Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 336 - 320: Profound and Unfathomable

Chapter 336: Chapter 320: Profound and Unfathomable

Shop around.

Gao Yi, after contacting Peterlov, of course had to seek out Sherkin as well.

He first phoned Sherkin, and having gotten the address for the meeting, Gao Yi went directly to see Sherkin.

Though Peterlov was Russian, his primary label was that of a businessman, a middleman, or perhaps a broker, or an agent; in any case, the most evident concept associated with him was business.

Consequently, Peterlov was very polite and unassuming, sometimes simple in certain respects.

Sherkin, on the other hand, was different.

Sherkin didn’t live in a luxurious mansion, and he resided outside the Green Zone, but his security arrangements were considered luxurious.

Although he lived in a riverside villa as well, Sherkin’s villa was battered and ragged, with walls that even bore the marks of old bullet holes. Yet the men guarding Sherkin’s villa were four stocky Caucasian strongmen.

There were no women to be seen in Sherkin’s villa, and in the rooms, there were big-bearded, burly strongmen and old men over fifty or sixty years old who still exuded a murderous air.

A dozen or twenty people could live in the villa comfortably, but accommodating thirty or forty would seem crowded, crowding to the point of overflowing.

Sherkin’s residence in Baghdad was like a military camp, although not everyone there was fully armed, the place had the feel of a military base from any angle.

It was in such a military camp, in the villa’s living room, that Gao Yi met Sherkin.

Sherkin was in his fifties, appeared somewhat overweight. Typically, overweight individuals seem amiable, but Sherkin was different; though stout, he was fierce-looking and, although he did not have a big beard and bore no scars on his face.

The two men speaking with Sherkin in the living room both had big beards and wore small black caps.

When Gao Yi called to discuss business, Sherkin invited him in, but as he entered, the two bearded men were handing over something wrapped in plastic bags to Sherkin.

One of the bearded men opened the plastic bag for Sherkin to inspect, and when he opened the bag, Gao Yi caught a whiff of an unpleasant, distinct smell, after which Sherkin made a face of disgust and waved his hand dismissively.

The two bearded men then gathered up the plastic bags, twisted the tops a couple of times to tie them off to prevent the smell from spreading, and then left the living room.

This was not Sherkin trying to intimidate Gao Yi; he might have just been involved in handling some matters, and it just so happened that Gao Yi arrived during this.

Gao Yi couldn’t see clearly what was in the plastic bag, but it appeared to be ears, perhaps four or five because there seemed to be a small pile.

After sending away his subordinates, Sherkin turned to Gao Yi. He didn’t rise but remained seated and gestured for Gao Yi to sit, "Sit."

Peterlov’s villa had sofas and carpets, kept very clean, luxurious, and comfortable.

Sherkin’s living room was large, but it only contained a few folding chairs, not even a table, nor a carpet, sofa, or anything related to comfort.

Gao Yi sat down and said to Sherkin, "Hello."

"How much money."

Sherkin had no intention of making small talk.

Gao Yi had phoned Sherkin, confirmed the meeting place, had been led into the living room, and now faced this situation.

The rapid progress made it seem that Sherkin had no manners at all.

When talking with Peterlov, Gao Yi had made his terms so simple that Peterlov didn’t even know how to handle the business.

Now with Sherkin, Sherkin’s straightforwardness left Gao Yi unsure of what demands to make.

Gao Yi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Aren’t you going to ask what I plan to do?"

"I don’t care what you do, first tell me how much money you can bring so I know whether it’s worth doing business with you."

This was business with a personality.

Gao Yi grew curious; he really wanted to know how Sherkin conducted his business, so after a slight hesitation, he said emphatically, "The ceiling is twenty million dollars."

"Twenty million, that’s acceptable."

Sherkin seemed satisfied with the amount, but he gave no indication of it.

Sherkin, expressionless, said, "What do you want to do."

"Uh... I want to..."

This time, it was Gao Yi who was at a loss for words. He couldn’t very well say he wanted to ambush Freedom Wind.

After a moment of thought, Gao Yi spoke earnestly, "I need to eliminate an enemy; he has many formidable subordinates..."

"Seeking revenge? Easy, tell me who you need to eliminate, and I’ll handle the rest. If the job’s done, you pay. If not, we forget about it."

Gao Yi was taken aback, then finally said, "Business isn’t done this way, is it?"

"So how should it be done? You have a problem, I solve it. Isn’t that how it works?"

