Free Web NovelNot long after, someone came hurrying out from the vice president’s residence.
“What? Is it really him?”
The person who emerged was the butler who had served under the vice president for many years.
With a delighted expression, he approached Ma Seokdae.
“Black! What brings you here?”
A faint smile appeared on Ma Seokdae’s face. fгeewebnovёl.com
“Katie. It’s been a long time.”
“When did you get to Sierra Leone? Today? Are you here to see Solomon?”
Ma Seokdae shook his head.
“I came because of another matter. I need Solomon’s help. I’ve come to collect the life debt he owes me from long ago.”
At his words, Katie’s face turned serious.
“...I don’t know what this is about, but if it’s a life debt Solomon owes, then this must be something major.”
“It’s not difficult. Can I meet Solomon?”
“Of course! If he hears Black is here, he’ll probably drop everything and come running. Come inside first.”
At Katie’s teasing, Ma Seokdae nodded and followed.
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll go inform the vice president.”
Leaving Ma Seokdae in the reception room, Katie hurried out.
The sofa in the reception room was soft and luxurious.
Left alone, Ma Seokdae sat down and drifted into old memories.
It was back when he had been hired by the Sierra Leone government as an EO mercenary and was fighting the rebels.
At the time they had been driving the rebels out to the outskirts, the rebels suddenly stormed into Freetown.
There were only a few EO mercenaries left in Freetown, and the government army was pushed back until even the presidential residence was occupied.
The president, having already heard the news, quickly fled Freetown, but the vice president—who at the time had been the minister of defense—was stranded inside the city.
‘The others told us we should pull out too.’
In a full-scale battle, the EO mercenaries had the advantage.
No, it was beyond an advantage—they could practically massacre them.
After all, these were African rebels with mediocre equipment.
But EO was different. At Sierra Leone’s request, they had been armed with Apaches and the latest equipment, and the effect had been enormous.
The rebels who had once controlled half of Sierra Leone were pushed back to the outer regions by the mercenaries.
There was only one option left for the rebels: seize the president and cut off the government’s contract with the mercenaries.
They believed that was their only path to survival, and they acted on it.
Ma Seokdae persuaded the mercenaries who wanted to evacuate first and instead chose to rescue the defense minister.
If the man fell into rebel hands, there was no telling how far the consequences would spread.
In the end, he safely rescued the defense minister and his family and escaped Freetown.
In return, EO was able to squeeze a great deal out of the Sierra Leone government.
They had even offered Ma Seokdae a personal reward, but he refused.
After that, Ma Seokdae and the man had become quite close.
“Solomon says he’ll come in immediately. He was genuinely delighted when he heard you were here, Black.”
Ma Seokdae answered with a faint smile.
“That’s good. Katie, sit down too. Keep me company until the vice president arrives.”
“Gladly! So what have you been doing all this time? I heard you quit mercenary work.”
Katie sat across from him willingly and asked.
“I’m serving someone else now.”
“Oh? So you do have someone you serve. What kind of person are they?”
“Hmm... the grandson of someone who was both my benefactor and my enemy.”
“Huh? What does that even mean? How can someone be both?”
Looking at her bewildered face, Ma Seokdae slowly rubbed his chin.
It was a habit he had picked up from being around his boss for so long.
“There are things like that. Anyway, after quitting mercenary work, I came to serve him. At first, I only intended to stay by his side for a while and then leave...”
Ma Seokdae ended up telling Katie quite a bit about what he had been up to.
When he finished, Katie let out an impressed sound.
“Oho. I’d love to meet him someday. To think someone managed to win Black’s loyalty. How on earth did they capture the heart of the Black who rejected Solomon’s desperate courtship?”
The vice president had once tried hard to recruit Ma Seokdae.
But Ma Seokdae had repeatedly refused, saying he didn’t want to be subordinate to anyone.
In the end, it was the vice president who gave up first.
Just then, the door opened and a man entered.
“Black!”
Katie sprang to her feet in surprise.
Ma Seokdae also stood and dipped his head slightly.
“Vice President. It’s been a long time.”
“Ha! Black, don’t be so formal. Be like before. Why make it awkward?”
