The Little Prince in the Ossuary

# Fancy Invitations (14)

Leaving basic etiquette, it was a good question to forbid the world from running around in sick corpses. How many times have people disappeared? How many times will winter be the target of refugees?

Anne's face became rigorously stiff.

But I had to ask for a reason. It was a winter that inevitably reminded of the Father and Mother of the outside world, but the difficulty of being crushed by the heavy stone disappeared for a moment. This is a mistake. This is not how the boundary between life and death collapses. I took a deep breath and thought of a calm winter with a single breath.

‘Why would you ask me that...'... would be meaningless. ’

He said, "Why?” The answer would be the whole point.

Intelligence correction produced strings visible only to winter. Anything that has not been confirmed in advance about its background is often reflected in real time in the decisions made at this moment.

After the end of the world anyway, it was the foundation that no family survived. Also, most postmortem. That's the demand of the poor.

“I can't say I ever did. ”

Winter said slowly.

“It is a burden to reveal personal details in this position... …. Let's just say he's not sad to never see them again. I don't miss it. Is that an answer? ”

As a result, the information in winter was updated. I felt deep sadness in Anne's eyes, wrapped around her arms.

“Oh, of course. Thank you so much for answering the questions in question. ”

Anne asks Talbot, relieved and relaxed.

“Have people appeared claiming to be parents of winter? ”

“Those guys. They've been around a long time. Fraudsters who deceive others and liars who even deceive themselves. even though one of them didn't match. ”

“What about this time? ”

“That's not the case. I asked you today for a different reason. ”

The flow of exchanges was natural. It seems that there were quite a lot of people pretending to be family members without even knowing it in winter. There should be a blood sample from the medical exam as a U.S. soldier for genetic profiling, and there should have been blood drawn to determine if it was infected after engaging Esther recently.

Not only in winter, there are many warriors on the defensive line and those who pretend to be the blood of the missing. Just as there was an attempt to fake a marriage in the refugee zone.

Therefore, it seems to be a routine task for the authorities.

Winter has turned the tide.

“Now can we hear the real story? ”

“Yes.”

The grumpy Talbot clears his voice.

“I'm not a party to the operation, but our intelligence agencies have been pursuing a rather special form of covert operations in the past. a cyber attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. ”

“…… What is? Cyberattacks?”

The gap between my parents and the Middle East was too wide.

“I know this is a lot to ask, but let's hear some more. ”

“ ……. ”

“The goal of this operation was to use sophisticated malware to monitor research conditions, paralyze control, and physically destroy nuclear fuel enrichment facilities. And to some extent, it worked. even though he was retaliated against twice, and he didn't launch a second attack because he was afraid of cyberbullying. But the results were encouraging. A whole new form of weapon proved its value. ”

“So?”

“Later, we embarked on developing more advanced forms of malware. We've already had one success, so we've been allocated more budgets and people than ever before. And then there was a nuclear power plant accident in Japan. ”

I don't know. I saw the fog in winter, followed by Talbot's embarrassing smile.

“It was another security threat that wasn't prepared. As pollution spread to the west coast of North America, the Japanese government was very, very uncooperative with the release of information. So the White House concluded that in order to understand the situation and prevent similar things from happening again, we needed to have our own surveillance system and our own safety. ”

“You planted the malware. ”

“That's right.”

Talbot agreed.

“But the target was not limited to Japan. Ultimately, the goal was to get inside information about power plants and other nuclear facilities on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Just use it to get the information out and nothing will come up, and after a while it will be automatically deleted and leave no trace... …. There was no distinction between potential enemies and traditional friends in this operation. And of course, that included Korea. ”

“That's, you know, ”

Winter's eyes narrowed, noticing the context.

“Does this mean that at the time of the expansion of Mogellons, the United States was able to control the entire Pacific and Atlantic coastal power stations? ”

“It's not the whole thing. ”

Talbot cautiously denies part of the charge.

“Computational networks of such critical facilities are often independent from the outside. Even though our intelligence agencies were trying to secure a valid network, it was impossible to get control of all the power plants in the first place. There are clear limitations to our capabilities. It's just... ”

“Only?”

“In Korea, progress has been very high. even though it was lower than Japan, which was the most intense. ”

I can now draw a clear picture. Winter asked.

