Chapter 1542 Face to Face (2)

“It took longer than we had anticipated.”

Reynold Spencer started off right away after the group had taken their seats in the hotel’s ground floor cafe. He had been so eager to get the meeting going that they hadn’t even ordered their coffee yet.

What would be a good way to describe the current him? The impression he gave off now differed somewhat from when he first showed up. Back then, it was as if he was under tremendous pressure, but now? It felt like a load had been taken off his shoulders.

“The biggest problem was the stinking CIA bastards busy yapping on and on about having their own people participate, too,” said Reynold Spencer.

“...”

Was it okay for him to badmouth a sister department of his own government in front of outsiders like Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su?

“Those specters of the ancient past still haven’t realized that the Cold War ended a long time ago. What a bunch of idiots.”

“...”

“Oh... I’m not sure if I’m supposed to divulge this information, but...”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression stiffened a little. Then, don’t say anything.

“The CIA tried to step up its surveillance efforts in South Korea. But they got discovered and received appropriate punishment, sir.”

“Mm?”

“Their aim was to monitor you, Assembly Master.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s jaw fell ever so slightly. Seriously now, was it okay to reveal all this information?

He would’ve gotten angry had he uncovered this information through his own power, but now? With how frank Reynold Spencer was with this revelation, Kang Jin-Ho got flabbergasted instead.

“I’m sorry about this. The CIA bastards are known for their grandstanding attitude, but even we were taken aback by their brazenness this time.”

It was Lee Hyeon-Su’s turn to become flabbergasted. “Hang on a sec. Are you telling me that the CIA independently tried to dispatch its agents to South Korea? Even though your higher-ups told them not to?”

“In short, yes.”

“How is that even possible?”

Reynold Spencer scratched his head. “It’s because of our, shall we say, beliefs? We believe that a spy agency without guaranteed independence will devolve into a dog of those in power. That’s why the CIA has historically never reported on how its agents are utilized or where it spends its budget.”

“But where’s the accountability in that...?”

“Yes, I agree. It’s a remnant of the bygone era, but...”

The next part of the sentence came from behind Lee Hyeon-Su.

“But it’s also true that this way of doing things was instrumental in resolving various situations in the past.”

“Mm?”

Lee Hyeon-Su and Kang Jin-Ho turned around to look.

Willie Reese was walking up to them while bowing slightly. “Great to see you two. I have to say, I’m still not used to the Eastern way of greeting. I almost reached out for a handshake just now.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled slightly. “It doesn’t matter to us. Do what you feel is more comfortable.”

“Thank you for your consideration.” Willie Reese smiled back, then settled down next to Reynold Spencer. While loosening his tie, he groaned softly. “Maybe I should blame my unfamiliarity with how things are done on this side, but... I thought I’d die of frustration from how you were all beating around the bush.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression cramped up. Maybe it’s because you people are way too eager to get to the point?

It might not be a bad idea for them to view things from the perspective of the other side for once!

“In summary, yes, our trip to Korea got delayed by the CIA bastards. They have always been experts at clinging to you like leeches,” Reynold Spencer smirked deeply. “But they got real quiet after our... ‘Alpha Male’ stepped in and put his foot down.”

Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su tilted their heads. “Alpha male?”

That term meant the head of the pack, no?

“You know who we’re talking about. Our boss, who’s overflowing with the... machismo, so to speak.”

Reynold Spencer pointed above his head.

“...Oh, him.”

Indeed, they knew who the American was talking about. It could only be that businessman-turned-politician who was overflowing with masculine pride, and now was unquestioningly the most powerful man in the world.

“Yes, him. He lost his cool, and ironically, that calmed the situation down enough for us to proceed.”

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but chuckle away. If that man’s persona, as seen on TV, was the real deal, him losing his cool would’ve forced even the one and only CIA to tuck its tail firmly between its legs and whimper pathetically. That man’s bulldozer-like attitude meant he wouldn’t have had a problem with bulldozing over the CIA, after all!

“That must’ve been terrifying, then.”

“Well, he’s the type who knows what he wants and tries to get it no matter what, so...” Reynold Spencer grinned sheepishly. “Of course, that’s not what we’re here to discuss. We would like to inform you that we’re almost finished with confirming the base’s location.”

Lee Hyeon-Su chimed in. “I didn’t think this matter would take this long.”

