Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 268 - 255: Terribly Dizzy

Chapter 268: Chapter 255: Terribly Dizzy

Bad news travels fast.

Some things really cannot be hidden, no matter how much you want to. It would have been one thing for Gao Yi and his team from Military Intelligence Six to arrest just anybody; although that would be quite a slap in the face, at least there wouldn’t have been particularly severe consequences.

But the British Minister of Intelligence was kidnapped right from the doorstep of Military Intelligence Six Headquarters.

In the history of the Great British Empire, had such a precedent ever been set?

Was this still a matter of shame?

This was an incident that shook the very foundations of the nation!

To put it bluntly, it would have been less serious if the Minister of Intelligence had been shot dead than the situation we face now.

So, the problem had escalated beyond Military Intelligence Six. It had become an issue for the entire UK. If handled properly, it would only result in a loss of face, like having shit dropped on your neck.

If mishandled, the whole British intelligence network might as well declare a restart.

The Minister of Intelligence knew countless secrets. If someone managed to pry his mouth open, let me put it this way, France wouldn’t dare to take him, even if he spat out a mountain of intelligence gold. France could guarantee that they wouldn’t even dare take a glance.

Even the United States would have to weigh their options carefully.

So, the British were truly going insane. They had to get the person back, or at the very least, ensure he was dead.

It’s one thing to lose face, but entirely another to lose decades of accumulated national assets and the future of the British intelligence network along with it.

Hence, the British reaction was extremely strong and swift; when efficiency was of the essence, secrecy was compromised, and naturally, the incident became public knowledge.

A single stone stirred up a thousand waves. Gao Yi wanted to poke a big hole to create some trouble for Marina; instead, he ended up accidentally piercing the sky.

"What? The British Intelligence Minister was hijacked?"

One incredulous person exclaimed, "Is France going to war with the UK? How could they dare!"

"The person who acted is from the Saudi National Intelligence Agency—the one we sent to France. From the information we have, there seems to be no mistake."

"What!"

Utter surprise and delight.

"Is there such good news?"

The boss, receiving the report while sitting, stood up in shock. "They really took a detour to the UK?"

"Yes, we sent them to France, and then they ended up going to the UK. We don’t know exactly what happened, but they indeed kidnapped the British Intelligence Minister. Our people have been closely monitoring British intelligence, and all kinds of information confirm that it was the person we sent."

"Fantastic! Who exactly is in charge of this operation?"

"GEO."

"GEO has done an excellent job! Hahaha, GEO has made a significant contribution."

It was unclear what the French intended to do or how the British planned to deal with it, but for Spain, this was how things should be handled.

Sending the troublemaker to France was a supremely wise decision.

Sitting back down, a certain Spanish official said contentedly, "Issue a notice, commend everyone involved in this, award them for their service, arrange for a vacation, and notify GEO. That captain who sent the troublemaker to France, promote him!"

"Sir, should this be done secretly?"

"No, it’s not a secret. Make it public! We’ll infuriate the British!"

It didn’t matter what the French thought, Spain wanted to enjoy this juicy morsel openly and joyously.

If the Spanish could get the news, then of course, the Saudis wouldn’t be left out.

"What? What does it mean they took the Minister of Intelligence? From the doorstep of Military Intelligence Six Headquarters? With the French involved?"

Shaman didn’t quite understand the information he received. After giving it some thought, he said in surprise, "Is France declaring war on the UK? Otherwise, why would they do such a thing?"

"I don’t know; our information comes from the KGB. The KGB has publicly announced this, and uh, the Russian embassy in the UK called the British Prime Minister to express deep concern and offer all necessary assistance to help the UK combat this kind of transnational terrorist attack."

Shaman was going insane.

This news wasn’t passed on by Abdulla, nor notified by his younger brother. The source was the KGB.

Shaman was bewildered.

Yes, the Russians were the ones helping the British disseminate the news.

The Russians announced the incident to the whole world.

Such an embarrassing situation, and the Russians were more than willing to help the British publicize it.

This happened during a critical time for British Brexit negotiations; anyone would naturally have second thoughts.

The news went directly to the White House, right to the President’s desk.

Just how significant was the impact of the incident, how severe? Even the CIA Director was called out during a meeting to be informed of the news, to analyze whether they needed to wake up the President from his nap.

There was a five-hour time difference between London and Washington; it was just past six in the evening in London, and a little after one in the afternoon in Washington.

The CIA Director’s first reaction upon receiving the news was disbelief, thinking it was fake.

Upon confirming that the news was true, the CIA Director’s reaction was that the French had gone mad.

Having confirmed that the French were indeed mad, the CIA Director’s first reaction was to rush to mediate.

Hurry, hurry. They had to make the French release the Minister of Intelligence immediately before they turned his brain into mush, which would make things difficult to settle.

While the CIA loved seeing discord between the UK and France and turmoil within the European Union, the UK was different. If the UK really went mad and started something serious, the United States would still have to help clean up the mess; therefore, now was not the time to add fuel to the fire. They needed to help out their ally.

Military Intelligence Six and the CIA collaborated a lot; if Military Intelligence Six were really finished, it wouldn’t be beneficial for the CIA.

