Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 123 - 113: Guaranteed Profit Without Loss

Chapter 123: Chapter 113: Guaranteed Profit Without Loss

He changed his gear and had a meal.

Now that he had finished eating, Gao Yi was contemplating one issue: whether it would be better to take Alavi to the hotel first, or to throw him directly into the prison of the Secret Action Bureau.

He had been waiting for a day, and he had no idea how things were going on Luca’s end.

If Luca really managed to get the money, everything would be easy, and using the power of the Secret Action Bureau would be straightforward.

If they didn’t get the money, then Grins would have no say, and relying on the power of the Secret Action Bureau would be unrealistic; at most, they could only ask Grins to help personally.

But Grins’s power was too limited, even getting some equipment was difficult.

So the problem arose—waiting for Grins to handle his superior might take too long, but not waiting and just taking six people who actually had guns to Suaila also really unsettled him.

Finally, Gao Yi said to Alavi, "Now that the meal is over and everything that needed to be done is dealt with, what do you think I should do with you?"

Alavi looked stunned—he wanted to say just let me go, but his reason told him that saying this would definitely end badly, for no such cheap deals existed in the world.

After carefully deliberating, Alavi pleaded, "Please, don’t kill me!"

A standard, reasonable response that wouldn’t annoy anyone.

Gao Yi sighed because he felt how come everyone he met was so smart.

Why couldn’t there be any brainless fools to let him feel a sense of intellectual superiority?

"Then give me a reason not to kill you."

Alavi hesitated for a long time, then said in a low voice, "I can give you money."

"Oh, how much?"

After much thought and with determination, Alavi said firmly, "I’ll give you two hundred thousand dollars!"

Gao Yi had been looking forward to it, but upon hearing Alavi’s words, he said in surprise, "That little?"

Alavi was stunned and couldn’t help saying, "Is that little? Two hundred thousand dollars can buy a hundred lives in Baghdad."

Two thousand dollars a life, in Iraq, that really wasn’t cheap nowadays.

Gao Yi breathed out and said, "Too little, not interested, come up with another reason."

Gao Yi didn’t want to mention the name Saibu; he wanted Alavi to bring it up himself.

Sure enough, upon realizing that two hundred thousand dollars wouldn’t work, Alavi hesitated for a moment and then again said, "My brother... can give you more money."

Gao Yi blandly asked, "Who is your brother, and how much can he give?"

Alavi was somewhat surprised and said, "Don’t you know? My brother is... Muravi!"

Alavi looked expectantly at Gao Yi, hoping to see a surprised or nervous expression on his face, but to his disappointment,

Gao Yi still looked indifferent and said, "Oh, so your brother is rich?"

While brandishing the sword, the intention is directed at Duke Pei; but Alavi definitely didn’t understand such profound concepts. He really thought Gao Yi hadn’t heard his brother’s name.

"My brother is very rich, he can... give you one million!"

Alavi was nervous but did hold some hope, thinking maybe he could lead Gao Yi to Suaila, to his brother, and once there, with his brother’s hundreds of persuaders, he could be safe.

To survive, of course, he could do anything.

Gao Yi looked at Alavi suspiciously and said, "One million, now that’s a number I’m interested in, but I haven’t heard of Muravi. In Baghdad, not many can muster one million dollars for ransom on the spot; are you trying to deceive me?"

Alavi immediately said, "No, no! My brother isn’t in Baghdad, he’s in Suaila."

Gao Yi looked at Alavi skeptically again and said, "Show me some proof."

Alavi had his cell phone with him all along, and Gao Yi hadn’t intended to confiscate it, so upon hearing Gao Yi’s words, Alavi immediately pulled out his phone and quickly dialed his brother’s number.

The call connected, and a voice in Arabic came through, but Alavi immediately said, "Brother, speak English, brother, save me."

"What happened?"

The tone was full of surprise, but Gao Yi didn’t quite believe it, as he felt Alavi’s subordinates might have already informed Saibu.

With so many lies and so much acting, Gao Yi now felt that everyone was just putting on an act.

Alavi urgently said, "I’ve been...detained, my guards are dead, two drivers too, ahora can you give the person detaining me one million, only if you give him that much will he let me go."

"What happened?"

Saibu didn’t rush to agree or disagree but first asked what happened.

Alavi looked at Gao Yi, but he didn’t dare to speak irresponsibly, so he could only say with a sense of helplessness, "One of my idiots deceived this gentleman’s luggage, and now they found me, brother, they are all dead, right in front of me, he will really kill me, he isn’t just bluffing."

Alavi couldn’t help it as he spoke, and his tone carried a sobbing sound.

