and they'll be fine."
As the ambulances departed one by one, their sirens fading into the distance, Jack patted Ma Seok-do on the shoulder and smiled reassuringly.
"Aish, those bastards… they were too careless. They must have been followed right after the raid." Ma Seok-do grumbled under his breath, but his eyes remained filled with worry as he watched the ambulances disappear into the night.
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