The Angler And His Prey
Shin lifted the coffee pot once more.
“Aren’t you going to explain things to me?” Sebastian asked.
Shin froze in thought. Several minutes later, he poured a clear, dark brew out of the dainty coffee pot.
“What would you like to know about?”
“Everything!” Sebastian gritted out, barely able to control his patience.
He was understandably agitated. After all, he had been ecstatic to receive the medal and to learn that
Shin was still alive. He had even held the medal to his chest through the night.
The joy was, however, short-lived. Sebastian had been horrified to discover that Shin was involved in
Eddie’s shady dealings.
The highly-decorated Eddie had had a hand in smuggling firearms and establishing powerful, covert
forces, with which he secretly controlled the White House for decades.
Every one of his dirty deeds had Shin’s name on it.
How could this be? Why couldn’t he be a hero who sacrificed himself for the good of his country? Why
did he have to band up with some despicable traitor? Is that what truly makes him happy?
Sebastian struggled to come to terms with the discovery.
Shin took in his distraught expression and sighed deeply.
“All right, I’ll tell you everything. Where should I begin? Let’s start from the day I finally woke up; the
day I realized I hadn’t died.”
Waves of memories overwhelmed him.
It was a momentous occasion, given that he had never spoken of these memories to anyone else
beyond Eddie in the last thirty years.
“Eddie Limmer was the first person I saw after I woke up. He still had both his legs then, and he was
alone in my room. Eddie seemed excited that I was awake, and he said he was inching closer to his
empire.”
“His empire?” Sebastian asked warily.
Shin nodded. “You heard me correctly. I only found out later on that there were many others like me
who Eddie had taken under his wing, though we were more like fish he had caught.”
The simile he drew was striking.
Sebastian stopped in the middle of lifting his cup. He stared at the monk, sensing that something was
not right.
A fish? He’s comparing himself to a fish? What about his death?
“I was an accident. Eddie did not want to offend the Jadesons since your grandfather, Jonathan, was
still powerful back then. I myself was an influential figure in the military base, so I was left alone as well.
Having Sean save me was nothing short of a coincidence.”
“Sean Durant?” Shock flashed through Sebastian’s eyes.
If I remember correctly, when Janice was on the run, Jonathan brought up a fighter he respected
greatly. That must have been Sean. But if that’s the case, why did Sean save him?
“Yes, you’re right. Sean Durant of Xenhall saved my life. The Durant family was skilled in both combat
and medical skills. He had been the one to amputate Eddie’s legs and give him a pair of prosthetics so
that he could walk normally.”
Sebastian fell into silence at his explanation.
He suddenly recalled the terrifying woman who wielded a surgical blade as a weapon, to which even
Karl admitted defeat.
He asked, “So what you’re saying is that Eddie took you under his wing because of pure coincidence?
Did he have Sean go around saving people so they could become his what, ‘fish’?”
Shin elaborated, “More precisely, he would plan his victims’ downfalls and then ‘fish’ them out of their
dire situations. Take Carlos, for example. At his prime, his status was no different than that of your
grandfather’s. Eddie was behind Carlos and his troops’ crushing defeat at the Southern lines. He then
swooped in to save Carlos by sparing him from a hearing at the military court. After that, Carlos was
indebted to Eddie and became his pawn.”
Everything was starting to make sense now. Eddie did not come from a military background and
naturally knew little about military factories and the like.
So, he started ‘fishing’ influential figures in the army to become his pawns, and it was an undeniably-
shrewd way to strengthen his power.
The epiphany knocked all the breath out of Sebastian. His hand, which held the cup, shook
uncontrollably, making clattering noises on the table.
What a pair of scheming twins. Eddie offered strategies to Louis to help the people of this country, but
at the same time, he also took the opportunity to satisfy his greed.
Sebastian remained speechless for a long time.
Eventually, the coffee pot cooled, and a younger monk came over with some freshly-boiled water,
which Shin added to the cooling brew.
The motion finally caught Sebastian’s attention, and he observed the steam rising from the coffee pot
as he asked, “What about you? If you were never his target from the beginning, how did you end up as
his pawn?”
A wry smile appeared on Shin’s face.
He lifted the coffee pot and ignored the tell-tale ache in his right chest.
How did I become his pawn in the end?
The answer was more simple than one would expect. A hunter would be foolish to release a valuable
prey from his trap, even if it was never his target from the start.
Seems like this chap before me has no idea of my reputation in the past!
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