Vladivostok Airport grounds.
A tug hauling a rolling platform was heading towards the warehouse.
The driver, undoubtedly Russian, steered with one hand and nodded at a colleague passing by.
Even though he was blasting upbeat dance music through his headphones, his face remained completely bored.
After parking at the warehouse, the man stepped out of the tug and looked around the calm airport grounds.
It was well into the night, and the runway was dark, occupied by only a few planes, all with their lights off.
The cargo plane that had just landed was the last flight of the day—at least according to the official records.
The man looked up at the night sky.
His blue eyes, partially hidden beneath drooping lashes, gleamed with understanding.
However, his lazy posture, leaning on one leg, and slow movements were typical of his usual demeanor.
He turned his head upon hearing someone approach from behind.
It was his coworker, who had been working alongside him until the end of their shift, waving goodbye.
"I'm heading home first. Good luck with the rest of the work, Igor."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow,"
he replied in his usual disinterested tone.
Once his colleague had left, an impenetrable silence enveloped the warehouse, amplifying the music from his headphones.
Despite the lively melody, which would have anyone else bopping along, his eyes remained dull with boredom.
How much time had passed?
Suddenly, the music began to fade. The man tapped his headphones indifferently.
The static soon disappeared, replaced by a voice.
["Hunting."]
"Two tigers. Radio check,"
he responded without hesitation.
The voice was no longer that of Igor, the ramp manager, but rather Kwon Taekjoo's—clear and strong, without a hint of the previous gruffness.
After confirming the radio code, his counterpart responded, "Copy," and began relaying the situation.
["This is Foxtrot. Special train Pyongyang 677 just arrived at Khasan Station."]
Kwon Taekjoo had been informed earlier that the train had passed through Najin.
Its arrival at Khasan meant it was traveling at normal speeds along regular routes.
The train was scheduled to remain at Khasan Station for about half a day.
Since Khasan was in Russia, where the rail gauge was different from North Korea's, adjustments had to be made.
This meant all cargo would be unloaded, the wheels would be changed, and the upper part of the train car would be lifted to swap out the train cars.
It was the perfect opportunity to investigate and identify the cargo.
"What about our target?"
["No sign of the target.The only confirmed passengers are armed soldiers. We can't determine what they're carrying, but the security is extremely tight.They're currently swapping bogies without additional inspections."]
All passengers must disembark during a bogie swap for safety reasons.
In previous instances, when a North Korean leader traveled to Vladivostok by land, they would disembark at Khasan Station and stay overnight in a nearby town during the bogie swap.
However, no such preparations were made this time, suggesting that Park Jeong-ho and the other targets were not aboard the train.
It made sense that such extreme measures would only be taken for
someone as important as a North Korean leader.
But what was even stranger was that if the 677 was just a regular cargo train, there would be no need for armed soldiers to escort it.
And what's more, there should have been at least a minimal inspection of the cargo after crossing international borders.
The lack of such procedures indicated that North Korea and Russia had already made prior arrangements for the transport.
To Kwon Taekjoo, the whole situation felt suspicious.
"Anything else out of the ordinary?"
["It's hard to say because it's dark, but all the soldiers who got off the train were
wearing masks."]
"Masks? Are you sure?"
["Mhm… correction, I see hoses attached to the masks. It looks like a gas mask."]
"A gas mask? And what about their uniforms?"
["They're dressed in black from head to toe, but... it's hard to tell if it's standard
military gear or protective suits."]
"Got it. Keep watching them and report immediately if anything unusual happens. And remember to check in at the next scheduled transmission."
["I didn't have anything to report."]
"If there's nothing, report that too. It keeps both of us updated on what's going on."
["You sound like my boss."]
"Do you think I enjoy this? If you want to argue about ranks, go join the military. Let me warn you, do your job properly, even if you don't want to. Don't take matters into your own hands. If you get exposed to the enemy, it's not just your neck on the line."
The radio cut off abruptly before Kwon Taekjoo finished speaking. His headphones resumed playing the same music as before, as if nothing had happened.
His frustration grew, fueled by his partner's blatant disregard for basic radio protocol.
"Ah, what a pain…"
Kwon Taekjoo muttered a curse under his breath, staring up at the sky.
The American agent,
"Foxtrot,"
had been uncooperative from the start.
He seemed to have many complaints about South Korea taking the lead on the operation while they acted as backup.
Every time they made contact, Foxtrot would give him a hard time, and this time was no different.
Kwon Taekjoo took a deep breath, trying to calm his rising frustration.
Maybe it was a blessing they hadn't met in person.
