“Who are you?”
“I’m the guide.”
The Obsidian Unit looked at me.
I nodded.
Slowly, the door opened.
A man in a suit was standing there.
He had both hands raised above his head, as if to show he had no intention of attacking.
In his forties.
A tall man.
In his hand was a single letter.
“Come in. As you can see, it’s cramped.”
“Then I’ll intrude for a moment.”
The man glanced around the room once,
then stepped into the narrow deluxe room.
We conducted a simple search,
but he wasn’t carrying any weapons.
With seven grown men in the tiny deluxe room, it felt suffocating just from that alone.
“Have a seat.”
I said that, but there was nowhere to sit.
“Thank you.”
The man gave a polite greeting, but did not sit down.
He seemed to know there was nowhere to sit.
“So, what brings you here?”
“First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Matthias.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Matthias. So, what brings you here?”
“I came to deliver Chairman Rodrigo’s invitation.”
“He could’ve just called. Why go to the trouble of sending a letter?”
I grumbled.
“This is Chairman Rodrigo’s way of showing courtesy. You may take it to mean that he respects and acknowledges you to that extent.”
“If he acknowledges me twice, I’ll be sleeping on the street.”
I said it while looking around the room.
“Ahem… The invitation states the time and place. If you come out in front of the hotel at the appointed time, we will escort you.”
I naturally checked the invitation the man had brought.
Seven o’clock this evening.
It said we should have dinner together.
“How many people?”
“You must come alone.”
“What the hell is he trying to pull?”
“Does he have a death wish?”
The Obsidian Unit growled.
I raised a hand to stop them and asked,
“Will Rodrigo be coming alone too?”
“I cannot confirm that for you.”
“You’re telling me to walk into Rodrigo’s maw all by myself?”
“The decision is yours to make, sir.”
“And if I don’t go?”
“Wouldn’t there be consequences accordingly?”
He spoke politely, but the meaning was clear.
It meant they would attack this place.
It meant they would kill us.
“Haa…”
I let out a deep sigh.
“All you need to do is come out in front of the hotel at the appointed time. If you are not there, we will take it that you are not attending. Please rest comfortably.”
Matthias bowed just like that and left the hotel room.
.
.
.
We left the hotel room as well.
We couldn’t say anything inside.
There were too many listening devices.
We went into a nearby café.
But it wasn’t much different here either.
There were no listening devices,
but everyone there was a CCTV camera and a wiretap.
All their eyes and ears were open toward us.
Chen Zhihao spoke first.
Not in the language we normally used.
He asked in encrypted code words.
It was a way to avoid their ears.
“You’re not going, right?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“This is one hundred percent a trap.”
“I know.”
“And you’re still thinking about it? Of course you shouldn’t go!”
“If I don’t? If I don’t go, another problem comes up. So for now, I’m leaning toward going.”
“This isn’t the time to worry about other problems. Your life is on the line.”
Chen Zhihao sounded frustrated.
I knew.
I knew very well that my life would be in danger if I went there.
But.
If I didn’t go?
Could I live if I didn’t?
Would my life be guaranteed?
Could I get out safely and return home?
Could I reorganize and make a proper plan before coming back in?
Of course not.
This wasn’t Europe.
This was Tijuana.
There was no one Rodrigo had to care about or read the mood around.
He could do whatever he wanted.
At any moment, those bastards could put a bullet in my head.
Any one of the people in this café could point a gun at me.
They could come into the hotel while I was asleep.
Nowhere was safe.
Going back home through the airport would be difficult too.
They would definitely interfere along the way.
So delaying and holding out wasn’t the answer.
If there was a problem, it was that I was the madman who had barged into Tijuana without thinking.
I came in too hastily, without looking into things, without information.
I took Rodrigo too lightly.
I thought someone like Rodrigo could be dealt with easily.
If we pushed in,
if we carried out an operation with the Obsidian Unit, I thought we could subdue him quickly.
Not wise,
greedy, and always watching others’ reactions.
That was all Rodrigo had been in Europe.
But the Rodrigo here was different.
In Tijuana, Rodrigo was king, an absolute ruler.
It was as if I were seeing myself in Zamboanga.
But our positions had been reversed.
In Tijuana, I was nothing.
I was on the same level as a bug crawling along the street, or even less.
If anyone wanted to kill me, they could.
The only thing I could do in this situation
was meet Rodrigo and settle things face-to-face.
That didn’t mean I wanted to walk into enemy territory alone.
That really would be like walking into the jaws of death.
But if I didn’t go,
I had no idea what would happen.
I didn’t know when or where a bullet would come flying.
I had to think of another way.
I needed another way.
