Chapter 4 - The Berlin Protocol
The flashing amber light cast a sharp, electronic glow across the dim interior of the private suite.
I leaned forward instantly, my exhaustion entirely forgotten as my fingers flew across the mechanical keyboard of my laptop, linking it directly to the aircraft's secure satellite uplink. Decryption bars scrolled down the screen in rapid succession—green text flashing against a black background.
Jin-ho didn't speak. He simply stood up from his chair, stepped behind my shoulder, and watched the data streams cascade down the monitor with the calm, predatory focus of a hawk tracking movement in high grass.
"The Frankfurt syndicate just executed a hostile transfer," I muttered, my eyes scanning the rapid lines of financial code. "They're attempting to drain the primary offshore escrow accounts holding the maritime insurance bonds for our Mediterranean fleet. If those accounts go under, the port authorities in Genoa and Marseille will impound twenty-four of our container ships by morning."
"Can they bypass the secondary firewalls?" Jin-ho asked, his hand resting lightly on the back of my leather chair, his fingers brushing the fabric just inches from my shoulder.
"Not unless they have the private cryptographic keys," I replied, typing furiously with one hand while pulling up our master ledger with the other. My breath caught in my throat. "Wait... look at the signature stamp on the transfer request."
Jin-ho leaned in closer, his chest nearly brushing my back, his warm breath stirring the hair at the nape of my neck. "Baek Logistics."
"Yuna's family," I whispered, the pieces clicking together with terrifying clarity. "Her father isn't just a shipping partner of yours in Seoul—he's the silent financial backer for the Frankfurt syndicate's European expansion. She wasn't just being a snob in the aisle, Jin. She knew who I was. Or at least, her father knew my flight schedule and told her to make sure I never made it to the summit in Seoul."
The cabin air grew ten degrees colder.
Jin-ho straightened up slowly. The casual, relaxed posture of a wealthy businessman vanished entirely, replaced by the lethal, calculating stillness of an underworld kingpin whose borders had just been aggressively violated.
He reached into his breast pocket, pulled out a heavy, encrypted satellite phone, and pressed a single speed-dial button.
"Kang," Jin-ho said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. "Cancel our arrival protocol in Seoul. Reroute the private jet to meet this flight the second our wheels touch down in Frankfurt. Notify the European council that Baek Logistics is in breach of contract... and freeze every single asset belonging to the Baek family effective immediately. I want their ships impounded before their morning coffee gets cold."
"Understood, Boss," a raspy voice crackled back through the encrypted line. "What about Miss Yuna?"
Jin-ho glanced sideways at the sliding wooden door, behind which Yuna Baek was still nervously pacing and complaining to the crew.
"Let her land," Jin-ho said softly, a dark, humorless smile touching his lips. "Let her step off the plane into the terminal. And let her father explain to her why she's suddenly bankrupt before she even clears customs."
He clicked the phone shut and tossed it onto the desk. He turned his full, undivided attention back to me, his dark eyes softening just a fraction as they met mine.
"Looks like your flight is going to have an unexpected layover in Germany, Simone," he said quietly.
May you like
I leaned back in my chair, letting out a sharp, genuine laugh that broke the suffocating tension in the room. I reached down, grabbed the scuffed leather tote bag from the floor, and placed it securely on my lap.
"Good," I said, my eyes flashing with a cold, brilliant confidence that matched his own. "I've been looking for an excuse to dismantle their entire European portfolio anyway."