If they had, he wouldn't have been able to stop thinking about that exasperating face and might have caused quite a scene.
Foxtrot had mentioned that the guards were equipped with gas masks and protective gear.
Although he wasn't sure, it was worth considering.
What on earth were they transporting on that train?
If it were some highly flammable or explosive chemical compound, there would be no reason to swap the bogies so recklessly, as it could trigger an accident during the lifting process.
It would be much safer to transfer the cargo to another train first.
The fact that they didn't take that precaution pointed to two possibilities: either the cargo wasn't impact-sensitive, or lifting the train car was safer than handling the load manually.
In other words, the item in question wasn't sensitive to impact, but it could still pose a danger to humans.
This would explain why it was transported separately from the North Korean delegation, who traveled by plane.
The fact that soldiers were guarding the cargo, fully equipped with gas masks and protective suits, was strong evidence supporting this theory.
The level of caution was far too excessive for a simple technology exchange or research collaboration.
Park Jeong-ho, the microbiologist who had studied the ecosystem of Mount Baekdu.
The state-run Russian pharmaceutical company Pharmzaschita and the defense contractor Rostak had both invited him for unclear reasons.
The special Pyongyang train passing through at the same time.
And Russia's discreet hospitality.
All these suspicious elements pointed to one conclusion.
The creation of a new biological weapon.
Of course, this could all be a product of his imagination, as it was still a premature conclusion.
Nevertheless, everything suggested that whatever North Korea and Russia were plotting was far more sinister than they had anticipated.
As Kwon Taekjoo was deep in thought, a blinding light suddenly shone on him from behind.
Squinting, he turned to see two airport police officers entering the warehouse.
Upon seeing him, they approached with suspicious expressions, their rifles raised and aimed at him.
"Hey, you."
"Yes, sir."
"Turn around slowly and face us."
Kwon Taekjoo turned obediently towards the police and raised his hands in a show of compliance.
However, the officers did not lower their weapons, maintaining their aim at him.
They exchanged glances before one of them stepped forward to inspect the ID hanging from Kwon Taekjoo's neck.
He examined the photo of Igor, comparing it to Kwon Taekjoo's face,
then used a card scanner to verify its validity as if a visual check wasn't enough.
There was no need for such rigorous inspection, especially since all official landings had been completed—unless something confidential was about to go down at the airport.
"Igor Mussorgsky, what are you doing here? Didn't you hear you were supposed to be out of here before midnight?"
Pushing him to leave before midnight at an international airport where hundreds of planes landed and took off daily was, simply put, impossible.
But this was Russia, where the impossible happened every day.
Kwon Taekjoo apologized earnestly, skillfully maneuvering out of the situation.
"Ah… I'm terribly sorry. I didn't realize how late it had gotten. I got distracted—family matters on my mind."
"Well, you should know better than to let family matters interfere with work. Stop lingering around here and get lost."
"Ah, yes, of course."
Kwon Taekjoo gave a small bow in apology as he left the warehouse.
The police followed him closely, shutting the door behind him as he headed to the parking lot.
Their vigilance didn't waver until he started his personal vehicle.
He noticed them watching his license plate.
It was standard protocol to prevent espionage or infiltration, but to Kwon Taekjoo, it was a clear sign something suspicious was going on.
Kwon Taekjoo drove off, waving goodbye to the officers.
"Best of luck, gentlemen."
Suddenly, there was a loud thump from the trunk.
Apparently, the real Igor had woken up
from his drug-induced sleep.
Kwon Taekjoo tensed, glancing at the police to see if they had noticed.
But when their eyes met, they merely grunted in annoyance, demanding to know why he was still there.
Kwon Taekjoo gave them a final, quick nod and exited the airport grounds.
Circling the terminal was out of the question, as police vehicles and sedans were gathered all around the
area.
Barricades were set up everywhere, blocking the entrance.
The scene was far from ordinary.
Soon, Kwon Taekjoo's car came to a stop in a secluded area some distance from the airport.
The lush vegetation meant that people rarely frequented the place, but it was even quieter than usual due to the late hour.
He stepped out of the driver's seat and walked toward the back of the vehicle as a loud commotion came from the trunk.
As soon as he opened it, Igor jerked up, straining against the tight restraints that bound him.
His face was already drenched in sweat and tears. The duct tape over his mouth was half peeled off, as if he had been desperately gnawing at it.
"Ahhh!"
Igor screamed when he saw Kwon Taekjoo, who looked exactly like him.
Kwon Taekjoo clicked his tongue and quickly covered Igor's mouth with his hand.