“That must have caused a conflict with the Korean government. ”

“That's right.”

“Well, did they ask you to prioritize protecting the nuclear power plant over the people? By using emergency power as a weapon? ”

“ ……. ”

“Really?"

Talbot replies with a brief silence, whether the simplest conjecture pierced the grain. Anne's face that she was listening to was embarrassed. In part, winter was the same.

Soon Talbot opened his mouth again.

“At the White House, we saw a global catastrophe within decades if we abandoned many of those nuclear reactions. Experts predicted that the crisis that humanity has to overcome is not just the plague. Europe took months for at least the mutants to arrive, but the Asian region, which was in immediate crisis, was in a hurry. When the Republic of Korea finally lost its capital…… so when it lost more than half of its combat strength, the final phase of our operation was carried out. ”

He said he had hijacked the control of the reactors that built the network. The loss of power is disruptive to military operations, as well as to the maintenance of major nodes and the survival of evacuated people. For South Korea, we need to think later. But we still need unilateral help with the refugee camps. The South Korean government could not ignore U.S. demands.

Talbot adds as an excuse, even though he is not a real official.

“I'm sure you know what it means to lose half the combat strength of an army. ”

“I know.”

Winter accepted. Unlike any movie or novel, in reality, any troop would be considered extinct even if only two of its troops were to lose. This meant that the United States did not make cruel demands in the first place.

“If it hadn't been for that decision, most of the power plants would have been abandoned without proper action. Even with all the automated safeguards, it's a level that allows you to overcome a crisis in a moment, and it's not good enough to leave it unattended for long. In a number of incidents, there was no guarantee that the devices were working properly. ”

“What's your status? ”

“I've heard that it will be okay to leave it alone for at least a few years, just for the power sources in which the action was completed. ”

Probably the same thing happened in Japan. Nevertheless, there seems to be a problematic nuclear power source. Concerned about social anxiety, even information about the Humpbacks was classified, so information about periodic sources would be treated as more confidential.

Somehow there was no news about it.

Winter lifted the thought that flowed to the branches and recalled the first question.

‘Confirming their relationship with their parents, they were worried that they might think America was responsible for their deaths...' or disappearances. ’

But what's the role of letting people in on this secret?

“Let me ask you straight away. What am I supposed to do? ”

Relieved in the warmth of the winter, the intelligence agency once again speaks differently.

“Do you not resent this country? ”

“…… Grumbling? ”

Winter answered at the end of the moxa.

“Well, it was a necessary evil, to say the least. And as a result, it became much more important. I can't say I didn't do anything wrong, but there's no point in denying it now. Like I said...... I don't have to worry about my parents. And so will the rest of the family. ”

As a result, it became even more important with the unique toxins produced when Mogelons were destroyed by radiation in mind. As nuclear weapons are almost sealed, we fear that the toxin will accumulate in the ecosystem.

The total amount of radioactive contamination is blown off and the floor melts and the nuclear weapons are overwhelmed by the power plant. with the exception of nuclear warheads made for pollution itself.

If we hadn't tied this knot back then, even though the world would have been better off in the future, decades later we would have faced a giant end crawling like a turtle. Whether it's the radiation or the toxin.

The damage should have been dealt by the Korean government first.

Talbot reveals his regret.

“I'm sorry. I wish the South Korean president had the same idea. ”

“That's you, too. ”

“Yes, it doesn't reveal itself, but there's a lot of hostility against the United States as it turns out by informal means. If there were only three demons and materials that the U.S. required to relocate, at least a few thousand more people would have been saved……. I hold such grudges. ”

“Intelligence reports that the President may be involved in an unpleasant plot? ”

“Possibilities, that's all. ”

“How? What power does the government of a ruined country have to go through with such a plan? ”

“I don't know about anything else, but I have a lot of money. ”

“You have a lot of money.... I don't get it any more. ”

When I heard that the Korean government bought winter time, I had already asked once. Even a ruined country is its own country. Korea, which collapsed at the beginning of the epidemic, couldn't afford to carry gold, dollars and fine horses like any dictator in any country. Talbot answered the question.

