Free Web NovelThe people gathered in front of the embassy were those who had come out from the Chinese and North Korean embassies.
“Thank you all for coming. This isn’t something we should discuss out here, so let’s move. We don’t need too many people—just one representative from each country, please follow me.”
I led them to the safe house Black Bear had prepared.
“Welcome, Boss.”
Receiving the greeting from the Black Bear military advisory team stationed in Sierra Leone, I went straight inside the house.
“We can do the greetings later. Let’s get straight to the point.”
Given the situation, everyone nodded at my words.
“Please brief me on Guinea’s current situation.”
A man stood up as the representative of the advisory team.
“I’m David, the leader of the advisory team. Guinea’s current situation is...”
The man who introduced himself as David explained Guinea’s present circumstances in a flat, orderly voice.
According to him, the capital had already been occupied by the coup forces.
The warlords siding with the coup army had sealed the borders, captured many of the president’s supporters, and imprisoned them. The president himself had also been detained inside the presidential palace, then photographed and publicly displayed.
“And we have confirmed that the special delegation from Korea is currently staying at the hotel.”
“Can’t we approach the hotel without the coup forces noticing and extract them?”
“For some reason we don’t yet know, the surveillance on the special delegation is extremely heavy.”
“They’re under surveillance?”
David nodded and continued.
“Yes. We already tried approaching the hotel through an intelligence asset operating inside Guinea, but he was arrested before he could even get near it.”
“Why? There’s nothing to gain from detaining envoys who came for diplomatic normalization talks...”
“I’m sorry. We haven’t been able to determine that much.”
The answer came from someone else.
“May I explain that part?”
I turned toward the voice. The one who had spoken was the North Korean ambassador.
“Has your side learned something?”
“We gathered various pieces of information through our embassy in Guinea.”
“It must have been difficult to move around. Thank you for your efforts.”
“Thank you. The Great Comrade Chairman personally called and—”
He looked ready to start singing a full hymn of praise to Jang Songthaek, so I quickly raised a hand to stop him.
“Just get to the point.”
“Ah, yes. Ahem. It seems the president was planning to exile Alpha Condé.”
“Alpha Condé?”
“Alpha Condé is Guinea’s democratic activist. He is also the political enemy of the president and the president’s supporters.”
“What does exiling someone like that have to do with the special delegation?”
The North Korean ambassador cleared his throat again.
“There is a rumor that the president asked the Korean special delegation to take Alpha Condé with them and protect him. It is believed that his close aides, feeling threatened ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ by that, launched the coup.”
“...He asked them to protect his political enemy?”
I started wondering whether I had heard that correctly.
What kind of dictator on earth asks someone to protect his own rival?
“It’s probably true.”
At that moment, the Chinese ambassador picked up where the North Korean ambassador left off.
“Guinea’s president is in very poor health. Originally, he had intended to step down naturally in this election. However, the military and bureaucrats whose political lives are tied to his could not accept that, so they pressured him and ultimately forced through his third term.”
“...Are you saying the president is a puppet?”
The Chinese ambassador slowly shook his head.
“Not to that extent. But it is true that the balance of power has shifted elsewhere. If the president dies... the most likely next president is Alpha Condé. But to those already intoxicated by the sweetness of power, he is a thorn in the eye.”
“What does that have to do with what’s happening right now?”
“Guinea’s president truly loves his country.”
“That’s what dictators always say.”
There was something dictators always said: that only they could rebuild the nation.
But once you lifted the lid, the reality was always the same—a cesspool of corruption.
Rather than the nation’s prosperity, they devoted themselves to filling their own pockets, and in the end the country’s livelihood withered away.
And it was always the people who paid the price.
“Well... whatever his true intentions may be, at least the path he has shown until now suggested he cared for the people. In his mind, Alpha Condé may have been the one who could rebuild Guinea. That is likely why he had him in mind as the next president. But the military would never sit back and watch that happen. Once the president dies, the very first thing they would try to do is kill Alpha Condé. That may be why the president made such a choice.” freewebnøvel.coɱ
Everything was still speculation—nothing more than “it might be this” or “perhaps that.”