So, it was crucial to inform the President quickly, then urgently mediate, apply pressure, and put aside other matters. They needed to force France to release the Minister of Intelligence. If he died, that would be acceptable too.

The CIA Director made up his mind, then urgently said, "Contact France, quickly!"

Some people enjoyed the spectacle and the spectacle only, some fanned the flames, not fearing things get worse, but the most anxious were the British, and the most troubled were the French.

Marina listened to the report somewhat dumbfounded.

"The Minister of Intelligence has been captured? What do you mean captured?"

"He was kidnapped right at the doorstep of Military Intelligence Six Headquarters."

Marina’s eyes widened in disbelief. "At the doorstep of Military Intelligence Six Headquarters, the Minister of Intelligence was taken hostage by just those two people?"

"Yes."

"This, this..."

Marina had no idea where she was.

How did it come to this?

It made no sense.

How did Military Intelligence Six make it happen? Even if they were all pigs, it wouldn’t be too easy for two people to grab a pig out of a pig pen.

Let alone snatch their most direct and senior supervisor right from the door of Military Intelligence Six. This was no joke.

Even as a joke, it wasn’t the type you could make.

What to do now?

Should she tell her supervisor, should she ask him to report to the President, so the President could think about how to deal with the impending diplomatic storm?

She couldn’t bear the burden of this blunder.

Marina’s mind raced through many thoughts in a flash, but before she could make any sense of them, her subordinate spoke with a heavy tone: "The KGB is closely monitoring Military Intelligence Six. The British are panicking and can’t keep it a secret, so the KGB got the message at the first time and then they broadcast it."

"What do you mean by ’the KGB broadcast it’?"

"It means that all the intelligence agencies in the world know about it now. Whether or not it will make the news is hard to say..."

Making the news would mean that the intelligence agencies’ internal information had become public knowledge. Whether it would go from secret to public depended on the mood of the Russians.

Marina reached up to hold her forehead, then with a trembling voice said, "Make the call, make the call..."

How to wrap this up?

How to wrap this up!

Emily was done for, her mother was done for, and then, she herself was done for.

That was Marina’s first reaction.

No, find a way, protect Emily and her mother, find a way to take the fall yourself.

Marina made a split-second decision, as for how to do it, that needed careful consideration.

"Boss, there’s a call from the President’s office..."

Marina’s heart tensed.

It was over, the news spread too fast. She hadn’t even reported it upward, and the President’s office already had the news. Damn the Russians, they truly thrived on chaos.

Marina numbly took the phone.

Time to face the judgment of fate.

"I’ve received the message!"

Listening to the first sentence on the phone, Marina calmly said, "Mr. President, please hear me out, this whole thing was..."

"Well done!"

"I... simply obeyed the orders of my superiors."

"The British have gone too far. Capturing their Minister of Intelligence is a major victory for us on the intelligence front! A milestone victory. I congratulate you; you’ve achieved an epic triumph!"

Triumph used three times.

Marina was even more bewildered.

"What do you plan to do next?"

Marina looked up at the sky, pondered briefly, and said, "That will depend on the British response, of course, and also on what you think, Mr. President."

"There’s no need to overly provoke the British. Actually bringing the Minister of Intelligence back might lead to a complete breakdown between our countries. We can’t take that enormous political risk, so what has been done so far is very good."

"I will comply with your will, Mr. President."

"Very good, I am pleased. The British have always been too much. My patience has reached its limit, and this time by catching their Minister of Intelligence, the entire European Union will be proud of you. We need to show the British that without the European Union, they are nothing!"

Without considering the consequences, it does seem to be that way.

Marina began to find the President rather endearing.

"I won’t disturb your work now. After the mission is fully completed, report to me in person. Once again, congratulations, goodbye."

The phone hung up, and Marina stood there holding it, still stunned.

On second thought, she still couldn’t figure out what had happened.

Never mind, no point in thinking about it.

Marina quickly dialed Emily’s number.

She oughtn’t make a call; she should have used a more secure method to contact Emily. But she couldn’t care less now; calling was the fastest, most direct way.

The call connected, and without waiting to ask for any details, she immediately said, "You’ve captured the British Minister of Intelligence; now let him go and ensure his safe departure, immediately!"

Emily replied timidly on the phone, "He has been released."

Marina was taken aback.

Emily continued, "We... gave him a beating, and then we let him go. We took him out of the car and into a mall. After changing clothes, we left."

Marina was stunned again.

Finally, Marina said softly, "Good, now evacuate immediately. This matter..."

"We can’t evacuate now."

Marina was stunned yet again, then she heard Amiri whisper, "Jack of Heart says that the whole of Britain is after us; we can’t escape, but the most dangerous place is the safest. So we came back."

Marina cautiously asked, "What do you mean, you came back?"

"We’re back at Military Intelligence Six Headquarters. It’s very quiet and safe here now."

Marina reached up to hold her forehead again; the dizziness she felt when about to take the President’s call returned.

Marina asked in a quavering voice, "What do you mean by ’very quiet’..."

Then she heard Emily say, "We’re inside. We’re inside Military Intelligence Six Headquarters."

Marina didn’t know what to say anymore. Right now, she had only one sensation: a terrible dizziness.