WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 408: Wind from High Places (6)
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Unfortunately, Anne knew nothing about the protest either.
「Governor Chaffee is scheduled to visit the unit?」
Gyeoul answered yes.
"That's what I heard. I haven't been contacted directly, though."
「Hmm...」
After a pause, Anne spoke in an uncertain voice.
「If this isn't just a grab for airtime, then there really is some troublesome background to it.」
"Well, we'll find out when the governor gets here. I don't think there's any need to worry."
At this point, it would be difficult to smear Gyeoul personally or the Independent Battalion. Anyone who tried to bite them would end up bloodied instead.
So nine times out of ten, it was a dispute related to the Ground Zero Vacuum. Given the Kramer administration's strong will, the chance of the Ground Zero Vacuum plan itself running aground was low.
Kramer wanted a permanent resolution to the quarantine war. And within the first term, at that. If it happened, the second term could begin with approval ratings even more overwhelming than the first. That was the basic foundation needed to redesign America as Kramer wished.
Anne asked.
「Could there be a problem on the Alliance side?」
"That side is fine."
「I don't want to suspect people close to you, Gyeoul, but money changes people.」
"I know. Still, it's fine for now. I checked."
「Checked... Was it the Intelligence Agency, by any chance?」
"Yes. That's how it worked out."
At his casual answer, Anne groaned. Even over the receiver, he could sense her displeasure.
「I'm not sure it's safe to leave it to them. They might bury corruption just enough to use it as leverage later, threatening to expose it. They could be planning to keep siphoning off the budget and donations flowing into the Gyeoul Alliance.」
"That's true."
Gyeoul accepted it readily.
"I'm thinking of it as insurance, just in case."
「It would be better to prepare another safeguard if possible. I've spotted signs that the Intelligence Agency has been moving funds recklessly lately. They clearly poured far more money into their operations in Russia than was officially reported. From the Intelligence Agency's perspective, their future must have been on the line.」
Just having a potential enemy state with nuclear weapons south of the United States would cement the Intelligence Agency's reason for existing. So the Intelligence Agency must have staked everything on making this operation happen. That was what Anne meant.
「Funds spent off the books have to be replaced off the books. It's unavoidable if they want to avoid discovery. In that sense, the Gyeoul Alliance is a decent host. The total donations are already exceeding the annual budget.」
As always, it was excellent insight. In fact, had there not been that case of a certain conglomerate's slush fund that Baek San-ho had managed? Baek San-ho had told Gyeoul they could take out thirty percent, but there was a chance even that had been an understatement. And there was no way Baek San-ho was the only source of money the Intelligence Agency had dug up. The Intelligence Agency must have been sensitive to the flow of dirty money for a long time.
There was an alternative.
"I'm planning to have external audits done."
Gyeoul said.
"If we request them at least twice a year, both regularly and at random, it will be hard for anyone to misuse the funds. Unless I want it, anyway... I won't worry about the cost. People may say the fees are wasteful, but we'll be compensated in credibility, so I don't think it's a loss at all. I'm more worried about other organizations than the Alliance."
Most refugee organizations would be unable to avoid former President MacMillan's ominous prediction. That did not mean Gyeoul had any way to help. At most, he could send letters urging caution to people he had never met. It was doubtful how much they would accept Gyeoul's advice.
Or they might grow jealous. They might think someone famous enough to receive piles of donations was acting high and mighty, interfering without knowing what it was like for groups that had to operate on their basic budgets alone. Ordinary refugees and the people in positions to lead them would inevitably see Gyeoul differently.
'It'll be fortunate if this doesn't become poison later.'
If corruption surfaced later and the letters were leaked, reports would obviously say they had ignored Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul's advice. Gyeoul would benefit by comparison, but that was not what he wanted.
It would at least be much better if he could simply tell them what he had seen and heard as it was. But he could not send blatant letters to complete strangers saying Kramer had set a trap. If that leaked, the White House would take the first blow, and Gyeoul would face the backlash second.
