Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 242 - 229 Freedom Wind

Chapter 242: Chapter 229 Freedom Wind

George exhibited formidable might, which brought joy to some and sorrow to others.

The one rejoicing was Gao Yi, and the ones grieving were the CIA and Andic.

Since its inception, the CIA had rarely faced significant defeats, but now, faced with just a few individuals, they had suffered a series of painful failures.

The CIA wanted to take matters into their own hands, but they needed to establish a real-time surveillance system. Naturally, they wouldn’t let their own agents handle this task; instead, it fell to Andic Group.

Andic Group had sent people, but they had died.

"What’s the situation?"

"Our people... they’re all dead..."

The Director of Europe almost cursed out loud, but fortunately, the next sentence from the Andic Group tempered his anger significantly.

"But before they died, they completed their mission. Now we have two cameras providing live footage. It’s not very clear, but it’s enough to monitor what’s ahead."

As they spoke, the footage was transmitted.

One camera was hidden in a bush, the view mostly obstructed by branches and leaves, but it still provided a clear view of the police station’s entrance.

The other camera was placed a little higher and unobstructed by branches. Although it couldn’t see inside the police station, it captured the station’s facade.

For a commander, the ability to see the scene makes a huge difference.

The CIA rarely found itself in such a predicament. Previously, when footage from the scene was required, they could rely on drones for aerial views or gain access to the building’s interior cameras. Even if they didn’t take control, they could still observe.

But this time was different.

First, although France also tended to follow the United States’ lead, this operation was an unauthorized CIA action, undirected by the White House. That was bad enough, but the key was that the White House explicitly forbade such actions.

If the White House didn’t grant permission, France certainly wouldn’t cooperate.

Without France’s cooperation, the CIA couldn’t expect support from the French intelligence services. This meant no access to large drones, satellites, phone tapping, or adequate manpower.

Left with no alternative, the CIA had to devise their own way to get a view of the situation.

They tasked Andic with this, who sent some people whose identities were unknown, but ultimately, the cameras were installed. Yet, all four agents had died.

"Is Sky Garden really that formidable?" the Director of Europe asked, a question soul-searching in nature.

After a moment of contemplation, he again said, "Oak Mercenary Group has failed, and France has received the alarm. The French response hasn’t kicked in yet; there’s still time. The French Police won’t make big moves within an hour; you still have a chance."

The person from Andic spoke in a low voice, "The bounty posted on the mercenary board has been left unclaimed due to the tight deadline. Raising the reward doesn’t help. I’ve increased the bounty on the assassin board to two hundred million dollars. Paris is a large city, and there are some assassins around. Some are already heading to the scene."

Assassins excel in stealth kills, but now, with Sky Garden defending the police station and shooting anyone who approached, the effectiveness of assassins was limited.

But having some was better than none.

Would it really be necessary to deploy CIA agents in France? By the looks of it, they might have to engage their own Paris-based agents.

Agents are not necessarily skilled at combat. The CIA seldom needs them for battle; when they do, they deploy specialized combat teams. The type of agents depicted in movies like 007 do exist, but they’re rare—extremely rare.

The Director of Europe pondered for a long time before finally saying, "Tell those assassins to stop going to their deaths one by one. Have them collaborate, come together to take on the biggest contract in history. I no longer require captives; any weapon or method can be used, as long as it completely eradicates Sky Garden. Then pay them."

"Understood."

The bottom line kept being breached, restrictions kept being relaxed.

It was a matter of necessity. If this were in Baghdad, a cannon or a bomb might resolve the issue, but in Paris, it all depended on a handful of assassins.

The Director of Europe had never underestimated those assassins from the underworld. He was very aware of the relationship between platform and ability. If this super high bounty really could unite those lone assassins for a joint mission, then Sky Garden would certainly be doomed.

With this thought, the Director of Europe couldn’t help but ask, "How many have taken on this task so far?"

"So far, three assassin organizations and two independent assassins have accepted the task. The organizations include Revenge Blade, AT, and Magician."

"Magician? The Magician Alliance? They are still around?"

"It’s been a long time since they made an appearance, but two hundred million dollars is enough to tempt some retired individuals out of their hideaways to earn this sizable amount of money, an eleventh-hour post from the Oak Mercenary Group successfully piqued their curiosity."

"What kind of post?"

"Fire Extinguisher, the leader of the Oak Mercenary Group, he said that Sky Garden is definitely not just a simple assassin organization. The entire group of forty Oak mercenaries was wiped out. Fire Extinguisher announced a final charge, also saying that the intelligence we provided was inaccurate."