“Where’s Allen now?”
At my question, Chen Zhihao opened his laptop and checked.
“He’s confirmed to be at the airport.”
“Mm… Is he unable to enter the country?”
“It seems that way.”
Just as expected.
They knew he was our additional force.
There was no way they would let him in easily.
I couldn’t see a way forward.
.
.
.
At the same time, Tijuana International Airport.
The Obsidian Unit, including Allen, was waiting endlessly in front of immigration.
The immigration counters would not open.
Everyone who had taken the same flight as Allen was unable to undergo immigration screening.
They had all been isolated separately.
The reason was simple.
There was merely an issue with procedure.
They kept repeating that there was a communication error and that it might take some time, so please wait.
He needed to hurry over and join up,
but not being able to do so was frustrating.
Time kept passing.
If he followed his heart, he wanted to sweep them all away.
He wanted to kill every last one of them.
Then he received a call from the boss.
“Yes, Boss.”
—You’re at the airport, right?
Hearing the boss’s voice made him feel a little calmer.
“Yes. The situation here isn’t good.”
—Were you denied entry?
“No. I haven’t even been able to stand at the immigration counter.”
—Really? They’re going that far?
I had thought they would deny him entry,
but they weren’t even conducting the immigration screening itself.
Maybe that was the wiser method.
It was more cunning than a refusal.
If they issued a denial of entry, there would be a record.
That record would continue to hold Tijuana Airport back.
They would need to explain why they denied entry without any proper reason.
It would become a problem.
On the other hand, not conducting immigration screening
left no record at all.
It was merely a delay.
Immigration screening could be postponed for a while due to issues with machinery, communications, or facilities.
That wasn’t a problem.
It seemed they had chosen incompetence instead of illegality.
“What should we do?”
Allen asked.
—Just go back to the Philippines.
“That won’t do.”
Allen replied to my answer.
Why did he even ask if he wasn’t going to listen?
—They’re not going to let you in anyway. So just go back. We’ll figure something out here somehow.
I spoke slowly, trying to persuade Allen.
But Allen didn’t seem to be listening to me.
“I’ll get in somehow.”
—This isn’t something you can do through effort. If you insist on coming in, an even bigger problem will arise. So just go back.
“I’m going no matter what.”
At that moment, Chen Zhihao cut in.
No, he practically snatched my phone away.
—Allen? Give up on entering the country altogether and just cross over into the United States.
“The United States?”
—Yeah. Go to the U.S., then come back through Mexicali Airport.
“Where’s Mexicali?”
—It’s a city about two hours by car from Tijuana. Go to the U.S. and enter from that side. Then you can avoid Rodrigo’s eyes and get in.
“How do I get to the U.S. from here? I can’t come or go from here.”
—Insist. Tell them to take you to the U.S. They’ll do that much.
“Seriously? They won’t even let us enter the country.”
—The people at the airport right now probably know they’re in the wrong too. The longer you guys stay there, the more trouble it’ll be for them as well. No matter how much they’re following Rodrigo’s orders, an airport has its own procedures and rules… But if you ask them to take you onto American soil, they’ll probably be grateful. The airport is connected to the border office, CBX, Cross Border Xpress. It takes less than ten minutes on foot. It’s a chance to dump the problem on someone else, so why wouldn’t they take it? You’re not entering Mexico. You’re going to the U.S.
“Got it. I’ll leave right away.”
Allen nodded as if he understood.
The call ended.
Allen immediately went to the immigration officer.
“How long are we supposed to wait? It’s already been more than an hour since our plane arrived.”
“…There is still a problem with the system… We apologize, but please wait a little longer. As soon as it is restored, we will process you immediately.”
“I heard that earlier. Don’t just keep repeating the same thing. Make a way. If the system really isn’t working, process it by hand.”
“…We will do our utmost to process you as soon as possible.”
“Does processing us as soon as possible mean just sitting around staring at the sky?”
“Pardon?”
“What do you think we’ve been doing here? We’ve been watching what you people are doing. But you’re not doing anything. The system broke down? Fine, that can happen. Then fix it. Don’t sit around chatting and eating snacks!”
“……”
Allen stepped a little closer toward the immigration officer.
“I’m sure you have your own position to consider. Then just take us to CBX, Cross Border Xpress, the border checkpoint connecting San Diego, United States, and Tijuana, Mexico.”
“What?”
The immigration officer was startled.
“You don’t like the idea of us entering Mexican soil anyway, do you? Then we’re saying we’ll go straight to the United States. That solves the problem, doesn’t it?”
At those words, the immigration officer’s expression changed slightly.
There was a shift.
He seemed interested.