The vice president was clearly and sincerely happy to see him.
“What have you even been doing? Not a word from you. I was hurt.”
“My apologies. It wasn’t easy.”
“Come on, I told you to relax. Tsk.”
Apparently displeased by the overly respectful attitude, the vice president clicked his tongue and narrowed his brows.
Unable to ignore the rebuke, Ma Seokdae decided to speak more casually.
“Alright, Solomon.”
“That’s better, that’s better. Sit.”
With a broad grin, the vice president sat down, and Ma Seokdae and Katie followed.
“When did you arrive in Freetown? You should’ve contacted me in advance. I would’ve made things easier for you.”
“I arrived today.”
“What brings you here? Did you come to see me?”
Ma Seokdae slowly shook his head.
The vice president let out a small sigh of disappointment and continued.
“Then what? Are you doing business now? Katie said you came to collect the debt of my life. Go on, tell me.”
“I hadn’t planned to contact you. I didn’t save you in order to ask for something in return.”
“Haha. If it weren’t for your help back then, there would be no me today. Just say it. If it’s something I can do, I’ll do it.”
Only after repeated encouragement did Ma Seokdae finally get to the point.
“The person I serve requests a meeting with the president.”
“What? You serve someone? After rejecting my offer so coldly? Who on earth is this lucky person who managed to win someone like you?”
“He runs a small business.”
“A small business...” freewebnøvel.com
The vice president trailed off, studying Ma Seokdae.
“It won’t be a bad meeting for either Solomon or the president.”
“Hm.”
“Give and take. That’s his creed. If he receives something, he repays it many times over. He can definitely be of great help to Sierra Leone’s economy.”
“What is this about? If it’s something that can be handled through me, then do it that way. There’s no need to involve the president.”
For a moment Ma Seokdae’s face darkened, thinking it was a refusal, but the vice president quickly continued.
“It’s just that arranging a meeting with the president would place a significant political burden on me as well. He’ll be stepping down in a few years. After that, I’ll have to run in the next presidential election.”
“Congratulations.”
“Haha, congratulations for what? If I win, just come to my inauguration ceremony.”
“If you invite me, I’ll attend.”
“That’s enough for me. Now then, tell me. Why exactly does he want to meet the president?”
Ma Seokdae explained the situation exactly as it was.
The vice president’s expression grew more serious several times, but he never interrupted.
By the time the explanation was over, the vice president looked genuinely shocked.
“...Black. The man you serve is the owner of Black Bear?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Huh. That’s surprising. Our government has also signed contracts with Black Bear and received a lot of help. For a country that went through so much chaos because of mercenaries, it was a difficult decision. But they were nothing like EO. They stayed exactly within the agreed boundaries.”
At that, a faint smile touched Ma Seokdae’s face.
“That’s the boss’s order. Mercenaries are a double-edged sword—if they let greed take over, they become a catastrophe. Of course, we can’t control every individual’s behavior, but Black Bear tends to restrain them by paying extremely generous compensation.”
“I heard as much. Still, this is no small thing. Opening the border so they can enter Guinea, and helping bring in weapons and mercenaries...”
The vice president fell silent for quite a long time.
Knowing how great a burden this was for him as well, Ma Seokdae simply waited.
When the vice president finally spoke again, he nodded.
“This doesn’t seem like something I can decide on alone. Tell him to come meet the president with me tonight.”
“That’s possible immediately?”
“Fortunately, I already have dinner plans with him tonight. Let’s have him join us there.”
“Thank you.”
The vice president waved it off with a hearty laugh.
“No need for thanks. I can only do this because I trust you. Make sure you tell the one you serve in advance—I will not tolerate rude behavior.”
“Understood.”
“Go and let him know at once. Will you be coming too?”
“Wherever he goes, I am there.”
“Good. Then I’ll expect it.”
As soon as he left the residence, Ma Seokdae immediately pulled out his phone.
“Boss. It’s settled.”
* * *
I left for the presidential residence with Chief Ma.
“I didn’t expect you’d secure the appointment this quickly.”
When Chief Ma reported that he had secured a dinner appointment with the president that very evening, both David and the Korean ambassador had been stunned.