“We could have expanded a preexisting base of ours, or simply modify one to suit our purposes, yes. However...”

Reynold Spencer slowly shook his head.

“The problem with those ideas is that such bases already house military personnel. For security purposes, we can’t let them share living spaces with the members of the Special Operations Brigade. That was why we had confined them to the middle of a desert in the first place.”

“Yes, that’s true.” Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded.

The Martial Assembly’s HQ was located on a remote mountainside far away from the capital city for the same reason. Martial artists should be separated from ordinary people as much as possible.

“That left us with no other option but to construct a new base well out of the public’s reach. But that also means we have many things to consider, because most of the suitable locations are included in the Korean government’s no-development zones.”

Reynold Spencer massaged his forehead. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t sympathize with the Korean government and the difficulty they faced. Convincing the public without giving them an explanation would always be a tall order, after all. Keeping everything under wraps was the least painful way to deal with this situation and avoid public scrutiny.

At least there was a silver lining here, and that was the opposition party not raising a stink about this arrangement. Unfortunately, that story didn’t exactly apply to medium-to-small opposition parties, but still!

“In summary...” Reynold Spencer shrugged casually. “I will deal with political problems and other sundry issues. Since we’re so dead-set on doing this, the Korean government won’t have a choice but to go along with us. Doing so won’t harm their self-interest in the long run, after all.”

“I guess so.”

“Oh, wait a minute.” Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly interjected while raising his hand. “I’m asking just in case, since we all know how your boss can be a hothead. Did you demand something like financial assistance from the Korean government for stationing your troops here? Please tell me you didn’t.”

“...!” Reynold Spencer hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.

“You did?”

“T-to be clear, I did not make that suggestion. It’s more like... Mm, that has always been our foreign policy? In any case...”

Lee Hyeon-Su shot up to his feet. “What the...?! Are you kidding me? We didn’t ask you people to come here, okay? We’re simply humoring your request, so why is your government demanding money from our government?”

Kang Jin-Ho firmly nodded in agreement. “Mm!”

“I mean, she’s turning into a shell of her former self while trying to pay all the taxes, you know?!”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “She? Who?”

Lee Hyeon-Su smiled sheepishly. “Oh, uh... I meant Hyeon-Ju, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes in silence.

“I-I meant Chief Lee Hyeon-Ju.”

“That’s better.”

“I-in any case!” Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly shifted his focus back to the Americans. “So, you want to suck us dry of our tax money, too? Which is the lifeblood of this nation?! When you don’t even have the justification for it?”

Reynold Spencer groaned softly at how hostile Lee Hyeon-Su sounded just then. “Mister Lee, we’re not talking about spending the Assembly’s money here.”

“Mister Undersecretary, are you implying that you don’t care about America’s annual budget being wasted as long as the guilty party isn’t the defense department?”

“That’s... a no.”

“Since that’s the case, your side should handle the cost of stationing the troops here. No, wait a minute! It’s more like your side is renting space in our country, so you should be paying us the rent, instead! We’ve already gone to all this trouble to accommodate you and even reduced the compensation accordingly, so how dare you demand money from our country?! Where are your morals!”

Reynold Spencer sneakily avoided meeting Lee Hyeon-Su’s criticizing glare. He could have come up with various political reasons to defend America’s stance, but that wouldn’t work this time since he was talking to non-politicians.

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. “How much did you ask for, anyway?”

Reynold Spencer faltered slightly, unable to reply right away.

“Just tell us.”

“It’s... not as much as you think, sir. Around two hundred million dollars.”

“How much?”

“Two... hundred million. Dollars.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s jaw fell slightly in stupefaction.

Reynold Spencer noticed the dazed look on Kang Jin-Ho’s face. “Y-yes, I agree that this amount sounds like a lot of money. However, that isn’t the entire story. We’ve estimated that constructing a new base and stationing the necessary personnel there would at least require an investment of two billion dollars. And the annual operating cost will easily breach the one-billion-dollar mark as well.”

“...That’s why you want us to share the burden?”

“It’s, uh, always been our policy to share the cost of stationing American troops in Korea, so...”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled helplessly. “But that’s because Korea had requested for American troops’ presence.”

“...”

“This time, it’s America requesting us. But you want us to foot the bill while humoring your request, too?”

Reynold Spencer grew a little more desperate just then. “B-but, sir...”

“Well, whatever. Do what you want.”

“Sorry?”

