Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 187 - 175: The Critical Link

Chapter 187: Chapter 175: The Critical Link

It looked like there was a plan, but in reality, it was just as good as having no plan at all.

If they waited, who knew how long it would be before they could act. The Secret Action Bureau was willing and able to cooperate, but the question was how?

The first problem they faced was that the American Embassy was too large, covering 440,000 square meters with its own power station, swimming pool, and gymnasium, employing over 15,000 people. Of course, not all of them worked inside the embassy, but there were at least 5,000 people working inside.

The CIA and the American Embassy were inseparable. They had their own area within the embassy, and if they really needed to detain and interrogate someone, there was no problem—they had their own exclusive space.

In theory, the Secret Action Bureau could also have their own place inside the embassy, but since the CIA wielded more power there and completely dominated the Pentagon in terms of intelligence work, the Bureau naturally wanted to keep a distance from this adversary.

It was not a problem to get in, but after eliminating Abdulla to silence him, trying to get out would be extremely difficult.

Furthermore, the embassy was surrounded by walls and heavily guarded by soldiers. It was less an embassy and more a fortress. To forcefully storm in was not only unthinkable due to the severe consequences it would trigger, but also practically impossible.

This was why Grins strongly advised against Gao Yi using the second plan: it required a life-for-life trade, and while Gao Yi was brave and impulsive, he ultimately did not wish to commit suicide.

In short, two words described the situation: difficult to handle.

But, fortunately, this matter concerned Shaman and not Gao Yi himself. The one who should be most worried was Shaman, not Gao Yi.

Shaman’s response was a bit tough, in keeping with his style.

Affairs of state were best dealt with using the tools of statecraft. Since Abdulla was taken by Shaman’s political rivals, Shaman decided to use diplomatic and economic pressure to force the CIA to return him.

In Shaman’s view, none of his brothers and countrymen posed a threat.

"I have formally notified the American ambassador in our country. If they do not return Abdulla, I will immediately halt the ongoing arms purchase contract and, in addition, I will immediately purchase the S-400 air defense system from Russia."

After finishing, Shaman said in earnest, "The response from the American side is an outright denial. They have repeatedly assured that it wasn’t the CIA who took Abdulla. So, we’re left with two possibilities: the CIA is acting on its own, and the American side is truly unaware, or the Americans are willing to lose this arms deal to secure damaging evidence against me."

Shaman and Gao Yi were definitely not friends, and now they seemed not to be enemies either, nor were they close.

But why did Shaman confide in Gao Yi? The reason was simple: he now truly needed Gao Yi’s help.

The National Intelligence Bureau had no usable operatives in Baghdad, and after realizing this problem, Shaman could only rely on Gao Yi.

Reliant on Gao Yi but unable to give him orders, Shaman had to lay out the bare facts to predict the CIA’s or America’s next move and then decide how to respond.

Gao Yi truly did not understand the machinations of politics.

"Your Highness, by applying pressure at the diplomatic level, can you make the Americans release Abdulla?"

Shaman sighed and said, "No, because by now, the Americans absolutely cannot admit that they truly captured Abdulla. Therefore, release is impossible. However, the American military and defense industry groups have received the news and felt the shockwaves. They’ve started to vigorously lobby, and the CIA is under significant pressure. Now, the CIA might secretly kill Abdulla and destroy the body, making him a permanently missing person."

If they couldn’t release him, then they would kill him, but the fear was that the CIA would wait until after the interrogation to kill him, then they would have leverage over Prince Shaman.

"They’re not likely to release him, permanently disappearing him seems like even more trouble."

Putting himself in Shaman’s shoes, if Abdulla were to vanish forever, that would be the most infuriating outcome.

Shaman spoke in a low voice, "Indeed, I can accept Abdulla becoming a corpse, but I cannot accept him disappearing forever. So, even if it’s just pieces, they must return him to me. Otherwise, I will never let it go. But my judgment is that the CIA does not want to release him, cannot withstand the pressure, and wants to shift the blame. Thus, their best choice is to deliver Abdulla to those who oppose me."

Right!

Handing Abdulla back to Harold and his group was indeed the best choice for the CIA.

Gao Yi got excited, saying in a low voice, "If we can pressure the CIA to transfer Abdulla in a short period, then that would do!"

"Yes, I ordered our embassy in Iraq to formally file a complaint at the American Embassy, notifying them that the attack on our diplomats at Baghdad Airport and the kidnapping of Abdulla was an act of hostility."

Shaman exhaled and said softly, "This is a diplomatic maneuver. I’ve played all my cards. Now the American side is applying pressure overnight. It’s impossible for them to agree to our personnel conducting a search, but! If the White House orders the embassy staff to conduct an internal investigation, then there’s a chance."

"Do we have a chance?"

"There is a chance, but I don’t know how long it will take. Right now, the pressure from the Pentagon is immense. If we can get the Pentagon to take charge of the search, then there really will be no problem."

Gao Yi thought for a moment and said, "Wait, let me think."

Gao Yi needed to comb through the relationships at play.

