TL: Skye
At the same time I was playing that game of cat and mouse in the Division Commander's office, Isabella was meeting privately with Pedro as planned.
She had been under something like surveillance, which made reaching out difficult. But she managed to make contact by leveraging her position as Presidential Chief of Staff, and Pedro, who was related to Isabella by blood, came running the moment he heard.
"You fool! What are you doing here?! If you were going to come, you should have at least told me first!"
"I'm sorry, Uncle. Things have been so urgent I didn't have time to give you advance notice."
"Fine. What the hell is going on? I barely managed to talk Major General Thiago out of marching his troops into Libertad right this minute."
Isabella frowned at the dreadful thought.
"What did he say?"
"He claimed that since martial law has been declared, the armored division closest to Libertad needs to go in and stabilize public order. I told him if we move now we could end up charged with treason, and that we should at least coordinate with the Acting President before making any moves."
"...Good call."
"Not really. I only bought us one day. Now tell me. Did President Juan Marcos and the entire Cabinet really die in a bombing?"
"I was there. I saw it with my own eyes."
"...This is insane. You weren't hurt, were you?"
At Pedro's question, a crack appeared in Isabella's composed expression.
'Get down!'
She remembered Yu-jin saving her life, just before the explosion.
"I'm... fine. Thanks to someone."
"Thank God for that."
"That's not what matters right now."
Isabella's eyes turned cold.
"We need to prevent the tragedy that's about to unfold."
"Tragedy? What tragedy?"
"Do you really think San Marcos will function properly if Major General Thiago takes power?"
Pedro flinched before answering.
"...You don't trust Major General Thiago."
"He's all ambition and no ability. If he takes over, San Marcos will fall into ruin. You don't want that either, do you, Uncle?"
"But aside from Major General Thiago, there's no one else available right now. The generals who outrank him have no real power, and the other generals are stationed far away. More importantly, wasn't he someone President Juan trusted deeply? Even if he's not the most capable, once the situation stabilizes we could hold an election and..."
"An election? You really think that greedy pig would give up power once he's got it?"
"That's true, but..."
"And there is someone."
Isabella stared intently at Pedro.
"Me? That won't work. If I seize power, the military will never accept it. That's a direct path to civil war."
"I don't think you could do it either, Uncle."
"Then...?"
"There's Yu-jin. The constitutionally legitimate Acting President."
Pedro looked down at his niece, whose eyes shone with conviction.
"...You trust him."
"More precisely, I trust his abilities and his character. He's served as a minister in this completely rotten country for three years and delivered better results than anyone. And he hasn't accepted a single bribe. If he takes power, San Marcos will change for the better."
"But won't the military oppose him strongly? As you know, he's..."
"I know. A foreigner. But that's exactly why it has to be Yu-jin. He can see problems that insiders are blind to."
"...He must be remarkably capable."
"Yes. More than anyone I've ever seen."
"More than Prime Minister Ian?"
"There's no comparison."
"But can he really lead San Marcos?"
"Well, that's where you come in, Uncle. You'll help him. Speaking of which... how would you feel about a promotion?"
"Promotion?"
Pedro mulled over the word for a moment before grasping its full meaning.
"Are you telling me to commit insubordination?"
"It's not insubordination. It's a decisive act to save the nation."
"You've lost your mind."
Pedro sighed.
"If this fails, we're dead."
"You won't fail, Uncle."
"Ha. Easy for you to say."
"We don't have time. You need to decide now."
Pedro frowned, lost in thought.
He pictured it. Himself providing support while Yu-jin led from the front. If his niece was right about Yu-jin's capabilities, this choice could indeed be called a decisive act to save the nation.
However.
'He's not ruthless enough for a politician.'
They said his personality was gentle and humble.
This was a country where common sense didn't apply. It called itself a nation, but it was basically run like a gang.
Could an Asian man with that kind of temperament navigate such treacherous waters?
'If Isabella helps him with everything she's got...'
In the end, Pedro decided to trust his niece's judgment.
Setting blood ties aside, she was the smartest and strongest person he knew.
"Alright. Let's do this."
"You won't regret it, Uncle."
Pedro pulled out his phone and dialed a familiar number.
"It's me. Get the entire 610th Company armed and to headquarters immediately. What? Do I have to explain every little thing? We don't have time, so just send them!"
After hanging up, Pedro turned to Isabella and handed her the pistol from his holster.
"There might be a firefight. You should hold onto this."
After a short wait, the special company arrived.
Having spent his entire life as a soldier, Pedro assessed how to complete the operation without casualties.
'We need to capture Division Commander Thiago in one swift move and take control of division headquarters.'
The worst-case scenario would be Yu-jin being taken hostage by Thiago. The moment things dragged on and Thiago issued an order to eliminate him, the plan would be doomed to fail.