No matter how small the country, this was still the supreme authority of a nation.
This was not the kind of meeting one secured in a single day.
“Solomon went out of his way to help.”
“You saved the vice president’s life?”
“Yes.”
“And I suppose you won’t be telling me the details of what happened?”
Chief Ma quietly closed his mouth.
Honestly, he was nothing if not consistent.
“Still, thanks to your past record, things should proceed much more smoothly.”
“Solomon said the most he can help with is the meeting with the president. After that, it depends on your ability, Boss.”
“Don’t worry about that. That’s why I brought plenty of gifts in advance.”
When I came to Sierra Leone, I had already prepared gifts for influential figures.
Most African countries were corrupt, so I figured it never hurt to come prepared.
Would Sierra Leone be any different?
“First, I need to know more about the president. How much longer until we arrive at the residence?”
“About thirty minutes.”
I nodded and picked up the file beside me to review the president’s background.
His name was Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
He had been an elite since childhood, having studied abroad in Britain.
After finishing his studies, he returned to his homeland and served in various positions, such as vice minister of foreign affairs and minister of finance, before first being elected president in 1996.
When President Kabbah was elected, the civil war had already been in full swing.
Naturally, the rebels refused to recognize him, and a military coup drove him from office.
But he appealed to the international community and eventually returned to the presidency in 1998.
“He’s got flowers in his head.”
He had tried repeatedly to end the civil war through peaceful means.
He negotiated with them again and again, even reaching ceasefire agreements several times.
But the rebels broke every promise, and the civil war dragged on endlessly.
Eventually Britain, no longer able to watch, dispatched troops under the pretext of protecting its citizens and ended the war by capturing the rebel leader.
That was why Sierra Leone now found itself dragged along by Britain.
“The British bastards really stick their noses everywhere.”
People often said that in Africa—no, in the entire world—most seeds of conflict could be traced back to Britain, so numerous were the evils they had committed.
I decided to focus on Kabbah’s more positive side as much as possible.
Like any African president, he was corrupt, but that didn’t affect me in the slightest.
In fact, the greedier a man was, the easier he was for me to manipulate.
“Boss. We’re almost there.”
At Chief Ma’s voice, I set the file down and looked ahead.
The presidential residence was finally coming into view, but the surrounding area was under tight military control.
It took a total of three checkpoints just to reach the residence.
Thanks to the prior arrangement, we passed through easily enough.
Before entering the building where the president was, we were subjected to a belongings inspection and a physical search.
“I’m sorry, Boss.”
“It’s fine. This much is nothing.”
There was no reason for Chief Ma to apologize.
A man who had once been ousted by a coup couldn’t be expected to trust others easily.
After completing every procedure, we finally stopped in front of the president’s office.
A man presumed to be the chief of staff greeted us.
“Good evening. I am Al Haji, the president’s chief secretary.”
“Kim Muhyuk.”
“There are just a few things you must observe in front of the president.”
He explained what actions and words were forbidden.
I let his advice go in one ear and out the other.
It was just another way of saying they intended to handle us however they pleased.
Only after enduring his long-winded lecture were we allowed into the office.
Two men were already conversing inside.
As soon as we entered, both of them studied Chief Ma and me carefully.
“Good evening. I’m Kim Muhyuk.”
I dipped my head slightly in greeting.
“Mm.”
The two merely hummed without saying much.
“Come over here first. I heard you wanted to meet me?”
The first to speak was the man seated in the place of honor.
At the president’s gesture, we walked toward the seats.
Before the real conversation began, I took out the gift I had brought.
“It’s only a small token, but I brought it because I thought it would suit you.”
The president stared at me for a moment before expressionlessly opening the gift.
“It’s a 1941 Patek Philippe watch. Only four of this model were ever made, and two were lost during the war. But one was recently discovered in Hungary. I purchased it. Only three exist in the world.”
The gift I had prepared was none other than the watch of watches: a Patek Philippe.
A smile touched the president’s lips as he examined it.
At the same time, greed flickered openly in the eyes of the vice president seated across from us.
‘Both of them are exactly the same kind of bastard.’
I sneered inwardly.
