Ultimate Firepower
Chapter 373 - 356 Sacrifice

Chapter 373: Chapter 356 Sacrifice

Panetta was asking, and so was Grasse.

Then the news came back faster from Grasse’s end, as the higher-ups at the Pentagon were also in a state of confusion; they were even more eager to find out what had happened.

"What situation? I’d like to know as well! The White House released the news, Fox reported it first, and then the other media quickly followed up. Now, we’ve been dragged into it, and nobody knows why the damn CIA has gone crazy..."

Grasse turned on the speakerphone, and an unfamiliar voice came through, with a somewhat chaotic background as if many people were talking.

Grasse cautiously said, "General, what should I do about this?"

"Protect him at all costs. We can’t let the CIA simply ruin him. There hasn’t been any specific personal information leaked, the exposure isn’t too terrible. We will absolutely not be tied to Sky Garden, nor will we have any relationship with the Warhammer Mercenary Group. Do you understand what I mean? Hold on."

The person on the phone asked Grasse to wait, then whispered a few words to someone else before coming back on the line, "We’ve now got a rough idea of what the White House is trying to do. This seems to be a move instigated by the CIA, with the goal of dragging the UK into the mess. The UK is already in chaos, and they are about to have a press conference. We’ve just received an order from the White House to also hold a press conference, to preempt the UK before they deny involvement, and to present evidence firmly pinning this disaster on them."

Grasse was still puzzled, and he spoke softly, "Why?"

"Because the British don’t like our President, so Mr. President wants to teach the British a lesson. We’re still not entirely clear on the specifics, you don’t need to worry about it, and you don’t have to be concerned. Right now, you just need to protect him and make sure the British don’t kill him."

The Pentagon didn’t give a particularly clear answer, but they showed a positive attitude, which was to continue cooperation with Gao Yi and to protect him.

It was almost certain that nothing too serious would happen.

Grasse still didn’t quite understand why, but he hung up the phone and said to Gao Yi, "You heard. Uh, I think you won’t be in any trouble now. As for why this happened, it seems it’s not that important anymore."

With an exit strategy and a cooperative partner not turning against him, Gao Yi felt it was acceptable.

Soon after, Panetta called.

"I’ve sorted it out; it has nothing to do with you, but you’ve been used."

The Pentagon could only speculate, but Panetta had asked the President directly, so he was giving the final answer.

Gao Yi, puzzled, said, "Being used but it not relating to me, what does that mean?"

Panetta spoke softly, "There are some things I was not planning to tell you so soon, but now I have to let you know in advance. However, I hope you understand the importance of keeping this confidential."

Grasse didn’t hide anything from Gao Yi, so Gao Yi wouldn’t keep anything from Grasse. The more Panetta emphasized confidentiality, the more Gao Yi decided to open his phone’s speaker, speaking softly, "I understand."

"I’ll just speak frankly. Mason, the founder of Freedom Wind, is also the Deputy Director of the CIA, and he’s my greatest and only rival. He facilitated the British deployment and got the White House’s tacit support for this military operation.

The British failure is also Mason’s failure. Now, I have a good chance of completely replacing Mason’s position in the President’s eyes. So, to save himself and maintain his influence over the President, Mason chose to betray the interests of the British.

The President doesn’t like Prime Minister Theresa. Although the UK is our most important ally, Prime Minister Theresa has been rude to the President in the past, and on some major decisions, she not only failed to support Mr. President but has also been a persistent drag.

Now, there is a motion of no confidence against Theresa in the UK, and the President hopes Theresa will step down. Therefore, he decided to leak the failure of the British, providing an important bargaining chip to those against her. This was Mason’s suggestion to the President after establishing contact with the British.

The situation is as follows: Mason wants to regain the President’s trust and favor by using this incident; the President wants the UK to have a new Prime Minister he likes; the UK wants to use this incident to depose Theresa. So, you were exposed, but the President values you and wants to turn you to his side, hence he didn’t reveal too much about you.

So the exposure doesn’t impact you too much, the President doesn’t intend to kill you off, and what’s most important is that I haven’t revealed too much of your secrets to him. You don’t need to worry too much. It’s just Sky Garden and the Warhammer Mercenary Group that were mentioned. There might still be follow-up exposures, but it will only be the bit of information that Freedom Wind has. You can rest assured with me; I won’t betray you, and I also hope to strengthen our cooperation. To show my sincerity, I’ve already sent Joelson to meet you, so you can discuss the details after you meet."

Panetta said a lot in one breath.

Using you but it not relating to you, this was obviously the approach only significant figures could take, and only they had the privilege.

One can’t draw two Theresas with a single stroke, nor two Masons.