If he revealed that it had been advice from the former president, MacMillan's situation would become awkward. Gyeoul did not know how MacMillan himself would take it, but from Gyeoul's perspective, it was a hard option to choose.
"Let's stop the heavy talk here. It's not as if there's another way."
Gyeoul changed the subject.
"I was curious about something else."
「Yes.」
"Anne. Did you tell your parents that you decided to marry me?"
Anne burst out laughing.
「What is this, all of a sudden?」
"This is important too."
「Well, yes...」
"Anyway, your answer?"
「I haven't told them yet. I don't think they'd keep the secret either. Before a day passed, the whole neighborhood would know. The day after that, it'd be on the news.」
"What's wrong with people finding out?"
「Are you serious?」
"Putting me aside, it would be troublesome for you, but it's something we'll have to go through someday. I'm sorry for being pointlessly famous. I'm making things hard for you for no reason."
Anne giggled lightly again.
「You've gotten better at joking.」
After thinking for a moment, she said no.
「I want to go together and surprise my parents. I'm curious what kind of faces they'll make when they see you. They always told me I had no eye for men.」
"A small revenge?"
「Part of me also doesn't want it to interfere with my work. I wouldn't even be able to dream of field assignments.」
"Which reason is more important?"
「The first one, of course.」
This time, Gyeoul laughed.
Then a siren sounded inside the base. Anne asked stiffly.
「Is something happening there?」
"I don't know. I'll hang up for now. I'll contact you as soon as I confirm it."
「Be careful.」
After exchanging farewells and ending the call, Gyeoul prepared for combat and checked the situation over the radio. A report came in quickly. The duty commander explained why the emergency had been sounded.
"An intruder?"
「Yes. At 22:37, a patrol team discovered a hole in the barbed-wire fence. We are currently sealing off the entire garrison and searching the base.」
"How many intruders?"
「Judging from the footprints, we estimate one person.」
"I'll join the search too."
「Uh, that won't be necessary.」
"If this is because of the assassination attempt, I'm fine."
「That's not it. They say the intruder has been detained.」
"...Wait a moment. You already caught them?"
A baffled Gyeoul asked again. Only about three minutes had passed since the siren started wailing. At this point, they had either been extremely lucky, the intruder was very incompetent, or the intruder had no intention of hiding in the first place. Gyeoul gave weight to the last guess. There had been a protest during the day already. The protesters had obeyed police control but had not easily left the garrison area.
A little later, another report came in. The intruder was an unarmed civilian. His guess turned half into certainty. There was a chance this was simply the work of a fan who wanted to see Gyeoul in person, but the timing was too convenient to see it that way.
「They're demanding to meet you. What should we do? Should we just hand them over to the police?」
The duty commander, the Chinese American commander of Bravo Company, sounded troubled.
"No. Hold them for now."
Gyeoul gave the order.
"Let's at least hear what they have to say."
If the person really was one of the protesters, or someone sent by whoever had guided that protest, it was worth hearing them out. There was no guarantee the governor due tomorrow would tell him the truth.
After sending Anne a text saying the situation was over and that she did not need to worry, Gyeoul armed himself and left his quarters. When he arrived on site, the police were already at the entrance. Leadville was a very small city, and the road from the sheriff's office to the garrison was less than a mile. The police must also have been on edge from the daytime protest. Gyeoul asked them to wait there.
"Finally! Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul!"
The detained person shouted in delight. When she tried to spring to her feet, the soldiers forced her back down. She was not someone he knew. Any American citizen who met Gyeoul would probably react similarly. Gyeoul watched her quietly, then knelt on one knee to meet the intruder at eye level.
She looked at Gyeoul with a smile. People could be different on the inside than the outside, but her impression itself was that of a gentle Black woman. Earrings glittered under the lights. The goose-down padded jacket she wore was also a bright, vivid red. It was another piece of proof that she had entered expecting to be caught in the first place. He saw no signs of drug addiction. She had done this sober.
Gyeoul opened his mouth.
"What is your name?"
"Winnie Muldrow!"
