Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 120 - 110: Let’s Negotiate

Chapter 120: Chapter 110: Let’s Negotiate

A hard slap across the face was all it took; no need for other measures.

"You’ve got a boss; that means you’re in cahoots with Ali. Good. Where is Ali, where is the stolen stuff, where is your boss? Tell me," Gao Yi asked. His questions were simple and logical. What else could he ask?

But the driver, at this point, once again played dumb.

"I can’t say, I’d be dead if I did. Please, find it yourselves... I beg you..."

Gao Yi was so annoyed he wanted to laugh; he felt some people really had a screw loose.

"You think you won’t have to die if you don’t speak?"

Gao Yi said irritably, then waved his hand, and Peter’s palm immediately swung up again.

With a few successive smacks, the driver’s mind cleared, his knees went weak, and he remembered where his boss was.

"All the drivers are called Ali. I don’t know where your stuff is, but our boss, he’s in a house behind the Department of Transportation..."

He hesitated habitually for a moment but eventually said in desperation.

Gao Yi sighed, then pointed to the other two men and said, "You two are lucky. You are no longer at risk. You’re free to go."

The two Russians exchanged glances, then stood up from the ground, and Gao Yi also pointed to the car’s trunk, "Don’t forget to take your belongings."

One Russian sighed a breath of relief, walked to the rear of the car, opened the trunk and lifted a bag that didn’t look very big. But judging by how the straps were strained and how the bag was distorted, it was evident it contained something heavy.

What could be so heavy?

Gao Yi’s curiosity was piqued, so he asked the Russian retrieving the items, "What’s this?"

"Mechanical parts."

Gao Yi would believe it if it were gun parts, but mechanical parts? He definitely didn’t believe that.

These Russians were a bit suspect.

He wanted no complications, but looking at the luggage of these two men, Gao Yi couldn’t help his curiosity. "Tell the truth."

The man carrying the bag pondered for a moment, then actually put the bag down on the ground, unzipped it and said, "It really is mechanical parts, and tools."

Gao Yi stepped forward for a look. He didn’t notice anything unusual, but after Cliff took a glance, he whispered to Gao Yi, "A bullet reloading system, disassembled, and some old tools. They’re used, which means they’re familiar."

Gao Yi looked at the two Russians for a moment and hesitated. Then he said, "I’m looking for our lost stuff, you’re lucky not to have been scammed. You can go now."

The two Russians, bag in hand, walked away. After they’d gone some distance, they couldn’t help but look back.

Cliff whispered, "Strange. Russians don’t really mess with bullet reloading. It’s usually precision shooters who hand-load bullets, and they’d be from their own guns to improve accuracy. This set of reloading tools and some gunsmithing hand tools... why would they need these in Baghdad?"

Peter coughed lightly and then said to Cliff, "We’re busy with our own thing now."

Gao Yi quickly refocused his thoughts and looked at the driver. "Tell me what’s the identity of your boss, how many people does he have around him, does he have guns?"

"Of course they have guns..."

The driver looked up, his face showing resignation. "Our boss has dozens of gunmen. If he stays in a house within the Green Zone, he’s only got a few people around. But at Suaila’s place, he’s got at least dozens, even hundreds."

Suaila? The name sounded familiar.

Gao Yi pondered for a moment then suddenly asked, "What’s your boss’s name?"

"Alavi."

Gao Yi hadn’t intended to listen to the name, as few were genuine. He just pulled out his phone, brought up a picture, and showed it to the driver. "Is this him?"

The driver glanced at the photo and shook his head.

Gao Yi felt the driver had no reason to lie now and was slightly disappointed. After all, how could a con artist lead him to his target?

But then the driver added, "Not him, his brother."

Gao Yi silently withdrew his judgment.

Well, there was a connection after all. It’s a small world.

Gao Yi took a deep breath, and the driver whispered, "Can you let me go now? I can’t die. I have three wives to support, I..."

"You seem even more deserving of death..."

Gao Yi mumbled disapprovingly, then turned to look at Lin Xianghua. This situation was a hard nut to crack.

