Criminal Judge

Chapter 8: Blueprints

Knock.

“Who's there?” Ethan muttered, clearly annoyed at being disturbed in his sleep. He sluggishly aimed for the door.

“Sun-deok,” came a familiar voice.

“Oh, yeah, right,” Ethan mumbled, unlocking the door.

Bang! Sun-deok burst in like a mad woman on the loose.

Ethan followed her with his eyes, curious about her destination after barging in so suddenly.

“Sorry, I ran out of tissues. I need to use your restroom,” Sun-deok called out from inside, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

Ethan sighed and slumped back onto his bed as if he’d just finished a grueling workout.

A few minutes later, Sun-deok emerged from the restroom, visibly relieved.

“You saved my life, Prince Charming,” she said with a grateful smile.

Ethan nodded, half-asleep.

“Good morning,” he muttered groggily.

“My apologies—good morning,” Sun-deok replied with a grin.

“So, how’s the case? Any evidence yet?” she asked, sitting down on the edge of his bed.

“About that…” Ethan reached for a blue file resting on his desk.

“Check this out,” he said, handing it to her.

“Blueprints! How’d you find them?” Sun-deok gasped, her eyes lighting up with joy.

“They were etched on the walls of the container. We believe they belong to one of the abductors who kidnapped your father. If we track him down, he could lead us to where we need to go,” Ethan explained with a small smile.

“That’s great, but you do realize how dangerous this is, right? It’s just the two of us,” Sun-deok said, her expression turning serious.

“That’s true. I’ll try to get us more people,” Ethan replied thoughtfully.

“No, I’ll bring someone along,” Sun-deok interjected.

“Alright, great. I’ll meet you in an hour. Go get ready—we’ve got a big deal ahead,” Ethan chuckled, escorting her to the door before collapsing onto his bed again for another round of much-needed rest.

---

Exactly an hour later, Ethan arrived at the agreed meeting spot, only to find Sun-deok standing next to a familiar face.

“Oh, it’s Mr. Han,” Ethan said, regaining his composure as he recognized the man from Sun-deok’s workplace.

“Yeah, he’ll make a good detective. At least, he used to be one,” Sun-deok said, rolling her eyes.

“Good morning, Mr. Ethan,” Mr. Han greeted with a hint of humor, patting the side of an old ice cream van he’d brought along.

Ethan gave him a brief glance before nodding casually.

“My team did some digging, and we’ve identified the mastermind. He’s from Japan, arrived in Korea earlier this year—on New Year’s Day, to be precise—but only started making moves recently. The blueprints we found link back to a former military head. He’s the one who kidnapped Mr. Kim. We tracked his IP address and discovered he’s aboard a train… headed for Pyongyang,” Ethan said, his voice trailing off with a note of gloom.

“Pyongyang?! That’s 353 miles from Seoul!” Mr. Han exclaimed. “If they’re after military weapons, they’ll finalize the deal before even your Lamborghini could catch up.”

“I’ll give it a shot,” Ethan said firmly.

“But your car’s totaled, remember? That last chase…” Sun-deok reminded him.

“Not anymore.” Ethan smirked and snapped his fingers. A sleek blue BMW appeared, its design so flawless it seemed almost divine.

Mr. Han scowled, climbing into his van to avoid further car envy.

Ethan chuckled, sliding into the driver’s seat. The BMW roared to life as it sped out of the motel garage.

Inside the van, Mr. Han wasted no time. “We need to monitor his progress—and speed limit,” he said, setting up his equipment.

Sun-deok, still awestruck by the tech inside, smiled. “You came prepared.”

“I sure did,” Mr. Han replied, dialing Ethan.

“Ethan, can you hear me?” Mr. Han’s voice came through the connection.

“Yes, loud and clear,” Ethan replied coldly. “And you didn’t have to be so loud.”

Mr. Han clenched his jaw, trying to remain calm as Sun-deok stifled a laugh.

“Alright, what’s your speed and location?” Mr. Han asked.

“Two hundred kilometers per hour,” Ethan said, his tone as calm as ever.

“Two hundred?! How can you be so calm?!” Mr. Han shouted, clearly astonished.

“Well, I used to be a racer. It’s normal,” Ethan replied.

“Racer or not, panic a little—it’s healthy! Now, where are you?”

“I’ve passed Yunan County. I’ll be in Kaesong shortly,” Ethan said, steering expertly through the highway.

“Okay, when you reach Kaesong, push full speed until you’re off the highways. Got it?” Mr. Han instructed.

“Copy that,” Ethan replied, accelerating.

“Be careful, Ethan,” Sun-deok added, her voice filled with concern.

“Copy that too,” Ethan said with a small smile.

Twenty minutes later, Ethan’s voice crackled through the connection. “I’m nearing Pyongyang. What’s my target location?”

“An abandoned pharmaceutical factory near the Pyongyang Military Command Center, in the Ptonggang District,” Mr. Han replied. “It’s rumored to house a significant cache of military weapons.”

“Understood. I’ll be there soon.” Ethan floored the accelerator, pushing the BMW to its limits.

And then— Bang!

“Ethan!!!” Sun-deok screamed on top of her voice. She had heard it, the cracking sound of the car, it had traveled through the connection and now it was cut off.

“Oh shit this isn't good” Mr Han slammed his hands on the table as he paced around clearly confused as to which step to take next.

All of a sudden.

ring ring ring!.

“Sun-deok, your device is ringing,” Mr Han informed her.

“What?, what does it matter now that we don't even know if he's alive!!” Sun-deok retorted, clearly agitated.

“He's not dead okay, beneath that cold skin, there's a will to just continue living, now just pick the call okay “ Mr Han advised and continued to pace around the van.

“Hey, it's Ethan” Someone picked from the other end.

Sun-deok smiled.

“Ethan, thank God you're okay, do you have any injuries?” Mr Han asked immediately, grabbing the device from her as if to blatantly tell her she didn't really know the use.

“Yeah, something or maybe someone keeps wanting me alive, just minor wounds” Ethan said, earning a dual relieved sigh.

“Ok what next?” Ethan asked.