Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 311 - 297: Infighting

Chapter 311: Chapter 297: Infighting

"If someone wants to get their feet wet, there’s absolutely no need to pull them in."

"If someone wants to exchange their position for cash, well, it’s just a matter of whether they want to or not."

Americans do things directly; subtlety and circumlocution are not their strong suits. They demand straightforwardness and decisiveness.

When the music is played, one can perceive its elegance, and if the superiors have made themselves so clear, why is Joelson still acting reserved?

"I see that the truck driver is quite wealthy."

Crawford gave me a smile and said, "With Saudi backing, it would be odd if he didn’t have money."

If Crawford resembles Denzel Washington, that means he has a very serious, righteous, and proper appearance. Indeed, he usually keeps a stern face, making him seem quite respectable.

But today, Crawford had cast aside all pretense; his smile was image-shattering for it was somewhat lecherous.

Joelson thought for a moment and said, "Yes, it would be strange if he had no money. Sir, I can now tell you directly, the truck driver had run out of options in Tripoli. It was I who directed them to Khalid’s arm. The truck driver then gave Khalid a lot of money and promised many benefits. Without such offerings, Khalid’s arm wouldn’t have helped the truck driver at all costs."

Crawford spoke indifferently, "You are very capable; it’s just that previously you didn’t see your rightful place. Yes, back then, you and I both sought greater advancement in our careers, but now, even if the truck driver really does have a lot of money, where does our money come from? By capturing him and taking a ransom before releasing him?"

Now, the question arose. As senior officials of the CIA wanting to make money, through what means could they do so?

If Crawford had to worry about such matters, then what use was Joelson?

Trading intelligence was far too unsophisticated, not to mention extremely risky – getting caught would amount to treason, and the monetary gain would be minimal.

To satisfy Crawford, it must involve low risk and high reward, either a significant one-time gain or a long-term, substantial income.

Joelson spoke softly, "Sir, what are the moneymaking channels in Libya?"

Crawford frowned and asked, "Are you asking me?"

No leader likes to be questioned by their subordinates, but Joelson calmly said, "Sir, our perspectives and the information we acquire are different. I am completely unaware of many moneymaking routes."

Crawford sighed and said, "Oil, but the Pentagon has already joined hands with those oil magnates and divvied up the oil. What’s left are just scraps. Libya is all desert and has a sparse population; overall, there doesn’t seem to be any particularly lucrative channels."

Joelson immediately said, "Let’s not touch the oil. Sir, what do you think about collaborating with the Pentagon, the French, and Khalid’s arm to take over Libya’s arms market completely?"

Crawford furrowed his brow.

Joelson said, "Since the truck driver has such a good relationship with the French, can we also gradually take over the arms markets of the surrounding countries of Libya?"

While Crawford was still pondering, Joelson whispered, "I’ve been in Libya for a few months, and I know they lack everything. We don’t aim to control all of Libya, but there’s no issue in getting involved in Libyan business. Most importantly, with the truck driver’s resources being so good, he can handle matters we can’t openly deal with. Therefore, we don’t have to focus solely on Libya. As long as we can connect through the truck driver, we can completely do business with Saudi."

Crawford finally smiled, then took a breath and said, "But we need someone to negotiate with the truck driver and get him to agree to collaborate. So where is our value?"

Joelson had wanted to make up an excuse. He was looking for a reason why Crawford could trade with Gao Yi. But seeing Crawford’s semi-smiling face, Joelson suddenly had a flash of insight.

"Sir, I haven’t thought it through yet..."

Crawford began to smile, then he lowered his voice and said, "Up to this point, everyone says the CIA has a mole. Because of this mole, Captain Naaoi died, because of this mole, Abdulla of the National Intelligence Bureau was rescued, because of this mole, the operation to capture the truck driver failed, and because of this mole, Freedom Wind suffered heavy losses. But I’ll tell you, there actually is no mole."

Joelson was shocked and exclaimed, "No mole?"

"It’s just an excuse to cover up their incompetence. It seems like there is a mole, and everyone can only blame this non-existent mole to shift responsibility."

After finishing his point, Crawford slightly smiled and added, "But if the truck driver is willing to collaborate, we could become the mole."

Joelson, stunned, sat up sharply, staring at Crawford in shock and stammered, "A mole... that word... isn’t good."

"There’s nothing bad about it."