Shaman wasn’t hiding anything; he had escalated Abdulla’s kidnapping to the level of a diplomatic conflict. And as one of the conflicting parties, the CIA represented one interest while the Pentagon represented another.

On the Saudi side, Shaman was the dominant party, but although Harold’s opposition faction was weaker, they were not wholly defeated, so the American side really might support the opposition.

So Gao Yi, he was the fifth party involved.

To call it a power might be a bit too flattering for himself, but the people of Sky Garden, although minor figures, Gao Yi suddenly realized that he was the most critical link in this event.

This matter arose because of Gao Yi, and now, the only person who could be in direct contact with and influence the three parties represented by Shaman, Harold, and the Pentagon’s Secret Action Bureau, was Gao Yi himself.

Grins’s two plans were hardly viable, and Shaman’s diplomatic tactics needed someone to carry them out in the end.

And the best solution was to force the CIA to actually hand over the person to Harold, which also meant handing them over to Gao Yi.

To untie the bell, the person who tied it must undo it, after going in circles, in the end, it could only be Gao Yi who could break the deadlock.

Gao Yi let out a sigh and said, "I understand now. In other words, the final outcome must be my responsibility to deal with the CIA’s Special Action Team!"

Shaman pondered for a moment and ultimately whispered, "Yes."

"But I only have a few people. Facing the CIA Special Action Team, we are short on manpower."

"My men have already started to arrive in Baghdad one after another, all the personnel will coordinate with you."

Shaman sounded very confident which somewhat lifted Gao Yi’s spirits. He asked, "How many people?"

"About sixty have already arrived, all within the Saudi embassy in Iraq, and the number will continue to rise."

Sixty people, that sounded like a lot, and if the people protecting Abdulla weren’t from the CIA’s Special Action Team, then this problem should have been solved by now.

But why so many people, yet they all had to coordinate with Gao Yi? Could the Saudi agents really be that inferior? Even if they were bad, they couldn’t be completely useless, could they?

Just as Gao Yi was puzzled, Shaman whispered, "The National Intelligence Bureau and the CIA are too closely connected, most of the team members are trained by the CIA, so I can’t give them direct orders because the orders I issue would immediately be known to the CIA."

It seemed Shaman knew the true quality of his men.

With no other choice, Shaman said, "So my men can only coordinate, only to confuse the CIA, leading them to Baghdad, in fact, it’s merely a pressure tactic. Although there are reliable people inside... they are not very skilled in combat, so if it comes to a direct confrontation, there might be problems."

Gao Yi said softly, "Provide equipment, weapons, vehicles, that shouldn’t be a problem, right?"

There was no need to be polite at this point, whatever was needed should be directly requested from Shaman.

But to Gao Yi’s complete surprise, Shaman seemed a bit reluctant as he said, "Let’s not. Providing you with weapons would let the CIA know there’s another team responsible for the rescue, vehicles might be tracked, revealing your location to the CIA, weapons might be tampered with, equipment... the same."

"Damn... this!"

Gao Yi really didn’t know what to say.

Grins had said that the National Intelligence Bureau would only have an adverse effect, and although Gao Yi agreed, he always thought Grins was exaggerating.

However, it turned out that Grins had been conservative in his assessment; the National Intelligence Bureau was not just counterproductive, they could be seen as a strong asset to the CIA.

Useless for oneself, the CIA found them extremely handy.

Gao Yi wanted to ask Shaman if being a prince was really that rewarding for him, but of course, he did not dare to in the end.

Shaman whispered, "Can you find equipment elsewhere?"

"Yes."

Gao Yi sighed and said, "Then, I’ll start taking action. From now on, it’s best to keep each other updated on progress. If there’s any new information on your side, please let me know in time. If we can know when Abdulla is moved out of the embassy, we can take immediate action on our end."

"Okay, thank you. If this matter is successfully resolved, I won’t forget your contribution."

After hanging up the phone, Gao Yi spread his hands and said to the people around him, "We can pretty much confirm it now, we are the main attackers, and it’s just the few of us."

Luca let out a sigh and said, "This isn’t being an assassin, but not even mercenaries... mercenaries wouldn’t take such high-end work. We are the Royal Family’s personal enforcers. Okay, now I just want to know if the prince can only use us, did he not mention anything about money?"

With a puzzled face, Luca said with great confusion, "The prince didn’t say to give us one or two billion, so that we can retire after this fight?"

Gao Yi shook his head and said, "The prince only said that he won’t forget our contribution if this matter is successfully resolved."

Luca gritted his teeth and said, "Being too rich makes you think money isn’t important, owing us a favor is more significant. But the problem is we don’t want his favor, we want money, money! Next time you contact the prince, remind him gently that we don’t want favors, we want money, money!"

Gao Yi gave a bitter smile and said, "Okay, the next time I contact him, I’ll gently remind him."

Luca said earnestly, "Although it’s possible to establish a relationship with the Royal Family, we should also remember our identity. We are part of an assassin organization, not Shaman’s dirty gloves, clear accounts are best. You must make this relationship clear to him, or else it could get troublesome."