Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 114 - 104: Godspeed

Chapter 114: Chapter 104: Godspeed

It was their first collaboration, and naturally, he wanted to do a good job.

Now Grasse just wanted to wrap things up nicely, but he didn’t know if he could capture the Plunderer alive, so he hadn’t shared this decision with Gao Yi.

For Lin Xianghua, his task was simple: make a phone call to some well-connected individuals, and then let fate take its course.

After that, it was just a matter of waiting.

But just as dawn was breaking, Gao Yi received a phone call.

"Sorry to wake you this early, but the Plunderer has been brought in. I thought you might want to come with me to pick him up; your subordinate’s friend has also been brought in."

Gao Yi wasn’t befuddled because he had just woken up, but rather by what Grasse had said.

"Uh, uh, ah?"

Grasse seemed pleased with Gao Yi’s reaction, casually saying, "Last night, the Saudi Coalition Forces made a surprise raid on the Plunderer’s encampment, captured the Plunderer himself, and found five others hiding nearby. They’ve all been brought to Baghdad."

Gao Yi shook his head.

He hadn’t lost his memory, so Gao Yi remembered that yesterday evening Grasse had called him to say he had everything under control and to just wait for news of the Plunderer’s demise.

Now at four-thirty in the morning, he’s calling to say the Plunderer has been captured and brought to Baghdad?

If he heard right, and there was no mistake, then Grasse was incredibly quick.

Gao Yi was stunned for a moment before he finally managed to say, "Okay, I’ll come with you."

He hung up the phone, got out of bed, woke up Luca and Lin Xianghua, and in just the time taken for a quick wash, Grasse was already waiting outside the hotel.

They got into the car.

"They’re at the Air Force Base. They could have brought them here, but I refused. Some issues are better resolved away from this place."

"This" referred to the Green Zone and even more so to the Secret Action Bureau. It was obvious Grasse didn’t want his superiors to know about the capture of the Plunderer, nor did he want them to see him.

Gao Yi couldn’t help but ask, "Can you elaborate on what exactly happened?"

Grasse shook his head, "I don’t know the details either, so let’s just see the Plunderer first."

Speechless, everyone drove straight to the Air Force Base.

Being military folks, handling internal matters was convenient, although CIA could use all the military base facilities including aircraft, it was still considered borrowing.

But the Defense Clandestine Service was different. For Grasse, the Air Force Base was like coming home, whatever he did was definitely more convenient than for CIA personnel.

Thus, Gao Yi and his two companions faced no obstructions or questioning. Grasse just flashed his ID and took Gao Yi and the others directly into the Air Force Base.

The Plunderer was in a hut next to a hangar. The team that had transported him just dropped him off and left without any handover or paperwork, simpler than a courier delivery.

The Plunderer was treated like cargo, his hands and feet bound with straps and dumped on the ground, his head covered with a black hood. Beside him, the other five similarly treated individuals, except the Plunderer was in just underwear while the others were in full battle gear including bullet-proof vests and helmets.

Gao Yi pointed at the nearly naked man and asked, "Is he the Plunderer?"

Lin Xianghua nodded emphatically.

But just then, Grasse pulled out his credentials and spoke to two guards, "Thanks, could we use your place for a bit, if that’s okay?"

The location of the hut was peculiarly positioned far from the military base’s office area, yet near several hangars, a standalone building, but the facilities inside it were quite comprehensive.

Definitely not living facilities, more like a shower room, but withed four solid iron chairs for securely fixing people.

The two guards left without a word.

Lin Xianghua stepped forward and pulled off the black hood. The Plunderer bent over, struggling to lift his head, and when he saw Lin Xianghua, he started writhing like he had seen a ghost, producing faint whimpers.

His mouth was wrapped with numerous rounds of tape, preventing him from making much noise. Seeing the Plunderer’s state, Lin Xianghua smiled contentedly and said, "Didn’t expect this, did you? Bet you never thought you’d see me again, or even fall into my hands!"

Lin Xianghua certainly had every right to say this, because he had paid for it!

Gao Yi said softly, "His mouth is taped."

Lin Xianghua sighed, but he didn’t proceed to untie the Plunderer, choosing instead to start removing the hoods from the others.

At that moment, Grasse suddenly said, "Hold on."

Lin Xianghua looked at Grasse, who shook his head and said, "If they’re not going to die, I better leave."

The Plunderer was a dead man anyway, so no need to avoid him, but if the rest were to live, Grasse didn’t want them to see him.

As he was leaving, Grasse suddenly said, "Better to settle it here."

Grasse closed the door, and Lin Xianghua pulled out a knife. He went on to remove the hoods from the others in turn, then proceeded to cut through the straps binding their wrists.

"You..."

