by Donald Ha
Jackal let out a deep sigh.
It was not out of disbelief.
It was out of anger.
“If I had a past life like that, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“It’s not all good.”
Marie-Louise’s eyes beamed and she smiled weakly.
“There are people looking for me. Didn’t I tell you before? That people in the U.S army uniforms are looking for me.”
Hearing this, Jackal recalled his encounter with Grace.
Grace had a picture of Marie when she was young.
“Are you being chased by the military police?”
“No, it’s not the U.S army. They are secret and powerful beings hidden behind the U.S army.”
Marie-Louise picked up the crutches on the floor and stood up.
“It’s the Wulins.”
“The Wulins?”
“They are human tanks with an engine room in the body, like you. They can easily do what a normal person cannot do.”
As he watched Marie-Louise talk casually, Jackal asked.
“Is covering 40~50 meters in 3 seconds without any noise a kind of Wugong?”
“It’s possible if you use Lightweight movement.”
“….”
“But why are you asking all of a sudden?”
Marie-Louise asked in curiosity.
“What?”
Suddenly, Jackal realized he had made a mistake.
‘Is she becoming suspicious?’
He didn’t want to tell her yet about his situation and the people who were looking for her.
Jackal wanted to hear from both sides and stick with the one that is more beneficial to him.
But his plan could be ruined by his small mistake.
“Did you meet someone who was looking for me?”
Marie-Louise quickly got to the point like an arrow.
Her words startled Jackal.
As Jackal felt a murderous aura from her, he had the impulse to pick up the weapons arranged behind him.
“Where did you meet the person who used the lightweight movement?”
Marie-Louise continued her series of questions.
“No, I never said that.”
“Really?”
“Why does it sound like you’re questioning me?”
Jackal glared at Marie-Louise with a bitter smile.
Marie-Louise’s face remained expressionless.
She just looked at Jackal with her eyes gleaming like jewels, without blinking like a statue.
Marie-Louise was waiting for an answer.
‘Just like I thought, she’s good.’
Jackal let out a deep sigh and started talking.
“Let me be frank. I met people who were looking for you.”
Jackal briefly explained what happened yesterday to Marie-Louise.
“On my way to the crematorium, I found a Model 4 tank destroyer. It’s a peculiar one, but charming nevertheless.”
“Enough with the tanks.”
“…..”
Jackal told her about the two gold teeth he got from the crematorium, his encounter with Captain Grace, how he ran away when he saw Andre Popov, and how he lost pursuers in the middle of the night.
Marie-Louise, of course, was only interested in a few parts of the story.
“What kind of person is the man who had my photo?”
“He’s a captain of the military police. To be precise, he’s the one who does all the dirty stuff in the occupied zone. He’s a captain, but they say even the field grade officers can’t do anything about him.”
Jackal let out a laugh as he thought about his shiny bald head.
“I think there must be Wulins behind him. The ones who chased you must be Wulins too, but you managed to lose them. It wouldn’t have been easy for a normal person like you to lose them.”
Jackal nodded.
He said as he recalled the frightening experience he had yesterday.
“If they intended to catch up to me from the first place, I would probably have been helplessly caught. I think they watched me from a distance. Luckily, it was night with no one around and I was able to notice them, I wouldn't have noticed them had it been daytime."
A question flashed in Jackal’s head all of a sudden.
“Wait, since when did they start following me?”
“It’s probably after you met the Captain. The ones behind the Captain are probably desperate to catch me.”
“The ones behind him… are you referring to the person who broke your leg?”
“Maybe. But I have a question. It’s a more fundamental question.”
Marie-Louise roamed around the room with the crutch.
The crutch moved as if it was her leg and it didn’t seem awkward at all.
Even Jackal couldn’t do such a thing.
Her actions probably had an underlying meaning.
She was reminding him again, that she was not a normal human being.
Soon, the crutch stopped and her cold voice echoed in the room.
“Why did they try to find me through you?”
As she finished her words, Marie-Louise raised her head and coldly glared at Jackal.
There was no expression on Jackal’s face, but a lot of things were going on inside his head.
“What do you think happened? Jackal, there must have been something you did that I don’t know about.”
As Jackal remained silent, Marie-Louise questioned him again.
A weak groan came out of Jackal’s mouth.
‘She’s like the legendary fox with nine tails. She’s on the top of my head.’
He had to tell her the truth.
His lies were going to be caught anyway, so he might as well tell the truth.
Jackal knew that it was better to tell the truth if the lies could not deceive the opponent.
He knew because he had lied and been lied to countless times.
“When I first met you, you said you were being chased by the U.S army. So I went to the U.S army to ask whether they were looking for a girl like you. That was how I met Captain Grace.”
There was self-deprecation in his tone.