Still, with embassies on the ground, this was at least the kind of information they could piece together.
“Where is Alpha Condé now?”
“He is believed to be detained at his residence. But even that is not certain.”
“So in the end, Korea’s special delegation got detained because of an internal power struggle in Guinea. This is insane.”
For now, Myungsoo’s safety had been confirmed, but no one knew how the situation would change as time passed.
“Thank you, everyone.”
I thanked the Chinese and North Korean ambassadors for the information.
“It was nothing. I’m sorry we couldn’t be of greater help.”
“No, this was valuable. I won’t forget this favor. We’ll definitely have reason to meet again.”
If they had been dispatched as ambassadors to Africa, it practically meant they held little real power back home.
“We will make sure to report this to the Chairman and the President. Please wait for good news.”
At that, both men rose at the same time and bowed their heads.
“Thank you.”
“Please return and keep gathering intelligence. I’m counting on you.”
“Understood. We’ll contact you as soon as new information comes in.”
After sending the two ambassadors away, it was finally time to work out a real plan.
“How large is the military advisory team stationed in Sierra Leone?”
“Three hundred.”
“And they’re all in Freetown?”
“No. They’re spread across Sierra Leone helping with military training. About one hundred are permanently stationed in Freetown.”
That was a considerable number.
With this many, it might actually be possible.
“It would be difficult to pull everyone out immediately and move them into Guinea, right?”
“That would be difficult. The Sierra Leone government would never allow it. And by the nature of a military advisory team, there are far more instructors than combat personnel. In reality, we have fewer than one hundred combat operatives.”
As I rubbed my chin with a low hum, David added,
“Of course, even with that hundred, if we really set our minds to it, we could turn Guinea into complete chaos.”
At his words, I let out a faint laugh.
To say they could throw an entire country’s regular army into chaos with just one hundred men.
It was a glimpse of his confidence.
“How are relations between the Sierra Leone and Guinea governments?”
“They’re considered good.”
“What about moving the Sierra Leone government to pressure Guinea?”
David thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“That would probably be difficult.”
“How high up are your connections in the government?”
“We meet frequently with the Minister of Defense. But... the civil war ended only recently, so the defense minister doesn’t hold much real power. The president keeps all authority firmly in his own hands.”
“And a way to reach the president?”
“That’s harder. The British side has that pipeline locked down tight.”
“They were the ones who ended Sierra Leone’s civil war, right?”
“That’s right.”
Sierra Leone’s civil war, which dragged on for nearly ten years, had been a cycle of brutal massacres.
Even the capital, Freetown, had been occupied by rebels multiple times, and the president had repeatedly fled abroad to survive.
Ceasefires and renewed war had repeated countless times with international assistance.
In the end, Britain sent one thousand special forces troops into Freetown, captured the rebel leader, and brought the civil war to an end.
To Sierra Leone, Britain was no different from a savior.
They had ended a ten-year war with a single military intervention. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
At that moment, Chief Ma spoke up.
“I think I can reach him.”
Both David and I turned to look at him.
“You can reach the president?”
“Yes. I know the vice president.”
“Is that true?”
David, who had been expressionless until now, finally looked shocked.
“You know Vice President Berewa?”
“Yes. I once saved his life during the civil war.”
Only then did I remember that Chief Ma had once been deployed as a mercenary during Sierra Leone’s civil war.
“Then set up a meeting with the president.”
“Yes, Boss. I’ll go right away.”
Chief Ma bowed and left. David kept staring blankly at the door long after he was gone.
“That’s incredible. Vice President Berewa is the most likely next president. He is also President Kabbah’s political comrade. To have a direct line to someone like that...”
“He’s that important?”