"Everyone, follow me."
Pedro succeeded in getting the doors of division headquarters thrown wide open by lying that he had called them in to provide security for Thiago.
Shortly after, Pedro arrived at the Division Commander's office. He let out a deep sigh and pushed the door open.
"Commander! I have an urgent matter to discuss with... hm?"
He was met with the sight of the dead Major General Thiago, and Yu-jin staring down at the body with cold eyes.
'He... killed him?'
*
This was bad. Major General Thiago was dead.
I tried the CPR I'd learned during reserve training, but it was useless on Thiago, whose neck was already broken.
'No.'
Why did he have to die right in front of me?
It looks exactly like I killed him!
This was no longer a question of whether or not I could persuade Regimental Commander Pedro.
If I wasn't careful, I'd become a murderer.
'F-first, I need to get rid of the body...'
But could I even lift that massive frame? He looked like he weighed at least 120 kilos.
'No.'
I had to do it. I could do it!
Just then, I noticed the desk Thiago had been using.
If I dragged him over carefully and stuffed him underneath, maybe I could make it work.
I was calculating how to grab him and which direction to drag when the door burst open.
"Commander! I have an urgent matter to discuss with... hm?"
A man who was obviously high-ranking walked in.
"......"
"......"
A suffocating silence fell over the office.
'I should say something...'
His eyes were clearly full of suspicion.
I was about to make excuses, but then...
'I didn't do anything wrong, did I?'
It occurred to me that this wasn't a situation that called for excuses.
It's not like I actually did anything.
The man threw his own little tantrum, tripped, and broke his own neck.
I channeled my experience from my days in the theater club and delivered the facts with the most regretful expression I could muster.
"Ahem. The Division Commander slipped and broke his neck. It was simply an accident."
"I-I-I-I see."
Good. He seemed to believe me.
"Yes, it's truly tragic. A star of San Marcos, gone so suddenly."
"...So that's how you intend to handle things. Understood. We'll announce that Major General Thiago was deeply shocked by the news of His Excellency Juan's death, became disoriented, tripped, and died from the fall."
The man had nearly pieced together the truth just by looking at the body. He was no ordinary person.
"That's exactly right. And your name is?"
"Ah, forgive me for the late introduction. I'm Colonel Pedro, commander of the 3rd Regiment of the Armored Division."
The moment I heard Pedro's name, relief washed over me.
'Isabella did it...!'
I smiled slightly and extended my hand.
"I'm Yu-jin Choi. I'm currently serving as the Acting President, inadequate as I may be."
Pedro clasped my hand, his expression uneasy.
"To snap a man's neck and still look this cheerful..."
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"N-nothing."
Brigadier General Pedro didn't look well.
Why was he sweating like that?
"For now, I think we should focus on managing the situation. Announce Major General Thiago's death... then take control of the division and carry out martial law."
"Leave it to me. I'll proceed immediately."
Pedro radiated confidence. It seemed Isabella was right when she said he could take control of the division as long as Thiago was out of the picture.
"What should we do with the body?"
"Cremation immediately, with no autopsy. We'll hand the remains over to the family right away."
"Well, he died in an accident, so there's really no need for an autopsy. Good. Handle it that way, and..."
I met his eyes and put into motion the plan Isabella and I had devised.
"I'm promoting you two ranks to Major General. Take command of the Armored Division and serve as Martial Law Commander. Protect the peace of San Marcos."
"I will do my utmost."
He was the picture of reliability. Isabella was absolutely right about bringing him into the fold.
'Good thing I sided with this guy.'
*
Shortly after, we entered the Ministry of Defense with the Armored Division's troops.
When the soldiers pushed their way in, the Chief of Staff and his staff officers resisted.
"This is an order from the Commander-in-Chief and the Acting President. Anyone who resists gets shot."
Pedro dealt with them decisively.
In the end, the high-ranking generals were bound with rope and marched off to prison.
'Sorry, everyone. Once things stabilize, I'll ask them to change it to house arrest.'
In truth, arresting them was Isabella and Pedro's idea, not mine.
They insisted that without seizing control of the military in one swift stroke, the threat of civil war would never go away.
So I had no choice but to approve the operation.
'These heartless people... tsk.'
But what could I do? I was just a powerless Acting President.
When the people with real power say to do something, you do it.
As I watched the generals being led away with guilt in my heart, Isabella approached.
"How did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Major General Thiago."
"Excuse me? What did I..."
"Did you take him out with Korean taekwondo? Or some mysterious Eastern martial art?"
"No, I didn't kill him..."
"You don't have to tell me. Actually, I'm rather pleased to discover you're more decisive than I'd expected."
Isabella nodded with a satisfied expression.
"...?"
"It seems my judgment was correct after all. Hehehe."
What was she suddenly going on about?