A Dark Fantasy Spy

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“…So.”

Ilya Nikolaevich, the Director of Department 1 of the Imperial Guard HQ, opened his mouth.

“So you’re saying that the advisor has been siphoning off massive wealth overseas through derivatives and you believe this is a signal for asylum?”

“Yes, Director.”

Ekaterina nodded affirmatively.

Director Ilya Nikolaevich read through the information memo (IM, a short report for urgent information distribution) submitted by the Economic Counterintelligence Department under his agency.

As his gaze moved slowly, Ekaterina began to speak again.

“We also confirmed that a large amount of unreported cash has been withdrawn from the account and is being kept in the office. Like Advisor Vasiliy Vladimirovich, substantial amounts have also been transferred from his wife’s account.”

“Have you checked where that money went?”

“Not yet.”

Hmm. The Director let out a brief hum as he set down the information memo.

He clasped his hands together by habit. It was an unconscious action that surfaced when the Director found a comfortable position. He leaned back in his chair and looked at Ekaterina.

“This isn’t enough.”

—

Episode 10 – Turn Northwest

—

The Director spoke.

“This incident appears as a sign of asylum from the perspective of the intelligence agency, but from the police or tax authority’s view, it may just be simple tax evasion. That means we need solid evidence.”

Given the sensitive timing, the absence of clear evidence would be troublesome.

Due to human rights issues, democratic nations like Abas and Patalia had issued statements and resolutions, with the Abas Senate adopting a resolution urging an end to the oppression of dissidents.

Normally, such things might have been ignored, but now, esteemed guests from overseas were staying in the Empire. And the foreign journalists accompanying them were probing into the human rights issues that the Empire and its royal family were sensitive about.

If the Imperial Guard HQ handled the asylum issue of the advisor’s family as it normally would, no one could predict what would happen next.

So, caution was the only option.

“Likewise, the idea that the Abas Information Agency is helping Vasiliy Vladimirovich to seek asylum remains at the conjectural stage. There’s also a lack of evidence for this.”

“……”

“On that day alone, over a hundred people had contact with the military attaché, and the advisor engaged in conversations with dozens of other diplomats at the banquet. Exchanging business cards and running into each other at the next diplomatic event is quite common, isn’t it?”

That was a valid point. Thus, Ekaterina conceded.

But there was no backing down now. Ekaterina said, “Today, Vasiliy Vladimirovich visited the Abas Embassy as part of the delegation due to visit from the Defense Committee.”

“I heard about that.”

“Please impose an exit ban on the advisor and his family.”

She was asking them to prevent him from fleeing abroad.

Ilya Nikolaevich, the Director, rejected Ekaterina’s request.

“No.”

“Director! But—”

He raised his hand to cut off her words.

“If he really intends to seek asylum, then the moment we impose an exit ban, it would only confirm that we are monitoring him.”

“……”

“If the Abas Information Agency planned this asylum, they would immediately clean up all traces and deny any connections. In the worst-case scenario, we might not be able to rule out the possibility of the advisor being killed.”

“…But if the asylum fails, won’t that prevent the leakage of confidential information?”

“Of course, the confidential information will no longer leak. And the agents who took the confidential information will also slip out of the investigation net.”

Since they were digging in their heels, the Director concluded as he signed on the document.

“We’ll handle the exit issue quietly, so you just keep monitoring. If they try to leave, see where they plan to go and observe how they react if exit is denied.”

Ekaterina had a lot she wanted to say, but she decided to withdraw for now.

The next morning.

The advisor and his family were chased out of the immigration office.

—

The Imperial Guard HQ sent a cooperation notice to the Immigration Department through the Ministry of Justice.

The document stated that if any of the three named citizens attempted to leave the country, the officials should report immediately and do whatever they could to stop their exit.

Upon receiving the cooperation notice, the security chief of the immigration office stayed overnight at work, not even going home.

Despite his wife calling, asking why he hadn’t come home yet, he knew that if he got marked by the public security, his livelihood would be at stake, so he sat at his desk, poring over regulation books, trying to endure the night.

And that early morning, as the advisor and his family arrived at the immigration office as noted in the notice, the immigration officer and the security chief threw themselves into blocking their exit. Presenting educational laws and regulations from the Royal Academy that they had just found.

The effectiveness was evident.

“No! There’s no way you can stop me from leaving!”

“The regulations say so! That’s how it is! Go question the Academy office!”

They couldn’t tell what was happening, but given that the public security was barring their exit, they didn’t seem like ordinary people.

While the immigration officer held his ground, the security chief reported that the advisor and his family had indeed arrived.

The one receiving that report was, of course, Ekaterina.

Having followed the advisor and his family from home in a car, it didn’t take long for her to arrive after receiving word.

“I am from the Imperial Guard HQ.”

“Ah, yes! Please come this way.”

Ekaterina checked the nationalities and regions that the advisor and his family were attempting to leave for through the immigration office’s systems.

She reported to her superiors, and the Imperial Guard HQ sent an urgent telegram to the local embassy, ordering that an intelligence officer be dispatched immediately to that region’s immigration office.

—‘Team Leader, we’ve received a report from the embassy.’

“What’s the situation?”

—‘Yes, there’s a man holding a sign with the advisor’s name right in front of the immigration office’s Warp Gate. However, after checking his identity, he turned out to be a diplomat from the Abas Embassy. Looks like they’re disguised as an official. What should we do?’