“He is. Whenever President Kabbah makes a major decision, he always consults Vice President Berewa. Even though the civil war is over, those forces haven’t been fully dismantled yet, which makes the vice president extremely important. If anything happens to the president, Berewa is the one who will succeed him.”
So the meaning was clear: it was important to build your connections in advance.
I quietly nodded as I listened.
Who would have thought Chief Ma’s mercenary past would help like this?
“For now, let’s leave the connection to the president to Chief Ma. How strong are Guinea’s coup forces militarily?”
“With about three mercenary teams, we could seize the capital.”
“Even against a regular army?”
David nodded without hesitation.
“The difference in skill and equipment level is huge. Even when Sierra Leone’s civil war was ended by about a thousand British troops, I understand that fewer than three hundred actually infiltrated Freetown directly.”
“So if we deploy Black Bear, we can bring them back.”
“Politically it would be a massive burden, but setting that aside, absolutely.”
The Korean ambassador, who had been listening to our conversation, visibly drained of color.
“...Are you planning to deploy mercenaries?”
I looked at him expressionlessly.
“T-that won’t do. We should demand their release through diplomatic channels first—”
“Ambassador. Then what exactly are you going to do?”
“The government is already cooperating with the UN and the United States to negotiate with Guinea’s coup side.”
It seemed he still didn’t understand the situation.
All he was doing was talking in empty abstractions.
I let out a dry laugh and met his eyes directly.
“Why take the long road when there’s an easier one right in front of us?”
“International relations are not something military action can solve every time. First, we need a diplomatic solution—”
“Ambassador, don’t give me theoretical talk. I flew all the way here to save my friend. That means I intend to use any means necessary. I already have the president’s approval.”
At my words, the Korean ambassador’s face went blank.
“...The president approved this?”
“Call Seoul yourself. If you’re not going to help, then it would be better if you left.”
“N-no, that’s not it.”
Now that even the president had approved it, if he returned empty-handed, he would inevitably be asked what exactly the ambassador had done.
Perhaps worried about that, he clearly intended to stay put, so I spoke to him bluntly.
“Ambassador. This is a special delegation that visited Guinea representing the Republic of Korea. Their safety is under threat. Do you really think this can be solved by diplomacy alone? No, the coup forces probably won’t kill them outright.”
“...”
“But you’ve been here longer than anyone. You know this better than anyone, don’t you? What if Guinea’s rebels use this coup as an opportunity to march on the capital? What if fighting breaks out? If one stray shell flies into the hotel where the delegation is staying, who do you think is going to protect them?”
That was what worried me most.
If civil war broke out and the aftershock threatened the delegation’s safety.
I took my eyes off the now-silent ambassador and asked David,
“There’s no problem bringing mercenaries into the country, right?”
“Unauthorized mercenaries can’t enter Sierra Leone. EO turned this country into too much of a mess...”
At David’s words, I let out a deep sigh without realizing it.
Then I looked toward the door Chief Ma had gone through.
“We’ll just have to wait and hope Chief Ma does his job.”
* * *
Ma Seokdae headed straight for the vice president’s residence without hesitation.
At the entrance, dozens of armed soldiers stood guard behind barricades.
“This is a restricted area. Turn back.”
The soldier who stopped the car spoke curtly.
Ma Seokdae quietly turned off the engine and stepped out of the driver’s seat.
At his sudden movement, the soldiers immediately swung their rifles toward him.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Tell Solomon this. Black is here.”
“What?”
“Tell him it’s time to repay the price of his life.”
“You know the vice president? Do you have an appointment?”
Even at the flustered soldier’s question, Ma Seokdae answered once more in a hard voice.
“Just tell him Black is here.”
Faced with Ma Seokdae’s unwavering confidence, the soldier hesitated for a moment before deciding this was above his pay grade.
Carefully reading the mood, the soldier said,
“P-please wait a moment. I’ll contact the inside.”
While waiting for the reply, Ma Seokdae looked up at the sky and recalled memories from the past.
