Chapter 126: < Protect – Episode 125 – London Protocol [1] >

It had been 2 years and 3 months since Ahn Soo Ho last visited London. As a result of the terror attacks in both Rome and New York, the airport was crawling with soldiers. Since he was famous and had his own private jet, landing there was pretty easy for him. Since he was famous for another reason, it didn’t really matter, but the aftereffects of the terror attacks affected the tourist industry greatly.

It was obvious that there were significantly fewer tourists.

And that probably wasn’t just a problem of London. There was no way even developing countries were okay with losing one tourist. In particular, the tourist groups from Asia spent a lot more money than those who went backpacking. A European traveling within Europe wouldn’t rake in that much money. They would offer Asian tourist groups discounted package deals, but they still made a lot of money off of that. Once Ahn Soo Ho got out of the airport, someone was waiting for him. He always felt like someone would suddenly attack him on his way to the parking lot.

“Go and get ready.”

After commanding the person, he walked through the path connecting the airport and the parking lot with a cool man in a trench coat.

“I heard you went through a lot in the States, Soo Ho.”

“I just went with the flow.”

“I’m sorry about Michael. He was a good friend.”

He didn’t know the real name of the man in the trench coat, but Ahn Soo Ho called him John. This man had his past completely erased and lived on as a ghost for the good of England and the royal family.

“Why did you come to London?”

“Barbara Huxley.”

Ahn Soo Ho gave him an honest answer.

“Barbara Huxley? The money queen?”

“Don’t play dumb, John. She’s an alpha.”

John grumbled.

“How much do you know, Soo Ho?”

“I know that Barbara Huxley has supernatural powers and is in negotiations with the powerful families of each country.”

“In return for safety, she provides investment information.”

“What about the royal family?”

“The Queen doesn’t know. Sheffield did everything.”

In all European countries, the royal families hid more things than they revealed. After the second world war, people thought that England went down because of the States, but after 200 years of prosperity, they were bigger than people imagined.

“I have to meet with Barbara Huxley. I might even have to kill her depending on the situation. So allow me to enter the palace.”

“Why?”

Ahn Soo Ho shook his head in response.

“If you really don’t know the reason, I’ll be really disappointed in you, John.”

“We were all tricked by Mr. Davis.”

He told the truth after hearing Ahn Soo Ho’s disappointed voice since it was highly likely that Ahn Soo Ho’s disappointment would escalate to something bad or even horrible.

“My reputation has nothing to do with my retirement.”

Not many dared to look down on Ahn Soo Ho or attack him just because he retired. Almost no one actually. That was because they all knew what kind of consequences they would face.

“I only promise my people two things. Money and safety. Money is good. Money could become a great motivation. However, that alone can’t draw out honesty.”

Ahn Soo Ho had never seen anyone who hated money. In order to enjoy the benefits of life, money was crucial.

“Michael is dead. A person whom I promised safety to—died. So the reason isn’t important.”

“Is that why you’re trying to get rid of Barbara Huxley?”

“You didn’t listen to me properly, John.”

When Ahn Soo Ho clicked his tongue, John thought about their past conversation and then exclaimed.

“Depending on the situation?”

“In contrast to the ones I took care of in the States, that woman didn’t do it herself.”

“What should we do?”

Ahn Soo Ho tilted his head in response.

“We?”

“Huxley Group is what keeps the British Empire up. No homeowner will let their pillar go down.”

“What I want to see is Barbara Huxley, not the British government.”

“If you guarantee to keep me alive, I’ll make it so that you can meet her right away.”

“I think you’ve misunderstood, John. I’m the one who gets to decide if I meet her or not. Not you.”

Each country had been researching the sixth sense, the third eye, and the supernatural sense for the longest time. People said there was no such thing as aliens while also planning their future battle against them. The fact that they were researching supernatural powers while saying it didn’t exist was contradictory, but what they said didn’t make it false.

“Don’t compare me to that ATM machine.”

It was obvious where they got their confidence from after leaving the European Union, and they were going to use Barbara Huxley to build a financial empire.