“Report to the Director.”

At the same time, an intelligence officer from the Military Intelligence Agency who was trying to make contact with the advisor’s family in a third country sensed something amiss.

The intelligence officer immediately returned to the embassy to report to the company, and the Military Intelligence Agency concluded that the asylum attempt had failed.

Ekaterina assessed that the Abas Information Agency might have caught wind of things at this point. She deployed her team members around the apartment and requested the Director to formalize an arrest warrant.

But the Director refused.

—”I’m not so sure that the Abas Information Agency has figured out we’re monitoring them yet. If the Imperial Guard HQ issues an arrest warrant and detains the advisor, we won’t be able to collect any further evidence.”

Instead, the Director suggested the following.

—”However, we could investigate the advisor’s tax evasion allegations through the tax office.”

The advisor had siphoned assets overseas to seek asylum. From the intelligence agency’s perspective, this was a sign of an attempted asylum, but from the tax authority’s view, it was a clear case of tax evasion.

Thus, in a situation where solid evidence was lacking, it would be better for the national police to arrest the advisor for tax evasion based on a report from the tax authority rather than the Imperial Guard HQ doing it directly.

They could take the initiative before the Abas Information Agency made a judgment, and above all, if news leaked that they sent an intelligence officer, not a fugitive, into exile, they’d be put in a difficult position.

—”If the security forces insist on a summons for tax evasion, they won’t act rashly.”

“When can the investigation begin?”

—”Tomorrow.”

The Director commanded.

—”If we can hold out until tomorrow, we can make sure he doesn’t exit the Empire. If he refuses to comply with the summons, we’ll impose an exit ban and, if he goes missing, we can issue a nationwide wanted notice.”

“……”

—”Can you manage that?”

Ekaterina asserted firmly.

“It will be possible.”

There would be no way for the advisor to leave the Empire.

—

A parliamentary advisor who could access military and national secrets had attempted to seek asylum. Suddenly clearing his schedule to try to leave for a foreign country, coincidentally, local Abas diplomats were waiting for him.

While there was no direct evidence, it was a situation that could hardly be interpreted as anything other than an asylum attempt.

Ilya Nikolaevich, the Director of the Imperial Guard HQ’s Department 1, ordered his department. Immediately send all personnel who could go to the scene to support Ekaterina’s team.

“Support team, external support heading out! Grab your gear and head down to the parking lot!”

An employee grunted as he lifted a piece of heavy state-of-the-art equipment.

“Wow, this is super heavy. But where are we taking this?”

“I overheard the Team Leader on the phone earlier. It sounds like we’re going to tap the embassy.”

“The embassy? How are we supposed to tap it? Every attempt we made before totally failed.”

“Hey, buddy. Keep your mouth shut and just move the gear.”

The technicians of the Imperial Guard HQ loaded up the surveillance equipment into their vehicle.

Then, a rush of investigators came pouring out from the direction of the stairs, heading for the parking vehicle.

Having seen them from afar, the technicians casually asked the investigators.

“Is there an incident? Everyone’s suddenly heading out.”

“Not exactly, we received a support request and are heading out.”

“Oh? You’re going out to support too?”

As the employee in the driver’s seat started the engine, he chimed in during the conversation between the investigator and the technician. He was a domestic intelligence officer who roamed around university areas looking for ideological offenders.

As he turned the car key, he muttered as an aside.

“We just got a support request too. I was writing a report in the office, but all of a sudden directives started pouring in. What a shocker this is….”

“Do you know if the team that requested the support is from Ekaterina Andreevna’s side?”

“Eh? How do you know that?”

“We just got that connection too.”

As the intelligence officer, investigator, and technician all blinked in confusion, the officer sitting in the driver’s seat took off his shoes and began changing into sneakers while shouting into his phone.

“Hey you! What trouble did you get into this time!”

—‘What.’

“Right now, all the company staff are going be supporting your team. It’s a complete frenzy! The company parking lot is turning into a chaos….”

—‘Is this my fault? If you’re upset, go talk to the Director. I’m not keen on going outside.’

“That’s…! That doesn’t seem quite right. It’s an order, we have to go. For sure!”

On the other end of the line, Ekaterina replied with a fatigued tone. She had almost reached a near death state from driving since dawn.

The intelligence officer closed the vehicle door as he spoke. He was a colleague who had given her advice after looking at the derivative trading history.

“So, what’s happening this time?”

—‘Just work stuff.’

“So, which guy exactly are we investigating that requires so many teams to be called in? I heard they’ve dispatched more than eight vehicles already.”

—‘No idea.’

Ekaterina trailed off at the last part.

At that moment, a team member sitting in the passenger seat called her attention.

The team member reported, and Ekaterina straightened her reclined chair and hastily hung up the phone.

“Hey, I have to go. They’ll relay to the situation room, so make sure you grab the radio. Got it? See you at the site later.”

—‘Hello? Hey, Ekaterina. Hey. Hey, you little—!’

—Click!

Ending the call, Ekaterina stuffed her mobile phone into her pocket and turned to the team member holding binoculars.

“Where are we?”

“Right there, Chief. Look through this.”

Ekaterina took the binoculars and examined the direction the team member was pointing.

At the entrance of the apartment on Ulica Street 3-25 in Petrogard.

The advisor and his family were exiting their home and getting into a vehicle.

As the team member began to record the scene with a magic recording device, Ekaterina set the engine in motion.

“Let’s go.”