"Shhh. You woke up too soon. Why not try sleeping a little longer?"
"Ahh! P-Please, spare me!"
"Yeah, yeah. I'll spare your life. Be careful, this is going to sting."
Without hesitation, Kwon Taekjoo jabbed a tranquilizer into Igor's neck.
Igor kept screaming at the top of his lungs, struggling against his restraints, but slowly began to lose strength.
Though unwillingly, he fell into a deep sleep, exhausted by his own efforts.
By the time he woke up, he would be back where he started, as if the whole ordeal had been nothing more than a terrible nightmare.
Kwon Taekjoo tossed a water bottle into the trunk and shut it.
Then he returned to the driver's seat and gazed at the dark night sky.
No lights seemed to be visible yet.
He pulled out his work phone and unlocked it, revealing a message from his support team.
After inputting a specific password, he was granted access and checked the message's contents.
Kwon Taekjoo scanned the area around the airport with binoculars, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
The airport had dimmed all its bright lights, and a deep silence had settled
over the area, as if all official business had concluded for the night.
A direct flight from Pyongyang to Vladivostok would take just over an hour without needing to pass through China.
It was almost time for its arrival.
Kwon Taekjoo rested his chin on the
steering wheel and waited.
A little while later, another message arrived on his phone.
This wasn't a publicly known tower frequency.
They were apparently using a confidential channel to avoid detection or the risk of terrorism.
Kwon Taekjoo turned on his specialized
radio and tuned it to the corresponding frequency.
As he put on his headphones, he heard the usual radio static, quickly followed by a conversation between Vladivostok's control tower and the Koryo Airlines pilots.
["Tower, Koryo Airlines 265, inbound to Vladivostok. Good evening."]
["Koryo Airlines 265, turn left heading 340 and join the localizer for runway 7L. Good evening, sir."]
["Turning left heading 340, joining the localizer for runway 7L. Koryo Airlines 265."]
Kwon Taekjoo directed his binoculars in the direction they had mentioned. Through the clouds, he could faintly make out the aircraft's blinking lights.
["Koryo Airlines 265, reduce speed to 210 knots and descend, maintain 4,000 feet. Cleared for ILS approach to runway 7."]
["Reducing speed to 210 knots, descending and maintaining 4,000 feet. Koryo Airlines 265."]
["Koryo Airlines 265, reduce speed to 180 knots."]
["Koryo Airlines 265, reducing speed to 180 knots. Approaching runway 7 via ILS."]
["Koryo Airlines 265, cleared to land on runway 7. Winds 360 at 5 knots."]
["Runway 7, cleared to land. Koryo Airlines 265."]
Koryo Airlines 265 finally came into view. Kwon Taekjoo set his phone aside and held it with both hands.
Next, he activated a drone he had secretly hidden in the airport storage area, assuming remote control of it.
The drone, capable of reaching speeds of up to 300 kilometer per hour, was equipped with a specialized lens on its underside, allowing it to capture sharp
images of moving objects even at high speeds.
The drone was already quite small, and with the darkness of night, it was even harder to detect.
Kwon Taekjoo maneuvered the drone toward Koryo Airlines 265 as it taxied down the runway after landing.
By the time the plane came to a complete stop, ground vehicles quickly
lined up on both sides.
Moments later, a stairway extended from the aircraft, and the doors began to open.
Kwon Taekjoo flew the drone toward the plane's wings and began recording the faces of everyone disembarking.
As indicated in the confidential reports he had received from the NIS, the Director of Operations of North Korea's General Staff Department, Sim Young-il, his secretary Kim Gil-ha, and the key figure for the upcoming North Korea-Russia conference, microbiologist Park Jeong-ho, each stepped into the official state vehicle.
The three of them, along with the rest of the delegation, began traveling down a restricted route without undergoing any additional inspections.
"Good."
Once Kwon Taekjoo confirmed the identities of those involved, he retrieved the drone and then opened the car's trunk.
He pulled Igor out, placed him in the driver's seat, and undid his restraints.
After pouring vodka from a bottle inside the car, he tossed the empty bottle into the back seat.
Any passerby would assume Igor was just a drunk who had fallen asleep at the
wheel.
If Igor tried to report anything, Russian police would likely dismiss it as the ramblings of a drunk.
After gathering everything up, Kwon Taekjoo made his way to the back of the grounds, cutting through dense bushes until he reached the motorcycle he had hidden earlier.
He got on.
"Time to get moving."
After starting the engine, he sped down the hill, in pursuit of the North Korean delegation.