The President’s name contains a Theresa, the Deputy Director of the CIA’s name contains a Mason, the Prime Minister’s name contains both Theresa and Mason, and then she was sacrificed by the two of them together.

Although it didn’t feel good for those directly involved, who cared?

Gao Yi expressed understanding.

"I see. It seems the exposure won’t have severe consequences, so there’s no need for me to leave in a hurry. The operation to kill off Freedom Wind can continue."

"Of course, of course! The operation to take down Freedom Wind should not only continue but be intensified! I will offer all the help I can provide! Also! Even though I can’t help you with funds or manpower, I can give you something more important than money or manpower!"

Panetta seemed desperate because his rival Mason had used misdirection to sacrifice an ally like Theresa in a disadvantageous situation. If this move succeeded, Mason might turn the tables.

If a single success couldn’t completely take down Mason, then an open confrontation between Panetta and Mason in front of the President meant that there was no room for de-escalation, and they had to determine the outcome - life or death - as soon as possible.

So, Panetta was not making an all-out effort just to save Gao Yi, he was doing it to save himself, and he had to help Gao Yi with all his might.

Since the severe consequences of being exposed could only be borne by Gao Yi, the reward Panetta offered had to be substantial.

Gao Yi asked curiously, "Hmm, what is it?"

Panetta said gravely, "Get the Saudis to give you the funding you need, and I’ll give them what they want. After Joelson meets with you, have Joelson contact the head of the Saudi Intelligence Bureau, let Joelson get in touch with Abdulla directly. Do you understand what I mean?"

Gao Yi understood what Panetta meant.

Losing one place, compensate another.

Panetta couldn’t give Gao Yi what he needed, but he could give Shaman what he needed, and Shaman could give Gao Yi a lot of money.

To defeat Mason thoroughly, Panetta decided to sell himself to Saudi and he was sure he could get a good price.

This level of cooperation compared to before was like heaven and earth, an entirely different concept.

Shaman had just called, offering clear support to Gao Yi and a way out, the warmth of this favor hadn’t faded yet, and Gao Yi was about to give Shaman an enormous return.

To put it this way, Shaman’s support for Gao Yi was the peak of personal favor, as high as it could go.

But the return Gao Yi gave Shaman was on a national level, a strategic level, Saudi’s first big harvest in intelligence work since its establishment.

Having Joelson and Abdulla connect always felt like it was missing a bit of substance.

Gao Yi felt that since things had gone this far, why not go straight to the point, why not go all the way to the top?

Gao Yi’s mind worked incredibly fast.

"I have a suggestion, although I find Joelson quite reliable and he could entirely be the intermediary, from what I know, Abdulla’s capabilities are not quite enough, and Shaman values only his loyalty."

Setting up a precaution for his suggestion, Gao Yi changed the subject and said, "But Prince Shaman is different, he is indeed very capable, so why can’t it be Prince Shaman who contacts you directly? Skip all the middlemen, minimize the risk of exposure, what do you think?"

Let Shaman contact Panetta directly.

As the de facto deputy director of the CIA, Panetta’s position in the intelligence community was higher than Shaman’s, but as the ruler of a country, Shaman’s status was definitely above Panetta’s, so their direct contact was on an equal footing.

Panetta hesitated, he wasn’t used to personally deal with such matters.

But thinking that the other party was Prince Shaman, Panetta finally decided to go for broke.

"Okay, I’ll contact Shaman personally!"

Gao Yi immediately asked, "How will you contact him?"

"This number! This one! Now that we’ve decided, let’s act quickly. Ask Shaman for whatever amount of money you need, he must give it! Contact him now and let me know the outcome. Then I’ll decide my stance towards Shaman, that’s it."

Panetta hung up the phone.

Once the call ended, Grasse stepped forward and grabbed Gao Yi’s arm, then said with a tremulous voice, "You’ve made it! You’ve brokered cooperation between the two people with the most money and secrets in the world! You... you’ve made it!"

Gao Yi smiled and said, "You should say ’we’ve made it,’ brother!"

Since they shared the secret, they naturally had to share the benefits.

Gao Yi began dialing, and Grasse withdrew his somewhat trembling hand.

Shaman answered the phone, speaking calmly, "What’s the matter, not good? Don’t worry, I’ll send a plane to pick you up, don’t be afraid."

"Big brother!" Gao Yi was still moved, so he quickly said, "CIA Deputy Director Panetta wants to establish direct contact with you. I think it’s better for you to contact this level of mole personally, don’t you think?"

Shaman didn’t speak.

Gao Yi could only raise his voice a bit, "Big brother? Did you hear me?"

"Hiss~huh~uh..."

Shaman’s voice trembled slightly, then after making some strange noises, he said softly, "You always bring me surprises, brother!"