"You didn’t delete the post?"

"After some consideration, we decided to leave it up. Although the post is full of grievances and regrets, it doesn’t cause any substantial harm to the Dark Web or the Andic Group. Deleting it would draw connections between the Dark Web and Andic, which is not what we want. Maintaining an appearance of fairness and transparency is crucial for the Dark Web’s credibility, so the post won’t be deleted."

"Did the Oak Mercenary Group really get wiped out?"

"Truly, but whether Fire Extinguisher is indeed dead, I have my doubts. Based on what I know, his real personality isn’t as impulsive as he presents. In the post, Fire Extinguisher said what he faced was not a human but rather a godlike opponent. This must be an exaggeration, yet precisely this claim will attract those assassins who are eager to make a name for themselves to take the risk."

"For example?"

"AT is an assassin organization that has risen in the last two years. They don’t have many people, but their power is formidable, it’s just that they haven’t achieved fame commensurate with their strength. And you know about the Magician Alliance; it’s an old assassin group with a unique style — fewer assassinations but more brute force kills. I think the appearance and existence of Sky Garden is key for the Magicians to make their move."

The Director of Europe pondered for a moment before saying, "How long will it take for them to arrive?"

"Within half an hour, they’ll definitely be able to make it and launch an attack."

The world had gone mad.

Assassins no longer looked like assassins, and mercenaries no longer looked like mercenaries.

With a sigh, the Director of Europe said, "I await your good news. For now, I’ll watch the screen and see if you can pull this off."

After he hung up the phone, the Director of Europe stayed silent for a long while, staring at a monitor which showed no images. Suddenly he asked, "Where is Freedom Wind?"

"In Russia, sir."

The Director of Europe leaned back in his chair, seeming to have forgotten the question he’d just asked, remaining silent for a full five minutes.

"Assassins are unreliable, France is unreliable, this operation is likely to fail, we must prepare a contingency plan for operation failure."

Having made up his mind, the Director of Europe exhaled and said, "If you have to do something yourself, others can’t be relied on, so we’ll have to do it ourselves. Bring Freedom Wind here."

"Sir! Freedom Wind is on a mission..."

"The situation in Russia is not pressing. Wasting Freedom Wind there is just that, a waste."

"Sir! Freedom Wind’s operations in Russia are authorized by the White House, and Freedom Wind reports directly to the White House. We no longer hold the authority to reassign Freedom Wind."

Freedom Wind, that star of the CIA who had been created by the Director of Europe himself was rare, similar to the 007 agents in movies and novels — a reason to believe that the archetype was not entirely fictional. Because of his outstanding performance, Freedom Wind had become the star of the entire CIA.

So much so that now, the Director of Europe himself could not freely use Freedom Wind as he pleased.

However, Freedom Wind was still under the command of the European branch, and the Director of Europe maintained complete control.

"Don’t move the entire Freedom Wind, just send Hurricane and Tornado to France."

The Director of Europe had made a resolute decision to call in the two with the highest power.

Yes, Freedom Wind was not just one person, it was a team.

Why call them Freedom Wind? Because the wind is free, and so is the Freedom Wind team’s special privilege of high operational autonomy. No matter how they accomplished their tasks, they always yielded the best results.

If Freedom Wind was already on a mission, there was no need to redirect everyone – pulling two people should be no problem.

"Yes, sir. I will summon Hurricane and Tornado to France."

The subordinate was about to make the call when the Director of Europe sighed and continued, "If the operation in France fails, Sky Garden will flee. They should head to Saudi, but since they’ve evaded our traps several times before, it’s likely they will escape again. Therefore, I deduce they will head to the UK."

"The UK? Why? Sir, given the current situation, it’s unlikely that Sky Garden would go to the UK."

The Director of Europe smiled confidently and said, "If France needs to offload a problem, they’ll only offload it to the UK. Now, inform Freedom Wind to redirect Hurricane and Tornado here. I’m going to step out for a bit; keep an eye on the monitors."

The Director of Europe stood up and left the conference room, walking through the corridors to a terrace. He lit a cigarette and pulled out his phone to make a call.

The call connected, and in a low voice, the Director of Europe spoke, "Wei Feng, listen closely. You’re aware of the situation with Sky Garden. I must eradicate Sky Garden now; it’s a matter of my pride, and I suspect there could be an informant among us. I’ve thrown out a few smokescreens. Now I can only use the process of elimination to narrow down my suspicions. So, you will receive an order, but ignore that order. Your real mission is to secretly come to France and meet me alone. That’s all."