Allen pressed the officer a little harder.
“We’re not the only ones who were on the plane we came in on. There are other passengers too, and their expressions aren’t good either. This could become a problem later. Wouldn’t it be better to wrap things up here? There seem to be some important people among them too.”
“I… important people?”
“So let’s make this a win-win. Just stamp our entry and take us straight to CBX. Then there’s no problem, right? We’ll cross straight into the U.S. How long are you going to keep doing this here? This must be a burden for you too, isn’t it? Let’s settle this cleanly.”
“I don’t think this is a matter I can decide. I will report it to my superiors. If you would wait just a moment…”
“I can’t wait long. We need to come up with our own countermeasures too, don’t we?”
“Understood. I will handle it quickly.”
The immigration officer moved quickly.
.
.
.
A café in Tijuana.
“Boss.”
“What?”
Chen Zhihao called me.
“You should make a call.”
“To whom?”
“Patrick.”
“Why Patrick? Why would I call a president who’s faithfully doing his job?”
“A good Filipino citizen is trapped in a Mexican airport. Even if it doesn’t work, shouldn’t we at least put some pressure on them?”
I took a moment to organize my thoughts.
No matter how much Tijuana was Rodrigo’s city,
that didn’t mean it was completely beyond the government’s control.
International airports were especially different.
Aviation agreements, immigration regulations, diplomatic protocols.
Invisible rules were all tangled together there.
They couldn’t ignore all of them.
The moment they did, the problem would grow.
It was on a completely different level from covering up a few murders in some neighborhood.
It would become a national-level problem.
What Rodrigo could do
was not control the airport, but,
Using personnel to delay, inconvenience, and pressure them—that was all they could do.
But if an official protest was lodged, the story would change.
I quietly picked up the phone.
“Patrick?”
- Yes. Go ahead.
“I have a favor to ask…”
- A favor from you to me? Please just give me an order.
“We’re in Tijuana, Mexico right now. But the Obsidian Unit is being held at the airport.”
- Ah. So our innocent Filipino citizens are being held at the airport. This is naturally a matter the Philippine government should step in for. I’ll file a protest through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately.
Patrick had worked with us for a long time,
so he instantly understood what I meant.
He was also quick to act.
“Can you do it?”
“I’ll handle it within ten minutes.”
“All right. Thanks.”
After receiving the call, Patrick sent a strongly worded diplomatic note to the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
[The Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines expresses its deep concern regarding the current delay in the entry of its nationals at Tijuana International Airport, Mexico.
The individuals in question attempted to enter the country through proper procedures,
and it has been confirmed that, to this moment, their immigration screening has been delayed for an extended period without justifiable cause.
This measure runs counter to the International Civil Aviation Convention and the principles of immigration cooperation concluded between our two countries,
and an entry delay without justifiable cause may be regarded as de facto detention.
The Philippine government hereby immediately requests the following regarding this matter:
1. An official and clear explanation for the reason behind the delay.
2. The prompt processing of entry procedures for the individuals in question, or reasonable measures.
3. A report on relevant measures to prevent recurrence.
Should this matter not be resolved promptly, the Philippine government hereby informs you that it will elevate the issue as a diplomatic matter and consider additional measures.
The Republic of the Philippines values the friendly relations between our two countries and expects this matter to be resolved amicably.]
*******
Tijuana.
Sin Junggi and Toto were sitting in a restaurant.
Tacos were set on the table.
“They’re good.”
Toto said with a smile.
Sin Junggi glanced at him, then shifted his gaze back to his laptop.
“It looks like Allen’s been held at the airport.”
Sin Junggi said.
Toto, who had been eating a taco, looked at Sin Junggi with a slightly startled expression.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow~ We were really lucky, weren’t we? Seeing as we got through without getting caught?”
“There were only two of us, and the plane we took came over from the United States, not Zurich. I think that’s why we got through.”
“What about the boss?”
“The boss is already in. But the only security personnel with him are Chen Zhihao and two members of the Obsidian Unit.”
Toto’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Hmm… Mr. Chen Zhihao won’t be much help in a fight… and two Obsidian Unit members won’t be enough. No matter how capable the boss is.”
Sin Junggi quietly nodded.
“We should help, shouldn’t we?”
“Of course. But…”
Toto stopped in the middle of answering.
He seemed to be calculating something.
“What do you mean, but?”
“It won’t be enough if only we go.”
“We still have to go. The boss is there.”
“There are reinforcements nearby, so we should bring them with us.”
Toto said with a smile.
“What? Reinforcements? Where?”
At Sin Junggi’s question, Toto unfolded a map.
He pointed at CBX with his finger.