“I’m saying, don’t make me mad.”

He was capable of blowing up Buckingham Palace at this point.

“Okay, calm down, Soo Ho.”

“One hour.”

“What?”

“I’ll give you one hour. If you don’t bring her in front of me in an hour, I’m going to tell the Queen what happened. Then things will get very interesting for you and Sheffield. Don’t you think?”

Ahn Soo Ho smiled brightly, tapped John on his shoulders, and then flicked his finger.

“Oh yeah! Do you know where I’m staying?”

He frowned and sighed; he then answered.

“Dorchester.”

******

The Dorchester,

If there was a hotel brand that stood out the most, it was probably Dorchester. No one took better advantage of global business influences than the hotel industry. If the hotels in top vacation spots lowered their prices to increase turnover, places like New York and London aimed to respond to the businessmen’s class by focusing more on the restaurants. In business, meals weren’t just for enjoying a nice meal.

When Ahn Soo Ho arrived at Dorchester, the first person who greeted him was the hotel manager. He had kept many safe houses all over the world and there were even times when he needed more than just a safe place. There were fools wherever he went, and when he made negotiations in a high-class hotel, his success rate would increase by at least 30%.

This was why Ahn Soo Ho’s asset structure was complex. In contrast to cash and bonds, transfers of just stocks were vague in terms of notarization. That was because of the black market’s limits. When he closed down his black market account, all competitors thought that his influence weakened dramatically.

They were half right and half wrong.

Cutting off his black market connections was just for show. But on the contrary, the vague transfer got notarized by the governments and banks of each country. Even if he had an astronomical amount of money in the black market, no one but him could check it or use it. In other words, if the owner of the account died, the money would disappear with him.

“Mr. Guardian.”

“Sit down, Simon.”

Simon Dorne was one of the people who were managing Ahn Soo Ho’s European fortune.

“Is your daughter growing up well?”

“Yes, Sir. She’s going to King’s College this year. She was selected for a major scholarship.”

“You must be proud.”

“She’s my one and only joy.”

“No interest in getting remarried?”

“I’m… still scared of women.”

When Ahn Soo Ho first met Simon, he almost died after being tricked by a gold digger. He and his daughter thankfully survived, but the wife died in the chaos. It was weird to try giving a grown man some dating advice. Even after 8 years, a pain that deep wasn’t going to get better even after 10 or 20 years.

Ahn Soo Ho changed the subject.

“Open the account and prepare for a transfer.”

“Are you talking about the black market account?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“You’ll hear the details from Danny soon.”

“Come to think of it… you managed to talk him into it.”

“Desperation makes people weak. Don’t you know what that’s like, Simon?”

“I see. I guess people naturally forget.”

As soon as Simon found out that he was caught by a gold digger, he got framed for killing his wife. All the evidence were fabricated to leave him with no way out. He was in a similar situation as Han Chae Kyung, and it was Ahn Soo Ho who got him out. The most common crime in Europe was murder motivated by adultery.

“What should I set as the account’s limit?”

“100 billion.”

“100 billion pounds?”

“Pound, Euros, or US dollars. It doesn’t matter.”

Simon dropped his jaw. 100 billion pounds, Euros or US dollars could buy an entire hotel.

“Huxley Group will request access.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Simon was still dumbfounded. Ahn Soo Ho chugged his black tea then went back to his suite room on the top floor. The lift that directly connected to the suite room went all the way up without stopping. He sent out a text to announce his safe arrival in London. Soon afterward, he felt his phone vibrate.

“Did you arrive safely, Soo Ho?”

“Yeah. I’m unpacking right now.”

Ahn Soo Ho left the big private jet in the States for Jang Seol Hyun and took the smaller one to cross the ocean. If he wasn’t going to fly across the continent, a swifter business jet was more convenient.

“You’re not reading the Korean news, right?”

“No, why? What are they saying this time?”

“Never mind!”

She just told him to forget it in response. She then talked about how Lila grabbed another pop star by the throat and things like that before they hung up at the helicopter’s arrival. After that, she sent a photo taken from the sky.