Marie-Louise looked at Jackal and asked.
“Why?”
“I needed money. As you know, I’m a hyena and I do whatever pays off.”
“I see. I finally found the last piece of the puzzle, Jackal.”
Marie-Louise finally smiled cheerfully and sat down on the chair. There was no more questioning or criticism.
She supported her chin with her hand and looked into the distance as if she was contemplating.
“…..”
She was submerged in her thoughts for a long time.
Jackal stretched his arms and relaxed his muscles as he moved his body. Each time he turned his neck, a cracking noise echoed in the room.
“Why did they follow you?”
Marie-Louise spoke.
She turned her head towards Jackal.
“I guess there must have been something that they could find out through me. It was probably because they thought they could find you if they kept following me.”
“I guess so. But, I think we can see this problem from another perspective.”
“Another perspective?”
“How much do they know about you?”
“About me…?”
Jackal contemplated as he slurred the end of his sentence.
There wasn’t much to think about.
“Probably not a lot. I don’t even exist on paper. There’s nothing they can find out.”
The nonexistent.
That is, people who didn’t exist on paper.
“That’s it!”
“What do you mean?”
“I believe they don’t know a thing about you or me. They only have theories. That’s why they put a tail on you, to find out something.”
Jackal contemplated.
He understood what Marie-Louise was trying to say.
‘Am I the o
nly evidence? That might be why they were so active. All I told Grace was whether he was looking for a girl.’
Thinking this, he asked.
“Then what should we do?”
“Just act normally like you did until now, even if you get tailed. But if you’re followed, you should never come here. You know that, right?”
“Of course. I’ll come here only in quiet nights.”
Jackal had acute senses, but even he could not find the Wulins in daytime. Continously tailing someone while keeping a distance of 40~50 meters was impossible for normal people in the first place.
“Although it’s a little dangerous at night,”
Marie-Louise smiled.
“If your Wugong gets strong, it won’t be dangerous. You are a fast learner and you will be strong soon. Nobody will be able to stop you.”
“….Hmmm.”
Getting strong.
Jackal knew.
It was a good thing.
“Oh, you mentioned the giant called Andrei Popov before, right?”
“Yes, what about him?”
She hadn't seemed to be paying attention, but she had grasped every detail. Jackal beamed as he heard the name that was his mission.
“I’ll teach you how to beat the giant.”
“What?”
Jackal was taken aback.
“That giant? Like I told you, he’s a bear. I can’t do it.”
Unlike Jackal, Marie-Louise was full of confidence.
“You have your engine room. Now, stand up, young Panzer.”
Whoosh!
As fast and smooth like a flying swallow, Marie-Louise did a somersault with her crutch.
“Hey, what are you doing? Is your leg okay?”
“Oh… It hurts a little.”
Marie-Louise slightly frowned.
But she soon smiled merrily again and approached Jackal.
“Today, I’ll tell you how you can put your inner force in your fist. If you learn this, you won’t have a problem with the Soviet soldier.”
Marie-Louise’s hand grabbed Jackal’s and dragged him forward.
“Now, ignite your engine room just as I taught you. Slowly and fiercely.”
*
“……”
Jackal stared at his fist.
To Jackal, a fist was for holding weapons. For him, it was never a weapon itself.
But it was different today.
He had to beat down a man with only his bare hands.
Jackal continuously tailed the giant soldier.
The Soviet soldier called Andrei Popov.
He was big and strong, not only was he feared by his enemies but his allies as well.
He usually drinks in a bar, but from time to time, he would go into civilian houses and rape women.
There was an order from the command post forbidding any crime against civilians, but the giant man didn’t care at all.
Today too, he went into random houses looking for young women and mercilessly raped them.
The man with the strong physique didn’t need a gun or any companions.
He effortlessly overpowered the men and old men blocking him and raped the woman he selected.
The children looked at him with fear but he didn’t care. He even took out chocolate from his pocket and threw them as if he was feeding animals.
Leaving behind cries full of sorrow, Andrei Popov left the house with a smile as he fixed his clothes.
There was a man in faded work clothes and a hat pulled down outside the house.
The man seemed to have something to with him as he was clenching his fists tightly.
It wasn’t the husband of the woman he raped. He had beaten him to near death when he first entered the house.
Then…was he a relative?
It didn’t matter to Andrei Popov.
“Piss off.”
A short German sentence came out of his mouth.
But the man, much smaller than him, didn’t budge.
There was a cruel smile on Andrei Popov’s face.
All of a sudden he attacked the man and tried to grab him by his collar.
He didn’t even need to use his fist for that kind of man.
If he raised him up and threw him headfirst to the concrete ground, he would have a spasm and then pass out or die.
But the man’s right shoulder shook.