Reynold Spencer’s eyes opened wider at Kang Jin-Ho’s sudden about-face.

“You aren’t negotiating that with me, after all. It’s up to our government to deal with whatever you throw in its face, anyway.”

“Oh... Thank you, sir.”

“However,” said Kang Jin-Ho, his expression growing slightly sterner than before. “Since this project costs that much, we should also try to get our money’s worth. I’m going to extract an even greater worth from the troops you’ll station here, so you'd better be prepared.”

“...!”

“Do you understand?”

Of course Reynold Spencer and his companions understood. But “understanding” and “agreeing” were two separate things, now weren’t they?!

Reynold Spencer’s face grew paler. “We will have to discuss this matter with our higher-ups. I agree that we can’t approach this situation with our existing policy.”

“As long as you handle it logically, it’ll be fine.”

Lee Hyeon-Su subtly smirked while listening to this back-and-forth. Hah! How dare you try to take advantage of our country?

The country called the Republic of Korea obviously couldn’t argue against the United States of America. That was because the good ol’ US of A didn’t have a lot to gain by sticking with the ROK. However, that story didn’t apply to the Martial Assembly.

The Americans had a lot to gain by sticking with the Assembly. Which was why they couldn’t even retort properly to Kang Jin-Ho’s steadfast response.

Damn. That felt good!

It wasn’t as if Lee Hyeon-Su hated America. What he felt right now wasn’t something like joy or happiness at getting even with America. No, this emotion was much closer to... to ecstasy at finally holding the upper hand over one of the most powerful nations on Earth. Even if that upper hand was over something minor!

“Then, we’ll reconsider that matter, and...” Reynold Spencer locked his gaze on Kang Jin-Ho again. “Once the negotiation is finished, we’ll construct the base and station our people in two weeks minimum, a month at most.”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “That’s fast.”

Were they using the Fastest Man Alive or something? How could they finish building a military base in two weeks?

Maybe they had imprisoned an alien and tortured it or some such?

“As it’s our desire to get this program going as quickly as possible, we have received our government’s undivided attention. The plan is to construct the basic training area first, then set up tents or some other temporary barracks and have our people stay there. And then, gradually build and expand other facilities over time.”

“It’s good that you’re all so decisive.”

“Since that’s the case, you must uphold your side of the bargain, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded coolly. He didn’t have a problem with that, since they had already agreed on it, after all.

Reynold Spencer sat forward. “As for the training regime...”

“Hold on.” Kang Jin-Ho raised his hand and stopped Reynold Spencer. “As far as that’s concerned, I shouldn’t be talking to you.”

“Mm... Yes, you’re right.”

Kang Jin-Ho turned his head slightly to glance at Frank Wilson and Reggie Mercer.

“How do you find South Korea’s hospitality so far?”

Frank Wilson replied first. “The polite answer would be yes, we are having a lovely time. But the more honest answer is that I’m not sure, sir. Our itinerary does not allow us any downtime for sightseeing.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. This was what he liked about these American soldiers. They certainly respected him, but they also stayed true to themselves.

“Training martial artists is different from training regular soldiers. Knowing that, do you still think you have what it takes?”

“Yes, sir. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even be here.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded again in approval. He then studied the faces of the Americans sitting before him.

Right. It’s finally starting.

Verbal agreements alone weren’t enough to make it feel real. However, looking at these American men and talking to them in Korea was instilling this odd but proud feeling in Kang Jin-Ho.

Proud, because this situation meant the Martial Assembly had grown to a point where it could deal with the American government directly.

Of course, he shouldn’t forget this one other thing.

“By the way, I’m curious about the location you’ve selected.”

Reynold Spencer tilted his head. “Yes, sir?”

“Is it close to the Martial Assembly HQ?”

“I... Sorry?”

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged casually. “I would like to avoid long commutes if possible, you see?”

“...!” Reynold Spencer’s expression crumpled weirdly at this unexpected demand. “We, uh, we haven’t considered that, sir. Since we don’t know the exact location of the Martial Assembly HQ...”

“It’s fine. I was just being curious.”

Kang Jin-Ho grinned brightly. But the way Reynold Spencer saw it, that was definitely not a grin.

Aha. So this must be what the other people must’ve felt while trying to negotiate with me.

Reynold Spencer got a stark reminder of how it felt to be the “have-not” in a negotiation.