A man in his thirties looked astounded at Lin Xianghua. Frantically tearing the tape from his own mouth, he said in disbelief, "It’s you! This is, this is..."

Looking at the Plunderer, then at Lin Xianghua, and finally at Gao Yi and Luca, the liberated man clasped his head, at a loss for words.

"Boss, this is Wild Boar, his name is Peter, my friend."

Wild Boar might seem like a normal person, but since he was a friend of Lin Xianghua, Gao Yi was sure to treat him courteously.

Gao Yi nodded and smiled, "Hello, Wild Boar."

Peter spit to one side, a very impolite gesture, but he immediately looked at Gao Yi with a mix of fright and respect, saying, "Hello, hello, nice to meet you... uh... thank you, I don’t know..."

It was normal to be a bit flustered, and Gao Yi smiled without a word.

Lin Xianghua looked at the remaining four men, then directly asked Peter, "It’s good that you’re all okay. What happened at the time?"

Peter glanced at the Plunderer still thrown on the floor. Hesitating, he then said softly, "I got your call, you told me to head out, so I went on patrol with a few brothers. Just after we left, we saw three tanks surrounding our house and over a dozen armored vehicles."

Lin Xianghua suddenly looked up, "Tanks? Armored vehicles?"

"And helicopters, two armed helicopters in the sky!"

Another man, just having ripped his tape off, added urgently, "The helicopters didn’t open fire but kept circling overhead for surveillance."

Peter continued, "The first thing I did was drop my weapon and stand by the roadside with my hands raised, but no one paid us any attention."

With his mouth sealed for too long, producing too much saliva, Peter swallowed and said with fear, "Then...a tank fired a shell, blasting open the courtyard wall of our residence, followed by two armored vehicles opening fire with machine guns."

They were directly bombarded with tank shells.

Gao Yi asked in amazement, "They fired directly?"

"Yes, directly."

"They didn’t say a word."

People began talking all at once, and Peter, looking at the Plunderer with sympathy, continued, "Then another Mercenary Group charged in from behind the armored vehicles, shouting to drop our weapons as they entered."

"No one fired a shot."

"Who would dare shoot?"

"And we couldn’t make sense of the situation."

As Peter spoke, others chimed in, and after everyone had had their say, Peter continued, "We were nearby, then saw him being brought out of the room..." pointing at the Plunderer.

"Then...everyone else was killed!"

"All our people were gathered in the courtyard, then a major in charge of commanding us ordered, and that group...just opened fire. Everyone but him died!"

Peter nodded soberly, "That’s how it was, and then we, with our hands raised by the roadside, waited for them to leave. Someone came over asking us to lay down our weapons, which we had already done. Then someone said to keep them, so we were tied up, hooded, and put on a plane, and ended up here."

The efficiency was indeed impeccable.

Lin Xianghua nodded and said calmly, "You warned me last time, so this time I saved your life. Don’t blame me, who would have thought he’d betray me for ten thousand dollars, and besides you, no one told me!"

Peter immediately said, "We don’t blame you, thank you, we need to thank you. You saved several of us, we are very grateful, truly."

"Yes, thanks, Xiao Lin; we all really appreciate you."

"Yes, just being alive is great. We aren’t very close with anyone else...thank you, Xiao Lin."

Lin Xianghua’s vanity was immensely satisfied, feeling that his three hundred thousand was well spent.

Turning to Gao Yi, Lin Xianghua whispered, "Boss, how about it, shall we let him go?"

Gao Yi thought for a moment, then said, "Hmm, let him go."

Lin Xianghua stepped forward and tore off the tape from the Plunderer’s mouth, then growled, "You..."

"Don’t kill me! I am a CIA agent, I am from the CIA!"

The Plunderer immediately shouted, blocking Lin Xianghua’s words and startling Gao Yi.

Everyone was momentarily stunned, then Lin Xianghua turned to Gao Yi blankly, while Peter and the others, in perfect sync, stepped back. If the door hadn’t been closed, they would have fled immediately.

The Plunderer wasn’t trying to threaten or intimidate Gao Yi and the others; he was just seeking a way to survive, so he continued urgently, "I’m one of you, don’t kill me, this is all a misunderstanding!"

Gao Yi furrowed his brow and asked, "You say you’re from the CIA? Do you have any proof?"

The Plunderer said urgently, "I can contact someone from the CIA in the Middle East; they can confirm my identity. I’ve provided a lot of information to the CIA; I really am a CIA agent!"

The situation was starting to get complicated, and at that moment, Peter unexpectedly spoke up from the corner, still inevitably hearing everything, "Uh, sorry to interrupt."

Peter raised his hand, and when he saw Gao Yi looking his way, he lowered his hand pointing at the Plunderer and whispered, "Can I take him out? Can we all do it together, please?"