Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 181 - 169: The Pose of a Hero

Chapter 181: Chapter 169: The Pose of a Hero

It was critically important to know who had abducted Abdulla, even more crucial than whether or not it was Harold who had reported the incident.

Shaman had lost his black glove; his opponents, rivals, and enemies were literally fighting for their lives.

Therefore, the abduction of Abdulla was unexpected yet logical, and Gao Yi was psychologically prepared for it, but he had not made particularly meticulous preparations.

It truly wasn’t Gao Yi’s fault.

Firstly, the most unacceptable part of Abdulla’s abduction was the landing in Baghdad, which was a decision made on the fly by Gao Yi and Shaman.

Forget about Shaman’s enemies, even Gao Yi and Shaman, the two people least willing to see Abdulla in trouble, did not know beforehand that they were going to land in Baghdad.

The original destination of the flight was the United States, not Baghdad.

The people on the plane didn’t know they were going to land in Baghdad, and as for Harold, he was even more clueless.

Thus, those who came prepared must have made their plans after finding out about the landing in Baghdad, and that was less than an hour.

What can be done in an hour? Is that enough time to assemble a team or to transport them from the Green Zone to the airport?

If it wasn’t Harold leaking information to his accomplices and it wasn’t Gao Yi, then only two possibilities remained.

Either there was a mole in Shaman’s circle, or Harold’s accomplices independently deduced it based on various signs, then combined it with technical means, such as asking people at Baghdad Airport if Harold’s plane was going to land there.

But there was a problem. Harold had been rescued only a short time ago; did his accomplices really have such strong operational capabilities and such great skills?

If Harold’s accomplices were that formidable, they wouldn’t have been beaten so badly by Shaman.

Therefore, the truth was only one: there was a mole in Shaman’s circle who not only leaked information about Abdulla’s capture but also accurately disclosed which airport they would land at.

Gao Yi picked up the phone. He dialed the number he had just used to contact Shaman and waited for the connection before urgently saying, "Your Highness! There’s a mole in your midst, root out the traitor!"

First state the conclusion, pass the buck, then explain what happened.

Gao Yi continued, "Your people are gone, Abdulla has been abducted, and those who took him are most likely with the CIA because their combat effectiveness is extremely high and their movements are precise. They don’t even waste bullets. From what I understand, in the Middle East, only the CIA has this level of capability."

The Saudi National Intelligence Bureau isn’t up to the task. They spend huge funds maintaining an array of highly-paid agents, buying obsolete spy equipment at the world’s highest prices.

As for their capability, it can be described with one word.

Disgusting!

This wasn’t Gao Yi’s opinion; it was a consensus in the intelligence community.

So, Gao Yi first passed the buck, then explained what had transpired, then identified the adversary.

And Shaman had no retort.

Shaman knew what his team was made of; without going into details, his encounters with Houthi’s Arms over several years and the performance of the National Intelligence Bureau were evident to anyone who isn’t blind.

Shaman heaved a sigh and then calmly asked, "Abdulla has been abducted?"

"Yes."

Gao Yi asserted confidently and then said in a low voice, "Quickly gather your men and rescue him! Do you have people in Baghdad? Be fast, interrogation takes time. How is Abdulla’s mental resilience? How long can he hold on?"

No explanations given.

Gao Yi didn’t bother to deny that it was their secret being leaked, nor did he rush to clear his own name.

At this moment, it was possible to pass the buck, but it had to be done skillfully.

It was critical not to rush to blame Shaman’s people and detach oneself from any relation; hence the remaining matters had to be dealt with by Shaman himself.

This approach was trouble-saving but deadly.

Let’s just say Shaman had a thousand reasons to hunt Gao Yi and Harold to their deaths, but for some reason, he was willing to let them go.

But if Gao Yi was eager to clear the relationship, Shaman might just as swiftly have them silenced.

So, after passing the buck, Gao Yi immediately adopted the attitude of being one of them, stating, "I’ll handle this for you right away. Basically, I’m not going to bother you with nonsense, I’m coming straight to help you clean this mess."

Just ask Shaman how he could harbor murderous intentions now; he’d be more likely begging Gao Yi for help.

Indeed, Shaman was a bit overwhelmed for a moment, because Gao Yi’s unexpectedly familiar behavior caught him off-guard.

His brain froze for a few seconds, then Shaman said in a low voice, "We don’t have many people in Baghdad, and not many of them are trustworthy. I should be able to mobilize some people in a short time, but they..."

To put it plainly, Shaman meant that these people weren’t very capable.

Good for dining, spending money, but not for getting things done.

Shaman took a breath and continued, "Abdulla was promoted from a front-line unit; he’s been trained by the KGB and the CIA, and as an action team, he has performed exceptionally well in all aspects..."

His words trailed off, filled with guilt.

Actually, Abdulla was just an action team member from an intelligence unit, specialized in combat but not so adept at gathering intelligence.

Shaman valued Abdulla for his simple background and his ease of control, but most importantly, he saw Abdulla as a sharp knife.