Sherkin wasn’t foolish or particularly reckless; he was likely just impatient.

Gao Yi hesitated a moment, then continued, "I can’t just point to a target for you to eliminate. I can’t confirm the exact time or location either. Uh, what I can confirm is that I’m up against a very tough opponent, with roughly twenty to thirty people under him, very formidable men with strong combat abilities, so..."

"So is it twenty people or thirty? If you can’t be sure, we should count it as thirty."

During a previous encounter in Libya with Freedom Wind, they only had about a dozen members, and those were Hurricane, Freedom Wind’s own action team.

Now, with Freedom Wind’s own team practically wiped out, if they wanted to capture or eliminate Gao Yi, Freedom Wind would certainly need to bring in reinforcements, but how many could the CIA deploy?

According to Panetta’s estimation, the number of CIA operatives that could be gathered in Baghdad, plus the teams from headquarters or Europe, was estimated to be around thirty at most.

Thirty people – that was actually quite a force. Besides, Baghdad was different from Tripoli; the CIA had many operatives in Baghdad, a substantial number. Overall, the presence of Freedom Wind in Baghdad was likely even stronger.

Negotiating with Sherkin felt torturous, but for some reason, observing Sherkin’s manner, Gao Yi believed that Sherkin was more capable than Peterlov.

"Alright, we’ll count the target as having thirty people, then consider that the opposition is prepared to fight to the end—uh, with very strong combat capabilities. I need to deal with these combatants, then eliminate their leader. How do you think we should price this deal?"

Sherkin fell deep into thought, pondering for a long time, before finally saying, "Must the opponent be completely annihilated?"

"Yes."

"I can’t take on this mission."

Sherkin showed no change in expression, still speaking calmly, "You’re not being honest. You’re hiding too much, and I can’t take your money."

That was when the difference between Sherkin and Peterlov became clear.

To Peterlov, mercenaries were merely commodities, not even costing him anything as he was merely a middleman. He needed to maintain the reputation of a middleman, but not necessarily be responsible for the lives of the mercenaries, so Peterlov could accept Gao Yi’s job.

Sherkin wasn’t a middleman; he had to be accountable for his own men.

That meant there was nothing more to discuss, no need to waste more time.

Gao Yi stood up, ready to take his leave, but for some reason—perhaps Sherkin’s minimalist style felt refreshing, and he regarded Sherkin as a genuinely capable man—he still wished to collaborate with Sherkin.

Gao Yi suddenly asked, "If I identify the target, determine the number of enemies, and set the time and place, clarifying all this information but the timing is very tight, would it still be possible to seek your help then? Or, more extremely, if I contacted you only once the battle had begun, could you still join the fight?"

Sherkin responded without hesitation, "Of course, as long as you ensure you can pay, you can find me any time. As for timing, that’s your problem."

Gao Yi nodded, "Great, hope we get the chance to work together. Goodbye."

Gao Yi rose and left the visibly old house, walking out of a garden with not a single flower.

Feng Biao and Lin Xianghua were still outside waiting for Gao Yi. As Gao Yi got into the car and Lin Xianghua started to drive, Feng Biao curiously remarked, "That was quick?"

It had been less than five minutes from the time they entered to when they exited.

Gao Yi sighed, "I should have let you guys come in with me. I’ve never dealt with someone like Sherkin before. Brother Biao, have you ever heard of Sherkin?"

After pondering seriously, Feng Biao replied, "Actually, I haven’t. Do you know his nickname, or the name of his mercenary group would also do."

"I don’t know; maybe they’re not a mercenary group at all. But I think Sherkin’s men are very formidable. I saw at least seven or eight of them who were quite elderly, probably in their fifties or sixties. Those eyes, they gave me the chills."

There weren’t many people who could give Gao Yi the chills.

Giving chills didn’t necessarily mean fear, but rather, it was that instant recognition of danger which triggered an instinctive alertness.

Gao Yi pulled out his phone, quite regretfully saying, "Can’t collaborate with Sherkin, let’s secure the personnel through Peterlov instead. We’ll check out War Axe Mercenary Group and Lego’s people later. You two are more familiar with mercenaries, so you guys decide if they’re suitable. If not, we’ll turn back to Sherkin—ah, why does this feel so troublesome."

He called Peterlov, waiting for him to answer, then Gao Yi straightforwardly proposed, "Let me meet with War Axe Mercenary Group and Lego’s people. If there’s no issue, we’ll sign the contract today."