Joe shifted his weight on the plush leather sofa. The air in the windowless room felt stale and heavy. Across the low table, Min-beom was chewing on a fingernail.
Beside Joe, Woo-jin had his head buried in his hands. He let out a low, sickly groan.
"My brain is actually throbbing," Woo-jin whispered.
Hyeon-ju kicked the leg of the coffee table. The sharp thud made Woo-jin jump and grab his temples.
"Shut up and focus," Hyeon-ju said. She turned to look at the two strangers sitting next to Gang-yong.
Gang-yong cleared his throat. "This is Tae-yong. She is with Cyber Crimes. And this is Hang-gu."
Tae-yong didn't smile. She pulled a tablet from her bag and slid it into the center of the group.
"Joe told us about the safe." She tapped the screen to show a diagram of a heavy German smart safe. "Jang-do was right. This thing has a built-in thermal charge. If Myeong-gil thinks he is being raided, he can incinerate the hard drives from his phone."
Joe leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "We need that to happen. If those drives turn to ash, he has no more leverage over anyone."
Geon-woo leaned in to look at the tablet. "How do we make him do it without him knowing?"
"I have two ways into his device," Tae-yong said, scrolling through a list of protocols. "The first is a malicious QR code. If we can get him to scan it, I can mirror his screen instantly."
Min-beom frowned and wiped sweat from his upper lip. "Why would he scan a random code?"
"These days all company's scan personal QR codes when entering buildings," Joe said, looking at Min-beom. "We'll have to make one to post at the entrance. Then have him scan it."
Tae-yong nodded and tapped the tablet again. "If he does not bite on that, the second method is a spoofed WiFi network. I will set up a signal that looks like a trusted office connection. Once he connects, I am in."
Min-beom pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and rubbed his neck. "This is too risky. What if the connection drops? What if he notices his phone is acting up?"
Joe stood up and walked around the table. He stopped right in front of Min-beom and looked down at him. "We are all here on standby. If he dares to do anything inside the room, we'll get him first."
Woo-jin peeked out from behind his fingers. "I might throw up, but I will be there."
Hyeon-ju ignored him and looked at Gang-yong. "What about the police? Are you guys going to stay in the van?"
"Hang-gu and I will be outside," Gang-yong said with a firm nod. "We cannot move until that safe is confirmed as a pile of melted plastic. Once the evidence is gone, he is just a man with a lot of enemies."
Min-beom stared at his phone sitting on the leather cushion. It looked small and harmless, but it held his entire life in it.
"He is going to ask about the hotel," Min-beom said.
"Let him ask." Joe tapped the top of the phone with his index finger. "Send the message. Tell him you have the contract ready and you want to finish this today."
Min-beom looked around at the group, eyes darting from face to face. He picked up the phone with trembling fingers. The light from the screen made his pale skin look like wax.
He typed slowly.
CLICK. CLICK.
He took a shaky breath and pressed send.
"It is sent," Min-beom said. He dropped the phone like it burned him.
Joe straightened his jacket and looked at the group. "The safe burns today. After that, we finish Myeong-gil for good."
---
Min-beom sat at the massive table. His knuckles were white. The lawyer beside him stared at a stack of documents. The room felt cold and silent.
Joe stood in the monitoring room. He watched Tae-yong's fingers fly across the keys. Gang-yong stood with his arms crossed. Everyone held their breath.
Hyeon-ju leaned against the back wall. Her eyes moved between the screens. Geon-woo and Woo-jin stayed close to Joe. They were ready to move.
"Target is on site," Hang-gu said through the comms. "Black sedan at the north entrance."
Myeong-gil stepped out of the car. He smoothed his suit jacket. He looked at the building with a smile. His lawyer followed him.
Two security guards stopped Myeong-gil. One held up a tablet with a QR code. Myeong-gil clicked his tongue. He scanned it with a black phone.
"I am in," Tae-yong whispered.
Data surged across her screen. A progress bar hit one hundred percent. Gang-yong felt a surge of adrenaline. This was their only shot.
Tae-yong's fingers blurred as she opened the folders. Her movements slowed. She clicked through the directories and frowned. Her brow furrowed in confusion.
"What is the holdup?" Joe asked.
Gang-yong felt his heart rate climb. "What are you seeing?"
"Nothing," Tae-yong muttered. She refreshed the directory. The folders were empty. "There is no safe app here. Was the intel wrong?"
Joe thought back to the basement. He remembered Jang-do's broken voice. "The information is solid. He was too terrified to lie."
"Maybe he knew," Woo-jin said.
Joe watched the CCTV feed. Myeong-gil entered the room with his lawyer. He walked toward Min-beom with an easy stride. "Director Hong. How are you?"
Min-beom's jaw tightened. He looked toward the hidden camera. He bowed his head in a shallow greeting.
The door to the monitoring room swung open. Hang-gu rushed inside. He pointed at the monitor. "We missed it. Look at his hands."
Myeong-gil pulled a silver phone from a leather pouch. He set it next to the black one.
"He has two phones," Hang-gu spat. "The black one was a decoy. The silver one is the vault."
Tae-yong slumped back in her chair. "We scanned the wrong device. We have no access to that one."
"So what now?" Gang-yong asked.
Tae-yong looked up at the screen. "We need him on the Wi-Fi. If he connects the silver phone, I can bypass the scan."
"Look," Joe said.
Min-beom abruptly stood up. He looked pale. He muttered something and bolted for the exit.
Joe moved to the door. Min-beom burst inside. He was trembling. "Tell me it is done."
Gang-yong gripped his shoulder. "He has two phones, Min-beom. The app is on the silver one."
Min-beom's face twisted in terror. "What are we doing? The meeting is almost over."
"Can we have a moment," Gang-yong told the officers.
Tae-yong and Hang-gu nodded before leaving.
The team circled around Min-beom. The silence was heavy.
"Jang-do filmed you," Hyeon-ju said. "He would have sent that video to Myeong-gil for proof."
Gang-yong looked at her. "You want him to ask to see it?"
"Exactly," Hyeon-ju said. "Tell him you won't sign until it is deleted. He will have to pull out the real phone."
Min-beom shook his head. "No. What if he realizes I am fishing?"
Joe stepped into his line of sight. "Myeong-gil trusts no one. He would have demanded that video. It is on that phone."
"I can't," Min-beom whispered. "Every time he looks at me, I want to collapse."
Gang-yong grabbed his shoulders. "Look at me. You are doing this. I will be right outside those doors."
Joe's voice was low. "We are right behind him. You are not alone."
Min-beom took a jagged breath. He straightened his tie. He nodded once.
"Okay," Min-beom said. "Let's go."