The head of the taxi scam ring was the target’s brother. If Alavi was dealt with first, Saibu would likely be tipped off.

Better to learn more first.

Gao Yi said in a deep voice, "Tell me about this gang of yours."

The driver’s face was as sad as a mourning mask. "I was originally a taxi driver, but one day, some guys got into my car, pointed a gun at my head, and told me to drive for them. Because I could speak English, they offered me a higher salary than before. The only requirement was... to help them con the passengers out of their belongings."

"When was this?"

"Four months ago, our boss bought twelve cars, recruited twenty drivers, and we started picking up passengers from the airport every day. If we thought a passenger was ordinary, we charged the normal fare. If we felt the passenger had a lot of money or was... easily conned, then... we took their luggage too. If they were more valuable, we could... kidnap."

Gao Yi was shocked; this gang didn’t just swindle luggage, they kidnapped too.

He exhaled softly and said in a low voice, "Quite the risk-free business model, who’s backing you?"

"I don’t know, I really don’t know, but... the soldiers at the checkpoints help us because the commander of that checkpoint is also from Suaila. They are all in it together."

Gao Yi frowned and asked, "So your boss is powerful in Suaila?"

"It’s his brother who’s powerful. He has several hundred men now, claiming to be the Civil Defense Army resisting ISIS, but in reality, they’re his brother’s troops."

After the driver finished, blood dribbled from his mouth, tears streamed from his eyes as he sobbed, "I’m dead after saying all this. I’ve done nothing; I was forced. This damn country, I die if I don’t work for them, die if I deceive people, but I haven’t even seen you all—ah..."

The driver cried bitterly and spoke erratically, but indeed, it evoked Gao Yi’s sympathy.

Gao Yi, though an assassin, wasn’t about killing anyone on sight; he only killed those who deserved it.

After some thought, Gao Yi suddenly said, "Don’t want to die, huh? You won’t if you do as I say. If you help me take out your boss, then naturally you won’t have to die, will you?"

The driver stared at Gao Yi in shock.

Gao Yi said flatly, "The soldiers have already spotted that we caught you, and they probably can figure out who we are, so they didn’t dare to forcibly take you away. Now, if I let you call for help, who would come to your rescue? Iraqi soldiers, or your boss’s men?"

The driver, bewildered, answered, "It should be my boss’s men, but they won’t come to rescue me."

Gao Yi found it vexing. He turned to Peter and asked, "As mercenaries, how do you deal with this situation? If you had to set a trap to lure his boss out, what would you do?"

Peter seemed lost for words. He pondered, then said, "What would we do? We haven’t encountered such a scenario, but if you ask me, I’d say go straight in when they’re not expecting it and take everyone down..."

He couldn’t continue because soldiers had already come by, so the other side was definitely on guard.

Hesitating, Peter continued, "To lure the boss out... maybe... maybe..."

Maybe what? Peter couldn’t finish.

Gao Yi sighed and said, "We’ve only got one handgun right now. It’s problematic to just storm in, but if we wait too long and Alavi runs, that would be bad, too."

Peter whispered, "Why not actively go to Alavi’s place in the Green Zone, get the stuff back, just negotiate without fighting... I think they should realize they’ve messed with the wrong people, and he might just return your belongings. Wouldn’t that solve the problem?"

Turns out Peter was thinking about negotiating, a peaceful resolution.

But Gao Yi was focused on Saibu.

The target, originally just a con artist, now turned out to be a local strongman controlling hundreds of troops, a severe miscalculation of intelligence.

If he could use Alavi to meet with Saibu, whether for negotiations or a trade, as long as he could face him, then wouldn’t that be a straightforward matter?

After some thought, Gao Yi suddenly said, "You’re right, let’s contact Alavi directly and have a chat first."

Peter was surprised; he hadn’t expected Gao Yi to actually take his suggestion.

But then Gao Yi continued, "As long as he dares to meet me, that’s when things will get easy. Heh, heh heh..."