54 The Silent 1

Their tickets were booked for the very next morning. Arnav had wanted to meet Sofya once before leaving, but having being mocked by Murat too often, he gave upon the idea. He had only informed her that he was going on a business trip and would return before their wedding date.

As the flight landed at Seoul, the weather took a turn for worse. Earlier it had only been snowing a little, but now the fair blue sky was covered with dark clouds, as if signalling a bad omen. Soon it would start to rain heavily, making it all the more colder.

Walking out of the airport, they huddled their leather jacket and scarves more closely around themselves, feeling the cold brisk wind on their faces.

In one of the corner, a man with a black hood was standing there, looking at them. Arnav and Murat quickly walked over, avoiding the crowd and handed over their luggages.

" Code names? " the man asked them faintly, as if keen not to be overheard.

" Grey Wolf. "

" Lone Eagle. "

The man nodded. Wordlessly, he motioned them to sit in the car. Soon, the car mingled with the other cars on the road. Glancing out of the window, Murat looked at the city. It had only been a month ago that he was here, and now, again duty calls. The entire city - shops, buildings, footpaths and trees were covered in snow. The city looked beautiful like a coating of vanilla on top.

The drive to the base was about two and a half hours from the airport. As they neared the black and gold gate, they noticed that the security had been increased ten folds. More and more guards could be seen stationed outside the gate as compared to their previous visit. The man stopped the car at the gate, rolling down the window of the backseat. One of the guards glanced inside, nodded at the two men and spoke something in Korean to the hooded man. The hooded man replied back and turned around to face Arnav and Murat.

" The boss is already here. As are the others. "

" What others? " Murat asked perplexed, but there was no answer.

The gates swung open and they could clearly see the magnificent glass building built on the top of the hill. The road paved on the hill was a zig zag one, with bushes and small shrubs growing either side. But for now, the entire place was covered in snow. Driving atop, the words Springfield Armory came into their eyesight, written in black ink and beautifully engraved in the glass doors.

Springfield Armory was one of the top class buildings in Seoul, where all kinds of amunition were manufactured. The building had been built nearly four to five decades ago, obtaining the government license to operate in this industry. It provided top class firearms and guns to the South Korean government for it's military, as well as exported to the rest of the world. Their products were one of the best because of the quality of raw materials and the advanced machineries used to manufacture them.

Parking the car in front of the gates, the three men quickly got down. Signalling another guard to open the gate, the hooded man continued inside with the two trailing behind him.

Inside the building was the usual hustle bustle of the employees performing their day to day jobs. Nobody gave them a second glance, as they continued about their work. The continuous whirring sound could be heard from a distance and the smell of grease and charcoal filled the air.

The men walked silently, making their way through the corridors until they stopped in front of an iron door. It was a shabby room where many second hand and destroyed items were kept. In one corner of the room, a number of old files were piled up, dust accumulating on them over the years.

However, the hooded man walked towards another corner where only an antique statue was kept. Dragging the statue away, he pulled off the carpet underneath to reveal a trap door.