At least his Fighting Ability was incredible, his Gun Skills precise, and he was quick and fierce in combat. He had performed well in several real engagements.

That’s why Shaman had promoted Abdulla, made him his confidant, and placed him as a deputy director who didn’t need to think much, just obey orders and arrest people from the list.

But why did the formidable Abdulla, whom Shaman thought so highly of, seem like a child in front of Gao Yi?

He looked at his decent Fighting Ability, yet before Gao Yi, it seemed so minor, so insignificant that he had absolutely no defensive capability left.

Now, to say Abdulla excelled in all aspects was out of the question. It raised the question, were the psychological qualities shown in the previous files that helped Abdulla resist interrogations, and his abilities to endure torture, still as strong as imagined?

The records indicated that Abdulla would never speak, even upon death.

But now, even a ten percent chance seems too optimistic to be safe.

Human thoughts are strange. Once trust in someone is lost, it falls to rock bottom.

From never speaking, down to not speaking for twenty-four hours, Shaman’s mind took a few turns and the expectancy from twenty-four hours dropped to two hours.

"Hmm, I think, maybe, perhaps, probably, Abdulla won’t speak within two hours?"

After mentioning two hours, Shaman still ended it with a tone of doubt.

Two hours.

Gao Yi sighed inwardly, but his verbal expression remained firm.

"Two hours won’t do, Your Highness. You need to gather your people quickly, find information, figure out who got hold of Abdulla, where he was taken, and also, you need to vet the people around you and flush out the mole. This is crucial."

Shaman pondered for a moment.

A mole, yes, it had to be a mole.

The sources within the National Intelligence Bureau were too complex, Shaman couldn’t figure out how many supported him, nor who belonged to his princely brothers.

Uncovering a mole now was no easy task since there were too many capable and potential moles.

Shaman hesitated for a moment.

Shaman bore the strategist’s poise.

For only a strategist could accomplish what ordinary folks couldn’t dare or manage.

Turning around.

Shaman spoke softly to the three close confidants behind him, "Clean it up, isolate everyone aware of Abdulla’s capture and that the plane landed in Baghdad. No, widen the scope to include those who might have accessed these pieces of information."

Shaman didn’t avoid Gao Yi.

These three men had grown up with Shaman; they weren’t any administrative talents, but they were the ones Shaman could truly trust.

"Your Highness, shall we confine them all?"

"No need to lock them up, place them under house arrest, keep them isolated in their offices, let them denounce each other. It’s best if we could find the mole, but it’s alright if we don’t; these people should all be..."

Shaman wasn’t sure how to handle this.

"Finish them off?"

One of the subordinates asked in surprise, for based on past practices, those suspected were almost deprived of any way to survive.

But this time, the number of suspects was overwhelmingly high.

Shaman exhaled and said, "No need, just expel them all from the Intelligence Bureau and assign them to other units. From today, no, starting this moment, execute the purge. I need an Intelligence Bureau that is absolutely clean and purely loyal. We can compromise on competence, but loyalty must be guaranteed!"

After speaking, Shaman said gravely, "Draw those soldiers from the military who have no backgrounds but have shown commendable performance, soldiers not officers. Fill the staff voids, you go select soldiers from the military, you weed out the unfit, you... you’ll be responsible for assembling and commanding a combat team, head immediately to Baghdad, I’ll command in person."

After saying this, Shaman picked up the phone, then he said indifferently to Gao Yi, "Whether there was a mole or not, now there isn’t."

Shaman spoke in Arabic, which Gao Yi didn’t understand. But, Mu Tianwen by his side was a clever aide.

Rather than translating Shaman’s words for Gao Yi, Mu Tianwen quickly wrote them down in Chinese characters.

Gao Yi wanted to say something, he intended to flatter Shaman, but felt that Shaman might not appreciate overhearing those words.

But after thinking it over, Gao Yi figured that Shaman did not intend to avoid him, so he said seriously, "Your Highness’s decisiveness, determination, and quick reactions are beyond my imagination. What can I do to assist?"

Gao Yi took the initiative, playing the role of a close insider.

Shaman was conflicted, "You..."

Shaman didn’t know what Gao Yi could do.

Gao Yi again took the initiative, "I’ll have the Defense Clandestine Service provide intelligence. Also, my men are about to reach Baghdad; once they arrive, we’ll immediately engage in the search and rescue for Abdulla."

Shaman sighed, "Then I’ll leave it to you."

Shaman did not say thanks.

No thanks meant there must be significant gratitude.

Life is so unpredictable, really so unpredictable.

After a brief consideration, Shaman murmured, "Work with our personnel in Baghdad for the rescue, first gather some information from the Americans, keep in touch about any developments."

"Alright, will contact again."

Gao Yi hung up the phone and looked at Harold. First, he took a deep breath, wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead, and then said to Harold, "I hope you haven’t deceived me, and then... do you have any usable contacts in Baghdad?"