‘That’s Philadelphia.’

He knew that it was Philadelphia just by the look of its skyline. Was that their next touring city? After giving Holly Corporation large funds resulting from the canceled North American tour, he left. That was his final act of loyalty.

Ahn Soo Ho called his secretary.

“What is the Korean media saying about me this time?”

“Well, um…”

“You can just tell me.”

As soon as Ahn Soo Ho sat back on the couch, the secretary finally started talking.

“They’re calling you a psychopathic serial killer.”

“Haha.”

He couldn’t help but laugh.

“Who said that? The newspapers and the broadcasting stations?”

“No, Sir. It started on a blog as nothing but a conspiracy theory. And once it started gaining attention, the internet news spread the word.”

“Blog?”

The secretary brought him a laptop and showed it to him.

“Alien? Time machine?”

Ahn Soo Ho laughed at the rumors about affairs and whatnot before he stopped at a black and white photo. The 20th century or the end of the 19th century? A woman who looked the furthest from being modern reminded him of the times in Europe when women weren’t allowed to wear pants.

People were looking at something through a glass.

What they were looking at just looked like a small box, but the people looking at the box looked very serious. What was it? Considering the blog’s reliability, this could have just been any old story. However, one person on this earth knew what that was.

‘Chamobeth?’

A stone that also stored memories of souls.

‘There’s another one?’

Does that mean there’s another one besides the one the Queen Grandmother left behind? The box in the photo looked different from the one he received from his father. It was tabooed to be certain. However, his trusty instincts whispered in his ears.

‘Oh! My precious!’

It sounded like Gollum’s whispering.

“Look into the origin of this photo.”

“Pardon? Yes, sir.”

As soon as the secretary left with the laptop, the suite room turned quiet. What broke that silence was a woman dressed in black who walked out of the curtains.

Ahn Soo Ho wasn’t surprised.

“John does do good work.”

“John? Oh, are you talking about Seven Load, Mr. Guardian?”

The sound of her high heels sounded especially loud. But once Ahn Soo Ho waved his hands, the noise stopped instantly.

“Stop the nonsense, Barbara Huxley. Or should I say…”

Ahn Soo Ho glared.

“Witch?”

Witches existed. But they weren’t bad-tempered monsters who ate people’s hearts and cooked up little children. But it was true that they were refined career women who were very sexy.

“Witch, huh…? I haven’t heard that in a while.”

Barbara Huxley’s vague expression turned serious.

“I heard you’re willing to negotiate, Mr. Guardian.”

“Yeah. As long as we can come to an agreement.”

“I’ll provide you with the cost of my life. Is the limit of your new account… 100 billion pounds?”

“Do you mean that?”

“Why? Is that too little?”

She was a crazy woman indeed. Her reputation wasn’t exaggerated but quite the opposite.

“Then I’ll add one more thing on top. What you were just curious about… Ugh!”

Barbara couldn’t finish her sentence because Ahn Soo Ho grabbed her by the throat. She was now floating in the air.

“You know?”

“Wait… Cough, cough!”

In response to her desperate eyes, Ahn Soo Ho let her back down. She then continued to cough some more. She glared at him after that, but Ahn Soo Ho didn’t care. He had no reason to be nice to her since she wasn’t his woman.

“Cough! The power that we have is a gift sent from above, but some people do more than just plea in hopes of having it. Unfortunately, no matter how much they want it, it’s all up to God. And then one day, what started to appear in front of these people was…”

“Chamobeth.”

“Chamobeth? That’s not Korean… Is that what you call it?”

Ahn Soo Ho didn’t answer, and Barbara glared at him; she then continued.

“Some people believe it to be the devil’s temptation of stealing souls, and others believed that it was a test sent from God. That’s because it can go either way. It can either bestow wisdom upon the world or people could lose their lives.

Ahn Soo Ho felt like this was déjà vu.

‘Anna Anne Karusis? How did you die?’

That was the only thing he couldn’t remember.

< protect=”” –=”” episode=”” 125=”” –=”” london=”” protocol=”” [1]=””> The end.

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