"Then, Miss Muldrow."
"Please call me Winnie!"
"...Very well, Winnie. You know trespassing into a military base is a serious offense, yes?"
"Yes. I'm prepared to be punished."
The intruder looked like a martyr. Gyeoul let out a short sigh.
"Even if you're prepared, that is still a problem... Was your goal to speak with me?"
"Yes. I came to ask you to support our 「American Citizens’ Action for Humanity」."
Judging by her tone, 「American Citizens’ Action for Humanity」 seemed to be the name of the civic group Muldrow belonged to. Gyeoul threw out a probing question.
"Do you mean telling them not to destroy nature?"
Muldrow quickly shook her head.
"That was only a taste."
"A taste? For me?"
"Of course not! For Kramer, obviously! It was like a declaration that if he pushes ahead with absurd policies, we will begin a full-scale struggle! We sent him a signal that he should resolve this peacefully before that happens!"
Gyeoul leaned his upper body back a little. Spit had flown at him. Muldrow raised her voice with passion.
"I'm sorry we interfered with your training during the day, Lieutenant Colonel. But if you knew what President Kramer was trying to do, you would definitely understand us. He is trying to recognize the regimes of pirates!"
He had no idea what she meant. If Gyeoul, who carefully read the papers every day and watched the news every evening, did not know about it, the source was naturally suspicious.
"What exactly do you mean by regimes of pirates?"
Muldrow answered with pride.
"Information we obtained! The Kramer administration's new foreign policy!"
"..."
"As you know, Lieutenant Colonel, there used to be so many pirates, right?"
"There were."
"Those pirates illegally occupied several islands and are oppressing the original residents and refugees! But Kramer is planning to recognize governments founded by those pirates! What was it again... Right! If they contribute to maintaining order on the high seas and to the interests of the world, accept democracy, and promise not to commit any more crimes, then for the greater cause of human survival, their past wrongs will not be questioned! That was the summary! Does that make any sense? Leaving innocent people in the hands of criminals even in the future! The poor residents will be worked like slaves!"
Her denunciation continued without leaving Gyeoul room to interrupt.
"And! They say they won't even care which country those islands originally belonged to! That isn't right, is it? This is no different from America declaring that it will ignore other countries' sovereignty! Any land belongs to whoever occupies it! That's what it means!"
Hearing this, Gyeoul judged that this information was likely true. Mexico and Central America were being treated the same way.
Unsurprisingly, Muldrow even knew that the Kramer administration had made a deal with Russia over the territory of a third country. She even knew that the training Gyeoul was participating in was included in that deal.
'Who leaked the information?'
Gyeoul thought it over. No matter who had leaked it, this situation was definitely not what that person wanted. It would only backfire.
Muldrow, who knew nothing of these thoughts, made her request with the same purity as at the beginning.
"Lieutenant Colonel. Please help us!"
"What do you want me to do?"
"It's simple! Refuse the joint training with Russia and publicly support us!"
It was not simple at all. Gyeoul spoke as if soothing her.
"Winnie. I can't simply believe what you say without question, and even if all of it is true, those are impossible demands for me."
"Why? You're Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul."
Gyeoul nodded to the confused woman.
"Yes. I'm Han Gyeoul, and I'm a lieutenant colonel. A soldier. A soldier has to follow orders."
"Still, you're Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul."
That was the second time. The way she said it made Gyeoul sound like some kind of special being.
Confusion appeared on Muldrow's face.
"Lieutenant Colonel Han Gyeoul should naturally be on our side..."
Gyeoul stood, one hand on his knee.
"It seems there are many differences between the me inside your head and the me standing here. I have limits, and there are things I can and cannot do. I'm sorry I can't help you. Take this person to the sheriff."
The last part was an order to the soldiers. The two soldiers he pointed to lifted Muldrow to her feet, her hands bound behind her back. She, the disappointed civic activist, looked at Gyeoul and muttered that he was a traitor. Her voice lacked confidence. It felt as though she herself was not sure of the word she had spoken.
Footnotes:
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