‘He’s trying to hit me? How dare he…’
Andrei Popov knew that the man’s fist would not have any effect on him.
He thought he might as well receive the blow and grab the man by his collar.
He saw the little man’s fist coming towards his face. Andrei Popov stretched his arms toward the man.
But then,
“…Huh..?”
Pow!
Crack!
With the sound of something breaking, Andrei’s face turned to the side.
‘What the..?’
Broken teeth, blood mixed with saliva came out of his mouth.
“Ugh!”
Another blow hit him again.
It was the solar plexus right below his ribs.
Andrei Popov’s eyes opened wide.
Pow!
Another blow hit him.
This time on his chin.
“Aaaaaargh!”
His eyes blurred as his head shook violently.
Andrei Popov instinctively raised his two hands at the man in front of him.
But the man was already behind him, ready to strike again.
Pow!
This time it was to his side.
“Ugh!”
With a short scream, Andrei Popov’s giant body staggered.
The giant castle, that seemed undefeatable, was completely devastated by a man far smaller than him.
‘I can’t believe this. It’s incredible. This power! I can’t believe it.’
The little man was none other than Jackal.
As he felt his inner force pumping powerfully from his engine room, he kept pounding the unfortunate man in front of him.
“Hey, stop. You’re going to kill him.”
Hans Graham, who was standing guard, stopped Jackal.
Jackal saw the bloody Andrei Popov beaten beyond recognition.
“Ughhhhh…..”
His face was nastily damaged with the eyeball dropping down where the cheekbone used to be. He was making noise that no one could understand as he gasped for breath.
“Let’s go, before the Russians come.”
Jackal came back to his senses and disappeared into the dark streets of Berlin with Hans Graham.
“You were supposed to beat him up a little. Why did you beat him like that? What would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there?”
As they ran together, Hans reprimanded him.
“Sorry, really sorry. I had a lot against him as I watched him rape the women.”
"Phew…I can't believe that me, your backup, had to tell you to keep it down. You are one infuriating bastard."
Hans was Jackal’s insurance.
Just in case Jackal failed to overpower Andrei Popov with the power Marie-Louise taught him.
But Jackal had effortlessly defeated Popov and almost killed him.
He might die, or he might live the rest of his life crippled.
As he ran through the night streets, Jackal looked at his fist again.
Until now, it was a hand that handled weapons. Today, the hand was the most deadly and cruel weapon.
‘That’s incredible power. Simply incredible.’
As he felt his inner energy jolting in his engine room, Jackal smiled brightly in the darkness.
“I’m a tank.”
*
“Hmm. I didn’t expect a lot. I’m surprised that you pulled this off, Jackal.”
Captain Grace stared at Jackal in surprise.
It was probably the first time the man, who had always ignored and looked down on him, expressed surprise towards Jackal.
Jackal realized what was h
appening.
‘This man, he gave the mission thinking it was impossible from the first place. Come to think of it, beating him up without any weapons was an impossible mission.’
He could’ve been beaten up by that man.
The U.S army captain must have thought of that in the first place.
He wasn’t fond of Jackal from the beginning.
“I precisely timed the attack. I got him right after he committed a rape in a civilian’s house.”
“Umm. That’s unfortunate. May the Mother Mary bless the unfortunate woman.”
Grace drew a cross in the air.
“You could have attacked him when he was committing the rape. You could’ve saved the civilian, and you could’ve gotten him when he was distracted by the excitement.”
Jackal replied calmly.
“I didn’t want my face to be known to others. Even if the civilians were thankful for me, they would have revealed everything under the NKVD’s torture. And as you know, I’m an Asian, which is rare in this place.”
“That makes sense.”
Grace smoked the cigarette again, and after a moment he pulled out an envelope from his pocket.
“It’s the payment. I also threw in some extra.”
Jackal opened the envelope and checked the contents.
There was a huge amount of dollars inside. He didn’t count, but it seemed to be about a 100 dollars.
‘Just as I thought, the U.S army has a lot of money.’
A hundred dollars for a petty job.
He couldn’t imagine how much a big job would pay off.
‘I’m beginning to see the 10,000 dollars coming true.’
He smiled in satisfaction.
Grace glanced at Jackal’s satisfied expression and said.
“If I have another job for you, I’ll let you know. How can I get in touch with you?”
“I’ll come in person. I don’t have a particular place to go.”
When he parted with Grace and left the U.S base, Jackal felt 2 people tailing him from a distance.
Normally, he wouldn’t have had any idea, but his improved senses and preparation made the detection possible.
‘Just like what Marie-Louise said.’
They were probably the ones who followed him before.
The Wulins with supernatural powers. They were probably much stronger than Jackal and he could not defeat them by power.
But he was neither nervous nor afraid.
Instead, their presence made Jackal excited .