Saibu inevitably worried that this might be a trap set against him, so when he heard Alavi say that he was targeted because he had cheated someone, he actually felt much more relieved.

"Just because of a suitcase, several people were killed? Who on earth did you mess with!"

Alavi burst into tears, sobbing, "I don’t know, their car was American, they... they are really formidable, they kill people as if they were squeezing a chick to death, they even came to find me empty-handed, brother, save me, I don’t know, I don’t know how it turned into this."

"Let me talk to him!"

Saibu spoke up, and Alavi glanced at Gao Yi, sobbing, "My brother wants to talk to you himself, could you please take the call?"

The call was on speakerphone, and Saibu’s words could be heard loud and clear, but Alavi instinctively sought Gao Yi’s opinion first instead of directly passing the phone.

Gao Yi waved his hand, he took the phone, and then calmly said, "Hello."

"Hello, my brother is in your hands, I have nothing else to say, but... can you tell me who you are?"

Gao Yi lazily said, "If you want your brother dead just say it, what right do you have to inquire about my background?"

Saibu found it difficult to respond to Gao Yi’s tough and unorthodox reply, so after a moment of silence, Saibu spoke solemnly, "No, please don’t hurt my brother, whatever you want, we can talk."

What Gao Yi wanted was to meet Saibu, so he unhesitatingly said, "Alright, come meet me, bring one million dollars in cash, otherwise don’t bother talking."

"I will not go to Baghdad, even if you kill my brother, I will not go to Baghdad. Sir, how about this, you come to Suaila, and I will have one million dollars in cash ready for you, is that ok?"

Gao Yi had not expected Saibu to immediately agree to come to Baghdad, nor had Saibu expected Gao Yi to go to Suaila.

This was a standoff, where both sides had to carefully probe and compromise with each other, finally negotiating a mutually acceptable way to make the exchange.

But, Gao Yi wasn’t going for the million dollars ransom.

So Gao Yi decided to actively break the deadlock, and his method of breaking it was extremely simple.

"I’m from the Defense Clandestine Service."

Gao Yi casually revealed his identity, then he indifferently said, "Do you know about this agency?"

Saibu was silent for a moment, then he spoke quietly, "I know, it’s the Pentagon’s own intelligence agency."

"Good that you know."

Gao Yi exhaled, then smiled and said, "That saves a lot of trouble, no matter who you are, no matter where you are, I can at least guarantee to kill you. Your brother made a big mistake, I hope you won’t make the same one. Now, just send the money and pick up your brother and leave."

If it were an ordinary kidnapping case, then Gao Yi’s demand would be quite reasonable.

But since Gao Yi dared to speak like this, he was certain that Saibu would not redeem his brother in the normal manner.

The reason was simple, with the identity Gao Yi claimed, being a kidnapper was overly dominant; he could easily take the money and not release the person, further forcing Saibu to put up even more money because he wasn’t worried about Saibu’s retaliation or legal sanctions from Iraq.

Sure enough, Saibu could only stubbornly refuse Gao Yi’s reasonable request.

"I’m sorry, sir, I can’t just send the money over, you can bring my brother to Suaila to collect the money, once I confirm my brother’s safety, I will immediately give you the money."

Gao Yi sneered, "You want me to go?"

Alavi rushed, "Brother, brother!"

Saibu spoke quietly, "I’m sorry, sending the money to Baghdad doesn’t ensure my brother’s safety, so, the only feasible way is for you to come to Suaila. Given your identity, I can’t possibly harm you."

Alright, the timing was about right.

Gao Yi paused briefly, then said, "Alright, get the money ready, I can make a trip, but it’s not one million anymore, it’s one and a half million."

"One hundred and five thousand, that’s all the cash I have."

"Okay, do you want your brother to lose an arm or a leg?"

"How about one million and ten thousand? It’s just a bit over a hundred kilometers, one hundred thousand dollars, can we settle for that?"

"Is this a matter of distance? I’m taking a risk."

"One million two hundred thousand dollars, really, that’s all I can gather."

Gao Yi smiled, "Alright, one million two hundred thousand, get it ready and I’ll deliver him."

"We can do it now, you can send him now, and by the time you arrive, I’ll definitely have the money ready."

Alright, the planless plan went smoothly.

Without hesitation, Gao Yi said, "Alright, then tonight, I’m coming."

After hanging up the phone, Gao Yi tossed the cellphone back to Alavi.

With his identity from the Secret Action Bureau, the worst outcome in going to Suaila would merely be not getting the money or not seeing Saibu, but there should be no security issues. This kind of win-big, lose-nothing scenario was what Gao Yi enjoyed most.

Gao Yi looked at the few people behind him, then gave a significant look and said meaningfully, "Let’s go, to Suaila."