Crawford slowly exhaled and said, "Just remember one thing, if someone wants to catch the truck driver, there must be someone who doesn’t want to catch the truck driver. The existence of the truck driver has made many in the CIA lose face, but when some lose face, others rejoice, you understand?"

Joelson understood this principle. He just hadn’t anticipated that the existence of Sky Garden would bring shame to the whole of the CIA to such an extent that there were still those hoping to use the truck driver’s hand to strike against their opponents.

What is called internal strife? This is freaking internal strife!

Seeing Joelson’s shocked expression, Crawford suddenly restored his serious expression and asked, "Do you understand or not?"

"I understand, even if I didn’t before, I do now."

Crawford nodded and continued, "The reason you’re okay is not that you performed well enough to avoid subsequent scrutiny, but because someone wants to use us."

Us, not you or me.

This word was too crucial.

Joelson’s mind was somewhat chaotic, but he immediately nodded and said, "That’s a good thing."

"You just need to know one thing, Freedom Wind is a deformed freak. The CIA shouldn’t have such freaks. Some people don’t like Freedom Wind. If the truck driver really could take out Freedom Wind, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for the CIA."

Joelson nodded.

Crawford sighed and said, "You need to contact the truck driver and give him Freedom Wind’s information. If he can turn the tables and take out Freedom Wind, that would be best."

Joelson couldn’t help but glance at the closed door again.

Crawford impatiently said, "There are at least four people watching outside, and in here, all the bugs and cameras have been turned off. Since I’m discussing this with you, naturally I’m not afraid of being overheard."

"Okay, sir, do you have any specific information? I’ve met Burning Wind of Freedom Wind before being put on the plane, but I’ve only met him, and the other thing I know is that Hurricane and Tornado are dead. That’s all I know."

Crawford said gravely, "The code name Freedom Wind has a very high level of secrecy. Apart from the director and the deputy director in charge, no one knows the exact details about Freedom Wind. We only learned of it when Freedom Wind reported their achievements after many times accomplishing missions with excellence, even exceeding expectations."

Joelson listened intently as Crawford continued, "We now know, Freedom Wind consists of six code names: Wei Feng, monsoon, Hurricane, Tornado, and Burning Wind. Among them, Wei Feng is the leader of them all, so Wei Feng should be an individual’s code name, while Hurricane has appeared on the lists of group achievements multiple times, so Hurricane should be a small team’s code name. Tornado is an individual, specially recruited to Freedom Wind because of his exceptional personal combat strength. Burning Wind would likely be skilled at interrogation and intelligence analysis."

Joelson eagerly looked at Crawford, who nodded and said, "That’s all we have for now, but if we can confirm collaboration with the truck driver, we will provide more specific information."

Joelson swallowed and whispered, "That’s five winds, sir, but you said there were six code names."

"There’s one unknown."

Crawford finished speaking with a stern face, then whispered, "If the truck driver hadn’t taken out Hurricane and Tornado head-on, he wouldn’t have caught attention, wouldn’t have been chosen as the weapon to deal with Freedom Wind because anyone who can take out Tornado in a head-on fight is worth anyone’s attention, as high-end combat power is still scarce, very scarce."

Joelson nodded and said, "For now, I can’t get in touch with the truck driver, and... sir, if I am to quickly build mutual trust and establish a cooperation with the truck driver, the best might still be for me to go to Libya."

"No, don’t go to Libya, it’s too conspicuous. Only a madman would go to Libya."

Crawford stretched out his hand and placed it gently on Joelson’s leg before leaning in and saying in a low voice, "If we must be the moles, then we need to maximize the value, not just satisfy this small immediate benefit. Decide where to go when it’s clear what’s advantageous, or you could be a ’free man,’ according to what I think."

"A ’free man’ as in?"

"The role of a regional coordinator, running around everywhere."

Joelson nodded, Crawford checked his watch and said, "Freedom Wind has been searching in Libya for twelve days with no progress, their action has unquestionably failed, and they have completely lost all traces of the truck driver. So, you won’t have to wait too long, get started on the new job once your body recovers."

Crawford didn’t mention the specifics of the new job, but it didn’t need to be said, Joelson’s job was simple: establish contact with the truck driver, ensure that the truck driver can provide sufficient benefits, and then real cooperation would commence.

Joelson couldn’t help but say, "Sir, give me a baseline, what is the minimum I should gain each year?"

Crawford pondered for a moment; he might not have considered this question before, so he hesitated a little.

Finally, Crawford spoke seriously, "Ten million, or at least three million dollars a year, the risks are so great, it can’t be too little."