“We have money because the country is ruined. ”

“ ……? ”

“With benefits and humanitarian assistance, the federal government pays substantial costs to each country. Existing national debt is mostly deferred and offset. The largest share of such costs are the rental and acquisition funds of the various assets. airplanes, ships, satellites. ”

“Ah……. ”

“Anyway, ownership was in governments and corporations. Some of them are expensive military containers. tens of millions of dollars at a time. Of course, the military containers that the Korean government rescued with our air fuel support are worse than the original reserves, but that alone is a significant amount. There are fewer survivors. The population of refugees is managed separately in the United States. ”

All the land that the Korean government currently maintains is small books. The population that will remain there will not be great. That is, they are digging up the inheritance of the dead country as if they were cutting down the corpse, but the number of people to feed them has decreased so that they still have money.

“There are other modest means of funding, such as stocks and bonds held in the name of the country, remnants of smoke funds, other tangible assets, and licensing costs of technical patents. We have money that won't run out over the next few years. ”

“Well, I understand. I could just flatter him. ”

“Yes, the equestrian rally that you're going to have with President Wu is a similar place for national summits, diplomats, to have social gatherings. It's good to be in solidarity with each other, because we have information that there's a very suspicious yacht going on. ”

“It's not going to be solved by just one president. If there really is a dark gathering, it's best to find out who's involved. ”

“Precisely.”

Hearing this far, winter was convincing and curious on the inside.

Anne's okay with this? ’

Is it informal information sharing, or is it some kind of decoy thrown to distract the Bureau?

On the other hand, the purpose of stopping Ivan in winter was more important, but "insight" also touched. Maybe winter will get angry when someone hears the secret related to the death of 'parents’. It was a concern enough for an intelligence agency who didn't know what was going on in the winter. There are rare nightmares where the honorary medalist doublehearter participates in terrorism.

Talbot called for winter.

“Commander, I'm going to ask you again... ”

“Again? Excuse me. ”

When Anne saw the frowning winter, she lost her sight briefly. Talbot also smiled bitterly.

“I'm sorry."

“It was a joke. It looked serious. ”

In addition, he also told his parents that he did not really care about their deaths. If I'm hurt, how can I speak lightly? Winter motioned calmly.

“Tell me.”

“When I heard back from President Wu what I told you today…… Well, can you do the same level of acting that you did as Kurt Lee? ”

The winter when I thought why this would be an excuse, I immediately read my inner meaning and nodded a little.

“It won't be easy to grieve, but if you're angry, fine. ”

Think of your real parents. I could only conceive of words and actions with emotions.

Ann has been caring about the feeling of winter for a long time and now her words are on her chest. Turns out, she had a profiler career.

“I see.”

Talbot is also troubled. He owes his life to winter.

“Don't take this the hard way. And that's the one time. ”

“Once that day? ”

“It's the only time he's ever lived. If there is a plan and you intend to involve the commander in it, you will have to tell the story in a hurry. ”

“You're not going to ask for anything more? ”

“Your time is expensive. ”

It sounds like a joke, but it's not just a joke. The more time you take, the less likely the Pentagon is to hate you. People donated hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars to winter meals. The War on Defense is still ongoing.

I was weighed even further by the speculation earlier. Intelligence won't put much weight on today's second request.

“I have a question. Was Congressman Brannon part of the test? ”

Talbot grins as he is asked about winter.

“You feel better now and then. We had his help. Consider it a gift rather than a test. ”

I think he was talking about Kowalski.

Finally, I remembered something else, and Winter took the ring out of my arms.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Take this when you go. ”

“What is that? ”

“Kurt Lee's wedding ring. ”

“Huh……. Have you had it this whole time? ”

Even Talbot who was talking, Ando looked stunned. Winter shrugs.

“That's how it happened. Something I thought I lost came out of nowhere, so I picked it up because I remembered what I wanted to meet in D.C. It's a trivial piece of information, but I'll give it back to you. ”

Talbot shakes his hand.

“Done. Just take it as a souvenir. ”

“A souvenir? A ring? ”

“What do you think? You can really use it when you propose. There won't be a woman who would hate to hear about it. Wouldn't it be meaningful at least to pay for something like that? ”

Proposal. Winter is a problem that doesn't feel real.